This was our trip up into the Mayan mountains to visit some remote villages. A number of our participants wanted to buy some of the habeñero sauce to take home, so in the first village, we stopped at the store to see if they had some.
A mother and one of her daughters were tending the store, and I was struck by the light on their faces as they watched our group through the open door.
The remote villages are indeed remote. Bumpy dirt roads are the only access, and that is a huge improvement over the tracks that preceded them. The former government was really supportive o the outlying villages, and because it is too expensive to run electric lines into them, they gave them solar panels. Now they have light, so the children can do their homework at night.
The high-tech solar panels were quite a contrast against the traditional houses and dress of one of the oldest ladies in the village.
The way the houses were put together fascinated me. As one would expect, the Mayans use materials from the jungle for their buildings.
This shows how the Mayan house siding is lashed to the support poles with plant material.
As you can see, the Mayans have large roof overhangs. They use this extra shelter, not only to keep out the hot sun, but to air or dry their bedding and clothing in the wet summer months.
The elderly lady in the second photograph wanted to show us their church. Contrary to many remote locations in the world, the missionaries who came here were very tolerant of the Mayan beliefs. We all found an elegant simplicity to this church.
Most of the Mayan women today wear more modern dress, as you have seen in earlier blogs, but on special occasions, they don their classic dress, as this woman did with a lightweight, white blouse over her skirt.
This was our last full day down in Toledo. We all had a great time and everyone made some wonderful photographs that we will showcase when our participants have a chance to finish processing them at home.
After the workshop, we headed back to Caye Caulker for a few days of relaxation. To be continued…
We always enjoy comments.
We hope you will LIKE this blog (just above the blog title above) and SHARE it (below) with those interested in photography and travel along with the following: