Carol Chapman | Carol Chapman

Roasting Marshmallows on top of Guatemala Volcano that is Erupting Today

Miriam Balsley, narrator of the Yucatan Travel Movie is in Guatemala taking intensive Spanish Language classes.

I knew she had climbed a Guatemala volcano or two or three with a guide. However, I assumed she was no where near the rock and ash-spewing Volcano Pacaya. Still, I felt relieved when I received an email from her saying that she was safe and far from Pacaya.

However, she did climb Pacaya a couple of months ago. Her guided roasted a marshmallow over a scorching crack in the surface of the peak. She writes of her experience on the Guatemala Volcano:

It didn’t matter that there was no actual lava flowing today. Perhaps another time. The 2 foot hole blasting heat was proof of the intensity that lay brewing below us. And the marshmallows were pretty good too. But talk about being a pro cooker. If you left them longer than a second, they instantaniously went up in flames.

Volcano Pacaya

For Miriam’s photos of the Guatemala Volcano, follow the link: http://miriamtravel.blogspot.com/2010/04/volcano-pacaya.html”>Volcano Pacaya

Music in Yucatan Travel Movie

Well, I guess I’m up late again . . . working on the “Music in Yucatan Travel” Bonus Feature for the Yucatan Travel Movie. I’m loving it, of course. But, it is taking longer than I expected. So what else is new?

In this feature, I’m showing the musicians playing selections of music from Yucatan Travel in a small part of the screen while the regular images in the movie play.

My editing software, Sony Vegas Movie Studio, calls it a “cookie cutter.” It’s complicated because I have to have two images lined up with the audio track instead of only one.

Oh well, it’s worth it. I really want to honor the wonderful musicians who gave me permission to use their fantastic music.

Great Talk with owner of MySmallBizU Today

Today I talked with James Maduk, who is my online marketing mentor. I appreciate that James schedules times when members of his membership site MySmallBizUniversity can call in to ask him questions about their businesses. He is an expert on online marketing and also has expertise in integrating online with offline business.

Atlantis and the Secret Doctrine

Here’s some strange information on Atlantis and Lemuria supposedly from Helena Petrovna Blavatsky‘s The Secret Doctrine. The following quote is
from a detractor who calls Madam Blavasky‘s book, “The Stupid Doctrine:”

Apparently the “elect” from the lost continent of Lemuria were to be found on Atlantis, before they made their way to Shamballah in the Gobi desert. When Lemuria was destroyed, Atlantis appeared (II, 402).

The Secret Doctrine–The Synthesis of Science Religion and Philosophy Volume 1 and 2

Interested in Online Marketing?

I’ve been a member of James Maduk’s MySmallBizUniversity for a number of years. I highly recommend his membership site.

There are many books on internet marketing. I have also heard audio presentations telling you about the virtues of online marketing.

However, for online marketing wouldn’t it make more sense to have some kind of program online?

That’s what James Maduk has in his My Small Biz University. There are about 1,000 videos, many of them screen captures so you can pause the video and do what it says on your own computer.

It’s fantastic! You just follow along online! What a great concept.

200 Foot Underwater Visibility at Cozumel

We visited Cozumel Island while filming the Yucatan Travel Movie. The snorkeling was fantastic. However, we did not know that the underwater visibility is so fine since we do not scuba dive.

According to Travel Yucatan, Cozumel enjoys 200 feet of underwater visibility and 80-degree-plus seawater temperature in the summer–two elements perfect for snorkeling.

Snorkeling in Cancun and Cozumel

According to the article, most visitors to Cozumel prefer to snorkel at Chankanaab and Dzul Ha. For us, we simply donned our snorkeling gear at a seaside restaurant and joined the other folk in fins and masks.

Yucatan Travel Movie Screening Sunday, July 11

The Yucatan Travel Movie will have its first official public screen on Sunday, July 11th at 2:00 p.m. at the Gloucester Library. It is at 6920 Main Street, in Gloucester, Virginia. Click here for more information.

Is the Pyramid in the Bahamas part of Atlantis?

In my May 18th and 19th blog posts, I examined the report, Dr. Ray Brown’s Subterranean Pyramid Diving Experience, on Crystalinks that a Dr. Ray Brown came upon a submerged 120-foot tall pyramid in the Bahamas.

I found this report especially intriguing because Edgar Cayce, America’s amazing seer, also known as “The Sleeping Prophet,” said that there were three places in the world where the Atlanteans had left records of their civilization. One was near Bimini in the Bahamas.

Comment on Apocalypto May 14th Post

On May 15th, I received something from Burson-Marsteller Watch having to do with my May 14th post. It was not quite a comment and it did not have an email address or a name. Is this a ping? Not sure.

In any case, my blog post is now on the Burson-Marsteller Watch website, which is OK with me. In fact, I am delighted.

However, not being totally blog savvy, when I first saw, “read the whole article,” with a link to my May 14th blog post, I went back to the original article at TwitTravel/Best Travel Deals and read that original whole article to the end. The first time through, I had only read the first half. It is a long article.

When I reread the article, I learned that Mel Gibson had merely considered Edzna as the setting for Apocalypto but had chosen a location in Veracruz instead.

Even though I got to the information in a round about way, I am happy I have it because I will be sure in the Yucatan Travel Movie, not to say that Mel Gibson chose to shoot parts of Apocalypto in Edzna.

Questionable Details in “Submerged Pyramid in the Bahamas” Crystalinks Story

I’ve been thinking about that article I mentioned in yesterday’s blog post from Crystalinks. In the article entitled, Dr. Ray Brown’s Subterranean Pyramid Diving Experience, Dr. Ray Brown was a scuba diver from Mesa.

He goes off by himself, away from his friends, and, without anyone around to back up his story, comes upon this underwater pyramid. After his experience, does he bring his friends to the pyramid? No. Was there really a pyramid?

This is the part that makes me wonder. He says that it was 120 feet high – Did he measure it? How did he know? And, here’s the real kicker. He also says that only 90 feet of the 120-foot-high pyramid was sticking out of the sand. Really? Did he measure it? Did he dig down?

I love a good lost continent of Atlantis story. I have past life memories of being in Atlantis that I wrote about in my books, When We Were Gods and Arrival of the Gods in Egypt, and, I really, really want to believe that someone has found what could be the ruins of Atlantis submerged in the Bahamas.

But, even I have to wonder how a lone scuba diver could know that only 90 feet of a 120 foot tall pyramid was sticking out of the sand and that 30 feet of the pyramid was buried. Do you know how deep 30 feet is? That’s about as tall as a three story house.

He dug that far down to the base of it? With his hands? Is this a dream or a fairy tale?