I have been been struggling with a problem of my own making, as it turns out. It really helps to consult with love ones, in this case, my very creative daughter-in-law, Cher. It was her help that gave my business the name of SunTopaz.
Now, I came to her with a problem that I considered to be intricate and complicated. I told her that it bothered me that the Yucatan travel video is comprised of footage taken during three visits to the Yucatan.
In the first visit, our daughter Miriam came with us. At the time, she had long golden hair.
However, Miriam did not come with us during the second visit, which included the trip to Palenque and Villahermosa to see the Olmec heads.
Then, the third and final trip to the Yucatan, which includes the wonderful Mayan elders equinox ceremony at Chichen Itza, also includes Miriam, but this time, with short chin-lenth hair.
Cher’s suggestions? She said that she has watched a lot of travel movies and she noticed that many of them jump around from place to place with hardly an explanation. For example, in one recent Lonely Planet travel video, the viewer is suddenly at an island – no explanation and no introduction ahead of time.
She suggested that I announce to the viewer near the beginning of the movie that it was shot in three visits to the Yucatan. She believes the viewer will figure it out.
Now I feel more relaxed as I review the extensive footage taken of our travels in Yucatan.
Carol Chapman
Copyright 2009 Carol Chapman
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Last night, we visited our friend Victor Olalde. He had been our guide in Chichen Itza a year ago. He always knows a lot and shares with us.
I’m looking for an image of Izamna, the Maya equivalent of Christ – son of the creator god, Hunab K’u. Victor said we would find the image carved on the east wall of the Nunnery building beyond the Observatory at the Chichen Itza ruins.
We woke early, checked out of the hotel and headed to the ruins. it was strange to walk along the entrance path and NOT see any craft vendors. Some were setting their stalls up but none approached us to buy their wares. It felt good.
We knew, from our Moon handbook, that the Nunnery Building would be a long walk on this huge site, which is traditionally known as Itzamna’s ceremonial center.
We finally got to the building and saw the carving over the doorway just as Victor had said. Only a couple of German tourists shared the space with us. I set up my video camera on its tripod so I would be sure to get the image without any camera movement.
After a couple of minutes, an ancient Mayan guard turned up and told me I could not use a tripod. So, I took the camera off the tripod, telescoped the tripod legs and took the rest of my footage. The old guard also said the image was not Itzamna. I don’t know who to believe – Victor or the old guard.
We also quickly took footage to illustrate information I’d learned in the archives of Hacienda Chichen yesterday – that August Le Plongeon had excavated the Platforma de Venus. We also photographed and videotaped the chac mool that I believe Alice Le Plongeon, his wife, found with her psychic powers. Did I tell you that Alice also had memories of Atlantis and that was one of the reasons the Le Plongeons were in Chichen Itza . . . because they thought the site had an association with the lost continent.
At 10, we had an appointment with Jose at Hacienda Chichen. Miriam is considering being a volunteer with local Maya people for a month or so, which the Hacienda arranges. Jose is not only an elder-in-training, but also the head of their volunteer program.
He told us that he is presently too young to be consider as an elder. You can only be an elder after the age of 52.
Jose took us to his village where we saw children in the local school, the room where they ate and the infirmary associated with the school. The school meal area has been improved by Belisa Barancache, the “keeper” of Hacienda Chichen.
I loved the beautiful children’s inquisitive eyes. The little ones crowded around the back of the video camera to see the moving image being recorded.
My favorite part of the tour with Jose was a visit to a very traditionally Maya village in which women, in a business cooperative, were making the beautifully embroidered traditional white dresses called huiptil on sewing machines outside under the protection of a roof of a building in the village center. They spoke in Mayan. I asked to take their “photographia . . . OK?” They nodded.
I got some great pictures of some lovely women. I feel so happy to have seen the women – about a dozen of them – drawing the patterns on the cloth and then embroidering the design in bright colors on their sewing machines.
Carol Chapman
Copyright (c) 2009 Carol Chapman
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Well, I’ll be in Merida, Yucatan later today. And then, off to Chichen Itza for the Spring Equinox event when the sunlight makes triangle patterns on the stone serpents. Should be many people there. Hope I get pictures and video footage. That’s what I’m after.
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This time, when I’m in the Yucatan, I plan to be at Chichen Itza during the amazing spring Equinox event when sunlight makes a diagonal pattern on the side of the stone serpent whose body rises up the side of the Pyramid of Kukulcan.
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