Miriam Balsley narrator | Carol Chapman

Narrator Visits Semuc Champey Waterfalls

When Miriam Balsley, the narrator of the Yucatan Travel Movie, told me that she was going to Semuc Champey during her travels in Guatemala, I naturally assumed she was going to one of that Central American country’s many magnificent Mayan ruins.

Oh, how wrong could I be! Semuc Champey is a natural wonder of waterfalls and stair steps of turquoise green cascading waters. Her nature photographs are gorgeous. Check them out!

Miriam Balsley at Semuc Champey

Guatemala Landslide Result from Tropical Storm Agatha

Miriam Balsley, the narrator of the Yucatan Travel Movie is presently in Guatemala doing a Spanish Language Intensive. Tropical Storm Agatha, the first of the season’s possible hurricanes, has just swept through Guatemala. In her blog, Miriam writes:

Walking up through the main center path from the boat dock, it is shocking to see where the center of town got swept into the lake.

Jaibalita, Guatemala, landslide devastation.

People and dogs use a boardwalk over the hole where the city center of Jaibalita once was.

Jaibalito . . . the aftermath

For more photographs, click on the link above.

Guatemalan Yucatan Difficulties

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, Miriam Balsley, narrator of the Yucatan Travel Movie, is presently in Guatemala undertaking a Spanish Language Intensive. It turns out that she’s experiencing more than she expected because the country has recently had a volcanic eruption of a volcano she climbed last month, a 30-story deep sinkhole at an intersection in the middle of Guatemala City, and the tail end of the first hurricane of the season, Tropical Storm Agatha that led to landslides.

Miriam tells me that the land that slid is not so much mud as volcanic. It is more loosely packed than the earth I’m used to.

Her photographs of the devastation caused by the landslides are quite amazing. Right in the middle of the town of Jaibalito there is nothing left but dirt. Same with a field of banana trees. A swath of devastation right down the middle with trees standing on either side of the landslide as if nothing happened. Amazing!

And, garbage – tons of it!

Click here to take a look at Miriam’s amazing on-site photos.

Touring a Beer Factory in Guatemala

If you’ve ever hankered to tour a beer distillery in Guatemala as a field trip when learning a Spanish language intensive, take a look at today’s blog post from Miriam Balsley who is the narrator and hostess of the Yucatan Travel Movie. She writes:

Next we headed to the actual factory where the bottles are cleaned, filled, topped, and labeled. The above is a photo of one of our teachers, Miguel, who has a nickname of Gato, or Cat. He is one of the handful of Guatemalans who have intense green eyes, hence his nickname. He’s hanging out with one of the old bottling machines.

Beer

I didn’t know that there are a handful of Guatemalans who have intense green eyes. Did you? How do you like that!

Teaching English in Yucatan

As a way of enjoying Yucatan travel, you may want to teach English in Yucatan, for example, in the Mayan city of Tulum.

The Mayan city of Tulum has come second in the TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice 2010 awards, which were decided on holidaymakers’ destination comments, favourite places and overall popularity.

“A rare mix of beach, archaeology and village, Tulum is a romantic getaway like no other,” the judges concluded.

Teach English in Mexico and enjoy Tulum’s beautiful beaches

We included Tulum in the Yucatan Travel Movie and can attest to the beautiful white-sand beaches in the area. In fact, many people visit the Mayan ruins at Tulum to swim rather than to tour the ruins.

However, you should be aware that if you want to stay overnight in one of the rustic cabins on the Maya Riviera coast south of the town of Tulum, most of the places, including campgrounds, do not have a regular source of electricity and instead depend on generators, wind power, solar power, and, as Miriam Balsley, the narrator of the Yucatan Travel Movie says, “the dancing light of candles.”

Yucatan Travel Movie Audio Almost Finished

Really happy today because the audio tracks on the Yucatan Travel Movie are almost all finished and well balanced at last. I’m just waiting for Miriam Balsley, the narrator, to arrive next week to add a little bit to the narration.

Cancun & Chichen Itza Narration Added

Today, we are working on the narration to accompany the video footage of Cancun and Chichen Itza in the Yucatan Travel Movie. Miriam Balsley, the narrator, and I are having fun and getting a lot done.

First Day of Narration

It went well. Always some apprehension starting, but once we got going, I felt happy and confident that the narration with Miriam Balsley would be a success . . . and, it was. Now, we have another few days to continue the narration for the Yucatan Travel Movie.

Starting the Narration of the Yucatan Travel Movie

I’m in Vermont with Miriam Balsley the narrator of the Yucatan Travel Movie. We begin today. Yay!

The Narrator is Here!

Miriam Balsley, who is the narrator for the Yucatan Travel Movie has just arrived. Now I have to get the movie ready for her! We will start work next week.

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