I felt happy as I put together the scenes for the Coba section of the Yucatan Travel Video. Today, I finally finished the bird-dances-to-music. When I showed it to John, he laughed out loud and had to see it again. That made me feel so good. Many birdwatchers come to Coba because the tropical songbirds around the lakes are phenomenal. There are also crocodiles. And, of course, the ancient ruins, which are always so fascinating. The first time we visited Coba, in 1999, hardly anyone was there. The parking lot had not been paved. No tourist buses parked there. The road to the site contained potholes from one end to the other. Now, everything is paved, spiffed up, touristy and very pleasant.
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Today I made my shot list for Coba, an especially beautiful but also wild and wierd archeological site in the Yucatan Peninsula. I especially like the plethora of wild birds chirping and yodelling in the morning. With the camcorder filming, I was thrilled when a two to three foot tall brown speckled wading bird not only gave out three large squawks, but it also pooped and then flew away . . . all on camera. It is the Coba lakes that attract the tropical birds. Most of the land surface of Yucatan Peninsula is dry and without any rivers, streams or lakes. The inhabitants have to collect rainwater or haul water up from underground.
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Another fantastic day working on the Yucatan Travel Video. I love remembering my visits to the wonderful colonial town of Izamal where the town’s people, modern-day Maya, live among the ancient Mayan ruins . Alas, an overzealous Spanish bishop, during the time of the Spanish Inquisition, dismantled one of the pyramids and used its stones to construct a convent. Obviously, the location is a powerful sacred site. As it turns out, the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary at this convent is attributed with having been an apparition because legend has it that the statue could not be moved from the convent. When we were there in December, the town had a huge celebration on her behalf complete with a carnival, a procession, and refreshments stands. Pope John Paul II made a pilgrimmage to the site.
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The present-day beautiful colonial town of Izamal is the next topic of the Yucatan Travel Movie because it was the place where Izamna, the ancient Maya’s exalted god, made his capital.
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Today’s and yesterday’s . . . and tomorrow’s . . . Yucatan Travel Movie editing time will be spent on Izamal, one of my favorite destinations in the Mexican state of Yucatan. Not only does this beautiful colonial city have the highest pyramid in the state of Yucatan, but also, it has a gorgeous historical convent, the site of an apparition of the Virgin Mary. Izamal also used to be the headquarters of the ancient Maya creator god, Izamna. I love the place. It’s beautiful and it is sacred ground.
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Ek Balam, Mayan for “Black Jaguar,” took center stage for editing in the Yucatan Travel Movie today. Ek Balam is such a fascinating place. Absolutely amazing that its pyramid has a tomb in it . . . and, you enter the tomb via the huge mouth of a giant carved monstrous image of a god’s mouth. Not that we tourists are allowed inside the tomb. But, we can look into the monster mouth, past its huge curved teeth and also be impressed by the monster god’s huge eyes, the lids of which are held up by people carved in stone. I find the two men with wings the most intriguing. What were they? Angels?
Also, this tomb is not under the structure as it Palenque, but 2/3 up the edifice. It makes me wonder if other pyramids have tombs hidden within them.
Reviewing the footage brought me back to that very hot day in January a year ago when we visited this wondrous site that is relatively free of tourists. Perhaps few tourists come here because they are all at nearby Chichen Itza.
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Today, I was learning how to make titles for the Yucatan Travel Movie. I am using Sony Vegas Platinum Pro 9 software. It is very much a learning experience but I am making progress . . . and, it is fun!
I love digital! It is so much easier than film, which is the medium on which I originally learned how to make movies.
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Today, I met with a woman who is becoming a friend. We have talked about 2012.
I have told her about my interviews with Mayan shamans, experts on the Maya and their Long Count Calendar, and Mayan people in the Yucatan.
She knows that my research among the Maya in the Yucatan is that the world is NOT going to end on December 21, 2012.
Instead, the Long Count Calendar will be starting on Day One December 22 IF present-day archeologists have correctly translated ancient Mayan glyphs and IF present-day archeologists have correctly correlated the Mayan Long Count calendar with our Gregorian calendar.
My friend told me that she had met a woman yesterday who proclaimed to her that on December 21, 2012, the world was going to end. Fortunately, my friend was able to assure this distraught woman that the world was not going to end on that date.
Carol Chapman
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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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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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