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.
For Miriam’s photos of the Guatemala Volcano, follow the link: http://miriamtravel.blogspot.com/2010/04/volcano-pacaya.html”>Volcano Pacaya
Copyright (c) 2010 Carol Chapman
All Rights Reserved
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.
Copyright (c) 2010 Carol Chapman
All Rights Reserved
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.
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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.
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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.
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I am in the middle of editing the special feature of the Yucatan Travel Movie called, “Music in the Yucatan Travel Movie.”
So far, I have acknowledged Tom Petrachenko for his lovely songs, “A Moment,” and “All These Ghosts.” Tom not only composed and played these songs on the guitar, but he also wrote and sings the lyrics in “All These Ghosts.” Lovely. I have received many compliments for these tunes.
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A blog post by Erick Laseca who works for Burson-Marsteller as public relations liaison for the Mexico Tourism Board in Chicago begins with:
The height of Mayan civilization may have ended some 1600 years ago, but this enigmatic empire seems to be making a come-back. This past Friday, December 8th, movie theaters across North America released Mel Gibson’s much-anticipated feature, Apocalypto, filmed in Mexico, bringing the late, great Mayan civilization to life on the big screen.
Mexican Mayans Descendant Make Debut in Apocalypto
Although I disagree with Laseca’s calling the Maya, “Mayans,” nonetheless, I found his comprehensive article on the Maya informative, entertaining and interesting. After all, it might be that Laseca uses the term “Mayans” since it works better as a keyword search phrase, “Maya” more often bringing up Maya Angelou.
During filming of the Yucatan Travel Movie, we visited the ruins at Edzna, which is supposed to be the ruin Mel Gibson chose as the model for his Mayan ruin set in the movie Apocalypto. We loved Edzna. The Palace of the Five Stories is gorgeous.
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When filming the Yucatan Travel Movie, we had an encounter with some of these creatures in Palenque . . . just as the mist was rising at the site at the end of the day . . . definitely spooky.
In the pitch black night, deep in the verdant rainforest of the Yucatan Peninsula, a furry creature swings swiftly from branch to branch, calling so loud, you can hear it from five kilometers away through deep jungle growth. The question is though, what is it coming from? Wait, it sounds like a jaguar. No, it cannot be, it’s a monkey?
Yucatan Peninsula – Screams of the Mayan God
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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.
I didn’t know that there are a handful of Guatemalans who have intense green eyes. Did you? How do you like that!
Copyright (c) 2010 Carol Chapman
All Rights Reserved
Yesterday I referred to the sea turtles coming ashore along the Caribbean Coast of the Riviera Maya between June and October. That reminded me that in the Yucatan Travel Movie, we visit Akumal, a lovely vacation location. Akumal also hosts a number of dive shops and a center for studying sea turtles.
Copyright (c) 2010 Carol Chapman
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