This morning we said goodbye to San Cristobal and headed to our next destination; The Lacandon Jungle.
The road twisted and turned and went through beautiful valleys and hills. We passed through military zones beside Zapatista territory and stopped at a small restaurant and played with a child. Indigenous Mexican’s stood at the side of the road selling bananas, coconuts, traditional robes and more. We passed coffee cooperatives, people carrying stacks of wood on their backs up the road and spotted beautiful crystal clear rivers below.
The ride lasted seven hours and was a journey all of its own.
As we drove I thought back on our last days in San Cristobal. I thought about all the fantastic people we were blessed to meet, Paul and Diane Poirier from Arthur Frederick Community Builders, Nadia from Natate and The Tree House language school, the communications director and freelance videographer Sarah, Canadian journalist Dominique Jarry-Shore, Minerva the teacher of Medical Spanish or Diego from Frayba - Center of Human Rights, The American Priest Father Miquel, the dreamer from the steps Steve, Laurence the owner of our hotel or the nice man who was always smiling who served us breakfast.
All of these amazing people were brought together to share their life experiences and knowledge. All I could think about was how lucky we were to have met them and learn from them and how lucky the students of the new International Support Worker program will be to be able to meet these people or people like them next year on their Quest to Mexico.
Learning like this can become contagious.
Around 5:30 pm we arrived at our new home deep within the jungle. Our cabins were led by a limestone path and sat beside a river. Our house was made out of wooden planks strapped together, topped with a tin roof, two bunk beds with mosquito nets, no door and a wooden patio with a hammock. Shot gun!
The four of us sat and swung and talked about life and all its glory and misery as the sun slowly set and the day came to an end. Laying in bed we slowly fell asleep to the sound of flowing water and singing crickets.
I could get use to a place like this.
:( Wish I could've been there.. I know I enjoyed our late night chats on the Abbey patio last year, and I imagine them to be the same or even better.
ReplyDeleteHope everything is going well!!
Everything is getting back to normal at home and things are starting to look like a normal life again, the kids are doing great, they are into a fairly good routine and are calling Gramma and Grandpa's "home" which is good, they are finding a sense of belonging too. Their dad is doing awesome staying strong and hanging out with them every night, there to see them go to bed, and then spends the whole day with them on Sunday, he heads to church and then heads out to his dad's or just out and about whereever they wanted to go for the day.
Enjoy the next couple days!
Mel