So long, San Pedro!

We're on the move and have said "hasta luego" to the host family that has cared for us for 6 weeks in San Pedro.  As a parting gift to us, our hosts took us to a neighboring town where we participated in a traditional Mayan ceremony.  A guide first explained to us some traditional Mayan beliefs, the use of the Mayan calendar, and helped us identify the Mayan symbol correlated to our birth date.  Then we watched him make a fire containing spices, chocolate, candles, and pine nuggets.  In all, it was fascinating to learn a bit more about how the Mayan culture has interpreted the natural world around it.

On our final day of class at school, we put down the books and visited the local poor families we had been visiting with our teachers over the past several weeks.  It was our third and final time bringing food and other basic supplies to the impoverished families. 

A little boy peeks out of the door of one of the homes we visited.

Baxter and Atticus pose with 7 of the family's 10 members.  When we pulled out a
 camera, the mom made them all change their clothes and put on shoes for this picture.

One of the house's two rooms serves as kitchen for 10 and sleeping area for 4.

Detached from the house is the bathroom.

Thanks to some of you who kindly contributed, we were able to make our deliveries bigger than before.  We added some used clothing, new blankets, and larger quantities of food.  It was hard to leave the poor families behind.

Saturday saw our final basketball practice with Coach Mauricio.  The boys have enjoyed the 6 they've attended but had to say goodbye to their teammates and other friends from the basketball court area.

Javier became the boys' best friend in San Pedro.

On our last day with our host family, we were served a special meal of fish (the whole thing across the plate), a crab, and one shrimp.  Afterwards, the family gave us some traditional clothing and also jade necklaces made in the shape of the Mayan symbol corresponding to our respective birth dates.

Sporting our new Guatemalan garb on our last afternoon in San Pedro.

We all agreed not to say goodbye but rather to say "See you later."  Our host family warmly extended an open door to us and offered that we could stay for as long as we ever might want in the future.  This has been a truly special experience for our families.

My Mayan symbol is Iq' which is closely tied to the wind.  The Mayans believe that anyone with this symbol has tendencies towards moving about.  And with that, we let the winds blow us from San Pedro to a final stop in Guatemala before hopping a plane to a new destination. . . .

Our belongings on our backs, we reluctantly leave San Pedro.