Sacred Mayan Journey to the goddess

Mayan leaders head up the procession of villagers attending the opening rituals of the Sacred Mayan Journey at Xcaret Park.

The Sacred Mayan Journey was more than 36 hours of rituals, ceremonies, dance, music and paddling.

After a tropical storm cancelled their crossing plans to Cozumel, paddlers circle their canoes in Xcaret Park's tranquil lagoon.

Sunset from my balcony at the Coral Princess Hotel and Resort in Cozumel.

At Chankanaab National Park on Cozumel, the goddess Ixchel with maidens representing her various faces, and an oracle priest above.

Wearing a headdress of a coiled serpent, the goddess Ixchel gives her message to pilgrims on the Sacred Mayan Journey at Chankanaab National Park.

At Chankanaab National Park, women representing the phases of the moon are paddled past men representing spirits of the four ways of the cosmos.

A team of women paddlers sets out across the channel to the Riviera Mayan mainland.

Three canoes begin paddling the 18 kilometres to the Riviera Maya mainland on the Sacred Mayan Journey.

When Sofia Arenas, Betty Sandoval and her sister Gina Sandoval-Juarez paddled from Cozumel, one of their oars snapped in two.

The first canoe arrives on a shortened nine-kilometre paddle from Xcaret Park at Mamitas Beach for the end of the Sacred Mayan Journey.

Friends rush to help a capsizing canoe as it arrives from Xcaret Park at Mamitas Beach for the end of the Sacred Mayan Journey.

The canoe's paddlers and friends bring the boat into the beach.

The paddlers are greeted with hugs and kisses from their friends.

Mayan villagers await the return of the canoes.

On the beach, women representing different phases of the moon.

One of the four spirits representing the four ways of the cosmos.

The second canoe makes its way to Mamitas Beach.

One of the paddlers is Pilar de los Rios, of the Yaxche restaurant, who we met our first night in the Riviera Maya.

Pregnant women at Mamitas Beach await the arrival of canoes at the end of the Sacred Mayan Journey.

Who can resist a cute kid picture?

Mayan women elders at Mamitas Beach.

Published September 13, 2008

Stormy times when Ixchel meets Chac and Arthur

By Lorne Mallin

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – At first it was just a speck on the horizon of the turquoise Caribbean Sea. Then we could see the first of the native dugout canoes with four men in loincloths and one woman in a Mayan dress paddling steadily in the choppy ocean.

Slowly they carved a path through the waves toward the golden sands of Mamitas Beach at this resort city an hour south of Cancun on the Yucatan peninsula's Riviera Maya.

Metres from the beach the canoe tipped over and other paddlers rushed into the surf to help. When the exhausted paddlers finally made it to shore they were embraced by family and friends while hundreds of onlookers cheered and applauded.

Two more boats arrived for the closing ceremonies of a remarkable cultural, spiritual and theatrical experience called the Sacred Mayan Journey, the recreation of an ancient annual pilgrimage by canoe to the island of Cozumel that was lost for more than 500 years after the Spanish colonized the area. Women had been required to be pilgrims there at least once in their lives to ask for fertility.

Local officials plan to continue the event every year, helping this area make its mark as more than a sun and sand destination. For tourists, it's a window to the customs and practices of a people who built an elaborate, complex civilization here many centuries ago.

The focus of the journey was to honour Ixchel (EeshCHEL), the Mayan goddess of the moon, with prayers and offerings for four reasons -- fertility of the soil, good weather, health and the continuity of life -- and to bring back her message.

Our press-tour group of invited journalists witnessed colourful ceremonies, dances, music, and purification rites that began near midnight May 30 at the eco-archeological Xcaret (shcarET) Park and ended more than 36 hours later. At the start, hundreds of Mayan villagers arrived singing in processions.

To purify ourselves, we joined in by removing our shoes and walking barefoot on a jungle path carpeted with palm leaves. We were also encouraged to participate by writing down offerings to Ixchel on slips of paper that were ceremonially burned to reach the goddess. I'm not sure I was in the right spirit. I offered my "tsuris," Yiddish for troubles.

Some of the journalists stayed all night. I slipped away with two others to the adjacent Occidental Grand Xcaret Resort for a few hours sleep and to marvel at the wonders of a gorgeous all-inclusive where even the mini-bar is included.

Throughout the rituals, we were serenaded by a melodic chant to the goddess: "Ixchel, Ixchel, la misión y el trabajo esperan ya; Ixchel, Ixchel, nadie puede ocultarnos tu verdad." Which means "Ixchel, Ixchel, the mission and work are waiting for us; Ixchel, Ixchel, nobody can hide your truth from us."

Teams of paddlers in Playa Del Carmen and on Cozumel trained for months to make the challenging crossing, 150 of them in 30 eight-metre canoes going over and another 150 coming back.

At least, that was the plan. The weekend was all about Ixchel but a couple powerful guys, the Mayan rain god Chac and Tropical Storm Arthur, stole her thunder. Torrential rains and fierce winds swept through the coastline.

The 18-kilometre canoe crossing to Cozumel was cancelled, a huge disappointment for the participants. In the morning in a tranquil Xcaret Park lagoon fringed with Mayan huts we witnessed paddlers circling their canoes without taking on the wild waters.

It turned out to be a wise decision. When the journalists headed over to Cozumel in a catamaran, we had to turn back half-way when high waves constantly washed over the deck. Some were sick and some were scared. Totally soaked, I chanted for deliverance.

But the show must go on. We crossed in a large ferry, rested and freshened up at Cozumel's waterfront Coral Princess Hotel and Resort, and bussed to Chankanaab National Park to see the evening dances and rituals. Here we found another serene lagoon with a recreated Mayan village and temple platform.

The dramatic presentation with fire, bathing maidens and fantastic costumes led to the focus of the evening -- the message from the goddess, in her turban-like headdress of an entwined serpent, through the medium of oracle priests. Essentially, her very eco-conscious message was: Mankind has destroyed the environment, and for that reason we're the ones responsible for our destiny. Ixchel said the only way this world is going to change is if we don't wait for some miracle to happen but make the change ourselves.

Early the next morning, the seas had calmed considerably and three canoes that were transported over from the mainland for readied for the crossing while a fourth held five women in red dresses, their faces painted in vertical turquoise stripes.

Representing phases of the moon, they were paddled around the lagoon under the gaze of four men painted head to foot in brilliant colours portraying spirits of the four ways of the cosmos.

A chilam or priest blessed the three canoes and they paddled away. Two of them made it to the other side in just over three hours while the third capsized and the paddlers were rescued. Mexican Navy vessels were on hand to help.

Meanwhile, 12 canoes left Xcaret Park for the nine-km journey up the coast to Mamitas Beach. Nine had to turn back in the worsening waves, including one that capsized four times and waited a half-hour for rescue.

The three from Xcaret that made it delivered Ixchel's message to the local Mayan leader amid dances and celebrations.

Betty Sandoval, 31, who paddled from Cozumel, said on the beach that the crossing "touched our hearts." She said the ancient pilgrims didn't have the benefit of weather forecasting technology. "They spiritually offered themselves to their god. I really admire that."

As many as 800 people took part in the many facets of the sacred journey. Fidencio Tzel, a dancer from a long line of Mayans, played a priest. "I was proud to be able to rescue part of the culture of my ancestors," he said.

The event was initiated by Xcaret Park, the launching point of the ancient pilgrimages, and organized with local municipalities. Two years of research involved the National Institute of Anthropology and History, the Maya Centre of the National Council for Culture and the Arts and the Research Institute of Philology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. A choreographer, a composer, and makeup and costume artists helped make it a crowd-pleaser.

While it will be another year before the next journey, there are many other ways to connect with the Maya. Xcaret's spectacular evening show spotlights Mayan history and the park includes other cultural and spiritual experiences. The Life and Death Festival at Xcaret Oct. 30-Nov. 2 is another creative production.

The Riviera Maya features Mayan ruins and villages well worth seeing. I visited Tulum, a magical Mayan city from the 13th to 15th centuries an hour's drive south of Playa Del Carmen. The Palace of the Frescoes contains a mural of Ixchel and the main pyramid rises above a high cliff over the beach.

Life is not all history. The Riviera Maya attracts with modern-day cultural events, including two film festivals in the fall and the annual jazz festival Nov. 29-Dec. 1.

For some distilled culture, take in the Expo Tequila Aug. 16-19 on the main shopping street of Playa Del Carmen. There'll be food delights, mariachi bands, and tequila tasting. No historical study needed. Just raise a glass and say "salud!".

If you go

• Go to aircanadavacations.com for deals on Riviera Maya trips, including the Occidental Grand Xcaret Resort from $1,232 per person (air, land, taxes from Winnipeg) all-inclusive for a week in a double. More about the 4.5-star resort at www.occidentalhotels.com/grand/Xcaret.asp.
• Travel info at www.rivieramaya.com.
• Sacred Mayam Journey info at www.travesiasagradamaya.com.mx/index_eng.htm
• For Cozumel accommodation, contact the Coral Princess Hotel and Resort at www.coralprincess.com.
• Cozumel info at www.islacozumel.com.mx/
• I felt well-prepared with Lonely Planet's Yucatan guide.

Kenya: On the road

We never knew what we would find on the road in Kenya, both on safari and in more urban areas.

When elephants want to cross the road in front of you, they definitely get the right of way.

On the road, we encountered zebras and ostriches . . .

. . . and Thompson's gazelles . . .

. . . and an iridescent bird I've yet to learn the name of.

Also on the road, all manner of vendors. Here a man on the road from Nairobi airport sells passport covers.

Here, at the entrance to a safari area, vendors were delighted to see some rare visitors.

Kiosks waited for trade on the roadside.

Others waited for work. Unemployment is around 45 percent.

We drove through a poor Kenyan town on the border with Tanzania.

And in the town of Voi on the highway east to Mombasa sits a roadside mosque.

Kenya: Inside a Masai village

On our press trip, the Kenya Tourist Board arranged for us to visit a Masai village in the south of the country. Even though the KTB paid for us to take photos, it still felt awkward and intrusive to be pointing our cameras in the villagers' faces.

Still, it was irresistible to photograph the Masai in their very different world.

Elijah, who went to a mission school, is 26 and unmarried and so still has his hair.

It's a different story for this shaved-head family.

The "big poppa" of them all in this village of 72 people has nine wives.

The villagers showed us how they make fire.

Yes, it's safe to go to Kenya

On safari in southern Kenya, we were fascinated by the king of beasts.

Clearly, they were not so fascinated by us.

The hornbill was the model for the character Zazu in The Lion King.

Also in The Lion King, the wise shaman Rafiki is a baboon.

Dancers and singers in traditional Masai dress greet visitors to Amboseli Sopa Lodge in southern Kenya.

Yellow-billed oxpecker perches on the back of an oryx. Click on the photo to see more detail.

Young boy by the open doorway to a typical home in his Masai village in southern Kenya.

Curious vervet monkey at the window of my room at the Serena Beach Hotel and Spa on the Indian Ocean coast.

Riding a camel for the first time on the sands of the Indian Ocean coast.

Sound and light show at Fort Jesus, a Portuguese bastion and slave fort built in 1593 in Mombasa, Kenya.

Mt. Kilimanjaro pokes through the clouds in aerial photo taken on flight from Mombasa to Nairobi.

Hippos loll in Mzima Springs in Tsavo West National Park in southern Kenya.

Giraffe stops to stare at photographers in Tsavo West National Park in southern Kenya.

Brilliant plummage of vulturine guineafowl in Tsavo West National Park in southern Kenya.

Injured lioness and her two cubs at Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary in southern Kenya.

In a leafy Nairobi suburb, the Karen Blixen Museum, a colonial farmhouse where the author of Out of Africa lived for many years.

Young Kenyan woman at the Karen Blixen Museum, a colonial farmhouse where the author of Out of Africa lived.

Used by all 42 ethnic groups in Kenya, gourds are on exhibit at the newly renovated and expanded Nairobi National Museum.

Masai staff at the Amboseli Sopa Lodge greet visitors with a traditional dance.

Baby elephant is protected by adults at Amboseli National Park in southern Kenya.

Published June 7, 2008

'Jambo' and 'karibu' from Kenya

By Lorne Mallin

TAITA HILLS WILDLIFE SANCTUARY, Kenya — From the safety of the popped top of our safari van, we pointed our cameras at the tawny head of a lioness sitting a dozen metres away in the tall grasses of the southern Kenyan savanna.

Then the heads of her two young cubs also peeked through the leaves. Many more shutter clicks. As the mother lion roused herself to move, we could see that she was lame. Our driver and guide James Mungai Njungo pointed out that she was very scrawny.

Later, Willie Mwadilo, manager of the nearby Sarova Salt Lick Game Lodge, told me the lion had been kicked when she attacked a powerful Cape buffalo. A veterinarian had treated her and her leg was expected to heal. And (psst, don't tell anyone) she and her cubs were getting food to keep them alive.

Mwadilo hopes the Kenyan tourism industry will also heal and thrive again. Tourism, the East African country's biggest foreign-currency earner, was deeply wounded by ethnic violence that erupted after disputed elections at the end of the year.

He said his occupancy rates had plummeted from an expected 80 or more percent to less than 12 per cent. I heard similar figures from other operators. The economic effects have been far-reaching, ruining for example the farmers who supply vegetables to the lodges and the souvenir shopkeepers who rely on a steady stream of visitors. Kenya is just a little smaller than Manitoba and almost 60 percent of its 38 million people live on less than $2 a day. Thousands have lost jobs.

It's a shame because Kenya is a magnificent destination. Like many Canadians, I grew up hoping someday I'd go to Africa and see the wild animals.

We saw so much on a week-long press tour spent embedded with Kenya's charm offensive — several lions, herds of elephants with adorably cute babies, giraffes, zebras, hippos, baboons, hyenas, oryx, antelope, gazelles and stunning birds. The Kenya Tourist Board and the tourist industry spent about $1.6 million to bring more than 200 foreign travel journalists here, including nine from Canada.

My mission was to get a sense of whether it's safe to travel again in Kenya, where two million visitors spent about $1 billion last year. Peace is a relative term in Kenya. Not a single tourist was harmed during all of the unrest in January and February when more than 1,000 Kenyans were killed and hundreds of thousands fled their homes. While we were there a power-sharing cabinet was announced. But the day we left several people died in gang-related violence in non-tourist areas.

So, on balance I'd say it's very safe. Just stay on the well-worn tourist track. That's what we did and I had a fantastic time with our van of four journalists from Montreal, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and me, a native of Winnipeg from Vancouver.

First we flew into the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, an unremarkable-looking city of about three million people with some remarkable attractions. There are fascinating museums and galleries, great shopping, interesting people watching, a rich variety of food and at Nairobi National Park more than a hint of Kenya's fabulous wildlife.

If you've read Out of Africa or seen the 1985 Oscar-winning movie starring Robert Redford and Meryl Streep, the Karen Blixen Museum is a must. Blixen, who wrote the novel, lived in the colonial farmhouse between 1914 and 1931 and it is full of memorabilia from that time as well as props from the movie. Ironic detail: Blixen was a heavy smoker but a sign advises as you enter the house "Lungs at work. No smoking please."

After visiting the house, linger in the area for a delightful outdoor lunch at the Karen Blixen Coffee Garden and Cottages.

We were among the first visitors to the newly refurbished and expanded Nairobi National Museum. It includes Turkana Boy, which is considered the most complete early human fossil dating back 1.5 million years. I was captivated by an exhibit of dozens of gourds, which are used by all of the 42 ethnic groups in Kenya for everyday tasks.

We rested a night at the Nairobi Hilton and then our driver Mungai pointed his van south to national parks for two days of game drives in Amboseli and Tsavo West national parks as well as the private Taita Hills sanctuary. Once we left the paved highway we experienced what Mungai called the "Kenyan massage" on rutted dirt roads. It felt like my kidneys were put through a cement mixer.

But it was worth it. The diversity and amount of wildlife is beyond belief. When a herd of elephants wanted to cross the road in front of our van, they definitely got the right of way. And we got the thrill of taking their pictures.

It's a photographer's dream, no matter if you have a basic point-and-shoot or the fanciest gear. Many animals are close to the road and they're not spooked by the vehicles.

Staying at the luxury Amboseli Sopa Lodge and Salt Lick Lodge made our safari experience even more fun. Both have their own creative interpretations of the local hut styles.

From Tsavo West National Park we drove to exotic, hot and humid Mombasa on the Indian Ocean coast, where few Canadians have vacationed.

On the way we stopped at a village of the Masai tribe, where we were shown their dances and their homes built from mud, cow dung and sticks. Even though the Kenya Tourist Board paid for us to take any photos we wanted, and the money was going directly to the villagers, it still felt inappropriate to be sticking our cameras in their faces.

North and south of Mombasa, gorgeous resorts grace the palm-fringed coastline. I stayed at a jewel called the Serena Beach Hotel and Spa, whose spacious rooms feature beautiful details. One unexpected attraction was a vervet monkey staring in a window when I awoke. I was forewarned not to open the window. They'll come in and make off with anything that attracts their fancy.

Throughout Kenya, we enjoyed roast meat, seafood and Indian cuisine. I especially liked a simple dish at breakfast at the Serena Beach: mbaazi in coconut milk, usually made with pigeon peas but in this case cowpeas.

I teamed up with a Seattle writer, Jennifer Haupt, to go snorkelling. Our schedule restricted us to a less than ideal time of day for viewing fish. But we saw quite a few from a Buccaneer Diving boat and it was simply wonderful to be floating in the warm Indian Ocean. Back on the beach we went for camel rides.

At night, the journalists boarded a traditional dhow boat for a 45-minute cruise to Mombasa's Old Town. We walked the ancient streets that lead to Fort Jesus, a fabled Portuguese bastion with metre-thick coral walls built in 1593. Much of the fort's history was detailed in a sound and light show with actors in period costumes. The fort's key role in the slave trade was not mentioned.

On the flight back to Nairobi, we were treated to a spectacular view of Mt. Kilimanjaro poking through the clouds.

Despite coming during the rainy season, I got caught in only one downpour. There's better weather and most amazing wildlife experience in late summer — winter for Kenyans on the other side of the equator — when millions of wildebeests migrate north through the Masai Mara Game Reserve.

Everywhere in Kenya, people were very happy to see us, greeting us with "Jambo" (hello, in Swahili) and "Karibu" (welcome). They'll be happy to see you, too.

Kenya is safe, for tourists, says U of M prof

NAIROBI, Kenya — On the faculty of both the University of Manitoba and the University of Nairobi, Larry Gelmon is uniquely positioned to advise Manitobans about travelling to Kenya.

"Canadians who freely travel to Mexico, Jamaica, Colombia or Brazil (or, for that matter, Detroit or Dallas) should not fear a trip to Kenya," Dr. Gelmon told me by e-mail.

He's the senior UofM representative on the AIDS research collaboration between the two universities and has been here 18 years.

Dr. Gelmon said the collaboration's annual meeting in Nairobi in January was postponed because of the unrest in the country but it was held in mid-April with almost 20 researchers and administrators coming from Winnipeg.

"They attended the conference, and many of them took off on the weekend to visit some of the splendid sites to see in Kenya, all without incident," he said.

"We have been welcoming visitors from Canada for many years, practically all of whom are staggered by the variety of things to see here and the beauty of the country."

If you go

• Kenya Airways flies direct to Nairobi from London.
• Check with travel agents for bargains as Kenya woos back visitors.
• Our driver-guide Mungai works for a great company called Paws Africa Safaris: www.pawsafrica.com.
• The official Kenya destination website is www.magickenya.com.
• The Lonely Planet's Kenya guide is a solid resource.
• You're not required to get a Yellow Fever vaccination but I got one anyway, as well as hepatitis shots and anti-malarials. Consult www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/tmp-pmv/pub-eng.php.
• Once again the homeopathic remedy No Jet Lag saved me from that dreaded malady.