Just got back from dropping Brodie at Maja and Natali's, where he will stay for the next month while I'm gone. I told him it's a vacation retreat. So far he's taking it pretty well. He will get lots of attention and love from my friends :-)

A limo is picking me up at 4 am, Sunday (Dec. 6) and I'll be jetting off to Guatemala City by 6. From there I'll be taking a shuttle to Panajachel ("Pana") to meet my friend Jessica. I'll get in around 4:30 pm. It's on Lake Atitlan, which I hear is very beautiful. I'll spend about a week there, and hope to visit Ken McGuffin's Mayan school and women's weaving collective while I'm there. Ken is a guy from work.

Ken started the school a few years ago and visits regularly. Many people where I work make donations to the school to help keep it running. I made a donation recently and 100% goes directly to running the school. He also supports a fair trade organic coffee growers called Cafe Justicia. Very cool.

After that, I will head to Antigua for a day or so, and maybe get to help out for a day with Don Alejandro and his partner Elizabeth. Don A is a famous Mayan elder who travels the world sharing Mayan traditions and ceremonies. Then I'm off to Tikal, a Mayan ruins that is supposed to be spectacular. From there I will head to Cancun, Mexico and meet up with Gap Adventures for a two-week tour called Mayan Ancient Civilizations. Check it out! I'm hoping to spend my birthday in Tikal but it depends on how long it takes to bus to Cancun.

My goal is to realign with the sacred in day to day life. It is now almost 10 years since I was at Yasodhara Ashram and it's time to remind myself of my spiritual practice. They say Guatemala and the Yucatan are heart-centred places so it will be a nice change from Toronto!