5-16-2015 Visiting Mayan friends

David and Julie also became friends with our Mayan friend, and they wanted to visit his village, so we went down for a day 
visit with him and his family.

Maria fixed us some Cohune Cabbage (with freshly made tortillas) for lunch, and it was DELICIOUS!  (Cara was thrilled it
was vegetarian, so her bowl is already empty here.)  Apparently the "cabbage" comes from the heart of the Cohune Palm tree,
and it kills the tree to harvest it.  However, the Cohune Palm leaves are what the Mayans use to make their thatch roofs, so
when it's time to re-thatch, then it's Cohune Cabbage time as well, and the whole tree gets used.

The kids showed us some things they had found in their yard that they liked to play with.  David and Cara were completely
blown away to be able to see and touch such incredible Mayan artifacts.

Really?  I get to hold this incredible beauty in my hand?  Is it a deity or something?

The detail after all this time is still incredible!

Both of the figurines without the heads had a few holes in the back of them.  Victor's son turned
the figurines upside down, covered two hold, blew into the third hole and was able to make these
guys whistle!

This picture doesn't really capture the true colors of this piece of stone, and we agreed it must
be jade.  One end was sharpened - maybe for cutting or skinning things?

The kitchen where our delicious meal was prepared - complete with an adorable kitty.

We enjoyed petting a second adorable, and super friendly feline.

I think the cat enjoyed it also.

Cacao beans drying in the sun.  (This is where chocolate comes from.)

The children showed us how to play a game, which is basically Jacks, except using pebbles instead of jacks.  They also had
fun teaching us different words in their language, Kekchi.  (There are three types of Maya in Belize: Kekchi, Mopan, and
Yucatec.)

Just like children everywhere we've been, these were also mesmerized as soon as they got hold of a smart phone. 

David asked to take someone's picture, and that started the ball rolling.  Everyone wanted
a photo op.

David tried his hand at making tortillas, and the women all got a big kick out of that.

When we returned home we saw the first crab of the season.  We have been told that before long there will be so many crabs
that they completely cover the roads.