So for me, it only makes sense that I align myself with this kind of energy that forces me to discard my old way of thinking, and to accept this new reality that I am not my old preconceived notions of where I should have been as I near 30.

I see the World as my Wisdom Temple and my Greatest Teachers have
been Experiences: “As in Micro, so in Macro. The whole exists within
the minutest particle and the minutest particle contains the whole.
The atom contains the universe and the universe contains the atom, and
neither exists without the other. Creator exists within creation, even
as creation exists within creator.”- Brahmarishi Mayan, circa 10,500
BC

So much has happened since my last visit to Belize, a journey that has included loss of loved ones, new additions to family, internal growth, and the development of my career. I want to return to Belize, specifically Chaa Creek, to reconnect with what I found there14 years ago.

I have planned to go to Belize with my boyfriend in December 2012 to be together for the apocalypse and to celebrate our love in the most romantic place ever. Daily routine makes us forget the best important things in life. The Winter Solstice Week of December is the perfect time to discover a wonderful country, a different and rich culture and especially forget stress and problems.

We’re very excited to celebrate a new era – our twins becoming teenagers and the Mayan Solstice – in Belize! Participating in Chaa Chaa Creek’s festivities would be a magically memorable, lifetime learning, and fabulously fun experience (note: we are already booked for the 4-day Christmas package but would truly jump for joy if we had the chance to extend our too-short-stay experience and/or invite the kids’ 82 year old Chinese grandmother).

As if Maya culture, history and tradition are not reason enough to inspire 300 words of prose regarding our genuine enthusiasm for Chaa Creek’s planned activities including interactive workshops, seminars, lessons on Maya farming, arts & crafts, Maya medicine and holistic healing, I’ve managed to put off writing this for the better part of three weeks because I was looking for that extra spark to inspire me.

So, as the days will start to become longer and the nights will become shorter, it is time to revel in the moment. It is time to take it all in. It is time to take in the history, the culture, the nature, the weather, the good company, and the life changing memorable moments. Experiencing Maya winter solstice in Belize, heck, just spending a week at Chaa Creek during December 2012 would be a dream come true!

Sitting on the bank of the Moho River in the Toledo District, Senida a thirteen year old Mayan girl, relates wanting to go to high school but instead her father has found a man for her to marry. Senida asks the high school students I am traveling with what school is like in the US and they ask her about life in Belize. We are all richer from the experience.

After many years of hectic international living – mostly in the developing world – we have settled down a bit, and find ourselves cooking and growing many plants that were originally domesticated by the Mayans. So we have strong horticultural and ethnobotanical interests in their legacy. What better way to refine those tastes – and knowledge – than to experience the grand celebrations surrounding the end of the current cycle?

I first read about the Mayan culture in high school. What really struck me back then was the brutality of the Spanish towards the Aztecs, the Mayans, and other natives. The more you read about it the more you discover how much was lost, burned, and destroyed. Try to research the Mayan culture and you’re stuck with a lot of speculation, considering there are only 3 existing documents. Their breadth of knowledge of math and astronomy and who knows what else that was lost; it really haunts you.

Can you just imagine how they did it? They had none of our technology but through means I cannot fathom, they studied the skies and predicted, tested then formed the calendar we now focus our attention to especially in this year 2012 The year of The Maya’s, based just upon the movement of the galaxy. I’ve heard of the solstices and always wanted to see and experience that mystical thrill of it all. So long I’ve wanted to, but never had the means to actually carry out with this plan. To celebrate with the Mayan people our beautiful Belize has nurtured and cared for, for several hundred years.

To witness and be part of this event of its perportion at a Mayan site would be one big lifetime treasures to tell our future grandkids. For us to be invited at an exclusively paid for experience like this is truely beyon any words. Including any words I can write down to describe. Our particiption in this event at the grounds of a Mayan site for the Winter Solstice can only be expressed by me as simply awesome.

Personally, I’ve been waiting for this for 30 years! I love the idea of the stela you’ve commissioned in observance of the date. I have a countdown clock on my iPad and a small Mayan Calendar on my keychain. I’ll be observing 13 0 0 0 0 no matter where I am, but the thought of immersing myself in the Mayan culture for a week! What an opportunity to share with my students!

This contest has proposed an excellent opportunity to experience the Mayan Winter Solstice, and to be able to share in all, and every activity that Chaa Creek has to offer. The mere thought gives me goose bumps for such an awesome thrill within the Mayan world.

We met many different people while we were visiting Belize. Time and again the conversation would drift to the upcoming Maya 2012 celebrations. When we left, our one and only regret was that our trip did not coincide with the solstice festivities of the next year. Up until now, resources seemed to dictate this as an impossible dream.

I want to be a part of this reflection of time. It would be amazing to be in the heartland of the Maya during this time of completion of the great cycle of the 13th B’ak’tum and celebration of the new age. I love history. I have studied the Mayan culture, and find it to be captivating that they were able to predict events and tell a story of the future that many years ago.

I cannot even say in words how powerful it will be to be with the river and jungle and ceremonies during this time. To be there on the solstice and join in the prayers would indeed merge my dreamworld with this reality. I’d be able to share the experience with my mate, my children, my clients, my sister midwives, and everyone I meet. I sincerely believe the energy of the place and the moment would benefit so many others besides myself.

This trip would not be for me as much as it would be for him. He works so hard and has so little time to relax and be with nature, where his heart is truly at peace. This is something that I know Belize can supply in abundance! He has heard so many stories from my father about growing up in San Ignacio, fishing on the Cayes, relaxing in hammocks and logging in the jungle forests.

Win it: A Two Night Stay Vacation Package at Chaa Creek, Belize

The Caribbean Vacation Sweepstakes offered free eco-holidays inclusive of: Round trip transfers from International Airport or Belize City, A visit to the Belize Zoo with transfer on arrival or departure, four nights Cottage accommodation, full breakfast, lunch and dinner, guided visits to the Natural History Museum, Butterfly Farm, and Belize Rainforest Medicinal Trail, canoeing on the Macal River, guided early morning bird watching, one full & half day tour to Belize’s Maya Temple Sites, Sacred Caves, or Nature Reserves.