Maya Traditional Healing at Chaa Creek’s 2018 Eco Kids Summer Camp
You know what’s sad? Realizing you’re now officially halfway through camp. Yup, we’re half way done :(. At this point, I can’t imagine a life outside of this amazing environment. What are we going to do without Dosio’s amazing home cooking? What are we going to do without Ms. Lilly’s stern instructions? And what are we going to do without all the new friends we’ve made? But now’s not the time to think about this, we still have 4 amazing, fun filled and adventure packed days left. Of course, we plan to enjoy it to the max!
Starting the morning with where we had left off last night, everyone (including the counselors) had to do a round of pushups, jumping jacks and sit ups. Don’t worry, it wasn’t anything intense, it was actually perfect for getting the last bit of sleepiness out of our bodies. Then, with the usual camp songs out of the way, we again started our daily arts and crafts creations. Using recycled rags, we created bean bags which we’d use a short while later for our bean Bag toss competition.
Today we had the opportunity to explore traditional healing, home remedies and bush plants that were originally used before western medicine. The dining hall, which would normally be filled with the smell of fry jacks or BBQ, was now filled with the smell of freshly boiled fever grass tea, oregano and jack ass bitters. Interestingly, each camper had their own unique facial expression for each tea. Once orientated on the uses, we took off to see the plants themselves on the medicinal trail.
Lunch today was rather special, as we had Ms. Debs come in all the way from San Ignacio bringing along Sloppy Joes and laughter for everyone. Sadly, the laughter didn’t last long. A freak thunderstorm came out of nowhere, without any warning, forcing us to quickly grab our sloppy joes and run back into the bus for shelter. I swear though, the spirits of these kids are unbreakable. Soon enough, the entire bus was once again filled with joyful chatter combined with the occasional thunder and lightning in the sky.
Honestly, we were all a bit down after lunch, we were facing a real dilemma due to the rain. Luckily, the sky cleared up and a second group was able to go horseback riding while the others went to the pool. Everything always works out for us; the universe seems to always be on our side. I’m pretty sure that everyone’s already gotten used to the hikes, we go on them almost every day, which is probably why our return hike back to camp today was rather swift.
Also, talent show prep began today. It was so crazy to see all the brilliant ideas each team was coming up with. I don’t want to give away too much because I’d like you (The parents) to personally see some performances on Sunday. But just know, they’re pretty creative!
Before we called it a day, the camp was once again a buzz with laughter as mini games got under way after dinner. After a final dance competition, it was clear to see that each cabin was going to be filled with smiling campers preparing for bed. Another amazing day is behind us. Stay tuned for day 5 as we explore Land Conservation with Mr. Mick and his local organic farm.
