Our good friend and neighbor invited us a year ago to spend a week at their resort in Tulum Mexico. I don’t know where the time went, but all of a sudden the time had come. We had to finally decide what we were going to do with Rusty our dog that gets along with few people including our part time helper. We figured he could spin by daily and come into the yard to feed the other two dogs but what to do about Rusty? We finally decided to build a dog run so he would not have to be tied up which would have been unfair. I must say, it turned out to be a pretty good looking dog run. I think he thanked us for that.For the cat’s we left enough food, water, and litter boxes.

It is about three hours drive to the Mexican border town of Chetamul and a further five hour drive to Tulum. Marlene, another friend and I made the trip. After an eight hour drive, all of us were definitely ready for Casa Caribena, our friend’s resort. The resort sits about 50ft from the ocean, and has the silkiest fine white sand you ever did see. Walking in that sand would make anyone swear off shoes for good!! We each had our own room, and our meals were prepared by their wonderful cook, who made my two all time favorite foods. Guacamole and Salsa. I was in seventh heaven . I spent many hours just taking pictures of the changing ocean and all the wonderful birds that came bye, perching on rails or just flying around modeling for me. In the evenings we sat on the back veranda or went up to her place to sit in her Jacuzzi and watch the sun set. Amazing!!!

We spent one day visiting Coba an amazing pyramid. The site was very large, so our friend hired taxis in the form of bikes to get us to various areas of the ruin. Marlene and myself, climbed to the top of the tallest structure along with the 50,000 other people who were either climbing up or on the decent. Reaching the top after what seemed like an eternity was very rewarding. There was a small chamber at the top which we entered, only to find a couple of sleeping bats, but the view was extraordinary like you could see forever. To mark the climb, our friend took a picture of me climbing which is on the blog.

Well the school year is coming to a close for another year, and I think it has been a productive one. The principle told me of a competition for schools, sponsored by Penta paints where children would compete for the best painting, with the 1^st prize being a paint job for the school of the winner. We had ten entries which I hand delivered to Belize City. It was a wonderful chance for the students to show cases their works and a real confidence builder. A few years ago, this option did not even exist, moreover the children would not even think of entering, so we are making headway. One student entered the national spelling bee and made it to the regional. Another student placed 2^nd in social studies for the region. Lookout! Cristo Rey is on the move.

I ask all of you to send up prayers for flood victims in Belize and around the world. Belize experienced flash floods May 31^st 2008 which is the day before the start of our hurricane season. It took the people in the south of the country by surprise. First we had Tropical depression Alma who went out to sea and came back in as a Tropical Storm Arthur. There were seven deaths, loss of crops, road and bridge washouts. They are now trying to repair the infrastructure and help people rebuild. The world community will really have to pull together to deal with these coming global crisis. As they say “today you tomorrow me”. Let us pray for the planet.

Tara is arriving from Hong Kong soon to spend a few weeks here in Belize. I CAN’T WAIT.!!!! It has been two and a half years since I last saw her. We will be collaborating on a summer program with 20 students teaching art and yoga.

I want to say a big thank you to Marlene for keeping notes of my coming and goings and typing them up for me. It makes doing my Blogs so much easier. Angels come in all forms even Earthly bodies.

Life is Beautiful Blessings from Ocean Spirit Fire Temple in Cristo Rey Village surrounded by many, many Pyramids of the Mayan Dynasty of Belize. Winsom