DAY 7 OF BECA WEEK - CELEBRATION!

On Saturday morning I rose to more beautiful views from the Mikaso of the fisherman on the lake,

Volcan San Pedro,

 and my beloved Cooperativa school.

We headed out past this meticulously protected corn crop

to the beautiful Cooperativa garden; here I am with my friend Delfino, the garden artist

and here's director Lorenzo's wife, Andrea, cooking 20 chickens in a huge pot over an open fire.

The school will be moving before my next visit so I soaked up the view as we walked along the path to the gate

and climbed into the back of a pickup for the ride to the site of the Beca Celebration.

Mothers, fathers, and friends helped with the preparations.

This group called me over to share a secret; an opposum was sleeping in the loft above their heads and its tail was sticking down between the boards.

The families below are ready and waiting for the cultural presentation to begin.

Luis (left) and Antonio started things off.

The Beca students performed 2 traditional dances and 2 plays. 1 play was a story from the Popul Vuh, the Maya creation story. The other was an enactment of a San Pedro tradition; when someone has had an accident or event that has changed their attitude or personality, locals will revisit the site of the accident and retrieve the spirit of the person and return it to him or her.

After the kids performed, Mynor said a few words, then the visiting sponsors took the stage and several of us spoke. I was presented with a beautiful weaving depicting the lake and surrounding volcanoes.

I posed for photos with most of the families. Mynor invited the kids to the Cooperativa office later in the day to choose photos of the family visits and celebration to put on their new flash drives. Here I am with the family of Andrea (center).

Candelaria's family

Mariano's family

With Evelin Elena and her new baby daughter and husband

Lunch is served - my favorite food in Guatemala, pepian with chicken. I am so grateful to the staff of the Cooperativa and Anita and Andrea, the wives of Luis and Lorenzo, for preparing and serving the wonderful celebration meal again this year.

My eating companions - the families of Andrea and her cousin Francisco, also a Beca student.

Delicious!

After the celebration we said our goodbyes, packed up, and headed to the dock. Away we go!

The white dot in the center is a last peek at Hotel Mikaso with Volcan San Pedro in the background.

In Panajachel we settled into our new hotel - Mario's Rooms

and had a last dinner together at Llama del Fuego. iBuen provecho!