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Michaele & Jim live and work in Guatemala. Michaele is a freelance photographer and Jim is the sustainable development manager with a Canadian minerals company.
Password protected. Working documents area for on-going use with colleagues.
Snapshots - Tikal, Yaxha & Lake Peten Itza, Peten, Guatemala - June 2003
When some folks didn't show from Guatemala City to audit our bridges & roadwork, Michaele & I decided to take a few days off and went to Tikal & Yaxha archeological sites. We stayed four nights at the Camino Real on Lake Peten Itza; very nice. It is now about a five hour road trip from Playa Grande, Ixcán, Quiche to El Remate, Peten.
Here are sixty-five photos of our trip. Use the following links to go directly to the photos:
1) Sayaxche Ferry & Sunset, 2 Tikal, 3) Yaxha, 4) Lake Peten Itza & Camino Real
Snapshots - Spain - June 2001
June 2001 Michaele & I took three weeks and went to Spain. My first trip there and Michaele's first trip to Europe. We flew to Madrid and spent a little over a week there staying with a friend. Then we drove to Bilbao, took a look at the outside of the Guggenheim and then went on to San Sebastian where we spent the night. Then we drove to Aiguablava on the Costa Brava where we stayed with another friend for another week. Then we visited Montserrat and went on to Barcelona where we stayed the rest of our vacation. Spain was GREAT and staying with friends let us see and know things we wouldn't have seen otherwise. Here are some of our snapshots; as always click on the thumbnail pictures for larger views.
1 Fotos Madrid ---- 2 Fotos El Escorial ---- 3 Fotos Segovia
4 Fotos Toledo ---- 5 Fotos Bilbao & S. Sebastian ---- 6 Fotos Aiguablava
7 Fotos Costa Brava ---- 8 FotosMonserrat ---- 9 Fotos BarcelonaSnapshots - Cancuen, Peten, Guatemala - January 2001
January 25, 2001 Michaele & I went with friends from USAID and Peace Corps to see the archeological dig at Cancuen on the border between Alta Verapaz and the Peten, Guatemala.. We were accompanied by Dr. Arthur Demarest of Vanderbilt University and Unviversidad del Valle who is working the dig. He says it will probably take ten years and they are just in year two. The site has a 170 room palace, it is an important Mayan commerce point and very little has been documented to date.
Here are forty photos of our trip:
Cancuen, Peten, Guatemala Group One, Cancuen, Peten, Guatemala Group Two
You can see more details at the archeological project web site:
Cancuen Project Web Site [External Site (http://www.cancuenproject.org)]
Snapshots - Copan, Honduras - November 2000
Michaele, Carlos Campos & I went to Tela, Honduras for a CHF Municipal Strengthening Conference in November 2000. We drove from Guatemala City and on the way back stopped at the Copan Mayan archeological site. It was Carlos' first visit, Michaele's second and my third. We spend Saturday afternoon, November 11 visiting the ruins and the museum which I hadn't seen before. Here are forty of the ninety plus digital images I took that afternoon. Use the links to go to the photos:
Copan, Honduras Roll One, Copan, Honduras Roll Two.Snapshots - Yucatan Road Trip - July 2000
In July 2000, Michaele & I took a couple of weeks and did the infamous Yucatan Road Trip. We started out in Guatemala City, went via Huehuetenango to San Cristobal de las Casas, Campeche via Palenque, Merida, Chichén Itzá, South of Cancuen, Chutumal, Tikal and back to Guatemala City via Río Dulce. Use the links to go to the photos:
Yucatan Road Trip Map , Yucatan Road Trip Part 1, Yucatan Road Trip Part 2Snapshots - Trip to Petra, Jordan - June 2000
Petra in Jordan is an interesting historical site that I've wanted to visit since seeing "Indiana Jones and the Holy Grail." Use the links to go to the photos:
Petra - Jordan (Roll One) , Petra - Jordan (Roll Two) , Petra - Jordan (Roll Three)Snapshots - Trip to Palenque & Bonampak in Chiapas, Mexico - April 2000
The first few days of Easter Week 2000, we drove up from the Ixcan to Palenque and visited the Mayan site there. The following day, on the way back down the road to the Ixcan, Guatemala, we stopped in and visited Bonampak. Ten years ago you had to fly or hike in. Now there's a road. It is amazing how the digital camera is able to pick up the Bonampak murals even without flash. There are four photo pages with thumbnails linked to larger versions for a total of about eighty pictures more or less divided between Palenque & Bonampak. These pictures are on the Annex site with a link back here. Direct links: Palenque Photos Page One , Palenque Photos Page Two , Bonampak Photos Page One , Bonampak Photos Page Two
Password protected. This is the page that has family photos and history. It is always "under construction" or being updated. If you're family or friend, drop me an e-mail and I'll send you a password. Newest addition are pictures from Mary S. Schenck's funeral. (11/02).
Communities in Transition (CIT) - Ixcán, Quiché, Guatemala
Jim worked on the CIT project from June 1998 until October 2003 when international funding for the project ended.
Bridge Site and Mayaland - June 1999
A new concrete bridge on the Franja Transversal del Norte between the Río Xalbal and the Río Pescado. A couple of pictures in the town of Mayaland.
AMVI Gravel Extraction - Chixoy River - June 1999
AMVI (Ixcan Road Maintenance Association) extracting gravel from the Chixoy River in an environmentally sound way.
La Quema - Slash & Burn Agriculture - June 1999
Slash & Burn Agriculture still takes place in the Ixcan. Pictures of forest cover burned off for planting.
Hurricane Mitch Food Relief - November 1998
Hurricane Mitch hit the Ixcán in November 1998. We were a lot luckier than Nicaragua and Honduras. Even so, a number of families lost their corn crops to the rising Chixoy River. CHF (Cooperative Housing Foundation) worked with CRS (Catholic Relief Services) to provide about 60 tons of emergency food aid immediately after the hurricane. The above link shows a few pictures taken during this period.
Introduction - Communities in Transition (CIT) - January 1998
This page has a short description of the Communities in Transition project (Ixcán, Quiché, Guatemala) as it was in January 1998 and has links to project photographs taken when I visited the project as a consultant.
Various work, university, infomation and other internet links.
Site Last Updated
Sunday, July 30, 2006 at11:39 AM
Copyright James S. Schenck
