I was in Guatemala and met one of the most important shamans and he said: During this 13 years before 2012, people have to change their way of living. People have to think of themselves as part of the nature and respect it, love it and use their resources with intelligence. People have to respect animals and all nature. Drinking water is going to be the “gold” of the next decades. Remember that ancient Mayans didn’t guess these things…they know what is going to come. Their mathemathical and astronomic calculations and the wisdom they got about how nature works is not a “guess”. He said that these 13 years 1999-2012 were called the time of no time (or something like this) and that the whole of humanity would see the signs of “this time” and would have the chance to either make a change in their way of living or assume the consequences of their decision to continue abusing nature and other living species.

I was in Yucatan and all over the peninsula 5 years ago. People are just beautiful. Mayan people have an incredible level of ethics and the whole Yucatan is a wonderful place, full of archaeological sites, history, culture, good air.I just love Yucatan and its people. I have a 5 year-old kid who I am sure will enjoy exploring all those places.

I’ve heard a saying in Mexico:”If the world ends, I’m going to Merida”.

I am concerned about how hurricanes could affect the Yucatán, because their intensity is increasing year after year. That´s why Cancun and Chiapas had such disasters last year that affected a lot of people.This year it has been Tabasco´s turn. It is also true,that the magnitude of the disaster in Tabasco could have been less, if the government had finished some work there. They didn´t even alert the population about the incoming hurricane!

It is also true that “Global Warming” and Gore´s theory is been debated by some scientists in USA. They say that it is all a hoax (a $ hoax) and that in reality what we are facing is an Ice era. These scientists still don´t know, if it is a little ice age, like in the Medieval Age or if it is a large one. The last one was 17,000 years ago and it lasted for aprox. 100 years.

Then the other concern is about the sea level. The “Global Warming” defenders say that it is increasing year after year and that some scientists have been making investigations in Yucatan Peninsula (where the crater is ) and they found subterranean caves and rivers with skeletons and human made stuff. They proved that people lived there and that the sea level increased where it is more or less now.So,they say that this could happen again. I think that it would be a good idea to investigate these matters with scientists, archaeologists, etc… so we can have the tranquility not only of choosing an excellent place, but also a place with a good future.

“Baby boomers” want to retire to a great place, like Yucatan…but there are also people with family (like us), who are looking for a better place to live: a place with a better quality of life.

All the Best!

Casi… (theoretically) the last place on Earth anyone should worry about is Centro in Merida – as evidenced by the Olimpo itself. Since Centro is built from the destroyed ruins of Mayan temples, you would think that people would finally “get it” that every time they tear something down – or otherwise mess with something important in Centro, it just builds itself back – bigger and better than ever. It is going to be interesting to watch this new development – and then see what the spirit of the old city of Ichcaanzihó thinks about it. (theoretically )

What would you have them do? Bulldoze 500 year old buildings so the street can be wider? Destroy the city in order to save it? There just isn’t space in the Centros of most Colonial cities for wide streets and wide sidewalks. That’s just the way it is.

The new plans may make some areas more attractive and provide for more efficient use of the space that exists, but destroying downtown does not seem to be an option. I’d rather have the history and the crowded streets than live in a shopping mall design from Cleveland.

Contrary to the report on Irving Texas above, the USA is not yet a police state. Or shouldn’t be. The issue is not that people without IDs are being locked up and ICE being called, but rather that Hispanic people are being jailed for minor offenses for which none of us would be jailed (and being stopped for “driving while brown”), and then jailers and ICE interrogating them in violation of their rights. Hundreds of Hispanic people jailed each month for traffic violations. Thousands a year deported from one little suburb? Something is wrong there.

I find it rather odd that people who are interested in another culture in another country do not wish to learn more about it when that culture is merely across the street.

The year 2012 represents the completion of the thirteenth B’ak’tun cycle in the Long Count of the Maya calendar (which occurs on December 21 by the most widely held correlation). (from Wikipedia). Without getting into all the details, the Maya calendar contains more than one cycle: The Long Count (~5125 years), The Short Count (~52 years) and several others.

So it is simply the end of one cycle and the beginning of a new cycle. 2012 (if the modern interpretations are correct) is simply the end of the Long Count. And then a new Long Count begins.

As for life in general, why worry about what disasters may befall whatever portions of the earth in 2012? What could we possibly know of them today? Whether it is a meteor in Minnesota or a flood in Florida or a Hurricane in Hoctun, we just don’t know. So, I chose to enjoy life and lead it the way that seems best for today.

“For the ancient Maya, it was a huge celebration to make it to the end of a whole cycle,” says Sandra Noble, executive director of the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies in Crystal River, Fla. To render Dec. 21, 2012, as a doomsday or moment of cosmic shifting, she says, is “a complete fabrication and a chance for a lot of people to cash in.”