Costa Maya Festival Presents: Miss Guatemala!

With only a few weeks left before Costa Maya 2010 is here, we present to you 25-year-old Gabriela Asturias. The beautiful Guatemalan representative is a Social Communicator who stands at 5’ 5", measures 34-24-35, has dark brown-eyes and hair. Gabriela enjoys dancing and reading, and is looking forward to representing her beautiful country at this year’s Reina de la Costa Maya Pageant.



Gabriela will be joined on the Costa Maya stage in San Pedro by delegates from Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico and Panama. At the end of the night, only one will be crowned by outgoing Reina de la Costa Maya Maritza Rivas, of Nicaragua. Who will be our new beauty representative? You just have to be there for the grand moment!

Belize's own Berne Velasquez opens for Angel y Khriz

Also lined up for entertainment is Belize's own Berne Velasquez. This Belizean musician, model and entertainer will be on stage Saturday night, August 7, bringing the hype and melodies before International artists Angel y Khriz come on stage.

Berne's music combines rap and reggae, a collaboration has captured the attention of Hip-Hop as well as pop music aficionados world wide. Musically influenced by pop icons Bob Marley, Tupac, and Stevie Wonder, Berne has had the fortune to perform on stage with Reggae and Dancehall greats, including Beenie Man, Sean Paul, and Shaggy. And he will be on La Isla Bonita to bring his music to those in attendance.

Sunday's family day will contain some fun and giggles for the children as Ozzy and Chispin will be on hand to keep everyone entertained. These two clowns will be at the fair grounds on Sunday, August 8.

Lighthouse Christian Radio Station and Calvery Chapel Volunteers host Sports Summer Camp!

Representatives from the Calvery Chapel in Albuquerque New Mexico are in San Pedro hosting a Summer Program lasting through the month of July, in conjunction with Lighthouse Christian Radio Station. Vivian Pedillo, along with 21 volunteers from across the United States of America are sharing their time and knowledge of Christ and sports with children of San Pedro through innovative, fun-filled sporting activities, including football, volleyball and basketball.
While this group only has a couple days left on the island, the program will see two separate teams of volunteers arriving for the next two weeks of the Summer Sports Camp. Scheduled for the remainder of this week are basketball games being held at the Angel Nuñez Auditorium daily from 8:00 am - 12:00 noon; Vacation Bible School (VBS) will be held at the Brighter Tomorrow Pre-School in San Pedrito today, Wednesday from 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm and tomorow Thursday from 1:30pm to 5:00pm. Movie nights are scheduled at the Central Park for Wednesday and Thursday at 7:00 pm. The general public is invited to participate in any of these activities that might strike their interest.

San Pedro Sailing Club invites you!!!

Forrest Jones and Alice

The San Pedro Sailing Club is a not-for-profit club that is run solely by volunteers. These volunteers organize and facilitate racing and social events for anyone who wishes to participate. Andrew Milner and Kate Corrigan moved to the island a couple of months ago and were surprised to discover that in a place that had perhaps the best sailing waters in the world, there was no sailing club.

Winners of the first race, James and Jex Pearce.

With a Facebook page set up to drum up interest, the Club was born. The Clubhouse was donated by Graham and Ruth Verralls of Caribbean Villas, in the form of Catamaran Bar. The first race was held last Sunday (July 11) and it was a great success. At 10:00am, eight sailors on board 4 Hobie Cats (2 donated by Paul of Sailsports Belize) set off from Catamaran Bar’s pier, heading north to Palapa Bar, and back. “The wind speed and direction, 15 knots from the north east, made for a challenging beat (tacking upwind) to the Palapa Bar. The strong breeze ensured a short race and the competitors were back to the finish line just after an hour from starting,” said Andrew. It is his and the club’s hope that everyone will become involved in the club, and turn up to enjoy this fun event. Sailors and spectators are all welcome to join in the fun.

Bradley and Susan (second place)

Graham and David Verralls (fourth place)

Weather permitting the San Pedro Sailing club will be holding a race every Sunday, with a briefing and sign in at 9am for a race start at 10 am. This Sunday’s upcoming race starts at the same place on the beach at Catamaran Bar, heading to Palapa Bar, where lunch will be had, and then a sail back to the starting point. Be on the lookout for more updates and plans, and become a fan of the club on Facebook, under San Pedro Sailing Club. Call 632-4101 (Andrew) for any more information.

San Pedro through the eyes of our children

Hol Chan Coral Reef Ed-Ventures is an educational summer program that teaches children about reef ecology and conservation. For the past few weeks the Coral Reef Ed-Ventures have been hosting students of San Pedro in a Reef Conservation Program. Students have been actively participating in a Photo Journalism project which encourages them to take photos of their environment in which they live and what meaning each photo holds for each of them.

The general public was invited to the Central Park on Friday July 9th, 2010, to enjoy the students' foray into photojournalism.

Exploring Marco Gonzalez...

The entrance to Marco Gonzalez Maya Site has been greatly improved thanks to the hard work and dedication of Jan Brown and crew. "London Bridges" have been set up leading to the site, where, on our arrival, we observed students from both Wilmington, NC, and London, England packing up a recently recovered skeleton, uncovering another set of bones, clearing some of the area, and a few taking notes.

This perfectly intact bowl was recovered recently,

and is a great find for the students on this dig.

Great slabs of stone were discovered in a nearby wooded area.

The skull of one of the skeletal remains before it is fully packed for moving from the area.

Another skeleton was discovered, and students have begun unearthing it.

Dr. Scott and Liz Graham.

There are tons of broken pottery all around, on the way to the site, at the site, and in the surrounding areas. According to history, the Mayas ritually broke their pottery every year.

There is a lot to be done to prepare the site for visitors en masse, but each step is a thrill, and each new discovery brings the public closer to its history. For the moment, the site is open to archaeology students and experts as it is prepared for public viewing in the near future.