Mayan healing center and chocolate

After putting the kayaks away, we head north this time to Aurora and her healing center where we eat an abundant and delicious lunch of fruit, fish, rice and beans, and hot corn tortillas. Tessie consults briefly with Aurora and then we head a little down the road to tour an organic cacao factory and farm.

The gathering, processing and growing of chocolate originated with the Mayan people from the part of the continent that was designated by conquerors as Central America. Today, most of the workers on chocolate farms, plantations and factories are Mayans.

And most of the land is owned and/or controlled by u.s. or european individuals and/or chocolate corporations as Hershey’s, Cadbury,etc.

After our tour was complete, my grandchild, eyes twinkling as we share a deep love addiction to dark organic chocolate, enviously asked our guide how many times a day or a week does he eat chocolate? We were told that early Mayans ate chocolate perhaps several times a day.

Our friendly informative guide became instantly sober, turning solemn dull eyes on us stating flatly he can’t afford to ever eat the chocolate the farming collective produces.

We are all abruptly silent and deeply saddened: these people for whom chocolate was both nourishing and sacred for thousands of years, cannot afford the chocolate they work hard to produce, harvest and process for the u.s.ofa. and european markets.