family – moiettoi

Lucas: reflection on hiking Acatenango

Hiking up an active volcano

19th of February

The three of us accomplished the famous two days Acatenango trek. Starting yesterday (supposedly) in the morning, we got delayed as on the way up to the starting point our bus blew off one of the radiator’s water pipe.. We stood on the side of the road for about 30 minutes waiting for another bus to come pick us up. That is a very local experience, the kind of stuff that often happens in Latinoamérica and well, no big deal.. It is a core memory ! Standing on the side of the road, bus stopped in the middle of a curve, and each and every one of us took the opportunity to go take a pee in the bush near the broken bus. This sort of even happening in a third world country brings up a sort of adventurous side for everyone.

The first part of the trek was pretty smooth once finding our rythm. Charlie and I often leading the head of the group. Biggest “seebs” was to have to wait for the people at the back walking incredibly slowly as they played paparazzi the whole time..

After all, we made our way up to the base camp. Beautiful blue sky, way up above the sea of clouds, in front of us he suddenly appeared : Volcán de Fuego, blowing an eruption in a big smoky cloud. We now know who we’re dealing with, reminding us that we are visitors only on his land.

A short break taken, we head towards Fuego. A 45 minutes walk down to reach the point where Acatenango and Fuego join, to then going up for about an hour.

We reach as high as 250m away from the erupting crater, almost 4000m above sea level.. here the magic happens.. Fluo orange lava blown up in the dark sky with a growling sound.

An hour up there watching the magic happening before our eyes before we turn around to head back to the base camp.

Fun walk back, although tiring. Charlie & I in front, finding the right path to lead the group.

We did a pretty good job, except for that one time where we got got caught up with our chatting and ended up following two guys from another group. They were obviously lost.. We didn’t realize it at the time until they suddenly turned around and say “There is a cliff, that’s not the way”. Curious, we asked them where they were going and they answered “Oh, we’re lost. Our group is long long gone”.

Obviously that induced some laughing for us both. Now the way back the original track was to jump over a trench.. Pretty fun to get lost on an active volcano in Guatemala..!

The group was fine though as they were a bit behind, they could just change their course to easily join the path again.

The way back up on Acatenango was EXHAUSTING after so much walking, everyone had packed a lot of snacks and nuts and what not, whereas we had a snickers bar each and that was it..

Charlie and I animated the whole walk distracting the close by people attending our show. Rebekah was walking with us and laughed to our exhibition.

One of the feature of the animated exhibition was to be sarcastically called “Mr Genius” by a teenager wearing Spiderman gloves.

In the meantime, our journey being blessed by Fuego’s entrails surfacing to glow in the dark sky. Lava bursting connecting us to the deep roots of the underground.

Guatemala with a teenager

Two weeks in to a trip to Central America. Charlie (my fifteen year old son), Lucas, and I are in Guatemala.

The purpose:

to connect with Charlie, to really spend time with him and get to know him and the great guy he is. They say that after a certain age, you see your kids less and less, it really hits home whe you have a kid who is very into his friends and being independent now.
to reset and recalibrate and take time to appreciate life and all the important stuff.
to practice correct thinking – our thoughts are just thoughts unless we believe them.
Feeling the Mayan culture.
Have adventures
Humility and Gratitude
Open heart and mind
Discover Women lead businesses (my interests)
Free ourselves from the constraints of ‘normal life’ and societal expectations
Show and be examples for Charlie
Help others whenever the opportunity arises
Have fun

The daily questions:

What are we doing?

Have you got the keys?

What’s the wifi?

Along with daily comments:

I want to go home

That’s a ‘seebs’ (no idea)

And Mum, Mum, Mum

‘Dry’

It is always interesting to travel with others. You really have to rely on each other, be patient, compromise, and be kind to yourself and the others in your group.

The moments! The views in Guatemala are spectacular, it’s a beautiful country and I love it. The volcanoes are magnificent, the people are kind and helpful.

We spent the first couple of nights in Antigua, resting after a long journey from New Zealand, we checked out the markets and looked around the Colonial town. We had our own tobacco and cacao ceremony on the rooftop of our hostel (aptly named Purpose Hostel), while watching the glowing lava from Mt Fuego which is constantly erupting.

We then headed to Lake Atitlan by bus, stopping in Pananchel and catching a small boat to San Pedro, where we had an Air bnb for 3 nights. San Pedro is a bustling lakeside town. We had some adventures there!

Saw a Mayan spiritual woman, who performed a tobacco ceremony.
Went to the most interesting secondhand bookshop, owned by an elderly Inuit woman who rescues dogs and cats.

Lucas:

Traveling in Guatemala for almost two weeks already. Leaving Lake Atitlán to move back to Antigua with the firm intention of hiking volcanos Pacaya, Acatenango & Fuego.

The Lake has welcomed us warmly offering a wonderful experience. The first few nights staying in San Pedro La Laguna. The boat ride was epic, the moment we embarqued onto the small boat to take us across the lake, two militaries were running checkups. Walking by these two guys rifles at hand and sitting right in front of them in the little boat, our heads at the same height as the rifles canon. It was a strange atmosphere as the guns were right there, at the same time the sun was getting lower in the sky shining its colourful rays. I remember that the three of us were smiley. Charlie & Rebekah being great accomplices laughing their way through the wait for the boat to depart.

The boat ride felt like a moment up in the air. Water was choppy, making the boat bang on every second wave. I remember Charlie & I looking at each other with smiles printed on our faces. Two kids having a bliss during a roller coaster ride.

From the deck to the Airbnb, the three of us packed in a tiny tuk tuk.

Walked down the narrow streets looking for a place to have dinner, first street food experience for Charlie & I together. We saw that barbecue on the side of the road grilling all sorts of meats. He was super keen on the experience, the curiosity & eagerness for adventure sparkling in his eyes.

From that moment I knew we were doing the right thing. The traveller state of mind already kicked in within..

A couple of days later, we went for a morning walk Rebekah and I searching for the local market. Because we got out late the market was gone, instead we found a little shop selling all sorts of items to perform ceremonies used in the Mayan Cosmology. Having experienced it before I got curious so we ventured into the shop. Having a chat with the shop owner, we explained the purpose of our travels here and mentioned our intention to connect with authentic Mayan wisdom holders through ceremonies. Straight away she recommended us two persons that could potentially help us, one of them being the daughter of a famous Mayan Healer here at the lake, el Tata Pedro Cruz. I had been to the yearly anniversary of his passing away in 2021.. On we went, on the journey of finding Nana Marina Cruz, which took us two days of rumbling around.

…

Appointment taken. We meet with Nana Marina the following day.

The Ceremony was a deep personal reading into our lives through the Tabacco. The Wise Sacred Spirit of the plant speaks, guides, heals.. We were all moved. This is all we’d share about the deep personal ceremonial experience.

11:11

I have posted a blog post called Travelling Together on 11/11/25, and I thought I needed to write some further thoughts about this day, because it feels very meaningful today.

I attended a manifestation day on Sunday, facilitated by my Reiki teachers, Nic and Brooke. It was a powerful reminder about how guided we are. For example, we were asked to pick a small organza bag with an animal card and message in it. I often have an affinity towards owls, I believe they are spirit guides for me. I thought to myself, maybe I will choose an owl, and then thought that if I didn’t there would obviously be some other message that was meant for me and right at the time. Of course, out of the 25 face down cards to choose from, I chose an owl, and the message was pretty clear, that I need to take bold action on my dreams. It was a powerful reminder that I am guided and loved by the Universe. The goals that I have include building on the projects that align with my soul journey, such as this writing and sharing the journey, my Women’s Health Platform, GRRLFORGE, becoming digital nomads, working with our Horses, getting a dog, happy and healthy thriving children. The more I write, take steps and create, the more I see the path opening up in front of me.

70,000 years

Seven months in this life; 70,000 years approximately all up. Life after life, learning after learning, finding each other time and time. Even still, it is possible to miss each other in this lifetime. We miss each other physically, because we are apart, and we also miss each other’s intentions at times.

There has been a strong spiritual energy around in recent days, and a huge amount has happened. There have been many amazing events that have happened:

Lucas talked to my parents (amazing connection).
Lucas listed my car for sale and is helping me purchase another one, whilst in another country.
Lucas finished his job abruptly because he was offered a better one and suddenly had to move accommodation, this meant he had to stay with a dear friend for a few days.
I have had general life busyness; exercise, work, housework, maintaining friendships and relationships, friends having challenges and trying to support as best I can.
Son turning 15!
Navigating preteen and teenager emotions.
Navigating a new job and figuring out the priorities for the first few months.

Lucas :

Reading Rebekah’s writing reminds me of a vision I had a couple of weeks ago. We were talking about past lives together and memories of it.

Following the course of events that happened recently have been a bit of a marathon.

Through the entire process there has been an omnipresent guidance from Higher Energies.

For starters, the conversation with Rebekah’s parents (mentioned in the previous publication).

Communication is a Blessing.

When Rebekah’s parents asked for a bit of time to consider the phone call I have to admit that i felt a bit unsettled, my mind started pulling different kind of triggers.

Suddenly I recovered a glimpse of a conversation we had on another plane, a higher dimension before this current incarnation.

Communication didn’t take place with words but a higher form of energetically, Soul conversation.

-« I will come find you

-I will wait for you »

We hope that perhaps everyone gets to experience Love like this in their lifetime.

Here we are, after months of wondering about starting a blog to share our adventures, it is finally time to take a deep breath a get typing..

Lucas:

To get some context here and set the picture, I am writing these words on FaceTime to Rebekah who’s actually in the shower while I am having a mildly cold soup directly from the pot. Right now she is brushing her teeth and waving at me. Yes, she is mesmerizing.. The cutest, she is trying her best to say something, trying to articulate during flossing. But there it is, nothing is impossible, information came through: The water in the shower is finally warm.

I guess the famous saying makes full sense here, sharing is caring.

Out of the furnace now, she is back on screen red as a lobster.

The happiest person in the world to show me how loose her jammies pants are, combined with the storytelling about the said jammies falling down mid legs while lecturing a bunch of stoned teenagers yesterday evening..

She is now summoning me for the 23rd time over the last two minutes and a half to share the writing so she can put it on a google doc..

To be continued

So, « WE » is Rebekah 45 (New Zealand woman) and Lucas 27 years old (Frenchman)…

Bex:

We met at a Yoga practice, once briefly, and the next week more intensely. The rest is history.

It felt like we had known each other forever. It felt like we had lived lives together before. We have been inseparable in spirit ever since.

For now though, we are managing a long distance reality. He came to New Zealand for two months to visit me. I thought between marriage breakup, a really edgy fourteen year old son, an anxious ten year old daughter, and a big full time job in Health Management, AND unsure family members, that he would run for the hills. Now we are trying to work out the partners visa process.

He has accepted the challenge and I think there is some pathology there, but I am grateful he has. He is calm, and funny, and moody, and solid, and insightful, and willing to work through challenging conversations brought about by conditioning, and he is great at communicating.

Lucas :

She is solar, determined in any matter she undertakes, some would define it at “stubbornness”, I would certainly agree.

Other than that she independent and vulnerable, brave and courageous (expect when it’s about eating kidneys which are very good for health, but we’ll get back on this topic later on).

I could go rambling on and describe her for pages but that wouldn’t even the way she is seen within my heart. I’ll get straight to the point.

Most of all she is a Witch, she has always been. Not the kind of witch with a hairy pimple on her nose with a scary scraped hat, but the kind that casts spells to make your day brighter. Her magic wand spreads smiles everywhere she goes, anyone who interacts with her sees his life changed forever. Her hands are soft from crafting mixtures in her cauldron, her favorite one is commonly known as chicken salad). What about her flying broom.. It’s parked in the garage, she hopped on it every single morning but stays immobile (I think she forgot to put it in gear..) Whether it’s a flying broom or a simple fixed ground cross trainer, seeing the smile on her face when hopping on it undeniably makes my day.

Oh, one last thing, the whole cross trainer ritual happens before I even wake up..

Being pathological is the best turn of events that could have ever happened to me..

Has the witch cast an insanity spell on me ? I guess we’ll never know, I am happy, and evenly, grateful the way it is.

–

Bex:

In my defence about the face is red from the sauna, not the hot shower..

He was looking so pleased with himself as he was writing. Now I see why.

He doesn’t tell you how he spent at least half an hour telling me to eat kidneys and liver because they are good for my kidneys, and not to eat protein supplements or creatine because they are evil white powder….

Lucas :

Indeed, I couldn’t describe how much of a titanic task it is to intend taking some sense into Rebekah. Taking white powder EVERY DAY, made of residual ground dead cows feels somehow healthier and more appropriate than having actual meat full of iron, protein, collagen and other nutrients..

Her defense ? Science.

Science says it’s good, let take it !

Same science that said a few years ago that creatine had a terrible incidence on kidneys.. Start feeling the irony of it ?

Anyway, she took a step towards me admitting she’d be willing to have kidneys with me. I was asking for once a week to reduce the incidence of the evil white powder, she conceded to once in a lifetime. What a bargain..

I guess one day I’ll unfortunately have a chance to quote the worldwide famous Doctor in Physics S. Cooper.

“I told you so” saying mortified as entering the surgery theatre to operate a kidney transplant and get her a fresh new one.

Unconditional Love, right ?

Bex:

Haha, this is a learning and teaching moment for both of us. Expect a literature review on the benefits of protein and creatine for long term health coming your way.

It is fortunate that he is my best friend and I love talking to him about everything. We are good at working through things together, and we realise that we are humans with conditioning and histories that make us who we are today.