Our Trip to Egypt (Via the Library)

We took a virtual trip to Egypt last weekend. A two hour slideshow and lecture that introduced us to ancient gods and goddesses as well as recent discoveries. The South Yarmouth library was the portal for our short but exiting trip.

Katrina Valenzuela was our tour guide through the pyramids and temples of Cairo and along the Nile.

Katrina has spent many years in Egypt and returns there each year, and moved to Cape Cod in 1980. She has established herself as an in-demand spiritual teacher, counselor and healer. She also designs and leads sacred site tours worldwide; Egypt of course being a popular trip as her special area of focus is the mythology and mystery teachings of Ancient Egypt. Katrina is a Middle Eastern dance teacher (commonly referred to as belly dance) and hosts the popular local television show “Transformations”, where she demonstrates dance technique and interviews guests. She will also be teaching 3-credit courses at Cape Cod Community College entitled “Middle Eastern Dance and Culture”. (Please visit her website for detailed information on all of the above at:http://www.transformationscenter.com/, and at Katrina's blog: http://www.transformationstojoy.com.) A wealth of knowledge and a subtle sense of humor held a large (50+) crowd captivated for the entire two hours.

Beyond the many different gods and goddesses the ancient Egyptians worshiped, one of the most interesting and enticing facts to me is the ability to enter the pyramids. I just assumed they were off limits as sacred tombs or simply just too fragile for people to walk in and out of every day. Not only are you allowed to enter the king’s chamber of certain pyramids, but Katrina informed us that they weren’t really tombs at all since they have never found human remains in any pyramid. Katrina will often meditate with her groups inside the pyramid and/or temple where she says the energy is very strong, positive, and transformative.

Another interesting fact Katrina mentioned is that it’s been proven that slaves did not build the Pyramids as has been believed for thousands of years. In fact it was well compensated workers, who lived very well - back breaking work not withstanding - who built the pyramids. Loyal to their pharaohs, these workers were buried with beer and food, provisions for the afterlife, a kind of burial never afforded to a slave.

Lauren has always been interested in going to Egypt – me not so much. But after the lecture with Katrina, my interest is piqued. The energy and intrigue of the ancient country is what makes me consider a tip to the arid, hot place. I must confess the lure of Mediterranean food is also strong. Sure, Ardeos’ is down the street, but you don’t get much more authentic than falafel and hummus on the streets of Cairo. Egypt is officially on our list of “gotta-go”.


The library is one of our favorite places to be, although we don’t get there as often as we like. Church-like in its serenity, the library is always warm, cozy and quiet. However, activities abound! Lectures like the one we attended happen on a regular basis, and there is always something going on for kids; story hour, play groups and learning activities are just a few. Our Cape libraries are getting hip with the times, offering computer language courses online, available internet access at the library, movies and DVD, and CD-ROM games for various ages. Oh yeah, they have books, too! If you’re looking for something interesting to do we would encourage you to visit your local library wherever you live. It just may take you somewhere you never dreamed you’d go.

Photos courtesty of Katrina Valenzuela

Taking the Plunge

I don’t like the cold. In fact, I hate it. You would think that having grown up in New England I would be ok with it – but when the warm sun is on my face, and it’s 80 degrees, I don’t care if I ever see another snow flake as long as I live. So I was surprised as anyone when I decided to jump in the freezing Atlantic on January 1st.

Lauren mentioned the Barnstable Fire Department was sponsoring a polar plunge to benefit the Glenna Kohl Fund. We thought it would be a cool thing to go watch and then blog about. Then the thought occurred to me – I’m always a spectator at these kinds of things, and to properly blog about it I would have to actually DO it. I was surprised at how quickly I came to this conclusion, and even more surprised when I didn’t back out 15 seconds after saying I would do it. I seemed determined. Lauren’s reaction was “Who are you??”. I guess I thought thousands of people do this every year, why not me?

Every year - for 12 years now - the Barnstable Fire Department sponsors “The New Years Day Swim” benefitting a different cause each time. This year it was the Glenna Kohl Fund for Hope. The non-profit fund helps raise awareness about the dangers of melanoma, created in memory of Glenna Kohl – a Barnstable High graduate who was a lifeguard. (For more information, or to make a donation, please visit: http://www.glennasfund.org/)

It was New Years Eve when Lauren planted this idea in my head. My sister and brother-in-law, Penny and Ian, were staying over and weren’t quite sure what to make of the situation. Seriously out of character for me. Lauren asked me every hour – are you still going to do it? “So far” I said. Any more than a day before the event and I would have surely talked myself out of it. At some point during the evening, Penny and Ian warmed up to the idea, too. We needed someone to shoot video and take pictures, so Lauren sacrificed having this unique experience in order to document the three of us. She was quite pleased with her decision.

On the morning of New Years day, after sleeping off our holiday cheer, we were all still committed to this crazy idea. We gathered some towels, a blanket, a defibrillator and dry shorts, had a delicious breakfast and headed out to Millway Beach at Barnstable Harbor.
Because of a shortage of parking there was a shuttle from the 6A Fire Department down to the harbor. We got there early and were the only people on the bus for this trip. When we got there we were surprised at how few people were there. There was still an hour until the actual plunge so we milled about listening to music and looking at some crazy outfits people were wearing.

There was a snack truck, raffle tickets and a t-shirt booth all to raise money for the chosen cause. An ambulance and fire truck stood by in the unlikely event that someone suffered a heat stroke.
Ten minutes before the countdown we made our way down the beach to stake our claim, and gradually – oh so gradually – disrobe. By this time there were at least 300 people on the narrow beach, the majority of which intended to get wet. The rest were moral support standing by with dry towels and cameras. By the time we were down to just shorts, there was no turning back. We just waited for the countdown.

After a barely audible countdown from the DJ table in the parking lot, the beach was still occupied by several hundred people. After more rousing by the DJ/pirate a new countdown was started. A loud cheer signified GO! I saw Ian bolt – Penny took off, and I did a Fred Flintstone running in place before any forward motion took over. By the time I got 20 feet out, Ian already submerged and was on his way back in. Penny sat down right in front of me, and I just paused in waist deep water and watched the madness of everyone splashing around. It was so crazy; Lauren had a hard time keeping the camera steady! I told Penny and Ian that it didn’t count if you didn’t go under. That’s not entirely true, but I suppose I was trying to motivate myself as much as them. They had fulfilled my made up regulation, so as I faced the beach fully intending to run back in – I dove in the 3 feet of water, scraped the bottom, popped up and gracefully sprinted back in. (Ed. note: Check out the video to see what Jeff thinks is graceful!) It was so cold, it felt like fire.

A dry towel never felt so good. We were all shaking like nervous poodles but as soon as we dried off, it seemed actually warmer than it was before we jumped in. It was quite comfortable in fact. The only discomfort was numb toes (and purple knees, which wasn’t uncomfortable – it just looked weird). We got out of our wet clothes and into dry clothes right on the beach.

When we got home, Lauren heated some towels in the dryer and draped them over our shoulders. Then we wrapped ourselves in Snuggies and had soup. The cold aint so bad: as long as there’s hot soup, a Slanket, and a pretty girl to hold you afterward.

So here’s to diving outside your comfort zone in 2010. The polar plunge was an exhilarating experience, although I’m not sure if I ever have to do it again. If I am so compelled next year maybe I can talk Lauren into it. In the comment section maybe you can persuade her! We are hoping to do more out-of-the-box stuff this year to blog about – if you can think of any, let us know!

Happy New Year and stay warm!