He became the ruler of the ancient Mayan city of Palenque (pronounced Pah-LANE-kay) in the year 615 A.D..

He was 12 years old. His name was Pakal…..or Lord Sun Shield in Mayan.

Did he ever know how to hang around.

I'm a city boy, and I’m in the middle of the Laconja (pronounced La-cone-HAH) jungle.

I saw a crocodile. I looked at an insect said to be 17,000 years old. And I swam in a jungle stream whose water was jaw-dropping crystal-clear. The clearest I have ever seen.

The analogy of a river running down stream carrying children in need of rescue from the torrent of poverty suddenly became reality for me as I looked into the eyes of several young residents of Casa Hogar Saturday morning. Casa Hogar is a family-run orphanage housing 45 children in the heart of Cuernavaca and very different from the group homes accomodating orphans in North America.

Nineteen per cent of Mexico’s population lives in extreme poverty, which would be living on less than one dollar a day. With a population of about 106 million that would mean about 20 million people are in extreme poverty…but that doesn’t include moderate poverty. Yes that’s right, we must distinguish between levels of poverty. The moderately poor make up another 40-50 percent…or approximately 45 million people. That’s a large number living in some type of poverty.

I didn’t think it would get me.

But the reach of that Aztec warrior king beyond the grave has extended to the nether regions of my backside. Not to mention the vise-like grip on my intestines.

It´s called Tasco but it´s spelled Taxco and the homes might as well be made of silver. That´s how it´s 50-thousand inhabitants make their living in the tourist hot spot...well most fo them.

Taxco is a town built on silver mines...literally...the mountain town is built almost right ontop of silver mines. Needless to say the shops are lined with wall to wall silver, and at most stores the goods are cheap. But I just don´t understand how people make their money when there are dozens of other stores selling the exact same things...often right next to eachother.

Some politicians are still trying to deny the science behind climate change...well it seems this is something the Mayans knew about hundreds of years ago.

It was day six and we travelled to a place about an hour outside of Cuernavaca called Xochicalco (So-shee-cal-co). There we embarked on a sweltering tour under one of the hottest days so far through ancient ruins. They were built over a thousand years ago by the Xochicalca people. Our tour guide, Cesar, said after the Xochicalca´s time the ruins were inhabited by the Mayans.

Many people know the Mexican Police force isn't the most honest...in fact they're questionable, according to one local resident. But some people are trying to change that. On day five Juan Manuel gave us a speech on Mexican police. He calls himself an "illusionist", but I would say he's a visionary.

On Day 4 we visited a community of about 40,000 to 50,000 located at an abandoned train station. The people are probably the poorest in all of Cuernavaca. We spent half a day walking around the community. Even in the most extreme poverty the people have hope. The children seem happy and nobody complained...they just explained how it is.

1. The big thing I see here that I don’t see in Canada……soldiers with scary-looking assault rifles on the streets. Not many…..but just enough to make a naïve Canadian boy a little more careful.

I almost threw up when the visible fumes entered my nostrils. They were coming from what they call ´´dry toilets´´. They contain raw sewage to be processed through a bio-filter.

It´s part of a solution to a serious sewage probelm in San Anton...a borough of Cuernavaca. A ravine, once flowing with clear fresh water, is now equivalent to Canadian underground sewer pipes. The water is a murky green and emits the foulest of smells. On top of that the people in the community throw their garbage down into the ravine. That´s something that´s been happening for over 30 years! Just imagine the pile up.

Day 2:

Today we went to the market in downtown Cuernavaca. What an experience that was! The place is flooded with people and the goods they're trying to push on you. Everything from fresh produce to bootlegged movies could be found in this place. A shocking experience was almost bumping into a pig head...I turned around and staring me in the face was a dead chicken hanging upside down. Gross! And everything is dirt cheap.

Day 1: Wow…what a long trip it is from Toronto to Mexico City to Cuernavaca. Mexico City is a massive urban hub vibrating with life. The homes are ghetto, the air is smoggier than anything else I’ve ever seen before, and the streets are flooded with poor people trying to sell everything from maps, to candy, to balloons. But the city is beautiful. There are so many colours…buildings are purple, orange, blue, yellow and every other colour of the rainbow. And graffiti is everywhere! It decorates the buildings, streets, and trains. For a large urban centre Mexico City has a lot of greenery too…lots of trees and lots of parks.

I'm 52, WASP, male, married, three kids, two cars (but willing to learn)! And, learn I did when I trekked to Cuernavaca this time a year ago.

I came home not knowing what I could do to help, having witnessed social, environmental, and political problems on a level I'd never thought about much.

As question period proceeds, people get more and more heated. The audience responds both positively and negatively, but much more strongly. Issues like addressing the specific concerns of women, funding and generating public interest. Peterborough representative Ann Thomas said people are either interested in this initiative or not. There is concern if people present a dissenting point of view, will it get heard? Thomas assures the audience it is okay and they will be heard.