I recently joined the throngs of people making their pilgrimage to the Yucatan, as 2012 began the final year of the Mayan Calendar, and a time that many suspect portends the End of the World.  I explored the magnificent ruins at the UNESCO World Heritage site of

Chichen Itza with its rich array of Mayan and Toltec influences. And I took time to admire El Castillo which has been named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. But my thoughts focused not on the End of the World and the end of this magnificent culture that had built these great architectural wonders here in this Mexican jungle so many centuries before.  But rather I was pondering what forces had come together in a unique way and allowed this culture to spring up here originally and to blossom into one of the great civilizations of world history. I was more interested in focusing on the beginning rather than the End of the Mayan World. And I found that the recipe that provided the world with this rich culture contained an element essential for all life. There was rich soil, abundant building materials and ingenious people. But like a fine stew one final ingredient was needed to bring it to perfection. And also like stew, that final ingredient that brought the Maya culture to its perfection was salt. Sea salt to be precise. Continue reading →