March madness

We were happy to be invited by our friends, Edwin and Mariana, the other day to a party at their family house in Cedral.  We're sure we talked about Cedral before but the story intrigues us.  Who knows, maybe the story may have changed sinced the last time we relayed it.  Cedral is about 15 miles south of where we live in San Miguel.  It's the first town established by the Mestizos (people with both Spanish and Mayan ancestries) who were running from the Mayans in the Caste War of the mid 1800's.  We'll digress even further to say that the Mayans were just about to win the war by overtaking Merida when they realized it was  time to plant their crops.  They, being the smart people they were, just laid down their weapons and went home to their frams! And that, was the end of the war. Needless to say, they lost. 

There were 17 original families of Mestizos who made Cozumel their home.  They built their houses in the jungle by Mayan ruins.  This must be a good place, right?  It was and is!  Lots of land to grow crops, lots of water from a huge cenote underground and inland from the ocean where hurricanes do their heavy lifting!

The land and the homes have been handed down through the generations.  The tradition up until recently was to keep these places in the families.

Back to the party.....Edwin seemed to be firm on the time.  Really be there at 4:00 PM (American time) not 8PM (Mexican time) . We did a pretty good job and when we arrived Edwin was missing but his brother,  Roman, was there enjoying some cervesa.  To our surprise and Roman's as well, we had been invited to his birthday party.  Well good, we brought some beautiful mangos, coconut ice cream and, of course, Tecate Light.  Roman seemed a little concerned about the mangos but being the consummate host, he offered us beers and a seat.  When Edwin and Mariana arrived about a 1/2 hour later (really, that's early in Cozumel time), Mariana explained the the mango mystery.

Apparently, veteran drinkers in  Cozumel don't mix certain fruits and beer for fear of getting out of control drunk and suffer a hangover that's guaranteed.  So what to do with the fruit?  After much pondering it was decided that the fruit wouldn't do its voodoo if there was chili sprinkled on it.  The search was on for chili.  Since Edwin's grandma died a few years ago, no one lived in the house.  Edwin and Mariana went through some pretty old jars of mysterious herbs.  Edwin had decided on one that Mariana was sure smelled like some earth.  As she was throwing out the contents of the jar, Edwin remarked that just maybe it was some of Grandma's ashes.  We're pretty sure that she would enjoy the party now that she was released.

After eating the best tacos topped with pork that had been grilled, pico de gallo, and, you guessed it, mangos together with pumpkin seed and cheese/garlic dips and a small walking tour of the town proper, it was time for us to go home.  This just as the party was getting started.  We drove by one of the original houses now owned by Edwin's aunt.  When the gate you see in the front is open, you know you're welcome to come through the house to the back where she's cooking something delicious.    

We took a road and were on our way out of town when we came to a chain stretched across the road .  The policeman posted there said it wasn't an exit.  So we backed up and picked another road that had a gate across it.  The same policeman walked about 50 feet around the corner and  lifted the gate for us.  Nice waves were exchanged and our scene out of Monty Pithon came to a close!

Our friends and neighbors, Chuck and Moni, are always working on some creative project.  Their house is now officially named "Casa des Pescas" because they have a very large school of these fantastic fish they make.  Last week, we were talking about our favorites and they gave us one.  YES!  Love this buddy.

Chuck and Moni do mosaic, Ed landscapes, paints, fixes everything and cooks up a storm.  What does Peggy do?  She loves to Zentangle.  That's it! More than enough.

Bacalar. Fort and Chetumal. Part IV.

While in Bacalar, we ate several meals at a loncheria named El Socio. The population of Bacalar is maybe 2,000 so there are quite a few taquerias but very few sit down restaurants. This restaurant was crowded the first day.  No wonder, the food was good, plentiful and very inexpensive.

Bacalar built a fort to protect itself from pirates who kept coming down into the lagoon and sacking the town. Here's a photo of a gun port looking out over the school (can you imagine going  to a school built on the shore?) and the lagoon.

The fort even had a moat with a drawbridge. It did curtail the pirates, but failed to protect itself from the Indians during the Caste War who attacked from land, not sea.

Peggy looking out for pirates! Actually enjoying the view of the lagoon and the "seven shades of blue" that it's supposed to have. We only counted 5 shades. We want our money back!

Ed trying to ignite a cannon to celebrate our visit. Didn't work.

Here's the real operator of the cannon!

We spent 2 nights in Chetumal, the Quintana Roo state capitol and border city to Belice. Could have reduced it to one, as there is very little for tourists, other than the Mayan Museum below. On a walk around the central market we found this young man selling a strange looking fruit called rambutan. It's hairy looking fruit that you slice around the middle and you then can pop out the gelatinous middle. It's very sweet and good tasting. He gave us one to try and said they came from Chiapas. We bought 1/4 kilo. It has a nut/seed in the middle and it can be eaten or not. Ed saved a couple and he'll try to grow a tree.

The Mayan Museum was a treat. Although almost every display was a reproduction, it did have great explanations (in Spanish and English) for the exhibits.The best display was an interactive one about the Mayan numerical system.  We spent several  hours there.

The museum had great models of all the Yucatan's famous pyramids. We think this one is of Chitzen Itza.

A fresh rambutan!

The fruit inside.

Bacalar. Carolinas, the lagoon and cenote. Part III

Here's a view of the long pier that extends from Casita's shore into the lagoon. The lagoon is fed by many fresh water cenotes and extends for something like 50 miles. Huge! Much of the bottom is white sand making

it a brilliant blue

  

Peggy loved how calm the water was before sunrise.  Ed is taking her word on that!

Outside of Bacalar is Cenote Azul. A huge cenote that is 300 feet deep and several hundred yards across. Fresh water. Not terribly clear- you couldn't see more than 30 feet. But, refreshing to swim, as Peggy is here swimming toward the other side. She decided to stop short of the shore thinking about fresh water crocodiles! There was a platform a portion of the edge and a large restaurant. A cab driver took us and then came back later to pick us up.

This one's for Alex. Here's Gaga using a tree limb that has grown down to and in the water as a monkey bar! Much easier than the ones on the playground!

Peggy and a guide (Gonzalo Gonzalos- yep, his real name!) from the new Green Monkey Hostel next door to Casitas took a pre-dawn paddleboard trip along the lagoon to watch the sunrise. They also visited Black Cenote, which suddenly drops off  hundreds of feet.  Peggy sat down at the enormity of it.

Bacalar. Dzibanche. Part II

Ww visited another amazing Mayan site named Dzibanche. Both Dzibanche and Kohunlich, were very large cities. This is one of the main structures and the palapas cover the areas of excavation/reconstruction. Lots of work going on here as well. This city is complete with a temple, government buildings, upper class housing and even a convention center. We're talking a big site! The lower corner of this temple has been excavated to expose a tunnel that went to a burial chamber. You can also see three previous pyramida underneath. Mayans build over exisiting pyramids. One underneath had rounded corners and the one on top had angled corners; different designs at different times.

Here are workers cleaning a fresco. Some paint still visible. They use several different methods, including brushing with toothbrushes and a cleaning paste.

A security guard at the ruins took us back to where current excavation was taking place. Here you can see a fresco with the original plaster and red paint. Dzibanche, like Kohunlich, was painted entirely in red. The fresco is a continuation from the previous pyramid.

Original fresco with figures and original red paint. Intricate glyphs.

We didn't climb this although Ed really wanted to so that he could address his imaginary people!

A recently excavated area that contained living quarters. Probably for visiting athletes who played at the ball court or visiting dignitaries.

Here's Peggy taking a brief nap on one of the beds. People do seem to think that beds are too firm in Mexico.

This is the lower part of a fresco just excavated the week before we came. The bottom is perfect; original plaster and paint. The top was destroyed when there was a collapse of the higher part of the building. The rubble covered the bottom, protecting from weather and looters.

We were greeted by howler monkeys and spider monkeys. They were not happy when we arrived. The howlers let out huge roars; like a lion or tiger. Pretty scary. They scattered and went into the jungle. We were the last people to leave along with the workers. The monkeys returned and seemed glad to have us gone so that they could reclaim their city.

As we returned to Bacalar, Candalaria talked about his home and garden. He invited us for some fresh coconut milk. After arriving there and introducing us to his family, he put a homemade ladder to a coconut tree, climbed it, and whacked down fresh nuts with his machete. He washed them and then chopped off the tops, leaving a small hole for a straw. The milk was good and refreshing.

Here's Peggy drinking her drink and thinking about perhaps some vodka?

Among Candalaria's plants are pineapples. It's the season for them now. Many stands along the road selling them. Here are a couple of his plants. One is forming the fruit from the flowers. It takes 2 years before a plant produces fruit. We planted some at our house, but they never produced fruit. Could it be we don't know what we're doing?

Bacalar, the perfect antidote to Cozumel Carnaval! Kohunlich.Part 1

Each year we dread Carnaval time in Cozumel.  Bah Humbug we say to the noise, the imposed merriment, the noise, the competition for the loudest float, the recording that begins at 9:00 PM each night screaming about the circus that is in town, the noise, the loud music until dawn, and the noise. This year we were bent on getting out of Dodge and we did it.  

Bacalar is a sweet little town about 4 hours away.  We loved the quiet, the friendly people, the toned down family oriented festivities at the pretty town square, the quiet, the beautiful lagoon with its crystal clear water and the quiet.  We stayed at Casitas Carolina, a quiet place with 8 funky guest rooms and an eclectic group of fellow travellers.

After a restful night there, we asked long term employee Modesto, if he knew a guide to take us to Kohunlich and Dzibanche, a few lonely Mayan ruins. Peggy had tried to arrange a tour online with no success.  If she had only known about Modesto!  He recommended Reggie. After talking with him for a few short minutes, we knew he was our man and taxi #36, driven by Candalaria was our deluxe chariot!

 After a lively hour and a half ride to Kohunlich, we climbed to the top of the ruler's pyramid overlooking the main plaza and Ed "spoke" to his people. Then Reggie said that one of the king's duties was to be sacrificed. Ed offered magnanimously to substitute Reggie for him.

Here is the king and his stand-in addressing the multitude!  This platform is so tall that we couldn't get a picture of Candelaria who was bowing down in the grass.

A good deal of  painstaking excavation and restoration work was going on. These guys are making stucco: mixing various types of sandy soil and letting it dry in the sun.

A wonderful feature at Kohunlich is the masks on the great pyramid. The palapa is there to protect the masks as well as to shade the workers and visitors. Everything is this city was painted red. Some frescoes still had evidence of the paint. These boys do not. Extremely intricate carvings.And we're not sure why they are wearing scuba masks on their foreheads!

Peggy and Reggie are discussing something of great importance, which of course she has forgotten, in front of a la ceiba tree. These trees have special meaning to the Mayans as connections from the sky to the earth to the underworld.

Archaeologist Victor Segovia who "discovered" Kohunlich in the 1920's dug up this tree and planted it upside down to see if it would grow. Sure enough, the roots sprouted leaves and the trunk grew new roots.

This photo needs to be turned 90 degrees and we don't know how to do it. So turn your computer to the right see the horizontal line of thin rock chips. This line indicates that the structure below is all original and the rock work above it is reconstructed. These lines are all over the structures at Kohunlich.

New stories from CZM

Cozumel stories? Actually not. These are the bears that we had made from the mink coat that Peggy's dad gave to her mom one Christmas. One bear for each of the grandchildren and one to join the favorite bears, Philip and Ginger, that belonged to Peggy's mom. Special Christmas memories.

Peg's Mom and Dad had this maple drop leaf buffet. Harry had painted it bright yellow. We tried to strip it to its natural wood finish but it was deeply stained from the yellow enamel. So, after years of sitting in the shop, it was finally sanded and Ed painted it to match our funky breezeway door. Peggy is happy to have it back in its rightful place.

Shortly after we arrived we stopped into Eco Divers for their normal (or abnormal?) show. Usually the show consists of drinking and telling stories. This particular night it was Jorge (left) playing with his best friend Polo. Polo is a teacher and a musician. The playing didn't last long and then it was on to drinking and telling stories!

Coming home one night we were greeted at our front gate by this big boy (or girl). He moved out of the way to let us in and so we took this photo of him beside the front porch. Even the cats ignore him! He's a bruiser! As stars do, he eventually got tired of the photo shoot and moved under a large fern.

We travelled to Merida for a few days before Christmas and stayed at the Gran Hotel, just off the main square. A hundred years old. A very regal old place. Needs a bit of TLC but still great architecture. This is the view of the courtyard and front desk from the second floor. What a grand staircase. Lots of antiques and old photos on the wall.

While in Merida, we signed up for the Cuzama Cenote tour. We were joined by a young couple from Mexico City. An hour and a half drive to Cuzama and then to a non-working hacienda. A group of men operate  "trucs" (coverted rail carts) that take visitors to 3 different cenotes. The trucs go into the hacienda about 9 kilometers. Notice the narrow tracks. These were once used to haul the hennequin (sisal) from the fields to the processing plants. The tracks, which you to go all over the hacienda and into town, have all been ripped up except for the ones used by the cenotes guides.

This is the entrance to the first cave/cenote. To get to the cave, we climbed down the tree roots to a homemade ladder.  The cenote was more like an underground river.  The only light came from the guide's flashlight.  He was a very important man to us!  What an adventure.

The main entrance to the second cenote, 9 Mouseholes, is one of the "mouse holes". The 9 holes let in beautiful light below. This 20 foot ladder was well constructed and led to a poured concrete platform. The opening had been chipped away to make it larger.

Looking down as Peggy near the bottom.

Inside the cenote. It was probably about 80 feet in diameter and maybe 30 feet deep. As usual there was a tree near main opening with roots reaching down to the water. Makes for a pretty dramatic sight, no?

 The ladder - Peggy just likes this photo!

Back on the truc to the last cenote. This little horse seemed to love pulling us! He clopped along and jumped from one side of the tracks to the other. When we arrived at a cenote, the horse was untied and just grazed freely. If we met another truc coming our way, we stopped and the guide pulled the truc off the tracks and then reset it when the other passed us. He who had the fewest passengers, yielded the right of way! The guide dog ran along behind and he too seemed to just love the 18 kilometer trip. We have a wonderful mental video of this "rail" trip in our brains.  Thankfully it's in our brains because we don't have the video on our camera! About half way to the farthest cenote, a section of the tracks was missing. So we had to walk about 100 yards. The horse had to pull the truc over the sand. It seems that a competing group of cenote guides stole that section of track! Oue guide said that his group would re-lay that section in a few weeks. He didn't say where they'd get the tracks! Probably would steal them from a different competing group!

The last cenote. A really big one. About 80 feet across and over 100 feet deep. A guide dropped his cellphone (actually 2 of them) and the water was so clear that the phones could been seen resting on the bottom. Way too deep for a surface dive to retrieve them?

Another random pic, this one of linens at the Gran Hotel.

Decorated Christmas tree at the Palacio (main government office) just off the square in Merida. We took lots of photos for familes using their cameras! Could have stayed there for hours doing that!  One of our last trips here, Ed went in an office to see if he could meet the governor.  The governor wasn't there but he sure scared a security guard who was reading a newspaper with his feet propped up on the governor's desk!

A restaurant we visited in Merida. A converted old home. Just beautiful. Had "pok chuc" for dinner. That's a marinated pork cut into strips. Delicious along with a local beer, Montejo!

The two cats who adopted us a couple of years ago were still here when we arrived this year. Neighbors Matt and Deb fed them all summer, along with our house caretaker, Dan. Here's the orange kitty sleeping in the kitchen window between the window and the protectoras (wrought iron bars). She's pretty comfy here.  This is the cat who will cry for us to turn on the hose so that she can have a drink.