Chiapas: Land of the Mayans PART I

We headed for the south of Mexico on February 20, taking Interjet ( a great Mexican airline---with plenty of legroom, leather seats and good service)for the hour-and-a-half trip  to Villahermosa in the state of Tabasco. When we arrived at the bus station for our trip to Palenque, we learned that the road was blocked due to some type of demonstration and we would have to wait for two hours. We were approached by two gentlemen, who asked if we would like to share a taxi with them to La Venta, the famous archeological park and museum of the Olmec. They had arranged for the taxi driver to stay with our things and wait for us while we toured the park for an hour. We got two for one: a great experience visiting this interesting site (see photos) and also, two new friends: John, and Englishman and former ambassador from England to Brazil, and Reinhold, a friendly German from Berlin. The two were old friends having met at the University of Mexico fifty years ago when they studied Spanish here. They do a 2 week reunion each year. They were fun companions and later, we enjoyed being on the same bus for the two hour trip to Palenque and then to San Cristobal three days later.

Here I am about to enter La Venta, the archeological park 

We followed along paths to each exhibit

Our new riends, John and Reinhold

These ancient stone carvings of the Olmec people were pretty impressive 

These carved stone heads are famous for the story they tell about an ancient group of pre-hispanic people

The natural environment was pretty impressive, too. 

Look at the size of those leaves!

and these pylons carved out of stone when was no metal tools---one wonders how they did it.

An 

An Olmec Alter 

Another alter or sarcophacus

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From La Venta, in Tobasco, we took the bus for the hour and a half drive to Palenque, one of the most famous archeological sites of Meso America. 

Palenque was an incredible look back in time to the ancient Mayan civilisation. It represents one of the most notable sites of the Classic period (approximately 230-750 AD) and captured our imagination from the beginning of walking out on the grounds surrounded by the temples and pyramids under the giant Ceiba tree. We were lucky to find a very gracious guide, "Case", (short for Carlos Sergio) who spent four hours, not the usual two (as he said he loved guiding people who asked a lot of questions and were truly interested in learning about the history of Palenque, not his usual tourist!) with us. He was extremely knowledgable about the history of Palenque as he grew up in a Mayan village not far from the site. After the walk up and down the stairs of the temples and pyramids and the explorations of these ancient structures we enjoyed walking through the "selva," the jungle with him and ended up at an excellent small museum where we continued our education.

Here's Gary  and our guide Case in front of the important temples, the burial site of Pakal, a famous ruler of Palenque for over 30 years.

In the center of the site stands this great Ceiba tree, tree of life for the Mayan people. 

Gary and I on top of the Temple of the Skull. See the carved relief in the background.

One of the reliefs of Pakal. Notice his deformed foot. Read about it below. 

The ancient Palenque builders even created toilets for the men---

And the women

Pasagge to the tomb of the "Red Queen" given that name as her body was painted red, evidently to scare off robbers. 

This "T-shape" was carved in the stone to signify life on earth and the underworld

We liked walking through the jungle where we could hear monkeys in the trees above and many birds

There's another one of those "Strangler trees" like we saw in Florida 

Getting my exercise 

And then we came to the beautiful water falls were some were swimming in the pools below---darn, we forgot our bathing suits!

They even do recycling here in what is now a national park. We were pleased to see that. 

We learned much about Palenque in the small museum at the jungle's edge near the main entrance.

And loved viewing the many artefacts from ancient times 

 By three o'clock that afternoon, it was getting warm and we were ready for a siesta back at the lovely hotel we found on line. We certainly lucked out. For a pittance we rented our small cabaña at Hotel Cabañas Safari set in the jungle not far from the archeological site. We were surrounded by lush and verdant flora and also, animals roaming about the grounds, such as peacocks, wild turkeys, sheep, and even a cute dog which we grew fond of. The owners were friendly and accommodating and we had the extra benefit of a small cafe on the grounds where we could have breakfast each morning and also a drink at night under the Chiapas moonlight by a pool.

We felt welcomed at Cabañas Safari, just a few miles from the Palenque archeological site

Our nice room with the interesting wall decoration

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Here I am standing next to the big bed like couch by the pool 

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Gary's pointing to a cacao tree from which we get chocolate

Gary's pointing to a Cacao tree (from which we get chocolate)

Here's the cacao nut---inside are the chocolate beans 

We even had coconuts

The second day we explored the town of Palenque, not as picturesque as some in Mexico but with a few good coffee cafes (Chiapas coffee is famously delicious) and an excellent restaurant specializing in typical Mayan cuisine. Our favourite side dish was the friend plantain. We often had them in El Salvador. We enjoyed getting from our hotel to the centre of town on the "combies collectivos," small vans that transport the locals and tourists from place to place for a very low cost. It's fun to ride in them and get a look at the local culture: mother's nursing babies, children peering out at us from behind their mother's skirts, people carrying things to the mercado. We also noticed a difference in dress on many: women wearing the colourful embroidered huipiles, for example. 

This large Sculpture greeted us as we entered the town 

City Hall: the clock was never correct 

We loved drinking the Chiapas coffee and enjoyed a good breakfast at this nice corner cafe 

Our view of the market across the street was very colourful 

This Mayan wished us an adios as we headed back to our Cabaña Safari hotel 

In the afternoon we took a Combie to a favourite "watering hole," a place famous for it's waterfalls and cool deep pools where we could swim. The name of it was Barrio Roberto. This time we sat in back of a pick-up truck and bounced along the rural roads for about 45 minutes, accompanied by a vivacious Italian woman and a young Mayan mother who was nursing her infant while her husband watched over the two with a proud looking expression. As we traveled along others jumped on and off. When we got to the site, we walked along a dirt lane, passing houses in the barrio and trailed by young boys offering to accompany us along the paths through the forest to  the waterfalls. We solicited the aid of one of them and after climbing over logs, down rocky dirt trails, we arrived at a magnificent waterfall and pools of clear aquamarine water. We changed into our suits, holding a towel up for each other, and jumped in. Climbing over rocks and rushing water, we spent a delight- ful hour here.

With towel and bathing suit under arm Gary climbed the trail to the falls 

What a glorious site on a hot and humid day---we couldn't wait to jump in!

Surveying the slippery stone before stepping  out 

The next day we took a Combie back into town to the bus depot where we met our new friends, John and Reinhold, and boarded the comfortable bus for the five-and-a-half hour trip to San Cristobol de las Casas, a city nestled in the mountains of Chiapas, and famous for its Mayan cultural roots and surrounding small pueblos.

Here we are in Palenque waiting for our bus ---Go to "Chiapas: Part II"

Florida's Natural Enchantments

In January, with the holidays over, we flew to southwest Florida for a weeklong visit with friends. Never having been to Florida I had no idea what to expect. Our friends live in Naples, in southwest Florida. It's  a hubbub of activity surrounding multiple developments of condos and apartments, shopping malls and busy streets (sadly taking up space once occupied by old growth forests of Pines, Palms, Banyons, and other trees). The good thing is that the area is in close proximity to some rich natural resources like the small gulf coast islands, the Isle of Capri mangrove hummocks popping up in the bay, many rivers with Indian names like the Calasuhatchee. We especially liked the small town called Bonita Springs with its very "laid back" feeling, nice park and fun local grocery store where we were able to buy some of our favourite Latino food. The Latinos make up a large percent of the population there and we enjoyed seeing how industriously they got about on their bicycles heading to and from work or play. We ate in a good Mexican restaurant on the main drag, called believe it or not, Marias. We enjoyed watching kayakers along the Imperial River, too.

Here I am with friends Rosalie and Jack heading out to do some sightseeing 

One of our favourite outings was the visit to Ft. Myers to see the Edison and Ford Winter Homes and museums.  We spent half a day there gleaning a wealth of information we never knew before about these two men, both  inventors and researchers, who along with Firestone, set up a research project here in the 1920's to try and find a US source for rubber. Edison and his young wife, many years his junior, supported a vast garden and planted trees such as the Camphor tree(used later for Vick's Vapor Rub, among other things)the magnificent Banyon trees, and the Mysore Fig. Edison spent a good part of every winter here to get away from the cold of Michigan and enjoyed the fruits of his inventive mind, having 1,060+ patents earned over 63 years, lots of which are little parts such as early batteries, the kinetoscope, and other bigger things like the first phonograph, with which he made his millions.  We think of him as the inventor of the lightbulb, but actually it was invented by someone else; Thomas Edison merely perfected it.

Edison's great invention, the phonograph. 

Ahead of his time

This is Edison's comfy study. 

Edison liked to fish, too. There are many fish tales about him !

The enormous Mylore Fig on the grounds of Edison's compound 

Edison's friend, Ford, built his winter house on the grounds of the Edison compound and the two often collaborated on inventions, but Ford's biggest interest was his cars. This was his first!  He also invented the first truck---well, at least, the chase and front end. One could buy that and then build on the truck body in wood.

My favourite experiences turned out to be the ones in Florida's natural enchanted spots, such as the day we kayaked around the many island-like mangrove-covered hummocks, seeing snowy egrets, great blue herons and even Osprey in their nest.

Me on the kayak

Mangroves growing on the hummocks

Following our fearless leaders

The intrepid kayakers 

Egrets

Heron stalking it's prey

Another day of natural wonders was when we went to Pine Island,via the cute town of Matlacha, filled with shops and art galleries.

This art was wonderful---wish I could remember the Artist, a woman, name!

On the Island we toured a natural preserve there protecting the ancient shell mounds created by the Calusa Indains started over 2000 years ago. On the way we passed through an area once rich with Orange orchards and other fruit trees.  We  saw the huge shell mounds,  and also many "Tourist trees" or "sunburn trees" named for their peeling red bark. Their  real name is the Gumbo Limbo tree. If anyone has ever done Limbo dancing, we can see why---the trees twist and turn in beautiful patterns.

Gary Pointing to the "Sunburn or Tourist Tree" 

We visited a small museum there and admired the carved masks of the Calusas.

A shell mound on Pine Island 

A Callusa Indian Mask 

The ultimate in touristic pleasures was the day we went to the Everglades. We had planned on taking a four wheel drive vehicle offered by one of the many tourist spots through the grasslands to spy on wildlife. After  our success on foot, walking the Fuckahatchee trail, a wooden boardwalk through a jungle like environment, we decided we had had the Best!

An Eagle mom watching over her nest...

the Eagle's nest 

From here we watched a Blue Heron stalking 

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The heron

Two alligators, one on top of the other 

A large turtle 

We watched a heron slyly catching its lunch, viewed a bald Eagles nest, inhabited by the female and watched the male swoop down over the nest. We saw alligators, one on top of another and even spied a huge owl's nest with the owner peeking out of it (we never identified its correct name) but viewing it was enough. As we left the jungle we spied a beautiful big orange butterfly known as the Ruddy Dagger Winged Butterfly. Fortunately for us, a butterfly scholar was at our side identifying it as she took several photos.

Ruddy Dagger Winged Butterfly

 We had the thrill of seeing birdlife we had never encountered before, like Rosy Spoonbills, Storks, and others I can't name.

A Roseated Spoonbill 

We continued along the Tamiana trail highway to "Joanie's Blue Crab Cafe," a fun roadside joint next to the river where we ate a meal of catfish burger, beans and rice and cold beers as we watched the antics of a Raven and a red shouldered hawk. What an enchanting day it was. We look forward to more future adventures in the Everglades.

Nothing like a cold beer!

The guys agreed

After our Everglades journey, we went to Clyde Butcher's Photo Gallery. Clyde is an amazing nature photographer and it was like a repeat performance viewing the scenery we had just been observing. Butcher's compelling black and white photographs chronicle some of America's most beautiful and complex ecosystems. His photographs have been exhibited in both the US and in Europe. After our visit, we continued to take our own photos outside his gallery in the large pond next to his building.

The Clyde Butcher Photo Gallery

In the evening we walked the Naples peer, watched the sunset and ended up at the "Old Fogies," a fun beer and music joint where we listened to many talented musicians strumming their stuff.

Friend Jack and I standing on the Naples Peer 

Gary and I watching the sunset at the Naples Beach

We left Florida for our journey south back to our home in San Miguel de Allende with a song in our heart and many fond memories of our time with our friends discovering the beautiful southwest of Florida. Hasta la proxima---until the next time!

Walking the San Miguel de Allende Streets

As I meander daily down the cobblestone streets of my beautiful adopted city of San Miguel de Allende,  I look down a lot, not wanting to trip or fall on the rough cobblestones---not wanting to be one more member of the "Fallen Women's Club" of SMA. I've already been down that road when falling while dancing at a fiesta last February, celebrating the publication of my first novel.

But back to what I see when I walk down the streets: looking down affords me the opportunity to observe all the detritus of life here.  I am not using the word "detritus" in a pejorative way. No, I have come to appreciate the detritus. It is what makes life so real here, for all the things one sees are emblematic of a culture I have come to love. That doesn't mean to say it might be nice at times to see more trash cans along the streets, less trash in the arroyo near our house, and in the gutters. But, at the same time my observations give me pause. All this detritus tells me more about the people and their daily lives.  When one sees a dried corn husk with a bit of red salsa decorating its edges one knows someone nearby was eating a tamale that day, or I may see some candy wrappers when I pass one of the local elementary schools. The woman on the corner sells snacks and sweets (Mexican children eat far too much of this and that is perhaps why there is a high level of diabetes here; the cokes too certainly contribute).  Other objects of daily life are found in the gutters, such as Q-tips, rubber bands,  paper and plastic cups, some popcorn or fritos dropped out of a bag as someone ran home from the local tienda, or a tissue wrapper one finds around a stack of fresh tortillas. An old shoe may rest along side an electrical pole; one day a flattened baby shoe attracted my attention. Hopefully, the baby was okay even though he or she lost a shoe. Sticks dropped by a passing burro who carries his heavy load with such patience can be found, or a nopale leaf. People scrape the thorns off and eat these cactus leaves here. They're tasty, if prepared right.

One day, the lady I bought the cute handmade cloth horse from dropped her thread and it rolled into the gutter as she walked down the street bent from age and hard work. I ran to catch her and got a sweet toothless grin with words, Muchas gracias, Señora!  Life is in the streets here. Somehow, the  city streets in Portland where I used to live now seem sterile in comparison.  I must admit to the fact that I came home from Sweden two months ago raving to my husband how lovely it was to be in a place where everything was "so clean and organised." Life is full of contradictions!

Maybe it's just the human propensity for adaptation that is helping me to see past the dirt of my Mexican town and to readjust my thinking to one that is less judgmental, an attitude encouraged in last Sunday's presentation at the UU ( Unitarian Universalist Sunday service). Judging less leads to a healthier and happier life of acceptance and opens our hearts to new experience. Ted Englander, the presenter pointed out that there is a difference between discernment and judgment. I discern that perhaps it might be good if there were less detritus in the streets, but at the same time I don't judge it as "bad" now, or indicative of something distasteful. It is what it is. Refraining from negative judgment is almost impossible; we have a culture that thrives on judgment of other people,  places and ways of life. Negative judgements separate us from others. Eckhart Tolle talks about being aligned with what happens, taking the road of non-resistance, which ultimately leads to more happiness.

So, I'll keep walking these streets and seeing the positive, the insight they give me into my Mexican friends and neighbors.

 Maybe someday they'll see that cleaning up of the detritus leads to a safer and healthier environment, but for now I'm glad  I can be here and appreciate everyday!