Month: August 2011

From Merida we headed east to Cancun. After almost always going south in Mexico it is a bit of challenge to orient oneself to driving east to west.

Sunday our big stop of the day was Chichen Itza. Chichen Itza is on the cover of both of our Yucatan guide books and is the most visited of all Mayan sites.

There was never a single monolithic Mayan empire. Instead thee were independent city states in an almost constant state of shifting alliances. This reminds me of the city states of Italy.

The classic Maya era is considered 250 AD to 900 AD. Chichen Itza is the one city in the post classic Maya era (900 Ad – 1500 AD) to surpass the glory of the classic era.

In contrast to Edzna which we visited on Saturday, Chichen Itza had a lot of visitors when we were there. Partly because it was a Sunday and partly because Chichen Itza is at he top of everyones must see list.

Chichen Itzu is impressive. As you walk in the first thing you see is El Castillo. It is huge!

 

As we wandered around the site which covers a lot of ground it started to rain. It rained hard for about 15 minutes. This actually felt really good. The cool rain was a nice change from the heat and humidity.

We continued to explore and bought a few souvenirs.

Back at the car we changed into dry clothes. One really nice thing about southern Mexico so far has been how many butterflies (mariposas) we see. They are ubiquitous out in the countryside.

In Cancun we are staying at our friends' house. Unfortunately they are on vacation back in the U.S. right now so we don't get to see them.

When we got here we went out to the store and bought food for dinner and breakfast. It is great to be able to do laundry and just relax. We are at about the half way point for distance on our trip.

Here Duke is eating a Pitaya or Dragon Fruit. It was good.

 

Saturday we drove from Campeche to Merida in the state of Yucatan. Along the way we stopped to visit our first Mayan ruin and to do some shopping.

The Mayan ruins at Edzna are mainly from building done between 600 and 900 AD. Edzna was at the height of its power from around 250 BC to 150 AD. As we were entering the site we saw this sign. I thought the alien bit was entertaining.

We had the site almost to ourselves. The size and complexity of the ruins is really impressive. I know next to nothing about Mayan history and seeing Edzna made me want to learn more.

Our second stop of th day was Becal. Becal is a town of 6,400 people and is the center of the Yucatan panama hat trade. According to Lonely Planet about one third of the adult population make their livings weaving hats. The hats vary in price based on the fineness of the fibers used and the tightness of the weave. We saw hats priced well over $100.

A bike taxi showed us one of the back yard caves where the hats are woven from the fibers of the huano palm tree. The cave was about the size of a small room and we entered it using narrow stairs in the shop owner's yard. The hats are woven in the caves because the humidity keeps the fibers pliable.

The hat remains very pliable. It can be crushed and will go back into shape very easily. Duke did some bargaining and bought a hat for about $27.

In Merida we stayed at the Gran Hotel which was opened in 1901. The hotel was indeed grand. I suspect that much of our room was original. Although it was a bit worn it was still good.

When we left Marida on Sunday morning most of the streets around our hotel and the main square were closed to traffic. There were lots of people strolling, bike riding and out enjoying the day.

If you would like to see all of my picture they are on Flickr here. If you have questions or if there are other things about our trip you would like to know please leave a comment or send me an email.

 

Friday morning we left Ciudad del Carmen and headed north east along the coast to Campeche. To quote Lonely Planet:

"Campache is a colonial fairyland, its walled city center a tight enclave of perfectly restored pastel buildings, narrow cobblestone streets, fortified ramparts and well preserved mansions"

 

Campache was first settled by the Europeans ini 1531, making it almost 500 years old. Multiple pirate raids prompted Spain to eventually build a wall around the city. parts of the wall and seven of the bulwarks are still standing.

We stayed at a wonderful very reasonably priced hotel  recommended by Lonely Planet The Hotel Lopez. This is the view from our room. The building we saw through the window is of the Ex Templo de San Jose.

The hotel is located only a few blocks from the main square. Friday afternoon we explored some of the parts of the old wall and the Mayan architecture Museum.

This picture is of  the main square and the cathedral.

Apparently I never played fort as a kid because I couldn't figure out what Duke is doing in this picture. I guess you put your hat some place as a target and look over the wall someplace else so the pirates will shoot at the hat not at you.

After a siesta at the hotel to get away from the heat and humidity we went out for a walk along the ocean front. We sat for a while and watched the daily dance/exercise group and the sunset which was out over the gulf since Camache looks west.

While we were sitting on the sea wall some people came along handing out these for world youth day. They gave it ti Duke!

After dinner we sat in the square and listened to music and people watched. I really like Campeche

I thought you might be interested to know that gas is $2.94. There is only one oil company the government oil company Pemex

 

Tuesday morning we left Veracruz and drove to Catemaco on Laguna de Catemaco. Duke remembers the lake and the surrounding area from his travels 29 years ago. We found a nice hotel, Playa Azul on the lake, checked in and took a siesta.Then we went for a drive  through the ecological reserve to the coast at Monte Pio, We had sodas at tables on the beach. On the way back we found the dirt road to the remote hotel Duke stayed at when he was there in 1982. We decided not to risk driving the car down the rocky road. Back at the hotel we had a great fish dinner. After dinner we sat and enjoying the warm night and the beautiful Laguna de Catemaco and the jungle around it.

Wednesday morning we found a friendly taxi driver who agreed to take us back to the coast and then down the dirt road to the Playa Escondido Hotel. The road was rough but the taxi driver was great and we had a nice chat in Spanish. When we got to the spot Duke remembered, the hotel was a ruin being overtaken by the jungle. The people there told us that the hotel had been closed for 11 years. You could see how stunning the restaurant had been on a cliff overlooking the coast.

Our taxi driver took us back to another rustic hotel right on the beach below the Playa Escondido Hotel. The Parador Icacos is right on Playa Jicacal with an open air dining room and about 8 rooms. We got a room, went swimming in the gulf to cool off, and then sat in the shade and read all afternoon.

We had fresh fish for dinner and went for a walk on the beach. The rooms didn't have hot water or air conditioning so we did get a bit mosquito bitten but the whole experience was still fun.

The owner of the hotel had 3 sons and an enormously cute 4 year old daughter, Maria. She showed us her magic tricks, her bucket full of crabs, and she tried to each me some Spanish words.

When we were ready to leave Thursday morning the owner and his family offered us a ride back up the dirt road. We dropped Mom, Maria and the youngest son Oscar off to register Oscar for school and then a bit farther down the main road the truck stopped and everybody else got out  to cut grass on the side of the road. They were taking it to a horse farmer they know. We got a ride the rest of the way back to our hotel in a mixto, rural taxi (a truck with seats in back). with ten or fifteen other people.

At the hotel we got  into our car and drove south to Ciudad del Carmen. It seems to be a very prosperous oil town with lots of oil workers both American and Mexican. The most expensive hotel in town was full but we stayed at the Holiday Inn and enjoying the marble floor, shower and air conditioning. The ironic thing though is that although it cost 5 times more than Icacos Parador, Holoiday Inn didn't have hot water either!

 

 

 

Saturday morning bright and early we crossed the border into Mexico. Crossing took a while because we got there before the offices opened but by 9am we were on our way south. Our goal was to drive a long way our first day. The quality of the roads varied widely but we made good progress and finally stopped for the night in the town of Cerro Azul.This is a picture of Duke outside the door of our motel room.

Coincidentally just before we stopped for the night we were caught in traffic behind a guy named Ron Farmer who is running from Pole to Pole to raise money for the Red Cross. While we were eating dinner he caught up with us and came into our restaurant to eat with his support people. We chatted with his Mexican organizer and photographer who was from Cancun.

Sunday morning we caught up with and passed his motorcade again about 3 miles south of Cerra Azul. A few miles after we passed him the main road was closed and we had to take a detour on dirt roads for while. We even crossed a river on a causeway with water over the road..

When we reached Veracruz we parked and walked around looking at hotels. We ended up in a wonderful room at the Gran Hotel Diligencias. Our room is on the fourth floor overlooking the swimming pool, the cathedral, and  the main square (the Zocalo).

We immediately went out and had a snack on the edge of the square.

For dinner we ate at the hotel restaurant. We ordered fresh fish. It is priced by weight. The waiter brought out three fish for us to chose from. We chose the snapper and the waiter took it back to the kitchen where they grilled it for us. It was fantastic.

Last night there was a concert in the Zocalo by Mane de la Parra. It was fun to watch and listen. From our room after the concert we watched security rush him through the crowd of screaming girls to the hotel.

Yesterday and today we have been exploring Vera Cruz. It is very hot and incredibly humid here. We walk for a while then come back to the room, relax and enjoy the air conditioning.

Veracruz was first settled by Europeans over 400 years ago. This is part of the original wall around the city.

The terrapins in the pool in front of Faro Carranza reminded me of our turtle at home. My friend Linda tells me that he is starting to call her Mom.

 The pictures from teh mexican part of our trip are on Flickr here.