2001-08-28-quest-for-a-hammock.md (3799B)
1 +++ 2 title = "Quest for a Hammock" 3 date = "2001-08-28T00:00:00Z" 4 slug = "quest-for-a-hammock" 5 tags = ["Mexico", "Travel"] 6 +++ 7 8 {{< figure src="/post/2001-08-28-old-door.jpg" alt="A worn-down wooden door lies framed by a crumbling building façade in Mérida. Traces of faded lettering remain where the paint has not flaked away." >}} 9 10 In Mérida, most people sleep in hammocks. Walk down any residential street and 11 look in the windows and you’ll see hammocks strung all over the room. What I’m 12 getting at is that I finally caved in and bought a hammock. Now sit back and 13 listen, ’cause here’s my advice… 14 15 If you’re in Mérida, you’ll be approached every five minutes by someone wanting 16 to sell you a hammock off the street. Do not buy it! That man is crazy! The 17 quality of hammock you get from a wandering hammock guy is a mystery until you 18 try it out. And you’re not going to be trying it out until after you’ve paid 19 for it. Generally speaking, they’re pretty bad. Locals refer to them as 20 ‘hospital hammocks’ because that’s where you end up if you use them. Go to a 21 hammock shop with a good reputation. If they can show you a photo album of them 22 and their grandparents chopping down sisal (henequen cactus), stripping the 23 fibre, and making hammocks, it’s a pretty safe bet that the hammocks are 24 good.So Julio Armando pulled out a few hammocks, strung them up, proudly 25 displays the threading to show there were no flaws, and got me to jump in and 26 take it for a spin. Hammocks come in lots of sizes: single, double, 27 matrimonial, and matrimonial especial. The difference is the number of pairs of 28 end threads. Matrimonial has about 150 pairs of end threads, whereas a single 29 has about 50 and a double has about 100. Keep in mind that these sizes were 30 designed for people of Mayan stature, which is a lot smaller than your typical 31 Canadian, or Mestizo Mexican. 32 33 Unfortunately, the walls in the apartment must be the only ones in the whole 34 city that doesn’t have hammock hooks! Even a lot of hotels in Mérida provide 35 hooks! I ran across the street to the Tlapalería¹ and using hand signals and 36 pantomime, bought exactly five metres of nylon rope. Using those engineering 37 skills I spent so much effort learning at UVic, and some knots I learned in Boy 38 Scouts, I rigged up a makeshift hammock hookup. Unfortunately, the only 39 available post to string a rope around was the chunk of wall between the 40 balcony door and the window, which meant that both the door and the window had 41 to be open to use it, and I had to pull the mosquito screen out of the window 42 anytime I wanted to use the hammock. 43 44 About Mérida’s weather: Maybe you people back home have looked at the 45 temperatures in Mérida and thought 'Wow! They spend the whole summer in the mid 46 to upper 30s! It’s just like Cancún!' True, but it’s also insanely humid, which 47 means you’re covered in sweat 24 hours a day—imagine waking up sticky and 48 sweaty every morning; that’s why most people use hammocks. What’s more, unlike 49 Cancún, there are thunderstorms every afternoon between about four and seven. 50 You can set your watch by them. During these thunderstorms, it rains. A lot. So 51 much, in fact, that having the window or door open even a centimetre spells 52 certain doom. In short, the hammock is no longer up. Back to the drawing board. 53 54 A curious side note here. If you wander the streets of Mérida enough, you’ll 55 notice an inordinate number of people with one or both eyes missing. The reason 56 for this is quite interesting. Mérida is famous around the world for its 57 hammocks. And to make hammocks you need henequen fibre. The sisal cactus from 58 which you get it has very, very sharp, needle-like barbs. You get the point. 59 60 ### Glossary 61 62 1. *Tlapalería:* A sort of little roadside hardware store.