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1 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="yes"?> 2 <rss version="2.0" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"> 3 <channel> 4 <title>Mexico on Chris Bracken</title> 5 <link>https://chris.bracken.jp/tags/mexico/</link> 6 <description>Recent content in Mexico on Chris Bracken</description> 7 <generator>Hugo -- gohugo.io</generator> 8 <language>en</language> 9 <lastBuildDate>Thu, 04 Apr 2002 00:00:00 +0000</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://chris.bracken.jp/tags/mexico/index.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> 10 <item> 11 <title>Chetumal, Quintana Roo, México</title> 12 <link>https://chris.bracken.jp/2002/04/chetumal-quintana-roo-mexico/</link> 13 <pubDate>Thu, 04 Apr 2002 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> 14 15 <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2002/04/chetumal-quintana-roo-mexico/</guid> 16 <description><p>As we stepped off the Cubana Ilyushin Il-62 plane at the Cancun airport, I 17 literally kissed the ground in happiness. The airport was crowded with people 18 snacking on good Mexican food and the sound of shouting and laughter filled the 19 air. After all the episodes of trouble, dengue fever, and trying to figure out 20 what the hell was actually going on, it was easy to lose sight of just how 21 great a country México is, and after Cuba, coming back to México felt like 22 coming home.</p> 23 <p>After arrival, the first challenge is getting from the airport to the Cancún 24 bus depot. The shuttle bus drivers&rsquo; union has a strangle-hold on travel from 25 the airport in Cancun. They charge 75 pesos per person one-way from the airport 26 via the major hotels along La Zona Hotelera to the station. If you happen to be 27 living on a wage of 50 pesos an hour, this is practically highway robbery. 28 However, it turns out that the shuttle bus drivers only have a monopoly on 29 travel from the airport; travel to the airport remains entirely unrestricted. 30 Those who take a few minutes to sit and relax out front of the airport for a 31 few minutes will notice that there is a clever way around this racket.</p> 32 <p>Following the example of the locals, we hauled our backpacks across the parking 33 lot, headed out the gates of the airport, and started down the highway in 36 34 degree heat. Within moments a taxi skidded to a stop, and the driver, nervously 35 glancing out the rear window, motioned to us to get in.</p> 36 <p>We didn&rsquo;t. Instead, we stood at the window asking &ldquo;cuanto cuesta?&rdquo;, to which he 37 shouted &ldquo;no importa! vamos amigos!&rdquo;.</p> 38 <p>Still we didn&rsquo;t get in. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll pay 50 pesos&hellip; for the two of us.&rdquo;</p> 39 <p>Looking insulted, he replied &ldquo;Are you crazy?! I won&rsquo;t do it for less than 70 40 pesos each!&rdquo;</p> 41 <p>Glancing back toward the airport we told him &ldquo;That&rsquo;s ridiculous, the bus is 75 42 pesos, and besides we don&rsquo;t have that kind of money. We live in Merida; we&rsquo;re 43 not rich turistas norteamericanos.&rdquo;</p> 44 <p>A shuttle bus flew by honking its horn while the driver shook his fist at the 45 taxista.</p> 46 <p>&ldquo;Bueno! 110 pesos para los dos! Vamos!&rdquo;</p> 47 <p>At 110 pesos, we were still overpaying by Mérida standards, but given that we 48 were a 16km walk in scorching heat from the city, I was pretty sure we weren&rsquo;t 49 going to get much of a better deal.</p> 50 <p>At the bus depot, we bought tickets for Chetumal, 5 hours to the south, then 51 made a dive for the nearest yucatecan restaurant. After weeks of oil-drum 52 pizzas and roast ham &amp; cheese sandwiches in Cuba, I savoured every last bite of 53 my poc-chuc. We finished our horchata, then climbed into the bus for the trip 54 to Chetumal.</p> 55 <p>Confined by the jungle to the southeast corner of Quintana Roo state, and 56 squashed between the sea and the Belizean border, Chetumal is the last outpost 57 of civilisation before crossing into the jungle to the south. Until the end of 58 the 1970s, like much of pre-Cancun Quintana Roo, it was essentially a free zone 59 in relatively lawless territory. Trade with British Honduras (now Belize) was 60 the foundation of the local economy, and earned it the title of the territory 61 (now state) capital. The historical importance of trade gives the city a 62 distinct feel from colonial Merida. You can still spot the occasional 63 wood-frame house, and the city has a relatively modern atmosphere.</p> 64 <p>Previously named <em>Chactemal</em>, the city had served as a Mayan capital since 65 pre-Columbian times. The first Spanish missionaries arrived the 16th century, 66 and the Conquistadors followed soon after. By 1544, the city had fallen to the 67 Spaniards and the remaining Maya fled into Belize, leaving the city all but 68 abandoned for the next two centuries.</p> 69 <p>At the turn of the 20th century in 1898, Porfirio Diaz, then President of 70 Mexico, ordered the establishment of a port at the mouth of the Rio Hondo in 71 order to quell the flow of arms across the Belizean border and into the hands 72 of the Maya. To this end, the city of Payo Obispo was founded by Othon Blanco 73 with the help of Mexicans from the surrounding areas. The economy developed 74 quickly and the city grew into the territorial capital by 1915. In 1936, the 75 city renamed itself to Chetumal, which it remains to this day.</p> 76 <p>All along the waterfront of Chetumal is a gorgeous walkway. Unlike the 77 shimmering blue waters of the north-eastern coast of the Yucatan, the water 78 here was more reminiscent of the murky green ocean back home on Vancouver 79 Island. The locals are adamant that the water is horrifically ugly, but I 80 suppose when your bases for comparison are Playa del Carmen, Cozumel and 81 Cancun, that you can afford to be picky.</p> 82 <p>After sunset, as we wandered through the town, snacking on fresh tamales, we 83 were stopped by a couple of old men sitting in chairs on the sidewalk in front 84 of a saddle shop. They stopped us to ask where we were from and what brought us 85 to Chetumal. We explained we were taking a trip to see Guatemala and part of 86 Honduras before returning back to México.</p> 87 <p>&ldquo;Why do you want to go to Guatemala? It&rsquo;s a dangerous. It&rsquo;s poor. They have 88 nothing. Pickpockets are everywhere, and the people have no dignity left. Life 89 is cheap in Guatemala, they&rsquo;ve been surrounded by civil war and death for 30 90 years. It&rsquo;s a beautiful country with a terrible history.&rdquo;</p> 91 <p>That night, we checked into an 80 peso hotel. The employees were huddled around 92 the television furiously debating México&rsquo;s loss to the USA in fútbol.</p> 93 <p>&ldquo;The giants defeated us midgets! Look at the size of their players. And the 94 Americans don&rsquo;t even care about fútbol! Can you believe this?! This is an 95 insult!&rdquo;</p> 96 <p>We tried to console them by mentioning that Mexico would be guarateed to put 97 Canada to shame. It was the best we could manage. It didn&rsquo;t help much.</p> 98 <p>They shut off the game, and we got to sleep early. Just after the stroke of 99 midnight I woke up and, in a final farewell to the bugs I had picked up in 100 Cuba, I threw up (in order) the dinner tamale, followed by the entire plate of 101 celebratory Poc Chuc I had eaten that afternoon. I felt surprisingly better, 102 and fell sound asleep excited about the next day&rsquo;s 12 hour trip down a narrow 103 dirt track road through the jungles of Belize and into northern Guatemala.</p> 104 </description> 105 </item> 106 107 <item> 108 <title>¡Feliz Navidad!</title> 109 <link>https://chris.bracken.jp/2002/01/feliz-navidad/</link> 110 <pubDate>Tue, 01 Jan 2002 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> 111 112 <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2002/01/feliz-navidad/</guid> 113 <description><p>Took a two week trip through southern México for Christmas. Starting in Mérida, 114 southwest into Campeche, Tabasco, Veracruz and then Chiapas. Stopped to visit 115 the Mayan ruins at Palenque, followed by some of the villages around San 116 Cristóbal de las Casas. From there, it was northeast back onto the Yucatán 117 peninsula, to Tulúm, then onwards north again to spend Christmas swimming in the 118 Caribbean on Isla Mujeres in 30 degree weather. After a few days, it was 119 westward again to Chichen Itzá and Valladolid before finally returning home to 120 Mérida.</p> 121 </description> 122 </item> 123 124 <item> 125 <title>Valladolid, Yucatán, México</title> 126 <link>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/12/valladolid-yucatan-mexico/</link> 127 <pubDate>Thu, 27 Dec 2001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> 128 129 <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/12/valladolid-yucatan-mexico/</guid> 130 <description><p>In 1543, Francisco de Montejo (the nephew of Mérida’s famous Francisco de 131 Montejo) descended on the ceremonial centre of the Zací (Hawk) Maya, waging war 132 on the <em>Cupules</em>, a group of Maya that hadn’t taken kindly to the Spanish 133 conquistadors. When the battle was done and the town had been razed, he renamed 134 it Valladolid in honour of the Spanish city of the same name. Today, Valladolid 135 is one of the most beautiful colonial cities in the Yucatán, with a mix of 136 Spanish and Maya influences. Maya from local pueblas and from the city sell 137 traditional <em>huipiles</em> near the plaza downtown. The city is still roughly 138 centered on the <em>Cenote Zací</em> that was the ceremonial centre of the original 139 Mayan settlement.</p> 140 <figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-27-cenote.jpg" 141 alt="View of Cenote Zací. Stalactites and vines hang from above. A few swimmers can be seen near the edge of the pool. A path leads upwards through the trees."> 142 </figure> 143 144 <p>The cenote is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. To get to it, you hike 145 down a passage into a cavern, then wind your way down the side to get to water 146 level. The water is a deep turquoise colour, and is absolutely crystal clear. 147 In the shallow areas, you can easily see fallen stalactites lying 30 metres 148 below on the bottom. In the deep parts, you won’t see the bottom—it’s more than 149 100 metres deep. The same little blind fish that are present in the cenote at 150 Dzibilchaltún will nibble your toes in this cenote as well.</p> 151 <p>Above the cenote is a little zoo with spider monkeys, who spend most of their 152 afternoon playing with toys, and getting fed potato chips by laughing groups of 153 kids. What was more interesting, however, was that they had a raccoon in the 154 zoo. You don’t see them in México at all, and most people we asked didn’t know 155 what the Spanish word for it was, until an old man we ran into told us it was 156 <em>mapache</em>.</p> 157 <p>The main plaza of the city is gorgeous. With ornate lamp posts, hanging baskets 158 full of flowers, and beautiful hedges, it was the Yucatán’s answer to Victoria. 159 The streets downtown are kept immaculately clean by a crew of street cleaners 160 who run through the streets every morning at 5 am. The government of Spain has 161 apparently deemed Valladolid to be one of the most Spanish cities in the 162 Americas, and donates money to help in its preservation.</p> 163 <figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-27-cenote-top.jpg" 164 alt="View from above, looking down into Cenote Zací. Vines hang down to the water from above. A stone staircase leads up from the dark blue-green waters. A few scattered fallen leaves litter the surface of the water."> 165 </figure> 166 167 <p>Probably the most exciting thing that happened while we were there was the 168 rain. We had gone off in search of what is supposed to be an absolutely amazing 169 cathedral and graveyard somewhere in the southwestern part of the city. In 170 typical Mexican fashion, everyone we talked to was able to tell us in 171 approximately what direction it was, so we were able to slowly make our way 172 there stumbling randomly from one Vallisoletana to the next. We never did find 173 it, but not for any lack of determination, but because it started to rain. Now, 174 when I say rain, I don’t mean the rain we get in Victoria. I don’t even mean 175 Vancouver rain. To fully appreciate a Yucatecan rain storm, you really need to 176 experience one. Imagine the streets filling with water, then overflowing onto 177 the sidewalks until the whole city is two feet deep in rainwater. We did the 178 only thing we could do: jump into a corner store. The guys in the store reacted 179 the same way any other Mexicans all over the country would react: toss over a 180 couple chairs and invite us in to watch some TV. We bought some cookies and 181 juice and sat for 45 minutes or so, watching the water level in the street 182 outside rise closer and closer to the edge of the door before we finally 183 decided that we were going to make a break for it, only stopping once for a 184 slice of cheesecake in a bakery along the way back to the hotel.</p> 185 <p>Valladolid is also famous for the cenote at Dzitnup, about 10 km out of town. 186 While we never did make it there, we heard some amazing stories about it from 187 Nick, an Irishman from Cork we met in San Cristóbal de las Casas. What is so 188 incredible about it is that it’s at the bottom of a dark cavern, with a small 189 opening in the roof. At the right time of day, the sun shines through this 190 opening and into the turquoise waters of the cenote, making it apear as though 191 you’re bathing in light. The actual name of the cenote is <em>Kiken</em> which is 192 Yucatec Maya for &lsquo;pig,&rsquo; because the cenote was originally discovered by a farmer 193 whose his pig had fallen in through the hole in the roof.</p> 194 <p>Valladolid is also famous for its uprisings. What transpired in Valladolid in 195 June of 1910 helped to spark the Mexican Revolution that erupted in the rest of 196 the country that November when Francisco Madero flew across the border into 197 Piedras Negras, Coahuila. The revolution wasn’t over until 1920; but as they 198 say, the opening chapters were written in blood, here in Valladolid.</p> 199 <figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-27-truck.jpg" 200 alt="The rusted carcass of a truck parked on the side of the street. Painted across the front: Duele mas andar a pie (it hurts more to walk). On the bent and twisted remains of the bumper: Asi como me vez te veras (one day, you&#39;ll look like this too)."><figcaption> 201 <h4>&#39;It hurts more to walk&#39;</h4> 202 </figcaption> 203 </figure> 204 205 <p>Unhappy with Spanish control of a land they considered their own, a small band 206 of revolutionaries had worked together for months, planning the overthrow of 207 governor Moñoz Aristegui. On the night of June 3rd, 1910, all those committed 208 to the plan met in the Plaza de la Santa Lucia at midnight. Under the command 209 of Ruz Ponce and José Kantún, one group stormed the police quarter, killing the 210 guard outside and taking everyone else prisoner. Another group, led by Claudio 211 Alconcer and Atilano Albertos took the office of the Mexican Guard, killing the 212 Sergeant of the Guard, Facundo Gil. The governor, Felipe de Regil, asleep in 213 bed at the time, woke up to the sound of gunfire outside in the streets. He 214 immediately jumped out of bed and, a gun in each hand, ran into the street 215 firing on the revolutionaries. He fought bravely until the end, when he was 216 finally killed and left lying in the street.</p> 217 <p>At this point, there was no turning back for the insurgents. They now had the 218 support of nearly the entire city, and within three days had amassed an army of 219 no less than 1500 men, armed with guns and machetes. Most had no military 220 training. Local landowners provided weapons, ammunition and food.</p> 221 <p>In Mérida, this uprising had not gone unnoticed. While the locals were 222 preparing in Valladolid, the government had sent a column of 65 men eastward 223 with 300 guns, recruiting villagers along the way. Under the command of Colonel 224 Ignacio Lara, they marched easward to Tinum, 12 km outside of Valladolid, where 225 they waited for reinforcements to arrive. The cannons of Morelos arrived in 226 Valladolid on the 7th. On the 8th, Lara led his men to the outskirts of the 227 city, where, at dawn on the 9th of June, they began the assault on Valladolid. 228 A batallion of 600 federal troops arrived on the 10th. Poorly equiped, 229 untrained, and out of ammunition, the rebels fell under the three ferocious 230 onslaughts. The death tolls were high on both sides: more than 100 231 revolutionaries and over 30 government soldiers had been killed. This was the 232 highest balance of deaths of any battle ever fought in México, and would remain 233 so until the Revolution began that November.</p> 234 <p>The leaders of the revolt were eventually rounded up, tried and sentenced to 235 death. In the courtyard of the Shrine of San Roque, Kantún, Albertos, and 236 Bonilla faced the firing squad. That November, Francisco Madero launched the 237 Mexican Revolution, and by the following April, 17000 people had taken up arms 238 against Porfirio Diaz and his government. The rest is <a href="http://history.acusd.edu/gen/projects/border/page01.html">history</a>.</p> 239 </description> 240 </item> 241 242 <item> 243 <title>Chichen Itzá, Yucatán, México</title> 244 <link>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/12/chichen-itza-yucatan-mexico/</link> 245 <pubDate>Wed, 26 Dec 2001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> 246 247 <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/12/chichen-itza-yucatan-mexico/</guid> 248 <description><p>Somewhere on the old highway between Cancún and Mérida lies Chichen Itzá. The 249 ruins at this site cover over 15 square kilometres, with <em>El Castillo</em> alone 250 taking up 0.4 hectares. At 83 metres in length, the Ball Court is the largest 251 in Meso-America. The close proximity of the ruins to Cancún and the size of 252 some of the structures have made these the most famous Mayan ruins in the 253 country.</p> 254 <figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-26-el-castillo.jpg" 255 alt="A view from the ground below the El Castillo pyramid at Chichen Itzá. Visitors climb the steep staircase leading up the centre of the face of the pyramid. A few people stand silhouetted at the top, looking down on the surrouding jungle."> 256 </figure> 257 258 <p>The image that most people associate with Chichen Itzá is <em>El Castillo</em>. The 259 pyramid rises more than 23 metres above the ground, with steep staircases up 260 all four sides, leading to a small building at the top. What’s so spectacular 261 about it is the fact that this pyramid is actually a huge Mayan calendar built 262 of stone. The four staircases leading to the top have 91 steps each, which 263 when added to the platform at the top, make 365. On the sides are 52 panels 264 representing the 52 years of the traditional Mayan calendar round. The pyramid 265 is composed of nine terraced platforms on either side of the two primary 266 staircases, for a total of 18, the number of months in the Mayan calendar. If 267 you’re still not convinced of the Mayans’ astronomical prowess, you can easily 268 convince yourself by visiting on either the spring or the fall equinox when, as 269 the sun rises over the jungle, the form of a giant serpent is projected onto 270 the sides of the two primary staircases, each of which has a giant stone 271 serpent head at its base. This illusion is created by the precise alignment of 272 the terraces in relation to position of the sun.</p> 273 <p>In a corner in the shade of one of the giant staircases leading up the side of 274 El Castillo is a door. Once or twice a day, the door is opened, and groups of 275 20 or so are allowed inside. A narrow passage leads to a steep staircase that 276 runs up the side of another pyramid inside El Castillo. It’s narrow, cramped, 277 hot and humid, not to mention dark, but the climb is worth it. Eventually, at 278 the top of the staircase, if you’re lucky or pushy enough, you can catch a 279 glimpse of a jewel-encrusted jaguar altar, used by the Maya for sacrifices.</p> 280 <figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-26-ball-court.jpg" 281 alt="The ball court at Chichen Itzá. Large, perfectly flat stone walls rise above the grass. Two stone hoops protrude, one from each wall, facing sideways. A crowd of people stands at the far end of the court."> 282 </figure> 283 284 <p>The Ball Court is another feat of engineering. The walls are each approximately 285 8 metres high, with structures at the top for viewing the game. At either end 286 of the court is an elaborate stone temple. But what is so amazing about the 287 Ball Court is its acoustics. A whisper at one end can be clearly heard at the 288 other end, 135 metres away. In fact, the sound reflection at the centre of the 289 court is so incredible, you can hear at least nine echos if you clap or shout.</p> 290 <p>The following excerpt, by one of the supervising archaeologists restoring the 291 ruins, describes the acoustics:</p> 292 <blockquote> 293 <p>Chi cheen Itsa’s famous &lsquo;Ball-court&rsquo; or Temple of the Maize cult offers the 294 visitor besides its mystery and impressive architecture, its marvellous 295 acoustics If a person standing under either ring claps his hands or yells, the 296 sound produced will be repeated several times gradually losing its volume, A 297 single revolver shot seems machine-gun fire. The sound waves travel with equal 298 force to East or West, day or night. disregarding the wind’s direction. Anyone 299 speaking in a normal voice from the &lsquo;Forum&rsquo; can be clearly heard in the &lsquo;Sacred 300 Tribune&rsquo; five hundred feet away or vice-versa. If a short sentence, for 301 example, &lsquo;Do you hear me?&rsquo; is pronounced it will be repeated word by word&hellip; 302 Parties from one extreme to the other can hold a conversation without raising 303 their voices.</p> 304 <p>This transmission of sound, as yet unexplained, has been discussed by 305 architects and archaeologists &hellip; Most of them used to consider it as fanciful 306 due to the ruined conditions of the structure but, on the contrary, we who have 307 engaged in its reconstruction know well that the sound volume, instead of 308 disappearing, has become stronger and clearer&hellip; Undoubtedly we must consider 309 this feat of acoustics as another noteworthy achievement of engineering 310 realized millenniums ago by the Maya technicians.</p> 311 <p><em>—Chi Cheen Itza by Manuel Cirerol Sansores, 1947</em></p> 312 </blockquote> 313 <p>Aside from the Ball Court and <em>El Castillo</em>, there are dozens of other sites of 314 interest. There are no less than three cenotes around the site, one of which 315 was filled with tens of thousands of artifacts, from neclaces and jewelry to 316 the bones of human and animal sacrifices. The Hall of the Thousand Pillars is 317 also incredible to walk through, with each pillar featuring unique carvings and 318 inscriptions; on some, traces of red and blue paint are still visible.</p> 319 <p>The site was originally populated by the Itzáes around 500 AD, and slowly built 320 up until 900 AD, at which point it was completely abandonned. No one knows why 321 the Itzáes left so abruptly, but it appears that the city was re-populated 322 about 100 years later, and then attacked by the Toltecs, a tribe known for its 323 brutality at war. Structures from the period between 1000 and 1300 AD show 324 marked Toltec influences, including numeral reliefs of Toltec gods, including 325 Quetzalcoatl, the plumed serpent. The city was abandonned once again around 326 1300, this time permanently.</p> 327 </description> 328 </item> 329 330 <item> 331 <title>Tulúm, Quintana Roo, México</title> 332 <link>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/12/tulum-quintana-roo-mexico/</link> 333 <pubDate>Mon, 24 Dec 2001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> 334 335 <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/12/tulum-quintana-roo-mexico/</guid> 336 <description><p>Between San Cristóbal and Tulúm is a long, empty road. The overnight bus works 337 beautifully for this trip, winding its way through the mountains, jungle and 338 the vast plains of the Yucatán. The only major stop along the way is Escarcega, 339 Campeche. By major, I mean a couple of comida corrida places, a papaya tree, 340 and a dusty bus stop on a long, empty stretch of highway. By six in the 341 morning, we were in Tulúm, a slightly bigger collection of restaurants and bus 342 stops along a long, empty stretch of highway. We grabbed a plate of 343 <em>huevos motuleños</em> and some coffee, which (I swear that I am not making this 344 up) was blue. Sort of an off-grey blue. It tasted like milk mixed with 345 dishwater.</p> 346 <figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-24-tulum.jpg" 347 alt="Mayan ruins sit on a bluff of rock covered with low scrub overlooking the Caribbean. Below, waves crash against the rocks."> 348 </figure> 349 350 <p>The best time to see the ruins is, without a doubt, sunrise. The ruins at 351 Tulúm, while not spectacular except for the two-metre rock wall surrounding the 352 site on three sides, have one of the best views you could possibly hope for. 353 The structures sit nestled amid the rolling green grass and white sandy 354 beaches, hovering over the turquoise Caribbean. As the sun rises, the whole 355 place is bathed in a warm orangey-red glow. Sitting on ruins watching the waves 356 is pretty relaxing.</p> 357 <p>Since Tulúm is so close to Playa del Carmen and Cancún, the number of visitors 358 is absoutely huge compared to a lot of other Mayan ruins, and especially given 359 the small size of these ruins. Because of that, most of the structures are 360 off-limits to the public, so you can’t climb up on them as you can at most 361 other sites. In the end, it’s nice to see that these ruins are being protected, 362 but Palenque, Uxmal and Chichen Itzá are a lot more fun. That said, if you look 363 hard enough, you will find a couple structures you can sit down on.</p> 364 </description> 365 </item> 366 367 <item> 368 <title>San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, México</title> 369 <link>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/12/san-cristobal-de-las-casas-chiapas-mexico/</link> 370 <pubDate>Fri, 21 Dec 2001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> 371 372 <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/12/san-cristobal-de-las-casas-chiapas-mexico/</guid> 373 <description><p>San Cristóbal is, without question, one of the most beautiful towns in Mexico. 374 It’s also the ideal temperature for visiting Canadians, with the temperature 375 hovering around 10 °C, and the humidity close to 100% during the daytime in 376 winter. It’s cold, damp and cloudy. After months of scorching heat and 377 humidity, I was in heaven. San Cristóbal makes an ideal base from which to do 378 day-trips to the surrounding villages of San Juan Chamula and 379 Zinacantán—indigenous villages comprising the Tzotzil and Tzeltal indigenous 380 groups respectively.</p> 381 <figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-21-plaza.jpg" 382 alt="The bright yellow façade of a catheral faces the main plaza in San Cristóbal de las Casas. Pedestrials mill about the square in groups."> 383 </figure> 384 385 <p>In town, we met a law student named Luís who took a group of us to the 386 villages. In San Juan Chamula, we first visited the shaman’s hut for the 387 village, where we learned about the mix of Catholicism and traditional beliefs 388 practised in the village. We then continued on to the village church which was 389 probably the highlight of the visit. Seeing the mix of beliefs being practised 390 there was incredible: everything from prayers to the Catholic saints to burning 391 incense to chicken sacrifices and ceremonial purgings. Photography isn’t 392 allowed in the church and out of respect to the Chamulans, we won’t describe 393 everything in detail on the web, but suffice to say that it was an incredibly 394 worthwhile visit.</p> 395 <p>Zinacantán is only a few kilometres away, but the villagers speak an entirely 396 different language, Tzeltal. Here, the church is much more traditional, 397 although most villagers still maintain strong ties to traditional indigenous 398 beliefs, such as worshipping the Earth Lord and placing a strong emphasis on 399 the interpretation of dreams. For a more detailed look at the beliefs and 400 culture of the people of Zinacantán, we’d suggest <em>Dreams and Stories from the 401 People of the Bat</em> by Robert Laughlin. This book is a collection of dreams and 402 their interpretations as told by the villagers of Zinacantán, as well as a 403 series of short stories passed from generation to generation in the village.</p> 404 <p>The town also produces many traditional handicrafts typical of Chiapas: 405 blankets, clothing, dolls, etc. The villagers take these to San Cristóbal to 406 sell them at the markets and on the street. The textiles are all made from 407 hand, from the thread, to hand-weaving and embroidering. Typically, a 408 medium-sized blanket takes two to three weeks to produce.</p> 409 <figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-21-beans.jpg" 410 alt="Dozens of varieties of dried beans in many colours arrayed for sale in bins and large sacks for sale at the market"> 411 </figure> 412 413 <p>Back in San Cristóbal, we spent a few days visiting the markets and wandering 414 around town trying out the local food before heading back north for Palenque 415 again. On our way out of town we noticed a small shanty-town suburb in a gravel 416 pit. On a big yellow arch, bold black letters declared the name of the colonia: 417 <em>Sal Si Puedes</em>, &lsquo;Get Out If You Can&rsquo;. Just past this is the massive military 418 encampment that has been in place since 1994 when the EZLN (Zapatista 419 Liberation Army) overthrew and occupied the town before being driven out by 420 reinforcements sent in, causing a bloodbath. There is a lot less tension now 421 than there was then, but the Zapatistas still have incredibly high support in 422 the villages just outside of town. The Mexican government under Vincente Fox 423 has been much more responsive to indigenous peoples than previous governments 424 have been, although in recent months this seems to be less and less the case. 425 There’s still a lot of work to do before the indigenous groups in Mexico are 426 able to live in conditions similar to the rest of the population. Most people 427 in the villages still lack food, clothing and (non-dirt) floors in their 428 houses, let alone running water and electricity. And although Chiapas produces 429 more electricity than any other state, less than half the population has 430 electricity in its home.</p> 431 </description> 432 </item> 433 434 <item> 435 <title>Palenque, Chiapas, México</title> 436 <link>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/12/palenque-chiapas-mexico/</link> 437 <pubDate>Tue, 18 Dec 2001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> 438 439 <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/12/palenque-chiapas-mexico/</guid> 440 <description><p>For Christmas, we decided to take a trip to the state of Chiapas, about an 8 441 hour bus ride from Mérida. Although Chiapas has been a somewhat politically 442 unstable state during the past 10 years, it is also home to some of the most 443 incredible scenery, archaeological sites and indigenous culture in the 444 country.</p> 445 <figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-18-temple-of-inscriptions.jpg" 446 alt="The Mayan ruins of the Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque towering over a courtyard surrounded by jungle. A large staircase leads up the main face of the pyramid. Rain pours down in torrents."> 447 </figure> 448 449 <p>The town of Palenque sits only a few minutes by bike, foot or bus from the 450 ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Palenque. The ruins themselves extend over a 451 huge area and are composed of many smaller groups of structures situated around 452 plazas. The most impressive of these are probably the main plaza—which is 453 surrounded by the Temple of the Inscriptions and the palace/observatory 454 tower—and the Sun Temple Plaza.</p> 455 <p>The Temple of the Inscriptions is well-known for housing the sarcophagus and 456 jade death mask of Pakal, former ruler of the city. Unfortunately, it&rsquo;s no 457 longer possible to visit the inside of the Temple of the Inscriptions without a 458 research permit. In theory, that involves applications via your university and 459 submissions of your research to the government; in practice it involves 150 460 pesos to the right people.</p> 461 </description> 462 </item> 463 464 <item> 465 <title>Dzibilchaltún, Yucatán, México</title> 466 <link>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/09/dzibilchaltun-yucatan-mexico/</link> 467 <pubDate>Tue, 11 Sep 2001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> 468 469 <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/09/dzibilchaltun-yucatan-mexico/</guid> 470 <description><p>About halfway between Mérida and Progresso lie the ruins of Dzibilchaltún, an 471 important centre in the ancient world of the Maya. The name means &lsquo;The place 472 with writing on the stones.&rsquo;</p> 473 <figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-09-11-munecas-door.jpg" 474 alt="View framed by the doorway of the of Templo de las Siete Muñecas looking out over the ruins of a stone building and four-sized stone stela on a raised platform. A path leads past the ruins, through the low jungle, and towards the horizon."> 475 </figure> 476 477 <p>Dzibilchaltún covers an area of about 16 square kilometres, in which there are 478 about 8400 structures. The central part of the site covers three square 479 kilometres, which includes several temples and pyramids, as well as a cenote of 480 unknown depth, one of the largest in the Yucatán. Many of the structures date 481 back as far as 500 B.C.</p> 482 <p>From downtown Mérida, you can catch a colectivo that stops down the road from 483 the temple. A 10 minute hike from there along a trail through the jungle gets 484 you to the entrance to the site, where they charge 50 pesos per person ($7.50 485 CDN) to get in. The day we arrived, it was a scorching 40-something degrees, 486 with 100% humidity, so the fact that the small museum on the site was 487 air-conditionned was worth the price of admission in itself.</p> 488 <p>The site is divided into two parts, separated by a one kilometre long road. At 489 one end is the Temple of the Seven Dolls, named after seven ceramic dolls found 490 there as offerings to the gods. At the other end is a courtyard, a pyramid, a 491 ball court and the cenote, as well as an open chapel that was constructed 492 during the Colonial era, in the late 16th and early 17th century.</p> 493 <figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-09-11-munecas-outside.jpg" 494 alt="View of the Templo de las Siete Muñecas from the path. In the foreground, a hiker walks toward a large worn stela on a raised platform."> 495 </figure> 496 497 <p>The Temple of the Seven Dolls is probably the most interesting part of the 498 site. At least it was to us. At one time, the temple was adorned with plaster 499 friezes, molded to the shapes of intertwined serpents, hieroglyphs, and masks, 500 though these friezes are no longer on the structure itself. The building is 501 thought to have served as an astronomical observatory, and during the Vernal 502 and Autumnal Equinoxes, an interesting phenonmenon can be seen at sunrise. 503 During the Equinoxes, the sun is perfectly aligned such that the morning 504 sunlight passes directly between two sets of opposing doors on the temple, 505 casting the light down into the courtyard facing the structure. Many people 506 pile into Dzibilchaltún between 5:00 and 6:00 in the morning to witness the 507 sunrise, then run back out and pile into a bus to Chichen Itza to watch the 508 more spectacular effect of the sun casting light in the shape of a giant 509 serpent slithering up the side of the temple there in the afternoon. If you 510 don’t happen to be a teacher who has classes on these days, this is apparently 511 the thing to do.</p> 512 <p>The cenote on the other side of the site is open for swimming, if you don’t 513 mind thousands of little fish chasing you around the whole time. What’s 514 curious, of course, is that there are any fish at all in the cenotes, since 515 they’re fed by a series of deep, underwater channels of water that snake 516 beneath the entire peninsula. There are no rivers or streams connecting them on 517 the surface, so the fish have to descend to incredible depths (over 100 m) to 518 move between one cenote and the next. From what people have told us, the fish 519 that live in the cenotes are blind, which is kind of cool.</p> 520 <p>We hiked back out to the road after a few hours of wandering around, the sat 521 waiting for a colectivo to drive by and pick us up. For 30 minutes we sat 522 around, the air totally still and boiling hot, with only the sound of the 523 mosquitos and the cow in the field next to us. I’m not entirely sure what was 524 wrong with it, but the way it hollered made it sound demented and insane. I 525 honestly hope I never drink any milk from that one; no way that’s safe.</p> 526 </description> 527 </item> 528 529 <item> 530 <title>Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo, México</title> 531 <link>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/09/isla-mujeres-quintana-roo-mexico/</link> 532 <pubDate>Thu, 06 Sep 2001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> 533 534 <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/09/isla-mujeres-quintana-roo-mexico/</guid> 535 <description><figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-09-06-lancha.jpg" 536 alt="A small &#39;lancha&#39; boat floats in the crystal-clear blue waters of the Caribbean, moored a few metres offshore a white sandy beach."> 537 </figure> 538 539 <blockquote> 540 <p>Lo que tu eres, yo fui<br> 541 Lo que yo soy, luego serás<br> 542 <em>—Inscription on the pirate Mundaca’s Tomb</em></p> 543 </blockquote> 544 <p>Many, many years ago, a pirate by the name of Fermin Antonio Mundaca de 545 Marechaja landed on Isla Mujeres and fell in love with a young lady whose name 546 has been long forgotten. Today, she is known only as <em>La Trigueña</em> (The 547 Brunette), the name by which he referred to her. In order to win her love, 548 Mundaca built an elaborate hacienda, erected archways and laid paths throughout 549 the gardens. He had trees and plants brought from all over the world to plant 550 in the gardens. Unfortunately, before he finished this masterpiece, she ran off 551 with another islander and got married. Today, his house lays in ruins in the 552 middle of what remains of his fortress. And if you look carefully, you can 553 faintly work out the words <em>La Trigueña</em> carved into the stone archway. Mundaca 554 eventually died of the plague in Mérida, but his small tomb can still be seen 555 among the headstones of the small cemetary near the north beach of town. 556 Adorned with an eerily grinning skull and crossbones, it bears no name, but 557 carries the inscription: &lsquo;As you are, I was. As I am, you will be.&rsquo;</p> 558 <p>With a couple weeks before school and work starts, we decided to visit Isla 559 Mujeres (lit. The Island of Women), a small island that sits about 11 km off 560 the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, in Quintana Roo. A few hours east of 561 Mérida, the island is surrounded by the turquoise, bathtub warm, crystal clear 562 waters of the Caribbean, and is the site of some spectacular snorkeling and 563 diving.</p> 564 <p>Isla Mujeres is tiny—about 8 km long and between 300 and 800 metres wide—and 565 has a population of 7000 residents. The main part of the town sits on the 566 north-west tip of the island, but there are some smaller <em>colonias</em> in the 567 central Salinas area, as well as on the south end. Although it was once a 568 fishing town, the main business today is tourism. Unlike Cancún, however, Isla 569 Mujeres has a much more relaxed, laid back pace of life, and it hasn’t yet 570 turned into a party town full of drunken gringos. The locals appear to want to 571 keep it this way, and the local San Francisco store stops selling alcohol at 572 8:30 or 9:00 in the evenings.</p> 573 <figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-09-06-sunset.jpg" 574 alt="In the distance, the silhouette of a lancha passes through the shimmering reflection of the setting sun&#39;s light on the ocean."> 575 </figure> 576 577 <p>From the downtown Cancún bus station, we grabbed the Route 13 bus north along 578 Avenida Tulum to the Puerto Juarez ferry terminal, then hopped on a boat for 579 the 30 minute ferry ride to the island. We spent the whole ride locked in a 580 psychological battle trying not to jump off into the gorgeous blue water; it 581 was sheer torture. Apparently we weren’t the only ones—as soon as the boat 582 pulled alongside the Isla Mujeres dock, one 40 year old passenger jumped 583 overboard and swam to shore.We spent the next few days wandering around the 584 island on foot. Like a lot of touristy places in Mexico, there are thousands of 585 people trying to sell you anything and everything on the street. Fortunately, 586 the city is small enough that all the hawkers seem to be packed into two blocks 587 along Avenida Hidalgo between Av. Abasolo and Av. Lopez Mateos. Unfortunately, 588 that’s the easiest way to get to the beach. Fortunately (yet again), it’s 589 easily bypassed by taking the scenic route.</p> 590 <p>The best times of day for the beach are sunrise and sunset. The boatloads of 591 tourists from Cancún aren’t there, and the beach is nearly empty. The water 592 stays warm 24 hours a day, and the sunsets and sunrises are spectacular. During 593 the afternoons, the beach is packed with people and the sun is intense enough 594 that if you don’t fork over the 60 pesos ($10 Canadian) for a beach umbrella, 595 you’ll fry like bacon, even with the SPF 50 they sell at the super market. 596 There’s a reason most Mexicans swim in shorts and a t-shirt.</p> 597 <p>There are a lot of other things to do on the island. One of the most 598 interesting is the Sea Turtle conservation park. This is the only facility in 599 Mexico dedicated to preserving endangered sea turtles, such as the Hawk’s Bill 600 Turtle, which grows to over 100 kg, and lives to around 120 years old. The sea 601 turtles have been hunted to near extinction because of world-wide demand from 602 for their meat and shells. At the conservation facility, the turtles are bred, 603 cared for, then released back into the wild. There are no railings on the 604 walkways above the huge walled off section of ocean where the largest of the 605 turtles swim, and according to the guy who showed us around, if you fall in, 606 &rsquo;te comen!&rsquo;, &rsquo;they eat you!'.</p> 607 <figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-09-06-skeletons.jpg" 608 alt="Four small hand-carved wooden skeleton toys playing musical instruments and wearing sombreros sit on the step of a storefront with their feet on the sidewalk. A small wooden armadillo wanders by."> 609 </figure> 610 611 <p>The ruins of Mundaca’s fortress are in the central part of the island, and if 612 you want to be eaten alive by mosquitos (there are Dengue Fever warnings all 613 over the place on the Yucatán Peninsula, by the way) it’s a great place to go. 614 No wonder the object of Mundaca’s affections ditched him for another man. Any 615 sensible pirate would have built his fortress on the beach or at least within 616 walking distance. Mundaca built his in the marshiest, grottiest, most densely 617 jungled part of the island. On the bright side there is, however, a sort of 618 small zoo in his gardens, with alligators, monkeys, a deer, and apparently a 619 jaguar, though we never got to see it, because the mosquitos drove us out 620 first. By the twentieth or thirtieth bite, we’d had more than enough of 621 Mundaca’s place.On the south side of the island, there’s Playa Garrafón, which 622 is part of a national park, but seems to have been recently turned into an 623 expensive tourist trap, complete with all-you-can-eat restaurants, zip lines, 624 &lsquo;underwater adventure&rsquo; and more construction, all for the low, ubeatable price 625 of $35 US a day! I believe they even translated that price into pesos 626 underneath in small type. We actually went next door, paid 20 pesos (about $2 627 US) and had the whole beach to ourselves. We snorkeled around the wharf and a 628 small reef, then Pablo and Armando, who ran the place, took us out to a reef 15 629 minutes out by boat, where we saw sharks, a sting ray, and a ton of live (and 630 dead) coral. Unfortunately, it seems like a million and one other people go out 631 to the same reef, and most don’t know how to swim. This means you’ll end up 632 spending an hour getting your head kicked in by screaming hoardes of 633 life-jacket wearing, water spitting drowners. I did get rammed in the legs by a 634 nurse shark though. It felt like sandpaper and was among the creepier 635 sensations I have experienced in my life.</p> 636 <figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-09-06-nativity-scene.jpg" 637 alt="The gazebo at the centre of the Isla Mujeres plaza decorated in an underwater-themed nativity scene. The virgin mary stands at the centre, her hands in prayer. Fishing nets filled with starfish, tropical fish, and multi-coloured Christmas lights surround the gazebo."> 638 </figure> 639 640 <p>There are also some Mayan ruins at the south tip of the island, though there’s 641 very little left of them. Most of the ruins have been hurled into the ocean by 642 various hurricanes, but what’s left sits on a small point overlooking the 643 crystal clear blue water. My favourite part was the hand painted sign that 644 reads &lsquo;IGUANAS-No los tire piedras-Cuidelas&rsquo;, &lsquo;Please do not throw rocks at 645 the iguanas-take care of them!&rsquo; Two English ladies who now live in Kentucky 646 were kind enough to pick us up on their rented golf cart and haul us back into 647 town, saving us a taxi ride/sunburn.During our stay on the island, we ran into 648 a small herd of beach cats. They appeared to be completely starving, which I’m 649 sure is all part of their little ploy to get food from unsuspecting tourists. 650 In fact, I’m sure that if a study were done, they’d probably find that this is 651 a behaviour that beach cats have evolved over centuries of tourism, sort of 652 like pigeons that pretend to be one-legged to get sympathy points from old 653 grannies in parks. In any case, these poor things ended up rounding up enough 654 sympathy to get some canned tuna… twice. Most of the time, though, I we watched 655 it digging holes on the beach, which I don’t really want to think about too 656 much. We also saw it kill and eat cockroaches, which no matter how disgusting 657 it is, I have to admit is actually sort of mezmerising.</p> 658 <p>All in all, it was a great vacation before everything gets crazy here. We hope 659 we’ll have time to go back at some point for another visit. The place to stay 660 is definitely the Hotel El Marcianito; the guy who runs it is totally friendly, 661 and gave us a ton of advice on places to see.</p> 662 </description> 663 </item> 664 665 <item> 666 <title>Chelem, Yucatán, México</title> 667 <link>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/08/chelem-yucatan-mexico/</link> 668 <pubDate>Fri, 31 Aug 2001 14:00:00 +0000</pubDate> 669 670 <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/08/chelem-yucatan-mexico/</guid> 671 <description><p>Grabbed a bus north to Progreso to go to the beach. While it was beautiful 672 weather and the ocean looked great, there were no palm trees on the beach, so 673 it was impossible to find any shade. We’d heard that in the next town over, 674 Yucalpetén, there were some great beaches, so we asked around and finally found 675 a colectivo headed out in that direction. The one we found stopped 676 by a bathing centre and the town of Chelem. Now right now I’m going to come 677 straight out and say it: if someone ever tells you a story about the amazing 678 beaches at Yucalpetén, just back away slowly and do not make any sudden 679 moves—the person you are talking to has probably escaped from an asylum.</p> 680 <figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-08-31-chelem.jpg" 681 alt="Main street of Chelem"><figcaption> 682 <h4>The main street of Chelem?</h4> 683 </figcaption> 684 </figure> 685 686 <p>We wandered around for a few hours, but we never did find a beach in decent 687 condition. In the end we sat on a grass embankment close to the ocean, 688 observing what appeared to be the remains of a house that had been bulldozed 689 across the beach and into the ocean; there still were big chunks of concrete 690 wall strewn all over the place. It was sort of post-apocalyptic looking. On the 691 bright side, there was a nice cool breeze.</p> 692 </description> 693 </item> 694 695 <item> 696 <title>Progreso, Yucatán, México</title> 697 <link>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/08/progreso-yucatan-mexico/</link> 698 <pubDate>Fri, 31 Aug 2001 10:00:00 +0000</pubDate> 699 700 <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/08/progreso-yucatan-mexico/</guid> 701 <description><p>Half an hour north of Mérida is the port town of Progreso. Though it’s on the 702 gulf side of the peninsula, the water is still a beautiful turquoise-blue; it 703 puts Canadian beaches to shame. On a hot weekend, Progreso makes a fun day 704 trip. The wind keeps you cool, and as long as you keep ordering drinks, the 705 food comes free at the palapa huts on the beach.</p> 706 <figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-08-31-palapa.jpg" 707 alt="Three beach chairs sit in the shade of a palm-thatched palapa on the beach overlooking the ocean. A small &#39;lancha&#39; boat is pulled up on the beach. On the left, Progreso&#39;s long pier extends over the water towards the horizon."> 708 </figure> 709 710 <p>The one thing that is impossible to miss in Progreso is the pier. At its 711 original length of 6 km, it was the longest in all of México, and with its new 712 3 km extension for cruise ships, it’s now the longest in the world. The reason 713 for its size is that the Yucatán Peninsula is in essence a huge, flat limestone 714 shelf that continues to extend long past the waterfront. At 6 km out, the 715 water is still only 7 or 8 metres deep. As a result a 3 km extension was added 716 in 2001 to allow cruise ships to dock safely.</p> 717 <p>When we asked friends in Mérida about the beach in Progreso, they mostly told 718 us that it wasn’t that nice. When we got back, I told my class that in Canada 719 we put beaches like that in beer commercials. I guess when Cancún is only a few 720 hours drive away, you can afford to be picky. The only downside is that most of 721 the palm trees are tiny. The previous ones were all ripped out during Hurricane 722 Gilberto a few years ago. As a result there’s very little shade, so your only 723 option is to hide under a palapa.</p> 724 </description> 725 </item> 726 727 <item> 728 <title>Izamal, Yucatán, México</title> 729 <link>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/08/izamal-yucatan-mexico/</link> 730 <pubDate>Thu, 30 Aug 2001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> 731 732 <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/08/izamal-yucatan-mexico/</guid> 733 <description><p>Took a trip a few towns to the east this morning, to Izamal. While Mérida is 734 known throughout México as the White City, Izamal is referred to as the Yellow 735 City due to the preponderance of yellow buildings. With a population of 15,000 736 or so, it’s much quieter than Mérida, and horse-drawn carriages are still used 737 as transportation by some of its residents. The two big tourist attractions 738 here are the ruins of Kinich-Kakmó, one of 12 Mayan temples that originally 739 stood at the site of this town, and the Franciscan Monastery, one of the first 740 in the New World, built from the stones of the largest Mayan temple in Izamal 741 after it was torn down by the Conquistadors.</p> 742 <p>The Convento de San Antonio de Padua sits on one side of the Plaza Principal, a 743 block from the city’s bus station. Climbing up the ramp in front brings you to 744 a large flat terrace and the entrance to the buildings themselves. From there, 745 you can enter the chapel, visit the arboreum or climb up to the top levels of 746 the monastery. If you look carefully, some of the stones in the walls and 747 arches have Mayan designs on them—these were part of the temple that originally 748 stood at this location. Facing away from the monastery, you can see 749 Kinich-Kakmó towering over the jungle six or seven blocks away.</p> 750 <p>Kinich-Kakmó, which is about 200 m x 180 m, was built between 300 and 600 A.D. 751 and was recently restored. From the top levels, the temple provides a great 752 view of the city. Following a narrow dirt path around the back affords a 753 spectacular view of the surrounding jungle and the vast, Saskatchewan-like 754 flatness of the Yucatán peninsula. All over the place, big, lazy iguanas 755 sunbathe on the rock walls of the temple. Just beside the entrance, at the base 756 of the front side of the pyramid, is a great-smelling tortillería.</p> 757 <p>We ate at the Kinich-Kakmó Restaurant, and it was delicious though a little 758 pricey. We each had a Montejo beer and lime soup, followed by Poc-Chuc¹ and 759 Rellenos Negros², along with some fresh handmade tortillas. As with many 760 restaurants, homemade tortilla chips and salsas are served with the meal. The 761 total came to about 160 pesos, which is enough to buy you several days worth of 762 groceries at Wal-Mart or San Francisco in Mérida. The main dining area is 763 outdoors under a thatched Mayan style roof (and yes, lots of people still live 764 in traditional Mayan huts—some have corrugated metal roofs these days, but just 765 as many use the traditional palm fronds). The waiters even offer bug-spray if 766 you need it. Fortunately, due to some creative engineering by the staff, you 767 don’t need it. Clear plastic bags of water dangle by threads from the roof and, 768 in the words of the waiter, &lsquo;when the bug sees his reflection as he gets 769 closer, he sees himself reflected so big and ugly that it scares him away.&rsquo; It 770 seems to work—we didn’t see a single fly or mosquito during lunch, and there 771 were tons outside. Royal Thai in San Rafael, California does the same thing, so 772 there’s got to be something to it.</p> 773 <p>Unfortunately, I forgot to bring the memory card for the camera, so no 774 pictures, but it was well worth the trip.</p> 775 <h3 id="glossary">Glossary</h3> 776 <ol> 777 <li><em>Poc-Chuc:</em> A Yucatecan dish made with pork marinaded in orange juice.</li> 778 <li><em>Rellenos Negros:</em> A spicy, black Yucatecan soup made from beans, with 779 pieces of chicken and a hard boiled egg bathing in it.</li> 780 </ol> 781 </description> 782 </item> 783 784 <item> 785 <title>Quest for a Hammock</title> 786 <link>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/08/quest-for-a-hammock/</link> 787 <pubDate>Tue, 28 Aug 2001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> 788 789 <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/08/quest-for-a-hammock/</guid> 790 <description><figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-08-28-old-door.jpg" 791 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."> 792 </figure> 793 794 <p>In Mérida, most people sleep in hammocks. Walk down any residential street and 795 look in the windows and you’ll see hammocks strung all over the room. What I’m 796 getting at is that I finally caved in and bought a hammock. Now sit back and 797 listen, ’cause here’s my advice…</p> 798 <p>If you’re in Mérida, you’ll be approached every five minutes by someone wanting 799 to sell you a hammock off the street. Do not buy it! That man is crazy! The 800 quality of hammock you get from a wandering hammock guy is a mystery until you 801 try it out. And you’re not going to be trying it out until after you’ve paid 802 for it. Generally speaking, they’re pretty bad. Locals refer to them as 803 ‘hospital hammocks’ because that’s where you end up if you use them. Go to a 804 hammock shop with a good reputation. If they can show you a photo album of them 805 and their grandparents chopping down sisal (henequen cactus), stripping the 806 fibre, and making hammocks, it’s a pretty safe bet that the hammocks are 807 good.So Julio Armando pulled out a few hammocks, strung them up, proudly 808 displays the threading to show there were no flaws, and got me to jump in and 809 take it for a spin. Hammocks come in lots of sizes: single, double, 810 matrimonial, and matrimonial especial. The difference is the number of pairs of 811 end threads. Matrimonial has about 150 pairs of end threads, whereas a single 812 has about 50 and a double has about 100. Keep in mind that these sizes were 813 designed for people of Mayan stature, which is a lot smaller than your typical 814 Canadian, or Mestizo Mexican.</p> 815 <p>Unfortunately, the walls in the apartment must be the only ones in the whole 816 city that doesn’t have hammock hooks! Even a lot of hotels in Mérida provide 817 hooks! I ran across the street to the Tlapalería¹ and using hand signals and 818 pantomime, bought exactly five metres of nylon rope. Using those engineering 819 skills I spent so much effort learning at UVic, and some knots I learned in Boy 820 Scouts, I rigged up a makeshift hammock hookup. Unfortunately, the only 821 available post to string a rope around was the chunk of wall between the 822 balcony door and the window, which meant that both the door and the window had 823 to be open to use it, and I had to pull the mosquito screen out of the window 824 anytime I wanted to use the hammock.</p> 825 <p>About Mérida’s weather: Maybe you people back home have looked at the 826 temperatures in Mérida and thought &lsquo;Wow! They spend the whole summer in the mid 827 to upper 30s! It’s just like Cancún!&rsquo; True, but it’s also insanely humid, which 828 means you’re covered in sweat 24 hours a day—imagine waking up sticky and 829 sweaty every morning; that’s why most people use hammocks. What’s more, unlike 830 Cancún, there are thunderstorms every afternoon between about four and seven. 831 You can set your watch by them. During these thunderstorms, it rains. A lot. So 832 much, in fact, that having the window or door open even a centimetre spells 833 certain doom. In short, the hammock is no longer up. Back to the drawing board.</p> 834 <p>A curious side note here. If you wander the streets of Mérida enough, you’ll 835 notice an inordinate number of people with one or both eyes missing. The reason 836 for this is quite interesting. Mérida is famous around the world for its 837 hammocks. And to make hammocks you need henequen fibre. The sisal cactus from 838 which you get it has very, very sharp, needle-like barbs. You get the point.</p> 839 <h3 id="glossary">Glossary</h3> 840 <ol> 841 <li><em>Tlapalería:</em> A sort of little roadside hardware store.</li> 842 </ol> 843 </description> 844 </item> 845 846 <item> 847 <title>Mérida, Yucatán, México</title> 848 <link>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/08/merida-yucatan-mexico/</link> 849 <pubDate>Fri, 17 Aug 2001 16:00:00 +0000</pubDate> 850 851 <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/08/merida-yucatan-mexico/</guid> 852 <description><p>Arrived in Cancún on Friday at about 6 pm, took out some money from the bank 853 machine, and hopped into a colectivo¹ for Ciudad Cancún—the city itself—a 854 twenty minute drive from the long strip of hotels between the lagoon and the 855 ocean that the outside world refers to as Cancún. By the time the colectivo got 856 to the bus station, it was 9 pm, so after checking out the schedule and booking 857 tickets, there was just enough time to grab some dinner and get some sleep 858 before heading off to Mérida first thing the next morning.</p> 859 <figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-08-17-cathedral.jpg" 860 alt="Façade of the Mérida cathedral in the evening light. Groups of pedestrians pass along the sidewalk in front as Volkswagen Beetles drive by."> 861 </figure> 862 863 <p>Sitting in a Mexican bus station is an activity in itself. Drenched in sweat 864 and surrounded by hundreds of other sweaty people carrying bags, backpacks, and 865 cardboard packages held together with twine, in heat and humidity well above 866 what any sane person would tolerate, you gain an appreciation of just how 867 patient a people the Mexicans are. Buses come and go as they please; to the 868 Mexican bus driver, the posted schedule is only a guideline. Buses are 869 notoriously late, and ours is no exception.</p> 870 <p>When it does arrive, the bags are loaded, everyone climbs into their seats and, 871 once the bus driver has got his drinks and snacks ready for the trip, he throws 872 it into reverse and we´re off. After a four hour ride through the Yucatecan 873 jungle, we arrived at the Fiesta Américana terminal in the north end of Mérida. 874 From there, we grabbed a taxi into town and unloaded everything at Hotel Mucuy, 875 on calle 57 between calle 56 and calle 58, where we stayed while we searched 876 for jobs and a place to live.</p> 877 <p>This might be a good time to explain the mysterious numbering system for the 878 addresses in Mérida. Odd numbered streets run east-west and even numbered 879 streets run north-south. For streets that run diagonally, the ones that run 880 from SE to NW are even, the rest are odd—usually. Another challenge is that 881 street addresses are not often consistent; number 499 might be three or four 882 blocks from 498. Because of this, addresses are usually given as a street 883 number and a cross street (for corner addresses) or a street number and the two 884 cross streets between which the address lies.</p> 885 <p>Mérida is the capital city of México’s Yucatán state and, centuries ago, was 886 the capital of the Mayan empire as well. When the Spanish conquistadors arrived 887 in the city in the mid-16th century, led by Francisco de Montejo, they 888 discovered the Mayan city of Tihó. Its temples and limestone architecture 889 reminded them enough of Mérida, Spain that they promptly renamed the city and 890 began dismantling the Mayan structures. While you won’t find any of the 891 original Mayan buildings remaining today, the cathedral in the Plaza Principal² 892 contains blocks from the Mayan temple that once stood in the same location.</p> 893 <p>In any case, the city today is gorgeous. Its narrow streets and colonial 894 architecture give it a traditional feel. Every Sunday, all the streets within 895 several blocks of the main plaza are shut down to vehicle traffic while 896 musicians play live music near the Plaza Principal, and people dance in the 897 streets.</p> 898 <h3 id="glossary">Glossary</h3> 899 <ol> 900 <li><em>Colectivo:</em> a communal taxi, usually a VW van, into which the driver packs 901 as many people as the laws of physics will allow. For example the last one 902 we used had 16 people stuffed into it.</li> 903 <li><em>Plaza Principal:</em> the main square found in almost every Mexican town.</li> 904 </ol> 905 </description> 906 </item> 907 908 <item> 909 <title>¡Hola México!</title> 910 <link>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/08/hola-mexico/</link> 911 <pubDate>Fri, 17 Aug 2001 11:00:00 +0000</pubDate> 912 913 <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/08/hola-mexico/</guid> 914 <description><p>After a year and a half in San Francisco, California, we’ve moved to Mérida, 915 Yucatán, México. So far so good! The heat is scorching, the humidity is 916 sweltering, and the mosquitos are biting. But Mérida is a beautiful city, and 917 the people are wonderful.</p> 918 </description> 919 </item> 920 921 </channel> 922 </rss>