MEXICO
May 2007
A bumpy drive.
Tortillas from
the frenetic mercado or from the supermarket that has a machine
churning out the fresh maize meal “pancakes” by the hundreds; we
had the choice. Both displayed green to fiery red varieties of
chillies we had never seen. We had arrived in the southern city
of Chetumal. After visiting the excellent Maya museum we
were delighted to find a real campsite with a pool and ocean on
two sides. It was mothers’ day. At the resort next to our
campground some Chippendale-types were giving the mammas of
Mexico some salsa lessons.
Swimming Along
the coast of the Yucatan peninsula we stopped at seaside
places. The colour of the Caribbean Sea is an unbelievable
turquoise. The white beaches with palm trees are like picture
post cards. There are always “palapas”, made of palm leaves as
shelters from the fierce sun; however, Dipli’s solar panels had
to catch the rays so there was no cover for us! The reefs bathed
in crystal-clear water provide a profusion of diving and
snorkelling sites like: Paa Mul, Punto Soliman, Xpu Ha,
PuertoMorelos, and Acamaya.
We stayed on
the shady shore of the unspoilt narrow clear lake “Lago Azul”.
(Blue lake). Another spot travellers had recommended was “Agua
Azul” where dazzling white waterfalls cascade into blue-green
pools in verdant jungle. Deep sink holes – “Cenotes” in Spanish
– is one more popular alternative for swimming in fresh water.
Our on-board filtration system provided us with unlimited
quantities of fresh water, and did we need it!
After many
jungle and beach nights, Playa del Carmen’s long
pedestrian streets lined with restaurants and craft shops were a
welcome diversion. Mariachi’s in black or all white outfits,
wandered around playing music on guitar, violin and trumpet. Our
meal of spicy dishes included a rich “mole” sauce which has
cacao as one of the many ingredients. The mango-margaritas were
delectable. Tequila was on offer too.
Droves of North
Americans holiday on this warm coast at palatial resorts. The
development along the Riviera Maya is spreading at an alarming
pace. Beaches shown on our map had become monumental
construction sites. Cancún has a hotel zone on a spit of
an island 21 km long. Millions of visitors come each year to
occupy 30 000 hotel rooms and to play on one of 6 golf courses.
We left the
coastal province of Quintana Roo for the ruins…
Ruined out? We
tried to guard ourselves from further impression overload and
visited only the best archaeological sites on our route.
Chichén Itzá. We sat in the evening where the “El Castillo”
pyramid rises in all its grandeur. The evening sound-and-light
show in Spanish (which we could follow) dramatised that the high
structure is actually the Mayan calendar in stone. We will
remember the stone-carved snakes, jaguars, sacrificial victims
(with hearts torn out), a forest of columns and an ancient
observatory.
Uxmal.
As usual we were at the entrance at opening time when it was
still cool and could catch the best light on the pink-hued
limestone patterned and lace-like buildings with the long-nosed
faces of the rain god Chac Mool. Palenque. At the campsite we
were overjoyed to meet two young South Africans travelling in a
van with an American chap. (We had met only 3 other sets of SA
travellers in over 4 years.) In the adjacent dense jungle, only
a few structures have been excavated from the forest. The grey
stone temples with fine bas reliefs depicting gods of the
underworld would have been painted blood-red with blue and
yellow embellishment.
Other
archaeological sites included the colossal stone Olmec
heads at La Venta, Mitla with its buildings adorned with
mosaics of 14 different geometric designs and Monte Alban’s
terraced hills where grand plazas and temples served a large
ancient city. Gold masks, 2000 pearls, turquoise and silver
jewellery and goblets from jade and amber have been excavated
from one tomb.
Hazardous humps. Driving in Mexico is truly trying! Small villages have up to 13 severe
speed bumps across major routes. Many are unmarked and can be
disastrous. There are some expensive toll roads without speed
bumps – definitely worth the fee.
Colourful
crafts. Nowhere else have we seen such a variety and profusion
of crafts. Mexican’s skill with their hands and love of colour,
bring into being woven articles, embroidered clothing, painted
boxes, carved masks and “animalitos”, ceramics, sculpted stone,
jewellery, metalwork, basketry and articles from all possible
materials like wool, leather, paper or bark. At the
“artesania”-markets, bargaining for everything is the rule.
Cobbled streets
and spires. When we reached a city we always followed the sign
directing us to the “Centro” because we knew there we would find
the leafy central square surrounded by fine-looking Colonial
buildings like the cathedral and town hall. Although it was very
noisy we often parked for the night on the central “plaza” close
to the action. Some of the finest Spanish-built cities we saw
were Oaxaca, San Cristobal and Saltillo.
Megalopolis
of Mexico City. The snow covered active Popocatépetl
volcano rises above the polluted valley where about 20 million
people live. We defied the traffic and the bothersome police to
see the spectacular pyramids at Teotihuacan and to visit
the supreme Anthropological museum. After 14 months in Latin
America, we reached the Rio Grande which here forms the United
States border.
This journey up to May 2007:
Time on the road (excluding home
visits): 4 years, 8 months
Kilometres driven: 198 000
Countries visited: 86
SOUTH WESTERN USA – A travel without Dipli
