P&K's Mexico 2007-8

Roads near Rockhound State Park, Deming, NM

2009-02-27T09:55:00.000-06:00

Derelict Houses on Highway 28

2009-02-15T09:57:00.000-06:00

Kent's Photos of White Sands Balloons

2008-09-22T15:03:00.002-05:00

The next seven pictures are ones that Kent took Sunday morning.

Kent's Photos of White Sands Balloons

2008-09-22T14:57:00.001-05:00

White Sands Hot Air Balloons

2008-09-21T20:00:00.002-05:00

Kent and I had our first Las Cruces outing today. We are settled enough into our new home to consider entertainments other than unpacking and we went to White Sands National Monument at dawn, having lured friends out of bed even earlier than their early hours to watch the launching of a convention of hot air balloons across the snow-like sands.

The pictures that follow are mine. Tomorrow I'll try to post those that Kent took.

Remember that if you wish to enlarge the photos click on the individual picture. To return, click on the back arrow button at the top left of your screen.

White Sands Hot Air Balloons

2008-09-21T19:57:00.001-05:00

Toward Sand Creek Falls, Wyoming

2008-08-25T14:50:00.005-05:00

Soon in will be fall in Wyoming and we are taking some of our trips into the woods. A place we had never known before is the head of Sand Creek, where there are some falls and nice rocks in and near the water.

On the way there is an eagle's nest, but this year it doesn't contain an eagle.

Remember that if you need to enlarge the pictures, click on the picture. To return to the regular blog page, click on the back button at the upper left of your screen.

The clouds were nice, as is almost always the case in Wyoming.

Kent rock hops coming back from the largest of the falls.

Arty rock pictures follow.

Sundance and Wyoming Wednesday

2008-08-07T12:51:00.003-05:00

On Wednesday during the annual, very large, Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, SD (about 50 miles from Sundance), many of the bikers ride into Sundance for an event named the "Burn-Out." The origins of this event are shrouded in the smoke of burning rubber. I have yet to discover a rationale for ever starting such a competition, but the rules seem to be simple. Drive your motorcycle onto a six-foot high arched ramp, bolt your front tire to a frame that keeps it immobile, rev your engine until the rear tire bursts. Apparently the one who does this the fastest wins. I'm not sure what he wins, except lung cancer, but there are any number of people who try this with expensive machines.

First, some views of Sundance as Kent and I walk downtown to view the festivities.

Main Street and a view of the ramp in the rear right of the photo.

The competition ramp and its attendents.

Critical maintenance.

The gals.

The guys.

The "Burn-Out"

2008-08-07T12:42:00.003-05:00

Ready, set, and go. His tire is now bolted down.

The smoke begins. The fellow at the left on the ramp has done this for years. I think he will have an early death, although I see that this year he is wearing a dust mask.

The final envelopment and the tire pops.

The rider now comes down the front of the ramp with a flat rear tire. I cannot understand why he is smiling. And it seems odd that the American flag and the State of Wyoming flag feature so prominently in this event. Perhaps the tire industry finds providing new tires patriotic.

Sundance Scenes on Wyoming Wednesday

2008-08-07T12:40:00.002-05:00

Leaving the Scene

2008-08-07T12:22:00.002-05:00

We look back at another contestant as we walk home.

Below are three bucks who have been driven into our neighborhood by the roar of the bikes.

Rapid City, South Dakota's Art Alley

2008-06-13T20:21:00.003-05:00

I liked the graffiti in Mexico and I like it in the States. These photos are of an alley in Rapid City, SD, which is devoted to wall art.

New Photos from Oaxaca

2008-06-12T20:03:00.001-05:00

New and Old Photos from Mexico--Merida

2008-06-12T19:59:00.003-05:00

Sundance Sky

2008-06-10T12:02:00.000-05:00

Sundance Details

2008-06-05T10:54:00.001-05:00

Sundance Details

2008-05-24T14:12:00.002-05:00

It hasn't been pleasant, at least weather-wise, since we returned to Wyoming the middle of April, but there was one day where we could walk down the alleys of Sundance and take a few pictures.

The old metal siding on buildings is often interesting, especially if it has rusted.

Someone at the edge of town is building a straw bale building. I'd never seen it done with the large, round bales.

There is still snow on the road to Warren Peaks at the top of the Bear Lodge, but we could get through to the hillside where the pasque flowers grow in great abundance.

Find the Heron

2008-05-16T10:55:00.000-05:00

Casas Grandes

2008-05-16T10:51:00.003-05:00

Ake's Henequen Factory

2008-05-16T10:46:00.002-05:00

Merida Wall Details

2008-05-16T10:40:00.002-05:00

Mexico Details

2008-05-13T08:22:00.002-05:00

The first two pictures are details from Merida's streets.

And the picture below is from the henequen factory at Ake. The first time we visited the village , the workmen had the gold colored chain off for cleaning and polishing or perhaps mending. The second time we visited it was in place and crushing henequen. If you enlarge the picture you can see the fine strands of the plant adhering to the surface.

Three Pictures from Sudzal Church

2008-05-11T20:21:00.002-05:00

Sudzal is a small village about 75 kilometers east of Merida. There is little there except a roofless church that still holds services in its open interior. The day we visited was dark and rainy, which made the place seem even more melancholy than it actually is.

Winter in May

2008-05-11T20:14:00.002-05:00

We intended to take a quiet trip south to Hill City,SD, last Saturday and got into our third winter storm since we returned to the States. Below are two pictures from Spearfish Canyon.

Bridal Veil Falls, in the Canyon, are almost back to their winter status--frozen. This picture was NOT taken in black and white.

By the time we returned from Hill City the snow had stopped and melted. Below is one of the creatures who are making a comeback in the Black Hills of South Dakota--a young mountain goat. He was very tame and allowed me to get within about fifteen feet of him.

Miscellaneous Matters

2008-05-10T09:30:00.003-05:00

Now that we are home, I find that I am missing adding to the blog. And so, I'll add pictures as I find something that interests me and hope that it interests you as well. Perhaps, if it keeps going, I'll change the title and begin anew, but for the time being I'll keep the Mexican title. I've been looking through some of the Mexican picture files and wanting to redo some and look at others more carefully. I'll include these in the blog as well as local photos.

The first picture is coming up Highway 85 from Cheyenne. Our re-introduction into Wyoming.

Below is the Cheyenne River on Highway 34 in South Dakota between Sturgis and Pierre. We were on our way to visit friends and family in South Dakota and Minnesota and pick up our cat, Minnie, who had spent the winter with our son and family. This used to be more of a landmark when we drove old, powerless automobiles, such as VWs. The Toyota pulls us right up this hill with nary a wheeze.

From our living room window, just after we returned. We've had a good blizzard, even though it's May.

And finally, another destroyed electrical outlet and decaying wall from Merida.

Back in the States

2008-04-07T08:57:00.003-05:00

We have made it back into the States, having crossed the border at Las Palomas, Chihuahua/Columbus, NM on April 1 with no problems on either side. Presently we are in Las Cruces, NM, learning about the town in anticipation of moving here. We're not sure when we'll be back in Wyoming, but it should be before the end of April.

The Trip Home

2008-03-31T18:58:00.003-06:00

The next four postings show the last of the our Mexican journey. When we left Oaxaca we made the first day a long one and got to Toluca in one tiring drive. We slowed down a bit for a two day rest in Queretero. Just before Queretero, is a village called Bernal and it is known for the big rock at the edge of the picturesque town--La Pena. It reminds us of Devil's Tower, just outside of Sundance.

Queretero

2008-03-31T18:43:00.004-06:00

Queretero is a fine Spanish Colonial city and one that deserves a longer visit than the two days we were there. Here are just a few scenes.

This must be something kids do to one another to tease one another--throw pairs of shoes on wires. We've seen this often. The pointy thing below the shoes is a modern sculpture in front of an ancient church.

I include only one church. Below is the front.

And the back.

And a different form of graffiti--gum on the back wall.

And indigenous ladies in the shadow of the church.

Two of Queretero's Museums

2008-03-31T18:24:00.002-06:00

The Museo Arte de Queretero was another place I couldn't photograph the works and so I had to be satisfied taking pictures of the building. Fortunately, the building was satisfying.

You will need to enlarge this downspout to get the full effect of the figure. Figures with old faces were on the first level and figures with young faces were on the second.

Graffiti.

Below were figures from a show inside and outside the museum. These faces are about six feet tall and impressive. The artist has constructed his work in clay, in bronze, and in fiberglass and some are only heads, some are full bodies and some are body parts. The artist is Javier Marin.

The next three pictures are from the City Museum. They had a variety of shows in a maze of galleries. Below is an installation that makes the most sense if you understand that the huipil is the native blouse of most of the indigineous women in Mexico. That repeated cruciform shape is the same shape as a huipil.

No, below isn't an art work. It's the men's room, which happened to be open when I passed by.

I include these odd and unorganized photos of art works (when I can) and galleries because I find art in Mexico exciting and inventive and I like to share what we are seeing that might not be on the web in any other locations.

The Trip Home

2008-03-31T17:48:00.007-06:00

San Luis Potosi was another gorgeous colonial city, one that is turning the center into a tourist's (and local's) dream of a city. It is clean. There are no potholes in the sidewalks to devour you. They are even putting all of the wires underground. Fortunately there were a few left for me to photograph.

Another useful shadow provided by a church. This church was only one of many in the center. I think there were six magnificent churches within three blocks of our hotel, all with well-kept parks and plazas. San Luis Potosi is also turning many of the streets between the historic sites into walking-only streets. It is great for pedestrians, although we did have trouble finding a way to our hotel and its parking lot.

What we saw when we left the hotel. Unfortunately, there are still wires overhead here.

Santa Clara. This church is lit at night in the weeks around Holy Week. They do some kind of projection on the exterior and we got the whole Easter story picked out on the walls in vivid color. It's too bad my camera wouldn't record this except as a little video.

This is for Tyler. It's more florescent tubes inside a church and a homely little clock. This is the interior of Santa Clara and it is the most elaborately adorned church we have visited.

Below is Santo Nino. Left, in the hopes of a miracle, are toy cars to please the childish saint and pictures of children hoping for help.

Kent wanted this picture, poor though it is, to be included. You are to look for the crystal ship chandelier in the upper right of the picture. It is in a church--not Santa Clara.

After San Luis Potosi we started into the desolate, dry country of the Chihuahua desert. We actually find it beautiful and feel at home here. It could be parts of Wyoming.

Casas Grandes is a town and the site of an archaeological ruin. The ancient people who built this adobe city are related to some of the tribes of the American SW.

Through the museum window. They didn't allow me to photograph any of the artifacts, even without flash.

This ends most of our sojourn in Mexico. Tomorrow we cross the border in the U.S.

Last Pictures from Oaxaca

2008-03-29T19:01:00.004-06:00

We've been on the road since last Tuesday and before that we were busy packing, but tonight I have a chance to do a little catching up on the blog. Even though at the moment, we are about three hours south of Chihuahua City, I will return to Oaxaca and keep the blog in chronological order.

The last photos of Oaxaca's walls and doors. I will miss them. The ones in the tourist centers we have visited lately are much prettier, but not as interesting.

Someone tried to paint out the old tagging, but it doesn't take long to show up again.

I'm not sure what to make of the picture below. The item that caught my eye was the figure in the niche just to the left of the arrow. Many street corners have these little figures blessing the crossing, I think. But there is a lot going on other than the saint.

The Stamp Museum had a gracious setting in an old building. They not only had a lot of stamps, but they also had stamp art and all the handwritten letters that Frido Kahlo sent to her doctor. It was a more interesting place than I thought it would be, but mainly it was the building that caught my eye. This is a corner of one of the many patios. Again there is a drift of jacaranda blossoms.

From one courtyard to another.

Perhaps someday that plant will fill in the trellis wires, but in the meantime it's a nice geometric composition.

We were in Oaxaca for Semana Santa and although I didn't get pictures of most of the processions, I did walk about my neighborhood the morning of Good Friday. Almost all the businesses were closed, but they had put altars in front of their doors and they waited for roving Christians to come and bless them.

And here was part of one of the many groups who came to bless the altars. The streets were full of processions, young and old, and the figures of Mary and Jesus from their local churches. I don't think anyone tried to drive anyplace on Good Friday. The big procession was in the evening from Santo Domingo up the street and back. It was silent, except for drums and the banners and the figures the people carried were elaborate. We attended, but it was impossible to take photos.

And dancing in the Zocolo on Easter Sunday after the city symphonic band performed.

I'll try to post some of our pictures from the trip back later, but I'm not sure when I'll get another good internet connection, We've been through Queretero and San Luis Potosi, both cities we'd never visited before and both ones we enjoyed a great deal.

Miscellanies from Oaxaca

2008-03-21T14:19:00.006-06:00

Our time in Oaxaca is coming to a close. Here are a few of the final pictures from the city.

The Panteon (Cemetery). Unfortunately, I didn't find Oaxaca's cemetery as photogenic as San Cristobal de las Casas's or Merida's, but I include these snaps anyway, so that you can compare them.

Oaxaca's angles don't point to heaven.

This little figure of the Virgin was in a niche on one of the graves. I think I ought to photograph saints' faces. They are as varied a group as the pre-Colombian figures. This one has a pleasant, medieval, calm appearance.

The A. Bravo Photographic Gallery had a show of a Danish sculptor's work.

The fleshy figure in the photo below looks exactly like the sculptor, who is getting very old.

And finally, some of my favorite subjects--walls.

Wrestling is a favorite spot here and the individual wrestlers are famous. Their masks make popular Halloween masks and they can be bought at any gift store. I see that it costs a lot less to go to a strip joint than it does a wrestling match.

The Fabrica at San Augustin Etla

2008-03-14T16:11:00.005-06:00

I promised you a view of the old textile mill at San Augustin Etla and here it is, perhaps in too great a detail. Below is the front of the factory. It was built in the time of Porfirio Diaz, a Mexican president who is in bad odor today, but who led the push to industrialization in Mexico. He did much of it on the backs of helpless peasants and many of Mexico's ills can be traced to the brutality with which he put down peasant uprisings. The beaux artes style of architecture is often seen to its best advantage in factories, just as it was in the henequin factories in the Yucatan. I find the style appropriate for opera houses, but I boggle a bit at factories being so ornate.

On either side of the grand staircase are red--or red/pink--painted steps which are also water falls. These are part of the extensive water works that begin on the grounds of the mill, now the cultural/art center called CaSa.

Below is inside the mill on the second floor. The loom room runs the whole length and most of the breadth of the central part of the second floor. Kent is in the center with a couple of the original power looms.

These windows, on the front of the building, look out over the valley.

Behind the main building is the remains of the boiler which ran the turbines which ran the looms.

Again behind the main building. You can see the bottom of the boiler, a shallow pool, and part of the falling water that is redirected in many ways, one being the red steps lower down in front of the building.

A glimpse of the factory building across the pool seen above, but from a different direction. I think that tree is safe from climbing children.

In the photo below is another pool slightly above the boiler--the boiler would be to your left. The church, seen in a previous blog, is in the background and to the left and below are present day classrooms and offices.

A bit farther up the hill behind the main building, we could see some new pools being built. Keeping everything level was of great importance.

One of the goals of the group restoring the mill is to make as little impact on the environment as possible.

These are steps to a door in the boiler.

A staircase behind the office building.

These are what I assume are left over after a puppet workshop.

A woman photographer had been taking individual portraits of members of a workshop. She left briefly.

The Trip to San Augustin Etla

2008-03-14T10:01:00.004-06:00

We took up our courage and drove the car into the country on Thursday to a hill town named San Augustin Etla. It was one of those blind trips without planning and we were well rewarded. San Augustin is on a fertile hillside a bit northwest of the city of Oaxaca and it reminded us more of what we imagine the Tuscan countryside in Italy would be like if we'd ever visited there. Hills, valleys, small fields, pointy trees, red-tiled roofs, long, vistas. There is water someplace in those hills and the countryside was green and blossoming. The town of San Augustin hangs on the hill and at one time had a textile factory, the large spaces of which are now being restored as a cultural/art center. It commands a magnificent view of the valley and someone is now restoring a water system which will provide the water for the center and a good deal of the village without the use of pumps. It reminded us a little of the elaborate irrigation system used in China for distributing water to all the different fields along a mountainside. This one, however, is beautiful and involves a series of shallow reflecting pools stepping down the mountain, tiled channels, rocky rivulets. I'll post the pictures of the center later. In this posting I'll include the small church in the village and the some of the many plants in the gardens surrounding the center. If you'd like to know more about the activities and see some more comprehensive pictures of the center, go to: http://www.centrodelasartesdesanagustin.com/

Since the church was on such a steep hill, I had trouble standing back far enough to include the whole building. The steeple appears to be repaired with semi-flattened corrugated roofing. This has rusted through in some places and the plants are beginning to take over. The red flowers are the end of the blossoms of a pointsetta. These grow to about 30 feet here.

The altar of the church. It's unusual for the main altar not to have a crucifixion. This Virgin is lit by the ever present florescent tubes inside her glass enclosure.

We often enjoy the small villages churches more than the richly decorated cathedrals in the capital cities. This scene is to the right of the main altar and it has all the things that the parishioners have donated over the years, plus a useful clock so that those who don't have watches can tell the time. Or perhaps it's so that the church goers can complain if the priest takes too long over his homily. These churches seem very personal and appealing to us.

The simple vault in the crossing.

Plants from the gardens of the old textile mill. It sits on the same hillside as the church.

It looks a bit like ice that has been trapped in the succulent below, but it's a drop of water.

It's easy to see where the Mexicans get their love of color.

A spiny trunk.

Below is the infant version of the above plant, before it has begun to branch.

El Pochote Garden

2008-03-14T09:53:00.002-06:00

El Pochote is a cinema club that offers free films in various languages. There is a garden just before we enter the ancient, tomb-like screening room.

The jacaranda trees have been spectacular and they are beginning to lose their blossoms. Here they make a nice contrasts with the red-painted wall.

Some of the trees even have sharp bits on their trunks.

The bougainvillea here is fairly bare of blossoms compared to most around, but there are other items of interest along this wall other than flowers.

Santo Domingo's Museum

2008-03-12T11:53:00.005-06:00

The ex-convento de Santo Domingo has been in large part turned into a museum. There are gallery after gallery filled with pre-Columbian artifacts, Spanish Colonial artifacts and art, and post-independence items. We exhausted ourselves and groaned when we came across yet another corridor of galleries.

Here are just a few of the things in the museum beginning with the central courtyard.

The vaulting in the cloister that surrounds the central courtyard.

Even the pre-Columbian Indians understood the importance of a strong back.

I cannot resist the skulls and often they are the best lighted, and thus the easiest to photograph, of all the items on display.

The walls and ceilings had a lustrous, polished, but soft finish.

An empty, interior courtyard.

I think this Spanish figure looks just like the guy who played Charles Winchester III on the M*A*S*H TV series--even to the bald spot on top.

In the stairwells there was heavy gilding and high relief sculpture.

The Museum at Santo Domingo--Views from the Windows

2008-03-12T11:31:00.003-06:00

The views from the second story of the surrounding country and the garden below were as nice as the contents of the galleries in the museum.

The botanical garden associated with the former convent is famous for its collection of Oaxacan plants. We haven't yet paid the hefty entrance fee and have only had glimpses of it from the museum.

This picture is from the inside of the church of Santo Domingo de Guzman. The light is poor and I include this fuzzy, overworked photo to encourage you to google the church and find some good pictures of the inside.

The yucca in the garden near dusk.

Miscellany

2008-03-12T11:21:00.003-06:00

There is no order nor sense to the following pictures.

I figure I can never have enough Catrinas and photographing them is one way to keep the luggage lighter. I'm not sure if this one goes with the bookstore, the entrance of which is to the left in the picture, or if she belongs to the language school on the right.

Kent is sitting, waiting while I shop. I won't keep him as long as his friend's wife did. Note Kent's new shoes.

The Oaxaca public library.

I don't think the communist party is strong here, but there is a presence.

Museo Arte Contemporaneo de Oaxaca (MACO)

2008-03-11T08:29:00.005-06:00

The MACO was having a show of graphic arts--works from Druer to Picasso to Jim Dine. It was a good show, but it was the building that got the camera clicking. Below is one of the several open interior patios.

The ladies' room sign.

The men's room sign. I'm not sure what to say about these.

The building is one that has been restored but with an attempt to give a flavor of what it was like before restoration. The elements left from the original combined with the new were as graphic as much of the work.

The Spanish painted the insides of their buildings with scenes and vining flourishes. The MACO leaves these in their semi-dilapidated state where they can and simply make the art part of the original decoration. I was almost not sure which was the art.

It's nearly impossible to take pictures in Mexico without using a lot of windows and doorways.

This is how we feel when we've spent too many hours in museums.

Oaxaca Walls and Graffiti

2008-03-11T08:07:00.006-06:00

We've been told that most traffic rules and signals are merely suggestions in Mexico and here's proof that it's true. Actually, at this intersection if anyone went in opposition to the one way sign, there wouldn't be much of his car left by the end of the block.

Construction methods vary in Oaxaca. The building below is such a mish-mash of materials that I'm not sure when it was built. We often see the soft, red brick mixed with adobe reinforcing window and door frames, but the use of the greenish stone in the upper regions and not at the doors confuses me.

The picture below is for Tyler. He has been interested in seeing florescent lights used in odd ways. The florescent light inside the round window isn't as unusual as those found outside on buildings, but it's a contrast with the old stone--as is the traffic light.

This rooftop is directly across the street from Santo Domingo, the largest and perhaps the most beautiful church in Oaxaca. I think I could rest here comfortably. One not only has the view of the church and the passing tourists, but also a spectacular one of the surrounding mountains. Very few buildings are higher than three stories here. We're in an earthquake zone. I find it remarkable that the old adobes are still standing. Actually, there aren't many really old adobes, only about 200 years old.

I think I find as much interest in the posters and the graffiti as I do the historic buildings. When I take a walk, I'm never at a loss for something to read.

It's possible that every book store in every city in Mexico is having a reading of the "Vagina Monologues." In Merida it was put on in English, but here it will be in Spanish.

The stencilling is good here. Maybe I ought to bring some spray cans and stencils to Sundance.

Oaxaca Walk

2008-03-08T16:56:00.002-06:00

You get to see Kent often. Now, here is a self-portrait of Pam.

A fence around a dwelling. The shack inside this wall of found objects isn't any better than the fence.

The gate in the fence above. They must be home as the padlock is undone.

Ocotlan de Morelos

2008-03-07T15:53:00.003-06:00

Thursday we drove to Ocotlan to visit a church with some remarkable painting inside. The outside isn't so shabby either.

The dome.

The wooden screen protecting the interior from direct access from the street.

The former convent associated with the church. It has been through many resurrections, one being a prison. Now it is a museum.

Rudolfo Morelos, a well-known Mexican painter, was instrumental in the renewal of the convent. Ocotlan was his home-town. Below is some of his work.

Oaxaca Museums

2008-03-06T15:38:00.003-06:00

Yesterday we went to a couple of museums. Museo Arte Contemporaneo de Oaxaca (MACO) is closed for a program change until Friday, but they let us into the patio where I was allowed to photograph the object below. The paint brush and newspaper are not a part of the installation. The were brushing up all sorts of walls in preparation for the new show.

The photography museum either dedicated to or begun by Alvarez Bravo (a famous Mexico photographer) was open, but I didn't take photographs of photographs and so I took pictures of, first, a back room and then three shots of the pool in the central patio.

Oaxaca Streets

2008-03-06T15:33:00.001-06:00

In and Around Oaxaca's Churches

2008-03-04T16:20:00.003-06:00

The Church's long shadow isn't always a bad thing. This church wall and its shadow provides needed shade for a food stall and a newspaper stand.

The dome in the cathedral. We continue to go into churches, often to rest, to get out of the sun, and to enjoy the peace. Mexican streets are noisy and busy and almost everyone is quieter in church.

The tagging is everywhere. On dull painted walls, it's sort of fun, but on the old stone walls, it seems a real shame. It is nearly impossible to remove. Oaxaca's stone is different than most stone. It has a greenish cast.

Santo Domingo as the sun gets low.

A wall on one side of Santo Domingo. Again a place in the shade.

Miscellaneous Views of Oaxaca

2008-03-04T16:08:00.002-06:00

This head is inside a museum we haven't yet visited, but we will.

This is my Oaxaca smiley face. There is a lot more adobe used here than in Merida and when the plaster wears thin or off, the wall is in greater danger of dissolving than the rubble walls in Merida. Actually, I think the wiring installations are better here than in Merida, although there is often a tangle of wires overhead.

To market. We don't see a lot of man power moving things, but there still is some.

These last two pictures are at the big market in Oaxaca--The Abastos. It is so huge that Kent and I were overwhelmed by it and don't think we'll do much shopping there. We were happy to finally find our way out. If we'd been lost forever, I think we could have found everything we needed, however. The market isn't designed for people like us, but for restaurants and shops and buyers who purchase in large quantities.

The picture below is what is in the yellow baskets in the foreground of the picture above. These are chapulines, a specialty of Oaxacan cuisine--roasted grasshoppers with chili. We haven't tried them. I'm not sure we will, at least we'll not try to make a meal of them. I think if they run out of ingredients they could come to Wyoming in August and we could supply them.

Teatro Macedonia Alcala

2008-03-02T12:06:00.003-06:00

Saturday night we went to our first performance in the turn-of-the-century opera house here in Oaxaca. It's a bit earlier than the one in Merida, but still in that Porfirio Diaz Greek reivival spirit with a bit of French flavoring thrown in. We saw modern dance. There is a week and a half festival of modern dance here and if last night's performance was any indication of quality, we are in for a treat. Again as in Merida, many performances are free and some have a nominal charge ($4US/ticket).

This appears to be the original drop.

This theater is smaller than Merida's, but nicer inside, I think.

The ceiling decoration must have been renewed. The ladies look a bit too modern for 1900.

Below is the western side of the Zocolo. The Zocolo (central square or plaza) itself is trees, walkways, a bandstand, and benches and around the outside on the portales (arched, covered walks) are restaurants and galleries, at least two sides in this case. The cathedral is on one side and the municipal or state buildings are opposite the cathedral. It is by Oaxaca's Zocolo that we judge every other Zocolo. We think this the best one we've visited. We once spent a month in Honduras looking for the same kind of thing--a central square which has a park and restaurants, where at a table we can have a coffee, read a newspaper, watch the people and feel a part of the scene. Unfortunately, we didn't find anything in Honduras. I'm sure there are many perfect Zocolos--Morelia's, northwest of Mexico City, is very nice, and San Miguel de Allende's is nothing to sneeze at and Merida's is okay, but we like Oaxaca's the best. The area takes up a large city block and the surrounding streets are closed to traffic. Tranquillo.

On the pillars of the portales are wires to keep the pigeons from roosting and leaving unwanted additions to one's food.

Our second apartment in Oaxaca

2008-02-29T11:50:00.004-06:00

Several of you have asked for pictures of our new digs, so here they are.

The first is the part of the large garden that we see from our windows. I look out on bougainvillea, hybiscus (not in bloom here), banana trees with and without young bananas, agave, and across the street you can just make out a gorgeous red blossom at the top of the tree. I don't know what it is, but it's extraodinarily lovely. There are many plants I don't know, but the permanent residents here and the landlady seem fond of plants and are always adding things. It is tranquillo.

Our car hides just inside the gate behind the shrubs. The building you see is workrooms and it fronts the street just behind the our gate, which appeared in a previous blog. Our only complaint about this complex is that it's fairly far from the Zocolo where all the action is--about 15 longish blocks. We were so close in Merida that we got spoiled. I knew how far we'd be when I rented the place so I have no one to blame but myself. The distance would be no problem for most, but I find between the altitude and having been sick that I am too breathless to make the trek as often as I'd like. We're trying to learn the buses, but so far haven't had great success.

Below is the entrace to our apartment--into the kitchen. It's one in a duplex. There are five of these two story apartments, four in duplexes. Two are lived in by permanent residents-one an American artist and his wife, both of retirement age, but active and an Italian, of whom we see very little. In addition there is a four-plex studio building where our first apartment was and then a small room and bath connected to the main house where the landlords live. The tenants vary from retirees on vacation--like us and students. The people who had our apartment before were an artist and her husband, an archeologist who was on a dig not too far from Mitla and their large, wooly dog. Another, a young Englishman is writing a book on the drug business in Mexico, Central and South America. One woman taught an intensive Teaching English as a Second Language Course at the University. She's from the States, but her home is now in Croatia. Another is an American girl who teaches English at the University. It's a nice group and we often get together when someone leaves or just for drinks at someone's patio. The landlords are very pleasant.

Note the hot water heater. There is hot water at every sink and shower, something new for us in Mexico, and it's fast. We do try to conserve on water. This is the dry season and water is at a premium.

Our living room window and the door and balcony in our bedroom on the second floor. We also have a little patio with chairs just outside our kitchen door.

Kent reading in the living room.

The other side of the living room. We haven't tried the TV. We had one in the other apartment and never turned it on.

The kitchen and my office. I can just pick up the wireless signal here at the eating bar--at least most of the time. Kitchens in Mexico are often rudimentary, but this is quite convenient with cupboards under the stairs and the fridge--a nice large one with freezer--hiding to the right of the bathroom sink.

Upstairs. Bedroom closet and looking toward the hall with the stairs and the upstairs bathroom. There are balconies on two sides of the bedroom.

Bed and other balcony door.

Upstairs bathroom. Actually, it's two compartments, one for the toilet and one for the shower. The sink is in the hall.

For those of you curious about costs: This apartment, which could sleep four, is 5200 pesos/month--just about US$500. The studio is 3000 pesos/month. You get weekly maid service and towels and sheets laundered plus all the utilities paid for that. Our apartment in Merida cost us 3500 pesos/month and we added another 300 peso for parking the car, plus we had to pay for all our utilites except water. A little surprise at the end, although we only had to come up with 450 pesos for three months of gas and electricity. For internet in Merida I paid part of a neighbor's internet bill (pesos 100/month) because it got to be a hassle to connect for myself. Here internet is free if you have your own computer and and a wireless connection, but you have to go outside to pick it up, except in Apt 1. The places are available on a day or weekly basis and I assume that would cost more, but I'm not sure how that works. A big Chedraui supermarket is only a couple of blocks away and there are locals markets near as well.

This place is light, airy, very clean and the whole place is well run and the landlord on site almost always and willing to help.

Final photos from Museo Rufino Tamayo

2008-02-29T10:03:00.003-06:00

The Third from Museo Rufino Tamayo

2008-02-28T20:26:00.002-06:00

I apologize for the poor quality of the images. This was a no flash museum, but then a flash wouldn't have worked anyway as everything is under glass. Still I want to include them as they give an idea of something other than what most of us think as Mexican art.

Finally, something Mayan (note the flattened forehead), from the Yucatan, which makes me feel more at home.

And a Mayan stele.

More from Rufino Tamayo

2008-02-28T10:23:00.004-06:00

I hestitate, in my ignorance to make any comment about these pictures. I was grateful that the originators of the museum wanted to think of them as art objects independent of their times or uses. And then, I didn't take any notes as we passed through, so I can't make any intelligent comments. I simply find their variety wonderfully interesting.

The head below is of unbaked clay. It's amazing that it has survived.

These dogs were bred for eating. Nice that they commemorated them with statuary.

Rufino Tamayo Museum

2008-02-27T17:01:00.005-06:00

I've been a bit under the weather with a flu bug, but before I got lazy, we had gone to the Rufino Tamayo Museum. Rufino Tamayo is a famous Mexican artist who lived from 1899 to 1991 in Mexico, New York and Paris. He was a native Oaxacan. The museum that we went to doesn't have his paintings, but his collection of pre-Colombian, Mexican art, which he has given to the Mexican people. The whole idea of the museum was to keep these pieces in Mexico and not allow foreign buyers to take them out of the country, as well as to treat the objects as art rather than historical or religious artifacts. He and his wife even restored the building in which the works are housed. It's a great place and as I began to snap odd pictures of the figures in the cases I began to think of the remarkable variety of faces. It's always fascinating to see how men view themselves and their gods.

The first picture is of the courtyard in the museum. Display rooms open off it. I'll keep adding pictures as I prepare them . These are from all over Mexico, not just Oaxaca.

Teotitlan del Valle and The Tule Tree

2008-02-27T16:36:00.002-06:00

After our vist to the market we came closer home and went to the rug weaving village. A clean, prosperous looking place, but quiet on a Sunday. We looked at rugs and got a demonstration of how to dye wool. Kent and I will think about going back to buy another day.

I got to thinking that I hadn't included a bird of paradise plant yet. It's got to be de rigeur with blogs from the tropics.

We took these new streets as another indication of prosperity.

Very close to Oaxaca is the oldest tree in the world--or at least that is what is claimed. The sign at the foot says that it is over 2000 years old. It is an amazing tree.

And inside the church at the tree in Tule. Churches are more lavishly decorated than they were in the Yucatan. This one is quite modest compared to the Cathedral downtown and Santo Domingo.

Tlacolula Market

2008-02-27T10:25:00.003-06:00

After visiting Mitla we stopped at Tlacolula's Sunday Market. This is outside and only held on Sundays in this smallish hill town east of Oaxaca.

Fruit in Mexico is excellent and cheap. We don't buy the cut stuff, but prefer to buy and cut up our own assuming that we will be more careful about clean knives and washing the fruit.

Everything is sold in the market. It is the same in small towns in Guatemala and when we were still on Coot and staying in the Rio Dulce of Guatemala, I could have half the town watch me choose a bra.

Chocolate is a big commodity and this fellow is adding sugar to the previously ground cocoa beans.

Traditional meets stylish. Again it is the older women who keep to traditional dress--not as colorful as in San Cristobal de las Casas or in Merida. It seems an odd place to wear one's reboza, but it should keep the sun from bleaching her hair. Maybe it's not as hot to wear on the head as on the shoulders as long as one doesn't have a baby to tote.

Mitla

2008-02-27T10:10:00.002-06:00

Sunday, we took a drive out of town with another couple from our apartment complex, Canadians, as are most of the English speaking people here. We first went to Mitla, another ancient ruin, but rather than Mayan this was Mixtec.

This country seems like home to me--high desert. The plants aren't the same, but the sky is the same deep blue and the air is astringent. All the mold from Merida is nearly gone.

The stone work is amazing at this site. You'll need to enlarge the photo below to have any idea of the intricacy of it and it would be better to google Mitla if you are interested. Each small stone is separately carved and placed.

There is even some extant fresco work

I DO like cactus.

The photo below is taken from the ruins site, but looking into a neighboring, private yard. The bottles are stuck on rebar that was left in place after the first floor was built. It has always been in Mexico that whoever is building believes that someday he will have a second floor and so the rebar inside the concrete pillars that reinforce the concrete block or red brick that comprise most of the buildings is left standing proud and not cut off or capped. Kent finds this a charming optimism in Mexicans.

Churches and Markets

2008-02-25T13:58:00.002-06:00

Santo Domingo is one of the old churches in Oaxaca. It has become something of a cultural, rather than a religious center, and there are museums and gardens. We have yet to go to the botanical garden in the back of the church, but the first three photos are from the front of the church at one of the side buildings. They were just planting these when we were here about 10 years ago and the botanical garden, which also features desert plants, was just under construction.

It seems impossible, but there are more churches in Oaxaca than there were in Merida and Merida is four times bigger.

Oaxaca Scenes

2008-02-25T13:44:00.002-06:00

Here, as in Merida, I walk with the camera at the end of my arm. The following are some of the things that attracted me.

The bougainvillea are for Ken F. Here they have mixed three colors.

The red and white-shirted boys were doing jumps from the lower level of concrete up onto the short wall. They were good.

I cannot resist photographing the wall art.

I think this stencil is of Benito Juarez and that the reference is to the bad odor of politics in Oaxaca State today. Benito Juarez is one of the heroes of Mexico and before he was president of the country he was governor of Oaxaca State from 1847 to 1853. The present governor (Ulises Ruiz, seen on the banner in a previous posting) is so unpopular that I'm told he lives in Mexico City rather than here in Oaxaca, the capital of Oaxaca. Juarez finds what is happening in his state so bad that he must wear a gas mask to endure.

The Kedls' Apartment in Oaxaca

2008-02-24T17:11:00.003-06:00

In about four days, we should be moving to a bigger apartment. This is servicable, but it's small and once some tenants move, we'll be able to get into a larger place.

That's Kent entering the door upstairs in our studio.

I'll be glad not to have to cook here any more. To the right is the bathroom.

The bed. Just to the left is an open, concrete cupboard. And that's all folks.

Demonstration in the Zocolo

2008-02-24T17:02:00.002-06:00

In 2006, Oaxaca was the scene of much unrest, initially begun by a teacher's strike and then joined by other dissatisfied groups, mainly people from the surrounding pueblos. It has been quiet lately, but there were demonstrations in the main park (Zocolo) on Friday. We told ourselves that we would leave if we found ourselves in the midst of any demonstrations, but we were swept into the park by the crowds and I did get some pictures.

These are APPO people speechifying on the bandstand. I am ill-informed about much of Mexico's politics and problems and I hesitate to say very much. If you are interested in more, I suggest you google them. It was exciting--raised fists, chanting, and the singing of the Marseillaise.

Oaxaca--the first days

2008-02-23T16:33:00.004-06:00

The drive from San Cristobal was mostly through mountains and it was gorgeous, although mined with topes and double semi trucks toiling up and down the mountains. We passed through the lowlands of the Tehuantepec Pennisula and discovered what they meant by the Tehuantepeckers--winds which begin in the Caribbean and accelerate until they are nearly gales when they pass into the Pacific. Below is a quick stitch of an overview.

The gate to our apartment complex. It's quite nice inside, but Mexicans rarely want to show much of what's inside the gates. In a day or two I will get pictures of the inside of our apartment and the grounds inside the gates. Tagging is even more prevalent in Oaxaca than it was in San Cristobal de las Casas.

I think Kent and I will have to find a better paleteria (popsicle shop).

This is a typical street between our apartment and Centro. Ah, mountains within sight. Oaxaca will be hotter than San Cristobal, but it won't be anything like Merida and we hope that we will be comfortable. We're something over 5000 feet above sea level here.

A complicated stem.

The cathedral. The parks near the cathedral were the places of the deadly demonstrations and riots in 2006. Everything is much calmer now and the parks have been restored, but Friday, we too found ourselves in the midst of a demonstration in the zocolo. I'll post those pictures tomorrow.

One side of the zocolo.

Wall art.

San Cristobal de las Casas's Cemetery

2008-02-23T16:20:00.003-06:00

Just as we were leaving town to drive to Oaxaca, we stopped at San Cristobal's Panteon (cemetery). Most of the tombs here are more elaborate than those in any of the cemeteries in the Yucatan.

The entrance gate says: Life is an illusion; Death is reality; Herein is the kingdom of truth.

Kent thought that these people were probably competitors in life and couldn't stand the thought of one or the other of the familys getting a better tomb, so the second is larger than the first.

There were some modern types too.

And there were derelict ones.

I think this must be a Lutheran tomb.

We weren't sure whether this was a devoted animal or one looking for shade.

San Cristobal de las Casas's Santo Domingo

2008-02-23T16:10:00.002-06:00

Santo Domingo is an older church than San Cristobal's cathedral.

In front of the church is the artisan's market. There are aisles and aisles of sellers. I am much fonder of the mountain textiles and things made for the tourists here than I was of those in Merida. The people aren't as congenial and relaxed as they are in Merida, but that may be because this has been a tourist hot spot for longer and the sellers are thoroughly jaded.

I bought a huipil (native blouse) from this woman who belongs to the Tzotzil indigenous group. If you click on the picture it will enlarge and you can see her hairy skirt. It must be made from black sheep's wool and it looks warm and sturdy. I bought a huipil like the one in the lower right hand corner and it's of a type I have wanted since we first visited Guatemala in 1996. Guatemala has similar indigenous groups and the textiles there are spectacular.

San Cristobal's Cathedral

2008-02-22T17:20:00.003-06:00

San Cristobal is a cathedral town, but the cathedral isn't always the oldest or the most ornate church in the town. This one is newer than another one I will show on the blog, but it's interesting because of the colorful plaster decorations on the facade.

In the evening the front steps seem to be the congregation point for rasta locked people. I suspect most are foreign travelers.

Virgin of Dolores.

A side altar devoted to the Virgin of Guadaloupe, the patron saint of Mexico.

The back side of the cathedral.

San Cristobal's Market

2008-02-22T17:12:00.002-06:00

Markets in Mexico are of many kinds, but the most interesting ones are those that locals shop at. They sell everything one might need in stalls manned by individuals or families. San Cristobal's market is outside; many others are in large dark buildings. Again, people were reluctant to have me photograph them. I suppose they get awfully tired of tourists taking their pictures, for all the tourists go to the markets for local color. Often a seller will demand quite a bit of money for a photo and I don't give it to them, so I do without photos.

San Cristobal de las Casas Street Scenes

2008-02-22T16:46:00.004-06:00

San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas state is a lovely, old mountain town. It was great to get to a place where we could walk on the sunny side of the street without suffering heat stroke, sleep under blankets, and wear a shawl when we walked in the evening.

Below is our hotel. The first picture is of a sitting area on the balcony, which was surrounded by rooms and looked down on the restaurant in the courtyard. The building was probably around 350 years old.

My office, where I could do internet, on another section of the balcony. The walls, four feet thick, were too fat to allow a wifi signal into our room.

A marimba in the restaurant just below the stairs where we walked to go out to the street. The hotel was very pretty, but the first room we got had something backed up in the bathroom and the smell was so bad that we were driven out, the second room we were given was dark and small, but the third room was spacious, airy, and sweet smelling.

Ice cream salespeople.

The ELZN (Subcommandante Marcos's revolutionary army) isn't active right now in San Cristobal, but the tensions and the problems in the countryside still exist.

Building detail.

The bandstand in the Zocolo.

I don't know who is represented here, but I don't think he's liked.

Ah, mountains. We were a long time in the flats of the Yucatan and it's pleasant to see mountains at the end of the street. San Cristobal is about 6500 feet, which accounts for its being cool.

There was lots of tagging of walls in San Cristobal. I think that it's more worldly than the Yucatan and subject to worldly ills.

The people here have the greatest faces, but it's not easy to get photos of the indigenous people. Often they dislike being photographed and are antagonistic if you try. I didn't. If you want to view pictures of the various Indian people who populate these mountains, you should google them. There are good portraits on-line, but I'm sorry that I don't have any.

The bulletin board in the Zocolo listing events and giving information.

From Tulum to San Cristobal de las Casas

2008-02-21T16:22:00.004-06:00

We left Tulum early in the morning and headed by the nearest route toward San Cristobal de las Casas and encountered some of our favorite road signs. It says: Remember your family, it awaits you. We last saw this sign in Campeche state and we figured that the Yucatecos didn't care about their families. Anyway we had to wait to see it again when we passed through Campeche.

And we met a new warning about topes. When we got to Chiapas, we found more topes than could possibly be necessary. Roadside sellers put them up to slow people down so that they can sell them something. They aren't marked and some only seem vicious as there is no one around to try to get money out of you. I've heard that the government is trying to stop this practice and now little Chiapan women with babies on their backs and a child holding the end of a rope barrier stop traffic and demand payment. Unsettling. Poverty is extreme in Chiapas and the Indians have been politicized. No trouble from Subcommandante Marcos or the ELZN at the moment, but there is tension.

We got as far as Misol-Ha, a very nice waterfall, the first night and stayed in a rustic cabin where we could see and hear the falls all night. A pleasant stop. It reminded us of the family cabin in the Black Hills with the damp and the sound of water.

I'm glad I'm not traveling this way, but the young couple who did seemed content. Swimming was allowed at the foot of the falls and they'd been for a dip. Hot travel in the mountains was all I could think.

Our next stop was Agua Azul (Blue Water)--aptly named. I think the falls went on forever--upwards, with curio and food stands the whole way. Again swimming is allowed.

The falls below reminded me of Mammoth Springs in Yellowstone, except that there was water flowing over the rock, rather than sediment.

I'll start getting the San Cristobal de las Casas pictures ready. It's a lovely mountain town and I took many pictures.

Tulum

2008-02-21T11:27:00.004-06:00

Andy wanted to visit Coba, yet another ruined, Mayan city. Kent and I elected to sit in the shade and drink beer.

And photograph leaf-cutter ants. We never thought it would happen, but we are pyramided out.

From Coba, we drove to Tulum, where Andy had elected to be left. He wanted to do some diving and he could do it at Tulum, Playa del Carmen, or on the island of Cozumel, before he caught his plane at Cancun.

The Caribbean water is spectacular. This is the first time we've seen it since we brought Coot back from there in 2000.

Andy's hotel was a palapa shack on the beach. It did tempt us, but we stayed in the little town of Tulum rather than here. Note the tattooing on the trunks of the palm trees.

We're in Oaxaca now and I'll be updating the blog soon with pictures of the trip from the coast up into the mountains.

Ek-Balam and Valladolid

2008-02-21T11:13:00.003-06:00

On the morning of the 15th of February, we got up early to visit Ek-Balam before it got hot. This is another of the many ancient Mayan cities in the Yucatan and I won't put too many pictures of it into the blog, but the first three pictures are of the principal pyramid and some of the plaster sculpture. The figures are located under the palapa roofs halfway up the pyramid--as far as I got. Andy and Kent lept about all of them, but I've decided that I've climbed enough pyramids for this year.

Since I wasn't climbing pyramids, I took a photo of this big-eyed ant. I don't think we have this kind in the States. I think he's bigger than anything we have at home. Ants abound in the Yucatan and in our apartments, both the one in Merida and the one we are in in Oaxaca now.

I don't know what this is other than it's on an agave plant. I didn't see it until I unloaded the photo into the computer, but it seemed interesting.

After Ek-Balam, we went to Valladolid for lunch. The main square is similar to most Yucatecan towns, but this little park was near the public library and we stopped at a restaurant for coffee while Andy expored the library. Spring comes quickly in the Yucatan.

We went to the market's food court for lunch. Here's Andy trying to decide what to eat. I cannot remember what it was, but it was good. So was Kent's and my lomita de Valladolid.

Trip from Merida to Rio Lagartos

2008-02-21T10:40:00.004-06:00

We left Merida on Valentine's Day and started our trip to the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan. Andy would catch his plane in Cancun on the 18th.

Our first stop was in the village of San Filipe, on the northern coast of the Yucatan.

The houses reminded us of eastern Caribbean villages and places in the Bahamas with their wide board walls.

The next stop was Rio Lagartos, very near San Filipe. After we'd checked into our hotel, we took a boat trip into the large lagoon that parallels the northern coast of the Yucatan. It's famous for birds.

I'm glad this isn't our boat filled with brown pelicans.

The red beaked birds are skimmers and they do just that, barely touching the water with their beaks. I apologize for the bird pictures, but I was thrilled to see some of these critters and so I took their portraits knowing that they don't compare with good bird pictures. Google them and I'm sure you'll find much better. I also worry that something will happen to the computer and I may lose my photos. The blog will retain some of our trip safely on-line.

The lagoon also has crocodiles. The guide said they were "tranquillo."

And to demonstrate this he dangled a fish on a line and lured the fellow in for a bite--the guide's bite of him. The crocodile seemed bored and I wondered if the fellow were tranquilized in some way and urged to stay in one spot so that the guides can thrill the tourists.

Anhinga. We'd seen these before in Florida, but it's still a treat.

White ibis. Again, we've seen these in Florida, but not so close. They aren't as exciting as the scarlet ibis we saw in Venezuela, but we don't have these in Wyoming either.

Wood stork. Probably the ugliest bird around. They, too, are found in the Everglades, but they are quite rare. We also saw a roseate spoonbill too far to photograph.

There were lots of flamingos, but we didn't get close. The picture below is to prove that we saw some.

Before the flamingos took off, they were standing on the same sand bar as these white pelicans. I like to think these are the same ones who summer at Oakwood Lakes in eastern South Dakota.

This is the first time I've ever seen a magnificent frigate bird at rest. It's almost sundown.

On a bridge, which crosses the lagoon to a salt factory, men fish with the same kind of nets we saw in the Rio Dulce in Guatemala.

And finally, some of those nets drying in town.

There were many birds that I didn't get good photos of--great white and great blue herons, night herons, snowy egrets, vultures, hawks, osprey, tiger egrets, cormorants, and that elusive roseate spoonbill.

The Last Days in and around Merida

2008-02-13T17:49:00.004-06:00

We are almost finished with our stay in Merida. Tomorrow we clean the apartment and then we take off for Oaxaca after turning in the last of the many library books we have read while here.

Here are a few photos from our walk downtown today.

I will think of this as a Merida happy face.

Yesterday we did take Andy to our beach at Progresso.

And then on to see the pink water at Sinanche. This time I got the blue sky and white clouds reflected in that water.

Just on the other side of the enbankment from the pink water was some yellow goo.

And here are two final pictures of the inside of the upstairs of the Olimpo Theater. It was our favorite venue for art shows, films, and entertainments. These are for Tyler from Merida.

Hasta Oaxaca, Pam

Miscellanies from Merida

2008-02-12T07:36:00.001-06:00

We are beginning to organize ourselves to leave and I've been taking photos of some of the places that I've missed.

The building below has to be one of the oddest in Merida. I cannot tell you what it is, although I think it's a public building.

The tailors, like everyone here, enjoy being told that the climate we left at home is more uncomfortable than Merida's. I have no idea how these gentlemen keep their projects organized. The whole shop is a muddle.

Sunday we drove Andy to Ake and Izamal. Those two towns have turned out to be our company trips. Below is a prickly poppy near the ruined henequen factory.

This magnificent blossom is found on leafless branches. The ground is littered with the pink flowers. They are about the size of my hand, perhaps a bit smaller.

On the way to Izamal from Ake,we passed through another small town and I got this picture through the car window.

Kedl feet. We are waiting for Andy to come out of a museum.

The church at Izamal again. The man is wearing a t-shirt with an advertizement for Bimbo. It'a a Mexican and Central American company which makes bread and tortillas. The bread is much like gringo white bread. When on Coot, we used to buy it because it never molded.

The next two pictures are from inside the Izamal church in a portion we had never visited before. Izamal was full of tourists on Sunday and I think parts of the church were open that aren't usually.

We had a nice lunch at a palapa roofed restaurant--the same one Kent and I ate our Thanksgiving dinner. Andy had queso relleno (stuffed cheese) and it tasted much better than this looked. What Andy thought was funny was the Perkins plate his meal was served on. We wonder how that plate made it so far.

I stopped and photographed the roofless church again on the way home from Izamal.

A Change of Pace

2008-02-09T15:23:00.000-06:00

A friend takes exceptionally fine pictures of feet and I admire them, but I've not tried to do this--until now. The other day I sat in the park with the camera pointed at the ground and snapped. It's another aspect of Merida for you to contemplate.

Below are Canadian tourist feet. I am sure they belong to a Canadian because they always wear sensible sandals with white socks. Swedes wear sensible sandals, but mostly without the socks. Estadounidenses (Americans) wear just about anything on their feet and they are probably the only people around who might be barefoot. The guy might be German, but I still think he's Canadian, because a German would probably have dark socks. The shorts make it a giveaway that the person is a tourist. Mexicans wouldn't be caught dead at the Plaza Principal with shorts on. They might wear them to wash the car or take a bicycle ride, but very few other times.

I suspect the lady below is a nun, but she wasn't in a full habit. She might be a librarian--at least I like the way she dresses and I used to be a librarian.

Even looking only at the lower extremities this couple is obviously married.

Business feet--note the briefcase.

The feet below are Kent's. He has finally bought a new pair of shoes and they are quite elegant loafers, but I can't get him loose from his old boating shoes.

Uxmal and Return to Merida

2008-02-08T09:09:00.000-06:00

Uxmal is the Mayan ruin that is often Yucatan traveler's favorite archeological site. It's not quite as huge as Chitzen Itza and the architecture is rounded and a bit more welcoming. The site itself is somewhat prettier and there are trees and shady spots. It was hideously hot when we were there on Ash Wednesday--97 F. and at least that with the humidity. We had thought of visiting some of the other Puuc sites, but I pooped out. Andy could have continued easily, but he was kind and allowed the aging gringa to get back in her air-conditioned car. The Puuc Hills, south of Merida about 70 KM., are the location of a number of Mayan ruined cities that have similar architecture.

There is a small museum at the entrance to the site.

Below is the back side of the principal pyramid. This was the one I was saving my energy to climb. Thank god, the officials no longer allow the tourists to climb to the top. I never would have made it up and back. I don't know what the hole is in the side. Perhaps it's an excavation. Many Mayan pyramids were built one on top of the other and they may be looking for an older pyramid inside. We didn't get a guide, so you cannot ask me any specific questions about Uxmal. Google should answer everything better than I can.

I think these numbers on the principal pyramid are a hoot. Andy suspects they were numbered before someone removed them to excavate and they weren't cleaned up as they were replaced. I like to think that the Maya did it and their paint is better than ours.

The front of the principal pyramid. This is a stitched picture. At this distance, it's impossible to get the whole structure in one shot.

The opening at the top of the principal pyramid.

Andy contemplating Chac noses. Chac is the rain god, a god of great importance in the dry Puuc Hills. Perhaps he was a forerunner of the Kedl nose.

A modern day resident of Uxmal.

Uxmal needs a professional photographer to do the place justice. I did several panoramas, which is the only way to give a notion of the grandeur of the site, but I have to empty the computer before I can put the separate files together. Large stitched files take more memory than I presently have on this computer. Below is part of the Governor's Palace. This is part of one of the four buildings that surround a large plaza.

The ladies loo at Uxmal.

Lunch at Santa Elena after viewing Uxmal. The horse picture made us feel right at home.

On the drive back to Merida, we stopped at a ruined hacienda. The first picture below is of the worker's quarters. They are very rough, but I suspect that the man sitting below probably lives in one of the rooms.

I think that the building below was the principal residence. The chapel would have been to the right and served all the workers.

And the ornate, Victorian ruin below is actually the factory where the henequen was processed. I find it odd that a factory should be so elaborately decorated, but we've seen this at other old henequen haciendas.

Trip with Andy

2008-02-07T15:51:00.000-06:00

Andy is here and we are taking the opportunity to visit some new places. The important destination and turn-around point was Uxmal, but we stopped at several towns on the way. The first was Acanceh where they were refurbishing their church. I have the sense that some of the small towns on routes which might be visited by tourists are beginning to spiff up. This town has a little pyramid as well as a freshly painted church, but I won't include the pile of rocks. You will get to see plenty of those later.

After Acanceh we went to a tiny town with a cenote. I'm at the hole in the plaza looking down at Kent who is almost to the bottom, where the water is. A nice stairway has been provided so that we don't have to go down a ladder. It's probably 40 to 50 feet to the water from the surface.

In about 10 feet Kent and Andy would have their feet in the water.

The town also had a church with the florescent lights acting as a second arch over a doorway.

And here's a young mother heading with her bowl to the mill to have the corn ground or to the tortilleria to have the corn paste turned into tortillas. I can't tell whether she has raw corn or the corn meal in the bowl and Kent thinks they may be finished tortillas. In that case she is headed to her mother-in-law's house to help prepare the fiesta with a bowl full of finished tortillas. The cenote would be behind me in this picture.

The pink building below is in Telchaquillo. It is a colorful town.

We were here on Mardi Gras day and a market was in progress, a rustic bull ring was set up, the church had banners flying from all quarters, there was a carnival with games and rides, and below is the snake oil salesman. He had gathered quite a crowd and offered a number of remedies.

The market.

And the last two pictures are of Techaquillo's city hall.

We stopped at Mayapan on the way south. It's not a large ruin, but it lasted longer than many of the bigger, more famous ones. Mayapan is almost a miniature of Chitzen Itza and it actually dominated in the Yucatan for a few years before the Spanish came. Andy took the picture below. I didn't climb this pyramid, I was saving my strength for Uxmal. You can see Kent and me at the middle right edge of the photo.

It's not only that I was saving my strength. I'd have to come back down this slope. Those are Andy's feet. This is not an exaggerated shot. It's real. Andy's feet are twice as long as the step is wide and they had no rope for me to hang onto. I get woozy just looking at this picture.

A Mayapan palm. It was shading our car.

We passed through Mani on our way to Ticul, where we would spend the night before we traveled onward to Uxmal the following morning. Mani is one of the prettiest small towns in the Yucatan, especially so for us as it's on a hill and we miss hills. Below is a helaconia in the church yard.

A couple of high windows in the Mani church.

A Mani church door.

We got an hotel in Ticul (the city with the leering church). It was Mardi Gras and I snapped a couple of pictures before it got too dark. There was a pleasant, small town feel to Carnaval here. Merida was full of glitz and gyrating, scantily dressed girls, but in Ticul, families went together and celebrated.

Next time, Uxmal.

The Main Market

2008-02-04T16:49:00.000-06:00

Walking in Merida in February

2008-02-04T16:33:00.001-06:00

Andy is here and we intend dragging him around, showing him Merida. Actually, Andy visited here before we ever did, but he was sick much of his time and so he doesn't know the city as well as he'd like.

I'm not sure whether they are locating the electrical system or they are replacing it. Construction is often quite straight-forward, but not necessarily forward looking.

The next two pictures are from the inside of the state government building on Plaza Principal. The wooden doors are magnificent. The murals, not by Diego Rivera, are very nice as well, but they are nearly impossible to photograph and thus are not included in this blog.

The following picture demonstrates why I need a long lens. I don't know whether this is a private patio or one connected to an hotel, but the guy looks like a comfortable gringo. At first I thought he was an inflatable dummy. It wasn't until I got home at downloaded the picture to the computer that I discovered he was real. It was a long way away.

It's hot again. Siesta is welcome after a walk.

Merida People

2008-01-30T15:20:00.000-06:00

I'm shy about taking pictures of people, but on my walk today I decided to ask permission of those people employed at their businesses. Everyone grinned, struck a pose, and agreed to be photographed by the gringa. Except for the lady below, who was shy.

The ladies were making tortillas. The dough is put in the hopper and by the time the tortillas come out to be stacked they are cooked and ready to sell. These look good and Kent and I will have to patronize this shop.

Many of the shops remind me of how things were done in China. It doesn't take much to run a business, maybe 12 X 12 feet and a door that you can close at night. Or just a place on the street.

Students here are almost invariably cheerful and agreeable. I don't think I've run across a sullen teenager yet.

We must go and eat at this cocina economica. Mostly these are run by housewives and patronized by workers and residents who are nearby. The food is often good and reasonably priced. Sometimes they simply open the front of their homes and their living room is the place for the diners.

When I took this picture, I thought I'd been given permission. I think I had but the gentleman coming toward me wanted to know how I'd use it. I told him we'd been living in Merida and would soon be leaving and I wanted a remembrance of places in the city. Then he told the fellow in the back to sweep up and make it pretty for my pictures. They were sympathetic that I would have to return to snow and cold. Actually, this garage is quite tidy and clean compared to many. I'd be happy to have these men work on our car.

They didn't have lime paletas last night and Kent was forced to take a strawberry one. It is difficult to recommend these enough. They are delicious.

Kent was doing his favorite thing and I'm doing mine. The tape on windows is left over from a hurricane that hit a couple of years ago. There was almost no damage done, except for the leftover ugliness of the tape.

Merida Scenes--1-30-2008

2008-01-30T14:55:00.000-06:00

Below is our street. We will miss coming back to this street a great deal when we leave.

Sunday Walk in Merida 1-27-2008

2008-01-27T15:56:00.000-06:00

This morning Kent washed the car and I took a walk on Paseo Montejo. The city closes off half of this major street on Sundays so that people can walk and bike without worrying about traffic.

Some of the finest mansions in town are on this street and some need a bit of work. Below is an hotel. I hope no one is staying in it or at least using the balconies.

Gargoyles and roses are an odd combination.

They organize tables of chess on Sunday as well. There are lots of people in costumes for the kids.

Most of the following pictures are not on the Paseo Montejo, but on my way home via the side streets.

I like this picture just as a picture, but I always get a kick out of seeing florescent lights on the outside of buildings. The horizontal white object in the photo below is one. The photo makes it look as though it is forward by a good deal from the windows, but it's as close to the building as it can be, even though the grates on the windows keep it out from the wall a bit.

And more wall fragments.

The Merida Zoo and the Cemetery Again

2008-01-26T23:44:00.000-06:00

At first we weren't going to go to the zoo as we'd been told that it's not a particularly good one and the animals are sad. In the end we did go and it wasn't as bad as the one in Kunming, China, and parts were even fairly nice. What I didn't know and do now is the length of a giraffe's tongue. That tongue goes out one side of his mouth and loops under his chin and up the other side. I'm not sure why this should be useful, but the fellow seemed to have gotten something in his mouth or on his tongue that he was trying to remove. In any case, he could wash his whole lower muzzle with ease.

We revisited the cemetery. It wasn't as spooky as I thought it might be without the noonday sun.

Merida Scenes--end of January

2008-01-26T11:34:00.000-06:00

We've been much quieter since the end of festival, so unengaged that we've had time to clean the apartment and cut hair. Andy, our Minneapolis son, ought to arrive in about a week and we'll tour some of the ruins that we've saved for his visit. After he goes back to Minneapolis, we'll move to Oaxaca for a month. Actually a little more than a month. Being in Oaxaca gets us on the road toward home and we've always enjoyed the city. We find we are getting itchy feet here and have done most of the things that we'd wanted to do while in Merida. I found what we hope will be a suitable room in Oaxaca on the internet. New sights and Semana Santa ought to enliven us and we'll get a bit of relief from the heat as we'll be out of the jungle and into the mountains.

Now that we'll be leaving Merida, I begin to see all the things that I'd put off photographing.

The wires overhead are ubiquitous in the city. The newer suburbs actually have all the electrical, cable, phone, and internet stuff underground and it confuses me, making me think I might not be in Mexico. However, old Centro will probably have the spaghetti of wires for quite a few years to come.

A kitchenware store. Mexicans are not afraid of color.

A couple snaps of my favorite subject--doors.

This mosaic wall is on our way out to the grocery stores. I can only photograph it from the side window of the speeding car--it's too far to walk to this spot and it's too busy to park or even slow down. Thus, I send a blurry photo, but it's such a wonderful wall that I hope you won't care. I felt lucky not to have it obscurred by another speeding auto when I got this snap.

At the big, posh mall. Shoe stores in Mexico are often laid out this way--a series, actually a maze, of glass boxes with the shoes inside. When you find the pair you like you point it out to a clerk and she or he gets your size to try on.

I don't know whether I like this rehab or not. We pass this building everyday. Inside is luxurious, with gardens and patios and collonaded verandas. We've liked that it looked so scabby on the outside. And, it gave me nice wall fragment pictures. They are now redoing it and taking off all the old plaster, which was laid over the rubble construction, and will replace it. I think they probably have to do this or have the cornices decay so much that they could fall and damage a passer-by.

Another building that we pass almost everyday--the Institute of Beauty. I think it's abandoned, but the buildings that house beauty shops and beauty schools are often old and ugly.

A wall fragment.

Opera, Doors, and Pink Water

2008-01-22T23:21:00.001-06:00

It wasn't the opera that we attended, but a ballet in the opera house built in 1910. It's what an opera house ought to be.

I seem to be hung up on doors.

We have a new neighbor downstairs who was interested in seeing a factory famous for its anise and honey liqueur. We like any kind of new trip and so we got out the car and headed to the town, about 20 kilometers from Merida, where we thought we'd find the factory. We didn't find it and showed Lyle the pink water instead. We did eventually find the anise and honey liqueur and it was right in Merida. When we found the factory, we also found the person responsible for selling the booze wholesale. She could see that we were still lost and directed us to a retail outlet where we didn't have to buy a truckload. Maybe I'll get a picture of the liqueur, but in the meantime, the pink water will have to suffice.

Merida Walk (1-18-2008)

2008-01-19T10:00:00.000-06:00

Pasta tiles are what cover most of the floors in the older part of Merida. This is at the entrance to the little hole in the wall shop where we get our big bottle of water each week. The repairs in chipped or broken tiles are made with anything at hand, odd tiles or even polished concrete.

Below is what Kent saw looking through the grated window.

Merida's Artensania Museum

2008-01-19T09:42:00.001-06:00

Izamal had a good artesania museum and I'd wondered why Merida, a much larger city, didn't have one as well. We found it yesterday.

They had a nacimiento show and many of the groupings were of local figures as part of the Bethlehem scene. Here are the mariachis.

The one below I don't understand. Perhaps it is a nacimiento for mariners.

The museum is in an old mansion, nicely restored, in a neighborhood named Mejorada. I guess this was the only place for the big leopard sculptures. At least they didn't require a glass case. Or maybe they need a drink.

We find the skeletons in all walks of life.

This unusual figure had an oddly Assyrian look. The goat horns and beard, I think.

I don't mean to only take pictures of the odd and unlovely, but they are the most interesting. I suspect if you google Mexican handcrafts you can find many good pictures of the beautiful objects and the ones skillfully made. Maybe you won't see the ones above.

Below is a typical (and delicate and beautiful and skillfully made) tree of life.

More Wall Fragments

2008-01-19T09:40:00.001-06:00

Walls

2008-01-12T16:58:00.001-06:00

Merida Incidentals

2008-01-12T16:44:00.000-06:00

Kent is suffering with the cold today and I walked out on my own. We travel these streets almost everyday, but usually in the evening when photographs aren't possible. Today I managed to get out before 10 AM, after which it gets too hot and the shadows thrown by the buildings begin to disappear.

I have been surprised at how little tagging is done in Merida, but there is one place, near a bus stop, where I can find some.

This is kitchen ware. I want to buy a couple of those oven mitts, the mouth-like things at the bottom of the photo.

Izamal and Ake Revisited

2008-01-08T16:37:00.001-06:00

Sunday and Monday we had friends from Sweden visiting. Linnea sailed at the same time that Kent and I were on Coot in the Caribbean. Jorgen, her husband was with her then, although he didn't make this winter trip with her. She and I have kept up casually by e-mail ever since, even though we've both left our boats, "Coot" in the Chesapeake and "Shenandoah" back home in Sweden. Linnea and her daughter, Eva, had planned this trip to Mexico and Central America without reference to our being in Merida, but we are delighted that they detoured to stop by and see us. Linnea is much like a sister I never had and we have the same feelings about many things, including cruising on a small sailboats--we liked it, but we are happy not to have worrisome anchor watches during bad weather anymore. However, we miss the people we met and got to know whilst sailing. We were both reminded how dear these old friendships are. To all of the boaters out there reading this--probably your ears are ringing, because we reminisced about all of you.

We took our stout little Toyota back onto the some of the same roads that it has traveled before and revisited Izamal. As we passed through Tixkokob, the same hammock salesman, who tries to garner customers by chasing them on his bicycle, accosted us. When we got to Izamal itself, Eduardo Pequeno was just waiting for the bus to take him into Merida to buy metal for his tinsmithing business. He offered to return and open his shop for us, but we thought we probably had imposed on him enough. He is the gentleman who made and remade my shrine to the Virgin of Guadeloupe. And then the same beautiful fruit and flower saleslady was sitting in the same corner as last time. This time I asked permission to take her photo and I'm afraid it's not nearly as good, but she's still very lovely and sweeter than I thought before. She got shy and giggly and her friends teased her. We begin to feel a part of things.

Doors through roofless buildings.

Linnea, Kent, and Eva on the ramp to the church.

The remains of 16th Century frescoes on the exterior of the church. These are under some cover from the colonnaded walkways.

Yellow and blue. One side of Izamal's main church.

Orange peeler in the square.

Orange peels.

Ascent of Izamal's largely unrestored pyramid.

Corner house across from pyramid.

Roofless church in a village near Izamal. This church still seemed to be used for services. The apse still had a roof and one small inside side altar. It retained a great deal of dignity.

We wanted to show Linnea and Eva what an old henequin plantation was like and we tried a new road getting to Ake. We'd been lost getting out of town and so getting lost while in the country wasn't unexpected. Actually, we weren't lost, we were just on a very narrow, dirt track and we didn't know if it would get us where we were headed or peter out, and we hated the thought of backing for seven or eight kilometers to return to a paved road. We ended exactly where we hoped and Linnea and Eva weren't even slightly exercised by the thought of getting lost on a back road in Mexico with the Kedls Perdidos, where, obviously, no one had traveled since before the last rainy season. The joys of traveling with phlegmatic sailors are many. Below are the henequin plants lining the road. The road got significantly narrower and more overgrown late on.

The rail cars which carry the plants into the crusher and the cut "leaves" of the plant. I knew they still used the building for something, but mainly it looked simply a ruin and so I was surprised to see what I thought of as abandoned rail tracks actually in use.

Door in abandoned building in Ake.

Perhaps, you remember the pyramid with the man with the machete chopping down the vegetation. Here's the same same pyramid yesterday after its haircut.

After a few misdirecting stumbles on the way back into town, we found Mega, where we photographed some of the food and bought one of the splayed chickens, shown previously on this blog, to bring home for supper at the apartment. We eschewed the cactus and octopus. I should tell Tyler that the chicken that he claims looked like road kill was good--very tender.

Just before Christmas, Genero and Ariel (the landlord) got the downstairs apartment to this stage. It's still unfinished inside and it needs windows and a door, but the noisy stuff is done. Right now it's full of cement blocks and mortar. I think it will be dark and airless.

Edzna and Campeche (second visit)

2008-01-04T08:20:00.000-06:00

The last of the Christmas pictures. Santa seems to have ended his trip in Tenabo.

There are many horse drawn carriages for the tourist to ride upon in Merida and they all advertise car rental places.

Our very own Christmas bug. Our apartment isn't inundated by too many insects, even though I could do with a few less ants. This one flew away and I haven't seen his like again.

You've all seen Campeche and I hope I don't repeat too much. It was cold and windy and damp while we were there and I've caught a nasty cold and cough. It's irritating as much as anything because it's been years since I've had a cold and to get it in the tropics seems unfair.

We liked this church because one of the steeples is like a lighthouse. Perhaps, before the malecon was reclaimed from the sea, it actually functioned as a lighthouse, but it doesn't anymore. The Talavera tiles on the front are unusual.

This is inside the Italian Coffee Company. We had taken shelter from the cold in order to fortify ourselves with lattes. The businesses make good use of the old buildings. WIFI is available as well.

This has got to be Saint Pious, I think.

Campeche's cathedral at night.

Below is a pool hall/video game parlor at night. I like the Moorish arches used inside.

A damp street corner.

There is a fine archaeological museum in an old fort outside of Campeche. The two heads are from its collection. I think the Kedl nose has been around for some time.

The head below looks more Olmec than Mayan, but I'm such a poor historian that I can't give you a true account of its origins.

Being an ex-potter, I'm fascinated by the Mayan ceramics. I haven't included photos of much of the pottery, in part, because it doesn't photograph well in the glass cases, but there is a lot of it in the museums, from small beakers such as below to masks, to ceremonial figures, both very large and very small, and large and small highly decorated funerary urns. The variety is astonishing and I think if I wanted to become an expert in anything, it might be in Mayan ceramics. The piece below is about six inches tall.

Kent gazing out at the angry sea from the fort. I don't know how he managed with short sleeves. I bought a reboza while in Campeche to keep my arms covered.

The inner courtyard of the fort.

Edzna is the ruin of the Mayan city closest to Campeche. We hadn't visited it before and so this time we stopped on our way south. That is our neighbor, who went with us, peeking around the corner of the top of the major pyramid.

Heights are not my forte. I hesitated climbing the pyramid because I knew I'd be nervous (what an understatement) coming back down. Instead of trying to preserve my dignity, I simply grabbed the rope provided for the timid and backed all the way to the bottom.

Here's the vulture, on a nearby pyramid, who is waiting for me to make a misstep.

And the stairway that I navigated in both directions. I see there is another person following my gringa lead. Or maybe she is on her way up.

Another Kedl nose.

A bit of the fauna.

My pyramid in its entirety.

A bit of the flora in a papaya tree.

Ticul, Dzan, Mani, and Oxkutzcab

2007-12-31T08:22:00.000-06:00

Rather than take a walk in town on Sunday, we drove into the country. It's hot here again and the air-conditioned car is a luxury.

Ticul is a favorite place, the town with the leering church facade. This time I photographed the side entrance to the main nave.

Our goal was the town of Mani (about 90 kilometers south of Merida), which we were told is a pretty town and on the way we stopped at Dzan. The church is always the main feature of a village and this is true in Dzan as well. Sunday services are so well attended that there isn't room for everyone inside. Either that or these people were looking for a breeze they wouldn't find inside. In any case, services aren't as formal as in the States. People wander in and out at any time without feeling that they must be there at the start and stay until the end.

Near Dzan's main square.

This chapel was on the outskirts of Mani.

The interior of the Mani capilla. The cross with the embroidered shawl is typically Yucatecan. It mimics the way the ladies wear their rebozas.

Looking toward the street from the front of the church. No one was in this chapel and I felt freer than usual to photograph the interior.

A detail of the door.

Advertising poster in front of the chapel.

The inexpensive furniture in Mexico is perhaps even uglier than that in the US. It's certainly more uncomfortable. I shouldn't say inexpensive, for it seems to us that it's unreasonably costly. And the dog underneath. Everyone was seeking shade yesterday.

This water damaged wall is at the ayutamiento (city hall) behind where the ladies sell crafts.

A side entrance to the main church at Mani. The churches tend to begin to look alike and so I won't repeat almost identical fronts to the various churches in all the villages we visit. This one's facade was left unplastered and unpainted. I'm not sure which I like the best--the bright yellow or red fronts or the rough stone. The netting on the door is to keep birds from flying into the church when the door is open.

The large, open square in front of Mani's church. This one is bigger than most and without any decoration or vegetation--more like the Zocolos of farther north. There is a magnificent tree in a public area on one side--I think a ceiba, but when I asked the men resting under it, they only knew the Mayan name for the tree, not the Spanish. They told me, but Mayan names don't seem to stick readily in my head.

Mani was a pretty town, perhaps the most attractive village we've been in. It's on a hill and that alone recommends it to us, who are hungry for a hill in this very flat Yucatan. The Puuc Hills are the site of many famous ruins--Uxmal, Sayil, Labna, Kabah. We will visit them when Andy comes, but we've been scouting around the area so that we can be fairly efficient in our touring when he does arrive.

Below are two sections of the nacimiento at the church in Mani--a traditional side.

And one featuring sweet Yucatecan crafts. Maybe too sweet for a gringa's taste.

After leaving Mani, we drove on to Oxkutzcab before heading home. (Xs are pronounced like a sh in Mayan. One wishes that Mayan words were legal in Scrabble.) Below is a shy, Oxkutzcabian dog.

The side of Oxkutzcab's church.

An interior courtyard of Oxkutzcab's church. Note the Mayan stones in the upper left corner. They were also in the stone pathway to the side entrance to the church.

The nacimiento in Oxkutzcab was near the altar inside and it was composed of entirely natural materials. Here is a donkey made of earth. The soil around here is much like the red soil of Sundance--a real oddity for the Yucatan as most of the soil is limestone and very white.

You will perhaps have noticed that I haven't been using accents for the Spanish words. I apologize, but I can't figure out how to include them using the blog program. Mayan words almost always have the accent on the final syllable. Merida has an accent on the e. These two instances are probably the worst of my omissions. I know you will forgive me.

Frangipani

2007-12-28T21:21:00.000-06:00

I finally remembered the name of the tree, which has appeared so often in the cemeteries--frangipani. They are described as hideous in the winter, without their lush summer foliage, by one website, but I don't agree.

Panteon Florida (another Merida cemetery)

2007-12-28T19:59:00.000-06:00

We found another cemetery in Merida today, the older one my neighbor spoke of. Perhaps we actually found two of them, the first being nearly colorless, with none of the vibrancy of Cemetario Xochul from the day before. They must also have some kind of height limit as none of the graves had any houses or statuary. Almost all had a concrete cap with a recumbent Christ crucified. Most of the graves here were from the second half of the 20th century.

Just to the north of the burial place above was a much older part. The next two pictures are not colorful either, but this section seemed to be abandoned. What I found interesting was the stone, limestone with embedded sea creatures, with which some of the tombs and the wall was built and the way it has weathered.

We found the grave below remarkable because of the turbaned figure. The occupant had a Spanish name and the script was Spanish and we had no notion why there was a figure in addition to Christ. It wasn't a statue commonly seen in the area. We did see Arabic script (or at least I think it was Arabic) in the other part, but it wasn't present here.

There are workmen at the edges of the burial grounds who will repair or maintain the graves on a job by job basis. These fellows have found a new use for abandoned tombs--janitor's closets.

An amazing tree growing right out of some one's last resting place.

I call this one the tomb raider.

This tree, and the one above, are seen a lot in the cemeteries. Kent and I wondered if it was because it must go through a remarkable resurrection at some point in its life. Even on these bare limbs it produces a bouquet of a blossom and those banana-like seed pods.

Pam going native near the Mayan house tombs. I finally ditched my black hat for the cheapest straw one I could buy and some light, white cotton clothes. I hope the Mexicans don't know about the old Saturday Night Live Coneheads. Or maybe I wish they did know and then provide me with six packs of beer while I tour the cemeteries.

These angels with one finger to their lips and one pointing at heaven are everyplace.

1902 was the date on this grave.

The picture below is of the union plot. I wonder what the SDSU faculty plot might look like.

And the bones I promised. I don't know whether this was vandalized or not, but there were several graves in which one could see human remains. Apparently no one minds or cleans them up. In some instances people are buried and then a number of years later, after the body has become nothing but bone, the grave is dug up and the bones are placed in a small tin ossuary. There are at least two tin boxes in this grave.

A detail of above. Yes, there are two skulls, broken. Perhaps I should have posed this picture better, but I was reluctant to disturb anything. The plaster leg is from a statue that probably used to decorate the tomb.

I don't think the leg bones used to have those tennis shoes at the end of them. This is probably just a place a groundskeeper has thrust some trash. At first I didn't notice the bone, just the shoes.

And finally, an odd fellow, lightened from his deep shadow in Photoshop so that you can see the Spanish colonial character of the statue. I wonder if the family who erected this monument had some ancient claim to a noble name and wanted it commemorated forever.

A Merida Cemetery

2007-12-27T21:52:00.000-06:00

You can see that I like the cemeteries here. This one isn't very old and we came to it by mistake. We thought we were getting to the one our neighbor visited a few days ago when he actually came across some open tombs with bones exposed. Of course, I wanted pictures of that, but since we got to the wrong cemetery, those will have to wait until another day. Most of the tombs were well cared for here, but there were some instances of neglect or places where the tomb had been opened, probably for reburial, and not reclosed, but disappointingly empty.

I'm not sure when the city will remove all the Christmas lights, but it might not be until January 6th, the Day of the Three Kings, which is an important holiday in Mexico. This is the Plaza Principal downtown.

A flowering tree in the cemetery. The branches are nearly leafless, but there is an odd seed pod, which looks a bit like a bunch of bananas.

I should know the name of this purple-leaved plant, but I've forgotten. They abound in the cemeteries.

This bougainvillea wasn't in the cemetery; it's in front of a house we pass on the way to the laundry. I include it for Ken F., who is tending a bougainvillea in Spearfish, SD. He should show this picture to his plant in order to encourage it. Note the supports which are necessary to support the luxuriant blooms.