Meltdowns and elation

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It is extremely hot and humid here and am having difficulties with the afternoon heat so looking forward to the mountains in a week or so. Nevertheless, evenings are wonderful.

Yesterday I spent the day in the city. The tourist bureau offers free walking tours of the zacallo (main square) in the morning so I went on that. A small group, about half english, half spanish speaking, so the guide spoke both languages. I then occasionally translated to French for a guy from the hostel from France who speaks neither other language (I find I am speaking more French here than I did in Montreal). Got to go up to the balconies of city hall on one side of the square for an overview, and then into the centre where we learned that once Merida had 5 pyramids. A huge one was where the main square now is. Most were destroyed soon after the Spanish came, and the bricks were used to build churches and other important buildings - if you look closely on a few of the bricks of a church a block from the square you can still see the old Mayan carvings. On one side of the square stands the oldest cathedral in the Western Hemisphere (yes, from old pytamid blocks), construction started in 154x and it was completed in the 1590s. It is very stark inside, but with a huge dome, and one chapel with the black jesus. We went back to the palace of the governors to see the murals of the history of Merida and the Conquest and rebellions / dynamic paintings - one showing Mayan slaves being sold to Cuba, another of the Caste Wars etc. One large pyramid lasted until 1939 when the mayor decided to tear it down to build the municipal market - a facinating place inside an ugly building.

By the time the tour ended it got very hot and I was kinda hungry. I've learned to eat a big breakfast cause often it is too hot to eat midday. On my way to the wonderful anthropology museum I stopped at a square with many little eating places, the sun was beating down, the air quality was declining, I was hot and sweaty and hungry, and the vendors all started in at me with menus, calling me to their stands and I got so overwhelmed I did not eat. Meltdown one.

The Museum of Anthropology is a must see / gives some history, including social history of the mayans, had many sculp[tures and was air conditioned. Here I met a guy who I had seen in Vallodolid from Fort Erie On, who has a big interest in archeology who explained more. One things I found facinating was the coping with the ecological homogenity of the area / lowlands with no above ground rivers or lakes (a big underground lake) and the trade routes. Also there showed some of the "beauty" practices such as flattening part of the skull of infants, tatoos, dental fling, engraving and jade inlays. Also some explanation of the overworld, undreworlds and gods. Listening to a guide, I learned that most of the cities we see were ceremonial and for the upper classes who did not consider the workers the people. As with all history, there is little about the common people.

After the museum went with Pete to eat, sat in a small Chinese resto (yes) with all locals for a couple hours. Great food, cheap and air conditioned. Then wandered around.

Today I went up to some small ruins about 17k from Merida for the day. You take one of the little common mini-buses that run all over town with different companies and lines painted on the windows, and plastic bucket seats. The drive out took me through the middle/upper class area past the 5 star hotels, bigger homes, stip malls and shopping malls with Sears, TGIF, Boston Pizza etc (this is locals not tourist area( but then you are suddenly out of the city.

The ruins - Dzibilchaltun - are smaller, but are one of or the oldest settled town - initially settled in 300 BC - up to 40,000 at one time, but like all areas had its ups and downs. Some smaller temples, a cenote where you can swim, an excellent small museum telling of Mayans pre and post conquest, some contemporsry Mayan houses, an ecological trail showing trees and palnts and how they were used which was fascinating though being alone on the path I got a bit creeped out with noises from the undergrowth. The jungle, like the people is short. But lush. It was again too hot and humid / one Temple of the Seven Dolls had shade and the breeze blowing through.

Leaving I had my early afternoon meltdown. The bus back was to be at 2pm / only I and an Argentian couple got off the bus on the way out, and we sat on the side of the narrow road with few cars and few homes (some neat thin cows with humps) and waited. I had heard of someone who had missed the last bus and had to walk 5 km to the highway. A cab came along and the couple was going to Progresso (a town by the sea in the opposite direction( and they hopped in so I was left alone at the side of the road in the heat. I waited and waited getting panicked. Finally at 2.40 the bus came inthe opposite direction and I flagged it down. Got to see 2 small villages on the ride as it want to the end of the line - Sacnicte and Chaydebel - small homes, dirt roads, people getting off and on the bus, trash piles of plastic bottles at side of road - village life 35 minutes from the city a different world. Then past back by the ruins, and through an industrial park on way back into town. To the Burning of Bad Moods Tonight.

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Comments

[Cuz Pam]

Happy Valentines Day
Hi Alice, Happy V-Day ... How hot is it? It's current 9 degrees here in Buffalo, with a -15 wind chill. Supposed to get up to 20 by Friday ... that will be a Heat Wave! Take care, Pam