Get outta town!!!

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We had a hard time leaving Merida. (Yes, we wanted to stay! But we hadn't found a house yet, and the calendar dictated it was time to fly.) See, the roads are not well marked, and finding the exit is complicated. As they say in Maine: "Ya con't git theya from heya." So we expended much mental effort just finding the road to Cancun, even though I had studied the map before leaving.

Our plan was to take the old free road through the Mayan villages to Pisté for an overnight visit to naturalist Jim Conrad who blogs at jimbackyardgardennet. He lives in a grass hut behind Hacienda Chichen, where we spent the night. All the effort to exit Merida found us hungry before we got to Jim's, so we started looking for road food. We found a wonderful vendor along the way, just east of Yakdzonot, selling pit-roasted chicken: pibes de pollo al carbon. This piping-hot chicken pie was wrapped in banana leaves and stuffed with meat and corn masa, along with some chili seasoning. It was large, providing us with enough for lunch, leaving enough for breakfast next day. And the flavor was awesome, although Mary got a chunk of chili in one bite that rocked her a bit. The pics below tell most of the tale, aside from flavor.

Once we arrived, Mary retired to a hammock on the porch of our cabin, while I visited Jim. At his hut we ran into a newly hired gardener who was done for the day. We offered to give him a ride home, as he lives about 15 miles away, commuting by bicycle and bus. His family makes baskets, and we got invited inside their compound. One of the huts had a dirt floor; the other concrete. Both had electricity; one had a tv. These folks are not living on much money, but they had a wealth of spirit.

When we left the hacienda we figured we would continue on the free road until Valladolid, and then catch the interstate to Cancun. But when we got there, we couldn't find any signage saying Expressway to Cancun. We asked for directions, and ended up going back out of town only to circle the town on a bypass, finding our way back to the free road. This added about an hour to our trip, and brought us to the airport 45 minutes before departure. Close call. (We had checked in by internet back at the hacienda.) When we finally got to Buffalo that night, it was a balmy 45ºF (7ºC) which is high, considering it had been in the single digits (F) just days before, with 5 inches of snow coming down sideways. But, ah, sleeping in our own bed was welcome. Thus closes another episode of House Hunter's Irrational. Thanks for journeying with us. ~eric.

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Photos

Yucatucky Fried Chicken
That's about $4 bucks.

Soooo good.
The pies probably weight close to two pounds, and the aroma is intoxicating.

The pit and the fuel
They use this pit continually, and reuse the rocks, too. The pie was so hot we couldn't eat it immediately, so we drove for a few miles while it cooled.

Fowl of another sort
Coming into Pisté we saw this painting on the front of a home. There was much crowing emanating from behind the house.

The hacienda's well
El pozo.

Basketry at home
Daniel, the gardener, shows the boiled coil of vine stock used to make the baskets.

Daniel's dad
Watching him remove the bark from the vines is a blur.

The family's hut
This is the newer house with concrete floor and tv.

Back at Jim's hut
These seedlings are Golden Purslane, which seeds I had given him two weeks earlier.

Morning's light
We're ready to leave. Getting out of Jim's neighborhood should be easy — but NO!