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OK, so we are on the 4th episode of the Mexican journal. You are more than welcome to skip reading the blurb and only look at photos as I am mainly writing it so I don´t forget all of these things later on cos my memory is good, only a bit short... So, Sam, honey, I cannot avoid the descriptive detail I´m afraid ;o) And Danny, I´m glad you are enjoying the photos as much as I am! Wait till you see the flamingos from my next stop...
Right, so after San Cristobal, I got to Merida and this time on my own as Poie had to fly home as per our original schedule.
Merida turned out to be a bigger version of San Cristobal: also colonial and quite artsy. You can certainly feel like you are in a big city once it´s got a cathedral and a museum of modern art, right? The museum wasn´t that great but hey, I don´t think Cancun has one at all unless it´s a gallery of different degrees of sunburn or something rather. As for the cathedral, it actually had something homey inside, namely, lots of photos of John Paul II from
when he visited Merida. Apparently, that church was the first one he visited in the whole of Mexico or so one waiter in the main plaza says.
After strolling a few streets, I realised it was way too hot to be in a city and got myself on a trip to Rio Celestun famed for its flamingo sanctuary. Before I did that though, I googled Celestun and all these amazing photos of thousands of flamingos came up. Needless to say, I got very excited and was expecting to see the same. Let's say I wasn´t going to sniff at a hundred, OK? Well, as things happen in life, we saw...15 of them. Ahem. Funny how they tell you that it's a low season for flamingos in Celestun and that they've all moved to Rio Lagartos only AFTER you've bought the ticket. Never mind. Actually, seeing 15 of them was quite amazing too and I loved the trip. Rio Lagartos, however, stuck in my head...
I guess I have to tell you about the company I had on that trip. So, I ended up spending that day with the cutest Mexican family ever. The Dad looked just like Pablo
Picasso. The Mum, Yana, was this lady with quite a bit of make-up, hair neatly tied back, big sunglasses, quite a decent tan and dressed all in white. There also was Mum's sister, Berta, who looked pretty much exactly like her, only was wearing a lot of different red jewelery that was obviously matching her also red shoes. Apart from that, she was all dressed in blue denim: shorts and a shirt with...the Mickey Mouse in front. What is it with adults wearing kiddie stuff??? There also was a daughter called Bebe or Bibi, I cannot remember which one. Twenty something girl, also with quite a bit of make-up on and a voice of a 5-year-old. They didn´t speak much English but from the moment they got into the car, they were very curious of me and were asking lots of questions. The guide spoke English, so made the interaction a bit more possible. They kept on calling me Moni and making comments to me that I half understood, so I was nodding with a smile (apart from when they offered me spicy salsa - that's when I had to say no, gracias). After we had lunch, they insisted they
would pay for me. Very sweet but made me slightly uncomfortable. At the end of the day, we didn't even manage to have a proper conversation and I wasn´t even sure I remembered all their names right and they wanted to pay for my lunch?! I was promptly scolded the moment I opened my wallet and to be fair, I didn't really stand a chance there, so I gave in. That was really sweet of them.
The guide was also really lovely and explained a lot of things to me. So, for instance, he said that the reason we get to see a lot of pictures of a snake and a man coming out of its mouth on many Maya buildings is because it's a symbol of birth. I'm not sure if it's a thing of this Mexican rattle snake or is it that all rattle snakes do that but apparently, they half swallow their eggs to protect them from predators and when the baby snake is ready to get out, it comes out through its Mum's mouth, hence the birth symbol.
The guide also explained why Maya houses have an oval shape. That's because it symbolises an
egg - that recurring symbol of new life. Those houses don't have any windows to keep the heat out but instead, have a couple of doors: to the east and to the west - to make the most out of the sunlight and to make sure it's always in the house.
Remember when I was saying where the noble Mayas were buried? Well, check this out: simple Mayas buried their families...in the backyard and the father of the house...inside the house. A bit freaky if you ask me.
Oh, and people still live in those houses and we saw lots o them on the way to Celestun.
So, I enjoyed my little educational trip to the reserve but as I said before, Rio Lagartos was on my mind and I decided to check if it was possible for me to go there. Yucatan Peninsula is the only place in Mexico where you can see flamingos and since I was already there, it would have been silly not to make the effort, right? Plus, if I get something into my head, there's no way I can let it go just like that, so, the inquiry began. By the
way, I've been in this Internet cafe for an hour and they've played Leona Lewis's Bleeding Love twice. I think it's time to go and get ready for my chav flight back home... I will write about what happened with Rio Lagartos later on. Adios!
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Poie
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Flamingoes
You and your flamingoes! You need to go on a flamingo safari. Is it the pink? Or the long legs that attracts you? Have a safe trip home and see you soon!