Mexico
was abso-f%$@#ing-lutely awesome. The food, the friendly people, the
colors, the beaches, the mountains, the music, the deserts – everything
was great. The only problems we had were caused by ourselves, nary a
mote of malevolence directed our way. But I’ll save my ramblings for
the photos.
Mexico
City is huge. There is no way to take a photo encompassing the whole
thing. So, this is just a little sample of one of its streets. Our
first day in Mexico, this was to be a sign of things to come. Music is
everywhere. It’s being played by troubadours wielding out-of-tune
guitars on intercity buses, being blasted from backpack speakers (yes,
backpack speakers) on the metro, and, like this photo, being played,
live on many streets. These guys certainly beat the homeless bucket
bangers I’ve seen in Boston.
It
was our luck to be in Mexico as it prepared for and celebrated its 200
year anniversary. You are not looking at a photo of the anniversary
celebrations, rather a night more than a week prior. Every night
thousands of people crowded the city’s main plaza, walking aimlessly and
enjoying the vibe for no other reason than to be happy and among
people. The surrounding buildings, including the presidential palace
were lit up, well, like the fourth of July, except that September 16th is Mexican Independence Day.
We
spent only a short time in Mexico City, knowing we’d travel through it a
few more times throughout the course of our holiday. After a two days
we headed straight to the beach in Tulum for a honeymoon proper. This
photo is not a postcard, rather our home for six days. (The reef in the
background was great snorkeling.)
For
six days we called this home. So did a rather large iguana. But he –
or she - proved to be affable enough and let us have the bed.
Tulum was truly the stuff of dreams!
After
Tulum we spent several days visiting Mayan ruins. Above is Chichen
Itza. (Yes, this is a shameless, gratuitous tourist photo.) It’s as
cool in person as it looks here.
But
not a cool as the ruins at Palenque. Though we tried, no photos can do
this site justice. The jungle setting mixed with the anachronistic
visage of exotic temples was amazing.
The
number of visible weapons in Mexico is deserving of mention. I cannot
count the number of machine guns, let alone pistols and shotguns I saw
in Mexico. But all of them were held by policemen, policemen who proved
to be most helpful despite the menacing artillery they carried. In the
US I would never think about asking a policeman carrying an M-16 where
such-and-such a street is, but in Mexico it was no problem. A smile,
some quick directions, and they’d happily send you on your way, the
mankiller at their side a non-issue. It wasn’t only policemen either,
ordinary security guards often carried uzis or old-school revolvers as
well. It was crazy!
I
suppose I can’t get too far without mentioning the incredible number of
churches in Mexico. Every big city and every little village had one.
Sometimes the church was the only thing in the village. Here is the
cathedral in Campeche, a modest building compared to those in Puebla,
Mexico City or Oaxaca. The red, white, and… green bunting decorates the
gazebo in preparation for the bicentennial celebration.
This
is a photo of the interior of the cathedral in Oaxaca. Everything was
gilded in gold, the ceiling to the lintels. I’m not so supportive of
the church’s less-than-benevolent usage of funds – ahem, donations (What
would Mother Theresa think?!?!?), but I have to admit the aesthetics
are nice.
End of Part I
No comments:
Post a Comment