I Love Mexico

It's true. I love Mexico or at least the part that I visited- the Yucatan peninsula. I didn't get a tee shirt but I should have.

Here's the top three things that I love about Mexico:

Uno: The people. They are lovely-warm, chatty, charming, helpful and have a good sense of fun and humour. I know it's a generalisation - I am sure there are some nasty ones out there, but the people I met were great.

Here I am with Bambi- our guide (in the Punta Laguna nature reserve) to an island with  20 different species and  about thousand birds-x 2 cause there were 2 islands. I'm not even kidding

I'll give you a couple of examples:

A guy started talking to me in Spanish in the town square in Valladolid. I said "No hablo espangnol except que si se -Nuestra elefante no es blanco" ( "I don't speak Spanish except I do know our elephant is not white." You will recall  from the previous post that was one expression that I had learned). I smiled and he smiled and he said with a twinkle in his eye "No- nuestra elefante es gris!"  I must have used my line about the elephant about 20 times through my travels in Mexico- Mr. Lovely says it has now become a meme down there but every time people got that I was kidding and laughed or at least gave me a smile.

Another time Mr. Lovely and I went to a bar- I ordered some vino (which was not so good I have to say- but on the up side was only 35 pesos- so under 3 bucks-  do you mind-what do you want for that amount of money right- margaritas definitely the way to go if you can take the sugar) and Mr L said he didn't want anything. The waiter said  "Amigo this is so sad- go ahead order what you want- I'll buy you a drink" He meant it too. He kept coming back and hamming it up about Mr. L not drinking and being concerned for his health and happiness. Fun.

The last example is when I was checking in security at the aerpuerto - I stupidly left my oversized and very expensive Kevin Murphy container of hair lotion in the carry-on even though they tell you 9 million times not to. So of course it was confiscated- but the young woman said in Spanish but I managed to glean her intent- go and find some little bottles and you can transfer the product over- (there was only about 1/3 left) Who does that? So that is what I did and here is my hair product:

Yup, Kevin Murphy in tic tac

Dos: The best dining locations ever!  We spent half our time on the Mayan Riveria which has the most beautiful beach- (paraiso de playa) I have ever been to, so most of our meals there (mostly ate the ceviche or fish- it is the place for sea food!) were overlooking this gorgeous beach and ocean:

View from our table at La Lunite in Akumal

The other half of the time we visited the colonial cities of Vallodolid, Izamal and Merida so our meals there were in these splendid courtyards- fantastic trees and vegetation- we were plunked right down in the middle of the jungle.

 Kinich restaurant in Izamal- pretty tropical

It was fantastic.  I was not super fussed on the Yucantan cuisine except in one gourmet restaurant in Tulum but the locations could not be beat!

Tres: The art.  I was fascinated by the skeletal art -very Tim Burtonesque- he definitely was inspired here. But in particular I captivated by La Calavera Catrina (or Dapper Skeleton; Elegant Skull).  The original was an etching made by a  political printmaker/engraver, Jose Gudalupe Posada between 1910 and 1913- an image of a female skeleton dressed in a hat befitting an upper class aristocrat.

Isn't she creepy?

She is a satirical portrait of Mexican natives who were trying to adopt European ways and has become a major symbol of the Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead ) celebrations which take place on (no surprise) Oct 31, Nov 1 and Nov 2.  I gotta get me there for that. I also heard the intent is to mock out people taking themselves and their riches too seriously for as it came to poor Yorick- "let her paint an inch thick, to this favour she must come". Great reminder- great stuff!
We went on several house tours a couple which featured these papier mache Catrinas- I thought they were spectacular. So much so I had to bring one back for a place in my parlour:

My very own Catrina. She has hair and a wonderful butt

What do you think?

Mexico Aqui Vamos (Mexico Here We Come)

So in less than a week, Mr. Lovely and I will be picking up a rental car at the airport in Cancun and driving to our first stop just outside of Akumal, in the Mayan Riveria in the Yucatan Peninsula, Meh-"EEK"-oh! Al, who is a big punster set us up with "So would you say that where you are going, you will have an opportunity to be out in the sun or in other words the place you are going is a place where..You can tan". Yes, Al, I would definitely say that. He loves being able word play so this goes on a lot in out house when he's home.

We are pretty excited about the trip because it has all the elements we strive for in a vacation: Beautiful scenery, cultural input, physical activity and down time. First off and this was a big criteria given our FREEZING cold winter- (Do you mind- Ontario weather!)-it'll be hot, hot hot and I don't just mean the tamales!  For some chill time, we are staying in a hut off the grid in Tulum;  for exercise, we plan to snorkel in Akumal, bike in Coba to see the Mayan ruins in the forest, and also hike around the ruins in Chichen Itza, and elsewhere where we can find them; and for the cultural- well the ruins, - and in the colonial town of Merida, we plan to go English Library House and Garden Tour,  visit a couple of museums ( apparently there is reputed to be the best modern art museums in Mexico, here) a cathedral and the local market and one day hope to drive to see the flamingos in Celestun about an hour's drive west of Merida. We are going prepared. First off we spoke with our friends, the Terrys who had taken a similar trip a few years back. This was their route:

Cancun, Akumal, Tulum, Coba, Valladolid, Chichen Itza Merida, and back

This is our route:

Cancun, Akumal, Tulum, Coba, Valladolid, Chichen Itza, Merida, and back

Ya, ok we are copying them but why not- it worked for them. They also gave us their waterproof map of the area, their travel books, their tips on where to eat drink and play, difficult turns in the road, and when to get to a particular spot to avoid touristos and traffic and their wonderful enthusiasm for the place. They are great guides- for sure.

I also have been studying Spanish on my Duolingo app. What a world!  But in a good way- (not in the wicked witch of the west -"I'm melting WAW WAW"- way). It's a really great learning tool and I have learned invaluable phrases like "El pingüino contra el cangrejo"- Translation- "The penguin vs the crab". I don't even know what that means in English! Also "Nuestro elefante no es blanco." Translation- "Our elephant is not white". I am sure those will come up many times during our trip.  Seriously though I am having fun trying to learn the language and I definitely have memorized the important stuff like, aqua (water), cervaza (beer), vino (needs no translation), desayuno (breakfast), almuerzo (lunch), and cena (dinner), and the all important - where is the restroom "donde estan los servivios por favor"  (because this apparently more refined than say el bano- room that has a bathtub) and hablas ingles?

I think we are set! If you have any hot tips- kindly lay them on me within the next few days.  Hasta la vista baby!