30 de enero, 2007, the last full day on Holbox and for me it´s the last day of our vacation. I don´t count the days in Cancun. We will be doing errands, packing up, catching up with the latest news at Dos Playas...just tidying up everything before we go back to familiar surroundings where everything is understandable and routine. Back to mid-winter and the weather that slaps me in the face and reminds me to be humble. Back to English 24-7 where our lives are ordered and neat and organized and there are no stray dogs.
Ah, Mexico, mi corazon vive en ti, tienes parte de mi siempre, y no me dejas ir. Me tienes en las caras de los niños que se sientan al lado de nosotros en el camion, me tienes cuando escucho tu lenguaje tan lleno de ritmo y belleza, me tienes en la energia de tu gente suave y tierna, amable y no me quiero ir, no me dejas ir, mi Mexico, aqui quiero quedarme, y la verdad, aunque se vaya mi cuerpo, mi alma se queda, dejo un poco de mi espiritu, una sonrisa, una caricia, una "muchas gracias por todo."
Tengo la piel roja, roja, roja, el labio se me hicho´porque mi Sol me dio un beso demasiado fuerte, pero no me importa, llevo todo esto conmigo, aunque este viaje me deje en el rojo, no importa, me dio tanto...tanto...tanto.
Te quiero, Mexico, ahora y siempre.
Besos y abrazos.
Soy Lorena
1/31/07
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Monday, January 29, 2007
Holbox-el Norte
It is what it is--es lo que es--cada dia, cada momento. Llego´el Norte ayer y la marea subio´muchi´simo, tapando casi toda la playa donde caminamos creando un charco tremendo en frente del hotel y tuvimos que refugiarnos alla´despues de la puesta del sol y de sacar unas fotos de ella.
Soplo´un viento violento toda la noche y nos dormimos temprano. Amanecimos con el cuerpo tieso, pero el yoga ayudo´mucho.
We have the run of this place. We cook our own breakfast, make our own coffee and act like we live here year round. I think all the guests have gone except for a German woman and her daughter.
In some ways it´s beginning to feel like New England here. The weather is changing every five minutes. One minute it´s windy and cold, the next, the sun comes out and it´s hot, then the wind picks up again and it´s cold. So we put on windbreakers and shirts, then take them off, then put them on again. Oh, well, it could be worse. I could be shoveling snow or slipping on ice.
So, I´m not complaining, no me quejo. Pasado mañana regresamos a Cancun por dos noches y el viernes nos vamos para Boston otra vez. Ay, no quiero pensar en el verdadero frio y el mes de febrero que viene y puede ser el mas fuerte de nieve. Hasta ahora no ha nevado, realmente.
Here I am in Holbox on the beach and I´m writing about snow. Who´s in the moment now?
Maybe you are...maybe I should get there, savor the last few days of this trip.
What a trip it´s been.
I don´t want to leave Holbox.
I don´t want to leave Mexico.
I will just BE HERE for every last moment I have.
BE HERE
BE HERE
be here.
Soy Lorena.
1/29/07
Soplo´un viento violento toda la noche y nos dormimos temprano. Amanecimos con el cuerpo tieso, pero el yoga ayudo´mucho.
We have the run of this place. We cook our own breakfast, make our own coffee and act like we live here year round. I think all the guests have gone except for a German woman and her daughter.
In some ways it´s beginning to feel like New England here. The weather is changing every five minutes. One minute it´s windy and cold, the next, the sun comes out and it´s hot, then the wind picks up again and it´s cold. So we put on windbreakers and shirts, then take them off, then put them on again. Oh, well, it could be worse. I could be shoveling snow or slipping on ice.
So, I´m not complaining, no me quejo. Pasado mañana regresamos a Cancun por dos noches y el viernes nos vamos para Boston otra vez. Ay, no quiero pensar en el verdadero frio y el mes de febrero que viene y puede ser el mas fuerte de nieve. Hasta ahora no ha nevado, realmente.
Here I am in Holbox on the beach and I´m writing about snow. Who´s in the moment now?
Maybe you are...maybe I should get there, savor the last few days of this trip.
What a trip it´s been.
I don´t want to leave Holbox.
I don´t want to leave Mexico.
I will just BE HERE for every last moment I have.
BE HERE
BE HERE
be here.
Soy Lorena.
1/29/07
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Cartwheels on the Beach
¿Volteretas laterales en la playa? Does that make sense in Spanish? When I was a child I used to do ballet, tap and acrobatics and one of my favorite acrobatics was the cartwheel. I could do ten cartwheels in a row and not get dizzy. I can´t remember the last time I did a cartwheel, but I did three today on the beach. I could have done more. El cuerpo se acuerda, it´s body memory, like riding a bicycle. Once you learn to ride, your body never forgets. Es igual con las volteretas laterales. Que divertido. Mañana voy a hacer mas.
Hicimos yoga en frente del mar. La playa solitaria era nuestra. Baile´, hice mis patadas de kung fu. No hubo sol al levantarme, habia muchas nubes, pero no importaba porque me queme´con el sol ayer y aunque no lo pudiera ver detras de las nubes, sabia que alli´estaba mi Sol de todos modos, esperando la oportunidad de mirar a hurtadillas tan pronto que una nube decidiera desvanecer un momento. Y si, paso´. Amanecio´el dia con aire, asi que no habia bichos.
Es increible, aun aqui´el tiempo pasa rapido. Ayer con la puesta del sol, me pregunto´Teo, "Hoy que hicimos?"
"Pues," le dije, "caminamos en la playa, hicimos yoga, comimos, fuimos al centro, nos bañamos, leimos, nos metimos al mar....umm, paso´el tiempo."
"How do I have time to work for six hours at home?" He said.
"I don´t know, it´s different."
"That´s why we´re always rushing."
"And we drive such distances just to go to the bank and the store."
Pense´, My life is going fast. Each amanecer, each anochecer. Throughout most of the trip we did a lot. Now, these last few days, we are doing nothing and the time still flies by. It doesn´t slow down.
I shall end today´s blog with a line from Waiting for Godot, by Samuel Beckett.
NOTHING TO BE DONE.
Soy Lorena.
1/28/07
Hicimos yoga en frente del mar. La playa solitaria era nuestra. Baile´, hice mis patadas de kung fu. No hubo sol al levantarme, habia muchas nubes, pero no importaba porque me queme´con el sol ayer y aunque no lo pudiera ver detras de las nubes, sabia que alli´estaba mi Sol de todos modos, esperando la oportunidad de mirar a hurtadillas tan pronto que una nube decidiera desvanecer un momento. Y si, paso´. Amanecio´el dia con aire, asi que no habia bichos.
Es increible, aun aqui´el tiempo pasa rapido. Ayer con la puesta del sol, me pregunto´Teo, "Hoy que hicimos?"
"Pues," le dije, "caminamos en la playa, hicimos yoga, comimos, fuimos al centro, nos bañamos, leimos, nos metimos al mar....umm, paso´el tiempo."
"How do I have time to work for six hours at home?" He said.
"I don´t know, it´s different."
"That´s why we´re always rushing."
"And we drive such distances just to go to the bank and the store."
Pense´, My life is going fast. Each amanecer, each anochecer. Throughout most of the trip we did a lot. Now, these last few days, we are doing nothing and the time still flies by. It doesn´t slow down.
I shall end today´s blog with a line from Waiting for Godot, by Samuel Beckett.
NOTHING TO BE DONE.
Soy Lorena.
1/28/07
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Two taxis and a flat tire
Two years ago the taxi ride from Cancun to Chiquila took 2 hours and 15 minutes. Today i.e. Friday, the taxi ride took 5 hours. Well, two taxis and a flat tire, I said.
Empezamos a las nueve de la manana con Carlos, nuestro taxista, muy buena gente. Nos llevo' por otra ruta, una carretera de cuota, mejor, mas rapido. Despues de manejar un buen rato resulto' que la salida a Chiquila' estaba cerrada a causa del huracan Wilma. Alguien le aviso' a Carlos que regresando diez kilometros tal vez pudiera encontrar otra salida abierta. So we went back but it was no go. The exits were closed. Now we had to go all the way back to Cancun to pick up the old carretera that we had taken before. Llegando alla' resulto' que el propietario del taxi no habia renovado el permiso para que nuestro taxista manejara en la carretera federal. So he wasn't allowed to take his taxi on this road. He called another taxi to come and get us and take us to Chiquila'. Meanwhile we are patiently waiting thinking maybe we should have taken the bus, which usually takes 3 hours and 15 minutes.
Oh, well, our second taxi arrived about ten minutes later and after giving Carlos some pesos to cover the gas and working out a fair rate for the second taxi driver, so we didn't end up paying more than we had arranged, we were off.
La carretera estaba dura...rough, full of pot holes, llena de baches and mostly under repair. The plan was to catch the 12 noon boat to Holbox, but now it was 11 thirty and we still had a two hour or more ride ahead of us.
En camino se nos poncho' una llanta y nos paramos para que el taxista la cambiara. The flat tire.
Total que llegamos como siete minutos antes de las dos cuando salia el otro barco para Holbox. Tuvimos suerte porque nos subimos y no esperamos mucho para salir.
Durante la corta espera, Teo vio un perro que andaba en el barco caerse al agua. No one seemed to notice the dog except Teo who then called someone y un joven logro' a salvarlo mientras Teo detenia al joven para que no se cayera el al agua. Estaba yo adentro del barco leyendo cuando regreso' Teo y me dijo, "You missed all the action."
Llegando a Holbox nos encontramos con Esther, la administradora del hotel donde siempre nos quedamos y nos dio un aventon en su carrito de golf. Asi que no tuvimos que pagar taxi. Pense' que si hubieramos llegado a medio dia no la habriamos encontrado. Ella nos platico' de las noticias y de la derrumbe de la isla por el huracan.
I love this place. Much of it looks the same as before and much of it has been reconstructed and some hotels, restaurants and houses are just rubble, escombros. But it survived. Sobrevivio'. El mar ha subido un poco en algunas partes y hay menos playa, pero de todos modos la playa es hermosa y hay una tranquilidad que no se encuentra en ningun lado facilmente. Ojala' que se quede asi'.
Soy Lorena
1/27/07
Empezamos a las nueve de la manana con Carlos, nuestro taxista, muy buena gente. Nos llevo' por otra ruta, una carretera de cuota, mejor, mas rapido. Despues de manejar un buen rato resulto' que la salida a Chiquila' estaba cerrada a causa del huracan Wilma. Alguien le aviso' a Carlos que regresando diez kilometros tal vez pudiera encontrar otra salida abierta. So we went back but it was no go. The exits were closed. Now we had to go all the way back to Cancun to pick up the old carretera that we had taken before. Llegando alla' resulto' que el propietario del taxi no habia renovado el permiso para que nuestro taxista manejara en la carretera federal. So he wasn't allowed to take his taxi on this road. He called another taxi to come and get us and take us to Chiquila'. Meanwhile we are patiently waiting thinking maybe we should have taken the bus, which usually takes 3 hours and 15 minutes.
Oh, well, our second taxi arrived about ten minutes later and after giving Carlos some pesos to cover the gas and working out a fair rate for the second taxi driver, so we didn't end up paying more than we had arranged, we were off.
La carretera estaba dura...rough, full of pot holes, llena de baches and mostly under repair. The plan was to catch the 12 noon boat to Holbox, but now it was 11 thirty and we still had a two hour or more ride ahead of us.
En camino se nos poncho' una llanta y nos paramos para que el taxista la cambiara. The flat tire.
Total que llegamos como siete minutos antes de las dos cuando salia el otro barco para Holbox. Tuvimos suerte porque nos subimos y no esperamos mucho para salir.
Durante la corta espera, Teo vio un perro que andaba en el barco caerse al agua. No one seemed to notice the dog except Teo who then called someone y un joven logro' a salvarlo mientras Teo detenia al joven para que no se cayera el al agua. Estaba yo adentro del barco leyendo cuando regreso' Teo y me dijo, "You missed all the action."
Llegando a Holbox nos encontramos con Esther, la administradora del hotel donde siempre nos quedamos y nos dio un aventon en su carrito de golf. Asi que no tuvimos que pagar taxi. Pense' que si hubieramos llegado a medio dia no la habriamos encontrado. Ella nos platico' de las noticias y de la derrumbe de la isla por el huracan.
I love this place. Much of it looks the same as before and much of it has been reconstructed and some hotels, restaurants and houses are just rubble, escombros. But it survived. Sobrevivio'. El mar ha subido un poco en algunas partes y hay menos playa, pero de todos modos la playa es hermosa y hay una tranquilidad que no se encuentra en ningun lado facilmente. Ojala' que se quede asi'.
Soy Lorena
1/27/07
Thursday, January 25, 2007
What a day, continued...
(Read the previous entry first. Lean la entrada previa primero)
Despues de comer, dimos una vuelta y regresamos al hotel, Hotel La Laguna. Subimos a la terraza para sentarnos alla´ a mirar las estrellas y la luna que ya va creciendo. Mire´ la Luna un buen rato y me puse a pensar como su luz es el reflejo del Sol, viene del Sol y sin el Sol, la Luna no se ve, que recibe toda su energia del Sol, y con El, la Luna brilla, con El su luz brilla toda la noche y nos calienta a nosotros los seres humanos, y nos hace tener sentimientos romanticos y suaves y tiernos y nos ayuda dispersar el amor. La Luna si´es amor, pero su amor viene del Sol. Sin el Sol, la Luna no vive y no puede crear. Hmmmm....interesante.
Me parece un milagro como el Universo es tan equilibrado, dia y noche, frio y calor, invierno y verano, hombre y mujer, oceano y desierto, lluvia y sol, Luna y Sol...regreso a lo mismo. Ay, mi Luna, ay, mi Sol.
So here we are again in Cancun, taking off for Isla Holbox mañana. What are the magic words to use in Cancun? We can´t hide our gringo faces and they see us coming and think we must want to go on boat tours and tours to Disney-like places, and party boats, etc.
"Welcome to Cancun," I heard today. I thought to myself, I was here long before you were, my friend. So I said the magic words.
"Vivimos aqui, señor."
"Que les vaya bien," contesto´.
And we escaped another vendedor trying to sell us something. Whew!
Even my ex and his girlfriend get approached, and they look Mexican.
"Vivimos aqui´." Las palabras magias.
Soy Lorena
1/25/07
Despues de comer, dimos una vuelta y regresamos al hotel, Hotel La Laguna. Subimos a la terraza para sentarnos alla´ a mirar las estrellas y la luna que ya va creciendo. Mire´ la Luna un buen rato y me puse a pensar como su luz es el reflejo del Sol, viene del Sol y sin el Sol, la Luna no se ve, que recibe toda su energia del Sol, y con El, la Luna brilla, con El su luz brilla toda la noche y nos calienta a nosotros los seres humanos, y nos hace tener sentimientos romanticos y suaves y tiernos y nos ayuda dispersar el amor. La Luna si´es amor, pero su amor viene del Sol. Sin el Sol, la Luna no vive y no puede crear. Hmmmm....interesante.
Me parece un milagro como el Universo es tan equilibrado, dia y noche, frio y calor, invierno y verano, hombre y mujer, oceano y desierto, lluvia y sol, Luna y Sol...regreso a lo mismo. Ay, mi Luna, ay, mi Sol.
So here we are again in Cancun, taking off for Isla Holbox mañana. What are the magic words to use in Cancun? We can´t hide our gringo faces and they see us coming and think we must want to go on boat tours and tours to Disney-like places, and party boats, etc.
"Welcome to Cancun," I heard today. I thought to myself, I was here long before you were, my friend. So I said the magic words.
"Vivimos aqui, señor."
"Que les vaya bien," contesto´.
And we escaped another vendedor trying to sell us something. Whew!
Even my ex and his girlfriend get approached, and they look Mexican.
"Vivimos aqui´." Las palabras magias.
Soy Lorena
1/25/07
What a Day!!
I don´t know where to begin. It´s been a frustrating day trying to record this latest Blog. I won´t bore you with the details. Let me start with the journal I was writing on Tuesday, January 23, 2007 while traveling through the Yucatan in Mexico.
Another travel day, up at 6am, showers, breakfast at 7, pack up and off we went. Snacking on the way on Maria cookies and queso de tres cremas que compramos en Ocosingo, which I just found out is the headquarters for the Zapatistas. You´d never know it. It´s a tiny town and the people are very nice. No sabe a Revolucionarios.
Nos paramos en Xupujil para comer en un lugar que era estacion de autobus, restaurante, mini tienda y hotel. Comimos enchiladas de pollo con salsa roja. Fueron ricas. Despues fuimos a la mini tienda a comprar unos yogures y aparecio´ el mesero que no atendio´, ahora como cajero de la tienda.
Le dije, "Estas en todos lados...o ¿eres el gemelo?" Se rio´.
Adelante. I drove for awhile mientras Teo leia The Lonely Planet guide book and looked at the map. Before we knew it, we were in Bacalar and decided to stay there for the night.
Bacalar is not a new town. I´m sure it´s been around for awhile and I don´t know how to describe it except to say it´s quiet. The buildings are run down and in need of paint. The streets are muddy and the entire look of the Centro is casual and sloppy. The last time we were here we ate a meal in a shoe store. Si, de veras, comimos en una zapateria. Combo-business. Well, we have bookstore-cafes in the US, why not a restaurant-shoe store?
I shall stop here and publish, then continue in a new Blog...por si las moscas. No voy a revisar, asi que si hay errores, me perdonan.
Soy Lorena
1/25/07
Another travel day, up at 6am, showers, breakfast at 7, pack up and off we went. Snacking on the way on Maria cookies and queso de tres cremas que compramos en Ocosingo, which I just found out is the headquarters for the Zapatistas. You´d never know it. It´s a tiny town and the people are very nice. No sabe a Revolucionarios.
Nos paramos en Xupujil para comer en un lugar que era estacion de autobus, restaurante, mini tienda y hotel. Comimos enchiladas de pollo con salsa roja. Fueron ricas. Despues fuimos a la mini tienda a comprar unos yogures y aparecio´ el mesero que no atendio´, ahora como cajero de la tienda.
Le dije, "Estas en todos lados...o ¿eres el gemelo?" Se rio´.
Adelante. I drove for awhile mientras Teo leia The Lonely Planet guide book and looked at the map. Before we knew it, we were in Bacalar and decided to stay there for the night.
Bacalar is not a new town. I´m sure it´s been around for awhile and I don´t know how to describe it except to say it´s quiet. The buildings are run down and in need of paint. The streets are muddy and the entire look of the Centro is casual and sloppy. The last time we were here we ate a meal in a shoe store. Si, de veras, comimos en una zapateria. Combo-business. Well, we have bookstore-cafes in the US, why not a restaurant-shoe store?
I shall stop here and publish, then continue in a new Blog...por si las moscas. No voy a revisar, asi que si hay errores, me perdonan.
Soy Lorena
1/25/07
Monday, January 22, 2007
Domingo, el 21 de enero
No se puede escribir de todas las experiencias, solamente the highlights. Por ejemplo, en la ultima entrada no escribi` como nos llevaron a la casa de una familia maya y alla` nos vistieron de ropa tipica y sacamos fotos. Tampoco escribi`como una niña de once años, arrodillada en el suelo nos preparo` las tortillas de maiz negro en un comal para que las probaramos. La "cocina" era un cuarto hecho de adobe con un piso duro, pero no de tierra y tampoco de concreto. No se de que era el piso.
Again before I go any further I must make another correction. The town is called "Zinacantan." I left out an "a". Sorry, so many new places, so many new words, I can´t keep up.
(Remember, this is about Sunday). Today two wonderful and unexpected things happened...well, maybe three if I include the good cup of coffee we had this morning after traipsing over half the town to find the place. We visited the Reserva Ecologica Huitepec, which is a private protected area of woods with oak trees, medicinal plants, bromelias and many beautiful trees. It covers an extinct volcano and we hiked straight up for a thousand meters. The total altitude was 2450 meters high. Near the top we could see the church at San Juan Chamula. We were there for two hours and I could have stayed all day. It was so nice being surrounded by trees and plants of all ages, sunlight shining through the leaves and branches. (Ah, mi Sol). The air was fresh and cool and I was glad I brought my wind breaker. Occasionally there were stone markers that gave information about the plants, but sometimes the markers just asked a question and gave no answer. Por ejemplo, (there were hoses along the trail) one marker read: ¿Por que hay mangeras aqui?
¿Que diferencia hay entre la parte de abajo y esta parte del bosque?
Los arboles tienen los troncos torcidos. ¿A que se debe?
By the time we got down, our leg muscles were shaking, pero valio` la pena, it was worth it.
How many more times in my life will I be able to do this? I thought. And then I got to thinking how many more years do I have? Twenty? Thirty? I can´t imagine what it`s like to be ninety. La mama` de Teo tiene 95 años y sigue de lista, toma clases, estudia poesia, viaja por avion sola, vive sola, sabe de todo, habla de todo. Ojala` pueda ser yo como ella si es que llego a esa edad.
So the next unexpected wonderful thing that happened was, we found serrendipitously, (I hope I spelled that right), this restaurant called Jardines de San Cristobal. They were serving a buffet, it was comida time, we had exercised and we were hungry. The place was really elegant and the waiters invited us to view the food before deciding. What a feast!
Imagina una mesa larga con sopas, sopa de elote, sopa de pan, sopa de fideo, aguacates rellenos de atun, (avocadoes stuffed with tuna), ensalada, chiles, rabanos, beef tongue in sauce, pollo con mole, carne de res (beef) carne de puerco(pork), arroz, frijoles, salsas rojas y verdes. ¡Y los postres! ¡Ni hablar! Natilla, (something like vanilla pudding), chocolate cake, sweetened fruit, etc. We ate a little of everything. Comimos un poco de todo...casi. El mole fue el mejor mole que habiamos comido en la vida...exquisito. A first for me was beef tongue. I had never eaten beef tongue before, being vegetarian for twenty odd years. It was delicious and very tender. The idea was creepy at first, but I got over it pretty quickly after one bite. So the buffet cost 160 pesos por persona, which is much more than we usually spend, but translated into 16 US dollars, it was really reasonable. I´m talking quality like you would get from the Ritz Carlton.
Despues de la comida, Teo queria regresar a Zinacantan on our own this time, so we drove there and as we were looking for a parking place, four little boys from the town appeared out of nowhere and began to tell us where to park and that they would take care of our car. They were so cute, all of them, I could have taken them home with me. After we visited Zinacantan and saw the dancers still dancing going on three days now, and went into the church again where I bought three ribbons (listones) colgados de un santo, we went back to our car and spent a long time talking to the boys who were two sets of brothers, ages 10 and 12. They all went to school and spoke Tzotzil and Spanish fluently. We were surprised at how much they knew about the world, being from a small town of about 2,000, where everone knows everyone. Todos se conocen. Uno de ellos tenia un tio que se fue a los Estados Unidos para trabajar. Otro nos dijo "Aqui no se gana mucho dinero, por eso se van a EE UU porque alla` se gana mas...y se va de mojado."
When we told them we were from the United States up north where it snows, they were very impressed. One of them asked me why it doesn´t snow in Mexico. I told him Mexico is closer to the equator and so it´s warmer.
Les preguntamos si podiamos sacarles una foto y les encanto` la idea. I asked them if they would like to travel to other countries someday and without hesitation they all answered no.
Que interesante. Parecian felices y no tenian curiosidad de conocer otras partes del mundo.
Sus padres trabajaban la tierra y no les faltaba comida.
Saliendo de Zinacantan I felt enriched. So, really, four wonderful things happened.
Today was a day of travel, packing up and trekking back across the mountains to Palenque where we will spend the night and then it´s on to Chetumal in Quintana Roo.
Soy Lorena.
1/22/07
Again before I go any further I must make another correction. The town is called "Zinacantan." I left out an "a". Sorry, so many new places, so many new words, I can´t keep up.
(Remember, this is about Sunday). Today two wonderful and unexpected things happened...well, maybe three if I include the good cup of coffee we had this morning after traipsing over half the town to find the place. We visited the Reserva Ecologica Huitepec, which is a private protected area of woods with oak trees, medicinal plants, bromelias and many beautiful trees. It covers an extinct volcano and we hiked straight up for a thousand meters. The total altitude was 2450 meters high. Near the top we could see the church at San Juan Chamula. We were there for two hours and I could have stayed all day. It was so nice being surrounded by trees and plants of all ages, sunlight shining through the leaves and branches. (Ah, mi Sol). The air was fresh and cool and I was glad I brought my wind breaker. Occasionally there were stone markers that gave information about the plants, but sometimes the markers just asked a question and gave no answer. Por ejemplo, (there were hoses along the trail) one marker read: ¿Por que hay mangeras aqui?
¿Que diferencia hay entre la parte de abajo y esta parte del bosque?
Los arboles tienen los troncos torcidos. ¿A que se debe?
By the time we got down, our leg muscles were shaking, pero valio` la pena, it was worth it.
How many more times in my life will I be able to do this? I thought. And then I got to thinking how many more years do I have? Twenty? Thirty? I can´t imagine what it`s like to be ninety. La mama` de Teo tiene 95 años y sigue de lista, toma clases, estudia poesia, viaja por avion sola, vive sola, sabe de todo, habla de todo. Ojala` pueda ser yo como ella si es que llego a esa edad.
So the next unexpected wonderful thing that happened was, we found serrendipitously, (I hope I spelled that right), this restaurant called Jardines de San Cristobal. They were serving a buffet, it was comida time, we had exercised and we were hungry. The place was really elegant and the waiters invited us to view the food before deciding. What a feast!
Imagina una mesa larga con sopas, sopa de elote, sopa de pan, sopa de fideo, aguacates rellenos de atun, (avocadoes stuffed with tuna), ensalada, chiles, rabanos, beef tongue in sauce, pollo con mole, carne de res (beef) carne de puerco(pork), arroz, frijoles, salsas rojas y verdes. ¡Y los postres! ¡Ni hablar! Natilla, (something like vanilla pudding), chocolate cake, sweetened fruit, etc. We ate a little of everything. Comimos un poco de todo...casi. El mole fue el mejor mole que habiamos comido en la vida...exquisito. A first for me was beef tongue. I had never eaten beef tongue before, being vegetarian for twenty odd years. It was delicious and very tender. The idea was creepy at first, but I got over it pretty quickly after one bite. So the buffet cost 160 pesos por persona, which is much more than we usually spend, but translated into 16 US dollars, it was really reasonable. I´m talking quality like you would get from the Ritz Carlton.
Despues de la comida, Teo queria regresar a Zinacantan on our own this time, so we drove there and as we were looking for a parking place, four little boys from the town appeared out of nowhere and began to tell us where to park and that they would take care of our car. They were so cute, all of them, I could have taken them home with me. After we visited Zinacantan and saw the dancers still dancing going on three days now, and went into the church again where I bought three ribbons (listones) colgados de un santo, we went back to our car and spent a long time talking to the boys who were two sets of brothers, ages 10 and 12. They all went to school and spoke Tzotzil and Spanish fluently. We were surprised at how much they knew about the world, being from a small town of about 2,000, where everone knows everyone. Todos se conocen. Uno de ellos tenia un tio que se fue a los Estados Unidos para trabajar. Otro nos dijo "Aqui no se gana mucho dinero, por eso se van a EE UU porque alla` se gana mas...y se va de mojado."
When we told them we were from the United States up north where it snows, they were very impressed. One of them asked me why it doesn´t snow in Mexico. I told him Mexico is closer to the equator and so it´s warmer.
Les preguntamos si podiamos sacarles una foto y les encanto` la idea. I asked them if they would like to travel to other countries someday and without hesitation they all answered no.
Que interesante. Parecian felices y no tenian curiosidad de conocer otras partes del mundo.
Sus padres trabajaban la tierra y no les faltaba comida.
Saliendo de Zinacantan I felt enriched. So, really, four wonderful things happened.
Today was a day of travel, packing up and trekking back across the mountains to Palenque where we will spend the night and then it´s on to Chetumal in Quintana Roo.
Soy Lorena.
1/22/07
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