Rio Lagartos and San Felipe

A view of the river, from the park at the end of town.

Rio Lagartos is the area mostly known for the flamingo tours offered by the local boaters.  We took a drive out in late January to see the area, but did not plan to take a boat trip.  When we arrived it was an incredibly windy day anyway, much too blustery for touring by boat, but we enjoyed looking around the area.

The malecon across the street from the restaurant we had lunch at......it was so windy, and it was an open-air restaurant.......our chips were blowing off the table!  We chatted with our server (he spoke excellent English) and found out the best time for flamingo tours is early in the morning and during the summer, so we will have to come back to Rio Lagartos later.  We did see hotels right on the malecon.

Next we drove 10 KM to the port town of San Felipe.  This is a major fishing port for the Yucatan, which had fish packing houses and many fishing boats.  Their malecon had beautiful lamp posts, and an observation tower.


Driving around town we were surprised to see that most of the homes here were constructed of wood, brightly painted in colors that reminded us of the Caribbean Islands.  Most of the construction in Telchac Puerto is concrete block.

 My neighbor Gaby has a brother and sister-in-law who live here in San Felipe.  We tried to find their house but were not successful.  We did see a very nice hotel here though, so perhaps another trip is in the future!

Hungry shorebirds await handouts from these fishermen who are cleaning their catch.

A trip to Ticul, the pottery town

We'd heard that for the best pottery, one must make a trip to Ticul, which is located about an hour south of Merida.  We enjoy seeing the local crafts areas, so we decided to head on down there to see what we would see.

Our first stop was at Arte Maya, which was a factory and shop located in a home.  The art here included fantastic, museum quality pieces that were beyond our budget for this trip. 

A wonderful copy of Chichen Itza's Chac Mool.

Inside the Arte Maya shop, a beautiful selection of plates, statues and figurines to choose from.

Next, lunch was on our minds.  It was a Sunday and the downtown area was blocked off, so we chose a Cocina Economica called Loncheria El Tope.  (Topes are the speed bumps so common in Mexican towns, necessary to be sure drivers slow down!) There are usually several choices for lunch depending on what the cook felt like whipping up that day...... I had a chili rellano, which came in a bowl of creamy sauce.  Lowell chose the mixed meat stew, which was a bowl with pork, beef, chicken, and noodles, and a side dish of freshly steamed assorted vegetables to add into the broth as you wished.

Now that our stomachs were happy, it was on to more shopping!  There were a couple more recommended shops that we wanted to see, and also many more shops in people's homes up and down the main road.

This turned out to be our favorite shop, where we bought a few trinkets and a large colorful pot for the living room.

Lowell looks over a nice selection of pots.

The kiln, located in the back of this store.  We were given a tour of the back area but no workers were here on Sunday.

Carnival in tiny Telchac Puerto

Carnival is a very big celebration in most Latin American countries, and there is one in almost every town here in the Yucatan.  It lasts for a full week in the big city of Merida, with many parades and celebrations.  We were not able to attend Merida's Carnival this year, so we opted to just walk down to the center of Telchac Puerto to see what was happening on Saturday night.

There was a large elevated bandstand set up, and the band started playing around 10:30 PM.  Shortly thereafter the King and Queen and their escorts paraded into the arena.  They walked the circumference and threw candy toward the crowds in the stands.

Next came the dancing troupe, with the lead female and male dance couple, and all of the rest of the colorfully dressed ladies.  The ladies were in pairs, dressed in bright dresses of orange, blue, purple, green and red.  Each had a fruit basket perched on her head.  The dance troupe also walked the circumference throwing out candies and confetti.  After this they continued to perform a very long dance routine, which was very entertaining.  Most of these women were older, so I imagine they've been doing this routine for a number of years!

Now we didn't have the beautiful girls on colorful floats sponsored by Sol Beer or Coca Cola, but I think just about everyone who lived in Telchac Puerto was in attendance!

The last and most humorous entry for the evening was the troupe of young men dressed as ladies, including tight, short dresses and tons of makeup.  The crowd really got a kick out of this act!

Telchac Puerto residents enjoyed their Carnival.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earlier in the week we had seen a big platform being built for the Carnival in Progreso, and after the big Saturday night extravaganza we saw the parade floats parked out near the main road, so we know we missed a bigger Carnival by not at least going to Progreso. Next year Lowell will try to take some vacation time so we may attend the Merida Carnival.

The ruins of Chichen Itza

We had a few days off from work, so of course it's a good time to get in a little travel around the Yucatan.  There is so much here to see and explore, but we decided to go see the most well-known artifact, the ruins of Chichen Itza.  Yes, it's a marvelous place to see!  Seen above is the most famous of the temples..the Temple of Kukulcan.  There is apparently a lot of debate about which Mayan tribes may have lived here and when, but it's very old, possibly built somewhere around the year 700.   The city "collapsed" around 950, and no further buildings were erected after 1000, according to my Cadogan Guide. 

A Chac-mool figure, where sacrifices were placed on the flat belly section.

Chac-mool is at the top of this building, the Temple of the Warriors, in between the two spires.

 

 

We spent several hours wandering around the architectural park, admiring the structures, such as the Ball Court, the Temples of the Jaguars, and the Sacred Cenote, which was considered an opening into the sacred underworld to the Mayans and home of the rain god Chac. 

There was one thing about Chichen Itza we did not like, and that was that there were far too many vendors allowed to be selling inside the park.  There was a large vendor's area outside the entrance which had many items to choose from, but inside the park the vendors were lining just about every pathway.  This ruined the effect of seeing the structures in the park, as you could not walk without someone approaching you to buy some trinket or other, many of which were made of resin. We did not experience this at the other ruin we visited last summer, Uxmal. 

The Sacred Cenote.

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the many vendors inside the park selling carved face masks and other figurines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Driving through Mexico day 3, Coatzacoalcos to Merida

Breakfast was included at the Terranova.  After breakfast we walked the grounds for awhile before packing up and leaving.  We drove toward Merida just how I had planned, and how we came into Coatzalcoalcos last night after getting lost!

A view of the Gulf of Mexico near Frontera, and heading toward Campeche.

We drove over toward the coast for this day's trip, to the town of Frontera.  There was a military checkpoint here, and they indicated we should pull over.  We got out our papers showing the sticker in the window was ours, and our list of items inside the trailer.  Lowell got out to open the trailer for them, and another officer came to my window to ask me to get out.  I did, and he snooped around in the front seat area, looked into my purse, didn't find anything of interest and said I could get back into the car.  Another officer wanted to look into the back of the Escalade, which has a rear tailgate door that lifts up.  Normally it does, anyway, but our trailer has a v-nose on it which prohibits the door from lifting.  I said, hold on....and shut the door while the guards looked at me like I was crazy.  Then I opened the window, which allowed the officer to browse to his heart's content.  I had some groceries back there and he found a box of Applets and Cottlets candy and showed it to his buddies.  I said  Haayyy, no waayyy!  and he put it back.  Next he found warm Cokes.  Lowell was back up front by then, and offered the guys cold Cokes.  We dug 4 cans of soda out of the ice chest, gave them to the guys and they were happy.  We were free to go on our way!

Approaching an interesting bridge somewhere in Mexico!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other stops were local policia.  They would look at the list of items I had made up for the trailer in English and Spanish.  Lowell would lower the back gate of the trailer, they would see the bed and sofa, and tell him to close it back up.  But the last checkpoint was getting into Merida.  They are very strict here.  This time they looked at the list, wanted our passports, the title to the car and especially the trailer.  I had a copy of the title and registration on one sheet of paper.  The policeman couldn't find the trailer license letters on the title, but I pointed out that it was on the registration and finally he was happy.  Why he would have thought we had a stolen trailer filled with household belongings is beyond me!  We had gotten into the wrong lane for Progreso at this stop, and he explained to Lowell how to get where we needed to go.  

Although it was annoying, Lowell has such an open and friendly attitude that we really didn't have trouble with any of the security stops.  And having the list of items in the trailer ready to show them before they could even ask made it easier too.

 

It was already after dark at the checkpoint in Merida.  I had decided on staying at the Technotel Norte, on the road between Merida and the beach town of Progreso, but had not made a reservation.  We missed the entrance, had to get to a place to turn around and went back.  We found the office, and went in to see if there was a room available.  They were not busy at all and it was no problem to check in.  I had a piece of paper with the price as indicated on their website, and that was what we were charged.  ($65, including breakfast).  This hotel was more Mexican than American (imagine that, in Mexico!) but clean and pretty.  And, they didn't mind if Spooky came into the room!  We went to the restaurant on site, where the waitress spoke no English but we managed to figure out something to order from the Spanish menu.  Shortly after we ordered, the manager came out to talk to us....in English!  Her name was Abril, she was the owner's daughter, and this was her hotel to manage.  She spoke excellent English and we had a great time chatting with her that evening.  

The lovely swimming pool at the Technotel Norte in Merida.

 

We enjoyed our complimentary breakfast at the Technotel the next morning before heading to our home in Telchac Puerto.  We asked for Abril again so we could say "goodbye" to her..what a nice girl!

Today we spent $376 pesos on tolls ($30) and $1400 pesos on gas.($114).

As Christmas approaches....

Some of the beautiful architecture in downtown historic Merida.

We are only a few days away from our first Christmas in Mexico.....although Lowell is working that day!  

We have been here one full month now.  So far we are happy with our decision to buy a little casa in Mexico.  It is really a shame that Mexico is getting such bad press due to the border drug problems, and the illegal entry into the US in the border states.  We are very far from any border issues here, and life is very peaceful.  The Mayan and Mexican people we have contact with are lovely people, very quick to smile and make us feel welcome.

One of the large Christmas Trees on Paseo de Montejo boulevard.

This past weekend we stayed for Saturday night at our favorite downtown Merida hotel, the Luz en Yucatan.  This is our third stay there, and we feel like family there when we talk with the hotel staff, and Tom, the owner.  We went after Lowell got off work at 7:30 PM, so it was already around 9 PM when we arrived.  On our way downtown we drove down the Paseo de Montejo, the large boulevard in the center of the north end.  It is brightly decorated with large Christmas trees,  many over the street light displays, and tree trunks along side the road lit with the tiny white lights......a very festive scene. 

A dance routine at the Christmas Market on Saturday night.

Sunday morning we headed out for the "market" after breakfast.  We like to go see the real market where the locals shop, as well as the market at the Plaza Grande which is a big to-do on Sundays.  The Plaza Grande is a magnet for tourists and locals alike.  We were in search of traditional looking Mexican plates for the kitchen, but sadly we were unable to find them.  Most of the plates we saw were meant for decoration rather than eating.    But to walk through the huge market is really an adventure.  Everything is there...food, meat, clothing, shoes, belts, knick knacks, hardware....you name it!

Passers-by at one of the hammock shops downtown.

At the Plaza Grande, we saw children waiting their turn to talk to Santa, just like you'd see anywhere in the U.S.A.!

We went into one of the Mayan gift shops and saw a man working on a wall hanging...made with pure wool, and using the loom of olden times.  He will work for two weeks on this one hanging, and will probably charge $4000 pesos for it, which is about $320 US.

We wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas, and a New Year full of happiness and good health, and good surprises! 

Driving through Mexico day 2, San Luis Potosi to Coatzalcoalcos

We knew we would have a long trip today, as it was supposed to take more than 9 hours to get to our destination for the night.  So, we got up earlier than usual and hit the road by 7:30 AM.  In my research ahead of time, I had found a hotel called Hotel Terranova, in the riverside town of Coatzacoalcos, which is a little further than the recommended stop in Minatitlan.  But by looking at Google Earth, I had discovered that there was no way we could stay at the one hotel in Minatitlan, because it required driving through an archway into the interior parking lot, something I was sure would not be fun with the trailer.  So I had made a reservation last night for a room tonight at the Terranova.  Looking again at this hotel on Google Earth I could see that it was kind of a country club set up, with a lot of green space along the river, tennis courts, a large palapa party area, and a free form swimming pool.  And a lot of parking area!

 
The terrain changed quite a bit during this day's drive.  As we were going up in elevation, there was more greenery.  Ahead, we saw a snow capped mountain, something we did not expect to see in Mexico.  The picture below is the mountain, but the clouds are obscuring the snow.

 As we kept driving, we headed up these mountains, near the town of Orizaba.  We almost thought we were in Washington state, as there were pine trees and lots of fog along this section.  Most of this road was under construction to repair landslides that occurred during the last hurricane that passed through Veracruz...I'm guessing as it headed west these mountain areas received a lot of rain.

 We made it over the mountains alright, but on the way down we suddenly heard a large "boom" noise, and Lowell could tell we had just lost one of our tires.  Luckily he was near an area where we could safely pull to the side (much of the road through the mountains had NOWHERE to pull over).  Getting out of the car we saw that the right rear tire was completely blown and flat as a sheet of paper!  It was 2:30 in the afternoon, with plenty of daylight left.  We got out the manual and figured out how to release the spare which is stored underneath the car, and with some difficulty Lowell got it free.  Then, reading the manual again, found out where to use the jack, jacked up the car, took off the blown tire and put on the new one.  Neither of us has had to change a tire for a LONG time, but luckily Lowell is a jack of all trades and managed fine.  In an hour we were back on the road.  We are lucky the Escalade comes with a full size fully inflated spare, not one of those little hard tires used for spares in smaller cars.  We had just purchased 4 new tires a month before leaving on this trip at Discount Tire, and Lowell had agreed to the extra insurance for them, so this will pay off!  We had also purchased a new spare tire for the trailer, which is what we expected might have a flat, but the trailer tires held up just fine.  We may have had too much pressure in the rear tires, and the extra weight of the trailer, plus the elevation changes going over the mountain all combined to make this tire blow out.

So, on we go toward the Terranova.  There are 3 different exits toward Coatzacoalcos around Minatitlan, and by the time we get there it's already getting dark.  We miss the first exit and try to take the second one, but it doesn't seem like we are going the right way.  We stop at a Pemex to try to get help, but no one there speaks English.  We are both getting crabby by now, and keep driving.  Somehow we get to the third way into Coatzacoalcos, and I recognize the river, and that we will be heading in the opposite direction to get to the hotel.  I had studied it so much on Google Earth that I knew what landmarks I would see, had we taken the first exit.  I knew I'd see the same landmarks in reverse....sure enough we did, and made it into the hotel parking area, several hours later than our expected arrival time, but we had a reservation!  We get checked into our room with no problems, and go to the hotel's restaurant for a nice dinner.  Some people at the hotel speak a tiny bit of English, and with our tiny bit of Spanish everything works out.

The next morning we can see the property in daylight.  Lowell and I took a stroll around to see the river, the pool, the huge palapa, etc.  We wouldn't mind staying here again, for more than one night in order to use the pool.

 

This was a day that shows that extra planning can come in handy!

Today we spent 1200 pesos for gas ($97) and 1351pesos for tolls ($109).  The hotel Terranova was about $70, plus another $30 for the dinner and tip.