Retirement

It doesn't seem real. Retirement seemed so abstract through the years...something "old people" did. And yet...
Those of you who read this regularly may have noticed I don't use this blog to air my deep personal thoughts or musings. No one would care to read them, nor should they. Instead, falling back on my years as a news reporter, I try to convey the experience of day-to-day living here in the Yucatan, throwing in some humor to spice it up a little bit.
That said, I do want to share some things on a personal note today. The other day one of my co-workers remarked on my retirement and told me I was "lucky". "Not so fast", I thought and informed him that putting in 44 years of labor did not constitute "luck".
But further reflection caused me to concur that there has been some luck involved in me being here. First of all, I've lived long enough. I have friends who didn't, due to war, accident or illness, so even though the odds are stacked against all of us, here I am.
Secondly, I would not have made it to this wonderful life-style had I not met my partner Indra. She and I shared this dream together and without her, it would have remained just a dream for me.

Now. I have been asked many times in the past few weeks just what it is I plan to do with myself. We've all seen the stories about those poor souls who retire only to find their lives meaningless without their workaday routine. That is not me. What do I plan to do? Well, you're looking at one of the big ones. I will be spending more time submitting articles to this blog and for that, I need your help.
Do me a favor: down at the bottom of this, click on "Comments". Then, please, let me know what kind of stories you'd like to see. Day-to-day living? Navigating the beauracracy? Mayan ruins? Let me know. And further, let me know where you are. I'm always curious who reads this thing and were you are living. Are you planning a vacation here? Are you planning a permanent move here?
And finally (and this goes under the heading of Long Term Plans), let me know if you think a book detaling retiring in the Yucatan specifically, would be useful.
That's your assignment, friends.

More later,
Larry

Merida Then...and Now

Sometimes good fortune falls in your lap and you just have to share it.  This good fortune came from a co-worker of mine, Armando, who was sent a series of old photographs of Merida by his sister.  And he shared them with me.  Another co-worker, Tony Pacheco, suggested that I give him my camera and he would take pictures showing what these areas of Merida look like today for contrast.  And that's how I'm going to share them with you.  The time of the old photos is in question.  Some came from the early 20's I'm sure.  Others, by historical dates, are earlier.  But rather than try to pin that aspect down, I think it's just fun to look at the city and what is gone...and still here.  If you double-click on these to enlarge them, you'll see more detail.

This is a favorite of mine because it utilizes two then-emerging technologies:  Powered flight and aerial photography.  An amazing picture when you consider all that.

Of course the most predominate feature is the cathedral and Plaza Grande.

 

 This is a shot of Calle 65 and 56 which at the time was known as "la paseo de las bonitas" or the beautiful ladies walk.

 And how it looks today...

 If you've been in el Centro, it's a good bet you've ventured into the Mercado Lucas de Galvez.  If you haven't, you should because it's an all out assault on most human senses: sound, sight, smell.  As it looked in the 20's...

 This entrance is long gone, but if you look in the background, you'll see los Portales.  They are still there...

 Here is a look at the army which was stationed at what is now the San Benito market.  If you look in the distance you can see what is now the mercado pictured above.  The lower part of the tall, black water tower is still there.  Since this is a shot of Benito Juarez with the troops it has to date pre-twentieth century.

 See that building in the background center?  The first floor is still standing and in use...

 On the west side of the main plaza, across from the cathedral, is the municipal building known as El Olimpo.  This is how it looked in the 20's..

 And it's still there today, or so I thought.  It turns out this building was torn down to make a parking lot.  And the version we see today is a replica.  Here it is..

 The main cathedral is arguably the most historic building in el Centro.  This is a look at the interior and alter at the turn of the last century.  Very ornate, lots of gold.

 Today, much more subdued....

 There are probably many reasons for the transformation, not the least of which occurred during the Mexican revolution in 1915 when a Communist general by the name of Salvador Alverez set fire to the cathedral.  And all the gold went missing.  Here is a picture of the aftermath...

The church remained closed for 15 years as repairs were being made.

Here is a look at the north side covered in vines back then...

 And today...

 Directly south of the church is an alley that is the home of artisans selling crafts to the tourists.  And to the south of that, the Macay Museum.  But it wasn't always so.  A look at pasaje a la revolucion and the roof, now gone, cristales y hierro (crystal and iron):

And today...

The army use to be headquartered next to this alley...This is probably the best contrasting shot of this whole exercise..

Now the Macay museum...

The Hotel Madrid...Calle 63 y 64..

Today....

Calle 65 y 60....

 Today, the Del Sol...

The Bank of Mexico...Calle 59 y 56..

It was torn down and replaced with this unattractive, utilitarian, Banamex building..

Finally, a look at Santiago Park and the Nicolas Bravo Elementary School..

These days, people gather in the park on Tuesday nights to dance under the stars to a big band orchestra.  And the school is still there.  And it's still the Nicolas Bravo Elementary School, proving that some things in this world remain the same even as the inevitable changes go on all around them.

Thanks to my friends Tony and Armando for their help with this.

More later,

Larry

 

Sometimes living nearer the Equator has its drawbacks....

Lenny the Lizard

Just a picture of our resident lizard, Lenny.  He hides behind pictures on the wall during the day and comes out in the evening to eat any bugs he might find around the house.  He can walk on glass blocks.  He chirps like a bird.  If you live here, you must learn to love these guys. 

A Night At The Opera

Ask anyone who has known me a few years and they will tell you.  When it comes to my preference in music, it's primarily good time, get-off-your-butts and dance, rock and roll.  By example, from about 1979....

 

But that's not to say I've not been open to other kinds of music.  Jazz, blues, country, Latin, as long as it's played well, I'll listen. 

So last weekend I surprised Indra with two tickets to the opera being presented at the local classical theater of choice in Merida, Teatro Peon Contreras.  The opera: the well-known (by those in the know) Barber of Seville.

It's an Opera Bufa, which means "musical comedy".  The tickets were available for Sunday evening and wouldn't you know it:  the the handy-dandy senior discount card got us 1/2 off.

Dressed in our opera finery, we composed ourselves and drove into the big city, not knowing what to expect except an interesting evening.

Before we get to the music, let's take a look at the hall.

This is the theater on Calle 60, between 57 and 59.  Built 102 years ago, it is the showplace for the Yucatan Symphony, opera, ballet, and many other performing arts.

The seating layout shows the arrangement of the almost 700 seats...

 Our seats were located on the first balcony, section six on the right of the diagram.  Each of these had a separate entrance from the hallway in back and contained 6 chairs which could be arranged as we needed.  For my 6'7" frame, this meant I could make my own leg room which was a treat.

I made this panorama shot from here.  Double-click on it to get the full effect...

 

Looking across at the little cherubs that separated the first from the second balcony, we noticed one was wearing a derby!  This shot is a little grainy...

So we all settled in and listened to the orchestra in the pit tuning up.  There wasn't much else to do but people watch and leaf through the program to get a sense of who was singing and what they were going to be singing about...

A glance upward to the ceiling brought on certain "Phantom of the Opera" vibes....how appropriate...

Then, the lights dimmed and we were underway.

This is the star of the show singing the part of Figaro, Jose Adan Perez, a Mexican native who is now with the Los Angeles Opera.  His story is a fascinating one, and my friends over at Yucatan Living have a great interview with him you can read here. 

 

The bad news was, being written by a guy named Rossini, the whole thing was sung in Italian.  The good news was that subtitles were projected above the stage.  The bad news was they were in Spanish.  No matter, we got the gist of the story and it didn't affect the full-throttle sound of the Yucatan Symphony blending with the wonderful voices entertaining us.

I'll leave it to the experts to comment on the musical and technical aspects of the performance.  I would encourage anyone who is interested to periodically check into what performances are on tap and take in a night at the theater.

More later,

Larry

Celestun

Or, road trip part 2.
Once we finished "El Camino de Diablo", we hit the main highway and headed west for 20 kms to Celestun, home to the 147,000 acre Parque Natural del Flamenco Mexicano or the Celestun Biosphere Reserve as it's also called.
We headed into town and to the beach to enjoy a picnic lunch before looking for the flamingos.
The beach...

 Then we worked our way back to the ecological park which is easy to spot from the highway..

There, we were greeting by a nice guy who spoke English.  He took us into an area that had a topographical map of the ecopreserve and he offered us the choice of a two hour or one hour tour.  At this stage of the game, we opted for the one hour.
He then led us to the dock where there were many boats, no waiting.

 

The Skipper                                             Gilligan

        

We headed up the estuary for about 20 minutes and then they came into view.....(note: click on pictures to enlarge for best viewing)

 

Hundreds of flamingos feeding on the special plankton that are nourished in this area by the unique combination of salt and fresh water.  The Skipper cut the engine and then the breeze caused the boat to silently drift towards the birds.

After about 20 minutes of observing, we continued on our way and into a passage that led us through the thick mangrove jungle surrounding the estuary.

I mean thick...

Where termites build their nests in the trees....

After a short cruise through here, we headed on to a fresh water spring area where we docked and walked through admiring the crystal clear, fish rich sweet water.

As we were leaving, this beautiful bird came walking by us.  The skipper told us it was a "Mangrove Chicken" although since we weren't allowed to eat it, we cannot confirm this name.  We'll  have to take the skipper's word for it.

A fabulous trip, and highly recomended for fellow expats and visitors alike.  Just make sure to stay on the main highway.

More later,

Larry

Road Trip! (Part 1)

So, the brakes on the car checked out fine and it seemed time for a road trip.  For this particular road trip we decided to take the road less traveled.   And, eventually, we would find out that it was less traveled for a reason.  More on that later.
We headed out westerly in the mid-morning towards the border of our neighbor state Campeche, armed only with a map, a picnic lunch and a full tank of gas.  According to the map we were headed into hacienda country which we felt should afford us some good photo ops as well as a look into a very important part of the Yucatan's past.

Haciendas

The haciendas, or ranches or plantations, were basically land grants given by the Spanish monarchy to wealthy patrons.  These huge plantations were worked by native Mexicans under a feudal system (basically slavery) whereby the workers, or peones were born, worked and died serving the owner's interests.  The plantations in the Yucatan were processing one thing: henequen.

 

The fibers of this cactus were (and still are) extracted through a process of shredding, drying and weaving to make rope which, for the better part of a century and a half, was a very lucrative business.  The plantation owners in the Yucatan were, at the time, some of the wealthiest people on earth and their henequen plants were called "green gold".

These haciendas were small cities unto themselves with churches, living quarters for the owner and his family and for the workers and their families.  Of course, the workers bought all their food and goods from the plantation-owned store using plantation printed money.

Hacienda Santa Rosa

It was the Peon family that owned most of the land we were traveling through and they owned it for several generations until 1937 when the newly formed democratic government redistributed all the land to the peasants.

This is Hacienda Santa Rosa outside of Chunchucmil.  Once abandoned and in a state of decay, a group of investors spent the better part of three years reconstructing and restoring the main plantation mansion.  It's now part of the Starwood Hotel group of "luxury resorts".  The work was done by the local descendants of the original peones, and when the work was done they were also trained to work as staff members in the resort.

The old church...

We're not sure about this building.  It was huge and looked like there were many concrete cubicles inside.

Although the rope is no longer produced, the henequen fibers are still processed on a small scale in the area and we were fortunate to run across some local artisans using their skills to make wonderful items.

The bundled fibers look something like sheep's wool...

Articles are woven by hand in a process handed down from each generation to the next...

 

  

 

Next door, the artists were busy making silver filigree jewelry working with torches, hammers, pliers and...rocks.

 

  

 

All items were for sale and we did purchase some of the henequen woven items which were surprisingly heavier than they looked.

Then it was off to Kochol where we found another hacienda.  This one was not, nor will it most likely ever be, restored.  But at one time, it was very impressive...

Kochol

I tried and could not find any information about this hacienda on the internet.  But by looking at it, it had been an impressive operation in it's day.

These are the smoke stacks indicating the drying kilns with a work house behind them..

 

The main mansion.  It appears that there were servant quarters under the main house.  We had to be cautious walking around in this structure as there were collapsed floors testifying to its decaying condition.

 

And in the back courtyard of the mansion, a swimming pool.  We could only imagine the parties that were held here...

Change of plans...

Our next stop was to be Chunchucmil, an archeological site we hadn't heard of, but wanted to check-out.  When we got to the town of Chunchucmil, the road came to a "T" and we had no signage to indicate which direction to turn.  So we went north.  It soon became apparent that we were headed in the wrong direction, so we made one of those on-the-road decisions:  Since we were headed in the direction of Celestun, why not go up and see the flamingos?  Good idea!  And, according to the map, it was a straight shot, 25 kilometer, piece-o-cake drive to get to the highway that would take us there.

O.K.  Think of what most North Americans imagine all Mexican roads are like.  This is what we were on.

 

 One-lane.  And this picture was one of the better stretches.  I am not exaggerating when I report that we had to dodge hundreds of potholes, downed trees, road apples, you name it, rarely getting out of first gear.  And I kid you not, we were being tracked by vultures  in the trees above.  And little indication of civilization anywhere within eyesight.

So this little 20 or 30 minute jaunt up to the main highway ended up taking about an hour and a half of some of the most nerve wracking driving I've ever done.  Avoid this so-called road at all costs.

But we made it, and in Part 2 of Road Trip, we'll show you those flamingos.  They were magnificent.

More later,

Larry