On a Roll in Little Rock

I think Im on a roll here in Little Rock
I’m solid as a stone Baby wait and see
I got just one small problem here in little rock
Without you Baby I’m not me
– from a song by Colin Raye

I’ve been in Arkansas for way too long, about three weeks but it seems like a lot longer. I got a lot of rest, caught some nice fish but now I am in Little Rock waiting for the plane, enroute to Australia. I want to say “Thanks” to my cousin Diane who has been my gracious host for all that time. Now though, I am rolling again and happy to be.

While I was here, my 82 year old mom was involved in an accident (not her fault.) Her hip was broken. It was fixed yesterday and she seems to be doing okay although she is in pain and faces a few weeks of tough physical therapy. After talking it over with her, I decided to continue on. She has some good folks with her and watching out for her so there is no problem there.

Truth is, I have hit a lull in my wanderlust though. All I really want to do is go back to Mexico. I am in the middle of establishing a “base” there and miss the friends I made there. I am also anxious to get on with learning Spanish. I’ve got Rosetta Stone loaded on my computer so I can do that but it is not the same (and not nearly as effective) as having a whole city of people to practice on. (And, it is not nearly as much fun as having Shelley correct my pronouncation.)

I do want to thank my sister and her husband Rob for agreeing to give me shelter while I am in Australia. I know I am going to enjoy my visit. I am looking forward to seeing them. I am enthusiastic. Really. It is going to be a lot of fun. I am looking forward to my first real “fish and chips.”

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Fishing

My brother Choctaw with a stringer of fish he caught.

Middle April is a great time to go fishing in Arkansas. That’s what my brother Choctaw and I did today.

Choctaw picked me up this morning about 7 AM. We went by a bait shop and picked up a bucket of minnows then we headed out to a small lake owned by a friend of Choctaw’s. We caught fish until we were tired of catching fish but we pressed on anyway until all the minnows were gone.

We caught crappy and bass with Choctaw landing a catfish that would have weighted about four pounds. The crappy and bass went from one to three pounds. The fish in the picture above were not what we caught today. Choctaw caught those a few days ago. He didn’t want (or need) any more fish so we immediately released everything we caught today – therefor, no fish were killed in the production of this blog post.

On the Way Home to Catemaco

El Centro in Catemaco, Mexico

I’m in Veracruz, population somewhere around three million people. In the morning I will get on a plane bound for the USA. I haven’t been there for over five months. Despite the illnesses I suffered in my early travels, I have been having a great time. I have made many friends, I have seen many interesting and beautiful sights, and I have found myself a new home here in Mexico.

Getting back to the states will be “interesting”; all the stuff for sale in stores, all the traffic, all the hustle and bustle and all the stress. Still, this time I will not be a part of it. My home is in Catemaco where I will return after this trip. But first:

three weeks in Arkansas,

five weeks in Australia,

one more week in Arkansas,

And then home to Mexico.

I will enjoy seeing everybody. I will enjoy seeing Australia. But, there is no place like home. For me, that is now Mexico.

When I get back to Catemaco, I have a house waiting for me not far from the center of town. It is nice place; safe, secure and so reasonably priced that by US standards it is ridiculously low. Don’t misunderstand. I am still going to travel the world but between trips I will come home to Mexico. Travel is wonderful but there is no place like home.

Easter Pirate Adventure

One of the first words I learned here is “Pirate” which is pronounced “Pee-RAH-tuh” in Spanish. It means a truck that carries passengers for money. Since riding in the back of a pickup is now illegal in most of the US, pirates are a chance to do something I last did as a kid. Plus, they are cheap transportation.

Every couple of days, I ride one out to Pozolapan to see Shelley. Shelley and other people have told me stories about pirates crammed full of people. Today on my way back to Catemaco, I had that experience for myself.

The pickup was a Toyota with an extended cab; typical for pirates. What was not typical today was the number of people. Since it was Easter, I guess everybody was trying to get somewhere else. There were three people in the front seat, four people in the backseat, and in the back (where I was) there were nineteen more people – and this was not a long wheelbase Toyota either.

So there I was, riding in a pickup carrying 26 people. That is a sight you don’t see in the States. The cool thing was, nobody acted “put out” over it. Everyone just scooted over the best they could to make room for everybody else. Mexico and the Mexican people are just pretty much like that, laid back and easygoing about circumstances that are unavoidable. In transportation, this includes overcrowding sometimes. On average there are about seven people per car in Mexico, compared to about six in Argentina, ten in Chile and less than two in the USA and Canada.

Still, there remains the question in many gringos minds – “Is it safe?” The short answer is it didn’t kill me. At least not yet. Statistically, it is probably not the best thing to do if safety is your overriding concern. In fact, as far as road safety, Mexico doesn’t rank very well.

Part of the safety issue in Mexico is the low budget it allocates each year for road safety—just US$0.40 compared to more than $3.00/person in the USA, more than $7.00/person in Canada and up to $40.00/person in some European countries. As a result of this, it is no surprise that a high percentage of drivers involved in traffic accidents in Mexico have alcohol in their system. This is one of the reasons why accidents are statistically more frequent in the evenings from Thursday to Saturday. One study reported that as many as 1 in 3 of drivers in Guadalajara was under the influence of alcohol while driving, and 1 in 5 of Mexico City drivers.

Maybe the fairest way of ranking countries for traffic safety is to look at traffic deaths per 100,000 population. Mexico has 21 traffic related deaths per 100,000 population. Brazil has 18, China has 17, India has 17, Indonesia 16, and Thailand has 20. Though Mexico is slightly better than Peru (22), Venezuela (22), Russia (25), and Pakistan (25). Mexico is significantly behind some of the other Western Hemisphere countries such as Canada (9), USA (11), Argentina (14), Colombia (17) and even Guatemala with 15 traffic related deaths per 100,000.

The major countries with the safest traffic are Japan (5), UK (5), Germany (6), and France (8). The least safe countries are mostly in Africa and include Egypt (42), Ethiopia (35), Kenya (34), Nigeria (32), the Congo (32) and South Africa (33).

Still, there is nothing like riding in the back of a pickup. And I don’t think about statistics when I’m there. I’m just enjoying the wind, the sun, and the view.

Waterfalls of Catemaco

There many cool things about Catemaco, one of the cooliest, especially on a hot day, are the beautiful waterfalls around this area. Most allow swimming at the foot of the falls.

Freaking Out in Catemaco

Catemaco, Catemaco, ahh Catemaco. I’ve been in Catemaco now for a month; still got a month to go. Sounds like a prison sentence when I say it that way, doesn’t it?

Anyway, I think I’ve been here too long. This little town is okay, but…. I could make a list here but it would just be boring and I’m bored enough as it is. Suffice it to say, Catemaco is just not right for me. One more month and then I’m outta here, a couple of weeks in the US doing taxes and seeing folks, then on to Australia for a bit.

But right now, I’m freaking out here in Catemaco. Bought some little external speakers for my computer and I’ve got them cranking. Today I wanted some good ole USA rock ‘n roll. So, I’ve been dancing around the place playing Don Henley’s “Get Over It” and Shooter Jennings “4th of July.” It’s good exercise for an old man. 🙂

My Geckos

Nothing says “you are now in the tropics” quite like bamboo-bladed ceiling fans. Unless it is geckos on the walls. My ceiling fans aren’t bamboo but I do have the geckos.

I have at least two geckos. I can tell them apart because Number One is bigger than Number Two. This is my Gecko number one. He was sitting on the screen of one the bedroom windows catching some morning rays. Geckos are harmless little lizards, but in the tropics, they serve a vital household chore. They kill and eat other insects. including cockroaches, mosquitoes and termites.

Geckos have the ability to camouflage themselves. They can change body color to blend with their background. If you see one, don’t try to grab it. If you happen to touch their tail, it will instantly break off. This little trait helps them escape from their predators. Of course, they do have the remarkable ability to regrow a lost tail.

Another remarkable ability of the Gecko is to walk on glass or on ceilings. The picture above is a close up of the gecko’s foot showing how they accomplish a feat that Spiderman would envy.

Palenque – Part 2

I’ve been asked to post more pictures of Palenque. Hope you enjoy:

This is a shot of Mayan tradesmen setting up for the day at the base of one of the pyramids.

A stone for sacrifices? I don’t know. There were a couple of these. Both were at the bottom of pyramids. Of course, that doesn’t mean that is where they were originally.

It isn’t obvious from the pictures but several of the structures at the top of the pyramids had been fitted out as personal residences of artists, explorers, and archeologists during the late 1800’s and first half of the 1900’s. They were complete with retrofitted windows and doors. Some of the window frames are still there.

Ruins of Palenque

On the morning of Feb. 10th, I got up and after breakfast at Don Mucho’s I left on foot for the ruins. Right outside El Panchan, a turn to the left takes me to a gate with a guy standing around with a machine gun and a guy charging 27 pesos to get a wristband that is good for entering the park.

NOTE: this wristband is not good for entering the ruins. That is another 57 peso ticket. This second ticket must be purchased at the museum which is three kilometers down the road. But I didn’t know that. And I’m not complaining about the total price to see the ruins. Less than 100 pesos is very reasonable.

But, I walked about a half a kilometer past the museum to an entrance gate. It was the man at the gate who then told me about the need for a second ticket that could only be purchased at the museum. So, back to the museum, pay another 57 pesos, get ticket and then back to gate and in – but as I say, it was well worth the price of admission.

I could tell you about it all day but nothing I say would do it justice. So far, about one square mile of the city of ruins has been excavated. It is estimated that is just one-tenth of what is there. It is believed that the ruins cover ten square miles with well over 1500 structures.

 

 

 

 

I’ll just let the pictures do the talking.

There were very few restrictions on climbing up and down the structures so I enjoyed it. One thing I’ve got to say: those steps seem a lot narrower and steeper when you are coming down.

Magic Carpet Ride

A lot has happened since the last post. I have left San Cristabol, spent several days in Palenque and am now in Catemoco. And, besides all that traveling in space, I have done some traveling in my mind. I’ve decided to make Catemoco my home – at least for a while. That doesn’t mean I won’t be traveling. It just means I will now have a place to come back to. At least fro a while.

So, on with the update.

This is San Cristobal the last day I was there. It rained 16 straight hours that day. The next day I packed my backpack, caught a bus and went to Palenque.

Feb 9, 2012

If you’ve ever read many travel blogs you would soon come to believe that people who write those blogs must travel by magic carpet. You read one entry and they are in Mexico City seeing the sights. In the next entry, they are in Guatemala on Lake Atitlan. Usually, little or nothing is said about how they got from one place to the other. I always wonder, “Was the trip really so boring it had to be skipped altogether? Did nothing happen during the journey? Or, could it be that the traveler is just so jaded by it all they just zone out for the whole thing?”

Well, I don’t plan to do that. Things happen when I travel from one place to another, even if it is just in my head. I admit though that sometimes it isn’t much especially if it is by plane (gag a maggot.)

Anyway, today I left my comfortable little room at the Hotel Posada Mercado in San Cristobal and traveled by bus to Palenque. The busline was ADO. The cost was one hundred pesos (about $7.75 USD.) That’s not bad considering it took five hours to get here. The bus was a nice big Volvo; very smooth and comfortable. The driver was a professional, not the usual suicide jockey I usual get when on a shuttle or tour bus. The seats reclined. There was an onboard bathroom. There was a double feature movie during the trip. Both of them were in Spanish so even had I wanted to watch them (I didn’t) it wouldn’t have done me much good. Between movies there was Spanish music. Neither the movies nor the music was played overly loud. For that I am grateful.

I snapped this picture from the window of the bus in some town I can’t remember. Like most kids that I have seen here in Mexico, Central America, and South America, work is just a part of growing up, not something that comes as a shock to the system when you get out of school.

So, what else happened on the trip? Pretty much nothing so I looked out the window and zoned out.

And then I got here in Palenque. It was approaching dark so I was in a hurry to get some place to stay. I had read on the net about El Panchan and a place out there called Margarita’s and Ed’s which was supposed to be a great place to stay. Being in a hurry, I jumped in a cab at the bus station for the ride out there – cost fifty pesos. I had been told I could take a Collectivo Bus for ten pesos but there wasn’t one handy.

Got out here in the boondocks to El Panchan and the cab driver dropped me off at M&E’s. There was some young(er) guy in the office. Everything I had read said that a single at M&E’s was max 160 pesos. The guy charged me 250 pesos PLUS a 50 peso key deposit! If it hadn’t already been dark I would have told him to kiss my ***.

After I got in the room I went to Don Mucho’s to eat, reportedly the best out here. I had an enchilada pizza and a cervaza. The food was great. The waiter should have been working as a dishwasher or some other job where he didn’t have to communicate with customers.

Now, I am feed and in bed. The bed feels damp like it needs a good airing out.

My little casita in the jungle.

Other than that, it was really a great day. I am out of San Cristobal where I was wearing six layers of clothes to stay warm. Here in Palenque in the midst of the jungle, it is warm – but just a little humid –

NOTE added 2-14: Remember, the above was written right after I got to bed that night and I was really tired after being on the bus all day. It turned out I came to like the guy running the place. After the first day, he decreased the rent to 200 pesos a day. Also I meet some great folks hanging out in Don Mucho’s and had a great time holding down a table there for a few days.