Mexico Misadventures Part 2

When I finally arrived in Constitucion to reunite with my German friend, I was happy to be introduced to a local archaeologist there who is from Merida. I gave them a pack of chicharron and chocnut.

Since they haven't had lunch yet, I cooked for them. It was a simple meal of rice and mixed veggies in spicy salsa, pretty much like what I often cook at home. Later on, I would help them clean bone remains. I still cannot see myself learning how to identify bones but at least I learned there how to clean bones. Basically you mix 1 part water with 1 part 96% alcohol (which I initially mistook as sonething they drink LOL) and use a swab of cotton and a toothpick to eliminate the sediments covering the bones. It was a boring task but I had nothing better to do plus it's a good training for when I go back to school.

At 6PM we drove to the rolling pastures to catch the sunset. We were toured by a man who partly owns the land and were directed to where post holes are located. Awesome! The whole field is a potential archaeological site! We savored the breeze and waited until dark to gaze for some time at the stars. Beautiful!

At night we slept on hammocks, my second night to do so. It was comfortable. In fact I was thinking then of installing one at home.

The next day we went to the reserva de la biósfera Calakmul to see the pyramids and other ruins. There were 5 major pyramids which we climbed and minor ones. It was a tiring activity considering the heat.

Calakmul ruins

part of a pyramid in Calakmul

Now Calakmul is difficult to get to. I am just lucky that my friend knows how to drive. Problem is she underestimated it and refused to load gas. So we were stuck for some time there. Since I had to go to the bus terminal to be able to take the night bus back to the Federal District, I gambled my life again and asked a group of four burly men to take me to Xpujil since they were going to that direction, too.

each pyramid has varying number of steps and we climbed each and every one of them!

Isn´t it beautiful? A silent witness to a magnificent past

While in the car, I was surprised to find myself calm despite being with four male strangers. They were a fun bunch and the friendliest of them talked to me and made sure I was comfortable. I even fell asleep out of exhaustion. Upon arriving at Xpujil, they even dropped me right at ADO bus terminal. I was so embarrassed not to have anything with me to give them but they said it was okay and bid me good luck.

I have to note how awed I was at the sight of the sky so blue. It was just so beautiful. I never liked summer because of the heat but while on the road looking at the sky, I felt the urge to draw and paint but of course I didn't do that because I did not have any materials with me.

In Xpujil I had a hard time with the lady selling bus tickets there. She doesn't seem to care about bus passengers much and was not helpful when I was inquiring about routes and fares. Since I had 4 hours to go before bus departure, I looked for a place with free wifi and found it in a hotel. The lady attendant was nice and gave me the password. Then I went to church to attend mass.

While inside the church I became aware of how hot it was in the area. I realized I badly needed a bath and yet I didn't want to spend for a hotel room just to bathe. So after mass I approached a woman to ask if I could bathe at her home and she directed me to the doctor who gladly accepted me. She was delighted to hear I was from the Philippines because she studied in a school named República de Filipinas in the Federal District.

So I was able to take a bath and converse with the good doctor who told me a lot about food in Mexico. When I left her house, she told me never ever to tell anyone I was traveling alone and wished me good luck.

The world still has hope. I can continue praying for a world to be inhabited by conscious, sensitive, sensible, and kindhearted souls.