Tres Cenotes

As a result of the chixelub asteroid/metior, there is unique geographical feature in the Yucatan, including limestone caves and sinkholes known as cenotes. Another unique feature of the Yucatan is that there are no rivers. The area is dry and low lying desert so wTer is at a premium. These sinkholes act as natures cisterns, collecting

The Temple of Uxmal

It sounds like a Rush song - the Temple of Uxmal, we are. Yesterday we took an organized tour booked through Jan, the owner of the hostel to the ruins of Uxmal. After another fantastic home cooked breakfast (omlets), the tour bus picked us up at our door. The drive Juan was bilingual and was very knowledgeable. Hugh and I were the only English speakers; the 7 others on the tour we're a family from Mexico city on the last day of their 5 day vacation.

Our tour rambled through a few local villages; one was being prepared for a festival and bull fight, old school, with a makeshift bull ring of material similar to bamboo; another had a great street fruit market and irate police (who only make about 80 pesos a day; I would be irate too).

The lay of the land is flat and hot with scrubby trees. The ground is made of red adobe, which the mayans used in hut making. It keeps the 100+ humidity out. But, as Juan said, it is now out of fashion.

Uxmal was great - Wikipedia can say it better than I can - go look it up.

We also hit a second ruin, that of Kabah. This was great since we were unaware that we we going to see 2. Kabah had no oth tourists but ours and another, soq. Got that ruin to ourselves. Smaller, but different and still being dug by the scientists. We could see science in action! science!

last, we had a ycatan lunch at a restaurant on the way home. Traditional lime and chicken soup, and chi en made with habenero paste - they did give us the mild version.

The family joining us consisted of Mom ( grandma), her son and daughter, their spouses, and 2 family friends. One of the doused was macho and ate a whole habenero straight - fun was had! The son tried to practice his English with me. He is a taxi driver in Mexico city, and the driving there is insane. His pregnant wife ws very cute, but she dripped soup on her white shirt- she never noticed and I did not have the heart to tell her.

We were going to go take a trip to the cents today, but my feet are swollen from the ruins, so instead we are going to tour Merida museums where there is air conditioning.

Tomorrow we will treck to pro RSI for the beach!

Merida, MX

Jon made us a fantastic breakfast of corn pockets stuffed with potatoes and beans, onion, and hot salsa, and coffee this morning. Fidel still needs a haircut - his poodle stylings are overgrown since his Mom (Jon's wife of 5 years) is in Belgium visiting her 2 adult children by her first marriage. She is to return in two days: Fidel will be so happy!

Today we took it slow: we did one of those double decker tour buses that take a circle around the city, and you can jump off and on. We only exited fir one attraction - the archeology museum. We studied Mayan culture etc, but the real interest was the early 20 century photo display of the Mexican Revolution, displayed on the second floor. Zapatista and fotos.

Aferward we walked back to our barrio, but on the way we stopped at a cafe, where I ordered a chelada - a homemade chelada, not the weird vomit thing by budweiser. It was delicious! Limon salt and beer on ice, very nice on a 100 degree day walk.

We also bought a couple guayaberas - i love Hugh in a light blue shirt. Then it was all pools and beer and ham the rest of the day. Tomorrow is pyramids!

Merida Mexico

It's Monday May 9, 2011, and we are taking a siesta at Casa Chalia, our perfect little hostel. Our host, Jon, is originally from Belfium. He fell in love with a Mexican national and now has been living here for the past 5 years, managing rental properties, with the help of a cute grey poodle named Fidel, named after Cuba's leader, after being left behind by Cuban visitors at one of the properties.

On our first day, after checking in and having a beer with Jon, we walked all over the Centro area, stopping for lunch and taking photos. In the centro square, a local man struck up a conversation about the best things to see in Merida. Great info, but... 2 blocks later we saw him again, and I am sure he had business in getting us into a friend's Panama hat shop. Another block later another guy struck up a conversation, to practice his English, and told us about the same great hat shop. And then two blocks later another guy ran up from behind me and got in front of us and pointed the way into the hat shop.

The store was not busy - it was siesta time in the off season - only a couple of guys washing the floor. We were guided up to the second floor, where there were walls of pottery and blankets. In a further room were shirs and hats. We went through the sales pitch, thismis a straw hat, thisnis a polyester hat, this, now thismis a real panama hat, you can roll it up and put it in your pocket , it wil not loose it's shape, yes girls can wear them too ( I have never seen a girl wear one).

We bought two hats - way over priced, but it was a great store.

New Trip - Mexico!

It has been 2 months since my interview with the U.S. State Department and the subsequent rejection. It was, in fact, my second attempt at a State Dept. position. Some may say three times the charm, but right now I just feel the sting of rejection.

In the process of getting my bearings, I scheduled a trip for both Hugh and I to the Yucatan. We will be flying to Merida, Mexico in May. Why Merida? Well, Merida is the capital of the Yucatan, with a rich Spanish colonial history, and a jump point into visiting the Mayan temples. But the real reason is even better than temples: the Chicxulub crater!

So, you have never heard of the Chicxulub crater? I have, because of Hugh's space study hobbie. According to Wikipedia, the Chicxulub crater is an ancient impact crater. (What is an impact crater? I had the same question, and the answers are long and detailed. I interperate these answers into this: where the earth got hit by a gigantic space rock and left a dent.) And the Chicxulub crater is the impact zone of the dinosaur extinction causation. The diameter of the impact zone is over 6 miles (10K).

So, is there anything to actually see and visit in regards to this crater? So far, it appears that for non-geologists there are hundreds of sinkholes to explore. Sinkholes, also known as cenotes, are holes or caves in the ground with exposed rocky edges containing groundwater. This section of the Yucatan Penninsula has more cenotes than anywhere else on earth (not fact checked). Sinkholes are scary places where serface people like you and me could encounter morlocks, or other strange mutants. Or maybe a journey to the center of the earth? They are connected to intricate caves that can go on for miles and miles underground that can be scuba dived and explored. Or just breifly explored with a swim.

I anticipate that the biggest draw to the area are the Mayan temples, and as we all know from the movies that the Mayan calendar ends December 21, 2012, which is closing in around us RIGHT NOW!!!

Lastly, there are flamingos. (I suspect this will be my favorice part of the trip. You get to take a boat into the Gulf of Mexico and see flocks of hot pink birds.)

Testing the iPad

This is a test. This is not just a test of the iPad, but a test of my patience and my editing on a non-keyboard keyboard. also, this gives me a chance to explain that when I was blogging in Eastern Europe I was using Cyrillic keyboards. Next time I travel it would be ideal to bring a computer of some sort. The iPad seems like it could be a great travel companion, if I can blog and book hostels on hostel.com with it. Since we are going to Mexico in 2 months I can bring it for a test drive, even though I plan on booking everything ahead of time. So far the keyboard seems ok.

So on to other topics of interest. Wearing socks - something I avoid doing. the husband always is telling me to put on socks because my feet are cold. But I don't like wearing socks, no sir. I am wearing them rig now, since it is cold outside , but I don't like it.

If you wear sock in the bathroom or kitchen you are risking having wet sock feet, which is icky and slimy. And wearing socks ruins them.the heels wear out veery fast. Also, I don't get blisters, and my feet don't sweat. So what is the point.

Bourbon v. Scotch

What is the difference between Bourbon, Jack Daniel’s, Scotch, and Whiskey? This question came up last night at Ken’s birthday party. Of coarse, I had already had a few glasses of Courvoisier (cognac is a type of brandy, from the Cognac region of France, made from very specific grapes, and made in a very specific way, by French law… however this will have to be for another day), so my answer was not as clear as it should have been. So, for further clarification…..

Whiskey is a type of alcohol made of fermented grain mash. Grains may include barley, malted barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Usually, it is then aged in a cask. It retains some of its grain characteristics, differentiating it form a neutral spirit like vodka.

Bourbon is a type of corn whiskey. The name of the spirit originates for an area of the United States - Bourbon County. This county was originally part of the state of Virginia, but eventually became part of the new state of Kentucky (founded in 1786). The county seat is Paris, Kentucky, named out of respect for the French government for supporting the American Revolutionary War.

On May 4,1964, the United States Congress recognized Bourbon Whiskey as a "distinctive product of the United States." The Federal Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits (27 C.F.R. 5.22) state that bourbon must meet certain requirements, which include that bourbon must be made with a grain mix of at least 51% corn and must be aged in charred oak barrels. In addition, it may not be distilled above 160 U.S. proof.

Technically, Bourbon can be made anywhere in the USA, however 95% of all the world’s bourbon is made in Kentucky.

Old Crow is great – it come in a plastic jug, is cheap, and tastes great. Doctor James C. Crow was a Scot who invented sour mash. We thank him.

So what is Jack Daniel’s, besides pure deliciousness? It is a Tennessee whiskey, made in Lynchburg, Tennessee. It is NOT bourbon as defined by Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter 1, Part 5, Section 5.22. It is a sour mash filtered through sugar maple charcoal prior to aging in barrels. The ingredients are water, corn, malted barley, and rye. The sugar maple charcoal gives it that sweetness and the aging in oak barrels gives it color.

And Scotch? It is a whiskey. By international law, it must be distilled in Scotland. It is made with different grains and blends, distilled 2 or 3 times, aged in different casks, and sometimes treated with peat for a smoky flavor. There are many, many, many different kinds: blended, single malts, oak cask flavored with wines etc…etc…etc…