bedsitter23

The first thing you notice when you are in Southeastern Mexico is all of the lizards and iguanas.

I went full tourist and like everyone realized around Iguana #5, I better stop taking pictures of reptiles or I would have to buy a new memory card.




Let me reiterate, there were lizards everywhere.  It was comparable to rabbits in Iowa or squirrels in central Illinois.

The commonest birds are crows or ravens (online research shows its likely both). The Crow on the thatched roofs really make me feel I am in the Caribbean, and remind me of the logo they used in those Puerto Rican rum ads I grew up with.

There were butterflies on occasion that were huge and bright blue jaybirds that looked different from anything I had ever seen.




There were occasions that I ran into coatis, which resembled raccoons.  i had a family of five that crossed in a line inf ront of me that looked like the sort of thing you would only see in a Disney movie.  It of course, caught me totally unawares, and so no pictures, so you will have to use this found internet picture to see what a coati looks like.



We didn't venture too far from the main drag, but I will tell you that the Yucatan looks like Florida.  It is an unending row of resorts and tourist destinations.  It isn't the brand new attractions that garner your attention (well, they do, too), it's the places that look like they were brand new 20 to 30 years ago, and look the absolute same, a relic of someone who planned on making it rich, but were passed by better competition.  Like Florida, these are often the live animal experiences that look just  a bit too shady.

The stretch of Mexico I was in, the only domesticated animals I saw were horses.  No cattle, pigs, or sheep like i am used to.

I was told by another American that there was a fear of tourist buses being hijacked, but I don't know how common that is.  We were always on main roads, so it never felt like a real possibility.  There were occasional highway guards (and Ms. Bedsitter said they were packing rifles. A fact I can't confirm, but seems plausible) and   enough policia that it always felt safe.

I don't think I have any more observations expect that it really felt like Florida (climate and tourist traps everywhere).  To  a certain extent, there has become a truism that every town in america looks the same, and it's probably become an international thing.  There are all the big name logos you are already familiar with - Burger King, Auto Zone and Sam's Club.

I do feel that I should make a mention of what appeared to be then indigenous people of the Yucatan and their living conditions.  There are a lot of Indians in the area (more than half of the population if my google skills stand up).  We did drive by some places that looked like literally dirt floor tent housing that looked like it was where people resided.  It is hard to imagine that life (but my eyes didn't deceive me, these windowless huts with no plumbing are someone's houses.)  it is hard to imagine that such poverty exists next door to hotels that cost millions of dollars and golf courses designed by the likes of Nick Price.

Arriving in Mexico and then driving to the hotel, I have to say things looked pretty much as seen on tv.

My initial thought was that this country must be owned by Corona.  Still, I quickly realized, a first time visitor to the US would be just an inundated by Anheuser-Busch ads.

I think though that (like Heineken in Holland, I am told), Corona must be aimed for the Americans.  As I got further into Mexico, it seemed the beers of choice were Tecate, Sol, and Dos Equis.

Another thing that is quickly noticed is that there are several American institutions and the tourist in me wanted to snap pictures of places like Burger King and Sam's Club.

It was also pretty obvious that Mexico was in the midst of a presidential election.

Mexico, it seems, likes to put on their posters the image of a smiling politician giving a thumbs up.



Everywhere were honest looking gentlemen (and the occasional lady) flashing a confident grin and giving the thumbs up.

The most popular one seemed to be Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (pictured above) who was better known as AMLO.

He had a good trusting look like maybe a John McCain or football coach-turned -Congressman Tom Osbourne.

The thing I found fascinating was that it seemed anyone on AMLO's ticket would feature him on their billboard poster.  So, if you were running for Congress, your picture would be front and center, and a small smiling AMLO would be pictured in the bottom left corner.  It's hard to picture that happening here.  Even as popular as Obama was in 2008, I can't imagine his visage appearing on every Democratic poster from Animal Control Officer on up.

AMLO seemed too congenial not to win, but he lost (well, there is a recount going on in this very close recent election) to Enrique Pena Nieto, who similarly loves giving the thumbs up.



Nieto is far as I know, a combination of Barack Obama (youthful liberalism), Mitt Romney (great hair) and Newt Gingrich (infidelity).  I did notice that on the way back home to the airport, the area (the Yucatan) was saturated with Green Party billboards urging supporters to vote Nieto (as far as I can tell, Mexico has a multi-party system, and Nieto was leading a coalition, and so this would be the equivalent of the Greens getting behind Gore in 2000), although why there were so many Green signs, I don't know.

I don't really have further insight into the election than this.  I did note the 'thumbs up' thing, though surely McCain and Obama both must have done that often.  I am tempted to attribute it all to the fact that i don't know the language, and so it all felt a bit alien. 

Still, maybe there is a revelation here after all.  You see, when you think about it, posters in US appear to focus on the name.  It's always the last name that is in big block letters.  It is the exception that the American campaign ads feature a picture of the candidate.

Granted, I don't know which is better (although it would be a big boom for Campaign Reform, if the candidates could only run pictures (mugshot style) of themselves giving a thumbs-up, and that was all).

Part of the trip to Mexico involved visiting Tulum.

Tulum is the third most visited archeological site in Mexico behind Teotihuacan and Chicen Itza. Chicen Itza is the hip place for history buffs, but as anyone who has visited the area know, it's quite a ways away from the popular resorts of the area (i.e. you can go there, but you're going to spend six hours on a bus).

Tulum is still pretty important as it was one of the last major cities in the Maya empire, and is one of the best preserved coastal sites. Consider it a slightly smaller version of Chicen Itza. One can see the walls that were built to keep intruders out, and it finds one side bordering a cliff off the Caribbean Sea.

Tulum would be where the Spaniards came from the sea in 1518, and was an important trading port for the Mayans, who would trade Obsidian rock for needed goods. It was an important religious center and you can see the image of the Diving God drawn on rock. A good primer on Tulum can be found here.

Also worth noting is the Totonac Indians who perform traditional dances on top (or hanging from) a pole that is high up in the air.

Here are some pics that I took:

We stayed at the Valentin Imperial Maya resort.

No matter what I may say in upcoming blog posts, I should make it clear that it was an amazing experience.

Every night, there was a special show as one would expect in such situations.

I took pictures, but because of the lighting and motion, I may go light with what I post.

There were two impersonation shows- neither one we saw. They were Michael Jackson and Madonna. I suppose that those would be the two celebrities you would pick. Elvis (or the Beatles, I suppose) would seem an obvious choice, but really would fill out of place in a "Caribbean" theme. Lady Gaga would probably be too redundant, and any other choices that might spring to mind (say, Freddie Mercury) might be too obscure.

There was a Caribbean show, which was fun (found footage off the YouTubes is here). There was a Vegas-style "International" show which wasn't really my thing. it was a mixture of ballet, show tunes, and other dance. It reminded me too much of what was popular in the 70s when I was growing up (including women in silver gowns dancing to John Williams's Star Wars theme). I did like the ballet, and I admit there was a lot of talent to be had.

However, it really isn't my bag, though Mrs Bedsitter adored it. My favorite number was a Brechtian version of the Police's "Roxanne", which sounds like what the song would sound like if Sting hung out with Kurt Weill instead of Stuart Copeland. (A quick google search reveals that it is the Moulin Rouge film version of the song.  I should have guessed.).

There was a fire show which was interesting, though it really played up to a goth-ish or dark wave sensibility. It had the feel of some historical lore, but the proto-industrial music sort of put it over the top. More Chris Angel than Chris Columbus. More mid-90s Chicago than 15th Century Mexico.

This is from a different resort, but this person's video does a good job of capturing what the Fire Show was right. Sure, it makes it feel like the worst thing Cortes could ever have done to the Mayan people was to take their Wax Trax albums. Still, it's pretty freaking amazing, stuff.

My favorite of the nights was the Mayan night which featured what would have been more closer to what a traditional Mayan ritual would look like. The actors really got into their roles, scaring the audience, etc.,.. In that it was kind of like say, professional wrestling. Still, overplaying for effect is something that people playing out ceremonial roles just do, and they do that regardless if it is 2012 in a WWE ring or 10th Century Yucatan Peninsula.

Again, this found internet footage (not mine) taken at a different resort in the area, but should give you some idea.