Ocosingo, Chiapas

This was typed in Ocosingo 3 days ago, but the computer failed before I could hit the send button. Was able to print it out and retype. . Will send an update in a day or so.

Hello everyone

We left Playa del Carmen Feb 27 and left behind a bunch of old friends and new ones. It was time to move on and continue our adventure. Ardell would have been happy to stay there forever because she is such a beach lizard and the beaches there are so very nice.

Went to a movie when the weather was poor. Went to see Will Smith in "In Pursuit of Happiness" because it was nominated for an academy award. If you get a chance to see it, don`t bother. It should be called "In Pursuit of Money" because that was it was really about. Ardell shed a tear, I went out to get more popcorn.

We wanted to see the southermost part of the Mexican east coast and drove south to almost the end of Mexico and stayed in a town called Malahuala. On the way we bought a 50 pound bag of oranges on the highway for $3. He didn`t have any smaller bags. We didn`t have a great time in Malahuala. The beaches are backed by mangrove swamps . As we left the shabby town southward we looked for a place on or near the beach and had trouble finding a place. Crummy road with lots of rope across the road to slow people down, like homemade topes, as if you could drive fast with all the potholes. Lots of property for sale there, and you can buy property right on the beach, something I haven`t seen before in Mexico. The for sale signs reminded me of Manitou Beach. While we wandered around I got bitten on the ankles repeatedly by some bug. Chatted with a California guy and his kids had lots of red sores from bites. The beaches are very narrow, full of seaweed. The sand in the water was slimey, again because of the mangroves and because the beaches are protected by large reefs and atolls. Cruise ships come to this town and we saw a convoy of golf cart cruisers and there are lots of street vendors selling junk crafts. The town shut down around 8 and the only things open was a bakery/restaurant and some mini supers (small grocery stores). We finally found a place and it had limited electricity and cold shower, and a palapa-style roof.. Time to rough it. Maybe in the near future they will drain the swamps and spend money on the beaches. They do things very fast in Mexico.

Next day we headed west and passed through Bacala, a really nice town, full of history, and swam in Mexico´s largest cenote. 250 feet across and as deep. Crystal clear water. They built restaurants right to the water and you could just jump in and cool off, or swing in on a tire on a rope. Didn`t experience their beaches but we both would love to return to this place and spend more time. Very friendly people here. Then we headed west through the jungle, an uneventful drive with nothing much to see. Stopped at Francisco Escarcega, and bought a nice hand wash for the van. It deserved it, and it was nice to watch 4 mexican guys wash and towel dry it. Stayed the night and looked high and low for a hand orange juicer.

The next day we headed west then south through Mex-199. Now we are in Mexico. Temp maxxed at 34C, 93F. This is the state of Chiapas, the home of Mayan revolutionaries who only recently made peace with the government. Remember the Sandanistas, and sub-commander Marcos? There is still a lot of resentment that we could sense. Mayan women are all dressed in black wool skirts, white embroidered tops, and red shawls. They seem friendly as they stand beside topes and sell us those sweet mini bananas. We bought a fruit from a kid who assured us it was edible and sweet. Spanish is their second language, and my spanish is crappy, so we have no idea what it was or how it was. It was larger then a large grapefruit, a leathery skin, squishy soft, and it hung from a 4" stem. Fruit was red, with watermelon type seeds. I offered Ardell the first taste and she wouldn`t until I ate some and didn`t die. As promised, it was sweet, and not bad tasting, but way too large for us. Along Mex 199 there are 2 spectacular waterfalls, and we swam in both of them. Skipped the ruins although they are supposed to be nice.

The mountain highways are in great shape, although the curves and topes slow you down. A car with a standard tranny would be better than my van, and a fast motorcycle would be perfect.

This March 1 journal comes from the town of Ocosingo where everyone has a smile on their faces, and they stare at us because we are so different. Well, maybe just me. Ardell fits in because she is their height and dark because of the beaches. We stayed in the best hotel in town, a 3-story old colonial with a courtyard in the middle. We got the best room, with a balcony overlooking the town square. The hotel was spotless and in perfect shape. For dinner, had taco pastor, a really tasty meat stacked on a vertical spit with a fire on one side like the greeks do, but spiced differetly. Delicious. They held a parade in our honor tonight, with fireworks and a marching band, and 2 people dressed up like mascots, except the costumes were western, the male had blonde hair, a black beard, the woman had huge boobs, so I guess this is what westerners look like to them. I couldnt read the poster exactly but I think they were commemorating the death of some really bad foreigners.

We are really happy with this part of Mexico. Playa del Carmen is wonderful, but a completely different world from this one.

Thats all for now. I know I forgot to mention lots of things that happened.

Peter and Ardell