Mayan Ruins

There are many very interesting Mayan Ruins in the south of Mexico and throughout Guatemala.  They vary in their architectural styles.  Some are enormous cities, and others are smaller.  Some are very well preserved, and others are mostly rubble.  Here are a few of them.

In the Yucatan peninsula, there are two major ruins.  One is on the coast - Tulum.  This is not one of the most impressive ruins, but it is located along the beautiful Caribbean coast.  While at the ruins, you can even go down to the beach and swim.

The largest ruin in the Yucatan is Chichinitza.  The main attraction at this ruins is the large central pyramid.

Outside the city of Oaxaca, there are two very different ruins.  Mitla is just north of the city of Oaxaca and is a very simple ruins.  All the buildings in Mitla are quite small, but they are elaborate and still have much of their original paint. 

The passageways in Mayan ruins are always quite low, but in Mitla they are especially low.

 The other ruin in Oaxaca is Monte Alban.  This ruin is on a hill just above the city.  These ruins are in worse condition than the ones at Mitla.  The pyramids are much larger here, and the city was much larger, but most of the constructions are now overgrown with grass and trees.

One of the nicest ruins is in Palenque.  When you get into Chiapas and northern Guatemala, the ruins start to change.  The pyramids become much taller and skinnier.  Palenque was once a very powerful city, so the buildings there are very impressive.

The ruin which is most difficult to reach is Calakmul.  Calakmul was only just recently discovered.  This ruin is many, many kilometers away from any main road, and is buried in the jungle.  The pyramids at Calakmul are very large, even reaching above the tall forest canopy.  The area that the city spanned was also very large.  To walk from pyramid to pyramid takes quite some time.  This city was also very powerful and had a fierce rivalry with the Mayan city Tikal - which is in north eastern Guatemala. 

When you climb to the top of Calakmul's tall pyramids, you can look out over the jungle for what seems like hundreds of kilometers and not see any sign of civilization.

Finally, there is Tikal.  Tikal has a similar architecture to Palenque - tall, skinny pyramids.  This is an expensive ruin to visit, but is well worth it.  The city of Tikal was enormous, and the ruins here are fairly well preserved.

One of our favorite stories of Tikal occured while walking between two areas of the city.  We were walking alone on a dirt path deep in the jungle when Javi was bit by something.  He let out a yelp, which caused me to stop and ask what was wrong.  This was a bad thing to do, because when I stopped, dozens of fierce biting ants crawled up my pants and began to bite me.  I began to run through the forest cursing, screaming, and tearing off my pants.  Javier had no idea what was happening, and began to question my sanity as I disrobed.  I had to brush the ants off and even kill some which were holding on tight to my skin.  To this day, this is one of Javier's favorite stories to tell people. 

Caye Caulker

Caye Caulker is a beautiful island only a short boat ride off the coast of Belize City.  When we arrived, we were greeted by a friendly man eager to help us find accommodations.  We got to ride around the island on his tricycle, while we looked for the cheapest place to stay.

Caye Caulker was previously only one island, but now this island is split into two sections.  If you ask how the island was split, many people will tell you that it was caused by a hurricane in 1961, but the reality is that this divide in the island was man made. 

The most popular hangout on the island is right on this divide, at the Lazy Lizard bar.  People gather on the small beach at the divide, have drinks, and swim.  This island has a lot of character.  As you walk around, you will find people selling lots of interesting things.  There is one man on the island who makes delicious home made tamales.  During our time there, our favorite salesman was a very vocal man with intense desire to sell "Sea weed and oysters - natural aphrodisiacs!"

Cascades of Mexico

There are many waterfalls in Mexico.  Some are tall, some are wide, but all are spectacular.  Here are a few.

El Chiflon - Comitan

Las Nubes - Comitan

Agua Azul - Palenque

Sumidero Canyon

Outside of Tuxtla Gutierrez in southern Mexico is a magnificent canyon called Cañon de Sumidero.  There are two ways to enjoy this canyon: you can drive along its edge high above the river, or you can explore its depths and take a boat trip.  We did both.

On our boat trip, we saw wildlife, shrines, and some impressive geologic features.  There were hundreds of black vultures gathering along the river. 

 There were also crocodiles sunbathing on the banks. 

 

The river also has a serious problem with pollution.  Along the river there were large deposits of garbage in the eddies and bends.  Garbage and sewage builds up in this canyon since Tuxtla Gutierrez and other cities are just upstream.  To say the least, I wouldn't go swimming here.

One of the main attractions along the canyon is the Arbol de Navidad (Christmas tree).  This is a beautiful geologic feature that formed from deposits by running water.  These fans of accumulated and became covered by moss and other plants, giving it the look of a tree.

At the end of the boat tour, you arrive at a large reservoir.  From there, you turn around and head back up the river to the starting point.

 We also took the driving tour along the top of the canyon.  We were staying with a very nice family in Tuxtla Gutierrez, and they offered to go on a Sunday drive with us.  We stopped in several locations along the canyon to take photos.  We had a blast with our host, his sister, and his little five year old nephew.

Recipe: Enchiladas Verdes

Green enchiladas are one of our favorite dishes.  You can make them spicy or leave them plain; you can put chicken, pork, or make them vegetarian; and they make awesome leftovers.  They are wonderful any time of year, and they can feed a crowd.

Ingredients:

Sauce:

• 12-15 large tomatillos
• 2 green bell peppers
• 1 spicy chili - serrano or habanero (optional)
• 1 large onion
• 500ml (2 cups) broth (chicken or vegetable if making vegetarian enchiladas)
• 2 limes
• cilantro
• salt
• pepper

*You will need either a stand alone or hand blender.

Enchiladas:

• Package of small corn tortillas
• cheddar or colby jack cheese

Put the tomatillos in a bowl of water to moisten the paper husks.  They will be easier to remove.

After cleaning the tomatillos, the green bell peppers, and (if desired) the chili, place them on a baking sheet in the oven.  Bake them at 175 C (350 F) until the tomatillos are soft and releasing juice, and the peppers are shriveled.

While the tomatillos and the peppers are baking, chop the onion and begin sauteing it in a deep pan with some olive oil.  Saute it at medium heat until they are translucent and soft.

Once the onions are ready, put the tomatillos and peppers in the pot.  Prepare the peppers by removing the stems and seeds.  If you want to, you can also cut the tomatillos in half, but this is not necessary.  Cook all the vegetables together until they are very soft.  You can smash the tomatillos with a wooden spoon or spatula while they cook.

Once all the vegetables are very soft, you can add the broth and simmer for 20 minutes or so.  This is when you can add the cilantro, salt, and pepper.  About 10 - 15 cilantro leaves should be sufficient.  Put salt and pepper to taste.

When done simmering, turn off the stove and let the mixture cool.  Blend the mixture and add the juice of the two limes.  Now you are ready to make the enchiladas.

Preparation:

Take small personal ramekins or a large baking dish and coat the bottom with some of the enchilada sauce.  We use terracotta cazuelas - we have small personal cazuelas and one very large cazuela.

Heat a nonstick pan and coat it with a tiny amount of olive oil.  One by one, heat the corn tortillas in the pan.  This will make them more flexible and allow you to roll them.  Place the heated tortilla on a flat surface and put in the fillings.  Cheese is essential.  We usually put cheese and then some sort of meat - pulled pork or pulled chicken breast (see the end of this post for how we cook these).  If you want vegetarian enchiladas, you can put just cheese, or you can put cheese and beans.  Once you have your fillings on the tortilla, you can roll the tortilla and place it in the baking dish. 

Repeat this process until you've made the number of enchiladas that you want.  We usually have three enchiladas in each personal dish, and if we make a large dish, we fill it to the brim.  Once you have your enchiladas all made, cover them with more enchilada sauce, and grate more cheese over the top.

Put the enchiladas in the oven at 175 C (350 F) until they are hot and bubbly.  Serve them with beans and rice (see the end of this post for how we make our rice).

Pulled Cumin Chicken:
Take two chicken breasts and brown them in a pot with a small amount of olive oil.  Once browned, add 250ml broth (1 cup) and cover the pot with a lid.  Simmer until the chicken is done and the broth is evaporated.  Let the chicken cool and then "pull" the meat (tear it up into long thin strips).  Sprinkle the pulled chicken with cumin, salt, and pepper.

Pulled Orange Pork:
Take 1 kilo (2 lbs) pork and brown it in a pot with a small amount of olive oil.  I suggest a large pork roast that is not too expensive.  Once the pork is browned, pour orange juice over the top and cover the pot with a lid.  Simmer the orange juice, turning the pork over periodically.  Keep adding orange juice until the pork is cooked.  Once the pork is completely cooked, take the lid off the pot and reduce the orange juice until it is thick.  Let the pork cool and "pull" the meat.  The remaining reduced orange juice will be the sauce for the pork.

Cilantro-Lime Rice:
Take 1/2 a green bell pepper and chop it.  Mince one clove of garlic.  Saute these with some olive oil till soft.  Put these in a blender with salt, pepper, cilantro, and juice of one lime.  Take that puree and mix with cooked white rice.

Hitchhiking in Mexico

We love to hitchhike.  Mexico and Central America are very good places to hitchhike.  Two of our best experiences hitchhiking were in Mexico.  The first occurred in the southern mountains of Oaxaca. While leaving San Jose Pacifico, we hitched a ride in the back of a pickup truck.  This was not the most comfortable experience, since an ATV was strapped in the back of the vehicle.  I was sitting on the tailgate, and Javier was nestled on the side of the four wheeler.  We spent many hours riding in the back of that truck.  Going down twists and turns, doing our best to hide from the pouring rain, and holding on tight when arriving to the highway.  We were so grateful for this long ride.

The second occurred when we were leaving Palenque, in Chiapas.  We were trying to get to a very remote Mayan ruins called Calakmul, and were having a very difficult time getting a ride.  We struggled for hours to get someone to pick us up, and eventually we had to concede defeat.  We hopped on a small bus to the next crossroads, to try our luck there.  Much to our excitement, we were picked up almost immediately by a trucker.  It was a bit of a surprise for the driver.  I was standing by the side of the road, seemingly alone (Javi was bent down behind a sign trying to get something out of his backpack), and this trucker was very excited to pick up this young blonde woman.  But, when Javier was the one to run to the truck, he was just as surprised to see a dark haired man.  Although Javier was not the young woman he thought he was picking up, he was still pleased to help the two of us out.

This turned out to be the best hitchhiking Javi and I have ever done together.  We spent hours driving with this trucker, Jaime.  He was generous; he bought us coffee at a rest stop.  He hosted us in his extra bed in the semi truck.  He even wanted me to drive (though in the end I was too chicken to do it)!  For the night, we slept above him in his extra bunk in the truck.  The next morning, we took some photos, and said our goodbyes.  We will never forget Jaime, and we wish we had some way to contact him.

 

Chacahua!

Chacahua is one of the most difficult places to reach.  You first take a colectivo (van or bus) from Puerto Escondido to a small town outside the lagoon.  Then you take a taxi or colectivo from the small town to the edge of the salt water lagoon.  From there, you bargain with the boatmen, to try and get a ride across the lagoon.  This is the only way to get to the road to Chacahua - by boat.  If you are pleased with the price, you will take the 20 minute ride across the lagoon.  At this point you have to be dedicated to your mission, because once you get off that boat, you have to go to Chacahua.  You crawl into the back of a pickup truck, and drive for another 20 minutes to reach the remote town of Chacahua.

 

The lagoon is very nice, and on a moonless night, the lagoon lights up from bioluminescent organisms in the water.

The final road to Chacahua is a simple two track dirt road with no access except by water.  It is a bumpy ride surrounded by large cacti.

Once you reach Chacahua, you have the most luxurious of accommodations.  Small huts with no running water.  For showering, you go to a small communal stall and take a bucket bath.  Using water from rain barrels, you use a cup to rinse yourself.  The toilet is just as sophisticated; to flush you get water from the rain barrel.  There is apparently only one telephone in the whole town, and this is located at the small shop on the main "street".  Whenever somebody receives a phone call, loud speakers blast out all over town announcing for that person to come to the store.

There is not a lot to do in Chacahua.  For surfers, this is a paradise - especially at the right time of year.  Our time here was spent playing on the beach.  The beach is not ideal for swimming.  The water is rough, and rip tides are abundant.  Nonetheless, we made a game out of getting bashed around by the waves.  We continued with this diversion until we realized we were being swept down shore away from the town.

Those who enjoy adventure will love both the trip and their time spent in Chacahua.  The time spent getting there and simplicity of the town make this place one of favorites.

Our Friend Rufo!

While in San Jose Pacifico, a small town in the mountains of Oaxaca, we met a friendly dog.  We had decided to go on a hike, when halfway up the trail, we met a friendly brown dog.  He began to follow us, and eventually, we decided to call him Rufo.  We continued for a long time up the road, until we came to the highest point of the road.  From there, we began to travel cross-country.  After a while, we passed near a house.  We tried to go around, but had to pass near it.  Suddenly, some dogs came out of the house and attacked us.  They were very aggressive and kept biting Rufo.  Eventually, one even bit Alia in the back of the calf.  Rufo was unfazed by this though, and followed us closely as we tried to escape.  By the time we made it back to town, we were good pals with Rufo.  We were hugging and patting him.  When we would sit down he would even curl up with us.

 

The next day we left San Jose Pacifico.  As we started to hitchhike, we saw Rufo.  He came over and said hello.  We could not take him with, but we will never forget him.

Pulque!

Pulque is an old alcoholic beverage that has been made in Mexico for many centuries.  Now it is not very common, and it can only be found in small little breweries that specialize in its production. It is made on a weekly basis so as to not make it too strong.  It is made from the scraped leaves of the agave plant, and is often mixed with guayaba.

The flavor is not like any other alcoholic beverage I know.  The closest taste might be mead - honey wine.  It is slightly sour.  Maybe not my favorite alcoholic beverage, but definitely a cultural treat.