Lietuviskas aprasymas zemiau
Wanna see all reports? Click here
Day 15: Mayonnaise Is Not the Only Maya Contribution to the World!
February 22, 2006
They also left quite a bunch of architectural marvels :)
Another 282 miles /452km on Mex 186/ 180, and we are in the Maya World. The
stretch of Mex 180 from Ciudad del Carmen to Campeche was fantastic: in excellent
condition, free (with the exception of 2 toll bridges connecting Isla del
Carmen with the mainland, around USD 6 each) and very scenic. Also, for reasons
unknown, almost completely abandoned: not much more than occasional remains
of an old hacienda or a palapa restaurant, an odd cow and a couple of construction
sites along the entire 90-mile-long stretch of perfect white sand beaches
and turquoise water. Not even many vehicles on the highway… Amazing!
(Wouldn't be surprised if in 20 years or so this strip turned into a new Cancun
or Playa del Carmen of the Mexican Golf).
While we were enjoying our drive in solitude, the climate was getting more
and more Miami-like, well defined by the 2H: hot & humid. 2H enough to
justify the other name of the Yucatan Peninsula: "Carribe Mexicana".
We love Miami, so we did not complain at all about the change! In contract
to the increasing humidity, the jungle on the right looked surprisingly arid.
Another hour via local Mex 261 (which branches off Mex 180 right past Champoton) and the presence of the Maya becomes evident. Although intermingling with more traditional Mexican settlements, the lovely oval thatch-roofed Maya residences are immediately identifiable, as well as the residents themselves: short statue, darker-skinned complexions with strongly emphasized cheekbones, female representatives often wearing the traditional white hand-decorated Mayan tunic. Furthermore, most of them speak one of the 80 surviving Mayan languages, and some of them do not speak any Spanish at all. The feeling is overwhelming: the direct descendants of one of the World's biggest and greatest pre-Columbian civilizations are right in front of you, going on with their daily activities and paying minimum attention to you, unless you look like you could buy something from them :) (By the way, the Mayan handicrafts are really impressive and unbelievably cheap, except around tourist areas).
Our "marathon" through the ruins of the ancient Maya cities began
in Edzna. A good beginning leads to a good ending, and so it was in our case!
A tiny, much less popular archeological site consisting of only two prominent
buildings, Hacienda Vieja (The Old Hacienda) and Acropolis or "Edificio
de Cinco Pisos" (Five-Story Building), was mesmerizing. Even late in
the afternoon - the peak time at all major ruins in Yucatan - we had the whole
site for ourselves, if not to mention the countless iguanas, which were very
sociable and camera-friendly :)) The 98-foot-tall Acropolis with a steep central
staircase (way too high and too steep for the short legs of the Maya!) was
particularly impressive, and the view from the top was breathtaking.
As it was getting late, we quickly sacrificed Zee on the altar of the ceremonial
center opposite the Acropolis, then celebrated his instant reincarnation,
and left Edzna for the nearby town of Santa Elena.
Recommendation: Santa Elena has a couple of lovely little hotels and B&Bs but they tend to be fully booked during the high season (November through April). At least it was so the night we arrived, but finally we found one place, (owned by a French guy to our greatest surprise!), which offered both: bungalows and camping spots in the botanical garden-like environment. No bungalows were available, but we got a fine spot for our tent right under a gorgeous blooming tropical tree, 45 pesos per person (around $4.50) and millions of complementary stars brightly shining from above! :) Web site www.sacbebungalows.com.mx and email sacbebungalow@hotmail.com
Cick on the pictures to enlarge
|
Edzna from the distance
Edzna is toliau |
Edzna from above
Edzna is virsaus |
Another shot of Edzna from the top of the Acropolis
Dar viena nuotrauka nuo Akropolio virsaus |
|
Mexican squirrel
Meksikietiskas lietuviskos voveres variantas |
 (this is a video clip about Zee and a very friendly iguana) |
The Maya world is full of oversized lizards and iguanas :)
Maju pasaulis pilnas peraugusiu drieziu ir iguanu :) |
|
No mountain too high! :)
Nebijau stogu smailiu, nei Akropoliu staciu! |
...we quickly sacrificed Zee on the altar of the ceremonial center opposite the Acropolis... zoom in for more details :)
Zi aukojimo altorius (noredami aiskiai matyti Zi, spauskite ant nuotraukos ir ji padides kelis kartus)
|
Edzna Acropolis
Edzna Akropolis |
Nuvesk pelyte virs paveiksliuko, spustelk jos kaire ausele, ir paveiksliukas padides
15-oji diena: Majos ir Majai :)
2006 m. vasario 22
Negalim atsistebeti, kaip greitai ipratom keltis mazdaug tokiu laiku, kokiu anksciau eidavom gulti :) Apie 6 ryto jau prausiames, apie 7 - jau ant ratu. Deja, tik tokiu budu galim nemazai nuveikti dienos sviesoj. Temsta cia anksti - apie 6:30 jau tamsu kaip nakti. Ziema, vis tik.
Didziausia siandienos dilema - kaip lietuviskai pavadinti Jukatano pusiasalio indenus: Majais ar Majomis :). Geda prisipazinti, bet nei vienas negalim atsiminti sios genties pavadinimo gimines lietuviu kalboje. Kadangi Majos labai jau asocijuojasi su bitemis, vadinsime juos Majais (teatleidzia kalbininkai, jei suklydom; o mes atleidziam visiems, kurie dabar kikena is musu nelaimes :))
Uz Villahermosos kelias I Merida issiskiria: Mex 180 eina palei pat kranta, mes ji ir pasirenkam. Neapsirinkam - vaizdai nuostabus, ypac atkarpa nuo Ciudad del Carmen iki Campeche - apie 150km atkarpa vaziuojam vos 10 metru nuo turkio spalvos vandens (skaidriai zalsva vandens spalva budinga visai rytinei Meksikos pakrantei), kuri nuo musu skiria tik siauras balto smelio ruozas. Ispudingo ilgio tiltu Mex 180 uzsuka I Isla del Carmen sala, po to kitu, ne ka prastesniu, vel grizta i zemyna. Grazu! Taciau idomiausia tai, kad, del paslaptingu priezasciu, beveik visa 150km atkarpa - kaip po atominio karo: kelyje beveik nera masinu, o pakeliui - vos viena kita perkudusi karve, apgriuves nebeveikiantis restoranas, parudijusi valtis ar lianomis apzelusios sodybos liekanos. Taip ir nesupratom, kur ir kodel is ten issibegiojo zmones, bet tokio grozio vieta puikiausiai galetu konkuruoti su populiariaisiais Meksikos kurortais. Nebutu keista, jei per kelis desimtmecius pakelese ir pakrantese pridygtu viesbuciu, restoranu ir suvenyru pardaveju.
Pagaliau - Jukatano pusiasalis (Yucatan Peninsula). Pastebimai pasikeicia klimatas - darosi karsta ir dregna, beveik kaip Majamy. Augmenija tropine, tik viskas kazko tai truputi padziuve. Keista, nes nepanasu, kad jiems cia truktu vandens. Ne tik klimatas cia kitoks - teko girdeti, kad Jukatano gyventojai megsta buti vadinami "jukatanieciais", o ne meksikieciais, o pati pusiasali vadina "Caribe Mexicana" (Meksikos Karibai). Zinant, kad trys Jukatano pusiasali sudarancios valstijos - Campeche, Yucatan ir Quintana Roo - net 3 kartus bande atsiskirti nuo Meksikos ir tapti nepriklausoma salimi, tokios naujienos nestebina.
Jukatanas - Maju pasaulis. Cia atrasta daugiausiai ju miestu liekanu, cia ir "grynakraujai" Maju palikuonys tebegyvena. Nors ju miesteliai isimaise tarp tradiciniu meksikietisku kaimu ir miestu, atpazinti Majus nesunku - atrodo kitaip: tamsiaodziai, zemo ugio, plokstoko veido, trumpom plonom kojytem ir apvaloki. Figuros visai kaip biciu :) Jeigu kam yra teke matyti Amerikos indena, Majai is pirmo zvilgsnio atrodo identiski. Kalba dazniausiai vienu is 80-ties islikusiu Maju kalbos dialektu, nei is tolo nepanasiu I ispanu. Net ir ju namai kitokie - labai simpatiski is smulkiu medienos gabaliuku ir zvyro misinio suplukti, baltai dazyti ovalai arba kvadratai lapiniais stogais, dazniausiai aptverti akmenine tvora, irgi dazyta baltai.
Apie 53km uz Campeche miesto privaziuojam Edzna - 600 metu pries musu era
ikurto Maju miesto griuvesius. Siauri keliukai tiesiai per apdziuvusias dziungles
veda prie pastatu likuciu. Ispudingiausias - Akropolis. Priesais ji - ceremoniju
aikste ir aukojimo altorius. Paaukojam Zi :) Gana staciais laiptais uzsiropsciam
I pati Akropolio virsu. Laiptu pakopos tokios aukstos, kad neisvengiamai pagalvojam
apie trumputes Maju kojas - ir kaip jie sugebedavo zengti toki platu zingsni?..
Kojoms neproporcingi laiptai - ne vienintelis klausimas. Maju pasaulis - pilnas
paslapciu.
Maju pasaulis taip pat pilnas peraugusiu driezu ir iguanu. Knibzda po griuvesius
kaip voveres po Lietuvos miskus. Kartais net baisu, kad nuo medzio ar kokios
lianos uzsoks tiesiai ant gatvos. Taciau butybes labai draugiskos, ypac iguanos,
ir labai megsta pozuoti nuotraukai. Driezai siek tiek baikstesni.
Apsinakvojam graziame Santa Elenos miestelyje. Nors miestelyje pilna Maju, pataikom I kempinga pas… prancuza! Visos vietos uzimtos, bet prancuzas pasiulo mums vieta palapinei. Ant zolytes miegoti minksta, nera net ko lyginti su smeliu :) Be to, prancuzas turejo daug zvaigzdziu - tiek, kiek ta nakti, jau seniai nebuvom mate.
