Lietuviskas aprasymas zemiau
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Day 19: Cuba Postponed
February 26, 2006
Regret of the Day: To our greatest disappointment, it is now for sure
that we are not gonna make it to Cuba on this trip. First, there seems to
be no ferry service between Yucatan and Cuba (didn't ask around too much but
the general impression was there weren't any). And second, even if there were
a way, our 30-day Mexican tourist cards would have to be extended before we
leave for Cuba… too much of a headache when you are in Cancun and all
the embassies and consulates are in Mexico City.
Oh well, we'll just have to find another way to get there in the nearest future
:) (Honduras remains a possibility but looks a little bit too far… Will
see.)
Back to reality… We woke up and realized that our car insurance was
expiring again in 2 days… :) which meant that another week had passed
by unnoticed, and we had only 2 days left in Mexico. We haven't had a single
problem with the local police so far (our only experience with the Mexican
police started and ended with us approaching them to ask for directions),
but we all know very well how it works: the very first day we would attempt
to drive without the mandatory car insurance they would definitely stop us
:)
Well, it was time to speed up anyway - we've already stayed in Mexico for
much longer than originally planned. Honestly, never thought this country
was so compact on the map and so vast in reality… :) Slow roads, nice
people, interesting places and computer problems combined together were the
reason we stayed here for so long.
So we hit the road and reached the city of Chetumal without a single stop.
Belize was just across the river from Chetumal; and the city was full of border
patrol with guns… Chetumal didn't look too inviting, so we just filled
up the tank with fuel and continued towards the state of Chiapas via Mex 186.
Mex 186 west takes you to another group of ruins, the so-called Rio Bec group.
Since it was getting late and we only had time for one of them, we decided
it would be "Ruinas Becan", a comparatively small site, but a nice
break from the all-day-long driving. Not expecting much more than a pleasant
afternoon walk through just another archeological site, we got lucky to be
accompanied by Miguel, the supervisor of the site and a direct descendent
of the Maya. Miguel's stories, myths and jokes about the ancient dwellers
of Becan unexpectedly brought the stone to life and turned our visit into
an extraordinary experience!
It was already after dark when we reached the city of Francisco Escarcega in Chiapas where we stayed overnight. There are plenty motels in Francisco Escarcega, but all of them are rather pricey ($25 and up) and the city is very boring.
Tip #1: Don't freak out if you see a tiny (or sometimes not so tiny) lizard in your hotel room, they are very friendly! :)) Most of the hotels in the tropics are surrounded by lush vegetation and the rooms are somewhat open to the outside. Open windows and doors, or wholes between the ceiling and the walls allow the tiny creatures like lizards migrate in and out easily. So far we haven't noticed anything else but small lizards. Will let you know if we detect a bigger variety of co-habitants in the hotel rooms :)
Cick on the pictures to enlarge
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Miguel's Becan.
Migelio Bekanas - apziurejom taip kruopsciai, lyg butumem susiruose cia apsigyventi... |
Climb it if you dare! (in case you don't want to, Miguel will make you do it :))
Piramide, i kuria net uzduses paskui mus kope Migelis |
The task is to find Dovi in this picture :)
Uzduotis - nuotraukoje rasti Dovi :) |
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One of our roommates - a spot on or next to Zee's sandals is their favourite place in the room :)
Vienas is musu kambarioku. Drieziukai mazi, draugiski ir labai megsta isitaisyti ant arba prie Zi sandalu :) |
Nuvesk pelyte virs paveiksliuko, spustelk jos kaire ausele, ir paveiksliukas padides
19-oji diena: Migelio Akademija
2006 m. vasario 26
Didziausia dienos (ir, kol kas, visos keliones) "nelaime" - kuo labiau tolstam nuo Kankuno, tuo darosi aiskiau, kad I Kuba per sia kelione tikrai nebepapulsim. Apie kelta tarp Jukatano ir Kubos jokios informacijos neradom. Nors, tiesa sakant, labai smarkiai ir neieskojom, nes musu laikas Meksikoj sparciai ejo I pabaiga - dar 2 dienos, ir reiktu vel testi masinos draudima, o uz savaites turetumem prasitesti ir turistu korteles (paprastai, turisto kortos I Meksika isduodamos 30-ciai dienu). Pagalvojom, kad, esant taip toli nuo Meksiko (sostines), kuriame visos ambasados ir konsulatai, dokumentiniai formalumai, ko gero, peraugtu I dvieju savaiciu projekta, o tiek laiko gaisti nebenorim… Tiek jau to, Kuba liks artimai ateiciai :)
Meksikoje akivaizdziai uzsibuvom. Prasti keliai, draugiski zmones ir idomus
miestai vos vos sutilps I 22 dienas, o planavom Meksikai skirti gal 10-12…
Patarimas kada nors keliausiantiems - zemelapyje Meksika atrodo daug mazesne
ir gana greitai pervaziuojama. Tikroveje - didesne, svetingesne ir idomesne,
negu knygose aprasyta. Planuokite uztrukti ilgiau, negu tikejotes :)
Mes, deja, laiko beveik nebeturim. Dar viena savaite prabego kaip viena diena.
Todel siandien beveik nieko daugiau ir nedarom, tik spaudziam gaza - is pradziu
link Belizo sienos (per Chetumal miesteli tekanti upe skiria Meksika nuo Belizo,
todel miestelis pilnas visai nedraugiskai atrodanciu kareiviu su sautuvais),
o nuo Chetumalio kelias (Mex 186) pasuka I vakarus, I Ciapas (Chiapas) valstija,
link Palenkes (Palenque - dar vienas Maju miestas, nemaisyti su Lenkijos pasieniu
:)). Mex 186 "keliauja" per visa kruva apleistu Maju miestu (sprendziant
is dydzio, greiciau jau kaimu ar kolektyviniu sodu), taip vadinama "Rio
Bec grupe". Is ju turim laiko tik vienam - "Ruinas Becan".
Atrode, kad esam paskutiniai parko lankytojai, taciau paskui mus ibega dar ir tvarkingai apsirenges diedukas. Eina greta ir sypsosi. Mes irgi jam sypsomes. Paklausia, is kur mes esame. Po truputi rezgasi pokalbis. Lipant I piramides virsu, jis stengiasi nuo musu neatsilikti ir, noredamas mus pristabdyti, pradeda pasakoti apie piramides istorija. Tikrieji dieduko keslai isaiskeja tik piramides virsuneje, kai, atsivertes pazastyje laikyta papke su nuotraukomis ir breziniais, pradeda demonstruoti, kaip vietove atrode pries pradedant kasinejimus. Dar keli sakiniai, ir jis - musu de facto gidas… Tokius sposus kresti jie cia megsta - tarytum siaip eina greta, bet, vos tik nutaiko tinkama momenta, tuoj pasiskelbia tavo "gidu" ir ciauska visokias istorijas nori tu to, ar nenori. Dazniausiai netgi mandagus "aciu, nereikia" nepadeda. Atsako: "A, nereikia… gerai tada…", ir toliau varo savo :)
Su Migeliu (toks dieduko vardas) Bekano griuvesius isnarsome taip, lyg butumem susiruose cia apsigyventi. Pamatom slaptus iejimus I pozemius; aplankom kambarius, kuriuose gyveno Majos, o dabar - siksnosparniai; trinam tarp pirstu vos ne kozna zole ir medziu lapus, uostom juos ir ragaujam - mokomes Maju paslapciu: sitas lapas nuo radikulito, o sitas kvepia kaip pipiras ir gali buti naudojamas kazkokiai stebuklingai Dievu sriubai, kurios butumem visi draugiskai issivire - gaila (laimei!!), kad per velai atvaziavom… O kur dar visi liudni ir linksmi pasakojimai apie kiekviena cia gyvenusi Maja… Vos spejom klausyt ir demetis. Deka neissenkanciu Migelio istoriju, Bekano griuvesiu pazinimas uzsitesia iki 6 valandos vakaro. Laimei, pradeda temti, ir Migelis yra priverstas mus pagaliau paleisti. I Palenke siandien aiskiai nebespejam, ir tenka nakvoti gana bjauriame Francisco Escarcega miestelyje.
Prozinis nukrypimas: Tropinej klimato zonoj, kur visus metus karsta,
viesbuciai neretai buna palikti gana atviri: tarpeliai tarp duru ir grindu,
tarp sienu ir siaudiniu stogu, placiai atverti langai, lianomis apaugusios
sienos - tropiku kasdienybe. Todel nereiktu stebetis ar issigasti, sulaukus
"kambarioko". Iki siol mums kambarius teko dalintis su keliais mielais
mazais drieziukais, ir vienu dideliu. Drieziukai labai draugiski, ir tradiciskai
megsta isitaisyti prie arba ant Zi sandalu :)
