Mexico - Day Eleven: Homeward Bound

Cancun

Tulum

Up in plenty of time, as I hadn’t really unpacked.  Only my bathing suit still needs to be put in a plastic bag, as it’s still damp.  I have one last breakfast of fresh tropical fruit, accompanied by a final hot chocolate, and I’m off via shuttle to the airport.  My suitcase excites the curiosity of the customs inspector and I’m pulled aside for a summary go-through.

Chichén Itzá 

       Then it’s just the usual hurry-up-and-wait.  I get to read quite a bit of the book I brought with me to read at night, not realizing I’d be far too tired for that.  Standing in line to board, I talk with a man who, when asked what he does, waves an arm around the room at all the other men in line and says “I’m in the auto business, like all these people”.  I guess the industry has truly counted on cheap labor from south of the border after all.  We joke about being pulled aside for a pat-down, which he dreads, and I cheerfully say “I’ve already given”.  And yet... as I hand over my ticket to board, I’m selected randomly for yet another search... this one far more long and invasive, including an inspection up my pant legs.  When I do manage to board, my new friend’s already seated in business and I mutter to him, “You owe me a drink!” as I pass.  Once we’re up in the air, the flight attendant comes down the aisle, leans over and asks me what I would like to drink, courtesy of the man in Business Class.  I don’t know his name and I’ll never see him again, but he was a man of honor.
       We land in Detroit among gusty winds announced by the pilot while still over Mexico.  Good thing the flight wasn’t delayed because one hour after landing, as I brush my teeth at home in Ann Arbor, I hear the tornado sirens go off.  The TV weather shows the winds passing northwest of town, but I’m too tired to care and, having flushed the toilet paper down the toilet and brushed my teeth with tap water (two things I longed to do these past ten days), I slip between the sheets of my own bed and fall asleep almost immediately, dreaming of all the new old wonders I’ve seen.

Uxmal

TAKE-AWAYS

Popocatepetl

Palenque

Well, I needn’t have worried about traveling through
Mexico solo.  Everyone was adorable, with the exceptions of the Aeromexico agent in Villahermosa and of Señora at the hotel in Teotihuacan.
       My system of traveling and resting on even days and of poking around the ruins and other sights on odd days worked well.
       And my instinct about competent guides proved spot on.  From the younger Ana, Jaime and Alec to the venerable Jorge and Victor, they were all full of facts as well as stories to tell your grandchildren.
       The food was great, the hotels comfortable, some even luxurious.  I saw different kinds of landscapes and was amazed how much the climate changed over the short distance between Yucatán and Chiapas.
       But it was truly the people who made this trip so rewarding yet simple at the same time.  With a special thank you to Luis, who shall remain a friend.
       Tulum was a great introduction:  limited in scope but a hint of things to come.  Chichén Itzá was the most imposing, thanks to all the restoration work already done.  Between the compactness of the ruins, the tour of the old hacienda and the friendship of Luis and Jorge, Uxmal gave me the best idea of what a Maya community would have been, and made me feel as if I were staying with friends.  Palenque was a tropical version of the Yucatán ruins, with slightly different decorative touches and more flora and fauna.  Teotihuacan was vast, powerful, and provided the most frescoes, complete with their original colors... a veritable city.  Each site was a different part of the puzzle of ancient Mesoamerica.
       As I traveled over long distances by road, I saw no immigrant caravans moving north.  In fact, I met many people who had lived all or a good part of their childhood in the States and had chosen to “come home” (their words, not mine) to Mexico to create a job and found a family.  No wall is needed on America’s southern border.
       Mexico is truly an excellent neighbor.



https://www.sfgate.com/mexico/mexicomix/article/Olmecs-to-Toltecs-Great-ancient-civilizations-of-2387656.php

Article for Chichén Itzá:
https://mayanpeninsula.com/chichen-itza

Teotihuacan