11-9-05

In my walks around town I found that there are lots of internet spots. Some are pretty funky and others really nice. I loaded up my little laptop last night and headed off to see if I could find one that would let me hook it up to the internet. I was surprised to find a place not too far from my hotel. At first when I asked to hook it up they said no but then they asked a big guy there and after looking at the hookup connection that I have, he said sure. He went into the back and came out with a long network hookup wire and he got me hooked up as well as I got the charger hooked up too so I wouldn’t run out of battery in the middle like I have before. It was slow to hook up but finally it did and the big guy sat down next to me and we talked. He speaks very good English and has picked along the way. The little computer was acting as usual and very slow. He said that it is the XP system that was put on this old computer made for Windows 98 but it is working. He had never used the Front Page program so I showed him how it was done. As I was uploading the latest road log I showed him what I had written and looked at the photos. When we got to the photos of the little black dolls I asked him if those were afro-mexican dolls. He said that they were Zapatista dolls. I some of the dolls in the photo last log you can see that they are carrying guns. He was very against the Zapatista’s and said that in 91 they attacked the armory near here and they were finally surrounded by the military. The Mexican law says that if you fight against the government you are to be shot. The new President at the time decided to negotiate with them rather than kill them. This guy thought that was a big mistake as they are still negotiating to this day and it is very dangerous to go out there. He said I could get killed out there easily. Yikes!!!

I have been having the tv on but it is all in Spanish but watch the photos and see that there is lots of riots in France still and then they have photos of maybe demonstrations against Bush who I think is in South America someplace. They had photos of people burning American flags. It could be interesting riding.

Most of the people on the tv are very Anglo looking and most of the women are blond, thin and very beautiful which is so different from what I am seeing on the street where almost all the people are very brown and have black hair and thick in the body.

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I took a walk up these steps this morning and when I got to the top I found the church locked up.

It was a wonderful view and on the way down I met this dog that had a nice spot to watch the scene.

one of the more ornate churches.

I was able to get in the church but it was being used by quite a few people so I just sat there and admired the grand structure and the fantastic ends where the alters are. I did find this bell in the back and snapped this photo without the flash and I don’t think I bothered anyone this way. I would love to have taken photos inside but the bell is the only thing I got. I think the date was 1722 cast on it. It is one BIG bell and the iron hanging hardware was interesting too. Just the thought of casting that bell and getting it to the middle of Mexico………..

 Oh I did get this photo the other day but somehow the camera thought it would be interesting to see it this way. This church is surrounded with little vendors selling everything you can imagine.

Some of the kids were pretty young to be out there working, but going at it like mad they were.

I had to take this one for all my VW buddies out there. The old bugs, some Things and lots of busses are still out here on the road and appreciated for their abilities.

The trucking industry is somewhat different down here.

This dude has a real heavy load on and doing just fine. What a perfect little town delivery trucks. I never see these offered for sale in the US but with then licencing the quads now maybe they will allow this sort of truck.

I love these old door knockers. This one was well used.

I think this graffiti must be from the Zapitista rebels. The12 of December is a disgrace, viva the 500 years of resistance.

They just hang the streetlights on the buildings. Simple and effective. Most of the streets are very narrow and one-way with parking on one side while a few are two ways but no parking.

1-10-05

This dragonfly was hanging out this morning and I hardly ever get a chance to photo them so I couldn’t restist. I just love their structural wings.

It was cold and raining this morning and I got another case of the squirts, so I decided to hang out for another day in town. I certainly am getting to be a town dog. I really do like this town and the things to see here. I was able to find out about a Mayan site that is near by but none of the tours that head out from here go there. It is called Tanina and I finally talked with two different folks that said that it was OK to visit and I would be safe to go there. The visitor tourist information gal did say that I should not loiter in one of the towns that I go through when I asked about Zapatistas.  No problem-O. If I am plugged up tomorrow morning I will make a run for it and then on up to the waterfall at Aqua Azur and then on up to Palanque where most of the tours go to see Mayan ruins. They are supposed to be pretty good and by the photos of it, it looks really cool but way too many steps to go to the top. My legs are still sore from crawling the steep streets in Puerto Escondido. I have walked quite a bit here in town as well and they are slowly getting better especially after I stretch them out in the morning.

I was walking by a specialty shop and had to take these of the things offered for sale.

I saw this little rig going down the street this morning and saw the guy off of it later near the square. He has really short legs but on this little outfit he gets around well. I actually saw him later coasting by me down this little hill. It has a coaster brake so it freewheels as well as has brakes if turned backwards. I really like the different ways that they attack problems down here. In the US they would make an electric scooter and it would cost a fortune and weigh a half ton and have to be plugged in.

I walked by this little truck and really liked the nice work-bed that he had on it. It was really well made and I can see how usful it can be.

You can see in the background one of the more colorful buildings. Notice the bars on the windows and there are bars or a well-made door to go with them. Here is a lock setup that is common. There is sometimes four or more locks on the doors.

This is the way that they often use to make a door into the big roll up doors that they have to open their shops. The doors are always rolled up and then the shop is open to the street. They have to have a way of getting in the shop to open the door so this little door has channels to guide the rolling door down over it. When the door is up, they move this little door to the side wall. It is a zapeteria or shoe shop.

I forgot to put these silver slippers in the last road log. They were in a museum and I guess were worn by the priest. They were well worn but way tiny size.

This afternoon I finally found the Jade museum, which I had been looking for, for days. I guess I must have walked by it many times but thought it was just another shop or hotel as the only sign is a small one above the door that is easy to miss but I saw it finally when walking down the other side of the street. I guess I should have been aware of the guy with the rifle hanging around. It was almost worth the whole trip to go see it. I just love the Mayan art and this jade museum was all jade done like the Mayan. The pieces were not the original ones but copies of them but all in jade. Wow, was it cool. They don’t allow photos so you will have to come down and see it yourself. I hope that maybe I can see some of the original stuff in my travels. The museum handed out a booklet that was in English and it explained about the exhibit and each piece in detail. I like the amber and jade shops all over town but this stuff was special. Oh, the amber shops have some really crude stuff and some shops have some outstanding pieces. I saw a small amber turtle that was one of the most beautiful things I have seen. It was for sale but oh what a price it was. I would like to have gotten it for Tova but there is no room to pack anything on the bike as it is loaded. That is my excuse Tova and I am sticking to it. (Tova is involved in turtle recovery for the state of Florida).

I stopped to take a photo of this hot rod vw and I got caught by a guy standing there who yelled at a guy in the back of a auto parts place. This kid came out and was really pleased that I took a photo of his car. He opened it up so I could see inside. It was really neat in there. He had a DVD drive flat screen that he cranked up with a music video on it. The sound system was big and I think well done. He had the dash all tricked out with a row of switches and lights, a small steering wheel and some really nice form fitting bucket seats. He was really proud of it. Oh, check out the little delivery bike next to him. These are everywhere and they get around wonderful in these  narrow streets. They are small enough to zip past on the right or left whichever has more room. These guys are good and fast and you gotta watch out for them as they scoot around. they can zoom through a space not an inch to spare on each side but I have never seen anyone hit so far with bike or car. The busses are what really amazes me as they go roaring down these narrow streets with people in the street and bikes everywhere. I don’t think I heard an angry horn honk until yesterday when there was a guy talking with a shop owner from his car in the middle of the street and the guy behind couldn’t stand it after a few minutes.

Not too far from my hotel is a place where they build caskets. I happened to be looking in the door and a guy saw me from way in the back and he let me go in and see the shop. It was really dark in there as it was late and I didn’t take any photos but I did get a shot when I was back out in the street of the showroom. You don’t see this very often on main street USA.