“You cannot make everyone happy all the time. You are not a taco”
Mexican Axiom
January 19, 2025
It was so cold when we left. We dressed lightly knowing we were looking for a warmer sun and that made the taxi ride to the airport chilly. We drove past the familiar buildings in Mooresville all buttoned up tightly in a losing attempt to keep the chill out.
I had always found the concept of being a “snowbird” a little odd. Neither of us care very much for Florida and the idea of driving there 15 plus hours just to get warm on a beach seemed like an episode of Seinfeld.
Yet as I careen towards the age of sixty four I am starting to see the wisdom in this migration. So we boarded the plane and flew south. As we crammed into the crowded plane we could see our idea was not unique. Despite heading to Mexico Colleen remarked, “I think there are only five Mexican nationals on the plane”. The entire wagon train was full of shivering Ex Pats.
While we fly lets first tell a story - a little history of our destination - the Yucatan peninsula.
All stories begin somewhere.
In the Fall of 1517 a Spanish conquistador named Francisco Hernandez de Cordova sailing off the coast. He was on a mission to procure slaves. It was still early in the Spanish exploitation and colonization of Mexico. The worst was still to come. In 4 years on August 13, 1521 Cortes would at last lay waste to the Aztec capital at what is now Mexico City.
De Cordova splashed ashore near present day Campeche beach, about a 45 minute drive from present day Merida. It was somewhere near there that he and his small band of men first encountered indigenous Mayans. He demanded to know where he was speaking Spanish loudly and slowly to make sure he was understood.
The confused mayans responded to the boisterous Spaniard , “ Tetec dtan. Ma t natic a dtan” (“You speak very rapidly; we don’t understand your language”) Cordova assumed they were answering his question but he had difficulty pronouncing their words. Ultimately he called the land Yucatán because that is the word he thought he heard. It is from this gross misunderstanding that the peninsula gained it’s name.
At least that is how the story goes.
The expedition did not end well for Cordoba. He and his band marched inland to explore and take whet they pleased. They were met with an organized and stubborn resistance from the Mayans resulting in over 50% Spanish losses and the rest wounded.
Despite this apparent Mayan victory it was but the opening salvo to the Spanish invasion to come. Those that survived brought back news of lands filled with rich and civilized people just waiting to be conquered.
The Spanish would return en masse. We will tell bits and pieces of this story as we travel here.
Unlike the Aztecs and the Incas, the Mayans would take a lot longer to be subdued by the Spanish and to this day their language and culture is till present here in Yucatan.
We landed and on the jetway we noticed right away the change. It was 91 degrees with a gentle ocean breeze coming off the Gulf of Mexico.
We may never come back.
We are in Merida, the capital city of this Mexican state. It was established in 1542 by Francisco de Montejo as an early base for the Spanish in their attempts to conquest the region. It would evolve into an economic center and agricultural hub focusing on henequen - a fiber used in the production of rope and twine. It’s nick name is “The White City” due to its legacy of colonial architecture.
After passing through customs we found a taxi and made our way to the hotel. This is a very large city, bigger than Indianapolis, with a population of over a million people. Driving into town you felt like you more in Los Angeles (when it is not on fire) than a foreign town. There were car dealerships, Walmarts, and a Costco.
We passed into the central city. Here the old colonial architecture has been preserved with cobblestone streets and pastel colored colonnaded buildings. Our hotel was a grand old classic building in front of a lovely square.
The Gran Hotel is a beautiful building of French neo-classical architecture founded in 1901. Its guest book shows such luminaries as Fidel Castro, Charles Lindbergh, and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Despite such a history, it is remarkably affordable.
It was dusk, perhaps the most beautiful time in any city to take a walk. We left in search of dinner. The streets were narrow and noisy in the best possible way. We found a place filled with locals, which is always the best possible review, and went in.
The menu was filled with Mayan specialties and we were surprised to find out a common ingredient was turkey. I did not know turkey lived in this jungle environment. The turkeys we are familiar with do not. Here you will find a species called the Occidental Turkey. This beautiful, almost peacock like bird is found throughout the peninsula and ancient Mayan art features them.
Whatever the ingredients, it was delicious and we soon ate too much along with the green Chaya flavored with pineapple.
Tired from our trip we went home and for awhile lingered in the plaza out side. There was a market, music, and noise of all kinds. People were gathered in the benches enjoying the evening and each other. Colleen noticed there were very few cell phones out.
The sounds continued into the night and bled easily into our hotel room facing the plaza.
It was alright though. It was a beautiful noise.
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