Swimming in Turquoise, laying on gold, staring at blue

Mexico March 15 -April 7 2010

"I've always liked going to the heart of things and while I can understand the desire to see the whole world, how can you, in one lifetime? The heart takes its time".

Puerto Morelos:
Is this the time of the female nomad? I meet them everywhere. I'm one myself. One of the tenets of nomad-ism is that you go where the life takes you. So here I am still in Pt. Morelos at the end of my sojourn, about to hop a flight back to New Orleans, right from where I started three weeks ago.

I came intending to do some hard travel, to Belize and Guatemala as well as into the heart of the Yucatan, but instead I stayed put. I got to know and love this place, make friends, learn new things, have adventures, live cheap and be of service to this community, and hopefully, grow spiritually. This is all I ask of my intentional life-style.

Places seen...
The Pyramids of Chichen Itza and Coba:
So many pyramids, so little time.
Chichen Itza, which I was eerily blessed to visit, purely by chance, on the Vernal Equinox, when the serpent 'runs' down the steps of the central pyramid. People from all over the world plan years ahead to come to this event , . I stumbled, blinking, into it. Right place at the right time again. "Thank you Quetzalcoatl" might be appropriate here.
Lost all pics of Coba; my camera skills are seriously lacking.

The Cenote of Ik Kil:
The Yucatan has one of the largest underground bodies of water in the world. The land is loaded with limestone which the Mayans used to build their pyramids. It is porous and filters the water so that it is alkaline and silky and aquamarine. The limestone often collapses, exposing large underground lakes to the land above: the cenotes. Swimming in them is a visual, sensual, and historic experience. They were sacred to the Mayans who often performed their human sacrifice here. They were also the practical reason for the building of their large cities near them, as they were and are an endless source of water.

The town of Pt. Morelos:

"If the beauty of the physical world is a drug, I need a meeting."

Still a small fishing village in spite of the press of tourism from the rest of the Mayan Riviera. Except for Semana Santa which just passed, the extraordinarily beaches are empty. White gold powder embraces sea running turquoise to jade, under the crush of blue. Sleepy town of fine, friendly people and somewhat exotic expats, not as wild as the ones I met in southern Ecuador. I'm finding that the harder it is to get to a place the greater the 'strange factor' is in the population.
Today, too many tourists. I'm currently sitting at the bar at Posada Amor, my in town home, and a bunch of American tourists have invaded. They are so noisy! And they tell you every thing, they ask no questions. They are instant authorities on everything and in such sharp contrast to the quiet and humble Mexican population here. I'm feeling embarrassed for my country and I'm getting an attitude. The loudest of the American started negotiating with the bartender for a better price on the bill, he doesn't know that the bartender works 12 hours a day 6 days a week for only 20% of the gross on a slow bar. Maybe it takes time to know these things but, I start defending him. #@#$%^&*!
Anyway, see the other post, if you like, on how this place has healed and seduced me. In western vernacular I would be 'relaxed' but here I am healed.

The Barrier Reef:
Protecting this area is the second largest barrier reef in the world, second only to Australia's. It is fragile and under great pressure. I went snorkling there last week, gasping at the sea life and trying not to touch anything. When I get to New Orleans I hope to develop the film from my underwater camera. I hope that it captured some of the Avatar-like other worldliness of great reef life.

The People:

Good life requires good friends and interesting people:

David- the bartender, of course, at Posada Amor, has a decent tequila selection and makes a macho Mojito.

Zumbelth and Paolina:
The traveling Basque free-diver with the impossible name and his beautiful girlfriend from Mexico City. They travel the world on their wits, good attitude, sweat and little else. I went with him one night to try sell an impossibly large Grouper fish that he had speared. He had almost killed himself catching it and was then desperate to sell as there was no place to put it on ice. It was an interesting negotiation with the only restaurant still open in Pt. Morelos ,as he really had no choice but to take what they offered. So much work for so little money-welcome to the third world.

Goyo, the expat who has lived here for 30 years.
I stumbled into his organic retreat in the jungle two miles outside of town and didn't leave. At El Temescal there was no electricity and so we rose and fell with the sun, except for evening when we lit the torches and stayed up late for Temescal ceremony in the sweat lodge. We drew water from the well and bathed from a large drum of it. I lived in a palapa in the tree tops, I learned about the ancient Mayan herbs and trees that he grew on the property and baked breads of amaranth and pumpkin seeds in the wood burning oven. In the mornings we would drive the dirt road into town, stopping for fresh grapefruit and beet juices. There was strong coffee at Cafe d'Amancia and a stronger internet connection to work on Goyo's Walk For Peace project. Goyo would go for his six mile morning walk on the water's edge with his dog, Chalupa and I went for my three mile walk below the pelicans. after to my first home Posada Amore to give a quick English lesson to the staff, most often to Patti with the kind eyes, have breakfast and more computer time. She kept my computer while I returned to the beach to swim in jade and lay on gold for another hour until Goyo returned. After, back to the compound for the making of a communal lunch.

Joe: the mystery man with a past. Hiding from the present day in this little corner of Mexico.
Told me stories of his Romanov heritage that were detailed and believable.
Where are you now Joseph?