Edzna, Forts and Campeche

I have been instructed to lie down by Doctor Ellen, so here I type, prone on my bed, with a cloth wipe on my leg. Whenever Ellen finds one of the mosquito bites I’ve scratched into oblivion, she ministers to me by covering the offending wound with a wipe and reading to me. So, right now, she ocassionally checks the position of the wipe and reads, “Sammy Seal” to me.

We have decided to burn rubber to the border. No doubt, to the extascy of Andrew, we will be out of Mexico by June 27th; the date our Mexican auto policy expires. If I have but one spot of wisdom for those headed south of the border; get an annual policy. We envisioned ourselves here for 3 months; 3 turned into 6 and now I can easily see us here for a year. Unfortunately, I purchased a 6 month policy (I wavered for days trying to decide between 6 months and an annual policy) and a new policy (for 1 or 6 months) will cost the same as the original. We have already decided to return to Mexico next winter and I am hoping that I can get ex-pat health insurance to cover us while we’re in the STates. For some reason, that I suspect resides in an envelope in a PO box in South Dakota, our US health insurance was never renewed. I’d paid for 3 months in December and expected our credit card to be charged at the end of March for our second quarter, but no such charge ever appeared. It was moot, however, as the insurance only covered 3 months out of Mexico.

We have purchases to be made here in the Yucatan and are finding it difficult to get a specific purchase that is very common in Merida. I’m purposely being obtuse as the gift is for someone reading here from someone else reading here. Anyway, today we hope to travel to the border (Campeche and Yucatan state) to see what we can find.

A couple days ago (wasn’t it?) the boys and I visited the Edzná ruins. The girls most decidedly did NOT want to go and Jamie graciously allowed me to take the boys. The ruins are only about 45 minutes from our camp and far into the rural countryside. We passed through kilometer after kilometer of farms; farmers planting and spraying. The road was alternately lined with bushy green trees or crops. Arriving at the ruins, we found that Edzná is very much off the tourist trail. No vendedores, no children threatening to watch your carm, no food stalls, no gifts. A simple reception (now that simply does NOT look correct. Is it recepcion or reception in English?) building, a warning about the mosquitoes (which have begun in FORCE) and need for repelente and off we head. We find that there is a school group here from Campeche, a secondary school, so we tag along and I translate for the boys. The teacher commands little respect; the kids are giddy with the freedom from the school walls and after a little while, a small group of interested Campeche students, the boys and I, tag along while the teacher/guide explains things.

Now, we’ll see how well I’ve understood him. When I get Internet access, I’ll research this, but for now, this is what I understood of the area. Edzna, unlike the other sites we’ve been at, was mainly a place for Mayan priests, from all over the Mayan world would arrive at Ednzá on the first of May (which is the start of the Mayan calendar) to make offerings. On this date, there would be an eclipse of the sun. The sun was one of the most important Mayan gods and they believed it was reborn daily. The Mayans attributed colors to each direction (North, South, East and West) and red was the color of the East and the sun. (I think that’s right; either East of West, but it would make sense that it would be East). So, the priests would arrive from all over the Mayan world with their offerings. Then would begin a year long celebration (for the priests). Four of the priests would stay in the four rooms at the top of the temple palace (the high temple in the pictures) and celebrate. Now, on the first of May, during the eclipse, the world would become dark except for the room at the top of the temple palace. This particular room, during the eclipse, would light up to the point that the population of Ednzá, not allowed in the Grand Acropolis, would be able to see from the viewing stands. Must have been absolutely spectacular. I wonder if it still happens on the 1st of May… I wonder if it still happens on certain eclipses…

We were also told an interesting legend about the fauna in the Valley of Ednzá, but I’ll let Pikey tell it to you…

“There were two sisters and one was a sister who was really not caring and mean but she preternded to be nice and she really was ugly and bad inside. And the reason that she pretended to be nice was because she wanted all the rich people to be on her side and give her money and stuff. And she had a sister that was actually loving and caring and always helped with the drunk people and the poor people and stuff and one day she died and then when they pulled up her blanket they smelled a really nice smell of flowers and stuff. And the other sister said, “I’ll have an even sweeter smell because I was even sweeter” and 8 days after (the first sister died) she (the second sister) died all the rich people came and when they lifted up the sheet they smelled a wretched horrid smell. The nice sister came back as really really nice purple flowers and the sister who was not really good came back as those big thorny twisted up trees. And if your finger gets pricked by one of the thorns you’ll be hurting for days.”

Yesterday we dropped off rotting laundry (seriously, you cannot let wet laundry stay wet for more than an afternoon before it begins to rot here) and visited the Fort of San Miguel. The fort has been turned into an archealogical museum and has incredible history and artifacts from local ruins. I’ve really wanted to go to Calakmul and they had an entire room devoted to it. The museum treated mostly the smaller and less known ruins in the Yucatan, mostly in Campeche state. Everyone but Ellen loved it.

Tomorrow we hope to drive down the coast a little bit; to the tiny fishing villages and small towns that dot the coastline before heading back to the interior of Mexico. We haven’t decided how we’ll be leaving the country, but we probably won’t be going up the Emerald Coast. Or we might. Who knows. We seem to change our plans with the winds.