If you have read my ramblings over the years on several platforms, you know I enjoy making up words; hence: Excursionary Serendipty, all about my evolving philosophy regarding what I do.
Enjoy !
Speaking of Serendipitous Journeys
“Would you like to see my altar?”
A Mayan x’men from Loltun, whom I had never before met and who had
just performed a hets’ luum ceremony in Sabacche
My philosophy of late has been to consider my outings with guests (commercially known as excursions or tours) as opportunities to test my theory that when you travel in a relaxed, tranquil yet purposeful way, unexpected things happen and interesting people appear without warning or notice; I call it serendipitous touring.
One such day I had just yesterday. I will describe the day and you, dear reader, can determine where the serendipitous parts come in.
Traveling with my friend whom I shall call Brian (because that is his name) we were looking for the optimal point somewhere south of Merida to experience the annular eclipse, a once-in-a-lifetime event that would next happen in 200-plus years. Seeing that Uxmal and the famous Muna mirador were literally overrun with vehicles and people milling about, we thought we would head further south into Campeche.
I stopped at the border checkpoint where a pair of lonely Yucatan state police officials are our only defense against any incursion by militant Campechanos. It occurred to me to ask the official sitting beside the shelter if he had seen the eclipse happening just then or had heard about it. He replied that he had of course heard about it but hadn’t been able to see anything as they had no equipment to do so.
Handing him my pair of paper glasses, which Brian had thought to bring down from the US of A for this occasion, he looked up at the sun and his expression became one of wonder and he shouted out to an invisible partner who appeared, in pants and an undershirt, from behind the shelter to see what was the matter. We had obviously interrupted his morning routine. This second officer’s reaction was as enthusiastic as the first and by the time he handed back the glasses we had made two new friends.
A few miles into Campeche, we stopped at an open space on the side of the road and enjoyed watching the annular eclipse, alongside a large family who had also arrived at that precise point just in time. Surrounded by fresh green corn plants on both sides of the highway, we watched as the moon glided over the sun.
From there, Brian remarked on the many colorful butterflies and I suggested we drive a bit down the Puuc highway to see them as there are times of the year, when the rains drench the countryside, that a million bright yellow and lime green butterflies float along the stretch of highway from the Campeche border stop to the Loltun caves. Drive too fast and you will annihilate them; drive at an appropriate speed and they will float over and around your vehicle like something out of an LSD-infused dream. Magical. Today this did not happen, although a few floating bits of color did flutter about.
At Xlapak, suffering as are all the Puuc area archeological sites, from ongoing restoration, remodeling and rebuilding works in anticipation of the massive crowds that will leave their all-inclusive resorts and give up their comforts to travel the new Mayan train (ts’imin kaak or fire horse) we saw an interesting tableau: a man cleaning pieces of wood he was pulling out of a battered VW van. When asked, he explained to us that he was removing waste wax and dirt from the pieces of wood used by the bees in the beehives the campesinos hang in the first forest around this area.
I then proposed that we visit Sabacche, just down the road and past all the smaller Puuc sites. We arrived and turned into the driveway, only to find what appeared to be a restaurant in operation. This was not a restaurant however: it was all family and friends of the owner who immediately came over to say hello and welcome. I had met him on a previous visit with another guest we shall call Lance (because that is HIS name) and had hit it off. Admiring his collection of animals both wild and domestic, the natural cave-sourced air duct and the house on the hill, he made us feel welcome on that previous occasion and today was no different. We were soon informed that a hets’ luum ceremony had taken place with a Mayan shaman. The hets’ lu’um is performed to ask the gods for blessings during planting and that the whole family had been invited. I asked him if we could have a look around and he was more than happy to say yes, introducing us to a man standing nearby,
“Quieren ver el altar?”
This man was a x’men (Mayan shaman) had clearly just finished the hets’ l’um ceremony.
“Claro que si”
Brian nodded in agreement. So we trudged up the little rocky hill to a makeshift altar of boughs and branches and flowers and with his fragrant magical potions, swatted us with branches and proceeded to purify us.
Afterwards, he mentioned that he lived in the minuscule settlement across the highway from the nearby Loltun caves and offered his number should we ever have need for a shaman in the future. You never know, I thought, as I plugged the info into my smart phone. Which is funny if you think about it. Standing on a hill in the jungle with a professed shaman, getting purified and then noting his information in my little handheld gadget.
Returning to where the large family had gathered under tarps, commiserating over food and and drink and some playing Loteria Yucateca (a bingo-esque game with a Yucatecan theme) we were offered a place to sit and have a bowl of sopa, which was essentially a liquid form of what one would find inside a baked pib. Washed down with an ice cold cerveza, Brian and I marveled at how this had all just “happened”.
After that rather serendipitous moment, we continued on towards Oxkutzcab to visit the giant fruit and vegetable market that wholesalers come to from as far away as Tulum. Parking is always a challenge but we got a spot right on the market thanks to a friendly police woman who saved the day.
While shopping, Brian enjoyed some attention from the ladies selling fruit and I helped with the translation of several marriage proposals which resulted in much hilarity settled down for a bite of tamales with Perla and her Mom who worked at a food stall inside. Between bits and wiping away seat from our respective foreheads, we talked about life and her difficult situation being a single Mom of two girls and working two jobs to make ends meet. A sobering conversation,
Finally, we were back on the road to Merida somewhat tired but amazed at how a simple outing had turned into such an event-filled day, full of human contact and interaction. So very serendipitous. So very Yucatecan.