Archive for February, 2008

déjà vu

Posted in mexico with tags , , on February 21, 2008 by markschaumann

crazy wabbit 

It was a cool night, and I was stalking a rabbit on a grass lawn. You have probably done that at some time when you were a child and know what that is like. As soon as I get close enough to grab the little varmit, he would take off in a zig zag line then stop and gaze at me with one unblinking eye, as if he was saying “wanna try again”? I knew from my youth that this  pursuit would prove to be fruitless. But this wasn’t a full grown rabbit, he was just a little brown bunny, perhaps he would make a mistake and I can snag him. I try a different tactic and SLOWLY ease my way towards him, looking away, as though I have no interest in him. He is almost in my grasp. I draw my forearm back like a jaw of a trap. He is MINE! I let my arm drop like it had spring tension behind it. I fully expected to feel his furry body and little spine and ribs in the palm of my hand. I can picture his little legs scrambling to get out from under my grasp.

But none of this happened. Instead what I heard was the sound of my hand slamming the wood table by the bed and the heavy glass ashtray on it bouncing off the end and hitting a spoke on my bicycle before it hit the floor. Wow! I wonder if that woke anyone up. Good thing the wife (if I was married) wasn’t lying next to me I would have clocked her.

The mefloquine I have been taking for the last month has made dreamtime most interesting. When I sleep, its as though I was awake; and when I wake, I can remember every detail of the dreamscape. They have not been unpleasant dreams, just ordinary dreams, ENHANCED. Its like the difference between watching a 32″ color television and the IMAX theater experience.  Some of the pieces of the dreams I can identify as being a result of the days events; other elements surface from somewhere deep in my subconscious. There could be other sources too….. While I have never had prophetic dreams; I have had instances of déjà vu and precognition. Now, déjà vu means “second sight”, or the unmistakable perception, down to the smallest detail, that I have seen what I am seeing now, before…..now if I saw it before, where did I see it? If I saw it in a dream, then that would make it a prophetic dream…right?

“It seems we stood and talked like this before.
    We looked at each other In the same way then.
    But I can’t remember where or when…
    Some things that happen for the first time
    Seem to be happening again.”

 Lorentz Hart
Richard Rogers

3 Comments »

How it goes….

Posted in mexico with tags , on February 16, 2008 by markschaumann

Focusing on the people I meet is what I primarily want to do here; however I am sure that some of you would like to know what it is like to travel like this and how I am faring so this seems like an opportune time for a post on that subject.

One thousand miles of Mexican road has past under my wheels in the past few weeks. I still have a lot to learn. Bicycle touring is relatively new to me. Back home, I commuted to work on my bike and went for long Saturday rides, but that was it.

 When I started this trip, I ate when I was hungry and drank when I was thirsty, but I have discovered that it is necessary to fuel my body with copious amounts of food and water before I feel the need to eat or drink. Sugar also plays some sort of role that I don’t fully understand. There was a day in the Tuxtla mountains when all my energy disappeared. I stopped and drank a 16oz Coke and felt like a new man. I must have been suffering from a low sugar level.

 The weather here is scorching, and this is one of the cooler months of the year. It’s necessary to get on the road early, preferably right at daybreak and try to be done by noon (but it never happens). Twice now, I have experienced symptoms of heat exhaustion in the mid afternoon. Frequently, I will ride past field workers taking a siesta under a tree in the heat of the afternoon, they look at me like I am crazy, perhaps I need to join them and cool it during the hottest part of the day.

The bike is working good. I’ve had three flats on the trailer, and broke a chain. I made the repairs on the side of the road quicker than a Mexican could stop and help me (that’s fast). I haven’t significantly overpacked or underpacked. Thanks to my employer giving me plenty of notice of my last workday, I had a lot of time to prepare for this trip. The preparations that I did are paying good dividends now.  

My route plan changes by the day. When that missionary back in Tamaulipas asked me where I was going, I replied “I dunno, but I have a lot of time to get there” <g>.  I study the map a lot but I remain indecisive as to which way to go.
 

7 Comments »

It´s ALIVE!!!

Posted in mexico with tags on February 15, 2008 by markschaumann

Cardenas nite

 The big difference between pueblos in Mexico and towns in the States is that each pueblo in Mexico comes ALIVE every night. They don’t wait for the weekend. Nobody sits home and watches television. Everyone is in the streets or at the plaza in pursuit of something or someone. Each store front is open to the street, there are no sterile glass and aluminum doors with hydraulic closures to isolate you from the elements. Exhaust fumes, traffic noise, and the ever present loud music (usually from at least three different sources) intrude into your dining or shopping experience. The sidewalk is jammed with a second tier of smaller vendors selling CDs, clothes, jewelry, novelties, and comida of all sorts. There is corn on the cob (elotes), ice cream (helado), shaved ice (nieves), tacos, tostados, churros, mangos on a stick, watermelon (sangria), pineapple (piña), hotdogs, liquicados, and a whole host of other things I can’t remember or can’t identify. The comida has more spice too. That hotdog will be impregnated with peppers and have layers of hot sauce, cream, queso, tomatoes, onions, mustard, ketchup, and chilies on it. The mayonnaise that they slather on your elote has lime juice in it. Fruit is always sprinkled with chilies and salt. Open a can of tuna and it will have jalepeno peppers or some kind of spice in it. Mexico has flavor………………………………………………………………………………………………and everyone knows their neighbor. A few weeks ago near Aquismon, a carload of guys pulled over to talk to me. Paco and his posse were going to ride some horses. They were dressed like they stepped off a western movie screen. Each of them had the same straw cowboy hat, jeans, and riding boots. Paco said, ” We hear about you a coupla days ago man, “you know there’s a gringo riding a BICYCLE down the highway?”" Paco had lived in the States for seven years working for a horse trainer. He said the guys name as though I might recognize it, the guy trained jumping horses for the Olympics and was a very wealthy man. I told him how great people have towards me in Mexico and we talked about the differences between the countries. Paco exclaimed, “my boss didn’t even know his neighbors” he said it three times and took off his hat for emphasis. It was clearly inconceivable to Paco that someone could not know his neighbors. But that’s the way it is. I know I haven’t built any real relationships with my neighbors. Gone are the porches in the front of the homes, now we build decks in the back so we will have “privacy”. I think we are missing out on a lot……………….

.

1 Comment »

Veracruz Carnaval 2008

Posted in carnaval, mexico, veracruz with tags on February 8, 2008 by markschaumann

Carnaval is a living, breathing, entity. The “Jarochos” (people who live in Veracruz) prepare for it all year. The Veracruz Carnaval is regarded as the best Carnaval between New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro. Words cannot describe it, so I took a lot of pictures and video. The videos are here. Be sure to turn the volume up all the way!Veracruz Carnaval 2008

Veracruz Carnaval 2008

dscf0467.jpg

dscf0460.jpg

dscf0406.jpg

dscf0411.jpg

dscf0413.jpg

dscf0440.jpg

dscf0470.jpg

dscf0477.jpg

3 Comments »

Tihuatlan

Posted in veracruz with tags , , , on February 3, 2008 by markschaumann

tecolutla beach

Alamo was bad. The people were nice enough, but it was a mudpit and the hotel I stayed at was the worst one so far. I was out of there early the next morning. Thirty kilometers down the road, I was feeling weak. I noticed a town on my left with a statue of Christ with his arms spread, high on a hill overlooking the town; much like the one in Rio de Janeiro. Thinking maybe it’s time for a rest day, I turned into the town of Tihuatlan, “the place of beautiful women” in the Huasteca language.  I rode to the cabby stand and asked how to get to the zocalo and where the hotels are. The cabbies always know these things. I checked into a new hotel called “Montecasino” ($15usd) and slept all afternoon. When I woke I met Joseph, the owner of the hotel. He was very excited that I was there and said that he would like to give me a tour of the town tomorrow. He also got the staff to do my laundry. The next morning Joseph and his grandson, Miguel came and got me and we piled in Joseph’s pickup truck and rode up a steep road to “El Christo”. There was a nice breeze and a magnificent view of the town from the peak of the hill. Joseph tells me about the town and the statue and Miguel is serving as interpreter. Then we get back in the truck and ride to the municipal palace and we get out and walk around a bit. Joseph explains the meaning of some of the murals to me.  Then we ride to the church and to a cemetery. The gate to the cemetery was a beautiful arch with angels on either side of it. Back at the hotel, Joseph refuses any money for the tour “it’s compliments of the hotel Montecasino” he says with a smile. I ask him if any gringos live in Tihuatlan, and he replies “no and few visit here but that is only because they don’t know about it yet”. I tend to agree with him, I sense a lot of civic pride in Tihuatlan, and the hotel Montecasino was the best hotel I have stayed in so far. I stayed two nights.

Feeling revitalized, I got an early start and took the Veracruz autopista South bypassing the city of Poza Rica. I had forgotten what a good road was like. It had eight foot shoulders and little traffic. I got my ipod out for the first time this trip. The first song that came on was David Gilmour singing
“you say the hills too steep to climb”
“cliiiiiiiimbing”
“you say you’d like to see me try”
“cliiiiiiiimbing”
And so it went as I climbed hill after hill with picturesque scenery on each side of the road. The good times came to an end at the toll booth, then I was on the hwy 180 libre road; a winding road with no shoulder and lots of big truck traffic. It was a dangerous road. At one point they were working on the road and had set up some cones down the centerline; a big truck took out two of them while  making room for me. Behind the truck was a line of cars. Some guy in the fourth car hangs his head out the window and yells “be careful!” at me in English. The last car in the line was an ambulance and he beeped his horn and waved at me. It was like he was saying “I’ll be seeing you later”. I  relegated myself to pushing my bike on the dirt path on the side of the road for a while. Better to arrive late than to arrive dead. At Zamora the road forked and I took the flat 11k road to Tecolutla. It was exciting as I got closer to the beach.  The sea breeze and salt smell in the air; then I could hear the surf. Tecolutla is a beach resort for the Mexicans and this is the “off” season. There must be one hundred and fifty hotels and they are all empty. I find a good one near the beach with a pool, cable television, and internet close by.  My room is on the third floor and catches a great sea breeze. I think I’ll stay here a couple of days.

4 Comments »