Casa Tranquila Available for Rent - Long Term - May 15, 2017

 Casa Tranquila is available as early as May 1st if someone needs a long term rental immediately. A long term is a minimum of one year.
It is a one bedroom (16 x 20ft) one bath, two story home located in Col. Azteca.  Besides the
lovely gardens there are breathtaking views of the canyon and mountains.  The sunsets are magnificent.
The house is well maintained with everything you need to move in.  All you have to do is bring your clothes
and personal items.  Everything else is provided.

 The first floor is open concept with a living/dining/kitchen area.  Light and airy due to many windows
that look out onto the gardens, it is an uplifting place to live.  The suede covered sofa is a queen sleeper
sofa. The large coffee table is on rollers so it can be moved if you have company and want to open out
the sofa to make a bed.

 Dishes, pots and pans, mixer, toaster, microwave etc etc etc is provided.  Ready for you to prepare a meal or to quickly heat something up.

The house comes with TV with satellite (120 channels), wifi, and plenty of storage.  There are two gas propane heaters for the two relatively cold months of December and January.  

 As you can see from the photos, there is lots of light plus drapes, if you want darkness.

 The house rents for $850USD a month which includes landline telephone, electricity, gas, water, maid service once a week.  Your only expense is to buy your bottled water(20 pesos) and to pay for your laundry which is sent out and returned folded.  The house rents quickly as it is priced  below market.

 This is a view from the stairs that lead to the second floor and third floor large roof terrace.  The house is approximately 1100 square feet.  The windows make it feel much larger.

 On the second floor is the large bedroom which many have used as a den/bedroom or office/bedroom
due to its large size.  It too has many windows for cross ventilation and sunlight.  The bed is a very comfortable queen size bed.  All linens are provided.  There are two closets.  The one in this photo and
another large one tucked around the corner next to the bathroom.

 There is a dresser and chest of drawers and another chest of drawers in the closet near the bathroom  along with a small desk.  A lovely place to sit and write or check emails, while gazing out the open doors to the French Balcony and the large jacaranda tree.

 The bathroom provides a large shower, commode and sink.  Along with another window with views to the West.

 Here is the view from the bedroom toward the jacaranda tree.  Out on the balcony is a lovely
place to enjoy a cup of coffee, a good book or a glass of wine to watch the sunset.

The roof terrace on the third floor provides unparalleled views in all directions and is furnished with a table and four chairs plus some additional seating to enjoy life.

The house is a five minute walk down hill toward the large fruit and vegetable mercado with another five minute walk to the main jardin and the Parroquia. There are two little tiendas within a block or two of the house. Cab service is available by either calling for a cab or walking to the corner and waiting for a taxi to pass by. A taxi costs 30 pesos ($1.50USD) Life is easy here.

It is a quiet colonia.  Very little traffic except early in the morning when the children across the road arrive
for school and at noon when they go home for the day.  Other then that, the only sounds are the birds, someone occasionally playing music and the church bells down in the jardin.

If you are interested in Casa Tranquila, please email me at babsofsanmiguel@yahoo.com or if you are
in the USA, you may call me on my Vonage line 713 589-2721.  Leave a message if I am not here and
I will call you upon returning home.   To secure the home, a lease is required along with the first, and last
month's rent plus a security deposit of $850USD.

Sorry, no smokers or pets.

A sleepless, restless Night

Indeed, it started out all right.  I crawled under  the covers and then heard noises out on the patio right outside my bedroom. 

I have succumbed to feeding a feral cat for the last week or so.  The feral cat has been around for a couple of years.  Here even before Velcro the cat died!  But, I have not fed it until last week when I noticed that she was VERY pregnant.  I had to feed her.   Even though I've been told not to feed feral cats........so, I thought it was her except for the fact that she eats quietly and whatever this was was not quiet at all but moving the bowl around and making weird noises.

A couple of days later, while sitting with the doors and windows open, I heard little mews and crying from baby kittens!  I walked all over the garden and decided that they are in a clump of aloe vera that is six feet tall and about six to ten feet wide and six feet deep.  If they are in there, I cannot get to them without a pith helmet and a suit of armor.  That aloe vera has thorns about an inch long.  Mama cat would be smart to have
had them somewhere inside there.  At least they  would be safe, I thought. 

Then I never heard the kittens again.  I have continued to feed the Mama cat.  I thought it strange if she had already moved them, but you never know.

Last night I found out why she might have moved them or that they have met their demise.  ANÖTHER possum was trying to eat the left over food that I put out for the Mama cat!  I heard the bowl moving at about 11PM, got the flashlight to see if it was the Mama, but instead it was a big brown possum. 

The one who died a couple of weeks ago that I wrote about was grey and white.  I went out to retrieve the bowl, after I had put on running shoes and a big heavy fluffy robe as armor.  Heck, you never know if a wild animal is going to run away from you or at you.  This one just stood and watched me.  I could not have been more then three feet from it.  You can rest assured that I never took my eyes off of it as I picked up the bowl and backed up into the house.........

I turned out the lights.  Got back in bed and then my mind went crazy thinking about it out there and had it eaten the kittens.  I also wondered why in the world I have had three possums here in the last couple of months.  (You can rest assured there will be no more cat food outside)  Then I wondered how to get rid of
this possum!

I don't mind having created a nature sanctuary here, sort of, but couldn't it be sweet bunnies or something docile with no big teeth and claws that decides to take up residency?  So far it has been a coatamundi, a skunk, squirrels, feral cats and the good creatures - the hummingbirds, the red headed woodpecker, the vermilion flycatchers and the chartreuse birds that I have no idea what they are - oh and the gazillion of bats on my roof who decimate the mosquito population so that I can sit outside all year and never have any problems.

Anyone have any ideas how to get ride of possums?  I had the brainstorm in my foggy brain this morning to call Ecologia and see if they have a trap or something that they could come set and that they could come get when there is something inside of it.  I am going to check to see if that is a possibility.  Then they can take it
farther into the campo to release and let it live.

Stay tuned for the continuing saga of the possum.  Hopefully with no food other then berries in the trees and natural food, it will go away on its own.  Wishful thinking?

Purple Rain

With the bougainvillea blooming and dropping leaves in fuscia colors along with the jacaranda tree

 tree blooming and dropping purple blossoms, it is quite beautiful even on the ground without even

looking at the tree!  Although the tree is quite spectacular this year. The jardin is in its finery, although no jacarandas.

 But the photo below, with a view of the Parroquia church through the branches of the jacaranda is one of my favorite photos.  All in all, it is a perfect day - every day!

Sumidero Canyon and Chiapa de Corzo - The LAST Day!

 We left San Cristobal on Day 7 for the hour ride down to Chiapa de Corzo.  Aaah, we were returning to a tropical and warm climate after rainy, and as usual, cold, San Cristobal!  It was a very welcome change.

 The hotel, La Ceiba, several blocks from the town square was a little bit of paradise.  I chose not to go on the town walk as I had done that years before.  Instead, I got a pina colada, an order of guacamole and just vegged by the pool. 

Earlier on the bus, David had mentioned that the river was empty!  but that it was expected that it would be
refilled overnight from the dam and be ready for us the next morning!  What?  Imagine emptying the Mississippi River and expecting it to be refilled overnight.  Oh me, of little faith, I expected to see a great sandy expanse the next morning at 7AM when we arrived at the docks.  In fact, if truth be known, I hardly slept the night before worrying about whether at 7AM we would all be faced with a giant sandbar.

 I should have never doubted David.  Somehow, even though the river was about 15 or more feet lower then the last time I was on it, it was still magnificent. 

 Since it was all "new" water, it was a deep deep green and beautiful.  Another good thing is we had had to reschedule from going the previous day in the afternoon to this early morning excursion.  It was perfect.  The wildlife was out in full force - vultures, egrets, birds of all descriptions and even a crocodile sunning itself on a
sandy slope. 

 This beautiful sight is a waterfall without water streaming down it.  It was not the rainy season as yet so we got to see the formation in all its glory.  Quite extraordinary.

 There was much fern and tiny flowers blooming in the crevices.  A few bromeliads as well.  The photo above is at the top where the water spews out from the side of the mountain.

 Here is a marker showing how low the water was on this morning.  Lots more filling up to do in the days to come.  Our trip was a mini trip and not the three hours that I had traveled previously to the dam.  It was just as well as we needed to return to Chiapa de Corzo, grab our bags, and head for Tuxla Guitterez for the flight back to CDMX and then the bus ride home to San Miguel.  It was another long day.

 The brick Moorish style building in the background on the plaza was built in the 1600's and is an icon of Mexico.

 Our trusty guides, Patricio and David.  Patricio left us in Chiapa de Corzo. We were grateful to him for his knowledge, his patience and just being Patricio.  I highly recommend hiring Patricio as a guide if you are ever anywhere in Chiapas.  Contact me for that information.  David, the owner of Vagabundos Tours was our steady, always there and always ready leader.  No better could ever be found, anywhere in the world in my humble opinion.

As we sat in the airport, waiting for our departure, this photo was a fitting way to end the adventure.  Viva Mexico!

Orquideas Moxviquil and the Market in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas - Day 6

Before I begin to tell you about our wanderings on Day 6 in San Cristobal, I want to share with you a photo
that a friend and blog reader sent to me yesterday.  He surreptitiously snapped this photo in the church in
Chamula.  Note the pine straw all over the floors.  That was a detail that I forgot in my description.  Walking on it was like walking on sliding silk.  It forced one to carefully maneuver through the building.  This photo is
a treasure.

                   A spiritual sight portrayed that has been practiced for centuries on sacred sites in Mexico.

On Day 6, an "open day" we headed out early to the market and the nearby church for my friend Nora to photograph the outside and inside of the church.  I wandered in the market and did buy a couple of blouses.
Now I wish I had purchased more as they were only 150 pesos each.  Oh well.  This trip was definitely not a shopping trip like my first one.  It was way more about the sights and scenes of Chiapas.

With that in mind, we headed by taxi out to the periferico to Orquideas Moxviquil.  In our taxi was not only the driver, but his wife and baby.  It was a joy to watch them all interacting.  It was about a ten to fifteen minute ride by taxi and the charge was 35 pesos.  We were surprised as in town, just going a short way it is the same price.  That is about $1.75 USD

We paid for our ticket into the park like setting of the orchid and bromeliad gardens.  There were buildings for conferences, offices and who knows what.  We went to see flowers so we headed that way. There was a big greenhouse where the gardener and two other people were entering, so we followed.  Hot and humid would be an understatement.  However, here was where there were a few, very few relatively tiny orchids e blooming.  Much to our dismay we learned that the orchids in San Cristobal do not bloom until July and August since the elevation is one thousand feet higher then San Miguel at 7100 ft elevation!

Outside, there were bromeliads in most of the trees.  I've grown these for about thirty years both in Houston and San Miguel.  I find them very hardy and almost maintenance free.  Something to enjoy when blooming or not.

 It was a disappointment not to see more orchids, but I'm glad we went out there.  One never knows what to expect.  There are lots of stone stairs to go from one level to the other on the mountain side.  No there were not handrails and we did not venture any further then the greenhouse after the gardener told us there was nothing to see higher up at this time of the year.

Tomorrow will be the last segment of this trip. I started to add it to this day, but the Sumidero Canyon and Chiapa de Corzo deserve their own day and writing.  It is a spectacular place.  Stay tuned.

The Villages of Chamula and Zinacantan, Chiapas - Day 5

You're going to have to trust me on this!  Today I'm going to have to describe to you in words what was seen
in these two villages.  The village elders have strict rules that no photographs can be taken in either village under penalty of either jail and/or having your camera taken from you.  Neither idea appealed to me.  Some attempted to take photos of the surroundings outside the churches and were quickly and loudly admonished by the village elders.  My camera never left my pocket.

IF you want to see the few photos from eight years ago, you can go to the search feature on the blog and put in Chiapas.  There will be a few photos to see but most were lost when my old computer crashed in 2008.
On that trip you could photograph outside of the churches, but no more.

Below is a postcard that I bought in 2008 of the church in Chamula.

The church from outside looks like any other small village church.  Ahh, but once you step through those doors, I can assure you that you are in a world like no other.  That is what I experienced eight years ago, but on this day recently, it was even more pronounced.  The church is no longer a Catholic church but rather is used by the people for their Tzotzil ceremonies.  As we entered, one's senses were assaulted by incense, thousands of candles on tables, on the floor, in candelabras and being held by the people in the church.
Then the sound of a small band of music to the right along with people standing and sitting on the floor.  It caused one to move forward slowly and carefully so as not to step on a person or a candle.

On both sides of the building were wooden glass enclosed cases with various statues.  They were saints that people were praying to and making the sign of the cross in front of or lighting a candle.  As we approached the altar, the fragrance of the flowers both there and scattered around the room again assailed one's senses.  On the ceiling above the altar was a painted scene of the sky with the constellations.

As one turned around to return to the back of the church, it was almost impossible to move because in this area, the people were kneeling with raw eggs, chickens and Coca Cola for Shaman ceremonies.  One could tell who the shamans were by the white clothing and head dress that they wore as they intoned words to the gods.  To say it was extraordinary, would be a major understatement.

At this point, I stopped and just looked around.  People passed me by, but I'm so glad I did stop as I saw a very, very old woman with a censor and incense blessing the statues and flowers along one side of the building.  It was all I could do to keep my hands from reaching in my pocket to get my camera.  The sight of this woman was one of absolute beauty, spirituality and sensuality all in one gesture.  She will always be in my mind's eye.

Once I reached the back of the church and many people were leaving, I just sat down.  Overwhelmed by emotion, I saw people from our group with tears streaming down their faces.  This experience truly touched many peoples' souls.

Once out in daylight, no one was chattering or anything but standing slightly dazed from the transformation that had taken place in the past thirty minutes or so.  We had visited another world - one from many centuries ago.

We were brought back to reality by people selling things.  A man put a turquoise bracelet on my arm and I did not even protest.  A little boy of about four years old named Victor, who I had met before going into the church, brought his sister to us.  She had all kinds of things to sell. Purses, pom poms - nothing that we needed but the beauty made us want.  She was business savvy too.

My friend Nora asked if she could take her photo for fifty pesos and she agreed.  Isn't she beautiful?  I bought one of the wool bags such as she is holding.  Beautifully made - price 250 pesos.  I tried to bargain but this young lady would not bargain.  In US prices that is about $12.50.  We praised her and I loved on Victor with a big hug as we headed out of that plaza and headed for another.

There was a big ceremony going on which we could not figure out with a big statue and all the elders surrounding it in their white pants and black wooly huipiles.  As they started to walk away, Nora attempted to take a photograph but at least three men fussed at her and displayed their displeasure.  That was the end of that.

We headed for a tuk tuk to get us back up the hill and to our bus.  Heck, I was afraid to even take a photo of the two of us in the tuk tuk but it was a rollicking time heading up the hill through the people and the traffic. We were patting ourselves on the back for having the sense to not attempt to get through all the people and stuff in time to make it to the bus.  We were also giggling at the experience which is just fun.  I loved them in Guatemala too.  San Miguel needs those as a means of transportation.  They are like mini golf carts.

We made it to the bus in the nick of time.  Whew!  Then promptly headed for Zinacantan approximately twenty minutes away.  This village grows lots and lots of flowers that they export all over Mexico and to Guatemala as well.  So beautiful.

Arriving at this church, there was a Mass going on and we waited until it was over to enter.  This time the flowers assailed our senses as it was masses and masses of roses, gladiolas, and multiple other kinds of flowers everywhere.  Not just on altars.  Just about the time we arrived, Patricio said we were in for a treat.
One of the town elders told him we had to wait at the back of the church as they were having a special ceremony, but that we could watch, if we were very quiet.  We did not make a peep or even move.

First boys came with huge baskets that were so big and heavy they could hardly carry them into this part of the church.  They were FULL of rose petals.  Other boys began to spread them as a pathway for what was coming next.  The fragrance was exquisite.  Then little tinkly sounding bells began to sound as men dressed in white and carrying a statue came into view.  They were carrying this statue on their shoulders in a glass case and on a platform.  They followed the path of the rose petals which was in the shape of almost a giant circle.

Also in this procession were women carrying large armloads of flowers and some had candles.  They were barefoot. The men had on leather sandals that looked like the sandals that the Roman soldiers wore during the time of Christ.  There were so many things to see that honestly it was overwhelming.  At the very end of the procession,  a man in a long black shroud or huipile with a red cloth wrapped around his head walked very slowly.  I presume he was the Shaman, but that is only my judgement.

It was an experience, again, of a ceremony that must have been performed for centuries.  No one knew nor to this day, do we know what the purpose of it was or who it honored or what.  When I arrived back in San Miguel, I checked my two Mexican calendars.  One said it as the Feast of  St. Macario and the other calendar said it was the Feast of Santa Maria Eugenia de Jesus.  If any of you reading this do know, it would be much appreciated for you to share that information with all of us.

All we could do after leaving the church was to stand in stunned silence at what we had been privileged to witness.

Eventually we walked a few blocks to a woman's coop of weavers to see a demonstration of back strap loom weaving.  The woman who runs this used to work out in the open air under a very small covered space.  Now, eight years later, it is multiple buildings with a kitchen, an open area to see a collection of huipiles and rebozos and a demonstration. Then two rooms of items for sale.  It was very joyful to see how much this coop has expanded.

 A wedding ceremony in traditional dress was staged with tour participants to show how they dress for this auspicious occasion.  The Zinacantan women dressed them.

These are rebozos on statues posed in the buying area.  The colors have changed since 2008 when they were blue and purple.  Now it includes more flowers and the colors of red, yellow and green were added
to the weavings.  So beautiful.

After the buying frenzy of the tour group, we boarded the bus to return to San Cristobal exhausted from all that we had experienced that day.  The experience was the topic of discussion for many days thereafter.
It certainly was a highlight of the trip.........but still there was more to come!

San Cristobal de las Casas and Na Balom - Day 4

 Day 4 was an "open day".  Yes, there was a city tour with Patricio, but I had done that eight years before so I was up and out, heading about four long blocks from our hotel to the primary zocalo in San Cristobal.  To  me, it is a treasure to just observe the people.  To quietly sit and watch.To see the little things.  One thing I noticed is that the city has become more westernized in the last eight years.  In the past, very few people dressed in regular clothes.  This day it was much different.  These two women and the child were the closest I came to seeing the women of Chamula and they were really only half dressed indigenously in their wooly skirts.  The child, not at all.

There is always an ice cream man in every town in Mexico.  The favorite food, I believe, of Mexico.  I saw this man a few days later over near the church and he pulled his cart up to the front door. He bowed, made the Sign of the Cross several times and then moved on. It was very touching.

 Watching these two boys scamper in front of me playing and laughing, I was surprised to see them later quietly sitting there.  One giving a shoe shine and the other selling all kinds of items. 

 Chiapas is a protest state.  There are many things painted on the sides of buildings - not in a grafitti way, but in a serious way.  Even in this shoe shine booth, while the man was gone, his sign was still up there!  Even though the major uprising was twenty-three years ago, they do not forget!

 Also on my agenda was to get to Na Balom that day.  The House of the Jaguars.  It is a former home, a museum and research facility set up by Frans Blom and his wife Gertrude Duby.  The house exists
to provide sanctuary for the Lacandon peoples of the rainforest who Frans discovered (or they allowed themselves to be discovered by Frans) in the late 1940's.  These people had hidden and lived in the rainforest away from civilization since before the Spaniards arrived.  They were never captured by the Spaniards.  I remember reading in National Geographic as a child about these people.  My fascination with the nomadic peoples of Mexico began then........

Frans discovered Palenque in the late 1920's, returned to the USA to Harvard to get a degree in Archaeology at Harvard and an advanced degree at Tulane where he got funding for further work at Palenque.

Gertrude was a famous documentary photographer from Switzerland and was on her way to the rainforest to photograph the peoples of the Lacandon area when she met Frans.  Initially they both lived in Mexico City where they met the Golden Circle of peoples such as Rivera, Kahlo, Mondotti, Weston and Lechuga, to name a few. Soon, they decided they could not continue their research from Mexico City, found this abandoned hacienda on the outskirts of town in San Cristobal and lived in it while using pack mules or a Cessna from Ocosingo to go into the rainforest.

 It is a lovely place now.  I can just imagine what shape it was in in the 1940's.  Na Balom has accommodations for overnight guests.  This long table serves dinner nightly for researchers, travelers and the Lacandon peoples to share a meal, ideas and conversation.

 A large Jaguar, the symbol of Na Balom, is now in the courtyard.  These jaguars are made in a village called Amantengo de Valle about an hour or so outside of San Cristobal.  I visited there eight years ago, but not on this trip. 

 The research library is a dream.  It is important to me because I have met many times with a woman named Elizabeth who lives in San Miguel who initially set up this library and lived at Na Balom with Trudy and Frans.   Ahh, the stories she has told me.  Amazing. Elizabeth is now in her late 90's and it is difficult to meet with her.  However, I have a DVD to take to her with video taken during her time at Na Balom.  I think she will be happily surprised.  Hopefully it will bring back wonderful memories.

 This was previously Trudy's bedroom.  It now displays her jewelry, her photography and her clothing along with this photo of her.

 This photo of Frans hangs outside in the courtyard.  According to my friend Elizabeth, he was quite a rogue who loved his mescal.  Especially while flying a Cessna!

 The above poster was from an exhibit of Trudy's photography at some point.  It is of Trudy and a Lacandon woman.  Trudy was honored many times, all over the world, for her photography and programs that were set up to preserve the culture of the peoples of the Lacandon jungle.

This last photo was taken in 1948 by a woman who I met in Mexico City in 2003.  She had traveled to the rain forest to visit other archaeological sites and to meet the Lacandon peoples with Frans as the guide along with his wife Trudy.  The woman who took this photograph was Ruth Lechuga.  The photo is from a book
published by the Museo Franz Mayer and Artes de Mexico called Ruth D. Lechuga - Una Memoria Mexicana.

Ruth began photographing the peoples of Mexico in the 1940's.  One year after she arrived from Europe escaping the war atrocities.  Her photography, her knowledge of the indigenous peoples and her collections of masks and textiles can now be seen at the Frans Mayer Museum in Mexico City.  Her collection of photographs is well over 14,000.  It was such an honor to sit and talk with her for almost three hours one day at her home and museum prior to her death. Her life's work wasdocumented and  turned over to the museum.

In the first post about this trip, there is a photo of one of these skiffs or pirogues (which was the name of them when I was growing up in Louisiana).  It is on display at Na Balom.

As I quietly sat for a while at the end of my visit to NaBalom, I was overwhelmed by the idea that two people could save a whole culture from extinction.  That is exactly what Frans and Trudy did, thankfully.

Today, I'm told, there are about six hundred Lacandons living their lives nomadically in the rainforest of Chiapas.