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Post by lugg on Feb 6, 2023 19:28:09 GMT
Ohhh yes, please please please please! If we do I will be sure to let you know . xx
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Post by onlyMark on Feb 6, 2023 21:07:38 GMT
Thanks Lugg. I'm on the mend more or less but it's slow going. Must be my age catching up with me. Takes longer to get over stuff. I don't particularly have an appetite but I eat something small twice a day just to keep in practice.
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Post by casimira on Feb 6, 2023 21:09:56 GMT
Lugg, the meal that we had in Progresso was a combination plate of seafood. Shrimp and some type of fish. They were both incredibly fresh and beautifully prepared. As the weather was so nice, we dined outside right on the water.
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Post by onlyMark on Feb 6, 2023 21:20:53 GMT
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Post by onlyMark on Feb 6, 2023 21:48:15 GMT
I think it's about time I introduced you to someone. My new travel companion. The young daughter of a friend has to spend quite a lot of time in hospital(s). As such she is missing out on a lot, as expected, but also she has a limited amount of things to occupy her (toys for example). She has entrusted me to bring Steven. Steven has already had some adventures which I send back to her and she is living vicariously through him. You may see him pop up from time to time. At Uxmal showing the iguanas (they are very far away in the background at the base of the wall) how to roar - Asleep at the hotel - Grabbing a bite of my food - Jumping out of my bag after Customs - Going for a swim - Shower before bed -
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Post by onlyMark on Feb 7, 2023 1:10:20 GMT
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Post by mich64 on Feb 7, 2023 1:12:45 GMT
Bringing Steven is a beautiful thing to agree to. Your photos must be bringing her so much joy and excitement to wonder where Steven is going next!
Glad you are beginning to feel better.
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Post by kerouac2 on Feb 7, 2023 5:20:18 GMT
Quidditch and Amélie Poulain all rolled into one! Excellent.
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Post by bjd on Feb 7, 2023 7:01:43 GMT
Is there a reason that your pics are all empty of people? Was it a deliberate choice of time of day or location? I like those streets with painted houses.
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Post by onlyMark on Feb 7, 2023 12:19:21 GMT
Quidditch and Amélie Poulain all rolled into one! Excellent. That would need some explaining. I know quidditch and that is some reference to Uxmal(?) but the French woman? No idea. No deliberate choice of time to go out. I do tend to wait for someone to walk past before taking a photo but there's been over the last few days morning, lunchtime, afternoon and evening photos. This last set was late afternoon - though I did want to get to Uxmal before the crowds and I have a photo of the queue to get n just as I'm leaving. I have evening shots of Merida where there are lots of people.
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Post by patricklondon on Feb 7, 2023 13:25:23 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 7, 2023 13:46:48 GMT
Mark, I'm enjoying this so much, but on the dinky phone screen. I'll be back in Oaxaca this evening and can respond appropriately on a real keyboard. (stuck in the Xalapa bus station at the moment.
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Post by casimira on Feb 7, 2023 14:04:21 GMT
Steven looks to be enjoying y'alls adventure very much just as many of us are. Being an armchair or lounge "traveler" it's easy to use one's imagination. For me having been to the exact same places (albeit 20 something years ago) I really enjoy the reminiscence and have shared your pics with my husband, and we are able to conjure up our memories of that time and place.
Uxmal in particular stands out. There weren't too too many people there and it was very peaceful and tranquil. We both climbed up the tiny steps to the top of the largest pyramid like structure. I'm not sure of the exact height of it but it was very high to me. I had no trouble climbing up at all. While up there we roamed around the tiny flat surface and took in the visual long ranging sweeping vista all around us. It was only when we were about to descend that the terror set in. I couldn't face the downward descent with the fear of falling forward that huge a distance. There was one other lady up there who was equally fearful. Her husband and T. both were in a quandary.
It wasn't until one of them discovered a very thick and heavy iron chain anchored to the rear of the structure. Going down without having to see forward was the only solution and proved to be easy for both of us.
Memories like that don't seem to ever go away.
Thank you for sharing these with us Mark.
I see that you and Steven hit the road in fairly short order on to the next adventure.
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Post by kerouac2 on Feb 7, 2023 15:07:11 GMT
In Amélie, she sends her father's garden gnome around the world with a flight attendant friend who photographs it everywhere.
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Post by lugg on Feb 7, 2023 19:53:33 GMT
Uxmal looks really interesting and your photos are great. Steven - It looks as if Mark is looking after you whilst you are away from home. Seriously though, what a lovely thing to do Mark for your friend's daughter. I guess she is really enjoying your joint reports back .
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Post by onlyMark on Feb 7, 2023 22:59:59 GMT
Patrick, K2, thanks for the connection. Makes sense now.
Bixa, ok. Travel safe, drink plenty of water and never pass up a clean toilet.
Lugg, yes, she is very pleased and I will take him way again more than likely. Also, I've found where the people are. Where I am now. More another time.
Casi, no climbing allowed now at Uxmal and many of those places. When confronted with steep steps, always face inward. You know this. When you look down for the next one you are moving your centre of gravity into the hill/steps, not away from it. Also your toes are then into the steps and not poking over the end of each one relying on balancing on your heel/arch. A compromise is sideways. Use three points of contact at all times, one foot down and both hands on the steps, other foot down, move one hand, then move the other hand. Touch the steps in any combination of hand and feet but never less than at three points. Next time there might not be a chain, no matter how old you think you are, you'll still encounter steep steps.
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Post by onlyMark on Feb 7, 2023 23:47:41 GMT
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Post by fumobici on Feb 8, 2023 1:51:00 GMT
Ha, a friend of mine dropped his video camera (remember those?) down the steps of that pyramid. Didn't do it any good.
Great thread for us winter-weary Northerners, keep the vicarious sun and sand coming please!
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Post by onlyMark on Feb 8, 2023 2:27:16 GMT
I'll try. I hope still plenty of sun but might be a bit short on the sand.
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Post by casimira on Feb 8, 2023 14:07:36 GMT
Well, it was fun while it lasted being able to climb up the ruins at Uxmal. There were several warnings signs that I don't recall seeing but T. does. In retrospect I think it was bone headed to allow so many people climb them, too many people to eventually destroy the structure from wear and tear. That's not what their intended use was for except for ceremonial purposes.
The waterside coastal pics are gorgeous. It almost looks like "convertible" weather.
Thanks for keeping us posted.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 8, 2023 15:35:38 GMT
What a wonderful bunch of pictures from your travels so far, Mark. Having been to some of the places when I had no camera makes your excellent photos even more of a treasture. One place I missed seeing was Uxmal -- one of those idiotic "you can't get there from here" situations which remains a disappointment. (We finally gave up and went to the Loltún Caves instead. That was fascinating, if you get a chance when you circle back.) Your photos make me even sorrier that I didn't get to see it. I have visited Campeche though and remember it fondly as a quiet and friendly town. It looks more spruced up now and possibly bigger. The Steven Sequence is outstanding. Not only was that a kind thing to do, I love how you got into the spirit of it all to make it eventful for the little girl. Your pictures also bear study for how you took an "assignment" and made it photographically interesting. All those water pictures made me nostalgic for the times I spent on the Louisiana and Texas Gulf coasts. The bridge pictures were a fun reminder of going back & forth across the 24-mile causeway between Mandeville and New Orleans. Sorry to make this about me, but that's what you get when you do such a good job of including the rest of us in your travels. A normal quick bites place And that is one of the great joys of Mexico -- how often you'll find quite nice & homey food just anywhere. The statue on the bridge is of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, or Nuestra Señora del Carmen in Spanish.
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Post by onlyMark on Feb 8, 2023 18:08:30 GMT
You're welcome Casi. I'm sure there'll be a bit more.
Thanks for the detail of the name Bixa. I can't say I've eaten in a restaurant as such at all yet. I did walk past a hotel chain restaurant this morning and looked in the window. They were having exactly what I'm having but as whatever multiple of the cost. And I get to see mine cooked fresh. "You can get there from here" - is why I have a car. I can always get there from here even if in a roundabout way.
I've had a walk round this morning and planned to go to the Olmec Heads park this afternoon as Casi mentioned, but traffic is horrendous due to various blockages and roadworks, it took me an hour of going in circles yesterday just to get to within a kilometre of the hotel. I could take a taxi or even walk there but because I'm on holiday, I'll do nothing when I can't be bothered. So I'll have another wander later and leave it at that.
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Post by onlyMark on Feb 8, 2023 18:42:57 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Feb 8, 2023 19:28:03 GMT
That looks like a nice city.
I approve of havoc when the result is worth it at the end. (I say this because that is pretty much the condition of my street right now and it will stay that way for a few more months. The price you pay for living on the main road to the main Olympic stadium for 2024...)
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Post by onlyMark on Feb 8, 2023 22:55:40 GMT
The are downsides to having a car and this is one I have to put up with if I want a hotel in the middle of a city.
I have a problem now - I will only eat one more thing before leaving here, that's if I feel like it anyway but I think I will. There is a place that I've seen that sells Sopa de Tortilla. Not seen it in the other places. I'm wanting to try it but I know with this and the next thing to mention, I will find them elsewhere. It's just which to choose tonight. When I was a kid we used to get a bag of crisps, open it up and throw on a portion of mushy peas with salt and vinegar. Mix it up and eat it out the bag. We found it tasty. Nevertheless, many won't. Here there are street sellers that will cut open a bag of crisps sideways then add to it corn, salsa, jalapenos and a few other things.
I'll have to make a snap decision later.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 9, 2023 0:32:41 GMT
If you don't get sopa de tortilla in Villahermosa, worry not. You'll find sopa Azteca, aka tortilla soup all over Mexico & it can be really delicious. There is a very plain tortilla soup made at home for people whose stomachs are delicate or upset, so the regular sopa de tortilla probably works for that, too.
If you come across sopa tarasca, from the state of Michoacán, try it. It's a smooth beany delight, served with crisp tortilla strips on the side for you to mix in as you please.
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Post by onlyMark on Feb 9, 2023 2:10:19 GMT
The place was shut when I got there so it's still on my list. Any version of it and I'll note the sopa tarasca. I like soups.
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Post by onlyMark on Feb 10, 2023 3:09:57 GMT
Travelling day today. A hell of a lot longer than it should have been though. Set off ok on a four hour drive. Later on though hit a traffic jam and found out the road had been blocked but didn't understand by whom. I had heard of protesters doing in in this area so assumed the same. After an hour and no movement I teamed up with a Dutch couple in a rental car and a tourist bus to seek out a different route. Eventually we found one but it added on several hours to bypass the blockade. To top it off, not much sooner than we'd regained the main road there was another jam.
Found out this was roadworks, renovating a bridge and down to one lane traffic. Not willing to wait behind the bus and trucks I shot past them all to get near the front but it still added on another couple of hours. A four hour drive ended up as ten hours. Missed out on lunch but at least I had a tube of sour cream Pringles. No idea what happened to the Dutch couple. They had further to go than me but seemed content to wait it out.
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Post by kerouac2 on Feb 10, 2023 4:51:30 GMT
This must sometimes remind you of unplanned delays in Africa.
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Post by onlyMark on Feb 10, 2023 12:39:01 GMT
And India. But delays are expected, it's more of a pain when you don't expect them and they happen.
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