Anyway, El Tajin is quite a large archaelogical site, with a whole bunch of big pyramids, the most famous of which is the "pyramid of the niches" which you will recognize from the fotos. This pyramid was painted red in the old days and the 365 niches were painted black.
On Sunday, I decided that maybe it would be better to wait until Monday to tour the ruins because I thought it might be cooler in the morning. Big mistake! The sneaky Mexicans did not tell me that entrance was free on Sundays. So the next day I had to pay 51 pesos, while the Canadian hippy and the Danish guy who had also passed the night in the parking lot got in for free because they were 60 or older! (I'm not sure about their wives, whether they were sixty years old, or would admit to it even if they were.)
Things turned out OK, though, because I got some nice photos of the structures without a bunch of people blocking the view. (There were many, many Mexican tourists at the site on Sunday both because of the free admission and there might have been some kind of special event going on, too, because last weekend--Saturday, Nov. 20--was, I'm pretty sure, a big anniversary date for the Revolution. I saw a whole bunch of little boys last weekend dressed in white clothing with big sombreros and bandoliers and wooden rifles and mustaches drawn on their faces with charcoal, etc.)
From El Tajin, I proceeded to the so-called Emerald Coast. I am now about 200 or 225 miles south of Tampico and about 60 miles or so north of Veracruz City. Monday night I stayed at one of the many trailer parks in this area. The fellow asked for 150 pesos and we settled for 120 (about ten dollars). The nearest Internet access turned out to be about a mile and a half away at the Italian Coffee Company, so I rode my bicycle down that way. Across the street I saw a "5th wheel" trailer and a big Ford F-350 parked in an empty lot. But there was a sign out front that said something about "camping" so I rode over and talked to the folks in the 5th wheel, since it was obvious that there was no one else to talk to. If this place turned out to have water and electricity, it looked as if it might be a reasonably-priced alternative.
It turned out that Alberto and Sherry, the couple in the 5th wheel, were very friendly and were acting as (more or less) "caretakers" of this property, which seems to be owned by a lady named Alma. But she is renting it to a fellow named Antonio, who is planning...something (but it's not really happening at the moment). Anyway, I've made arrangements to spend a week here for what seems a reasonable price of about forty-two dollars (500 pesos).
So life is pretty good. I'm 25 steps from the beach, I've got electricity, Al and Sherry invited me over today for Thanksgiving Dinner, there is internet access right across the street, my blood pressure is 117 over 72, and so forth and so on.
My most serious problem is that my bicycle tire has worn out from old age and I cannot find a replacement. I'm not sure if I've reported on this yet, but replacement tires seem to be unavailable because my bicycle is too old and my rims are larger than modern-day 26-inch rims. But my new friend Agustin has suggested that I buy a new set of rims and tires to use while I'm in Mexico, saving the old rims for when I get back to the US and can get proper "Schwinn" replacement parts. This seems like a sensible suggestion, provided I can find reasonably-priced rims (which, if I can find a used bicycle for sale, might even come with tires and tubes included).
I will keep readers updated on progress in this area. It seems to have the possibility of developing into a situation at least as complicated as last year's "pocket-watch repair" story and week-long quest for the woven coconut-palm-leaf sombrero!
Here are a few pictures from El Tajin.
Domingo, 21 de noviembre, que llegó sobre la una y media de la tarde en las famosas ruinas de El Tajín, cerca de las ciudades de Poza Rica y Papantla en el estado de Veracruz. El Tajín, si no recuerdo mal, estaba en su altura de cerca de los 900 días del año hasta el 1200 o así, o hace mil años. Los indios totonacas locales llaman a sí mismos, y su lenguaje es lo suficientemente cerca de náhuatl y Te'nek para que puedan comunicarse con personas que hablan esos idiomas. Estos son los tipos que se suben a los postes altos y giran alrededor de las cuerdas, cuatro de ellos a la vez. Usted probablemente puede ver los videos de este en YouTube, si usted está interesado, mediante la búsqueda de "Voladores de Papantla", aunque no he hecho yo mismo modo.
De todos modos, El Tajín es un sitio muy grande arqueológicos, con un montón de grandes pirámides, la más famosa de las cuales es la "pirámide de los nichos", que se reconocen de la fotos. Esta pirámide fue pintada de rojo en los viejos tiempos y los 365 nichos estaban pintadas de negro.
El domingo, decidí que tal vez sería mejor esperar hasta el lunes para visitar las ruinas porque pensé que podría ser más frío en la mañana. Gran error! Los mexicanos astuto no me dijo que la entrada es gratuita los domingos. Al día siguiente tuve que pagar 51 pesos, mientras que el hippy de Canadá y el chico danés que había pasado también la noche en el estacionamiento se puso en forma gratuita, ya que tenían 60 años o más! (No estoy seguro acerca de sus esposas, si son sesenta años de edad, o que admitir que incluso si lo fueran.)
Las cosas salieron bien, sin embargo, porque tengo algunas fotos bonitas de las estructuras sin un montón de gente que bloquea la vista. (Había muchos turistas, muchos mexicanos en el sitio el domingo, tanto por la admisión libre y podría haber habido algún tipo de evento especial en marcha, también, porque el fin de semana - Sábado, 20 de noviembre - era, yo m bastante seguro, una fecha de gran aniversario de la Revolución. vi un montón de chiquillos pasado fin de semana vestidos de blanco con grandes sombreros y cananas y fusiles de madera y bigote dibujado en la cara con carbón vegetal, etc)
De El Tajín, que procedió a la llamada Costa Esmeralda. Ahora estoy cerca de 200 o 225 kilómetros al sur de Tampico ya unos 60 más o menos al norte de la ciudad de Veracruz. lunes por la noche me quedé en uno de los muchos parques de casas móviles en esta área. El hombre pidió 150 pesos y nos decidimos por 120 (unos diez dólares). El acceso a Internet más cercano resultó ser alrededor de una milla y media de distancia en la Italian Coffee Company, así que me fui con mi bicicleta por ese camino. Cruzando la calle vi a remolque de una rueda º 5 "y un gran Ford F-350 estacionado en un lote vacío. Pero había un letrero en el frente que decía algo acerca de 'camping', así que pasó por arriba y hablé con la gente de la 5 ª rueda, ya que era evidente que no había nadie más con quien hablar. Si este lugar se volvió a tener agua y electricidad, parecía que podría ser una alternativa a precio razonable.
It turned out that Alberto and Sherry, the couple in the 5th wheel, were very friendly and were acting as (more or less) "caretakers" of this property, which seems to be owned by a lady named Alma. But she is renting it to a fellow named Antonio, who is planning...something (but it's not really happening at the moment). Anyway, I've made arrangements to spend a week here for what seems a reasonable price of about forty-two dollars (500 pesos).
So life is pretty good. I'm 25 steps from the beach, I've got electricity, Al and Sherry invited me over today for Thanksgiving Dinner, there is internet access right across the street, my blood pressure is 117 over 72, and so forth and so on.
My most serious problem is that my bicycle tire has worn out from old age and I cannot find a replacement. I'm not sure if I've reported on this yet, but replacement tires seem to be unavailable because my bicycle is too old and my rims are larger than modern-day 26-inch rims. But my new friend Agustin has suggested that I buy a new set of rims and tires to use while I'm in Mexico, saving the old rims for when I get back to the US and can get proper "Schwinn" replacement parts. This seems like a sensible suggestion, provided I can find reasonably-priced rims (which, if I can find a used bicycle for sale, might even come with tires and tubes included).
I will keep readers updated on progress in this area. It seems to have the possibility of developing into a situation at least as complicated as last year's "pocket-watch repair" story and week-long quest for the woven coconut-palm-leaf sombrero!
Here are a few pictures from El Tajin.
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