Tuesday, October 18, 2005

In the morning we got up too late to take the 7:00 am combi, which we expected, but also too late to take the 10:00 combi. We had slept restlessly in Santiago Ixcuintla.

The room was full of bugs of all description and that kept my guard up. The air conditioner had kept us tolerably cool, but sounded like someone was mowing the lawn around our heads. Sometime during the night Michael, who's always adorably confused in his sleep, wanted to pull the threadbare top sheet over himself but instead managed to burrow his way under the fitted sheet and onto the bare mattress. When I noticed that, I had to wake him and tell him. Once he believed me he was horrified and had to fix it, and our sleep-clouded dismay kept us awake for a while. But even a room like that cools a bit towards morning, and the cooler air plus our exhaustion caused us to fall into a deeper, better sleep, and that's why we missed the 10:00 am combi.

We packed and left the room. They asked us if we'd be back, and I said I didn't know. Truthfully, I hope we don't go back to Santiago, though we may have to as a part of coming back from Mexcaltitan. The town itself is wonderful and we both would have liked to stay longer, but the accommodation choices are not good at all.

We got some fresh pastries and some drinkable yogurt for breakfast, with the intention of eating in the lovely old town square, but all the good shady spots were taken. With no other option, we had to sit in the broiling sun and sweat and eat. I'm a little tired of being hot. The pastries were wonderful though.

We had found out the previous evening what a combi is (van) and where to catch them, so we went to the combi station. The loading and departure of the combis is very low key, and one really has to be in the know to get the right one. If Michael hadn't been so persistant, we would have missed the noon combi as well.

The van had been fitted with seats running along the sides, rather than the forward-facing seats I am used to in a van. It wasnt too full, and I thought that was good, but we made another stop and thats where most of the others one were waiting.

At the second stop, the driver almost backed over a man sitting on the curb. The man scrambled to collect is crutches and hobble out of the way of the van. Michael yelled out, Ay, cuidado! just in time. (Yes, he said "ay") Then they started piling things into the combi, between the rows of us. Coolers, fish from the smell of it, and buckets holding huge blocks of ice. More coolers were lashed to the top of the vehicle and then everyone piled in, the music started and we were off.

Thankfully once the combi got outside the city, the breeze of our motion cooled us, and the ride was uneventful except for when we had to slow down and cleave our way through a herd of cows.

The collectivo lancha (small boat with an outboard motor) was waiting to meet the combi at La Bantanga. There was a small flurry when Michael and I boarded, and a couple of women insisted on giving us pieces of cardboard to put over the scarred wooden benches before we sat. They said the seats were hot. I appreciated their thoughtfulness, but I also felt a little funny about it. I mean, do we really look too delicate to sit directly on a bench?

There was an orange tarp stretched over a frame to shade us, and as with the combi, once we started moving, the breeze was wonderful. We wended through a channel bordered by mangroves and other bright greenery, while stark white egrets fluttered clumsily out of our path. The water was muddy brown below us, but appeared blue in the distance, or green in the shade of the mangroves. Occasionally we passed through small openings in what appeared to be wooden fences in the water. It was wonderful. Transportation that's an experience in itself.

It was about fifteen minutes to Mexcaltitan, a tiny island that some belive is the original homeland of the Aztecs. The original name was Aztlan, which means Place of the Egrets, which makes since, because the place was chock full of egrets. When I say it's a tiny island, I really do mean it's tiny. Our hotel, the only hotel on the island, was on the opposite shore from the main dock, but this was only a three-block walk.

The disabled man whom Michael had saved from further disabling led us to the hotel even though there was no real need. He seemed to truly be doing it out of kindness, and not expectation of a tip. Those are the toughest moments, because people who are kind without expectation of reward are the people you most want to reward, but are also the most likely to be confused and/or offended by offers of money.

Our room is large, gum-free, and plastered smoothly white. It opens out onto a common balcony that overlooks the laguna. From the desk register, it seems that there have been very few guests checking in in the past year, and most of them Mexican. It is not The Spot, but it may be close.

HOURS IN A COMBI: .75

HOURS IN A LANCHA: .25

 

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Collectivo Lancha

Under way

Approaching Mexcaltitan (the green backpack is mine)

Some nice folks showed us our hotel on the map. It is a tiny island.

Boys playing marbles