When I say bizarre it’s more of a tragedy really, a Spanish church plonked on the top of a huge pyramid, this with a full view of one of the local temperamental volcanoes, Popocatépetl or more easily known as ‘Popo’ and Iztaccihuatl or ‘Izta’. According to one Aztec Legend, Popo was a great warrior who loved Izta. He went off to war and when Izta heard false news of Popo’s fall in battle, she died of a broken heart. When Popo returned to find his love gone, he vowed to always watch over and defend her. The shape of Iztaccihuatl mountain is that of a ‘sleeping woman’. It is also said locally, that when trouble is brewing in the world Popo becomes active
My Odysseun saga has taken me all round the Yucatan peninsula and further, on various road trips. In these times of adversity I think I can safely quote Sinatra and say ‘I did it my way’
OR, A MOUNTAINTOP ZAPOTEC CITY LINKED CLOSELY TO Teotihuacán and mitla
It’s huge, it’s Zapotec and it’s completely different to what I expected.
The Zapotecs were a sedentary culture living in villages and towns, in houses constructed with stone and mortar. They recorded the principal events in their history by means of hieroglyphics, and in warfare they made use of a cotton armour. The well-known ruins of Mitla have been attributed to them.
(I will write another post about the fabulous jade and gold discoveries, that are housed in Oaxaca Palace Museum. This is closed at the moment but I’ll be able to dig up some photos from before. I really need to write a bit more about the amazing Zapotecs)
Castrated man?
I had got up ready to go to the archaeological museum but its been closed. No signs on the door except the opening hours, and through the peephole a man informed me that they didn’t know when they’d open again to which I replied rather hotly I must confess well put a sign on the door then and change the bloody Google details. He said that’s a good idea I’ll put a sign on the door, as if he’d just thought of it. Yes some people have travelled thousands of miles to see these artefacts I whined. His beady eyes perused me as if I was mad. And sort it out on Google and your site this is the second time I’ve come here. He was making me cross and I felt as if he might just let me in if I kept banging on about it.
Alert: I’m having trouble in finding images so some will be of other gods just to enjoy the art! This will be corrected when I get back to the UK. I think that’s why others aren’t mentioned because they are so difficult to identify!
OR, LORD OF HEAVENS NIGHT AND DAY, OR GOD D.
Before deciphering the codices the gods were all given just a letter to name them. Now however we have their glorious and exotic definitions but they usually are referred to by their letters too hence God D (Mayan: “Iguana House”)
OR, FLYING FREE AGAIN JUST FOR THE DAY. MAKING DECISIONS AWAY FROM TULUM.
Been very unsure what to do next. Return to UK where my new house is finally ready, or go to Oaxaca or Veracruz. Both are far and really need to been part flight from either Merida or Chetumal. So I went for the second time yesterday to the french patisserie to work. It was a stroke of luck. Not only is Giles, who works there a like minded (we had a long political chat), but he came up with a site for me to visit that I’d never heard of, Ek Balam. The site of the pyramid of the angels. Thank god, a decent bit of nearby archaeology.
OR A NICE HOTEL AND A BIT OF A CALM DOWN AFTER POXY PALENQUE. Alert: Posting this hurriedly, had a dramatic fall, bash and crash in my studio on Sunday so have been busy with […]
ALERT ALERT ALERT:A WORD OF CAUTION. GOOGLE PHOTOS, mysteriously disappeared swathes of photos from all of my trip thus far. Then a few days later more vanished back to September 2020. This is happening to many angry people apparently. They do not respond with this complaint by a crowd of furious clients who have lost precious memories. The fact mine went in swathes was very odd too. Lucky I am an anorak on trips and download to an external hard drive but I don’t have any pre trip photos and videos from September. Warn everyone as it seems to be a huge problem and they don’t respond.I seem to have permanently lost all Christmas pics and am heartbroken.
OR TOUGH ROAD TRIP FINALLY GETS ME THERE!
Pyramid
Journey to Palenque was long, I’d downloaded a crazy series to binge watch for the six hours which just about kept me sane as they pull the screens most of the way down on the ADO buses and have tinted glass and all sorts so no window gazing just navel and Netflix gazing.
Although I had had a great time in the museums with the magnificent jade masks the day before, I had also had a drama at the bank after, and a miserable, bad dinner in the evening. I had drank the last of my six pack in my fluorescently lit room and felt glum and anxious about the following day. I was to be pleasantly surprised however.
An hour up the road with the collectivo is Edzna. Without Lariza at my hotel, I wouldn’t have known anything. She was excellent for the proper local information and knew exactly where to get what, and what was open. The other shitheads were full of false info. Despite the hotel being eccentric, she was my rock.
