The Nomads

Highly featured sandstone mountain...

Left Tlacotalpan, Mexico

Temp: 38 degrees C

Hazy & Hot

I visited Don Alavés at his home this morning before leaving, and he has agreed to make me a mandolin!

My only worry will be whether it will survive the shipping to Canada……..?

Off to Catemaco where we plan to wait out a large thunder storm which is currently hitting the southern end of Tuxtla State and Chiapas State.

Once the bad weather clears, the plan is to head for Palenque and the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza.

Meanwhile we will scout the local Olmec ruins which were some of the oldest in Mexico; Catemaco having been the center of the Olmec culture dating to pre-christian times.

We ventured off the beaten path tonight for dinner and ended up in a small, suspect looking taqueria/bar looking for local fare and had very good Torte Loca at the sidewalk table, BUT the treat was inside the building: Original very old sepia and black and white photos of Général Francisco Villa (Pancho Villa to most Americans) and his revolutionary army, as well as a group photo of a young Fidel & Raul Castro with a young Ché Guevarra and Fidel’s general Cienfuégo.…..and …. a collection of Mexican revolutionary war muzzle-loader rifles and pistols. The owner would not approve my taking pictures of the photos but did eventually allow me to shoot the Cuban Five! Unfortunately, the bad lighting and the advancing dusk conspired against my best efforts so I may have to resort to photo-editing to post anything acceptable.

The Zocallo was filled this evening with families and teenagers all out strolling in a carnival-like atmosphere of street vendors, balloons, clowns, food carts, and piped music, but we were “all in but the shoe laces” so we didn’t stay long and were back to the “Hotel Del Lago” on the Malécon by ten.

Catemaco is situated on a very large fresh water lake…