Wet, bloodstained and no photos

I have to start by saying that im totally gutted today because I have discovered that my 1 GB memory card has a write error and I have lost all my photos from the last few weeks, including Chiapas and the Mayan ruins in Palenque, Bonampak and Yaxschilan. The digital revolution is not without its own pitfalls so the lesson I have learnt is to upload the photos to the net or to a USB drive more regularly if possible, but sometimes there aint no computers. Still, I am (relatively) healthy, happy and in FLORES, Guatamala - so I cant dwell on this small dissapointment. Im going to post a few stock photos so at least there are pretty pictures and you can see where I have been.



Palenque ruins

It was really interesting to experience what I call the skin hierachy in Mexico. There is a general rule that the whiter your skin is in Mexico the more social status you have. I was suprised when I first arrived by the television ads which almost invariably feature models with lighter coloured hair and skin, still with token latino features like the brown eyes but really looking very Spanish/European, and not anywhere near the vast majority of the Mexican population who buy the products advertised. I suppose its easyily argued that almost anywhere the faces and bodys we see on TV arent really realistic or representative of the majority (at least in perceived 'beauty'), but I really found this ridiculous and wondered why Mexican people didnt find this laughable or even offensive. But the power of these cultural and market forces is incredible. People really do asprire to look more like this, and you notice as you walk down the street as a whitey westerner, as least in cosmopolitan Mexico City, that you get a lot of lingering looks from both sexes! There are complex factors behind this I'm sure, including the legacy of colonialism which still exists as a power/status spectrum from the wealthy spanish/europeans -to the vast majority of mixed spanish/mexican- to the pure blooded indigenous groups which are generally the poorest and most socially disadvantaged. The power of advertising companies though to mould and manipulate peoples idea of what is beautiful still amazes me though! Its intersting because I actually find the indigenous peoples to be the most beautiful, especially the Highland Mayan communities around Chiapas. They are small stature but often have very beautiful faces, with incredibly striking facial features that are almost asiatic in appearance (Didnt the native peoples of America cross the land bridge fropm northern China and Siberia? Atfer failing anthropology at uni unfortunately my knowledge of human migrations is limited)



Yaxchilan

In San Cristobal I decided not to visit the local mayan villages in the area which are quite popular with travellers. The reason being is that the people apprantly dont like visiters coming, especially with cameras. There seems to be something uncomfortably voyouristic about walking around a small indigenous village and just looking at people sitting in front of their houses, or peeping your head through the church door to watch one of their church rituals (which I have been told are very interesting! They have some bizzare synchretic mixtures of tradition mayan religous belief with symbolic overtones of catholicism. Some sort of ceremony takes place in Chamula that involves chickens and that sacred amber nectar - Coca-Cola) Interestingly, in some mayan creation myths, the gods created and destroyed humans several times before they were happy with the result (the Maya of course!), so dont be suprised if these 'poor' Mayan villages look down on you as a kind of inferior missing link in the spiritual evolution of mankind. You can imagine how weird it would be if peoplr stopped and looked at you, taking photographs of you etc while you were at the supermarket doing your shopping or walking out to check your mailbox. I want to experience some culural immersion in the Mayan world but there must be a better way to do it.

The Mayan ruins of Palenque, Bonampak and Yaxchilan were quite impressive, I especially liked the Yaxchilan ruins because you really feel like your in a lost city as you scramble over mossy rocks and cut away the vines with your machete. Okay I didnt actually have a machete but it was slightly adventurous at least. You have to take a lancha (a small wooden boat) up stream along the Usumacinta river to get there, from the Mexico-Guatemala border crossing town Frontera Corozal. The ruins were surrounded by mist and it also started to rain, I slipped down the side of a Pyramid and got all cut up and fell on my ass (Jayde you would have laughed so hard! ... sweet revenge. Probably not the best idea to wear thongs everywhere but always rail against the tyranny of the shoe. So then I was walking around all soaking wet and covered in blood. This nice couple from Basque country in Spain took pity on me and ending shouting me to an expensive lunch with many beers, which was cool! Pity works well for the young cash strapped traveller ;)

I dont know how long attention spans are in these days of multi-media, multi-tasking ipod weilding gen y cats, so i'll leave it there for today and continue the story soon. I still have to tell about Joe Peacemaker, and the mysteries of the Mayan calender and the evolution of human consiousness.