We are off to Chicxulub ... the population of about 5,000 in the winter. Many homes and businesses seemed closed, abandoned even; but we learn that this little town and others near it are bursting at the seams and businesses open again for the season from April through the summer. The beaches and cooler gulf air here are especially popular with residents of the nearby city of Merida (population 1,000,000) where spring and summer temperatures can be over 40 degrees with high humidity.
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| Many of these towns are on just a spit of land with a lagoon on one side & the Gulf on the other side. |
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| Artists Impression of the Chicxulub Crater. From Wikipedia, first published by the NY Times |
For four nights this huge and lovely villa is ours a block and a half from the ocean, courtesy of our Mexican lawyer.
Within minutes of arriving we meet Canadians at a nearby villa and more boondocking in their RV at the end of the road, oceanfront.
Time here is very relaxing as there is little to do but walk on the beach and start a seashell collection.
We drive the 6 km to Progreso (pop 54,000), a port city founded in 1851 and hub for the little communities that dot the Yucatan coastline.
A cruise ship is in the first day we visit. One of about 4 a week so the little main street and Malecon are packed with people.
Progreso's world-class pier (6.5 km long) is the largest in Latin America. As well as cruise ships, it serves container ships, is a dockyard for shipbuilding and repairs and a yard for building oil rigs.
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| Photo Credit: YouTube |
We go back another day to visit with a couple we met in Grand Forks this summer while selling off our stuff. They have been renovating their water-front home ever since to accommodate two bedrooms for Airbnb.
Apparently, there have been strong Norte winds lately as is typical for this month. The waves of the Gulf are pounding into shore and the water and sand are churned to an unappealing brown hue.
It's hard to imagine this beach with its normal calm waters. This is the nicest beach we have seen since leaving Tulum, but not nearly as nice as Tulum's beaches (when they are free of Sargasso).
Walking the streets of Progreso it's clear that this place has most of what anyone would need to live comfortably.
We also notice that unlike most Mexican towns, there is no garbage lying about. Locals tell us that the newly elected mayor wants cruise ship passengers to get a good impression of his city, so he made it illegal to litter, punishable by 3 days in jail if caught. If true, this 'stick' is clearly working.
We discover a second-hand store here and go shopping. We end up with a little plant stand for the deck, some books in English and a Talavera vase. On the main drag, we find a lovely shop and spend some time talking with the owner, a very creative jewellery artisan. From her, we buy a big colourful, lidded basket for laundry, a small one for the seashells (made of sisal) and a hand-embroidered pouch.
One day to pass the time we drive to Chelem and Chuburna to look around. We get caught up in getting a couple of artisanal things for the condo in Tulum and don't make it to Sisal.
The growing of the plant for sisal, the manufacture and the use of goods was important in the Yucatan, so I need to learn more about it. Sisal is a species of agave native to this region (but also naturalized in many other parts of the world) that makes a very stiff and durable fibre that can stretch and is used to make things like rope, twine, carpets, shoes, cloth, footwear, hats, bags and more. Each leaf of this plant has 1,000 fibres and each plant produces ~250 usable leaves over its 7 to 10-year lifespan. The plant has a long blooming period so it is important to honey bees. It resists deterioration in saltwater.
And yes, it can be distilled to make a tequila-like liquor. There are environmental pros and cons of this crop. It needs no fertilizer and virtually no pesticides, but native trees were cut down to plant it. Sisal is considered to be an invasive plant in Hawaii and Florida.
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| Photo Credit: Wikipedia |
Soon enough its time to move on to Merida, the cultural capital of the Yucatan where we will celebrate both Christmas and New Year's Eve.
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