Special Edition!

-->

January 28

Merida, Yucatan

(Sanborns Restaurant)

Let’s fast-forward to yesterday, Friday, January 27.  I’ll catch you up on Catemaco, Isla Aguada, Campeche, and Uxmal later.  WiFi is harder to find down here than I was led to believe.

We left Uxmal yesterday morning for a very short drive of about 27 miles in route to the Hacienda Yaxcopoil.  This stop is not on the original itinerary, however the two nights scheduled for the Rainbow RV Park in Merida has been changed to one day.

The Hacienda (landed property) is located in the village of Yaxcopoil in the state of Yucatan.  Prior to the Mexican Revolution, this estate included about 22,000 acres of land that served as both a large cattle ranch and as a henequen (sisal) plantation.  Sisal, used to make rope, was a huge export at one time.  After the Mexican Revolution the Hacienda’s property was appropriated by the government and distributed among the people, reducing it to only about 3% of its former size.  The Hacienda has been in the current owner’s family since purchased by Don Donaciano Garcia Rejon in 1864.

The Hacienda is now operated as a parador (country inn) and museum.  It consists of the main building (casa principal), with spacious corridors, high ceilings, and original European furniture, and is surrounded by beautiful (and peaceful) gardens. There are two long water troughs for watering horses, one on each side of the wide front steps that lead up to the Hacienda’s front porch.  There is a large front yard with a huge shade tree located right in the middle of it.  This is where we parked the RV’s and camped overnight.

Now for the bad part.  Entry from the road to the yard was through a gate in the wall surrounding the Hacienda.  The gate was wide enough but required a little jockeying because the narrow road did not allow for a very wide turn in the motorhome.  I was about half-way through the gate with a couple of feet to spare on each side when suddenly the left-rear wheel dropped into a dip (it wasn’t really a hole), causing the coach to tilt (possibly better described as a “lurch”) over to the left just enough to come into contact with the concrete gate post.  I managed to scrape paint from an area about two feet long by six or eight inches wide on the left side of the coach.   Needless to say, it made me sick at my stomach.  Since I was one of the last coaches to enter the courtyard, many of my fellow travelers were watching and witnessed the whole thing.  But this is a great bunch of people and no one laughed or made any disparaging remarks (at least not to my face!).  In fact, everyone was very supportive and kind in their attempts to boost my deflated ego and spirit.

By the time we were all settled in our camp sites we still had about 3 hours before the owner toured us through the Hacienda and served us a very excellent dinner on the patio.  I decided that the best way to use the time before dinner was to forget about the close-encounter with the concrete gatepost and take a nap, which I did.  

The dinner outside on the patio was setup buffett-style.  Everything was home-made and excellent.  I would tell you what we had but I have no clue.  I can tell you that among the many dishes were two kinds of tamales, some mushed-up black beans, toastatas (I think), and for desert, some kind of candied squash.  All very good, which, along with the Mexican beer, helped me feel much better about what I had done to the motorhome.  I was also assured that I could have the paint repaired as good as new here in Mexico for a fraction of what it would cost in the US.  I’ll have to think a little about that.

Unfortunately, the next day things went from bad to worse.  It’s as though we have been cursed.  The drive from the Hacienda was another very short drive of around 25 miles so we elected not to tow the car behind the motorhome.  It’s a hassle to hook and un-hook.  Instead, Carol Ann drove the car and followed the motorhome and me to the Rainbow RV Park in Merida.  Only a couple of miles from our destination, Carol Ann was involved in an accident while driving through a round-a-bout (glorietta).  Another car exited the round-a-bout by crossing in front of her, but not quick enough to keep her from colliding with the other car’s side.  Fortunately, there were no injuries other than pride, but I was totally unaware of what had happened until I heard it announced on the walkie-talkie as I was lined up to enter the RV park.  There was nothing I could do until I could get inside and park the motorhome.  Once I did manage to park the motorhome, our Wagon Masters, Butch and Kathy, drove me back to the accident site.  The Tail Gunners, Tom and Kim, along with our Green Angel escort were with Carol Ann at the accident site.  By the time I arrived with Butch and Kathy, the man with whom Carol Ann had collided already had an insurance adjustor there with him.   A police officer was writing a report.  Butch called our insurance agent and within 30 minutes “our” adjustor arrived.  Everything was in Spanish with Butch and Kathy translating, but, cutting to the chase, the front-end of our car was in pretty bad shape, the tow-hitch was bent like a pretzel and a green liquid had leaked from somewhere under the hood.  The car was neither drivable nor could it be towed behind the motorhome. 

We left it in the care of the Green Angels and the insurance adjuster who was arranging to have it towed to the “nearest shop” (as stipulated in the insurance policy) for repair.  It will require 5 – 7 days (this is the weekend and it is Mexico, so that may be optimistic) in the shop.  We really had no choice but to have the repairs done locally.  The good thing is that we will be in the area for the next week; probably in Pamuul by the time the work is completed on the car.  Tom, our Tail Gunner, or David, one of our Green Angels will drive me back to retrieve the car.

Once we got back to the motorhome we elected to skip the bus tour of the City of Merida and allow our selves to unwind.  I didn’t think I was that traumatized from Carol Ann’s accident, but I must have been in pretty bad shape.  I paid $650 pesos (about $50 US) for a very colorful, large, mesh-net hanging chair from a vendor in the RV parking lot.

Later this afternoon, after I have regained my senses, I intend to walk over to the very large and modern mall located next-door to the RV park.  I have been told that free Wi-Fi is available there (I have heard that before only to be disappointed) and I hope to get this posted to the blog. 

When we get back to Texas we may have to consider both downsizing the motorhome and trading automobiles.  I’m pretty sure that once we do get home (about a month from now) that the motorhome and the car will both look as if they have been driven to hell and back.