Becoming Mexico in Maruata
After riding for a few days over an endless amount of hills and enduring the unbearable heat, Jeremy was looking forward to some nice quiet relaxation on a quiet beach. After PV and Barra, he was in no condition to socialize or be with people in any way, shape or form. So coming into Maruata he wasn´t expecting much of anything other than a bunch of turtles laying eggs. So what did he find? Maruata just happens to be THE place to go for New Years Eve for all the young Mexicans around the country. What is usually a quiet Indian village the rest of the year, turns into a huge hippie festival for New Years Eve. Bongo-drumming, loud trance music, high school/college kids from the city and drunken debauchary take over. Hey- Jeremy is flexible. So he decides to stay for the New Year party and check it all out.
Now since he´s been traveling thru Mexico it hasn´t really felt like he´s been involved in Mexican culture or really mixed with the Mexicans all that much. Which is a little strange considering he´s half-way through the country by now. So being in Maruata, where there were few gringos, was an experience. Luckily, a Californian named Richie spoke good Spanish and was able to take over translation work for Jeremy. So staying here for about 3 days, Jeremy learned much more about these people below the border. A 19 yr old kid explained that Mexicans are very family-orientated and have a lot of national pride, and they hate gringos who come down here because they treat Mexicans as if they were only alive to serve them enchilladas. I can definately see that from some of the idiots I´ve met down here. But he also said most Mexicans don´t read enough so that´s why they have such a negative opinion about outsiders. And the indigenous people who live here are in much the same predicament as those in America, Australia and everywhere else in the world. Poor and working their asses off to live, their identities stripped away along time ago. Same shit, different country. And Mexicans love to litter. Even though they have more DO NOT LITTER signs per kilometer than probably anywhere else in the world, trash is EVERYWHERE. It´s crazy seeing the internal problems of a foreign country.
Anyhoo, Maruata itself was an amazing beach to have a party at. Candle-lit caverns and a full moon. Jeremy decided to wander around the beach from drum circle to drum circle looking to make new friends, but he found that it wasn´t easy. Not even an 'hola' from too many people. Most of the people here seemed to stay in there own groups, not trusting any outsiders, especially a gringo. But this was probably because they were young and too cool for school. Jeremy decided to just hang with the high school kids who wanted to talk politics and improve his Spanish. Anyway- it was an experience that had potential to be real mind-blowing, but was tampered a bit by the `what is this gringo doing at our cool festival?' attitude most people had. But it was still a side of Mexico he hadn´t seen yet. On a more grotesque note, Jeremy did manage to eat some cow tongue- but he highly advises against anybody trying this at home.
So anyway- it´s back to the basics. Getting up before sunrise, relaxing under the shade in a hammock during the afternoons and riding till sunset. Camping, riding and eating tacos. Just the way it should be. Later...
Now since he´s been traveling thru Mexico it hasn´t really felt like he´s been involved in Mexican culture or really mixed with the Mexicans all that much. Which is a little strange considering he´s half-way through the country by now. So being in Maruata, where there were few gringos, was an experience. Luckily, a Californian named Richie spoke good Spanish and was able to take over translation work for Jeremy. So staying here for about 3 days, Jeremy learned much more about these people below the border. A 19 yr old kid explained that Mexicans are very family-orientated and have a lot of national pride, and they hate gringos who come down here because they treat Mexicans as if they were only alive to serve them enchilladas. I can definately see that from some of the idiots I´ve met down here. But he also said most Mexicans don´t read enough so that´s why they have such a negative opinion about outsiders. And the indigenous people who live here are in much the same predicament as those in America, Australia and everywhere else in the world. Poor and working their asses off to live, their identities stripped away along time ago. Same shit, different country. And Mexicans love to litter. Even though they have more DO NOT LITTER signs per kilometer than probably anywhere else in the world, trash is EVERYWHERE. It´s crazy seeing the internal problems of a foreign country.
Anyhoo, Maruata itself was an amazing beach to have a party at. Candle-lit caverns and a full moon. Jeremy decided to wander around the beach from drum circle to drum circle looking to make new friends, but he found that it wasn´t easy. Not even an 'hola' from too many people. Most of the people here seemed to stay in there own groups, not trusting any outsiders, especially a gringo. But this was probably because they were young and too cool for school. Jeremy decided to just hang with the high school kids who wanted to talk politics and improve his Spanish. Anyway- it was an experience that had potential to be real mind-blowing, but was tampered a bit by the `what is this gringo doing at our cool festival?' attitude most people had. But it was still a side of Mexico he hadn´t seen yet. On a more grotesque note, Jeremy did manage to eat some cow tongue- but he highly advises against anybody trying this at home.
So anyway- it´s back to the basics. Getting up before sunrise, relaxing under the shade in a hammock during the afternoons and riding till sunset. Camping, riding and eating tacos. Just the way it should be. Later...
posted by Jeremy at 11:38 AM
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