Friday, November 23, 2007

Car Trip 35

Our first destination, and only around the corner from our hotel, was the central plaza. This is where all the vendors and merchants are. The streets on all four sides of the square are blocked off on Sunday. One of the streets usually has a stage set up at one end for a band. Today was different. There was a stage at both ends of the street, creating a giant dance floor on the wide street between the two. When one band stopped, the other started. They just kept taking turns and also took turns in trying to outdo each other! But the most incredible part were the dancers. Just ordinary people. Old folks, children and everyone in between. All dancing like there was to be no tomorrow. It was great fun to stand in the park, which is higher than street level, and watch them. There had to be over 100 couples, if not more, crowded into the street. It was a teeming swirl of salsa dancing delight!

We had had that late lunch by Champoton and stuffed ourselves. None of us were particularly hungry so we did not feel the need for a giant dinner. Unless you call a huge slice of pizza a giant dinner! We got pizza and a Coke from a little hole in the wall for 14 pesos! About $1.30. Cheap dinner! We had had enough of the music, crowds and street vendors at this point. We all wanted to find some more discografia CDs and L thought he knew a street where they set up. Off we went, dodging through the crowds until we came out on the other side of the square and the going was a bit more peaceful. We never did find the street where they set up. Or maybe they just weren’t set up that Sunday. At any rate, L, who can smell an ice cream stand within a three block radius, decided he wanted some ice cream. Down a street we went, turned left and just a few doors down Voila! an ice cream shop! I don’t know how he does it, but I’m glad he has that skill! We bought our ice cream and discovered that we were not too far from our hotel. We strolled past a bunch of sidewalk vendors, sitting on the sidewalk with their merchandise spread out on blankets or whatever they had. Lots and lots of jewelry and the ever present folks from Chiapas, selling their hand woven and braided belts, shawls, tablecloths, hand decorated shirts and bags.

We very successful and adroitly avoided purchasing a single thing and decided enough was enough. Tomorrow we would be home. We just wanted to get some cold bottles of water to take back to the room and go to sleep. So that is exactly what we did!

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