The summer is not actually gone, but for bureaucratic purposes it is, and I am thinking of the next one. My plan is never to spend June and July here again — in New Orleans perhaps, but not in Maringouin, it is too hot and desolate and we have no Andalusian fountains. All speculations about how it would be more practical to stay home are false.
The cost of getting to Mexico is about 1/3 the cost of getting to Europe and the cost of rent there is about 1/3 the cost of European (or Californian) rent, and 1/2 the cost of New Orleans rent. Therefore if I do not want to go to the frozen Southern Hemisphere, I should go to Mexico — the city I always miss. It is less cute and more stressful than Europe and I have no friends there, but it is the best bet. There are all kinds of ceramics courses available, as well as a bookstore that is as good as a library.
I think Mexico, although less exotic than Germany or the Faroes, is more cosmopolitan than Madrid or Lima. I am not sure about Buenos Aires, but Buenos Aires does not count because I find it unpleasant — it is snobbish and it has no Indians.
And I am an Indian, of course, although I became a stela long before the term “Indian” was created, and am now a mere detail. I think I should go to Mexico and work and then mail most of my things home. Then I should set out for Guatemala, most specifically the Cancuen.
To get to the Cancuen by land from Mexico City I believe one would have to go first to San Cristóbal de las Casas. From there one could go to Palenque, then Bonampak, and then cross into Guatemala. It appears there is little public transportation in this area.
Have you been there? In the travel forums other people ask whether one can really take a bus from Palenque/Bonampak to Tikal/Cancuen, but I have not yet found an answer.
Axé.
coldhearted scientist وداد 