Izamal is bathed in a delicious yellow the color of ripe mango. Coming here it is easy to see why it is deemed magical by the Mexican government. We hailed a cab and our quiet gentleman driver whisked us here across miles of scrubland forest and deposited us in the center of the yellow town.
We wandered hither and yonder picking our way over cobblestone streets, drifting in and out of stores, mostly taking photos. I was lost in a trance. Like me, my travel partner Suzanne prefers keen observation to talking. An invisible tether kept us connected even when our roaming took us out of sight of each other.
Once during the day I discovered a vast pyramid structure behind a museum of folk art. Like a magnet I was pulled alone to the back of the building and out through an open door, across a courtyard, up some crumbling stairs, through dense undergrowth, obvious ruins, and to a clearing of wild pink flowers and curling vines. Sometimes storybooks that live only on the inside make their way to the real world. That's what happened to me. I could have kept going, but my invisible tether brought me back.
Back to Izamal. Back to the Santo Antonio de Padua Convent, bulit atop an ancient pyramid where I was set loose again to comb the halls. This time the pre-columbian story replaced by 16th century Franciscan monks.
My imagination gallops across either terrain with quiet enthusiasm. My eyes registering shapes and colors I won't be aware of until months or years from now.
I want to stop and bow to each chair, each doorway, each peeling wall. And in my mind, that is exactly what I do.
Mérida is a lovely place. I'm so glad I came. I'm so pleased to have found an alternate travel partner for times when my sister can't tear herself away from her day job. My vague lackadaisical travel style would annoy most people. I'm pulled along by an invisible compass, the needle of which does not always point north. Fortunately Suzanne, doesn't seem to mind.
You knew a video was coming. Naturally it has nothing to do with my post. It's of yesterday's adventure. If I haven't already extolled the simplicity and ease of a Flip, I'd do it again. If you prefer convenience over quality, a more perfect travel video may not exist.
january 12, 2010 from MAM on Vimeo.
Fantastic photos!!! Thank for sharing your adventure.
Your photography is amazing Mary Ann. Did you study it by taking classes?
Thank you SOOOOO much for taking us along with you on this trip!!
x…x
I can easily see and feel why you like it there so much. Nothing can ground you like thousands of years of history in one place.
Gorgeousness! It looks like magic. You find the best places.
Will you please write a book in your spare time?
Thank you.
reminiscent of M. Night Shyamalan… but in a GOOD way. Bonne vacance.
Your post was a gentle breeze; lifting me to a quiet place and the video, was like having you open a window so I could peek outside and follow you along, a shadow, not really there but still present. I will miss these video journey’s coming to an end. Magical to say the very least.
I have no travel bug at all. Zero. But I don’t have to, not with MAM’s quietude-a-long travel films! (spokesperson not compensated for this advertisement)
My cat Wings and I enjoyed your video so much. She loved the bird sounds. So much color, texture, history and beauty.
Wish I was there!
These videos are so appreciated. They turn my head around and give such ease, it’s almost like taking a real vacation. Thank you so much.
Enchanting.
Deeply enjoying the shapes and stories you are seeing.
xxx
I love the way you travel….with no set plan. I grew up in Bangkok and my Mother was never a person with a “plan”. I got the best of Bangkok all those years as a result. I took my daughter to Paris last year and we never saw the inside of a museum. We took a picture of Mona Lisa with us and posted it in our hotel room so that we could always say….we saw Mona in Paris.