In my blog yesterday I mentioned tricis. As the name suggests, they are a type of tricycle and are much used here. Picture a backward tricycle, that is, with the back part being like a normal bicycle (the handles, seat, and back wheels) and the front having two wheels the same size as the back wheel. Between the two front wheels is usually a wooden platform- type structure which can be used to transport various things. Sometimes there is a bench on the platform on which people can sit. These tricis are known as trici-taxis, and it is not unusual to see people being wheeled about town in one. Although taxis are cheap (a standard fare of about $1.00 to be transported anywhere about town), I imagine the trici-taxis are even cheaper for those who would have trouble affording the $1.00. The tricis are also the common vehicle of the street vendors, which I hadn’t mentioned previously. Many of the street vendors have their own “sounds” to announce their pending arrival so that anyone who may need what they’re selling has time to get to the door or window and call to them. The ice cream man has a metal bowl-type object attached to his trici, which he strikes with a metal rod, making a clanging type sound. The man who sells breads and pastries claps his hands. The man who brings water has a horn, not unlike the old bicycle horns that some of us grew up with. (An aside here. I’m told that the water here is drinkable because it’s treated, and that some people do, in fact, drink it. The favored drink here seems to be soft drink, but most people do buy drinking water to keep in their homes. It’s sold in 20-liter containers and costs about $1.50. Most of the little corner stores also carry it, but, for people like me, it’s too heavy to carry, whereas, if I call to the vendor, he’ll just stop, carry the water in, put it where I want it, and take the old bottle away. It’s much easier that way.) There are also those who do not actually ride through the streets selling their wares, but have special places where they set up shop, so to speak. Outside the schools at closing time, for example, there are people selling things like oranges, peanuts, and other snack-type items to the hungry students. In the evening there are a number of them around the park selling various things to eat. Some people who are in business for themselves also use them to haul their materials to and from work. Many of them also have awnings over them so that the vendors are shaded from the sun or rain while riding around.
Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to experience a “Quinceaños”. For those of you who may not know, that’s when a girl turns 15, which is very special here. Most girls have a mass and a big party. The one I was invited to had the mass on Fri. evening. It was pretty much a regular mass, but the girl and her family processed in with the priest and sat in special seats at the front, apart from the rest of the congregation (not unlike at a wedding). At the end of the mass, the priest gave her a special blessing. Her party was the following afternoon, but was on a small scale. Many families rent one of the “locales” and invite hundreds of people (again, not unlike a wedding), but hers was just a small family dinner at home. She wanted to take a trip rather than use the money for a party. The family was all dressed up and there were decorations and a fancy cake. It was all very nice.
The following day I had a surprise outing. I had been invited to have breakfast at the house of some friends. When I got there, they told me that their brother and his family had arrived from Cancun the night before in his father-in-law’s truck and that we were all going to go to Ek Balaam, an ancient Mayan city, which has fairly recently been excavated and was only opened to the public a year or two ago. Thirteen of us piled into the truck (yes, things are very different here) and drove to Ek Balaam, which is located less than 30 min. from Tizimin. It was one of those perfect-weather days – lots of sun, but neither too hot nor too cold. It was quite impressive to see the pyramids. I wasn’t going to climb the big one, but ended up doing so. I paid for it the next couple of days with sore legs, but I have to admit that it was worth the price. It was amazing being up there and looking all around. I might mention here that it is no longer permitted to climb the pyramids at some of the sites because of people having fallen and died. The climb is rather steep, the steps are irregular, and there are no handrails. And did I mention that it’s HIGH? There were also some smaller ones that we climbed. It had apparently been a walled city, and some of the pyramids served as watchtowers. Unfortunately, there still were no plaques or pamphlets explaining some of the structures or the layout of the city. There is also a cenote (an underground spring) about a mile away, but we didn’t have time to go there. Cenotes are very common here in Yucatan, however, and I expect to see a lot of them eventually.
Another thing I saw here for the first time last week was a mill. It just so happens that there’s one about a half block from my house, and the mother of one of my students works there. People had told me that there are two types of tortillas – flour and corn – and that the corn tortillas are pure corn. I thought I misunderstood somehow, because when I saw the “dough” they make the tortillas from, it looks like dough, not like corn. Last week I found out that I hadn’t misunderstood at all. The women buy raw corn at a special store, then take it home and prepare it over the candela (open fire). They then carry it in a bucket to the mill to be ground. When I say “mill”, it’s not like we would think of a mill, a large factory, at home. The mill here is one room, about 12′ x 12′, with a table to set the bucket of corn on, a counter with a scale to weigh the “masa” and collect the money, and the mill itself, which is relatively small. Some of you may remember the old meat grinders that people used to attach to tables to grind meat. Someone would feed the meat into the opening at the top, then crank the handle, and the grinder would feed the meat through, and it would come out as ground meat. The machines I’ve seen in meat markets to grind beef are similar. The “mill” is very much like that and is electric. The woman operating the mill gradually pours the corn into the container. As she pours it, she occasionally stops to add some water. When the “masa” comes out at the bottom, it has the appearance of dough, but is, in fact, pure corn that has been ground with a bit of water. This ground corn is called “masa”. The amount they pay to have the corn ground is based on the weight of the finished masa. The women then carry it home and make tortillas. If I remember correctly, I talked about making tortillas in one of my earlier blogs. They just take a golf-ball size piece of masa, place it on a small piece of plastic wrap (to keep it from sticking to the table), and form it by hand into the tortilla. They then place the tortilla on the comal (the pizza-pan type utensil they use to cook tortillas) over the candela (the open fire) and cook them. They sure beat the store-bought ones that we get at home. They are very popular here, because they are both filling and inexpensive. They also retain the heat for a long time, up to a couple of hours. The tortillas often serve as eating utensils as well. Instead of using knives, forks, and spoons, it is not at all unusual for people to simply tear a tortilla into bite-size pieces, a piece at a time, and use the tortilla to pick up the food. Talk about disposable eating utensils! And tortillas are far more environmentally friendly than plastic.
