A stroll downtown

Ian came by early, and told us that he would not be able to take us to Sontecomapan today, so we had an unstructured day.

Marianne felt a little better so we took a stroll downtown. We found the traditional type mercado, with lots of small shops in a large building. Marianne bought embroidery thread, needle, and pattern, to keep her hands busy.

We stopped in a hotel to ask prices for the upcoming article, and learned that Mel Gibson had been there. Marianne asked the girls there if Mel was handsome; they giggled and agreed that he was.

We stopped by the church to request a mass be said for Liz and the birth of Nicolette's child, but the office was closed. We were told to come back in an hour; we did, and it was still closed, despite the posted hours saying that it should be open. We sat down in the church, and watched a steady stream of people walk up to the statue of the Virgin de Carmen, take a bouquet of flowers, make the sign of the cross, and then rub the flowers over their body, in a kind of ritual cleansing. Richard asked one man what people were praying for. He told Richard that you ask for something in your heart, tell no one what you asked for, and then wait to see what happens. He was from Mexico City, and told us that the statue was miraculous.

We stopped at a cafe on the plaza for a coke, and noticed a large gathering of people surrounding a variety of items on display. It turned out that this was a municipal economic development program. The tables, stoves, microwaves, etc., were to start restaurants for ecotourism. They also gave out bags of fish food, for aquaculture. One of cities benefiting from that program was Las Margaritas, at the end of the road on the other side of Lake Catemaco. A big ceremony to publicize the government program, presumably to help the politicians in future elections. The men standing behind the kitchen equipment are the municipal council, most of them introduced with the titles of doctor or engineer. The title engineer carries quite a bit of weight in Mexico, and is often put in front of the name, like one would do with the title doctor.

The sign below advertises a magic shop, the Chaman (Shaman). They offer Tarot card readings, amulets, cleansing, etc.

Monique's car returned, but it would not start. It turned out to be a bad battery. The bad battery diagnosis was confirmed by the electrical specialist, the brother in law of the mechanic. But in the meantime we tried to push start the car, and had a lot of men standing around scratching their heads. We think that the car will be fine, with the new battery and new clutch.

Talking to Gene Gaudi, I mentioned that the only Gaudi that I knew was the famous architect from Barcelona. It turns out that Gene is related, a great nephew of the famous architect! We have been to see some of his amazing buildings in Barcelona, and were very surprised that our host is related to the architect.