Tulum 2024 - Lucky Traveler

 Without the distraction of t.v. and the internet one has time to ponder and self reflect. The name of my blog is luckytraveler57, the 57 a reference to the year I was born. The name refers to my good fortune in seeing many special places at special times. Witnessing the eastern bloc countries of Europe during the soviet era, walking the outside perimeter of each floor of the leaning tower of Pisa, climbing the pyramids of Chichen Itza and walking, as countless others have over the centuries, across the floor of the Parthenon, these last three activities are no longer allowed. 

I like to think of myself as a traveler rather than a tourist. I don't desire to lie by a pool or on a beach, I have a beach at home. I long to see, to smell, to taste, to feel my surroundings. These are the things that satisfy my curiosity and enrich my soul. 

I am getting older, there is no denying age, but, as long as I am able, I wish to keep traveling. 

Tulum 2024 - Lost Opportunities

Most would assume one would return from Mexico with a fresh tan, a few souvenirs and memories of lying in the sun either poolside or on the beach. Most would not assume that one would return from Mexico with a heightened awareness of and sense of outrage at social injustice. That one would return with anger over man's inhumanity to his own species, and yes, a fresh tan. 

My anger and sadness stems not only from sympathy for those affected by poverty through no fault of their own but also from frustration with what we, as a world community, lose as a result of man's greed. How many potential contributions are we denied from artists, writers, dancers, or great minds because the people that possess these talents are mired in poverty? Because their struggle to survive day to day leaves no time or energy to discover and develop what lies within them?

While it is true that some have managed to rise from poverty to create great work these are the exceptions. We can never know how many opportunities have been lost. 

Tulum 2024 - Airport Trials and Tribulations

 I woke up a little after 6:30 thinking I would lie in bed awhile playing games or doing crosswords on my phone before getting up, showering and preparing to meet my 8:40 cab to the airport, only to discover that we were experiencing another blackout, the third since my arrival. A glass wall in the bathroom allowed in some morning light but the water pressure in the shower was almost non existent. I splashed water on myself as best I could and used my phone on flashlight mode to ensure everything had been gathered up. I was apprehensive about wearing down the battery as I had almost 19 hours of travel ahead of me, including a 6 hour long layover in Guadalajara. Fortunately the power returned, I refreshed my phone battery and sat in the courtyard writing and listening to the tropical birds carrying on conversations in the trees overhead. 

With the misadventures already encountered on this trip I phoned the cab company to verify my driver was enroute. He showed up moments later and I was on my way to the airport. The driver wound through  poor neighborhoods like the ones I had encountered on my bike ride. That life that exists in the city under the thin veneer of fun and sun that most tourists experience. New, upscale apartment buildings were being constructed adjacent to some of these areas. The thick foliage is covered in a layer of construction grime. When NIBY minded residents begin to move in to these newly built units I wondered what would become of those who scrambled for a living before they came. Where will they go? 

You would think fate, or karma, would be done with me at this point, you would be wrong. Most seasoned travelers know to check their flight status before leaving for the airport. Without internet this was an impossible task.. Add to this that I had preordered a taxi so even had I known what lay before me there would have been little I could do. I got to the airport and discovered that my flight had been delayed one hour. Further to that, the airport is so new that there were few amenities up and running yet. I had budgeted so that I would be out of pesos after the taxi figuring I could use my credit card at the airport, I was wrong. The scant few food and beverage options were cash only. 

We always travel with a high energy trail mix so I could keep my hunger sated, thirst was another matter. Again, there was no cart service on the plane so I sat, dehydrating by the minute, longing for the airport at Guadalajara and at least a modicum of civilization. 

Tulum 2024 - Monday Madness

 The hotel manager was supposed to help me order a cab for the airport. He had a dentist appointment in the morning and said he would be around in the afternoon. By 1:30 there was no sign of him. He was sweet but in somewhat over his head and at 34 seems to have the aversion to hard work my generation took for granted. I realized I would have to take matters into my own hands. 

As the hotel was still without internet I went into the plaza and stood close enough to a restaurant to enable me to steal their Wi-Fi, sign on to Google and find the number for Tulum taxis. Fortunately upon dialing the number I immediately connected with someone who spoke English. He switched our conversation to WhatsApp, no one seems to speak directly to each other anymore. and I was assured that a driver would meet me at the hotel entrance the following morning at 8:40 and get me to the airport where I would fly home and return to civilization. 

I wiled away the afternoon. I began a Mark Twain novel on my Kindle having finished the Jules Verne novel I had been reading, there was no t.v. , no internet, I was pretty much the only person on the hotel grounds, there was nothing to do but read and write. I went to lunch, I went to dinner, using both opportunities to suck up Wi-Fi like an internet sponge. At lunch  I wrote another scathing email to Aeromexico regarding my lost luggage.

The hotel manager appeared late in the afternoon to register two new guests, and, once again, the power in the area went out. It was then that I told the manager he might want to let the two new guests know that there was no internet or t.v. connection, in fact hadn't been any, as I reminded him, since the blackout of Friday afternoon. He told me outages were becoming more common as construction increases in the area. If they are overtaxing the grid now what will happen when there are people living in the new units being built?  Someone with dollar, or rather pesos, signs in their eyes seem to have not though this one through. 

Tulum 2024 - Kevin the Bike Rental Guy and Others

 One of the nicest people I met on the trip, most people I met were friendly, courteous and helpful but one that stood out, was the proprietor of the bike rental shop. I mentioned him in a previous post. His name was Kevin, which I found rather anglicized for Mexico, or Argentina for that matter, where he was born. He wore a genuine grin which never left his face. He shared with me the emotions of his pet parrot, the bird is apparently extremely protective and jealous, even of his wife. The parrot sits on it's perch outside the shop most days, not accustomed to flying the act wears him out quickly. He uses a hose, not directly but indirectly, to occasionally mist the bird who spreads out his wings to absorb the cooling water. They are like father and son. Our conversation, regarding truly nothing, lasted over half an hour. I found myself thinking what a delightful lunch or dinner guest he would make. 

Then there were Gustavo and Patrick, the two guys that run the small hotel. Kind, gracious, more than helpful with my struggle with the lost luggage. I could, and have, done worse with hotel guesthouse hosts. 

There were the smiling and attentive waitstaffs in restaurants, the young guy at the rock shop, who offered to hold my selections until I returned from looking at other options. The waitress at the restaurant I ate at during the Friday blackout, asking to ring my meal early since they didn't know how much longer they would have the capability to do so and explained the limited beverage options. When I returned the next day she recognized me and said "Today we have power. our full menu is available." I enjoyed a delicious, rich smoothie and a panini the size of my head. It made both lunch and dinner that day.

Encounters with the people that live and work in the places you visit can make or break a trip. This trip, for other reasons, was a little broken, they helped mend it.

Tulum 2024 - Life Experience

 Life, as I view it, is a series of experiences, some grand, some small, some under our control, others not. One morning I left my room and sitting on a stool in the courtyard heard the strains of Dave Brubeck's Take Five. I was transported, for a few moments, to that special place only certain pieces of music, certain artwork, certain plays or movies, certain sounds or sights can take us. The call of a bird can reach us on an almost primal level. Ocean waves can elicit either soothing solace or paralyzing fear. Thunderstorms can amaze the senses while simultaneously shaking our inner core.

Sitting in a cooling tub on the top deck of the hotel can relax, riding through a shanty town on dirt streets surrounded by poverty I experienced feelings of sympathy and compassion for those who live there as well as frustration and anger at those that allow it to happen. Good, bad, grand, minute, these are all part of the grander experience of life. 

Enjoying the food, I have never had a moment of culinary disappointment in Mexico, is an experience. Savoring the sharp, crisp tang of a good, dry white wine while dining al fresco in March is an experience, a part of the whole. 

Lost luggage is a negative experience. Working through it and solving the day to day problems it's disappearance caused, is a positive one, a reaffirming of my ingenuity and resilience. 

Hopefully there are many experiences in the future, I look forward to each of them and wonder what each of them may teach me.

Tulum 2024 - Not My Cup of Tea

 I have had the good fortune to travel extensively throughout the western hemisphere. Since I was a tween my parents were both teachers leaving us entire summers to sojourn. One summer we set out from California, where we lived at the time, and drove across the U.S., up the eastern seaboard, into southern Canada and back. I was perhaps 12, old enough to have memories of the sights we experienced. 

At 15 we struck out again, flying to Brussels and driving, without an itinerary, through Europe. It was 1973. We visited, among other places, the then eastern bloc countries of Bulgaria, Romania, my mother was a big fan of gothic horror, and the various countries that at the time were consolidated under Tito as Yugoslavia. While Yugoslavia had maintained a certain level of autonomy in those years, thanks to the political savvy of Tito, Bulgaria and Romania were still under heavy Soviet influence. I will forever be grateful to have experienced that moment in history, with due respect to the hardships of the people that lived there at that time. 

A friend of mine once described me as the most curious person she knew. Seeing the Coliseum, Eiffel Tower, the home of Anne Frank in Amsterdam, walking across the slick marble floor of the Parthenon at that young age excited my teenaged mind. It created a desire to see and learn more. For many of my adult years financial constraints prevented me from satisfying this curiosity in terms of travel. But that time is behind me and I can now, within limits, explore the world.

I do not regret my visit to Tulum, I have made it my motto to not regret anything in my life. Even hardship will endow you with knowledge and wisdom if you are open to receive it. The frustration with Tulum is the same frustration I had with Cancun, I flew there once on a buddy pass when my sister was a flight attendant, there is virtually nothing to see or do. On the trip to Cancun the high point was a day trip to Chicken Itza, which sparked  my interest in Mayan culture. In Tulum, with the exception of the ruins, doing nothing seems to be the point. I consider that pointless. It is fine for some but not for me. 

Tulum 2024 - The Ruins

My purpose on this trip was to visit the Mayan ruins at Tulum. It is my understanding that they are the only ruins adjacent to the sea. They have been a bucket list item of mine for years. 

I once again, despite it's behavior the day before, put my trust in GPS. I had to access it from the plaza due to the internet woes at the hotel. I bicycled down wide, loud roads awash in traffic, then continued through parking lots and past innumerable souvenir shops till I reached the entrance to the national park and then the ruins themselves. 

The sight as I stepped through the arched opening of the wall which surrounds the ruins left me breathless. On a summit overlooking the sea rises the most impressive of the ruins, the Castillo. Across a large plain are spread the remains of other structures, walls, columns, sometimes nothing more the a short line of rocks, the foundations of buildings long gone. The flowers were brilliant. A couple of iguanas scuttled about. I could feel the souls of  the people that had once populated this place. Their lives, their work, their worship.

Worship is born of curiosity. It is a trait that humans have possessed since our history began. Curiosity is what advances us, it gives us the drive to look beyond what we know and discover what we do not. It can be used to produce empathy, to try to understand what others are feeling and how we can relate to them as part of the human family. The ruins were once brightly painted. Humans also seem to share a desire for beauty, for the visual stimulation which activates and excites the imagination. 

The sun bleached gray and white of the ruins were juxtaposed against the blue of the sky and the ocean below. Waves crashed and eddied around a large rock which protruded from the sea just off shore. I gazed out over the water. I thought of the 16th century Spanish, sailors looking at the city on the cliff, as impressive as many in Europe at the time. I imagined the Mayans staring at the massive ships, their great sails filled with wind, moving towards the coast before retreating back to sea. I imagined the mix of curiosity and fear coming from both sides. The tangled thoughts and emotions emanating from contact with something previously unknown.  

Man is a creative and resourceful creature. The ruins of Tulum were built to be easy to defend. Upon first contact the Europeans thought of the Mayans as primitive yet they built great monuments, possessed an advanced knowledge and understanding of astronomy, developed a remarkably accurate calendar and had a hieroglyphic form of writing, most examples, unfortunately, destroyed by the Spanish. 

They had methods to clear the jungle and turn it into cropland. At other sites I have hiked back through thick foliage, once fields for food and flowers, to ruins now hidden deep within the jungle. I  have scaled pyramids and looked out over the scene beneath me. I have visited a salt trading site constructed next to an area of briny water. The water was placed in large cisterns on the waters edge. Once evaporated the remaining salt was gathered to be  used for the preservation of meat. 

Some will remark about the rituals involving human sacrifice practiced by the Mayans, turning a blind eye to the hanging and burning alive those accused of witchcraft and heresy in Europe at the time.  One of the reasons the Mayans were considered primitive was because they did not wear clothing. The area in which they lived can be incredibly hot and humid. I think of the Conquistadors, in their woolen clothes and metal armor and think "Who are the real fools in this game?"

 

 

Tulum 2024 - Internet Woes

 I awoke to discover there was still no internet. Several of us gathered around the table in the courtyard,  playing with our phones, frantically attempting  to connect, to no avail. During this a call came into the hotel manager asking me for an inventory of what was in my lost bag so they could electronically search for items that could be associated with me. There was a tag on the bag with my name, address and phone number, the tag is bright pink, it is from Eurorail,  apparently they felt that solution to locating the bag wouldn't be enough of a challenge. The number they gave me would not connect to Whatsapp, perhaps due to the spotty internet. I sent an email to the airline later in the day but to get it to go through we had to switch to another of the hotels wi fi codes and move to within about a foot of the router. 

Later in the evening I decided I would just lay in bed and watch t.v. which is when I discovered that they didn't work due to the blackout the previous day. I read, started with Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth, he was a master of the adventure genre, later moving to The Further Adventures of Tom Sawyer, at least my vacation reads weren't pulp novels.

I wake on Sunday, still no internet. By turning off airplane mode and turning it back on again, I could get connected, for a moment. I learned to catch up on emails, messages, Facebook and news during meals when I could use the restaurant's wi fi. 

It was not that long ago that we didn't have instant connectivity with virtually the entire world. We communicated by speaking to one another. Today it is a world of texting, bots and websites. The world as adapted to depend on a single technology and when it is disrupted it is difficult for society to function.

Tulum 2024 - Blackout!

 After cooling off I returned to my room to nap, a luxury I allow myself in semi retirement, I woke about an hour later. There was an audible crackle as the light within my sight in the bathroom went out. I assumed a bulb had just burned out. I was wrong. When I attempted to turn on the lights in the main room, nothing happened. I was soon to discover that the entire plaza, and who knows what else, had suffered a blackout, the first of three during my stay. 

I left the hotel and walked through the plaza. restaurants were closing, the proprietors locking their doors. The taco place I had planned to eat at was still open, albeit with a limited drink menu as they specialize in smoothies, which require electricity. I was asked to pay in advance as they were concerned about the power to run credit card transactions were the  blackout to continue. As I finished my meal the crew was pulling plants indoors and stacking the tables and chairs. Power was restored a couple hours later sans internet connection in the hotel, which remained unavailable for the remainder of my stay. Since the t.v. carried streaming platforms only there was also no television during the rest of my time there. I had my Kindle, at least there was that. I read alot.......

Tulum 2024 - Apparently GPS Had a Nit to Pick

 The 2nd morning of my stay I rented a bike. I would have it for 3 days. It was the last one the rental store had available. It was to become integral to the impressions of Tulum I was to take home with me. 

My adventure began. I rode to the park I had discovered the day before encountering, along the way. an iguana, its chameleon camouflage making it blend in with the pebbled walkway. The same beautiful blue birds flited through the dense trees.

 I had seen a rock store on my trip to Chedraui the previous day and decided to check it out. GPS got me there without issue and I shopped a bit. I had to be cautious, whatever I purchased would have to fit in the gym bag I used as a carry on in case my luggage never caught up with me. Fortunately the gym bag was underpacked on the way in. 

I put the coordinates for the hotel into GPS and headed back, or so I thought. There are no real landmarks in Tulum. Much of what you see there looks like everything else you see there. Somehow GPS forgot to inform me of a soft right turn and I became, in a word, lost. I found myself at the coastline. I would have enjoyed the sight of the light blue sea and proliferation of pelicans had I not had the anxiety of not knowing where I was. I did appreciate the cool ocean breeze as it was getting to be early afternoon and the sun was becoming increasingly hot and the air growing thick with humidity. 

GPS led me on a 2 hour long loop tour that afternoon. I bike frequently during the summer so, once again, I was up to the challenge. I rode down dusty highways abutted by jungle on either side. There was sporadic construction of new apartments and resorts. The edges of the jungle were filled with litter and the greenery was gray with dust in the areas of construction. 

GPS led me through an area of dirt streets lined with shacks and dilapidated, sagging buildings. Some of the houses had water reservoirs on the top of them as I assume that running water was a luxury. It is an area, and a reality , that most tourists will never see, even though it is no more than a mile or so from their hotels. The extreme poverty, juxtaposed against the relative luxury of the resort area, was heart rending. The worst poverty I have ever witnessed was on the island of St Lucia. This came a close second. The poverty on St. Lucia I witnessed through the windows of a tour bus. This I was confronted with first hand, out in the open. Reflecting upon it later it brought me almost to tears. 

Somehow I ended up back in the hotel zone, where I started. GPS informed me of the soft right turn this time and I arrived at the hotel. 

Water dripped down the back of my legs from my sweat soaked shorts. I immediately went to one of the small rooftop pools and immersed myself in the cool water. 

Tulum 2024 - How Chedraui Saved My Life

 It became clear by mid afternoon that there was little hope of being reunited with my missing luggage that first day. Tulum is hot and humid so wearing things several days in a row would have been uncomfortable verging on unsanitary. The hotel manager, sympathetic to my plight, suggested that I would be able to purchase a few basic pieces at a store called Chedraui. Prior to sending me a GPS link to it's location I returned to the bike shop to ask the nice gentleman if he could direct me to it or suggest an alternative. The Amazonian parrot now perched on his shoulder, nuzzling his neck with his beak, gave me directions just as the GPS map, sent by the hotel manager, appeared on my phone. 

It was a hike but I'm a city boy and walking most everywhere day to day, was up to the task. The walk took me through the hotel zone. Rows of pseudo rustic hotels and restaurants along either side of a wide, gritty boulevard. Two pairs of shorts, two tank tops with Tulum's name as part of their motifs, I wanted a tee shirt from the trip anyway, and a faux Hawaiian print shirt, in case I needed to cover my shoulders, were obtained at a fairly modest price. 

I took the long walk back to the hotel led by GPS. Dinner and bed was early, I had had enough for one day.

Tulum 2024 - The Defendant Would Like to State His Case

 There may be some, particularly those noting the comments which ended my previous post, that would remark upon the hypocrisy of my eco conscious views by pointing out that I have flown to many of the destinations I have visited. I would rebut those criticisms with these facts.

I live in a modest apartment in a midrise building. I do not drive or own a car. I walk, bike ride or use public transit for virtually all of my day to day travel. I live in an eco conscious city with an abundance of green space, much of it being returned to it's native prairie state. I do not eat red meat, only poultry and fish, as much as possible sustainably caught. I use my possessions until they are falling apart or lost by airlines. 

I attempt, in my day to day life, to mitigate my toil on the planet while still striving to see as much of it as possible. The defense rests.

 

 

Tulum 2024 - A New Dawn

 I woke up and laid in the comfortable bed in my room listening to the occasional bird calls emanating from the jungle thick trees which abound in this part of Mexico. Despite my luggage mishap life didn't seem so bad in the moment. 

So, with optimism which, I was to discover later was misplaced, I had a breakfast of a delicious Mexican roll, which reminded me of the Mexican neighborhood I had lived in in Chicago in my 20s and trips to the bakeries there, and a bowl of mixed fruit, donned my single change of clean clothes, shorts and a tank top, and set out to the local bike rental shop to investigate their rates. 

It was run by an exceedingly charming gentleman from Argentina. He, during our conversation told me, briefly, about his extensive travels though South America and Europe. I remarked on the beauty of the green parrot siting on a perch outside the shop and asked, as it was not caged, if it's wings had been clipped. He said he would not even consider doing that. The parrot was Amazonian and he had raised it from a chick when it had fallen from a tree. It was free to come and go as it pleased, never straying far, and always returned to it's perch outside the shop. The bond between the two was endearing. The bird, perched on his finger, played with the finger on his other hand as he wiggled it and nuzzled his face with it's beak. The man grinned from ear to ear,. the bird, were it able to grin, I'm certain would have been doing the same. He said about their relationship, "He takes care of me and I take care of him".

I strolled through the area and discovered a park which had been cleared out from the dense foliage. Beautiful blue birds flew about and called to each other from the virgin growth still left. It contained a thatched roof gazebo and a small playground. 

This area of Tulum, like much of the the city, was experiencing booming growth. Newly constructed and under construction low rise apartment buildings were ubiquitous./My concern was that too much of the jungle would be clear cut and stripped away leaving Tulum to resemble a Mexican version of sprawling, asphalt covered, U.S. suburbia. Certain places become what they are by the nature of their beauty and charm. Too often man, in the name of profit and greed, strips that beauty and charm away. Our desperation as a species has, in certain areas, devastated the beautiful and resource rich planet we have been gifted with. We, working together , must search for solutions and begin to repair what we have damaged over the centuries. We owe that to the generations that follow. 

Tulum 2024 - Getting There - Phase 2

 Went though immigration, customs, changed terminals with the help of an airport Porter, whom I tipped with U.S. dollars as I hadn't yet gotten to an ATM, rechecked my bag, a detail which will be addressed later in this post, passed through security without having to remove my shoes, a peculiarity of the over cautious U.S. TSA security procedures, and I was ready to begin the 2nd, and final, leg of my journey

A got a liter bottle of water, I was severely dehydrated from flying sans liquid intake, and a sandwich, which served to somewhat restore my sanity and humanity. We boarded. I discover, to my pleasure, that I have the extra luxury of a bulkhead seat. Considering what happened after I landed in Tulum it was only meager compensation. My seatmate, a thin gentleman of indeterminate age, who lives in the mountains outside of Mexico City, introduced himself and we conversed for much of the flight, He pointed out, through the windows on the opposite side of the plane,  a live volcano spewing ash into the sky. I took me back to our trip to Costa Rica where I sipped my morning coffee as we enjoyed a crystal clear view of the steam coming out of a vent on Arenal and the ash cloud still visible as we headed to the airport around a volcano near San Jose which had erupted during our stay.  

I had arranged for the manager of the hotel to pick me up at the airport and drive me to the hotel. He texted me that he is in the airport, I texted back that I am waiting for my bag....which never comes. I and a fellow traveler, both of us with next to zero command of Spanish, stood, stranded and bewildered. We are turned over to an airport employee, who possesses only the slightest command of English. We were taken to a desk where they can figure out where our luggage is. The hotel manager helps translate and we were told that I don't have a bag affiliated with that flight. Still, they assured us they would go to lengths to find it. 

As we drove through the jungle to Tulum there were roadside signs with the silhouette of a jungle cat, much like the silhouettes of deer which abound on signs in the forested areas of the upper Midwest. He also pointed out a rope bridge constructed to enable monkeys to cross the highway unscathed. 

As a former Boy Scout I am always prepared and have packed a change of clothes, toothbrush and toothpaste in my carry on so I can carry on for at least another day. I had dinner at a restaurant on the winding plaza the hotel is situated on , an excellent spinach and ricotta ravioli sprinkled with chopped walnuts and an acceptable Sauvignon Blanc, I sell wine and spirits for a living. I only wished I was more awake and less verklempt so could have enjoyed it more fully, then returned to the hotel, did a bit of  texting regarding the goings on over the long day and took to bed.  

Tulum 2024 - Getting There - Phase 1

 There is always a certain amount of anxiety about having to catch an early morning flight. As if waking up  in the wee hours doesn't mess with your circadian rhythms enough there is the anxiety about waking up on time, which screws up your sleep. 

I stumbled around the apartment trying to not wake the husband or the cat, as, so far as the cat is concerned, my being awake sets off his internal breakfast alarm. I nuked my mug of coffee, saved from the pot from the day before, and tried to realign my sleep deprived brain. Ordering an UBER I gathered my bags and headed downstairs. 

The flag in front of our building clanged against the flagpole as I waited outside. Late winter had been remarkably mild. At this hour the city was, comparatively, silent and serene. 

My driver is 8 months pregnant. Ever the gallant gentleman I insist on putting the luggage into the back of the SUV myself. The trip to the airport is uneventful, there was little traffic at that hour. When I arrived the airport itself was still half asleep, shops not open, the only coffee available was at Dunkin Doughnuts. There as a long line and I find the brew they pass off as coffee completely unpalatable so I went to the gate and waited to board. 

I have never before flown with the Mexican based airline Volaris. If I can help it I never will again. As I've stated in previous posts over time I am on the short side, 5'5", yet even my knees were an inch away  from the seat in front of me. The aisle is the width of a necktie, the plane was uncomfortably hot, on our 4 hour and 20 minute flight there is no cart service, there went my plans for getting coffee on the plane. The flight attendants go through the emergency procedures spiel and then sit at either end of the plane for the duration of the flight. That one of the attendants was somewhat cute was little consolation. 

There was a heavy haze over Mexico City as we land depriving me of the view of the sprawling metropolis, home to 22 million people, give or take 100,000. From the air the city is impressive, spectacular and formidable all at once. Having once spent a week there I felt as if I had only nibbled around its edges. 

Despite the flights shortcomings at least I arrived on time. I deplane to catch my connecting flight, thankfully on a different carrier. This is where things started to go awry, but more on that later. 

Gaydar - An Ellsworth Kelly Exhibition

 One of a great number of things I love about my life in Chicago is having a membership to the Art Institute and access to all the treasures it houses. I love having the ability to hop on a bus, my senior fare making it almost a free ride, and shortly be surrounded by some of the greatest art in the world. 

Aside from from displaying it's own vast and impressive holdings it also hosts special exhibitions, some large, some small, the give me the opportunity to experience work I might not otherwise get a chance to see. A number of years ago an unfinished Michelangelo sculpture was exhibited. The front was fairly complete, the back raw and rough, chiseling of the stone just begun. I felt as if I was treated to a complete primer on how the master created his works. Some of the works in these special exhibitions come from private collections; which has always set up a scenario in my head of a dowager inquiring of her maid "Did you dust the Van Gogh? What about the Monet in the 3rd floor guest bath?"; meaning, that unless you are considerably well heeled, I am definitely NOKD to such people, it is, again, a once in a lifetime opportunity to view them. For a period of time the museum had 2 large scale modern works on display, a Rothko and a Basquiat. They were on loan from a man while he completed his house in Florida. After it was finished he took them back. Some people are so selfish. 

So, on a day when I had not much to do, I went to see an exhibition of works on paper by Ellsworth Kelly. The Art Institute has one of his works prominently displayed in the hallway of the American Wing. I have never cared for it. I find it trite and pretentious. However, I learned long ago a single work does not give one an understanding of an artist's vision so I decided to give the exhibition a look. 

In the first gallery I was immediately impressed with the work I saw from the early part of his career. I was particularly enraptured by a close to life size self portrait of the artist as a young man. The second gallery contained sketches of predominately handsome young men. My Gaydar has never been the best but it suddenly went off. There was a subtle, sensual masculinity about the way the subjects were rendered. Handsome faces, rounded biceps bared by tee shirts with slightly too short sleeves. I took out my phone and googled Mr. Kelly. He was indeed gay, unabashedly so apparently. For several years he lived with fellow artist Robert Indiana. And, as if there were any doubt left regarding the sexual orientation of Mr. Kelly, in the third galley we come to the sketches of a bevy of shirtless, hunky, exceedingly handsome men. I almost felt as if I had been transported to a gay bar circa 1977.

His widower Jack Shears, who he was with for a number of decades, runs the Ellsworth Kelly Foundation, which loaned most of the works on display.  In 2023, in honor of what would have been Kelly's 100th birthday, the foundation made a number of donations, as well as gifts of works on paper, to several museums. The Art Institute received 25, many of which were on featured in the exhibition.

Before I left the exhibit I texted my longtime friend, who just recently retired from his position of doing installation at the museum, asking if he had seen it. He had and was as impressed as I. He went on to mention that he had once met Kelly when he had visited the Art Institute and described him as "super nice" with "no pretentions". I texted back 'I hate you."

Santa Fe 2023

 As I laid by the pool enjoying the September warmth on our last day I realized that if I lived here I would probably take on the hue of an acorn. I soaked it up knowing that I was returning to a Midwest fall. The colors can be glorious but as fall moves into winter I know I would be yearning for this come March or April.

We noticed a commitment to solar energy as we drove through the desert. In sunny climes this only makes sense. New Mexico is known as a fairly progressive, albeit somewhat poor, state. That being said, by the end of our stay I was about adobed out. It was difficult in town to discern what was  what was historical and what was not. The Governor's Palace is 17th century, the Art Museum early 20th. Yet both look as if they are contemporaries of one another. The Art Museum is built in the Pueblo Revival style, an architectural movement I was unaware of prior to this trip. In attempting to pay homage to the past the city, on occasion, succumbs to what borders on monotony. 

I have great respect for the ancient dwellings and public buildings we witnessed, in the city as well as Taos. It was illuminating to see the straw, that gave structural integrity to the venerable structures, mixed with the mud used to build them. To see the rough hewn wood beams, a simple yet effective way of holding up ceilings as well as the floors of multistory structures such as the 1000 year old Taos Pueblos. It was an impressive way of building with what was on hand and  I was intrigued with how effective those methods were at shielding people from the sometimes inhospitable climate. 

Traditions were evident. In many public buildings there were almost identical wooden buttresses at the ends of the ceiling  beams. Churches were simple as apposed to the gaudy showplaces of other house of worship I have visited.

 We witnessed the drop in temperature inside of the shops housed in the adobe homes in Taos Pueblo. We appreciated the large outdoor ovens, also created with the simple and somewhat primative yet effective adobe. 

The city of Santa Fe holds it's fair share of charm. But I am spoiled. I live in a living museum of architecture which spans the late 19th, all of the 20th and the first quarter of the 21st century. Sometimes I need a reminder of how fortunate I am. 

A Sunday in Santa Fe 2023

 As we sit down to breakfast church Sunday morning bells rang out across the plaza calling the faithful to worship. Despite their religious connotations, I have very mixed feelings about organized as well as disorganized, religion. it is a sound I have always loved. It brought to mind a moment the previous summer of bells pealing as I walked barefoot across the sand of my neighborhood beach in Chicago. Somehow the sound replenishes a portion of my soul depleted by the rigors of everyday life. 

After breakfast we wandered around a bit. I finally found a turquoise ring I liked that was within my budget. I had lost hope. Even the pieces spread on blankets on the sidewalks under the arcades being sold by Native Americans were pricy, what was in the stores was untouchable for one of our means.

We had a reservation for the Georgia O'Keefe museum later in the afternoon. We phoned to see if they could accommodate us earlier. They said yes so we walked over. Reservations are advised due to the museums relatively small size. 

Although the artist is not a personal favorite of mine I have always liked her pallet. It was interesting to see how her surroundings, some the places we had visited over the past few days, inspired her work. Her blues were reflections of the brilliant, sunny skies of the southwest. There is a certain freshness to the air in Santa Fe, perhaps because of it's high altitude. Her browns seemed inspired by the earth and the ubiquitous adobe pueblo style buildings. Her style ranged from representational to abstract to symbolic. In one gallery there is  a cloudscape that seems almost a study of a massive work that hangs in Chicago's Art Institute. My favorite piece was a striking nighttime cityscape from her period when she lived in New York City. I'm a city boy at heart, asphalt runs in my veins. 

There is an interesting concept to the museum. There are two galleries at the back where some of her personal possessions are on display. Clothing, kitchen wares, some of her art supplies. In one vitrine is a pin with her initials designed by Alexander Calder and a wide brimmed black hat she can often be seen wearing in photographs. These galleries serve to humanize the artist. It gives insight into the entirety of her life of which art was only a part.

 My frustration with the institution stemmed from the museum apparently hold a large amount of work yet it's small size only allows a sampling of the holdings to be shown at any one time. Despite this it does serve as a monument to a uniquely American artist.

Governors Palace and The Santa Fe Museum of Art September 2023

 On our first day we purchased a Culture Pass which gave us entry into several Santa Fe Museums.  We showered, dressed and were on our way until we stepped outside and realized that our summer shorts and sandals motif was inappropriate for the weather which had turned sharply colder due to cloud cover. Running back to the room we changed to more suitable attire and, once again, were on our way. We joked about how stereotypically gay our fashion change was.

After breakfast we took a stroll around the plaza looking at art, jewelry, crafts and western style clothing that was out of our price range before heading to the Governors Place. Although the young man at the desk was pleasant the palace itself was a disappointment. There were only 2 small, rather mundane exhibits open as much of the venerable structure, it dates from 1610, was closed due to renovations.

Undaunted we moved on to the Santa Fe Museum of Art. The museum is an example of early 20th century Pueblo Revival architecture. It is often difficult to tell that which is relatively modern from that which is centuries old in the city. Upstairs is a nice collection of Southwestern art and furniture. On the first floor was an exhibit of contemporary glass. I was rather proud of myself when I saw a piece across the floor and thought "that looks like Chihuly." It was indeed a piece by the renown glass artist. I've been fortunate enough to see two of his site specific exhibitions over the years. 

Possessing a sometimes annoyingly curious mind, it is always a thrill to me to find out about something or someone I was previously unaware of. There was an exhibition called An American in Paris. It had nothing to do with the movie. It focused on the work of an artist named Donald Beauregard. He studied the impressionists in Paris and was deeply influenced by them. He, to some degree unabashedly, appropriated their style outright yet manifested a mastery of technique. He died of cancer at the age of 29. Before leaving we visited the museum's auditorium which has murals designed by him but completed by others due to his untimely death. His style at that point showed an Art Nouveau influence which melded beautifully with the dark grace of the serene room. I pondered that, had he lived, would his mastery of technique have overtaken his mimicry of style and transitioned into an important and distinct voice.  

I try not to think about it very much because it is rather depressing but I wonder what we have lost that might have been had death not intervened. Then again, maybe some artists and performers had more talent then a human body can survive. Were they not so forceful that they may have brought themselves to an early end they would not have been them.