I was in the Yucatan which is basically south eastern Mexico. Arid, dry, impoverished until the Developers arrived now most of the entire eastern coastline dotted with wonderful, fabulous, all inclusive resorts. The 'all inclusive' meaning everything is provided to and for you. Food, drink, entertainment, daily activities - all amenities of the resort are provided to you via smiling Mexican wait staff.
The resort:
Entertainment:
Typical waiter (although this fellow was the primary lobby bar tender who was always EXTRA engaging with a ready HOLA!)
On venture into the countryside I'd say this type of house - not at all common or typical rather exemplifies what an upper middle class person might own/live in. These type of houses are not at all easy to find and this particular owner also had quite an active business catering to tourists in that he was the owner/operator of Grand Cenotes (*cenotes are under ground rivers - will do a thread on them soon)
This is the only gathering place for locals in Coba - their restaurant which is really a house front and open to the road.
In contrast to 'our' way of life complete with expected amenities the living experience or lifestyle of the average or typical Mexican could be termed marginal, day to day existance with nothing built up for hard times.
In the villages, and these photos were taken in Coba which is a village adjacent to a 70 sq km area of Mayan ruins. The area is historically significant, highly touted as a tourist destination (although tour buses sure don't ever go anywhere close to the villages.
Typical street and typical homes - the walls are not solid, never saw a glass window
The home I was able to visit (and nearly die via eating the egg and dhal - which is the green and yellow concoction in the first photo below on the table) was quite sparsely furnished. Two rooms - beds are hammocks strung up to keep you off the ground. Bare electrical wires with one outlet to get power. Cooking is in the back corner - AGAINST open WOOD WALLS on ROCKS
[album]3098[/albumAll in all, for me, it was a great holiday. I can't bring myself to stay strictly IN the resorts and find I MUST venture out and see and talk to real regular people. In Mexico the resorts actually frown on this and it becomes something of a venture to find a staff willing to help you organize a driver so as to afford individual exploring. No easy feat but I did it. I find that I half know what to expect and I do allow it to bother me in that I feel I need to help make changes, to help people better themselves and I must also admit to feelings of guilt that I/we have so much and others have so little.......'nuther discussion
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