Carnaval Time in Playa
03.03.2014
33 °C
As we prepare to head home to greet the spring, the Mexicans are celebrating Mardi Gras and the central squares of every city, town and village have been spruced up; the bunting hung; and the bands are practising for the weekend’s Carnaval parades. But Carnaval isn’t the only happening in Mexico this week and in Chetumal we ran slap bang into the middle of the national band championships. We love a parade and it was great to watch the twenty or so marching bands doing their thing…
…although it might have been better had hundreds of the musicians not been staying at our hotel!
We arrived in Campeche just in time for the crowning of the Carnaval Queen. It was a noisy boisterous affair with thousands crowding the fairground to support their favourite senoritas, so we skipped the event in favour of a stroll along the deserted promenade…
...some sightseeing in the narrow streets of the old town…
...and a visit to the castle...
Merida was our next stop – the oldest colonial city in Mesoamerica. The shady central square is as pretty as a picture but the surrounding streets where the Carnaval has traditionally taken place are so narrow that the event has been moved out of town.
As Carnaval approached we moved on to the laid back town of Bacal in search of something snazzy to wear at the parade, and there is no better place in Mexico to find some fancy millinery. Handmade Panama hats are the thing in Bacal where the central square is home to three enormous concrete titfers (Non-Brits might need to Google that)…
We went for a slighter lighter variety which we then wore to the Carnaval parade in the bustling resort of Playa del Carmen…
But our fancy headgear had nothing on some of the costumes worn by the partiers…
So now our lightning tour of the Yucatan is over and we are headed home to launch our new book, Slow Train to China – an inspirational travel guide for independent second-lifers.
Thank you dear blog reader for following our meanderings. We will be back in the fall when we again pack our bags and head to foreign climes, but now it is time to put up our feet and watch the world pass by on our little Canadian island for the summer.
Hasta luego from Mexico.
P.S. For details about Slow Train to China please visit our website at www.thefishkisser.com
And welcome to new subscribers Neil and Cathy.
Subscribing to our blog is free; you won't get unsolicited ads and you will know the next time we hit the road. Hope to see you soon.
Posted by Hawkson 09:00 Archived in Mexico Comments (5)
