Mexico/Maya sites

The Yucatan peninsula is famously known as the home of the Maya, whose civilization dominated the region from around 1500 AD until the arrival of the Spanish. There are still many sites around the Peninsula. The first I visited might very well have been one of the first the Spanish saw, since it is located by the sea in Tulum. Indeed this town was still thriving when the Spanish arrived. This site is quite compact once passing through a breach in the protecting wall.
Going inland, the site of Coba boasts the highest point of the whole Peninsula! It is at the top of the Maya-made pyramid. The Nohoch Mul is 42 meters high and a steep climb - the way down is worse... From the top, one sees how flat the area is, with the jungle extending to the horizon.
The Mayas had also their sport - here the place where they played the ball game. It consisted of sending a heavy rubber ball through the two circles, without touching the ball with neither the hands nor the feet. Why make things so complicated? The Mayas were also very interested with astronomy and built many observatories. They developed a complex set of calendar, with short and long cycles. The sun and Venus played a central part in their knowledge of the sky and also in the design of their temples - the number of stairs, or the number of snakes on a temple would be defined by the calendar.
Perhaps, the most famous Maya monument in Yucatan is the pyramid of Chichen-Itza. The pyramid is "only" 25 meters high, yet beautifully located and well reconstructed. It looks very simple, yet the number of stairs, platforms, stone panels all reflect sacred numbers. Even more, at the equinoxes, the ray of the sun form a snake descending the pyramid. Great design.
Chichen Itza has many other temples. One is dedicated to the jaguars.
Another one, more scarier, is a "tzompantli" or "skull rack". It is a platform where the victim's heads were displayed. A tribute also to the military function of the town.
My favorite site might well have been Uxmal. The square of the Nunnery (as erroneously named by the Spanish) is a magnificient complex of four buildings enclosing a plaza. Some historians think that this complex might have been a earthly paradise, where future sacrificial victims would spend their final months in debauchery. The facade are richly decorated with religious symbols, including many snakes and rain Gods.
This complex lies next to the pyramid of the magician. It is a surprising pyramid, with an unique oval base. Some historians argue that it is because it was wrongly rebuilt... One thing that is certain is that the "final version" was built on top of five earlier temples. Still it looks majestic.
Ek-Balam was by far the least visited site, quite wrongly so. Its Acopolis is massive, and they are still uncovering statues, sculptures and bas-reliefs. At the moment, thatched roofs protect them.
I must admit that the sites are very well maintained, the explanations quite good - they even started a sms service, with information at each site. The vendors were not intrusive - except maybe in Chichen Itza, where the fake cry of the jaguars was hurting our ears too often. In most sites, they had restaurant and coffee areas, with a good product placement by Nespresso.

Mexico/Yucatan

The first visit in Mexico was actually the Sian Ka'an biosphere reserve. It is situated around a shallow lagoon. The boat ride in the lagoon was nice, but the best was floating on the life-jacket down a little stream thanks to a gentle current for around 2 kilometers. Thankfully, the crocodiles stay in the lagoon and do not venture in the stream. The guide reminded me that in these tropical latitudes, the tide is almost non-existent. So the salty water does not push much upstream. Bad luck for the crocodiles.
The Atlantic Ocean, or Caribbean sea, was also nice and warm, certainly around 25 degrees Celcius. But, since I am not an American tourist, I did not spend all my time by the beach. It was indeed interesting to observe that the further you go away from the sea (Cancun and Playa del Carmen), the less American tourists you encounter. The "cultural" tourists are mostly from Continental Europe.
A good surprise was the state of the roads. Hardly a pothole, good signs, normal speed limits (maximum 110 km/h), calm drivers, no policemen, and an almost deserted toll road. The only hindrance were the many many speed bumps. They obviously had an impact.
Churches are more numerous than Maya temples. There are usually located on the main square, this one in Valladolid. The town itself has many one/two floors typically Spanish buildings, beautifully restored and colored. There is definitely a colonial feel to the town.
This one is actually a convent (of San Antonio de Padua), and can be seen from all corners of the little town of Izamal. It was built on the remains of a Maya pyramid, whose top was chopped off by the Spanish chopped in 1552.
This last one is in Merida - it is white and a bit austere, like the one in Valladolid. During the Mexican revolution, the cathedral was entirely looted. It towers over the main square (unfortunately in renovation at the moment).
On another side of the main square, the palace of the state's government. Inside, there are many large paintings depicting the main events of the Mexican history. Unfortunately, these paintings have a very strong socialist/revolutionary/nationalistic undertone. In Valladolid (see below), it is the local government building which sits on the main square. It is ornamented with the Mexican coat of arms of the eagle devouring a snake. Besides beauties above ground, there are more than 10000 caves filled with water in the Yucatan peninsula. This one was easily accessible in Valladolid.In conclusion, I must say it was nice to travel in a country where all the scales are "normal" - meters, km/h, degrees Celcius, kilograms. Welcome to Mexico !

Aquarium in Baltimore

Above is the view over the main aquarium in Baltimore. Striking!
There are also smaller aquariums, with this one being popular with the fans of "Nemo". Apparently up to two of these fishes can "share" an anemone.
The sea horses were moving very delicately...
... which was not the case of the octopus next door (oops, next window). This one looked much scarier than in a dish. Is it politically correct to ask how this one will finish? I also wondered if they would use it to predict some sports result, like its famous European counterpart.
Some aquariums looked peaceful and idyllic, while I was happy that there was a big glass between me and this nasty looking shark.

Discoveries around Washington

Slowly but surely, there are less and less unknown touristic sites around Washington. This time, the classic Shenandoah (see entry last year) was in full colors - the timing of the visit proposed by the guide was perfect.
The fresh air was perfect motivation to go for a walk to one of the waterfalls - dark hollow.
Besides the forest and mountain, a local gem is found underground. The Luray Caverns are one of the best I have seen, with lots of interesting, old, thick formations. The best was this reflective lake - look at the picture and it is almost impossible to see that it is only the reflection of stalactites that is seen. Of course, being in America, they could not avoid commercializing it a little bit - they installed an organ, which was linked to stalactites chosen so that the sound would correspond to the notes. Quite impressive performance. The other US influence could be noticed in the name given to some of the formation in the cave, in particular the "fried egg". Was it discovered at breakfast? Finally, close to the exit, there was also a pool where you could throw your money - each year it would be allocated to a different charity to the nearest cent.The trip led also to the roots of American history ... it does sound much further in the past than what it is. A little stop at Harper's Ferry, a small town in West Virginia, where the Potomac and the Shenandoah rivers merge. Jefferson, on a visit to the area, stood on a rock, from which he thought the view was stupendous - the rock is now named after him. But the most memorable event in this town was the raid on the local arsenal led by John Brown, who wanted to abolish slavery. He was tried and hanged, but this event was one catalyst of the Civil War.

The two residences of the first American presidents are located in Virginia, respectively in Charlottesville and in Alexandria. In Charlottesville, the Monticello was the main residence of Jefferson, the third president. The house, actually I should say the whole estate, was carefully designed, certainly because Jefferson was a keen architect and found a lot of inspiration during his stay in France. It is one of the few UNESCO World Heritage in the US. But probably its moment of fame occurs daily, as Americans make use of the 5 cent coin.In Alexandria is located Mount Vernon, the house of George Washington, the first president. The best about it is actually the view over the Potomac river. Otherwise, it is less impressive, maybe reflected in the fact that it is "only" a National Historic Landmark. Still, there were quite a few common threads: the large memorabilia, the slave's quarters, the vegetable garden, the tomb, and their management by a private entity.Finally, the sky above us also was worth scrutinizing. I saw in the newspaper that astronomists gather at a field in a National Park, far away from the city lights. It was then very surprising to see that - on a cold October night - so many amateur astronomers there - they were also so nice to let us watch through their (huge) telescopes. The highlight was to see Jupiter and its four main moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Specialists also pointed to the center of our galaxy (in the Sagittarius) and explained various phenomena.

Nashville

Nashville, welcome to the Music City. It is similar to New Orleans, but this time it is country music. You indeed know you are in Nashville, when Madonna is remixed in country music!
Nashville is not only trying to be like New Orleans, but also like Hollywood. They have their stars as well. I only know one (see picture)... Should this lack of knowledge about country music make me feel bad ...?
More worrying for Nashville, it imitates Athens too. One of its most famous building is a replica of the Acropolis. Let's hope for them that they do not imitate its economic fate.
At the moment, it does not seem like Nashville will. The typical suburban life flourishes, with for example a meeting of greyhound dog lovers... The properties are huge and tidely kept - some have even deer grazing. My friends' family son was playing in a pre-school baseball game. Needless to say that they were all nicely dressed, and cheered up... but no trace of black kids.

scary Kings Dominion

When visitors decide to come and visit, you sometimes have to agree with their wishes and go along. So this time, following my visitors lead to the Kings Dominion "amusement" park.
On the map of the park, the names of the rides are already scary, such as the anaconda, the grizzly, the rebel yell, the volcano blast coaster, the schockwave, the drop tower, the skyflier and lastly the intimidator... Next to these rides, there were also signs indicating their degree of madness.
But what is worse than names on a paper, it is experiencing them!! Obviously, I was distraught when I saw that the volcano blast coaster was closed. It was the only level 5 ride I wanted to do... Kidding, I was already whiter than usual on the level 4 rides. And I cannot tell you the color I was, when I did a ride after the lunch break. And you will not see me either, because I did not find it appropriate to get any of the "photo finish" that are taken while you are on the ride.
Fortunately, there are also quieter things to do, like trying to win big stuff animals, listening to some music, and especially volunteering to take pictures. I am quite good at the last one!

US Open

There it is - the biggest tennis stadium in the world: the Arthur Ashe in Flushing Meadows, New York. On that day, there was a record 64000 spectators, including 20000 on the center court. Everything is well organised, including the arrival by metro. The staff is friendly and I surprisingly had the impression that there were less shops than at Roland Garros. The only annoying thing was the super long list of things that were forbidden to bring into the stadium, which included "no flags" and "no backpacks". This is America for you. So this time, I had to leave my Swiss flag at home.
It is a beautiful stadium. The night match is a great experience. Even placed a bit high up (we had to take an escalator to reach our seats), the view is clear - we could very well replace the "challenge" system with our own eyes. Still up there, there is a bit of cold wind. In the evening session, Murray easily beat Lopez, who did not seem much committed to his match. Maybe sweating is not part of his vocabulary. We had to admit that the women's match was a better contest.
The next day, the day session was even better. Great seats on smaller courts to watch Ferrero-Tipsarevic. Very intense rallies with good speed and a clever use of the angles.
Back on center court, Tsonga was battling against Fish, the top seeded American player. The crowd was supportive of the home favorite, but not as bluntly as in other countries. It surprises me that nobody brings flags in the stadium. And it cannot be said that it is because Americans are not patriotic - the presentation on the big screen of eight American soldiers sitting in a special box got a long standing ovation by the crowd.
The big name on that day was Serena Williams. Although she played against another ex-number 1, Ivanovic, she was clearly superior in all compartments of the game. Her serves were accurate, her ground strokes powerful and she was even moving surprisingly well...


Finally, a video of a nice rally between Ferrero and Tipsarevic. So nice to be so close to the players - who cares that we were not on our allocated seats... I should also manage to put a video of me hitting such a good backhand !

Good food !

Switzerland's food might not be the finest, but it is excellent nonetheless. It was great again to taste all the specialties. First, the wild mushrooms and the vol-au-vent. So tasty!
Besides mushrooms, a famous Swiss specialty is cheese. This time it was the raclette. Do not get fooled by the nicely decorated plate, the interesting part is the melted cheese on top of the potato.
There is never enough cheese... The next dish was indeed heavy, but this is what is needed to survive in our cold mountains. Obviously, the bottle of white wine helps too...
Switzerland is also a land of lakes, and we have the best little fishes, the perchs. With a secret sauce and some french fries, it is divine.
Obviously, there is other "foreign" foods to enjoy. One of the best was this pizza calzone! Such a good dough and a diverse filling of cheese, tomato, ham, egg and mushroom.
Of course, a meal is never complete without deserts. The nicest is when there is a choice of delicious cakes in front of you. And the best is, when you do not have to choose, but you can have all of them! The chocolate cakes - black forest and truffle - were only slightly more delicious than the fruity cakes.
In the end, it can not only be about eating eating eating. There is also a time for cooking. So there I made this healthy apple cake (with some welcome help). If you want a tip, it is best to eat it accompanied with ice cream and whipped cream.
After all this, what is one of the first thing I did back in Washington? Buy a scale...! Let me not write here what it did tell me...