 |
| From icy Peruvian highlands directly to the Mexican jungle... |
 |
| But I was not the only one who was groggy due to the climate (change) |
Back from Peru, back to Mexico. Before reporting about my month-long trip to Peru, I will first write a short update on my recent trip to the jungle in Chiapas. Right now I'm sitting in a hostel in Mexico City, waiting for a friend to carry my suitcase so that I can move in to my new home. My finance internship in Mexico's capital is starting next Monday. Hence, I feel more like writing about about my current return and travel in Mexico, rather than about the journey in Peru (which will follow later, of course). Anyway, this post will contain some impressions and facts from Peru, as the differences and yet the comparisons I made between these two countries are astonishing for me.
 |
| "Arroz a la Cubana" is a popular dish in Spain and Peru and normally looks like this (Source: Bligoo.com) |
 |
| This is how it turned out when I explained this dish (which is unknown in Mexico) to a chef in the Mexican jungle after I had checked the menu and couldn't find any vegetarian option. Probably the first time, that a had a more colorful dish in Mexico than elsewhere. Nice one! |
Coming back to Mexico after one month kind of made me experience a culture shock again. In Germany, people sometimes make jokes of "the Americans" who don't know if Germany is a country, where it is and if people there still live in caves or whatever. But in fact, to some degreee I had the same cluelessness regarding Latin America. It was clear that countries and people in that area had to be considerably different, but I just didn't know in what manner. I knew only Mexico and so I came to Peru with the expectation to see many similarities. Wrong.
Peru and Mexico are as different as is Germany from Italy. Given that Peru has the second largets Japanese community outside Japan and a huuge Chinese minority, I could really feel some Asian characteristics. People seem to be more modest, less pushing, much less "macho". I really liked this mentality and when I came back to Mexico I had to make an effort to get used to things here again. I arrived in Mexico City and all the food vendors were shouting at me like crazy. At some point I said - with a raised voice - to a vendor:
"
Estoy pensando!" (I'm thinking about it!)
because I simply couldn't decide what to eat. His prompt reply:
"
Los güeros no piensan! Ellos solo piden!" (White people don't think! They just order!)
Man, I really was back to Mexico. Where people permanently wrinkle their forehead and their eyebrows and seem to be much more aggressive than in Peru. I really enjoyed how people showed restraint in Peru. I met some Mexicans during my trip and they acknowleged that Peru seemed to be also a much safer place than Mexico. Of course you do have poverty in Peru, but as long as you don't go to the "problematic" districts, you can walk around without worrying. The worst thing which could happen is that somebody steals your wallet, if you don't have an eye on it. In Mexico instead, you can be in the most upscale area, and still be assaulted with guns and knifes.
Don't get me wrong. Mexico is a great place to live - especially for foreigners. There is the phenomenon of "malinchismo" which describes how many Mexicans prefer foreign things before their own. As a foreigner you will be more often than not treated with respect - and many times even better than a Mexican. People are outgoing, open, helpful and you won't have to worry about being alone here. But in fact the mentality of so many Mexicans is totally different from mine. Yes, these guys are joking, laughing, inviting. But more often than not it's all about "fiesta" (party) and "chicas" (girls). I'm totally not the one with whom you could have a great macho talk about female curves. And yet, this will be one of the first topics when you meet new people.
Mexicans are also incredibly proud of their food. The Mexicans I met in Peru were complainig about the plain food there. Well, considered that
Peruvian cuisine is en mode since more than a decade already, I'm not sure what these guys were talking about. When I came to Peru, I was overwhelmed but all the great dishes. Mexico might have regional specialties, it might have variety. But as a vegetarian I can comb through a whole market without finding anything (not exaggerating). In Peru I can even order meat dishes and ask them to serve it without the animal ingredient. I'll get a succulent plate full of vegetables and tasty rice or potatoes. In Mexico you'll ask for that and end up with an empty plate. So sad.
But I'm not only talking about the actual dishes which are better in Peru. Even the basics like rice, tamales (steamed corn dough), bread, etc. is soooo much better over there. "Cocadas" are a common treat, both in Peru as well as in Mexico. But while Mexicans conent themselves with mixing shredded coconut and sugar, Peruvians think about a more interesting and appealing seasoning. It kind of resembles gingerbread seasoning, probably due to the usage of cloves and cinnamon, which they put in their dishes a lot here. Also my idea of how a dish should look like is much more similar to how they do it in Peru, rather than in Mexico: Many different colors, flavours, forms and consistencies. In Mexico instead, it's mostly meat in sauce. One color. One flavour - coming from the sauce. Just look at three typical dishes in Peru, and then three typical dishes in Mexico:
Peru
And here we have saucy, meaty,
Mexico:
I don't know about you, but for me Peruvian food looks much tastier, much more balanced - and much lighter. And well, what I tasted confirmed this impressions.
So, we have a safer country. People who if not nicer are at least more appealing to me. Much better food. Ah and the "Peruvian" language (which is, just like "Mexican", not exactly like Spanish due to other words, rhythms, pronounciations, etc.) sounds much nicer to me than Mexican. No wonder I liked Peru more after one week than Mexico after one year. This impression might change if I actually lived there. But for now this experience is important to me, because I could see that Latin America is indeed also a proper place to live for me. Before I travelled to Peru I was convinced that whole Latin America can't compare to Asia. And although I still prefer to work in Europe or Asia, Peru showed me that there is more than Mexico. This impression goes hand in hand with my well-being. I ate raw fish in Peru like crazy (yes, the taste of ceviche made me a bit less vegetarian for some time) and it was always great. Then I returned to Mexico and after 3 days (and until now) I'm suffering a horrible diarrhea with vomiting (not the first time here...).
Well, let's move to nicer topics. When I returned to Mexico I still had some free days and so from Mexico City I directly travelled south to Chiapas.
 |
| Yaxchilán |
Since ages I wanted to visit the Maya ruins of Yaxchilán and although they are pretty tucked away in the jungle directly at the Guatemalan border, I made the trip - time's limited. Well, I say I went directly, but in fact I needed some time at the airport. Returning from Peru includes a thorough check of all your luggage with several detector dogs stepping over your belongings. Indeed, I was stopped, because I still had some apples from Peru in my hand luggage. When the inspector opened my bag and examined it, she pulled out the pair of gloves which I had worn during my trekking trail in the Peruvian Andes. Nothing wrong with that, but unfortunately a whole lot of coca leaves was still tangled up in the cloth. Of course I had thrown away my stock before returning to Mexico. But these leaves made it over the border. Some "interesting" seconds and knowing looks of the border agent. But as the quantity was so ridiculously small, I could proceed without further problems. Puuh.
 |
| Yaxchilán |
When I finally arrived at the Guatemalan border, I thought how ridiculous the examination at the airport was. Here in Chiapas the only "barrier" was a river which you could cross in less than 5 minutes.
 |
| The only barrier between Mexico and Guatemala: Peaceful river Usumacinta |
And indeed, I saw a lot of immigrants who not necessarily had entered the territory legally. It was so sad to see how a black family (probably from Honduras) was walking on a jungle road, trying to stop any passing car in order to advance faster. Little children. Dirty clothes. And the taxi driver were just talking by radio that these "blackies" were not worth to be given a lift... I asked them how long it would be on foot to the next bigger city (where they normally board the cargo train to the US border) and they unemotionally responded:
"
Around five days."
Five days in the jungle, with babies and small children and with nothing but the dirty clothes they were wearing...
 |
| ... and as you can see the jungle is a rough place... (spotted the animal?!) |
Well, I could not do anything, nor could I help them now. So, with a sad feeling, I switch to the actual reason I came to the border: The Maya ruins. They indeed are really impressive.
 |
| Yaxchilán |
Located in a remote area, you only reach them by boat. As these are pretty expensive, I waited for another group of tourists to share the costs. I met a lovely family and again I thought: Yes, Mexicans are incredibly nice, open and helpful.
 |
| Yaxchilán |
 |
| Going by boat to the Maya ruins of Yaxchilán |
But their mentality is so different, I always have to play-act. Mexican beer, great fiestas, tasty beef Tacos, horrible Asians who buy buy up all the Mexican property. Ah and of course as a foreigner I cannot eat spicy. Yes, totally agree with all of this. Of course you don't have to play-act but can also tell your true opinion on these topics. Believe me - I did many times before. It's the best way to get strange looks and to kill the conversation. But now I'll be in Mexico City for 4 months. A metropolis I love. So much more diverse than tiny Cholula. Let's see what kind of people I will meet here.
 |
| Gran Acropolis in Yaxchilán |
 |
| Gran Acropolis in Yaxchilán |
 |
| Yaxchilán |
One last disturbing observation from my Chiapas adventure: You are in the middle of the jungle. Banana trees everywhere. You think of fresh and great tasting fruit. What you will find is packaged cookies, sweet, old bread and deep-fried versions of tacos. During my whole stay there, I never saw anybody eating fruit. Not even myself, as I couldn't find some. I craved juicy sweet pineapple, soft banana, crunchy apple, shiny mango - and ended up eating tamales, that is 50% corn dough and 50% lard with a filling of shredded chicken (which I put aside). No wonder people there were even bigger than in the rest of the country. All over Yaxchilán you have Hawler Monkeys, which make a very strange noise - perhaps I should have asked them, were to get some decent food.
Check my video to hear how strange the monkeys are crying.
It's disturbing how powerful multinationals like Coca Cola and the snack producers are, reaching even remote jungle areas, while the locals don't even have access to fresh fruit (as long as you don't harvest them by yourself). The power of these mighty corporations is certainly one reason for the sky rocketing obesity rates all over the world. In fact, according to statistics, Peru also suffers from this problem, but as people are still poorer and logistics infrastructure is still less developed (making it harder to carry Coca Cola to even the last corner of the country), they are not as obese as many Mexicans. Coming from the "biggest" country in the world, Peruvians appeared pretty slender to me.
Oh, but there are definitely three things that are better in Mexico than in Peru:
- The music (man, I couldn't hear Peruvian folk music anymore after two days. Always this "así, así, así, eeeeessoooooooo")
- The streets (so much nicer to drive on)
- The prices (they are higher in Mexico, but at least you normally get a more realistic price and not 500% inflated due to some "gringo bonus").
 |
| I thought "New Mexico" was in the US?! |
 |
| Jungle village on the border road between Palenque and Frontera Corozal (the way to Yaxchilán) |
No comments:
Post a Comment