Waiting for Beryl
If you are in the path of a hurricane, waiting for the damn thing is a mixture of anticipation and angst. Modern technology has made it possible for meteorologists to predict all possible courses and wind strengths - which I suppose is better than guessing. Although every time you check, the path and power have changed - so perhaps it isn’t.
For part of the year I live in Mérida, the capital of Yucatán — one of the three states on Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula (along with Quintana Roo & Campeche). Hurricane Beryl is slated to pass nearby, or possibly right overhead, on Friday.
Not that you would know it from the current weather. It is sunny, with a few scattered clouds. The air is still. The temperature is 95° with noticeable, but bearable humidity. Although after six summers, I may have become used to it. A tourist or new arrival might find it challenging.
The Yucatán peninsula lies at the southern extreme of hurricane alley. It does not get nearly as many as South Florida. But it has had eight significant storms since 1980.
Fortunately for Méridanos, hurricanes almost always strike the Caribbean (East) coast of the Yucatán first. This is the part of the peninsula most familiar to Americans. It stretches from Cancun in the north, down past the island of Cozumel, through Playa Del Carmen, then Tulum to Chetumal on the Belize border.
It is where the major hotel chains and timeshare bandits have properties. Cancun and Cozumel have long been generic tourist havens that are Mexican simply because of their location. You will find little of the ‘real Mexico’ there. It’s like flying into Orlando airport and driving to Disneyland and thinking you’ve been to America.
Tulum once welcomed eco-tourists with closer-to-nature accommodations. But now the beaches are largely built up. Downtown Tulum reminds me of suburban New Jersey. Or the cheaper condovilles in Florida. The Mayan constructions on this coast, are worth seeing but they are extremely popular and therefore crowded. As this map shows, there are many others well worth a visit.
The other side of the peninsula is honestly Mexican - at least for now. The Gulf Coast (La Costa Esmeralda, Emerald Coast) runs east from Cape Catoche (Cabo Catoche) through Progreso and Sisal, before heading south past Celestun to Campeche. The major hotel resort chains are not here yet. And even the beach towns that attract some tourists are still mostly local with active fishing communities.
Mérida (pop. c.1 million) lies 24 miles inland from Progreso - home to the world’s longest pier, where two or three times a week, a cruise ship will show up for a few hours.
Merida’s claim to fame is longer in the making. Founded in 1542, it is one of the oldest colonial cities in the Americas — and home to the oldest cathedral on the mainland.
But that’s enough weather, geography, and history. Let’s talk about the reality of Mexico today.
Most Americans think of the country as being an undifferentiated mass of homicidal drug dealers and rampant crime, with some nice resort towns on the coast. There is that. But there is so much more to the country.
To begin with, it is a big place — the 14th largest country, with a big population — the 10th largest in the world. Its official name is Estados Unidos Mexicanos — United Mexican States. And just like its neighbor to the north, its states come with their own tics and foibles. Yucatán is as culturally similar to the northern state of Sonora as Mississippi is to Maine.
They might technically speak the same language. But the accent and vocabulary are noticeably different. Especially as Yucatecan Spanish includes many Mayan words. And even people from Mexico City can find the locals hard to understand.
Food varies depending on location. What Americans consider real Mexican food - which is available in much of Mexico - is almost nonexistent in Yucatán.
The pattern of crime in Mexico is also as varied as it is in the US. The towns and states along the major drug smuggling routes that run up the Pacific coast can be quite dangerous, but other places are not.
It will amaze many Americans that the state of Yucatán is safer than most US states. Mérida is one of only three cities in the Americas to make a list of the top 50 safest cities worldwide. The other two are in Canada. None are in the US.
Much of Mexico has the usual technology - high-speed internet, streaming services, iPhones, etc. It has the big box stores - Costco, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Home Depot, et al. You can find up-market shopping malls, high-end supermarkets, fast food chains, luxury and mass-market car dealerships. And the highways are pretty good, although some of the asphalt seems to have a shelf-life of about three minutes.
Not that everything’s perfect. The big towns may have all the conveniences. But rural Mexico, where gringos rarely go, is impoverished. Law enforcement can be spotty. And there is a high level of violence against women.
This dichotomy between the haves and the have-nots extends to education. Mexicans place a premium on education. But many get very little.
Talk of dodgy food and drink is overblown. You won’t get intestinal disorders eating at most restaurants in Mexico or from the ice in frozen margaritas and gin and tonics. But I would advise against drinking the tap water. Although my dogs do and they’re fine.
Mexico is also very mountainous. The low-lying areas can be as hot as hell. But many cities are at higher elevations and have pleasant climates.
The average high temperature in Mexico City in May (the hottest month) is 81°. On the other hand, in Merida, it is 99°. And this year from the end of April through the middle of June, we had 54 straight days over 100° — tell me again that climate change doesn’t exist.
Despite being a traditional Catholic country, there is far less stress on the cultural issues so popular among American religious conservatives. Most people enjoy Pride parades without thinking the country is going to the dogs.
Mexicans have just elected a Jewish woman, Claudia Sheinbaum, as President. That is a progressive two-fer America has yet to try. In addition, the Mexican ‘Abraham Lincoln’, their most revered President, Benito Juárez, was an Indigenous Zapotec and only 4‘6“ tall.
Nothing I’ve written here should be taken as Bible - nor does it do anything more than scratch the surface of a complex country. It is one man’s observations from one geographical point in Mexico. Americans who live in other parts of the country, may well have a different perspective and would write a different diary.
But my one piece of advice for any American who wants to know something about Mexico is do not listen to the American media, American politicians, or any American who has not spent time in the country. Or has only been to a resort or tourist town.
Not that there’s anything wrong with going to a Mexican resort. I did many times before I bought a place here. It’s just that it’s not a very good way to get to know the country.