Yum, Chocolate, the Mayan way



On Monday morning, Arturo and Javier picked us up at 8:15 am along with Annette and Ed of SV Sand Piper. We drove to a town called Tuxtla Chico or Little Rabbit, close to the border with Guatemala. We drove through the narrow streets where the one way signs were ignored and three wheeled pedicabs carried people and goods. Our stop was the home of Rafael and Josefina and La Parra Chocolha Maya. Josefina is fourth generation of women making chocolate the traditional, Mayan way. In 2010, Josefina and Rafael were selected to represent the state of Chiapis as a chocolate exposition in Italy where they won first prize.

First we have breakfast. Josefina serves hot chocolate. The first cup is the traditional chocolate, made by boiling water and stirring in the chocolate, a strong flavor with no sugar added. The second cup has sugar and cinnamon but no milk, but not too sweet. We have tamales and bread which you dip into your hot chocolate. The taste is wonderful but Rich and I found it very filling and we were asked if we were okay and why didn’t we want some more.

 

Annette, Arturo, Javier, Rafael, Rich and Ed at breakfast

 

Next we watched Josefina make the chocolate. Chocolate is made from the seeds of the cacao tree. The seed pod or corn as it is referred to and resembles in shape, is removed from the tree. Inside the pod are the seeds with a gelatinous substance which may be eaten. The seeds are fermented or separated from the gelatinous stuff and then spread out in the sun to dry similar to the coffee processes. When the seeds are dried sufficiently they are roasted over an open fire. You can hear the seeds pop as they heat up, like popcorn and the chocolate smell fills the air. On a flat surface, Josefina crushes the roasted seeds to remove the husk. It takes a lot of arm strength and wrist action. Tossing the crushed material, the husks are blown away and separated from the chocolate ‘nuts’. This chocolate is put on a sloping stone and crushed into a fine powder. She mixes in some sugar and previously ground cocoa powder. This she packs into a mold. Two to four chocolate ‘bars’ would be added to 1-2 liters of boiling water to make the same as our first cup of hot chocolate. Of course be bought some chocolate to bring back to the boat.



 

Seed pods on cacao tree

Rafael holds an open seed pod

Josefina roasting over an open fire

Crushing the seeds to break the husks

Tossing the broken seeds so that the husks are removed by the breeze

Grinding the chocolate into powder on a stone slab

Molding the chocolate 

The chocolate bar and the packaged items, Chocolate with cinnamon and plain dark chocolate

 

We enjoyed our visit with Josefina and Rafael. Arturo took us to the main square of Tuxtla Chico and we walked around and took a few pictures. Inside the main church was a statue of a saint. The knife in his head seems a little unusual. We speculated that he is the patron saint of migraine sufferers but we don’t know for sure.

Tricycle cabs waiting for customers by the market

The church

Patron saint of migrain sufferers ?

 

It was fitting that as chocolate is a Mayan tradition that we visited one of the first, pre-Classic, Mayan sites, Izapa. This site is in a prime location surrounded by trees bearing tangerines, avocados, cacao, mangos plus more and was settled as early as 1500 B.C.E. It is where the original Mayan calendar was discovered. Located on the Izapa river, near the base of the Tacana volcano, the fourth largest mountain in Mexico there is a ball court and a ceremonial alter, where the captain of the winning team, freely gave himself for sacrifice, as it was considered an honor. The chocolate seeds were also used as currency and as a drink only for the rulers. Near the pyramids is a square platform with smooth rocks at each corner. Sentries would stand on these rocks and make sure that the chocolate was made according to the rules and that none of the seeds went unaccounted for. One of the pyramids was used for celestial and lunar observations.

Izapa Mayan site oriented to the volcano, Tacano, in the distance

Early ball court to the left, Chocolate square to the right

 

The tour was fun and we have a greater appreciation for chocolate besides the fact that it tastes so good. So if you are a fan of dark chocolate and you are in Chiapis, take this tour with Arturo and Macaw Tours

Better than Starbucks

Friday we went on a tour of Finca Hamburgo, one of the coffee plantations outside of Tapachula. Arturo of Macaw Tours and his friend, Javier, picked us up at 7:00 am and we drove almost 2 hours to reach the plantation, “a half a block away from heaven”.

Finca Hamburgo was founded in 1888 by Arthur Erich Edelmann of Perleberg, Gemany. The fifth generation, Tomas Edelmann Blass, currently directs the plantation. Their land stretches almost as far as the eye may see over the ridge tops. The plantation is located at 4101 feet, a perfect setting for growing premium coffee or so we were told. We arrived and sat down to a wonderful breakfast at the restaurant, Perleberg, with delicious coffee and a gorgeous view overlooking the plantation, the rows of coffee plants on the steep hillside and across to the processing buildings. When the prices of coffee were depressed, plantations like Finca Hamburgo added the restaurant, boutique hotel and the spa to offset the operation and help keep workers employed during the off season, like this time of year, when the coffee plants are just blooming. Rich and I checked out the lounge chairs by the pool and the rocking chairs were you could sit in the afternoon, relax and have another cuppa’joe. Other plantations now grow exotic flowers and ship them around the world, such as the pink and red gingers, to offset.

 



Rows of coffee plant angle down the steep hillside

Coffee processing buildings

Rich and Elaine relaxing by the pool at the spa

Red ginger

We toured the original coffee processing area, where coffee fruit or cherry that has been picked off the plant would be weighed, first sorting, removal of the first husk, fermented to remove the second husk, second sorting and put in the sun to dry for up to 8 days. Every evening the beans would be swept into stalls so they would not be subject to the night time moisture and then swept out again the next day. The beans would go into dryers and then the third husks would be removed. The beans are sorted again this time by size. They also pass through machines that sort them electronically by color and finally a row of specially trained women do the final quality sorting. Arturo explained the whole process of coffee from plant to cup, all of which is done here at Finca Hamburgo. High quality coffee beans, prior to roasting, are sold all over the world from here.

Sweeping the drying coffee beans

The electronic sorting and the final quality sorting by women

Javier and Arturo

 

After our tour and another cup of coffee to implant the senses, we drove back to the marina. Arturo is a wonderful guide with lots of information and stories to tell. He is a former English teacher, turned tour guide. We look forward to our next tour with him on Monday, to find out about chocolate and Mayans.

Crossing the Golfo de Tehuantepec

In like a lion, out like a lamb

We have been watching the gribs for the Tehuantepec for several days. Like any major passage or crossing you watch the weather and try to pick the best window for the entire route as we did not want to get part way and have the weather deteriorate as there is no place to duck in along the route. You are committed for the entire way. Leaving Tuesday at 5:00 pm seemed like a good bet for the 250+ nautical mile passage from Marina Chahue to Puerto Chiapis (formerly Puerto Medero).

When we left at 5 pm, the winds were 8-10 knots with a favorable current of 2 knots and the seas were fair. The gribs indicated that the winds south of Salina Cruz would increase to 15-20 in the evening but decreasing over the next two days along the coast. This sounds good, no problem, right? As the evening progressed, the winds increased, 25-33 knots, and our plus current became a minus current. Motor sailing as the winds were on are nose and against the current we were bashing along at 2-3 knots SOG, and burning fuel to do it. Waves are crashing over the bow, the v berth hatch and the salon port lights are leaking, everything on deck has been covered with salt water. Remember that rule about sailing and keeping the ocean out of the boat? Well, we broke the rule a bit, not by choice mind you. Rich's re-caulking of the salt water wash down thru-deck was working so that was a plus.

To top it off, Salina Cruz is a major shipping port and we had to cross the shipping lanes. Everything was all clear until we were crossing the last in bound lane and a large ship was entering. These are the times we are glad we have AIS and that we are transmitting as well as receiving. The ship was able to see that we were at a snails pace, reduced their speed and headed for the left side of the lane as we crossed to the right. No problem.

At this point our hindsight told us we should have waited one more day, but as we were 'committed', on we went. The seas flattened, the winds abated, adverse current disappeared and a positive current reappeared. For most of Wednesday, the winds were in the 10-15 knot range. We saw lots of dolphins but not much else. Wednesday evening the winds decreased to 1-3 knots and the seas flattened to a slow period swell. The fishing fleet came out. Large vessels in rows dragging nets, usually in the direction we were going so it was easier to pass between them.

Thursday morning we saw fishermen in pangas. One came by and we gave them a jug of water. Sorry we have no tortillas.

We were tied up at the dock at Marina Chiapis by 9:45 am. Now it is time to check in and wash off some of this salt!

Sent from SV Windarra iPad

The Wizard of Id?

We passed this bird riding on a turtle on our passage from Acapulco to Hualtuco. Do you remember the cartoon, the Wizard of Id?

Bahia de Hualtuco, Marina Chahue

15 45.821 N, 96 07.321 W

On Wednesday, Feb. 13, we left Acapulco at 9:00 am. We looked for a fuel dock but did not see one. There is supposed to be one at the Club de Yates Acapulco but the marina manager said it was expensive and to use the one across the way. We went to where we thought it would be and there is a Pemex but there was no dock that Windarra could tie up to. So we decided to continue on.

We motored and sailed depending on the strength of the wind and we had a nice broad reach for a while. We saw lots of turtles, aka Mexican speed bumps. Sometimes they would raise their heads and look at us go by, others were too shy and would immediately dive under the water. 

In the evening, with just a sliver of a moon the winds died of course. The stars were out in abundance. Both Rich and I on separate occasions saw a patch of water that looked like it was being lit from below. It would grow larger and then disappear as we passed it. We are not sure if it was a school of fish disturbing the phosphorescence or a whale or what.

The next day, Valentine's Day, the wind was on our nose and we were motoring trying to make up time. We wanted to arrive before dark. The going was slow as the winds and now the current was against us. After we rounded Puerto Angel, the seas had short, square waves. They would come in pairs. The first one we would plow through only to slam into the second one, killing our momentum. 

We looked at the gribs and it did not look good for the next day. So we continued on. We had good charts on the iPad and once we could line up the lights on shore with what we saw on the chart, we negotiated the channel into Marina Chahue. We had called ahead and the marina staff were on the docks with flashlights directing us to our slip. They along with some cruisers, helped us tie up. Time for a shower, something to eat and a chance to catch our breath and a good night sleep.

Friday morning we checked in with the marina and they performed our check in with the port captain. The marina fees are very reasonable especially since there are no facilities to speak of, a bathroom but no showers. There is a fuel dock which is not open yet but soon they say. Macrina came by to pick up our laundry, at $20 pesos a kilo, which is more than we have paid elsewhere but since there is no laundry facilities, unless you take a taxi into La Crucecita. The docks are in good shape and everything it clean and well kept. There are two mega yachts here. They must use bow and stern thrusters to negotiate the three turns to get into the marina. There is power on the docks and water but it is not potable but fine for giving Windarra a much needed wash down. We were taking green water over the deck and numerous squid had jumped on board but not off again and they needed to be removed before the sun had them smelling ripe. As we were coming down we noticed that we were getting some salt water in the vberth, both from the hatch with a new gasket that was installed in Ixtapa and behind the closet and running along the floor. Rich took the vberth closet apart and while I was spraying with the hose he saw the water pouring in through the salt water wash down thru-deck fitting. This is not good. So Saturday morning he re-bed the fitting and we hope that will solve one problem.

In the afternoon we walked into La Crucecita. It is a small town with wide paved streets. We passed a large Chedraui supermarket as we walked into town. There is a movie theater, a large zocalo with banyan trees and a gazebo. We stopped at a Farmacia so I could buy some contact lens cleaning solution. I bought some but when I returned to the boat and looked it up it is for soft contacts, not the gas permeable ones that I have. So I will try and look for some at the Chedraui on Monday.

We have been following the gribs daily for weeks now in preparation for our passage across the Gulf of Tehuantepec to Chiapis. Today and tomorrow the winds kick up to 50 knots places. Definitely not the time to cross. We are looking at a weather window starting sometime Monday. We are thinking of leaving in the evening so we have a full day of daylight during most of the crossing as we will keep one foot on the beach as we go across. We are looking at a passage of a little over 250 nautical miles. The plan is to sneak across before another set of winds come across from the Caribbean.

We will let you know how it goes. 

A Tour of Acapulco

Since we planned to stay in Acapulco just a short time and had some concerns due to the recent events in the city, we decided to hire a guide to take us around. From another cruising blog, we got the name of Sebastian. On Sunday we exchanged emails and Monday morning he picked us up in his white Suburban, with air conditioning, in front of the marina.

Our first stop was the port captain to check in. Fill out some paperwork, make a few copies, have the port captain sign with a flourish and we were back on the road.

The first stop was the Diego Rivera mosaic mural. Diego created the mural on the wall outside the home of his final lover, Dolores Olmedo, as a wedding proposal.  The mural features Quetzalcoatl, the feathered Serpent of the Aztec religion and the Mayan version of this snake and in the center is his proposal. Exekatkalli was the name of her home, which means “House of the Winds”. The frog symbolizes Diego, the pet name his lover called him. In the frog’s hand is his heart, burning with desire for her. The dog represents her pet, a hairless Aztec dog.

 

The Proposal of Marriage

 

Mother of Pearl detail

 

The view from the home. In the center you can see where they do the cliff diving

 

We were able to have a tour of their art studio and the home. It has been bought by the government with some assistance from Carlos Slim and the plan it to turn it into a museum.

Our next stop was the original cathedral in traditional Acapulco

 

Sebastian took us to one of the many mercados or markets in Acapulco. It Is many times bigger than the market we visited often in Zihuatanejo. Sebastian explained to us that the name Zihuatanejo’s Axtec origin is Zihuat meaning girl and nejo meaning dirty or dirty girl. In case you wanted to know. He also explained that Mexico means “tummy of the moon”.

Making Pinatas

Our next stop was the cliff divers and lunch. From the restaurant we had a great view of the cliffs were the divers free climb and then jump up to 140 feet to the water below. They start training when they are 10 years old and when they are 16 they will start performing, 5 shows a day, jumping from different levels each show. It was amazing.

 

After the show we drove along the golden section of Acapulco where most of the hotels are located on the beach. We entered Las Brisas, or The Breezes, a gated community, in the diamond section of town, where the homes of the rich and famous are located, including the home of Julio Iglesias and his son Enrique who lives next door. This development crowns the highest hill in Acapulco and on the very top is a 140 ft tall white cross and a chapel that was built by a French family that bought the property in the 1940s. The chapel is non-denominational and open to the public. In either end are triangles made of onyx which is translucent.

 

Note the onyx

 

Sebastian took at to Costco so we could pick up a few items before we head farther south. Our last stop was at a silver store run by some friends of Sebastian’s. Part of their service includes free drinks. Pina Colada or Margarita anyone? Rich bought me a gorgeous silver necklace with matching earrings. We also got a few charms for the boat necklace and some hand blown wine glasses from Guadalajara.

We had a great time and we think we saw the best of Acapulco. Sebastian speaks fluent English and helped us with our Spanish. He is a native of Acapulco and has many stories and interesting information about the city and the sights. We would highly recommend him. You may reach Sebastián Hernández Ricardo at acapulcofor_all ‘at’ yahoo.com. His website is www.acapulcoforall.com.

Today we did some chores. Across the street from the marina is a Superama grocery store. It is like a Larry's in Seattle. We found some great items. Tomorrow we will fill our forward fuel tank and head south for Hualtuco. We hope to arrive late in the afternoon on Thursday.

Adios

Good morning Acapulco

We arrived in Acapulco on Sunday morning. We are at the Marina Acapulco. Today we are having a tour of the city with Sebastian.

Rich and I have been enjoying Zihuatanejo. We like the ambience in this laid back Mexican town. The anchorage near Playa la Ropa is fine, provided you have a stern anchor. We have been experimenting with setting ours, some experiments have been good, others not so good. We were using a Quickline floating, flat line but the shackle on the anchor chafed through. We enlisted the help of Black Tuna II diving and were able to retrieve the errant anchor. Our other rode of triple braid is what we are using now and works much better.

We went to Isla Grande, just north of Ixtapa for a few nights. During the day, this is a popular place for tourists to come and sit at palapas on the beach or ride jet skis rand the boats at anchor. At 6:00 pm, the palapas close and everyone heads back to the mainland, leaving peace and quiet behind.

On January 26, we picked up our son, Jesse and our daughter-in-law, Rae, at the airport at Zihuatanejo. They came down to visit us for a week and graciously brought down some boat parts, some new DVDs and our mail. Their time here was split between the marina at Ixtapa and the anchorage at Playa la Ropa and it included time at the beach, kayaking, swimming, walking around town, shopping plus plenty of time just doing nothing much at all. We got a chance to hear about their jobs, their cats (Aesir and Vanir), Rae's applications to graduate school and life in general. The week went by all too quickly and we were sad to see them go.

Now we are preparing to head south again. Rich installed a new gasket in the vberth hatch which we hope will stop it from leaking when we have a boarding wave. We are also de tuning and re tuning the standing rigging, adding stainless steel washers so that the Navtek fitting sit evenly on the pins. A few more chores then back to Zihuatanejo to fill our propane tank, checkout with the port captain and then we will head out.