Cemeteries are pretty this time of year…
One day I spotted this gorgeous church so turned off the main road into the village to check it out – and rode head-on into a funeral procession. They weren’t going fast so managed to avoid them! They were headed by a police car, then a girl carrying a large silk banner bearing the dead woman’s name, then the pall-bearers and the mourners. The procession had started from the church, presumably headed for the cemetary. A trail of pine leaves showed their path.
Today I visited a cemetery in the town I’ve been in the last few days (Chiapa de Corzo). There was a small wizened old woman sitting there, I said “Buenos dias” to her… she started talking to me and I had to say “no espanole”. Sometimes it seems that’s the only spanish I have! She kept talking and I was struggling to piece together what it was she was talking about. Again I had to tell her I didn’t understand, but she kept going – and then she started crying. Oh shit… I felt pretty helpless, she seemed to want to keep talking, so I did the only thing I could think of – I took her tiny leathery hand and held it for a few minutes. She seemed to appreciate the gesture, it was a nice connection. I really have to get up to speed with the spanish…
And here’s a Mayan Cemetery from near San Cristobal.
