Mexican flag above the town administration centre in Chelem.
Last week, we walked down the sandy dirt beach road to the town of Chelem Puerto, a distance of about eight kilometres from our villa. Nothing unusual for us, this business of long walks. We were just curious about seeing what was along the way. The destination was not important, it was the journey. That said, we finally ended up in the pueblo of Chelem, one of the major towns along the beach coast before one arrives at Progreso.
The town is a bit threadbare like the Mexican flag that flies above the town’s administration centre. The winds of fall and winter have muted the colours. Flying sand and salt spray have added to the erosion and weary aspect of the town. It would be hard to guess that this is one of the prefered locations for foreigners to buy and build and rent their Mexican winter homes.
Men waiting their turn for a chance for a job.
As we wandered into the town we got to say “buenas tardes” to quite a few local people. There is a real sense of Chelem being a friendly place. It didn’t take long to reach the ‘zócalo’, the central plaza found in almost every town in Mexico.
In front of one of the administration offices, a small gathering of local men had gathered in search of jobs. We listened for a while as the loudspeakers would inform all of a job and then watched as one man would enter into the building following the announcement. The process was repeated again and again, each man taking his turn.
As usual, the town’s zócalo was ringed by the town’s administration centre, a church and a number of business enterprises. One thing different for Chelem was that at the centre, the street that goes north and south off the zócalo were festive in appearance with small strips of banners strung across the street for the full length of the street. At the end of both the north end and the south end water could be seen from the town’s zócalo.
Of course, we decided that it would be a good idea to walk down the boulevard in both directions. Strange how we never noticed the boulevard each time we have travelled through Chelem en route to Progreso or Mérida. As we walked along, we were able to see into most of the homes as they had their doors open. Most of these homes were also small businesses selling fish, junk food, advertising painting services or like this lady, selling fresh fruit and vegetables.
Since we walked down the south branch of the boulevard, we arrived at the laguna where there was a small port of sorts for the smaller boats that were used for shallow fishing using nets.
The main catch on the laguna side was shell fish and shrimp which are the main ingredients for many of the seafood dishes that make up the daily diet of both Mexicans and foreigners who live along the coast.
At the end of the northern boulevard was the Caribbean Sea which is lined with beach homes from Chuburna to Progreso and beyond going east.
When we returned to the zócalo, we checked out the local mercado, a market selling fruits, vegetables, meats as well as a number of small shops and restaurants. As usual we saw a number of gaming machines which were busy with young men. Life in a Mexican town along the coast is a curious mixture of modern and traditional. Why traditional? Economics. Unfortunately we toss out the traditional when we have the money to embrace the modern. It is no different in Canada or anywhere else we have ever travelled so far.