Aboard the MS Ryndam

Heading out into the Pacific from Puerto Chiapas, Mexico

April 29th, 6:45 pm Central Time

Another hot, humid day ashore,touring the border area of Mexico just a few kilometers from Guatemala. We took a bus to Tuxlachico, the chocolate city. This is supposedly where the cacao plant originated and where the indigenous Mexicans first learned to make chocolate a couple of thousand years ago. We arrived in the town just in time for the fiesta of San Pedro Martir, the patron saint of the town. The fiesta was accompanied by lots of fireworks in the streets (long strips of firecrackers laid down and lit) and a few skyrockets. The children were all dressed in their best finery and drumming drums and shaking maracas. They paraded around the square, followed by men on decorated horses. The horsemen then pulled up in front of the town officials seated in the shade of the town hall’s porch to receive their prizes for best horse, rider, decoration, etc. What this has to do with a Catholic saint, I don’t know, but it sure was festive and fun.

When all this died down we walked the street market a bit--lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, some dressed chickens and ducks for sale, but no trinkets for the tourists (so it must have been a real market!). We then watched a demonstration, arranged by the tour guide, of how chocolate is made. A young senorita broke open the cacao fruit, took out the white, slimy nodules in the center, roasted them is a wok-like pan, ground them into a cross between a paste and a powder, added a little cane sugar and water, and then drank the mixture. According to Mayan tradition, only the elite could drink or eat chocolate, but we all had a taste. Not bad. This town is famous for just a few families who roast the chocolate then export the powder for further processing in the States or Europe. Most of it goes to Nestle, according to our guide. Of course cacao is now grown all over the world, but this is where it all started.

We then left Tuxlachico and drove a short distance to Izapa, one of the oldest Mayan ruins. The claim locally is that this was the wellspring of the Mayan culture that eventually spread throughout Mesoamerica. The ruins are largely reconstructed by archeologists and none are the spectacular stepped pyramids like Tikal because the Mayan hadn’t learned how to do all that yet when they lived here. Anyway, it was pretty interesting, but the humidity was oppressive and everyone was moving in slow motion.

Finally, a word about our dinner in the Ryndam’s Pinnacle Grill: magnificent. Probably the finest food, best service, and most expensive china and crystal place setting we’ve ever experienced.