Fabled myth of the return of Quetzalcoatl or not, Cortes and his band of followers had some major cojones in taking on one of the most vicious and violently expansionist empires of the New World with a scant few men and no chance of backup.  In  Moctezuma: Aztec Ruler – a special exhibition at the British Museum, there’s an attempt to portray and humanise Montezuma, the last real ruler of Aztecs.    (Why Moctezuma?  Well, scholars can’t agree on the original Mexica/Aztex spelling and pronunciation so they’ve decided to veer from the one we all know to create maximum confusion and sense of ignorance in the regular museum going public)

My dad and I went to see this yesterday.  Pretty good.  Excellent curation of Mexican and Spanish (and British) holdings from the period of Montezuma’s brief reign.  But I didn’t really feel I got to know much more about Montezuma the man.  Why did he capitulate so easily?  Was he some kind of fragile freak (according to Wikipedia some of the rules surrounding his sacred person – no one could see him eat, no touching, etc) were at the inception of Montezuma himself and not a feature of royal Aztec personhood.   Did he really believe that Cortes was ordained to bring an end to the rule of the Aztecs (modern historians say no?)

Whatever, you have to hand it to Cortes – even if he did get help from the State of Tlaxcala – an independent island in a sea of Aztec client states.  The Tlaxcaltecans get a bad rap sometimes for helping the Spanish, but since they were being preyed upon by the Aztecs for sacrificial victims and could see the end of their state down the line, you can’t blame them too much for taking a punt on the Spanish.  Not sure it helped them out much in the end, though.

The Royal Academy did a more generalized exhibit on the Aztecs a few years ago which I remember as larger and more comprehensive but certainly not focused on an individual. (It was so good I bought the exhibit catalogue)   Interestingly, the a series of nearly contemporaneous Spanish oil on wood paintings inlaid with shell and mother of pearl depicting the end of the empire were perhaps the most striking thing for me.   It was in a style that I’d never seen before.

I was asked for a report on this exhbit.   If you went to the Royal Academy exhibit a few years ago…don’t bother. (Tickets are fairly scarce anyway)  But if you haven’t seen a big blockbuster Aztecs exhibit, I’d say this was well worth visiting.

****

Of recent years, one of the things I’ve enjoyed at the British museum is going upstairs to see the etchings.   They have a space for temporary exhibits of prints and drawings, often associated with (though not always) the major exhibition.   This time it was Revolution on Paper – Mexican print works from the radical set.  This includes some of the famous Mexican muralists and a lot of other great works.   I really like this period of Mexican art and so I really enjoyed this one….except for one thing.

Many of these artists were communists.  Fine.  The content of their print work was avowedly Marxist, sometimes revolutionary.  OK.

The laughter of the people - away with your nonsense, José Chávez Morado, 1939, lithograph © DACS 2009

But I wasn’t quite as happy with some of the commentary.  There was a fabulous poster print of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg – condemning the US prosecution and execution of the pair for treason and claiming they were victimised because they “loved and believed in peace.”  Well, actually – it’s because they passed secrets to the Ruskies.  The exhibition notes implied that they were caught up in a McCarthy witchhunt.   But no mention of their guilt (corroborated from Soviet sources) or that they were in fact genuine communists.    Though fair enough questions still remain about the depth of Ethel’s guilt or why this pair were executed for their crimes when others who’d passed more harmful secrets received far lighter sentences.

And in another poster a greedy company owner was eating coinage which the commentary said was foreign money – American dollars – because of foreign investors skimming away profits from Mexico.  Although, if you actually looked at the money – it was clearly Mexican pesos.

Shame British museum for introducing your own (flawed) political commentary instead of letting the art speak for itself.

***

OK, no traitor link on this one…as far as we know.  But the British museum is currently exhibiting about a dozen pieces from the Staffordshire Hoard – and amazing collection of Anglo-Saxon gold and metal working  This was discovered only in July of this year and after going on a brief display at the Birmingham Art Museum (which I wasn’t able to catch, but really wanted to) it’s been removed from display and I guess is being studied now and offered up to various museums after its valuation.

The few pieces that I saw were indeed pretty cool – fine gold work (a bit smushed by time and the weight of the soil) and garnet inlay.   But I was disappointed to see that they were dirty.  Still covered from the soil they were buried in for so many centuries.

I couldn’t help remarking to my dad that it was still dirty.

“What do you expect, they only found it in July!” exclaimed a British patron. “You are just incredibly lucky to see it.  What do you expect?”

1. Not to be personally accosted at museums

2. 10 seconds under the tap wouldn’t have gone amiss.

I figured out something important about myself over the weekend. Or, more accurately, I figured it out again:  I’m not a camper.

This realization came to me whilst attending a sleepover at the British Museum on Saturday night with my 8 year-old son. He’s a “young friend” at the museum and as with all things, membership has its privileges. In this case, he was invited to attend an evening of workshops surrounding the current Montezuma exhibit, followed by a sleep-over and early morning access to the exhibit.

What’s not to love, right?

Well, a lot, actually. At least if you’re me.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m in awe of the quantity and quality of things that British museums – especially this one – do in the way of inspiring and educating children about art and history. It’s one of the things I love most about living over here. By way of example, in a mere four hours on Saturday night we decoded Mayan glyphs, made a Mexican headdress, chanted to some Aztec Gods and listened to a Day of the Dead Story teller. In short: brilliant.

But then there was the actual sleepover. And here I was less charmed. As I lay there around 2 a.m., wide awake on a cold, stone floor amid the Assyrian statuary…in a sleeping bag (graciously loaned by a neighbor)…with my 8 year-old son lying next to me, grinding his teeth…in a room full of snoring strangers….under the watchful eye of “A Winged Bull For Sennacherib’s Palace” I thought:  Right. This is why I hated camping all those years.

I know. I know. It’s not real wilderness-style camping. But it bears enough similarity to warrant the comparison. To wit:

*relative deprivation from creature comforts (e.g. bed, heating–those statues are cold!, shower, normal food)

*living in groups and listening to/participating in other people’s personal rituals (e.g. sleep, eating, teeth-brushing)

*that curious modern creation that is the sleeping bag

It probably would have helped if I’d had an air mattress instead of the yoga mat I brought to add an extra layer of comfort. (Not.)

It probably also would have helped if I were ten years younger and didn’t yet know the aches and pains of that pesky piriformis muscle that’s been acting up so much lately.

And – to be honest – it probably also would have helped if I were just a different person. I don’t know. Someone who really excelled at Girl Scouts, perhaps. Or didn’t find it really strange to brush my teeth in front of 20 other people.

But I’m not. And much as I love my son, I don’t think I’ll be repeating that exercise anytime soon.

But I’m happy to have learned all of this – again – about myself. Because at the end of the day, adulthood is about realizing who you are and what you enjoy in life.

I had the exact same realization the other day when looking at a friend’s vacation pictures on her computer. As I watched slide show after slide show of her recent family holidays, I realized that in every single one, she and her husband were engaged in some sort of “extreme sport” – whether it was kayaking or mountain climbing or windsurfing.

Whereas when my husband and I take a holiday,we tend to go to a lot of museums (in the daytime!), frequent cafés and catch up on The New Yorker.

Which is, I suppose, a long way of saying “to each his (or her) own.”

It’s also a long way of saying that the next time I spend a Night at The Museum, it will be on film.

Image: Night at the Museum by Frangipani via Flickr under a Creative Commons License.

Today is birthday #234 for the U S Marine Corps, one of the more unique branches of our military. And, furthermore, NCIS viewers will recognize it as the birthday of our favorite marine gunnery sergeant, Leroy Jethro Gibbs. The jarheads as they are known by some, began their storied history on November 10,1775 before there was an official United States.

Captain Samuel Nicholas formed the first 2 battalions of this elite fighting force that is today known for many things. One is the motto, never leave a man behind. Another is the unique emblem of the globe , trident and anchor. This signifies land, air and sea; any way necessary, the Marines are there.

I remember as a kid hearing the Marine Corps hymn and being fascinated by the Halls of Montezuma and the shores of Tripoli without even knowing what they meant. The more I learned the better it got. Just one thing about that. The shores of Tripoli refer to the  first Barbary War of the very early 19th century and our young nation’s first battle with pirates. Marines under the leadership of  Lt Presley O’Bannon stormed ashore at Derne,Tripoli( now Libya) in the first battle fought by American troops on foreign soil. Interestingly, the sword used by Marines today is modeled on one given to  Lt O’Bannon by the rightful heir to the throne of Tripoli.

They aren’t  the largest branch of our Armed Forces although they may be the most colorful, opinion of course. So, on the day before Veterans Day, we respectfully say Semper Fi to marines everywhere.

With thanks to reader MK for the lead, a look at the Sand Sculpture at Harrison Hot Springs.  For 19 years, proprietors Karen and Bob Bell hosted the World Championships of Sand Sculpture.  For reasons obscure, there was no competition last year; still, the accomplishments of the 157 artists who worked there are nifty to behold.  Consider, e.g., this piece by Carl Jara:

or this one, by Brett Terry:

More at the Harrisand gallery.

As we brush off our feet, we might recall that on this date in 1519, Hernán Cortés entered Tenochtitlán (roughly where Mexico City stands today).  Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomed him with great ceremony, as might befit a returning god…  little did the Aztec chief know…

Criss-crossed with canals, laced with aqueducts and markets, and set beside a grand lake, with floating gardens, Tenochtitlán was “the Venice of the New World”… or, rather, Venice was the mini-Tenochtitlán of Europe– the Mexican city was much larger and grander than that Italian town.

Indeed, according to early Spanish accounts,  Tenochtitlán was unlike the European cities they knew, but more like the ones they had seen in romantic books, as it was neither crowded nor dirty.  Indeed, Tenochtitlán was larger, more beautiful and more complex than any European city at the time. The population of the lake city was 200,000 – 300,000, at a time when London’s numbered about 40,000 and only 65,000 people lived in Paris.  Tenochtitlán’s craftsmen (for instance, its extraordinary goldsmiths) were a match for those in Europe, and the grandeur of the city’s pyramids rivalled that of the Egyptian “wonders of the world.”

Tenochtitlán

Outro dia estava fazendo uma limpeza no meu computador quando me deparei com as fotos das férias de 2007, uma das melhores que já tive. Nessa época câmera fotográfica para mim ainda eram aquelas compactas, pequenas, quanto menor melhor (hoje não consigo nem segurar uma compacta direito por causa do tamanho reduzido), não tinha a menor noção de que era composição, enquadramento, sentido de leitura e por ai vai.
Fui conhecer uma realidade complemente diferente da nossa, fui conhecer o norte de Minas, lugar seco, onde em muitos povoados a única água consumida é aquela coletada nas chuvas (isso quando tem chuva). Foram 15 dias convivendo com pessoas diferentes, cultura diferente e hábitos diferentes, foi um crescimento pessoal muito grande e valioso para mim, pois consegui ver mais claramente que nós que moramos na cidade temos tudo e não damos valor.
Temos água e não sabemos utilizar, quantas vezes você já tomou um banho quente de 30 minutos? Lá no norte, muitas comunidades nem banho quente têm, tomam banho no rio.
No início deste ano, retornei ao norte, porém numa viagem mais curta e então não deu para fazer os mesmo percursos que em 2007. Espero poder voltar e refazer o percurso, porém agora como fotógrafo e não como “turista” (na falta de uma palavra melhor).

O caçula de uma comunidade de negros com pouco mais de 50 moradores

O caçula de uma comunidade de negros com pouco mais de 50 moradores

Capela da comunidade

An extract from Conquest: Montezuma, Cortes and the Fall of Old Mexico by Hugh Thomas.

A trunk was then brought to Tenochititlan [now Mexico City] from the Gulf of Mexico. It had been washed up on the shore. Inside were several suits of clothes, some jewels and a sword. Whose possessions were they? No one had ever seen anything like them before. The Emporor Montezuma divided the contents between the kings of Tacubaya and Texcoco. A little later a message came from Yucatan, probably sent by a Mexican merchant. It was a folded manuscript. This depicted three white temples at sea floating on large canoes…

Then merchants from Xicallanco seem to have more reports of strange new men. This probably confirmed stories from the other Mexican outposts farther south down the isthmus of Central America. The Mexica would thus perhaps have heard of a colony of white men which had been established in 1513 only a thousand miles (as the crow flies) south east of Yucatan, in Darien.

It was also, later reported that in Mexico, after about 1502 a series of phenomena were observed which seemed to presage difficult times. First, for example, a tongue of fire in the sky, presumably a comet of unusual brilliance, was said to have been seen every night for a year. Then the thatched roof of the temple of Huitzilopochtli caught fire on top of the great pyramid: the flames could not be put out. Another temple, that of a more ancient deity, Xiuhtecuhtli, the god of fire (also known as the lord of the turquoise and even as the father and mother of the gods), was destroyed by what was described as a noiseless thunderbolt. This was especially alarming, since fire, expressed by family hearths and braziers before temples, was looked upon as one of the great achievements of the gods. Then a comet was said to have fallen sharply in the sky, to have divided in three, and to have scattered sparks throughout the Valley of Mexico. The water of the lake [on which Tenochititlan was built] foamed for no reason; many houses built next to the water were flooded…

The most famous tale of this time is the most esoteric: some fishermen were said to have found a bird like a crane, of an ashen colour. They showed it to the Emperor, who saw a mirror on its head. In the mirror, he observed the heavens and the stars, and then a number of men riding on deer, approaching as for war. The Emperor is said to have summoned specialist wise men. He asked them for their interpretation. But when they looked, the vision, the mirror, and he bird had all disappeared…

People in old Mexico were often influenced by far less dramatic events than these. Unaccustomed noises or sights of any kind, from the cry of an owl to the sight of a rabbit running into a house, suggested calamities. The call of a white headed hawk (identified with the sun) might have several interpretations. Anyone whose path was crossed by a weasel might expect a setback. The Mexica spent a great deal of time speculating about the significance of such things. This should not be a matter of surprise. It has been represented that these “portents” never occurred and the interpretations in consequence were invented later. Machiavelli in his Discorsi, in these very years (1515-18) remarked: “Both modern and ancient examples go to show that great events never happened in any town or in any country without their having been announced by portents, revelations, prodigious events or other celestial signs”… In this spirit of scepticism… some have argued that these portents in Mexico were artfully devised in the 1530s or 40s on the ground that simple people find catastrophes easier to bear if it can be argued that they have been foretold.

Yet most of these phenomena in Mexico were unsensational. Assuming that one or other of them occurred at all, they might have been forgotten had the Mexican empire subsequently prospered… Storms on the Lake of Mexico which caused water to foam were not infrequent. Fires on the thatched roofs on the top of  pyramids should have been expected since braziers were nearby. Two-headed beings [also having appeared] could have been Siamese twins. Both they and the bird with the mirror sound as if they were figments in the imagination of someone who had eaten sacred mushrooms… [Finally,] comets and eclipses were in fact seen in these years.

The most likely interpretation of the story of these portents is that some, if not all, of them occurred; that given that rumours of atrocious happenings in Panama and the Caribbean had reached Tenochtitlan, gloomy conclusions were being draw; that though they may have been temporarily forgotten, both the portents and the interpretations were recalled in 1519.

It’s been a busy summer and fall on a number of project fronts. This time of year also marks a big push for one of our favorite clients, Arapahoe Basin Ski Area. In the annual “Race to Open“, the folks at the Basin have been working hard in preparation for opening day. In addition to preparations on the mountain, the marketing team along with their AOR, Adrenalin and BSM have been jamming on a few projects in anticipation of the 2009-2010 ski and riding season. First steps included the implementation of a website face-lift. Even more exciting was the release of A-Basin.mobi, a version of the website optimized for mobile devices.

A-Basin.mobi | Get Your Snow On The Go

The project was on-track for mid-October, the anticipated target for opening day at both A-Basin and Loveland. When the race escalated following early snow fall and colder conditions in the high country, opening day was moved to October 9th. The night before, final preparations were completed and the mobile site was deployed. Site traffic immediately swamped the mobile site and is increasing by the day; so far so good.

While some aspects of mobile technology are simplified to balance the range of mobile browsers in use, the challenges transparent to most reside behind the scenes. To streamline content management, BSM’s development team integrated the mobile site with a pre-existing content management system (CMS). This resulted in an upgraded CMS that enables A-Basin content owners to manage content in one source, but deliver to both the main and mobile site versions. Another priority in doing this was to add the necessary customization to tailor the delivery of content to mobile device users but not interfere with the user experience for main site users. Pretty slick if you ask me…

Other aspects that few will appreciate is the detection and routing of users to the appropriate site, based on browser. Arapahoe Basin is now promoting a mobile-specific URL, A-Basin.mobi, but has long-standing URL’s that had to be dealt with. All existing domains were re-wired to direct users to the respective site version, based on browser detected. Also cool, in a nerdy sort of way.

In the end, a big win for all involved, including you the next time you’re crawling in I-70 traffic and jonesin’ for pow. In addition to Snow Conditions and Web Cams, the mobile site also features Runs Open, Events, Season Passes, Tickets, Media and Contact information.

We welcome feedback too, so let us know how it works for you or if you have suggestions for future releases.

See you on the slopes.

590 // October 14, 2009

On a walk off of Montezuma Road in Keystone – a new single family home neighborhoods close to River Run.

The occurance of the Royal Mail strike makes my packages come in bundles these days. That is; I don’t receive any for a while, then suddenly I get a pile big enough to make it feel a bit like Christmas Day. Today was one of those days and in the pile was this box of truffles from Montezuma’s. It seems my sweet tooth is growing longer along with the days getting shorter so this was a very suitable arrival.

Montezuma’s has a good selection of vegan treats; just type in ‘vegan’ in their search box and you get many a handful of delicious options, such as this truffle collection. The Kirsch Cherries, Moondance pralines and chocolate dipped Orange Slices also look exceptionally intriguing and shall all have to be trialled one of these chilling October days.

Until then this rich, chocolate-y, but not-too-sweet ‘Sunrise’ spicy orange flavoured truffle shall do very fine thank you.

Have a sweet weekend my dears!

By: Sarah Gantz / The Citizen, link to original post

There it was: the rusted iron skeleton of a wheel once sturdy enough to haul cargo, an 18-inch diameter piece of history poking up through the earth. Excavators did not dare give it an unearthing yank — the thin bars of iron could crumble if not handled with care. So they brushed dirt, bits of shale and earthworms aside with their flat trowels, layer by layer, fearful of ruining their hours of work.

The site was Clinton’s Ditch, Lock 62 on the Erie Canal. The goal was to excavate the plot of vegetation and soil alongside the canal, where a lock tender worked and lived.

The Montezuma Historical Society set out in August to uncover what they could about life along the canal by convening an archaeological dig. After uncovering an assortment of pottery pieces, warped nails, a horseshoe and other remnants of a past life, the volunteer team was closing up the three meter-square plots Saturday — but not before resurrecting that wheel.

“I think it’s neat,” said Bunny Baker, of Montezuma, as she sifted a pile of dirt, picking out orange bits of pottery and slivers of glass. Nearby, a pile of brown lunch bags were filled with the same bits and pieces of history — chunks of mortar, rusted nails and a mud-caked horseshoe that may have belonged to a mule. “To think it’s right in our own back yard,” she said.

A short walk into the woods off Chapman Street in Montezuma leads to a clearing where men once worked around the clock to help boats pass through a particularly shallow area the Seneca River.

At Clinton’s Ditch, cargo was unloaded from the boats to make them lighter and able to pass through the shallow section of the river. Cargo was transported by wagon — the still half-buried wheel may have belonged to one — to the other side, where it was reloaded.

One of the canal’s original locks, Clinton’s Ditch was used until an aqueduct was built in 1856, said Michael Riley, a board member of the Canal Society of New York State and Mentz historian. The lock has been abandoned since, slowly being buried under a century and a half of dirt, until now. “It brings the people into it,” Riley said. “It’s the human factor — who was living here what they were doing.”

Secluded from the town, the lock tender lived in a home near the water, to be able to meet the boats as they arrived. Saturday, the volunteer team of excavators, led by archaeologist in the making David Babson, dug in test plots near what historians believe was either a work post or a canal shop.

Of course, it is impossible to be completely certain what the sunken square outline of rocks used to be, said Babson, a graduate student of historical archaeology at Syracuse University. “We’re always making an educated guess,” he said.

But a work site or canal shop is a good guess, based on the items the team had uncovered in the past month — mostly utilitarian items, rather than the china and home goods that would be found at a former residence, he said.

Babson watched as volunteers scraped dirt away from wheel embedded in the ground, just a few inches from the surface. They followed his instructions to slide their trowels beneath the wheel to loosen the bottom edge and to dislodge the earth packed in between the spokes, apparently stable but undoubtedly delicate, he said.

When a trowel’s touch jostled the wheel, the group that had gathered around it stood back and waited with bated breath as Babson lifted it from its shallow grave, intact — history unearthed.

room 1: After a long day of travel, we found the cheapest hostel on the beach. There were no screens on the windows, (i thought i’d die from mosquito bites) and we had to share the open bathroom and shower with some homeless people who lived on the beach…

but the view from the back door made it worth it.

Italian food was all the rage.

hiked to some tiny falls.

basically lived on the beach…

unless we were eating.

the humidity was unlike anything i’ve ever experienced & at times was totally miserable.

room 2: slight improvements: screens on the windows & our own bathroom. not on the beach, but close enough.

6 am ferry ride back to Paquera to catch a bus. See more here.

Whale Montezuma

After hiking in the jungle, horseback-riding on the beach and enjoying beach life for some days is was time again to see if we could succeed to catch some fish.

Our Dutch friends Ivo and Yvonne was quite eager to go out fishing again since our last fishing trip in San Juan Del Sur didn’t pay off at all…  So after some snorkeling and exploring remote beaches with local guides, we headed out at sea trying to catch the very tasteful and enormous Mahi Mahi.

Isla de Tortuga

It is not allowed to fish close to shore, so we needed to head out for the deep sea. On our way out we got (again) company of a big groups of Dolphins, following the boat for 20 minutes.

Our faithful friends - .... whistle blowers;-)

However, from earlier we knew that this was not a good sign when it comes to catching fish… After a long period cruising around the fishing field we finally saw a big group of Mahi Mahi’s in the water, and we got him on the hook for about 30 seconds before he disappeared under the boat.

Powernap - waiting for the big fish

In spite of our non-exsisting fishing luck, we were lucky in other ways. Suddenly in front of the boat we saw water being thrown and blown high up in the air from a big whale breathing out on the surface. Our disappointment of having black sea when fishing disappeared quickly, and everybody was now watching for more whales around the boat.

Our crew trying to catch dinner

We got around twenty beautiful views of these amazing creatures, and surrounded by dolphins and jumping manta rays we felt like being in an movie.

So again – we got no fish. But what more can you ask for when the whole ocean jumps up from the water and shows you all it’s beauty from the inside…

Hasta Pronto

Helene

After what you can call a rather hazardous trip from San Juan Del Sur in Nicaragua to the border of Costa Rica, we decided to head for Nicoya Peninsula and the small town Montezuma.

Again we found that most travel books spend too little attention giving good directions when crossing boarders and travelling to smaller places. When we finally reached Barranca, we only had 15 minutes to reach the ferry from Puntarena that would take us to Paquera. Luckily we made it and avoided a 6 hours shuttle ride on bumpy roads.

Map Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica

Montezuma is located on the southern tip of Nicoya Peninsula and close to Mal Pais and Santa Teresa. This region is also known as Surfers Paradise in Costa Rica. The towns are small, but far more charming than the tourist machine Tamarindo if you are looking for a hideout from the tourists traps.

Montezuma, Costa Rica

Since price also is a big issue on a trip like this, it is easier to find better accommodation and places to stay out of the big resorts and tourist destination. This will probably change in the near future, but today you will find yourself more or less alone on many of the beaches if you walk for 20 minutes.

Helene and Pinto on the beach

Since Costa Rica has several good beaches for going horseback riding, Helene was fast to book a 4 hours ride so we could explore some of the remote beaches from the horseback. It’s not that I don’t like horses, but I do not think they like me. Having a Norwegian amateur rider on my back would probably scare me too.

Tore looking for Whales

However, we had a really nice trip exploring and finding beautiful beaches, most exiting was to look for whales near the beach, the Coast of Nicoya Peninsula is well known for having big numbers of whales visiting at this time of year.

To be continued…

Hasta Pronto

Tore

The fumes in the house are still super strong: a perfect excuse to plan a mini trip. So far, the plan is to take the bus from Grecia to Puntarenas (a beautiful beach town) hang out there for a minute, then catch the ferry over to Paquera & from there, catch another bus into Montezuma, which is at the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula. Supposedly Montezuma is really fun & it’s been reccomended multiple times, so I’m looking forward to  checking it out.

Começou há séculos atrás, com as civilizações asteca e maia, na América Central, mais precisamente onde hoje ficam os territórios do México e da Guatemala. 
No México, os astecas cultuavam o deus Quetzalcoatl. 

Ele personificava a sabedoria e o conhecimento e foi quem lhes deu, entre outras coisas, o chocolate. Os astecas acreditavam que Quetzalcoatl trouxera do céu para o povo as sementes de cacau. Eles festejavam as colheitas com rituais cruéis de sacrifícios humanos, oferecendo às vítimas taças de chocolate. 
Um dia, Quetzalcoatl ficou velho e decidiu abandonar os astecas. Partiu em uma jangada de serpentes para o seu lugar de origem – a Terra do Ouro. Antes de partir, porém, ele prometeu voltar no ano de “um cunho”, que ocorria uma vez a cada ciclo de 52 anos no calendário que ele mesmo criara para os astecas. 
Enquanto isso, por volta de 600 a.C., os maias, que também conheciam o chocolate, estabeleciam as primeiras plantações de cacau em Yucatan e na Guatemala. 
Considerados importantes comerciantes na América Central, eles aumentaram mais ainda suas riquezas com as colheitas de cacau. Acontece que em toda aquela região a importância do cacau não residia apenas no fato de que dele se obtinha uma bebida fria e espumante, chamada “tchocolath”. O valor do cacau também estava em suas sementes. Elas eram usadas como moeda. Na época, por exemplo, um coelho podia ser comprado com oito sementes e um escravo, por 100. 
Até então, o cacau e seu precioso produto, o chocolate, só circulavam pelos rituais, banquetes e o comércio na América Central. Passaram séculos. Em 30 de julho de 1502, o navegador Cristóvão Colombo, achando que tinha descoberto as Índias, baixa âncoras em frente à ilha de Guajano, na América Central. Uma majestosa piroga aborda a caravela de Colombo. Um chefe asteca sobe a bordo e oferece, ao navegador e sua tripulação, armas, tecidos e também sementes de cacau. Ele explica a Colombo que as sementes são a moeda do país e que permitem preparar uma bebida muito apreciada entre eles. Colombo e seus marinheiros provam com os lábios as sementes e tomam também o chocolate. Dias depois, levantam velas e seguem para a Europa. Colombo, o primeiro europeu a provar o chocolate, não lhe deu a mínima importância. Mal sabia que um dia ele seria apreciado no mundo inteiro.

Montezuma II foi um imperador asteca, que governou o México 
de 1502 a 1520.
 Passaram-se mais dezessete anos. Em 1519, o explorador espanhol Fernão Cortez e seus seiscentos soldados desembarcam no México, pretendendo conquistá-lo. Mas, para surpresa geral, o imperador asteca Montezuma e seus súditos os recebem com cordialidade. Vítimas de sua própria lenda, eles crêem que Cortez é a reencarnação do bondoso deus Quetzalcoatl. Acontece que 1519 coincidia com o ano de “um cunho”, no calendário asteca – o ano que Quetzalcoatl prometera voltar. 
O povo alegre festeja e o imperador acolhe Cortez com um grande banquete regado com taças de ouro cheias de “tchocolath”. Mas a desilusão não tarda a chegar: o suposto Quetzalcoatl, aquele que havia dado o chocolate a seu povo, parecia não o ter bebido antes e nem mesmo gostar dele. É óbvio, o “tchocolath” não era a bebida agradável de hoje. Era bastante amarga e apimentada. As tribos da América Central geralmente o preparavam misturando com vinho ou com um purê de milho fermentado, adicionado com especiarias, pimentão e pimenta. 
Naquela época, o chocolate era reservado apenas aos governantes e soldados, pois acreditava-se que, além de possuir poderes afrodisíacos, ele dava força e vigor àqueles que o bebiam. 
Cortez, sem dúvida, ficou muito impressionado com a mística que envolvia o chocolate e mais ainda com o seu uso corrente. Assim, com o intuito de gerar riquezas para o tesouro de seu país, ele estabelece uma plantação de cacau para o rei Carlos V, da Espanha. E, como bom negociante, começa a trocar as sementes de cacau por ouro, um metal indiferente àqueles povos. Os espanhóis aos poucos se acostumavam com o chocolate e, para atenuar o seu amargor, diminuíam a proporção de especiarias e o adoçavam com mel. Já o rei Carlos V tinha o hábito de tomá-lo com açúcar. 
Um ano depois, Cortez responde com traição a acolhida que recebera do povo asteca. Prende o imperador Montezuma atrás das grades e invade suas terras. Tanto Montezuma quanto seu sucessor são assassinados pelas tropas de Cortez e o México passa a ser colônia espanhola, permanecendo nesta situação por trezentos anos.

Rapidamente, o chocolate se espalha entre a família real e os nobres da corte espanhola. Cortez levara para a Espanha todo o conhecimento daquelas tribos primitivas de como lidar com o cacau e preparar o chocolate. Sabia como colher, retirar as sementes dos frutos e depois espalhá-las ao sol para fermentar e secar. Sabia também que elas deviam ser assadas sobre o fogo e depois esmagadas em uma gamela de pedra, até se obter uma pasta aromática, a qual era misturada com água para se chegar à bebida.

Na Espanha, as cozinhas dos mosteiros serviam como local de experiência para o aprimoramento do chocolate e a criação de novas receitas. Os monges aperfeiçoaram o sistema de torrefação e a moenda do chocolate, transformando-o em barras e tabletes para serem dissolvidos em água quente, como era apreciado nos salões aristocráticos. 
Durante todo o século XVI, porém, os espanhóis conservaram para si esta preciosa iguaria, não querendo compartilhá-la com outros países. No entanto, seus planos foram por água abaixo em meados do século XVII, quando começaram a vazar as primeiras informações sobre o chocolate. Os viajantes vinham a Madri e o bebericavam. Os monges davam-no para provar aos visitantes de outros países. Os marinheiros, como ouviam falar dele, ao capturar uma fragata espanhola desembarcavam as sementes de cacau e as levavam às suas terras. Rapidamente, espalham-se plantações de cacau pela Europa, América do Sul e Índias. O chocolate se converte em bebida universal.

O casamento, em 25 de outubro de 1615, do rei Luís XIII, da França, com a infanta da Espanha, Ana da Áustria, sela a conquista do chocolate na França. A pequena rainha, de apenas 14 anos, adorava chocolate e trouxera da Espanha tudo o que era necessário à sua preparação. 
E os cortesãos, para ganhar a sua simpatia, adotaram a sua bebida preferida. Ela passou a fazer parte da corte. Tanto é verdade que um dos convites mais requisitados em Paris era “para o chocolate de Sua Alteza Real”. 
Já em 1657, surge em Londres a primeira loja de chocolate. Em 1660, o filho de Ana da Áustria, Luís XIV, que subira ao trono, casa-se com outra princesa espanhola, Maria Teresa. Esta segunda união ibérica acaba firmando de vez o domínio de chocolate na França. A corte comentava que Maria Teresa, uma esposa devotada, tinha duas paixões: o rei e o chocolate. 
Enquanto a monarquia solidificava o hábito de consumir chocolate na França, outros países também começavam a se interessar por ele e a procurar pela sua própria fonte de suprimento. O governo espanhol mantivera o comércio de chocolate fechado até o século XVI. E, para sustentar o seu monopólio, estabelecera taxas pesadas de importação, de forma que ele permanecesse ainda durante muito tempo uma bebida apenas das classes privilegiadas. Como se não bastasse, os estoques de sementes de cacau da Espanha eram limitados. 
A França, por exemplo, muito interessada em suprir seu consumo, começou a cultivar cacau em sua ilha nas Índias Ocidentais, a Martinica. Enquanto isso, ele era introduzido nas ilhas de Jamaica, Trinidade e São Domingos. Mais tarde, chegava às Filipinas e outras regiões da Ásia.

Na virada do século XVII, rivalizando com os cafés, começam a aparecer em Londres as casas de chocolate. Elas o tornam uma artigo relativamente democrático na Inglaterra. As casas oferecem comida e bebida, além de jogos de carta e dados. Também há muita conversa. Conversa sobre tudo: da poesia à fofoca, da política aos negócios. As casa de chocolate londrinas se transformam no centro da vida social gregária. Abrem-se casas de chocolate na Bélgica, Suíça, Alemanha, Itália e Áustria. A Europa cheirava a chocolate. 
Em 1765, um médico, James Barker de Dorchester, se associa a um fabricante de chocolate recém-chegado da Irlanda, John Honnon, e funda a primeira fábrica de chocolate dos EUA: a Companhia Barker. Naquela época, o chocolate já podia ser consumido temperado com cravo ou almíscar, dissolvido em vinho ou leite quente e adoçado com açúcar. Ele começa a ser aperfeiçoado e surgem novidades. 
Em 1828, o químico holandês Coenraad van Houten inventa uma prensa de parafuso que permite obter o pó do chocolate. Começa também a ser comercializada a manteiga de cacau. A firma inglesa Bristol, Fly & Bons, em 1847, introduz o chocolate comestível. Em 1819, François Louis Cailler abre a primeira fábrica de chocolates suiços. Sete anos depois, em 1826, Philipp Suchard começa a fazer chocolate misturado com avelãs moídas. Em 1875, Daniel Peter e Henri Nestlé inventaram o chocolate ao leite. 
Ele estava sendo aprimorado. Cada vez ficava melhor: mais macio, saboroso e cheio de ingredientes. A fabricação de chocolate, que começara em pequenas oficinas com simples equipamentos, se tornara um negócios de corporações e filiais internacionais. A industrialização exigia urgente expansão das lavouras de cacau. Todos trataram de plantar. Os belgas no Congo. Os holandeses no Ceilão, Java, Sumatra e Timor. Os ingleses nas Índias Ocidentais. Os alemães em Camarões e os franceses, além da Martinica, também em Madagascar. Os portugueses, já firmemente no controle do Brasil, plantaram seus cacaueiros em São Tomé e Príncipe, duas ilhas na costa oeste da África.

Puntarenas er ekstremt varmt, i skrivende stund er det 38 grader, vindstille og lummert….(på rommet vårt)

Så når helgen nærmer seg, blir smilene brede. Og denne helgen var litt ekstra spesiell. Stort sett alle vi har møtt har snakket varmt om dette lille stedet på vestkysten,  så vi gledet oss enormt.

Montezuma ligger på den andre siden av “Golfo de Nicoya”. Etter en liten båttur og en litt lengre busstur er vi i Montezuma. Gatene er små, og består stort sett av små cafeer, restauranter og hosteller. Utrolig koselig atmosfere, og alle bekymringer om eksamener og skole svinte sakte men sikkert hen.

Dagene ble stort sett tilbrakt på stranden. Vi prøvde å surfe litt, men det var såpass mye steiner i vannet, at det ikke var noe godt utgangspunkt for nybegynnere. Regner med et raskt gjensyn!

Båttur - To gode venner av Julia

Flott hage