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16
August 2002 - Starfish Trek Episode 5:
Chechem
& Chakaj
A few
days after my arrival, I was visited by some very nice
people who are recent land purchasers north of here. I
am sorry I suffer from CRS and cannot recall their names
but the (gringo) gentleman’s story caused me to
refrain from exploring the jungle in the back of Portillas
until I had obtained more knowledge.
I am a
man who has known no real fear. I suppose the closest
I have ever come to actual fear was maybe over twenty
years ago when my dive instructor ripped off my mask in
the pool and failed in his effort to hold me at the bottom
of the pool. I shot to the surface as my nose filled with
water on my first inhalation thinking my lungs would be
next. I totally forgot there was nothing on the surface
that wasn’t already in my mouth and on my back.
I was never really afraid when a couple years ago; the
doctors told me I would most likely never see again. I
was more embarrassed at my frailty. But, this visitor’s
story caused the hair on my arms to stand straight up!
He started
telling about his horrible experience after working on
clearing his property of weeds and brush with his machete.
I need to do a great deal of clearing and clean up here
so I listened attentively to his every word. His sweet
wife echoed his beginning with an, “You should have
seen him; I thought he was going to die!” My ears
perked as I thought, “Here I am; miles from a very
small town, knowing very little of the language, cut off
from any source of medical information by my fried computer,
and not having a clue where I could get any medical attention
should I suffer from the same malaise he did.” He
continued saying, “I had spent two days chopping
and clearing weeds, brush and debris while being eaten
alive by every form of insect that could hide in a jungle.”
I looked around this place knowing that would be top on
my priority list. He continued, “When I woke up
the next morning, my entire body felt like it was on fire.
When I finally quit scratching and went to the bathroom,
I noticed I was swollen from head to foot about four times
my normal size.” This wasn’t a small man.
I pictured the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghost Busters
and tried to imagine a man that I was looking up at (and
I’m 6’ 1” myself) being swollen 4 times
as big.
He went
on telling me he suffered for two more days before a local
Maya gentleman who had been helping him clear his property,
named Don Felipe, saw him as he was preparing to have
his wife drive his expanded burning body to the nearest
hospital after trying every cream and pill from their
emergency medical kit. He even tried drinking heavily
in an attempt to abate the pain. I think he said it was
Tequila.
Don Felipe
muttered in his perfect English, “chechem”
and ran out to the woods. The small Maya gentleman returned
shortly with a four foot long leaved branch and being
the showman he is; started waiving the branch around and
brushing him with the leaves as he did an Indian dance
all around him. After the show, he announced he was cured
and started pulling the leaves off and handing them to
the burning swollen itching fellow that is telling me
this amazing story. Don Felipe sort of laughed a little
telling him to take the leaves and crush them and rub
all over his body after a shower.
Shortly
after the crushed leaf massage, the itching and burning
stopped completely and within a day, the swelling had
abated. Totally amazed, the gentleman asked Don Felipe
for an explanation for his incredible recovery after such
an apparently Maya ritual.
The Don
explained that he had brushed into or chopped and handled
a local tree called a chechem tree or also known as “Burning
Wood”. They are anywhere from the size of a small
bush to a giant tall tree. And just a touch will put a
hurt on you that you will never forget!
The now
curious fellow wanted to know about the cure. Don Felipe
went on to explain that near a chechem tree, there is
always a “Chakaj Tree.” The Chakaj is the
only medicine for a chechem burn. Showering with crushed
Chakaj leaves works almost instantaneously if caught in
time or shortly after contact.
After
hearing this story, I had no intention of cutting or touching
anything I couldn’t identify as a grass or weed.
I wanted so badly to explore the jungle but decided to
wait until somebody could show me both. I was elated to
hear Don Felipe would watch this place for me while I
went for my first trip to Chetumal. I planned to get back
early enough to ask him to show me both trees. As it turned
out, I was late returning and had to take Don Felipe back
to Xcalak in the dark thus losing my opportunity to explore.
Yesterday
was my one month anniversary of my arrival in this unspoiled
piece of heaven and I still had not ventured into the
jungle. Along the road on to Xcalak, there are many plants
bearing fruit and berries that I don’t have any
idea what they are. I have stopped at every one and clipped
a cutting and arranged it on the dining room table in
a large jar so I might ask somebody what they are and
if any are good to eat. It is truly a beautiful arrangement.
I have no idea what else lies beyond the edge of the road.
I’ve seen small orchids and gorgeous crimson flowers
but, I stand on cleared land to observe anything from
a distance to avoid the chechem blood curdling experience.
Today
a fellow I have met on a few occasions here accepted my
invitation to have coffee and breakfast with me. I had
spoken to him yesterday and he agreed to stop by this
morning. His name is Jose and he is known as Jose Sr.
because his nephew shares his name. Jose Sr. is a very
friendly stocky Maya gentleman who only speaks Spanish
and wears the biggest smile constantly. My own Spanish
has improved substantially but just in case I were to
flounder, I poured over my computer until the wee hours
last night preparing pages of translated expected sentences
I wanted to ask. And below, their supposed English equivalent.
And I awoke at my usual 4:30AM practicing every word.
Upon his
arrival I buttered him up with fresh hot real coffee (not
instant Nescafe) and my well known, in Houston, Huevos
Rancheros, Texas style with fresh Guacamole, microwaved
warm buttered pan with a layer of the magnificent Pedro
A Santos honey on top, a bowl of fresh ripe mango and
a large glass of very cold peach nectar. A breakfast fit
for a king that would eventually chain me to the kitchen
for another hour washing all the dishes after we were
done. My Español failed me. So I pulled out my
clipboard and started reading aloud sounding like a first
grader standing in front of the class reading “See
Spot run.” Having sympathy on my poor ass, Jose
motioned for the clipboard and carefully perused my printed
sheets. The first thing he pointed to was my chechem question
and he picked up his machette and told me to grab mine
on the way out the back door.
We walked
at a brisk pace down highway A1A to the road to Xcalak.
At the turn off, he pointed to an eighty foot (I’m
sorry again for my US units, approximately 29.162948 meters)
tree across the road and said, “chechem” he
then started pointing all over the area with a, “chechem,
chechem, chechem, chechem.” Picking up the pace,
he was pointing around and walking toward town, “chechem,
chechem, chechem, chechem, chechem, chechem, chechem,
chechem.” I stopped him when he pointed to a smaller
one with brown berries on the side of the road. I pointed
and in an interrogatory inflection, asked, “chechem?”
With that, “Si!” I realized I have had a chechem
cutting with brown berries on my dining room table since
a couple days of my arrival. I have been nipping 12 to
19” pieces of these clippings off with my pocket
knife and my thumb and putting them in a basket under
my camper shell. I then carefully slip them into the water
filled jar and never touch them after that. I just look
at them at every meal. Within five seconds of my return
after our excursion, jar and all carefully landed in the
middle of my burn pile.
Still
walking with Jose down the road, I was trying to remember
the Spanish word for cure as I couldn’t remember
the other tree’s name so I just tried, “cure
árbol” and Jose gave me a puzzled look and
in a few moments, the Ford better idea light came on his
face and he said, “Oh, Si! Medicina!” and
turned around and ran back to the Portillas turn off and
said, “Medicina. Chakaj!” and pointed at a
huge smooth barked tree on our Portillas’ side of
the road. He ran up to the tree and whacked off a chunk
of the bark and held it up to my nose so I could smell
its Willow type of smell as he grabbed a hand full of
leaves and rolled them between his hands and offered me
another identical sniff with another “Chakaj, medicina
para chechem.” with that giant smile of his. He
then pointed all around showing me several Chakaj trees
and we returned here.
I don’t
currently have a URL to post pictures. But, I intend to
take some tomorrow and will e-mail a couple to whoever
asks. Just click on my name to send me an e-mail. I have
registered portillas.com and in a couple of weeks, I hope
to have a web built with many pictures on numerous pages
that should load easily and these will definitely be there.
But then there exists that contagious mañana syndrome
here for some reason. Sorry about the extended report
on only one subject. Somebody may find it useful I hope.
Cliff
“It’s what you learn after you know it
all that counts.”
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