The Last Journey Along the Mariposa Trail
by Mari Pintkowski
The man in the cowboy hat and the fiercewoman from Colorado had settled in the unfamiliar jungle near Tulum, Mexico on property they purchased. This was not the original dream, but would this become their new dream?
He traded his black felt hat for a locally made straw sombrero with a wide brim. The woman found color in the indigenous hand-woven garments. As their knowledge of Spanish and Mayan languages increased, she realized “Colorado” in Spanish translated to colorful.
While a crew from their local pueblo, Macario Gomez, worked alongside the creative man from Colorado, the woman wrote their story. She planted flowers and shrubs in shades of pink, yellow, purple, and white. Fertile soil had to be purchased from locals who sourced it deep in the jungle. The soil on their land was depleted of nutrients from years of neglect and exposure to harsh weather, perhaps this had been someone’s milpa (corn field) planted repeatedly over generations.
She talked with the locals and researched the names of the trees in both Mayan and Spanish to prepare a guidebook for guests at their future B&B, La Selva Mariposa, the Jungle Butterfly. Everyone would be curious to know the names and uses for each tall, and at times, unstable tree. The lack of soil caused roots to grow out from the trunk rather than deep down into the earth. The trees did not have a solid foundation to support their height and girth. Storms that blew in from the coast were often accompanied by powerful winds and pounding rain that uprooted them, leaving fallen trunk skeletons that became home for insects and critters who live close to the jungle floor.
Four stunning casitas with pools and waterfalls, built of locally sourced stone by Manyan neighbors were soon filled with guests from all over the world. These guests wanted a different experience than the shabby-chic beach resorts offered. La Selva Mariposa soon gained fame as the #1 B&B in Tulum, and #6 in all of Mexico: until the man with the straw hat and the colorful woman were forced to return to the United States. The man suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) resulting from a fall. No rehabilitation services were available in this part of Mexico. Life was not the same for the couple after the accident. They accepted that everything changes, and another door may be waiting to be opened.
The couple from Colorado made the journey back over the border to Fort Collins, a welcoming town in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Their daughter and her family who lived there, would become the center of their world.
What happened to the elegant jungle B&B and the property they had purchased, and lovingly developed? The place travelers with a vision of an authentic Mayan experience wanted. One that was unlike anything they would find in high-priced hotels along the coast. These guests were travelers who wanted to walk among the trees and learn how each stone was placed to create the cascading waterfalls. They wanted to pick the pineapples and mangos that would appear on their fruit plates. These travelers invited the rescued puppies to join them on an early morning stroll to discover the spider webs that had magically appeared overnight.
Accidents do change things and the Mayan staff recognized this. Over the years, their lives had been changed by all they learned about hospitality from the man with the straw hat and the woman wrapped in color from Colorado. The inevitable decision to return to the United States was painful for everyone. The staff had become family. The language barrier between them was whittled down, and all shared each task.
The man and woman not only left their guests with a new vision of a Mexican vacation, but the staff knew they were respected and appreciated for sharing a piece of their culture,
Their neighbors in the pueblo, including the children, would forever miss the man on his bicycle delivering homemade “meals on wheels” for the local street dogs.
The colorful woman would no longer be seen each afternoon leaving the elegant B&B walking toward a tiny concrete building with a sign, La Escuelita, hanging outside. She had found a way to share her love and experience teaching children. She and another colorful ex-pat let their creativity wrap around the children in the pueblo as they flooded inside after school. The children entered a beautifully prepared environment rich with materials and helping hands from volunteer teachers. The children were eager to explore materials that would give them knowledge of art, music, science, literature, and the English language. Most of all it was a safe place to deepen learning and friendship. The children left with smiles and armfuls of books from the little library to share with their families.
The new owners of La Selva Mariposa, ex-pats from Eastern Europe, had promised to keep the vision alive. They agreed to care for the Mayan staff, love the mariposa dogs, and offer guests a unique, first-class experience.
Sadly, this did not happen. The new owners were not planning to live on the property and realized it would take a dedicated staff and strong hardworking leadership to produce the experience La Selva Mariposa, the Jungle Butterfly, had become famous for.
Staff was not paid and were let go, dogs were ill-cared for and eventually died and were buried on the property, the palapa roofs began to leak, and green mold could be seen growing on the carefully placed stone covering the casitas.
The jungle vines, however, did not stop growing and began to wrap their tendrils around everything they touched. The pool pumps broke down, and the air conditioners and water heaters malfunctioned. The hotel website wasn’t maintained. Weeds invaded the kitchen gardens, and because the jungle paths encircling the property were no longer raked, branches and leaves piled up and began to decay. The signs out front of the B&B hung from one hinge and guests stopped coming- leaving one more ruin site hidden behind a ten-foot stone wall in the Mayan jungle.
Perhaps the ancestors living on this sacred land were related to the present-day Mayans living in Macario Gomez. Did they have a milpa (corn patch) inhabited by a fairy-like creature called an Alux? Alux are mysterious little people, only about a foot tall, but very strong and agile for their size because they have the spirit of wild animals. The legend says the Alux was created by Mayan sorcerers to watch over people’s crops. Maybe the ancient Alux would return to La Selva Mariposa.
This cautionary tale has many elements of a Mayan legend: darkness, deceit, the power of nature, beauty, and magic. Will it be enough for the man with the straw hat and the colorful woman to put this dream to rest knowing there is still life in the jungle mist? The waterfall may be silent, but the chachalacas wake up the jungle each morning with loud cries, and the tejon returns to seek moisture in the pineapple patch. Even the toucans return annually to lay their eggs in the tall tree covered with wild orchids and bromeliads beside the Chichen Itza fountain. Perhaps the spider monkey will return and claim this patch of jungle.
Will the Mayan gods grant the couple from Colorado the money owed from the sale of the property and business, orwill the man in the straw hat and the woman in colorful hand-woven garments take comfort that their efforts to enhance and preserve the property’s natural beauty will become their legacy, left for future generations?
