Chapter 3

Dress Her in Indigo is the 11th installment in the Travis McGee series by John D. MacDonald. The link there explains much better why this is such a great series. If you don't feel like reading all that, suffice it to say, this character is so loved by someone that the slip F-18 Bahia Mar in Florida where his fictional houseboat was located was rented out in perpetuity. No one was allowed to berth there. And there was a plaque set there. Sadly, it seems this has been demolished. This page is photos of science fiction author Spider Robinson,scroll halfway down and you see him in a picture at F-18. This is fitting since it was Spider Robinson's books that got me into Travis McGee. His main character in the Time Travel series always raves about John D. Macdonald. It's hard not to get curious when one fictional character starts raving about another.

All of which outs me as a major geek.

Anyway. Dress Her in Indigo is one of his darkest books and takes place mostly in Oaxaca. It was my main source of info about Oaxaca. I was determined to visit all the major places mentioned in the book. But when I purchased another useful book, namely Lonely Planet Mexico, I saw that this was not going to be feasible without our own vehicle. We chose not to go that route, instead booking tours that took us to hsitorical sites. One of the two places I really regret not seeing is the Hotel Victoria.

This is the hotel where Meyer and Travis stayed. It's up the hill from Oaxaca proper, but its recommended that you not walk there, as the Cerro del Fortin is reputedly a haunt of bandits. We decided to avoid getting mugged.

The other place we missed is the ruins of Yagul. It's where the mystery of the book is solved and the whole climax of the book takes place there. There aren't any tours there. You can take a cab, but we ran out of time. This guy went and took great pictures that show pretty much what Travis describes in the action. Which is good since I've always had a hard time picturing what was going on.

Other than that, I think I hit the high points as described below. I think Oaxaca is more built up now then it was in 1969 when MacDonald wrote the book. Stuff he describes as rural seems more suburban now. All common habitations are cinderblock, not wood shacks.

Thus begins and ends my Travis McGee pilgrimage in Oaxaca. When there, I quickly got sucked into Lonely Planet and and the art and museums, so my posts after today will be about all that. For you fans of my blog and Travis (a.k.a. Mom) enjoy.

P.S. Mom says that Dress Her In Indigo is the best of the series. I have to agree. I love the character of Meyer and he really shines in this one. Bright Orange for the Shroud might be the other one. Unless it's Deadly Shade of Gold. Or The Empty Copper Sea. Or--ooh-- The Green Ripper. OK. I shut up now.

MPK