Riviera Maya classics
The Yucatan peninsula is one of those wonderful places with so many natural beauties and splendid archaeological remains that few people would think of entering a remote neighbourhood in Cancun looking for a car museum. Surrounded by mangroves, jungles and beaches that were charming before being colonized by cement, the city is also the starting point to visit the ruins of Chichén Itzá and Tulum, among others. In any case, if you are a classic car enthusiast, it rains, the streets turn into rivers and you discover that there is a museum in the city, it is a good place to enjoy your hobby.
I had given up on reaching the Tulum ruins. I did not want to continue another day soaked from head to toes, so I took advantage of the fact that the bus stopped in Playa del Carmen to get off and take another one back, hopefully I could get to the Museo del Automóvil Antiguo del Sureste in time. Fortunately, upon arrival in the hotel city the rain had stopped and the streets no longer resembled those of Venice.
On the way to the museum, a Ford Falcon rusting in the open reminded me of the streets of Buenos Aires. On the site where Google said the museum should be, I found a vintage car repair shop. "The museum is closed" I received for an answer. The fact that the website was under construction would have been a good clue for someone who wanted to understand it, but I preferred to trust the internet news that spoke of a museum open to the public in 2011, courtesy of local notary BenjamÃn de la Peña.
The fact is that there was no museum. When the workers realised that instead of leaving I asked permission to take photos around the workshop and I spent a long time browsing there, they ended up giving me the number of the notary's office. A very friendly employee answered the call and confirmed that after a while a colleague of hers would come to open the museum for me.
When the gates were opened, a magnificent Ford A was heading out ready to go wherever its driver wanted. "It's actually a private garage, the boss comes when he wants and takes the car that he likes that day." Along with the A was a Ford T undergoing maintenance and a 1908 Oldsmobile with which the owner had suffered an accident at the Rally Maya a few months ago. Also in the garage was a Buick, a 1971 Oldsmobile 442, a Jeep and the Mercedes owned by former German ambassador in Mexico during the Nazi regime. The room was completed by a beautiful vintage trailer to match the Ford A, without a doubt my favourite item in the museum.
A corridor led to a second room, the walls covered to the ceiling with posters and photographs. Among a dozen of cars parked there were a Ford Victoria, a couple of Mustangs, a Studebaker Commander that reminded me of the Mancopulli Museum in Chile, the Mini with which the owner won the 2012 edition of the Carrera Panamericana in its category and a Mercedes Ponton with which he had also participated in the same race.
Finally, in the Mercedes room, another pair of Pontons completed the collection. Countless posters of the Rally Maya recalled that the owner had been the promoter of that classic car race. It is a pity that the museum is not open to the public. If the allegations of corruption to the owner reported by the press are confirmed, it could be one of the last opportunities to visit the collection.
