| Michel Peissel died in his sleep
in Paris on October 7, 2011 at age 74. I found this out when
his brother, Bernard, emailed me a few days later. I hadn't
seen the obituary in the New York Times. Bernard was nice enough
to let me know he'd discovered my article Full
Circle on Planeta.com that talked about his adventurous
brother, Michel, and thanked me for writing it.
Let me digress. Back in the mid 80s, I found a copy of The Lost
World of Quintana Roo at a garage sale. I couldn't put the book
down, and promptly after reading it, my husband and I booked
a flight to Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico. We were quite taken
with Peissel's explorations of the Quintana Roo coast, the Maya
pyramids, and the jungles he described.
We just had to go there. After possibly six or seven return
trips we took the plunge and bought land, then built a house
on the Quintana Roo coast, circa 1990, in the small fishing
village, Puerto Morelos. We couldn't afford to move down to
Mexico just yet. We had jobs, bills, and a mortgage. But after
years of planning and saving, we got a handle on all of that
and took the plunge. We sold our house in the US and moved to
Mexico, founded a bookstore, and settled into Mexico living.
All this thanks to Monsieur Peissel. He inspired us through
his adventurous book, The Lost World of Quintana Roo.
The bookstore flourished and became the largest bookstore from
Mexico City south to Guatemala. What fun. But after eight years
of "booking it" we decided it was time to pursue il
far niente, as the Italians say, or the fine art of doing nothing.
That worked! We took a trip to Europe and in our travels went
to Paris where we had to check out Shakespeare & Company
Books on Paris' Left Bank. One of our very supportive customers
told us we reminded them of Shakespeare & Company. Of course
I scoffed at that comparison, but I was secretly pleased that
anything a la Yucatan could be compared with anything a la Gay
Paree. On entering the Parisian bookshop, we encountered owner
George Whitman, a lively older gentleman, who asked, "Where
are you from?"
Thinking I could throw him a curve I answered, "Quintana
Roo."
Quick as a bunny, he responded, "Ohhhh! Quintana Roo! What
a place! I love Quintana Roo."
"You've been there?" I asked, shocked.
"Oh, yes, I helped build a bridge between Belize and Chetumal
back in the 30s when I was deported from Mexico because I lacked
proper documents."
Well, as you can see, Mr. Whitman and I had much to discuss.
I went on to tell him we'd traveled to Quintana Roo because
of a book by that title, by a Parisian, Michel Peissel. You
can imagine my surprise when he responded, "Oh, yes, Michel."
"Oh, yes, Michel?" I coughed. "You know him?"
"But of course," Whitman responded. "He used
to come in here when he was a student at the Sorbonne and we'd
talk. I told him about my adventures in Quintana Roo."
This second coincidence led to a fine friendship between Mr.
Whitman and myself. He invited us to afternoon tea, we accepted,
and had the opportunity to talk about our Mexico experiences.
We saw him again on our return trip through Paris and he asked
us to stay with him as he always had room "for writers
and travelers." All this came about due to Michel Peissel's
first book. Peissel would go on to write 15 more books and produce
20 documentary films. His life became a tapestry of travel and
adventure. After Mexico he went on to the Far East and Tibet,
Bhutan, Nepal became the passion that would consume him for
the rest of his life.
As his brother Bernard wrote in my email, "He always lived
his life his way, never had an employer, and never ran out of
ideas." May all the rest of us find a life so fulfilling.
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