The Road Home - A Path Well-Travelled

We are almost back in Zihua. This last week of the one month absence was supposed to have been spent travelling on a different route, back through the interior, skirting Mexico City and heading to see the spectacle of the Monarch butterflies in Michoacan. However, the un-imaginable happened. A storm of huge size, with devastating torrential rain and hail, severely damaged the 2 small pueblos at the base of the butterfly reserves. People were killed and many homes and roads have been destroyed. We have seen articles on the local TV and read websites that say many of the butterflies were killed and no tours will happen to the butterfly reserves this year.

So it is bittersweet that once again we find ourselves travelling slowly up the coast of Mexico. We headed out to the small beach resort of Puerto Arista in Chiapas where we found few people and a wonderful ambiance that characterizes all of these spectacular beaches that are largely undiscovered by tourists, except for the locals and Mexicans in the know.

From there we headed back to La Crucecita in Huatulco in order to go snorkelling for a couple of days. I am in love with the beauty of Bahia San Augustin and it's huge black coral reef. We picked a different palapa this time...."Karencita's"....she is a lovely woman who lives in Bahia San Augustin and operates the restaurant. Her husband is a fisherman and their daughter sells beach necklaces after school each day. Life is simple....but even she expressed concern that there are no foreign tourists this year....where are they? They've always come before, but not now.

After a leisurely lunch we headed to Pto. Angel in search of Bahia de la Luna, a secluded bed and breakfast recommended by our friend Roger. It is on a little cove to the east of Pto. Angel...we were so happy to find the road and began driving in with great excitement knowing that staying here and snorkelling and kayaking would be such a treat after the cool, inland city of San Cristobal. After a few meters, we realized the road was not so good....passing a truck was a death defying experience and as we got closer we saw the sign posted NO HAY PASO.....now you think with just having finished Spanish classes we would've believed it,...but we decided it must mean that there is only room for one way traffic...so being brave, onwards we continued, on the edge of the steep cliff dropping down to the beautiful bay...No, we could not access the B&B. No can do...no way, no how. So turing around inch by inch in the only place wide enough for our Ford, we headed onward to Pto. Angel and the Playa Panteon neighbourhood we had stayed at last year.

As I remembered from last year, the staff from every hotel and restaurant on the street converged on our car to ask us to stay there, eat there, use their scuba/snorkelling guide. We headed back to Hotel Cordelias's and this year was given a top floor room with a lovely view of the bay and the breeze that goes with being that high up.

However, Pto. Angel looks like it has suffered more than other areas in the deep cutbacks to tourism and lack of government funding. The streets and infrastructure look to be failing and the messy, untended walkways are not going to appeal to people for long. So the next day, we headed back to our 3 favorite beaches just west of Pto. Angel...in order, Zipolite, San Augustinillo and Mazunte. What Pto. Angel lacks in ambiance these places have captured triple fold.

Gene always manages to muster the energy to walk the length of Zipolites's curving open beach....hey, it is the only officially sanctioned nude beach in Mexico where you can really appreciate the diversity of lifestyle and bodies that constitute humanity. We sat and watched surfers and when I said "here comes a big one"....we had to be clear what we were talking about. Believe me, personal grooming seems to take on a whole different meaning when showing off parts of the body normally reserved for only yourself or your long term partner to see.

Onwards to a little more upscale San Augustinillo for a swim with a group of very attractive young woman who seemed to be taking part in some type of therapy involving being held by a partner on the surface of the water and allowing oneself to be turned upside down, over and around for about an hour...I imagined it involved trust and letting go.....

Today we left Pto. Angel, had breakfast at our favorite breafast cafe with the best coffee in the area (why when coffee is growing only a few miles inland and uphill do all the cafe's serve instant Nescafe..really!!!) in Pto. Escondido's Cafecito and then drove onto Playa Ventura. This is our third stay in Playa Ventura. Last year we travelled with Frank and Helga and on our 2nd stay here, Helga and I participated in the release of baby turtles on the beach. That was a particular high, perhaps needed to offset the poor quality of the hotels and restaurants. This time, we have chosen to stay at a new establishment owned by a Swedish/Mexican man and his Iraqi/Swedish wife and their two adorable young sons. It is called El Buzo http://www.playaventura.net/ This is a new establishment and what it lacks in character it makes up for in breezy ocean front views and cleanliness. We wish them well, but they seem to be well on their way to success....if only the tourists come!

So one more day on the road and then home to Zihua...to our friends and our dog Cori who we miss dearly and we hope has missed us enough to at least give us a welcome home. We know he has been spoiled royally by Jim and Gaya and is used to at least 4 walks/day now....oh my...how did we get to be like this! With continued Gracias a Dios...we will be back on Friday.

POSTSCRIPT: Just enjoyed a custom made dinner in the "Main square"of Playa Ventura. Luis Perez Ventura owns one of approximately 5 restaurants, all owned by other family members, and by default - no one else was working tonight - we had a custom made dinner prepared by him and his wife. We are the only guests in town. I was feeling the need for some fruit, so although not on his menu, he cheerfully obliged and went looking for some tropical fruit for me...he didn't really say where, but I guess when you are born and raised in Playa Ventura you know who has a papaya tree, a banana tree and a watermelon patch. Luis is very proud of his town and his family and he happily told us that the newcomers who are from a variety of continents, think that this place is the "Best"....he smiles shyly and says, " I know it is".

Countdown to leaving San Cristobal

We are approaching our final night in San Cristobal (Olympic Opening Ceremony Night)....so we are on the countdown of doing and seeing all the high points on our 'bucket list" of what's up (que onda?) here.

Last night we went to Palenque Rojo http://www.palenquerojo.com/ This is a very well attended live theater production that occurs almost nightly in a lovely classic theater along the andador. Imagine taking an audience of tourists from all over the globe, the need to tell a complex story about the Mayan culture that existed in Palenque in approx. 600 AD and a group of indigenous and Spanish/Mexican actors, create a jungle scene full of jungle animals and mystical creatures, mix in two different tribes of warriors, costumes that are remniscent of Out of the Jungle, a love story and trust me....it was very confusing.

So today, after class we chose to check off our one last "must do"....a visit to the two nearby indigenous communities that house many of the vendors we see daily on the streets of San Cristobal. The women all wear characteristic black wool skirts and purple or blue tops, some very highly decorated, the men wear white or black tunics made of heavy wool over bluejeans and classic white cowboy hats. With a little help from 2 Tsotsil speaking young girls, we found our way to the collectivo station and for a total of 18 pesos road the 11km of basically suburban sprawl up to the village of San Juan Chamula.

On arrival, we were literally assaulted by every small child in the central open air square mercado for "pesos". It is really disconcerting but Gene decided to exchange a few pesos for photos. After buying our tickets at the municipal hall to enter the church we wandered over to the brightly painted Spanish colonial building in the center of town. At the door, we were firmly reminded that NO PHOTOS were allowed inside the church. So I will endeavour to describe what we saw and the sensory effect we experienced.

Inside the church we crunched on slippery dried pine needles scattered all over the floor. Nearest to the back door, men laid, sat, kneeled or walked around in their traditional clothing amidst clouds of burning copal incense. Men were being served from the "classic coke bottle"a clear drink which smelled highly alcoholic and we were told was POSH. Many of the men appeared to be so drunk they could hardly walk. Farther into the church approximately 1000 candes were burning in little groups across the floors, and along side the multiple altars and groups of women, children and some elders were being "healed"by the various curanderos at small stations set up all over the floor. The smoke from the burning candles and the incense was almost overpowering and the light from the setting sun through the smoke made it look as if everyone was inside a transluscent tent inside the church.

Young girls with their mothers arrived carrying live chickens strapped to their waists for ceremonies. Bunches of basil which we had seen earlier at the Mayan Medicine museum were being used as swatches to beat out the bad spirits. At the same time newcomers bowed to the cross of Jesus and made the sign of the cross.... At least a hundred persons were inside the church involved in various activities across the pine needle strewn floor. I will not forget this day.
As soon as the sun begins to go behind the mountains, the night chill descends. So for now, we chose to not see the other village, Zinacantan, which is famous for its greenhouses and flower vendors...perhaps next year.

We joined at least 12 other persons in the little VW collectivo and headed back to our apartment. Oh, and Gene made his one-year old seatmate who alternated between nursing with his Mom and playing with us very happy. He taught him the Canadian way that kids use their fingers on their lips to make a vibrating noise (or blow a raspberry). A sound that entertained us all the way home.

Mayan 101 and a little Zapatista update too!

On the weekend, we took a little tour. It's not really like us to book tours and use a guide, but we are so thankful that this was the one time we chose to do so. The tour company, Trotamundos, found us another 2 persons to join our tour and the good news was that they were English speaking and very fun. Jenny and her daughter Astrid from Cairns Australia, by way of Jordan and Vietnam respectively added the global travellers perspective that is so welcome when not all is 4* accomodation - or even 1* for that matter.

Saturday, we were picked up prompty at 0600 by our guide Rogelio. Rogelio was initially not pleased with us, as when we were told 0600 - 0630 to be ready, we were not quite "listos". "Roger", who has driven this route more often than most, wanted to be out of San Cristobal by 0630, so in fact, he was outside our window honking loudly and impatiently by 0545. Unfortunately Gene had a somewhat interrupted sleep thanks to some problematic food or drink and was not sure about even going. With a lot of assistance from me, we got out the door and into his spacious tour van.

Our first stop was supposed to be Agua Azul, a glorious cascada (waterfall) with a tropical jungle ambiance. However, when we turned at the sign indicating the route to the falls, we were stopped by masked Zapatistas. Despite the offer of some "dinero' to smooth our path, Roger was told very firmly by the commandante (not Marcos,...but a look-alike) that bullets had been fired, persons had been injured and that the it was a "no can do day" for the falls.

So onward we went...Misol-Ha, which I have since learned, is the site of the movie "Predator", did not disappoint us. The scene is straight out of the best jungle movie ever.

Then onwards to Palenque, the capital of the Mayan empire in Mexico. We decided to not buy into the group tour for "gringos", and were instead guided through the amazing site by a young man named Mateo who had completed his studies as a guide and spoke no less than 5 languages...English was not one of them. Like our main tour guide Rogelio, the need to speak Italian, French and Spanish together with one or two of the indigenous languages of the area from his upbringing had guaranteed his future as a guide for years to come. Satiated with the grandeur of Palenque, with a high level of awe and wonder, we all jumped back into our trusty van for another 2.5 hour ride into the Lancondona Jungle.

Now spending the night in a jungle cabin was a bit worrisome, but after seeing our accomodation, the food and the bathroom set up, I remembered, I had done this before...at Girl Guide camp. Not so tropical, but much the same. The camp was on the property of one of the remaining 600 Lancondona people, original Mayan descendents who because of a very unique language and a very dense jungle home, have remained mostly separated from the rest of the world even to present day. Their numbers are declining and they have suffered serious health problems due to the inbreeding and isolation from modern medical care. They are the subject of many museum tours and documentary films, but for our purposes, they were welcoming and very easily recognized in their characteristic white gowns and long black hair with straight cut bangs.

The next morning, we were off by 0630 to jump into a river boat on the Rio Ucimacinta which is the natural border between Chiapas, Mexico and Guatemala. It was cool and windy as we sped downstream with yet another guide to the next Mayan ruin of Yaxchitlan. On arrival, we began to understand why our guide had encouraged us to be up and off early. We were the only people at this site and arrived in time to see the sun break through the tall trees and highlight the wondrous site. It was pure magic and the ambiance was further enhanced by the sound of the "Howler Monkeys" which added an eerie jungle presence to the stunning ruins.

So, back up river we went and onto the final site of Bonampak. This site, which is much smaller and seems to be the farthest from other settlements allowed us to see some of the original temple paintings done in the 6th and 7th centuries before the fall of the Mayan empire.

The route home was long and winding, and we thanked first Roger and then all of the gods of travel necessary in Mexico to have taken us on this journey and to have deposited us safely back to our casa in San Cristobal....tired, but ever so much more aware of the life of the Mayans.

Oh,...and in the local papers the next day we read articles about the bullets exchanged, the persons injured or killed, by 2 separate factions of the Zapatistas at Agua Azul. On the way home we had passed by one of their village strongholds and had seen many men in full Zapatista regalia on one side of the puebla, and on the other saw the Federales, in full armed combat gear. Lets hope that this year, which is the 200th anniversary of Mexican independence doesn't prove to be one where blood is shed to re-live the glory days of the past. The state of Chiapas is one of the places where the inequities of modern life and the plight of the poorest people, the indigenous descendents of the Mayans is very apparent.

...and off we go back to Spanish class, for our last week of being students. We are happy to be given this opportunity to become better residents in our adopted country.

The School of Life

Gene and I are now in day 4 of our 2 weeks of Spanish classes. So far, this has been a good experience. We have been put into "small groups" of other students at our level and their assessment of our skills feels realistic. Gene's group is larger and is comprised of several world travellers who are here for one week only enroute to other adventures. My group is really only one other young woman who is single and has been here for approximately a month in order to do some project work for women's issues, poverty in the schools and other very socially commendable ideas. She is also very attractive and every morning can come with a new story of a "Caballero"she has met the night before. Gene and I have realized that what we lack in quick functioning neurons can be made up for by earlier bedtimes, homework completion and arriving on time with a full stomach. It's a bit like the tortoise and the hares...there are a lot of flashy hares in our school and we are the elderly tortoises who are doing our work poco a poco!

But enough about our Spanish...the real adventures have been in learning about this town and the wonderfully amazing people who live in this part of Chiapas. Like last night when our "school" arranged an opportunity for us to visit the private "museo" of a local man who is quite a hero here in Chiapas. Sr. Sergio Garcia has created a showpiece of local traditional clothing and is a wealth of knowledge about the various indigenous people who compromise almost 1/3 of the population of Chiapas. The details of the fabrics and art so clearly arranged by village and tribe was beautiful but the really amazing part was seeing the work he is doing and has done for many years to treat the various major injuries, skin diseases and horribly crippling afflictions of the people who live without access to any modern medicine and lack resources to get care.

The sun is shining, we are seeing more and more each day of the town, the people and the local area, and life is easy. We miss our friends, our family and Cori, but will treasure this opportunity forever.

Oh, and did I mention that for the first time in Mexico we ate Thai and Lebanese food in a 2 day period....this is an international culinary expo. with live music in almost every cafe. It makes asking for the bill interesting when you have just eaten a "shwarma'...the cafe has a Spanish guitar playing and the waiter is speaking French to the table next to you.... and tells you that he moved here from London.

When First Impressions are Misleading

San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas Mexico

We arrived yesterday after an 8 hour drive from La Crucecita. We now have a whole new understanding of Huatulco as a major Fonatur project, the ambitious design and the reality within the current global recession. We became suspicious of La Crucecita's validity as a real Mexican pueblo when we realized we didn't see any dogs on the streets, there were no "mofles" or "llantera" shops and not a single "ferreteria"to be seen. Where are all those somewhat scruffy looking businesses that are the lifeblood of our town of Zihuatanejo? We learned the answer when we spoke with some of the locals who explained that every building in the town is only 20 years old and that the looks and impression of Mexico is a package designed by Fonatur. It's a nice place to visit, but not really a place to live! However, in saying that, we did enjoy some of the best live music and saw lively venues full of both locals and tourists - a scene that Zihua is missing these days.

Our coastal route along Hwy. 200 is one of the routes that has been designated to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Mexico's independence. Ruta 2010 signs seemed to be a good name for this odyssey of ours. However, we said goodbye to the coast, the windy towns of the Tehuantepec isthmus and we began our inland trip through Tuxtla, the modern and busy capital city of Chiapas. From there the road climbs even higher to San Cristobal.

We arrived in the late afternoon, and found our way through the busy streets full of people dressed in traditional clothing (I can't wait to see the textile mercados) to our destination. Our apartment is in the complex http://www.kukurutz.com/. Like many colonial towns, the facades are deceiving and from the outside, the buildng looked to be very old and in poor repair...but what waited inside was truly a delight. However, let me back up and explain what happened on our first interaction with a person in this town....and we hope first impressions will not be lasting ones.

As we were getting out of our car across the street and down the block from our destination, I was holding on to my printed internet map of the school and the apartment. A young Mexican man approached me and asked if he could help me. This often occurs in Mexico where I sense people are proud of their towns and want a newcomer to have a good experience. I told him that we were fine and were just walking over to check into our new apartment. He excitedly took the papers from me and walked us across the street, where he rang the bell and spoke to the young woman in Spanish. We were taken in and he accompanied us to our apartment where he began to tour us and show us the TV, fireplace, curtains, bathroom towels, shower etc. The caretaker arrived and looked confused, but he spoke no English and I was given a registration form to complete. The young man encouraged me to sit down and fill in my registration. Gene went back to get the car and begin to bring in our luggage with the caretaker and his children.

No sooner had I sat down with my pen than this young Mexican man started asking me where I was from and where I had bought my colorful Mexican bag. I was chatting with him and filling out the form, thinking that he would be asking me for a propina for his assistance, when I heard my gum package wrapper crinkle in his pocket. I said "hey what are you doing with my gum"'...and then I realized he had his hand inside my bag and at that second he bolted out of the door and out through the gateway that had been opened to allow Gene easy access with our luggage. I yelled "Robo" (robbery) and everyone looked very confused as the caretaker had been told by the young man that he was our taxi driver. I was lucky as he only took approximately 300 pesos from my zippered change purse. It could have been much worse, but this was not an auspicious start to our 2 week stay here. I can only hope that his need for my money was much more than mine.

The town is vibrant with faces, costumes, architecture and locations we are not famliar with. It is pushing the envelope of my comfort levels. In the mercado this morning, the faces weren't the soft and welcoming faces we see in Zihuatanejo, but the wizened, hardened faces of the tiny, sinuous indigenous people we see struggling with their loads in their heavy woolen clothing.

Today we signed up for our Spanish classes which begin Monday at http://www.lacasaenelarbol.org/. We planned it, we wanted it, we need it, but can we cope?

Red Fish, Blue Fish, Yellow Fish and a Hotel Flamboyant too

La Crucecita, Bahias de Huatulco, Oaxaca, Mexico

Today, we left Puerto Escondido. My feelings about it are slightly different after 24 hours in the town. I now think of it as I think of other sport oriented places like Banff, Whistler, Lake Tahoe. You are either one of the people doing the sport...in this case it was surfing. Or you are one of the people who are really trying hard to get noticed. There were a lot of young people in bikinis, boardshorts and tanned to perfection. Brazilian wax shops were in abundance. There were also a lot of older "Hippies"in various forms of Oaxacan traditional dress - perhaps enroute to yoga classes or other forms of self-discovery as the metaphysical shops were also not to be missed.

Our last 3 days of beach exposure before we head to our mountain destinations, are destined to be spent snorkelling and exploring the various coves that make up the Bahias de Huatulco. This area is a national park, and the environment is struggling to compete with Fonatur's version of the Mexican tourist experience. Our goal is to see all 7 bays that comprise the park, so Gene and I decided to endure 13 kms. of dust, washouts and washboard surface to see the first of the bays as you head East. Bahia San Augustin is just far enough away from the main resort to be ignored by most tourists except those who go on the Ecotourism side trips. We were not disappointed.

Bahia San Augustin was one of those places that we all dream of. It jumped right out of the movie Y tu Mama Tambien..in fact, I swear it was the bay of that movie. An industrious restauranter, Manuel waved us into his enramada con estacionmento and we gladly left the dusty Ford behind to snorkel in one of the nicest waterfront parks we have seen. The bay has a large living coral reef that is easily accessed, and we were happy to see no one standing on it, feeding fish or otherwise fouling the area. After a long snorkel with most of our favorite tropical fish visible in crystal clear water, and a bit of a struggle to get Gene back up due to his reliance on one leg only, we enjoyed a lunch of filete pescado a la parilla (what else??).

We found the little Mexican town of La Crucecita right on the doorstep of the articial town of Santa cruz de Huatulco, and the developments along the coast. It is our kind of place - a zocalo, numerous authentic restaurants, shops and within walking distance of one of the bays we want to explore tomorrow.... And how could we pass up staying at the Hotel Flamboyant....a colonial gem across the street from the Zocalo. This just could be the best 3 days of my life!

On the Road Again

Playa Zicatela, Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico.

If life is a highway, I'm back on the road again after a speed bump and a detour. First the speed bump,...Gene took a 'little"fall on the rocks to Playa Los Gatos. This happened back in December when our son Eric first came to visit. It wasn't witnessed by me (or anyone else), so I want to say it was little, but it started a trend in falling for Gene that has resulted in an injured right leg which has persisted and created a reduction in his mobility and necessitated the use of a "baton", a colorful cane I bought at the mercado, to navigate over the uneven surfaces which make up Mexico. He's getting better but he is being very careful as any setback could change our plans on this trip. Then my life took a "detour"when I went back to Vancouver to stay with our daughter Kristen and Reilly while she underwent surgery. She was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and I wanted to be with her while she had the surgery and recovered. This was a detour in our plans for another full winter in Mexico, but one that gave me the unexpected plesaures of a chance to be with my children and learn more about their lives in Vancouver. And see Vancouver pre-Olympics in all its glory. Well done Canada, and well done Kristen who has made a quick and healthful recovery.

Gene and I are both figuratively and literally back on the road and in this case, it's Mexico's National Hwy. 200. Let me be the first to say that it is a road with a lot of speed bumps, but here they are called TOPES. We have taken this highway before, with our friends Paul and Lynn and last year with Frank and Helga. Highway 200 winds down the scenic coastline of Pacific Mexico and for the last 2 days we have driven from Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, bypassing Acapulco (thanks GPS and Guia Roja) and are now in Pto. Escondido Oaxaca state. It is a slow, winding way to see the country side but we do love it and are happy to be on our journey together again. Today is a rest day, we aren't travelling. Instead we are watching the strength and beauty of surfers as the vye for position on the waves here at Playa Zicatela. Like Zihuatanejo, Pto. Escondido seems to be lacking in tourists. The restaurants, beachside palapas, roads, streets are empty waiting for the usual crowds of the "high season" to come. We should feel lucky to be here while it is so nice and quiet, but this quiet means that this is not a good time for Mexico. And when it's not a good time for Mexico, it makes our presence feel all the more significant to all the Mexicans we encounter. We have to make sure that our journey on this highway is one where we respect our status as visitors. We are visitantes who have started a journey realizing that we don't know what's ahead on this journey just as certainly as we do not know what's ahead on the journey of life!