Journal entries:

I saw some wild Spider Monkeys the other day while I was riding in a boat in a Canyon (I don't remember the name w/o my notes.) I was in the jungles in Palenque for the past couple of days and was awoken every morning to the cries of howler monkeys. The only problem was that they started at 5 am. The one full day in Palenque was spent at the ruins, they are probably my favorite so far. The spring up in the middle of the jungle like giant sky scrapers. The nice thing about the ruins is the access. You can climb pretty much everywhere. Including the dark chambers inside. That was the coolest part. Nowhere else have i been granted such access with the ability explore on my own and in some way feel like the trail in the jungle that I followed to some of the outlying ruins, it was my discovery. I have decided that we have a lot to learn from the Mayans.
Today I went swimming in under ground limestone caves called Cenotes. There water was crystal blue and perfect temperature. It was like being in the large cavern from goonies only much smaller. Getting to the cenotes was pretty interesting as well, we rode in the horse drawn, 4 person "streetcars" called cardidas down this tiny track in the middle of the woods. The ride was not smooth, but it felt authentic. I am in Meridia right now whick is the capital of the Yukatan State. It is somewhat reminiscent of N.O. because there is a blend of Spanish and French influences in the architecture.
The hotel we are staying at is truly one of a kind. It is like living at the UCUM Museum in Abita Springs. Just strange pieces of art in a maze of buildings. Check out the website its www.hotelstrinidad.com we are at the Galeria one. The hotels that we have stayed at have been very basic, but clean and with hot water. I have almost broken myself of my dependence on TV to fall asleep. I some how forgot my travel pillow and the pillows are my only complaint. I am very fortunate that the weather is mild b/c none of the hotels we have stayed in have a/c. I don't think I could sleep if I had a lumpy pillow and I was sweating.
Probably the most surprising thing about Mexico are the busses. When I read about the trip I pictured riding in old school busses and all sorts of livestock bouncing around the cabin. This could not be further from the truth. The ADO (the bus company) busses put greyhound to shame. The busses are clean, cheap and can get you to pretty much any city in Mexico. We have taken two long trips, one 12 hour overnight from Oaxca to San Cristobal. And a nine hour from Palenque to Meridia. I slept comfortably on both occasions. Of course, by the end, my ass was in severe pain, but it took at least 6 hours for the traction to set in. Unlike the 20 minutes it takes on a cramped plane. Busses have given me an opportunity to see alot more of the country as well.
As most of you know, I take great pride in my ability to find interesting food. Generally, there is not a whole lot of time to eat other the dinner. The rest of our meals have been Chocolate and eggs hastily wolfed down on the way to bus stations or a bag of chips and a diet coke on the way to a ruins site. Lunch may be a torta from a road side stand or whatever other critters they may be grilled up served with fresh, handmade tortillas and salsa. We usually do group dinners at restaurants chosen by our tour leader. The food has been ok, but we are usually the only people in them. So, last night, I made a stand and told Sarah that I was going to pick the restaurant. She gladly surrendered the responsibility of meeting everyone's gastronomical and financial proclivities. Sarah and I set out at 5:30 with a deadline of 7:30 to meet back at the hotel and unveil the decision. I had two rules for our restaurant 1. No pictures of the food 2. No pre-made dishes in the window We walked, and walked and walked. We asked locals several of whom sent us to a place off the beaten path called Calmos. So we went there to check it out, not only were there pictures of food on the menu, but pictures lined the walls of the foyer. To top it off, as we were leaving buss load of Japanese Tourists unloaded to enter, there was NO WAY. Our time was short so i made the executive descision to go to a place that we had passed by early in the search. It was called PANCHOS. I know that the faces of all Memphians cringed. Before you write me off let me explain. It is not the nacho serving panchos. The description was progressive Mexican cuisine. Not bad huh? The decor was amazing. We sat in a palm tree forested courtyard, flanked by stacked stone walls with blown up pictures of the Zapatista Rebel leader Marcos (whose ski mask covered face is seen throughout MEXICO) as well as other Mexican heroes. My favorite picture was of the midget caballeros from the early 1920's. Long story short, the dinner was a great success without a single complaint which is a rarity with this group (especially the Germans.) I had a Rustico Pate with Shrimp, lobster, and squash blossom served with plantain chips. And roasted Sea bass with adobo and sauteed vegetables.
My biggest complaint with being on the Gap trip is the short schedule. We are constantly comming and going with little time to actually take a breath and really get to know the places we are visiting. It may turn out that I shorten my time in South America and head back north to spend I little more Q/T in the places that I have not been able to fully explore.

That is all for now,

VagaBond

Full Update on Mexico Thus Far

Alright, I finally got some time to do give a full update on what has been going on. My tour group is made uo of 14 people plus one tour leader. There are 2 Aussies, 5 Germans, 3 Irish, 3 Brits, and me the lone American. The tour leader, Sarah is from Canada. As I said before, we met up in Mexico City at our somewhat shady hotel (I will tell you more about the hotels later) and headed out to Teoteucan to visit the sun and moon pyramids. The sun pyramid is the second tallest in the world. The climb to the top was quite challenging, but I somehow made it. I felt every cigarette I ever smoked along the way though. The view from the top was amazing. Next stop was to the Basilica de Guadelupe. Home to the cloak that the picture of the Virgin Mary suddenly appeared. This was significant because it solidified Christianity in Mexico. The basilica was teaming with people no one over 5'5 so I had a birds eye view of everything. The worst part was the viewing area for the cloak. I almost was trampled but hundreds of Mexicans as I rode on a moving walkway.
My time in Mexico City was very short and I really didn't scratch the surface of the massive city. But we had alot of country to see in very little time so the next morning we boarded a bus to Puebla. Puebla is a beautiful city the architecture was incredible a much greater Spanish influence. It reminded me a little of the French Quarter. Our hotel was a block or so away from the Zocolo (Main Square) there happened to be a a music festival going on. I saw several interested band that ranged from new age jazz to mariachi to heavy metal. It was a great time. We only had a day and a half in Puebla next stop was Oaxca. Oaxca is known for its chocolates and moles, fried crickets and Mezcal. The first night I went off on my own and tried some of the local street food and stopped off at the famous La Casa de Mezcal. If you have never tried mezcal, don't it is evil fire water. The next day was a full tour of the two most significant archaeological site in Oaxca with a few stops in between. Our first stop was Monte Alban. The site was home to 30,000 inhabitants at it height. The ruins are absolutely incredible. They sit on top ov a large hill that boasts 360 degree views of the Oaxca valley. It was unbelievable. Our next was a meeting with a rug making family in Teotitlan. The family used traditional method to create beautiful wool rugs. Then we were off to Mitlan to see the ruins there. They were built about 400 years after Monte Alban so the attention to detail was much greater and the ruins were covered in intricate geometric stone decorations. Our last stop on the tour was to a mezcal factory where we were given tastes of several different types of mezcal... I was still not a fan.
Our third day in Oaxaca was on our own. I visited the market and walked around town for a few hours in the morning. At around noon I went to the Oaxaca Anthropological Museum which is house next to the main Cathedral in an amazing former Monastery. The museum was ok but I was pretty sick of seeing old stuff at that point. I met up with a couple of people in the group and we went to my favorite restaurant thus far. It is called La Bizanga. It sit in the middle of a courtyard. Tough to describe, but it was the perfect place to be at that time. The food was excellent I had a chicken breast that was pounded flat, stuffed with cheese, poblanos, and squash blossoms. I was all covered in a creamy avocado poblano mole. The sauce was so good that I considered licking the plate. To top it all off I had one of the best margaritas I have ever had.
The plan for the group was to take a 9 oclock over night bus to San Cristobal. We finished lunch and toured around a little while longer. Then decided to return to Casa de Mezcal to loosen up for the long bus ride. Two hour in to our extravaganza we were singing song with the locals taking pictures together and having a great time. But we had to catch our bus so we had to bid adou to our new friends and meet up with the rest of the group for a thirteen hour bus ride. I took several benadril and slept pretty much the whole way. I'll get into San Cristobal next time.

The entire time that I have been in Mexico I have been saddened to the fact that so few people from the US actually come down here to experience all of the culture. We only think of the fact that people are swimming across our border to come to America that there is nothing that Mexico can offer aside from the beach towns. Everyone should see this place it is beautiful, the people are amazing and the food is fantastic.

I head to the jungle to the town of Palenque tomorrow I don't think I'll be posting again until I get to Playa Del Carmen in four days. If the next several days are as action packed as the first I am sure it will be another long post. Only next time I will be sitting on the beach.,

VagaBond

Very Quick Intro

This post will have to be very short and sweet. I arrived in Mexico City on Saturday with no problem whatsoever. Mexico City is absolutely enormous. Visited Teotihuacan Pyramids as well as the Basilica de Guadelupe. Sorry gotta catch a bus to Oaxaca more posts to come.

VagaBOND