hello hello hello,
Well its my last day in Mexico after 5 crazy weeks. The last 2 weeks being especially crazy and awesome.
Grady and I did some of the sights in Mexico city. Its really great and there are some lovely suburbs. The food here is awesome too. We went to a really fancy restaurant called Izote on our last night together run by a famous Mexican chef, Patricia Quintana. It was a modern Mexican fusion restaurant and it was amazing. 3 courses and 5 cocktails each cost about $200... I am going to miss the Mexican cheapness.
I left Grady on the 20th for Puerto Escondido. I might have cried a little. Still missing my girl. She went to Peru and had to be evacuated from Machu Pitchu by the US army but she is thankfully ok.
I stayed in Puerto Escondido for 8 AMAZING nights. The hostel was great, pool, outdoor couches and rad people. It was run by a guy called Steve who was in one word... crazy. We spent every day relaxing, going to the beach and partying pretty much. There were 3 other Australians there so of course Australia day was fantastic. Originally we were going to have it on the 26th, like normal people but Steve decided to say to EVERYONE on the 24th "its Australia day tomorrow" and didnt listen to us when we said it wasn't. So we had Australia day on the 25th, but we figured it was Australia day in Australia at that time so it was ok. We did the traditional bbq and had heaps of food, bread and salads and sat around drinking beer all arvo and well into the night with everyone from the hostel. There were people England, Quebec, Germany, Mexico, Argentina etc etc. That morning some people went fishing and JP caught a massive tuna and cooked that up too. It was great.
Every day the two most used words were 'tabarnack' (some kind of French Canadian swear word) and 'tomorrow' as we all got really really lazy and when we decided we needed to do something we would always say we'd do it tomorrow. A couple of days the only reason I left the hostel at all was either for food or more beer.
It was really hard to leave, but thankfully my new favourite Argentinian, Martin, was flying out of Mexico City the same day as me so I didnt have to do the depressing 18 hour bus ride by myself. Everyone stayed around for the full moon party at Zipolite on the Saturday night.
Off to Sao Paulo tonight. I have to be in Rio on Feb 10 for Carnival so will probably go up north to the amazon for a couple of days. Then hopefully meeting up with Bianca and Jason from puerto in Rio. Then its down to meet Ash in Buenos Aries and hang out with Martin again.
Hope all is good in Aus or where ever you are.
xxoo Mary
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Oaxaca? more like SPEWaca
So the title does fit. In crazy mexican you say the word Oaxaca 'wah-hah-ca'... But more about spewaca later
Went to Chinchen Itza, big pyramid ruins thing. Was good. Went super early to beat the crowd but by the time we left it was packed! The most awesome thing we saw was the sign for Elton John who is playing Chinchen Itza on April 3. Bahahaha. That night we got a bus to Campeche.
Campeche was ok, not as nice as Merida, not as much going on but some cool history with pirates etc. We met these Aussie kids and again ran into Patty and Nicole, two canadian chicks who we met in Cancun and again in Puerto Morelos. We ended up going on a tour which started at 3am to a place called Caluc Mool (or something). It was AMAZING!!! The middle of the jungle, you climbed these pyramids and you could see out over the canopy. We were right on the boarder of Guatemala too. We saw howler monkeys, spider monkeys and wild pigs.
Driving through Campeche state, our guide, Fernando, was telling us about the drug trade in the area. Being so close to the border, drug lords buy farms to have planes land from down south. You can pick the farms because there are these nice new houses and cars with nothing really happening on the land. There are people who live in local villages who live in complete poverty but are paid by the drug lords to keep the fuzz off their back.
After Campeche we went to San Cristobal. It is about 2100m above sea level in the mountains and it was BEAUTIFUL! such a lovely little town with so much going on. But it was soooooooooo cold. The state (Chiapas) is really interesting. There is this group called the Zapatista who are anti government and live off the land Its really political and in 1996 there was this violent uprising. The area is known for its coffee and there are some great little coffee shops. Local villagers come to sell their dodads and you can even see people making dolls, rugs and clothes. We had a great hostel which had an open fire every night and met some really cool people.
Then was Spewaca... Ergh. It sucked. I got sick on the first night and spent most of the time in bed. But there wasnt really that much to see. Then Grady got sick... Glad its over!
Got into Mexico City yesterday. It is awesome. Still taking it easy after the illness though and poor Grady is still struggling. This arvo though we went to a Bullfight!!!! I dont really condone this sort of ritual but once you get past the first kill it ends up being really interesting. Not saying I'd go see it every Sunday but it was entertaining and definitely a great cultural experience.
Few more days in Mexico City then Grady leaves me for Peru. Probably going down to a fishing village called Puerto Escondito to chill, get some sun and some beach time and to do some diving. I was thinking of going to Cuba for a few days but put that in the too hard basket, its not the easiest country to visit and its damn expensive. And I think I will need some chill time before Brazil!!
hugsies and kissies
MPat
Went to Chinchen Itza, big pyramid ruins thing. Was good. Went super early to beat the crowd but by the time we left it was packed! The most awesome thing we saw was the sign for Elton John who is playing Chinchen Itza on April 3. Bahahaha. That night we got a bus to Campeche.
Campeche was ok, not as nice as Merida, not as much going on but some cool history with pirates etc. We met these Aussie kids and again ran into Patty and Nicole, two canadian chicks who we met in Cancun and again in Puerto Morelos. We ended up going on a tour which started at 3am to a place called Caluc Mool (or something). It was AMAZING!!! The middle of the jungle, you climbed these pyramids and you could see out over the canopy. We were right on the boarder of Guatemala too. We saw howler monkeys, spider monkeys and wild pigs.
Driving through Campeche state, our guide, Fernando, was telling us about the drug trade in the area. Being so close to the border, drug lords buy farms to have planes land from down south. You can pick the farms because there are these nice new houses and cars with nothing really happening on the land. There are people who live in local villages who live in complete poverty but are paid by the drug lords to keep the fuzz off their back.
After Campeche we went to San Cristobal. It is about 2100m above sea level in the mountains and it was BEAUTIFUL! such a lovely little town with so much going on. But it was soooooooooo cold. The state (Chiapas) is really interesting. There is this group called the Zapatista who are anti government and live off the land Its really political and in 1996 there was this violent uprising. The area is known for its coffee and there are some great little coffee shops. Local villagers come to sell their dodads and you can even see people making dolls, rugs and clothes. We had a great hostel which had an open fire every night and met some really cool people.
Then was Spewaca... Ergh. It sucked. I got sick on the first night and spent most of the time in bed. But there wasnt really that much to see. Then Grady got sick... Glad its over!
Got into Mexico City yesterday. It is awesome. Still taking it easy after the illness though and poor Grady is still struggling. This arvo though we went to a Bullfight!!!! I dont really condone this sort of ritual but once you get past the first kill it ends up being really interesting. Not saying I'd go see it every Sunday but it was entertaining and definitely a great cultural experience.
Few more days in Mexico City then Grady leaves me for Peru. Probably going down to a fishing village called Puerto Escondito to chill, get some sun and some beach time and to do some diving. I was thinking of going to Cuba for a few days but put that in the too hard basket, its not the easiest country to visit and its damn expensive. And I think I will need some chill time before Brazil!!
hugsies and kissies
MPat
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Merida and Yacutan
Hola Amigos,
So when I left you all last it was new years eve and everyone was getting prepared to party... I ended up having 2 shots of tequila and a beer and then vomming up my dinner, resulting in everyone going to the beach party and me sleeping on the couch of Sarah and Az´s place. Such is life. Thankfully I woke up feeling fine and ready to take on more of Mexico.
New years day was awesome. Sarah, Grady and I ended up going to the 'Crococun' which literally means Crocodile nest (later finding out that Cancun means snake nest.... I think if people knew that there wouldnt be so many tourists). It was fabulous, a hands on zoo that lets you get up close to the animals with a fantastic guide Bruno who totally loved us three girls. We were kissed by macaws, held baby crocodiles and a massive boa, fed deer and monkeys and touched a lizard that looked prehistoric. The most amazing thing was the crocodile enclosure though. We literally walked throught the enclosure where the full grown crocodiles are kept walking only cms away from them. One German woman was walking backward and was about to step on the head of a 2m long croc before I freaked everyone out by screaming "watch out" at the top of my lungs. We got some amazing photos which I will need to facebook at some stage soon.
The next day Aarons dad, Steve, hired a van and Steve, Arrons sisters and niece Courtney, Kayla and Janelle, Sarah, Grady and I all went out to a town called Coba. There were Mayan ruins there and we hired shitty bikes and rode around the ruins for about an hour which was beautiful and a lot of fun. Then we went to a Cenote (see note ay), an underground waterhole. Basically the Yacutan peninsula is all limestone and there are many caves around with Cenotes. We climbed down stairs into this cave with a crystal clear pool at the bottom. It was amazing. It would have been about 20m deep in some parts but you could still see the bottom even though the only light in the cave were a couple of spotlights. The cave was huge, the size of a basketball stadium. That night we went to Playa Del Carmen for a couple of hours on our way home and then out for drinks at some local bar in Puerto Morelos.
The next day Grady and I headed to Merida, 3 hours west of Cancun. Merida is beautiful. It was colonised by the Spanish in the mid 1500s. There are beautiful palaces here and the whole town is clean, unlike downtown Cancun. Edwin, our hostel owner is this beautiful gay mexican man. The hostel was the house his grandmother grew up in and is so beautiful. He has been so helpful and friendly as have most people in Merida. There is a lot of town pride here and the local government organise shows and music for free in the town square pretty much every night.
Edwin told us about a little known tour we could do to see more Cenotes. It involved travelling by a local bus to a small village called Cuzama. From the town centre in Cuzama you hop into a little taxi thing that is powered by bike which takes you to the beginning of the cenote trip. There are 3 cenotes and the only way to get to them is by 'truck'... ie a 4 seater cart on tracks pulled by a horse. The driver takes you around to the three beautiful cenotes and you can swim around for about half an hour at each... All up the entire trip cost less than $10 each. We were lucky enough to share our cart with Miguel, a guy from Mexico city who lives in Spain now and his mum who he took to Merida on holiday. His english was perfect and Grady and I both had a massive crush on him. He was able to translate for us and told us about how the cenote trips had been running for 15 years but the horse and carts had been around much longer and they were originally used to go into the bush and collect and transport a type of cacti used to make rope and other stuff. Miguel said he found it hard to understand our cart driver because in the small towns in the area they speak a mixture of spanish and the traditional mayan language.
Today we went to the anthropology museum and bummed around merida for a bit. We have to get up early tomorrow to go to Chinchen Itza, the biggest of the Mayan ruins before heading to Campeche tomorrow for a couple of nights.
That is all from me for now. Hope everyone is well.
love xxoo
So when I left you all last it was new years eve and everyone was getting prepared to party... I ended up having 2 shots of tequila and a beer and then vomming up my dinner, resulting in everyone going to the beach party and me sleeping on the couch of Sarah and Az´s place. Such is life. Thankfully I woke up feeling fine and ready to take on more of Mexico.
New years day was awesome. Sarah, Grady and I ended up going to the 'Crococun' which literally means Crocodile nest (later finding out that Cancun means snake nest.... I think if people knew that there wouldnt be so many tourists). It was fabulous, a hands on zoo that lets you get up close to the animals with a fantastic guide Bruno who totally loved us three girls. We were kissed by macaws, held baby crocodiles and a massive boa, fed deer and monkeys and touched a lizard that looked prehistoric. The most amazing thing was the crocodile enclosure though. We literally walked throught the enclosure where the full grown crocodiles are kept walking only cms away from them. One German woman was walking backward and was about to step on the head of a 2m long croc before I freaked everyone out by screaming "watch out" at the top of my lungs. We got some amazing photos which I will need to facebook at some stage soon.
The next day Aarons dad, Steve, hired a van and Steve, Arrons sisters and niece Courtney, Kayla and Janelle, Sarah, Grady and I all went out to a town called Coba. There were Mayan ruins there and we hired shitty bikes and rode around the ruins for about an hour which was beautiful and a lot of fun. Then we went to a Cenote (see note ay), an underground waterhole. Basically the Yacutan peninsula is all limestone and there are many caves around with Cenotes. We climbed down stairs into this cave with a crystal clear pool at the bottom. It was amazing. It would have been about 20m deep in some parts but you could still see the bottom even though the only light in the cave were a couple of spotlights. The cave was huge, the size of a basketball stadium. That night we went to Playa Del Carmen for a couple of hours on our way home and then out for drinks at some local bar in Puerto Morelos.
The next day Grady and I headed to Merida, 3 hours west of Cancun. Merida is beautiful. It was colonised by the Spanish in the mid 1500s. There are beautiful palaces here and the whole town is clean, unlike downtown Cancun. Edwin, our hostel owner is this beautiful gay mexican man. The hostel was the house his grandmother grew up in and is so beautiful. He has been so helpful and friendly as have most people in Merida. There is a lot of town pride here and the local government organise shows and music for free in the town square pretty much every night.
Edwin told us about a little known tour we could do to see more Cenotes. It involved travelling by a local bus to a small village called Cuzama. From the town centre in Cuzama you hop into a little taxi thing that is powered by bike which takes you to the beginning of the cenote trip. There are 3 cenotes and the only way to get to them is by 'truck'... ie a 4 seater cart on tracks pulled by a horse. The driver takes you around to the three beautiful cenotes and you can swim around for about half an hour at each... All up the entire trip cost less than $10 each. We were lucky enough to share our cart with Miguel, a guy from Mexico city who lives in Spain now and his mum who he took to Merida on holiday. His english was perfect and Grady and I both had a massive crush on him. He was able to translate for us and told us about how the cenote trips had been running for 15 years but the horse and carts had been around much longer and they were originally used to go into the bush and collect and transport a type of cacti used to make rope and other stuff. Miguel said he found it hard to understand our cart driver because in the small towns in the area they speak a mixture of spanish and the traditional mayan language.
Today we went to the anthropology museum and bummed around merida for a bit. We have to get up early tomorrow to go to Chinchen Itza, the biggest of the Mayan ruins before heading to Campeche tomorrow for a couple of nights.
That is all from me for now. Hope everyone is well.
love xxoo
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