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