Puebla and the rocky road to Oaxaca

Today we left the duty. I am always happy to do so as the city noise and impersonal nature of large hotels palls a bit after a few days. We left at 8.30 and after a couple of hours arrived in Puebla, the town where our guide had lived for 20 years.
After a quick coffee stop we began exploring. It was apparent immediately that there were many show shops, and apparently Leon in the centre of one of the biggest shoe production areas in the world. Prices looked good but no time for shoe shopping and probably not room in the case.

We set off first for the church and on entering the Rosary chapel all you could say was 'wow'! The decorations were all covered in gold leaf and the whole place just sparkled. It contained many symbols of the sailors who travelled there, the Spanish and local people.

Explorations of the local streets revealed art deco buildings, beautifully painted houses, and plaster decorations. Some buildings were propped from the September earthquake, evidence of the stark reality and the tenuous nature of things here. Although new buildings have protective regulations. The town also has a university and there is a pretty little artists quarter.  It is famous for its tiles and many buildings were decorated with them.

We did have some shopping visiting some of the sweet shops with crystallized fruit, fruit extracts, mole sauce and local pottery. I bought some vanilla essence at a good price, some almonds and there is promise of more suutable shopping for transportation later on. We got to sample a few things too.

We finished with lunch in one of the collared areas by the square. I had something called a mixtiosa de pollo, a chicken stew served in a parcel with a lightly spiced sauce, with rice and a tortilla filled with guacamole. I must try out my Mexican recipe book when I get home. 

As it wasn't too large I decided to go for a pudding, Tres Leches pudding., which is a central american sweet. After all we were scheduled to arrive late in Oaxaca and I wouldn'  have supper. When it arrived we all fell about laughing and even after sharing with Victor our guide, I had a doggy bag for my tea.

  And yes it was a good 6 hours to Oaxaca with a couple of stops. Couldn' get a normal cup of tea though!  The road became windy with much mountainous scenery with cacti and the dirt of driving I had seen up north. You ignore the double lines, ignore the fact you are passing several long lorries carrying dangerous fluids, ignore the fact the road curves round a bend in front, put your do it down, hoot and go.

There was a point when the words 'Fuck a duck' emanated from the seat behind, as we came head to head with a large lorry and swerved onto the side of the road. Our driver just chuckles and carries on!

Teotihuacan

The day started rather earlier than expected with a phone call at 1.45am from my tour guide Victor.  'How are you?' He asked. I thought , how strange, doesn't he realise what the time is, or has my clock gone wrong. Then he explained that there had been a seismic alert and that others had left the hotel, but that it was now OK to stay. Now I had heard the tail end of a siren, but thought it was a police car. It turned out that the siren had gone on for a considerable time and there had been a loud hailer making announcements! Clearly my earplugs work.
Well after this, I was left in a state of shock so did some emergency planning, laying out necessary  articles like jacket, torch  and shoes in case of a repeat. Then I made tea, listened to my meditation tape and spent the rest of the night listening to car horns and a certain amount of noise from the neighbouring room.
I discovered this morning that most people didn't  sleep again.

Anyway we all embarked cheerfully on today's tour to Teotihuacan .  It was a fairly short journey out of the city.  The site is most impressive with two large pyramids to the sun and moon, then twelve smaller ones around and a final one in the centre.   Quetzal our guide gave us rather a lot of information about the history, the human offerings, the symbolism. The whole site is set within the mountains and compliments it's surroundings. It seems the origins of this group is not clear, but they were highly intelligent with their calculations and knowledge of the world. They were here before the Aztecs.

Of course I rose to the challenge to climb the pyramids but didn't make the top of the second as my legs started to go to jelly.  Although spectacular, I don't think it came up to the Mayan sites in Tikal which I visited two years ago.  Following this  we went for lunch at a restaurant with views of the temple of the sun. We could see peope looking like ants at the top.

We had a great lunch. I had fajitas of chicken which came with a sort of bean accompaniment. I was somewhat shocked at the amount of food ordered by others, then left.

Unfortunately one of our group took a great interest in the musicians,  who of course then came to the table and were looking for a tip! I'm not keen on things especially put on for tourists but the food was good and clearly they were very busy.

We returned to the hotel, I went off to visit the artisan market  and met some very persistent salespeople! I couldn't find how to get to the park,  so returned by another route and found both chamomile tea and biscuits. Just as well as I had just used my last tea bag!

Mexico City

Set off from hotel whilst there was chill in the air,  but that certainly changed later.  We visited the archaeological

 Museum, a stunning modern building, absolutely huge, showing the full history of the development of Mexico, including both Aztecs and Mayas and the effects of the Spanish invasion. This will be a good foundation to the various sites we will visit during the trip.

This tells the story of the history of life and is remarkably accurate in its representation.

We spent a fare bit of time here and were desperate for a drink as we had to leave our water outside, so we persuaded our museum guide Pepe, to have a coffee stop, to which I added a muffin. A good move as we didn't finish our tour til about 3pm by which time I had devoured my packet of nuts and fruit, and bought and eaten a banana.  

It being a Sunday there were a lot of people around, and many stalls and activities.

We then went to the Palace of Culture where we saw many murals of Diego Riviera; the main one told the complete history of Mexico and others illustrated parts of the culture.  They are quite spectacular.  I later saw more in the Palace of Arts. They generally have a strong political statement illustrating the anomalies  and contradictions of the supposed improvement of some of the ruling classes. In the gallery there were modern pieces by other artists, this genre of large-scale murals seems to be part of Mexican culture.

We next visited the cathedral, which like many I have seen here and in both central and South America, fuse the various cultures in their symbolism. 

We absorbed the culture of the city walking along the pedestrian shopping street which was packed with people shouting their wares from all directions. Commercialism is  certainly alive and well here, a real contrast to Ometepe!  There were some interesting buildings, but the lady I bought the banana and orange from was less than happy to change the only note I had! 

There were some interesting buildings, a real eclectic mix of old and new. I parted from the group here, glad to have a little time alone and visited the gallery, sat in the park and headed my way back down one of the main streets, stopping for afternoon  tea and topping up my fruit and nuts. Why do cafes put cold milk on the tea bag before the hot water, it's  just impossible to squeeze out any flavour. Think I'm now ready for a glass of wine and proper meal. And I was joined by Alison which made for a sociable meal.

Heading North

On Thursday I was ready for my 8am start only to receive a call saying the car had a problem and their would be a delay. What an omen. Finally Gabriel arrived at 9.30 having got stuck in traffic. We headed out if Mexico City which took some time. I learnt a lot about the city and the country through talking. We stopped st a petrol station where I supplemented my early breakfast with a snack, and had my first experience of a seatfree toilet.
We headed through arrid countryside on a good motorway, then i notuced Gabriel pulling off the toad to restart the car. This got worse, the transmission making a weird noise and the engine cutting out when the car slowed. We pulled into a little town called San Sebastian de Berlan which Gabriel explained was known as one of the Magic Villages. It was very pretty.  So Gabriel phoned for help and we were advised we would have an hour or so, so opted for some sightseeing while we waited.

Whilst more enquiries were made I went for lunch at what appeared to be a trendy restaurant where my carrot juice was served in a jar. My spinach crepes with goats cheese was super  but I didn't realise at this time how long they would have to last! I was impressed to see the fresh spinach taken from the rack and the new bag of carrots the waiter went to buy!

I found Gabriel, who advised me it would be a further hour and a half,  so I worked my way round the tourist shops. Many were selling things made of cotton, the local product, but others had christening gowns, bags, floral blouses and....toilet seat covers. 

I succumbed to a cotton sleeveless top in turquoise which I thought could go over s polo neck. It cost the princely sum of  £4.

I then went to look for Gabriel and couldn't see him, so I looked for the car ehich wasn't where we left it. Now my rucksack, with holiday paperwork, iPad and clothes are all in there.  But at least I had my passport, telephone and a certain amout if money.  I niw discovered that the car can'

 Be fixed so a new one is being sent, I thought from Queretera, supposedly only an hour or so away. So we went to see the old castle and public space, used for performances. More phone calls and we returned to the car. Next Gabriel suggested we walk up to the monolith that used to be used for religious ceremonies.  It is very ancient. Still no car and a garbled message that someone had come and couldn't find us, so presumably gone away without phoning.

We then just hung around with Gabriel making increasingly angry phone calls. It transpired that he had come from Mexico City.  He arrived at 6.15pm, 6 hours after our arrival and got very short response to buenas tardes.

I could see this was going to be a late arrival. It took three more hours as part of the time was on rough roads, and then hairpin mountainous roads in the dark. I honestly thought we were never going to get there. I just had to find something to eat but couldn't face waiting for a dinner to be cooked, so found an offlicense selling yoghurt and peanuts and then crashed into bed! A bed big enough for a party!

In the morning I had a little wander before breakfast, it was slightly chilly but that changed later on. My breakfast consisted of fruit, scrambled eggs and beans and toast and jam. The toast flew across the room when I tried to cut it.  But it was served promptly.

At 9am we set off through beautiful mountainous countryside. In the distance you vould see layers of mountains. I kept imagining them like an embroidery, going from green to grey. The countryside  got greener and finally almost tropical.
We arrived at the gardens and had coffee high up overlooking the gardens.
We walked to a waterfall,  where there were warnings about drugs and alcohol. Funny really given that Edward James wrote a book about trying magic mushrooms.

We spent two and a half hours exploring these stunning gardens. There was a surprise at every turn. The buildings had been created to look ancient in some ways but avant garde, and replicated plants, almost looking like something out of a dream. There were different views from different angles, and going into the buildings you got different views of the valley and is magnitude.

Later we stopped in Landa 

 De Matamoras where we saw the beautifully decorated church, combining indigenous and Catholic symbols. 

Apparently after the Spaniards failed to conquer this region,  the priests went into the area slowly and made peace and in each town they brought together the beliefs to help build a church and form a community. Each has at its centre a church, a government building and a square. Fortunately we found a little pizzeria open here for a very late lunch! 

When we returned to Jalpan we visited the church there too, which is the first of those established.  

I then went for a swim, where the notice said that in the event of an earthquake the pool would be dislodged and chipped! Possibly, but the actual translation should have been, cleared and closed! Interestingly I heard the next morning that Oaxaca had an earthquake last night.

The retire

 Journey on Saturday too 6 hora, a Long journey. We travelled through amazing countryside, which we had missed on the way up due to it being dark. It was a winding road through the mountains with ever changing views.

When you got stuck behind a lorry, I thought that meant stuck, but my driver had a knack of getting past, although he drive at a moderate speed.

Firstly lush and green and then towards Berlan it became drier and the hills were covered in cactus.

Although I thought I had seen enough of Berlan, it was a convenient lunch stop and I found a restaurant with great views. Later I met our group of six and Victor our guide for the next part of the trip. It had a group of two Nigerian Australians,  one other Australian, a US  and two UK, so quite a mixture!

Managua to Mexico City

I left Ometepe after four fulfilling weeks, working with the children and purchasing goods for the school. It was an eventful journey to Managua when Marlon was stopped by the transport police. His taxi sign was inside the car which is obviously illegal. He had to produce paperwork and pay, possibly a fine but I didn't ask.

We arrived in a damp Managua and I felt tired so relaxed and had early night. Had eaten far too much during last few days. I started today in a leisurely manor, sat by the pool and had coffee. Las Mercedes is pretty flash and such a contrast to what I am used to.

I got chatting to a very interesting young man who lives in USA but has family in Nicaragua. He was interested in the project. I also had two Valentine's messages and later two more, so perhaps my life has turned a corner!

I was a bit early leaving for the airport but killed time looking in the shops, having another coffee and reading, plus listening to a very tearful phone call in Spanish.

The flight was three hours with a sandwich lunch accompanied by some very hot chilli as was my evening meal. On arrival at Mexico City airport they told us the luggage could take an hour. Hardly a problem, as the bus and immigration queue took an hour and a half!
Then Flavio the comedian met me, asked my name and promptly started singing Sweet Caroline.  He then took me to the car via several floors in the carpark having miscounted the floors. Then he took a circuitous route in order to miss the evening traffic.
The Century Hotel is very plush with a bathroom and bath big enough to swim in and a bedroom big enough for a family. 

Tonight has given me time to eat snd reorganize my luggage ready for my two night trip to Jalpan. At last I found avocado. The restaurant is open 24 hours so am glad I am on floor 10. And of course it has two very large TV screens, something I really hate in restaurants.