Buenos Noches de Puebla y Cholula!
Hello folks... hope the bones aren't too chilly in old London town and north of the border. I am now in Puebla south east of Mexico city freezing my weary bones too. Its a surprising thing for me that Mexico can be so cold... it was 0C last night and I froze my balls off... it was only when i got up in the morning that i remembered i was using my sleeping bag as a pillow. Mexican´s obviously like their pillows made out of brick, i am a softie and like my down filled pouch of luxury, even on a rough-it holiday.
Spanish lessons went well, if a bit intensive... thurs i had to go to bed straight afterwards. Who needs danger when you've got the Spanish teacher from hell... NO INGLES! But there has been a definite improvement in my spanish the last few weeks, so all power to the Spanish hardliners in Morelia :)
Didn't get much sleep on the Wednesday night, originally I thought it was just exhaustion, new surroundings or nerves for my first day at school, but Thursday night no sleep too and feeling odd... by Friday I was stricken will a nasty cold which confined me to bed outside of classes. Postponed my trip to Patzcuaro until Saturday in the hope I would feel better but Saturday was still hard work... so forced myself out of bed by 11am and staggered to the bus station. Got a little worried that my overconfident Spanish meant Id given the wrong instructions to the cab driver as we ended up on the freeway headed towards Patzcuaro... I only had 100 pesos (5 pounds) on me and I knew even in Mexico that couldn't take me to Patzcuaro... anyway, ended up in the right place-ish on a rickety old bus eating Mexican donuts as a reward for my hard work -for those that aren't up with the Mexican dulces, Mexican donuts are long and thin as opposed to round, they are very sugary and crispy, perfect for feeding a cold - no chocolate to dip them in unfortunately but the vendor was better than chocolate ;)
In Patzcuaro spent the day walking and walking, visiting church after church and found a church dedicated to drag queens and gay priests... Mexico has a thing about bad statues with odd costumes or Jesus with hideous wounds and even more hideous hair... this church topped the lot though. Still feeling rough it was time to grab some Mexican chicken soup to boost the immune system and clear the sinuses... that did the trick, so after some Leche Calor and my rather odd hotel room it was time to sleep, or so i thought. My hotel room had a very nice glass brick floor, but what was not apparent previously was that my neighbours downstairs were night owls, so I spent the night hiding under the sheets to avoid the sun like rays. The day I travelled to Patzcuaro was the first dull day since arriving in Mexico, so when I arrived in Patzcuaro I thought I was just unlucky with the weather. However by morning my bed and clothes were damp and uncomfortable... not good for a boy with a cold. Reminded me very much of Wales actually.
Sunday I headed to Titzutzlan (sp?) about 30mins north of Patzcuaro... Titzutzlan was once the centre of the religious and political culture of this part of Mesoamerica, pre-Spanish conquistadors. More churches, a walk around the semicircular pyramids on top of a traditional shaped platform - sent some positive thoughts back home, got sunburnt from forgetting my sunscreen and hat in Morelia and still getting through 100 tissues a day, I struggled on and battled with finding transport to get me back to civilisation. Not before meeting my share of locals who loved to talk to British\Canadians who didn't understand a word they said, maybe their husbands and wives weren't good listeners and my vacant sick as a dog face was just the therapy they needed, who knows, but my Spanish lessons didn't help there... think I did catch a swear word or two from the old fella though.
From Titzutzlan it was back to Morelia via Patzcuaro, but the cold still in full effect and me worn out and sun burnt from the day worshiping the sun gods at Titzultzlan all I could muster is a shower and heading out for dinner before bed. Got chatted up by jail bait that took at least an hour to shake off, then had a hot milk Mexican style and headed to bed. No tequila slammer party this week, confident the Spanish has improved enough to avoid paying this time but this old man is beat!
Yada Yada Yada, back at class on Monday, and finally found a coffee shop that sold tea anything like a good old British cuppa, more of the Spanish hardliners and more exploring... Mexican hambergers, Ouch! Soppie, Yum! Torta de guisado, YUM! and more walking. Met a 99 year old Mexican dude hanging out in front of a corner store with his cronies like teenagers up to no good, persuaded him to let me take his picture. Found myself in a not so desirable part of town and high tailed it back to civilisation. After class on Wednesday it was straight to the bus station and a 4 hour bus ride to Mexico DF then a dash across town to the bus station for Puebla... the subway is jam packed from dawn to dusk! After getting lost on my exit from the subway, battling with traffic to cross the road frogger style, finding myself somewhere dodgy, finding myself back to the land of vendors and buses I had time for a quick torta and dash for the next bus to Puebla.
A 2 hour bus ride took 4 hours because of traffic and roadworks and I arrive in Puebla at 23:30 looking for a hotel... lucked out with a 15 pounds a night hotel that's luxury compared to the past week and a half. Walked around town for a bit, but this town is deserted! So straight to bed and up bright and early this morning and headed off to Cholula to send more vibes from top of the largest pyramid in Mesoamerican (possibly the world - measuring 400m across - alas its not in great shape and looks more like a hill than a pyramid) - not before getting my hair chopped off haircut (get ready for a Huw with no hair!).
Cholula is the town where Cortez first arrived and travelled through the now colonial mexico... the local population planned a revolt against the invaders, but cortez found out through his local conspirators, so he massacred every last one of the male inhabitants (6,000) and vowed to build a church for every day of the year on the existing pyramids... he didn't quite make the church for every day of the year, but a catholic church sits on top of the largest pyramid in Mesoamerica, which is a spectacular site with the snow capped volcano in the distance. I did my homage looking for more drag queens and gay priests to worship, but the canned music blaring out from all around the pyramid up to the church was more than I could stand so after I reached the top and tested the cellphone signal it was straight back down again for some peace and quiet. The usual voyage of discovery finding transport, taking note of the at least 18 bed bases balanced on top of a pickup truck, a motorbike on a roofrack and children playing football on the back of a lorry and I am back in Puebla.
After a Mexican feast of Beef, Pork, Mole, Guacamole, Cactus/prickly pear etc and I am ready for another tame night.
Will hangout in Puebla until tomorrow night then back to Mexico city to take the flight home on Saturday... good job as my backpack is starting to imprint itself in my shoulders and my farmers tan is pretty much complete.
The most disturbing event of the holiday is my camera flash going haywire - was it the revenge of the pyramids or the curse of the drag queen church after I omitted to slip a few pesos into her bra!? who knows!
Adios gringos!
Thursday, 25 October 2007
¡Viva Mexico! Part 3
Buenos Noches de Puebla y Cholula!
Hello folks... hope the bones aren't too chilly in old London town and north of the border. I am now in Puebla south east of Mexico city freezing my weary bones too. Its a surprising thing for me that Mexico can be so cold... it was 0C last night and I froze my balls off... it was only when i got up in the morning that i remembered i was using my sleeping bag as a pillow. Mexican´s obviously like their pillows made out of brick, i am a softie and like my down filled pouch of luxury, even on a rough-it holiday.
Spanish lessons went well, if a bit intensive... thurs i had to go to bed straight afterwards. Who needs danger when you've got the Spanish teacher from hell... NO INGLES! But there has been a definite improvement in my spanish the last few weeks, so all power to the Spanish hardliners in Morelia :)
Thursday, 18 October 2007
¡Viva Mexico! Part 2
Buenas Noches de Morelia! siempre estoy escribir el correo electronico cuando cansado!?
This is proving to be a tame trip for sure... next time I must head to the Columbian mountains or the deputed border between Peru and Chile to get my fix of danger... that said, things are going well and I've had my share of fried nerves.
Last time I contacted the outside world I was somewhere in cuidad de mexico having gotten lost on my way back from a day of fun packed culture (read sarcasm). The walk home from wherever it was I was (is that correct grammar?) was a little nerve racking! There doesn't seem to be any street lamps in Mexico City... the best you get is light from shop signs and windows. So walking through a neighborhood that looked a bit like a war zone (read Beirut) with half destroyed buildings left over from the big earthquake in the 1980s was a little scary.
Wednesday, 10 October 2007
¡Viva Mexico! Part 1
Here I am in Cuidad de Mexico sitting in an internet cafe after getting lost somewhere south of the Centro Histôrico.
Left work on Friday feeling like there was not enough preparation I could have done to prepare Neil for the unexpected number of projects and activity that has materialised over the past month or so. So needless to say I was a little stressed when leaving work, so I headed to the gym for my last de-stress before I go home and pack... I never fail to do my packing at the last minute!
