¡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.


Appears I took what I though was the place de reforma only to be headed in completely the wrong direction! needless to say the camera was hidden in the bottom of my scruffy backpack. It’s not been a big photo trip so far, been more of a beer and tequila trip to date, hiccup!

Anyway, I did the touristy thing and paid homage to Frieda Kahlo and Leon Trotsky (who was in exile here in Mexico in the 1930 to 1940s if my mind serves me (my tequila spongyfied brain that is!). Again I seemed to walk for hours in the wrong direction before finally giving up and flagging down a cab... now, after reading every scare story there is about taking a cab in mexico city, and with my driver taking a completely different direction than I expected, while talking softly into his cell phone, I quickly stuffed as much money, memory cards and whatever else would fit up the crack of my ass down my underwear ready for the big event! 10 mins later and with sweat dripping down my forehead, back and ass crack (I pity the poor Mexicans that have to handle that money again!) we arrived safe and sound at Frieda Kahlo house, phew!!!



Walking, walking, walking, getting lost on paseos\collectivos, museums (museo de anthropolologica = Wowa!), tacos, tacos, tacos, tortas, tortas tortas, gordidas, tostadas, yada yada yada and its Friday already, and no muggings or other serious event, these Mexicans are too nice for their own good! The weekend coming up and seeing the prospect of a big night out on the cards I opted for two more nights in the Holiday Inn (extravagance is addictive) and some serious partying. I had already done the practice run on Wed and Thurs nights so Friday was the big one! What to say, Totty Totty Totty! Cervesas Mucho! Hangover from Hell! and plenty of explaining to do when I get home ;) so Friday to Sunday hasn't much to tell (or at least that story is staying in Mexico!).

Should mention a few things here... man are there a lot of guns in Mexico! on the street, in shops, on the subway... big guns, ugly guns! you know you're in the wild west when the subway entrance has police with semi automatic rifles, the buses have ´no gun´ signs and every shop with anything of value has their own ammunition store equal to most home guard platoons. Subway rides were quite an event, enough to fry the nerves of the weak and the weary... the subway looks very much like the Paris subway with more attitude and a lot more noise and vendors galore. Vendors are everywhere, no spare patch of thoroughfare with anything more than a few pedestrians has its sea of street vendors, including entrances to subways, middle and surround of roundabouts, parks (don't go to a park for peace and quiet in mexico city!) and the list goes on.

Sunday I bid farewell to the city of mexico and made tracks to Morelia west through the mountains. With the hangover in full effect I whimped out and went for a taxi to the bus station, which saves me the effort of working that one out.

On the way to Morelia the mountainous landscapes are more picturesque than expected, now I can see how mexico city was once built on an island in a lakebed and eventually grew and grew, which explains the sinking and the flood problems in some parts of the city... not sure this would be a good place to experience a ´sismo´. That’s another disturbing little reminder; everywhere in mexico city there are earthquake instructions... good time to be leaving me thinks, especially with me in a fragile state.



The bus was more like flying first class than taking an intercity bus. The seats became almost flat beds and the jammon y queso sandwich was most welcome... they know how to travel in mexico. Arrived in Morelia after a very restful trip... and looked around for a hotel... the hangover still in effect I opted for the rip-off hotel in the central plaza until the morning.

Went out for a stroll in the plaza, watched some mariachi bands, a clown show, got roped in as the funny foreigner and was married off to the gay clown with the bad hair (his own bad hair), I will keep the story brief but I think the crowd liked me better than the clowns ;) after some dinner I bumped into some friendly Mexicans and discovered the delights of an all you can drink bar for US$7 (about 3 pounds 50 pence), Ouch! After getting to know most of the people that were worth knowing (read Huw was a little drunk!) I found myself bankrolling a tequila slamming party in someone’s kitchen somewhere in the Morelia suburbs... driving around a dodgy neighborhood in a cab to talk to two dodgy characters sitting on plastic chairs on a deserted street at 3am in the morning, getting our fix of tequila, cigarettes and fresca (who ordered that!?) that’s mexico! Monday was spent looking for cheaper hotel and sleeping off the indulgence of the night before. Didn’t do too badly though, now I’m in an 8 pounds a night hotel which has more character and less roaches than the twatty hotel on the plaza :)

Being a bit worse for ware, everything is scaring the willies out of me today... the monarch butterflies are on their way, but it took two or three before they registered as butterflies not bats, I blame the bad light. Talking of flying things... the pigeons are very posh in Morelia, all clean and healthy, no deformities and pork rinds (sp?) for conditioner here.



Tuesday spent the day walking around trying to take pics... first my camera was set wrong... first lesson, then the difference between film and digital becomes apparent... my usual tricks aren’t working and lots of pics weren’t worth keeping :( Morelia being a large town the locals aren’t as open to getting their pics taken, even after some time trying to woo and bully. The pics I did get I am fairly happy with though. Shame the real characters aren’t up for it though :( My favorite US$7 bar is closed for the week so it’s an early night for me tonight. Not before eating the largest and most laden burger I have struggled with since good old Hardy’s in North Dakota, little Switzerland (that’s another story).

Today was meant to be moving on day, but the bones just won’t budge... after more of the Mexican food I have grown to love (some veg wouldn’t go a miss though! thank god for that Metamucil!) I drank coffee in a tree lined plaza and went for a walk in another neighborhood... not much in the photo department so headed to the shopping streets to poke around there instead. Now, I should mention that my Spanish has come on leaps and bounds since arriving (that’s not hard though, it was pretty crap!) but other than getting transport, loggings, food or just getting drunk, the communications are a little dull... walking down the main street I spot a Spanish school... something I said I would never do... "study while on vacation, what kind of girly swat would do that?” well now I know! I start tomorrow morning, 5 days (thurs, fri, mon, tue, wed) of one on one (5 hrs a day) for a grand total of 133 pounds, bargain! hopefully, with my future new Spanish skills I will be able to at least avoid paying for the tequila next time (even if it was only 3 or 4 pounds a bottle! I think! I was already loaded by then).

So here I am, beached in Morelia for the time being... will travel to Patzcuaro for Friday night and Saturday day...will return for another tequila slammer Saturday night, then back to school on Monday... will do the expat life thing and just absorb the local culture until Wed - trying out my new Spanish skills :) Wed eve will travel to Puebla for 2 days before headed back to Cuidad de Mexico for the flight home. My intended other destination Guanajuato wont happen now... talking to another traveler in my hotel, the October festival is on there and it is crazy busy and the only hotel offerings if you don't have reservations are hostels with dorms of 6 people unless you go for the western style hotels... yuck! So that will stay on the list for next time.

I've missed a lot of the detail out, either to protect the innocent, to save your virgin ears or to save you folks from having to read my drivel any longer than you have to... I’m off to get some dinner, probably tortas, taco, tostadas or who knows, something new that tastes the same as everything else - that’s not a bad thing though :) then bed! I've got my first day of school tomorrow and I have to iron my shorts, dust my ball cap... and what did I do with my satchel? (sp?)

Viva Mexico!