Ciudad de Oaxaca: Monte Alban, Hierve el Agua

I didn't do all that much in Ciudad de Oaxaca. Tried to find a camera shop that could repair my camera. Failed. Thought about going to various gardens and museums. Didn't. Intended to try the local specialties: chocolate with chile powder (a drink) and deep fried ants (a tasty snack!). Forgot.

It's much prettier green. I saw nuthin' but brown. Photo credit: flickr.

I did manage to drag myself up to Monte Alban, the local ruins. It's like a smaller version of Teotihuacán but on top of a mountain, so with better views. I didn't have all that great of a time and left after an hour and a half or so. Looking at that picture I wonder if maybe I was just in a pissy mood because of the heat and walk. It was at least 85 degrees and painfully sunny and, because I'm cheap, I decided to walk 3km straight uphill from the bus terminus rather than pay for a taxi. Oh well.

It's more than a little bit freaky (Photo credit: flickr).

Semana Santa, the week long celebration of Easter, ended while I was in Ciudad de Oaxaca. It was observed by the Procesion de Silencio, in which dozens of young men dress like Christ and recreate his walk to Golgotha bearing mock crucifixes. For some reason they are accompanied by a bunch of other guys in purple KKK outfits. And this somehow celebrates.. Mary's suffering? Sure, boss, whatever you say.

The celebrations weren't limited to the Procesion de Silencio. There were random fireworks at all hours of the night, parades and bands. My absolute favorite parade wound it's way right by the hostel, lead and trailed by bands while someone set off massive fireworks. It was the ever closer explosions, loud enough to make you jump out of your chair, that led me out into the street to see what the hell was going on. What I saw was absolutely hilarious.

A palanquin with a good sized statue of the Risen Christ, borne on the shoulders of the faithful. Nothing particularly unusual about that. But this was an oddly well lit Risen Christ, given the late hour. And what's that noise? Ah, yes, of course, a mobile diesel generator. To power J.C.'s klieg lights, of course. Obviously, it is critical that our Lord and Savior be highly visible to his adorers, day or night.

Silly parades aside, the clear highlight of Ciudad de Oaxaca was Hierve el Agua, a set of springs about 70km outside of town. The water is over saturated with calcium carbonate, so has created a series of limestone formations as it trickles over the cliffs.

At the top are a series of pools, very popular with local families.


But what's a pool without a view?


We got there early enough to score some pretty choice real estate.


After a couple of hours we decided to check out the other formation.


Looking back on our original perch.


It was a good place to stop for a comtemplative snack.


Quick! Nobody look at the camera!


After our snack, Iza and Aga (more on them in a bit) decreed that we should hike down below the cliffs. Some of us were reluctant to do so due to the heat and our inappropriately flippy floppy footwear.


Iza and Aga were right.


The cliffs were even more impressive from below.


Really, just, wow.


We hiked all the way down below both sets of cliffs, eventually clambering back up almost exactly where we'd started.


Iza, Alanna, Aga and I, triumphant after our hike. This whole thing, Hierve el Agua, checking out the second formation, hiking all the way down and around, all Iza and Aga's ideas. Clearly, the Polish girls are to be followed without question. If they say jump..


..right, well, you know.


Seriously, look where it takes you.

Unless otherwise noted, all photos courtesy of The Polish Girls.

Puerto Escondido and Environs: Sun, Surf, Spanish Lessons

After Guadalajara and Mexico City, two wonderful cities, it was high time for some time at the beach. Puerto Escondido is not just a beautiful beach town, it's a world class surf destination. Good place to spend a few weeks then, right? Study Spanish and surf. Perfect.

Well...

There was definitely a beach. Bahia Principal, a lovely little bay well protected by a breakwater. Excellent for swimming. (photo credit: flickr).


Lots of beach. Playa Zicatela stretches east from Bahia Principal several kilometers to Punta Zicatela. (photo credit: flickr).


And the Spanish school was everything I could have wished for. I am standing in a "classroom" looking past a "hammock" and "tropical garden" at the "ocean." And by "classroom," I mean a patio. And by "hammock," "tropical garden," and "ocean" I mean exactly those things.


A closer view of Playa Zicatela, directly below the school.


But man, oh man, the surf. It seems obvious in retrospect, but it never occurred to me that a world class surf destination might be beyond my meager abilities as a surfer. (photo credit flickr).


It didn't get this big while I was there. That would have been fun to watch. (photo credit: flickr).


Mostly, it looked like this. Head high, hollow and closing out. The lip falling on your head feels like a sandbag. Then you go through 10 seconds of rinse cycle. After you finally surface, you realize that you've been pushed 15 yards closer to the beach and are no closer to getting past the break than you were before. Fun, fun, fun. (photo credit: flickr).


Ok, so surfing is not an option. There are other things to do in Puerto. Let's go fishing! But... we didn't catch anything. And I've already signed up for two weeks of classes. What's that leave?


Oh, right. Drinking.

They had coconuts with all manners of liquor, deliciously chilled. There was also listed a "coco loco," so we inquired as to its contents:

"¿Qué licor contiene el coco loco?"
"Todos."
"¿Todos?"
"Ron, vodka, ginebra, tequila.." *expansive shrug* "..todos."
"Cuatro, por favor."

It was goooood.

And that's about it. I was living with a local family, who were very nice. I had two hours of class five days a week. The rest of the time I tried to move as little as possible (christ, it was hot) and not get drunk every day. I mostly succeeded.

My t-shirts, all of my t-shirts, drying on the roof.


Camionetas are the preferred mode of public transit within town. Yes, that's just a pickup truck with a canopy, no, there aren't any seat belts, yes, that's a small child peaking through the window above the cab. It was great: when they got really full, you could just hang onto the back, standing on the bumper. The wind in my face was the closest I got to AC.


There were guard dogs at the school. They were fierce.


Just before I left, I tried to go surfing at another spot, Playa Carrizalillo (say the names 'Carrie' 'Sally' and 'Joe' in quick succession with a bit of a slur. You've got it. Carrizalillo). The swell was small and the break too well protected, so there was almost nothing surfable. Trying to find something, anything rideable, I drifted closer and closer to the rocks. Guess what lives on the rocks? (Photo credit: flickr).


These assholes. (Photo credit: Gov. of the U.S. Virgin Islands).


My foot wasn't quite this bad. There were perhaps 20 spines total, confined to a half dollar sized area on the ball of my foot, just below my big toe. But damn was it unpleasant. I spent an hour and a half with a needle and tweezers digging them out. The worst were embedded a good 1/4" or more. I took this a sign that I should leave Puerto Escondido, post haste. (Photo credit: flickr).


This is Mazunte, about 30km east of Puerto, and appears to have been taken from atop the same hill as the hostel where I stayed (photo credit: flickr). The rooms were full, so I slept in a hammock. This seems like a wonderful idea until you consider the outrageous heat (even if a room doesn't have A/C it will usually have a fan), complete lack of any refreshing sea breezes and swarms of mosquitoes. I probably woke up 4 times, just to reapply repellent.

While in Mazunte, I visited a salt water lagoon and a turtle aquarium/hatchery. At the former, there were many beautiful birds and several lazily dangerous crocodiles. At the latter, there were oodles of turtles (both sea and land). Unfortunately, my camera had stopped working by this point.

Apparently, putting your camera in your pocket along with a half cup of sand isn't good for it. It would remain out of commission for the next two weeks, so the forthcoming entries on Ciudad de Oaxaca, San Cristobal de las Casas and Palenque will be based exclusively on other people's photos (either from the internet or taken by those with whom I was traveling).

Don't go swimming. You won't be the alone in the water. (Photo credit: flickr).

Just down the coast from Mazunte is Zipolite, famous for its hippie culture and nude beach. I only spent 2 nights there because I wasn't feeling particularly sociable (I read a 1,200 page book, start to finish) and I was paying high season rates ($18/night, gasp!) to do so. One anecdote, though, definitely bears repeating.

The way most people took advantage of Zipolite's nude beach was actually fairly retiring: they set up their towel, book, beverage, etc. and only just before lying down to sunbathe did they remove their swimsuit. A few people walked along the surf sans clothing, but they were in the distinct minority. On the whole, surveying the beach, one was hardly struck by conspicuous nudity. Except for that guy.

That guy started off just like everyone else, taking off his trunks to sunbathe. But when his friends came up to the beach bar, they put them back on. That guy, though, was clearly having way to much fun being naked. He spent a good four hours walking around the beach, talking to his friends in the beach bar, even engaging in a bit of horseplay, all while flopping every which way. It's not like his nudity was offensive, it's just that he didn't conduct himself in a similar manner to everyone else. Kind of like the guy that mistakes a relaxed night out for the time to get raging drunk. Except that guy did it with his penis dangling all over the beach.

It would take a lot more than that guy's penis to ruin a view like this. (Photo credit: flickr).

Mexico City: Odds and Ends

Only now am I really starting to appreciate Mexico City. While I was there, I wasn't in a very good mood because I didn't meet any cool people at my hostel, but going through my pictures, I see that in five or six days I did and saw an incredible amount of amazing things. And so, here is a smattering of odds and ends: trips and sights not large enough to justify their own post but still worth sharing.


Mexico City has a subsidence problem. When the Aztecs were running things, most of the valley floor was covered by a series of shallow lakes (more on this below). Take away the water and that soft, spongy lakebed starts sinking under the weight of the buildings above. It's a problem with nearly all large, old buildings, but this church seemed to be faring the worst.


The interior. The camera is pretty close to true; it's the church that's wonky. It was almost disorienting.


But no less beautiful for being crooked.


El Catedral.


That's one hell of an entranceway.


Looking down the main aisle.


A more "creative" angle of the same.


Think that's all real gold? Yes.


Looking back towards the entrance. Damn, those are huge.. organs.


It is a very large church.


And some nice oils in the bishop's office.


This is a model of the Templo Mayor that was once the centerpiece of the Aztec capital. For more than 450 years, it was thought to have been completely destroyed by Cortes and the cathedral constructed atop its foundations.


Then, in 1978, electrical workers uncovered this guy. This photo was taken from the floor above, looking straight down. The disc is about 10' in diameter, a foot thick and weighs 8.5 tons. The colors are projected onto the stone to recreate its original paint job.


So I guess maybe we should do some more digging? ¡Ay, puta madre! We, uh, we found the temple. It wasn't under the cathedral after all.

Note the successively larger stages of construction.


Original decorations, in situ.


A different angle of the same.


A not so subtle reminder of the many human sacrifices that were made here.


More orignal exterior decorations. In the upper left is a "modern" building on the adjacent block; the Templo Mayor site and museum is completely surrounded by Mexico City and just off the main square, or Zócalo. In fact, the biggest barrier to serious architectural investigations of this site was the expensive colonial buildings sitting atop it.


Eek! A snake!


Eek! A human skull!


Eek! WTF is that?


Most of the artifacts recovered from the Templo Mayor were buried as part of sacrificial rites. There are shells, beads, semi-precious stones, pottery, carvings, etc. from all over Mexico and Central American, a testament to the wide extent of the Aztec empire. And, of course, human sacrifices were a regular part of their religious ceremonies.


I went to a random museum because it was free that day and I am cheap. I rather like this carving.


And I am madly in love with this door.


This is the main post office. No, seriously, that dude in the white pants is probably just buying stamps or something.


As I vaguely recall, the post office was constructed in the late 19th century and was meant to show off the power and wealth of Mexico.


I think they largely succeeded.


A thing that must be done in Mexico City is the Torre Latinoamerica, preferrably late in the day to appreciate the sunset. The elevator to the observation level costs 60 pesos, but there is a bar one floor down where the beers cost 40 pesos. Do the math.


Yeah, well, fine, okay, to be perfectly honest, I bought two beers, so I spent more than I would have on just the elevator.


But you know what I had that the other tourists didn't?


Two beers.


Mexico City's pollution, altitude and surrounding ring of mountains make for some pretty amazing sunsets, eh?


My last day in Mexico City I took the subway to the end of the line and then the light rail to the end of the line to reach the floating gardens of Xochimilco.


These canals are all that remain of the lakes that once covered much of the valley floor.


Ducks!


Would you like a snack to go with your boat ride? Perhaps some Mariachi music? No? Are you sure?


I shared a boat with some Mexicanas because I'm che.. traveling solo and welcome the company. Yeah, that's it.


On the bus to Puerto Escondido that night, an even more amazing sunset.