Cancún / Isla Mujeres
As much as I don't really like this place, it has everything I need! After finding a not so nice hostel I managed to get my laundry done, get on the internet and have a MacDonald's! Result! The hostel I stayed at though was opposite some club which played music until about 5.30am, so for most of the night it felt like I was sleeping (or not really so just lying!) in the actual club the music was so loud! I then figured it was time to leave this place!!
Got a collectivo and then a ferry thing over to Isla Mujeres, which is supposed to be a really nice chilled out little island just off Cancún, and it was too which was good! It's nice to spend a couple of days chilling out on the beach after the stresses of Cuba, and there were lots of shady spots under palm trees which was great so I didn't turn into a lobster!
Made a great error of judgement on the hostel front - there was a choice of two and I opted for the cheaper one which had a kitchen as budget is quite tight now! So in theory it was a good idea but in reality it was a complete shithole that no one else was staying in except some weird people who were living there. They kept snakes in the bathroom (and I mean really big ones, like about 18 foot long!), it smelt and was generally disgusting so why I decided to stay I have no idea - it wasn't as if I owed anything to a guy I've never met before! And then to top it off they spent the whole night bringing people through the room I was staying into the next room where they kept the snakes so that was nice! In the morning I woke up one of the random guys and got him to let me out so I could go to the hostel down the road which actually had people in, although now I am surrounded by young beach babes and am feeling slightly inadequate! But it's all worked out for the best now, met some cool people in the hostel so had some friends for the evening to chat to and drink beer with!!
San Cristobal
Even though I had already been here with Jo this was the furthest place west I could get to from Cancún without just going straight back to Mexico City and it's a really nice town! Although it did take about 19 hours to get here!! Found a good hostel to stay in though which is really chilled out and met two guys at the bus station who were going there aswell so took advantage of the free taxi the hostel offered us!
Spent the day walking around the town, finding some new places to go that Jo and I didn't see before. Also randomly bumped into a girl that I did the volcano climb with in Guatemala which was very bizarre but good to see a familiar face so we had a bit of a chat and swapped travel stories as you do!
As much as I was over travelling by myself as usual everything works itself out and it has still been quite easy to meet people! In the evening I ended up chatting to two English guys and a Dutch guy and we sat around playing cards and having a few drinks round the bonfire which was pretty cool (it got really cold at night - had to sleep under two blankets!!). And then the next day I hung around with one of them again, walking around the town and visiting some new places of interest! It just gets a bit repetitive having to explain where you're from, where you've been, where you're going etc etc but it's better than not talking to anyone I guess!!!
There was a huge thunderstorm in the afternoon, so I got soaked walking back to the hostel. I'm not sure how wet it gets normally and if they have a rainy season but the streets were flooded after just an hour of heavy rain so it wasn't pleasant and I was slightly soggy which was great just before a 13 hour bus journey! I had also left my towel out to dry in the morning and forgot about it so that was wet too - hmmm wet smelly clothes in my bag, lovely! Just glad I was going somewhere hot!
Puerto Escondido
It's sooo hot here! I thought that would be great after it was so cold in San Cristobal but now it's too hot! Am I ever satisfied?!!! It's quite a cool place though, beaches aren't as nice as those over in Cancún way, although apparently they are at other times of the year but it appears I have arrived during the low season! But that's OK! Have met some really nice people in my hostel to chill out with!
Went for a walk along the beach in the afternoon and someone called my name, which was a bit of a surprise as I don't know anyone here! But it was a couple of guys from the hostel and they invited me for a beer! Then a couple of other girls from the hostel walked past and also stopped for a beer, and then we went and lay in some hammocks for a few hours on the beach! What a tough life eh?!
Thought we'd sample the nightlife but it was slightly disappointing! Had a few drinks in the hostel and then went to a bar round the corner but it had crap music and the DJ had no shirt on and kept trying to salsa with all the girls which really wasn't a pleasant sight! So after a couple of drinks we left, thinking there would be somewhere else to go on to... But the main street was dead, so after asking the police where the party was! we walked along the beach to another part of town and after about half an hour we found one place! It wasn't brilliant but it had some people in and served cold beers so couldn't complain! There was also a fight which livened things up for a while! Think we made it back to the hostel around 4am - I haven't stayed up that long for ages!!! It was really quiet the next day as everyone was recovering! So another tough day lying in hammocks!!
There is a game over here that they used to play hundreds of years ago, called Pelota Mixteca, apparently they used to sacrifice the losing team but they don't do that anymore!! A village near Puerto Escondido plays this ancient game every Saturday so a few of us headed over there. We had to catch a collectivo which turned out to be a truck with sitting space in the back!, and got to the village. The game was supposed to start at 3pm but when it's hot it starts at 5pm so we killed a couple of hours sitting in a bar with a cold beer! We wandered over to the grounds to watch the match but it turned out to be a football match amongst two local teams! Not quite what we were expecting!! But at least we tried and it made a change to sitting on a beach!!
Acapulco
I figured seeing as I was so close (well, an 8 hour bus ride but it's all relative!!) I had to come to Acapulco whilst I was in Mexico! I had heard good and bad things about the place so wasn't quite sure what to expect...
To start with I end up coming into the only bus station that is miles away from nowhere, is not on any local bus routes to get into town and then they charge an extortionate amount of money for a taxi anywhere! I wasn't sure where to stay - old town or beach, but the cost made my decision for me - Old town it was! After being accosted by a guy who claimed to be something to do with tourist information, he showed me a few places and I eventually found a hotel room for the night that didn't blow the budget!
I went for a walk to explore the surroundings and wasn't overly excited by what I saw! I could see the expensive touristy area a few kilometers away that was probably quite nice, but the area where I was wasn't great! I guess you probably need to have money to come here (and friends would help too as I don't really fancy the idea of going drinking by myself!), like Cancún, and I clearly don't have either!!!
I went to see the Cliff Divers in the evening, which was the main thing I came here for really. Basically there are five crazy men who jump off cliffs that are about 25-35 metres high, into quite a small space of water. I was a bit worried that they would hit a rock, which I guess is the whole reason it makes it so exciting to watch! One guy went first, then three went together, then they turned all the floodlights off (it was about 10pm), lit a few torches and then the last guy jumped off the highest rock. It was really impressive to watch so I'm definitely glad I made the effort to come here and see them!
I decided to give the place a chance and instead of hopping on the first available bus out of here the next day I went exploring instead!! I caught a bus to the posh tourist area and headed down to the beach - thought I'd go for a bit of a swim to cool down. However, what I didn't realise was
that the current was really strong and the waves suck you in and then spit you out repeatedly until you can escape and make a run for it up the beach!! I must have looked quite a sight, being thrown around for a few minutes, with my bikini bottoms being yanked off too which was a bit embarrassing! I lost my sunnies in the water aswell which I was a bit pissed off about so had to stand there and wait for them to resurface and then go in for a rescue mission - it took about 3 attempts but I got them back!!! After that I just stayed on the beach out of the water! But then about every 2 minutes I got people trying to sell me sunglasses (even though I was wearing a pair!), sarongs/towels (even though I was lying on one!), jewellery, hats, t-shirts, henna tattoos, food, drink etc etc which started to get slightly annoying! Oh well, I think that will be my last day on the beach in Mexico so made the most of it anyway!
Back up to Mexico City
On my way up to Mexico City I decided to stop off at a few places on the way. First was Taxco, a small mining village four hours north of Acapulco. It was an OK little place, although it had extremely steep hills and cobbled narrow roads which made walking around quite hard! It took me ages to find the hostel as it was in the market somewhere, and the market was all undercover so I dived in, wandered around for a bit, resurfaced somewhere, asked someone where I was and then dived back in again!! After about 4 attempts I found it! I was the only one there though and the woman wasn't very nice and over charged massively for what she was offering. But it was the only hostel in town so I didn't really have a choice and thought I'd just stay one night!
The town was actually quite nice, once you got used to the fact that every time you went
anywhere you got lost!! I managed to navigate a route from the hostel through the market to the main square so felt better once I had achieved that!! Everywhere you went there were silver jewellery shops and people trying to sell you stuff - it was actually really nice stuff, not the normal tat you see everywhere!!! In the evening a local school set up a stage in the middle of the main square and there were all sorts of performances, from different types of dancing to speeches and recorder playing! Loads of people gathered in the square to watch and it was really nice to see everyone together taking part in something.
The next morning I decided to get an early bus out of the town and up to Cuernavaca. However I was locked in the hostel and it took 15 minutes of ringing the bell and shouting before someone let me out! I then had to run to the bus station with my backpack on and just made it in time! I got to Cuernavaca but had decided not to stay there as I didn't really want to be in another place that was really quite and tourist-less. So I just walked through the town to a different bus station. The town did actually look quite nice and I probably could've spent a few hours wandering round the place but still didn't want to spend the whole day and a night there so got the bus to Puebla instead.
I arrived at the main bus station, which was about 3km outside of the town. I asked a bus driver if he went to the Zócalo (the main plaza) and he said yes so I hopped on. What he actually meant was no, he goes about 4 blocks away and I have no idea where I am and he doesn't tell me, so an hour later I am still on the bus and we've driven right out of town to the bus stop in the middle of nowhere!!! He found it all quite funny and apologised for not telling me when to get off! So then I had to sit there for another 45 minutes or so until we drive back the other way and this time he tells me where to get off!! I then had to walk about another 20 minutes to the hostel, so over 2 hours after I got to Puebla I eventually made it to the hostel!!
This town is quite nice aswell, a pleasant place to spend an afternoon! I walked round the streets visiting the many churches that seem to be everywhere, and sitting in the plaza by the cathedral watching the world go by. It was all very nice, until the big thunderstorm started...!!
The next morning I hopped back on a bus that went straight to the bus terminal and hopped on a bus to Mexico City. Decided to check out a different hostel as some people had recommended it to me and it was OK, although there was really loud pumping music going for half the evening which was nice! Didn't really do much as only had an afternoon here before I started my route up north and I had seen most stuff when I was here before...
San Miguel de Allende
Made my way up to the bus terminal and found a bus that left to San Miguel in 10 minutes so I hopped on it. It was a second class one though and I am used to travelling in style now so actually had to open a window rather than there being air con!!! An Argentinian/American girl sat next to me and was going to the same place so once we got there we caught a bus and found the hostel together.
This is a really lovely little town. I'm getting quite judgemental now and make snap decisions when I get to places as to whether I'm going to like them or not and this one I thought I would like and I do! It's got a really pretty pink cathedral in the middle of town with a plaza right by it. There are lots of other quite impressive looking churches around too and lots of nice looking buildings! The streets are all cobbled and as usual there are always lots of people milling around in the plazas and gardens. We spent the afternoon walking around, up and down all the streets (some of which are quite steep!), just exploring.
Outside the cathedral they were setting up a stage and lots of chairs so I deduced that something was going on in the evening! I went to investigate but it was really weird. Basically there were about 6 people dressed up as weird clowns and walked through the streets with a coffin until they got to the stage. Two were on stilts and a couple were playing the saxophone and trumpet. They were on stage for the next hour or so but I have no clue what it was all about, they were playing weird music, going round on unicycles and at one point got 4 guys from the audience up on stage and basically humiliated them by making them run around and do cartwheels! It was all really bizarre!! They seem to be big fans of clowns over here but i have to say that I am not! They were some other people around who were dressed up as if they were going to be dancing later so hung around for a while but the clowns didn't show any sign of leaving so I decided I'd had my fill of clowns for one night and went home!!
I spent the next day walking around a bit more, went up to a mirador spot where you got really good views of the whole town and then down into the local park which was really pretty. In the afternoon I walked past someone who said hello to me so I said hello back. Before I knew what was happening he had invited me to sit on a park bench with him and chat so I could practice my Spanish! So I spent the next couple of hours chatting to him, which was OK but I was a bit dubious in the back of my mind as to what was going on. He kept asking me if I wanted to go for a drink, something to eat or a walk but I said I was fine. I told him I was going to Guanajuato the next day and he suddenly said he would come with me - he had a car so he could drive us. I really didn't want to do that but I didn't know how to get away from him or how to get out of this situation which I suddenly found myself in! He was nice enough and seemed really friendly and I'm sure it was probably all above board but I couldn't be sure. I hate to be so mistrusting of people as they are all so friendly over here but you never know!! So in the end I said I was going to get the bus as I didn't know him and didn't want to go in his car, but then he said he would get the bus with me!!! So we arranged a meeting place for the next day and then I pretended I had a headache so I could leave!!!
I was a bit annoyed at the end of it, I didn't know why I couldn't just be rude to someone I don't know and then walk off, but for some reason I can't! I was then panicking for the rest of the day that I was going to bump into him but I didn't! The next morning I left quite early so I was well away before the time we were supposed to meet! I felt a bit bad that I stood him up but then for all I know he never turned up anyway! And why was he willing to spend a Sunday with a tourist anyway, didn't he have any friends?! Oh well, I got away so it all turned out OK!!
Guanajuato
So I escaped San Miguel and took an early bus to Guanajuato. I was a bit concerned this guy would come looking for me but he didn't, phew! Got a local bus into town, although this place is full of underground tunnels that the buses and cars drive through which was a bit confusing but I saw a sign for where I vaguely wanted to be so hopped off and found a hostel.
This place is really lovely, so am glad I have a few nights here. Lots of nice plazas, churches,
buildings etc so plenty to keep me occupied! I wandered round for a while exploring and getting my bearings as it's another place where it's reasonably easy to get lost, although they have lots of signs which is helpful!!
Unfortunately for most of the afternoon and evening it kept raining so I had to keep running back to the hostel or taking cover somewhere close by! But in the evening they had this thing in the main square where some local men dress up and play instruments and sing and they gather a group of people behind them. They walk through the town singing and I think at the end they all drink wine from a goatskin or something like that but I didn't hang around for that bit as I was getting wet!!
For the next couple of days I moved to a different hostel to one that was nicer and cheaper!! I then spent the rest of my time walking around the town - up to La Picala, which is a monument high above the town and gives really good views of the whole place, around all the plazas, past the university and all the other major points of interest to tourists! It's such a nice place to spend a few days and met some cool people in the hostel too so wasn't a complete billy the whole time I was here!!
Zacatecas
So I booked a bus from Guanajuato to Zacatecas via León. It was all quite easy really - I got on the bus, got to León, sat there for a while and then hopped on a bus to Zacatecas! I got a local camión the other end into town and saw this woman watching me. When she got off the bus she asked me where I was going and told me to get off and walk with her! I figured she knew the area better than me so walked with her! It turned out she worked at a language school near the hostel so we walked together for a while and then she pointed me in the right direction which was good!
The hostel was really nice, everyone was really friendly and had a great rooftop terrace with a kitchen and it was clean which is always a bonus! Went for a little walk trying to find a supermarket or market but after 1 1/2hrs I found nothing, and then feeling slightly defeated I walked back and found one just round the corner from the hostel - typical!!!
It turned out that there was a party going on on the terrace that night as there were some Japanese people who had been studying at the school and it was their last day! So an hour later I was surrounded by people and food and drink, it was great! Although everyone was trying to speak Spanish, even though for most of the people English was their first language! I found this a bit wierd - I understand that they want to practice their Spanish but I just can't really be bothered anymore as I haven't got that much time left in Mexico and have resigned myself to the fact that my Spanish is going to stay crap until I start taking a course! But I gave it a go anyway and people spoke in a mixture of Spanish and English so it turned out OK!! The woman from the bus turned up too and was really happy to see me which was sweet!
The next day 6 of us went on a little walk round the town. We went to the local mine which is not working anymore but gives tours of one of it's lower levels. We went in on a train and then walked around inside. It was quite interesting to see but the guide talked too fast so I gave up trying to listen as I had no idea what he was saying! We then took the cable car across the town to Cerro de la Bufa which was a little hill the other side of town. We walked around the rock at the top of the hill and got some really great views of the town, then walked back down.
I then spent the rest of my time here relaxing on the roof terrace in the sun with some good books! Such a hard life! This is one of those hostels where there are always people coming and going and everyone is really friendly and so there always seems to be someone around to talk to!! It's bizarre how some hostels are like this and then other places people don't really talk to each other, but there you go!!
Guadalajara
It took me a while but I eventually got here! It goes from one extreme to the other, this time I got off the local bus way too early and ended up in the middle of nowhere trying to find a hostel that was a good 5km + away!! Even though some locals had pointed me in what they thought was the right direction, I'm glad that I asked for a map at a tourist info point as that was when he told me I was in the wrong town! Opps! So I had to hop on another bus, get off slightly closer to where I wanted to be and then after walking the streets for 10mins finally found the hostel!! Phew! It's really hot too so not a great idea of mine to be trudging around with my rucksack!!!
I think this is supposed to be quite a big place but I guess I'm staying where it's at and so everything is pretty much right on my doorstep which is good! Spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the main sights - cathedral, churches, plazas, theatres etc etc!
Decided to only stay one night though so I can hot foot it up to Los Mochis and get the train from there to Creel, which goes through the Barranca del Cobre (Copper Canyon) and is supposed to be amazing...
I bumped into two guys in the hostel that I had met in the hostel in Zacatecas. After sitting chatting (sort of seeing as one was from Chile and one was Italian so it was a mixture of Spanish and English when I didn't understand!!) we decided to go out, seeing as it was Saturday night and Guadalajara is supposed to have a great nightlife... Well after over an hour of walking around, going into bars and thenleaving again because either you had to pay a cover charge or the beer was too expensive we finally found a place that was free to get in and sold cheap beer - result! One small problem - they wouldn't let me in as they didn't think I was old enough and I didn't have any ID on me as I generally don't carry it anymore as I'm too old!! (you have to be over 18!!)! But after about 10 mins of Juan talking to two different people they finally believed that I was old enough and let me in! I couldn't believe it, I was the oldest of the three of us (just!) and only a few weeks off my 29th birthday and I get refused entry!! People tell me this is supposed to be a compliment, well I'm used to people thinking I'm about 25 and I guess that's OK, but less than 18??? I don't see that as a compliment!!!
Anyway, we got in and then realised it was a gay bar!!! There were straight couples in there too but they were definately in the minority!! But it was quite a cool place so we stayed for a few beers! It was quite amusing that everyone there had made such an effort to get dressed up to go out, as you would do on a Saturday night I guess, and there was me sitting there in an old t-shirt, trousers that have been ruined with a grease mark from the lovely peso pizzas in Cuba and my walking shoes as they're the only shoes I have!!!! And still I managed to get attention from some guy, but fortunately for me I was with two men so one of them could play the part of my novio whenever needed!!
La Barranca del Cobre (the Copper Canyon)
So I took the overnight bus from Guadalajara to Los Mochis and the idea was to arrive in Los Mochis in time to get the train up to Creel, passing through some spectacular scenery... I had less than an hour to get from the bus station to the train station so was relying on the bus being on time. However, this wasn't meant to be as I arrived in Los Mochis at 7.15am when the train left at 7am. But it's supposed to be quite slow so I figured I'd get the bus to the next town and pick up the train there... I was waiting for the 8.15 bus and this guy comes over to me and keeps telling me there's a bus at 7.30, I tell him it's already 7.50 but he keeps telling me 7.30 so in the end I agree and he walks off. When it gets to 8.15 and there's no bus it suddenly hits me that I've crossed a time zone and a) I could've got the train, and b) there is a bus at 7.30!! So I check with him and I'm right! So am a little pissed off I missed the train but there wasn't much I could do about it by then! The bus leaves on time and it's all going well (apart form the fact he keeps stopping to pick people up!) and then they decide to stop for a tyre change!!! I thought the train left about 10.45 so figured I had plenty of time but was still starting to panic slightly! But then I fell asleep and when I woke up it was 9.30 and we were in El Fuente and I had plenty of time to catch the train...
Some guy found a taxi for me and we drove to the station and sitting there waas my train, just about to leave! So I made a run for it and managed to hop on before it left, phew!! So I was a bit confused about what was going on and spent the next 8 hours having no clue what time zone I was in but at least I had made the train which was the important thing!!
The journey was pretty stunning, after being in colonial towns for so long it was nice to see countryside! When we got to Divisadero we were allowed off the train for 15 mins to see one of the huge canyons which was amazing. It's supposed to be bigger than the Grand Canyon I think so it's pretty impressive!
Got to Creel at about 5pm ish I think, depending on what time zone we were in as it was causing some confusion!, and someone from the hostel met people off the train and took us there which was nice. Although by this time there were no dorm beds left so they gave me a private room for a cheap rate for one night - it was so nice to have a bit of luxury, and by this I mean a double bed, a towel and not 9 other people in my room!!!
Food is included here and it was a great way to meet people by sitting at the big communal tables. There's so many things to do here so we were all discussing what we were going to do over the next few days. And then seeing as there wasn't much else to do (we're in the middle of nowhere!) we went to the pub for a couple of beers!
Decided to do a day trip to one of the canyons, although it turned out to be another dirty puddle experience like in Argentina!!! There was five of us and two of us didn't really speak Spanish, but it wasn't as if we had a guide, he was more just a driver, although he just chatted to one of the other guys all the time and then stopped occasionally so we could get out to take photos!
Then we ended up back at Divisadero where the train stopped the day before and we got stuck there for two hours as the President of Mexico decided to fly in for a quick visit and the road was closed!!! We didn't get to see him but we could hear him, not that I could understand what it was all about!
Then when the road finally reopened we went to a balancing rock, which was nowhere near as impressive as it sounded, although it was a bit scary standing on top of it when there was just the canyon underneath!, and then went to another viewing platform that was see through and that was a bit scary as it was a long way down!!! And that was it! We were expecting to see a different canyon or do a bit of walking, but it seems that the canyons are pretty inaccessible, mainly as it's off season I guess, so that was a bit disappointing but it was still nice to drive around and take in all the scenery.
The next day we hired bikes and five of us went up to a lake which was about 8kms away. We then hired a boat for an hour and the four girls rowed whilst the guy just sat at the front, which we thought was a little unfair! We didn't do a bad job though, even with the wind going against us whilst we were trying to get the boat back! In the afternoon I decided to go and walk to the Valley of the Mushrooms and the Valley of the Frogs, which was basically some rocks in vague shapes of frogs and mushrooms! Wasn't overly impressive but it was good to get out and about and the scenery was fantastic. I then climbed up El Christo Rey, where the big man himself stands overlooking the town and got great views of the whole place! But after all this activity I was pretty knackered - it's the most exercise I've done in a long time!!!
Chihuahua (like the dog!)
There was hardly anyone left in the hostel, which was a bit bizarre as it was so busy when I got there a couple of days ago. So the rest of us decided to leave too, as we had planned to meet the others in Chihuahua. This was to be my last ever bus ride in Mexico, which was a little bit sad after the amount of time I have spent on buses!! And so in true Mexican style everything was going well and then for some unknown reason we stopped for about 1/2hr. I thought they were changing a tyre again but when someone went to look the gearbox had been taken apart and there was bits of it all over the floor, which didn't look good! But there was only one guy working and a few others jsut standing around looking, not helping at all! But then after a while we were on our way again so not too much of a delay!
We got dropped off near the hostel we were going to stay at only it was shut as they were on holiday! That scuppered our plans of meeting up with everyone else then! So we hopped on a local camiòn and got into town and found a cheap hotel so us three girlies got a room together. The way things have worked out I have to stay here for the next couple of days until my flight up to San Francisco on the 27th May. One of the girls I travelled here with has a flight that day too so at least we're not on our own as there really isn't that much to do here!!
In the evening four of us went to la Feria de la Santa Rita, which is a really big fair just outside of town that happens this time every year to celebrate the patrons of the state. As we had missed out on the 100 year anniversary of Creel by a couple of days it was good to actually come to this. Although I hadn't actually put 2 and 2 together and realised that it was just a fair with rides and games and stuff, which I haven't been to for years! But it was quite good, went on a few rides and went to the circus, only that was really wierd and not very circus like either! There was also a big stage and at first there was a woman not wearing very much singing and wiggling her arse at the cameras which all the men loved, and then this guy in very tight trousers came on and kept getting girls to come up onto the stage and then they had to dance for him and the audience had to decide who was the best. So he basically ended up getting five lap dances as these girls strutted their stuff around him! Then he played a game based on musical chairs, but instead of girls sitting on chairs when the music stopped they had to jump on a bloke!!! All very bizarre but quite entertaining!
The next evening Olivia and I went out to try and find somewhere to have a beer. Seeing as it was Friday night we figured something would be going on... But the streets were completely deserted, it was really wierd! We ended up asking a taxi driver where there was a bar and he asked what type? One that sells beer preferably! He kept saying did we want to go to a Ladies Bar?! Well we had no idea what that was but it seemed there wasn't anything in the town centre so we gave up! As we started walking back to the hotel though we found a Ladies Bar! We went in to investigate, and it was actually OK!! There were only two other women in there, the rest were all men, but they left us alone so it was all good! They have Cantinas over here which I think are men only so perhaps a ladies bar just means ladies are allowed in!!!
Saturday night wasn't that happening either!! We went in a different direction and found another bar and I had scraped enough money together for one last bottle of Sol for my last night in Mexico!! I'm really intrigued though as to where everyone else goes in this place as it's even got a university so there should be some nightlife...!!
Onwards and Upwards...!
So after five months I leave Latin America. A few weeks ago I was tired of being in Spanish speaking countries as even though it's easy enough to get around and the people are all friendly etc etc, it's just quite tiring to do everything by yourself all the time in a different language. Hence booking a flight up to San Francisco for a few days in an English speaking big city! But since booking the flight I have been having had such a good time - have met so many people and have been to such great places that I wish I wasn't leaving so early now!! Sods law eh?! But there wasn't really anywhere I wanted to go to and so the time was right really. I have cheated a bit though by flying and not doing a 24hr bus trip to Tijuana and then hopping over the border to San Diego but I think I can live with that!!
Instead I took 3 flights and after spending as much time sitting in airports as I was on planes I eventually made it to San Francisco. I went via Guadalajara and Los Angeles, and just for a bit of excitement the plane in Los Angeles had some thing attached to it that it took them ages to get off and then one of the air conditioning units stopped working!! But it was less than an hour flight and maintenance said it was safe for us to fly! However, two people sitting near me decided they didn't feel safe and so wanted to get off. At this point we were sitting on the runway and so it was going to take another hour of waiting for the rest of us if they wanted to get off, so eventually they decided to stay put! And then when I finally got to San Francisco there had been an earthquake in Oakland and so the BART (a train thing!) was delayed and running slowly to make sure there was no damage to the track!! But eventually I got here and it's cold!!! Bit of a shock coming from Mexico but it's good preparation for New Zealand!!!
San Francisco is a great place though, even though it is a little chilly at times!! It was great to spend a few days shopping after not really being able to for five months, although the choice is a little overwhelming and all the shops are so big!!! Did manage to take in some of the sights though - Chinatown, Pier 39, the Financial District, Postcard Row, Union Square etc etc, but as I had been here before I'd already seen a bit of the place anyway so wasn't too bothered about rushing round sight seeing!
To save myself some money I decided to catch the nightbus to LA. As soon as I went to the bus station I thought this was a bad idea, but in principal it was still good so I figured I'd just do it anyway! I caught a bus at 10pm and whilst waiting at the bus station there were quite a few weird people there, one guy who was standing in a line for a bus suddenly turned around and nose dived to the floor, with his arse hanging out his pants and everything. He lay of the floor for a minute or so and then got back up and stood in line again, very bizarre! Then there was a woman who just kept swearing and screaming at the top of her voice, about what though I have no idea! I was just glad that neither of these characters were on my bus!
The buses in Mexico were nicer than Greyhound buses, and even though there were some spare seats behind me this guy ended up sitting next to me and massively invading my personal space, to the point I had to kick his leg back over to his side, but it was still slightly cramped so didn't really get that much sleep! We ended up arriving in LA at about 5.30am, slightly earlier than expected, so I got a cab over to Union Station (the guy at the bus station recommended that I didn't walk but it didn't look so bad to me!) and I then caught a bus out to this hostel that was in the middle of nowhere, although close to the airport. It was quite a bizarre place, I was in a 20 bed dorm, with only 1 toilet and shower which was interesting!! They had free shuttle buses to a shopping mall and Venice beach though, so I easily filled a couple of days there before I got my flight to Auckland! Venice beach was really weird though, I had visions of lots of people running and roller blading up and down the sidewalks, which there were, but there were also loads of cheesy, crappy seaside shops, and loads of beggars so it wasn't actually a particularly nice place, which I was surprised at. The weather wasn't great though so I guess that didn't help.
But anyway, that was enough of the US for me for a while and so I hopped onto the shuttle to the airport and after an hour's delay (the air con broke again - I'm starting to think I'm a jinx to planes as that was the second time in a week but at least this time they managed to fix it!) I was on my way to New Zealand!!! I've never flown Quantas before, but have heard good things about them and I have to say it was a great flight! Food was good, people were friendly and movies were great! I only got about 2 hours sleep though as there were so many good movies to watch I stayed up most of the night to plow my way though them!!!
As much as I don't really like this place, it has everything I need! After finding a not so nice hostel I managed to get my laundry done, get on the internet and have a MacDonald's! Result! The hostel I stayed at though was opposite some club which played music until about 5.30am, so for most of the night it felt like I was sleeping (or not really so just lying!) in the actual club the music was so loud! I then figured it was time to leave this place!!
Got a collectivo and then a ferry thing over to Isla Mujeres, which is supposed to be a really nice chilled out little island just off Cancún, and it was too which was good! It's nice to spend a couple of days chilling out on the beach after the stresses of Cuba, and there were lots of shady spots under palm trees which was great so I didn't turn into a lobster!
Made a great error of judgement on the hostel front - there was a choice of two and I opted for the cheaper one which had a kitchen as budget is quite tight now! So in theory it was a good idea but in reality it was a complete shithole that no one else was staying in except some weird people who were living there. They kept snakes in the bathroom (and I mean really big ones, like about 18 foot long!), it smelt and was generally disgusting so why I decided to stay I have no idea - it wasn't as if I owed anything to a guy I've never met before! And then to top it off they spent the whole night bringing people through the room I was staying into the next room where they kept the snakes so that was nice! In the morning I woke up one of the random guys and got him to let me out so I could go to the hostel down the road which actually had people in, although now I am surrounded by young beach babes and am feeling slightly inadequate! But it's all worked out for the best now, met some cool people in the hostel so had some friends for the evening to chat to and drink beer with!!
San Cristobal
Even though I had already been here with Jo this was the furthest place west I could get to from Cancún without just going straight back to Mexico City and it's a really nice town! Although it did take about 19 hours to get here!! Found a good hostel to stay in though which is really chilled out and met two guys at the bus station who were going there aswell so took advantage of the free taxi the hostel offered us!
Spent the day walking around the town, finding some new places to go that Jo and I didn't see before. Also randomly bumped into a girl that I did the volcano climb with in Guatemala which was very bizarre but good to see a familiar face so we had a bit of a chat and swapped travel stories as you do!
As much as I was over travelling by myself as usual everything works itself out and it has still been quite easy to meet people! In the evening I ended up chatting to two English guys and a Dutch guy and we sat around playing cards and having a few drinks round the bonfire which was pretty cool (it got really cold at night - had to sleep under two blankets!!). And then the next day I hung around with one of them again, walking around the town and visiting some new places of interest! It just gets a bit repetitive having to explain where you're from, where you've been, where you're going etc etc but it's better than not talking to anyone I guess!!!
There was a huge thunderstorm in the afternoon, so I got soaked walking back to the hostel. I'm not sure how wet it gets normally and if they have a rainy season but the streets were flooded after just an hour of heavy rain so it wasn't pleasant and I was slightly soggy which was great just before a 13 hour bus journey! I had also left my towel out to dry in the morning and forgot about it so that was wet too - hmmm wet smelly clothes in my bag, lovely! Just glad I was going somewhere hot!
Puerto Escondido
It's sooo hot here! I thought that would be great after it was so cold in San Cristobal but now it's too hot! Am I ever satisfied?!!! It's quite a cool place though, beaches aren't as nice as those over in Cancún way, although apparently they are at other times of the year but it appears I have arrived during the low season! But that's OK! Have met some really nice people in my hostel to chill out with!
Went for a walk along the beach in the afternoon and someone called my name, which was a bit of a surprise as I don't know anyone here! But it was a couple of guys from the hostel and they invited me for a beer! Then a couple of other girls from the hostel walked past and also stopped for a beer, and then we went and lay in some hammocks for a few hours on the beach! What a tough life eh?!
Thought we'd sample the nightlife but it was slightly disappointing! Had a few drinks in the hostel and then went to a bar round the corner but it had crap music and the DJ had no shirt on and kept trying to salsa with all the girls which really wasn't a pleasant sight! So after a couple of drinks we left, thinking there would be somewhere else to go on to... But the main street was dead, so after asking the police where the party was! we walked along the beach to another part of town and after about half an hour we found one place! It wasn't brilliant but it had some people in and served cold beers so couldn't complain! There was also a fight which livened things up for a while! Think we made it back to the hostel around 4am - I haven't stayed up that long for ages!!! It was really quiet the next day as everyone was recovering! So another tough day lying in hammocks!!
There is a game over here that they used to play hundreds of years ago, called Pelota Mixteca, apparently they used to sacrifice the losing team but they don't do that anymore!! A village near Puerto Escondido plays this ancient game every Saturday so a few of us headed over there. We had to catch a collectivo which turned out to be a truck with sitting space in the back!, and got to the village. The game was supposed to start at 3pm but when it's hot it starts at 5pm so we killed a couple of hours sitting in a bar with a cold beer! We wandered over to the grounds to watch the match but it turned out to be a football match amongst two local teams! Not quite what we were expecting!! But at least we tried and it made a change to sitting on a beach!!
Acapulco
I figured seeing as I was so close (well, an 8 hour bus ride but it's all relative!!) I had to come to Acapulco whilst I was in Mexico! I had heard good and bad things about the place so wasn't quite sure what to expect...
To start with I end up coming into the only bus station that is miles away from nowhere, is not on any local bus routes to get into town and then they charge an extortionate amount of money for a taxi anywhere! I wasn't sure where to stay - old town or beach, but the cost made my decision for me - Old town it was! After being accosted by a guy who claimed to be something to do with tourist information, he showed me a few places and I eventually found a hotel room for the night that didn't blow the budget!
I went for a walk to explore the surroundings and wasn't overly excited by what I saw! I could see the expensive touristy area a few kilometers away that was probably quite nice, but the area where I was wasn't great! I guess you probably need to have money to come here (and friends would help too as I don't really fancy the idea of going drinking by myself!), like Cancún, and I clearly don't have either!!!
I went to see the Cliff Divers in the evening, which was the main thing I came here for really. Basically there are five crazy men who jump off cliffs that are about 25-35 metres high, into quite a small space of water. I was a bit worried that they would hit a rock, which I guess is the whole reason it makes it so exciting to watch! One guy went first, then three went together, then they turned all the floodlights off (it was about 10pm), lit a few torches and then the last guy jumped off the highest rock. It was really impressive to watch so I'm definitely glad I made the effort to come here and see them!
I decided to give the place a chance and instead of hopping on the first available bus out of here the next day I went exploring instead!! I caught a bus to the posh tourist area and headed down to the beach - thought I'd go for a bit of a swim to cool down. However, what I didn't realise was
that the current was really strong and the waves suck you in and then spit you out repeatedly until you can escape and make a run for it up the beach!! I must have looked quite a sight, being thrown around for a few minutes, with my bikini bottoms being yanked off too which was a bit embarrassing! I lost my sunnies in the water aswell which I was a bit pissed off about so had to stand there and wait for them to resurface and then go in for a rescue mission - it took about 3 attempts but I got them back!!! After that I just stayed on the beach out of the water! But then about every 2 minutes I got people trying to sell me sunglasses (even though I was wearing a pair!), sarongs/towels (even though I was lying on one!), jewellery, hats, t-shirts, henna tattoos, food, drink etc etc which started to get slightly annoying! Oh well, I think that will be my last day on the beach in Mexico so made the most of it anyway!Back up to Mexico City
On my way up to Mexico City I decided to stop off at a few places on the way. First was Taxco, a small mining village four hours north of Acapulco. It was an OK little place, although it had extremely steep hills and cobbled narrow roads which made walking around quite hard! It took me ages to find the hostel as it was in the market somewhere, and the market was all undercover so I dived in, wandered around for a bit, resurfaced somewhere, asked someone where I was and then dived back in again!! After about 4 attempts I found it! I was the only one there though and the woman wasn't very nice and over charged massively for what she was offering. But it was the only hostel in town so I didn't really have a choice and thought I'd just stay one night!
The town was actually quite nice, once you got used to the fact that every time you went
anywhere you got lost!! I managed to navigate a route from the hostel through the market to the main square so felt better once I had achieved that!! Everywhere you went there were silver jewellery shops and people trying to sell you stuff - it was actually really nice stuff, not the normal tat you see everywhere!!! In the evening a local school set up a stage in the middle of the main square and there were all sorts of performances, from different types of dancing to speeches and recorder playing! Loads of people gathered in the square to watch and it was really nice to see everyone together taking part in something.The next morning I decided to get an early bus out of the town and up to Cuernavaca. However I was locked in the hostel and it took 15 minutes of ringing the bell and shouting before someone let me out! I then had to run to the bus station with my backpack on and just made it in time! I got to Cuernavaca but had decided not to stay there as I didn't really want to be in another place that was really quite and tourist-less. So I just walked through the town to a different bus station. The town did actually look quite nice and I probably could've spent a few hours wandering round the place but still didn't want to spend the whole day and a night there so got the bus to Puebla instead.
I arrived at the main bus station, which was about 3km outside of the town. I asked a bus driver if he went to the Zócalo (the main plaza) and he said yes so I hopped on. What he actually meant was no, he goes about 4 blocks away and I have no idea where I am and he doesn't tell me, so an hour later I am still on the bus and we've driven right out of town to the bus stop in the middle of nowhere!!! He found it all quite funny and apologised for not telling me when to get off! So then I had to sit there for another 45 minutes or so until we drive back the other way and this time he tells me where to get off!! I then had to walk about another 20 minutes to the hostel, so over 2 hours after I got to Puebla I eventually made it to the hostel!!
This town is quite nice aswell, a pleasant place to spend an afternoon! I walked round the streets visiting the many churches that seem to be everywhere, and sitting in the plaza by the cathedral watching the world go by. It was all very nice, until the big thunderstorm started...!!
The next morning I hopped back on a bus that went straight to the bus terminal and hopped on a bus to Mexico City. Decided to check out a different hostel as some people had recommended it to me and it was OK, although there was really loud pumping music going for half the evening which was nice! Didn't really do much as only had an afternoon here before I started my route up north and I had seen most stuff when I was here before...
San Miguel de Allende
Made my way up to the bus terminal and found a bus that left to San Miguel in 10 minutes so I hopped on it. It was a second class one though and I am used to travelling in style now so actually had to open a window rather than there being air con!!! An Argentinian/American girl sat next to me and was going to the same place so once we got there we caught a bus and found the hostel together.
This is a really lovely little town. I'm getting quite judgemental now and make snap decisions when I get to places as to whether I'm going to like them or not and this one I thought I would like and I do! It's got a really pretty pink cathedral in the middle of town with a plaza right by it. There are lots of other quite impressive looking churches around too and lots of nice looking buildings! The streets are all cobbled and as usual there are always lots of people milling around in the plazas and gardens. We spent the afternoon walking around, up and down all the streets (some of which are quite steep!), just exploring.
Outside the cathedral they were setting up a stage and lots of chairs so I deduced that something was going on in the evening! I went to investigate but it was really weird. Basically there were about 6 people dressed up as weird clowns and walked through the streets with a coffin until they got to the stage. Two were on stilts and a couple were playing the saxophone and trumpet. They were on stage for the next hour or so but I have no clue what it was all about, they were playing weird music, going round on unicycles and at one point got 4 guys from the audience up on stage and basically humiliated them by making them run around and do cartwheels! It was all really bizarre!! They seem to be big fans of clowns over here but i have to say that I am not! They were some other people around who were dressed up as if they were going to be dancing later so hung around for a while but the clowns didn't show any sign of leaving so I decided I'd had my fill of clowns for one night and went home!!
I spent the next day walking around a bit more, went up to a mirador spot where you got really good views of the whole town and then down into the local park which was really pretty. In the afternoon I walked past someone who said hello to me so I said hello back. Before I knew what was happening he had invited me to sit on a park bench with him and chat so I could practice my Spanish! So I spent the next couple of hours chatting to him, which was OK but I was a bit dubious in the back of my mind as to what was going on. He kept asking me if I wanted to go for a drink, something to eat or a walk but I said I was fine. I told him I was going to Guanajuato the next day and he suddenly said he would come with me - he had a car so he could drive us. I really didn't want to do that but I didn't know how to get away from him or how to get out of this situation which I suddenly found myself in! He was nice enough and seemed really friendly and I'm sure it was probably all above board but I couldn't be sure. I hate to be so mistrusting of people as they are all so friendly over here but you never know!! So in the end I said I was going to get the bus as I didn't know him and didn't want to go in his car, but then he said he would get the bus with me!!! So we arranged a meeting place for the next day and then I pretended I had a headache so I could leave!!!
I was a bit annoyed at the end of it, I didn't know why I couldn't just be rude to someone I don't know and then walk off, but for some reason I can't! I was then panicking for the rest of the day that I was going to bump into him but I didn't! The next morning I left quite early so I was well away before the time we were supposed to meet! I felt a bit bad that I stood him up but then for all I know he never turned up anyway! And why was he willing to spend a Sunday with a tourist anyway, didn't he have any friends?! Oh well, I got away so it all turned out OK!!
Guanajuato
So I escaped San Miguel and took an early bus to Guanajuato. I was a bit concerned this guy would come looking for me but he didn't, phew! Got a local bus into town, although this place is full of underground tunnels that the buses and cars drive through which was a bit confusing but I saw a sign for where I vaguely wanted to be so hopped off and found a hostel.
This place is really lovely, so am glad I have a few nights here. Lots of nice plazas, churches,
buildings etc so plenty to keep me occupied! I wandered round for a while exploring and getting my bearings as it's another place where it's reasonably easy to get lost, although they have lots of signs which is helpful!!Unfortunately for most of the afternoon and evening it kept raining so I had to keep running back to the hostel or taking cover somewhere close by! But in the evening they had this thing in the main square where some local men dress up and play instruments and sing and they gather a group of people behind them. They walk through the town singing and I think at the end they all drink wine from a goatskin or something like that but I didn't hang around for that bit as I was getting wet!!
For the next couple of days I moved to a different hostel to one that was nicer and cheaper!! I then spent the rest of my time walking around the town - up to La Picala, which is a monument high above the town and gives really good views of the whole place, around all the plazas, past the university and all the other major points of interest to tourists! It's such a nice place to spend a few days and met some cool people in the hostel too so wasn't a complete billy the whole time I was here!!
Zacatecas
So I booked a bus from Guanajuato to Zacatecas via León. It was all quite easy really - I got on the bus, got to León, sat there for a while and then hopped on a bus to Zacatecas! I got a local camión the other end into town and saw this woman watching me. When she got off the bus she asked me where I was going and told me to get off and walk with her! I figured she knew the area better than me so walked with her! It turned out she worked at a language school near the hostel so we walked together for a while and then she pointed me in the right direction which was good!
The hostel was really nice, everyone was really friendly and had a great rooftop terrace with a kitchen and it was clean which is always a bonus! Went for a little walk trying to find a supermarket or market but after 1 1/2hrs I found nothing, and then feeling slightly defeated I walked back and found one just round the corner from the hostel - typical!!!
It turned out that there was a party going on on the terrace that night as there were some Japanese people who had been studying at the school and it was their last day! So an hour later I was surrounded by people and food and drink, it was great! Although everyone was trying to speak Spanish, even though for most of the people English was their first language! I found this a bit wierd - I understand that they want to practice their Spanish but I just can't really be bothered anymore as I haven't got that much time left in Mexico and have resigned myself to the fact that my Spanish is going to stay crap until I start taking a course! But I gave it a go anyway and people spoke in a mixture of Spanish and English so it turned out OK!! The woman from the bus turned up too and was really happy to see me which was sweet!
The next day 6 of us went on a little walk round the town. We went to the local mine which is not working anymore but gives tours of one of it's lower levels. We went in on a train and then walked around inside. It was quite interesting to see but the guide talked too fast so I gave up trying to listen as I had no idea what he was saying! We then took the cable car across the town to Cerro de la Bufa which was a little hill the other side of town. We walked around the rock at the top of the hill and got some really great views of the town, then walked back down.
I then spent the rest of my time here relaxing on the roof terrace in the sun with some good books! Such a hard life! This is one of those hostels where there are always people coming and going and everyone is really friendly and so there always seems to be someone around to talk to!! It's bizarre how some hostels are like this and then other places people don't really talk to each other, but there you go!!
Guadalajara
It took me a while but I eventually got here! It goes from one extreme to the other, this time I got off the local bus way too early and ended up in the middle of nowhere trying to find a hostel that was a good 5km + away!! Even though some locals had pointed me in what they thought was the right direction, I'm glad that I asked for a map at a tourist info point as that was when he told me I was in the wrong town! Opps! So I had to hop on another bus, get off slightly closer to where I wanted to be and then after walking the streets for 10mins finally found the hostel!! Phew! It's really hot too so not a great idea of mine to be trudging around with my rucksack!!!
I think this is supposed to be quite a big place but I guess I'm staying where it's at and so everything is pretty much right on my doorstep which is good! Spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the main sights - cathedral, churches, plazas, theatres etc etc!
Decided to only stay one night though so I can hot foot it up to Los Mochis and get the train from there to Creel, which goes through the Barranca del Cobre (Copper Canyon) and is supposed to be amazing...
I bumped into two guys in the hostel that I had met in the hostel in Zacatecas. After sitting chatting (sort of seeing as one was from Chile and one was Italian so it was a mixture of Spanish and English when I didn't understand!!) we decided to go out, seeing as it was Saturday night and Guadalajara is supposed to have a great nightlife... Well after over an hour of walking around, going into bars and thenleaving again because either you had to pay a cover charge or the beer was too expensive we finally found a place that was free to get in and sold cheap beer - result! One small problem - they wouldn't let me in as they didn't think I was old enough and I didn't have any ID on me as I generally don't carry it anymore as I'm too old!! (you have to be over 18!!)! But after about 10 mins of Juan talking to two different people they finally believed that I was old enough and let me in! I couldn't believe it, I was the oldest of the three of us (just!) and only a few weeks off my 29th birthday and I get refused entry!! People tell me this is supposed to be a compliment, well I'm used to people thinking I'm about 25 and I guess that's OK, but less than 18??? I don't see that as a compliment!!!
Anyway, we got in and then realised it was a gay bar!!! There were straight couples in there too but they were definately in the minority!! But it was quite a cool place so we stayed for a few beers! It was quite amusing that everyone there had made such an effort to get dressed up to go out, as you would do on a Saturday night I guess, and there was me sitting there in an old t-shirt, trousers that have been ruined with a grease mark from the lovely peso pizzas in Cuba and my walking shoes as they're the only shoes I have!!!! And still I managed to get attention from some guy, but fortunately for me I was with two men so one of them could play the part of my novio whenever needed!!
La Barranca del Cobre (the Copper Canyon)
So I took the overnight bus from Guadalajara to Los Mochis and the idea was to arrive in Los Mochis in time to get the train up to Creel, passing through some spectacular scenery... I had less than an hour to get from the bus station to the train station so was relying on the bus being on time. However, this wasn't meant to be as I arrived in Los Mochis at 7.15am when the train left at 7am. But it's supposed to be quite slow so I figured I'd get the bus to the next town and pick up the train there... I was waiting for the 8.15 bus and this guy comes over to me and keeps telling me there's a bus at 7.30, I tell him it's already 7.50 but he keeps telling me 7.30 so in the end I agree and he walks off. When it gets to 8.15 and there's no bus it suddenly hits me that I've crossed a time zone and a) I could've got the train, and b) there is a bus at 7.30!! So I check with him and I'm right! So am a little pissed off I missed the train but there wasn't much I could do about it by then! The bus leaves on time and it's all going well (apart form the fact he keeps stopping to pick people up!) and then they decide to stop for a tyre change!!! I thought the train left about 10.45 so figured I had plenty of time but was still starting to panic slightly! But then I fell asleep and when I woke up it was 9.30 and we were in El Fuente and I had plenty of time to catch the train...
Some guy found a taxi for me and we drove to the station and sitting there waas my train, just about to leave! So I made a run for it and managed to hop on before it left, phew!! So I was a bit confused about what was going on and spent the next 8 hours having no clue what time zone I was in but at least I had made the train which was the important thing!!
The journey was pretty stunning, after being in colonial towns for so long it was nice to see countryside! When we got to Divisadero we were allowed off the train for 15 mins to see one of the huge canyons which was amazing. It's supposed to be bigger than the Grand Canyon I think so it's pretty impressive!
Got to Creel at about 5pm ish I think, depending on what time zone we were in as it was causing some confusion!, and someone from the hostel met people off the train and took us there which was nice. Although by this time there were no dorm beds left so they gave me a private room for a cheap rate for one night - it was so nice to have a bit of luxury, and by this I mean a double bed, a towel and not 9 other people in my room!!!
Food is included here and it was a great way to meet people by sitting at the big communal tables. There's so many things to do here so we were all discussing what we were going to do over the next few days. And then seeing as there wasn't much else to do (we're in the middle of nowhere!) we went to the pub for a couple of beers!
Decided to do a day trip to one of the canyons, although it turned out to be another dirty puddle experience like in Argentina!!! There was five of us and two of us didn't really speak Spanish, but it wasn't as if we had a guide, he was more just a driver, although he just chatted to one of the other guys all the time and then stopped occasionally so we could get out to take photos!
Then we ended up back at Divisadero where the train stopped the day before and we got stuck there for two hours as the President of Mexico decided to fly in for a quick visit and the road was closed!!! We didn't get to see him but we could hear him, not that I could understand what it was all about!Then when the road finally reopened we went to a balancing rock, which was nowhere near as impressive as it sounded, although it was a bit scary standing on top of it when there was just the canyon underneath!, and then went to another viewing platform that was see through and that was a bit scary as it was a long way down!!! And that was it! We were expecting to see a different canyon or do a bit of walking, but it seems that the canyons are pretty inaccessible, mainly as it's off season I guess, so that was a bit disappointing but it was still nice to drive around and take in all the scenery.
The next day we hired bikes and five of us went up to a lake which was about 8kms away. We then hired a boat for an hour and the four girls rowed whilst the guy just sat at the front, which we thought was a little unfair! We didn't do a bad job though, even with the wind going against us whilst we were trying to get the boat back! In the afternoon I decided to go and walk to the Valley of the Mushrooms and the Valley of the Frogs, which was basically some rocks in vague shapes of frogs and mushrooms! Wasn't overly impressive but it was good to get out and about and the scenery was fantastic. I then climbed up El Christo Rey, where the big man himself stands overlooking the town and got great views of the whole place! But after all this activity I was pretty knackered - it's the most exercise I've done in a long time!!!
Chihuahua (like the dog!)
There was hardly anyone left in the hostel, which was a bit bizarre as it was so busy when I got there a couple of days ago. So the rest of us decided to leave too, as we had planned to meet the others in Chihuahua. This was to be my last ever bus ride in Mexico, which was a little bit sad after the amount of time I have spent on buses!! And so in true Mexican style everything was going well and then for some unknown reason we stopped for about 1/2hr. I thought they were changing a tyre again but when someone went to look the gearbox had been taken apart and there was bits of it all over the floor, which didn't look good! But there was only one guy working and a few others jsut standing around looking, not helping at all! But then after a while we were on our way again so not too much of a delay!
We got dropped off near the hostel we were going to stay at only it was shut as they were on holiday! That scuppered our plans of meeting up with everyone else then! So we hopped on a local camiòn and got into town and found a cheap hotel so us three girlies got a room together. The way things have worked out I have to stay here for the next couple of days until my flight up to San Francisco on the 27th May. One of the girls I travelled here with has a flight that day too so at least we're not on our own as there really isn't that much to do here!!
In the evening four of us went to la Feria de la Santa Rita, which is a really big fair just outside of town that happens this time every year to celebrate the patrons of the state. As we had missed out on the 100 year anniversary of Creel by a couple of days it was good to actually come to this. Although I hadn't actually put 2 and 2 together and realised that it was just a fair with rides and games and stuff, which I haven't been to for years! But it was quite good, went on a few rides and went to the circus, only that was really wierd and not very circus like either! There was also a big stage and at first there was a woman not wearing very much singing and wiggling her arse at the cameras which all the men loved, and then this guy in very tight trousers came on and kept getting girls to come up onto the stage and then they had to dance for him and the audience had to decide who was the best. So he basically ended up getting five lap dances as these girls strutted their stuff around him! Then he played a game based on musical chairs, but instead of girls sitting on chairs when the music stopped they had to jump on a bloke!!! All very bizarre but quite entertaining!
The next evening Olivia and I went out to try and find somewhere to have a beer. Seeing as it was Friday night we figured something would be going on... But the streets were completely deserted, it was really wierd! We ended up asking a taxi driver where there was a bar and he asked what type? One that sells beer preferably! He kept saying did we want to go to a Ladies Bar?! Well we had no idea what that was but it seemed there wasn't anything in the town centre so we gave up! As we started walking back to the hotel though we found a Ladies Bar! We went in to investigate, and it was actually OK!! There were only two other women in there, the rest were all men, but they left us alone so it was all good! They have Cantinas over here which I think are men only so perhaps a ladies bar just means ladies are allowed in!!!
Saturday night wasn't that happening either!! We went in a different direction and found another bar and I had scraped enough money together for one last bottle of Sol for my last night in Mexico!! I'm really intrigued though as to where everyone else goes in this place as it's even got a university so there should be some nightlife...!!
Onwards and Upwards...!
So after five months I leave Latin America. A few weeks ago I was tired of being in Spanish speaking countries as even though it's easy enough to get around and the people are all friendly etc etc, it's just quite tiring to do everything by yourself all the time in a different language. Hence booking a flight up to San Francisco for a few days in an English speaking big city! But since booking the flight I have been having had such a good time - have met so many people and have been to such great places that I wish I wasn't leaving so early now!! Sods law eh?! But there wasn't really anywhere I wanted to go to and so the time was right really. I have cheated a bit though by flying and not doing a 24hr bus trip to Tijuana and then hopping over the border to San Diego but I think I can live with that!!
Instead I took 3 flights and after spending as much time sitting in airports as I was on planes I eventually made it to San Francisco. I went via Guadalajara and Los Angeles, and just for a bit of excitement the plane in Los Angeles had some thing attached to it that it took them ages to get off and then one of the air conditioning units stopped working!! But it was less than an hour flight and maintenance said it was safe for us to fly! However, two people sitting near me decided they didn't feel safe and so wanted to get off. At this point we were sitting on the runway and so it was going to take another hour of waiting for the rest of us if they wanted to get off, so eventually they decided to stay put! And then when I finally got to San Francisco there had been an earthquake in Oakland and so the BART (a train thing!) was delayed and running slowly to make sure there was no damage to the track!! But eventually I got here and it's cold!!! Bit of a shock coming from Mexico but it's good preparation for New Zealand!!!
San Francisco is a great place though, even though it is a little chilly at times!! It was great to spend a few days shopping after not really being able to for five months, although the choice is a little overwhelming and all the shops are so big!!! Did manage to take in some of the sights though - Chinatown, Pier 39, the Financial District, Postcard Row, Union Square etc etc, but as I had been here before I'd already seen a bit of the place anyway so wasn't too bothered about rushing round sight seeing!
To save myself some money I decided to catch the nightbus to LA. As soon as I went to the bus station I thought this was a bad idea, but in principal it was still good so I figured I'd just do it anyway! I caught a bus at 10pm and whilst waiting at the bus station there were quite a few weird people there, one guy who was standing in a line for a bus suddenly turned around and nose dived to the floor, with his arse hanging out his pants and everything. He lay of the floor for a minute or so and then got back up and stood in line again, very bizarre! Then there was a woman who just kept swearing and screaming at the top of her voice, about what though I have no idea! I was just glad that neither of these characters were on my bus!
The buses in Mexico were nicer than Greyhound buses, and even though there were some spare seats behind me this guy ended up sitting next to me and massively invading my personal space, to the point I had to kick his leg back over to his side, but it was still slightly cramped so didn't really get that much sleep! We ended up arriving in LA at about 5.30am, slightly earlier than expected, so I got a cab over to Union Station (the guy at the bus station recommended that I didn't walk but it didn't look so bad to me!) and I then caught a bus out to this hostel that was in the middle of nowhere, although close to the airport. It was quite a bizarre place, I was in a 20 bed dorm, with only 1 toilet and shower which was interesting!! They had free shuttle buses to a shopping mall and Venice beach though, so I easily filled a couple of days there before I got my flight to Auckland! Venice beach was really weird though, I had visions of lots of people running and roller blading up and down the sidewalks, which there were, but there were also loads of cheesy, crappy seaside shops, and loads of beggars so it wasn't actually a particularly nice place, which I was surprised at. The weather wasn't great though so I guess that didn't help.
But anyway, that was enough of the US for me for a while and so I hopped onto the shuttle to the airport and after an hour's delay (the air con broke again - I'm starting to think I'm a jinx to planes as that was the second time in a week but at least this time they managed to fix it!) I was on my way to New Zealand!!! I've never flown Quantas before, but have heard good things about them and I have to say it was a great flight! Food was good, people were friendly and movies were great! I only got about 2 hours sleep though as there were so many good movies to watch I stayed up most of the night to plow my way though them!!!
