Jan 31, 2010 - Captivated by Oaxaca de Juarez

The city of Oaxaca, officially Oaxaca de Juarez, is a delightful and captivating place in many respects. Having been isolated for much of its history by the mountain ranges surrounding the city that form the y-shaped Oaxaca Valley, the art, crafts, customs, food, dress and even languages of 15 distinct ethnic groups with-in the state of Oaxaca are well represented here. I decided to stay a second full week in Oaxaca de Juarez since it provides both the opportunity to be fully immersed in my Spanish study and to explore all the nooks and...

Jan 29, 2010 - Catemaco, Zanatepec

Drove to Catemaco though the Ecobiosfer....beautiful dense jungle. Catemaco has many boats anxiously waiting to take you to "Monkey Island"...seemed to be no tourists though. Had breakfast at one of the many waterfront restaurants...eggs, refried beans, salsa for 35 pesos. Drove on...now entering the Ismus of Santa Domingo Zanatepec, Tehuahtepec....temperature is heating up. Spent the night at Hotel Posada San Rafael. Nice rooms and beautiful courtyard but our room faced the street and trucks were pretty noisy. No hot water here for the...

Jan 29, 2010 - Peru floods: Helicopters at Machu Picchu

Although Peru is not part of my current trip, Janine and I were supposed to be there right now. Machu Pichu was high on our list and the original timeline I had laid out would have put us at Machu Pichu January 25th, which looks like the day the train tracks were washed out. Call it fate, luck or what-ever but I am glad we missed this. I scooped this artical and the attached pictures from the website www.dailymail.co.uk: Peru floods: Helicopters at Machu Picchu in battle to rescue tourists as new arrivals swell numbers By Travelmail...

Jan 28, 2010 - Oaxaca

Staying at Hostel Paulina...very new, very nice, great showers, and lots of traveling folks. Looked at our expenses so far in MX and it is more per day than in E. Europe which was one of the most expensive areas so far...$30 US+/day! Perhaps 50% goes for transport. What makes up for it is that Mexicans are much more helpful and friendly so far which makes the $$$ pain somewhat more acceptable. Perhaps we could save some driving our own vehicle but then that removes us from mainstream MX. 1/29 Head for Monte Alban, earliest inhabit 200BC...

Jan 27, 2010 - Huatulco Mexico

The last place we visited on our trip was Huatulco Mexico. Mexico was a lot warmer than Caye Caulker, so we did lots of swimming at the beach and at our hotel pool. One day we hired a boat to go snorkeling and a tour of the Bays of Huatulco. On our way in the boat, we spotted lots of sea turtles and two were mating and we got very close. We also spotted about an 8 foot long manta ray. We saw another one jump about 5 to 10 feet out of the water and do a back flip. It was very cool! We also spotted 3 dolphins swimming by. While we were...

Jan 27, 2010 - Huatulco Mexico

We crossed the border from Belize into Mexico, spent one night in Chetemal, then flew the next morning to Huatulco Mexico. From the moment we stepped off the plane into the warm, open-aired, palapa roofed airport - something you might find on a small Hawaiian island - we knew we made the right decision to come to Mexico! Huatulco is a series of nine beautiful bays on the far southwest coast of Mexico, with large sections of protected jungle between the bays, and strict regulations for development. There's a very relaxed feel to the small...

Jan 27, 2010 - Huatulco Mexico

In Mexico we stayed in a hotel with a pool and a nice restaurant. It was really hot so my brother and I swam every day. We also swam in the ocean and it was really warm - even warmer than the pool. Our first adventure in Mexico was going snorkeling. On our way we saw two turtles mating, some dolphins, a manta ray that jumped out of the water and did a back flip, another manta ray that was about 8 feet across, and lots more turtles. When we were snorkeling we saw some needle fish that were about 3 feet long. We saw a blow fish and our guide...

Jan 26, 2010 - Day trip to Hievre El Agua, Oaxaca

This morning I got on the motorcycle and headed south-east along Oax 190 to explore Valle de Tlacolula. Janine and I had visited the many sites of interest along this valley during our last visit but ran out of time to get to Hievre El Agua, a mineral spring that has been spilling over a cliff creating a seemingly petrified waterfall located high in the mountains at the far end of the valley. I also wanted to revisit the Dominican church and convent San Geronimo, in the village of Tlacochahuaya. The church, one of the oldest in the valley,...

Jan 25, 2010 - Ciudad de Oaxaca

I have sort of settled in here over the past few days. My hotel is very comfortable, close to everything in the historic center of the city and very reasonable. I negotiated a weekly rate that works out to 250 pesos (about $20.00 CDN), which is extremely good for this hotel, especially this close to the Zocola in Oaxaca. I have been taking in the sights and visited a couple museums during the day, then enjoying the various entertainment that goes on nightly in the square. I also established a bit of a study routine for my spanish. I have...

Jan 22, 2010 - Puerto Escondido to Ciudad de Oaxaca, Oaxaca

I did not sleep well last night and this morning I was feeling a little “off”. Not sick, mind you, just off a little. It could be a little too much sun yesterday I suppose. I was moving slow and did not get on the road to Oaxaca until 9:30 AM. The 250 km trip should take about 5 hours so I still had plenty of time. I decided to take Mex 131 which is the same road I took the other day to Juquila. It is rough and slow but on my motorcycle that just adds to the fun. The first part of the road to El Vidro, the turn-off to Juquila, turned out to...

Jan 21, 2010 - Last Beach Day in Puerto Escondido

For me it is hard to believe I have been here a week already. I hear that it happens to everyone who stops in Puerto Escondido for a day or two; you find you have lost track of time and stayed way longer than planned. It is just a great place to relax and hang out. I have decided to head up to Ciudad Oaxaca tomorrow. Janine and I found it to be an almost magical place and it would be a shame to be so close and not visit again. That means that today was my last opportunity to sit on the beach in Puerto Escondido, at least for now. I took...

Jan 20, 2010 - Day Trip to Juquila With Some Politics Thrown In

Not being Roman Catholic, I don’t fully understand the significance of many of the shrines and symbols of faith here in Mexico but I have no trouble recognizing the importance of them to the people here. One such symbol of faith here in the state of Oaxaca is the Virgen Juquila. “In 1663 the image of the Immaculate Conception was with-in the chapel, in the village of Santa Maria Amialtepec, when the church was destroyed by fire. Miraculously, the Virgen was unharmed. Since then, the faithful have embarked on pilgramages to the town of Santa...