Chiapas

We only have two days in San Cristobal de las Casas, but there is so much to do that we have agreed that we will have to come back someday. Yesterday, we spent the evening wandering around the plaza, reading the paper, and enjoying a leisurely dinner after our long drive. San Cristobal is a beautiful colonial town, surrounded by villages still inhabited by native tribes, and it was the flashpoint of the Zapatista rebellion in 1994. In fact, it takes its name from Bartolome de las Casas, a Spanish priest who was known as being a "Defender of the Indians" and sending information about the mistreatment of indigenous peoples to the Spanish monarchs. As we sat at a European-style sidewalk cafe, we were continually approached by native children trying (and often succeeding, as I am a giant softie) to sell us souvenirs and handicrafts.

This morning, we went to visit their villages. I had read about a tour group that has a great reputation in the region for being culturally sensitive, so Sergio and I called from Teco to reserve spaces. We met them at the cross in front of the cathedral at 9:15, and set out for San Juan Chamula. (All of the towns in this region have two names - a Spanish name and a native name.) Our guide, Cesar, is half Tzotzil (the ethnic group that most of the people around San Cristobal belong to), was raised on the outskirts of San Cristobal, and speaks some of the language. (He also speaks great English and even threw out a Dutch word to translate for some Europeans on our tour - very impressive!) Although the tour group was bigger than I had hoped, Sergio and I scored seats in Cesar's car since we were the first to arrive, so we got to hear his commentary on the drive.

Although the people in this region are all Tzotzil and all speak the same language, each village has its own distinct dress. In Chamula, the women wear black wool skirts and embroidered blouses, and the men wear black wool tunics. (Many of the women were also wearing cardigans, as it was a little chilly today - I told Sergio that I felt right at home!) In Zinacantan, the second village we visited, the women wear skirts and shawls and the men wear tunics all with the same embroidered blue floral print.

It would take much more time than I have this evening to write about everything we saw and learned on our tour, but it was a wonderful experience! It was great that we got to go on a Sunday, because that's market day, so there was lots of activity (and lots to buy!).

San Cristobal de las Casas

We made it to San Cristobal! It was a very long drive, and we are happy to have arrived. Now, we're going to eat!

Last night in Puerto Escondido

We had another relaxing day today, wandering around town, swimming in the pool, and reading the newspapers over lemonade and nachos in the palapa. Tomorrow morning, bright and early, we head to San Cristobal de las Casas! Our hostel there allegedly has internet, so I hope to post in the next day or two.

More Teco Pictures

Here are some more pictures from our visit to Tecolotlan!

I took some pictures of the convent where Sergio had his first communion, and of Sergio standing on the steps of his old school.

There are also some pictures from our hike to Sergio's grandfather's ranch: some along the way, one of a little boy with a bird that we stopped to talk to (the conversation went like this: Sergio asked if he could take a picture of him, and the boy said yes but looked awkward, so I tried to engage him in conversation. I asked, "What is your bird's name?" and I thought he replied, "Jose," so I said, "Oh, that's a nice name," etc, etc. When we walked away, Sergio told me that he thought the boy had replied, "No se," which means "I don't know." If this is the case, he probably thought I was totally nutty), one of Sergio with a donkey, one of Sergio dancing to the rap music that was blasting from somewhere (although we didn't see anyone around!). There's also a picture of the church in Teco.

More Cuernavaca Pictures

Here are some more pics from Cuernavaca! When we arrived in Cuernavaca, we immediately got lost. My guidebook notes that Cuernavaca is a notoriously difficult city to navigate, with streets that change names, stop in one place and start up again somewhere else. I thought I knew where we had to go to get to our hostel, but sure enough, we got onto a street that I thought was on my map which then abruptly changed names into something I didn't recognize and I wasn't sure where we were. After driving for awhile, we decided to stop and ask for directions, and we saw a small group of men and women wearing matching shirts and thought they would be a good group to ask. One of the men came over to the car, showed me where we were on the map, and gave us good directions. We thanked him and drove on. Local elections are taking place in Mexico on July 5, so there are political posters everywhere. A few blocks after we received directions, we saw a poster for the man we had just spoken to! He is running with the conservative "PAN" party, so Sergio made a joke about that, and I took a picture of his poster. Below that are pictures of the beautiful lunch we ate on the plaza, across from the Palacio Cortes; the gazebo designed by Gustave Eiffel, and Sergio at the Museo Robert Brady.

Puerto Escondido pictures!

Here are some pictures from Puerto Escondido! I have posted pictures of some of the fabulous food we have been eating, and of the view from the hotel restaurant palapa, and of the beach.

This morning, Sergio and I slept until 9 (after waking up at 4:30 for two days in a row, that felt like sleeping in late!), went for a run on the beach, had a beautiful and leisurely breakfast, and then went to the market (there's a picture of a parrot and of Sergio at the market, where he bought a shopping bag). After that, he went to the beach and I went to the laundromat to wash our clothes (how wifely of me!). Pictured are Julia and Laura, who helped me with my laundry and chatted with me while I was waiting. Now I'm back at the hotel, and I am going to finish uploading my pictures and then go swimming! Our hotel has two pools, and one is partially shaded, so that's where I will be.

Puerto Escondido = Heaven

We are in Puerto Escondido now, which is on the Pacific coast in the state of Oaxaca. The drive today was lovely, especially because we weren't sure what to expect. Sergio has driven this way before, but we had to leave the tolled highways when we passed Acapulco and drive along the coast on a rural highway, through villages and fields. We set out at 5 this morning from Cuernavaca (which was itself quite an adventure - we were staying at a hostel with a pet rabbit which escaped when we opened the gate to drive out, and Sergio had to chase it down the street and back into the hostel in the dark!), and hoped to make it in 9 hours but thought it would probably be more. I helped Sergio navigate out of Cuernavaca and onto the highway, then promptly fell asleep and when I woke up it was light. I asked, "Have we passed Acapulco?" (since I was supposed to help navigate the somewhat confusing task of bypassing Acapulco and changing highways), and Sergio replied, "No, but we're almost there." We successfully made it onto the road to Puerto Escondido, stopped for coffee, gas, and a newspaper, and then started what turned out to be an absolutely beautiful drive. We passed through villages that were built up around the road - in some places the road was lined with businesses, like a main street, and in others, there were only shacks, and we could see people lying on hammocks and doing their chores inside. We were struck by the poverty of some of the places we passed through, and also by the people. In all of the other places I have visited in Mexico, it seems like the population has been pretty racially diverse, but in both Guerrero and Oaxaca, everyone is very dark and indigenous-looking. Sergio and I definitely stick out down here (except in Puerto Escondido, which is the surfing capital of Mexico and populated by many hippies of all races)!

We got to Puerto Escondido around 2. It is incredibly beautiful - not at all built up like other beaches I've been to; there are no highrises or big hotels, just traditional thatched-roof buildings among the palm trees. We are staying at the same hotel Sergio and Beto stayed in when they were here a few years ago, and where they met Lila Downs, a famous Mexican singer who was also staying here at the time. It's a 5-star hotel, but Sergio got us a great price (thanks to the swine flu, everything is very cheap!!). It is right on the beach, and we had lunch in the hotel restaurant, which overlooks the water and serves incredible, authentic regional seafood and vegetarian dishes. I don't think we'll eat anywhere else while we're here! Sergio has gone to the beach now, but as I am trying to stay out of the sun, I decided to stay inside. After I unpack, I will probably go sit on our little shaded balcony and read.

We will be here for two full days, and head to San Cristobal de las Casas early Saturday morning. I am very much looking forward to having nothing to do but relax for two days, and I know Sergio will enjoy a break from driving!

Sergio's Pictures

Sergio just uploaded some pictures from his camera - here are a few! They are mostly of me since Sergio took them...look out for pictures of him when I upload mine!

Here's (in reverse order) me reading the paper waiting for Daniella, eating ice cream with Danny and Marta (Danny and Ali's little sister), me at Sergio's grandfather's ranch (most of the land is leased to Jose Cuervo), Sergio at the fountain in front of the Cuernavaca cathedral, the courtyard of Sergio's grandmother's house, and me and Sergio near the Cuernavaca cathedral (we are in front of one of the smaller churches nearby).

We had a wonderful afternoon in Cuernavaca, and we are excited about Puerto Escondido! More later.

Teco to Cuernavaca

Hi all! I have limited time today, as Sergio and I have just stopped into an internet cafe in Cuernavaca, but I hope to have lots of time to write in the next few days, when we will be parked on the beach in Puerto Escondido with nothing to do!

We went to Tecolotlan, Sergio's hometown, on Monday morning, and spent the day getting the car ready to go for our road trip and visiting with family. We hiked up to his grandfather's ranch and also visited the convent where he had his first communion, and which is now an old folks' home. A nun gave us a tour of the grounds, and we visited with some older ladies, one of whom is about to celebrate her 100th birthday!

Today we left at 5 am for the long drive to Cuernavaca. We are stopping here for one night, and will head out early again for Puerto Escondido in the morning. We found our hostel at about 3, took a quick shower (it was so hot in the car!), had a beautiful lunch at a restaurant overlooking the Palacio Cortes, which is a castle built by the conquistadors atop an Aztec pyramid, and then we visited the Museo Robert Brady. Robert Brady was an American artist who settled in Cuernavaca, and built a fabulous home which is now a museum. It's full of his own art, artifacts from Mexico and all over the world, and the art of other famous artists, including Frida Kahlo, Tamara Lempicka, and Rufino Tamayo. It is absolutely beautiful.

Now we are checking the news and devastated about the California court's decision to uphold Prop 8, but excited about Obama's choice of Sotomayor for the Supreme Court! I read Sergio an article about John Roberts in the New Yorker during our drive this morning, so we have judges on the brain. Tonight we are going to take a brief walk around Cuernavaca, visit the cathedral and the plaza, and then head to bed early so we can get an early start tomorrow!

Arrival - Guadalajara

We are here! Our trip has gotten off to a great start. We were able to upgrade very cheaply to first class on the red-eye from LA, and we both slept the entire way. (The second picture is of Sergio waiting for our plane at LAX.) We were met at the airport at 6:30 this morning by an entourage of 6 people in 2 cars - Sergio's cousins Daniella and Ali, Daniella's friend Gaby, Ali's boyfriend Victor, and their friends Pau and Laura. They had all been out partying all night, and were dressed up. It was kind of overwhelming to be greeted by so many people, but it is great to see all of them. As we drove back into the city, I felt like I had just been here; which I guess makes sense since I was here just 9 months ago! I have stayed with Danny and Ali (and their parents) on my last two trips, but they have recently moved, so this is the first time I've been to their new house. They have moved out of the city to a neighborhood called Bugambilias, which is up in the hills above Guadalajara. German's cousin Alberto used to live here, and we stayed with him on our visit in 2002, so when we approached, everything looked familiar. When we left the airport, it was still dark, but as we drove up to the top of the hill we could see the red sun rising over the city. We went to bed as soon as we got here, and slept until about noon.

When we woke up, we were dying for some coffee, and they only had decaf here, so we begged Danny and Gaby to take us to Starbucks, which they graciously did. We got some coffee and then went out for tacos, and I started to feel a little more human. (The first picture is of me, Danny, Gaby, and Sergio at the taco place.) The tacos were delicious, and now we're back at the house getting ready to go out again. We are planning on meeting up with Ali and co. and Sergio's cousin Alex, and I think we're going shopping but I'm not really sure. I'm just along for the ride - it feels good to go with the flow! I already feel more relaxed than I have in ages, and I have been here for less than 10 hours.

I am going to wrap this up - I am being pestered by their neurotic poodle, Paris, who is my new best friend. We are headed to Teco tomorrow, and from there we will hit the road! I doubt we'll have internet in Teco, so it might be a few days before I can post again, but I will do my best!

The Blog is Back

Sergio and I will be blogging as we travel through Mexico for the next few weeks. Stay tuned!