From Guatemala: Quick update

I have been on the move for the past week, and keep hoping to have a long amount of time (along with the necessary internet connection and cords) to be able to upload fotos and all sorts of tales of adventure... But so far I haven´t had all the right ingredients, so rather than continue to procrastinate a massive and chronologically accurate update, I will just take the few minutes I have now to get a current update out there...

Right now I am in Guatemala City, my first time in Guatemala. The best part about this short trip (5 days total) is that I am with one of my closest college friends (Josie) and her parents here. The first 2 weeks of my journey were rough for me, because of all the adjustments (food, customs, language), homesickness and recovering from the horribly cliche "turista" stomach illness... So it is so wonderful right now to be with an old friend, and her parents that are like family to me.

I got here on Sunday, after 2 days in Mexico City, and I´ll be heading back to Mexico on Friday. It´s a short but sweet trip. So far we haven´t been doing very traditionally "touristy" things, we although we did lay out by the pool today for a couple of hours. : ) Josie`s dad presented at a "Feria del Libro" yesterday, and so we were listening to authors speak and looking at amazing quantities of books all day...We`ll be visiting Antigua and the historic center of Guatemala City in the next couple of days, so I´m sure I´ll have some good fotos to add (eventually)...

I miss you all, thanks for your patience as I struggle with my connectivity challenges.

To be continued when I´m back in Mexico...

More Oaxaca fotos

Oaxacan days...

It has been difficult to stay in contact this past week, I've had internet access but not 100% reliable, and usually I wasn't able to plug anything into the computers I was using, so I couldn't load fotos or anything...

To continue my first weekend in Oaxaca... I befriended a motley crew of fellow hostel-stayers, including a woman from Ireland and a guy from Amsterdam, and we set out to explore together.  We went to the town of Tlacolula, to experience the massive market held there every Sunday.  The pictures don't show how overwhelmingly huge the market was, there were 3 streets that were totally closed down to hold all the vendors, that come from all over to sell their goods.  

The market sells ALL sorts of things, from hardware items to basic cooking staples to clothes.  Although some tourists make it to the market, that's not the focus.  

We passed a few vendors selling what we thought were special spices, but they were actually massive piles of chapulines (grasshoppers) in different sizes (see the top-right picture).  And no, we did NOT eat any.  I did my touristic duty back in 2001, when I ate a single chapulin (I think that's how the singular is written!!), and I don't plan on going there again.

I didn't buy anything (since I was on my way to my new home in Miahuatlan, and I couldn't fit a single additional item in my bags!!), but I was tempted, as always, by the hammocks.

Every town has their special "market day" when vendors come down from the surrounding mountains to sell their wares.  Miahuatlan's is on Mondays.  And you can be sure that when I come home for Christmas, gifts are likely to be the local handicrafts...  (although I will attempt to take into account my sisters' carefully lists of "do's" and "don'ts", based on their experiences with gifts from prior travels!)  : )

 

First Day in Oaxaca

I have been to Oaxaca before, back in 2001. However, I was really sick when I arrived in the city of Oaxaca, so I have very little memory of it (besides stomach illness and delirious fever!)

I spent most of the day walking around. I walked to the church of Santo Domingo de Guzman, which has a pretty impressive museum attached. It has rooms that detail the history of Oaxaca, beginning with pre-history and working thru the present time. The highlight for me was an amazing display of artefacts from Monte Albán, the Zapotec indian site that I plan to visit soon.

There were also beautiful vistas of the city from various windows and balconies on the 2nd floor of the museum. A botanical garden directly outside of the building, then colonial buildings and bustling streets, with lush green hills serving as the backdrop on all sides. I wish that photos could accompany this description, but I had forgotten to bring my camera : (

Then I walked to the zocalo (central plaza), alive with a mix of tourists and locals. You could feel in the air that it was Friday afternoon... As I turned a corner to follow the perimeter of the square, I felt a sudden wave of remembrance in every pore of my body - I stopped and let it wash over me, reliving moments in that exact spot over 6 years ago...

Then I sat down at an outside cafe, drinking strong Oaxacan coffee and listening to musical performers alternating on my side of the zocalo (marimba, guitar, Andean flute), saying "no, gracias" every 15 seconds to women and children selling every handicraft imaginable, and wrote down these musings on a blank page torn from my Oaxaca guidebook...

So I learned 2 important lessons:

• Bring a journal at all times!
• Bring my camera!!
  

Arriving in Mexico

I'm finally here! After so many months of planning, it's somewhat surreal to be here in Oaxaca...

My journey took quite a bit longer than expected, which is crazy because it was already supposed to take me an entire day, with 3 separate flights (Hartford to Atlanta to Mexico City to Oaxaca). My flight from Atlanta left so late that I knew in advance that I was going to miss my flight to Oaxaca, and that I would have to spend the night in Mexico City. It was an unpleasant surprise, because I knew I would have to take all of my luggage with me (and I have quite a bit!). I was trying hard not to be discouraged, telling myself that there must be a silver lining (as cheesy as that is).

Flying into Mexico City at night was an experience I will never forget, and I would have missed it if my flight had arrived earlier. The vastness of the city was breathtaking, I was amazed by the lights that spread without limits in every direction. There was a palpable sense of life and energy... In the daytime the pollution and overcrowdedness are the visible characteristics, and I was happy to have this experience.

I also met a woman from Oaxaca that was in the same situation (Olivia), and we shared a hotel room. It was nice to have a partner in dealing with this travel glitch (and all my bags!), and I also received great advice about Oaxaca and Miahuatlan. Olivia lives in Guadalajara with her husband and 2 young children, but her mom still lives in Oaxaca, and apparently loves to have guests. When we finally arrived in Oaxaca, Olivia and her mother drove me to my hostel, after making me promise that I would call them if I need anything, and giving me an open invite to family dinners on any Sunday. So I made 2 great contacts, and I'm sure I'll be seeing them again.

So that was my arrival to Oaxaca...