In my attempt to blog more regularly, here I go again. I apologize if the blogs become redundant or boring. If that’s the case, let me know and I’ll blog less often (this is, if I can get blogging more often down first.) In any case, last time I promised tales of Mexico, helicopters, and hiking. Let’s start with my summer vacation to Mexico.
I visited Mexico for about nine days in late July/early August with my friend, Sarah. Sarah is teaching in Bulgaria (Check out her blog here: sarahfhowell.blogspot.com) and was home for a few weeks as well, so we decided to spend some of our time traveling. It was a reward for making it through our first year of full-time teaching (and our first year of full-time working.) Our travels took us to Oaxaca and Mexico City. While much of the first day was spent traveling (Dulles to Dallas, Dallas to Mexico City, Mexico City to Oaxaca), we still arrived in time to explore the square across the street from our hostel and a restaurant on the other side of the square. We just kind of happened upon our hostel in an internet search, but it was fantastic and I would recommend the place to anyone. It’s called Hostel Don Nido and is run by a family. The husband and wife have really made an effort to create a comfortable and well-kept place. You first walk into the restaurant area where breakfast is served every morning. It’s atrium-like and when the weather is good they open the roof to let the sun and breeze in. The stairway to the rooms is also like this, which is really nice on a beautiful day when you make your way out. The rooms were clean and comfy--no restless nights of sleep here. While the hostel is a few blocks away from the zocalo, it’s definitely worth it. It’s only about a ten-fifteen minute walk and it was nice to be near a plaza that was less populated by tourists.
Lourdes with some of her rugs.
Oaxaca was pretty great in general. It has the charm of a small town but plenty of things to keep you busy. There were tons of street fairs to buy goods the local merchants had made. They make beautiful textiles and pottery in this area, as well as Mezcal (a type of liquor) and chocolate (mmmmm…). With all these things, who wouldn’t want to spend time there? The architecture was also beautiful and it’s a worthwhile idea to check out nearby Monte Alban and Arbol del Tule (the oldest tree in North America, not to mention it’s huge!) We actually went to check out the tree at night with a friend which was awesome as no one else was there. Basically, Sarah and I had a great time checking out the sights, enjoying some relaxing time or wondering aimlessly, and going out and meeting new people. It was fantastic!
Old Convent-Now the Anthropology Museum
Monte Alban
Sarah and I playing at El Arbol del Tule
Mexico City was a bit of a different story. While also a very interesting place, it was much more city-like—huge, loud, and a bit dirty. The hostel we were at this time was not as nice as the last one. In fact, upon arrival no one was even there to let us into the hostel and a neighbor had to come and let us into the building, where we sat on the floor and waited for a while. On top of this, our trip from the airport did not go as smoothly as we’d hope (Sarah’s map reading skills can be called into question here. I love you girl!) We took the subway (we mastered it by the end of the trip) and did not take the route that took us to the stop closest to our hostel so we ended up walking quite a ways. As I’m sure you can imagine, being locked out of the hostel and sweaty, tired, and sore did not make us the happiest of travelers. We eventually made it into the hostel, got rooms, and showered. The good thing about where we were staying is that it was in the restaurant district and was also close to a subway stop (unfortunately not the one we used before). There were plenty of restaurants to choose from and it was easy to get to the farther away parts of town. While in Mexico City we went to Coyoacon which is where Frida Khalo and Diego Rivera lived. Of course, we visited their home and after found a great café to eat lunch and a market to wonder around. I enjoyed a cactus sandwich for my meal and a great cup of not instant coffee. The street market was awesome. Coyoacon is a place with a lot of free thinking artisans, so there were many stalls with handmade jewelry and others with clothes, fake tattoos, and, of course, the fresh churros you buy on the streets.
We also visited the zocalo and checked out a few museums. We wondered around a park and another market to pick up a few last minute gifts. We visited the Anthropolgy Museum (which I think you could probably spend days at and still not see and read everything!) Also near Mexico City is Teotihuacan. Awesome pyramids, beautiful views, and a good dose of history. Not to mention items shaped like jaguars which you can blow into to make a fantastic jaguar call. It was a gorgeous way to spend the day-relaxing except for all the stairs you had to climb to get to the top of the Pyramid of the Sun and Pyramid of the Moon. And we're talking old-school stairs. Stone, steep, and scary. I did have a fear of falling down them on numerous occassions, but luckily we both made it with only a few scratches (most of which came from hanging out on the top of the Pyramid of the Sun.)
The Pyramid of the Sun doesn't look so big here, but trust me, it was quite intimidating.
Mexico City is a huge city, so we barely made a dent on all the things to do and see there. Someday I hope to return to check everything out again and maybe just take some time to hang out without feeling rushed. I was sad to leave, but knew that it was time to get on with real life once again. I had to rush back to the states so I could celebrate my birthday with my family (the one special day we get to celebrate together due to my living abroad), go to orientation in North Carolina for my new job, attend a wedding for a college roommate (congratulations Sarah and Daniel!), and finally fly back to Liberia all within two weeks. Talk about feeling a little stressed! Not to mention I'm a horrible procrastinator when it comes to packing, so that didn't even start until the weekend before I left (well, more like two days before I left as I was at the wedding the weekend before...) Needless to say, after those crazy two weeks and 24 hours in transit I made it safely back to Liberia, my home sweet home.
P.S. I know I promised stories about helicopters and jungles, but since this post turned out to be so long, I figure I'll wait till next time for that. Also, this way I'm more likely to post again sooner rather than later.
