Mar 2007

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

It's Wednesday, March 28 and it's been quite a while since I've made an update. I need an admin to help me keep up with this. This life makes you really really lazy! Right now I'm in Oaxaca where I've been over a week now but will start with the oldest news first and move my forward! My last entry was from Zacatecas which instead of leaving as I said I was going to, I ended up staying a couple extra days. Not only were there were a few more places recommended to me to see but I finally found a cafe that served excellent iced lattes. So of course I had to stick around a bit longer. And on those last 2 nights, the hostel owners offered me another room at a place of theirs that was up the street and around the corner which was too fabulous to pass up. Sometimes it doesn´t take much to sway me, but a nice room and some good coffee and I´m hooked. At the coffee place, I met Elvis (a.k.a. Abrahim) who is a photographer. An amazing one. A nice and really talented guy. I'll have to include his website for those who might be interested. He needs to quit making coffee (though he's excellent at it) as he has more to offer the world with his pictures. Then it was on to Guanajuato which was fine but for me personally didn't live up to my expectations. Yes, it's definitely a lovely and picture perfect place but I didn't find it was for me. Overall, a very young crowd that I didn't find myself fitting in with. I've got some great pictures that I won't be able to post until I return home, but look forward to showing you. The highlight for me was dining at La Capellina an Italian "fusion" restaurant which was excellent and where I had dinner every night. The food was great as was the espresso. I met the owner my first night and would chat with him everytime I came in. Another really nice and interesting guy. I'm always fascinated with all the different kinds of people I meet. On my last night he took me out to a local bar for a drink and had a great time. As a single female, I don't usually find myself in a bar at night and so when I have the opportunity to go with someone I always appreciate it. And the best part was that he was a perfect gentleman. A rarity for sure! On to San Miguel... Things were getting even better. Wow, what a beautiful place. I understand now why there are so many North Americans, Europeans, etc. living and visiting there. It has a lot to offer. Yet at the same time it had a surreal feeling seeing so many foreigners. It left you wondering am I really in Mexico? It would´ve been a good place to spend a month and get into the rhythm of the life there, but I was there only a week. Not enough time really. It is now Wednesday April 4th and have been having a hard time sitting down to finish my updates. How lazy am I??? After San Miguel, I took the bus to Mexico City. This was on a Saturday and holy cow was it busy!!! Talk about being overwhelmed. I can´t recall seeing and being amongst so many people at once. I have to admit showing up alone was incredibly intimidating. Was I scared? Heck yeah! I´m not a ´crowd´person and so I don´t know if I´d ever get used to that, but there was also all the stories people tell you about how unsafe it is. Even though I was there only 2 days I soon realized it wasn´t at all as people described. I stuck to the area surrounding the Zocalo and a bit beyond to some of the musuems and no one bothered me. Not a whistle, not a nothing. It was great! But I wasn´t interested in going on and tackling this big bad city all by myself. If I had been taking it in with a boyfriend or something then yes I would´ve enjoyed it quite a bit. It certainly has a ton to see & do. I quickly left and was on the bus south to Oaxaca. And maybe along with Baja, Oaxaca would have to be up there with my favorite places. Not only is it surrounded by some gorgeous mountains, but there´s so much history, art, food, crafts, and charm to it. Loved it! Oaxaca was great to me. I met lots of great people. Julie & Dave, Paul, Dale... They were all fantastic and made my experience there the best. Thanks to Julie & Dave I got to experience the markets just outside of Oaxaca as they were on a shopping spree to take care of the B&B they own not far from San Miguel. Without them I wouldn´t have had the chance to see the markets nor meet a well known Oaxcan artist who is a ceramicist (sp?). What a cool experience to learn how she goes about her craft, which she starts from scratch (by grinding her own rocks) seeing her materials & tools as well as her oven where she fires her pieces. Her parents who seemed to be extremely elderly are also artists in the same medium and happened to meet them during our visit with their daughter. It was one of my most enjoyable days. I´ve yet to post pictures of her and her place but will do soon. After Julie & Dave left, I happened to meet Paul the next day at our hotel. He was a Londoner visiting from Venezula after having been there a year teaching English. He was finishing up, taking a break and then returning home for a little bit before he heads off to China for a year. Wow! Well he quickly became my tour guide of Oaxaca and we went and explored Monte Alban together. It was amazingly beautiful at this well known Mayan ruin. I posted a few pictures but have more that I won´t be able to share until I return home. Another great day! Paul´s fee? A couple cervezas. That I could afford. And thanks to him he pointed me in the right direction for excellent espresso. I was forever grateful. He soon left and on my second week I signed up for some very beneficial Spanish lessons. Where not only did I finally learn past & future tense (which comes in really handy!) but where I met happy-go-lucky Dale. A 26-yr old Australian who just started his 6-month trip of Mexico, Central and South America. A great young guy who´s company I really enjoyed. I wish him all the best with his second week of Spanish as well as with the rest of his travels. Other highlights for me in Oaxaca were the restaurants and the eating. Some of the best and most memorable meals I´ve had anywhere. If I ever return, it´ll have to be for at least a month. There´s so much to get to know and see. What bothers me a lot is knowing all that I didn´t see or experience whether it was Oaxaca or another place. Alot of good reasons to return. And now my next stop...Playa del Carmen!!