Sunday, May 30, 2004

Back on the Gringo Trail. In a large way. We're in Puerto Escondido right now. It's a town of about 50k on the southern Oaxacan coast. We were in Puerto Angel last night and Oaxaca city for three nights before that. Puerto Escondido has been for some time taken over by backpackers, beach bums, surfers, and (is there such a thing?) surfer groupies. Lots of shops selling T-shirts, shorts, bathing suits, sarongs, etc. You get the picture.

A little about the trip from Veracruz now. The road goes inland (west) from Veracruz on a rather flat and very hot coastal plain that may have once been dominated by marshes. Then you start to climb and climb and climb through the clouds and the funny thing is when you get to the top, you don't go back down. You stay on the plateau from which you reach Puebla and Mexico and it cant be more than one km before the terrain changes abruptly from mountain humid subtropical rain forest to arid and semiarid desert. The region is also dotted with volcanoes, some of which have snow-covered peaks.

It stays pretty much desert through the mountains going into the city of Oaxaca. Nothing for miles around except the road and the occasional car or bus (with maniacal bus driver of course). Anyway, just before getting into the city as we descended into the valley and arrived at the last tollbooth, there were suddenly people everywhere. Cars lined the road and people camped out on the sides looking like they were waiting for something to happen. When we got to the tollbooth there was nobody there and we didn't pay. It turns out that there is a large strike headed by public school teachers and other groups. They had taken over the tollbooth and were letting people pass for free!

When we got to town we caught glimpses of other protesters while looking for a hotel. After checking in our curiosity took over and we tuned in to watch the news. There were no less than four reports, easily taking up the majority of the news program, about the strike. Curiously, after watching four reports on it, we had no idea what it was all about. The so-called journalists not once interviewed anyone from the protest nor listed their demands. Typical. It was a clear effort to turn the population against the protest and from the way most folks around us were talking, it seemed to be working. We eventually made our way to the different locations where they were camped out and found out what was going on. The government has gone back on promises made last year for public education. The larger issue is that they're trying to privatize public services starting with education, as well as the electric and oil company. None of the merchants we spoke to seemed to know or care about any of this.

I have to say we were impressed by the determination of the protesters to block the city center by camping out there for what could be weeks. I haven't seen that kind of public activism in the US for core issues that governments try to slide through quietly (read: Patriot Act, Patriot Act II, etc.). One of their activities that made the news was that they tore down all the political propaganda on the main street into town and burned in a large bonfire. I think the government is starting to get a bit uneasy. We spotted a few military trucks outside the main protest site at the city center and just hoped nobody did anything stupid.

All went well and it looks like public activism, the core of any democratic society, is alive and well in Mexico. What's more in question is the effectiveness. The main political parties, in reaction to the organized movements, have formed an alliance to thwart any real political opposition at the polls. A move that has rendered the upcoming elections for state government null and has served to radicalize the protests. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Anyway, while all this is going on, the town is full of oblivious foreign tourist scouring the city for that one piece of gold or silver jewelry, that special shawl, or pottery, or whatever artisan piece that is going to "tie together" their living room or study with exotic decorations from afar and will regale their guests with quaint anecdotes of how and where they were acquired.

What's funny about Oaxaca is that all this overshadows another very good reason for the city to be known. Benito Juarez, who led the reform wars and finally triumphed in installing liberal reforms in the mid 1800's that, among other things, redistributed land and made public education free and compulsory, grew up as a young man and rose to prominence here, eventually becoming governor of the state and Mexico's first (only?) full blooded indigenous president. I'll have to write more on the indigenous-hispanic dynamics that pervade Mexican and Latin American society in a later post. Anyway, Juarez's is a remarkable story and the only thing to commemorate it here is the house where he lived and worked as a young man has been converted into a small (very small) museum. Juarez' famous maxim is worth writing here even if poorly translated: "The respect for the rights of the other is Peace." You see this at monuments to Juarez all over Mexico and hear it in the contemporary political discourse that some of the citizens of this and other cities choose to engage in.

After Oaxaca we drove south toward the coast to Puerto Angel. The 250 km drive takes five (5) hours!!!. You climb out of the valley through cactus and keep climbing through pine, and clouds and when you come out of the clouds on the other side it's through mangoes, palms, bananas, and lots and lots of humidity. It seems the rains have been late in arriving and the entire coastal area is dry and very very hot. We finally managed to sleep sometime after midnight and a couple of showers.

We'll probably go back to Puerto Angel tonight and continue on to Chiapas tomorrow. For now, we have the obligation of sampling for the first time in our lives the waters of the ocean a certain Balboa had the gall to claim to have "discovered". My comparison and contrast of the Pacific versus Atlantic will be forthcoming.

Tuesday, May 25, 2004

A different kind of Mexico indeed. Veracruz is currently celebrating its 485 year. Despite being one of the oldest cities of the hemisphere and the place from which Cortés launched the conquest of Mexico, this city barely shows up on most touristic radar screens.

In fact, the place has a very rough and ready feel common to most port cities. There is no shortage of bars and I suspect a fair number of houses of ill-repute about. You defenitely get the sense that if there is any illicit substance or depravity you seek, you can find it here. The port, though no longer the largest of Mexico, handles enough cargo to ensure the downtown area is endowed with a robust population of colurful, if not shady, characters.

The first night we got here we went for a bite to eat at the Zocalo which gets pretty lively with music and revelers of all sorts streaming through the plaza at all hours. Afterwards we were making our way to the Malecon, the waterfront, when we heard what sounded like live Salsa coming from a bar in the corner. We peered in and decided to give it a shot. The place was one of those old Spanish buildings with impossibly high ceilings like the ones in New Orleans. It had very bright flurescent lighting (this was turned off whenever there was slow dancing), bare no-nonsense walls and floors, plastic tables and chairs that I'm convinced are now everywhere, and lots of cheap booze. Basically the kind of place you can hose down (or powerwash if needed) every once in a while. The band consisted of only three guys, one of whom was perched behind a stack of keyboards producing sounds of instruments that were nowhere to be seen. This is usually reason enough to walk out of a place, but we decided to stick around.

The Puerta del Sol was packed that night, and I imagine it's like that most of the time, with a crowd of people that looked like they knew what hard times are all about and also how to enjoy the now. Also, they looked like they had been drinking for a while! What made things a bit freaky is that there were invariable the loners. These are the guys that for some reason where all alone (no friends, no women, only rum) and circled the place like sharks lurking. From their shaky gait and empty look, they seem somewhat unstable physically and mentally. I've been in crowds like this before and know that it doesn't take much to throw some folks over the edge. When I started doing the math on the statistical probability of armed individuals in the joint we guzzled down our drinks and walked out slowly, smiling, without making eye contact or any sudden movements. It was great!

If you can picture that place, you have a pretty good idea of what's happened to Veracruz. From talking to the locals, it seems its been neglected by the local, state and fedaral governments for some decades. The place is packed with great old colonial buildings that have been allowed to deteriorate. Character is certainly abundant here. Fortunately, the current government has been putting some money into the city refurbishing the streets, the waterfront, and cleaning up the city in general. It'll take some time, but if this keeps up it won't be long before this is a world class city too.

We've had a great ime getting to know this corner of Mexico. Tomorrow we head south to Oaxaca where we'll spend some time in the cities of Oaxaca, Puerto Escondido, and Puerto Angel before moving on to Chiapas, our last state.

Monday, May 24, 2004

A quick post five minute before closing time. It's hot, it's humid, and there's salsa in the streets. We can only be in Veracruz! Been here since last night and may head tomorrow or the day ater to Oaxaca. I'll post more details about the port and our travels when we have more time. For now I'll just say we're in Mexico, but it's a different Mexico altogether.

Saturday, May 22, 2004

Errata: A couple of posts ago I wrote a couple of things that were incorrect. First, the trip from Guadalajara to Guanajuato is north then EAST, not west as I had written. Secondly, when referring to the muralists, I inadvertently wrote Morelos when I meant to write Siqueiros. I hope that didn't cause too much confusion and will try to exercise more patience and fact-checking in future posts.

Our time in Taxco has really hit the spot. While its also a mountain silver town, it has a distinctively different feel from Zac. and Guan. Perhaps it's relative isolation due to the difficult drive here shield it from all but the more die-hard of the hard-core travelers. There is currently an arts festival winding down this weekend and things are pretty festive. There are student and professional performance groups of music, dance, theatre, etc. Amazingly enough, this city of 50k has its own philharmonic orchestra. Tonight they're slated to play alongside a Cuban percussion ensemble.

Last night we were making our way from the plaza to the hotel when we noticed some very nice blues coming from a bar on the corner. We went to check it out and it was a group of kids probably barely 18 jamming their asses off. What they lacked in polished style, they made up for in talent and enthusiasm. I don't get tired of remarking how well the arts are supported in this country.

We're mostly taking easy today trying to chill out in anticipation of tomorrow's long drive. Speaking of which, I meant to write about something we saw on our drive to Taxco. We were on another of these two-lane highways with a shoulder of roughly 8' when we saw the following beauty unfold before us, let:

A = slow big truck climbing hill
B = small truck trailing behind slow big truck
C = oncoming big truck

A eases over the shoulder to allow B to pass. C notices the maneuver and appropriately moves over to his shoulder to allow for the pass. However, out of nowhere came D. D was a small car behind car B and, impatient to wait behind B for his chance to pas A, initiated the double pass. The resulting scene was of vehicles in front of us going three abreast with an oncoming truck making it four abreast on a two lane highway! Like I said before, you've got to stay on your toes and either come correct or don't come at all.

By the way, I tried to post photos with little success once again. I'll keep trying and if all fails, there will be a traveler's photographic retrospective post after we get to Honduras.

Friday, May 21, 2004

After two nights in Guadalajara, we headed to Guanajuato. South of Zacatecas, we headed back north and then west to reach this city. Like Zacatecas, Guanajuato is a mountain silver town of about 70k and somewhere over 2000m altitude. Unlike Guanajuato though, this city gave us a very weird vibe. The city is tucked into a steep hillside of impossible terrain made possible only by the presence of substances with arbitrarily assigned value in the area. Some years ago, the city was flooded by the river running through it and it was decided that it would be diverted. In its place a road was built to relieve some of the traffic. In addition to this riverbed road, the city now has a labyrinth of underground roads, streets, walkways, parking, etc. There are portals that take you to the surface world every now and then. In general the surface roads are one way East to West and the subterraneas are one way in the opposite direction. Finding our way around this city to look for hotels was a particular challenge.

Our level of exhaustion and the congested streets (by people transporting themselves by an assortment of means) made it unlikely that we would receive well the masses of people offering their services to tourist (in English no less) via the hard sell any time we slowed down. One guy actually jumped on the back bumper to offer himself as a guide. Once we finally found a hotel with parking, things kept getting weirder and weirder. The hotel staff was primarily shady-looking guys in their mid twenties to early thirties. In fact, it wouldn't be difficult to conclude that they didn't really own the hotel at all. By its looks, they might as well have found (or taken over) the place and started using it as their base of operation for whatever it was they were up to. The hotel was not a colonial building, but was old enough to just look run down. It did have spacious, comfortable rooms with balconies that offered a pretty good view of the city. In the room next to us, however, was what I have now come to consider a pack of young boys around 15 or so. By the sounds coming from there I reached the only possible conclusion, they were occupying themselves by dismantling everything in the room and dropping (or throwing) the parts about at random. During their breaks, they would come out to their balcony to hurl insults at the guys standing downstairs on the corner. It had all the makings of some bizarre David Lynch film. The next morning we decided we would eat and get out of town as soon as we could.

Guanajuato must have been a cool place at one time, but its a prime example of what happens when a town gets taken over by people like us: tourists.

Friday of week two finds us in Taxco (pronounced Tasco) south of Mexico City and in a totally different phase of our vacation. We've decided to skip Queretaro and the rest of the central area for the sake of spending more time chilling and discovering and less time driving. We can already feel the difference. Also, the region is decidedly different climactically and topographically. Despite being up in the mountains, we don't get the chill of Creel and Zacatecas.

The latter was indeed a gem. It is a mountain silver mining town of about 70k at about 2600m above sea level. The wealth created by the silver is definitely still evident in this very polished and stylish, almost European, city. It is indeed very cosmopolitan for its size. Another plus is that it has not yet been overrun with hordes of tourists. More on the marauding hordes later. Anyway, our stay there was indeed quite pleasant. The hotel room key was on a bottle-opener keychain. The purpose of this became evident soon enough when we discovered the upstairs lounge area with a cooler fool of ice cold beverages of the brewed variety. It definitely hit the spot after checking out the surroundings.

Zacatecas also has a very vibrant art scene as we're discovering most Mexican cities posses. It is particularly strong there, however. It also has a respectable music scene and we didn't have any trouble finding several live music venues downtown. I have to say however that the quality of the music being performed was not the best I've heard. As JT would say, they needed practice. Also somewhat disappointing were the high prices and exclusive nature of the social scene. This is something I had grown unaccustomed to but is standard in most latinamerican cities. The patrons of the restaurants, bars, and clubs that dot the city center are definitely well heeled and you get a sense that much of their activities have as much to do, if not more, with displaying symbols of their status as with an appreciation for good music and food.

For example, we walked out of a place with mediocre Cuban music when we discovered that in addition to enduring the disappointing music, they had the gall to demand a minimum consumption. That was just too much to take. The following day we managed to find something more along the lines of what we were looking for. Near the market was a huge restaurant crowded with workers, shoppers, and other assorted locals enjoying really good, simple, and reasonably priced meals. We returned there for every meal and were never let down.

After Zacatecas, we moved on to Guadalajara. At about 6 million, it is Mexico's second city and it shows. This is a bustling city that's a mixture of Mexico, the US, and Europe all in one. A world-class city in every sense of the word. Particularly remarkable is the depth of activity going on here. While we were there, the city was preparing to host the Cumbre Iberoamericana. This is a summit of heads of state from the hemisphere's Spanish and Portuguese-speaking nations. A few years ago it started including Spain and Portugal (what some people actually still call the mother countries) as well. As a result, the summit these days now include the EU. In advance of the meetings, the city was busy decking itself out. Streets, buildings, and just about the entire city-scape was being given a makeover. A city worker we spoke to explained all this to us and I concurred with his resentment that only when this sort of event happens does the city become so vigorous in its responsibilities to itself. However we also reflected that even as individuals, it is when you expect guests that you clean house the best. In the end, the improvements will remain after the meeting so it's not such a bad deal after all.

The only down side to all this activity is that we were not able to see the Orozco murals in one of the buildings because it was closed and populated exclusively by policemen. We were able to see a few other Orozco murals in the Universidad de Guadalajara and the Palacio de Gobierno. They are indeed impressive. You really need to see these, know the persons depicted, and understand their context and significance to appreciate modern Mexico. Unfortunately we won't be able to see any murals by Rivera or Morelos in this trip. There is so much to discover here. There will indeed be another.

Monday, May 17, 2004

I wrote the following on Monday but only saved a draft. I'll post an update when I get more time.

Hi all. We're in Zacatecas today and will be heading to Guadalajara this afternoon. Since my last post we spent another day and a night in Creel, we headed south toward Zacatecas on Friday, spending that night in a city called Jimenez on the road from Chihuahua to Torreon. We got to Zacatecas Saturday night (one day ahead of schedule) and were able to spend two nights here.

Now for some details. The second day in Creel was spent exploring some of the nearby valleys in the mountains and a lake. That night was the main event of the festivities. As it turns outr there was a large meeting/cultural exchange/competition among high school students from all over the state of Chihuahua. There was the typical song and dance numbers, way too much talking by the MC, and somewhat of a power mishap that left the entire plaza without lights for about 30 minutes. After the lights came back on, the MC showed his wit by informing the students that if those that had not taken advantage of the outage where in effect now out of luck. The show went on with folk dancing by the students showing off the diversity of the state in their manner of dress, the music, and the dancing. What was remarkable about the whole thing is how enthusiastically the students embraced their culture and were eager to show it off. This is especially rare in teenagers. It seemed to us wathcing this that the richness of a country's culture can only be secured by the youth. From what we saw, it was clear that Mexico's culture was in very good hands. Impressive.

To leave Creel we decided instead of driving back to the city of Chihuahua and spend the night there once again, to drive south through the mountains and catch the main highway south of Chihuahua. The drive was a demanding one as it took about 7 hours for a 350km drive. The reason is that we basically drive through the canyons going from the tops of mountains all the way to the canyon floor several times. It was quite spectacular.

We were planning on spending the night in a city called Hidalgo del Parral which is where villa was shot. However, we made good enough time to press on to Jimenez. This put us within striking distance of Zacatecas and freed us from having to spend a night in Torreon. That's why we were able to arrive a day early in Zacatecas.

Jimenez is a desert town of about 70k people. It has a particularly charming quality that made me feel right at home. It reminded me of La Ceiba with the amount of activity there in the evening. The people were also quite charming and very warm. In particular, we met a lady whose house played a role during the Revolution. Edna was kind enough to tell us stories of her home, the town, the revolution, and mexico in general. We are indeed endebted to her. Muchas gracias.

From Today:
More on Zacatecas and Guadalajara to come. For know a few observations on our travels. There seems to be an inordinate fixation with speed control devices on the highways and roads here. They range from speed bumps, to speed buttons, to rumble strips all back to back (just in case). In general, driving here is prety easy because you are esxused for doing all kinds of unexpected maneuvers common to folks unfamiliar with the city. The flip side is you have to be prepared for people to do the unexpected in front of you as well. So far, its been a lot easier that we anticipated.

The customs and etiquete of performing the passing maneuver on a two-lane highway is also worth noting. The way it works is that the slower vehicle moves over to the shoulder or as far as possible. They then turn on their left turn signal to let you know you can pas now. The faster vehicle passes and any oncomming traffic moves over to the shoulder as well. It's all very gentleman-like.

One thing I will write about Zacatecas is that we woke up one morning to find that a passing car had knocked off the driver's side rearview mirror. As a general rule, when parking from now on it will be common practice to fold the mirrors in. Anyway, through our hotel we found out that there´s a market in Guadalajara where you can find all kinds of auto parts. I found the mirror I need and got it installed for less than USD70. Not bad!

I know I keep saying this, but I promise there´ll be more on Zacatecas and Guadalajara to come. We'll be leaving to Guanajuato this afternoon.

Later

Wednesday, May 12, 2004

Hi all, were in Creel, Chihuahua tonight. The drive in from Chihuahua took about 4 hours through more spectacular scenery. This time, the Tarahumara mountains, home of the Tarahumara people. The road winds through mountains and valleys that go from brush to pine forest by the time you arrive at Creel at more than 2000m above sea level. I have to say, its pretty chilly up here especially right now at night.

We went to see the Canyons at El Divisadero this afternoon and I can't do it justice with words. I've read that the canyon is 9 times the size of some similar attraction in Arizona. Its also over 1500m deep in most places. It can be a bit uneasy to stand at the rim.

Tomorrow we'll probably check out the hot springs, hike to a waterfall, and explore a few other valleys. In the evening there might be some festivities. It would seem the town has been overrun by high school students who are here for some minor theatrics on the order of most latinamerican small towns: religious morality plays, patriotic songs, and speeches about civic duty and that sort of thing on a somewhat defective PA system. I'll let you know tomorrow how far off the mark we are.

A curious thing happened on our way into town today. As we entered, we noticed a crowd gathered around a house and a police car outside with its lights going. Not good. However, the fact that the crowd was gathered indicated that whatever went down is over. In effect, there was a funeral procession starting that ended at the church across the street from our hotel. I'm still waiting to find out if there's a story behind the event.

All in all Creel and the Barrancas del Cobre do not disappoint. There were the roaming dogs and cattle that give the ascent to the canyon rim an extra special touch in addition to the trucks and the buses. In town there is the usual fare of the gringo trail shops and bars. We'll be checking out the bar after this post and report on that tomorrow.

Tuesday, May 11, 2004

We're In!!! We got safely to Presidio, Texas last night after a spectacular view of a desert thunderstorm in Apache country. Marfa was just a turn in the road with no famous Marfa lights to be seen anywhere. The trip to Presidio took just about nine and a half hours (it might have been 8 where it not for a side trip into Odessa looking for a Wal Mart to buy a few last supplies). Odessa is a large small town. Hot and dusty. That's about it.

The border crossing into Ojinaga was uneventful and fairly smooth. The ride to Chihuahua on the other hand was spectacular. I'll try to post some pics when I get to a PC with a USB connection. The 230km trip goes through mountains and desert. Its mostly two-lane highway with no shoulder that gives you some awesome views of the landscape.

Arriving into Chihuahua was a little like waking out of a somewhat surreal dream. The name means dry sandy place and believe me, it lives up to it. It mostly a bustling city of around one million with suburbs and all. From what we can tell, its a commercial center for this part of northern Mexico where people from surrounding small towns and villages come to shop for items. Judging from the concentration of their purveyors in the 10 block region that is our sphere of operation here, there seems to be an inordinately high demand for bridal dresses, colorful cowboy boots, and dentists in this part of the world.

Tomorrow takes us into Creel at the edge of Barrancas del Cobre (Copper Canyon). We'll more than likely stay two nights there to have a full day to check out the area. From what we've seen of Chihuahua, we'll probably not stay the night here on our way south from Copper Canyon and head straight to Torreón.

I'll try to post more when I've had more time to gather my thoughts and observations. And when I don't have the lobby TV blaring local talk shows directly behind me. For now all I can say is that we're finally feeling like its on for real, that we're really doing it. There's a lovely expression they use in Honduras that says "No es lo mismo verla venir que platicar con ella". It translates loosely to something like its not the same to se her walking your way, than to approach her and talk to her. We're finally talking to her and what's more, Mexico is starting to talk back to us as well. I'll be sure to pas on whatever she tells us. Later...

Sunday, May 09, 2004

It works! OK, so it's Sunday May 9 and we're still in Dallas. As it turns out, selling one's earthly possessions and outfitting an expeditionary team (Steph and I) and a life support capsule (in our case a 1998 Jimmy) for a journey of several thousand miles can be quite exhausting.

The last few weeks have been non-stop with planning, organizing, arranging, changing plans, and packing. So as to avoid collapsing into a heap after only one day of driving, Steph and I decided to take Sunday off and head to the border tomorrow.

Our route will take us about 600 miles in what will by far be the longest leg of our trip. It may well be the riskiest since we'll be going through prime Bush country in west Texas towns like Abilene, Midland, Odessa, and Sweetwater. Our aim: drive fast and don't stop until we get to Presidio, Texas on the Mexican border (I hope crossing at a town called a prision doesn't prove to be ominous).

Once accross we'll be in Ojinaga and heading to Chihuahua. We'll post again from the other side.

This is my first test of blogger. I've been reading lots of blogs for the last few months and as always am a latecomer to incorporating new technology into my routine, so here it goes.

I hope to use this to keep you all up to date on our activities as we plunge down to 23.5 Degrees North and points south all the way to Honduras. As most of you know, we'll be doing this from now until the end of summer when we'll resurface into the real world of jobs, traffic, alarm clocks, etcetera, etcetera; only we'll be doing this in Europe.

About the use of the word "real" to describe the daily life most of us know, I'll spend some time correcting this on a later post dealing with perception and reality.