LP1989

So here is my first blog about Mexico which does NOT contain my adventures in Mexico City! I finally managed to say goodbye to it and took a comfortable, albeit long, 6-hour bus journey to the incredible city of Oaxaca (pronounced wah-hah-kah), in the state of the same name. I arrived in the evening on the 17th November, and it did not take me long to fall in love with the place. A seemingly endless number of galleries, churches and random art exhibitions await in the city, each showing incredible works and/or architecture. However, while my first couple of mornings and afternoons were spent exploring the aforementioned cultural sights, my first couple of evenings were spent in front of the TV! I shall explain why before I am judged too harshly... The hostel which I was ... read more

The beautiful colonial city of Puebla lies 2 hours east of Mexico City. Scott and I spent a couple of days exploring the city's many charms, which include well−preserved colonial buildings, churches, and a lively plaza, as well as a selection of museums. The main cathedral is stunning. So stunning, in fact, that it was selected to feature on Mexico's 500 peso bill. Perhaps even more spectacular, however, is the Templo de Santo Domingo, and its Capilla del Rosario (Rosario Chapel), which is exquisitely and elaborately decorated in gold in Mexican Baroque style . The house of the Serdán family, who conspired against then President and dictator, Porfirio Díaz, has been converted into a museum which is open to the public. The downstairs contains furniture and memorabilia, while the upstairs maps out the family's important involvement ... read more

On the 5th October I headed back to Bogotá to meet Phil who was visiting for 11 days. I met him at the airport (which was to become an all-too-familiar place for me), where unfortunately he also had the same problem that I did when I first arrived in the country, and was unable to withdraw any money. It just so happened that another British traveller (who he had met on the flight) had exactly the same problem with her bank card. (As you can't get Colombian pesos anywhere in England this meant that neither of them had any local currency at all - not a terribly pleasant start to any trip). So I was able to get my charitable thang on and pay for the taxi ride for all three of us and ensure that ... read more

Hi all, I've gotten a bit behind again with the blogging, so as I write this blog, which covers my travels between the 25th of September and the 4th of October, it is actually the 18th October and I am back on the Carribean coast, sitting in a cafe drinking a mocha. The mocha business may be shocking news to some; it seems that 5 weeks in Colombia has changed me at least in one respect in that I seem to have a developed a slight fondness for coffee! But before I go too off-topic, let's return to the intended subjects of this blog entry... I left the Carribean coast (for the first time) on the 25th of September and took two flights over to Cali, the 3rd largest city in Colombia and self-proclaimed ´Salsa Capital´. ... read more

Hi all, I've been in Colombia for well over a week now so it seems like a good time for an update. I arrived in the capital city, Bogotá, around 5am on Thursday 14th after a couple of overnight flights from New Orleans via Houston. After attempting (and failing) to extract some Colombian pesos out of the ATM machine with my card in Bogotá, I took a taxi to my hostel which was located in La Candelaria, the old historic centre of the city. I hadn't slept on the flights, so after dumping my bags I promptly fell asleep and continued to sleep for most of the day. When I finally got going, I checked my emails and found one from my parents letting me know that they'd had a call from Natwest Fraud department regarding ... read more