Firstly an apology for not filling you in on all the travel gossip for the past 2 weeks (ish). The last hostel didnt have free internet so...not a great excuse - but we like it!
We´ve been a pair of busy bees....
Mexico City
We visited the pyramids at Teotihuacan (after a trip to an obsidian workshop where they plied us with shots of tequila and mezcal at 11am in the morning!!!!). We walked up the pyramids which was amazing, but very hot and speaking from a hobbits perspective (Kay that is!) it was a mission - each step came half way up my thigh! Or atleast felt like it. We went out in the evening with the rest of our little tour group - 2 really lovely finnish girls and a Candaian lad.
On our last day we went up Torre de Latinoamericano to get some pretty amazing views of the city and then pegged it across the city on the metro to catch our first long distance (well...2.5hrs - we´re new to this travelling malarky) to Puebla.
Puebla
After a well needed early night in our hostel, we woke up and wandered around the town. After the hustle and bustle of Mexico City it was nice to chill out in the shady Zocalo and look round the cathedral. Although we were subjected to three different "interviews" by the local school kids who were obviously doing some sort of english assignment - "do you like Puebla? what do you think of mexicans? etc". We had our photos taken a few times as well! Which was strange. That afternoon we caught the bus to Oaxaca (4hrs! We´re easing our way in gently!).
Oaxaca
We spent about 5 days in Oaxaca - not wanting to bore you to death with every detail - suffice to say we chilled out in the parks, saw the amazing interior of the Santa Domingo church (where Kay lost her camera case) , spent quite a significant portion of our time in the markets (not spending money honest!!!!), went to the ruins of Monte Alban and Mitla, went to a Mezcal distillery (we´re loving it here in Mexico!!!! especially enjoying drunken Mexican women´s dirty laughs!!!), enjoyed the supposedly warm Hierve el Agua pools (where gem had a little accident - sliding into the pool on her arse rather than gently climbing in like everyone else - which resulted in a slightly nasty pussing hand), we also went to a nice bar and did some chatting and salsa dancing with the locals, and more lounging around i n the pretty zocalo and the hammocks at our hostel. And next on to San Cristobal de las Casas (where we weren´t going to go originally because stupid woman in Mexico City lost $42,000 plus some expensive jewellery on that route).
San Cristobal De Las Casas
After an overnight bus (11hrs - there we go! thats more like it!), we dumped our bags at our hostel and went exploring - the usual trip to the Zocalo, the cathedral, some more markets and yet another Santo domingo church, up lots of steps to another church and a visit to a Mayan medicine Museum (muy interessante!).
That brings us up to today! We had a crazy day today. Started off catching a colectivo (small minibus type thing) to San Juan Chamula (Mayan village), where we explored the the markets and visited the amazing church - it was so amazing that it´s impossible to describe - the floor was covered with pine needles, there were candles literally everywhere and it was full of mayan people, praying and lighting candles to scare away evil spirits and bring good health. It really had a very spiritual feel. It was some fiesta while we were there and they were letting off fireworks, straight out of their hands.
After Chamula, we headed back and then got another 2 colectivos to the Cañon del Suminero - we ended up being dumped out of the first colectivo in the middle of nowhere but luckily got directed to another combi soon enough. The cañons were amazing - it was an hour and a half boat ride through the tallest canyons and we saw monkeys and an alligator.
Getting home proved difficult, again lost, in Tuxtla this time, but eventually we found our way back, and we are very proud of doing it - our first real big adventure. But I´m sure there will be more to come! Adios!
Mexico's Flag
Map of Mexico