Down Mexico Way

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Having returned to Bolivia in November 2008 to live in my own little house, I set off again in January to visit a friend in Mexico, whose birthday was soon to be celebrated. We were joined by another friend from Venezuela (all three of us had been in the community where I lived in 2006). We stayed a week in her village of Tapalpa, one of the Magic Villages (Pueblos Magicos) - a title assigned by the State of Mexico to some 34 small towns around the country for their exceptional touristic attraction. In that week we visited the nearby city of Guadalajara, a vast city by most standards and the highlight for me was visiting the nearby ruins of Guachimontones - an ancient complex of circular pyramids. There were apparently 10 mounds of concentric circles, the highest having 27 circles. However, that one was, as yet, not excavated completely but the one best seen had 13 concentric circles. It was an impressive site in its silence and situation. It is not a popular tourist destination and thus we were afforded a quiet time to contemplate its very special beauty. On our walk up to it from the nearby village, we saw lumps of obsidian lying in the road (of course, we helped ourselves to a few). The neighbouring hills were, apparently, full of this somewhat precious stone.

From Guadalajara, we flew to Oaxaca (our only flight by scheduled airline - all other journeys were made by bus). This is a beautiful city with, as many Mexican cities, a historic centre with pleasantly coloured buildings, delightful plazas, beautiful churches and many art and craft stores and markets to entice one (I am easily enticed - I came away with twice as much luggage as I arrived!) From Oaxaca we visited in one day the beautiful Hierve del Agua (means where water boils) where water does bubble out of the ground and then cascades down the mountain forming amazing cliffs of dried minerals. Apparently, we were told, these are in fact petrified waterfalls, formed since the 7th century BC. In between the fount and the cliff, 2 natural-looking swimming pools had been built in which we enjoyed bathing. We had expected hot or at most warm water but it was really only tepid. Yes, as you can see from the breathtaking location, we really couldn’t complain.

The next village to Hierve del Agua, Mitla, was home to some small beautifully decorated ruins of the Mixtec period (from the 8th to the 16th century). Many of the stones adorning the houses and tombs were ornately carved with repeating patterns. When the Spanish came, they built a church on the site.

There was much more to Oaxaca that we could have visited, including some splendid beaches apparently, but we were on a tight schedule, having only a month to visit quite a list of sites - only a few of which we actually managed to see. So, with a little reluctance due partly to the lovely room with terrace that we found to rent at a very reasonable price, we took the bus to Puebla, a large city where we arrived in the evening and found it lacking any of the charm of Oaxaca. Only the main square seemed to have any touristic value and, due to a slight depression from having left the beauties of Oaxaca, we treated ourselves to very nice dinner in a top-class restaurant on the square complete, of course, with mariachi musicians.

The next day, while seeking information about an eco-lodge we had found on the internet, we were recommended instead by a very helpful man in the tourist information office, to visit the village of Cuetzalan, another Pueblo Magico. His recommendation was well worth following and we fell in love with the people, the architecture and the setting. This was one of the few places we visited with a green landscape, most of Mexico being very dry as it was the middle of winter. This too was one of the very few places where we saw the indigenous people of the area dressed in the traditional way - all in white. The men wore beautiful sandals made of a piece of rubber and another piece of leather on top, cut to the shape of the foot and then laced with one long strip of pale blue or white leather. Needless to say, we each bought a pair and loved the whole process, having these very comfortable sandals cut exactly to the shape of our feet. Many of the women wore no shoes at all and their blouses were beautifully embroidered

There were several highlights to our visit to Cuetzalan - one was the wonderful market, selling crafts, beautifully embroidered clothes, flowers and all manner of food. Another was the nearby pyramids of Yohualichan which we visited with an exceptional local guide called Delfino Salvador - a local man who was a fount of information and all the time selling macadamia nuts and nut products to whomever passed. The third was the group of Voladores (Flyers) - five men who climbed a very high pole (perhaps 100 feet) at the top of which was a sort of platform made of four pieces of wood attached to the summit. On the top of the pole one of the men began to dance to music played by himself on a small flute and drum. At times he arched his back backwards while maintaining his balance on this small space. Meanwhile, the other four attached themselves by rope to the top. When the central man had finished his ceremonial dance, the other four suddenly fell backwards from the platform which began to spin round, the four men gradually falling further and further down (and upside down) as the rope holding them unravelled from the top. When they eventually reached the bottom, they unhitched themselves and walked away without a hint of dizziness. It was quite impressive. (We saw the same ceremony performed one evening in the beach resort of Puerto Vallarta some two weeks later but it is in fact traditional to the area where we were).

The fourth highlight was a Temascal, known in Native American language as a Sweatlodge or Inipi. I had been to sweatlodges before in England but this was different in that the lodge was made of stone, whereas the traditional American ones are made of branches and blankets. Inside the lodge is placed a series of stones that have been heated in a fire. The whole event is very ceremonial and extremely healing on many levels. When so many stones have been placed inside, the entrance is closed and sacred and purifying herbs are sprinkled on the stones. Later, the ceremoniant throws water on the hot stones, thus filling the lodge with purifying hot steam. This took place in the grounds of the hotel where we were staying. The owner of the hotel joined us, a woman of perhaps 50 years old with Parkinson’s disease. She told us that prior to attending Temascales, she had trembled a lot and could not keep her head still. After several of these purifying ceremonies, one could hardly tell she had the disease at all. Remarkable.

From this village idyll, we had to take buses to the capital of Mexico, Mexico City, known to Mexicans as DF (Distrito Federal), (a bit like Washington DC). I had no desire to stay in this, the biggest city of the world with a reputation for high crime and much pollution, so we took another bus straight out to Teotihuacan, the ancient pyramids created by the Toltecs in the 4th century BC. Though they were very impressive in their size, I did not find the experience of visiting them as moving as the smaller, less visited archaeological places we went to.

Once again skirting the big city, we went on by bus to the beautiful city of Querétaro. This was definitely the prettiest city we visited, with several lovely plazas, quiet and beautifully coloured streets, good restaurants and much more. We even attended a lecture on the Mayan prophecies here. Near Querétaro is another Pueblo Magico, the village of Piňa de Bernal. Another very picturesque village, it sits aside the impressive hill of Bernal - an outcrop of rock in an otherwise quite plain landscape. Apparently the indigenous people of the area have always revered the mountain and certainly, our quiet time sitting on it was something special.

Our next stop was San Miguel de Allende (yes, another Magic Village). This once quiet small town is now teeming with American tourists, many of whom have holiday homes here. There are any number of up-market art and collectible shops for those with enough money to buy these objets-d’art for their Mexican home. Many of the restaurants were also beyond our means. But the place does have undeniable charm and several very beautiful churches. It also sits close to thermal springs and there are several places where one can go to swim or just sit in the lovely warm water. We went to one that had the warmest water gushing through the wall of a kind of cave which one reached through a tunnel.

After two weeks of cities and towns, we were ready for the beach, so we headed for the west coast of Mexico, namely the state of Nayarit, but passing through the very popular resort of Puerto Vallarta. This too was teeming with tourists of all shapes and descriptions. There were probably enough restaurants for one to eat somewhere different every night of the week, and many craft and other tourist shops. We stayed one night in order to meet a friend of Elena’s who would take us the next day to their beach cabin up the coast at a little hamlet called Matanchen. We were very happy to move on to somewhere more remote and peaceful.

The cabin was literally on the beach - a very long and almost completely deserted Pacific beach. The first evening we took a bus down to the nearest shop to buy something to drink and found at the cafe opposite a group of older ladies dancing to drums played by a long-haired American. The women, it turned out, were of the local indigenous Huichol population, out on a day-trip to the coast. The American and his two or three friends were all ultra-light pilots and, would you believe it, they invited us to go flying (for free!!). So, as the sun was setting, each of us in turn was taken up in this little motorcycle with wings high in the sky over the bay. What an evening to remember!

The following day we took a boat trip through the mangroves to see crocodiles and many species of birds and plants. In the evening, we lit a fire outside and two of the American pilots came over to play music and join us on our last beachside evening.

Returning to Guadalajara and Tapalpa, we spent our penultimate evening together very specially. It was the evening of February 13th and we had been told by friends by email that on the following morning a unique alignment of the planets would take place. Apparently, what would happen was exactly that sung about in the musical “Hair” from the ‘60s. “ When the moon is in the 7th house, and Jupiter aligns with Mars, Then love will rule the planets and peace will steer the stars.” People all over the world would be meditating at dawn for world peace and harmony. Near Elena’s home was a cliff from which jumped paragliders. Near the jump-off point, a friend of Elena’s had a rustic restaurant and also had a couple of fully equipped tents, facing the wonderful view of the whole valley, at the end of which was the volcano. We decided to stay the night in one of these tents. We arrived in time to sit and watch the sun go down behind the mountain and then enjoyed one of the best meals of our entire trip (Elena’s friend is a chef of some renown). We sat out for quite a while musing at the stars before retiring to our tent where, at some unearthly hour we were rudely awakened by a construction worker arriving for work on the property. We soon discovered what a favour he had done us, as we emerged from our tent in time to sit, overlooking the vast valley, wrapped in blankets, and watching the most beautiful sunrise of St Valentine’s Day and maybe even the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius. I, for one, was deeply moved. It was the perfect culmination of a most harmonious journey and I am grateful to all who made it possible.

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Photos

The Pyramids of Guachimontones
A most impressive and moving site.

Basking on the edge of the world
Elena and Anahi enjoying the water of Hierve del Agua.

Petrified Waterfall
Hard to believe that this is thousands of years old.

Oaxaca
A view of the cathedral down a typically attractive street in Oaxaca.

Popocatepetl Volcano
Spelling this was quite a challenge! Saying it brought much laughter from my friends. Seeing it was something else, especially at sunset.

The Voladores of Papantla
The ceremonial flyers on their way down.

Floral beauty
This lovely flower was growing near to the pyramids of Yohualichan.

Teotihuacan carving
This is one of many beautiful carvings in a part of the pyramic complex used by the priests.

Pyramid of the Sun
This is the largest pyramid at Teodihuacan and most impressive in size. Its sister is the Pyramid of the Moon.

Bernal
The rocky hill rises as if out of the village itself.

Street scene, Oaxaca
Loved the colour of this house so had to put it in.

Street scene Pina de Bernal
Ditto

ET?
This is Elena´s fly past and it reminded us all of the bicycle flight in ET!

Volcano at sunset.
View from our tent on St Valentine´s Eve

St Valentine´s morning
Basking outside our tent.

EW!
This is me flying off into the sunset!