Oaxacan magik

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Here are some pictures from the last post...


Pyramide de los niches at el tajín



the city of El Tajín


Papantla, Veracruz



El Tule with Lauren a very old tree!



The kings bedroom at Mitla, (calendar on the walls)



Hievre el Agua


Saguaros anyone? I didn´t think they grew this far south...




This last week has been interesting... I had a great time in Mazunte for a couple of days. Ran into Darcy and Rin, whom I met in Oaxaca city a few days earlier and had not gotten to say goodbye to. They were always showing up excatly when I needed them. Good people, very present and alive. Rin and I visited Punta Cometa, supposedly the furthest point south in Mexico, as told by locals. But I checked the map the end of Chiapas if further... Anyway, it was a gorgeous location on the west end of the playa and we hiked along the ocean to get there. On the point I met some local fisher boys who taught me their skill... well, I have still never caught a fish, but I tried. The rock formations out on the end of the punta were like meteors. I was in another world. 😊 Rin and I then went swimming in ´the jacuzzi,´ a little cove where rocks are blocking the huge ocean waves just enough not to crush you, but still create a tide and tons of bubbles as each wave comes in. It was so much fun!
Back on playa Mazunte... as the day was ending and it was getting dark Rin noticed the waves appeared particularly bright. We went to explore and sure enough we were witness to some amazing phosphorecence! Nothing to do except strip down and go swimming in it. It was truly magikal to swim with green light all around you in the black ocean. Perfect end to an amazing day!

As you all know, nothing lasts... a couple days later I realized I had been ripped off! They had unscrewed the latch to my locker and taken all my money and my ipod, cord and charger... I was pissed but hey, its only material right? After calming down, I packed all my stuff and was getting ready to head back to Pochutla, the nearest town with an atm and a bus station. I wasn´t going to hang out there any longer in Mazunte, at least. About to leave and, of course, Darcy and Rin were right there. They provided support and mangos and I felt much better. Almost freer. Luckily I had some change on me, enough to catch a collectivo back to town. Actually, I had exacly 42 pesos, for those Douglas Adams fans... lol.

So there I was, sitting in a bus station in Pochutla waiting for my late bus to Salina Cruz. I just bought a book on Mayan astronomy and decided to read a little. The book opens to a page on Monte Alban. Of course, I have to read it. It states that the observatory in Monte Alban is alligned differently from the rest of the city. It alligns with Capella a bright star system that would have risen (back in the day, 150BC) on the horizon only on the day of the solar zenith. And the solar zenith at that lattitute only happens on May 8th! That was it for me! Screw my plans to Salina Cruz! It was back to Oaxaca to observe the sun pass through the zenith like the Zapotec priests-astronomers did over 2000 years ago. I caught the next bus to Oaxaca and arrived about 2 am on May 8.

Luckily I already had friends there and Joel arranged for me to stay with Zoe. An amazingly hospitable and warm lady. Joel, Kareem and I made it to Monte Alban in time and did sun salutations at high noon! I had a fun couple of days back in Oaxaca, watching the Canucks with my canadian friends, hiking in the mountains outside the city, and don´t forget free mezcal mondays at La Embajada.



Oaxaca and the people I met there are amazing! But it was time to move on. I arrived in San Christobal de las Casas, Chiapas around 8am this morning. What a gorgeous town in the mountains! Excited to be here and continue my adventure.

My camera cord was stolen with the ipod cord, so pictures will be less frequent now. I have to find a computer that takes compact flash...

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