Blogs from Mexico, North America - page 649

Advertisement


I have just arrived to Mexico City, and I'm nervous and excited, because I have no idea what to expect, what to see or find. I arrived around 4pm, our mexicans friends searched us and we went to their apartment, which was not far from the airport, in the center of the city. Without losing anytime our friends took us to see the city, to the famous Plaza de la Constitución, or el Zócalo, as is famously called. It was dark already, I think around 10 or 11. is huge, and has this european vibe with the mix of the mexican people. There were different groups of dancers that wore aztec and other mexica costumes and danced with wooden instruments and costumes that sounded incredibly beautiful. One thing, however, surprised me, there were no turists ... read more

North America » Mexico » Yucatán June 20th 2007

Playa del Carmen was our first stop when we arrived at the Yucatan on Monday 4 July by bus from Belize. It’s by far the most touristy place we went on our trip, full of American tourists, American chains and americanised restaurants, although it does have a really nice beach where we spent a very relaxing Tuesday. We had a great time, eating amazing fish, watching a brilliant fire show at the Blue Parrot and we were unpleasantly surprised to find that Americans actually dance in real life like they’re on MTV. It’s quite um…graphic. Our next stop was the island of Cozumel, to meet up with Kerry’s best friend Linda and go diving on the famous reefs there. We hadn’t seen Linds for a year so it was very exciting to see her. She ... read more
Hello, Lind's ship!
Kerry & Dr Linds
the amazing beach at Tulum

North America » Mexico » Michoacán » Morelia June 20th 2007

Morelia is an easy place to belong. Although I still feel awkward when I am whistled at when I walk down the streets, I am feeling more at home here: For two days now, I have navigated the city by myself. Taking Combis (perviously misspelled convis) as public transportation and walking everywhere. On Tuesday afternoon each US student was assigned a Mexican student to tour them around the city. I ended up in a group with two other Americans and three Mexican guides. We were able to communicate with a blend of our language skills. I went into libraries where all the books are so old that they are behind glass and you cannot check them out. I saw the actual real heart of Melchor Ocampos (the George Washington of Morelia) in an exhibit in, ... read more

North America » Mexico » Baja California » Ensenada June 19th 2007

We got on the boat two days ago in Ensenada and are currently somewhere in the the Atlantic Ocean (I could give the long/lat but that wouldn't mean anything). Yesterday was a lot of meetings and boring shit; today is the first day of classes. The boat is huge and incredibly fast (the fastest cruise ship in its class othalong with its sister ship the voyager) but it definitely feels like a ship in that it rocks and can really make you seasick. We went to a bar immediately upon arrival in Ensenada at a football bar with a bunch of locals. There are so many luxuries on the boat its amazing. Lots of interesting and fun people, more posts coming once we get into port though there isn't that much free time and the internet ... read more

North America » Mexico » Hidalgo » Pachuca June 18th 2007

In Mexico, Pachuca is known for soccer as it was the gateway through which futbol/soccer entered Mexico, introduced in the 19th century by miners from Cornwall, England. Pachuga just recently won the South American Cup and the Mexican Title as well. While the Mexican Title is a great one to have, in Carlos' family it only counts when the team America wins. Carlos, on the other hand was happy that Pachuca won because that means America didn't win. He is a fan of Chivas. We started the day at the Cristo Rey monument, which is ONE OF the best vistas/ views of Pachuca, before making our way down to the city. From the view you can see the brightly painted houses blanketing the hillsides. The houses and buildings were just painted within the last 3 ... read more
Christo Rey
Cristo Rey
El Rey

North America » Mexico » Baja California » Ensenada June 18th 2007

I can’t believe I made it. My home for the next two months is going to be the Explorer. I love this ship. It’s big but not so big that I would be too overwhelmed. I am still a bit in shock that after months of planning we are finally here. Sunday, around 9:30 am I got on a bus in San Diego with about 30 other students and we started to make our way to Mexico. The ship deported from Ensenada, Mexico, which is about and hour and a half drive south of the border. Just driving across the border was a bit of an eye opener. Within the first mile I could tell I was in a different country. The economic status of the country was apparent immediately. The houses were rundown and ... read more
Mexico
More Mexico!
More Mexico!

North America » Mexico » Michoacán » Morelia June 18th 2007

Okay, so wow. I am writing from an internet place within in walking distance of my house. Yesterday, after my last entry I ran into a group of students and we all walked around for a bit together. If yesterday when I wrote, I was a little anxious I had a 180 degree turn around when I found other students and wasn´t alone anymore! We checked in with our program dicector, Miguel who is super awesome. He told us that there was a special celebration in downtown Morelia that night to celebrate the Cathedral and also told us some good places to eat. So, at eight, I walked with a literal mob of american students about ten blocks to la catedral. the police had blocked off the street, people were selling balloons and cotton candy ... read more
Fiesta de la Catedral
Mis Amigos Nuevos
Mi Cuarto


Day 25 - Mexico City, Monday 18 June 2007 - our first full day. Not really a huge amount to report here. T and I tried to sleep in today, but as expected, the construction crew next door didn´t help much with that. We still managed to have a late start, which was good, ending up getting organised in time to have lunch around 11.30 in the hotel restaurant and then heading out to explore a bit. We wandered down to a shopping area, which is really close to our hotel, passing and exploring on the way a Sears, then heading to the markets that line the streets. They seen to go on forever. We spent a couple of hours doing that, then headed off to the internet for a while. Pretty cheap, much more ... read more
Me at the Sun pyramid
Some of the steps...
T and I at top of sun pyramid

North America » Mexico » Tamaulipas » Matamoros June 17th 2007

Note: The details here are woefully lacking. Most of the group was at the 2nd site, and so I don't know much about what they did (except that they were working on a classroom for special needs children... painting, installing insulation, doing trim-work, and so forth). This was my third mission trip to Mexico and second with First Presbyterian. As with last year, we spent two days in-transit to Valle Hermoso with a night stopover in Texas. I was exhausted most of the way down... up too early... drive all day. By the end of the first day (and being on the road over 15+ hours), a lot of us were not, um, in the best of spirits. The second day in-transit was better as there was more to do... shopping for groceries at Wal-Mart, crossing ... read more
Lunchtime - 3
Los niños - 2
Victor

North America » Mexico June 17th 2007

This one photo needs an entry just for itself. As the trip progresses, I will try to update this page more and more with photos of the driving conditions, but to start this one photo speaks for itself if you look closely. Driving in Mexico, as I have quickly learned is an adventure within itself. First off, Mexico has more speedbumbs then I have ever seen...pinches topes! They are not always the small ones either, there are all types here: large, tall, short, metal circles, etc. So that is one problem especially at night in the dark! Another concern is all of the animals on the road. The dogs are the best of all. They just sleep in the middle of the street, at times they move but, other times you literally have to get ... read more




Tot: 0.174s; Tpl: 0.006s; cc: 14; qc: 100; dbt: 0.108s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.3mb