Well I am now getting pretty well into the swing of traveling. After spending an awesome weekend in San Carlos with some Arizona friends (minus the stingray attack) I got dropped off at the bus station in Hermosillo and caught a 30 hour ride down to Mexico City. I spent a day in Mexico City but still felt like I needed to get further south, so the next day I caught another bus to Oaxaca City.
Oaxaca City is very nice with a colonial feel and lots going on. I spent five days there, and visited the Hierva el Agua (a stone waterfall pouring out of a cliff) and Monte Alban (Aztec ruins on a hilltop near the city). I have spent a lot of time with locals and tourists alike, and have been enjoying the local food and drink tremendously.
The local drink here is Mezcal, which is like tequila, but made from a different type of agave and with a stronger taste. It can cause you to forget things and act inapropriate. I have also had a taste of the chapulines, which are crickets dipped in chili powder, and of course the old staple sal de gusano (worm salt).
After Oaxaca City I went over to Laguna de Chacahua. This place is truly amazing. It is about an hour north of Puerto Escondido (by a taxi - bus - taxi - boat combo). It is a small village of about 900 residents with excellent surfing and a beautiful lagoon. If you buy something at the restaurants there they let you camp on their property for free. I spent some time with some serious Kiwi surfers there and couldn´t help thinking of Flight of the Conchords every time they spoke. I worked on my surfing a bit, which still has a long way to come, and did some kayaking in the mangroves.
Now I am down in the town of Mazunte, further south on the Oaxacan coast. This is a great place to relax, drink corona, and watch hippies surf the internet. There is also a nude beach down the road that has some interesting sights. Soon I will depart for Guatemala. I had no intentions of staying so long in Mexico but Oaxaca has forced it upon me with it´s beautiful beaches and unique culture.
Traveling alone has been going pretty well so far. It is always a bit awkward showing up somewhere new, but usually doesn't take long to meet people. I have to do some serious downsizing in my bag, mostly in the way of clothes. Two things I have found very valuable so far are my drybag for storing electronics, and my full brim hat, which has become even more essential since I gave my scratched sunglasses to a blind man in Oaxaca.
I have been updating my map, and recently put some pictures up on shutterfly. I did not put them all up yet because it takes forever at these internet cafes, but I will put the rest up when I can. The pictures are located at:
http://southboundanddown.shutterfly.com
De la tierra de chido,
Alex
Oaxaca City is very nice with a colonial feel and lots going on. I spent five days there, and visited the Hierva el Agua (a stone waterfall pouring out of a cliff) and Monte Alban (Aztec ruins on a hilltop near the city). I have spent a lot of time with locals and tourists alike, and have been enjoying the local food and drink tremendously.
The local drink here is Mezcal, which is like tequila, but made from a different type of agave and with a stronger taste. It can cause you to forget things and act inapropriate. I have also had a taste of the chapulines, which are crickets dipped in chili powder, and of course the old staple sal de gusano (worm salt).
After Oaxaca City I went over to Laguna de Chacahua. This place is truly amazing. It is about an hour north of Puerto Escondido (by a taxi - bus - taxi - boat combo). It is a small village of about 900 residents with excellent surfing and a beautiful lagoon. If you buy something at the restaurants there they let you camp on their property for free. I spent some time with some serious Kiwi surfers there and couldn´t help thinking of Flight of the Conchords every time they spoke. I worked on my surfing a bit, which still has a long way to come, and did some kayaking in the mangroves.
Now I am down in the town of Mazunte, further south on the Oaxacan coast. This is a great place to relax, drink corona, and watch hippies surf the internet. There is also a nude beach down the road that has some interesting sights. Soon I will depart for Guatemala. I had no intentions of staying so long in Mexico but Oaxaca has forced it upon me with it´s beautiful beaches and unique culture.
Traveling alone has been going pretty well so far. It is always a bit awkward showing up somewhere new, but usually doesn't take long to meet people. I have to do some serious downsizing in my bag, mostly in the way of clothes. Two things I have found very valuable so far are my drybag for storing electronics, and my full brim hat, which has become even more essential since I gave my scratched sunglasses to a blind man in Oaxaca.
I have been updating my map, and recently put some pictures up on shutterfly. I did not put them all up yet because it takes forever at these internet cafes, but I will put the rest up when I can. The pictures are located at:
http://southboundanddown.shutterfly.com
De la tierra de chido,
Alex
