oh how i love this city and it´s people. especially those involved in Project Yucatan...i have had a wonderful time spending time with the youth (now young adults) who i met many years ago. it is so good to hear how they are doing, their thoughts for the future and their ideas from day to day. i have missed them and being able to spend hours with them has been one of the best parts of my trip! tomorrow i will go to the village to see more of the young adults and see the changes in the village as well.
it does feel as though my trip is winding down and i find my days are slower and my mindset has altered as well. it is a strange feeling and certainly is odd to be one of the travelers who is speaking of going home. i envy those who are just starting out on their journeys, just as those who are continuing envy my transition home. i do think it is good my final days are in familiar places and with friends, i think it affords me the ability to relax and embrace the time i have left.
ah, because my time is limited, and because the computers in the hostel are slow as molasses, i will not be putting up any other photos until i return home.
hasta luego!
Friday, October 22, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
almost last stop
arrived in Merida this afternoon and while it has been a few years since i was last here it feels quite familiar. turns out i am staying at the same hostel i stayed at 4+ years ago...glad to say they have made some changes (all for the better) and that there are many more travelers than there were in the hostel in Campeche (2 including me).
when i find a computer that does not remind me of computers cerca-USA 1990 i will post more and make an attempt to add photos as well. for now i will just say that i am so very happy to be in Merida...not just because i love the city and the outlying areas but because i will get to see the young adults i worked with through Project Yucatan!! to say i am excited and happy is an understatement :-)
want to know more about Project Yucatan...check it out: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=18094534106
when i find a computer that does not remind me of computers cerca-USA 1990 i will post more and make an attempt to add photos as well. for now i will just say that i am so very happy to be in Merida...not just because i love the city and the outlying areas but because i will get to see the young adults i worked with through Project Yucatan!! to say i am excited and happy is an understatement :-)
want to know more about Project Yucatan...check it out: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=18094534106
Friday, October 15, 2010
saying goodbye...again
many months ago i posted about my trouble saying goodbye to Oaxaca and today i find myself experiencing this feeling all over again. i do truly love this city and am certain that it is because of the people i have met and spent time with while here. there are those of course, whom i will continue to talk with and hopefully see again as they have been a wonderful addition to my already fantastic circle of friends!
tonight i start on what i hope will be my final EPIC bus ride of this trip...there will be other bus rides, that i am sure, but i am hoping this will be the last of the 20+ hour adventures. that being said, i feel rather sure that i would take a 12+ hour bus ride in a first class bus in Mexico over a 1+ hour plane ride to-from anywhere in the USA. sorry but i am just being honest. airport security that takes away my tweezers and water bottle plus the barbie-size seating on the airplane are not easily forgotten or forgiven in my book.
ok then...off to have lunch with my Oaxacan family, followed by nieves with my fellow travelers, and a final walk through the city!
tonight i start on what i hope will be my final EPIC bus ride of this trip...there will be other bus rides, that i am sure, but i am hoping this will be the last of the 20+ hour adventures. that being said, i feel rather sure that i would take a 12+ hour bus ride in a first class bus in Mexico over a 1+ hour plane ride to-from anywhere in the USA. sorry but i am just being honest. airport security that takes away my tweezers and water bottle plus the barbie-size seating on the airplane are not easily forgotten or forgiven in my book.
ok then...off to have lunch with my Oaxacan family, followed by nieves with my fellow travelers, and a final walk through the city!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
24 hours in Puebla Mexico
a few photos from the very short but full 24 hours in Puebla.
the cathedral.
around the zocalo.
the train museum... 
i always want to be sure to see something new and different...this was the first train museum of the trip!
a new view of Oaxaca
my third time in the state and city of Oaxaca included a weekend outside of the city and in the mountains. beautiful does not begin to describe the landscape and there is no way that a camera can possibly capture the beauty of the area. still, i made feeble attempts and hopefully this gives you a bit of a glimpse of our surroundings.
this is early in the morning our first day at our first stop. we had a bit of breakfast and a short zip line adventure!
next stop, a beautiful view
and a very very long bridge over a very very deep ravine!
later in the day we hiked up up up into the trees...
and through the large rocks that formed the land.
a view from the cabin in the early morning.
Photos from Guadalajara Mexico
i was not in Guadalajara for very long and while i was there i spent more time with new friends than i did taking photos, thus i only have a few to share. the photos are from areas throughout the city including the historic district and one of the parks. 
slowing down and taking stock
back in Oaxaca i am sure that this time will be the final visit of this trip. it is bittersweet i suppose as i am catching up with friends and then saying goodbye once again. certainly this city is familiar to me now and the past few days i acted as a guide (and sometimes translator) for one of my newest friends, this one from Slovenia. we actually met in Puebla and upon realizing we were going to the same place decided to travel together. the hostel in Oaxaca has been full so there have been lots of new friends and interesting conversations amongst those of us from all over the world who have one simple thing in common: we are all here now.
i have had the pleasure of meeting many wonderful, funny, interesting people throughout my trip and certainly many of them have been at the hostels. the whole culture of hostels is unique and while each hostel has it´s own "flavor" as a friend of mine would say, the world of hostels is certainly all it´s own. sometimes it kind of feels like you are living in a bubble.
for instance, as i write this, one guy from New Zealand and one guy from England are watching Honey I Shrunk the Kids as they relax after a morning of learning to cook chile relleno, guacamole, tortillas, and tacos dorados. next to me sits a couple from England who are traveling the world in 6 months and a German girl who is here in Oaxaca for a week and is volunteering during the mornings because she feels she needs to do something besides "see pretty buildings and old ruins." the owner of the hostel is from the state of Washington who after traveling for about a year returned to the states and quickly realized he wanted something different. a friend told him that this hostel was for sale so he bought it 5 months ago. the hostel provides breakfast, free internet, open kitchen, hot water showers, book exchange and a tv for use throughout the day-night. i could feasibly stay here all day and hang out, read, write, eat, chat with others and never really know i was in another country much less oaxaca. it is a strange little world.
and in this hostel world after 4 months traveling i have moved up in the hierarchy of travelers. yes there is a sort of weird hierarchy which is loosely based on how long you have traveled, and where you have traveled. being a girl who is traveling alone adds a little something and it appears at this point that i have some sort of clout. it is a funny thing and certainly is a contradiction since the moment i walk out the door into the oaxacan neighborhood i am just a tourist...a gringa.
as a gringa i walk a fine line between accepted tourist and annoying outsider. this too is a funny thing to manage and one that is only better managed when you accept that you are somewhat untouchable but on the outside, in your own alternate universe and no matter how much you may try or no matter how much you may want to be a part of the culture of where you are, you will always be "different" and may never be "a local"... i have had many conversations with travelers, ex-pats, volunteers, and residents (locals) about this and other related topics and it is enough sometimes to make me wonder: how is we all get along, much less live with, each other?
but that i suppose is question better left for the philosophers.
i have had the pleasure of meeting many wonderful, funny, interesting people throughout my trip and certainly many of them have been at the hostels. the whole culture of hostels is unique and while each hostel has it´s own "flavor" as a friend of mine would say, the world of hostels is certainly all it´s own. sometimes it kind of feels like you are living in a bubble.
for instance, as i write this, one guy from New Zealand and one guy from England are watching Honey I Shrunk the Kids as they relax after a morning of learning to cook chile relleno, guacamole, tortillas, and tacos dorados. next to me sits a couple from England who are traveling the world in 6 months and a German girl who is here in Oaxaca for a week and is volunteering during the mornings because she feels she needs to do something besides "see pretty buildings and old ruins." the owner of the hostel is from the state of Washington who after traveling for about a year returned to the states and quickly realized he wanted something different. a friend told him that this hostel was for sale so he bought it 5 months ago. the hostel provides breakfast, free internet, open kitchen, hot water showers, book exchange and a tv for use throughout the day-night. i could feasibly stay here all day and hang out, read, write, eat, chat with others and never really know i was in another country much less oaxaca. it is a strange little world.
and in this hostel world after 4 months traveling i have moved up in the hierarchy of travelers. yes there is a sort of weird hierarchy which is loosely based on how long you have traveled, and where you have traveled. being a girl who is traveling alone adds a little something and it appears at this point that i have some sort of clout. it is a funny thing and certainly is a contradiction since the moment i walk out the door into the oaxacan neighborhood i am just a tourist...a gringa.
as a gringa i walk a fine line between accepted tourist and annoying outsider. this too is a funny thing to manage and one that is only better managed when you accept that you are somewhat untouchable but on the outside, in your own alternate universe and no matter how much you may try or no matter how much you may want to be a part of the culture of where you are, you will always be "different" and may never be "a local"... i have had many conversations with travelers, ex-pats, volunteers, and residents (locals) about this and other related topics and it is enough sometimes to make me wonder: how is we all get along, much less live with, each other?
but that i suppose is question better left for the philosophers.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
spa day in Sayulita
hiking, swimming, discovering a sacred site...just another day in Sayulita.
here are a few photos:
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
where am i?
i had that moment again. it is the moment when i look around and do not know where i am. the one where i must search my brain and all the items around me to get some indication of where in the spanish-speaking world i may be currently standing. it happened once when i turned a corner, it happened again when i walked out of a coffee shop, and it happened this morning as i stood in a bus terminal. the thing about bus terminals is that they usually do not say where you are but have lots of buses going to many other places so process of elimination is out of the question. so i have learned to just wait and then the moment comes when i remember, "oh right i am in Mexico City and i need to get the bus to Puebla."
i got the bus and arrived in the lovely town of Puebla. upon setting my things down in the dorm at the hostel i turned to see a friend i made in Mexico City. it is always fun running into people and we spent the rest of the day exploring the city and catching up. tomorrow i will have the morning to enjoy a bit more of Puebla before heading back to the state of Oaxaca where i will hopefully catch up with more friends and explore more of the state.
oh a quick update for those who care...
1. my wardrobe is quickly dwindling and it is not because i am buying my dearest family and friends beautiful gifts. rather it seems that clothing you wear every other day that is not-washed, handwashed and then randomly washed in questionable washers-dryers does not add to the longevity...if you start to notice me wearing the same things in photos it is because I AM WEARING THE SAME THING EVERY OTHER DAY!
2. remember that cough-sore throat-lose my voice in the morning thing...yeah it never really went away. i have decided the culprit is the constant climate changes...88 degrees with 150% humidity for 4 days and 70 degrees with 40% humidity for 3 days, etc. not complaining though because if this is the downside of my current lifestyle i will take it.
3. is hearing some complaints from my devoted readers...i am not writing enough, i am skipping the "good stuff," and i am getting "too serious." umm...ok let me see if i can come up with a clear response...have we met?! haha good try good friends but there is no way i am sharing some stories with the world. AND dear friends, if you and my family have not been able to keep me from being "too serious" then traveling alone through central america and mexico for 5 months probably is not going to do it either. as for the writing, it is true i am not posting enough. i am writing though. posting no, writing yes. still i take your complaints seriously (hahaha) and will work a bit harder in the future :-)
4. best way to cure a fear of drowning? continued attempts at surfing. this last one was fun and provided some quality moments of panic. yep the motivation to surf is fueled mainly by the desire to get over this rational but annoying fear.
i got the bus and arrived in the lovely town of Puebla. upon setting my things down in the dorm at the hostel i turned to see a friend i made in Mexico City. it is always fun running into people and we spent the rest of the day exploring the city and catching up. tomorrow i will have the morning to enjoy a bit more of Puebla before heading back to the state of Oaxaca where i will hopefully catch up with more friends and explore more of the state.
oh a quick update for those who care...
1. my wardrobe is quickly dwindling and it is not because i am buying my dearest family and friends beautiful gifts. rather it seems that clothing you wear every other day that is not-washed, handwashed and then randomly washed in questionable washers-dryers does not add to the longevity...if you start to notice me wearing the same things in photos it is because I AM WEARING THE SAME THING EVERY OTHER DAY!
2. remember that cough-sore throat-lose my voice in the morning thing...yeah it never really went away. i have decided the culprit is the constant climate changes...88 degrees with 150% humidity for 4 days and 70 degrees with 40% humidity for 3 days, etc. not complaining though because if this is the downside of my current lifestyle i will take it.
3. is hearing some complaints from my devoted readers...i am not writing enough, i am skipping the "good stuff," and i am getting "too serious." umm...ok let me see if i can come up with a clear response...have we met?! haha good try good friends but there is no way i am sharing some stories with the world. AND dear friends, if you and my family have not been able to keep me from being "too serious" then traveling alone through central america and mexico for 5 months probably is not going to do it either. as for the writing, it is true i am not posting enough. i am writing though. posting no, writing yes. still i take your complaints seriously (hahaha) and will work a bit harder in the future :-)
4. best way to cure a fear of drowning? continued attempts at surfing. this last one was fun and provided some quality moments of panic. yep the motivation to surf is fueled mainly by the desire to get over this rational but annoying fear.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)