catching up on a few things...mexico city

while in Mexico City i was able to see some incredible art and my favorite was that of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. the blue house (casa azul) where Frida grew up also lived as an adult is now a museum. the next day i went to the national palace that holds some of the famous murals of mexican history by Diego. here are a few photos from those days...

kids are kids everywhere

three examples i must share of how kids are just kids no matter where they are...

at the National Palace in Mexico City, walking through the presidental sections (office, dining rooms, etc.) and as we are in the hall of presidents where the portraits of presidents past are hung i overhear a young man, probably 14 or 15 say (in spanish of course) to no one in particular,
" blah blah blah dead presidents...blah blah blah. when do we get to the good stuff?!"

a few days later i was at a cafe where a mother and her 5 or 6 year old daughter were sitting waiting for their order of food to take home. the little girl was in a pink leotard, pink tights and sandals and her mother was carrying a small backpack and a pair of ballet slippers. as they waited they had the following exchange:
mother: "come here and put on your skirt and shirt"
girl: "i cant"
mother: "what do you mean you cant?!"
girl: "because then i wont be a ballerina anymore!"

and then there was this exchange between two siblings (boy probably 12 years and girl probably 9 or 10) at the market.
boy: "why dont you ever listen to me?"
girl: "i listen"
boy: "but you dont do what i say. i am older you know."
girl: "yes but that doesnt make you smarter."

somethings just cross all cultures!

phots from Guanajuato

Welcome!

this is from the top of the steps as i walked down to the hostel...it is a city of stairs, and tiny, narrow streets.

some of the streets.

this is from one of the parks looking at the Juarez theatre.

this is another view of the same park.

one of the many churches...what amazed me at the moment i took this was the blue sky and the bright yellow.

new places are generally a good thing

i left Queretaro feeling...well check the previous post and you may get a sense...i arrived in Guanajuato rather apprehensive but hopeful nonetheless. what i found is a perfectly lovely place and 2 people who i swear were put in my path because i needed exactly what they had to offer and say.

this city is ridiculously beautiful and has this sort of Spanish-European-Mexican feel that just makes you want to laugh because it is just the right mix. of course charming cobblestone streets, incredible architecture and the bluest of blue skies are not enough for me anymore...at least not enough to make me say, wow this is a fabulous city! it is the people, the history, the culture...the history here is deep and the pride in the city and the history is strong. the people are friendly, open and hard-working from what i can tell and from what i have gathered from the Senora at my hostel. which by the way is the BEST of the whole trip. hands down the best. ok back the the Senora who made me a yummy mexican breakfast and talked with me for 2.5 hours this morning about...well everything. she has lots of thoughts, opinions, experiences and questions and was open to sharing them all. it was enough to make me consider staying in town for another day just so i would have more time to talk with her...

the other person who was thrown in my path was The Photographer (everyone has alternate identities on my blog if you haven´t figured that out so far). born and raised in Queretaro to a mexican mother and italian father, he was spending the day in Guanajuata taking stock photos. initially, thinking i was french (laughable i know!) he spoke to me in french, when i responded in spanish we spent the next 5 minutes conversing in spanish before he asked me where i was from and then the language switched to english. for the next few hours we walked through the city as he gave me a impromtu tour interrupted only by coffee breaks and the expected photo op.

in this new place i was afforded the opportunity to meet people who were open and willing to share their time, thoughts, experiences with me just when i needed their presence. there are times when talking with other travelers and-or tourists (there is actually a difference) just isn´t enough or isn´t quite what you are needing. times when you have questions about the culture, history or even just life...or maybe it isn´t just when you have questions so much as you are hoping to meet someone who shows you that in this big world there are people who ask the same questions as you and may or may not have the same answers.

i have been thinking a lot about cultural differences and similarities. having time with these two people allowed me the space to ask some of my questions but more importantly i was pushed to listen and consider not just the words that were said but the meaning and the emotion.

tomorrow i will move on, Guadalajara is next, who knows what i will find or what will find me there.

Queretaro Mexico

ok so i am going to probably going to confuse matters by posting photos from the past, writing overviews and reflections from the trip, and now posting about my present location and experience...it seems fitting that everything is all jumbled, it is how i feel at the moment.

here i am in this sweet colonial town with it's strong Spanish influence and important place in Mexican history and i am just wandering. i arrived yesterday afternoon, am here all day today and leave tomorrow for...well that has yet to be determined, Guanajuato or Guadalajara i suppose. anyway, it is a beautiful town, the kind all tourists to Mexico want to see with lovely colors and incredible architecture, small little streets that wind into fountains and ornate churches, and vendors selling art and textiles and fresh fruit and sweet candies.

and i wonder, "what am i doing here?"

i stop in the churches, walk down the streets, eat fresh mango as i sit in one of the many parks, drink strong coffee with the locals at the plaza, visit a museum, and take photos of the statues or streets or churches or whatever else seems to call out, "i am Queretaro!"

all the while there is this dumb song playing in my head...

smile, though your heart is aching

smile, even though it's breaking

when there are clouds in the sky

you'll get by...

if you smile
with your fear and sorrow

smile and maybe tomorrow

you'll find that life is still worthwhile

if you just...

light up your face with gladness

hide every trace of sadness

although a tear may be ever so near

that's the time you must keep on trying

smile, what's the use of crying

you'll find that life is still worthwhile

if you just... smile

i think it is just one of those days. just goes to show no matter where you are or what you are doing, you can have just one of those days.

catching up on photos

these are from my final days in Nicaragua...went to Chinandega and over to the beach, it was a fabulous afternoon and evening!a short bus ride northeast of Leon is the little town of San Jacinto. there you will find small but very hot springs with boiling mud and lots of steam. we had the best tour guide, all of 10 years old with a little sweetness and a lot of sass. of course i loved her!
Laguna de Apoyo, a 48 kilometer (yes i have to the metric system!) body of water inside the crater of the Apoyo volcano. We were there for a few wonderful days enjoying this view, swimming, kayaking, drinking coffee, lounging in a hammock and enjoying the stars...it was perfect!
A few days later we were off to Esteli in the north central highlands of Nicaragua. if you didn't know i love art and murals and street art...so i loved Esteli, there were murals everywhere!

The city and region is best known as being the one of the largest pro-Sandinista areas in the north (the photo is from the mothers of heroes and martyrs museum which is dedicated to those that fought in the revolution), as a producer of coffee, and...

a producer of cigars! did you know that the area is perfect for growing tobacco and after the Cuban revolution it became a haven for cuban cigar makers? i didn't. so of course we went on a tour of a cigar factory. i only wish a camera could capture the smell, strong and if you like cigars well you would be in heaven!

Next and last stop in Nicaragua, the very small and very quiet town of Somoto. The sole purpose of the visit to this place, to hike in and around the canyon.

it turns out you get to swim-float and ride a few rapids as well!!

the canyon adventure was better than expected and i would certainly recommend a visit. oh but if you go, bring your own coffee and your own coffee maker!!

the reflection begins

i didn´t realize it when planning this trip, but i now see that Mexico has been the perfect place to begin and end this trip. to start, it was a great way to ease back into the language and aid in my transition into the backpacking life. to end, it is nice to come to a country with which i am relatively comfortable, to places and people that are familiar, and still have new experiences awaiting me.

throughout my trip i have made attempts to understand and put some meaning behind all i have seen and experienced, but this has proven to be rather confounding. each country, each city, each person has offered me more to think about and added question upon question...leaving me with the feeling that i understand less than when i started.

yet i know that statement and that sentiment is not quite accurate. so it is now, while on the 6-8-12-14 hour bus rides ahead of me, while walking through the streets of familiar cities, while talking with friends and fellow travelers, while writing, that i will make the effort to reflect upon this journey without searching for "the" meaning, or expecting "greater" understanding. rather, the time will be spent remembering the experiences of each moment and how to possibly integrate the last few months into my life and my understanding of myself and the world i live in.

of course this is all very egotistical of me, which is something i have grown to understand about this entire trip. it is a selfish act, to take time to travel alone without work, without responsibilities and in lands far off from friends, family, community and country. it is a luxury not afforded to most and certainly incomprehensible to many. some have said i am incredibly lucky to have the support of my community and culture, others have said this trip is proof that the Western world has veered too much toward the external, and still others have refused to call this trip anything other than a grand vacation. all have elements of truth and yet there is more to be said and that is what i am hoping time will afford me...

Looking back...Copan Ruins (Honduras)

ruins, ruins and more ruins. it seems i just don´t get tired of them. today i went to Teotihuacan, but that is a story for another day. these photos are a few weeks old and i am way behind on the photos for the blog. however, i am in Mexico City where internet connections are fast when you can find an internet location that is! this one i found is on a side street and you have to walk through the first floor, up the stairs to a small room, it´s the 3rd door on the left!







we have internet access at the hostel, but you are not allowed to connect anything to the computers and there are 2 computers for everyone. this means we are limited to 20 minutes at a time. the hostel is huge by the way, probably the biggest i have been in since Panama, and it is in the perfect location, 1 block from the famed Cathedral and zocalo. curious about the hostel, check out the website, http://www.mexicocityhostel.com/



Anyway, back to Copan, the birds greeted us at the entrance and it was hard not to take a photo of them as there were so many of them!





i will let the rest of the photos speak for themselves. enjoy!

another day, another bus

getting ready for another bus ride, another night bus ride in fact. i think they are kind of addictive actually. well maybe not but they are a luxury, especially after being in so many countries where there either aren´t night buses or they are relatively dangerous. of course there isn´t much of a need for night buses in Central America since so many destinations are under 8 hours away (well not all but most). in Mexico it is a bit different, and of course i have a kind of ridiculous itinerary for the next 6 weeks, my last 6 weeks by the way. there will be lots of buses in my future...it´s a darn good thing i like being on the bus. truth be told i really like buses, all kinds, especially those in Central America. it´s a good thing huh? haha.

tonight i am leaving San Cristobol for Oaxaca where i will spend the afternoon and night and then get on a bus to Mexico City. there i will spend a few days exploring the city and the surrounding areas. yep i am finally going to see the sites instead of the airport and the bus terminals!

now it´s all about Mexico

24 hours and 3 buses later i am enjoying the festivities of the independence of Mexico in San Cristobol de las Casas. the morning started with a parade and has continued throughout the day with music, food and relaxation. The streets are full of people, vendors and the determined bus and taxi drivers who somehow navigate through the throngs of people. the colors of red, green and white are on every window and the flag is flying high from wherever one can put a flag. as the adults walk and enjoy the day, the children run through the parks with balloons and painted faces and i, one of the many foreign visitors on this day, watch and take it all in.

this is my second time in San Cristobol, i was here years ago, and i find it all very familiar. surprisingly familiar actually. the cafe´s, the churches, the zocalo, the streets made for walking and the markets...i remember them all and so i re-visit them once again. i am happily not taking photos this time around, it is kind of freeing to leave the camera at the hostel and just enjoy the city and it´s residents. of course it isn´t all aimless walking and eating (food is everywhere today and it is hard to resist the ice cream, fresh mango, corn on the cob and sweets made just for this day)...i also had to get some things done, like laundry.

i have to say that while the whole backpacking thing can get old, especially wearing the same 4 outfits over and over, the taking your laundry to someone else to wash, dry and fold for about $2-4 never ever ever gets old. because really, when in my life has that ever happened? when i was a kid perhaps, but actually that isn´t true, my mom never folded the clothes (haha it´s true i swear!)

my other mission for the day, updating the blog and returning emails. i fully recognize i am behind on the blog and as i keep saying there is sooooo much stuff to say. but here i am updating just on this day. but a few quick things:

1. El Salvador is beautiful, the people are gracious and in 5-8 years it will be on the Gringo Trail and tourists will be flocking to hike, surf, visit the quaint villages, and enjoy the fabulous museums. Here´s the thing, there are problems in this country AND there is so much to enjoy as well, including the Modern Art museum in San Salvador. i don´t want to compare it to those in the states, but i kind of have to compare it to something and so i will say that it is right up there with those in the states. but i suppose it isn´t the museum itself that is so great (although it is) but what makes it fabulous are the incredible Salvadoran artists. oh and the National museum, aka the Anthropological museum is also very good. granted all the explanations are in Spanish but the presentation of the material and objects is very well done. clearly there is money to spend in El Salvador on the museums because these two are very well done.

Speaking of San Salvador...i really liked this city. ugh i know, i know. there is all this negative stuff out there about this city- it´s the most dangerous capital city in Central America, the gang violence is out of control, the narcotrafficantes have taken over, the police and military are part of the problem, it is dirty, it is polluted, etc., etc., etc. and yet, i really enjoyed my day in the city. one day does not make all that stuff go away, nor does it give me any real evidence to offer a differing opinion. all i can say is that the people were friendly, helpful and welcoming, that i never felt unsafe and there was much to see and do.

pictures of El Salvador and my final days in Nicaragua will be up soon, probably when i am in Mexico City. tomorrow i will spend the day here and take a night bus to Oaxaca where i will have a day or so before i take the bus to Mexico City.

¡Viva Mexico!