PATAGONIA

Cerros Torre and Fitz Roy seen from El Chaltén Village

Map of the Future Patagonia National Park, Chile

Hey everyone!!!! It is Monday night. Mom and I spent the day rounding up a few last minute items, including my guide books. Definately not the best idea I've had to wait this long to finally buy a Patagonia travel guide...

So far I've got the entire month of January booked volunteering in the Future Patagonia National Park in Chile. Check out the link for pictures and descriptions. While I'm there I really want to check out the Capilla de Marmol. It is just north of the park.

After volunteering I'm heading south to El Chalten, Argentina which is right near Mount FitzRoy, one of the most famous landmarks of Patagonia. While there, I hope to spend my time taking hikes like these. Trekking in El Chalten

From there, keep moving south to El Calafate. This is located near the bottom of Glacier National Park in Argentina. There I want to take a trip climbing on the Perito Moreno Glacier. http://www.hieloyaventura.com/ - look for "BIG ICE" Read reviews for the trip here

From El Calafate, I go all the way down to Ushuaia, Argentina in Tierra del Fuego, aka the End of the World! I don't really have any plans for Ushuaia yet. Probably venture into the Tierra del Fuego, and hopefully sail the Beagle Channel! There is a post office somewhere in Tierra del Fuego that will post mark your postcards "End of the World." I'm going to find that post office. And see some penguins!

I then fly north to Buenos Aires where I hope to hang out, walk around a lot, and see some futbol games! I would like to go to the border of Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina to see Iguazu Falls, and also go to Uruguay and lay on the beach. We'll see if I can fit it all in!

My gear:

Osprey Aeriel 75 liter backpack

MSR Hubba 1 person tent

Marmot Women's Teton 0 degree sleeping bag

Thermarest Prolite Small sleeping pad

1 headlamp

1 top and bottom long underwear

1 top and bottom Patagonia Capilene 3 long underwear

4 pairs smartwool socks

2 pairs short socks

9 pairs of underwear

2 sports bras

2 regular bras

2 bandanas

1 bathing suit

1 pack hairties

1 headband

2 t shirts

1 pair running shorts

2 jersey dresses

8 tank tops

1 pair jeans

1 pair shorts

1 pair small tennis shoes

1 pair cute flip flops

1 thin zip up jacket

1 fleece jacket

1 winter coat

2 work tshirts, 1 cotton, 1 synthetic

1 pair Outdoor Research W PL 400 gloves

1 Marmot Precip waterproof jacket

1 pair Marmot Precip waterproof pants

1 sun hat

1 winter hat

1 pair work pants

1 pair hiking boots

2 pairs leather work gloves

1 pair safety glasses

1 belt

1 8oz bottle 2 in 1 shampoo/conditioner

1 4oz bottle Campsuds

1 tube toothpaste

1 toothbrush

1 trial size deoderant
1 MSR Pack towel

1 pack of face wash pads (no water needed)

1 Buenos Aires travel guide

1 Patagonia travel guide
1 Spanish-English dictionary

I'm grateful for being small and having small clothes!

I will be working in the park in Chile for 4 days at a time with 2 days of rest in between. I have access to internet on my days off, but I don't know if I will choose to go into town or explore more of the park on my time off. I'll know more when I get there. I'll be updating every chance I get on a computer, hopefully with pictures!!

Big day in Paris

Well, Thursday I had a big day. Woke up really early, like 7:30, and hit the streets. Took the metro to Arc de Triomphe and hung out there with the school kids pushing me around. Apparently it is the season for all teh school groups to go sightseeing, and at every attraction ther are like hundreds of grade school kids. I've decided that no matter where you are, middle schoolers are annoying brats. I don't care if you might have cooler clothes than most Americans, you are the same. (0h my god I'm officially old)

I don't find the French as mean as you expect when you come here. When I was at Versailles, the Australian girl was just livid half teh time about "how rude everyone was to her." After seeing the kinds of things she was complaining about, I just realized she must be really used to people going out of their way to help her or something, because I don't notice anything really different. You ask for something, they give it to you, they answer your question, end of story. No small talk, but I am incapable of that anyways, and when I can't speak a word of French I prefer to just go along with whatever I'm doing, usually walking down the street quickly as if I have important places to be. That method has worked so far, Yesterday alone I was asked questions by 3 people, and I don't even think they were asking the tourist for money! Victory! This results in me saying "non france" (god, I don't even know how to spell french in french!!) and shaking my head a lot with the most apologitic look I can manage.

Wow, that was a wierd little rant. I just drank a cup of coffee on an empty stomach, and I must admit that my hands are shaking.

OK, so after I hung around the Arc de Triomphe taking pictures and trying to enjoy it, I started off on my hike down Champs Elysees. I was hoping for a nice stroll, but it was raining the entire time, so I just walked quickly, got to the end and hopped on the metro. It wasn't as bad as it sounds. The rain wasn't so bad and I had a raincoat. It is raining right now, which is why I'm writing this, waiting to leave the hostel for Grenoble. I'm trying to wait for it to stop.

I imagine it would have been nice to walk slower and check things out, then walk to the Eiffel Tower from there, but the rain ruined my hours of walking and looking.

It was about time for the Pompidou to open anyways at 11:30. I was really sad! I mean, I saw picassos and pollocks and matisses, and other cool famous things, but the really wild and wacky stuff I've seen pictures of weren't there. I went there with one exhibit in mind where a sheet of fabric was hanging from teh ceiling and it was made to look like it was dripping down like mud, or slime, and I searched the place for it, and it wasn't there. Nothing like that was there. It was cool though, I liked the museum, but I really wanted to see the crazy things. I hung out there for a few hours, then headed to teh train station to get my ticket to Grenoble the next day.

The train station is gigantic and very cool. I ended up being there a long time, because I decided it would be a good idea to know what I was doing. I watched some trains depart, and figured out how to know where to get on, things like that. Then I played on the ticket buying macines to see if the train I wanted was still available. It was, so I got in a line that says "tickets." But, everyone in line with me has tickets. hm. I think, well, this will take 10 min and I'll just ask them if I buy them here, if not, I'll just move to the right line, I've got no where to be until 8. This line takes like 30 minutes to get through, because it is just people complaining and asking questions about the tickets they already have or something. The complainers take the longest. I finally get to a window, say hello and ask if he speaks english. (while standing in line, I notice that the 3 people at the windows seem like the most friendly people I've seen yet, smiling at everyone and joking around). He's grinning at me as he says no, and he jumps up and leaves the window before I can start saying anything more. I assume he's going to find someone who speaks english, and I'm feeling stupid, because if he had stayed, I could at least tell him where I'm going and see if we can't get somewhere from there. So I find a piece of paper and write "Grenoble. Mai 15 16:38" and wait for him to return. He does, like 5-7 minutes later (with only 3 open windows and a giant line this seemed like hours) and he's got 2 other people in tow, but no one is coming over to talk to me, they all look worried. So I just slide my paper through the window and point to it, he smiles, types on the computer, shows me the train, I nod, seeing it is the same train that I know I want, and he prints out a ticket, I pay, and away I go. like, 1 minute tops. No problems.

Came back to the hostel because I was so tired, saying I would take a nap, but I didn't. I just read my book and played on the internet, then headed out to meet my Canadian friends at the Eiffel Tower to see it all lit up!

We had arranged to meet at a metro stop at 8pm, and it actually worked! I couldn't believe we found each other without cellphones. This must be what you did when you were here mom. I don't know how you survived.

We climbed to the 2nd floor of the Eiffel Tower on the stairs. Oh my god, I thought Notre Dame was bad. And of course, we get to the 2nd level, and you look west, and a giant storm is heading our way. We take a bunch of pictures of it, hang out for a bit looking around the city, and as it starts to pour we head back down the stairs. It was pretty funny watching the rain get closer and closer. It was already completely cloudy and a little dark, but you could distinctly see the rain, and watch it get closer and closer to us.

So there it was, my action packed day. Today I haven't done anything but write emails and read David Sedaris. This is my vacation, if I want to read a book all day, I'm going to do it dammit. It is cold outside, and raining. although right now it looks like the rain has let up. Maybe it is my chance to run to the metro. it is like less than 5 minutes, but I don't want to sit on the train for 3 hours in wet clothes. Plus I need to eat something.

My train leaves at 4:38, and at 7:33 I will be safe with Cindy and maybe I will finally eat some good food. I've been living off bakery sandwiches (very good sandwiches though) because I can't order anything in a restaurant. And I don't feel stupid eating them, because EVERYONE is walking around here eating these things. It has helped me save a lot of money too, because most are less than 5 euros. The only things I have spent money on are admission to museums, a place to sleep, and sandwiches. Now in Grenoble I can save money on hostels but spend money on food!

I think I want to go shopping with Cindy. I haven't spent nearly as much money as I was expecting to, and I feel like I should get something cool and fashionable while I'm here. I've taken to wearing black to try and fit in a little more. Having curly hair is not helping my cause. I also need a pair of boots. and scarves. and skinny jeans. and tights. and a nice fitted tiny leather jacket. then I'll be all set until I have to speak.

The time is wrong again

Just like in Mexico, the time on my posts is wrong. It is almost 9pm right now. I sent that at 8:08 I guess.

Day 2!

Day 2: after sleeping 11 hours, I wake up after 8 and make it downstairs at 9. Send some emails, and then check out the directions for Versailles. As I'm looking, a girl next to me asks if I'm heading there. I say yes, and so is she! So we teamed up and spent the entire day there. The place is absolutely insane! Even while standing in the place, I couldn't grasp how big it was, or the lifestyle these people had.

We could have rented bikes there to ride around the gardens, but we learned that too late in the day, as we were hurrying to see Marie Antoinette's private hangout she had built because she wanted to get away from Versailles Chalet. Then we booked it out of there and hopped on one of the last trains of the day.

Lunch today was amazing. We had to leave the Palace area to find a cheap place, and we found a great little sandwich place! We got the most amazing sandwich of goat cheese, lettuce, tomato, bacon, and some good sauce. The goat cheese was the best ever. All for like 4€, which is a good deal around here.

On our way back to the hostel, we stopped at a bakery on the corner and got these really extravagant pastries. They were cake, and custard, and strawberries. Those were decently cheap too, and sooooo good. I'm going back tomorrow.

OK, I'm going to figure out how to get a train ticket! Grenoble on Friday!

American in Paris

Well, day 2 in Paris. Still cloudy and super humid, but not raining. It never did rain yesterday, but it was a little chilly. Today is hot and muggy, but no sun. I just slept for like 11 hours. I wanted to be up at 8 or so, but, that didn't happen. My phone doesn't work, and that is my only chance at an alarm clock. But, I would have been a zombie if I hadn't slept.

I'm off to Versailles today. I'm really excited. I'm also going to try and get a disposable phone to use here. We'll see how that goes. I also need to get a train ticket to Grenoble.

Yesterday I walked around Paris, took the subway to the middle of the city, saw Notre Dame and climbed the stairs to the top, ate lunch, and just kept walking. I got out of the subway and I got a little mixed up at first. I kept thinking north was south and south was north, but eventually I got it right.

Arrive: Paris, France

HAH! I'm gone again!!! I left Michigan at 4pm Monday and landed in Paris at 8am Tuesday! I actually sat in the detroit airport for over 5 hours yesterday because Carlos was flying to Argentina at 1pm. We thought we'd be in the same terminal and hang out until he left, but, of course we weren't in the same terminal, so I sat around by myself for 5+ hours. Its ok. I brought lots of books after I learned that lesson in Mexico : )

I got off the plane, and found my backpack. There is always that sense of dread when picking up my bags from anywhere. The scenario flashing before my eyes that my bag didn't make the trip... but, so far so good.

This trip is wierd too because I'm feeling completely unprepared. My life was so crazy before the trip, and I was looking forward to relaxing in Europe so much, I forgot to do a lot of things. But, no worries. Nothing you can't do with the internet!

This weekend I moved out of my old place into an apartment and got SCUBA Open Water Certification with National Geographic specialty. I threw a party at my house the weekend before while working 6 day weeks. I didn't have much time to plan things out. But, I have 4 days in Paris, and the Louvre and Versailles will take up 2, so not much to worry about. Then Friday I'm on to Grenoble for the weekend to see my friend Cindy, and Monday I go to Lausanne until Thursday, when I go back to Paris to catch my flight to Toronto to help Alan with a 100 mile race for Memorial Day Weekend!!!

I'm sitting in my hostel now. I found it with no problems, which was exciting because I had to take the subway from the airport, get off at a station, get on another train, find a particular exit, and then walk a couple blocks.

Right now I'm just getting my bearings and figuring out what to do with myself. It is wet and a little rainy today, so it isn't making me want to run out the door, plus I'm really tired. I slept on both flights, 8 hours + 1 hour, but I'm still adjusting.

Alright, I'm going to figure out what I want to do today, see ya!

Playa del Carmen

Well, I finished up my trip in Playa del Carmen, a beach town an hour south of Cancun. It was extremely touristy, and very expensive. I was going to rent a hammock to sleep in, at least one night, but the place was really shady, so I went across the street to a cheap cheap hotel. I had this hotel written down before I got there, and it was like 400 pesos a night. The most expensive place other that the jungle, but it was still like $27 a night, right on the beach. It was a pretty funny little place, no frills. I think there was some kind of animal in my room which made me sleep with the lights on the first night. I think it ended up being a bird, and it was either living in the ceiling, or the roof was really thin.... I got over it, and i just slept under the sheets using it like a mosquito net everynight.

My book said to walk north along the beach to find the best spots, and so I got up early the next day, packed my little tote and off I went. I walked like an hour past all the tacky resorts and crowds of tourists and found the most amazing spot all to myself. I stayed there all day and got really tan, and swam in the ocean, which was better than any pool. Nothing bus sand as far as you could see, warm turquoise water, no waves because we were in a small cove, it was awesome. I would just float on my back as long as I could.

When I finally let for the day, I walked past some people who had made the trek, and most of the girls were topless. Turns out I had ended up at a toples beach but I didn't know it because I was the first one there. Oh well.

That night I went out to dinner, and then I passed a sports bar. I went in to ask them if they would play the MSU game the next night, and as I was standing and waiting, some other guy was asking if they would put on the UConn game. I asked who they were playing, and he said Pitt. So I immediately pulled up a chair and camped out all night watching basketball and drinking beer. That was pretty fun. The next night I ended up finding a cooler place to go and watched MSU play Purdue with 5 other Spartans.

My 2nd day I did the same thing, except when I got all the way to the good spot, I went to get my sunscreen, and sure enough, I can't find it! So I stay for about an hour and a half tanning and then I swim for a half an hour, and walk all the way back to the room. I get to the room, and I'm like, where's the sunscreen!? Sure enough, its in the bottom of my bag. Ugh! So I went back to the beach, but I just laid out with all the tourists, with wild kids and people kicking sand on me as they walked by....

Woke up on my last day at 6am to watch the sun rise, walked up and down the beach, and drank some coffee at a cute little place near my hotel looking at teh beach. Walked to the bus station, hopped a bus to Cancun, split a taxo with someone going to the airport, and came back to Michigan!

Hopefully now I can get my pictures up online. I took over 1000. I'm going to Chicago this weekend. I start work Monday again. It was awesome! Thanks to Annie and Rudy for letting me do this, it would not have been possible if you hadn't been there! If I'm still at NAP 1 year from now, maybe I'll tackle South America next year!! See everyone on the holidays!

Molly

A real update!

OK, my posts have been lacking since I´ve been on the road, and this is the most excitement I´ve been in, so I apologize. 

Last night around 9 I arrived in Merida and got to my new hostel, again right on el zòcalo! I was feeling better than I have all week, but I ended up falling asleep almost immediately after arriving. I woke up around 7:30 and I no more upset stomach! I finally got out of the hostel around 9:30am, but, I mean, what is there to do before that anyways? I took a realllllly long walk north along a major shopping street in Merida to Paseo de Montejo, which is a giant tree-lined street that the rich people of Merida modeled after Champs-Elysées from Paris. It has a lot of really old mansions and a museum, that kind of thing. It was pretty nice to walk along, and I got a coffee. 

When I was drinking my coffee, I found a tourist magazine that was really helpful, and it had all these maps to interesting places, particularily an organic coffee shop selling coffee from Oaxaca, Chiapas, and Veracruz. So, yes Mom I got you coffee. It was a hell of a hike to get there though, and by the time I made my way there and got the coffee I was ready for lunch. It was nice because it worked out that I was in the area of the restaurant I wanted to go to in my book! That was also a long trek, and I got there around 1pm. 

Ate some good fish for lunch, and got a taxi back to el zòcalo because I it was really really hot, and I was wearing pants. On my way back here the shops were open, so I saw some cute little places close to here that I want to check out. Right now I´m at the internet cafe that is underneath the hostel, which is really nice. 

My hostel isn´t as cool as the other ones I´ve been at. The first, in San Cristobal, was all open, with lawns and gardens, a little bar and kitchen for breakfast, and just a really cool place. One of those buildings they built into a hill, so at one point you go inside a door, and climb stairs, and you find another outdoor area. It was confusing at first, but really nice to be around. Then in Campeche, the place was really sweet. It was just a little doorway on the street with a staircase, but when you went up the stairs, there were hammocks and chairs, computers, people hanging around all over, and an open balcony onto the zòcalo. Since I wasn´t feeling well, it was the perfect place to just lounge and drink a lot of water. 

I did get to walk around the city walls, and went to a museum with my Quebec friend. That was cool, because it was a museum of all the things they found in Calakmul, the amazing jade funeral masks, and really detailed carvings. It was really awesome to see after going to the site. Campeche was a really small laid back place, so while I didn´t get to spend the full day seeing everything, I´m not worried. Plus, to get to the museum, my friend and I took a city bus! So, that was one of my crowning achievements of the trip so far actually. She spoke less Spanish than I did, but she could really get places. The bus was cool, standing room only, we hailed it off the street, all the good stuff!

This hostel now is definately an old house on the inside, but, eh, whatever. It is a bed for 10 bucks on the zòcalo. I can´t complain. I do have a big list of others, which I know there are tons here, a lot in the big old houses, and from the websites, have more of an atmosphere, but, whatever. I like this location. 

Tomorrow night at some point I´m going to Playa del Carmen. I´m debating whether or not to sleep here for a few hours then take the 3:30am bus to arrive at 8:30 and spend a full 2 days there, or whether I should take a night bus, at like 7 or 8, so that I can just wake up there and go from there. 

I found a little tiny place called Cabañas la Ruina, which is seriously on the beach, apparently it is a survivor from the hippy days and is clinging on to their property and not selling to the condos that surround it. Prime location. I can even rent a hammock to sleep in. I´m seriously considering it!

Calakmul and Campeche!

Sorry about the delay, I was in the jungle with no outside contact! I ended up leaving San Cristobal around 8pm, and not arriving in Xpujil until 4 the next day. It was rough, but ok. When I got to my hotel, it all went downhill, fast. I was going to a nice hotel with tours into the jungle and ruins. I was staying near the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, the largest reserve in Mexico, and a UNESCO world heritage site. But, turns out the hotel didn´t have cars, so, no tours, even though I had read the websites and called ahead, no one mentioned this. So, I have only enough money to go to Calakmul for the first day, and then the 2nd day walk to the ruin sites across the street and one 2km down the road. Both were cool, yes, and I was still completely surrounded by jungle, but, it was lonley and pretty boring when I didn´t have anything to do. All the people at the hotel were French, German, and Italian. The restaurant made me sick, and that was about it. But, Calakmul is AWESOME!!! I would have just gone there both days if I could have afforded it (it was an 800 peso cab ride, 2 hour drive one way, I had 1050 pesos for the whole time). I saw 2 big deer run right across teh trail, and lots of monkeys!! Spider monkeys and some other black kind that I need to look up. Tons of cool birds everywhere, and awesome trees, and the ruins are seriously amazing. You climb up above the trees, and it is absolutely breathtaking. You can see nothing but trees as far as you can see in every direction, and other pyramids sticking out of the trees. I can´t get pictures up, but I´ll show everyone as soon as I can!!


Yesterday I took the bus from Xpujil to Campeche, so I´m back in a city now. My hostel is right on Principal Parque, so right now as I type, I am looking out the window at the city cathedral! It is a great location, and great view. Last night in the dorm it was just me and a girl from Quebec. She is biking across Mexico, and has 6 months off school. She doesn´t know if she´ll stay all 6 months though. We went out and got ice cream last night.

No joke this is the view from my hostel last night. And I paid 100 pesos!!! (divide by 14 = less than $7!!!)

Today I want to walk the city walls which were built to defend against pirate attacks, and then go to a nice restaurant and eat seafood! Then just walk around and check the place out. I picked up a tour book finally, and I don´t know how I made it without one for a week! It is a lifesaver. Tonight I go to Merida for the weekend, and Sunday night I am off to Playa del Carmen!!!

Oh my god, it is also sooo hot here!!! Wednesday in the jungle, when I walked (more than) 2km to the ruins it was so blazing hot that I asked some Europena travellers for a ride back to the hotel (they were at the same place), and thank god, because I was about to pass out. And last night, I got here, and it is just roasting! I wasn´t really expecting this after Puebla. I was wearing pants everyday there, and now I´ll probably wear running shorts today because I´ll be sweating!

Ok, the breakfast is starting! I´ll write more soon. I hope I can show everyone my pictures soon, I have a lot!

update from San Cristobal de las Casas!!!

This grammer will be bad because I dont know how to use this keyboard. Not all the correct punctuation marks.

OK, so I was totally wrong on my first impression and I love this town. I went on a tour today to a giant cave, a waterfall, and some lakes. The last stop on the tour was 2 hours away from town, and I was looking across the lake at Guatemala. It was warm and sunny all morning, and then when we got to teh lakes, it started to rain and it was so foggy you could barely see 10 feet in front of you. So we were all laughing because we couldnt actually see the lakes. Oh well. I see lakes all the time. The cave and waterfall were really cool.

Friday I was a little quick to judge. I spent the day walking everywhere looking around. So, I got my bearings, and around 7 I went back to the hostel to crash, but, there were 2 girls talking in the dorm, one from scotland and one from alaska. the scottish girl and I ended up going out for a few drinks, and it turned into dancing until around 3 or 4 am...I lost track. It was awesome. We met people from France, Britian, New Zealand and Australia. Lots of Aussies here.

Now that I am around other people, I am laughing at them travelling together. I keep seeing the fights. My favorite so far was with 2 older British people, walking past me, the woman says "Throwing a fit?? Youre the one throwing a fit..." and another good one was at the zocalo, and it looks like a 20 something guy and his mom (??) and hes carrying both backpacks, and shes behind him nagging him, I think telling him she can carry her own pack or something, and he THROWS it to the ground and doesnt even look back, and keeps storming along. I smiled at that one.

Tomorrow at 9 Im going on another tour to the Cañon. So far everyone I see has done it or wants to. I get back here at 2:30, and then I have to do a tiny bit of shopping. The Alaskan girl found the coolest store today that makes their own shirts, and she got an anti-multinational one of McDeath, and then it says something about forcing out gringo businesses. I want to get one. She said there were more too.

Im still debating on when to leave. I thought the 6:30 bus stright to Campeche would be awesome, but, now that I think about it, it is roughly a 12 hour ride. So, Id be getting into the station at 6am. And the bus to Xpujil isnt until 12 and 2. So, if I wait until 8 for ADO, Id have the layover and get into Campeche in the best case scenario at 11 or 11:30, and try and catch the 12 or 2 bus... and then I could hang around here a little more too... I dont know what Ill do yet. But, Im having the time of my life. The people at the hostel are so cool I cant stand it. The Alaskan girl came from Guatemala the same day I got here, and she took a boat and 5 chicken busses here. I feel like a wussy on ADO now. Im already thinking about staying at NAP for another year so I can have another 2 month vacation, and do S. America next.

¡Hola de San Cristobal de las Casas!

Well, I made it. I got on a bus last night at 10pm and woke up in San Cristobal de las Casas. Iwalked to my hostel from the bus station to drop off my backpack, and have been wandering around ever since. I haven´t done much but scope the place out really. I drank some coffee and ate some lunch, walked more, tried to find the Cafe Museo, and now I´m sitting in some restaurant/cyber cafe, and I´m the only one here. It is pretty wierd. But, whatever.

I did find the museo, but for some reason it was only open to the cafe museo cafe (hah!). I stood at the counter for a little while to ask about the museum, but no one ever came. I have plenty of time, I´ll go back. Yeah, Rudy and Annie suggested only 2 days here, but I just really wanted to be on my way last night, I figured how bad will it be? well, they were right, but I had already reserved the room for today and tomorrow...

Good news though, when I was at the bus station, I looked for a bus to Campeche and the OCC line has one straight there. I was going to have to get a bus to backtrack an hour to Tuxtla Gutierrez and from there get another bus to Campeche. But now I can skip all that and leave a couple hours earlier at 6:20. I´m sure the bus goes through Tuxtla Gutierrez, but now I won´t have to worry about getting another bus or sit through the 2.5 hours between the two.

This city is pretty cute. I see lots if places I want to eat. A little chilly. I´m wearing jeans and a fleece and it is comfortable. Tons of tourists, well, not tourists, backpackers. My hostel is pretty cool at first glance. It is all open, and grass, and I get breakfast in the morning. This is my first ever and I feel like I´m in some kind of a club or something.

There is something special about the coffee here too, I think this state is one of the main coffee growing regions (Chiapas). So, thats why there is a coffee museum. I plan on drinking a lot of it while I´m here. : ) I saw a little shop for tours too at the zocalo, I´ll check that out after this and see where I can go.

change of plans

today I decided to leave early, so, 10pm tonight I'm on a bus to San Cristobal de las Casas!

Here is my schedule as of this moment, but, I've made like 15 of these, so, even now this might not stick, especially as it is going along. I don't know how much I will be able to get on the internet either, most of these cities should have internet cafes I can get to, but, who knows what I'll be doing.

I'm staying at hostels, and one really nice hotel in the jungle. Taking busses everywhere.


2/5 Thursday: depart Puebla 10pm for San Cristobal de las Casas. 11 hour ride, sleep on bus
2/6 Friday: arrive San Cristobal de las Casas 9am, staying at Hostel Posada
2/7 Saturday: San Cristobal de las Casas, staying at Hostel Posada
2/8 Sunday: San Cristobal de las Casas, depart 8pm for Tuxtla Gutierrez, 1 hour, get bus to Campeche 11:30, 11.5 hours, sleep on bus
2/9 Monday: arrive Campeche 11am, catch bus to Xpujil at 12 or 2, 3.5 hours, take taxi to Chicanna Ecovillage Resort (outside biosphere reserve Calakmul and ruins), arrive 4 or 6
2/10 Tuesday: Calakmul
2/11 Wednesday: Calakmul
2/12 Thursday: depart Calakmul as soon as possible, arrive Campeche sometime, staying at Hostel Pirata (Pirates used to attack this city regularly)
2/13 Friday: leave Campeche at 6:30 for Merida, arrive 9, staying at Hostel Zocalo
2/14 Saturday: Merida
2/15 Sunday: Merida
2/16: Monday: depart Merida sometime (3:30am?) for Playa del Carmen, 5 hours, staying at Hostel Popol-vuh
2/17 Tuesday: Playa del Carmen (maybe go to Cancun tonight, so I can hang around Wed.)
2/18 Wednesday: leave Playa del Carmen for Cancun, 9am, 1 hour plane leaves 1:30

The only changes I can maybe see would be taking a day away from Playa del Carmen to stay in Campeche longer, since I will probably have less than a day there total. But, depends on how much I like it and what else I would like to do.


Yes Dad, you were right. I packed up my backpack, and weeded out some unneccesary things, so I'm leaving my duffel bag here. Annie will be going to Texas in April and will mail it up to me in Michigan, because mail is unreliable in Mexico. I really didn't wait to deal with carrying it. But, now I know for next time.



Mom, you can look any of those hostels or hotel up on the internet and see them. I'll be taking ADO busses the entire way. http://www.adogl.com.mx/es/index.htm

Click on "Venta en Linea" and you can see the cities they go to. That map isn't exclusive, at the individual bus stations you can take shorter trips too, that's how I'm getting to Xpujil. You'll have to look that place up.


So, 10pm tonight it starts!!! I'm going to downtown Puebla now to drink a bunch of coffee and sangria, and eat some tacos. I'll update as much as I am able! Promise!

Teotihuacan

Pyramid of the Moon

Pyramid of the Sun
View from the top of Pyramid of the Sun

Carvings

The priests' house

Today I went to the ruins of Teotihucan outside of Mexico City. 2.5 hours to Mexico City, and then another hour to the ruins. It was a good warm up for my next few weeks.

Get out your maps, ready for this?

Friday: 10pm leave Puebla for San Cristobal de las Casas

Saturday: arrive San Cristobal 9am

Sunday: San Cristobal

Monday: San Cristobal, depart 8pm for Campeche (couple hours waiting in Tuxtla Gutierrez)

Tuesday: arrive Campeche noonish, try and find a bus outside of the city to Calakmul: biosphere reserve with ruins, think Indiana Jones movie set

Wedesday: Calakmul

Thursday: Calakmul

Friday: depart as soon as possible to Campeche, 3 hours

Saturday: Campeche, depart 6:30 For Merida, arrive in Merida 9pm

Sunday: Merida

Monday: Merida

Tuesday: depart Merida at 3:30 am for Playa del Carmen, arrive 8:30am

Wednesday: depart Playa del Carmen for Cancun 9am, plane takes off 1:30pm for Michigan

I might make some slight adjustments, Rudy says 3 days in San Cristobal might be too much, so I might just shift everything forward, leaving on Sunday night, and spend more time in Campeche or Playa del Carmen. Or Merida.

I have my bus schedule all figured out, except for how to get to the middle of the jungle from Campeche. The website for the hotel I want to stay at says there is a bus that runs there.

I have hostels lined up in each city too, and they all have tours to the ruins surrounding the city and other tourist info, so it will be an action packed trip!

When I get to Michigan I have 4 days to recover before work starts on Monday.

weekend in Huatulco

Friday we drove to Oaxaca late at night and spent the night. We were supposed to leave there at like 5 or 6 am, but, the camping stuff didn't get out of storage, so we had to wait until that was open. We ended up leaving around 12 I think. It was a 6 1/2 hour drive to Huatulco, and we went to the site of Rudy and Annie's new house. It is being built, so we put up our tents there for the night and went out to dinner.

We went to a little tourist markt looking for lifejackets, and then ate dinner on the beach. I mean, right on the beach. It was really nice and the fish was great.

Woke up the next morning as the sun was coming up, and we packed up to go to La Boquilla, which is like an hour away. We stopped and got a quick breakfast, and drove along the coast about an hour, then turned off on this one lane dirt road going off into the jungle.

But, once you saw the beach, it was amazing.

It was a tiny little thing, and no one was there. It was close to 100 degrees all day, and we spent it laying around, reading, playing volleyball, raquetball, swimming, racing, and finding rocks. It was awesome. When it started getting dark, we set up camp again there, right on the beach. There was a small hotel on the beach too. But, it was small thatched roof huts scattered around the hill, and a restaurant.

http://www.bahiadelaluna.com/

We asked them if we could eat dinner there, and they said no problem. They just had to know how many to cook for, since the hotel guests don't really have any other choices for food. Town is about an hour and a half drive. We had 2 courses, the first I think was some kind of Ecuador-ian chicken, and then the main course was Peruvian pulpo (octopus). I've had octopus before, but this was one of the best meals I've ever had. I'm going back there as soon as I can.

We looked at the stars after dinner, and in the morning we woke up for the sunrise. Around 10:30 we left because Rudy had a meeting with the architect of the house. So we stopped by the Huatulco Best Western (Annie and Rudy know the owners), ate breakfast, swam in the pool and chilled out. It was a really cute little place. Nice food, but, I haven't eaten anything in Mexico that I haven't liked. Well, I don't like the papaya and coconuts, or this tea I'm drinking. We eat papaya constantly. It is supposed to be one of the best things to eat for your stomach, so it is always around. I don't like it very much, but I eat it because people keep giving it to me.

I've also had this kind of rash on my face, I guess for about two weeks now. It started at the corners of my mouth two weeks ago. They were all dry and cracked one day, and it stayed like that for a few days, until my whole face started itching. You can't see anything on my face, but it can get pretty bad some days. At the beach, I didn't notice it once. So, the salt water helped it out a lot, but then yesterday, when we left, it went crazy. The Oaxaca crowd was very concerned, so they gave me this bag of leaves for a tea that will help me. But, it tastes absolutely awful.

Today is my one month mark in Mexico. Now I have 2 weeks until I leave. Today is my planning day for my adventure. I don't plan on being in one place for more than 3 days over the next 2 weeks. I'll be in Puebla until Thursday, today going back downtwon for the last time, then trying to get to the big ruins outside Mexico City tomorrow, and Thursday doing some climbing at teh volcanoes. Friday I go to Oaxaca, and spend the weekend with Areli, who is still the only person I can understand. I'll leave there Monday, and try to hit up San Cristobal de las Casas, Villahermosa, Cuidad del Carmen, Campeche, Merida and end up in Cancun/ Playa del Carmen on the 18th to come back to Michigan nice and tan!

Hey everyone, its been a slow couple days in Puebla after the weekend. I´ve been back to my normal routine of going to class and hanging around the city reading, window shopping, going to free museums on Tuesdays, eating, drinking lots of good coffee, and having a few cocktails. I haven´t bought anything in Mexico except my futbol jersey. I want to get a couple more before I come home too. I´ll have to pick up a few souveniers before I come home too. But, I think my pictures will be really nice. I´ve got some great ones.

This tomorrow we leave for Huatulco. Well, we go to Oaxaca tomorrow, then early Sat. morning we go the rest of the way to Huatulco. It is going to be a long, bumpy slow ride on narrow dirt roads through the mountains (thats why we flew in 2000). I can´t wait to be on the beach, go snorkelling, and hiking. We´re camping on the beach, it is going to be awesome. The kids don´t have school Monday.

When I get back from the beach, I´ll have about 2 weeks left in México, so it will be time to pack up and go see as much as I can before coming back to the snow! Annie says she´ll take me back up to El Paso de Cortez so I can climb a volcano. I´ll stick around Puebla and do everything I forgot about the past 3 weeks while I was in school. I think I want to go back to Oaxaca and hang out for a few days, with Areli and Rudy´s family, and I know that I want to go to Cancun/Playa del Carmen the weekend before I leave so I can spend the last few days seeing ruins, jungle, and laying on the beach doing nothing. There are a few days, like 5/6 days in between Oaxaca and the Yucatan though, so I´ll find somewhere exciting to go. I think the days are going to start flying by. I can´t believe I have been here for 3 weeks.

UPDATE DAMMIT

Well, I wrote that we would be going to Mexico City for the weekend, but that isn´t exactly what ended up happening.

Friday night we were waiting to see wheter Rudy might have to go into work or not. He didn´t, but Franki had a basketball game at 9am Saturday.

It would get over at 10ish and we could go to the bus station. But, things weren´t really planned out, and we didn´t have a hotel, or really any idea what we were going to go see (which wasn´t a big deal because Annie lived there for a while, she and Rudy could come up with things on the fly), and people needed to pack, and we needed to find a bus with 6 seats on it....

So Saturday morning we were still planning on going, the opposing team didn´t show up to the game, but Franki´s team had to wait around to get the forfeit. They got back and we ate tamales and drank orange juice, and it just didn´t look like Saturday was going to work out. So, I settled in with Harry Potter 5 in the sun and chilled out.

Then we got the idea to drive up to El Paso De Cortez! The pass between Popocatépetl e Iztaccíhuatl. So everyone geared up and off we drove. We drove like an hour up this winding mountain dirt road full of rocks and bumps. It was pretty cool. We were also very late in the day, so we were there for the sunset and it wasn´t crowded at all. We were getting out and taking pictures the whole way up. This was the closest Annie, Rudy & co. have been to the volcano after many failed attempts. When you get to the pass, there is a little tourist house, and trailheads. I want to get back up there sometime and climb Iztaccihuatl. It is the sleeping lady. I have a TON of pictures I can put up later. But, it was pretty awesome to get up there. Then we stopped at the bus station and got tickets for the first bus leaving Puebla for Mexico City. 6am!!

Izta

To tell you the truth I was much happier going to the volcano. It was nice to finally be out of a city for the first time. I don´t know how I would have coped with 2 days in Mexico City after seeing it Sunday. Plus, now I know there is hiking in the mountains around here and where to go. It was tricky finding the place, they don´t really advertise, you just have to know its there.

Popo

5:00am Sunday: we´re up. 5:30 we´re on our way to the bus station. 6am - 8am: on the bus. 8:15-9something: subways in Mexico City. 9:20ish we´re pilgramaging with thouands of people to La Basilica!!!

The road up to it was just FULL of people going to church. They have masses at every hour, and even then, people are crowding outside the doors to hear. We ended up missing the one we wanted to get to at 9. At the 9 oclock mass they have singing, for teh others they used recordings. The place is huge. It is a whole compound of gardens, churches, museums, cemetaries and a gigantic open square for whatever.

The Basilica is actually falling into the ground right now. I don´t know, it is kind of sad, they build Mexico City on a lake, just filled it in, and then from watching a video at the Basilica, Mexico City pretty much drained the water table underneath it, so the Basilica started sinking into the ground. One of the most famous things in one of the world´s biggest cities, you´d think maybe they´d discuss anything about water usage, but they just keep plowing along, or look at a better way of doing things than reactionary measures. They have pillars in the ground underneath the new one so it doesn´t sink into the ground with the rest of the place.

Another kind of depressing sight was the tackiness of so much of the place. Inside the capilla, the best looking thing in the place, they have made a gift shop selling trinkets in the ´lobby´. And the floor is covered in old tape where they were taping down cords and peeling it up, but not getting it all. I don´t know. I was hoping for more grandeur, not paper Santa Claus faces hanging from the rafters...

You can´t really even go inside the Basilica, because all of the arches are all being held up with gigantic scaffoldings.

The current Basilica is insanely huge and so 1970´s you cringe. But, you can´t deny the size of the place, and how many thousands go to church there every Sunday. On Wikipedia it says there is sitting space for 10,000, and when we were in there, we were standing room only in the back with crowds outside the doors. And it never eased up.

They really love John Paul II too. Statues of him EVERYWHERE. Big and small.

After this, we went to El Zocalo. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh. My. God. There was some kind of demonstration going on, I honestly don´t think I will ever see the numbers of people anywhere else as I did Sunday. That was the big impression of Mexico City: PEOPLE PEOPLE PEOPLE.

We hung around looking at the cathedral at the zocalo, which is much cooler than the Basilica, but the story at the Basilica is cooler. This place had columns the size of Seqoias.

We ended up eating lunch at a restaurant in a nice hostel. We hadn´t planned on that, but we were sp hungry we went to the first place we saw. Then, back on the subway to go to the FUTBOL GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is the one thing I knew wanted to do on this trip.

We went to Amèrica v. Toluca in a stadium seating 105,000. Estadio Azteca hosted the 1968 Olympics and two world cups.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estadio_Azteca

This place was amazing. I bought a jersey for #9 and he scored a goal. They didn´t turn on the scoreboard at the game. I don´t know if they just didn´t, or they didn´t so that the fans couldn´t see the score and have something to either celebrate or be angry about. I thought we were up 3-1 when we left, turns out the game ended in a tie 2-2. We had to leave early because of the kids. Our cab driver told us 2 or 3 times to leave early because things almost always get crazy after the game. All I know is that I want to see more futbol games. It was awesome seeing all the barded wire around the stadium to keep the sections of the stadium separated. There were riot police surrounding the really rowdy sections and the Toluca fans.

We got to the bus station, bought more movies and then came back to Puebla. Then everyone crashed into bed. 5:00am - 10:00pm.

weekend plans

We´re going to Mexico City tomorrow!!!

Basketball

Today I left downtown early to see the kids play in their basketball games. Max and Lex played at 4 at the American school and Franki played at 5 at IMEX, the school the kids attend. So I hung out with Franki while Annie took the boys to the other school and came back. IMEX won their game, 18-8, and Max scored 11 of the points!!!! So everyone was in good spirits. Lex is erally sick right now, so he didn't play much in this game.

Franki's team tied the game in the last second, which was exciting.

I have been keeping track of Spartan Basketball, and I see they lost tonight at home. Bad news.

2nd week in school

Well, it is now my 2nd week in school, and I've stopped getting picked up at 1:30 by Annie. Now I wander around until I feel like coming home, and I grab a taxi. Yesterday it was 70 pesos, today it was 50. I think the exchange rate is somewhere around 13 or 14 pesos to the dollar, so, it is really cheap.

This is nice now, because when I was getting picked up everyday, I didn't wander too far so that I could always be back to the school waiting. Plus, walking around the areas by my school always gave me a bad headache, I think from the exhaust from all the cars, so I never lasted long before I ducked into my favorite coffee shop across the street.

Yesterday I found the most amazing place to hang out though, so I've been there the last two days doing my homework and reading Harry Potter.

I just took these from my seat outside. I told myself I'd take more today, but I didn't.

This place is really nice, because the streets are blocked off, and even if they aren't, they are small one lane streets with little traffic. So, this place is nice and relaxing, music is playing, people are walking around, things like that. Super chill and exactly what I want. Today I kept finding other streets like this, with different shops. This particular one is called Barrio del Artistas.

My teacher also told me I could get into some museums for free today, but I didn't... There are so many here, and one of the best is on the next block over from my school. I couldn't find the door today when I went by it.

OH! haha, so today I told my teacher I wanted to have more conversations in class. So, she marched me down to the zocalo and made me ask people what their names were, where they were from, how old they were, and what they do for a living, and also ask people for directions to different places. Those were always the worst, when I asked for directions, and when they told me, I walked in a completely different direction to get back to Lola. It was even better asking directions to things that I didn't know, like when I went up and said what Lola told me, and turns out I was asking someone where the bar distric was, alone, at 11:30 in the morning. She kept assuring me that these were all famous places.

I guess I shouldn't make myself out to be so outgoing. I tried whining a bit to get out of it, then when we got to the zocalo, I found a reason why each person looked like they didn't want to be bothered. So it was lots of walking around, being embarassed, trying to avoid talking to anyone. In the end, I asked 2 people the questions about themselves, and 3 people directions. I only got shot down once for directions.

Anyone want to send me an e-mail about the Obama inauguration? I was in class until 1 Michigan time. I just read about it online, and saw the tail end on TV. Anything noteworthy?

molly.kathleen.murphy@gmail.com

http://gomexico.about.com/od/colonialcities/ss/puebla_walking.htm

Mom, you'll like this. I just found some really cool pictures from around Puebla, with some background info. It is set up as a walking tour around the city. Maybe I can try this sometime, I want to see that meringue house, the theatre, and the revolutionary museum. I saw a sign for that theatre today, I can't wait to check it out.

A weekend in Oaxaca

We arrived Friday night at about one in the morning, so we all just went straight to bed. I woke up Saturday morning at 8, while everyone else slept til around noon. It was so warma and sunny, I just sat outside on the patio waiting for everyone to get up. We had a huge breakfast, and Annie told me that we would get a cooking lesson!! Annie's favorite Mexican food is made in Oaxaca, and it is an artform. Chilies stuffed with all sorts of things, battered and fried. But, the cook likes to do everything, so we mainly watched and took pictures, trying to remember all the steps. Me, Franki, and the boys played tenis and badmitton all day in the tiny driveway.

We all sat down to dinner, and the food was SOOOOO GOOD!!!!!! Well, everything so far has been awsome, but this was especially good. The chilies weren't hot, but perfect.

After dinner, at 6, the boys, their grandpa, and me all went to a park so we could play our games and run around more. On our way there we saw a white tiger in a cage on the back of a truck. We played tenis and badmitton next to a fountain. Then we got ice cream bars, but they weren't really ice cream. It was more like a sherbert thing, but not even that really. I had lime crema. Then we piled back into the Volkswagon Bug and went home.

Later that night Annie, Rudy, kids, Areli and me all went to el zocalo. On our way there, the street was PACKED with stalls selling food, and clothes, toys, everything. People everywhere. We parked, and walked through a park, past big churches, some kind of a show, and just city nightlife, and got to a restaurant. We had sangria while the boys played tag the whole time.

Then everyone kept talking about this corn. So me, Areli, and the kids went on a mission for corn on the cob. We had to walk a couple blocks down some streets to find some cheap ones. They pound it onto a stick, rub a lime on it, spread on mayonaise, cover it in something like a mix of parmeasan and mozerella cheese, and then if you want some chili powder. I said I didn't want a whole one and asked someone to split one with me, and of course the next thing I know I get a whole corn from Areli.

Walking back, we see fireworks in the air and a monsterous spinning sparkler coming our way. there is some kind of traditional parade coming our way, complete with fireworks, gigantic spinning ball, a band, and two people on stilts. It makes it's way all the way to el zocalo, and goes right past our table!

There were even girls with huge dresses carrying things on their heads like fruit and flowers, they stopped right in front of us and did a dance!!

Sometime after that we went home.


Sunday: I again woke up around 8, while everyone else got up around 10:30ish. We were supposed to go out for breakfast at the zocalo, then go to church, but everyone was late, so we stayed at home. Another giant breakfast of dinner leftovers, tortillas, taquitos, salsas, guacamole, beans, cheese, watermelon, papaya, hot chocoalte, and.... BEER! I never thought a beer would be as hard to drink as that first beer at an MSU tailgate: 6am in the dark, but whew, I could barely get it down.

Mom: on a side note: we drink that kind of hot chocoalte you have every single day here. I thought you'd like that. What we do though, is break the bricks into small pieces, so you can throw in as much as you like, heat up the milk, then throw it all ni a blender. It is a lot faster.

After breakfast, we all pile into cars and go downtown, to Santo Domingo for church!! It was awesome and distracting.

After church, we made our way back to the zocalo for ice cream and frappucinos. Annie, Rudy and I went to the market after that, while everyone else did who knows what. They were doing their grocery shopping while I was on a mission for cute, cheap jewlery and purses. It was a lot of fun. I wanted to stay there longer, I wanted to buy a lot there. But, we'll be back. Rudy bought crickets. The boys love them, chapulinas. We stopped by to get some meat too, it was all in one section. They have the meat, you pick what you want, and they grill it right there for you, so there were about 10 grills going, with 2 people fanning each one, so the whole place smelled like a barbeque. It smelled amazing. We ate it all when we got home before we took off.

We also stopped by a stand of pirated movies!! That was exciting. We got like 15, including Benjamin Button, the new Will Smith movie, Bolt, a Britney Spears CD with 119 songs on it, Australia, Valkyrie, and more that I can't remember. Mom, I got you Mama Mia for $1.50 as a present.

On the ride home I played some monster octopus game with the kids in the car. It got pretty crazy in the backseat.

The teachers have taken to the streets!

On our way to school yesterday, I saw like 20 trucks full of SWAT Team or military or something driving around Puebla Centre, near my school. And all during class we kept hearing these loud booms. So after class, I was hoping to see what was going on. I went for my normal walk,a nd saw the SWAT teams just driving around. I wanted to take a picture but I didn´t want to get in trouble or anything. I end up at el zocalo, and there is something not normal about it. And I start just taking pictures of the place, because I don´t have any yet, when a crowd of people come marching down the streets chanting and cheering. So I sat on a bench to watch. I figure out it is the public school teachers plus supporters. And they all stop in the middle of the street and someone with a microphone and speakers starts talking, people cheering, chanting, everything. It was pretty cool.

So I stuck around for a while, taking pictures and looking around. It was cool, because of the demonstration, all the roads were closed. So I got a lot of cool pictures from places I wouldn´t normally be able to stand.

As I was about to leave, I hear another comotion coming our way, and it is a whole nother group! This one was led by a lady on a microphone, which was hooked up to a car, and using the car speakers. They were for the same cause, and when they met up with the first group there was lots of cheering and chanting.

I have some good pictures I will put up when I get a chance.

I never did find out what the loud booms were. They continued through the rally, but, I didn´t know how to find them.

My teacher said today that these protests happen all the time. I hope there are some exciting ones, everyone was just siting on benches and steps listening to the people on the microphones.

Last night it started raining, and rained all night long. Today, around 10 it started up again, and my school lost power. It looks like the sun is out now.

We´re going to Oaxaca tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Going out in Cholula

Well, last night I went out to a bar/club for the first time with Mariana and her friends. It was pretty wild. You just buy bottles of alcohol and have them on your table, and you make your drinks yourself. There were tons of people, and everyone just danced and sang along at the top of their lungs. I made some friends, at least for the night, so that was good. We got home at like 2:30 and now I´m at class. Just like the old days.

More later.

My first day of school!!!

Ok, I didn´t write this because I was busy studying and watching Harry Potter. Oh my god, I never thought it would happen to me. We have pirated movies 1-5. I don´t know if I mentioned this, but we buy pirated movies in Mexico for like $1 or $1.50, instead of the $20 you´d pay in a real store. The quality is usually just fine, sometimes it freezes up in a stop, but then starts again. We even have Twilight. You see all the movies in theatres for sale here already.

Ok, so school. I am the only student, since I signed up for the individual class because I didn´t want to commit to 6 hours a day, for 4 weeks. That was too much. So I come in 9-12 everyday.

So I get there a little before 8:30 because I have to take a placement test. Oh man, I end up getting 5 out of 20 right. And then, I have to write a paragraph. I have two choices of topic, I choose have you studies Spanish before, where, when, how long, why do you want to learn now. I write a whopping 3 sentences saying something like "I study in school for 2 years. I live with my family in Puebla. I study there. I have a friend from Argentina, we study little."

So, in class I learn how to say I am, so I ramble off things like "I am short, I have brown hair, I have brown eyes, I am an ecologist, I am American, etc." and then I talk about people I know and say the same things about them.

After class, I went over to the Zocalo and read Harry Potter in the sun and ate my sandwiches that Areli packed me for lunch.

Then, I walked back towards the school, because I had about 40 minutes before I got picked up, and I wanted to check out the coffee shop across the steet. I went in the little place, and it is really really nice. A nice old looking glass bar, little tables and chairs, its jst a pretty cool place. I got a menu and ordered a cappucuino frio con vanilla. (It didn´t come with vanilla, I asked it on my own, I felt like I really accomplished something). This drink she brought me was a pure masterpiece. Oh my god, I don´t think I will ever have anything as good as that. It was thick and frothy with whipped cream and cinnamon on top, I was trying to save it so long so that it wouldn´t end that after at least 20 minutes of sitting there I had to drink down a quarter of it because Areli was going to be there soon. It cost like $2.40. I´m going back everyday. I felt bad too, because I was the only person to come in the whole time I was there. But, I mean it must get business sometime, because it looks like it has been there a while.

After that awesome coffee, I went outside to stand on the street so Areli could see me. And some guy is like "Ella! Ella!" and I´m like, "oh, god, this guy wants to sell me something, and I can´t talk." But no, it was hilarious. This guy looked really rough, wearing a bandana, and just starts talking, and realizes I don´t understand and switches to English. And he is saying he spends a lot of time in America, and his English isn´t so good, so he talks in English, me in Spanish. He tried to teach me how to roll my rr´s, I try and help him with his "th" sounds. Thenhe teaches me some words, says goodbye, and wanders off down the street. It was pretty funny to talk to him. Areli showed up a few minutes later.

Areli and I went to get the boys from school. It is like super security lockdown there, wow. When we drop them off, someone comes up and opens the door, and they watch the kids go into the gates. Then, to pick them up, you have to go into the school and find them, and there are guards at all the exits so that no kids can leave without someone. Lex forgot his lunchbox, so we pulled up to the door and he ran in, and they wouldn´t let him out even though we were in the car right there, we had to go talk to the guard.

I got home and did all my homework for a few days, because it is all stuff I know. I hope I don´t get in trouble, but come on, if I know it already, lets get to the good stuff.

Tonight Areli, Mariana, and I are going out drinking.

Estan Aqui!

I can't figure out how to turn them the right way, so I'm sorry, but deal with it.

Lex:

Max playing air hockey with Marianna.

They boys are here, along with Areli and Mariana, who I think is 21 or something. Somewhere around there. I think last night I started to understand Spanish for the first time. I have the funniest pictures. The boys were obsessed with playing air hockey, and I beat both of them once, then lost to Max.

Mi familia: Areli was asking all about you guys, I showed her the pictures from Orlando. She can't believe how tall Alan is. Then we all talked about that trip.

Rudy and I took the water jugs with us yesterday because we missed the truck that drives around, but we forgot to fill them up. So last night, the only water we had was one pitcher, and we drank it all. So, we are out of water today, untill we get to a store. I actually think that is all we had to drink too, I don't think there is anything in the house. Haha

She brought cheese from Oaxaca. It is the best cheese I've ever had. I need to figure out how to get some home. I also ate a fruit Rudy calls boogers. I'm not sure what the real name is, but I think it is actually Spanish for boogers maybe. It is yellow on the ouside, like a pear, and you tear it open, and there are seeds inside. It is almost like a pomegranate, but, insteadof neatly packed, bright red seeds, it is like this mushy loose seed, and they are this absolutely nasty green color. But, you eat them, and they are amazing. I'm going to take pictures of this next time I eat one. You won't believe it, but they are really good.

Today we are going to the market to get groceries. And we'll see the smallest volcano in the world!!

Areli is staying at least until tomorrow, I know she is taking the kids to school and me to school. Maybe she is staying until Annie gets back? I don't know. Marianna goes to school in Puebla.

on a mission to find a machine to make bricks

Today Rudy and I went out on an adventure to Nealtican to find a quality, and inexpensive brick making machine. We could never find the place that we were originally looking for, and we ended up at 4 or 5 other brick making places, talking to them about how many bricks each machine can make at a time, how many people are needed to operate it, and how soon it can be ready. It was a good time.

Rudy wants to make his own bricks in Huatulco to build his house, and then continue making bricks and sell them so he can retire in 5 years.

We stopped at a roadside stand where a young guy was selling fresh-squeezed orange juice for 50 cents. It was the best stuff I've ever had. I'm already addicted.

We drove close to volcano, Popocatépetl, because Nealtican was closer to it than we are. So I took a lot more pictures. Nice and clear and smoke coming out the top.

After that, we drove to Cholula and ate a couple quesadillas for lunch and looked at an old pyramid. The quesadillas were made up right there. We had mushrooms on them. The base of this pyramid is larger than any in Egypt. It was conqured like 4 times, and each time covered over in dirt and made into whatever religious symbol the conquerers had. So, right now it is a huge Catholic church.

We went downtown after that and found my school. It is just a door with no sign. But, we looked at the website, and we were at the right place. There is a cute coffee shop across the street and I am about 4 blocks from the Zocalo.

Max and Lex will be here within the hour.

So, everytime I post these, it records the time as 2 hours earlier than it really is. it is 4:09.

My school

This is the Spanish school I am going to next week: http://www.sipuebla.com/index.htm

The best part is, look at this page: http://www.sipuebla.com/pictures1.htm

Those are the things that are within 12 blocks of the school. It is right downtown, in the area we were last night. So, I can go to school from 9-12, and spend the rest of the day walking around the churches, zocalo, restaurants, etc.

Mom: Yes, I packed ok. the only thing is that I don't think I brought enough warm things. It gets really cold at night. Right now I am in pants and a sweatshirt. Last night I was wearing a sweater, and it was still a little too chilly, but not unbearable. Especially when drinking sangria! But, this can be fixed. It is unbelieveably hot during the day. All day the weather says it is like 40-50, but I swear, I'm in my shorts and bathing suit top lying out and I am sweating. The sun is so hot, warmer than any day in Orlando last week.

I will track down your vanilla. I don't need anything. I do have a little tan after being outside all day yesterday and today, and no, I didn't get burned. I go outside for a while, then I come in for a while. I already finished my 2 books that I have. So, I think I might start reading kids books in Spanish.

Zocalo

Last night around 9 Rudy and I went downtown to dinner. We ate at a really nice pizza place on the Zocalo. Saw the HUGE churches and government buildings, etc, it is really really awesome down there. I didn't take any pictures last night, because I knew I'd be back.

From what I can remember, and looking at pictures, it is just like Oaxaca, restaruants opening out to the street, big trees, people all around, big churches all around. I think this one becomes a market on the weekends too.

We ate piza and drank a lot of sangria. It was fun. We paid some guy on the street a little bit to park right under the no parking signs across the street from the restaurant, and then as we were eating, they washed the whole car.

We got back at almost 1am. Good dinner.

I really hope my school is within walking distance from the downtown, so I can just hang out there all day. I can't wait to get pictures. Apparently, during the day, the streets are like a parking lot. No one moves because there are so many people.

There is a great view of the volcano off of our balcony in the back of the house, but I can't get the door open to get out there. You can't see it during the day, so I didn't even know it was there until last evening when I glanced out the window. But Rudy said it is great in the morning too, and sure enough, it is perfectly clear. I would look at the pictures on Flickr, rather than try and get most of tehm up here, because they have much better quality on that site.

Annie says I get one more day of English with Rudy. The boys might come today, or Saturday, or Sunday, we're not sure, but when they get here it is Spanish all the way. When they get a chance to speak in English, they just go crazy and don't stop talking, so I'll tough it out and stammer along.

First day not travelling

This goes out to all you Michigan readers. Today I got a tan and finished my book. It is blazing hot here when the sun is up.

The twins come home tomorrow. That should be wild. I won't be able to understand a word they say I'm sure.

Rudy should be home any minute now. Today is his 1 year anniversary in Mexico, so we are going out to dinner to celebrate.

We went grocery shopping and it was fun. I learned a lot of nouns. He said normally they go to the market for all fruits and vegetables. I am excited for that.

Rudy bought the Three Kings bread they eat for the holiday. There was a lot still in the store. I didn't get a chance to take a picture because we got home and ate it. It is a ring of bread/cake and it has candy and some kind of sugary-cookie on top. In it are two little figurines, and whoever gets the pieces with them in it has to buy everyone dinner sometime. Rudy found one in his piece.

Monday I start school, it is official.

I figured out how to get pictures on this thing.

The volcano. It is actually about 2 hours away. Can you see the smoke? I think it is smoke because there hasn't been a cloud in the sky all day.
Our street:

I've been listening to the radio all day. It is a cool station Rudy has. Shakira is MUCH better in Spanish.

Pictures up on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33208877@N04/

I'm trying to link to the pictures. See if this works. On Flickr, I am Sparty_on05

Arrival!!

I made it to Puebla with no major catastrophes!! Lots of nodding my head to things I didn't understand. But, so far it has always gotten me to where I am supposed to me.

Flying into Cancun: impressions: I have never seen such a large expanse of trees in my life. Already excited for the bus ride.

Shuttle to the bus station: $14. I pile in with 10 other people, all going to really nice hotels on the beach. I have also never seen water that color before. Excited again. I try and talk to the driver after it was just me and him. Total failure. We end up talking in English.

Bus station: my biggest adventure in Spanish. I walk in, and I see ADO GL, the line that I wanted tickets for. It says the price that I know is what I looked at online, but it says 10:00 and 1:00 everyday. Well.... It was 3:30 in the afternoon. Am I going to have to stay overnight?? Shit. I use my trusty "wander around just looking at everything" move at this point, and I see another ticket line, this one says Puebla too, at 5:00. But this isn't what I had looked at. I thought this is one of the not as nice busses. So I just march up to the ticket counter for ADO GL and Say my line "Yo necisito un boleta para Puebla." Crash and burn. This sets of a whole lot of things I don't understand. I repeat "Puebla." I'm feeling like an idiot. She shows me the screen, and sure enough, this is the right place, on the computer it is showing the 4:30 and 7:30 bus departures. Whew. I get a ticket. Not a window seat though. I try and ask where I take my bag to go under the bus. Keep in mind, I am now reduced to pointing and nodding. She points and says waiting room. OK. I take my little ticket, which I am not even sure is actually a ticket, it looks more like a reciept, and I start wandering. I see people sitting. I go there. I sit and get out my Spanish dictuonary and translate every sign I see. I see the luxury waiting area, I read the exit signs, but I can't figure out how to know which door to get to. I mean, it is like 3:55 at this point. So I wander back to the ticket area, and I see the luggage check. I walk up, and stand there for a while, and someone helps me. He looks at my ticket, and points back to the waiting area. I nod, and walk away. No idea what I'm doing. Then I look at my ticket, and I decide that "Executive" means luxury. I walk to the guard at the door, and sure enough, he lets me in, and there is my luggage check! Whew! Get that taken care of, and I sit.

So I'm sitting, and the luxury waiting room only has one door to the busses, which is the Meridia bus, so I figure the Puebla bus will pull up there. An attendant walks through announcing Meridia, so I figure the same will happen with Puelba. At about 4:20, I see the guard approach someone who I had seen walking around. She looked European, and she was alone. He pointed to the door, she thanked him and hurried out. This gets me nervous. So I start translating everything around me again. Then the guy next to me asks "Habla Espanol?" I shake my head no. He motions to the loud speakers, asking if I understand them. I say no. He looks at my ticket and points to the door. I yell thank you as I'm running away. Get on the bus for Mexico City and 5 minutes later, away we go. It was close. But, I made it.

I sit by the same guy (except for 10ish pm to 8amish, when the bus was almost empty), and we don't say a word to each other. Good times. I end up making friends with the European girl from earlier. She was from Denmark, and was going to Puebla too. Yay!! She translated things for me and we became a team whenever we had to get off the bus, so that we didn't miss it. It had already happened to her once.

Drove through jungle, farms, and mountains. It was pretty sweet. Lots of cows wandering around, sheep, goats, donkeys. The area near Cancun looked like a rainforest. The mountains were sweet, covered in trees. I have never in my life seen so many trees. Trees as far as the eye can see. No exits covered in fast food chains and bright lights every two miles. Just trees and small farms. It was a nice change of pace from I-75. OH!! And night time was actually dark!

So, I get to Puebla, but the cell phone isn't working to call Rudy, so Sasha and I get taxis, exchange information, and I'm off speeding towards what I hope is Annie and Rudy's house. I'm calling Annie, Mom, Dad, Alan, and Carlos trying to figure out what the Mexico Country Code is to call, because when I tried Rudy's phone from my Michigan phone, it doesn't work. On a whim, I try it again, and it goes through! So, now I know I have to deal with the panic I just caused in all of my family members. The cab drops me off at the right place, and about 20 minutes later Rudy shows up!

We just went out to a really nice dinner in a mall. I froze up again and was unable to speak, but we're working on that.

Rudy had to stop at work again for a little bit. Then we're going grocery shopping.

More tomorrow about this awesome little house!!! I need a shower. Bad.