Veracruz

After not returning home from our Thanksgiving celebration until 4:30, I quickly packed for my next trip, slept for an hour, got up to shower, and took the very crowded bus to CAPU to meet Miki at 8. We bought our tickets and took the 8:30 bus to Veracruz. It was only a 4-hour trip, which after a couple of 13-hour rides, and a night with little sleep, passed very quickly. We arrived in Veracruz around 12:30, and took a taxi to our hotel, which was right across from the beach, and offered a great view of the city. We were both hungry, so we had an early lunch at VIPS, comparable to Applebee’s in the States, and I had a great batch of french toast. It was kind of cloudy, and looked like it might rain, so we decided to go to the famous aquarium, supposedly the largest and most impressive in Latin America. If you had never been to an aquarium before, or maybe not one in the United States, it probably would have been impressive. But, it wasn’t all that large, and I just kept asking myself “where are the sharks?” and “when is their going to be a show with Shamu and Flipper like Sea World?” There were a lot of large and odd fish, and some interesting displays, but nothing to write home about.

The aquarium is in this large plaza that has areas to shop, other museums, and a simulation ride. Since Miki had never been on one, I knew it was something she had to experience, and we went on a “rollercoaster ride”. Her reactions and expressions were more enjoyable than the ride itself! After this adventure, we walked and walked looking for the Zocalo area, which was no easy task with gale force winds. There was still evidence of the hurricane that hit the city back in September, and after walking in that crazy wind, I can only imagine how intense and damaging the hurricane had to be. We spent a little time in the Zocalo, and then took a taxi back to our hotel to rest and relax. We ended up falling asleep and woke up around 9. Neither of us really felt like going out, and just decided to walk down the street to Subway for dinner, and then call it an early night.

Saturday morning we got up and walked to McDonald’s for a great pancake breakfast. I obviously have taken full advantage of the Mexican cuisine and seafood on recent vacations…not. We wanted to spend some time on the beach, so we walked to the beach, and laid out for a bit. But, it didn’t last long, as it was just as windy as it was the day before, and we got tired of rubbing sand out of our eyes and spitting sand out of our mouths. However, the warmth and the sun were greatly appreciated. We went back to the hotel to shower and change, and then Miki wanted some seafood, so we went to a restaurant on the beach where she got her fix, and after went back to Subway for me. Then, we met Bryce, who had arrived that afternoon, near the aquarium, and took a taxi to the Fort of San Ulua. San Juan de Ulua is a grouping of prisons, fortresses, and a palace that overlooks Veracruz, and it was very large and impressive. There were many locations for photo-ops, and a lot of history and information to take in. We spent a couple of hours there, and then returned to the aquarium plaza so Bryce could go to the aquarium, and Miki and I went to Aunque Ud. No Lo Crea (Ripley’s Believe it or Not). Of course all the abnormalities and oddities at Ripley’s are always amusing, but there was one exhibit that was especially entertaining.

At the beginning of the museum, there are some statistics and a couple of pictures of people making strange shapes and doing strange things with their tongues. Behind these displays is a large mirror where people can try to copy these odd movements. Of course, being so talented, I took the opportunity to show Miki that I can indeed roll my tongue, and I can also make the 3-leaf clover. After attempting these shapes, you continue through the museum until you reach the last room, where there is a sign that says, “Do you remember this?” Here, you learn that the mirror for the tongue movements is a two-way mirror and everyone can see you attempting to make these shapes. It was absolutely hysterical to watch people think about: 1) should they even try it or are they two composed and mannered for that and 2) how in the world do people actually do these things with their tongues. We stayed in this room for at least 20 minutes, enjoying the ridiculous faces and attempts of others. However, I am sure I put on quite the show for others early in the afternoon.

That evening we returned to the hotel to relax for a bit, and then went to a restaurant/bar down the street, named Rumbumba. Once again taking advantage of the food, I ordered chicken nuggets and fries to go along with my pina colada. However, Bryce and Miki both ordered seafood dishes and said they were great. We enjoyed eating out on the deck, hearing the waves crash below us, and listening to a decent band. Not knowing where else to go and not feeling like walking all the way to the Zocala area, we called it a night around 11.

Sunday morning we pressed snooze three or four times before finally getting up and heading back to the beach. It was a much nicer day, with little wind, less clouds, and a higher temperature. The weather made such a difference, so we spent our last couple of hours on the beach, and then went back to quickly shower and change. Then, we went back to the bus station and made the 4-hour journey back to Puebla. I am sure Veracruz had a lot more to offer, and a few more days on the beach would have been wonderful, but for a short weekend, and our last weekend of travel for the semester, it was fun and relaxing. 

Pictures from Veracruz:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=254060&id=648162615

Thanksgiving

While all of you were feasting on turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and pumpkin pie, and taking your post-feast naps, we were taking an exam for one of our classes. It was strange that no body was at work or school in the States, and everyone had statuses relating to Thanksgiving day, while we continued with everyday life. It’s obvious that Mexico does not celebrate Thanksgiving, as the Pilgrims did not first settle in Mexico, but it was odd to miss a major holiday nonetheless. We knew that we wanted to celebrate Thanksgiving and have our own feast, but since it is near impossible to find a turkey in Mexico, and since the preparation seemed like more than we really wanted to take on, we decided we would have an Italian Thanksgiving dinner.

So, after dance class, we attempted to take a taxi to an Italian restaurant in Cholula that our cooking teacher had recommended to us. However, there are two different parts of Cholula, and we told the taxi driver the wrong one, so after a 45 minute taxi ride, which is really about a 10 minute ride, we arrived at the restaurant to find a sign on the door that said they owners were on vacation and wouldn’t return until December 2^nd. So, back to the other part of Cholula we went and found another Italian restaurant in the Zocalo area. We all ate way too much pizza, salad, and pasta, but it was excused since we were celebrating Thanksgiving. After spending far too long at the restaurant, we went to the bar/club area of Cholula and went to a club called Ming. We had a great time dancing and making new friends, but not exactly your typical Thanksgiving evening! 

Pictures from our Thanksgiving dinner are at the end of this album:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=236420&id=648162615

A Weekend in Paradise: Huatulco

Thursday after dance class, we rushed off to CAPU bus station to begin our next little journey. We would be heading back to the beaches of Oaxaca, but this time to a town called Huatulco, and we would have four full days there. We loaded the bus around 8 that night, and with extra seats so we were able to spread out in our own seats and without a medical episode, the 13-hour bus ride passed quickly.

We arrived in Huatulco around 9 in the morning on Friday, and since we had not made reservations at a hotel and there are no hostels in Huatulco, we asked the taxi driver to take us to a nice, but cheap hotel somewhere near the beach. And that he did. Our hotel was a two to three minute walk across the street from the beach, and located in the Bay of Chahue. Huatulco is made up of 9 different bays, each with its own unique qualities, and while we were there, we were able to visit 5 of the 9. We checked into the hotel, changed our clothes, and rushed off to the beach to soak up the sun. It was absolutely gorgeous, and after an unusually cold week in Puebla, the beach was perfect. The waves were strong, but not nearly as intense as those in Puerto Escondido. We spent the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon on the beach, before walking into the center area to have a seafood lunch. After, we returned to the hotel to shower and relax for a bit. We were all tired, so decided to take a short power nap, and intended to get up to watch the sunset. Three hours later we woke up to the darkness of night. That night we walked back to the center area to the cinema, and they somehow convinced me to see Harry Potter, which had come out two days earlier. The movie was in Spanish, which was fine, but I wouldn’t have known what was going on in the English version either, so I took the time to have a few more power naps. Once the movie was over, we wandered around the center area, before finding a small, hole-in-the-wall bar where a lot of locals were drinking and dancing Cumbia and Salsa. It was nice to be in a quaint little bar like that, so we stayed there for a couple of hours, and finally returned to the hotel around 3.

Saturday morning we got up, had a quick breakfast, and returned to the beach in front of our hotel. We spent the morning there, and then took a taxi to the Bay of Santa Cruz, which is just a 5-minute drive up the coast from the Bay of Chahue. Santa Cruz was the original town in the area, and for this, the entire name of Huatulco is Santa Cruz Huatulco. This bay was much calmer than the Bay of Chahue, the water was a different shade of blue, and the sand a completely different texture. Also, there were not a lot of tourists on the beach, so we were surrounded by a lot of native families that were enjoying their Saturday afternoon on the beach. Soon after we laid down on the beach, a little girl, who was probably a year-and-a-half, came up to us, and of course me loving the little ones, started talking and playing with her. We made sand castles and she played with my sunglasses for 20-30 minutes. But, in all this time, we didn’t have a clue as to who her parents were, which was really strange. Finally, after 30 minutes or so, a man with dreadlocks, who had first been sitting on the rocks near us and then swimming, came up and said in perfect English, “Her name’s Ocean, let me know if she is bothering you.” We played with Ocean for a little longer, now speaking in English, and then she decided to go into the water with her Dad. We spent the rest of the day analyzing the family, and finally decided that the Dad was Australian and the Mom Italian. It’s always nice to have a little entertainment and time for people watching on the beach.

That afternoon we went to a café in Santa Cruz, and I had a delicious cheeseburger. We returned to the beach for another hour or so to take a nap and watch the sunset. Because all of the beaches are nestled in little bays, you cannot actually see the sunset into the water, like in Puerto Escondido, but the colors in the sky were still beautiful. After, we went to the center area of Santa Cruz and enjoyed a coffee, before going back to the hotel to shower and change. That night we walked back to the downtown area to eat and have a drink. I don’t know what my drink was called, but it tasted like a marshmallow and was delicious! Near our hotel was a club called Papaya, so we walked back there and spent the night dancing. One of the features of the club is that there is a large water-tank, the length of one of the walls, and every couple of hours a “mermaid” swims around the tank for 5-10 minutes. It was quite amusing, and I decided maybe that could be my future job…spend my days on the beaches and my evenings in the tank as a mermaid, sounds perfect! ; ) At Club Papaya, there was a mix of Mexican vacationers, locals, and tourists. At one point, I met a nice Canadian guy, but after the last 3 months, it was weird to speak to a guy in English in a club/bar setting. We eventually returned to the hotel around 3:30.

Sunday morning we got up and were ready to go on our ATV tour by 9. The company picked us up from our hotel, and took us to the starting location of the tour. We signed our lives away, and had a little orientation of how to use the ATV’s, although I was already an expert from my experiences of speeding through the fields of Arkansas when I was 14, haha. We were about two minutes into the jungle, when we suddenly stopped because a truck was blocking the path, and would not allow us to pass. Our tour guide argued with the men for 10 minutes or so, and it was finally decided that they would move the truck and we could pass, as long as one of the other guides took his ATV to the store and returned with large bottles of pop and snacks. Only in Mexico. After that little debacle, we continued on our way through the jungle, where I sped through the open areas, ducked out of the way of branches in the dense areas, and splashed through the water in the riverbed. It was an absolute blast, and probably one of the favorite things I’ve done in Mexico! After 45 minutes or so, we arrived at Tangolundo Bay, which was absolutely beautiful. Many Corona beer commercials have been shot on that beach, and the area is also famously known as Boca del Cielo in a recent Latinamerican movie, Y Tu Mama Tambien. We took some pictures there, and then got back on the ATV and headed to Maguey Bay, where we had an hour or so to swim and relax. Once again, this bay was completely different from the others, with the water more teal/greenish and see-through, and the sand different. Then, we drove the ATV’s back to the starting point, and the company returned us to our hotel.

We decided to have lunch at one of the beach clubs on our beach, and then we all napped the afternoon away under the umbrellas. Around 5, we went back to the hotel to shower and change, and then walked Bryce to the bus station, as he was leaving that night, while the 3 of us girls would spend another day in Huatulco. So, the three of us took a taxi from the bus station back to Santa Cruz Bay, where we ate dinner at a restaurant on the beach. The evening was wonderful, but quite odd. First off, we had a wonderful and genuine, but over zealous waiter who literally ran from the restaurant to the beach anytime we needed anything. Then, as we were finishing dinner, we had a group of people setting up tents behind us on the beach, as well as a large tour group of intoxicated kayakers coming out of the water like creatures from the black lagoon. We enjoyed the little comedy show, and finally once all 15 or so kayaks returned, we beckoned over our waiter, who came sprinting like his life depended on it with our check. After this odd evening, we returned to the coffee shop in the center to have coffee and chocolate cake, and after a couple of late nights and lazy days on the beach, we returned to the hotel before midnight.

On Monday morning, we got up and ready, and checked out of the hotel, but left our bags behind the desk. We took a taxi to Tangolundo Bay, which is the ritziest bay of the 9, and where the majority of the all-inclusive resorts are located. The taxi dropped us off in a drive-way/parking lot area, and then we had a short little hike through the forest to arrive at the beach. But, it was well work the walk, as the bay was gorgeous! We spent most of the morning swimming, tanning, and looking for shells. Then, we went back to downtown Huatulco for a delicious lunch, where I had chicken tacos. We made a stop at OXXO, the 7-11 of Mexico, and loaded up on snacks for bus ride that night. That afternoon, we spent a couple of more hours on the beach, swimming, napping, and enjoying our last little bit of paradise. We then returned to the hotel to shower in the outside shower by the pool, which turned out to be a great show for two little children, no older than 5, probably thinking “crazy tourists”. Around 6 that evening, we returned to the bus station and prepared for the 13-hour ride back to Puebla. Once again, there were extra seats, so we were able to layout and sleep. We arrived back in Puebla around 7:30 on Tuesday morning and took a taxi back to the Ibero for our 8 AM class. A long day on Tuesday, but completely worth it for a weekend in paradise!

Photos from Huatulco:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=648162615&aid=254024