Hotel De La Borda Taxco

3rd April Woke up early to see of Valeria who had to go to work. Walked with her to the metro stop and said goodbye. It was sad to say goodbye to her as she helped us so much in the first week, and whenever she was at work, she made sure we knew what stations to get off at and what buses to catch. We packed up our gear, and went for a walk around the neighbourhood to take some photos of the real suburb areas of Mexico City. We had to catch the metro out to the end ...

... com . This charming colonial hotel is housed in a quaint colonial building and is furnished throughout with fine period features. Each of the 14 rooms is set around an internal courtyard, as well as having a pleasant lounge-bar area to relax in. The road in front can get noisy, so request a room towards the back to ensure a peaceful night's sleep. Their current rates are 400, 450 + 500 peso for 1, 2 or 3/4 persons. Good value.

MIDRANGE ...

This morning I walked around Patzcuaro early, and walking around the perimeter of the zocalo were numerous people in athletic garb - walking is the exercise of choice here. Then found a fresh produce market. An hour later Jesse and I went back to the market and bought big cups of fresh fruit covered with yogurt. There were 3 women behind the counter, and one teased the other, "come on you know English, have ...

... in our time. I went to an International Dance Festival with a few people, where I saw regionally traditional Mexican dances, Arabian dances and Flamenco. One of my favorite things about Mexico City were the people. Once you got the city out of people (you know the rushed gotta get there don't know where but gotta get there) they were very friendly, willing to speak spanish to you and everyone had their own style. The youth have the punk rock ...

The bus ride from Zihuatanejo to Taxco was pretty spectacular. It was however, long. About 8 hours. There appears to be many little beach communities between Zihua and Acapulco that would be great to stop and visit if you were so inclined. There is a ton of agriculture along the road, mangos, coconuts, citrus.....It´s quite spectacular. The ride from Acapulco inland is very different. It´s ...

... and entered the huge arena. There were 20,000 crazy Mexicans screaming and hollering and waving cowboy hats. Yes, we even did a few Mexican waves. It all kicked off with the clowns prancing around and generally making a nuisance of themselves, then came fireworks and finally at 10 the main event. 25 bullriders were competing for the $10,000 1st prize. Some had pretty rough rides and were tossed high in the air. Claire's fella (who is apparently one of the best) only ...

... streets and markets. Its a bit of a struggle to get around because of the steep hills and traffic but nice all the same. I have a great sleep here and eat some great fish. I went to the gym twice here. Cos i saw everything in 2 hours. The gym was full of muscle heads which is surprising for the size of the town. One guy, while doing weights was saying `gringo` , `gringo`!. I think for my benefit. But alas i am not a Gringo ...

... on the floor and shopping trolleys....it is truly a sight to be seen. Hope to see the huge flag in the Zocalo being lowered (supposedly with huge pomp and circumstance) but nothing happened! So after hanging around in the cool square for ages...decided to head back and try and eat some food. Food turned out to be very bland and boring that night...which was probably good for Neil!!!! Went to bed early....no beer for Neil that night!!! Our last day... Decided we needed to ...

... looking for and we sat to make our order. Four tacos each and two quesadillas. I sucked down my pork tacos and we ordered ochote (sp?), a rice drink. Now let me stop here to speak to the deliciousness of ochote. I will walk a mile for that rice drink. Two years ago when I was living in Querétaro I was the epitome of the stupid gringa who wouldn't try anything. In that city I saw everyone walking around drinking from straws out of plastic bags some strange milk concoction. I ...

... kept any unwanted attention away though as the journey again was fine. The bus journey too was smooth. Not many of us on the coach, and at the bus station waiting, a couple of ladies (one now living in California) helped me understand what was going on and pass the time waiting for the off. Big question - when you only use some of the shampoo from the hotel toiletries and the next day you get a whole new fresh one - is someone somewhere putting all the leftovers into new bottles?