Hotel Torres Del Fuerte

... away from the tracks. Luckily we were going slow. But unluckily for a train quite some years ago, as our conductor informed us, they weren't and when careening off the tracks and plummeting down the canyon, you could still see some of the wreckage.

... to cool off and then lunch with a welcomed siesta. Let's face it, when it's this hot it's the best thing to do. Around 5.30pm when it's cooled off (I.e. it's dropped maybe two degrees) we head off for our city tour. We start at the museum and learn about the revolution and their hero Pancho Villa before getting into our city coach. It's hard to describe and I'm in fits of laughter when I see it. It's literally a trailer pulled behind a truck with ...

... passenger carriages on the train so everyone scrummages in the little gaps between the carriages where the doors open to take photos. Hanging out the top of the little door with my camera trying to focus on the canyon whilst the train scuttled along was a challenge but I managed to get some good shots which I hope go some way so capturing how amazing this train ride is , it really did live up to the hype.

... after the exam we started going over some grammar and I actually knew what was going on! It was such a relief to get called on and have an answer besides "Ummm...No se'?" (that means umm i dunno). I also saw "Pirates of the Caribbean" last weekend and went to this mall that has a bunch of bars in it, very nice since it rains here almost every night. I don't have any trips this weekend so I am planning on sleeping a lot and sitting out by the pool. I think I'm going to go the ...

... below. Does it approve? Does it still bear the guilt of its foundations covering hundreds of years of Aztec history? And last of all, where am I? Boney M stops momentarily, and then continues, as if on repeat - "Feliz Navidad" - the phrase in my mind now as common as green and white VW Beetle taxis roaming the inner city streets of the world's biggest city. Calls from all around bring to mind the ...

Here is another entry. This enty I wanted to talk about some of the people I have met here, read the blurbs with the photos... I can't believe wednesday is over and the next weekend is quickly approching. Whats been happening??? Hmmmmm.... well last thursday was another drunken night at gidasoles. How cheap the drinks are there should be illegal, everyone gets compeletly plasted. Last Saturday is where the real story is at. Starting off in the afternoon a few of us headed to ...

... from this point on that I can say that for a short while in Mexico I heard some great stories, stories that bring the ordinariness of shopping mall life and apathy seem ever more banal and at the same time privileged in only the way our American life can be. The conversations I've had in Mexico are the ones I long to hear, the ones that bring my own life into sharper focus, but those stories will come at a later time. To be continued...

You can tell we are getting close to the end of our stay in Xalapa. Everyone was carrying their cameras in their labcoat pockets (real professional) and feeling pretty "snap happy" today. Today our group was back in the kitchen. We watched as the workers prepared various meals for the patients. They were busily preparing chayote and cactus and atole (a type of sweet drink that consists of corn starch and cocoa. And of course, ever being the tourists, we took lots ...

... t). I later emailed the original hostel to complain and their response was that the 'town is in the hands of the taxi drivers' and they are fined if they pick up guests from the train station. Plus, when a taxi driver delivers a guest the hostel is apparently charged for the delivery as well as the passengers. Hmmm, nice one El Fuerte council - that policy is encouraging tourism! The Fuerte (fort) was OK, but really not worth stopping for. I'd give this one a miss...

... of rooms filled with fascinating artefacts. Highlights included a reconstruction of a tomb found at Palenque with loads of jade and the Aztec sun stone. Unfortunately on the way back to the hotel to meet my Tucan group I got caught in a massive rainstorm so looked like a drowned rat at the meeting! They seem like a great group of people and we went out for a meal to start to get to know each other and hear some rather scary travel stories from our tour leader, Jessica!