Southern Mexico
Trip Start
Jan 12, 2007
1
22
29
Trip End
Nov 19, 2007
Oaxaca City,
Mexico
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Yes, arriving back in Mexico was a big milestone for us and, as we reflected on the past several months, we felt a deep sense of accomplishment and satisfaction: we had driven through all of Central America, had survived crumbling infrastructure, corrupt police, rainy season and chaotic borders, and had lived to talk about it.
Looking forward, we were pumped to be back in a country where we now felt very comfortable, and where traveling in our own vehicle was much less stressful: the roads in Mexico are generally in much better condition than Central America, there are the Angel Verdes (Green Angels) that patrol the highways and assist tourists who have vehicle problems, and there is a VW dealership in most of the medium to large sized cities
1. Guitar Player, San Cristobal
. Returning to Mexico also meant we once again had a camping guidebook to rely on, lots of grocery stores fully stocked with supplies, tastier restaurant food, and far cheaper gas ($0.70 cents a litre). - - -
Before we had the chance to get too sentimental about all of this, though, we first had to get through a wee little border hiccup that served to remind us that we werenīt home quite yet.
When we had left Mexico/entered Belize in June, we had surrendered our Mexican vehicle paperwork to a Mexican border official. At his request.
When we tried to re-enter Mexico, we were told that we should have kept the papers, or at least asked for a receipt (who knew?). It didnīt matter that had been told to hand the papers in, still had a photocopy of them, still had the proper sticker on our windshield and still appeared in the computer system as having a valid permit. No, all that mattered was that we didnīt have the original papers. And although after a two hour "debate" with the "jefe", they finally agreed to let us cross the border (their advice, which we declined, was to go to the cops and report that our papers had been stolen), we were warned that we could be in some serious trouble if we were ever pulled over.
With this border episode quickly behind us (we were, after all veteran border runners at this point), we headed toward San Cristobal de la Casas
2. San Juan Chamula
. It is the heart and soul of the state of Chiapas, and the city that exploded on to the world consciousness in 1994 when it was partially taken over by the Zapatistas. San Cristobal sits in a tight valley at an elevation of 2,300 metres above sea level. Save for the occasional golden-hued cornfield and the indigenous women alongside the road wearing black fur-covered ankle-length skirts, the drive in through pine forests and passed rustic log cabin homes reminded us of the drive through Manning Park.
San Cristobal is entirely unique in Mexico in that it full of charming colonial-era architecture, yet is in a mountain retreat setting and has a significant indigenous population. The only other city like it that we saw was Antigua (Guatemala), although Antigua was far more North Americanized than San Cristobal.
We stayed just two nights, the first at a hotel and the second at a campsite (Rancho San Nicholas) just on the edge of town. The cultural highlight was a visit to the Na-Bloom museum, a sprawling hacienda that showcases the artifacts and photos of a European couple who had devoted their lives to working with, and advocating for, the Indigenous people from the Lacandon Rainforest.
The Lacondon's are both fascinating and tragic in that, as a result of their geographically remote homeland, they were never conquered by the Spanish. In fact, they had very little contact with the outside world until the middle of the 20th century. But ever since then it has been all downhill as they have seen the forces of development rapidly deforest their traditional territory near the Guatemalan border
3. Boy & His Goats In the Pick-up, Oaxaca Valley
. From San Cristobal we headed northwest towards Oaxaca City, spending one night en route at Hogar Infantil, an orphanage that welcomes campers. There are 81 kids currently living there, ranging in age from 5 to university level. Based on what we saw during our brief visit, it is an organization that is well worth supporting (and in need of additional funding).
From the orphanage, it was a grueling 10-hour drive to Oaxaca City, made even longer by the 3 military checkpoints we had to go through. The searches of the van were more thorough than when we had been heading south and at each checkpoint they had a different style to their search; one army guy brought only a screwdriver into the van and tapped every inch of our walls and dashboard to see if there were any unusual difference sounds (which could mean a package was hidden.
The morning stretch of the drive consisted of slowly climbing and winding our way through mountain passes that were thick with traffic. It got a little better in the afternoon in that, for a period of time, the road followed a river that snaked through a canyon that was full of cornfields with burnt orange tops, agave fields and cacti (the first we had seen in months)
4. Painted Ceiling, Oaxaca
. It was one of the most beautiful drives of our trip.Finally, as the afternoon began to wane, we were spit out in the eastern end of the wide and long Oaxaca Valley. This meant that Oaxaca City was now within striking distance. But as these things tend to go, just 15 kms or so shy of the city, the warning bells and whistles on the vanīs dashboard suddenly started going crazy.
With plumes of smoke shooting into the air and coolant dripping from our rear-end, we suspected we had big problems. And after unloading all our gear out of the back so that we could access the engine - fortunately we were on one of the few non-toll roads in Mexico that had a shoulder where we could safely pull over - eagle-eyes Adrienne diagnosed the problem as a broken alternator belt.
We didn't have a game plan for situations like this and neither of our options - Ades staying with the van by herself, or Ades going for help by herself - was that attractive, particularly with night approaching. But after a few tense minutes, and with little choice, we decided that I would stay with the van while she jumped into a passing taxi and headed into town to try and find a tow truck
5. Best In Show: Taco Stand, Oaxaca
. Leave it to a woman to get the job done right. Less than an hour later, just as the sun was going behind the mountains, Ades returned, all smiles, in the cab of a tow truck. (Apparently, as her and the driver pulled out of the towing company's lot, the driver was getting high-fives and whistles from the other drivers. This left her praying for a "positive" outcome.)
In short order, we were towed into town to a VW dealership that was near where we wanted to camp and that had a 24 hour service department. Although it took two days for the garage to fully fix the problem, the bill was a reasonable $24 (half the price of the tow truck drive). This experience also allowed us an opportunity to stay in our second "love hotel" of the trip-on the suggestion of the dealership's general manager.
This less than stellar start didnīt dampen our enthusiasm for Oaxaca. Simply put, it is a marvelous city and probably the first place we would recommend to someone looking to get away from the beach/resort towns and experience colonial Mexico.
It is a solidly middle-class city - in some neighborhoods, it could be mistaken for a suburb of LA - with all the modern conveniences (movie theatres, large grocery stores, car dealerships, Office Depot)
6. Abastos Market, Oaxaca
. But it also retains an exquisite, sophisticated, colonial charm, with great architecture that bursts with colour, cobblestone streets (with the occasional guy riding on a burro down them), and by far and away the liveliest zocolo we had seen. It is also generally regarded as the culinary capital of Mexico, and based on our experience thatīs a fair accolade. We found our favourite taco stand of the trip - bar none - in Oaxaca and the chocolate/hot chocolate, particularly from the Mayordomo stores, was beyond divine.
Shopping, something which we were more inclined to do now as we inched closer to home, is also a rewarding experience in Oaxaca. The Abastos Market was probably the best market we saw in Mexico, particularly for woven goods and textiles. It really put the souvenir schlock that is sold at the markets in the Mexican resort cities to shame.
And tying all of the above together is the fact that the city is ringed by large mountains (much like our North Shore mountains) and the temperature is perfect, day and night.
Our 6 nights (camping at the Oaxaca Trailer Park, about a 15 minute bus ride from el centro) in Oaxaca went quickly and we would have been happy to stay another week if we didnīt have to be in Puerta Vallarta on October 27th
7. Spice Shop, Abastos Maket
. In fact, our time there left us wanting our Mexican experience to go longer, deeper. With the winter season just starting, we both didnīt want the trip to come to an end. Highlights:
- The church at San Juan Chamula, Chiapas: Located about a 20 minute drive from San Cristobal, the church is mystical and magical, as it combines traditional Mayan beliefs with Catholic practices. Stepping through the front door of the church was like stepping into a Christmas nativity scene, on crack. There were no pews and the worshippers - all indigenous people - were kneeling in small groups on the floor. The floor was covered with thousands of tiny candles and pine needles, created a wonderfully fresh forest smell. The walls were lined with various religious figurines in glass cases, surrounded by even more candles. Most interesting, were the two activities the worshippers were primarily engaged in: 1) given that there is religious significance to burping, many were gulping down bottles of coke so they could let one rip; 2) others were occupied strangling live chickens.
- Dona Rosaīs black pottery store, San Bartolo Coyotepec: This village, about 20 minutes outside of Oaxaca, is touted as the birthplace of Mexicoīs famous black pottery. Until we found Dona Rosaīs store we actually werenīt that impressed. But the quality and selection there was such that we managed to spend the better part of the afternoon picking out the things that we liked.
Lowlights:
- The church at San Juan Chamula was mesmerizing. But the town itself is poorer than poor and we felt like dirty interlopers just by being there. It just doesnīt make sense - in a global social-justice kind of way - to see modern busses rolling in full of shiny tourists while little kids were running around in tattered clothes and bare feet in drizzly winter weather.
