All by myself....I don't wanna be

So finally I have thrown of the shackles of companionship for the endless heart rendering freedom of isolation. I have left the certainty of visiting friends for the uncertainty of the road. Probably the most fun that I have is when I am on the bus trying to make sure that the town we are pulling into isn't my desired destination. The bus system itself has been pretty good to me so far. I had been using Omnibus de Mexico which is one of the best of the 1st class bus lines here. For the trip from Chihuahua to Guanajato, my current location, I was forced to take Chihuahuahenses and was a bit dissapointed. Seemingly pointless 30 minute stops outside random bars and restaurants just added aggravation to the trip and the on bus "facilities" left a lot to be desired.

That said, they did manage to complete the primary objective of getting me from Chihuahua to Leon and from there I somehow conjured a trip from Leon to Guanajato and a taxi into the centre of town. My horrendous spanish, crude in more ways than one, has not been the death of me as my worst hopes had suspected it would be. I have successfully negotiated my way into a new town without any friendly faces to greet me at the other end.

Guanajato is all that I had been told it was and more. One of the first places I was ordered to go to in Mexico by Mexicans and it hasn't disappointed me at all. The architecture is beautiful. The city is calm and peaceful with a few very nicely placed gardens and plazas that buzz with activity. I have only walked around here for a few hours and already I am trying to think of excuses to come back here to stay for a longer period of time. I have another full day here and then on Tuesday morning I will catch a bus to Puerto Vallarta for a couple of days of reading on the beach before I go to Guadalajara for the weekend.

Chihuahua

I have been in Chihuahua state for 9 days now and am sorry to leave it behind me. The city grew on me and though there wasn't a whole lot of touristy things to do in the city the side trips to Cauhtemoc and to Creel were fantastic. In Cuahtemoc I spent a night on David's familys ranch and it was quite an experience to be out in the peace and quiet with nature for a while. They also had a fantastic view of Cauhtemoc and to see it at night while sitting by a campfire was an experience I won't forget soon.

I went up to Creel a couple of days ago and quickly tried to fit in as much as the town could offer. Unlike I had planned for quite a while I didn't catch the Chihuahua-Pacific Railway. All sources indicated that the trip between Chihuahua and Creel isn't great on the railway and the bus is more convenient (i.e. not at 6am) and cheaper. In Creel I spent the first afternoon seeing some of the more local sights including the native communal lands which contained some fascinating rock formations.

On the second morning I took a 5 hour trip up to Divisadero to see a few different outlooks on the amazing Copper Canyon. Larger in some respects than the Grand Canyon it had some fantastic plants and a hummingbird population that made it all seem magical. The Canyon itself is the main event though and I got almost 100 different shots of it from different perspectives.

In a way I wish I had spent more time in Creel but the show must go on and middle Mexico, Guanajato, Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta are calling me. I am halfway on this trip and from now on I am going to be on my own. My experience in Creel was an eye opener and I think that while I will manage with my extremely limited Spanish I am going to have at least a few adventures on the way.

But why?

I am often asked why I am taking an extended break from study to see the world. Sometimes I think it is because I am searching for the meaning of life (not 42 as widely believed). Other times I suspect it is because I am lazy and averse to all forms of labor: physical or mental. Whatever it is I am doing on this voyage hasn't revealed itself to me yet. Maybe I won't know for years to come...

and maybe it isn't the destination but the journey that is important.

Chihuahua, not just for tiny dogs!

My wanderings have brought me to far north Mexico, Chihuahua to be precise. It has the small town feel without the smallness. Everyone knows everyone else and they are probably related. If I was walking into this town as a tourist and not knowing anyone then I would probably be dismayed by the small town atmosphere. Nothing is more boring that a club that you aren't in.

Thankfully though I am here to visit friends from Vancouver. I am staying at David's house and his family have been extremely friendly and made me feel right at home. Chihuahua doesn't have a huge amount of tourist style things to see but thanks to my local guides I have investigated a couple of nice sites like the Hidalgo Museum and the Caves outside the city.

Mostly though my time has been spent going out...and recovering from going out. Chihuahua's nightlife reminds me a lot of Brisbane except maybe on a slightly smaller scale: if you know where to go (local knowledge) you can have a great time. So on Thursday and Friday nights we hit up two very different style clubs for two very enjoyable nights.

On Saturday we went up to David's family ranch for a family weekend. Getting in touch with nature was on the cards after a couple of nights of drinking and I really needed a break so that I could recover from my nasty gastrointestinal issues. So we rode horsies, looked at newborn calves and sat around the fire drinking beer. I suggested toasting marshmallows because to not do so would be to waste a good fire. The ranch is up in nearby Cauhtemoc which has a mennonite population. Nothing quite turns your head like a (natural) blond talking a very strange germanic dialect in the middle of outback Mexico.

So Chihuahua is very comfortable, it is a very properous and fairly quiet city and it reminds me a lot of Toowoomba. I am hoping to have a few more days here before I head down south. My ultimate destination is Chiapas state in the very south of Mexico where the ancient mayan ruins are bountiful and unspoiled. On the way though I hope to see Guadalajara and Guanajato in the centre of Mexico and maybe even find a few days to lay on the beach in Puerta Vallarta.

Enjoy Winter!

It lives!

Hi Internet!

Just a quick update to let all those people that care know that I still am plaguing this world. I am currently writing this from a friends computer in Monterrey where I have had a blast catching up with a lot of friends from Vancouver and seeing the local sights. Monterrey is a very modern city but the highlight has definitely been seeing the wrestling. Words can't describe the hilarity so I will post pictures as soon as I get back to New Haven.

Untill then stay safe and whatever you do, don't drink the water.

South of the border...down mexico guey.

So I am still alive after 4 days in Mexico City, to be honest the only time I have felt unsafe is walking past the policia carrying MP5 machine guns. This will be a picture free post because I don't have my laptop down here with me (just another thing to lug around and has very little practical value without abundant wireless).

My attitude has been very laid back so far. I am here for 6 weeks and will probably be back in Mexico City for at least another 3 or 4 days before I leave so there is no point tiring myself out trying to do everything, there is always mañana. My hotel is in the centre of Mexico City only about 4 blocks from the Zocalo which is the centre of Mexican government and I guess the city. Of course in a city the size of Mexico being in the centre has limited practical value. It still takes almost and hour or more with traffic to get anywhere else worth going. A lot of the people from Vancouver (¡Hola Chilangos!) live out in an area called Satelite which is quite a car ride north west of the city centre. We have still managed to have a couple of great dinners though.

I spent the first couple of days just walking around the Historical area in which I am living, there is a lot to see in this area and after about 3 or 4 hours it is time to rest anyway. The Palacio Nationale and the National Museum of Art (Munal) were my favourites for that area. Really though it is all about soaking in the very old buildings with the street vendors lining them with so many batteries, fake dvds and coloured pencils that a consumer is left spoiled for choice. This is what makes walking around the area so much fun.

Yesterday I travelled down to Coyoacan which is an older district of the city in which Frida Kahlo, Diego Riveria and Trotsky lived. The streets are much quieter and the buildings are all very nice. I visited Frida Kahlo's house/museum which was a bit of an eye opener. The collection they had of her works was a nice taste of Kahlo and I suspect I will see more of it around Mexico. I next headed up to Trotsky's house but I couldn't be bothered going in (¡Stalinist!) because other than the fact he got assassinated there I didn't really see much point in it.

Today is my last day in Mexico City and I travelled up to the Basilica de Guadalupe which is a very important place in the Mexican psyche because the Virgin of Guadalupe (the miraculous vision for which the area is known) is really the patron saint of Latin America. The churches there are quite impressive but I didn't really think too much of the more modern church where the miracle shirt is housed. It was built to be able to manage more crowds but loses a lot in the whole appeal of a grand old church.

The last two days I have been using the metro to get around town and have found it to be just about the easiest to understand that I have been on. Every station has a symbol and a name so even if you don't have a clue what the name is you can just look for the symbol. Secondly where two lines intersect the station has very clear signs showing where to go to change to the other line, once you get there they again show clearly which direction to go for each north/south or east/west trip. Each trip is a KINGLY 2 pesos so it is a very cheap way to get around town.

Tonight I am going out with some of my friends from Vancouver and tomorrow we are going on a road trip to Teotihucan which I am really looking forward to seeing. Though I am leaving on Saturday night for an overnight bus to Monterrey there are still a few things to do here in Mexico City so I think I will set aside a few days before I fly out. I still have to see the Anthropological museum which gets rave reviews. It is in the Chapultepec area which has a number of sights to see.

So I am having a good time down here, the language barrier is difficult but I am slowly learning to count (past ten) in spanish, so when I ask how much something is (¿Cuanto?) I know what the reply actually means. After all, if you can eat everything else is gravy.

New England: Land of Opportunity

I've been spending the last month in New England which is all of America North-East of New York. For the most part I'm staying with with my sister's boyfriend Matt. He has been nice enough to give me a futon to sleep on and cable internet access, which is all a nerd can ask for. I was with Matt for only a week when I ran off again on an adventure up to Boston with the Perth boys.

The gang is back, introducing Leszek Nic's friend from Perth.


First day in Boston we walked the Freedom trail. This is the State House at the very beginning.


And the Bunker Hill Monument at the very end. In between are a lot of nice old buildings that are very historical, trust me.


The view from the monument is magnificent and well worth the agonising 275 steps it took to get up there. You know you've climbed a fair distance when suddenly your breath is evaporating. The next day we rented a car and went to see some more of New England. We started by going up to Salem, home of the Witch trials and also what used to be one of the biggest trading cities in America.


Oh No! What ever shall I do to escape :(


This guy is not a witch apparently, but rather a puritan, I really fail to see the difference. Next off we headed down to Providence in Rhode Island, the smallest state in the Union. Rhode Island is called the ocean state for some reason.


It's nice little city and the state building is very majestic.


Brown University which is another fine establishment that no one should be able to afford.

Next off we headed east to Cape Cod for some fine seafood dinner and a beach frolic.

It was very very windy and cold for May

Our final day in Boston was spent on a leisurely trip out to Cambridge to visit the Harvard campus.

Another fine institution which is well out of my price range.


Money can buy class!

After my 3 day sojourn to Boston I was well and truly in need of break from travel and partying. I spent the next 3 weeks getting in touch with my inner slob (he wasn't hidden that deeply it turns out). I played a lot of computer games and slept in a lot. It wasn't untill this last week that I started to do anything productive. Matt suggested we climb the Sleeping Giant, a rock formation/mountain just a few minutes drive away.

It doesn't look that hard at all. This is the head of the Giant.


Easy as they come. That's Matt by the way.


Other than a heart attack scare it wasn't too bad in the end. The view was well worth it.


That's the way down! Just kidding but that is how far up we climbed.


Again views of New England. It's surprisingly well covered with trees. We assume the witches scared off the farmers.


This is the "tower" which is oddly placed just below the giant's waist....


It was a secret training ground for killer labradors!

The very next day I continued my exercise binge by climbing up East Rock, which is only a few block's from Matt's apartment.

Not so dauntingly tall this time.


Stairs this time, how convenient.


The view of New Haven is a bit misleading, it's a very industrial town with a lot of economic problems, but there's still plenty of money at Yale!


That ridiculous brown tower is part of Yale and is an eyesore. Matt's Apartment is right in the middle of the picture, the brown block of apartments directly in line with the tower.

So, I've been relaxing and having my first care free summer vacation in a couple of years. It's nice to have no responsibilities, showers and shaving become optional ;)

I'm heading down to Mexico on the 6th of June for 6 weeks (18th of July) and am flying in and out of Mexico City. I'm not sure if I will be able to update the page at all while I'm gone and my laptop won't be travelling with me but I will try post something at least. My current plan is to head up north to Monterrey and Chihuahua and then work my way down south to Guadalajara and Guanajuato before I head into the deep southern jungles to go hunting ruins. Either way watch out Mexicanos!