Campech

Since our big trip to Oaxaca - not much has been going on. The girls and I have gotten into a routine of going to school, going home for the main meal of the day and a siesta, and then meeting up in the Centro at night to grab something to eat and meet up with some of our other friends. Some of the restaurants we've been going to have been amazing. There's one called Portales that sells amazing horchata which is a sort of rice milk- milkshake. It's really hard to describe but take my word for it - it's delicious! Another is called Potros - and they have amazing Hawiian tortillas (ham, bacon and cheese on top of flour tortillas) - riquisimo. Then there's the churros on the street (doughnuts in the shape of twirley sticks with cinnamon is the best way to describe them...) that are a regular staple in our night time diet now.

Last Friday the teachers at the school held a birthday party for me since I was in Oaxaca on my birthday. They had food, cake, and a pinata!! Apparently there's a tradition where the birthday person needs to take a bite out of the cake. I thought it was weird, but I don't agrue with Mexican traditions - but before I knew it my whole face was in the cake. Last time I fall for that one! All in all, we had a great afternoon breaking the pinata and eating all the great food.

Last Saturday Alysse, Andrea and I went to a beach club for the day called Club Nautico. We were all given four free passes to get in so we decided to use it on that hot day. We ended up being the only people there - since this weather is considered cold for a lot of Campechanos. So we spent a few hours hanging out by the pool all to ourselves.That night Maddy and I went to the local (and only...) bar called Chupis with some friends for what was a great night!

The following week was more of the same; school, siesta, centro, etc. Friday we went on a field trip with the school to a near by Mayan ruin city called Calakmul. We had to be at the school at 5am, and didn't get back until 9pm but it was so worth it. The experience was unbelievable. There are only a small number of ruins uncovered in Calakmul, but they are some of the tallest in Mexico. So naturally, we climbed the three highest ones! My legs are still killing me two days later, but again, so worth it for the amazing view at the top. We were literally over looking miles and miles of jungle and ruins. An experience of a lifetime.

Oaxaca

It's been a while since I've posted a blog for a couple reasons - the weeks leading up the November were spent much the same in Campeche; going to school, hanging out with the girls, making some friends around the city, etc. This past week we had off from school because of the Dia de los Muertos celebrations (Day of the Dead). These days are said to be those in the year that the living are closest to the dead. This holiday is practiced on the 1st and 2nd of November and celebrates the lives of those who are no longer with us. It is truly a beautiful holliday, filled with alters dedicated to loved ones with their favorite things, food, flowers, etc. Because we had a whole week off school we decided to go on a big trip - one we wouldn't have been able to do on a weekend. We originally wanted to go to the east coast to see Playa del Carmen, Tulum and Cozumel, but hurrican Rima posed some complications. So instead we made our way to the west coast to the state of Oaxaca.

We left Campeche Saturday morning and settled in for a 20+ hour bus ride to Oaxaca City. We arrived early Sunday morning, and after walking around the centre looking for a hostel with room for 4 we found a great place called Paulina. Before we even checked in the workers offered us breakfast and a moment of rest, which we all appreciated! After breakfast we walked around 'el centro' (the centre of the city) and the market, had an amazing siesta at the hostel, and went out for unbelievable sushi that night which we had all been craving! Sunday was the 31st - so Halloween parades were in full swing, and people were walking around the city with costumes on. The holliday is quiet different than in Canada, but it was fun to experience the Mexican style.

Monday we found a Canadian/American couple that offers horseback riding tours in the mountains surrounding the city. In the afternoon we rode out to the countryside to the ranch that they built and had a two hour ride in the mountiains. It was breathtakingly beautiful. The sun was hitting the mountains at just the right angle and the path allowed us to see for miles along the beautiful countryside. On our way back into the city we were dropped off in a town called Del Tule which is famous for having the biggest and one of the oldest trees in the world (2000+ years). After seeing the tree we had dinner at a restaurant that was recomended to us where we tried huge totillas with Oaxacan cheese, chicken, beans, and veggies - so delicious! After dinner we went back into the city and went to a cemetery that was open to tourists who wanted to see the practices of Dia de los Muertos. The cemetery was filled with lit candles and dedicated alters. It was so beautiful to see - hundreds of candles lit in memory of amazing people.
                                                   

Tuesday we took an afternoon bus to Puerto Escondido - a surfing town on the west coast of Mexico. The bus ride wasn't too long, but it was on the curvy mountain roads Latin America is famous for. We didn't get into Puerto until late Monday night, in which we settled right into our hostel, The Mayflower, and went to bed. Wednesday we woke up, and it was my birthday! We went for breakfast at a restaurant that was recomended to us by other Canadians called El Cafecito. We had a great view of the beach and the waves right from the patio of the restaurant - it was stunning. After breakfast we walked along the beach but we couldn't swim there becuase of the big waves, so we made our way to another beach 15 mins away. We had to walk down 100+ stairs to get the beach, but when we got there is was amazing - even at the top of the stars it was stunning - like no other beach I had been to before. We layed on the beach for the afternoon, getting something to eat at a restaurant on the beach, and later in the afternoon I took a surfing lesson. I'm terrible, but at least I tried! And it was lots of fun :). After the beach we went to the supermarket to buy food to make for dinner. We ended up making a great stirfry, with birthday cheesecake for dessert. We spent the night hanging out at the hostel with the other guests, and ended the night at a salsa bar just 5 minutes away called Congo. An amazing 21st birthday!

The next few days were again spent on the beach. On Friday we went to a beach way on the other side of the town called 'La Punta' - where again we were not able to swim, but we were able to watch the surfers catch some waves which was so cool to see. Kids as young as 8 were out there in big waves. And the nights were spent hanging out at the hostel meeting the other guests. Our last night there a group of us went down to the beach to a bar called Barfly - where we danced the night away. The bus ride back to Campeche was around 30 hours - but we all felt it was so worth it, for the amazing week that we had in both Oaxaca City and Puerto Escondido.

Thanksgiving dinner, poutine and pumpkin pie parties

One of the reasons we had to leave Merida early on Sunday was because we all needed to get back to Campeche in order to cook our contribution to the Thanksgiving dinner we would be having in school. Each year one of the teachers buys a chicken for class and the students are responsible to bring in other additions to make a Thanksgiving dinner. After we realised it was not going to be exactly like our mothers delicous dinners we stopped freaking out about what to bring. I made some garlic bread, Andrea made mashed potatos, Amber made a salad, Alysse made a garlic dip for the chicken and Madeline made pumkin pie. It wasn't as good as what we could have been enjoying back at home, but it was our Mexican Thanksgiving, to which we were all thankful for!

Later that day we went to meet two friends we had met at the hostel in Merida who had made their way to Campeche. The hostel they were staying in is right in the Parque Principal, and has an incredible roof top view of the park and the cathedral. We were hanging out up there and met a couple from Texas who were staying at the hostel as well. We got talking with them and before we knew it the topic of poutine came up and within minutes we had decided we were going to make poutine the next night. So sure enough the next day we all showed up at the hostel with potatos and cheese, and Matt (one of the Texans) was ready with the ingredients to make gravy. It was quiet the production, and we had so much fun through so much chaos. But in the end, the poutine was amazing and was exactly what some of us needed - comfort food from home!

Thursday class was canceled because of heavy rain, so we had a free day. The rain was pouring down hard all day, so we couldn't really go out and do anything. Most of us had 'poutine hangovers' anyway - we at so many potatos between all of us! That night though after the rain had stopped Madeline and Alysse came over to my house to make pumpkin pies from the left over pumpkin Maddy had bought for the Thanksgiving dinner. After some struggles and changes of recipes we ended up making 4 delicous pumpkin pies, and shared them with the whole family. In two of the pies we added creamcheese which was delicious! And the other two were just normal pumpkin pies, equally as delicious.

We had a great week filled with amazing food! But I think we're done cooking for a little while...

Merida

This past weekend Andrea, Amber, Alysse and I traveled to Merida, which is a city two hours away in the province of Yucatan. We left Thursday afternoon and arrived in the evening to our hostel in the centre of the city called Nomadas. After we got settled in we went to meet a family friend of mine living in Merida for dinner. We met Dermot in the central park of the city and he quickly told us we would be going out for 2 for 1 drinks at a bar called Ponchos close by before getting food. After Ponchos we went just next door to one of Dermot's favorite restaurants to get some delicious food. I had heard a lot of stories about a Irish bar Dermot had found in Merida. The girls and I wanted to check it out, so Dermot took us to Hennessy's Irish Bar for some more drinks. Hennessy's is owned by two Irish men living in Merida, speaking perfect Spanish - while also maintaining their Irish accents. We had a great rest of the night there listening to an 80's rock band, and enjoying the company of many other Americans - the most English speaking people we've seen in one place in a long time!

Friday we woke up early to make the trip 2 hours outside Merida to Cozuma; a small town that has three cenotes, popular for tourists to visit. When we arrived in the town and got off the bus, two men on bike carts approached us offering their taxi service to take us to the cenotes. It was 5km away so we couldn't walk so we agreed and enojoyed the ride. After a 10 minute ride we were droped off in another part of the town and were guided toward two other guys with a cart on old railroad tracks attached to a horse. Alysse's guidebook said this was the way to see the cenotes, so we got on the cart and started to get pulled along by the horse. The three cenotes were so beautiful! The water was so blue, and the caves around them were so amazing. The second cenote we had to climb down this ladder that went so far down you couldn't see the bottom from the top; it took a great leap of faith to trust it would be ok - and sure enough it ended up being the most beautiful of them all. We had such an amazing afternoon swimming, jumping into the water, exploring cenotes, and riding around on a horse pulled cart!

That night we met some people at the hostel and were hanging out around the pool they have in the back. Friday nights the hostel offers free salsa lessons so we went to have a few laughs and learned the basic steps in salsa - which turned out to be useful when we ventured out to a salsa bar that night to partice our moves. Watching the other couples at the bar was so amazing, they knew exactly what moves to do when - they were so unbelievable to watch.

Saturday we had another early morning to go to a different town 2 hours away called Celestun to see flamingos. It's not flamingo season so we didn't see as many as we would have liked to, but we saw one flock in our 2 hour boat ride. We were a little dissapointed by the day and we all got eaten alive by the mosquitos there (I counted over 100 bites on both my legs!). When we got back to Merida that night we did a bit of shopping and walking around the centro and had a much needed sub from Subway for dinner! When we got back to the hostel we went for a swim and relaxed in the hamocks over the pool. Alysse and I checked out a fiesta going on in a square close by and met up with some friends from the hostel for some drinks at a local blues bar. We had a lot of fun this weekend, and plan to go back since it's so close to Campeche!

Day to Day Life in Campeche

The past two weeks we have spent here in Campeche have been very 'tranquilo' as a Spanish word best describes it. Very quiet and relaxing, with just the right amount of fun. I have gotten into a daily routine (Monday to Thursday) of going to school, coming home and eating, having a siesta, going for a sunset run along the Malecon, watching a movie or TV and doing some homework before bed. It works great for me; a nice and relaxed semester!

Two weekends ago, we decided to stay in Campeche becuase it was too expensive to travel every weekend. Thursday night I went out with Ave who introduced me to 5 of her closest friends. It was so nice to meet some more people around my age, and they were so nice! We started the night at a restaurant called Cafe Nautico, which is a beautiful, not well known restuarant that sells beer and alcohol from all around the world (not Canada though). Then we went to a bar called Bar Rio, which reminded me of some dance clubs in Halifax! Saturday we met some more friends and spent the night at Applebees!

Sunday I went with Ave, Enrique to a small town called VillaMadero to watch a baseball game. It was so hot, but the game was fun to watch and we had a great afternoon! That night I had been craving cheesecake so badly, so Ave and I went out to a small cafe called Cafe Frapisimo and got some much needed cheesecake!

The following week, and weekend was much of the same. Relaxing and quiet during the week with some fun Thursday and Saturday night. Thursday was very similar to last Thursday; Cafe Nautico and Bar Rio. This time Alysse and Maddy joined Ave and I, and Ave's friend Pablo. We all danced the night away. Saturday we met up with some friends and went to the only dance club in Campeche called Chupis. No one really danced though, it was more of a hanging-out feel with music and lights blasting. But it was fun! Sunday Ave, Enrique and I went to another baseball game, but this time in a town called Hecelchakán. After a couple innings Ave and I went to explore the city in what they use as taxi's: tricycles with a passenger seat in the front. It was really fun and relaxing. When we got back to the house Addy had prepared a very tradition dish called 'pipipollo' which is usually made for Dia de Muertos.

And so concludes a very tranquilo two weeks in Campeche.

Independence Day Weekend in Chiapas

For those of you who know me well know that one of my major passions is Latin American history. This part of the world is so rich in history and culture it absolutely fascinates me. This past weekend I got to experience two aspects of Mexican history that indeed fascinate me: independence and the Zapatista movement. The Zapatista movement started in Chiapas in 1994 as a guerrilla movement against the government and the North American Free Trade Agreement. The leader of the movement known as Subcomandante Marcos is often compared to Che Guevara.The Zapatistas took control of some land and towns in Chiapas but it wasn't long before the military reclaimed the towns that had been taken over. Today, the movement is still alive and they still own some of their zones of control/rebellion, but were forced into the jungle. This weekend we traveled through some of these controlled zones.

We had an even longer weekend because of Independence Day so we decided to make the 10 or so hour journey to the state of Chiapas. Our first night we split up the driving and stayed in a small city called Palenque and stayed in a hostel on the outskirts in the joungle. I spent three nights in the Amazon Rainforest when I was in Ecuador, so I wouldn't say I am used to sleeping in joungles, but that experience definitely made this one a little easier.

The next day we made the trip to San Cristobal de las Cosas; a city high in the mountains of Chiapas, very rich in Mayan history and culture  and also where the Zapatista movement began. On the way though, we stopped at some waterfalls. Both of them we got to swim in and take lots of pictures! When we arrived in San Cristobal that evening we found our hostel (after a lot of driving around in circles) and joined in on the Independence Day party that was happening. The hostel is connected to the one we stayed at last weekend on Isla Mujeres, so there were some familiar faces of people traveling around Mexico. I don't know what it is about hostel's - maybe it's just the ones in Mexico (since I don't have experiences of hostels anywhere else...) but the people who stay there are so welcoming and open. We were drinking and hanging out with everyone like we had been friends for so long. It was such a great atmosphere. After our party we went to the Parque Principal for the mayor's address and the fireworks celebrating 201 years of independence. I didn't know what they were saying, but there was lots of 'Viva Mexico!'. After the ceremony we went to grab some pizza, and then off to a busy bar full of tourists and locals celebrating.

The next day (Friday) we spent most of the day shopping in the local market, exploring the city, and eating. We found this really cute Sushi restaurant along the main strip which was great because we were all craving sushi by this point in the trip. On Saturday we drove to the nearest town which was one of the strongest Zapatista controled towns during the movement. In the centre of the town there is this amazing little church that houndreds of people go to each day to pray to their Mayan and Christain Gods. Inside was like nothing I have ever seen. We were not allowed to take pictures, but the image of saints surrounding the walls, candles everywhere, and locals praying to these saints will forever stay with me. It was so amazing. After we made our way to a town called Chiapa de Corzo where just outside the town is a huge canyon that we went on a 2 hour tour of. To top the days adventures off we went to Toxla to watch a professional football game; Mexico City vs. Toxla. We were in the Mexico City fan section of the stadium which turned out perfect because our friend Fernando who had traveled with us has been a Mexico City fan his whole life.

On Sunday we made the long journey back to Campeche, stopping back in Palenque, this time to take a tour of the ruins. Fernando was telling us that only 20% of the ruins had been uncovered - which is amazing seeing as we saw several huge and amazing temples, tombs, and residences. On our way out of the ruin area we found a part of the jungle that had howling monkeys, and another amazing waterfall. The weekend was full of beauty, adventure, fun, and of course, shopping! A great way to spend a weekend in Mexico.

Three Days in Paradise

This weekend the girls and I traveled to an island off the coast of Cancun called Isla Mujeres. Isla is a small island, bikable in an afternoon, with lots of 'off-the-map-tourism' as we called it. Thursday after classes the we set out for our long drive of 6 hours to Cancun, and a 30 minute ferry ride to the island. We got to Isla around 9pm, quickly found our hostel called Poc.na, then went to the main shopping area for something to eat. We could immediately tell the hostel was amazing. It was recommended to us by Fernando who works at the hostel here in Campeche. He said it was the best hostel he's ever been to. It was many of our first times staying at a hostel so we were a bit nervous as to what it would be like, but it turned out to be amazing! The main lobby is outside in a gazebo like form, and two steps away from that is a private beach the hostel owns with its own beach bar!

Our first day was spent walking on the beach, laying in hammocks, spening lots of money on traditional Mayan crafts (for outselves, and others...), and eating delicious food. Our $13 a night also included a small breakfast, so we only had to buy lunch and dinner. We were walking around the island looking for a good place to eat lunch and many people suggested a place called Santa Susana. We found it pretty easily and enjoyed delicious chicken stuffed with ham and cheese with rice, salad and a complimentary soda. It was so good! After some more shopping, walking around and swimming that afternoon we found another cute place for dinner that had a special of a baguette and two beers for $55 Mexican Pesos (approx. $4 American). Then we went back to the hostel for the beach party. The bar had such a laid back feeling - everyone who was there was just there to have a good time after a day in the sun. All were welcome, whether they were guests of the hostel, other hostels/hotels, or locals.

The nexy day Andrea, Amber and Madeline went swimming with whale sharks (the biggest type of whales), while Alysse and I had a similar day as the one before: beach, shopping, eating. When Alysse and I were swimming the in the morning I found this amazing shell that was in the shape of a tuplip. I liked it so much I took it to a jewler on the island and he made it into a necklace for me. I told him everytime I put it on I'll think of Isla Mujeres. For dinner we were walking along the shopping area and saw a sign that said 'free mojitos' - we couldn't pass that up! The retsaurant had a Mediterranean theme with delicious pitas, salads and hummus. Just by the food we thought it was a great decision to stop here. The two waiters kept offering us more mojitos, and we thought there was some sort of a catch, until they offered us free shots too. They kept saying, recomend our restaurant to everyone you know and come back. We are planning to return to the island before we leave Mexico, and will definietly go back to visit them! They even came to Poc.na that night to the beach party.The restuarant is called Comono, if ever any of you find yourselves on Isla Mujeres, go check it out! After dinner we returned to the hostel and danced the night away on the beach with a mixture of Latin American, and North American music - with people from all around the world.

This weekend was an experience of a lifetime. I have a need to return to see the beauty of the streets, water, and people of Isla Mujeres many times. The feeling we had on the island was so incredible; we were in paradise for three days.

Poc.na's beach...

Our amigos at Comono...

Isla Mujeres from teh ferry...