Half a Century. He looks like his father more and more. I’d say he moves slower but that is impossible:) We celebrated 50 years today starting with breakfast in bed, and then the beach. We finished with champagne on the beach at sunset and a handstand competition.

Yesterday Nick walked down memory lane with a drive out to Puerto Angel. We stopped in Mazunte ( pretty, hippy town), Zipolite ( nude beach, so yes, Nick loved it there) and then pressed on to Angel. Last time Nick came through here he was on a boat and Mazunte/ Zipolite were just a couple palapas with dirt roads. Now, they are paved with shops, alternative healing, yoga, etc. Nick was stunned, how time marches on in just 18 years.

Nick went looking for a guy he met last time in Puerto Angel named Marco Polo. The first time they met, Nick came ashore and Marco Polo was there smoking a giant joint and asked if there was anything he could get him. This time, Nick asked around and he found him, swinging in a hammock, smoking a giant joint once again! Well, the rest of our day was determined. We went to his sister’s place for lunch, watched the fishermen bring in their catch at the beach, the girls swam and we had a massive feast. You eat what they catch that day, so we had fresh dorado and shrimp. So yummy. We drove back to Puerto Escondido in the evening as the sun was setting and had a quiet evening in.

While we were out we were watched the Sierra Madres get smaller and smaller and the landscape change ever so slightly. We talked about how Oaxaca is known for their artists and much of that is due to the fact that 50% of the population is indigenous and up until the 1990’s widely uneducated. Many children were kept home as school is taught in spanish and it didn’ t recognize the local dialects. Instead, kids were kept home and taught handicrafts, and skills in self sufficiency. Of course that means they can scrape a living together but it isn’t much. It also means the art and textiles produced are spectacular.

Our big birthday feast for Nick today was bbq chicken for lunch and then the spiciest chorizo and pork tacos I have EVER had. So, so good. The girls ate them also and we were all downing any drink we could get our hands on. It was really fuuny, for about 5 minutes I couldn’t speak as I thought my ears were on fire. We only went to eat there as no one else was there and we felt bad for him. Once we sat down, the place filled up!! Nick was most pleased.

Tomorrow we are starting our trek north, but to be honest if I didn’t have that damn rental car I wouldn’t leave. Ever. I think I almost have the girls turned on to living in Mexico, just for a while. Seasonal maybe, like October to May. We’ll see, I like the element of surprise. Our plan tomorrow is to stop south of Acapulco for one night and then be in Zihuatinejo for G’s birthday. I don’t think I will have internet for a while, it is pretty remote where we are headed. We may have a chance to release turtles into the sea tomorrow night as the beach we are staying in (God willing) is famous for the turtles. Mads and I watched a turtle come up on the beach once before and lay eggs but to release them would be equally cool.

There is a huge class divide in Mexico and although I had known this before it has been made very obvious while travelling inland.

In Queretaro, we stayed with friends and they took us around town to show off their city. It was great, we ate at the oldest restaurant in the city, then went for dessert at another Queretaro institution. We drove to Pena de Bernal to have breakfast overlooking one of the largest monoliths in the world. We went to a winery and sampled some great wine. The weekend finished with a BBQ and watching the football game. We discussed animal welfare, politics, retirement, and work; it was like being at home only warmer. It made me think about our indigenous friends on the coast and how our time spent with them is so different. The language barrier is part of it as well as Jorge’s family inland all speak English.

But it also speaks to the massive indigenous population and lack of opportunity. In Mexico the Spanish ruling class have the opportunity and expectation, I suppose, to get an education, carry on with a good career, travel, etc. Whereas the indigenous people are the labourers, the workers in the shops, taxi drivers and farmers. I wonder what the statistics are of indigenous people who make it to university or move on to positions of power? Imagine being indigenous and a woman, how small your world would be.

We have travelled now into Oaxaca where the Indian population is the majority and you can see how the state is treated like a poor relation. The pueblos have more unpaved roads, there are way more corrugated metal shacks, the churches less ornate in the square and there is a general feeling of unrest. But the beauty of the landscape, the amazing people, fantastic art and wonderful food more than make up for the political unrest that is making our time here a bit more complicated. Our plan for today is to go to Monte Alban and then into the city where we have a hotel booked right near Santo Domingo. I want to explore a women’s cooperative of handicrafts, plus I also want to go to the Museum of Contemporary Art. The problem is the teachers are planning a major protest today to fight for better wages and we have been told all major routes around the city will be blockaded. Crappy. That poses a problem for us. Do we chance it and go with our plans and risk sitting in traffic for hours or do we skip the ruins, get into the city and try for the ruins tomorrow?

We arrived in Oaxaca 2 days ago after an 8 hour drive from Queretaro. The drive was good, I found it quick and the change in landscape astounding. It was smog filled and industrial until we got passed Puebla and then it was like a desert. The girls were snapping pictures of the biggest cacti we had ever seen and it was getting hot. We went through a crazy amount of toll booths and on the exit side there were people selling everything from drinks to puppies. Every time we were stopped for roadworks, there would be group carrying baskets selling drinks, food, beer, gum, and individual cigarettes. This would be in the middle of nowhere, hours from the nearest town.

Hours Later……

So here is how the day played out. We went to Monte Alban without any traffic troubles but G is sick right now and the air up there is so thin that we were just walking in and she couldn’t breathe. Her little heart was pounding in her chest. Nick and I were afraid it was in her lungs as her cough sounds terrible so we drove into Oaxaca proper and found a hospital.

I may not have mentioned this before but parking in any major city is impossible. So Nick dropped us off at the entrance while he went to park. I somehow in my first grade Spanish managed to jump the queue and see a doctor straight away. He took her temperature, checked her lungs, looked at her throat, and hooked her up to a machine to test her pulse, respiration and lung capacity. He said her lungs are clear, but she has an infection in her throat. Rest and no sun for a few days plus antibiotics. He typed the prescription on A TYPEWRITER that didn’t even have auto return. It was circa 1950 I think. Crazy. The whole ward was tiny; tiny beds, old equipment, poor lighting but as the doctor nattered away in Spanish and I caught the gist, I was thinking how great it was to walk right in. It would be a 5 day wait back home. So 400 pesos later we had our results and were on our way. G spent most of the day in the hotel while we walked around the city in shifts.

There is so much more that we did over the last few days. A few standouts: the rug I bought from the tiny indigenous woman who was such a great saleswoman. I didn’t really want the rug but it was worth it just for the experience. We all laughed as her and I went back and forth over the price. Then later Maddy came back with a beautiful wrap that she paid half of what I paid! Mads is the new haggler! We also watched the teachers march through the city blocking roads and chanting for better pay. There is also a 3 million dollar reward for any information leading to the missing student teachers. Any occupy the zocalo is also ongoing.

We are off to Puerto Escondido tomorrow with a side trip to Monte Alban. We will give it another try. Hopefully G will feel a bit better and she will be able to breathe up there. If not we will have to give it a miss as we have a place booked through airbnb tomorrow.

Well, after a year hiatus from blogging and also a year off from travelling to Mexico, here we are again. We are back in Melaque after flying into Puerto Vallarta on Sunday. We are on a 5 week road trip down the coast (maybe) and up through central Mexico.

Up to here has been the easy part. We have travelled extensively in this area and we visited all of our favourite haunts on the way down. It’s funny how things change but yet stay the same. The road into Tenacatita is open again and the beach and swimming are as good as they have ever been. But, the restaurants are gone, the campground gone and no one was about. It feels like it did 17 years ago when we first went there. A heavy police presence was there, in fact there were more police than people.

We left PV thinking getting to Melaque would save us some money as it is so expensive in the city. And since we have always stayed in Melaque at the same place we found out that prices here are similar. A bit of a shock, but we did find a lovely bungalow with a pool for 800p for 2 nights. It has a small kitchen and 2 beds. Thankfully I bought coffee for the morning because the damn rooster next door starts crowing at 5am.

Tomorrow we leave and are heading towards Guadalajara. My one rule is that we have to be in a town by 4 so we can get a hotel and be settled before dark. We have heard of some unrest along the Michoacan coast so we are going to go inland and down. Once we get to Puerto Escondido we can evaluate whether or not to drive the coast.

The kids are loving being back and spent hours in the ocean today bodysurfing. They are surviving on chorizo tacos, yogurt and granola. Since you don’t get fruit or veg with your meals down here we will be stopping at little stands along the highway for fresh mango, watermelon and pineapple. I am so far surviving on bacon and watermelon, hmmm, my favourite things.

We were out for tacos tonight and a little boy at the next table started choking, the mom jumped up and was panicking, so just then Nick stood up, grabbed the boy from his mother and wedged his fist under his ribs and squeezed. A taco shot out and the boy started to wail, a very scary moment and Nick was very calm about the whole thing. Thankfully, it all ended well as I hate to think what would have happened otherwise.

Weather wise, it has been overcast and muggy. I find it pretty chilly in the morning and comfortable to sleep. I can hear the waves breaking, smell the sea air and can’t think of anyplace I’d rather be. It’s good to be back.