Sleepy Taxco to Eventful Oaxaca

Taxco

From Mexico City we took a 2-hour bus trip to the picturesque town of Taxco. Famous for its silver and precious stone mines it offered the perfect opportunity for some stylish shopping for me (and some disgruntled tagging along for Erik).

The lovely town of Taxco.

The town itself is perched upon extremely high hills, with steep, narrow cobblestone streets that are exceedingly difficult to navigate. To get from A to B the town uses tiny, beat up VW beetles to zoom around (see Erik's Beetle Insert below for a history lesson). We were witness to more than one adorable traffic jam during our stay.

Beetle jam!

Oaxaca

Next up, we headed through to the slightly larger city of Oaxaca. Stiflingly hot, but with plenty to do, Oaxaca formed the base for a number of day trips and hikes. Our first excursion saw us heading out on a 3-day hike through the forest.

To begin our trip we headed off at 6:30am to the Second Class Bus Station. It lived up to its name.

Before we continue, if you'll permit me a small aside: On the whole, I have found Mexican people to be incredibly friendly. Always quick with a smile and a warm greeting. So much so that even when sitting in a restaurant, new patrons on their way past our table would greet us with a bright 'buenos dias' (good day) before wandering off to a table of their own.

It was therefore a rather unpleasant shock for me to meet my first godawful Mexican at the 2nd class bus station. She was the culmination of an entire nation's nastiness crammed into one miserable human being. With a face like a withered lemon, and an attitude just as sour, she greeted my friendly request for coffee with a belligerent grunt and slopped some brown oily liquid into a cup. Not wanting to poke the bear any further, I paid and fled as she continued to bark angry Spanish at me. I can still feel her flinty eyes boring into the back of my neck.

Anyway, back to the hike:

Day 1: To Latuvi

Our hike started off very pleasantly along a shady pine trail through bucolic scenery. Even I couldn't find fault with it. At around the 1.5 hour mark, we switched guides. Our new guide was a lot more talkative and insightful, pointing out interesting plants and fauna along the way. Of course, we barely understood a word, but nodded sagely and oohed and aahed in what we hoped were the right places. The path then took a steady descent, going steeply down slippery pathways strewn with pine needles and damp foliage. After nearly 2.5 hours of constant downhill, we were convinced that if we went any further, it wouldn't be long before we reached the centre of the earth. Luckily, the path finally evened out and we at last reached the hilly town of Latuvi which would be our home for the night.

Note: At the beginning of the hike, Erik insisted on carrying one backpack with all of our stuff in it. It was very, very heavy but he didn't complain once. (He made me write that.) In truth, he didn't complain once, but rather multiple times.

And so it begins. (Also, Erik's leg appears to be missing for some reason)

Day 2: La Nevia

We continued our walk at 9am sharp the next day. It was a rather pleasant walk, as walks go, particularly because it lasted only 3.5 hours. After some gruelling uphills we made it to our cabana in good time and were treated to a pleasant afternoon of non-stop relaxing.

Yay! We've reached the cabanas!

Day 3: Benito Juarez

The last day saw us wake with some confusion as we were convinced we'd overslept. My watch said it was 8:30am and we rushed around packing and getting ready to go, since we were meant to leave at 9am. As we raced to the hut where we were to have breakfast and meet our guide, we were surprised that no one was there. Except for the rather confused looking chef who was in charge of our breakfast. It turns out that this tiny town is in a different time zone due to daylight savings time (it's 1 hour behind). Adding to this, I have a crappy watch, which can easily confuse 7:30 with 8:30 (the demarcations are rather ambiguous - Erik really hates this watch). Long story short, we showed up to breakfast at 6:30am with plenty of time to spare. After breakfast, we started our walk at 8am (their time). It consisted of 3 hours of brutal uphill along what barely passed for a path. I spent most of it sweating profusely and swatting at swarms of mosquitos that were desperate for some unknown reason to climb into my ears and nose. It was then that I began to suspect they found my Tabard insect repellant rather alluring.

Erik enjoying one of the giant bowls of coffee that are served with breakfast.

We finally arrived at Benito Juarez, only to discover that we had to walk a further hour along a dry, sun-beaten road where we could flag down a bus. It took a further hour of waiting by the barren roadside looking hopefully for any sign of life before a bus finally arrived to drive us the 1.5 hour bumpy ride back to our hostel.

After a much needed shower, we headed to the rooftop bar of the hostel for a well-earned beer and some cards. It was here that we met a fellow South African (from Maritzberg) and two friendly girls from the UK.

They invited us round to their table for some beer and shithead (a card game for those of you who might be concerned). After a few rounds, Andy (the South African) whipped out some chapulinas, a local Oaxacan delicacy consisting of deep fried and seasoned grasshoppers. They were about as tasty as they sound.

Down the hatch! (we weren't smiling quite so happily afterwards)

After this, we headed out to a little-known Mezcal bar, where to our surprise they were playing the rather famous and also slightly creepy music of SA band, Die Antwoord. This was followed by some street-side hotdogs (delicious!) and some drinks/dancing at a local club. All in all, a pretty eventful day.

The following day we wobbled out (with slightly tender heads and blood-shot eyes) to some beautiful ruins just outside the city. With green rolling lawns and a vast expanse of exquisite Mayan architecture it was a great end to our Oaxacan stay.

At the ruins.

That evening we hopped on an overnight bus and headed out to San Cristobal (which is Erik's story to tell). 

Erik`s Beetle Insert

One thing that strikes one in Mexico is just how many old VW Beetles there are. Poor Marcelle now has a permanently sore shoulder from playing punch-buggy. We were quite confused as to the vast number of these old models, thinking that the Mexican people must just take really good care of their cars. But judging by the poor condition of their roads, this seemed unlikely, so we decided that more research was called for. It turns out that Mexico was the last country in the world to stop manufacturing the old model - in only 2003! - and this was largely due to new government policy banning 2-door taxies in Mexico City and regulating cars with higher carbon emissions. For a few decades the VW Beetle was consistently the number 1 selling car on the roads here. In some of the towns we have been to, notably Taxco, the number of these cars is quite ridiculous.