¡¡OAXACA!!

Hello everyone,

We're here in the state capital, inland for a change. Feeling chilly! It's not actually cold here at all, had just become used to needing to sleep under a wet sarong to stay cool. Spectacular mountain scenery between the coast and here too - and tiny little villages dotted along the way. Unexpected bus change meant Paul's new neighbour was a chicken (mine a guy who maybe could have washed more often).

We arrived last night after about 22 hours on buses (getting much better at travel snoozing) and were in a bit of a daze. It didn't help that we arrived into festival time, with street parades, firecrackers and a glockenspiel (marimba) concert in the main square. Was amazing to see, especially all the traditional costumes, and the music was really impressive. Slightly surreal though!

Today is laundry day (living the high life!) and meeting our host family, our new home for the week while we hit the books to learn Spanish more betterer (mas bueno-er).

Excited about meeting and living with the new family - there are two kids, 3 and 8. Fun!

Hope you have not got square eyes from catching up on all the new blog posts, we will put some more on soon too!

Hasta luego!

PS. Have now added photos - some are from the beautiful but wind-ey (that's as in with lots of bends, not lots of wind)) bus ride from the coast through the mountains and up to Oaxaca City, and some are from the first weekend visiting the town, and experiencing the celebration of traditional dance that is "Gueleguetzal".


Cloud forest.


Mountains (as snapped from the bus)


Roadside stall.


"Bend ahead" indeed. Doesn't quite capture the reality. It was all bends, to tell the truth.


View from the bus!



Marimba concert in the Zocalo (town square). Wow! That's a lot of marimbas!


Iglesia de Santa Domingo


Parade of the people of the town of Chatino, as part of the Gueleguetza


El Toro!


The Alcala pedestrian street after the parade


Balloons!


We want balloons!


Oaxaca Cathedral (with balloons)


Chatino Dance exhibition


The crowd at the stage.


Fiera de Mescal!


Our new home for the week!

Zihuatanejo

Well, here as we speak!
Great town, bit busier than the last couple, but happily, hardly any gringos, it's Mexican holiday season. Heaps to do from here, visited a beach across the bay today, and tomorrow we're off to Manzanillo, where it's supposed to be really quiet and the best snorkeling in the area. Can't wait!
Also getting laundry back tomorrow, which is always a highlight. Yay! Stinky after lots of bus trips.
We think we'll head from here straight to Oaxaca (10hr overnight bus). We're enrolled in a week's Spanish school, starting Monday, with homestay, which should be awesome, really looking forward to it, and getting to know somewhere new too.
It's an inland city, rich with culture and tradition, and everyone says it's great to be in.
Hoping to update the gaps in the blog soon! Hope you're enjoying it, and you can finally see where we are at the moment!
And HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! big hugs to Scottie and to Mary. Hope the day was the best eva.

















ADDITIONAL BONUS PHOTOS!

THESE ARE FROM THE BUS TRIP FROM LAZARAO CARDENAS TO ZIHUATANEJO, THAT MISSED OUT ON THEIR OWN BLOG ENTRY. THOUGH IT'D BE NICE TO PUT THEM IN ANYWAY.

¡Cuyutlan! 17-19 July

Cuyutlan was the next hop down the coast, a long long beach with black sand! Great to see, hot to walk on!
Big highlight was walking a few k down the beach to the Tortugaria, a Turtle Sanctuary, where they are working to conserve the species that arrive on the coast here. (There are 8 marine turtle species in the world, 7 nest on the Mexican Pacific Coast).

Setting off for the walk (locals thought we were mad, but the walk wasn't too long).


The sand was really sinky!


These birds were great - this one was running away from the waves on shore.


Cool turtle. Unfortunately they were in pretty tiny pools, fed pellets. But the breeding program is really successful, so maybe they are happy?


Baby croc. Watching us.


Paul was clever enough to spot this awesome little iguana.


Here he is in close up - we couldn't find him in the photo at first!


Paul on the lagoon (boat trip from the Tortugaria - ace!)


Beautiful water lilies


Part of the path they've made through these incredibly dense mangroves.


Walking back home to our new place! Ok, it was hot, and Paul left his hat on Ben's yacht in the UK. Never stuck for an answer, he's featured here in the latest headgear - his chesty bonds singlet.


Crabs on the beach - they're cool.


Visited the Salt Musuem - Lonely Planet said it's ´one of a kind´. They weren't kidding. Here's the Pre-Hispanic God of Salt.

Historic salt techniques displayed in miniture.


Local street.


View from our room (lucky!)

Next door to our hotel. Glad we picked this one.