I suck at games

Two games:

Runts

While in Guatemala I think its important to practice the runts game. I mean its an important skill to have. Last week I dropped my 1Q in the runt machine (pretty much the same as USA runts) and I got 1 bananna. Thats it - 1 freaking bananna. Nothing else. Absolutely nothing. What a waste of money.

Pool

I went out with Reuben and shot pool yesterday. We played maybe 15 games. I won the last. We played 3 different games.

1st game

You start with the 1 ball. You must hit the 1 ball first and then you get whatever ball you put in. Add up the number of 'points' and the guy with the most is the winner. If you hit the 1 and you slop in the 7 then you have 7 points and you can continue. Once the 1 ball is in you then must hit the 2 first, and so on. It wasn't even close. I don't know the name of this game.

2nd game

You only use the first 8 balls and again you must go in order. The winner is the one that puts the 8 ball in the pocket that he calls. So if I call a combo 1 ball into the 8 ball and make it I win. This game is played 'ball in hand' if you don't hit the ball you are supposed to - or you scratch. This game is called 8 ball

3rd game

What we know as 8 ball but with slop. However on scratches we played ball in hand.

Boy did I suck.

La Tienda

This is 'my tienda'. It’s about a 1 minute walk. Tienda's are a staple in Latin America and more so in Guatemala. They sell anything that you are likely to 'have forgotten' at the grocery store. They sell cigarettes singly. Need some loose leaf paper? 8 sheets for 1Q. Forgot eggs? you can buy 1 or whatever quantity you need. Rueben and Gloria are great people. Reuben is retired and Gloria is the main worker (my observation). The tienda isopen from about 7am to 10 pm and Gloria takes off maybe 1 or 2days per year. Normally the door is shut so you can't walk in but has the top part open. I know there is a word for this type of door. The 'accepted' way to get the attention of the people in a tienda is to take a coin and just tap on the door. Most (maybe by definition all) tiendas are a room of the house off the street.

Me at my bar stool. Some tienda's let you drink and others don't. Reuben doesn't as tienda's with drinking tend to bring in the obnoxious drunks. Friends can drink there however.

Gloria

Reuben -

Notice the eggs at the bottom right - no refrigeration. How long do the keep?

Garbage, Rats & Bastard (or Angel)

Last December (I believe) was the election and Danilo Angel (not to be confused with an angel but hereafter referred to as the bastard) won the election for mayor.

Understand that I am a lazy ass student of Spanish and that I may or may not have my facts correct. I understand most everything when I talk with my friends who use good (and slow) Spanish (most does not mean all and often 1 word can change the meaning significantly).

OK. Angel (oops, the bastard) won the election (I believe it was his third attempt) and one of his platforms was making Huehue a cleaner place. Immediately after he took office things actually got better. Garbage pickup was run by a private company and people paid the company to pick up the garbage weekly (just as in the states – at least in TR). I believe it was 30Q a month but I’m not going to swear to that. Anyway before long he had the city take over the garbage pickup. Otto (my friend) believes that his advisors persuaded him to do this by convincing him it would be a huge money maker for the city. I’m not sure how he managed to take over but things down here are not as they are at home.

So now the bastard has control of the garbage pickup and can rake in the revenue for the city (and presumably skim his cut off the top) and guess what happened? The dump said “up yours”. The city was not allowed to dump anymore. This I don’t understand but I am guessing maybe they didn’t want to accept the garbage anymore and this was an easy out (pure speculation on my part). The city continued to look for places to dump as the garbage piled up. They made several attempts to have the garbage dumped elsewhere (I’m guessing with midnight runs or at least in secret) and this resulted in having the truck destroyed by really pissed off people in (I think) 2 instances. With nowhere to dump the garbage piled up.

This problem took place in March – June (I think) although I heard nothing in March when I was here but I was only here for a few days and the problem was just starting. Apparently at its worst it was a mess. Now there is (apparently) less of a problem (it has all been picked up) although the garbage pickup is sporadic at best. Many times in the morning I see where people made midnight runs to dump their garbage somewhere on the street. I do not know where they (the city) dump now.

At some point the bastard took off and is nowhere to be found although he is still the mayor. Maybe he is with the Honduran president? I think if he returned he would not live long. My friend Jorge works for the city and he will only say it’s not good. Apparently (from Otto) money from the government and from other countries earmarked for different projects is missing. All Jorge will say is it’s not good – I think he may be worried about his job (pure speculation) and he isn’t that far from retirement.

Where do rats fit into this? Although some may call the bastard a rat I believe in calling it as I see it. My question is: Where are the rats? With all the garbage that I have seen (and what I heard there was) I would have believed the population of rats would have skyrocketed. I have not seen a single rat (although I’m not out at night). However, apparently Typhoid Fever is a problem.

Never trust them angels.

I'm alive and well

First Deb sent me an email yesterday saying people were concerned/wondering because I hadn't posted a blog and then Don sent me an email today asking if I was alive. For better or worse folks I am here and doing fine.

My day to day life here is not much to write about.

I've started running again (the 534th time in my life). I am now up to over 40 minutes. It was dificult at first because of the altitude (not to mention the piss poor shape I had allowed myself to get into). The altitude here is about 2,000 meters which is just a tad more than TR. I have 1 run that is just a bitch. The first time I stopped 5 times. Saturday when I did it I only stopped twice. This route leaves huehue very flat, dips down and then is straight up. I will post pictures some day. The first part (the straight up part) fittingly ends at a cemetary and then continues with a 'gentler' incline. Once you reach the top you can complete a circle that gently is downhill for the next 20 plus minutes.

My average day:

get up, run and shower by 7 am

eat breakfast

go to school at 8 am

get done with school at noon

go home and eat lunch between 1 and 2 pm

go to the orphanage for 2 to 3 hours

wander home - this takes about 2 to 3 hours, checking my email, having a few brewskies and ending up at my favorite place (besides the stumpjack) to have a beer: the local tienda.

I get home at 7:30ish for dinner and then go out or stay in and read but am in bed by 10 at the latest.

I will post a blog about the tienda later.

The kids are doing fine at the orphanage. At this moment there is close to 100.

hasta pronto

I´m in Panajachel

I’m in Pana – got here about 2:30. I left the school at about 10:30 am. Its hard to believe it takes that long. Actually the bus really got going at about 11 am and I got to Solola at 1:50. The bus for some reason stopped several blocks from the bus stop to catch the Pana bus (traffic congestion due to the market?) so I walked (obviously) and I think I yinged when I should have yanged – I walked through the market to I lost time. It probably should have taken just a tad over 3 hours to get here. I do enjoy walking through the markets though. The smells are interesting – ranging from enticing to urine – the whole spectrum.

Huehue to Quatro Caminos - 20Q
Quatro Caminos - La Cuchio - 15Q
La Cuchio to Solola - 2.50Q
Solola - Pana - 3Q

Price really is the same as it was last year. Very uncrowded busses though - vaguely disturbing.

I’m staying where I usually stay (especially when on a low budget) – Posada Montufar. It is 42Q per night with shared bath. Just a tad over $5.

I will be here for 2 nights.

Be careful what you write.

During Estalita’s party Sandra made a comment (favorable) about my blog. Talk about a shock. Apparently she Google’s fundacion Salvacion and then uses the Google translator to read. I was a tad embarrassed to say the least.

Estailita’s Birthday

Estalita’s birthday is today but we celebrated it yesterday. I wanted to go to Pana today and she has her music lessons on Friday so it just made sense. Paty, Karan (a 10 year old) and I went out to buy a cake and present for Estalita. Paty really wasn’t much help but finaly said her CD player (small boom box that I bought her last year) was broke so I bought her a new one. We also got a nice (170Q ouch) cake. In the process I got soaked. It was pouring out. I had my umbrella but I let the girls use it as it was to small for all 3 of us. We took the taxi back.

We celebrated with Sandra, a few of the workers, friends and the little kids that Paty and Estalita are responsible for.

Here are a few pictures.

My first 2 days in Huehue

Not much new.

I started classes on Monday. Maria is my teacher for the first part and Otto for the second part. So far Otto and I have just talked and Maria is reviewing with me. I imagine that I will spend the first 2 weeks just reviewing. It slowly is coming back – possibly I need to study.

Have been to the fundacion every day. The kids are doing fine. Yesterday we went out to eat for lunch. It’s really interesting watching how the girls grow. When I first took the girls out to eat (December 2003) my intention was to take them to a nice restaurant. Patty was having none of that, she wanted to go to Pollo Campero (KFC like chain in Guatemala) – we went to Pollo Campero. In fact we went to Pollo Campero exclusively until last year. Last year Patty asked if we could go to La Fonda which is a nice restaurant. Of course I was thrilled to do that as I was sick of Pollo Campero. Every time however that we went to a restaurant Patty (and Estelita) ordered pizza.

I guess growth comes in small steps. Yesterday when we went I was shocked when Patty ordered a traditional Guatemalan meal – she is no longer a kid I guess. After we ate we walked around the center of town and then went to a café (I wanted a coffee) and Patty astounded me again by ordering a capuccinno. Will wonders never cease.

Estelita now is only studying piano – I’m not quite sure why. She said she will talk to me later about what she wants to do. I think she only wants to study voice.

Motorcycle's Revisited

I had it all pretty correct except that the helmet is mandatory. Apparently in certain cities the law is enforced and where there are no problems (like Huehue) the law is different/not enforced. For example in Huehue you can have 2 people on the bike and only the passenger needs the vest and helmet. However the law is not enforced.

This is a clasic example of how politicos make laws without thinking of the ramifications. Apparently there were a lot of protests over this but they fell on deaf ears.

In latin america as in many other parts of the world the motorcyle is the mode of transportation for the middle class. They can't afford a car but they can afford a cycle which is used to transport kids to school, spouse to work, etc. Often times you will see 2, 3, or even 4 people on a bike. Now enforce this law and how do you get your wife to work, or your child to school? Why they take the public transportation. It's the public transportation that is being targeted by the criminals. So now to try and eliminate one problem you have put thousands of people in more danger. If you chose to ignore the law the fine is over 1000Q which is more than alot of people make in a month. They solved 1 problem at the expense of many - it sucks big time.

motorcyles

More or less I have this correct - a few details may be slightly off. I hope to talk to Otto tomorrow and make sure I have this all correct.

Due to the high numbers of murders commited from motorcycles there is a new law in Guatemala. I am assuming it is enforced in Guatemala City because it sure isn´t enforced here. With 2 people on a bike and helmets which function as a mask it is very easy to commit a drive by shooting or assasination and on a bike it is very easy to get away. The traffic is crazy and there is no way a car could get away but a bike is super easy.

The law as I understand it.
1) 1 person per bike
2) you must have a vest on that has your license plate number on it. These vests are black with reflective silver stripes and your plate number is reflective also. The vests come in different styles; mesh, a very light material, a heavier material and I´m sure they have them in jackets also.
3) if you wear a helmet it to must have the license plate number on it.

I assume that if you aren´t in compliance (in Guatemala City) you would be stopped. Nots sure if it helps or not.

Estoy en Guatemala

I went to the counter in San Cristobal and the earliest bus to Comitan was 10:15 so I took a colectiveo (40P).

note: colectivos operate between 2 fixed points, normally two adjacent towns. They don't leave until they have enough people in them to make the ride profitable. They then drop and pick people up along the way. Usually they are vans but occasionaly can be taxis.

My colectivo from San Cristobal was a taxi and left once they had 4 passengers so it was (relatively speaking) a quick ride.

In Comitan I walked across the road and caught a colective (van for 30P) to the border. I crossed the border at 1:10. I had to go thru Mexican customs and then took a taxi (colectivo 10P) for a couple more miles to the Guatemalan side and went through Guatemalan customs.

Before customs I dealt with the usual crooks (money changers) and as usual got ripped off.

$1/7Q

1P/Q

not sure what the ATM exchange rate is yet.

After the Guatemalan customs I asked how much for a taxi ride (they are tuk-tuk's) to the bus terminal (basically a vacant lot) and it was 20Q. I walked.

Cost 20Q for the 2 plus hour ride to Huehue and arrived at about 2pm (Guatemala is an hour behind Mexico - they don't use daylight savings time). Took a taxi (25Q) to the orphanage but the girls were at some activity at some church. I visited for a bit and then went to the school for a hour or so. After that I went to my house, stopping at the tienda for a beer and to catch up with Gloria and Reuben. Carlos showed up there also.

Had dinner at the school and was in bed by 10pm.

Why Do I Do This?

Found a wireless place so am having my 3rd dose of caffeine (they charged my 5P for the password) so I am posting this and the prievious 2 posts

7:56 am

Why Do I Do This?

I walked down to the central plaza to a café in hopes of getting a cappuccino and a wireless connection. I’ve got the cappuccino but not the wireless.

Now to the question I posed.
It seems somewhat bizarre that I would travel all this distance and only 1 time did spend 2 nights in the same place. Many of the places that I went to (In México all but PV) I would love to spend 2 or 3 days at.

I have always dreamed of traveling in this fashion. Slowly moving on (albeit on this trip it was quickly moving on) toward some goal. When I was a child I used to dream of riding my bicycle across the country. Every day moving on a bit farther. As a thirty something adult I canoed with Deb or friends and we moved on down the river every day – never staying 2 days at the same spot. I have also dreamed of canoeing the Mississippi from Lake Itasca to Gulf of México.

This form of traveling is what I like best – but to be honest it would be much better if I had the time to spend the 2 or 3 days at each spot.

Was this a great vacation? Hell yes it was. Can I explain why, not really. You either totally understand or you can never understand.

One thing this trip did teach me is that I can’t wait till I retire. If all goes well I’ll retire in 10 years at age 62 and then make the trip down the pan American from Alaska to the tip of South America and then maybe up the coast on the east (would have to spend some time learning Portuguese though. And no, I wouldn’t just travel on the pan American but travel south.

Will try and post this and then I’m Comitan bound. I figure 5 to 6 hours from when I leave here till I arrive in Huehue.

Not sure if I’m ready to study tomorrowL

Sunday Morning 5 July

Get out and vote!

5:17 am

I’m in Tutxla. I had this fleeting thought in Tehuantepec that I would check and see if I could change my ticket as maybe the bus continued on in the direction I was going. I didn’t check and the bus is. I however am glad to be off the bus for a bit. I would die for a coffee right now but the damn coffee shop isn’t open.

I don’t like the overnight busses. It takes me forever to be able to sleep, and it’s never a comfortable sleep. I fall asleep and then wake up 20 minutes later and continually repeat the process. So it’s 5:23 am and I probably got 3 hours of sleep last night at best.

7:15 am

My bus left at 6am sharp (25P) and I must have slept most of the way. I looked at my watch when we pulled into San Cristobal and I figured we weren’t here yet as I thought it would take 2 hours. The driver however said we were in San Cristobal. I put my back pack in storage (10P/hr) and found a restaurant across the street. After I eat I will find a bus/colectivo to get to Comitan.

Saturday night 4 July

8 pm

I’m at the bus station for my 11:30 bus. I know it’s silly but I didn’t want to have to catch a taxi late and it was convoluted at best to get from my hotel to the bus station. After my lunch and trip to the internet place I had a beer and went back to the hotel and took a nap and then a shower. I found on my way to my lunch a café that had wireless so after my shower I went there and had two cappuccinos and a bottle of water. I then went out for dinner near the hotel. It was 6:45 and I went to the place that I had a beer at and he said he couldn’t serve me (I’m guessing that maybe 6pm is the cut off time) and I asked why. He said because of the voting (which I knew) so I replied that I couldn’t vote. He laughed and then I said (just joking) that I could hide it and he said (I had ordered a dark beer) that he could put it in a class and then said it’s a coke. So I had a couple of beers (cokes) with my dinner and then went back – took another shower and now am waiting for my bus.

I like this town (Tehuantepec) – it’s real México. It’s not small (70,000) but it has a small town feel. They have the neatest taxis – they are like a motorcycle tricycle that has a platform in the back and the passengers stand. They maybe can fit 3 people – they are cute but unfortunately I didn’t get a picture.

Well if I have internet at the Tuxtla station I will post this, otherwise it will probably get posted from Guatemala.

Ciao.

july 4

6:35 am local time

Why do I keep saying local time – that’s stupid as I only use local time. I catch the bus in 25 minutes. Actually I need to go out there 10 to 15 minutes early. By this time I used to go crazy but now I am somewhat relaxed about catching my bus.Slept like a baby last night – was in bed at 9:15 and snoring by 9:16 I’m pretty sure.I got up this morning at 5:30 and was out the door at 6 to come here.3 years ago at this very time I stayed in the same place. Casa Arnel is very nice, reasonable and quite (except during world cup games). I know it was the same time because this weekend is the election (first Sunday in July) and I entered Guatemala that year on Sunday – I spent Friday and Saturday night at the casa 3 years ago and only Friday this year. The difference? 3 years ago it was packed with travelers from around the world. This year I saw no other travelers. There might have been other guests, I can’t be sure. I was in the common area from 7:30 till 9 last night and saw no one. I talked to the owner and she said between the swine flu and the economy it’s been bad. Most people (taxi drivers and the random wierdos I talk to) have mentioned the flu when I talked about the lack of tourists. (I’m on the bus now) Most of the busses that I’ve been on have been empty (relatively speaking) until I got on this bus. It’s packed. I hope that people (tourists) aren’t avoiding Mexico because of some ignorant concern about the influenza. I think that the economy must be the main reason, although I read somewhere in the spring that Mexico was going to begin a 90 million dollar add campaign to try and bring tourists back to Mexico. I believe this was aimed primarily at those people going to the resorts that I don’t go to. They were going to try and encourage people to go to Cancun (for example) but not ever mention the word Mexico. Don’t know if this campaign ever was run (don’t really watch TV).

In the north getting on the bus was as simple as showing your ticket. At Mexico City I got patted down (everyone but old ladies were). Here in Oaxaca they ran the wand (metal detector not magic) over me and then they walked through the bus with the video camera filming everyone. They made me take my hat off. Does that mean there is more crime the farther south you go? I thought the danger was in the north and the city. Without a doubt the worst bus station that I went to was in Nogales. The station in Oaxaca was very nice and I even was able to get a good cup of cappuccino. Mexico Cities station is what it is – very busy. Manzanillo had a very nice modern station. Puerto Vallarta had a much smaller station than I had anticipated, but I guess most tourists travel by plane. In PV just as in Mexico City by you need to buy a ticket from the kiosk to give to the taxi driver. At the kiosk you must tell the ticket person where you are going - a pain in the ass if you don’t know where you are going. Well it’s also a pain in the ass typing this so I’m going to sign off.

Ciao

I´m in Tehuantepec. Arrived at noon but couldn´t catch a bus till 11:30 tonight. I bought a ticket to Tuxtla Gutierrez for then. Checked the 2nd class station next door and they had a bus leaving at 4pm. Didn´t really help me as I don´t want to arrive at 10 at night. Got a hotel (230P) and at least can nap and take a shower. Had a great meal and a couple of beers - didn´t think I could buy a beer from midnight last night till monday morning. I´m guessing this far from anything they just don´t care about the law or maybe I misunderstood. Most latin countries I believe have laws about selling alcohol on election day.

My ticket for this morning was 174P and my ticket for tonight was 202P.

Basically I should arrive in Tuxtla around 5 am. Its then 3 hours to Comitan by bus. After that colective to the border (1 hour) and then 2 hours by bus to huehue. should be there by late lunch tomorrow.

Speaking of border crossings I hate them. Crossing into the USA because imigracion are ass holes and every other country because the money changers are rip off artists and I need Quetzals. I thought I packed mine but didn´t - oh well.

hasta luego and happy 4th of July and happy b-day eldest son

Kindle

I guess it’s time to comment on Deb’s Kindle that she loaned me. I absolutely hate and love it.

Love:
It is perfect for traveling. I don’t have to carry anything and yet can have a million books. One has to be careful though. I “unplugged” the charger cord and only had the USB part and the gizmo that the USB goes into was still in the outlet. It’s a good thing that I’m so anal as to check that I had each thing I was supposed to have. It’s easy to buy a book – who needs the wireless download. Many good books are there for very reasonable prices.

Hate:
It ain’t a book. I want paper. I want to turn pages. I want to bend pages over. I want to write in the book (realistically to never look at it again), I want to pass the book on. I want to loan the book. I want to trade the book. This proprietary bullshit is ….just bullshit.

However:
I’m traveling and love is better than hate any time.

Check out this blog Deb – I enjoy his books

http://www.jakonrath.blogspot.com/

More Oaxaca

My meal is called Tlayuda con carne (it comes another way besides with meat). I chose beef.

It is a large tortilla with frijoles, onions, cheese (lots) guacamole, tomatoes and the beef on top. Boy was it good. 70 P plus a beer and I tipped the waiter 20P. I wonder how much electricity I would have used. OK, I’m off that topic now.

I bought 3 pieces of artwork, one for la Osita, one for Deb and one for me (or a gift). If Deb puts her mind to it she will figure out the medium and style of the art work (sorry but purple dragons that I found wouldn't have survived in my backpack). Angie, the piece I got for the la Osita is a turtle (she doesn’t read this does she?) – I think that’s what you asked for last year – it’s not a toy though,

The Zocalo is in much better shape than when I was here (must have been 3 years ago). The teacher strike is over. There is some political stuff there though but I think that’s more the result of Sunday’s upcoming election.

The Ugly American?

So after my meal I walk down to the zocalo to look around and have a beer. Before I get there I see a nice restaurant (mostly empty) and I go in and order a beer. They have wifi so I want to post my blog and check my email. My battery (which at the best of times holds very little charge – 2 hrs) is on its last leg so I plug it in after she had brought me my beer. She (I’m thinking she was a librarian in another reincarnation) tells me I can’t do that. Why I ask, and she replies that it uses energy – no fucking shit. By battery needs energy. She was very insistent that I unplug it. I was so mad that I paid for my beer and left – without drinking it. They knew I was mad.

I know, Doug is appalled that I left a full (good) beer on the table and Angie and Deb are saying, “grow up for god sake – you’re 52, isn’t it time you acted like it”. Not to mention this is where Deb makes a comment about life insurance and how she will enjoy it. I politely asked how much the beer was and then sort of (not real hard) slammed the coins on the counter and left without saying anything. I sort of thought the idea was to get people into your restaurant and have them spend money. I mean I wasn’t charging an electric car. I’m in another restaurant (no wifi) and have my computer plugged in. Calm down Rog, take a deep breath. It’s their loss, they can’t resell the beer, they got no tip (and I tip very well) and I probably would have had 3 beers. Again, their loss, glad it only cost 1 beer before I found they were idiots.

Friday Afternoon 3 July

Friday afternoon 3:22 pm local

I’m here and staying at the same place I stayed the first time I was in Oaxaca (200 P per night shared bath). It really is a nice place – don’t quite remember why Deb and I didn’t stay here, but I think it had to with them not \”opening” till later and we got here at sunrise. I couldn’t get a bus to Tuxtla or San Cristobol de las Casas till night so bought a ticket for Tehuantepec for 174P. From there I’m hoping I can catch a bus to Tuxtla or maybe I’ll have to do it in 2 busses. I’m pretty sure I’ll figure it out.

Don’t know if I mentioned it or not but I was able to buy a 3 prong to 2 prong adapter in Manzanillo.

I got into Oaxaca at about 2 or 2:15 in desperate (did I mention desperate) need of a shower. I was ready at 11am yesterday. Had I stayed in Manzanillo I probably would have taken 3 showers – I couldn’t stand myself anymore.

My bus leaves at 7 am tomorrow but I’m only a 10 minute walk to the bus station. The problem is I slept for shit last night and feel like I could sleep for 20 hours. Have to make it till 8ish as my laundry (read that as ALL my clothes) are getting washed. Right now I’m having yesterday’s dinner or is it breakfast, or lunch – I’m at a nice restaurant having some Oaxacan meal that I’ve never heard of.

Ciao

Friday Morning 3 July

Friday Morning 6:34 local

How do you spell idiot? Roger. Boy am I blind. Yesterday evening while I was waiting for my bus it was impossible to check my email or to post. This morning when we got almost to the bus station the driver put the lights on inside (it was just before 6am) and in big bright lettering the sign said wifi. I had just enough to see if I could actually log on and I could but not enough time to actually do anything.

The reason my bus was so expensive I guess was 3 things:

1) wifi
2) even thought the bus was de paso it made no other stops – 10 ½ hours and no stops (that’s a first for that distance anywhere
3) most buses are 2 seats then aisle then 2 seats. This bus was 1 seat then aisle then 2 seats – much more roomy and comfortable.

I got off the bus and took a leak – it’s the first place that I was unable to get through the turnstile with my backpack – some bus stations I don’t worry and just leave my back pack (not my messenger bag though with kindle, computer, camera, etc.). Guy behind me took my messenger bag then passed it thru the turnstile. I had a moment of panic because if he took off with it I was screwed. Sometimes I think I am too trusting but it sure makes life more fun.

I’ve been here before (terminal norte) but I must tell you it’s flipping huge – and to think that there is 4 bus stations. I walked down half of the ticket counters and all destinations were north (duh its terminal norte) and I walked back and was debating whether or not I should just catch a taxi or was it really worth my time to look at the other half when I noticed the very first counter (ADO) had a bus to Tuxtla Gutirez (sp). That is much farther south than Oaxaca so I checked and got a 7:30 am bus to Oaxaca. I think it’s about a 6 or 7 hr ride but not sure. Stood in line for 20 minutes to get a gas station cappuccino (I could go for a stumpjack cappuccino right about now).

I plan to spend the night in Oaxaca and then make a run for the border – not sure I’ll make it but will try and get as far as possible – so much depends on when the bus leaves.

My bus leaves in 30 minutes so gotta go:)

Thursday 2 July

Shit
Thursday afternoon 4:15 pm local

Well I tried to avoid the inevitable and deny the obvious. I can’t continue on this road, it’s closed. I traded my ticket in (again) and went to a different company and bought a ticket to Mexico City. Doesn’t make me happy. I’ll get into Mexico City (Norte) around 7 in the morning. My ticket was 860P – ouch. I will then try and catch a bus to Oaxaca. I believe unfortunately I’ll have to go to a different bus station. There are busses from Norte but not near as many as from TAPO. Shit.

Had an interesting day. Talked to a waiter for quite a while – hard to believe all he said. He spoke perfect (almost) English.

1) was raised in Seattle
2) was legal
3) Got a DUI – getting in trouble for legal residents is not a good thing
4) Got stopped “for nothing” – this is where it gets interesting
5) Cops planted a gun - hmm
6) Ran
7) Got caught in California
8) Did 12 years (of a 16 year sentence) – something just doesn’t ring true – that many years for possession of a gun – forget about the “planting”
9) Upon release was deported

He was a really likable well spoken guy. He said when you are deported (from prison not just being an illegal) that they fly you to Southern California (1 plane chock full of soon to be free convicts) and then take you to the border at 2 am. He said you are released with the money that you have saved while in prison (he made $130/month) and that he had saved $800+. If you had no money they would give you $10. We talked about sports, life here, etc. Like I said, he was a likable guy – I just don’t believe that he got railroaded to prison. The conversation which was steered toward his history was actually started by me – you speak great English, where did you learn it, and after he said he was raised in Seattle then I asked him how he ended up down here which then prompted the story. So it’s not like he just started telling me this wild story. Will never know the fact from fiction.

I also met my other bullshitting friend today. We talked a bit over a beer.

Well I now have 3 more hours to kill. My bus is de paso which means who knows if it will get here on time – not that they are usually real late, but they are normally a tad late which means I worry.

museo de la perversidad

http://picasaweb.google.com/rmuskett/MuseoDeLaPerversidad#

went to a museo (how do you spell that in English?) - somewhat disturbing and/or disgusting, but hey it is what it is:)

Wed afternoon and Thursday Fiasco

I got into Manzanillo around 2pm and bought a ticket for Lazero Cardenas for Thursday morning at 9:15 am. I however didn't have the money for a ticket and there was no ATM machine in the bus station so I took a taxi to an ATM and back and then went in and bought my ticket (202P) and took my taxi (he waited) to hotel Colonial. He charged me $100 P.

My hotel was expensive (370P) but extremely nice. The only drawback is there was no fan (only AC) and I prefer a fan. There was a nice restaurant and wireless internet.

Language is a funny thing - you can understand the words perfectly but not have the correct meaning. I asked which floor my room was on and she said the 2nd - strange as my room number was 313. The first (main) floor is called planta baja which means? So in the latin culture they number floors differently - I knew this but had forgotten.

Spent the afternoon wandering around downtown. Had lunch at an outdoor cafe and had the world's worst waiter. He was so disinterested it was pathetic. I was long done with my meal and wanted a 2nd beer and I finally flagged down a waitress and asked for another beer and the bill. She brought (promptly) my beer and the bill. The bill was wrong (only 1 beer not 2) and I told her. She promptly (notice the repeated use of the word prompt) the corrected bill and I paid her. When she came back (promptly) with my change I gave her a 20% tip and said it was for her. When I first came my waiter came w/in 5 minutes and gave me a menu and I asked for a beer (Modelo Negro) and it took him about 10 minutes to come back with my beer. I almost left. I ordered my meal then and when it came he just plopped it down and didn't ask if I wanted anything else. He was pathetic.

In the afternoon a guy called out to me since I was wearing a Wisconsin T shirt. He was a bullshitter but fun to talk to. We had a couple of beers. Got to bed early (before 9)

Thurs Morning

I got up at 6am - before I found my phone it had already shut off. Had to wait till 8 am for breakfast so I looked for another place and everywhere is just locked down tight till 8ish. Had my breakfast at 8 and booked out of there at 8:20 to the bus station. Went to the counter to get the bus number and she said, "sorry but there is no bus to Lazero Cardenas. My mind went blank and then I thought, "Holy fucking shit, now what the fuck am I going to do" and then after I got my money back I sat down and looked at my map. She told me that there was problems in the road. I talked to one company and to get to Acapulco it would cost me 900P (which I didn't have in cash) and would take 18 hours or something going through Guadalajara. I found another company having a bus leaving at 6pm that coes to Acapulco - Don't know how the bus gets there or if the "problem" in the road means that this bus won't go either. If that bus doesn't go (I'll get there a couple of hours early) then I'll take a bus to Mexico City and just book it till I get to Guatemala.

I took a taxi back to my hotel (35P each way) and explained the problem and asked if I could have my room till checkout - she apologized and told me that as soon as I had checked out she had my room cleaned but that I could leave my backpack. I had figured that I would probably have to do that anyway which is fine.

I'm back sitting in the hotel restaurant (where I have a damn fine waitress) typing this and drinking more coffee than my body can handle. It's now 9:46 am and I have mucho time to kill.

ciao

Tuesday 30 June

Tuesday Afternoon 1:14 local

I got up at 5:30 today and was at the bus station way to early (over an hour). I couldn’t charge my battery last night as my charger is 3 prong and none of the outlets in my room was 3 prong so I only have a minute to write. I thought about this when packing but forgot to pack it (what do those adaptors cost? $.50?).

After I posted last night went to a liquor store and bought a couple of beers for the hotel room. I stopped at a bar on the way back and had 1 also.

Right now I’m in Tepic. Got here about 35 minutes ago, found a comedor down the block and had a good lunch for 40P and am back at the bus station waiting. My bus leaves (supposedly) in 1 hour. Total price for today’s bus was 320P. I should have kept a running total of the prices of my bus and taxi fare.

Paid 50P last night and again this morning to get from the bus to my hotel and back.

My hotel was 285P last night.

Later my battery is about dead. Should be in PV around 6pm.

7:55 pm local time

Damn that time – they changed it on me, not sure where but it changed so I lost an hour. Got into PV at 5:50 my time 6:50 real time. Bought a ticket for Manzanillo which is about 5 or 6 hours away and then I will catch another bus hopefully to the next town. My ticket was 238P and my taxi was 100P

I got in the taxi and told him I wanted to go to the center and wanted a cheap hotel and cheap. He told me yadada: the essence was its expensive here and cheap is 500P. I told him that I was sure there were places that were cheaper. He brought me to a place with 3 hotels, 2 on one side and 1 on the other. He was skeptical and wanted to wait in case I didn’t like them – the place is fine (200P), actually it’s what I want. I went across the street (it’s where I am now) and had a great meal for a reasonable price. They actually make the salsa for you. The only problem is I’M NOT IN MEXICO. I thought if I came to the center I would be away from gringos. The only language I can here is English – the one waiter speaks Spanish to me. The menu is in English. How do I express my distaste?

Driving from the bus station to the center was quite a haul. There is not one good thing I can say about this place except the weather is pleasant. Why anyone would come here baffles the ever loving shit out of me (but to be fair, I'm the ultimate travel snob) – driving to the center I almost told the taxi driver to turn around so that I could catch the next bus out of here – but I was thirsty. I’m sure the beach is nice but….