We're back!

Just landed in NYC, exhausted, but safe and sound!

See y'all soon...

La última mañana en la playa

Well, we had our last breakfast on the beach today. Wriggling our toes in the sand, shooing away a few flies, we enjoyed a bowl of fruit, yogurt and granola (Brian´s was drizzled with honey) and a little cafecito. Mesmerized by the waves, we read a little, wandered on the shore a little, collected a few shells, and eventually gave in to temptation - a final splash in the Pacific!



We´re now sitting in Pochutla, waiting for a bus to take us to Oaxaca city. After a day there, we´ll take another bus to Mexico City, and the following morning, regresamos por avion a Nueva York!



Adios a la playa...

Buen Viaje!

Hannah, Sam y Pedro se fueron hoy! In a few days they'll be back in good ol' Nueva York. We miss them already...:(

Dolphins and turtles and blowfish... oh my!

Hannah, Pedro, Dawning, and Brian got up early to take a little boat ride. Our guides really knew what they were doing. They took us a long way out to what seemed like a pretty desolate spot of water (I mean, honestly, it´s all water out there!), but pretty soon we were able to spot turtles - BIG turtles! This is the season for serious turtle romance, though, so every pair we saw was... um... well, y´know... "engaged". Apparently they go at it for like a whole day. We drove further out, and next thing we knew we were surrounded by dolphins! They were moving in a huge pack (Dawning says the correct word is "pod"), slipping in and out of the water, and occassionally leaping in the air - pretty cool.


Our guides then set out to find a lone turtle for us to inspect close up. We were travelling in the water pretty fast when suddenly one of the guides leapt out of the boat! When we turned around to look at him, he was holding a giant turtle by the shell! Of course, Pedro was the first passenger to jump in the water, and next thing we knew he was communing with the tortuga (spanish for turtle).


After showing us some other sights, cool rocks, an airplane that crashed on the beach (actually, it was a drug-running plane shot down by the Mexican military!) they took us to a shallow cove where we were able to do some more snorkeling. One of our guides dived down near the rocks and came up with a blow fish in his hand. Not five seconds later, Pedro was back in the water, paddling over to hold it.


All in all, a great trip!

Comments made easy

Hey folks,

For those of you who've been ITCHING to post your comments on this blog, we just now figured out how to change the settings so you don't have to go through all of the 'setting up an account' business.

So, bombs away! Let your fingers do the walking... er, I mean talking.

We're off to see some dolphins (fingers crossed) and do some snorkeling.

Stay tuned!

After the beach,

and just before dinner, the weather is perfect for hanging out and
relaxing on the porch...

Mazunte: fireflies and shooting stars

As Hannah so aptly put it, sometimes the best things you find aren't the ones you came looking for. Tonight, walking home from a yummy fish dinner (consumed with the sand wriggling between our toes and the surfers still doing their thing in the last hours of sunlight) we came upon a hill where many thousands of fireflies were congregated. Amazingly, their flickering lights were coordinated to give the appearance of moving lights. Over and over again, the ones on top of the hill flashed first, followed by those below in a rapid, yet fairly precise pattern. This was not an accident - they did it at least a dozen times while we stood on the side of the road, taking it all in. Some kind of mating ritual, perhaps?

Last night we stayed up drinking Oaxacan Mezcal and staring at the stars - SO MANY STARS! - it's really breathtaking. The Milky Way is visible to the naked eye, and we all got to see at least one or two shooting stars.

City-slickers are used to seeing pigeons, squirrels, rats, and roaches. But here we're sharing space with countless gekkos, crabs, snakes, bats, and even tarantulas! There's something about seeing chickens running around the tables of a restaurant that cracks me up every time. Let's just say some of us have adjusted more than others...

Still, the air is fresh and fragrant, the beach is soothing and the water is remarkably warm and inviting. Today we rented a boogie board in the hope of riding some of the tremendous, incessant waves they've got here. We didn't exactly succeed, but there'll be more waves to conquer tomorrow.

Buenas Noches!

Brian

Sombreros para Brian y Sam

Que guapo, no?

Room with a view...

After an excrutiatingly curvy 6-hour drive through the mountains
(Pedro almost puked!), we arrived this afternoon in Mazunte.

It's beautiful here, and we booked a hotel overlooking the beach ...
with wi-fi! So, courtesy of my phone, below is the view from our room.

Fun in Oaxaca

We´ve had a lot of fun swimming, reading, and wandering around Oaxaca!

Photos from the Anthropology Museum in Mexico City

Before we came here to Oaxaca, we visited the Museo De Antropologia in
Mexico City. Truly amazing exhibits in a stunning space. Below are some of
the photos we took.

Oaxaca!

After a 6 hour bus ride, we arrived in Oaxaca (pronounced: wa-HA-ka) yesterday. It´s incredibly beautiful here, so I think we´re going to stay for a day or two before moving to the beach. Hannah, Sam, and their son Pedro arrived yesterday also, and we´re all staying in the same place together, which is fun.

Two days ago Dawning and I went to the famous Anthropology Museum in Mexico City. The exhibits, which trace the history of the many many indigenous Mexican cultures are breathtaking, and the design of the museum itself is stunning. I wanted to post the pictures yesterday, but the camera and this computer aren´t speaking the same language. I´ll try again later.

Meanwhile, if you want to see pictures of the place here in Oaxaca where we´re staying, click on this link:

http://www.lavillada.com/

And now, back to the pool...

The City at Night...

Yesterday we hung out in the super-trendy area, La Zona Rosa. As we were walking home, it started to get dark out, and we took advantage of the cool, dusk-y lighting conditions to take some neat pictures of La Ciudad... en la noche!

It was a long walk, so we treated ourselves to a fancy dinner overlooking the Zocalo.

Una noche romantica!

Coyoacan

Yesterday we wento Coyoacan, a beautiful neighborhood within Mexico City. As you´ll see in the pictures below, the architecture is marvelous, and we really enjoyed the pastel colors and cobblestone streets.

We must´ve walked at least five miles yesterday!

40 years later...

Remembering the massacre of students in '68...

Mexican Rock!

Ingredients: a little punk, a little Bon Jovi, and a little Shakira...

Tercera Dia!

Yesterday was full of fun and adventure. First thing in the morning we at
a delicious breakfast (super-fresh bread with every meal, here!), and
pounded some serious pavement looking for a cheaper and better-located
hotel. Perseverance paid off. We found a better room (closer to the
Zocalo) for half the price! On our way back to the old hotel room to get
our things, we passed a protest marking the 40th anniversary of the
massacre of student protesters in 1968. It was just getting started when
we got there, but we met some 4th Internationalistas, bought their
newspaper, took some photos (coming to the blog, soon), and listened to
some of the speeches from the front.

After lunch and a good nap, we headed (by subway - just 20 cents each and
remarkably smooth and quiet!) to the Condesa neighborhood, which is kinda
schwanky, to hear Dawning´s friend´s band play. It was quite a scene -
loud, throbbing music, packed full of super-hipsters. Mexican rock n roll
is a trip. We had fun though, and didn´t stay out *too* late...

We´re now on our way to Coayacan, a quiet, beautiful neighborhood that
should be a nice break from the hustle and bustle of El Centro
Historico... and Trotsky´s house is there! Stay tuned...

Primer Dia... Photos

FIRST DAY IN MEXICO!

We have had a full first day.  After a nap, we headed out to see the Bellas Artes which houses Diego Rivera's amazing mural "El Hombre en el cruce de dos caminos." This mural features Lenin, Trotsky, Marx and Engels and contrasts a socialist world with the capitalist world.  It's awesome!
Then we went to the Zocalo, where there is many forums for discussing the privatization of Pemex(the Mexican national oil company) and lots of protest material against the privatization.  We got invited to a march in solidarity with Cuba and against el imperialismo de los Yanquis!
Bought a paper from a student group from UNAM who is, as the woman who sold it to us explained, against the government!
All is well and it is not nearly as hot here as it is in New York!

LLEGAMOS!

We arrived!

Flying at night was the way to go... no lines, no fuss. Big props to the airline, Mexicana, for treating us right. It is still pretty dark here, and as we were flying in you could endless city lights in all directions. Mexico City is HUGE.

After a little breakfast at the airport ("yogurt energetico") we booked a hotel by phone and hired a cab.

And now... time for a little (or not so little) nap.

Stay tuned!

leaving NYC!

ready to go!

I have too much to do before we leave!

 

Nos Vemos!

So... today's the big day. We're off to Mexico in a few hours.

Check back here for updates as we go - we'll post photos, comments, and whatnot as regularly as we can.

Nos vemos!

(spanish for "see ya")

Brian & Dawning