by Toni St.Clair on Thursday, May 12, 2011 at 10:07am via FB
A great place to go when visiting to Nicaragua is San Juan Del Sur. Located on the Pacific coast of Nicaragua, it is known mainly as a surf town, but you don't need to like/want to surf to enjoy it.There are plenty of restaurants, stores, hostels and other activities available. Getting there is a quick 40mins from the ferry at San Jorge, and you can take a bus or taxi.
Kyley, Jean and I went there 3 days after arriving in Nica for a beach getaway. We stayed at a beautiful B & B called Secret Cove Inn, which I am recommending to anyone wanting a break from the hostels and dorm life. It has 5 rooms, shared baths - which we avoided by renting 2 side by side rooms. All rooms have fans and ceiling fans which make evening heat easier to accept. However, these don't help when the power goes out, which is pretty frequent all over the country.
Our first night in San Juan Del Sur, we went to a great Mediterranean restaurant called El Colibri. It's a more high end place, but not in terms of cost that we Canadians are used to. Very reasonable prices and the food was incredible and muy rica!! The ambience helped create the setting and the waiters very friendly, helpful and attentive. I am recommending the menu based on the fact that we all had the specials and were so satisfied that I can only imagine their menu food being just as good!!
Our first full day in San Juan Del Sur was spent on the beach, which I'll say got all of us some nice colour! We were only out there for a couple hours, but we left pretty pink and happy!! We sat out front of El Timon, a nice beachfront seafood restaurant, and the waiters served us delicious mojitos and Tona - one of the local beers.
We spent the rest of our day shopping the stores and finding Kyley some shorts, although I did buy some accesories and a dress - which is SO common for me!! That night we enjoyed delicious seafood at El Timon followed by drinks and dancing - well, some people were dancing - at Iguana's next door.
San Juan Del Sur can be both a party town and a nice escape, so it has a little bit of everything for everyone. From the market, to the restaurants, it has a nice variety of goods and food to suit any palate and of course the people are all buena gente, ready to help you out with anything you may need.
- xoxo
Monday, June 27, 2011
Managua and Ometepe, Nicaragua
by Toni St.Clair on Thursday, May 12, 2011 at 9:50am via FB
Jean and I arrived pretty smoothly in Managua, after a 6 hour layover at Houston International Airport. I was very grateful for the company as 6 hours can feel like such a long time, but Jean and I made the best of it!!
We arrived in Managua, and breezed through customs and met our waiting Best Western guy. As we're standing at the baggage carousel waiting for our luggage, I look over towards the windows and notice this girl waving her arms and holding up some sign. Since the guy behind us was waving too, I assumed this crazy girl belonged to him, but as it turns out it was OUR crazy girl! Ms. Kyley made the trip in Thursday evening to meet us at the airport, and it was such a great surprise!!
After a nice evening and a hot shower (our last for awhile as it turns out), we were off to meet up with Tabitha and Nestor - Kyley's boss and her husband. Kyley had called Christian, who is a cousin of Nestor, and he was kind enough to drive us off to our rendezvous. It's very nice having people you can trust in this country b/c you know you are safe - that and you are helping out a friend too.
We meet up with Tabi and Nestor and head off to the ferry - a 2 hour drive from Managua to San Jorge, via Rivas. Again, I was grateful for the ride as a cab can cost about $40-$50 from Managua to San Jorge, but it's faster than the bus.
The ferry ride is inexpensive and oh so beautiful. You have plenty of time in the 1 hr ride to get some great pics of the 2 volcanoes on Ometepe, as well as get a mini shower when the ferry goes over a wave!!
Located right on the beach of Lago Cocibola, it's name stands for "place of the moquitos" in Nahuatl. It is the commercial center of Ometepe, and has many hostels, restaurants and tour places for tourists.
For the most part, we have spent our days outside of the town. We have breakfast at the Cornerhouse, a B and B run by Gary and Laura, ex-pats who have been here for just over a year now.
On the island we have visited El Ojo De Agua, a gorgeous natural springs that has chairs and hammocks along it's sides, and refreshing water to swim in. It costs $2 to enter and you can get there by bus or micro bus, but make sure if you take a cab you organize for them to come back and pick you up or have them wait for you hile you enjoy the springs; the latter is what we did and it worked out greatly in our favour! Of course, we walked a couple kilometers before we realized there wasn't too much traffic on the road, and so Kyley called her family, got a number for a microbus and we were quickly picked up o the side of the road!! Good times...haha!!
Yesterday, Jean and I went to Charco Verde while Kyley was at the hospital seeing patients. We asked one of her friends, Roger to take us out there in his mototaxi - like a Tuk Tuk but safer I imagine - and the 12 km ride was an adventure. I had only ever ridden in one of these before in Guatemala, but it wasn't nearly as far, so my butt was a little sore by the time we got to Charco Verde.
Once there, we walked the Natural Reserve trail to the lagoon, and enjoyed the beautiful Ceibo trees - enormous trees with trunks that would need at least 6 people to wrap around - as well as the flora, fauna and monkeys. We only saw one monkey, and were pretty thankful for that was we had heard that the monkeys sometimes throw their feces at people, something I wasn't looking forward to. We were lucky that the beach wasn't covered in water yet, as it is technically rainy season and at this time it is common for the beaches to all but disappear in some places as the water level in the lake rises.
Tomorrow I, sadly, am leaving Kyley and her mom and heading off early in the morning to San Jose to meet up with Jess - my awesome fantastic friend from Michigan, who I have only spent 2 weeks with in the last 6 years! I am excited to see her and to spend our 3rd week together!!
- xoxo
Jean and I arrived pretty smoothly in Managua, after a 6 hour layover at Houston International Airport. I was very grateful for the company as 6 hours can feel like such a long time, but Jean and I made the best of it!!
We arrived in Managua, and breezed through customs and met our waiting Best Western guy. As we're standing at the baggage carousel waiting for our luggage, I look over towards the windows and notice this girl waving her arms and holding up some sign. Since the guy behind us was waving too, I assumed this crazy girl belonged to him, but as it turns out it was OUR crazy girl! Ms. Kyley made the trip in Thursday evening to meet us at the airport, and it was such a great surprise!!
After a nice evening and a hot shower (our last for awhile as it turns out), we were off to meet up with Tabitha and Nestor - Kyley's boss and her husband. Kyley had called Christian, who is a cousin of Nestor, and he was kind enough to drive us off to our rendezvous. It's very nice having people you can trust in this country b/c you know you are safe - that and you are helping out a friend too.
We meet up with Tabi and Nestor and head off to the ferry - a 2 hour drive from Managua to San Jorge, via Rivas. Again, I was grateful for the ride as a cab can cost about $40-$50 from Managua to San Jorge, but it's faster than the bus.
The ferry ride is inexpensive and oh so beautiful. You have plenty of time in the 1 hr ride to get some great pics of the 2 volcanoes on Ometepe, as well as get a mini shower when the ferry goes over a wave!!
Located right on the beach of Lago Cocibola, it's name stands for "place of the moquitos" in Nahuatl. It is the commercial center of Ometepe, and has many hostels, restaurants and tour places for tourists.
For the most part, we have spent our days outside of the town. We have breakfast at the Cornerhouse, a B and B run by Gary and Laura, ex-pats who have been here for just over a year now.
On the island we have visited El Ojo De Agua, a gorgeous natural springs that has chairs and hammocks along it's sides, and refreshing water to swim in. It costs $2 to enter and you can get there by bus or micro bus, but make sure if you take a cab you organize for them to come back and pick you up or have them wait for you hile you enjoy the springs; the latter is what we did and it worked out greatly in our favour! Of course, we walked a couple kilometers before we realized there wasn't too much traffic on the road, and so Kyley called her family, got a number for a microbus and we were quickly picked up o the side of the road!! Good times...haha!!
Yesterday, Jean and I went to Charco Verde while Kyley was at the hospital seeing patients. We asked one of her friends, Roger to take us out there in his mototaxi - like a Tuk Tuk but safer I imagine - and the 12 km ride was an adventure. I had only ever ridden in one of these before in Guatemala, but it wasn't nearly as far, so my butt was a little sore by the time we got to Charco Verde.
Once there, we walked the Natural Reserve trail to the lagoon, and enjoyed the beautiful Ceibo trees - enormous trees with trunks that would need at least 6 people to wrap around - as well as the flora, fauna and monkeys. We only saw one monkey, and were pretty thankful for that was we had heard that the monkeys sometimes throw their feces at people, something I wasn't looking forward to. We were lucky that the beach wasn't covered in water yet, as it is technically rainy season and at this time it is common for the beaches to all but disappear in some places as the water level in the lake rises.
Tomorrow I, sadly, am leaving Kyley and her mom and heading off early in the morning to San Jose to meet up with Jess - my awesome fantastic friend from Michigan, who I have only spent 2 weeks with in the last 6 years! I am excited to see her and to spend our 3rd week together!!
- xoxo
Life in Malaga
by Toni St.Clair on Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 10:45am via FB
I have been trying to get Internet for my laptop, so I won't have to always come to the cafe every night..it's starting to become embarassing!! Haha! So anyways, I went to the phone company (but that's where I had to go) and gave them my passport, my work contract and the number of my bank account. Well, apparently my work contract isn't 'official', which by the way it is, and so now a week later, they inform me I can't get internet unless I get an 'official' contract...so I think my boss is going to go in with me this week or next week and we're going to try and figure this out. All else fails I think he's going to sign up for the internet in his name and then I'll just pay for it!! Works for me!! For now, I'll just keep frequenting the cafe and language school for internet use!!
There are some definite differences I've noticed here in Spain. The spanish accents, for one, are different than the mexican accents. In Spain 'thank-you' sounds like 'grathias' and in Mexico it's 'gracias'. Another difference is coffee shops with coffee to go. I have yet to find a Starbucks, but I know that there is a Dunkin' Donuts. So it is possible to get a coffee to go, it's just not common. Another cultural thing that I am actually getting used to is the dinner time, which is normally around 9 or 10pm. Most restaurants aren't busy until these times and then they're pretty busy up until about 1 or 2am, so as you can imagine the nightlife starts around the same time as well. However, usually the parties don't stop until about 6 or 7am...yikes!! However, the one tradition I am happily embracing (on weekends only b/c of work) are siestas. BIG fan of these!! Between 2 and 5 Monday to Saturday, the majority of shops and cafes close. Some stay open for tourists and such, but for the most shopping must be done before or after these hours, so you can imagine the amount of people you'll be shopping with in a store!!! On Sundays, if a store is open it's only for about 4 or 5 hrs, between 10-2pm which of course I barely make sometimes due to the sleeping thing!!
So far I have had 2 different roommates, and one constant one. John, the guy from Holland will be there until the end of October, and the other room has had a guy from Turkey (who left last week) and a girl from Austria (who leaves next week), I wish was staying longer b/c she's awesome and we're getting along really well!! As for my moving apartments...that has yet to be determined since this is a really busy month for us at the office. Maybe I'll be moving in October, maybe I won't move at all...who knows?! Haha!!
Things at the internship have been busy!! My marketing campaign to schools in Canada has been going slowly since I started Spanish classes this week and am now only in the office in the afternoons. But so far it's going ok...I'll keep you all posted. There have been some fun incidents for sure though!! My favorite one being my first experience of picking up a group at the airport on Monday. I went with 2 coworkers, one of which had done this before. Anyways, basically everything that could happen did happen. The group's bags didn't make it to Malaga, and weren't coming in until the next day, so the group had to go to a shopping mall to buy whatever they needed for the next 12hrs. We mentioned to them that their host families were already waiting at the school for them, and since we were already 2 hrs late leaving the airport, we should just head to the school first, and then they could go to the stores in the area by the school (which has the same stores and were probably cheaper). But nope, they had to have a shopping mall. So off they went and we met them an hour later outside the mall, took them on the public bus to the school and then took each student to their individual host family!! It was quite the adventure and so now when I go to the airport by myself tomorrow (AH!) I am hoping that everything goes smoothly and even if something happens, I'll be ready!!!
As I mentioned, I started Spanish classes on Monday, and so far they're going very well! I really like my teacher. She teaches the class so that the grammar and practice are mixed together, instead of in separate sessions, which of course helps me reatin everything!! Little by little my spanish is improving!
I have met tons of people so far, mostly from the Spanish school, but since most of them are only here for their 2 weeks classes and then are heading back to their countries, it's hard to really become good friends. I have met a guy David from the US who will be here for sure until December and then maybe a little longer. So we have been hanging out a lot and meeting random people on our own!! It's been fun. Most of the students at the school are from Austria, Germany and Holland so I find myself surrounded by German most of the time!! It's an interesting language to hear and of course every country has it's own little versions of it!!
So I guess that's my update. Oh I found an awesome English bookstore next to Pablo Picasso's birth house and I managed to spend some $$ in there on some great beach books!! I usually head to the beach at least one day on the weekends...the weather is always nice so any day would work well!!
- xoxo
I have been trying to get Internet for my laptop, so I won't have to always come to the cafe every night..it's starting to become embarassing!! Haha! So anyways, I went to the phone company (but that's where I had to go) and gave them my passport, my work contract and the number of my bank account. Well, apparently my work contract isn't 'official', which by the way it is, and so now a week later, they inform me I can't get internet unless I get an 'official' contract...so I think my boss is going to go in with me this week or next week and we're going to try and figure this out. All else fails I think he's going to sign up for the internet in his name and then I'll just pay for it!! Works for me!! For now, I'll just keep frequenting the cafe and language school for internet use!!
There are some definite differences I've noticed here in Spain. The spanish accents, for one, are different than the mexican accents. In Spain 'thank-you' sounds like 'grathias' and in Mexico it's 'gracias'. Another difference is coffee shops with coffee to go. I have yet to find a Starbucks, but I know that there is a Dunkin' Donuts. So it is possible to get a coffee to go, it's just not common. Another cultural thing that I am actually getting used to is the dinner time, which is normally around 9 or 10pm. Most restaurants aren't busy until these times and then they're pretty busy up until about 1 or 2am, so as you can imagine the nightlife starts around the same time as well. However, usually the parties don't stop until about 6 or 7am...yikes!! However, the one tradition I am happily embracing (on weekends only b/c of work) are siestas. BIG fan of these!! Between 2 and 5 Monday to Saturday, the majority of shops and cafes close. Some stay open for tourists and such, but for the most shopping must be done before or after these hours, so you can imagine the amount of people you'll be shopping with in a store!!! On Sundays, if a store is open it's only for about 4 or 5 hrs, between 10-2pm which of course I barely make sometimes due to the sleeping thing!!
So far I have had 2 different roommates, and one constant one. John, the guy from Holland will be there until the end of October, and the other room has had a guy from Turkey (who left last week) and a girl from Austria (who leaves next week), I wish was staying longer b/c she's awesome and we're getting along really well!! As for my moving apartments...that has yet to be determined since this is a really busy month for us at the office. Maybe I'll be moving in October, maybe I won't move at all...who knows?! Haha!!
Things at the internship have been busy!! My marketing campaign to schools in Canada has been going slowly since I started Spanish classes this week and am now only in the office in the afternoons. But so far it's going ok...I'll keep you all posted. There have been some fun incidents for sure though!! My favorite one being my first experience of picking up a group at the airport on Monday. I went with 2 coworkers, one of which had done this before. Anyways, basically everything that could happen did happen. The group's bags didn't make it to Malaga, and weren't coming in until the next day, so the group had to go to a shopping mall to buy whatever they needed for the next 12hrs. We mentioned to them that their host families were already waiting at the school for them, and since we were already 2 hrs late leaving the airport, we should just head to the school first, and then they could go to the stores in the area by the school (which has the same stores and were probably cheaper). But nope, they had to have a shopping mall. So off they went and we met them an hour later outside the mall, took them on the public bus to the school and then took each student to their individual host family!! It was quite the adventure and so now when I go to the airport by myself tomorrow (AH!) I am hoping that everything goes smoothly and even if something happens, I'll be ready!!!
As I mentioned, I started Spanish classes on Monday, and so far they're going very well! I really like my teacher. She teaches the class so that the grammar and practice are mixed together, instead of in separate sessions, which of course helps me reatin everything!! Little by little my spanish is improving!
I have met tons of people so far, mostly from the Spanish school, but since most of them are only here for their 2 weeks classes and then are heading back to their countries, it's hard to really become good friends. I have met a guy David from the US who will be here for sure until December and then maybe a little longer. So we have been hanging out a lot and meeting random people on our own!! It's been fun. Most of the students at the school are from Austria, Germany and Holland so I find myself surrounded by German most of the time!! It's an interesting language to hear and of course every country has it's own little versions of it!!
So I guess that's my update. Oh I found an awesome English bookstore next to Pablo Picasso's birth house and I managed to spend some $$ in there on some great beach books!! I usually head to the beach at least one day on the weekends...the weather is always nice so any day would work well!!
- xoxo
Malaga, Spain
by Toni St.Clair on Monday, September 1, 2008 at 12:28pm via FB
I arrived in Malaga around 5pm (so about 9am in Calgary) after travelling for about 15 hrs and I was surprisingly ok. Not too tired, despite not sleeping on the plane. My apartment is quite a bit smaller than my Mexico one and not as nicely furnished, but it’s a block from the beach so that’s a bonus!! And I actually found out today that I am supposedly moving in a coupleweeks to another place anyways; I guess my company has been having some problems with the owners of this building. Right now I have 2 roommates: one is from Holland, here on vacation until October, the other from Turkey, here for 2 more weeks finishing his spanish course...so neither are coworkers. I was a bit disappointed in that area b/c I was looking forward to having people to chat with and such, but I'll survive. It won't take me long I'm sure... ;)
I found out what I am exactly doing for my company, OnSpain (www.onspain.es). I am in charge of the marketing campaign in Canada, so I will be sending a campaign flyer to many private schools in Canada with information about OnSpain and the programs we offer, as well as personally talking to the schools sometimes. I also am supposed to be doing work on the campaign in France, however, this will be VERY dependent on how good my French becomes...I am re-teaching myself right now, and I'm practicing with some of my friends so we'll see...I also found out that I will be in the office by myself for the most part. I will be with coworkers on Mondays and sometimes Fridays, but the other 3 days I am alone...I guess there is another intern coming from Germany in mid-September and she'll be working with me as well so that'll be good. I am also in charge of making a GPS map of the downtown area for the upcoming tours we have. I will have to spend a day or weekend or something walking a map for the kids on the tours to find, so that'll be a good way to get to know the city too.
I went for a walk on the beach last night and discovered many shops,restaurants and outdoor cafes and basically all of the restaurants and cafes are outdoors on the beach boardwalk!! I have no internet in my apartment (and I'm not sure if the new one will), so I have been visiting this little cafe called Namaste for hours at a time. However, b/c of the time difference there’s not too many people online when I’m online so I guess maybe hours is an exaggeration.
Right now I live in the area called Pedregalejo (used to be a fishing village outside of Malaga), which is a little suburb off of the center of Malaga, where my office is. It only takes me about 20mins on a bus to get downtown and it just so happens that my office is right in the Plaza de la Constitucion, one of the main tourist attractions and also happens to be about 30mins from all the other main tourist stuff. Tomorrow (today depending when you read this) I am planning on visiting the huge Castle de Gibralfaro, the Picasso Museum, maybe seeing the bullring and basically doing the main tourist circuit. Should take almost all day and I will more than likely be pretty brown/red!!!
The weather here is hot, hot, hot all the time. And I mean ALL the time...for example right now it's about 8:30pm and it's still 28 outside...not like sun hot but muggy never wear pants or long-ish pants ever hot!!! It's AWESOME!!! I'm not a big fan of sleeping in it but I'll get used to it... ;) Small sacrifice right?! Not many places have airconditioning either but at night it does cool down quite a bit b/c of the sea breeze...
- xoxo
I arrived in Malaga around 5pm (so about 9am in Calgary) after travelling for about 15 hrs and I was surprisingly ok. Not too tired, despite not sleeping on the plane. My apartment is quite a bit smaller than my Mexico one and not as nicely furnished, but it’s a block from the beach so that’s a bonus!! And I actually found out today that I am supposedly moving in a coupleweeks to another place anyways; I guess my company has been having some problems with the owners of this building. Right now I have 2 roommates: one is from Holland, here on vacation until October, the other from Turkey, here for 2 more weeks finishing his spanish course...so neither are coworkers. I was a bit disappointed in that area b/c I was looking forward to having people to chat with and such, but I'll survive. It won't take me long I'm sure... ;)
I found out what I am exactly doing for my company, OnSpain (www.onspain.es). I am in charge of the marketing campaign in Canada, so I will be sending a campaign flyer to many private schools in Canada with information about OnSpain and the programs we offer, as well as personally talking to the schools sometimes. I also am supposed to be doing work on the campaign in France, however, this will be VERY dependent on how good my French becomes...I am re-teaching myself right now, and I'm practicing with some of my friends so we'll see...I also found out that I will be in the office by myself for the most part. I will be with coworkers on Mondays and sometimes Fridays, but the other 3 days I am alone...I guess there is another intern coming from Germany in mid-September and she'll be working with me as well so that'll be good. I am also in charge of making a GPS map of the downtown area for the upcoming tours we have. I will have to spend a day or weekend or something walking a map for the kids on the tours to find, so that'll be a good way to get to know the city too.
I went for a walk on the beach last night and discovered many shops,restaurants and outdoor cafes and basically all of the restaurants and cafes are outdoors on the beach boardwalk!! I have no internet in my apartment (and I'm not sure if the new one will), so I have been visiting this little cafe called Namaste for hours at a time. However, b/c of the time difference there’s not too many people online when I’m online so I guess maybe hours is an exaggeration.
Right now I live in the area called Pedregalejo (used to be a fishing village outside of Malaga), which is a little suburb off of the center of Malaga, where my office is. It only takes me about 20mins on a bus to get downtown and it just so happens that my office is right in the Plaza de la Constitucion, one of the main tourist attractions and also happens to be about 30mins from all the other main tourist stuff. Tomorrow (today depending when you read this) I am planning on visiting the huge Castle de Gibralfaro, the Picasso Museum, maybe seeing the bullring and basically doing the main tourist circuit. Should take almost all day and I will more than likely be pretty brown/red!!!
The weather here is hot, hot, hot all the time. And I mean ALL the time...for example right now it's about 8:30pm and it's still 28 outside...not like sun hot but muggy never wear pants or long-ish pants ever hot!!! It's AWESOME!!! I'm not a big fan of sleeping in it but I'll get used to it... ;) Small sacrifice right?! Not many places have airconditioning either but at night it does cool down quite a bit b/c of the sea breeze...
- xoxo
Belize
by Toni St.Clair on Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 4:02pm via FB
We arrived in Belize City quicker than I had anticipated which was nice. We were on a nicer bus than the ones we took from Antigua to Lake Atitlan so there was plenty of room to chill and relax. And I didn't realize that the 5 hr time quoted included the stop at the border, which was even nicer!!! Once we reached Belize City, we transferred to the water taxi that took us on an hour and a half trip to the largest caye (pronounced "key") Ambergris Caye. We are staying in the largest town, San Pedro, and it is gorgeous. Most of the restaurants, hotels and such are along the beach and every business has it's own dock. It is BEAUTIFUL here, as you will see from the photos!! We are staying in the cheapest hotel on the island, but it's still quite nice...a step up from the dormitories we were staying in...we share a bathroom, but otherwise all is good...oh an no AC but we have the fans placed perfectly in the room so we can sleep in a nice breeze. The best part about this caye is that even though during the day the sun is HOT and all you want to do is jump in the ocean (which of course we do). the evenings are nice and breezy, a great change.
So far all we have really done is explore the town and island, and chill at some of the very cool bars they have along the beach. Today, however, we went on a snorkeling trip to the Brazilean Barrier Reef. The specific spots we went were Hol Chan and Shark Ray. Hol Chan is gorgeous...so much coral and different types of fish. It was gorgeous, and it was about 30m deep...of course me being a wuss I stayed mainly at the top of the water, but every so often I would be brave and venture a bit further down...Shark Ray was incredible...it has what it names says...sharks and sting rays...although no dangerous ones...don't worry ;) The sharks were about as long as I am tall, and the sting rays were HUGE!! We got to hold one of them and they are quite docile creatures, unless provoked of course...for the most part Belize is more expensive than Mexico or Guatemala and so it took me awhile to adjust back to paying about $15/meal, but our snorkeling trip was only $35 and we were out for about 2 1/2 hrs with a guide, drinks and snacks...not too bad I'd say! Tomorrow Jen and I are going to go on a sunset cruise. We leave around 4:#0pm, get drinks, snacks and a beautiful view of the sunset for a couple hours and then return back to the caye. We think it'll be a nice end to our trip...I'm sad the trip is coming to an end, because that means that my time in Mexico is also coming to an end. But I guess I'll be having another new and amazing experience when I go to Spain!!
- xoxo
We arrived in Belize City quicker than I had anticipated which was nice. We were on a nicer bus than the ones we took from Antigua to Lake Atitlan so there was plenty of room to chill and relax. And I didn't realize that the 5 hr time quoted included the stop at the border, which was even nicer!!! Once we reached Belize City, we transferred to the water taxi that took us on an hour and a half trip to the largest caye (pronounced "key") Ambergris Caye. We are staying in the largest town, San Pedro, and it is gorgeous. Most of the restaurants, hotels and such are along the beach and every business has it's own dock. It is BEAUTIFUL here, as you will see from the photos!! We are staying in the cheapest hotel on the island, but it's still quite nice...a step up from the dormitories we were staying in...we share a bathroom, but otherwise all is good...oh an no AC but we have the fans placed perfectly in the room so we can sleep in a nice breeze. The best part about this caye is that even though during the day the sun is HOT and all you want to do is jump in the ocean (which of course we do). the evenings are nice and breezy, a great change.
So far all we have really done is explore the town and island, and chill at some of the very cool bars they have along the beach. Today, however, we went on a snorkeling trip to the Brazilean Barrier Reef. The specific spots we went were Hol Chan and Shark Ray. Hol Chan is gorgeous...so much coral and different types of fish. It was gorgeous, and it was about 30m deep...of course me being a wuss I stayed mainly at the top of the water, but every so often I would be brave and venture a bit further down...Shark Ray was incredible...it has what it names says...sharks and sting rays...although no dangerous ones...don't worry ;) The sharks were about as long as I am tall, and the sting rays were HUGE!! We got to hold one of them and they are quite docile creatures, unless provoked of course...for the most part Belize is more expensive than Mexico or Guatemala and so it took me awhile to adjust back to paying about $15/meal, but our snorkeling trip was only $35 and we were out for about 2 1/2 hrs with a guide, drinks and snacks...not too bad I'd say! Tomorrow Jen and I are going to go on a sunset cruise. We leave around 4:#0pm, get drinks, snacks and a beautiful view of the sunset for a couple hours and then return back to the caye. We think it'll be a nice end to our trip...I'm sad the trip is coming to an end, because that means that my time in Mexico is also coming to an end. But I guess I'll be having another new and amazing experience when I go to Spain!!
- xoxo
San Pedro and Tikal, Guatemala
by Toni St.Clair on Friday, July 11, 2008 at 6:41pm via FB
So I think I left you all on my first day at Lake Atitlan, and I was in San Marcos (Tuesday)...
After meeting Jen at the meditation center we decided to explore the town, which didn't take too long. It's the smallest of all 12 Mayan villages on the Lake, but is definetly beautiful and has for sure maintained it's quaint, quiet and simple ways. The town itself has houses on either side of the main square, whoch has the church, a basketball/soccer area and the beginnings of a new school. The rest of the islan closer to the lake is made up of little paths and buildings built around the jungle. We had to buy a flashlight since there were no street lights and I didn't feel like sleeping outside so... :)
Wednesday morning we woke up to a beautiful view and went to have some massages...and OH MY... they were awesome massages!! I had a 90 minute Swedish massage and it was about $30...and Jen had reiki, which I am still trying to understand...Afterwards we went across the lake to San Pedro, the so-called party town. Well, maybe it's off-season, or maybe my standards of a party have changed since living in Mexico City but it wasn't very lively...yes there were tons of people, but most abrs were playing movies, and not music. C'est la vie...we watched American Beauty, had a drink and went back to our room. Thursday morning we had a leisurely brunch and caught a boat back to Panajachel around 2:30pm. This gave us plenty of time to explore Panajachel, which is basically one long street of artesanias, a couple hotels and that's it. Good thing we didn't decide to stay there...at 4pm we caught our shuttle back to Guatemala City, via Antigua (a much better 4 hr trip as we were in the front and had more room). We had some cool shuttle mates as well...7 guys from Holland who were HILARIOUS, and 2 girls from the US who we stayed with until reaching Flores. Once we reached Guatemala City (which really doesn't seem like there's much in the way of tourism), we caught an overnnight bus (yes Nana, overnight) to Flores...9hrs later (6am Friday). Now most people would of course get off the bus, find a bed and sleep right?! Well Jen and I aren't most people (much to my dismay) and we decided to go to Tikal at 9am. So we cleaned up, ate and got on a bus for an hour ride to Tikal.
Tikal was worth every penny, and sleepy hike up the pyramids. It is GORGEOUS and defiently a hidden treasure. Unfortunately we were unable to climb the tallest pyramid there (72m) since it was having some restoration work done, but we were able to climb up close to the top via some stairs built on the side. Goregous view, and many more photos of course....
Tonight Jen and I are staying in Flores, but we will be up around 4:15am to catch the one and only bus to Belize City at 5am...this trip is only 5 hrs, with a stop at the border, so hopefully all goes well... the plan is to be at Ambergris Caye, the largest island off Belize, and one of the ones closest to the Belize Barrier Reef tomorrow night. That's the plan...
- xoxo
So I think I left you all on my first day at Lake Atitlan, and I was in San Marcos (Tuesday)...
After meeting Jen at the meditation center we decided to explore the town, which didn't take too long. It's the smallest of all 12 Mayan villages on the Lake, but is definetly beautiful and has for sure maintained it's quaint, quiet and simple ways. The town itself has houses on either side of the main square, whoch has the church, a basketball/soccer area and the beginnings of a new school. The rest of the islan closer to the lake is made up of little paths and buildings built around the jungle. We had to buy a flashlight since there were no street lights and I didn't feel like sleeping outside so... :)
Wednesday morning we woke up to a beautiful view and went to have some massages...and OH MY... they were awesome massages!! I had a 90 minute Swedish massage and it was about $30...and Jen had reiki, which I am still trying to understand...Afterwards we went across the lake to San Pedro, the so-called party town. Well, maybe it's off-season, or maybe my standards of a party have changed since living in Mexico City but it wasn't very lively...yes there were tons of people, but most abrs were playing movies, and not music. C'est la vie...we watched American Beauty, had a drink and went back to our room. Thursday morning we had a leisurely brunch and caught a boat back to Panajachel around 2:30pm. This gave us plenty of time to explore Panajachel, which is basically one long street of artesanias, a couple hotels and that's it. Good thing we didn't decide to stay there...at 4pm we caught our shuttle back to Guatemala City, via Antigua (a much better 4 hr trip as we were in the front and had more room). We had some cool shuttle mates as well...7 guys from Holland who were HILARIOUS, and 2 girls from the US who we stayed with until reaching Flores. Once we reached Guatemala City (which really doesn't seem like there's much in the way of tourism), we caught an overnnight bus (yes Nana, overnight) to Flores...9hrs later (6am Friday). Now most people would of course get off the bus, find a bed and sleep right?! Well Jen and I aren't most people (much to my dismay) and we decided to go to Tikal at 9am. So we cleaned up, ate and got on a bus for an hour ride to Tikal.
Tikal was worth every penny, and sleepy hike up the pyramids. It is GORGEOUS and defiently a hidden treasure. Unfortunately we were unable to climb the tallest pyramid there (72m) since it was having some restoration work done, but we were able to climb up close to the top via some stairs built on the side. Goregous view, and many more photos of course....
Tonight Jen and I are staying in Flores, but we will be up around 4:15am to catch the one and only bus to Belize City at 5am...this trip is only 5 hrs, with a stop at the border, so hopefully all goes well... the plan is to be at Ambergris Caye, the largest island off Belize, and one of the ones closest to the Belize Barrier Reef tomorrow night. That's the plan...
- xoxo
Antigua and San Marcos, Guatemala
by Toni St.Clair on Tuesday, July 8, 2008 at 5:57pm via FB
Well our trip started off rather interestingly...Jen and I missed our flight on the Friday (b/c of misdirections by the airport staff) and ended up taking the flight on Saturday. We arrived in Guatemala City to the same weather we had left in Mexico City...rain. We forgot that it's rainy season here as well...We didn't stay in Guatemala City, and just went straight to Antigua where we were quick to purchase raincoats and umbrellas...and we have definetly used them. Our hostel in Antigua was called ¨Casa Shalom¨ and it was quite nice. Very quiet, near to the main streets and locations, and pretty cheap...only Q65/night, which is roughly 9 or 10 dollars. We saw many colonial buildings such as the old convent, the many gorgeous churches, and of course every building we walked by. I liked Antigua b/c it's managed to maintain it's quaintness despite becoming quite the tourist destination...I still like Guanajuato first b/c it has many outdoor cafes and Antigua has none...none that we found anyways. Jen and I were planning on climbing the smaller and active of the 2 volcanoes there, Pacaya, but our shuttle ended up being at 4:30 instead of 2pm and we wouldn't have been back in Antigua until well after dark...so we skipped it...too bad. We did have a great final night there meeting some cool people and trading stories.
Tuesday morning we left Antigua at 7:30am and headed to Panajachal, which is the biggest of about 12 Mayan villages on Lake Atitlan. The trip was only 2 1/2 hours but we were in a small shuttle, packed like goats so Jen and I were VERY happy to get out and walk finally...We didn't walk far however, b/c we had to board a boat to take us to San Marcos...and it stopped at 4 different villages before reaching ours. All in all, a trip we were hoping would take us 4 hrs max ended up being about 6hrs!!! So after finding our hostel (a beautiful, organic minded hotel), we ate and went across the lake to San Pedro, the ¨party¨ place so to speak to take out some money...neither of us knew there were no ATM's at this village. I was supposed to have a massage at 4pm but there was a schedule mixup and I didn't end up having one...I hoping to have one tomorrow after our morning yoga session...that's right me doing yoga....in the morning!! Haha!!
Tomorrow Jen and I are planning on staying in San Pedro for the night before heading up north to Flores and the Tikal ruins. It's going to be a quick, but long, couple of days of travelling before we can just sit down and relax on a beach for 4 days!! I can not wait for that...Belize is supposed to be beautiful!
Well, I'm off to go and meet Jen at the meditation center. Hope all is well with everyone!! I'll be posting pics once I am back home in Mexico City...which seems so strange and far away right now, from this quiet beautiful town!
- xoxo
Well our trip started off rather interestingly...Jen and I missed our flight on the Friday (b/c of misdirections by the airport staff) and ended up taking the flight on Saturday. We arrived in Guatemala City to the same weather we had left in Mexico City...rain. We forgot that it's rainy season here as well...We didn't stay in Guatemala City, and just went straight to Antigua where we were quick to purchase raincoats and umbrellas...and we have definetly used them. Our hostel in Antigua was called ¨Casa Shalom¨ and it was quite nice. Very quiet, near to the main streets and locations, and pretty cheap...only Q65/night, which is roughly 9 or 10 dollars. We saw many colonial buildings such as the old convent, the many gorgeous churches, and of course every building we walked by. I liked Antigua b/c it's managed to maintain it's quaintness despite becoming quite the tourist destination...I still like Guanajuato first b/c it has many outdoor cafes and Antigua has none...none that we found anyways. Jen and I were planning on climbing the smaller and active of the 2 volcanoes there, Pacaya, but our shuttle ended up being at 4:30 instead of 2pm and we wouldn't have been back in Antigua until well after dark...so we skipped it...too bad. We did have a great final night there meeting some cool people and trading stories.
Tuesday morning we left Antigua at 7:30am and headed to Panajachal, which is the biggest of about 12 Mayan villages on Lake Atitlan. The trip was only 2 1/2 hours but we were in a small shuttle, packed like goats so Jen and I were VERY happy to get out and walk finally...We didn't walk far however, b/c we had to board a boat to take us to San Marcos...and it stopped at 4 different villages before reaching ours. All in all, a trip we were hoping would take us 4 hrs max ended up being about 6hrs!!! So after finding our hostel (a beautiful, organic minded hotel), we ate and went across the lake to San Pedro, the ¨party¨ place so to speak to take out some money...neither of us knew there were no ATM's at this village. I was supposed to have a massage at 4pm but there was a schedule mixup and I didn't end up having one...I hoping to have one tomorrow after our morning yoga session...that's right me doing yoga....in the morning!! Haha!!
Tomorrow Jen and I are planning on staying in San Pedro for the night before heading up north to Flores and the Tikal ruins. It's going to be a quick, but long, couple of days of travelling before we can just sit down and relax on a beach for 4 days!! I can not wait for that...Belize is supposed to be beautiful!
Well, I'm off to go and meet Jen at the meditation center. Hope all is well with everyone!! I'll be posting pics once I am back home in Mexico City...which seems so strange and far away right now, from this quiet beautiful town!
- xoxo
Mexico Independence Weekend!
by Toni St.Clair on Monday, September 17, 2007 at 7:39pm via FB
September 15th is Mexico Independence Day, and the city, and my friends, basically celebrated all weekend.
It all started Friday afternoon with a rooftop BBQ at the AIU campus. Beautiful weather, great food, and an awesome view: what more could I ask for! My fav part was that a tour bus was driving past the school and some of the people started taking pictures of us on the roof! Hahaha! I felt like a local for the first time!!
Later that night, my friends and I had plans to go out and party. Now people who know me know that I am a fan of planned outings and like to have both a destination and a time. Well Friday night I only had a time and the issue was that in Mexico time is taking leniently...so 9pm became sometime around 10:30. We ended up walking around Zona Rosa for a couple hours before deciding to head over to Condesa and meet some friends at a taco restaurant. By the time we got there it was probably 12:30 and we still hadn't been to an actual place yet...just walking around...so I was slightly frustrated and my feet seriously hurt (pretty shoes, not practical for lots of walking)! Anyways, we ended up at this reggae place, Kaya, that I quite enjoyed. It was super packed and smoky but there was no cover and the beer was relatively cheap! That's right I said beer!! It turned out to be an avdenturous evening; I saw parts of the city I'd never been to before and rode the Metrobus for the first time...can't complain right!?
Saturday was far more exciting! Jaime, Romain and I headed over to the Zona Rosa for an Independence night meal. Quite fun actually! The waiters were dressed up and wearing fake mustaches and such, the restaurant had party favors on all the tables and the music was fantastic! After dinner we headed down Reforma to the Centro Historico, which I have to say was beautiful, even at night. I definetly want to go there during the day b/c I didn't get near enough pics of it! Anyways, we could tell we were getting close to the festivities b/c there were street vendors EVERYWHERE, more and more people appeared, and once we got onto the main street that heads into the Zocalo I felt like I was back on the Red Mile during a big victory celebration!! Once inside the Zocalo, I was in awe! The Zocalo is the second biggest square in the world and you could definetly tell...it was packed with like a million people. There were two big stages set up for entertainment; one next to the palace and one opposite it. At 11pm the president came out and made his speech, to which the crowd shouted 'VIVA' numerous times, and then the fireworks started! I'm not going to lie: this display was the bst I've ever seen! Seriously! Maybe it was b/c I was right in front of the building where the fireworks were being shot off, I don't know. But it was amazing!!! As the crowd started to leave, I started to realize just how crowded the Zocalo was; and I definetly noticed the height differences. I felt like a penguin: forced to waddle my way through and sometimes, strangely, against the crowd! At one point half the people went left and I was trying to go right, and Jaime had to pull me through the mob so I didn't get carried away!! It was CRAZY!!!! We finally got home around 1:30am, were still sort of awake so Romain and I started to watch Pirates 3. Then we realized that we had to get up at 7:30am and figured we should probably got to bed!!!
Sunday morning started bright and early, and by 8:30am we were on Reforma waiting for the parade to start. We didn't realize that the parade started at 11am, b/c if we did there is NO WAY I would have been up that early!!! Oh well, what can you do right?! Turns out that the parade was a military parade and soon there were more troops, guns, tanks and vehicles than I have ever seen! I mean seriously!!! They had all the heavy artillery out!!! I felt both safe and scared at the same time!! One thing I forgot about was sunscreen, and after being in the sun for 4 hours, I realized that I was a bit burnt! My first real burn down here!!
All in all the weekend was awesome! I am happy I got to experience such a strong sense of patriotism and be apart of such a celebration!!
- xoxo
September 15th is Mexico Independence Day, and the city, and my friends, basically celebrated all weekend.
It all started Friday afternoon with a rooftop BBQ at the AIU campus. Beautiful weather, great food, and an awesome view: what more could I ask for! My fav part was that a tour bus was driving past the school and some of the people started taking pictures of us on the roof! Hahaha! I felt like a local for the first time!!
Later that night, my friends and I had plans to go out and party. Now people who know me know that I am a fan of planned outings and like to have both a destination and a time. Well Friday night I only had a time and the issue was that in Mexico time is taking leniently...so 9pm became sometime around 10:30. We ended up walking around Zona Rosa for a couple hours before deciding to head over to Condesa and meet some friends at a taco restaurant. By the time we got there it was probably 12:30 and we still hadn't been to an actual place yet...just walking around...so I was slightly frustrated and my feet seriously hurt (pretty shoes, not practical for lots of walking)! Anyways, we ended up at this reggae place, Kaya, that I quite enjoyed. It was super packed and smoky but there was no cover and the beer was relatively cheap! That's right I said beer!! It turned out to be an avdenturous evening; I saw parts of the city I'd never been to before and rode the Metrobus for the first time...can't complain right!?
Saturday was far more exciting! Jaime, Romain and I headed over to the Zona Rosa for an Independence night meal. Quite fun actually! The waiters were dressed up and wearing fake mustaches and such, the restaurant had party favors on all the tables and the music was fantastic! After dinner we headed down Reforma to the Centro Historico, which I have to say was beautiful, even at night. I definetly want to go there during the day b/c I didn't get near enough pics of it! Anyways, we could tell we were getting close to the festivities b/c there were street vendors EVERYWHERE, more and more people appeared, and once we got onto the main street that heads into the Zocalo I felt like I was back on the Red Mile during a big victory celebration!! Once inside the Zocalo, I was in awe! The Zocalo is the second biggest square in the world and you could definetly tell...it was packed with like a million people. There were two big stages set up for entertainment; one next to the palace and one opposite it. At 11pm the president came out and made his speech, to which the crowd shouted 'VIVA' numerous times, and then the fireworks started! I'm not going to lie: this display was the bst I've ever seen! Seriously! Maybe it was b/c I was right in front of the building where the fireworks were being shot off, I don't know. But it was amazing!!! As the crowd started to leave, I started to realize just how crowded the Zocalo was; and I definetly noticed the height differences. I felt like a penguin: forced to waddle my way through and sometimes, strangely, against the crowd! At one point half the people went left and I was trying to go right, and Jaime had to pull me through the mob so I didn't get carried away!! It was CRAZY!!!! We finally got home around 1:30am, were still sort of awake so Romain and I started to watch Pirates 3. Then we realized that we had to get up at 7:30am and figured we should probably got to bed!!!
Sunday morning started bright and early, and by 8:30am we were on Reforma waiting for the parade to start. We didn't realize that the parade started at 11am, b/c if we did there is NO WAY I would have been up that early!!! Oh well, what can you do right?! Turns out that the parade was a military parade and soon there were more troops, guns, tanks and vehicles than I have ever seen! I mean seriously!!! They had all the heavy artillery out!!! I felt both safe and scared at the same time!! One thing I forgot about was sunscreen, and after being in the sun for 4 hours, I realized that I was a bit burnt! My first real burn down here!!
All in all the weekend was awesome! I am happy I got to experience such a strong sense of patriotism and be apart of such a celebration!!
- xoxo
Adventures in Mexico!!
by Toni St.Clair on Thursday, September 6, 2007 at 7:15pm via FB
Alright so I have been a little busy since my last note, obviously since the last note I wrote was my first day here!!
Ok so I am all moved in and settled. I have two male roommates. Mariano from Argentina, and Romain from France!! The best part is I have the master bedroom in the apartment, and my closet has room for all my shoes!!!! Sad that fact is important to me hey?! The best part (or worst depending on how you see it) is that I have 6 keys to get into my bedroom. There's the building door, one for the gate in front of my apartment door, three for the apartment door, and one for my bedroom door! Oh man!!! I was told locking my bedroom door is a good idea just in case you know? Cuz' you know if by some chance some one manages to get thru the other three doors without keys, I'm sure they would go for my bedroom!!! Ah well...safety first right?!
So my first night, I was eaten alive by stupid mosquitos! I'm talking HUGE bites up and own my arms...oh SO pleasant!!! The next morning I wake up and try to have a shower, but soon realize that I have to light the gas in order to have a nice hot shower...oh and the shower head...yea totally bought a new one. It's 1000 times better; 2 heads with nine variations!!! A-M-A-ZING!!! Besides getting bitten all night long, there was also this ANNOYING dog that didn't stop barking all night! Seriously everything echoes in this place...it's a bit ridiculous. I know I will soon not even hear the night noise b/c I will adjust but still!!! The best part I discovered last night: frequent power shortages. It's SO fun!!! Seriously, it's an awesome time. It's all new and so exciting and fun!!!
So I decided that since I am down here for a year I should probably get a cellphone and a bank account. Try opening a chequing account when the girl only speaks spanish and damn did she talk fast! I lost count of how many times I asked her slow down, but in the end I feel I held my own pretty well! I have the account, it works and that's all that counts! My fav part of opening the bank account was when the girl thought my mom and I were sisters!! SO awesome!! The cellphone adventure was far easier...I just had to ask which phones took minute cards (b/c I don't want a plan), and how much the cards cost and how many minutes I get! I still haven't figured out what my voicemail is trying to tell me to do when I try to set it up but I will...eventually...hahaha!!
One thing I discovered down her is that my awesome, fantastic and super comfortable sandals are now referred to as the "shoes of death" b/c they are USELESS in the rain!!! Another side note is that frequently when at dinner or coffee or whatever you will get the pleasure of the "monkey man"...You know the accordions that people play in movies and they usually have monkeys with them? Yea those are common EVERYWHERE down here!!! SO much fun!!! Not so fun when they interrupt the awesome slas music being played by a live band!!
Anyways, I guess I have bored you all enough. Until next time: Hasta Luego!!!
- xoxo
Alright so I have been a little busy since my last note, obviously since the last note I wrote was my first day here!!
Ok so I am all moved in and settled. I have two male roommates. Mariano from Argentina, and Romain from France!! The best part is I have the master bedroom in the apartment, and my closet has room for all my shoes!!!! Sad that fact is important to me hey?! The best part (or worst depending on how you see it) is that I have 6 keys to get into my bedroom. There's the building door, one for the gate in front of my apartment door, three for the apartment door, and one for my bedroom door! Oh man!!! I was told locking my bedroom door is a good idea just in case you know? Cuz' you know if by some chance some one manages to get thru the other three doors without keys, I'm sure they would go for my bedroom!!! Ah well...safety first right?!
So my first night, I was eaten alive by stupid mosquitos! I'm talking HUGE bites up and own my arms...oh SO pleasant!!! The next morning I wake up and try to have a shower, but soon realize that I have to light the gas in order to have a nice hot shower...oh and the shower head...yea totally bought a new one. It's 1000 times better; 2 heads with nine variations!!! A-M-A-ZING!!! Besides getting bitten all night long, there was also this ANNOYING dog that didn't stop barking all night! Seriously everything echoes in this place...it's a bit ridiculous. I know I will soon not even hear the night noise b/c I will adjust but still!!! The best part I discovered last night: frequent power shortages. It's SO fun!!! Seriously, it's an awesome time. It's all new and so exciting and fun!!!
So I decided that since I am down here for a year I should probably get a cellphone and a bank account. Try opening a chequing account when the girl only speaks spanish and damn did she talk fast! I lost count of how many times I asked her slow down, but in the end I feel I held my own pretty well! I have the account, it works and that's all that counts! My fav part of opening the bank account was when the girl thought my mom and I were sisters!! SO awesome!! The cellphone adventure was far easier...I just had to ask which phones took minute cards (b/c I don't want a plan), and how much the cards cost and how many minutes I get! I still haven't figured out what my voicemail is trying to tell me to do when I try to set it up but I will...eventually...hahaha!!
One thing I discovered down her is that my awesome, fantastic and super comfortable sandals are now referred to as the "shoes of death" b/c they are USELESS in the rain!!! Another side note is that frequently when at dinner or coffee or whatever you will get the pleasure of the "monkey man"...You know the accordions that people play in movies and they usually have monkeys with them? Yea those are common EVERYWHERE down here!!! SO much fun!!! Not so fun when they interrupt the awesome slas music being played by a live band!!
Anyways, I guess I have bored you all enough. Until next time: Hasta Luego!!!
- xoxo
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Marigold Cemeteries and Sketchy Hotels
The candles shone brilliantly against the yellow, orange and purple marigolds. I never imagined standing in a rural village cemetery in Central Mexico would have such a deep and profound impact on me. Ironically, the most beautiful parts of my journey were the cemeteries and the scariest part of my journey was the hotel.
With three classmates and my professor of Intercultural Communications, I journeyed to Tetela del Volcan, a tiny village in the state of Morelos, to experience the Mexican holiday – Day of the Dead. Tetela del Volcan, or just Tetela as it is commonly called, has more traditional rituals and ceremonies than the thriving capital of Mexico City.
An hour and a half southeast of Mexico City, the village can easily be accessed by car, but we took a bus from Tasquena station to the next closest city Cuautla, and then transferred to a ‘combi’, a Volkswagen type van that continues to pick up passengers off the side of the road until there is not a breath of space remaining.
The graceful white slopes of the active volcano Popocatepetl, or El Popo, were the first sight that greeted us upon our arrival into the village. The second sight? A parade of vibrantly dressed and masked women dancing up the street towards the town square. Or so we thought. As these dancers drew closer towards us, we realized that these women, in their high heels, dresses, and mini-skirts, were actually men participating in the traditional ‘Danza de Huehuenches’ (Dance of the Old Man) that occurs throughout the course of the Day of the Dead celebrations; traditionally, the dancers dress up as old men and farmers, but in this town the men dress up as women and wear masks resembling old, grandfather like men.
After watching the dancing spectacle, we ventured off to find our hotel, “Albuergue Suizo”, which was situated near the edge of town through some small, dark and creepy streets. The hotel, if you could call it that, bore a striking resemblance to a jail or an insane asylum complete with barred windows and two barred entrance doors, that required the outer door closing prior to the inner door opening. While the clanging shut of the doors did provide us with a little feeling of safety, we were mostly scared by the jail-like similarities the hotel had with its minimally furnished rooms, barely working bathrooms, and barred windows.
On this first evening, our tiny tourist looking group partook in the traditional visits to homes within the village. Each home visited had an ‘ofrenda’, or offering table, complete with photos of the deceased and favourite foods, enveloped by an abundance of orange, yellow and purple marigolds, offerings brought by others out of respect for the dead. The final touches were the candle filled vases, which cast a dim hue on the ‘ofrenda’, creating a somber ambiance. The overwhelming generosity of these families was obvious when we were presented with plates of chicken mole, rice and tamales at every home and since it was considered disrespectful not to accept the food, we ate at every home while talking with the families and hearing about their lives and experiences. We all embraced this moment – the chance to sit in a traditional Mexican farm home and talk with local farmers about their lives.
When the morning sun rose over the village’s graveyard the next day, the view before us was one of love and dedication to something that most of us had never done or ever experienced before. Every family was washing, cleaning and weeding around every one of their ancestors graves, and so when the marigolds from the ‘ofrendas’ the evening before were placed on the graves, the colourful, beautiful and magnificent picture of love towards their dead was created.
There is nothing that comes to close to standing in a graveyard as dusk settles in, with the autumn leaves falling around you. There was a sort of an eerie calm that made me feel at peace with myself and everyone around me, and I found myself wandering among the graves and just embracing the brilliance of the marigolds colors reflecting off the candlelight.
**Published Nov. 1, 2008 - Calgary Herald**
With three classmates and my professor of Intercultural Communications, I journeyed to Tetela del Volcan, a tiny village in the state of Morelos, to experience the Mexican holiday – Day of the Dead. Tetela del Volcan, or just Tetela as it is commonly called, has more traditional rituals and ceremonies than the thriving capital of Mexico City.
An hour and a half southeast of Mexico City, the village can easily be accessed by car, but we took a bus from Tasquena station to the next closest city Cuautla, and then transferred to a ‘combi’, a Volkswagen type van that continues to pick up passengers off the side of the road until there is not a breath of space remaining.
The graceful white slopes of the active volcano Popocatepetl, or El Popo, were the first sight that greeted us upon our arrival into the village. The second sight? A parade of vibrantly dressed and masked women dancing up the street towards the town square. Or so we thought. As these dancers drew closer towards us, we realized that these women, in their high heels, dresses, and mini-skirts, were actually men participating in the traditional ‘Danza de Huehuenches’ (Dance of the Old Man) that occurs throughout the course of the Day of the Dead celebrations; traditionally, the dancers dress up as old men and farmers, but in this town the men dress up as women and wear masks resembling old, grandfather like men.
After watching the dancing spectacle, we ventured off to find our hotel, “Albuergue Suizo”, which was situated near the edge of town through some small, dark and creepy streets. The hotel, if you could call it that, bore a striking resemblance to a jail or an insane asylum complete with barred windows and two barred entrance doors, that required the outer door closing prior to the inner door opening. While the clanging shut of the doors did provide us with a little feeling of safety, we were mostly scared by the jail-like similarities the hotel had with its minimally furnished rooms, barely working bathrooms, and barred windows.
On this first evening, our tiny tourist looking group partook in the traditional visits to homes within the village. Each home visited had an ‘ofrenda’, or offering table, complete with photos of the deceased and favourite foods, enveloped by an abundance of orange, yellow and purple marigolds, offerings brought by others out of respect for the dead. The final touches were the candle filled vases, which cast a dim hue on the ‘ofrenda’, creating a somber ambiance. The overwhelming generosity of these families was obvious when we were presented with plates of chicken mole, rice and tamales at every home and since it was considered disrespectful not to accept the food, we ate at every home while talking with the families and hearing about their lives and experiences. We all embraced this moment – the chance to sit in a traditional Mexican farm home and talk with local farmers about their lives.
When the morning sun rose over the village’s graveyard the next day, the view before us was one of love and dedication to something that most of us had never done or ever experienced before. Every family was washing, cleaning and weeding around every one of their ancestors graves, and so when the marigolds from the ‘ofrendas’ the evening before were placed on the graves, the colourful, beautiful and magnificent picture of love towards their dead was created.
There is nothing that comes to close to standing in a graveyard as dusk settles in, with the autumn leaves falling around you. There was a sort of an eerie calm that made me feel at peace with myself and everyone around me, and I found myself wandering among the graves and just embracing the brilliance of the marigolds colors reflecting off the candlelight.
**Published Nov. 1, 2008 - Calgary Herald**
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