Mexico Travelogue 2012/2013…Part Two
Now we move on to the much more social portion of the adventure. While I had been surrounded by many good people in my early part of the journey, I had also retained a certain level of independence. The joyous part of the situation was that I had many exciting reunions in store for me. First off, my friend Mindy (and her friend Caroline) was due to arrive via a flight from San Francisco to Cancun. The big bummer of my whole trip is that they did not make it successfully into Mexico. Mindy was turned back at Immigration due to some hassle with her British passport. Poor girl, she had dropped a large chunk of change on this flight and was told by the Mexican government that she had to fly directly back to the USA immediately. So I trudged out to the Rainbow Gathering outside of Palenque on a solo mission with several kilos of rice and beans for the community kitchen. It was a good day to bring a lot of rice, since the main course for the day was vegan sushi- rice and vegetables wrapped in seaweed nori rolls. The head chef Yoshi from Japan even thought to wrap wasabi in the middle of the rolls. I was quickly recruited as Yoshi’s assistant and proceeded to feed logs into the fire and stir a giant pot of Japanese soup with a boat oar. In a role reversal from my usual leadership capacity with the fire crew, Yoshi even smacked me on the ass and made me wash dishes! Hours of work in the jungle heat definitely raised my body temperature but luckily there was a picturesque swimming hole (complete with rope swing) next to the kitchen so I took a few dips in the cool waters throughout the course of the day. Eventually, we were ready to serve sushi and soup to about 800 people. We dragged a 150 pound pot of soup a little over a quarter mile to the main meadow and main circle for dinner.
Alas, the first reunion with Mindy and Caroline was not meant to be but luckily my friend Sarah made it into Mexico without similar problems. Sharky, O, and I welcomed her into Oaxaca City with typical Saturday night revelry. The fun started with a free show in a public plaza. The ska/punk/cumbia band had the crowd jumping with excitement and shouting the rather funny refrain of “café con leche..cafe con leche..coffee with milk”! From there, we moved on to a club where our friend from the Hostel, a Mexican DJ, was spinning Kuderu- some rather hard danceable beats, Latino electronic music. We hit the dance floor for a while and then stepped across the street to a low key jazz club that featured some good tunes. A spectacular fireworks display popped off from the rooftop of the Basilica de Guadalupe, a local church that is quite an architectural gem. We had a great view of the display, inhaling THC products with the local freaks on the rooftop of Hostel Santa Isabel. As much as I love Oaxaca City, I have to admit that San Cristobal de las Casas knows how to party. We encountered a really jumping funk band on a Monday night and danced till the wee hours there. The next day, we walked miles out to a gorgeous nature reserve. The place was enshrouded in cloud forest, complete with bromeliads and some other interesting plant life. The long walk there and back was well worth it, especially since we stopped at a delightful little Mom and Pops restaurant that served the best mole that I have had outside of Oaxaca, generous portions of beans, rice, chicken, tortillas, and even free appetizers…all for less than $3 bucks!! The reunions continued with a random street encounter in Palenque of my friend of 14 years Mike aka “Fester”. I had been concerned as to how I would easily find him among the large crowds at the Rainbow Gathering. Luckily, the Universe had a different scenario in mind since we both happened to step off buses coming from opposite directions at almost the exact same moment. As I was bebopping down the street in front of the bus station, I suddenly heard someone yell “Hey, Flow!” and there was Fester! So the 5 of us (Fester, Sarah, Sharky, O, and myself) ventured back in to Rainbow Land with a 25 kilo bag of rice.
We found a place that would accommodate all of our tents and set up camp (even though the spot I was on was anything but flat and quite lumpy). The gnarly fire ants of the jungle made themselves known to us rather quickly, which prevented future forays around the campsite in bare feet. By this time, Dec. 21st was coming on strong and the crowds at the Gathering were really picking up. Our little crew jumped right in to helping with the kitchen. We made chapatis and stoked the fire for hours. Finally, after much effort and total chaos, a rice and vegetable based vegan dinner was served for over 1000 people. By Dec. 20th, around 2000 people were on site. A line formed for the rope swing and while the swimming hole became crowded, it was still very refreshing, especially in the jungle heat. The drums at main circle picked up momentum with the ever growing crowds dancing with ecstatic frenzy and howling at the moonlight. At exactly 12:01 am on Dec. 21st, the bottom dropped out of the thick clouds that had formed above us. One of the most intense rainstorms that I had ever been in in my life was underway and once it started, it did not stop for hours. The raindrops pelted the roof of the tent with immense force. It sounded like a hammer was pummeling the surface above my head. Unfortunately, I was camping in a cheap K mart tent with a crappy rain cover that did not hold out. By morning, a small lake had formed in the tent. A steady drip was coming from the ceiling, splattering upon my forehead. At daylight, I jumped out of the tent and crammed my wet gear and tent into the backpack. “Let’s get the hell out of here”, I announced to the group, eager to dry my stuff out in town since everything was completely soaked and there was no end to the rain in sight. The group was in agreement that going for lodgings in town was a good idea. The trails at the Gathering had turned into a mudslide. The river flooded over and washed out many people’s campsites. They had been warned not to set up by the water by the people at the front gate but had hastily not followed instructions. I heard several stories from people that lost everything, including camping gear, passports, bankcards, expensive cameras, etc. We got everything dried out in town and came back for my 3rd and final trip to Rainbow. The free food and lodgings there fit in too well with my extremely tight budget to leave very quickly. The first night that we got back, I was enthralled by “Cabaret Mystico”- a Rainbow talent show that consisted of juggling, strip tease, singing, beat boxing, various random instruments, comedy etc. It was a highly entertaining production indeed. Another highlight was a gypsy style band that broke in to an impromptu jam session beneath a casbah tent where they were serving tasty fruit and nutella covered pancakes for free. The surprisingly tight thrown together band was made up of violin, trumpet, flutes, guitar, drums, melodica, bells, hand cymbals, etc. They covered the gamut from intricate world music to Dixieland style jazz, including a rousing rendition of “When The Saints Go Marching In”. It was the best unplugged performance of this type that I had seen in years. On Christmas Day, a big Xmas feast was served up by a group of Americans who (fortunately for us carnivores) broke the Rainbow vegan rules by offering chicken, mashed potatoes, and beans, among other items. All in all, the Gathering was a great International event. I met people from the USA, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Portugal, France, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, England, Holland, Spain, Italy, Panama, and Japan. We even reunited with my friends Kinje and Katsumi (the cool Japanese couple from the early part of the trip). It was a joyous reunion. They invited me to stay at their place in Japan and imparted the good news that they were having a baby. As we were headed back to the town of Paleneque, our collectivo taxi abruptly came to a halt at the edge of town. We were told that this was the end of the line due to a large Zapatista protest ahead of us that was blocking the road. So the 5 of us started waking with all of our gear through the throngs of black clad/black ski mask wearing EZLN Zapatista protestors. They were a huge crowd indeed. I saw in the local paper the next day that there had been 12,000 protestors in San Cristobal, 8,000 in Palenque, and another 10,000 at other locations throughout the state. This was their biggest demonstration in years, so it was really cool that we got to witness it.
No trip to Palenque would be complete without a visit to the phenomenal pyramids that the place is named for. I had been there once before, a decade ago in 2002. These mighty Mayan pyramids are set amidst a gorgeous lush jungle backdrop, complete with howler monkeys and beautiful waterfalls. Sarah, Fester, and I dropped some doses and really began to feel the Mayan vibes. We climbed to the top of massive pyramids, took in spectacular views, smoked hash in a dark and dank crypt beneath some ruins (really nice animated visuals in the complete darkness!), enjoyed the cacophony of howler monkeys, and hiked the 9km (5.4 miles) back to town since we had plenty of lysergic energy. With the Gathering behind us, it was time to turn around and head back toward my preferred Mexican state of Oaxaca. This meant another stopover in my favorite Chiapan city of San Cristobal de las Casas.
We arrived a few days before New Year’s Eve so opted to enjoy the cooler weather and stay in town for the festivities. New Years was a good party in San Cristobal with a nice variety of music including one Zapatista based establishment with EZLN footage on a big screen and militant rappers, a “Minnie the Moocher” style Doo-wop duet, and some local tribal style music with a strong female singer pounding on hand drums. My memories are vague of the clock striking midnight since I was pretty well into a liter of rum by then. The stay in San Cristobal was nice, it was enjoyable to spend more time with Sharky and O (since they were staying there) but I did not come to Southern Mexico for cold nights so we (Sarah, Fester and I) were more than ready to make a move toward the beautiful beaches of Oaxaca.
Thus we arrived on the morning of Jan. 2nd in beautiful Mazunte and checked into my ultra-budget rustic lodgings with a family that I have known for a decade for 50 pesos a night. $4 a night for a private room just off one of the most gorgeous beaches that you have ever seen in your life is not bad! The average daytime temperature while we were there was around 90 degrees Fahrenheit so it was definitely a nice way to bring in January. Sarah had to catch a flight back to the States but not before we showed her the fantastic sunsets from Punta Cometa, the gorgeous cliffside swimming hole known as the Jacuzzi, and introduced her to the funky fresh beach town called Zipolite. All in all, I think it was a remarkable trip for her and definitely helped to expand her horizons greatly. By this point in the trip, my finances were reaching the non-existent level so Fester and I made the decision to settle in a bit longer term in Mazunte, since our lodgings were so cheap and the area is so beautiful. I got back to my work on my current literary project, a wildfire slasher saga known as “Psycho Wingnut Inferno” in my rustic little cabana and made lots of progress. My sense of optimism is high that this could well be the piece to make the break through into the literary world. I feel that the gritty subject matter could have real commercial potential and would make a great movie. Imagine that title “Psycho Wingnut Inferno” on the marquee! Who wouldn’t want to see that? After 8 nights in Mazunte, we decided to make a move to Puerto Escondido, a larger beach resort town about 55km to the West that Fester had never been to before. Just to give you an understanding of the laid back nature of coastal Oaxacans, I must impart the story of our departure from Mazunte. We got an early start so we hopped into the back of a colectivo at about 9 am, before the major heat kicked in. In this case, the colectivo was a small pick-up truck, with two wooden benches and a cover over the back. Within a few minutes, we pulled over and a young local family began to load in. They consisted of a young father (wearing sandals and shirtless), young mother, and a 9 month old baby boy. The father was trying to load their stuff and did not have enough hands so suddenly he turned to me and said “Ayuda por favor (Help, please)” and handed me the naked toddler before I could even react. The truck started rolling and I was holding the fat little naked rascal for a while as they situated their stuff. Eventually, the mother took him from me and said “Gracias”. Then the father noticed that Fester had a guitar with him. He grabbed it and launched into some beautiful songs in Spanish that were very moving, entertaining the passengers on board. I think this is a great example of the trusting, kind, passionate nature of people from Oaxaca. I am proud to call this state my second home.
Puerto Escondido was quite a change after being at Jose’s rustic cabana in the village of Mazunte. The sheer number of food options at the many restaurants was staggering. We decided that it was our duty to try as many of them as possible so we set out snacking and dining our way through the town. One of our better finds included a large fish fillet that was so fresh it was still flopping, served with a bowl of soup, rice, and a salad for $3.33! We were so impressed with this that we returned there for the next 3 nights for the same meal! You can’t go wrong with fresh seafood at the coast. We checked in to a rather funky spot right on the beach that is favored by locals for $8 a night. To get in the door of the hotel, you had to step over a decrepit old grandma that was positioned in the most inconvenient place possible. This was particularly difficult with a large backpack. During most of our 4 day stay, she sat in that exact same spot. We did not realize when we checked in that we were very close to two different Karaoke bars that blasted their music all night. That was a bit bothersome but my thinking on the subject is if you don’t want to deal with a lot of noise, don’t go to Mexico, cause from screaming car horns to marching bands to fireworks, they love noise down there! The overall time in Puerto Escondido was very nice, with great food, daily swims in the ocean, good nightlife (including a fabulous blues/rock band that knocked our socks off and a bumping rooftop joint called Barfly with some impressive psychedelic DJs). We even watched the American NFL football playoffs at an expat bar while sipping beer and eating chicken wings, so that was a nice taste of home. Puerto Escondido maintains a great balance in that it’s a resort town with many amenities, but still laidback Oaxacan informal style so it’s not expensive or hectic.
The next portion of the adventure brought Fester and I up to San Jose de Pacifico, that quaint mountain village at 9000 feet elevation. We checked in to a really nice place for $6 a night with impressive woodwork and great views from the spacious deck. It was quite a transition from the hot sultry beach to the high mountains, but we just put on a few extra layers of clothing and adjusted. Our 5 night stay there consisted of lots of hiking and hashish. I made major progress on Psycho Wingnut Inferno. As I worked on the story’s climax, my production and momentum increased dramatically. This pleased me greatly. On our next to last night In San Jose, I surprised myself by staying up late and pulling a long haul to complete the 40 page short story. I am very happy with the final result. On our last full day in the high mountains, Fester and I decided to hike by the river over to San Mateo del Rio Hondo, a beautiful mountain village about 7 to 8 km away. We caught up with some old friends there that I have known for a decade since my first trip to the region. The long walk back and forth was particularly beautiful with great mountain vistas, gorgeous cloud forests, and luscious riverside. This was about a 9 mile hike in total through steep mountains so it was a great workout as well. Fester and I dipped back into Oaxaca City and enjoyed that vibrant location one last time before he departed to Guatemala and I headed back to Mexico City to catch my flight home. All that I can say about my trip from Oaxaca to the airport at Toluca (outside of Mex City) is that I definitely did it in the local budget style. First off, I took a 2nd class bus for about half the cost of the 1st class one that I had taken on the way down. I could not get any sleep on the overnight bus trip, largely because the driver blasted music all night. Then, instead of taking a taxi in Mex City, I hopped on the Metro subway train during rush hour with a large backpack. Mexico City has the most used public transit system in the world. It costs 25 cents to ride so everybody takes the subway. The Metro system in the city with the largest population in the world (estimates vary from 25 to 30 million people) is not for the meek of heart, I assure you. To say that we were crammed in like sardines would be an understatement. Finally, I made my flight and got my gringo ass back to the USA. It was definitely a wonderful 2 months and I am really happy that I went. I returned in better physical and mental health than when I left, which is really what these excursions are all about. I have been back for a few weeks now so it has been nice to see friends and family and settle back in to life at my place in the mountains. Now it looks like I need to get out the door and back to work. I need to finance my next trip, which will probably be Cuba! Looking forward to it already!
MUCH LOVE and thanks for reading
Flow Baby 2/23/13