Monday, January 26, 2009

Cruising to Salina Cruz





Today we wandered around Catemaco, the town that hosts Mexico's shaman and witch convention. An interesting little place on a river bank not far from the location where Mel Gibson's Apocolypto was filmed. This is a location of lush jungle and a biosphere reserve.

We later drove to the pacific coast. On our way we came upon a military check point which wanted to search our car. This is the first time we have been searched by the military in over 1700 km of driving in Mexico. All was good.

We have landed in Selina Cruz on the pacific for the night. This is a bustling port town with a couple of alright hotels and an enjoyable little restaurant called Mi Pueblito. We don't much care for the town (it's much like Tuxpan which we disliked also) but we lucked out with food and lodgings. We're only here to eat and sleep tonight, then it's on to the beach towns!

During rush hour we walked Chloe while looking for a place to eat. The busy intersections had no traffic lights at all, although some of them had a policeman directing traffic. Everyone just drove through the intersection or crossed the street where ever they could and whenever the chance arose. It was unlike anything I've seen - cars and people going every which way....for them it's normal, but for us, YIKES!

On one busy street, a small dog jumped up and bared its teeth at Chloe. We hurried past, and ten seconds later, I turned around and there were about twenty dogs trying to catch up to us! We quickly saw an opportunity to cross the busy street before the dogs could reach us. I was happy for the insane traffic then! (Mexican street dogs are very street-wise, and they were smart enough not to follow us onto the road.)

At Mi Pueblito we sat outside and had another incredibly delicious meal with cervezas. We've been careful to drink only bottled water, weary of uncooked, undercooked or any food that has been sitting too long in the sun, and so far we haven't had any tummy trouble. I have read that if you are travelling in Mexico, it's not a matter of 'if' but 'when' you will encounter bad food. At Mi Pueblito I thought I was ordering a vegetarian panzarotti (it was the first time I had seen the word 'Vegetarian' on any menu here!); turns out it was a Panini sandwich with uncooked veggies in it. It was soo good! I'm hoping that the fancy restaurant is a little more careful about food prep than the roadside vendors. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I will be able to leave town for the drive to the pacific tomorrow.

p.s. I am posting smaller pictures for convenience...just click on them to view them better. I wish I could edit or crop them first, but I can't.

Chloe's Note: The skinny fleabags keep eyeing me suspiciously everywhere I go. Today a whole gang of them followed me down the street. They looked like a skeleton parade, all ribs and teeth. Maybe it was the "Day of the Dead" fiesta. Anyway, I had to risk life and limb crossing a busy street just to elude the beggers.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Close Encounters of the Fur'd Kind











This morning we walked around the beautiful city of Xalapa, a place where it must be easy to stay thin, because there's so many long, steep hills. The hotel was the fanciest yet...like the Park Place Inn downtown Toronto! More than 200 rooms on a sprawling piece of land at the top of a hill. Cost was about 75.00 US as we left they started steam cleaning the rugs because we had a dog in the room, fancy place. The parks in the city were wonderful for walking around, and we had breakfast at the plaza: a cafe con leche with pastries (a far cry from my usual granola with yogurt; but I reckon we burned off the excess calories walking back to the hotel).
We were thoroughly enjoying the morning, when a large white chow walked up from behind Chloe and I at the table and a fight ensued. Chloe is fine, no skin was broken. The chow had a small cut on its head. The guy walking him simply pulled his dog away as we pulled Chloe, and walked off, like it was no big deal, it happens all the time. Not a word. It put a bit of a damper on the morning, but we still enjoyed the beautiful city.

We drove south east toward Catemaco, stopping for a late lunch of delicious fried fish, where a man was wandering up and down the highway carrying his harp (a real harp with strings, as tall as himself), serenading the patrons of each roadside restaurant with sweet sounds. And David mistook a slice of jalapeno for a sweet green pepper....too bad the camera wasn't handy, his face was a real hoot! Free entertainment and a cheap tasty lunch...what could be better?

We got stopped by the police for the first time today - I'm sure it was just a matter of time, since they have a reputation of extorting money from foreigners they pull over. Turns out he just wanted to check our permit, as there are a lot of fake ones out there. It didn't cost us any money, and we got directions to the next town.

We are now in a beautiful colonial hotel in Catemaco - the home of mexican witches and warlocks - we have already been offered a spell cleansing. We'll take some pictures of this place tomorrow to post.

Chloe's Note: Today someone tapped me on the shoulder, and as I turned around he swung at me. The big white furry thug was in my face, so I defended myself. I'm not hurt, but I've been spitting white fur out of my mouth all day.