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.

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.

The Long and Winding Road

First thing this morning, we went to the Turtle Sanctuary on the beach. It is run by a man who started it up twenty-five years ago, when the turtles here were headed toward extinction. He finds and protects the eggs from predators, and fosters many young turtles for about a month, then they're old enough to be released into the wild to fend for themselves. He also takes care of injured or lame turtles. He's currently fostering a two year old Green Sea Turtle who was born with a deformed lung and as a result swims on his side. When he is ready, he will be donated to the aquarium in Veracruz, as he could not possibly fend for himself in the wild. David held this beautiful 25 lb turtle. Over the last 25 years, over 75,000 turtles have been released. One man really can make a difference!

We went to La Mangla for breakfast yesterday, dinner last night, and breakfast today. It is the best restaurant in Tecolutla, and I ordered the very same breakfast two days in a row because it was so good! This is where David, the owner and chef (a fellow Canadian married to a lovely Mexican girl named Miriam), will cook a meal exactly tailored to suit your tastes. It is also where nobody looks at me strangely for asking for veggie-fare!

After breakfast we left Tecolutla for Xalapa (pronounced 'ha-lap-a'), a colonial city in the mountains. We did not know that Mexico was so mountainous, nearly Swiss Alps-like .The road was the most scenic we have ever seen - truly breathtaking and majestic. We took several pictures and would have taken more, but I needed both hands to take pictures in the car, and my right hand was often clenched onto the H.S. handles! (To Mom: you would've hated it; To Tim: you would've loved it!) Yes, it was an exciting drive, with more curves than a crazy pretzel. I have to admit though, that the scenery was well worth it.

The climate in Xalapa is quite cool and we have had to put the heat on in the beautiful hotel room we have for the night here at the Hotel Xalapa. Such upscale digs wouldn't have been our preference, but when it gets late in the day, after 5pm or so, we don't want to keep driving around a town we aren't yet familiar with - we just want to get settled for the night. (Who am I trying to kid - I think I can handle the fancy room for one night!)

Love,

April and David

p.s. We hope everyone is well - please feel free to drop us a line here or via e-mail.

Chloe's Note: I'm glad we left the cheap seats in Tecolutla. Our ground level, exterior door room kept me on pins and needles all night, because the local dogs camped outside our door....just because I'm the new kid on the block. I could hear the flea-bitten mongrels scratching themselves all night. And they even staged a few fights for my benefit. Skinny buggers!!

Scenes From The Scenic Route

Never Trust a Map

Driving in Mexico is a lot different than in Canada or the US. Just getting from A to B is sometimes an adventure. Here's the low down: Expect to take a wrong turn despite using a map; not all places are on the map; all highways are NOT created equal; and most importantly, roads are not just for cars, bikes and pedestrians. Instead of the Hockey and Construction seasons that we have up north, maybe their two seasons are Wet and Construction.

But we are becoming acclimatized to the driving, as well as the culture and food. Each region has its own 'feel', and we're beginning to get an idea of whether we like a town or not.

So far, the only town we couldn't wait to leave was Tuxpan - it was too noisy and all business. Thankfully, we were only passing through; we slept there (barely), got in the car in the morning and got outta Dodge!

We visited El Tejin, where some ruins were only recently discovered. The people played games involving ritualistic human sacrifice, though it's unclear whether the winner or loser was sacrificed. I guess we'll never know for sure why those societies fell; we can only surmise that it was disease or war or something else. It was fascinating. Different than the Mayan ruins we saw in the Yucatan.

We've been in Tecultla since Thursday, and it's another great beach town bereft of tourists. Imagine 5000 hotel rooms in a town with a population of only 6000! Apparently during holiday seasons there's not an empty room in town, and only elbow room on the beach. The rest of the year, as now, there's nobody on the beach.

We met other people from Canada here - the best restaurant in town is run by a Toronto guy who came for a visit six years ago and fell in love with a Mexican sweetie. He's happy to share his stories and offer suggestions of other must-see places in Mexico. But more importantly, he listened to my veggie-meal woes and goes out of his way to cook up made-to-order meals just for us! Great veggie food and awesome coffee....He's officially the coolest person in town!

We also met a couple from Kenora, Ontario, who drive down for 3-4 months every year. And a couple who are on their way to Panama, but not before they stop and volunteer for a few months in Guatemala (they were doctors).

David's as happy as a clam that got away, out surf-fishing today. (If he catches a fish I don't know what we'll do with it.)

We'll stay another night or two here, then head south along the coast - maybe with a detour to Xalapa - if not, then straight southbound, to a small place called Catamaco, past Veracruz. I'll find a good Mexico map online and post the route if I can.

Take care all,

April and David

Chloe's Note: They call me "Blancito Gordito" (Fat Whitey) - hey, I'm just big-boned! I've been meeting lots of dogs, but making few friends. Speaking of which, I met a dog that looked like Rosco, my good buddy back home. We called this guy "Roscito" in my boyfriend's honour.

Interim Post

Hi All!
We're ok! Don't worry - an internet connection isn't as handy now. We will post more later today. Please keep your comments coming!
Love to all,
April and David

Border Crossing Blues

We crossed into Mexico today, but what a day! The border crossing would have been a breeze, except that we had, well, a spat of sorts. A few hundred miles, a comfy hotel room, a nice dinner and several Coronas later, let's just call it a long story and put the miserable border crossing behind us.
The landscape has gone from flat farmland to mountainous and quite scenic. Close to the hotel there is a grand park with all kinds of sports activities, more than I've seen in one place. It was a great place for a walk.
We've been on the road for a week now, and restaurant food is getting tiresome. From Louisianna to Mexico, a Vegetarian seems to be as rare as a Martian. I've been eating a lot of fish, and I'm all fished-out. I'm hoping we'll find a kitchenette in a little town, stay a few weeks, and cook my own food....or I may have to start eating meat soon!

Chloe's Note: The walks are unpredictable every day, and so are the lodgings. The pack is constantly on the move these days. On the bright side, I've been eating very well! Lots of yummy meat every day.