The amazing beach of Tulum- tropical paradise!!!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Cenotes!
Cenote Escondido y Cenote Ikil: geological sink holes that are filled with refreshing ground water and are crystal clear. We had lots of fun swimming in them! Because there are no rivers in the yucatan peninsula, they were both sources of fresh water for the Mayas and they were believed to be a connection to the afterlife. Anthropologists have found gold offerings and the skulls of human sacrifices in the cenote sagrado at chichen itza.
Chichén Itzá
Hundreds of columns and the famous and impressive pyramid that was built according to the mayan calender.
Merida
The cathedral at night and our amazing hostel in which we paid 124 pesos each night for: a pool, garden, free breakfast and free salsa class! My favorite hostel in mexico!
Friday, May 6, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Next Stop: Chiapas
I left Oaxaca with my friend Karisa and we headed to the state of Chiapas which is even further south to meet up with our other friends from the program. Unfortunately, at this point I came down with a bad cold so I wasn't able to fully enjoy my first day in San Cristobal de las Casas. However, I made the most of it and still enjoyed the trip a lot! The really cool thing is that I studied a lot about Chiapas in one of my spanish classes in smith and the indigenous movement for autonomy that took place there in the 90s (the zapatista movement) so it was very interesting to actually be there and see little zapatista dolls in the market. The city of san cristobal was different that I expected, because even though chiapas is one of the poorest states in Mexico, the city was very prosperous and filled with lots of elegant organic restaurants and hippie travelers from the west. However, there were also very young children begging and selling things on the street like in every mexican city which is always hard to see. My friend and I spent one morning exploring the huge market and marveling at all the beautiful and cheap things to buy- I wanted it all! Too bad my suitcase has a limited amount of space! The city was having free screenings of documentary movies when we were there, so we headed to garden of a cafe to join in on the screenings. I also went to a small museum about the history of coffee in Chiapas, because it is one of the main producers of coffee in mexico and about the work of a coffee cooperative there. Overall the city was very happy and alive and the weather was great so I was sad to leave so soon! We left the city beyond to travel though the many hills, valleys and forests of Chiapas and the highlight of the trip was passing by a school with a Zapatista mural like I had studied in smith. However, we were all shocked to discover that there was a military checkpoint along one road and that everyone was being stopped and the cars were being searched. I have no idea why exactly, but because Chiapas is on the border with Guatamala it is possible they were checking for drugs or immigrants. Anyways, we arrived at one of the most famous waterfalls in Chiapas, Agua Azul where the water is bright, tropical blue! And the best part was we got to swim in the water and it was really refreshing because it was so hot out! However, Palenque, the ancient Mayan city was even hotter! I was really excited to see Palenque because I had also studied about it in an architecture class in Smith. The site was built in the middle of the jungle and has many impressive pyramids, but is also the site of the tomb of Pacal the great which was the first pyramid discovered in mesoamerica to be used as a tomb instead of for rituals. Another interesting part of the ruins is that the Mayans built arches, but they didn't know how to use a keystone so the arches look more like triangles than arches. The heat was so strong that it was hard to fully explore all of the ruins (the sweat was dripping down my back). When we returned to the hotel, we all took very cold showers! The next day, my friend and I took a 10 hour bus ride back to Puebla and I had one day to rest and regroup before heading off with my program on another trip.
Oaxaca Part 2
Our adventures continued in Oaxaca- The next day my mom, Eric and I joined one of my friends from my program and her parents on a tour of sites in the surrounding countryside of Oaxaca. (My Dad decided to visit various local artists with an american friend and had a wonderful time getting to know some Mexican artists). Our first stop on the tour was another Zapotec archeological site called Mitla that was built around 1000 AD much later than Monte Alban (which was founded around 500 BC). This has to be one of my favorite mesoamerican sites in Mexico because the decorations of the palace were so incredible; each design was made of individual pieces of stones that were placed together like a puzzle and anthropologists believe this is what has helped the building survive despite earthquakes because the stones are able to shift. I love the repetitive patterns in the stone which make the site very artistically impressive. We then traveled though the mountains and pueblos to visit hierve de agua (boiling water) which is the site of petrified waterfalls! The funny thing is that 2 different villages claim it and so you have to pay 2 different villages (only about $1 each) to pass through). What happened is that there are 2 mineral springs on the top of the mountains that overtime have formed these massive waterfalls made of stone. It was beautiful and the view was incredible! After this we visited a place where people make Mezcal (the very strong alcohol that Oaxaca is famous for). The mezcal, like tequila, is made from the agave plant, which looks a little bit like aloe but it huge. They cook the middle part in a fire pit, let the fibers ferment and then use a distiller to create the potent stuff (which we got to try of course). After stopping to eat, we headed to a village that is famous for the amazing rugs they weave using fibers dyed with natural colors. My mom and I both enjoyed the demonstration a lot because we have woven before. I wanted to buy all the rugs, but they are too big to bring back in a suitcase. I told the man that I would return when I have my own house and an empty suitcase! We also visited a women who designs embroidered shirts, a beautiful church and our last stop was the widest tree in the world! A cypress tree that is 38 feet in diameter and more than 2,000 years old and it was absolutely amazing to see. Imagine if that tree could talk!! It was interesting to see how a tree could bring so many people and give so much to one village. The next day we rested after our long day, did some last minute shopping (we found lots of great gifts in Oaxaca) and I said goodbye to my family because I was about to head off on another adventure!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Visiting Oaxaca Part 1
After visiting Puebla, we headed to Oaxaca city which is about 4 hours south-west of Puebla and is a favorite place of many Mexicans because it is full of art, life and culture. It was a lot of fun to explore such a rich city with my parents and everyone was right when they said we were going to love it! We stayed in an adorable hotel which had 3 courtyards with very lush gardens filled with flowers and tropical plants. The first night we were there we found a delicious restaurant that had a rooftop terrace overlooking the city and we eat a great dinner of traditional oaxacan food. The next day we headed to Monte Alban, which an incredible archaeological site that was built by the Zapotec civilization on the top of a mountain. Our guide was great and explained to us about their way of counting time, the symbolism and usage of their buildings and temples and information about the local flora. Not only were their ruins impressive, but also the view of the city below. In the afternoon, we visited the village nearby where many artisans create the famous "alebrijes" which are carved animals painted in bright colors and are absolutely gorgeous and we got to see some people painting and carving them which was very interesting. We also saw a demonstration of how artisans still make the famous black pottery without a potters wheel and how they shine it with a rock to make the ceramics gleam. The next day we visited the city's botanic garden which shows off all different species of plants native to Oaxaca, including many different types of Agave and cactus. We also went to an ex-convent that has been turned into a history museum where we saw the treasures of a Meztec tomb that include gold necklaces, turquoise earnings, and incredible carvings. That night we witnessed the procession of silence in the city for good friday in which all of the statues of Jesus and Mary are taken out of the churches, decorated with flowers and paraded though the streets very soberly. It was strange and beautiful and a very different experience of Easter than the eggs and bunnies that we have in the US.
To Be Continued.....
To Be Continued.....
Oaxaca!
An artisan demonstrating the traditional techniques of black pottery y the Zapotec city of Monte Alban
Puebla with the Family
The patio of the hotel where we stayed and Talavera pottery on display at the factory
The family Comes to Puebla!
So sorry that I haven't posted anything in a month! I was finishing up with my finals and then I was traveling throughout mexico for 2 weeks with family and friends. It was an amazing trip and I not only got to show my family around my new home, but also visit new parts of mexico that are very different from Puebla! Anyways, I have a lot of catching up to do and I am sorry that I won't be able to tell you/ show you everything here on the blog but I promise when I get back I will fill in with the details!
So the first 5 days of my vacation, my parents and brother arrived in Puebla to visit the place that they had been hearing about for the last 4 months. Although we did lots of touristy things, they lucked out having me as a guide/ translator and I introduced them to my host family and my boyfriend's family so they got to know some people here! My brother right away loved the food (it was a bit tough with my parents because they don't eat a lot of meat/ spicy food) but they found yummy things to eat too. We stayed in a old colonial hotel in the center of the city (which i'm afraid doesn't sleep) but they were good sports about the bar that played music all night long! We went shopping in the saturday market, where my mom bought a puppet, visited the artists studios, the restaurant of the China Poblana (see photo), the cathedral, the widest pyramid in the world in Cholula, an amazing church that was designed and built by indigenous people and a talavera pottery factory among other things. However, for me one of the highlights of the trip was seeing my two families meet- my real family and my mexican family! We had a lovely afternoon, eating (my host mother is an amazing cook), exchanging gifts (my dad painted them a painting which is now on their wall), playing with Valentina and playing music. Although my family only stayed for a little while, I think they got to see a pretty good window into my life here in Puebla and got to practice their spanish a bit (although I did a lot of translating, which was fun and tiring!) They saw how I have not only fell in love with the place, but the people here and how open and welcoming they are. I am grateful to have such a wonderful family and I'm so happy they came to visit!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)