Acapulco, Cuernavaca

We were supposed to leave Acapulco before noon, but we didn't leave until almost 1:30 in the afternoon, a sign that we were really enjoying ourselves. Truthfully, it was hard to pull myself off the beach today, and onto the road back to Cuernavaca.

Of our short stay in Acapulco, today was the only day where all of us where together at the beach.

Sanjit was certainly enjoying the sun. Ruth, the woman who'd given Tati, Rubén and I a back massage for an amazing $4 each yesterday, must have got home last night and kicked herself for charging us so little, because today she charged Sanjit $12!

Rubén and Tati once again parked themselves under an umbrella and just enjoyed each other's company there. Tati read a book, while Rubén amused himself by people-watching, teasing Tati, and periodically going for a swim.

I think I was the happiest of the bunch, however. The pictures below explain it all.....

After saying goodbye to the gentle breezes and the warm weather of Acapulco, we hit the highway once again, in a north-easterly direction. Here are a few pictures of the scenery along the way.

We got back to Cuernavaca exhausted, around 8 in the evening. It was our last night together, so we decided to take a group picture. Sadly, it's the only picture we took at Rubén and Tati's place. They had a cozy little place, with a great terraza that would've been well worth taking a picture of.

Impression of the Day: My impression of Acapulco was as I thought it would be. I liked going there, it was hot and the beach was nice, but I've been to nicer beaches in Cuba and Brasil, and I'm sure there are nicer beaches in other parts of this country. The highlight of our stay there was the wonderful people.

Jennifer, especially, made an impression on me when I saw her at the beach. We connected in a way that I, at least, think was special. One of the pictures above captures this connection well. It's the one where it looks like we're dancing. We were not. We were just immersed in our senses, enjoying our last few minutes together in a wonderful place.

It's appropriate that we took advantage of those last few moments together, because tomorrow our trip itineraries diverge. I will head north, to Guanajuato, via Mexico City. She, on the other hand, will first head east to Puebla, and then south to Oaxaca. We will meet up again in Mexico City next Friday afternoon.

Acapulco: Beach!, El Cabrito

Wow, I just read yesterday's post again. I sound full of angst. I wonder if my comments about Canada say more about my insecurities than about the country I live in. Something to think about....

Today I spent the morning looking for a Benetton store. Unsuccessful.

Around 11am I went to the beach, and met up with Rubén and Tati. Tati was parked under an umbrella, reading a book.. Rubén was swimming. Nice. I joined them and had a great afternoon taking in the hot (dry) weather, about 28C or so. I took some pictures, people-watched, read, and I also got a back massage for 40 pesos ($4).

Oh and yeah, I had two piña coladas. I think it's the perfect tropical drink.

It was the first day since arriving in Mexico that I spent without Jennifer. I was intent on just relaxing, whereas she wanted to do some sightseeing, so her and Sanjit went on a boat tour that took up most of the day. Based on what she told me afterwards, the tour sounded kinda lame, so I'm glad I stayed at the beach.

Here's a picture of her taken this afternoon. Lovely smile. It looks like piña colada is her favourite drink too!

For dinner we went to a place that came highly recommended by Tatiana. It's called Los Cabritos, a restaurent she remembers from her childhood trips to Acapulco.

I had mole for dinner, and as the picture shows, I needed a bib to keep me clean. The mole covered the entire plate!

I was slightly annoyed after dinner tonight. I wanted to rush back to the hotel by taxi or bus and watch a fútbol game on tv. Instead, we walked back to the hotel, slowly. By the time we got back the game was done.

Impression of the Day: Sunny weather does the soul good. I feel relaxed.

Taxco, Acapulco

Today's adventures came pretty close to beating yesterday's. In fact, I think today did beat yesterday.

Our day went as follows. In the morning we drove a 1.5 hour stretch, from Cuernavaca to Taxco. There we did some sightseeing and had lunch. After lunch we got back on the highway and drove all the way to Acapulco, arriving there at around dinner time, 5:30.

The day began with me getting behind the wheel of Rubén and Tati's Jetta. I admit, it was something I'd secretely been hoping for all along: the opportunity to drive on a major Mexican highway.

I am very impressed with Mexican highways. Essentially there are two kind of highways: toll and free. On our way to Taxco we drove on both. The toll highway we drove on was new, less than 10 years old, and it was equivalent, if not better, than the #1 Trans-Canada. The pavement was clean and smooth, not a single pot hole. The free highway system is effective - it will get you where you need to go - but it will take longer, because the pavement's not as good, it's often single-laned traffic, and it goes through smaller towns where the speed limit is much lower.

The terrain of the Guerrero state in central Mexico is quite mountainy, and the highways follow the curves and contours of the mountains, offering great views of valleys below. It's also dry, but not without rain, because the surrounding landscape was green. Once we got to the outskirts of Taxco there was a lookout.

After a brief break at the lookout, we continued our drive, and upon arrival we parked our car and walked around in this wonderful city. Taxco is a charming, colonial city that feels like a town. Nestled in the mountains, its narrow, windy, cobblestone streets, and whitewashed houses with red tile roofs, make it quite lovely and picturesque. Naturally, tourism is very important for the city, but historically, mining has been its primary resource. Even today, the thing to do in Taxco is shop for silver! There are jewelry shops everywhere throughout the city.

The weather was hot, so the first thing Sanjit and I did is buy a real, genuine sombrero. This way we fit in with the rest of the population!

Then, I let my camera do the talking.

I like the picture above. The people in the centre look like they're suspended in mid-air. In actuality, they're sitting at tables of a restaurant balcony overlooking the city square.

After about 45 minutes of walking around and taking pictures of everything in sight, we all felt the same call to go and eat lunch! We decided to eat at the Restaurante Flor de la Vida. The food there was average, but the view from our rooftop table was nice.

The highlight of our lunch, however, was neither the food nor the view, but the mariachi musicians who played for our table. I think they played 4 or 5 songs, which captivated my heart and soul. The simplicity of the performance - two singers, two classical guitars - combined with the soulfulness of the songs literally brought tears to my eyes, especially when they played Peregrina, a love song written for a pilgrim woman who left her native country (Canada) for the tropics of Mexico in pursuit of the man she loved. I wasn't the only one with teary eyes though. Tati needed a napkin to wipe hers clear!!!

After lunch, we made our way back to the car. We still had a good 3 hour drive to Acapulco, so as much as we'd have liked to stay in Taxco a while longer, we just didn't have the time for it. On our way back to the car I took a few more pictures though.

The drive between Taxco and Acapulco was tiring, probably because the first portion of the drive entailed a long, continuous descent from the mountains, on a single-laned highway that seemed overloaded with cars. All of them were going faster than I was - embarrassing - but I felt pressure from Rubén to drive slow.

In addition, there was not much conversation happening in the car that deserves to be called conversation. Sometimes we seem like a shallow, boring bunch. I have my thoughts about why that might be, but that'll be a topic for another day.

We arrived in Acapulco tired and hungry. We checked into our hotel, and after a quick shower and nap, we walked to the Tío Alex Restaurante just down the street from our hotel and ate dinner. The highlight of this dinner was once again not the food, but the piña coladas . They were 2 for 1, so Jen and I ordered two each. :) I have a funny feeling that I'll be drinking a few more of those in the next few days.......

Impression of the Day: Aside from the beautiful scenery and the lovely town of Taxco, I was most struck today by the soulful mariachi music(ians). The emotional impact it had on me was impresionante, (as my Paraguayan friends would say) but more than that, it was surprising, it caught me off guard. It shows me two things:

One, compared to a Latin culture, Canadian culture is hollow, and empty. In my very unprofessional and probably exagerated opinion, we have very little - whether it be music or poetry or art or books - that touches the soul, that grabs the imagination, that speaks to the joys and sorrows of everyday life. What we have lots of is the efficiency of a technocratic society, the shallowness of a pop culture that's concerned with the here and now, and the narcissism of a self-consumed, self-centred people. We're sterilized, soulless, and incredibly boring.

Two, I'm realizing how hardened I've become. I've taken on the characteristics of the culture I live and breathe. I was caught off guard, in a sense, when the emotions came on strong during Peregrina. I was fighting hard, not wanting to look vulnerable, not wanting to let out a single tear. Why the resisting? Why the restraint?

Cuernavaca: Tepoztlán, Tepozteco, Colorines, Lucca

I think today was probably my favourite day of the trip so far, for various reasons. One, we visited a lovely little town called Tepoztlán; two, we hiked up to the pyramid of Tepozteco; three, we ate great food (again): at Colorines for lunch, and Lucca for dinner; and four, it was Jennifer's birthday, a day well worth celebrating!

Morning: Rubén, Sanjit, Jennifer and I got into Rubén and Tati's Jetta, bound for Tepoztlan. Poor Tatiana had to go to work, while the rest of us went out and had fun. :(















The weather was hot (but not humid), and I didn't mind that at all. We drove for about an hour, until we got to Tepoztlán. On the way there I took a little time to do some reading. I'm reading a fantastic book called The Way of the Modern World: Or, Why it's Tempting to Live as if God doesn't Exist. Jennifer took the picture below. I wonder if I always look that angry when I read...





















Once in Tepoztlán we parked our car and walked through the town on our way to foot of the mountain we were about to hike. It seemed like a quiet, sleepy little town. Then again, it was only about 9am, and many of the tiendas were not even open yet.















































I find the name of the boutique in the picture above quite interesting. I wonder what the story behind choosing that name is! Or then again, maybe it's better I don't know...

Just before beginning our hike, we stopped for a freshly squeezed orange juice. It was precisely what we needed before conquering the mountain.

Once on the mountain, memories of hot and sunny Vancouver hiking days on the Grouse Grind flooded my mind, it was great. The distance of the hike is approximately 2kms, compared with 2.9km of the Grouse Grind, and the elevation rise was about 500m, compared with 900m of the Grouse Grind. The Grouse Grind is more demanding for sure (it's one relentless climb!), but overall I found them quite similar.

We made it to the Tepozteco pyramid in just over an hour. I was quite proud of our achievement, because even just a few minutes before we began the hike there were already rumblings of discontent, of having to do such a strenuous hike while on vacation. Sanjit was adamant that he would just "wait for us at the bottom" and Jennifer also didn't feel energetic to come along. But alas, we all encouraged one another and made it to the top. I think the rewards - the pyramid, and a breathtaking view of Tepoztlán - were well worth it.

After spending about 45 minutes at the pyramid, we began making our way back down. The descent was quicker, it took us under an hour to get back. I was beginning to get hungry, when Rubén suggested we go and eat lunch at Colorines, the most colourful restaurant I've yet seen in Mexico.

They served a fantastic coffee here too, called Café de Olla. What's unique about this coffee is the way it's prepared, in earthenware pots. In addition, cinammon, aniseeds, and piloncillo (dark sugar) are also part of the formula. The result is something like the picture below shows. (Most people drink it dark, without milk. I, wimp that I am, added milk).

After a scrumptious lunch, we made our way through the town back to our car, and then back to Cuernavaca.

Evening: In the evening we celebrated Jennifer. We drove around town looking for several restaurants that Tatiana was recommending, but none of the options worked out. Finally, after driving around for about 30 minutes we just parked the car along a busy strip in town and walked around, looking for a place to dine. Our noses eventually led us to Lucca, an Italian food restaurant.

I ordered breaded chicken in a tomato sauce, mashed potatoes and salad (not the most Italian selection, I suppose), along with a glass of white Chardonnay. Jennifer ordered some kind of seafood pasta and a glass of red wine.

The atmosphere in the restaurant was nice and peaceful, just perfect after a day of strenuous physical exertion. Actually, I felt a little guilty by the end of the meal because I was so tired I could hardly keep my eyes open.

We got back to Rubén and Tati's place late, close to midnight. Those of us that went on the hike went to bed exhausted, but well satisfied. It was a great day from beginning to end.

Tomorrow yet another adventure begins, as we go on the road again. We're going to take Rubén and Tati's Jetta for a nice little roadtrip. We're going southwest: Cuernavaca - Taxco - Acapulco.

Thank you God for this wonderful day, full of activities, food, and friendship. Thank you also for Jennifer, for her life and for the many ways she has been a blessing to me and many others. Bless her abundantly, according to your goodness. I pray that she would seek you in humility and honesty. Please remember her in your kingdom. Let it be so.