Wednesday afternoon, April 28th, in Taxco. I've got a little time to begin to fill in the last few days, waiting for the heat of the day to subside. Even though almost 6000 feet elevation, the afternoon sun here is very strong. We plan to wander out as it cools down, hoping for some great sunset pictures, capturing the charm of this hilly, historic Pueblos Magicos town.
End of my first dispatch was Friday evening in Zihuatanejo. To view pics from our last few days in Zihua, paste the following link in to your browser. After viewing the slideshow, hit the Back arrow to return here to the blog:
http://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/ZihuaII2010#
Saturday, Mary and Claudia went looking for Sylvia, a masseuse of some fame, on La Ropa Beach. Sylvia wasn't there, but they found others to give them greatly appreciated massages. After having given Raul quite a bit of taxi business, with discussion of more, I didn't feel I needed to agree on the price for their outing, including a brief stop at the supermarket. Wrong. He charged them double what I expected--killed the goose that lays golden eggs, he did. Deanna got in pool time, working on perfecting the tan. I spent time Saturday getting my first blog report off and updating my online Picasa picture album. The 4 of us returned to Letty's for dinner, a small restaruant at the bottom of the path leading to town, where Letty remembered us and thanked us for returning. Good food, simple, open-air place overlooking the bay.
Sunday we snorkeled on Ixtapa Island. The best snorkeling for me in a couple of years--lots of colorful fish, a coral reef with a multitude of colors. Claudia got a deep muscle massage while Deanna and Mary went out for a second look. We got a delightful meal served on the beach, fresh snapper hot off the grill. Mary failed to excuse herself, bolting for the bay's salt water when a bee stung her finger--swelling and pain still haven't gone away.
Monday we returned to Las Gatas Beach, this time snorkeling out beyond the reef (Owen took us along the north shore). Much better--shallow coral, easy going, until we found ourselves in some unexpected waves, that we crested okay, masks and fins doing their job. Back on the beach, we replicated our beach lunch of Saturday, with another fresh fish off the grill.
Returning from all outings, especially from the beach, the pool at Puerto Mio was most welcoming, the sun going over the horizon. The still hot curved tile edges of the pool make for soothing neck rests. Drinks brought to poolside added to our relaxation.
We met Matt, retired Californian, at the bar Monday evening. He took us to view his penthouse condo nearby and promised to rent it to us at a big discount. We rode with him to il Mare, one of his favorite restaurants, for a fitting last meal in Zihua. Matt was impressed with all we did during our week. He willingly agreed to take Deanna to the airport on Tuesday afternoon.
Claudia, Mary and I bid farewell to Deanna early Tuesday morning, catching the 8:00 first-class bus to Acapulco. I catnapped some, caught glimpses of the Pacific from time to time. On arrival in Acapulco, we learned buses for Taxco left from another bus station. We managed to fit all our luggage and the 3 of us in to one cab. At the new bus station, the first bus to Taxco would be a 3-hour wait, but there was a 1st class bus leaving for Iguala in half an hour, with promise of frequent buses from there on to Taxco, so we opted to keep moving. Even though we did a lot of climbing, it was sweltering on arrival in Iguala. To my dismay, I saw a 1st class bus pulling out of the bus depot with "Zihuatanejo" written on the front window. On subequently consulting Claudia's AAA map of Mexico, it looks like there is a much shorter route, through the mountains from Zihua to Iguala, rather that down the coast to Acapulco, then triangulating back northwards, esp. with the hassle of getting from one bus station to another in Acapulco. Oh well, next time I'll know. BTW, are you aware of the benefits of enhanced AAA membership? Claudia says AAA would have sent her a whole book on Mexico FREE--perks of her membership. I must check that out.
Sure enough, when we got to Iguala, a bus was leaving in "5 minutos" for Taxco, which turned out to be more like 20 minutes. They put our luggage inside the 2nd class bus, in the back. No underneath compartment, like the 1st class buses. I grabbed a seat with more leg room toward the middle, leaving Mary and Claudia in the back to keep an eye on the luggage--bad place to ride--the back of a 2nd class bus. Mary's neck was in bad shape by the time we reached Taxco. Only VW bug cabs here, 'cause streets are so narrow regular cars can't negotiate some of them. We had to hail 2 bugs upon arrival in Taxco and went to the recommended Los Arcos Hotel, where we decided to stay put. Befitting its name, there are many arches. And a roof top with great views of the nearby church on the zocalo as well as a panorama of the hillside city--reminds me of Siena, Italy. Both mornings we were up and on the roof to greet the sun, with cameras sometimes enhancing the colors in the sky. My 10x telephoto is surprisingly stable when zooming way out.
For Taxco pics, go to:
http://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/Taxco#
...4:30 a.m., Friday, April 30, Hotel Royalty, ON the zocalo, Puebla. I'm in the spacious sitting area outside our junior suite, with view of the church across the zocalo (city-center park) and plenty of fresh air from the double doors opening on to our small balcony. So glad we sprung for this room rather than the stuffy interior double and single rooms for almost as many pesos. While there is strong internet signal, I can't get online. The staff at Puerto Mio told me they re-programmed my IP address so I could get online there. I suspect they failed to tell me that they needed to unprogram it on my departure. I've had an email from Sylvia, a Raintree employee in Oaxaca, promising to be there for us on our arrival. I'm hoping she can call Puerto Mio and ask about getting the laptop IP address reversed. If not, I should be able to find a techy in Oaxaca.
We were eager silver shoppers in Taxco, me included. Shops everywhere--surrounding the zocalo, up and down stairs and alleyways. Most of the storefronts stuck by the "precios fijos"--the price tags on the jewelry items--but we were able to haggle price with some, esp. if buying several pieces. Some shops gave us 12 pesos exchange on our US bills, an improvement over the 11 pesos to the dollar that casas de cambio give. We have yet to find a bank that exchanges dollars.
Late Wednesday afternoon, we hired Jesus. We were surprised to find all 3 of us did fit in the back seat of his VW bug taxi. Front passanger seat missing, the case with all Taxco cabs. He took us up to the Christ statue, high on the mountain above the city, stopping at a church on the way. At one point it looked like we were too heavy for the steep, cobblestone street. I'm surprised I didn't smell his clutch burning. We bottomed on a few topes (speed bumps--they are ALL over Mexido). Mary asked him to slow down a few times, as it was a harrowing journey, up the winding streets, then down again at nightfall.
Mary's sleep was fitful Wednesday night, in part because she didn't buy some jewelry she had looked at, esp. the dragonfly pin in a fancy shop. I caught a cab down to the bus station, learned that buses leave for Cuernavaca every hour. We agreed to wait fro shops to open. The one with the dragonfly didn't open until 11, so we did more shopping and enjoying vistas of Taxco, 'til Mary got her dragonfly. While our first taxis took us to the wrong bus station (next bus leaving for Cuernavaca in about 3 hours), unlike the big cities, it was only a few minutes back to the right bus station and we make the noon bus.
I wasn't vigelent on arrival at the Cuernavaca bus station. Our bags were already loaded in to the cab, ourselves as well, when the cabbie informed me it was a long way to the other bus depot and the fare was $20 US. I said "No way", We may be travelers, but we're not paying airport prices here. He said 150 pesos was as low as he could go, so I agreed. It was a fairly long trip through the City of Eternal Spring (there were some pretty parks, flowering trees). Layover of about 30 minutes was just right. The 3-hour bus ride to Puebla was uneventful.
We caught a cab in to the center of the historic district in Puebla, to the Royalty Hotel, as mentioned above. Last night we walked around the zocalo and a few surrounding streets. Lots of action for a Thursday night. Great temperture, nice breeze. Mid-day sun is at it's hotest this time of year in this part of Mexico. Have you ever wondered why our summers (and winters) are delayed? Longest days of the year are late June, but it's a month or more before we get our hotest days. Here, when the sun is approaching being the most direct, the heat comes with the sun.
We visited the cathedral after breakfast this morning. Impressive. We observed the no flash request, had to be reminded that all pics were prohibited when we got close to a mass in process. We then went looking for antique row, discovered that shops open late morning, but got to look around one crammed full of things. We found the artisan market, bought a few pieces of Puebla Talavera. We also found ceramic trees of life, made in Izucar de Matamoros. I had found a couple of articles about this in researching our trip. Izucar is on the direct road from Cuernavaca to Oaxaca, but aside from the artisan shops, the town is reportedly bleak. And, if we stopped there, would we be able to catch transportation on to Oaxaca? Probably, but on slow, second class buses on secondary "highways". After further consultation, coming the extra distance to Puebla, then on to Oaxaca on 1st class buses seemed the prudent course.
We managed to visit one more church, elaborate with gold, and arrive at the bus station an our before the 12:50 bus for Oaxaca. But, it was already sold out. So, we are sitting on a shaded patio, drinking frappachinos, calling home, blog-writing, reading, etc. I was able to reach Casa San Felipe and tell them we will be getting in more like 8 pm tonight.
Puebla pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/Puebla2010#
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