Arrived in Nicaragua

Well the last couple of days have been a bit of a change up to what I've grown accustomed to.

For one, I don't have my darling Chrissy to get me from point A to point B, nor do I have the girls giggling int he back, calling for toilet breaks and taking those few extra minutes in the morning to get ready.

After I managed to miss my flight I spent that night in a nearby hotel, king size bed, air conditioning, cable television, hot shower, clean towels, drinkable water from the tap.................... all the things that I've pretty much gone without for the past 7 weeks.

But it doesn't have the same charm as a beach side palapa with gratis mozzies.

I managed to get on the flight to Managua in the morning and double checked that my luggage was going to be on he flight. Of course it was they said.

On arriving I was last through customs............... AGAIN!!!!!!! If you ever see me in the line at customs get into the line next to me, they move twice as fast. Oh, and if you see me jump into your line, get out of it and go back to the line I was just in........... it' a guarantee.

One I finally passed customs I wandered into the baggage area to find................ yep, no luggage.

At this point I was really starting to reconsider my trip to Nicaragua, things should never be this difficult if it was meant to be.

I asked one of the airport guys about the luggage, "ahhh, Mr Justin Avery, yes your luggage arrived last night and is sitting at gate 6"........................... so much for the luggage definitely being on this flight.

As I wandered over to gate 6 a guy, taxi driver I was guessing, followed me talking in Spanish. What it was I'm not sure, but I picked up the occasional word.

"No, Gracias" I said over and over again, but he persisted and followed me up to the American Airlines counter.

I asked about the luggage at..........ohhhh 11.43am, but unfortunately the luggage can only be released between 8am and 11.30am and 2.oopm and 4.00pm.

Oh yeah, Nicaragua is working out AWESOMELY!!!!!

The cab driver walked me over to Gate 6, which isn't actually in the airport as you might think, but about 500 meters away outside once you find your way through a few allyways.

The cab driver made a phone call and organised my luggage to come out a it earlier, or so it seemed. I walked back to the arport to change some money, cambia dinero, and get some comida.

When we got back to the gate the luggage was there, and the taxi driver started to load up the cab. He wanted to charge me $70US to drive me to Rivas, but I wanted to head to the bus stop and catch the local bus.

After some very poor spanish bartering we agreed on $55 for the trip, which was about 2 hours. I'm pretty sure I paid too much, but I was pretty happy with that.

On the way we chatted sparingly. Omar, asI learned, had two little girls aged 2 and 4 and worked as a private taxi service. I shared my subway with him and we got a couple of cokes on the way. He pointed out things along the drive and told me how to say them in Spanish.

One incident on the way was quite funny. After 7 weeks driving a gringo licesed car with 5 gringo's we didn't get hassled by the police once (minus the time it looked like I was breaking in to Chrissy), but in the 2 hour trip we were pulled over twice and had to once pay an "on the spot fine".

I met Sherri in Rivas and bid farewell to my new friend Omar.

The road from Rivas back out to the Ranch was........ well lets just say that Chrissy would stuggle.

The ranch itself is AMAZING!!! It's a gated community, and I'm staying with Sherri in the premiere house (her folks own it and hey used to liver here). I've got my own room with aircon, queen bed, ensuite, there's a swimming pool, wireless, sun bed, hammocks, fresh cafe and a roaring ocean just outside.

We had dinner at the Browns on the first night, an awesome couple with 2 kids from CA. The live overlooking a left point break........ tough life.

We've been for a surf every day so far and it's been great. The waves are the same as Casuarina on it's best day, the water is the same temp and colour, and there is always a storm off in the distance. If there were more people out and everyone wasn't speaking spanish I would be sure I was back in Darwin.

There's a storm coming in over the ocean as I write this, and every few moments the ocean lights up with the lightnining.

After all the drama's of getting here, which originated with the silly mistake of missing the flights, this place is a paradise.

It's funny that while you are living at home yo reluctantly drive into the suburbs to meet people, yet once you're on the road travelling it doesn't seem strange to fly to another country to catch up with friends for a couple of days.

I'm looking forward to more random short trips to visit my friends around the world, but I could probably do without missing the flights while I'm on the way.

Heading to Nicaragua

Well, now that I don't have the girls with me I only have to organise myself.

And with that, I've become a little bit more relaxed. Perhaps a little too relaxed.

Arriving in Miami I thought I'd get a bite to eat and see if I could get on the internet. Although they give you free wireless in Cancun they make you pay for it here. Oh well, I wandered off to get some money out and noticed that they had a post office, spewing I'd already checked my bags with the presents for people at home in them.

I grabbed the August edition of the National Geographic, it's got an article on the Mayan's and was sold out throughout Mexico.

Stood in line for a while to get my carry on checked and rocked up to gate D31.

Flight to Managua............. Departed.

Bullshit.

Surely that someone with a connecting flight would be called over the loud speaker to catch their plane.

Surely not.

Unnnnnnnnnnnnnnlllllluuuuuuuckkyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Oh well, I'm booked on the place tomorrow morning at 10.45, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to spend the night in the airport so that I'm sure I'll make the flight tomorrow. It means that I'll get in to Managua and can pretty much catch the bus straight out to Rivas to catch up with Sherri.

I've decided to pay for the 24 hours access to the internet, I suppose I'll need it now. I have to find a power plug around here somewhere though, and they won't let me back in to where I saw some until I get the boarding pass tomorrow morning.

Ha ha, I just heard a boarding call for someone to get to the gate for their flight, why them and not me.

Bastards!

Again, it's always about the journey, never the destination. Time to start brushing up on my Mayan knowledge.

Leaving Mexico

For the past 7 weeks you've had me babble on about things that have happened, and of course it has been all from my point of view.

Well it is my blog!

To give you a better insight into the past 7 weeks my travel friends have all written a little something. As usual, I was there to hurry them up to finish them off so they apologise in advance for misspellings or random out of sequence stories.

Vinni

The first thought that comes to my mind, now that I have travelled through Mexico in Chrissy with Justin is how often I am amazed at how things work out in life.

I absolutely love how things just fall into place and flow along just nicely when you are on the right path in life. The adventure with Justin from the hostel in OB - San Diego to the airport in Cancun is unforgetable and the new friendships that have been made are an added bonus.

I have lost count how many times I have thanked the lord that we met Justin in San Diego. Firstly because he was heading the same direction through Mexico as us and was kind enough to invite us to come with him. Actually he may have just been really drunk and totally regreted it the next day but hey he couldn't pull out of that cause we just pounced on the offer.....and secondly because I have seen how tough and stressful it can be travelling/ backpacking without a vehicle. Especially through places like Baja California coast where it is sooo hot and dry, many times when I saw people walking down the street with their backpacks looking for somewhere to stay, again I was very greatful on many occasions to be driving in a car and that the ride in the back of Chrissy that was feeling sooo uncomfortable and squishy suddenly started to feel alright after all....and as Holly would say....it could be worse... it could be raining!!! Hahaha

There are so many things to mention but the topic of conversation particularly at dinner time was always a good laugh. Without grosing you all out, some people may be shocked if they new what we were talking about, but luckily for the people around us they couldn't understand English anyway.

You just can't find enough words to describe some of the places we have been, we can just recommend them to you to see for yourself. A lot of the places of course are not accessable unless you have a car so again " We Love Chrissy". So as you can tell Chrissy quickly became the most loved in our new family, we look after her because without her our stories would not have been the same. We drown her with lots of love and attention. She has even responded on a number of occasions, seriously, we've all heard her. Even the times when she was hurt and injured she still cranked on through....she's tough as nuts man. Unfortunately she has been knocked about a bit, been threatened by a hurricane and still firing all cylinders.


And lastly to just say that Justin is one of the most coolest, nicest and most patient guys I have ever met......who else could handle 4 women 24/7 for almost 7 weeks straight...well done Justin love you and your nature!! I have had the most memorable times travelling through mexico and one thing that will always pop into my mind was the welcoming celebration night we had for Liza in Guadalajara and when we were comparing the split of men to women in the bar...I still reckon it was 50, 60!!!

I am sure we will meet again on our travels somewhere "Around the World" !!!
Thanks heaps Birdman, papa bear, dad.... see you soon..

Lotsa Love Vinnie
xoxoxoxoxo



Lize

I was the late comer to the Chrissy Clan. After a few flight dramas and much umming and ahhhing, I flew in from Canada 4 weeks ago. After my first night here I knew I'd made the right decision to come. It was so great to see Bags and Vinni after 10 months away from the Von and awesome to meet Holly and Justin. What more than a night out in Guadalajarra with male strippers and crazy mexican men insisting on teaching me salsa dancing to break me in? Definately set me up for an eye opening experience...
I've loved every minute of our Mexicana adventure so far... from goonas in the gutter at Paracho, crazy dancing at the wedding, mind-blowing waves at Puerto Escondido, 3 hour aimless walks to stumble upon the nations fluffiest donuts, my first surf in 10 months, discovering the ruins, bush tucker and jungle medicine in Palenque, "accidentally" having an alcoholic drink for b'fast, giving Justin grief about his D.C. addiction, surviving Deano the "catastrophic" hurricane in Merida, and oh, the list goes on!
On a serious note, I feel so lucky to have been given the opportunity to experience this diverse country with such a great bunch of mates. The locals have been extremely welcoming and tolerant of our poor espanol. I feel so privileged to have been given a snapshot of their culture. Such beautiful people! Chrissy rocks and I know I'll have my great memories of the crew forever. Thanks Justin, Holly, Bags and Vinni. xoxo


Carlo

Few lines from the newborn weird italian stepbrother of the best family ever, from the hurricane to the caribbean sea, passing through the wild jungle and Chichen Itza la Majestosa, with tons of roses an no thorns, so glad to have met you and Christie (I hope i wrote it well), hoping but knowing we will meet again in Italy Europe Australia Asia Africa, brief, the world, with all the joy I can tell with words, truly yours,
Carlo
P.S. No, I haven't seen that thing on the road


Holly

I'll start by saying this has been one of the best accidental decisions i've ever made...When i first hopped aboard Chrissy i thought i was just here for a quick four day trip, but as usual my trip has been extended many many times, and i'm still here over 6 weeks later. looking back, I'm not really sure why i thought i could stay for only 4 days....hello....have i learned nothing about myself in the last year and a month of travelling!

I might just go through a few of my roses and thorns (this is a camp game that Lize introduced to us, where we all tell each other what the ups and downs of the last day, week or whatever have been.) This is gonna be so hard because there's been so many good times and i could probably talk forever about it....u all know i love to talk :-) so i'll try to be brief....

Bahia de Los Angles...first dip in the sea in mexcio (with a beer, just to make it a little rosier) and we were so so sweaty after a whole day in chrissy that we really really needed it. And the stars there were absolutely breathtaking!

Almost wetting myself with laughter in Scorpion Bay when Bag started talking long-arm shots of all four of us sleeping in chrissy (it's cosy). Bags had the 'bottom bunk' and she looks like she's been ran over, and the rest of us just look stoned/crazy....even though we are clearly neither :-p (Bags...get those pics on facebook now!)

Playing a world class game of hacky sack and drinking margaritas made by Carlos in buena vista....your pissed vinnie!

Crashing a wedding in Paracho, where we met the most generous and friendly people and ended up being invited to a wedding, where we ate, drank and danced the day away. Had some very funny moments practicing our spanish with Chrisitan!

Watching the huge surf at Puerto Escondido, was truly awesome and far too big for me to surf, but maybe one day. And i hope memories of that will keep me motivated when i get back to surfing freezing cold England again....eeeek!

Visiting all the Maya ruins, which i thought i'd would never have the chance to do in my tiny little four day trip! They've all been beautiful and so interesting that I'm now a little bit obsessed...not as much as justin though!

And i guess the only thorn i have for this trip is having to leave. I'm really gonna miss all u guys, it's been so much fun being a part of our little 'family' even though dad does make us get up early!! Can't wait to catch up with you all again some day, I'm coming to visit you all next time I'm in Australia for sure and your all welcome at my house anytime.

Hasta Luego Muchachas!



Bags AKA Margarita here ( with a nick name like Bags, of course I am the one who speaks Spanish... gotta love Ozzustralia!)

Anyway, it's fitting that Justin has asked us to write our final 'piece' to his blog spot before he moves on to begin his next adventure and aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh, lo que puedo decir... Mexico - muchas gracias para una adventura famosa y 'espectacular' con amigos de casa y ahora amigos de nuevo (you guys gotta keep practicing your Espanol)

WOW... lets see if I can some how be brief and put the last 6 and half weeks in words... it nearly brings a tear to my eye to think that our 'famous' 4, then 5 and for the last leg 6 (inc: Carlo from Italy) is about to come to an end.

It all started on 'around' the 1st July 2007 where we all met in San Diego (OB) - where by chance we happened to be all staying at the same hostel and as we chatted about our 'sort of plans' for traveling thru Central America... ok, I will also say right from the start and for all of you who know Justin, will know that he is well organised... and well, for all of you who know Vinnie and I well, lets just say that at times we tend to be a bit like 'jelly fish, we go with the flow...'

So, Yostin's offer to go with him in the now 'infamous Chrissy' (1990 Mitsubshi white van with tinted windows and all decked out for camping and surfing) was too good an offer to give up ( will also add that Justin is currently known as "Yostin, Huston or maybe even more fitting, DAD...") so, off we headed across the border on the 10th July, Yostin and 4 chickies babes. This included: Vinnie (Oz) and I who were in for the long haul and Holly (from UK) and Vanessa (Oz) who were going to travel with us for 4 days. Vanessa kept her part of the deal and lets say Holly is still with us nearly 7 weeks later - I reckon that gives you a pretty good indication of some of the adventures and fun we have had.

Mine and Vinnie's good amiga Liza (Oz) joined us on the 1st August and the five of us have been traveling muy 'Mexican style' (basically we are all crammed in the back with no official seats, ooohaaa!) in hip and happening Chrissy and its been superb. For traveling for 6 and half weeks and doing HEAPS together I think we have done muy bien. We really have only had a couple of 'shitty' days where we all had or needed some 'quite time'.... but for some of us who had never met, we have kicked arse really.

Some highlights or roses as we now like to say:

*for me personally, the ability to communicate in Spanish has been the best ever. The random conversations I have had with many Mexicans has been brilliant. The welcoming, generous, friendly, proud and positive personalities has been so very special. Trying to learn about the culture, politics, history and music... and being able to 'eaves drop' as we walk down the street has been pretty cool too!
*Sunsets and sunrises on the Baja coast ( yes, I actually saw heaps of sunrises!!)
*surfing, swimming and camping in some pretty special spots
*meeting new friends - Inc: Mexican, Italian, Australian and from the USA
*Being invited to a Mexican wedding and not knowing anyone there - and especially not the bride and groom...who would do that? if that was in Oz (or most places) and you were on the way to your brother's wedding and you met five backpacking Mexican's would you invite them?? Hmmm, I wonder...?
*Playing hackey sack and laughing long and haaarrrd in a place called Buena vista
*Cheering Vinnie on when she was on stage busting a move with some local Mexican chicks in Guardlajarra and she came an equal first - good effort Vinnie.
*Exploring the Mayan ruins and becoming aware of the significance of some of their predictions.
*Bano and leg stretching breaks
* Sleeping in bunk beds in the back of Chrissie - it can be done!!
* Eating tacos, tortillas, burritos, chilies, quesadillas until the cows come home.
*Exploring cobbled street towns, markets, food, traditions, alley ways etc
and how could I not mention those bloody TOPES and leaking transmission oil!!!!!!

...and the list could on and on but one thing that I reeaalllllly Ioooved was just driving in Chrissy throughout a huge part of Mexico with five (or 6) amigos, musica pumping, hair flowing and feeling absolute freedom, peace and gratitude for being able to do that... that mi amigos, has been a true blessing.

So, adios y hasta luego 'amigos para siempre'... It has been an absolute pleasure sharing all the wonders of Mexico with you and I wish you all peace, love, health and happiness for your next adventures and forever. The memories or as a friend translated "those souvenirs" will stay with us forever.

Yostin, I'll see you in Darwin (hope you remember my name!!) and Holly I will see you in Bath or Oz!! (Vanessa see you in Adelaide and Carlo will see you in Roma)

I hope that the Vinnie, Lize and I keep the tradition of 'Chrissy' alive (we just bought her off Yostin) as we now continue on with the next phase of our adventures throughout Central America.

hasta luego

live life now.

Margarita/Bags xo


Justin

The plane is boarding and you've got a taste of all my adventures so far. A quick and bigger then life thank you to the girls above! You've made the last 7 weeks of my life some of the best.

Be good, poo solid, and I'll see you again before you know it!

Tulum Ruins

Today is my last day in Mexico.

Well, it's my last full day anyway.

It was an early start this morning to head out to Tulum and check out the ruins on the water.

While I can't fault it for being amazing in it's own right, it was probably my least favourite of all the ruins. It is well set up for tourists which I'm sure is due to its proximity to Cancun. There are no paths off in the jungle to find some ruins, it's all well manicured and right there in front of you.

My favourite part was the colour of the ocean in the below picture, and the paintings which were on the land side of one of the structures. The picture doesn't do it justice, it is amazingly clear in person.


In this particular occasion the Mayan's have put the paint world to shame. A painting that can last hundreds of years exposed to the elements 3 meters from the beach and having hurricanes like Dean pass though........... simply amazing.

Chichen Itza

There's not too much you can say about this place....... it's amazing.

The main pyramid is a physical representation of the Mayan Calendar.

91 steps on each of the 4 staircases making 364 steps, plus the top platform makes 365 days.

There are 9 levels on the pyramid on either side of the stair case, making 18, which is the number of 20 day months, which equal 360. The top platform used to have 5 stone parts which make up the the uayab month, and make the 365 days.

On the face of the levels there are three indents on all but the top level which has two. 3 x 8 is 24, plus the other 2 is 26. 26 on each side of the stairs make 52, which is the period of time known as the Calendar round where the Tzolkin and Haab calendar repeat.

There's more photo's here, Chichen Itza and keep an eye out for more movies.

Make sure you check out the post on the Palenque and Uxmal Ruins and see the movie of our Mexican trip so far (well a small snippet of it).

Mexico - Palenque Ruins Uxmal Ruins

Mexico 2007

Add to My Profile | More Videos

......... and lots of good memories. Hope you enjoy

Hurrincane Dean is over

And in true Darwin style the worse thing that happened was my cup of dry special K was blown over this morning while I was lying in the hammock.

Dont get me wrong, it has caused some severe damange and has unfortunately caused the loss of life on more then one occasion, but we were well away from any danger.

Here is a turn up for the books though, and something that would have caused more damage to towns in australia then an actual hurricane.

The banned the sale of alcohol the day before the hurricane was set to hit. All we wanted to do was have a few quiet beers and hacky sac, but no luck. They either told us it was not for sale at the counter, or they had already chained the fridges.

Roads permitting we are off to Chichen Itza tomorrow morning.

Hurricane Dean

We gave this some thought and have come up with following plan.

Tulum is on the coast and the ruins have existed for hundreds of years and seen many hurricanes. Also, having grown up in Darwin I know that when there is a cyclone around there will be surf....

Knowing these two things we´re heading off to Tulum to stay in the ruins and catch a few waves a Hurricane Dean hits the coast.

A few other things happened today as well. While we were at the ruins in Uxmal I came across a talking bat in one of the temple rooms, and off to the side of that was a money tree which gave us a gibillion dollars. When we left we saw a giant pig flying in circles around the main temple, it was cool.

Okay, we didn´t really see a flying pig, or a money tree (damn it) or a talking bat.............. and we´re sure as shit not going anywhere near the coast for a category 4 hurricane.

We´re staying in Merida while the hurricane hits, and have lots of food and water just in case. Fingers crossed that it won´t do any damage, but if so we will re think our trip up to Cancun.

Surfing Barra De La Cruz

There's been a couple of days between any surf talk, and I probably won't get a chance to hit the water until I get to Nicaragua....... so to tide over my surfing buddies who keep asking for more surf pictures here you go.

Last year the Rip Curl Search was "Somewhere in Mexico". That somewhere in Mexico was the right point break of Barra De La Cruz.

I'm pretty sure the turn off lies in between the 1056th and 1057th topes (or speed bump) on the Mexico 200, or you can find it by driving approximately 20km past Santa Cruz on the way to Salina Cruz.

As usual the turn off kind of sneaks up on you.

Follow the road through the small town and you will eventually come across a lady sitting at a boom gate. It costs 20 pesos per person to cross in and use the beach car park for the day (toilets and showers are there) or you can pay 80 pesos each and get a small palpa, hammock, or just camp in the surf camp just past the gate.

They have showers and toilets also, and a pretty cool little outdoor resteraunt with sky television. Just about every visiting surfer stays there for good reason, it has a really friendly and relaxed vibe.

About 5 - 10 minutes drive down the road you come across the car park with a set of showers, toilets and a small kiosk. From there it's a short walk across the beach to the right break that wraps around the point.



On the way back to the car a couple of kids asked if we could give them a lift back to town. There was no room inside so we declined, but they insisted they could hold on to the back for the drive back.

They were pretty cool kids, and nearly fell a couple of times as vinni sped down the dirt track and occasionally pushed us into the tree's on the side of the road.

Mayan Calendar

I've been doing a bit of reading on the Mayan calendar's, the Haab, Tzolkin and the Long Count calendar.

I thought that I'd get all the dates together for a few special occasions such as our birthdays and our visit to Palenque.

The Long Count number is the number of days since the start of the Long Count system, 11 August 3114 BC.

The Tzolkin Calendar is based on a 13 and 20 count. There are 20 glyphs and they are presented with a number between one and 13 before them to pin point the day. At the beginning on the cycle the first Glyph has a one in front, then the second a 2, the third a three and so on until you get to 13 in front of the thirteenth glyph. The fourteenth glyph then has a 1 one in front of it, fifteenth a 2 and so on. By the time you get back to the first glyph it has an 8 in front of it.

This calendar runs for 260 days, which is the number of days required for every possible glyph and number combination.

The Haab calendar works on there being 18 months of 20 days, 360 days, followed by one month of 5 days, to make up 365. In the calendars which I have seen engraved on leather they set dates against each glyph like star signs. For instance, from the 27th April until the 16th May is Yankin, which I am apart of, however if you look at the Haab calendar over the years it will vary each 4 years because it does not take into account the leap year.

The glyphs and numbers below for Haab represent the day number of the month (0-19 or 0-4 for the last month) followed by the month name for the year that we were born, not the original calendar. For instance the 30th April with the original calendar represtents 3 Yankin, whereas in 1980 it represents 0 Uo.

But enough nerdy number stuff, lets have a look at some pictures and dates.

Visit to Palenque
11 Kan

Long Count
12.19.14.10.4

Haab
12 Yaxkin

Tzolkin
11 Kan

Holly
6 Manik

Long Count
12.18.9.15.7

Haab
0 uayeb

tzolkin
6 manik

Liza
4 Imix

Long Count
12.18.8.2.1

haab
19 Tzec

tzolkin
4 Imix

Justin
2 Caban

Long Count
12.18.6.15.17

Haab
0 Uo

Tzolkin
2 Caban

Vinni
7 Ahau

Long Count
12.18.4.17.0

Haab
13 Zip

Tzolkin
7 Ahau

Bags
1 Chuen

Long Count
12.17.18.13.11

Haab
14 Pop

Tzolkin
1 Chuen



The final date in the Long Count Calendar is 13.0.0.0.0 which falls on the 21st December 2012.......... what happens then no one knows.....

Trip to Campeche

Well today was pretty interesting.

It started off the way that we expected....... slightly late as per usual.

We met our Israeli friends outside the entrance and was introduced to our guide for the morning, Victor.

Victor took us through the Jungle and showed us some really cool stuff, like magic mushrooms (not eaten) pink, orange and red ink from the vines, the cocoa plant that we all tried (tried two and they were both just under ripe) and numerous other things.

Waterfall in the Jungle

There was lots of stuff that happened during the tour, but some of the highlights was Bags and Liza swinging from the vines at the beginning of the tour, walking up through the waterfalls, climbing into the one of the smaller temples (dark and complete with bats) and finding out from Victor that the Mayan's have predicted to the day the combining of the winter solstace with the Sun in the exact centre of the galatic center.......

As Bags and I squeezed into the temple, which was just a random hole in a hill in the middle of the jungle, I could hear what sounded like a purring noise. When I turned on the torch you could see that the first room was about 4 meters long and then another passageway went off to the left.

So what was the purring? Was it a panther sleeping around the corner? Should I check? Should I push bags to the ground as bait as I flee the tunnel in a mad panic?

I shone the torch to the ceiling to reveal a series of bats hanging from the ceiling. Bag's let out a bit of a squeal (which also could have been me, I'm not sure). As I moved forward to check around the corner one of the bats left it's perch to circle for a second..........another squeal (and again, not sure if it was Bags or me).

When I checked around the corner it was nothing more then a small passage way that was covered up by rocks.

When I moved the torch back to the bats they flapped their wings and I could hear the purring noise again. It was nothing more then flapping wings.......... but it was pretty exciting for that little time.

At the end of the tour we had lunch with out new Israeli friends and talked about Australia and Israel and the places to go and visit. Before we left we all exchanged emails and left them with a polaroid of us at Don Mucho's as a parting gift.

The drive up to Campeche went off with out too much of problem............. right up until the point that I drove over the top of a rock and heard an almighty BANG!

I only swore twice, once when we hit the rock and again when I looked under the car to see two streams of Automatic Transmission Fluid pouring out from underneath the car.

It was leaking so quickly that by the time I got back in to put it in to neutral the transmission had already stopped working.

Vinni and Bags headed off into town on the bus while I wandered down the road to try and find a phone. Why a phone? Well bags was going to give us a call from town and tell us what was going on, but no one actually had any signal on their mobile phones.

My very poor spanish finally got me to a phone, however it was a private phone not a public phone. My poor spanish managed to get a bit of conversation out of the lady that had the phone and after 30 minutes of walking a talking we eventually managed to give Bags a call.

It rang out. SPEWING!!!

We wandered out to the front of the store and tried again to communicate through broken spanish, hand signals and a lot of "los siento, no intiendo" followed by laughter before trying Bags again. Second time around there was no luck, from what I could understand the house phone was like a mobile and only had a little bit of signal, which was now gone.

As I walked out the front of the store I looked up to see a tow truck driving down the road with it's lights on.

With my unfit lungs and bare feet I jogged along the road back to the car to find out that when Vinni and Bags had got off the bus there were two tow trucks across the road.

We hitched up Chrissy, or at least the tow truck diver did, and drove the 1.5 hour journey into Campeche with Bags and Vinni in the front seat and Holly, Liza and myself sitting on the back of the tow truck.

Holly, Liza and Me on the back of the tow truck

We managed to find a place alright, directly across from the chapel and two huge clock towers right in the middle of the city. It's only the second time we've been in a dorm since we left San Diego, but we've got 5 of us in a 6 bunk dorm so it's more or less our room.

Chrissy is going to cost Dos Mil to get fixed, we're pretty sure that we're getting screwed on that one but there's not a lot you can do when the car won't move.

Hopefully it'll be Chrissy's last visit to the mechanics, she's done us so well over the past 5 weeks.

I found an esky on the roof of the Hostel here, so after siesta between 2 and 5 we're getting a heap of beers and some ice and will kick back and watch the sunset and the chapel light up in front of us while sipping on 50c Corona's.

It's always about the Journey!

Ruins of Palenque

Paleque Ruins

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Today was one of my favourite days of the trip so far. Not because we were out with cheap beer, or that I went on a date with both Keira Knightly and Claudia Schiffer, it's not even because it was a perfect right point break at shoulder high with no one out.

Today we went to the ruins in Palenque.

We arrived around 9am and the ruins had been open for an hour, and already there were hundreds of tourists wandering around just inside the gates.

After chatting with our parking lot friends and telling them that although the car was pretty dusty it didn't need a clean we headed in to find ourselves a guide for the ruins.

You don't need a guide to wander around, but if you want to actually learn about the ruins and the Mayan history for $650 peso's between a few people is money well spent.

English speaking guides are slightly more expensive then spanish, but I don't think that Bag's would have appreciated having to repeat EVERYTHING that was said in both English and Spanish throughout the day.

Our guide was a bit of a champion. His nickname was Gato, which was given to him because he has lighter "cat like" eyes then his Mexican breatherin, which actually is because his grandmother is Spanish.

Our first stop wasn't any of the ruins, but the jungle next to the ruins that have been restored. There he showed us a leaf and told us how when dried out and smoked you'll be flying with the fairies. This was not the leaf that you're probably thinking of, but a common leaf that is abundant throughout the jungle.

He told us about the mushrooms that grow around the area, and how the Mayans used to use the mushrooms to enhance the stars and the moon and would allow them to listen and understand more of the world. He also warned us that there are many people that will sell you these mushrooms (my car park friends offered me some after I picked up the car and tipped them for watching it), however if you have any small issue in life that the mushroom with make it muchas grande. Only those with sane mind and peaceful life will benefit from these.

He showed us vines that when cut in half have a inner star shape, and that these were used for tea which the Mayan's drank frequently to provide protection for the snake venom. Oh, and this isn't accidental snake bites. It turns out that the venom from snake bites induced a hallucinogenic reaction with the Mayans in which they would again see the stars and hear the world. They used to purposely get bitten to induce this!!!! I think I'd rather find some dried up leaves or pick some mushies.

A little further in to the jungle we came across what looked like a hill......... about the size of a ground level house. Gato told us that in Palenque there are over 1000 structures that are still yet to be uncovered, and that only 2% of the city of Palenque had actually been restored.

When we climbed this "hill" we realised that on top there was actually a door way with steps that went down a couple meters. The passage then leads off to the left and right to the rest of the structure (I'm pretty sure it was a house).

You can walk from here for 2 hours in either direction and wander over hundreds of these hills without realising that they were actually party of the ancient city of Palenque.

It was a pretty cool start to the tour, to get a first hand look at what the area looked like when Mayan hunters first told a Spanish Priest about it in 1746.

We moved on to the ruins that have been restored and the tour continued.

As Gato talked more and more about the Mayans, the history of the area, the work being done to uncover more of Palenque, the Mayan calendar and how those in power used it to command the common folk......... as I listened to all of this I felt like a little kid that watch a movie about space and wanted to become an astronaught..... yes I wanted to become an archaeologist.

Of course, not one of those ones is a white coat in a laboratory, but like India Jones and the Temple of Doom........... but without the screaming woman always landing him in trouble.

I could go on about the tour, but I know it's way more interesting experiencing it then reading it.

As I'm sure I've said in previous posts (and I'm sure someone may have mentioned it once in the past......... perhaps twice) a picture tells thousand words so feast your eyes on the Palenque photo's from Face Book.

I've been trying to give you a sneak preview, but the connections here aren't playing the upload a photo game so you'll have to check it all out at the Palenque Album.




Tomorrow we're off to do another tour around the city, but this time it's 3 hours of jungle tour!!!

From there it's back into "Chrissy" and we're off to Campeche!!!

Puerto Escondido

Puerto Escondido Surf Footage Mexican Pipeline



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After leaving Paracho we had a long and very slow drive through Acupulco and down onto Puerto Escondido.

We spent the night at a place called Pie de la castala which was a little on the dodgy side.

When we arrived a guy was whistling at Bags to come down the street, and we all know how much girls love to be whistled at, Surprisingly Bag's took the turn and drove down to the beach where Freddy greeted us and showed the girls the two sleeping options.

While the girls were gone I was only offered drugs 3 times. Twice for weed and once for coke. This went a little towards my feeling of dodginess of the area.

When the girls returned we took the room closest to the beach and I must say that Freddy and the young girl did a really great job of preparing the room and to make sure that we felt comfortable, although they did freak us out a little telling us that we shouldn't go anywhere at night and to lock our door and we'll be right with the security guard they'll get for us.

In the end I don't think it was that bad, they just weren't sure what kind of travelers we were and that it was better off being safe then sorry.

The security guard, a lovely old man with a face that you'd usually see in those black and white photo portraits.......the kind that tell a thousand stories, lived in the room below where we slept. He was a lovely guy with a huge smile and most of us wanted him to come with us but the van is riding low enough as it is.

We left there about 9am much to everyone's disgust, but there was lots to do. The early morning start put everyone in a bad mood, and it wasn't until much later in the day that the vibe in the van rise into happiness.

Actually no, I think we skipped happiness and went from being shitty to delirious from being confined within Chrissy for hours on end.

The drive through Acapulco itself took nearly an hour, and it's not a very nice city. It's really busy, congested, and not a good looking city. Once you're on the ourskirts of the city and look back it appears to be a paradise, but don't be fooled.

The drive, the drive, the drive, my GOD it was a long drive. We went over nearly as many speed bumps as there were donkey's on the side of the road, or there are ABC stores in Hawaii, or there are grains of sand in the desert!!!! 10 freaking hours.

One part of the drive which I think was the turning point in everyone's attitude was Lize's game of Roses and Thorns.

The idea behind the game, which she had brought from the Camp she recently worked at, was to come up with the best thing and the worse thing for the day/week, hence the name Roses and Thorns.

We all went though our thorns, all being getting in the car so early in the morning, but when we got to the roses it was great to hear about everyone's favourite bits of the past few weeks, a good thing to jog the memory of the good times we've had.

I had some time to think about it, 10 hours in a car provides a lot of time to think, and I think one of my best Roses......... but that's for another entry.

We were finally pulled over by the Military for "Our Protection". We all grabbed our personal items (syringes, spoons, lighters etc...... only joking) like license, passport, ipod, anything that might get misplaced in the search.

The Military were very nice and did a quick once over search of the van. They could have made us take EVERYTHING out and search it properly, which would have taken between 30 minutes and an hour, but they looked at a few things then sent us on our way.

They said that it was another 3 hours to Puerto Escondido, and it was already 5.30pm. FARK, another batch of night driving.

Night driving is normally alright, except they seem to want to put in topes (or speed bumps) every couple of kilometers with no warning what so ever. And I don't mean just no signs, I mean they are the same color as the road and often in the shade of trees...... and surprisingly often out the front of mechanics and tire shops........... cunning.

The girls started playing a game in the car while I played the game avoid huge trucks, donkeys on the side of the road and try not to use the topes as a launch pad into next week.

Then, though the darkness, a small sign with Puerto Escondido arose while there was still a whisper of light in the sky (probably from the stars that were out, but still, there was some light).

The girls checked out a couple of places and then decided on Hotel Papaya Surf which has turned out to be right across the road from the Mex Pipe, perfect for filming.

The past two days have consisted of an early rise to do some filming, followed by some breaky, a bit more filming, then fill the day with whatever might involve staying well out of the sun.

We hit a beach yesterday afternoon, Playa something or other, and the surf was alright.,,,,, a bit choppy and a bit of a long boarders wave, but I'd rather be there then at Zicatela getting my body permanently imprinted across the bottom of the ocean as I got over the falls time and time again.

The girls have headed off there again this afternoon, but it's been a long day for me so I'm off for a bit of a siesta.

Here are a couple of photo's to go with the movie above.....

For a full list of photo's see the Facebook album Puerto Escondido

Flash back to San Diego Baseball

I've just managed to upload this video I took from my camera when I went to my first baseball game. This was the very first pitch that I saw, a hit batter.


Take me out to the ball game

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Guitar Factory in Paracho

Today was pretty cool

We left Paracho, very sad, but Christian took us out for one more tour.

We went and had a look at a church that his family had built for the town to show appreciation for the good fortune that God had bestowed upon his family.

A beautiful gesture, which should go some way to show you just how wonderful Christian and his family are. Today genstures like that are few and far bewteen, yet he and his family show this kindness in every moment that I have spent with them.

Afterward Christian took us to a guitar factory that produces around 350 guitars a day. We got to see the guitars at every stage of the creation, even the part where they got painted (and all got just a little high on the fumes).

We've left Paracho now, and I hope that we've left as big an impression on the town and people as they have done so upon us.

Here are some of the photo's from the day in the Guitar Factory on Facebook

A wedding in Paracho part 2

Yesterday was awesome.

Not only did I get to see and participate in the lead up to the wedding, but our whole travel group ended up attending the wedding in the Cathedral and then heading on down to the reception.

The wedding seemed fairly similar to a wedding at home, except that the bride entered the church first, followed by the groom, then followed by the guests. There was music as the bride walked into the Cathedral doors, but then they stopped once she was inside.

During the ceremony a two looped rope is placed over both the Bride and Groom, one in each loop, and the brides veil is tucked into the back of the grooms collar during the exchanging of vow's (at least that's what I assume they were doing, no one was translating).

Fortunately I caught the eye of the guy that was looking after me in the morning through a series of pointing and gestures and he came over to say hello. I motioned him for introductions to Vinni, Holly, Bags and Lize and he pretty soon had struck up a conversation with Bags.

He insisted that we attend the reception, even though we were travelers, looking light travelers, smelling like travelers, and speaking about as much spanish as your average traveler.

It turns out that the guy, Christian, is actually the Grooms brother and after being invited by him, the father, and the God Father (who was the gentleman that I was speaking with in the morning) we felt a little bit better about crashing the wedding.

On the way Christian took us to his Uncle's guitar shop to show us a bit of Mexican tradition.

Oh, and before I continue you should know that no one was speaking english at this time, and Bags did all the listening talking and translating.

We checked out the shop with wood shavings covering the floor, guitar carving tools covering the walls and spider webs covering the ceilings.

They explained that all of these guitars were hand made by the family, and that it had been a tradition through the generations.

There were only a couple of half completed guitars, but we were shown every aspect of the guitars and learnt about the different woods used, how long it takes and what goes in to the making of the guitar. If I can get my act together and learn some more spanish I'm going to come back to this shop and learn to make a guitar. It'll take a little over a month, but that would be a great experience.

We left the workshop and headed for the reception.

800 people were invited to the reception, all related.

Wait and minute. 805 people were invited to the reception, all of them related except for 4 aussies and a brit.

Christian showed us to a table with some other family sitting down. We quickly exchanged names, poured tequila, and began the festivities. We were able to communicate enough to ask each others names, how we were, where we were from, and whether someone wanted another drink (which involved raising the tequila bottle and you're eyebrow in a questioning motion all at once).

Pretty soon we were well fed with Mexican food and tequila and were joining in with the dancing in front of the band (the band looked like something out of the wedding singer....... the band which had john lovitz).

Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, starred at us for the first 2 hours before they started to say hello and actually drag us into dances and conga lines. Actually, when we started the conga line all I could think of was

"you don't make friends with salad, you don't make friends with salad"

Part of the festivities was strange but really really fun.

The bride and groom sit upon two chairs, which are held up by tables, and some of the family (usually brothers/sisters and friends) stand around the bottom to keep them up there. The both hold onto the same long piece of lace (kind of like the wedding trail) while the rest of the guys get together in a line. The line is lead by the Grooms brother (or best man) and each following guy in the line grabs onto the back of belt of the guy in front of them (the girls hold hand when they do it, but this is NEEDED for the guys).

The best man basically takes off running at full speed, along with the rest of the guys, and runs between the arch made by the chairs and lace train. The idea is to hit the guys protecting the groom and make him fall the 2 meters to the ground. You can't actually run straight into them, but you bump them as you run past.

I was dressed in my best wedding gear, thongs with holes, shorts with a draw string (yes the draw string is important) and dirty 3 wear old shirt.

Anyway, at turn one i realised why you grabbed onto the belt, it's because you'd fly into the surrounding tables without it. Of course, if you were grabbing on to something other then pants with belt, like for instance shorts with drawstring, the chances are that at turn number two the draw string would snap and that person would start to lose their shorts.

So it was game over for me.

Luckily I had enough to re-tie it back up and not keep losing my pants, but it was touch and go for a while.

The rest of the night was filled with more tequila and some more dancing, before the wedding finished at 8pm and we went back to the hotel.

Christian came back to get us and showed us around the town a little more, he's been an absolute champion to us.

A Wedding in Paracho

Before you get alarmed, I have not met a Mexican girl and I'm not about to get married in Paracho.

This morning I got up and wandered around the streets trying to kill some time before the guitar shops opened up and I could start the selection process of my next guitar.

There were ladies selling freshly baked bread along the street which was handy in making a good cheap breakfast, only 4 pesos for two rolls.

None of the guitar shops actually opened at 9, so I decided to head to the Museum and learn a bit more about the history of guitars before I started my selection. On the way to the Museum, or where I think the Museum is, I heard a band playing inside one of the buildings.

I wandered over to have a look inside and a gentleman out the front gestured me inside and was saying "Hot Chocolatte, hot chocolatte".

I followed his gestures and the room opened up into a courtyard with a band consisting of a double bass, two Mexican guitarra's and a horn section.

I thought I better have some hot chocolate from the kitchen to pay my way for listening to the band, and when I got given a cup I asked "Quanta questa?", or how much is it?

The lady looked at me a little confused and grabbed another lady in a red dress.

"Quanta Questa?"

More confusion.

The lady in the red dress wandered over to get another gentleman who was one of two people there that could speak english as well.

"How much for the chocolate?" I asked.

"No no, it's a wedding. The chocolate and bread are free" he replied.

A Wedding?!?!?!?!

I felt really bad about wandering into someone's house with my 4 peso's worth of bread, listening to the music and drinking a cup of hot chocolatte which was all being put on for their sons wedding.

They felt differently though. The gentleman, the father of the groom, sat me down while one of the grooms friends grabbed me some sweet bread, and then I sat down and talked to the father for a while.

I left for a moment to get the girls, and the polaroid camera, before heading back and getting a couple of pictures to give to the family as gifts.

The girls ended up staying at the hotel, and not long after I got back the house we all got up and wandered outside.

From there, we danced through the streets of Paracho with the band playing behind us, while someone put on a pinata like bull and danced and charged us all. We did this all the way to the Brides house when we got in a circle and danced some more and had some Tequilla and a white milky drink that tasted a bit like bailey's and cream.

I said my farewells to my knew friends, but not before they insisted I attend the wedding at 2pm at the Cathedral with my travel friends, and then join them for dinner and dancing afterwards.

It's nearly lunch now, and I still haven't got to a guitar shop................ but guitar shops are everywhere, how often do you get to go to a Mexican wedding.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, the people here are more then welcoming, this is a beautiful country in every way.

Morelia to Paracho via Patzcuaro

We left Morellia in the morning, and quite unlike us we managed to leave at a reasonable time and by 11 we were entering the town of Patzcuaro.

Patzcuaro is a little town that lies in between Morellia and Uruapan and on the edge of the largest lake in Mexico.

The town is gorgeous with cobble stone roads and two large market areas at either end of town. We wandered through the markets, an elderly lady tried to sell me a spinning top and then caught me in a finger trap which I ended up buying from her.

The girls bought some bags, head band and jewelry before we all wandered down to get some breakfast. The breaky was great, and what made it that little bit extra special were the two kids that came up to play some music for us while we ate.

Patzcuaro Singers

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We checked out the Cathedral in Patzcuaro and it seemed to be a baptism day. There was a family of 5, Father carrying a baby, Mother, Son and Daughter walking on their knees down the centre of the church towards the alter, while another family was ascending the stairs (with baby) I can only imagine after doing the same, and at the same time there was yet another family descending the stairs on the left with another baby before leaving the Cathedral. It was a pretty amazing sight for me, so I decided that taking out the camera at that stage would be in poor taste so no pictures.

We checked out some more of the town and came across the library with a huge mural in the back.

After spending some time in admiration of the mural, and a bit of time on the internet we returned to the car to push on towards Paracho.

Side view of the Mural

One of the funny, yet dangerous, parts of the next journey was on the road towards Paracho.

While Lize, Vinni and Holly were in the back of the car taking a nap (insert photo) Bags and I were laughing and how dangerous the roads were.

Dangerous Road

The Girls Nap

In a two lane highway, one in each direction, I passed cars three wide heading the opposite direction. Not too bad, a little pushed to the right hand side, but still in one piece.

Then we came across the sign that said "Cars with no brakes follow the red line"............... as if it were a common occurrence. Well the red line was firmly in the middle of Chrissy for most of that drive before it veered off to the right to an uphill gravel pit.

We had another couple incidents of overtaking trucks heading up hill and around corners, but it was fine (did I mention it was raining as well???).

We've been walking around Paracho for the past few hours eating honey joys (at least something similar), corn, taco's, custard/doughnuts, nuts, prunes, dates and anything else being sold on the street.

I'm going to have a great time tomorrow, I'm going guitar shopping and there are about 15 guitar shops that I've already seen on 2 streets.

The festival starts tomorrow and well, and our hotel is just around the corner from the main street.

It's shaping up to be a pretty good next couple of days.

Morelia

The drive to Morelia was great. We made pretty good time, and I was pushing it a bit when it came to fuel consumption, but the road was great and we made pretty good time.

The landscape here on the mainland is a dramatic turnaround, from the sandy desert to the muddy rain forrest.

We decided, well Holly and I did while the others slept, to head to Morelia before going on to Uruapan and Paracho.

Actually it was a team effort, we talked about what was there and the girls crammed in the back voted for the shortest route. Good call.

Morelia is FANTASTIC!!! It's the capital city of Michogan and is one of the prettiest places I've ever been (so basically prettier the Darwin and Alice Springs).

Across the road from our hotel was a beautiful park with a fountain where I hung out for an hour strumming away.

The girls hit the city, and I wandered in a little bit afterwards on my own. That particular night there was a convention of 2000 teachers, and there was also a huge fireworks display at the Cathedral.

I spent about 30 minutes inside the Cathedral looking at the artwork and architecture.

It was a strange thing though, the longer I spent inside the Cathedral the more I got the feeling of pain and suffering around me. There were lots of people coming in to the Cathedral to pray, some sad, some sombre, some weeping, and the longer I was in there the more I got that feeling of a heavy heart.



Once I left the Cathedral I wandered around the corner and stumbled across a couple of guys playing the guitar on stage and hung around for a couple of songs before the fireworks display got my attention as sparks rained down over the two 70 metre high bell towers.

I stopped in to a couple of other areas after the show, a market, a warehouse which looked like something that Che Gravera was worshipped and then headed back to our hotel by the park.

In the morning we are off of Paracho for the National Guitar Festival.

A night out in Guadalajra

The drive down to Morelia from Guadalajara was good, but it took us a fair while to get going as we were all a little bit hung after the night out.

We were hung because we had hit a couple of bars to show our latest addition to the Van around Mexico. On the way up the street to check out another bar Bags asked a couple of girls where we should head........ and of course the answer was to head with them.

They were on the way to a nightclub that was having a singles night, although you needed tickets to get in. The three girls were dressed up in going out stuff, and we were dressed up in whatever smelled the cleanest when we decided to head out........... none of us had shoes (I'm still yet to have to wear shoes this trip).

They talked to the guys at the door, and soon afterwards we were scaling the staircase up towards the dance club, but not before picking up some beads to swap for kisses..........

We had already had a couple of beers and a few complimentary tequilla shots before we got there, and the bucket of 10 beers for 200 peso's just sent us to where we needed to be.

The girls decide to hit the dance floor, around about the same time that the male strippers hit the stage. One of the girls that we had met on the street was taken on to stage to dance with one of the strippers. I'm not sure if she was more excited or embarrassed to be up there.

The fun really started after the second bucket when they called for girls to hit the stage. Bring on VinniMex!!! Vinni hit the stage with our 2 new Mexican friends and another girl who was a bit hard to spot when she turned side on.

After dancing up a storm it was between Vinni and the Mexican Kate Moss, and although Vinni was the obvious winner it was awarded a tie and we got another 6 beers.

Holly, Vinni, our new Mexican friend, Liza, Me and Bags

Six beers too many!

We had half of those and staggered home, via a supermarket to pickup a hot/cold chook and bread. Obviously we were drunk at this stage, because I'm not too sure how many people would eat a cold hot chook from a mexican supermarket at 2am.

Luckily noone died, and everyone already had poo solidity issues so no one was the wiser.

Everyone was hung in the morning, so we slept in till lunch time before we got up and headed towards Morillia.

Sayulita

We just arrived at the Posada San Pablo in Guatalajra after picking up Lize from the airport.

The pickup didn't go as smoothly as it could have, it wasn't like LIze was at the front with her bag waiting, but it could have been much worse.

Bags was driving, I was sleeping in the back, Vinni was directing from the passenger seat and Holly was squeezed in the back letting me sleep.

Bags sent Vinni off to find Lize first, then after a few minutes sent Holly off to find her too. Rather then send me off and have all 5 of us lost in the airport we hung out for a couple of minutes and all the girls came back safe and sound.

Sweet!!! Now I'm back to 4 girls in the car. SCORE!!!!!!

There was a bit of trouble getting to the hotel, but we got there more or less in good time.

The drive down to the Guadalajra from Sayulita was really nice. We drove through the hills of mainland mexico and were amazed about the contrast between here and Baja. In Baja there is lots of bridges with no water, dust throughout, it's hot and the only vegetation to be seen are the cacti. In Mainland there are forests stretching up the mountains, rivers flowing under the bridges, and a plague like swarm of black butterflies as we twisted and turned through the mountainess roads.

Sayulita was beautiful. A great wave, even on a small swell.

The wave is a right hander, but apparently there is a left and right peak futher down the beach but it was too small to surf while we were there.

There can be a bit of time between sets, sometimes waiting more then 20 minutes for them to roll through, but when they arrive it's a really fun nice wave.

There is a fish taco place there which was GREAT!!!! Lonely Planet says they have some of the best tacos in Mexico, and that's a pretty fair statement.

We stayed at a place called Las Gravis Bungalows which was really nice. Rooms had a double bed and a shared toilet and shower and it was only 1/2 a block from the beach, and more importantly the main surf break.

Below the bungalows is an argentinian resteraunt with very resonable prices. I think we've become accustomed to cheap food because if we see anything for over 100 peso's we turn out nose, but really it's only $10. The Flat Steak and the Rib Eye (I didn't have both, honest) we're great, as was the spinich and goat cheese salad.

We spent two nights in Sayulita and could have easily spent longer, it has a really nice chilled vibe to the place and an amazing sunset.

We had a surf at sunrise on the last morning before heading off to Guadalarja to pick up Lize.