Deidre in Mexico

OAXACA: Wow!  10 or 11 days and I haven't added any news, which is building up as the days and travels continue. In a nutshell, caught a night bus to Oaxaca and spent a week there catching up with friends, sightseeing and market trips. In brief:
Stayed at a lovely hostel called Casa Angel
Chats in espanol with various vendors in the market
My fave Oaxaqueno band 'Trio Fantasia' were playing in the market one arvo while I was eating one of my fave foods - chilli rellenos.
Bosstich and Fussible - DJ-s from Nortec Collective do electro and traditional norteno music fusions and mixed tracks for a silent bw film from 1927 called Puno de Hierro. Later played at a club and I went down with a lovely Mixteca man and danced until they finished.
Went out with a few people from the hostel and got called up by a clown in the Zocalo, who was doing balloon figures and lots of jokes, and was surprised when I was speaking espanol.
Went to Monte Alban and took more photos
Ate tamales  and tlayudas
Bought some handicrafts.

I moved to a place in the very centre of Mexico City to take a tour to the Pyramids of Teotihuacan and the few days there met lots of travellers. Half the people on the trip to the pyramids were Australians. Some of the girls told me one Aussie girl got arrested by Mexican police for drinking alcohol in the streets.
A few brief points to cut the ramble:

• Pyramids of Teotihuacan must be one of the most beautiful places in the entire world, stunning
• On our tour bus of 11 people, 6 were Australians, some from south america and a Sicilian fetish performer from Berlin. When we were giggling about his business card and asked him what he did he said he whipped women with his hair (a few extensions down to his knees) and they liked it. Anyway we took lots of pics of him at the Pyramid
• Spending the day with Tomoko in the centre of the city at the Palace of Fine Arts, the National Palace (of the government), eating nopales salad, seeing the excavation of the ancient city at Templo Mayor, talking together until way after dark 
• Mexico had a cyclists critical mass day and the Paseo de la Reform was filled with all manner of bikes, including roller bladers, skaters, skateboards and kids in little cars. 
• The Museum of Anthropology is absolutely amazing, there is a fountain in the centre surrounded on 3 sides by vast 2 story halls, each with a theme for a different period of group in Mexico. The architect also designed the Cathedral of the Virgin of Guadalupe that we visited before the pyramids. 

Mexico City  for  2 days training in narrative therapy with Maggie Carey from Adelaide, Australia, and translated by Alfonso Diaz from Oaxaca, Mexico.
Crossing the 10 lanes of the Paseo de la Reforma is quite a task, especially in the evenings when traffic is busy. In the mornings Mexican businesses dont really get started until 10am or so, so the streets are more quiet. Today we had a great lunch together, 13 of us, see pics, and the food was amazing. There were more people on the course, but some of them had other things to do during the lunch break. The schedule over here is 9am to 2pm  training, lunch till 3.30pm then continue until 6 or 6.15pm. A long day, especially listening and speaking in Spanish for the exercises.
The workshop was about using visual images as a starting point for conversations, it was very interesting.

Believe it or not, this is an icecream shop. There are several of this branch in the town of Tepoztlan, and this one is one of the largest. The figures of skeletons etc would be to do with the recent Day of the Dead or Dios de los Muertos celebrations which are traditions where for 2 days families honour the memory of those who have passed away  by having parties at the cemetary, making alters in their houses and decorating them with flowers and offerings. 

Still in Tepoztlan, moved into another room with a view of the mountains, had a traditional steam bath called a temazcal, took more photos of the pyramid from the town to show how high up it is, a photo of the church where the concert was held outdoors at night (in the area to the right of the church).  Its been a lovely introduction to a holiday to be in such a laid back place and having to speak Spanish.

The picture of the balloons is in the zocalo (plaza) at Cuernavaca, before I got the bus to this smaller town nestled in a ring of mountains with an ancient Aztec Pyramid at the top of one of the mtns. It was a steep climb today, and lovely to sit on the narrow ledge at the top enjoying the view and helping each other not fall off, as there were all ages, including little children. This town is very peaceful. It is 1 hr from Mexico City and when I arrived after 2 days travel without much sleep, I came here to catch up on time zones and rest. I DO LOVE MEXICO.  The people are so warm and friendly and speak softly and are affectionate with each other. I have had lots of short, sweet conversations in the market with old men and women selling fruit or veggies, asking directions and walking about. Here are some photos of Tepotztlan and the pre-hispanic Pyramid of Tepozteco at the top of the mountain. This region is supposed to be the birthplace of the winged serpent Quetzalcoatl.
My activities - went to a folkloric concert in town, but didn't take a camera. Beautiful music, dancing, singing from various regions and epochs.
A concert last night from a Mexican popular singer, Tony (need to check his name), Alexis Flores and her father Hidalgo. Amazing. After the long walk/climb today had an icecream at Tepoznieves.










Staying in a nice quite little posada (inn) and walking around in the evenings with no fear, except when cars come along the narrow streets and are going so slowly its like being stalked, except that its the stones (piedras) in the cobbled and steep narrow streets that makes cars slown down. Hasta lluego.

Sitting in Los Angeles airport waiting for the flight to Mexico City tonight. Got thru the US border security OK, after listening to other travellers having to tell details of where they were going and why, I told the customs officer I was going for training in narrative therapy to Mexico City. He attempted a few questions, I attempted a brief answer and we both gave up. He let me go through without grilling me further. OO Roo D

Flying to Mexico on the 15th November and catching up with narrative colleagues from Mexico and Australia in DF (Mexico City).  Check for pics. Deidre

Hi from CANCUN down the southern tip of mexico. I am now living down here in this place of great beauty with the Carribean Sea and white sands, and of great ugliness with the development, influences from the USA with fast food outlets, colonisation of the views of the ocean and acess to the beach by enormous hotels and a general atmosphere of hedonism. Uni students flock here for their spring break and the effects for the rest of us females as these puerile and disrespectful visitors shamelessly debauch themselves, is that we are also included in the same category. I will wait till end of April when I am due to take a short trip out of Mexico (possibly Cuba) and then think about moving on.
The positive things are, there are some places or oases of calm, a hostel here or there, a leafy garden, some outlying suburbs with real people doing real things, and when you can get to it, the ocean. I went for a first scuba dive on Cozumel Island and been over to Isla Mujeres. I have a little apartment which is fresh and airy and light, on the top floor and gets sea breezes. Much English is spoken here, so speaking less Spanish.
The new Calenda Oaxaca restuarant is a haven on beauty in that garish and sensually assaulting zone of the hotel region. Hope you are all well, Deidre