Puerto Escondido beach & chocolate – drive to Acapulco - Beach - Day 18

Monday, November 3


Puerto Escondido. Grandpa, Angela, and Augustus were the first ones down to the beach. Edwin, Elena, and I came next. Grandpa was enjoying the shade under the thatch. We walked down the rough cement switchbacked road to the short beach. No one in sight. There was more beach to the west, after a short rocky passage. We enjoyed watching the waves breaking on the beach and crashing on the rocks. We walked a ways. When we finally turned back, there were all the missing children. So we played there awhile. Virginia climbed the biggest rock and sat staring at the sea. She did shriek at all the crabs. Caleb and Augustus ran down to the water’s edge, scooped up pebbles, then ran up laughing when the wave came. Elena found tiny hermit crabs.
When we entered the big, square market we were apparently the first potential breakfast customers of the morning. From each of the precisely identical sized comedors emerged the waters. As we passed by each stall, each waiter eagerly presented the menu, but as we passed the dividing pillar each retreated politely and absolutely, and did not encroach on his neighbor. Each diner had 2 long, narrow tables. We chose the one that had talavera tile, not floor tile or plastic tablecloth. Angela, Virginia, Elena, and Augustus had pan de muerto (dead people bread) and chocolate milk. Edwin had eggs, Caleb had quesadillas, and I had green suisa (Swiss) enchiladas – all very delicious. After chatting with the waiter, he brought Edwin a saucer of mole. It was indeed very rich – the best! Now I like mole. He brought up the subject of tomorrow’s dreaded election. Many people here are concerned about it, because of the close tie they perceive between the United States and Mexico. Our waiter had spent several years in Georgia. Edwin asked if they made the mole from scratch. He said that it’s made locally at the chocolate store on the corner. After receiving directions, we left, happy and full.
We’ve looked for a chocolate store this whole trip! He had whole cacao beans, shelled cacao (we bought a kilo), and several powdered and pressed formulas We bought 8 kilos of hot chocolate cakes.
Now we’re driving towards Acapulco. The Internet says there are over 300 topes on this road, so I’m counting. It’s certainly not any worse than other roads we’ve been on. They put topes in, rather than unenforceable speed limits in towns, particularly near schools. Enterprising venders stand at the topes to sell their wares to vehicles who are already braking. We were most surprised to see a mother and daughter on opposite sides of the highway who lifted a rope to stop cars at the tope. But this highway, though it has topes, doesn’t have street venders for some reason. Crops must not be in season.
We come to a police check point. No policeman is looking at us, so Edwin drives right through the “complete stop” sign.
- Naomi

In this one tiny town there were a lot of little carriage taxis. They were cute. As we keep traveling the signs for Acapulco keep changing. First it was 310, then 311, then 360! Where are we?! We are now in Guerrero. Yay! We can now add it to the list.
- Virginia

We are almost to Acapulco. There were 214 topes.
- Elena

We saw the ocean. We danced with a bus.
- Augustus

Acapulco was pretty fun. We went to one beach in the evening that had a lot of big waves. But everyone tells us not to swim in the open ocean. I found the jumping jellyfish – little clear worm things that bounce around on the sand. Elena found some turtle-looking insects that lived under the sand.
- Angela

Our hotel overlooks the ocean in a lovely world with lush trees: coconut, banana, orange and countless others. Coconuts fall from the trees and lay there until the garbage collector takes them off. It is a tropical paradise. We are about 10 stories above a white beach in a little cove surrounded by red rock outcroppings along the shore and out in the water. The ocean is blue with a refreshing breeze and long gentle waves. No mosquitoes or any bothersome insect. Of course, Edwin went walking in the sand and was breakfast for something but whatever it was stayed on the beach where the food was younger.
In this intoxicating paradise the Hotel was exactly stereotypical Mexican, intoxicated. The design may have been OK in 1950 but it was poorly constructed, and even more poorly maintained. Even I would have renovated it completely if it were mine. In a word, it stunk, literally and figuratively stunk. But it was exactly what tourists expect and tolerate and go home telling their friends Mexico is like when in practice, I doubt if a Mexican would spend the night in a place like that. It is surprising and shocking that such sloth can be found in such wealth.
Going north to Acapulco we passed several military check points. Edwin soon learned how to do it. They were always detours a few feet off the road with terrible potholes that demanded slowing to 5 mph, so in one Edwin just kept going at full speed (5 mph) despite the sign saying ‘come to a complete stop’ (Alto Total). After we got through Naomi turned to me and asked “Does it make you nervous to blow right through a complete stop with 10 men standing around with machine guns?” We just laughed, one of the soldiers had waved as we went past. The scenery was outstanding as we saw plantations of coconut, orange, papaya, avocados, mango and others unknown. We had 2 coconuts we had picked up and shucked which provided employment for the kids as they dug the meat out along the trip. It seemed a short 250 miles.
We got to Acapulco about an hour before sundown, enough time to walk the beach and get wet. Edwin found a fellow who worked in the entertainment business who recommended a hotel where we stayed, he had been a wet in Albuquerque for 15 years. After a pizza dinner at Costco we settled in for the night. That former wet, as well as three other Mexican citizens had raised the question of who was going to win the election. They were all concerned that ‘El Moreno’ (the darkie) will destroy our economy and they know that if the US sneezes, Mexico gets pneumonia.
- Grandpa



We stayed in the cruddiest motel of our journey. One room – a bed and a bunk. One bathroom, whose walls did not reach the ceiling, and whose “door” was only a curtain. One small window – high in the wall. Forget hot water – we were happy when there was water. Apparently it’s turned off unless one specifically requests it. One mangy dog. He sidled up to the school girl who lives here, and she gave him a swift kick, so he slunk away.
- Naomi

Church in Huatulco - Mazuntes Beach - Puerto Escondido - Day 17

We went to church in Huatulco. As with all the churches we have seen down here, it was two buildings connected by a breezeway. The fans blew in the chapel, making it rather difficult to hear. They didn’t have a piano player, so Angela played. I bore my testimony. Edwin read and contributed to Sunday school. Virginia impressed everyone in her class when the teacher asked, in Spanish, of course, how many years before Christ Samuel the Lamanite had prophesied, and she answered, “Cinco!” Augustus led a screaming bunch of little kids racing around the outside of the building after meetings.
We drove to Manzuntes, where we wandered along the lovely beach.



The kids were forbidden to swim, but Augustus managed to completely dunk himself in the waves anyway. He was sent up to sit with Grandpa under the thatch. A lovely, dark vender approached Grandpa, a captive audience, and sold him a stone necklace. Edwin bought several for his girls, too. But after we left, Augustus told us that he saw the woman, after Grandpa gave her the money, and when he wasn’t looking, make the sign of the cross and kiss the money. Made me wish we had bought more.
- Naomi



Church was nearby, lots of people with the usual distribution of men, women and children in this sort of place. There was no pianist so Angela played for them
Afterwards Edwin talked for a while, then we left traveling north to Acapulco. Along the way we stopped at another bay to enjoy the beach, I sat under a shade while the kids walked. Sitting there as a still target a vendor tried to sell me a necklace of native stone or shells. At first it was 30 pesos, then, just for me, it was 15. That is the usual ploy, the ‘just for you’ part. She had handed them to me one at a time telling how she and her husband had made them for the tourist trade but that trade had been thin recently. So I bought one. When I handed her the money I did not observe her but Gusty, sitting a few feet off did and related that she made the sign of the cross and kissed the money. I guess trade was as slow as she said. Just then Edwin came up and she began on him, as his three daughters and wife straggled in. It ended up he bought 2 at 15 and she sold him the last at 10 pesos.




The bay had previously existed on killing sea turtles but as they grew scarce and the Government, probably in response to international pressure, outlawed their slaughter, the people turned to tourism which provides only a scant living earned by those who hustle like this lady did. She was clear, the turtle shell necklace she had for sale was made from the shell of a turtle that died of natural causes, not a slaughtered one. Then on to Puerto Escondido where we spent the night.
Supper at Puerto Escondido was in a tourist place where the prices were higher than others and the food was only fair, except my Oaxaca cheese sandwich. Oaxaca is known for its cheese that tastes just like the cheese my mother used to make but it has a rope texture and comes in lengths.
- Grandpa

Huatulco - La Entrega Beach - Day 16

I saw the sea of the earth. Angela is telling us stories about her mission. We went to the beach and did snorkeling.
- Caleb

We went snorkeling. We saw flute fish, a black fish with blue dots that looked like diamonds.
- Elena

I found coconuts.
- Augustus

My favorite event the past few days was snorkeling. It was so cool to let go of my life jacket and dive under water and swim around with the fishes. We chased them and succeeded in touching a few. There were so many kinds! There were a lot of dark blue ones, and lots with yellow tails. I saw a blue one carrying a red sea shell, but when he saw me he dropped it. I wanted it, but it was deep. There was a lot of coral, and you could swim down right with the coral and fish. We saw a ray, but didn’t get too close. He looked like he was flying with his wings, and just put one wing up to turn. It was just amazing. I went out three times, and one of those times I gave Elena my life jacket and went without That way I went faster and spent a lot of time underwater. I stayed.out so long the backs of my legs got burnt. We were all burnt somewhat somewhere.
- Angela



When we went snorkeling I was a little nervous. I’m not a swimmer. But all my fears were forgotten when I looked under and clearly saw fish and more fish. Beautiful cool coral and colorful striped fish right below me! I was so excited! We all desperately wanted to touch some of the small, slim fish that wavered near the surface, but they always seemed just out of reach. We had to abandon our life jackets to dive in at them, and still they calmly veered away. I think I managed to barely brush one. There was a lot of broken coral at the bottom, and I dove down to bring one up. We saw long, skinny, grey fish that looked like eels. When I saw the black and white spotted ray I began to scream – instantly remembering how the Crocodile Hunter met his fate. Angela calmed me down, and I watched it fly away.
- Virginia



Wow! Snorkling was amazingly fun and exciting!
- Naomi




We saw lots of fish. There was lots of coral and coral reef. There was a little cave which we went into. The rocks were pink. There were bats in the cave, too. There was another small shore which we snorkeled to. Ginger and Angela saw a ray. On the small beach there were a lot of snails, crabs, and sea urchins.
We made things in the sand. Ginger made a shape of the moon and put white shells on it. It was really pretty. Caleb made a boat and a pile of sand. Angela made a pyramid with a round obelisk on top. The obelisk had a face with a sea urchin as hair. Mom made dribble castles. She also helped make the great wall of China to protect the pyramid. (Caleb also helped with that).



While Mom was making the great wall of China, a little girl came up and started helping. That was cute.



I drew a penguin in the sand.




I made the round table and a chair. For the chair I dug a hole for the legs. It was a comfortable chair.
- Elena



After breakfasting on avocado sandwiches and oranges Edwin took the kids snorkeling in La Entrega while Naomi and I did laundry. Before noon he returned for Naomi, saying the kids were having a great time, it was a super experience and he wanted her to enjoy it. Originally they had planned to snorkel until noon then leave for another town where a church is located but he had found a church here in Huatulco so that reduced the urgency to leave soon and the snorkeling experience urged them to stay. I spent the afternoon goofing off around town, in the zocolo talking with other old codgers who had nothing better to do. One fellow told me they are constructing 4000 new rooms right now, that large areas around town have streets, water, sewer and all services getting ready for a huge boom, this will be the next Acapulco. In fact this is the only place in Mexico that has an internationally recognized environmental seal of approval on their infrastructure, he mentioned the name of the organization. The streets were packed by the ‘over fed and almost dead’ until 5:00 then the ship left emptying the streets except for me and the Mexican tourists.



The main problem is the road here from Acapulco, 300 miles north. It has over 300 topes (according to the internet but only 214 according to our count). The airport is small and serves only local traffic. The only way to get here practically is on a cruise ship, they receive one or two each day during the season, each with its 1300 to 1800 passengers who stay only a day and leave at 5 each evening. Getting here is a problem foreign tourists avoid.
I offered to take a picture of a man and his wife in the park, later as I walked down the street he greeted me from a sidewalk café. We chatted for awhile, he is from LA and was here 10 years ago when the town was a third the present size, extending only a block beyond the zocolo. They were on a 14 day cruise from Ft Lauderdale to LA. Huatulco is strictly a tourist town, 80% are Mexicans and 20% foreigners. Prices are moderate this season, it is cruise ship season; Nov thru Feb will be surface travel season. My LA friend told me that Huatulco has a unique black clay found nowhere else so I trolled the tourist shops for some ceramic thing finding a black wall sconce covering for the cottage in Warner, hope Linnea likes it. About the third day out I thought “I have to buy Linnea something.” Later I thought ‘Well, I can get one more.” Now it is down to “I better leave my money at home or the van will be too full!”
Today is the ‘day of the dead’. Actually they have the first as the day for putting out food for children and the second for putting out food for adults. On Hallowe’en night kids dress up and go about looking for treats, just like at home. They greet the people with the word “Hallowe’en” rather than our ‘trick or treat’, results are the same. In the restaurant where we ate in the evening they had a display offering food and on the floor lay a cross made of flowers, maybe 4 feet long. It is a three day event. They also burn incense so I got some copal incense at the Mercado, not as an offering but because the copal tree is the most lovely smelling of trees as you walk by it and I hope the incense will have a similar odor. They sell it especially for these days.
That evening, after dark, the kids returned out of this world excited about snorkeling. They had seen colorful fish, coral, caves, sea rays and all sorts of things even Discovery Channel does not have. They wanted to go back tomorrow but the combination of time restraint and the sunburns that would have turned into pain restrained them. Naomi insisted that I snorkel, it was so good but I declined. They were all burnt, some more crisp than others. It took Naomi 4 days to recover but it was worth it. So we stayed the second night there.
They were not too tired for Elena to ask where La Michoacana was. When I refused to find it for them, Elena went out, with me following, and asked a person in the Mercado in perfect Spanish “A donde se enquentra La Michoacana?” She didn’t understand the reply but she had done her part so we all went, it was on the corner only two blocks away.
- Grandpa

Travel to Huatulco - Day 15

Last night I wrote a letter to Rachel on the Internet. I found my 4 ½ pesos. Angela was not feeling right yesterday. We will go to the beach today.
- Caleb Martineau

We are going down, down, down. I got Angela nasty carbonated water. We are now in the valley.
- Elena

We went through construction work on the road. We are past through the rocks. We are going up and down.
- Augustus

10 a.m. Mango tree orchards. We’re passing through the sierra. It’s very windy, probably windier than I’ve seen very often. The wind blows the grasses like waves. I took off my long sleeves as we descended. We saw an overturned trailer, coming up. Strong wind. We stop at an army inspection and satisfy them that we aren’t drug runners or rebels carrying ammunition. Another stop. Federal police. Lots of windmills, like in Imperial Valley, California.
- Naomi

At about 11 we were going along 200 road about 10 or so miles inland from the ocean with a strong wind out to sea and we came upon a large wind farm being built. There were 4 or 5 long trucks with the parts in a parking place, and we saw 5 or 6 in various stages of assembly. The federal police stopped us for unstated reasons at an ad hoc check point. Mostly shrubs. There are wind machines all along the road, most too new to be online. We turned at La Ventosa going into town for food and to pick up the coast highway. Still shrubs, with occasional cleared pastures, probably 30 – 40 “ rainfall.
- Grandpa

We ate lunch in Jachin Zaragoza. When we got back to the van on the crowded street there were a few cops around. They talked to Dad and said he had parked too far out in the street. They talked to him for awhile, then he told us to get in. A policeman got in with us, and we drove off.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“To the beach!” replied sensible Elena.
“With HIM?!”
She thought so. Eventually he told Dad some directions and got out. The grownups were surprised Apparently at first the cop was taking us to the station to take care of a ticket, but instead he told us how to get out of there and wished us luck. Cool.
At the restaurant there was an interesting sauce. It was made out of a certain chili, mayonnaise, and grapefruit juice. First it tasted sweet, then a flavor, then a tiny bite.
- Virginia

We left early for a long drive along the road, eating what was left over from yesterday, bread, avocados and mandarins. At first it was still in the mountains but we soon dropped to sea level and drove along the Pacific on the coastal plain. We passed a town named La Venta, the wind. It was windy. We had noticed the trees were much smaller and the landscape looked much drier, yet we suspected the rain to be consistent with the neighboring areas. Along the road it blew the van around. Then we saw the largest wind farm I've seen. There were a dozen wind machines in various stages of erection, lots of parts laying around, some trucks with new parts still on them, and about half the erected machines not yet on line, i.e. their veins are feathered. It looks like a brand new installation that will be as big as the one on I-10.
By noon we were hungry, super hungry. The first restaurant didn't meet Naomi's specs, that is it had no customers, so we went towards the zocolo to find a good one. On the way Edwin saw a parking spot, a rare find in that town with those narrow streets, so he asked if it was OK to park there, it was, so we parked and walked along looking for a place for food. The food was good, we ate a lot, enjoyed the time and sauntered back to the van to find it swarming with police and a tow truck just a block away waiting for the street to clear so he could haul the van off. Edwin talked to the police who told him (rightly) that it was parked so far from the curb (maybe 8 inches) that it limited passage way down the street. They put a policeman into the van to take us to the judge. along the way the policeman told Edwin several times that he had done a bad thing, parking like that, so he would have to see the judge to impose a fine then go to another place to pay it and maybe go to another place to get his papers back. That is not an outrageous scenario iin Mexico. Edwin explained he had asked if parking there was OK and a police had said yes. That was true, but the yes had applied to the fact that we were about half way in a driveway and probably not to the distance from the curb. The ride was gloomy. After a while the policeman said "Stop here." He got out, returned all of Edwin’s papers, told him to go three blocks, turn left and be on the road out of town, then he left us. We didn't exactly understand. When we got the three blocks away, there was the policeman's boss on a motorcycle mixed in the traffic and we didn't know if we were to follow him so we hesitated. When he left without bothering to notice us, we left town. Three hours later along a highway much like hwy 1 in California we reached Huatulco, clearly the highlight of our pleasure part of the trip.
The kids swam until dark in La Entrega bay. Our hotel was right next to the mercado, Edwin had contacted a worker at the bay who took us there. A nice place. I got fruit in the mercado so Angela, Virginia, Gusty, Caleb and I ate fruit while Edwin, Elena, Naomi and Gusty went to a cafe. Gusty ate anything that didn't eat him. Then Elena asked about ice cream and went looking for La Michoacana. I refused to find one for her so she asked, in perfect Spanish, and located one two blocks away. We slept well, all except Caleb who played the volcano during the night for some reason, he hadn't even eaten baked grasshoppers.
- Grandpa

San Cristobal de las Casas markets - Day 14

9 a.m. Road from Ocosingo to San Cristobal. Very mountainous and populated. 25 speed bumps per hour. Angela called it a topezone. The steep mountains seem to be a little lower. Lots of piles of gravel and sand for unknown uses. Also lots of fresh lumber on the houses, and even fresh fence posts. Huge metal power poles along the crest of the mountain. Foggy. A boy who looked to be about 8 years old watching a small mixed flock of sheep, goat, and cows. Stuck behind a slow truck, with a 9-car line. Used to be common in Mexico, but the freeways in other areas have improved that problem tremendously. Here and now we have very slow traffic. Pine trees with droopy needles – weeping pines.
- Naomi

We’ve seen a lot of artisans. I would love to learn how to do their stuff. There was a lot of intricate bead work. At first we saw it at Agua Azul, and I talked to a couple vendors. They get the beads from San Cristobal, and make the jewelry. A lot of the bags and other stuff come from there, too. A big 100 peso necklace the guy said it took a week to make. I asked if his kids helped with the beading. No, they work on the farm. In San Cristobal there were a lot of venders. Most of them said that they didn’t make their wares themselves, but bought them from individuals. Those who did do their own told me where the bead store was. Yup, found it. Sold bags of beads of different kinds and colors for 40 – 60 pesos. It’s those little glass seed beads. I was tempted to get some, but what wuold I do with a kg of one color of beads? I have some at home.
I really like the belts, too, woven/tied string belts. Lots of people made those. One lady said it takes a day to make one. They’re so pretty! I found the string store, too, 60 pesos per kilogram. And I got some earrings – the girl made them on the spot. See, I wanted them silver, not the metal she had, so she took out the rocks and got out her silver wire and made an earring. The wire she doesn’t buy, but buys the silver coins and turns it into wire. I asked about the amber I’ve seen around and she said they get amber from Russia in Europe, but here they mine it. Cool.
This isn’t an artisan, but I talked to a guy selling candy and gum in a wooden box that he carried around. I wondered if he was hired to do that by some higher ups, since there are a lot of people who do that. He said no, he buys the stuff himself in bulk from a store and just does it all himself. Gusty came up and wanted to see what he could buy with one peso – a little lollipop.
Most of the people are quite friendly, willing to talk and answer questions. We get lots of smiles.
- Angela Martineau

Market day. We started with the market of artesanos and dulcería. The many varieties of homemade candy were heaped neatly at each stall. At first I was disgusted by the flies around the exposed candy. But a closer look revealed that the insects were bees – a good recommendation. I bought a sample of about 8. I bought that Indian outfit that I’ve been admiring, with vertical trim across the hips of the skirt. The blouse isn’t white, but that’s OK. I bought another Indian blouse, different tribe/style, a little book holder, sweaters for all three girls, T-shirts for the boys, and a box for Rachel. Caleb’s t-shirt is the rebel leader Comandante Marcos and his words. The girls bought jewelry.
Then we asked for the “other” mercado. We were directed a few blocks away, to the zocalo. Here we didn’t find a typical mercado, but more tourist stuff. I bought a tablecloth.
Edwin was starving, so once again we asked after the “other” mercado. Again we traipsed several blocks, and finally arrived at the real thing. The 7 stools arrayed before the front board of the stall accommodated our family just right, as Angela didn’t want to eat. Our luncheon choices were various caldos (broths). I had vegie beef, loaded with big chunks of potato, chayote, carrot, and unknown greens – unusually tasty.




Dad and kids went back to mercado #2 so Elena could buy earrings and Virginia could get a string braided and wrapped through a tiny lock of her hair.



Grandpa helped me find blankets – cheaper than in Palenque, so I bought 2. I also bought a skirt and some shopping bags. Grandpa left to go to the car. I said I would look around for Angela. But soon I realized how futile that would be. This market was huge! I realized that Angela was a big girl, and could find her own way to the zocalo. So I set off in that direction, too. Soon I realized I was going the wrong way. So I asked after Calle Insurgentes (street). Following those directions also led me to little back alley places, and I ended up back in that labyrinthine mercado. I changed tactics and asked for the zocalo. The corn vender in the middle of the mercado did look perplexed at my question, but by following her directions, and asking anew at every T or Y I soon found myself on a nice tourist walking road, where I bought pepper peanuts – my favorite. At the 2nd market I also found churros, which I’ve been craving this whole trip.
- Naomi

We are now in Tuxtla. At the mercado in San Cristobal I got bracelets for my friends, a skirt, a sweater, a hand band, and what some people call a “dreadlock” in my hair. But this is woven with lovely blue, white, and shiny purple threads, braided and twisted.
Currently we are looking for the temple. I’m covered in red spots. Some itch, some don’t, and I’m very used to them.
We just got back from walking the temple grounds. There was a lightening rod on Angel Moroni’s head. The guard smiled and waved at us. It felt good to be on holy, familiar ground.
We will now look for a hotel. The hotel we had last night had enough beds and room for the boys to get a mattress. There were also balconies for each room. We are driving in circles – again, looking for a hotel.
- Virginia

Leaving for San Cristobal de las Casas we found the mountains pine covered, clouds and fog and rain with lots of road slices missing due to the recent rains, the most since '78. Lovely country with steep mountain sides at 45 degree slopes or better, 3000 feet or better top to bottom, small farms with slash and burn economy.
Just outside of SCDLC we saw the largest Mexican military post yet. It was huge with razor wire on the newly constructed perimeter fence. I think San Cristobal De Las Casas is a major resistance point for the Zapatista. It appears that now, after a 400 year war, the Mexicans have won.
The town is 6600 feet above sea, pleasantly temperatured, and very old. One hotel advertised "since 1528". Of course the streets are narrow and the buildings are mostly one or two storied, but it is clean and inviting. It was packed with people, people everywhere.
Part of the 'smart kids club' was to learn about each of the states. To help them remember Michoacan I told them about La Michoacana, an ice cream chain with a store on the corner in every major town. As soon as we got parked Elena was standing on the corner in front of a La Michoacana asking for her promised ice cream.
We visited three mercados. Our problem was 'where can we put it all?' Naomi didn't even bother to worry. The tourist mercado had attractive and well priced stuff but few people, because this is not tourist season. The intermediate mercado had good stuff, more people, maybe a little cheaper but I'm not sure. The native mercado, it must have been 15 acres in size, was packed with people and we were the only obviously tourist types I saw. It had lots of stuff, the vegies were clean and attractively displayed. We ate in the center of the place with no guarantee of its quality or safeness but it was good food, good price and nobody got sick. I guess it was the best mercado I've ever seen.
Then we took the autopista to Tuxtla, a major city but no motel showed up so we went to Oxosacautle and found a good one. Gusty is getting tired of the order the trip requires. We dropped 3 or 4 thousand feet into a warm climate, maybe 80 degrees.
- Grandpa

Toniná Pyramids

We saw more signs saying 'this is Zapatist Country' and more Mexican soldiers watching with loaded guns.



Naomi has a 'good kids club' that pays kids who ride along without any disruption, being paid according to the time of travel, or miles which are essentially the same. So we decided to also have a 'smart kids club' to reward kids who become aware of what they have seen and not just look and forget. So we initiated a payment schedule for the kids who could remember the states we have passed through and the sights we have seen there. We pay cash, pesos, for remembering the states we have passed through. Gusty did exactly as expected, nothing. His attention span will be measured as soon as they perfect the femta second measuring device. Yesterday he got a peso and had it less than a minute before he was asking what he could buy with a peso. Elena was a surprise, she took to it quickly. Of course Angela did it all, and eventually Virginia came through. Caleb dilly-dallied around a long time before doing anything.



We spent the night in Ococingo. Supper was huaraches, it used to mean the flip flop sort of foot wear but they used it to mean a shoe shaped tortilla with lots of good toppings, an open face device. For desert they had 'pay', their rendition of pie. I do not know why they did not use the English spelling, which in Spanish means 'foot'. If we can eat our shoes, why not our feet as well? It was the first pie I've seen in Mexico but I was to see it in other places once I looked.
The night was three blankets cold.
- Grandpa

I liked the Toniná ruin area; we’re out of the jungle now, and the land was reminiscent (to me) of Texas hill country – beautiful, yet comfortable, not stimulating. The hills were higher than Texas. The ruins were the most vertical that we’ve seen. Layer upon layer to be climbed. I think they were probably the highest from base to top, but we didn’t make it in time to go to the museum, so we didn’t get a perspective on what we were seeing.



The kids liked them a lot because of all the intricate passageways, and even a short, narrow tunnel that led nowhere. I declined their eager invitation for me to enter, but Edwin went down. He came back walking sideways, and quipping, “Now I know why Egyptians walk like this!”





We all climbed to the top, and saw the incredible view of the whole surrounding countryside, and the mountains dwarfed by our vantage point. Edwin and I took a picture in front of a rare grafitti that said “Noemi te amo.”



We were delighted with our hotel in Ocosingo. The new owner, who’s been there 2 weeks, enthusiastically shared his plans for the future: double the rooms from s15 to 30, parking in back and a restaurant. In the meantime we had to move taxis out of the very limited street parking, and walk to a taquería for dinner. We got 2 rooms of 2 and 3 beds, to the delight of the boys, who usually sleep on the floor. Each room had a balcony – one overlooking the main highway through town, which narrowed to one uncontrolled lane with a huge, gaping cavity on the side, and taxis darting in and out of parking on both sides. The back was more tranquil – just a new construction site for the church/disco across a side street.
However, I had my most miserable night of the whole vacation. The mattress seemed to be merely a box spring – hard and lumpy. Little creepy crawlies chewed on me, and when I got up the next morning I was spotted. One of my roommates went to the bathroom in the middle of the night, and, forgetting that there was no handle on the inside of the door, closed it rather snugly. When I heard the frustrated fingernails scraping at the door, I got up and pushed it open. But the worst of it was a faint but pervasive musty odor of mold. I sucked on a few cough drops to mitigate it, and was glad to vacate the next morning.
- Naomi

Agua Azul Cascades

Agua Azul was a tourist attraction, three bus loads came and went while we were there. It is a cascade down the mountain side, lots of water, lots of tourist things to buy. Very high prices.



Environmentalism is the key word here now. One vendor had some mandarin oranges to sell (at 5X the normal price). Thinking that anything having to do with technology was anti-environmental he said they came from trees native to the jungle, had not been grafted.
Agua Azul is more kin to Guatemala than Mexico. Here, for the first time we saw girls carrying baskets on their heads, hands free. It is standard in Guatemala, I have never seen a guy doing it. Some of them had little pads to help, others just put the basket directly on the head. It surprised even Angela, who has seen the practice often but always with a hand stabilizing the basket.
To get into Agua Azul we had to pay at two different pay stations. Edwin asked about it at the second and I never completely understood, except that we had to pay twice.
The area around is steep mountain, maybe 45 or even 60 degrees. They practice slash and burn agriculture. The tourist trade probably provides a lot of income for them, even if the goods they offer are of limited variety and are not the type that generates repeat customers. I think that they could make more money by harnessing the falling water to provide hydroelectricity like Niagara does during the period of non-use.
Most of the people here, tourists and natives alike, speak Spanish as the second language. The cars we saw all had Quintero Roo or Mexico City plates on them, probably rented cars. The goods are typical Chiapas goods but there are hundreds of places with identical goods and nobody makes a good living.
- Grandpa



I really liked Agua Azul. It was astounding – layer after layer of falls over travertine rock. The agua wasn’t really azul, as I can say, now that I’ve seen a real sapphire blue jungle pool. It was more a standard green.



The well-paved trail up the course of the water way was lined with more tourist booths than one could imagine, mostly selling the same things. I think the area is an ejido, meaning the people live there and work it for all it’s worth, and it’s the only income for that group. The fresh orange juice was exquisite, though the buñuelos that I was so excited to see were cooked in slightly rancid oil. We ate them anyway.




I walked up and up, and finally came to the end of the tourist booths, where the trail became packed dirt. I could see the village off to the side, and a girl washing dishes at the edge of the stream. Something compelled me to keep walking. After I passed the village, I came to a junction of two streams. The one nearest me was that same surprising blue as the jungle pool. But this water, clear as it was, had an old tire in it, and the native people consider it just an arroyo, not the money-making cascades that it becomes further downstream. Where it met the other water the blue disappeared.
- Naomi