Get busy living...

Zihuatanejo, sounds familiar right? Although I bet you cant quite think why? Well I´ll tell you, its the dream "getaway point" that the lead character Andy talks about in the classic book / film The Shawshank Redemption.

Don´t worry if you didn't know. I cant say I was too familiar with Zihuatanejo as it had been a few years since Id seen the film. But after watching the film again (all good travellers have a vast film selection on their laptops) I was fully aware of my next destination. Although I feel I must add here that after some Google research I found out that the Zihuatanejo scene in the film is in fact filmed in the US Virgin Islands?! So much for authenticity...

The real Zihuatanejo is situated on the Pacific coastline of Mexico and lies roughly four hours from Acapulco. Despite being by the sea the weather was ridiculously hot and humid. Thankfully I was staying in an apartment with air conditioning. I never thought Id say this after years of working in offices that dried my pre lasered contact lens eyes out, but I LOVE AIR CONDITIONING! 

Zihuatanejo

This is the real Zihuatanejo beach

Something else I have suddenly started to love is snorkelling. You may have read about my recent snorkelling escapades in previous blog entries. Ive grown to like it so much Ive gone as far as buying my own snorkel and mask. Albeit a cheapie one from the supermarket as Im not that much of a pro yet.

I tested my new mask and snorkel out at most of the beaches which are based in and around Zihuatanejo. The water once again was like a bath and there was plenty of sea life to admire. Despite having only snorkelled a handful of times even I could see that what life was here wasn't as exceptional as what I saw in Belize. The coral here is a little bleached and the visibility wasnt great due to it having rained recently. However I did get to see a statue of Mr JC which had been deliberatly sunk into the bay. I didn't spend too long looking at him though as the murkiness of the water made him look a little creepy.

The best beach I visited was Playa Las Gatas which means Cats Beach. It is named after the nurse sharks that apparently resemble cats that used to inhabit the waters. Thankfully the sharks aren't around anymore, as despite snorkelling with some in Belize, I think once was enough for me. It was here that I did the majority of my snorkelling. I visited another beach which was on an island imaginatively called La Isla (Spanish for island). The beach on La Isla was OK but most of it was taken over by restaurants and seating areas. I think the best thing it had going for it were the jet skis you could hire from the perma-tanned, soul glow haired, medallion wearing beach vendor. I managed to jump on the back of one and I think I must have deafened my travel buddy with my screaming. I didnt drive one myself, which in hindsight I kind of wish Id done, but its probably just as well I didnt as Im sure I would have done someone some damage. 

Jet skis!

Randomly en route to La Isla you had to go past a crocodile sanctuary which sits in the natural freshwater estuary that flows into the sea. The crocs were HUGE and looked very menacing. Despite being wild they are fed by all the local restaurants. What made me smirk was that all the tourists watching the crocodiles were wearing those ugly plastic Crocs shoes. I think if the real Crocs had seen them then they would have snapped at them in agreement with me. 

Crocs

Hes just seen the ugly Croc shoes...

I spent a good few days in Zihuatanajo, mostly because the people there and pretty much every town I've visited since arriving in Mexico have been so hospitable. Except taxi drivers who pick you up at bus garages. They're just out to take as much money from you as they can. Those aside, I have been well and truly impressed with the kindness I've received from the locals here. ¡Viva México!

Going Loco Down in Acapulco

Sadly I don't think Lionals lyrics quite ring true these days. The only think going loco here would be the La Quebrada cliff divers we saw. More about these crazies later...

The minute I arrived in the city I felt like I was back in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The hilly streets and horse shaped bay with its stunning sea views were uncanny in areas. In some ways Acapulco also reminded me of the Italian Riviera with its houses built on cliff edges as is the norm in places such as Cinqueterre.

Herbie strikes again

The view from my hotel window

Before Cancun and Ixtapa, Acapulco was Mexicos original party town. You could tell that back in its heyday during the 1950s it was THE place to be seen. The beaches are surprisingly stunning and a hidden gem behind the monstrous ugly hotels that are these days built up along the shoreline. All the rich and famous used to come and play here: Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and Elizabeth Taylor were all frequent visitors and John "The Duke" Wayne even owned the Los Flamingos hotel which is nestled up on the highest cliff tops of Acapulco. 

Ahoy Sailor!

Beach life

Incidentally I went to Los Flamingos which is now run by one of the original bus boys who used to work at the hotel back in the day. The hotel is like a living museum and it was like stepping back in time to Acapulcos heyday with images of Hollywoods golden age gracing the walls. I ate dinner in the restuarant but disapointingly the food tasted like it had been cooked back in the 1950s. The terrace however was a saving grace and gave a spectacular vista of the Pacific Ocean and the sun going down which I enjoyed whilst sipping one of their famous Cocoloco cocktails. 

The entrance to the hotel

Sunset from the terrace

Well they had to be somewhere even if they were plastic...

Having done a little research it would appear that Acapulco has had its fair share of bad luck over the years. During the 1970s overdevelopment and overpopulation took its toll and the bay became polluted. In 1997 the city was devastated by Hurricane Pauline. Then in the 2000s rival drug traffikers fought each other for the coast route that brings drugs in from South America - a gun fight took place by the sea front killing several locals and tourists. Thats not forgetting the swine flu epidemic they experienced a few years later. Phew!

However, despite all the above Acapulco appears to be having a renaissance right now. Apparently it has overtaken Cancun as the top destination for American students on spring break vacation. I cant say I saw much of this as its low season right now and not exactly spring break time. But I certainly see the appeal with the great beaches and cheapish accommodation.

The only action I did get to see in Acapulco which made me gawp somewhat was the La Quebrada cliff divers. They are a group of professional high divers who perform daily dives for the public off the thirty five metre cliffs of La Quebrada into the sea below. The depth of the water they are diving into ranges from two to five metres depending on the waves! There were about six divers in total all led by an older gentleman who I can only presume was their coach. The teenagers (they looked that young) began their show by walking down the stairs leading to the viewing platform, whilst wearing their budgie smugglers and holding a Olympic looking lit torch. The public were crazy for them. The cheers and raptous applause that took place as the divers passed us and then proceeded to scale the cliff face unaided were deafening. We watched in awe as one by one each diver scaled the cliff face just in their speedos. No ropes, no ladders, nothing. It was a spectacle to behold. 

Here come the boys...

Squint and you'll see one climbing!

The diving itself was awesome. They made each dive look so simple. I couldnt bring myself to watch the first diver as the water below looked so shallow, but the minute I heard the crowd applaud I managed to open my eyes. I took alot of pictures in the aim of showing you the dives but they were so fast that unfortunately all you can make out is a blur. I think my pictures do however give you a sense of scale so that you too can admire the height and the awesomeness of the dive. 

The blur in the middle is the diver!

Despite Acapulco being a little tired around the edges, it still has a charm that manages to capture your imagination. The only other place that Ive experienced this is Havana in Cuba. Which incidentally you have to go to if you havent already been! Plus check out the amazing lightning that takes place here in Acapulco:

Magnificent

I shall certainly be coming back to Acapulco, if only to purchase an Acapulco chair which I only realised existed when I got to Mexico City and read about it in a book. The chair is based on Mayan hammock weaving technology and is my new lust after piece of furniture. 

Courtesy of  innitdesigns.com

They're quite expensive to purchase in the UK so I was hoping I could get one in Mexico City. Alas I failed to find anywhere that sold them...well actually thats a lie, there was one gallery that sold them but they were only open by appointment and never responded to my emails or picked the phone up when I rang. All which made me feel like pulling out my hair, drowning in despair, Going Loco Down in Acapulco...what? you didn't think Id finish this blog entry without a reference to the lyrics themselves?!

Once Upon a Time in Mexico

Apologies as this blog entry is a few weeks late. I am now actually in Guadalajara, Mexico. Still better late than never!


Two boat journeys, one detailed bag search at customs, thanks to the sniffer dog being hot for dried pasta, and what should have been just a day but actually also turned into an overnight and full day twenty three hour mammoth bus journey later, I finally arrived in the Mexican city of Oaxaca (pronounced Wa-ha-ca like the London restaurant of the same name).

I was über excited to be there, not least because it was my first Mexican city, but also because Id read good things about Oaxaca - namely about its food, markets and colonial buildings. I also quite like frequenting the Wahaca restaurant in London and I wanted to see the country where Thomasina Miers the founder of Wahaca had got her inspiration to open her chain of restaurants from. 

Oaxaca, the city, certainly didnt dissapoint me - only its internet access did. The service was truly shocking and is one of the worst Ive experience during my travels in Central and South America. If it were not for this blip I would go as far as saying Oaxaca is officially my current favourite place Ive visited.

Main Cathedral in Oaxaca

Motorbikes having a chat

Local band

Palm tree lined streets

The food I ate whilst there was delicious, especially the beef tacos. Although they werent the typical tacos I was used to eating. For a start they came in soft flour tortillas, not the crispy shell tortillas you see in the Old El Paso adverts. They were also surprisingly simple in their appearance. Literally just meat inside them and nothing else. The condiments - spicy chipotle sauce, salsa and guacamole came seperate. And the best thing about all of this? It was super cheap! You can eat loads and still pay less than a fiver. Tacotastic!

Taco with added condiments

Whilst I managed to savour the culinary taste of Oaxaca I was unfortunately unable to try any of its alcohol as it was the weekend of national elections. Elections, I found out tend to bring rather alot of unrest in Mexico so the government passed a law banning the consumption of alcohol during this period. It is called the ley de seca - dry law and for some reason this law also stretches to us travellers. Mexicos famous margheritas will just have to wait for now...

Shopping in Oaxaca is awesome. With regards to the markets in Oaxaca, despite not being a massive fan of shopping I still managed to buy up half the Benito Juarez market. I now own several more hats, bags and scarfs all of which I am going to have to post home as Im already fed up of lugging them around. It is just as well that I managed to somehow miss the Artisans market just down the road from the Benito Juarez market as I would certainly be carrying more items with me and it would be costing me more to post it all home. I shall most certainly be coming back with an empty suitcase (and a sister and friends?) next time I visit. 

When in Rome...
N.B. this wasn't one of the hats I purchased!

My favourite purchase was a print from an art gallery / workshop situated in an indoor market called Mora. I had spent ages scanning all the prints on display trying to find one to buy but none were jumping out at me. It wasnt until I went to walk out of the gallery that I noticed a stencil of a print lying on a table. I asked whether they had any prints of it but the artist said he had only produced t shirts with this print. After admiring the t shirts I ended up wanting a print version even more so after expressing my keen interest the owner Alejandro agreed to screen print me one that very evening. Im pleased to say Im now the proud owner of print number 2 of what will be 100 prints signed by Alejandro which he has decided to produce in the colour way I chose - black and gold. :D

My print : D

Walking around Oaxaca was really quite pleasant. Not only are the buildings beautiful but a lot of the city is pedestrianised so it meant you didnt have to watch out for VW Beetles hurtling at you every five minutes - there are so many of them here from when VW opened up its first plant in Puebla in 1967. It was like seeing Herbie the anthropomorphic VW Beetle from the Disney films every where I went. 

Beatles about!

Having spent a good few days in Oaxaca I decided to get some sea air and head to the coast and visit the town of Puerto Escondido which means hidden port. The shuttle bus there was nicknamed the "Vomet Comet". After several hours being tossed around each time the bus went up and down a mountain and left and right around a corner I realised why it had been christened so. To make matters worse there appeared to be donkeys roaming aimlessly pretty much on every road we went down (?!) which meant the driver kept braking suddenly. All just fuelling the treachery of an already sickening ride.

Thankfully I arrived in one piece and decided to stay on Playa Zicatela which is just down the coast from Puerto Escondido itself. 

And relax...

The beach here is huge in the surfing community and regularly hosts surfing competitions and is among the top ten surfing destinations in the world. It wasn't hard to see why - the swell of the sea was immense and you could hear the waves crashing before you saw them. It reminded me of the advert Guinness did a few years ago with horses thundering towards you from the water:

I didnt dare venture into the water, there were signs everywhere telling you not to unless you knew what you were doing and I certainly didnt. Instead I just marvelled at the brave surfers being led into the surf by a lifeguard on a jet ski (the waves were that big that they needed help to get past them into the calmer sea behind) and then gaze in admiration as they rode the waves so deftly. 

Look at it crash down!

Brave surfer

Lifeguard on jet ski

Seeing as there was no swimming to be had on Playa Zicatela I made my way to Playa Carrizalillo which is just around the bay. The water there was much calmer although the rip tides were still strong which prevented me from venturing in too deep. 

Chillaxing

As it is currently low season there really werent that many travellers or tourists to be seen throughout my time in Oaxaca or Puerto Escondido. I've quite enjoyed this as its meant that the last few weeks have felt like a holiday rather than travelling. I've had time to relax and slow down. All of which has been good as I feel like Ive been travelling too fast through most of the countries I've visited recently. It has finally caught up with me in the form of waking up and embarrasingly not knowing which country Im in. Only for a split second mind!

As my impending return to London life draws near *sigh* I have also had time to take stock and appreciate where I am currently. I've needed this. Whilst I have been lucky enough to visit the most amazing and wonderful places during the last eight months (wow seems so long when you write it), I have recently found myself becoming a little complacent. A stunning beach has become just another beach, an awesome panorama just part of every day life and going on another tourist tour has become, well, just a little routine. All of which is terrible especially when this should be a trip of a lifetime. So Im pleased to say I've given myself a much needed shake and stopped being a spoilt brat and Im now valuing everything that little bit more. Just in time as since writing this blog I've finally got around to booking my flight home *Yay * so I´ll be reading travel blogs rather than writing them in just under a months time...

You better Belize it!

Calling all fellow travellers!

Border crossings into Belize from Guatemala are simple and (almost) pain free!!

I couldn't quite believe it. Crossing the border into Belize was indeed one of the simplest and most professional I have ever encountered in Central America. Not only were the signs all in English and Spanish, the staff were super polite and friendly and there was even a tour guide waiting to welcome everyone handing out free maps and advice! The tour guide even admitted to not know the answer to one of my questions which I found such a revelation as the norm is to just fabricate.

I cant be so nice about leaving Guatemala. The immigration staff there tried to charge me to leave the country which I knew was a blatant attempt to rip me off. I responded by demanding a receipt for what the were going to charge me. Not knowing I understand Spanish fluently the immigration control officer whispered to his colleague "entienda" which means I "understood" that they were trying it on with me. I have to say it really bothers me that each Central American country I've visited they have tried to do the same when I leave. Especially given how much money I and other travellers bring into their country. OK rant over.

I exchanged some currency at the border and was surprised to suddenly see Queenies face staring back at me! It turns out that Belize is part of the British Commonwealth with English being the official language. I must admit it took me a good few days to remember to not speak Spanish to everyone.

Clearly they need to update her picture but its Queenie nonetheless!

My first stop was Belize City which is the capital of the country. I cant say its the nicest of places I've been to, I would be lying. Its looks as a capital city are deceiving as it just resembles a big town. However the sense of uneasiness I got here whilst walking to the ATM to get some cash out certainly reminded me that it was a capital city with its fair share of crime. In the space of a few minutes lewd comments were jeered at me by several local men. Thankfully I was with another two travellers so they left us alone. I was certainly glad I wasn't staying here. 


Instead I caught the shuttle boat over to one of the neighbouring tropical islands called San Pedro. Island myth holds that Madonnas hit song La Isla Bonita was inspired by a visit here! It certainly is nice but my goodness its touristy. There were so many Americans and everything was really pricey. Dare I say it, even more so than Costa A Lot Rica!


Whilst searching for accommodation we stopped at a bar to use their WiFi. The owner (An American) suddenly starting spouting advice to me on looking after myself on the island & to watch out for crime. I wouldn't have minded all of this but it was so over the top, especially when he went as far as showing off his hand gun that he had tucked into the back of his trousers...


NB: I experienced no sign of crime on the island and actually felt quite safe there.


I had lucked out with my arrival coinciding with the annual Lobsterfest that took place on the local islands to celebrate the first catch of the season. That evening was therefore spent consuming my weight in lobster - tequila lobster kebabs, creole lobster and coconut rice, grilled lobster with rice and beans, and lobster purée with nachos - all washed down with lashings of rum punch :D

I sure did!

After spending a couple of days in San Pedro I caught a local shuttle boat over to the next island Caye Caulker. In hindsight I wish Id gone straight to Caye Caulker instead of San Pedro as it is much more tropical and chilled out and way prettier with all its pastel hued buildings. 

Picture postcard!

The distances weren't quite correct...

They serve a good shrimp dish here

Watching the sun set

My time here was spent swimming in the bath (I have taken to calling the Caribbean sea this as its so warm) sipping rum cocktails whilst watching the sun going down and eating once again my body weight in seafood. 

My local drinking hole

Sunset 

The highlight of my time here has without a shadow of a doubt been snorkelling. As you may recall I first tried snorkelling in Costa Rica albeit with a life jacket and without getting my ears wet. This time around I managed to toss the life jacket away and overcome my fear of getting water in my ears and have well and truly mastered snorkelling! I am so proud of myself. I feel like I've suddenly joined an elite club to which I didn't have the confidence to previously join. I did a day trip with a local tour company called Ragamuffin that took us out to the second longest coral reef in the Western Hemisphere after Australia's Great Barrier Reef.


Amazingly I snorkelled amongst nurse sharks - YES I SAID SHARKS - these ones don't bite though, stingrays (I avoided these like the plague as I didn't want to emulate the late Steve Irwin) Jacks, Groupers, Moray Eels and various other coral fish. The BEST though was swimming with turtles! They weren't as big as the ones I've heard about but they were big enough and they were mesmerizing to watch. 

Nurse sharks and stingrays

Nurse sharks jumping out of the water (bottom left) to eat food thrown at them 

Turtle!

Little Marmaid A.K.A citygirltravels (bottom right)

Looking a little special here with my mask and thumbs up...

The boat I sailed on

All in all it was an awesome day, except for the fact that I managed to get third degree burns on my bottom from the sun. I had diligently worn a long sleeve white top to cover my body but had forgotten to apply sun cream on my buttocks which I didn't realise poke out the water when you snorkel. Needless to say my bottom now resembles a pair of boobs wearing a red bikini...not quite the look I was going for :(

My-I´m Ruined!

With my legs and toes still intact from swimming in the pools of Semuc Champey, I made my way to Flores which is the gateway to the town of Tikal and its famous Mayan ruins. 

It wasnt long until our shuttle bus made a quick petrol and toilet stop. Gazing out of the window I was amused to see that next to where you pay for petrol was a gun shop?! Clearly the Guatemalans don't find having live ammunition near flammable liquid an issue... 

Gives a new meaning to the term drive by shooting...

After a number of hours (I've stopped counting how many hours my journeys are these days...) I arrived in Flores. The town is situated on an island in the middle of Lake Peten Itza and connected to the mainland by a causeway. 

A postcard illustrating Flores from above

Weather wise it was back to the heat and humidity. Whilst I didn't mind the heat, the humidity was a little unbearable and meant showers just didn't cut the mustard - literally the minute you had one, you needed another that was how sweaty the humidity made me! 

Given it had been a long journey I was tired and ready to fall asleep. Settling into my hostel room I noticed a fairly strong damp smell but didn't give it too much thought as most tropical countries tend to smell like, thanks humidity! It wasn't long before the smell came back to haunt me. At about 2am I was suddenly awoken by water cascading from the roof on to my bed! It was raining outside and clearly the ceiling had issues with keeping the water out - hence the smell. I quickly gathered up my belongings as I had visions of the entire ceiling caving in. The hostel moved me to another room which had wet floors - they had forgotten to shut the windows when it started to rain?! Fortunately the bed was dry. Unfortunately the roof was made of corrugated iron which meant the sound of the rain was deafening. Needless to say I didn't get much sleep so I made sure I didn't pay full price for that night. What shocked me the most was that the next day when I walked past my old room the hostel staff had just made the bed and not done anything about the ceiling?! 

Thankfully I had booked my day trip to the ruins of Tikal the day after next which was just as well as the trip requires you to be up at 4am... There really wasn't much to do on Flores except chillax. Which was just as well as I was ready and raring to go (well as much as you can be getting up at 4am!) by the time the day trip to Tikal came around. 

The ruins of Tikal are based in what is now a national park. The park has one of the largest archaeological sites of pre-Colombian Mayan civilisation in the world. I had wanted to visit them as Id heard they were pretty impressive and tend to be the "go to ruins" for any TV and film footage. 

Mini me

I am indeed holding this ruin up... ;-p

In true Latin American fashion our group had around thirty visitors to one guide. Our poor guide should have had a megaphone as his voice was hoarse by the time we finished walking around. 

The masses

Walking through the park it wasn't long before we came across our first piece of wildlife - a tarantula. Terry (I thought Id give spidey a name) was calmly minding his own business when suddenly he had thirty odd (I kept a wide berth) tourists gazing and poking at him. I managed to get a pic of him using my zoom lense... 

El Tel

The ruins are quite a site. They're much bigger than those I saw in Honduras and way more impressive. Our guide took much pleasure in telling us that it was the filming location for Yavin 4 in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Whilst being a fan of the films, I didn't know who or what Yavin 4 was and I couldn't quite visualise which scene they were talking about. Thankfully Mr Google gave me a visual aid: 

Courtesy of starwars.wikia.com 

My view of the same shot

I was so glad we had visited the site early in the morning as the afternoon heat would have been intolerable. It also meant that despite our rather large tour group size we were literally the only ones walking around the park. 

Unfortunately the time soon came to leave Guatemala. I was rather sad at the prospect of leaving what had become one of my favourite Central American countries. This was somewhat alleviated by the fact that I was heading to Belize and returning to the Caribbean coastline where the water is like a bath its so warm : D