Getting Lost En Route to Pluma Hidalgo: Wrong Turns, Bad Directions and Lovely Waterfalls

It didn't take me long to get lost.  I took the wrong side street in Santa Maria Huatulco and kept trying to follow people's well intentioned directions.  One street started to look dubious but I was sure one guy told me to keep going.  When it turned into more of a trail than a street, I knew there'd been a failure to communicate.

More directions finally led me to this bridge and then I was sure I was on my way.   This is in Erredura, a suburb of sorts of Santa Maria Huatulco.  I learned that from a local.

I was definitely on my way.

 

My main destination was Sofia Hagas, a tourist (priced accordingly too) eco-park that featured a waterfall and a zipline.  It turned out that it was much closer to Santa Maria Huatulco than Pluma Hidalgo.

Down a dusty road, you see this lovely part of the river.   

Onward.  It might be one of those places that is hard to visit in the rainy season.

There it is!  Closed.  There wasn't a soul anywhere.  I guess I should have called ahead.  Maybe they close for Sundays or maybe they have closed forever.

Just in case, there was a misunderstanding, I followed this little side road.  I didn't know what it meant and there was no signal for a translator on the phone but I'd come this far.  It wouldn't hurt to look.  

So, I just looked it up.  Renaissance Community?  Seriously?  Cosplay with costumes?

All I saw was a small herd of very large cows blocking the road.

Back to the river.  My first and only plan for the day was a dead end.  But who really needs plans?  It is enough sometimes just to get out and play. Things will happen.

Hmmm.  What's next?  I had a tank full of gas.  On to Pluma Hidalgo.  The ride alone was worth it for the panoramic mountain views.

It's a winding road and, in some places, not completely intact.  Parts of it have tumbled over the edge here and there.

Oh boys!  It's a waterfall.  I'm getting close.

This is the view from the town basketball court.

I wasn't there for 5 minutes before meeting this charming young Hungarian lady from the Netherlands  who was volunteering to carry bricks at some little village and help undo some of the damage suffered from Hurricane Agathe.  She had even met one of my colleagues from UMAR.  Small world.  Lila had been planning on visiting this waterfall I had only heard about recently.  I had the scooter.

I have a fear of heights and this road were so steep and had so many curves with sheer drops of doom over the edge.  So, yeah, I was nervous.  There were loose rocks and ruts and and sometimes we were way too close to the edge of those panoramic views for comfort.  Lila was afraid of motorcycles and this was her first time ever on one.  Between us, collectively, there was a lot of tension on that descent.

We stopped to talk to a fun couple taking a little break on an all terrain vehicle, much better suited part for this road/trail than my low-riding plastic Vento. Lila had been losing her nerve on the back of the Vento and decided to walk on ahead while I got engaged in some of Jamie's stories about living off the grid.  Eventually, I had to drive away because Lila was walking down that jungle road by herself.

I came to a fork.  I hadn't seen Lila but I had been coasting gently with my hands on the brakes the whole way and probably not going that much faster than she was.  The right side of the fork looked in better condition but I remembered a man in the square told us to keep left and that's what I did.

Eventually, I came to this waterfall and still no Lila.  I was starting to get concerned.  But this was not the main attraction.  That was still ahead.  Moving on and hoping for the best.

This was the place, the magnificent Cascada Arcoiris. Wow! Yes, it was well worth the trip.

But Lila was still nowhere in sight.  I immediately thought of worst case scenarios because that is the way my mind naturally works.  People go missing in remote wooded areas and no one ever learns what happened.  Fact.

But, more reasonably, she had just taken the right turn at the fork. My second slightly bad scenario was that she would turn around when she'd realized her mistake, return to the fork exhausted, give up on the trip, return to town and I would never know what happened.  Third scenario was I would find her exhausted and she would think it wasn't worth the trip after all but once I'd seen it, I really wanted her to see it too.

The water was cold but not so cold you couldn't stand under it, which I did.

I got back on the scooter to go in search of Lila, started the motor and she appeared around the corner.  What a relief!  That was easy.  Yes, she had taken the wrong turn but she wasn't going to let that stop her.

Later, Attila, also from Hungary, appeared on the scene on a big motorcycle.  I don't believe I'd met anyone from Hungary before in my life and then there were two.  They didn't know each other before either.  

I was worried about the trip back up that steep treacherous climb.  Lila got off and walked at the worst parts and I waited for her at the relatively easy parts and we rode together until the next sketchy section. 

Stop, take a picture.  Wait for Lila.  Until the stop when I reached for my camera and it wasn't there.  All that shaking over rocks and ruts had shaken it out of my deep cargo shorts pocket.  I had to go back.  Wait.  No, I didn't.  Lila came up the hill holding my phone up in the air.  Technology in all that natural wilderness really pops.  It doesn't work anymore but it is getting repaired tonight.

Lila had a run in with a mother dog when two friendly puppies came running up and wagging their little tails but all ended well and we made it back to town and parted ways.

And then it got cold fast.  Clouds moved in and the temperature dropped dramatically.  Suddenly I didn't have near enough clothes.  I was leaving just in time.

Just waiting for some pictures off that broken phone now. 😎

Getting Lost in Oaxaca and Finding New Things

The bus arrived just at dawn.  This is a cold city at that time of day.  I was glad to have my winter coat.

McDonald's breakfast.  Something we don't have back home.

McDonald's coffee is so good.  Under-rated.  I walked out of there, finished my cup and did the only sensible thing.  I walked right back to get a refill.  And the lady didn't charge me.  I hope someone did something nice for her that day too.

 

Second cup of coffee and oj from a street vendor.  This was a good beginning.

I had lots of time to find a hotel but first I had to find a specific place.  I was on a mission.  Google Maps is useless, at least in the city.  I spent 2 hours wandering around trying to find this place.  From the bench where I'd had my coffee and oj, it was only a 5 minute walk direct from that corner.  I only found it in the end by asking directions from people.  That's a method that still works.

Google Maps was never going to get me to my destination but it did take me to some places I'd never seen before in this city.  So, thanks, Google!

Against all odds I found a nice affordable hotel 3 minutes from the bus station.  The hot water was always on and the water pressure was impressive.

Hotel room coffee.

I found the unofficial smoking section on the roof.

Time to wander.

There is so much cool architecture in this town but it can be tricky getting decent shots.  You can't step off the sidewalk curb for a better shot.  There is only room for vehicle traffic and it can be fast and heavy.   

I'd been walking around for a while at this point and there was still no sign of the zocalo.  Google maps,  thanks for nothing. It always showed me my own location 2 blocks from where I really was.  If someone wanted to track me this tech, they would never find me.  I would always be 2 blocks ahead of them.  At least in this city.

There it is!  I asked a young woman on the street for directions.

This vintage weight scale does not work.  I tried.  It made some noise and something shifted inside but I still don't know how much I weigh.

I didn't wait around to see what was happening but it looks like they expected a good turnout.

The zocalo is the place to be if you feel like buying a balloon.

I knew I would get lost when I entered the crowded markets but I found my new hat.

My first thought was that Oaxaca was getting its own tent city enclave of homeless people like back in Saint John.  Not exactly.

There was no garbage scattered around.  That was one thing.  Plus all the residents looked well-dressed and healthy.  No signs of opioid use.  

A couple of young guys explained that it was on protest on behalf of their teachers.  OK, well, I hope they had fun. 

This park runs for a few kms in the middle of all those lanes on the main drag, surrounded by traffic.  It's a bit run down and there are signs that real homeless people might spend their nights there.  It will look much better when Oaxaca sees some rain.

I did my best to find a Burger King but now I wonder they even exist anymore.  My quest for a whopper brought me to this interesting park however.  And I bought some healthy mandarins on the street.

On that long journey back home, they guy next to me effectively proved that google maps worked well and could be quite accurate but don't count on it in a city.  Just ask directions from someone who looks like they know where they're going.