Curiosity

Between Crucecita and the airport I've noticed some intriguing signs that have kept me wondering. Two Sundays ago, having woken up too late to do anything major, I headed out to find what these places had to offer.

The first was El Faisan. With a sign and a driveway with giant metal "2"s, there was bound to be something of note.

The driveway led to this wall. The moment of truth.

Aw shucks, it seems to be one of those car hotels. I'm not even sure what these places are. You get a walled parking spot with a curtain. I think you just sleep in your own car. Maybe there's a garden hose to wash your vehicle down.
It wasn't a happening spot. No customers. I heard the distant bark of a dog and two women chattering but I didn't see a soul.




There was this massive wreck of a transport truck on the way out of the horseshoe driveway as a reminder to watch everything in front as I continued down the highway. Huatulco is more laid back than Cancun but it's still a party/vacation town and there are a lot of people driving that shouldn't be. We had a fatality around the ADO intersection this week. The previous week, I saw windshield glass spread all over the Pemex intersection on two different mornings. The traffic cop started hanging around there for a while after that. His presence alone makes a huge difference on people's recall of basic driving rules but he can't be everywhere.

Onward. Next stop: Piedra del Moros. This was more promising as there was an actual tourism sign recommending a visit. Mike told me it was a giant rock. Well, on a slow Sunday, a giant rock might be just the thing.


According to the sign, Piedra del Moros is only 5 kilometres off the highway on the same road leading up the mountain to all the cascadas. You pass through several peaceful pueblas on this road. None of them announced their names by signs so watch your odometer and maybe you won't pass it by like I did. That tourism sign on the highway is the last one you're going to see. You have to stop at the right village and ask directions. I realized I'd gone too far after 10 km. Beautiful countryside. Lots of people walking on the road and children playing. I went nice and slow.





There are lots of side roads but I seemed to be having good luck with instinct because I'd find myself in another puebla offering information on the cascadas. Eventually I started climbing the mountain. I could have reached the cascadas before nightfall easily enough but I wasn't prepared to spend the night up there and I turned back after a considerable twisty climb. The road was nowhere near as bad as I'd been told and I know the Italika could make it no problem. As for gas, it's really a one way trip. Downhill is a matter of keeping your hands on the brakes at all times. I'd like to take that trip early some day, check out all the different waterfalls and instead of returning the same way, continue on that road and make the loop back down to the coast somewhere near Barra de la Cruz.


Remember to take your hand off the gas and let momentum carry you across these streams or you might wipe out. For Canadians, the experience is not unlike wet black ice covered with a dusting of powdery snow. The underwater moss is incredibly slick.
I checked the internet at work next day to see if there really is something to see at Piedra del Moros and found somebody's travel blog. Like me, they passed right on by it the first time but they persevered. It really is a large igneous rock.

All that serene countryside washed away the grim reminder from the demolished transport truck and I found myself taking a sharp curve too quickly on the way home. I slowed right down, even with a pushy truck crowding my tail and I had a moment when I really didn't think I was going to make it. The bike wanted to drift right off the road. I was right on the edge, feeling grateful there was no one riding with me, when the danger passed.

I still don't have a helmet yet. The plan so far has simply been not to get in an accident. But I bet that woman who died on Monday and that girl who showed up a month late for school in a neck brace and Michelle when she was rammed off her bicycle by a taxi driver months ago, all had the same plan. It isn't foolproof.

If this brilliant plan backfires before I buy a helmet, Mike already has dibs on my office coffee machine and I suppose he should get the Sony stereo as well. There it is, on the internet, surely as legally binding as a will.

Happy Halloween everybody. Drive safely.

Phew!

2008 is winding down pleasantly and 2009 is shaping up well but it couldn't possibly be better than today. I'm at Zipolite again until work starts in early January, with only a short interruption of beach bliss to run back to Huatulco and pick up my spanking new visa.

Time slips away like sand between my toes. I barely managed to get up off my beach towel and head back to Huatulco for December 1 to start all the complicated paperwork. Christmas decorations were already up on the streets of Isla Mujeres. A big artificial tree stood empty when I arrived in the Cancun bus station and the lights were flashing before my trip was underway.

No matter how close they look on the map, these two places aren't exactly around the corner from each other. Including station time, I had a 36 hour trip. Brrr. I ended up using my horse-shaped neck pillow for ear muffs.


Finding an apartment was the trickiest detail for the visa application. No apartment, no visa. No one wanted to rent for the month of December because they're all anticipating renting these places by the night for a lot more money. I doubt that will happen. I walked through sub-divisions with obvious vacancies and administrative people just lied to my face. "Todo occupado." It all worked out in the end thanks to Barry, the guy I'll be replacing. I'm simply going to take over his place and use all of his domestic conveniences until he returns in February. It's nice not to have to buy all of those little necessary things like cookware and a coffee machine right away. A little more than a week in Huatulco and everything was prepared that could be for my new beach job for 2009.

It's been frustrating living without a camera. I saw and keep seeing so many beautiful things every day: wildlife; exotic flowers; architectural quirks. Before landing in Zipolite, I took a detour to Oaxaca just to do some camera shopping. I went everywhere in that town and finally settled for another Canon, not the model I would have preferred but the best I could do.

Oaxaca looked absolutely great, much more prosperous than 2006/2007. The streets are repaired. It's always been a great city to buy a good balloon but now more than ever.

There is a bustle. The zocalos are tastefully decorated for Christmas with chrysanthemums on the curbs of all the walkways and garden plots.








Check out these before and after pictures of the same street near Hotel Aurora from different angles.




Miahuetecos has moved to a new improved station. Luckily for me, a young guy was waiting by the old locale to walk arrivals to the new.

Just a quick peek at Miahuatlan from the Miahuatecos station at the pee break. The construction has finally been completed that stayed dormant for about a year. Looks good.

So does the cathedral across the street. I remember it looking a bit rough last time but there isn't a speck of graffiti to be found. As far as I can tell, every window is intact.


I'm seing improvements everywhere around here but the absolute best has to be the traffic lights on the highway crossroad to Pochutla. For years, the old system semed to work. The adjacent military checkpoint must have helped remind people to exercise restraint. Nevertheless, I like the new lights. Red and green. Very Christmassy.

Even this blog is bound to improve now that I have my new camera.