Two towns beginning with Gua....Tues 5th Oct- Wed Oct 13th

Had a day to fill in in PV, as the guy showing us round a volunteer project connected with the excellent Oasis Hostel was only available Wed. So I had to go to the beach with a bunch of lovely people - an Aussie called Saxon and his Vancouver room mate, Tanya, plus a Brit of Turkish origin, Hakan, and a Swede called Olaf. It was such a nice day that I decided we had to finish it in style with some Ko Pa Ngan-style full moon party buckets and a drinking game or two. Sarah the charming Québuécoise, really struggled with 'fuzzy duck'. Cute buckets, aren't they?

Circle of death is a drinking game which does what it says on the tin. I really hope Saxon found his camera and ipod. It was in his hand here but went missing in the food mission that happened next....Oooops

Next morning, as per plan, I was bright and breezy due to early bed and shower, ready for Art to show me and Clarita (hostel volunteer programme co-ordinator) round his charity, Feed the Children Vallarta. What started off with feeding kids who were arriving hungry at primary school has transformed into an organisation that feeds thousands every day from amongst the most vulnerable poor of the city.

We saw one of the daycare centres for working mums and then the School of Champions. If 14 years ago children were not going to school at all but sifting garbage at the dump, when I was there the school had 60 children not only attending school (prerequisite for all) but getting extra English, Maths and ICT at the School of Champions. They are on the cusp of getting a crop of secondary kids through and that obviously would be the sort of thing that would interest me - curriculum development, delivery, teacher training for locals and volunteers etc. Put simply, the kids who speak English can escape the poverty and unpleasantness of the neighbourhoods around the dump if they choose to, those who don't will probably never leave.

So off to Guadalajara it was. On the advice of Hakan who gave me a flier as I was leaving, I headed to a hostel called Degollado (near the theatre of that name pictured). Was a bit put off by his talk of partying as I was going to Guadalajara for its picturesque centre, as described by other travellers, which sounded like the perfect place to do some study and chill. All this in the new way of travelling which doesn't involve long-term planning and worrying about when I get to which country, but which allows a feeling of what I need next to arise and then chooses the best available option to make that happen. Well, it worked out brilliantly.

Not only was the centre beautiful as promised which I saw on arrival when eating in front of the cathedral (pictured from rear),  but I had breakfast with two Argentinians and two Mexicans. All in Spanish. Pretty tough going but a real bonus that I hadn't expected.

I went out for a toasty morning walk in the sun after breakfast and in the evening the centre was pretty lively too. Got lots of study done but also got invited out to a birthday party by Martín, one of the Argentinian guys. This was my first properly Mexican social evening and it was great. In a Cuban restaurant with a lovely bunch of people and including an hour's dancing to some serenading musicians who'd come in to try to make some cash. Wonderful.

Also went out for drinks the next night, with (as pictured), Martin, David (arg), a french guy, Yugo (dropped us off after the previous night's birthday party very kindly) and Robert, a Mexican student who was also running Martin's short film course at uni. Didn't get to see any filming due to battery probs. Was great night - very much looking forward to meeting up with Martin in Argentina.

The city also afforded me one of my choice travel moments - a swim in a beautiful empty pool surrounded by lush green plants and flowers and with the sun blazing overhead. Yummy. Shades of the drive south from Cairns in 2005. Took me right back...

Again going on recommendations, I moved on to Guanajuato the next day, Sunday 10th. Another really comfortable bus ride, but this time, no blaring film but a much more comfortable headphone setup. Guanajuato is supposed to be the most beautiful town in Mexico, and I have to say that, thus far, I can't disagree.

The main square was quite simply stunning. This was two minutes walk from the hostel. Can't complain. A lot of the tourists were Mexican too, which I was happy about. It's a real town of culture as well. This theatre just on the way to the main square. In fact, as often happens, I was too busy enjoying things to take photos so I took these walking to the bus station!

I actually left the day a major international performing arts festival, the Cervantina, started.

Not very smart you may think, but I'd already had my time in Guanajuato due to the fairly ceaseless partying after the first night where I wondered down into town for 45 mins only to find a rocking bar, Los Lobos, 2 mins UP the street from the hostel on my way back. Once I heard the sound of the Smiths coming out of it, I was in! Made friends with load of Mexicans playing pool.

Attached myself to a pretty girl from Singapore for lunch and a museum the next day and then the party stepped up a gear with Joe from New York, a fellow teacher and traveller, and Josaphat, a dreadlocked Mexican who'd grown up in the States like so many, who was young and full of confidence! The reggae bar, bar fly was absolutely cracking that night and even better the next night with a rather gorgeous Mexican yoga instructor/circus performer and a very pretty Scottish theatre producer, plus some more locals, from Aguascalientes this time. Danced my socks off and had a great time but realised definitely time to move on.

Here I am on the way to the bus station (just to prove I'm not actually living in a tent in Basingstoke and making all this up with the aid of the internet). So set off for Mexico City without knowing whether I would stay for a couple of days to do the things Joe had said were good, or just go straight through to Oaxaca. Definitely feeling the need for another chilled few days of study à la Guadalajara. You'll just have to wait and see what happened? (sound of chair legs scraping, as people fidget restlessly on the edge of their seats :)))))

Ta ta,
love,
s
x

In which Steve leaves beach paradise... Saturday 2nd October 2010

... but not before catching a last pic of Lo de Marcos:

This was opposite the 'Huerto de las iguanas'. Well, I'm guessing the large number of iguanas might have indicated that they were artificially brought in but it was still quite exciting anyway. Other Lo de Marcos highlights included watching Motorcycle Diaries again but in Spanish this time. I also got into the sun lounger on the roof next to my flat. Soooo nice. One day I also ate a pineapple stuffed with other fruit. Very tropical. Carried on reading short stories by Borges. Really enjoying them too. And my first couple of late nights including chatting till late on the beach with a lightning storm in the background. With a guy who grew up in LA and had come back to his native Mexico. Unfortunately he grew up in the gang lifestyle and was down on his uppers back in his village. Was basically sponging money for beer off me. Very sad. Apparently quite a lot of washed up ex-gang members have found their way back to Mexico. After a bit more studying and few more swims it was time to pack up and leave my lovely flat. The first kitchen of my own I've had since Walkden in 2008! Anyway, so like it says in the title, I left beach paradise, to go to...

...a more built-up beach paradise! Complete with nicely done board walk area with a beautiful café just on the left there. Expensive but lovely sunset coffee place.

I wouldn't particuarly go to the luxury port bit of it called "New Vallarta" (nothing to do with fences actually, named after the guy who founded the city).

And I finally decided to ask someone to take a picture of me. As you can see, I've been working on retaining my 'Legs of Mr Universe' muscle trophy.

In fact, this is a party town and that was part of the reason I came here. LDM really was unbelievably quiet. So within 30 mins of checking in to the excellent Oasis Hostel, I was off up a hill at the back of town with two English guys and an Aussie. Didn't find the waterfall we were looking for but we compared itineraries and tips about where to and not to go. Perfect. As I'm travelling without a guidebook, but going by word of mouth, this was just what I was after. We went out to a bar and club on the Saturday night, driven and chaperoned by the incredibly energetic and helpful hostel owner who makes sure his people get a good night out of a weekend! More of Guillermo later. Some lovely French and Canadian girls made for a balanced night (rather than a lads' pissup) which culminated in a 4.30am ocean swim. Not very wise but fun :)) And believe it or not, I didn't drink a drop of alcohol and still had a wicked time :)

Met a guy at the veggie restaurant in town and he recommended me a hike from La Boca (pictured, means "mouth" as in, of this river, presumably) to Las Animas on a coastal path. Great. Started off as a windy path by the ex-pat villas on the far side of the river heading south. Places with their own little quayside, pretty much only accessible by boat. And as you can see, there were zillions of crabs.

Then the trail got a lot more tropical rainforest, and there I was, in tune with nature, walking along like some kung fu master. Obviously I didn't fancy walking face first into a big spiders web, soiling myself, falling down the hill side and breaking my leg, dying of thirst etc

 Any of you who were thinking this was jungle by the way, the guide of an American couple I met at the half way point to Las Animas, assured me jungle has be be thicker and more humid all year round. Felt pretty jungly to me. And I was soaking with sweat from concentrating and it being a challenging path.

Given the very rugged nature of the terrain, I did burst out laughing when I saw this. Still, the American money and mindset have made some beautiful houses where before there was only jungle. Which is fine. After all, houses produce oxygen like trees, don't they.

Quite a few properties were derelict and had become spider hotels, which was quite eerie (that's about 6 centimetres long or so). I also realized after talking to the guide at the beach that he'd taken any spiders off the path, so it would be more difficult later on. Not only that, it seemed to be substantially further than the original hour it was supposed to take and the guide chap said it was another 45 minutes. Not much water left, and then the path started disappearing, so I went along the beach, then into dead end. All the way back, back up cliff side, climbing up quite steep river course to try to find the path again. Found it. Still no sign of destination. Turned out to be a bit more challenging than I'd expected.

Anyway, made it eventually and had food and a snooze at another lovely beach. Unfortunately it was so hot that the aquous humour in my eyeballs made them feel like poached eggs. And as the beach was only accessible by boat, it was a bit of a trap. So I beat a fairly early retreat. Got fleeced a bit for the motorboat ride back, but in Mexico that means 3 quid. Not the 30 quid you'd probably have got stung for in Europe!!

But before I left, ... this:

Tara for now :)

Lo de Marcos Sunday 19-26 September

Ok, so this is the entrance of where I'm staying.

'The little paradise' for those who aren't of habla espanol. And it certainly is that. Met the other owner of this place who is just a true gent. Old skool, innit!

I think this is where my Mum and Dad stayed when they came here. Opposite where I am. Hmmm.Many thanks to you both for the top recommendation. It really is just gorgeous here. And you haven't even seen the beach yet...

And you'll have to wait a bit more while I tell you about San Franciso (San Pancho to its friends) Decided to go there on the Monday to check out the children's charity called 'Entre Amigos' which looks from the website to be very like Sodruzhestvo, where I did the summer camp in August. Sadly, as happens with alarming regularity in this part of the world, the rain had done some big damage. This time it nicked off with San Pancho's bridge. So there was very few people in town and I found it dotted with uber chic American-style boutique outlets, but overall less charming that Lo de Marcos. Had intended to get Spanish classes at Entre Amigos too, but there was no-one around, so no chance to set up either the do-gooding volunteering or the Spanish. Wasn't a total washout tho' as I got a dictionary to help me geek it up big time with my independent Spanish learning extravaganza in LDM. Yes, writing and learning lots of enormous lists of vocab IS cool.... to me :)

So, back to the beach it was...

And the view from the caf, where I had quesadillas and tried to buttonhole a couple of other diners into finding me a Spanish teacher in LDM looks like this:

Settling into a 'meditate, breakfast, study, go out, sunbathe, read, swim, eat lunch, siesta' type routine. No sunburn yet. The locals got burnt tho', boy oh boy, yes, some landlubbers fom Aguascalientes or other such inland place. Transactional conversations dominating at the mo', as there really are NO other non-Mexican tourists around except me. And the locals are all just keeping their businesses open, sitting round chatting and chilling before the insanity starts when the Yanks and the Canucks arrive in November (for the dry season).

In the meantime, quite a lot of rain. Did I mention it's the rainy season? One or two drains seem to be in disrepair; the joys of Jalisco state government.

Bit whiffy round here. And I have to pretty much go through it most days. Always a bit sus when exit pipes head from where beach side accommodation is into the sea. No floaters yet... Did almost hug a dinner plate sized dead fish on my first swim tho. Which, for a person who's been afraid of sharks in swimming pools (yes, I know, it's pathetic) means it's even more impressive that I went back in at all :) Amusingly met a guy who spotted I was going swimming one evening and asked if I could swim with him as he was a bit scared! Talk about the blind leading the blind... And no, he has a girlfriend before you start thinking he was hitting on me. Was pretty good-looking tho'... :)

Wednesday 22nd was Puerto Vallarta day (fenced port, as I worked out yesterday). Paradise LDM may be, but I did manage to make a right pig's ear of my laptop tho'. For anyone who was thinking of switching off their computer when it says, 'Don't switch off' as it's installing updates, just don't....So no photos in PV as I was focused on getting waputah sorted and goggle buying, and there was no room for a camera, as me bag was stuffed.

As was PV. With the swirling billious mass of socks-up-to-the-knee stylie tourists who'd been vomited out of two of the largest moving structures I've ever seen. Monstrous cruise ships. But did all my errands and even went shopping. And considering that the last time I went shopping was probably 6 months ago (it always is), with Paul and Alice (God it must be longer as I don't even remember Alice looking pregnant then...Yikes!), that was all in all a fantastic days work. And enabled me to do some blogging...yay!

Haven't left LDM since then, but did sneak a few pics in on a sunny day. It's not all paradise here tho. If you were tempted to buy property, don't buy this one:

A you can see, LDM is framed by mountains, and it's pretty often rumbling away with thunderous menace in the background up there. Had a storm during the week with thunder so loud it was as if a giant had slammed a football-pitch sized rock down on the roof of Wembley whilst you were sitting in the middle of the pitch. Actually perforated my spleen. So just be careful if you buy. Quite a lot of properties up for sale, from no-hoper houses to swish looking bungalow businesses. LDM has a proper little fishing community tho', who were playing footbal on the beach today, and a few farms with horses and cows, to balance out the otherwise all pervasive hegemony of the tourist dollar.

And now ... a random plant photo.

Byeeeee ;))))))))))))))))))))))

A capital 17th and Lo de Marcos 18th September -

Even though the only people actually reading this in full will probably be my parents (guiltily remembers not bothering to read friends' sumptious Middle East travel blog), I feel bad that I've somehow given a negative impression of the trip so far. That's politics for you! Especially when discussed by people who don't really know what they're talking about and are tired :)

The hotel I stayed in in Mexico City was lovely, the receptionist was really helpful, people were generally helpful, no-one shouted at me or was rude. Actually seeing the main square, which I'd pathetically only watched on TV the night before, was very satisfying. Kids were running around squirting funny foam in each other's faces, the mood was generally good and the sun was out... Sitting down in the sun was 'grt lush' (as they say in Brizl). And what an amazing piece of luck, I randomly bump into this huge party, by accident...

And the next day, when I went to number 222 Reform Avenue in a rough-arsed end of town where my trainers were probably not far off a week's wages, no-one hassled me. The mobile phone guy in the posh Reform 222 shopping mall in the centre had enough gel in his hair to do Amy Winehouse, and was a bit slow on the uptake, but got me sorted. And although the 'pink' zone of the city does occasionally bore with its American chain outlets and proudly exuded ex-pat wealth, it's also very lush with tropical vegetation and some genuinely funky localish shops.

And the anthropology museum was fab. Well worth the extra walk to get there even though I only stayed for less than an hour, I'll be back. Oh and when the bus company told me my ticket was for the day before, I wasn't too fussed, but a random woman at the counter saw me as I was about to start the painful phonecall to sort it out and came over, told me she was most unimpressed by the lack of helpfulness of the staff and did the phonecall for me - result, no extra cost and the ticket I'd been hoping for in the first place. Now that's something to ¡Viva Mexico! about. What a lovely woman. Thank you whereever you are.

Thirteen hours after leaving the towering inequalities and occasional bad whiffs of the capital behind, I had watched ´La grande vadrouille' (thanks Julien!) on my new-per, duper mini, mini 7" netbook, an episode of 7 Periods with Gormsby (couldn't advise any teacher to watch it, dreadfully politically incorrect :) and listened to some new stuff from my painstakingly reorganised and ipodised music collection. Woke up in lush tropical forests! Wow. Right near where I am in Lo de Marcos, but the express doesn't stop, so I went into Puerto Vallarta and back out again. To arrive at the beautiful 'El pequeño paraíso' and be met by the charming Antonieta and Eder and a beautiful self-catering flat with this as a view.

Was a beautiful sunny day, I swam, grazed my knees on stones while getting mashed up by the quite scary waves doing body surfing (lost goggles too :(, but got loads of lovely stuff at the food shop. Great start to LDM...

Mexico City Thursday 16th September

So that celebration really was HUGE. You may even have seen on on the good ol' BBC. So meditation and morning run done, I set off for the Anthropology museum expecting to see loads of pre-Hispanic stuff. 'Cept muggins went to the History museum which was oh-kay, but heavy on palid Spanish viceroys with 17 surnames, and light on Toltec pyramids. One of the millions of immaculate, white-uniformed attendants did actually talk to me. Probably my longest in Spanish on this trip - social justice, Emilio Zapata, one of the only two decent leaders Mexico has produced (according to him).

Interestingly, on a TV show later, three pundits bemoaned the lack of critical thought in the celebrations. Lots of ¡Viva Mexico! and sombrero thumping, but no detailed list of precisely WHAT has been achieved in the two hundred years since independence and the hundred years since the revolution. Shades of the lack of discussion you'd expect in Russia or China. Hadn't realised Mexico had the same problem. Even more weird, these three well-educated chaps literally said 'nothing' in twenty minutes - not one name or fact - and them bemoaning that from the government! So why did they waste their opportunity to rectify the situation? Editorial methinks...

So anyway, people were climbing on top of anything to get site of their taxes marching past, I mean the proud body of young men. After all, the strength of the revolution and Mexico's progress in the world depends on spending a massive amount of money on the army, right?

They sure could sing anyway, although the people combing through the rubbish just a few hundred meters from where HSBC now vastly lords it over a national monument, didn't seem quite so interested...

And if they weren't marching along the parade (which cut me off from the anthropological museum), they were standing around in case there was a riot... Like you would, with soldiers armed to the teeth marching right in front of you? Hey, Jose-Luiz! When shall we protest the 20,000 plus drug murders in three years? I know, let's do it on independence day when everyone is feeling positive, for once, about a government which happens also to be  bristling with weapons.... that's bound to put the hesitant masses behind us...

On which note, the US announced lower figures for cocaine use this year. Way to go Barack!. Carry on the denial of the ancien regime. So what have the good burghers of the US been doing instead? Smoking cannabis, biggest increase in the 50+ bracket apparently. Must be all the older generation's conscience being wiped as they watch the ceaselessly mounting pile of beheaded bodies south of the border that are the flip side to 'winning' the war on drugs for the next election, I mean the good of the American people .... 

Anyway, I enjoyed it enough, although jingo-jangle militarism isn't my thing, it was people-watching heaven so I just kept on walking and walking until, the 2000 plus metres of altitude, the walking and the morning run caught up with me and I bolted back to the hotel making my first use of the metro. Very nifty, cheap and efficient. Siesta from 5-9 was a bit out of kilter but then few Mexicans got theirs today. So, Domino's (you heard right) it was and then back to sleep. Rock on...

Arrival 15th September

Am feeling quite tired but quite proud of myself for pulling off the journey between the February morning this year when my world changed from 'definitely staying in Manchester for at least another year' to 'it's time to move on'. One minute you have your head down, with all the determination you need for involvement in secondary education, the next your life becomes a whirling mass of house moves, flights, uncertainty, fear (I can hear the violins warming up, but it's true, it IS a bit scary :)))  ... and then you're in a hotel room in Mexcio City. Throw in two triathlons (liverpooltriathlon.co.uk), a summer camp in Russia (www.sodvo.ru) complete with forest fires, a zen retreat, a somewhat inebriated but wonderful week in London (very zen?!!?) and you get the idea of how hectic, lucky and fun it's been. Absolutely wonderful, but hectic. Must be why I feel a bit cream-crackered.


Not to forget saying goodbye to the nicest group of colleagues I've ever had, or could hope to have and a flatmate who was literally a godsend. The extended MFL/PE family formed the core at school but there were many others. People really shouldn't believe some of the crap they write in the papers, like this week's brilliant concept - teachers are overstating special needs to get themselves off the hook for poor teaching. If that's what people believe the teaching profession is about and give credence to such arrant nonsense, then God help us. And I must pay tribute to the talent, honesty and warmth of the poetry community in Manchester - a lot of really lovely people who I'm proud to call my friends.


So here we are. Aquí estamos. Trying to prop my eyelids open with online matchsticks so I can avoid waking up at 2am feeling ready for breakfast. Spot the name of the hotel?

A chapter of my teaching career closes, the next one opens, title to be revealed as we go along....


Just turned on the tv to find that there's some HUGE celebration going on for the 200th anniversary of Mexican independence? Just toooo tired. Exciting tho'.