We got back to Huatulco on my birthday, which was Thursday. It was a really wonderful trip. After Mitla, we went to a place called Hierba de Agua, which was a mineral springs that bubbled up out of the ground. The minerals left deposits on the cliffside that looked like a petrified waterfall. We spent the night in a little cabin there - without running water, as we discovered when we tried to flush the toilet.
We saw so much and I learned to eat (besides the grasshoppers) tlalyulas. Those are sort of like Oaxacan pizzas. The ones I liked had black bean frijoles, tomatoes, avocado, and sliced beef, which at times is a little too salty as it is sort of dried and cured. Most people like cheese on it too, but not me, I hate cheese in any of its evil forms. It all comes on a really thin, crisp corn tortilla about the size of a small to medium pizza.
We also stayed at a bed and breakfast in Oaxaca city with the intriguing name of El Diablo y Sandia, which means the devil and the watermelon. The owner, Maria, told us she wanted an unusual name. Most of the B&Bs have names like Casa de this and Casa de that, and she wanted something different. Plus she liked the idea of an English pub sort of name, like Pig and Whistle. So one day her brother came up with the name. The place was located right near the big Zocalo (town square) and was decorated with all sorts of Oaxacan art. We met a couple from San Francisco, a familay from Buffalo, two women from Australia via Canada, and two women from Ireland while we were there. I have never stayed at a B&B but once - and I was the only guest at that one, so I never got to meet anyone. It was a lot of fun to get to know everyone when we all gathered for breakfast. I hope to do this again - and meet more fellow travelers. All the guests had been a lot of places and had a lot of good stories to tell.
One of the things my friends and I have been talking about is how it will be to try somenew foods. We have been living and eating in Mexico for quite some time now, and while we all love Mexican food, it will be nice to have something else for a change. The only thing I know for sure about food in El Salvador is that they eat a lot of pupusas, which are thick corn tortillas stuffed like a pita. I am sure I will like that. Every now and then we just crave hamburgers or something like that. There is a place here near the marina that is owned by Canadians and they have excellent hamburgers - a big treat these days. In the big cities you can get any kind of food you want, but in the small places - the sort of places we spend our time - the selection can be limited at best.
The laundry lady just stopped by with our clean laundry - it costs less or similar to what we would have to pay if we hauled it to a laundremat. And that would cost taxi fare as well. In the Sea of Cortes, I did the laundry in a bucket with a plunger and hung it to dry, but then we hardly wore anything except bathing suits and t-shirts, so it was easy.
We are planning another trip to Chiapas state to see some more ruins - so I need to cut this short as we need to investigate getting a rental car. Since our plans regarding leaving for El Salvador have changed a bit - we are going straight from here instead of stopping once more in Mexico (We heard they are dredging the harbor there, requiring boats to anchor instead of go into the marina, the anchorage is not that great and clearing out of the country is a bit of a hassle) - we decided there is time for another inland exploration, and the ruins at Palenque are supposed to be really amazing. There are some interesting things along the route as well. We also discovered the weather across the Gulf of Tehuantepec was going to be bad until late next week at the earliest, so why not take advantage?
I am so glad I am not in the US trying to fill my old SUV right now!
OK - Time to get going. I will try and get some of the pictures our friends took (since our camera was lost) and post them.
"But what is worship? - to do the will of God - THAT is worship. And what is the will of God? - to do to my fellow man what I would have my fellow man do to me - THAT is the will of God." Herman Melville
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