And here is my mom and dad enjoying the beautiful trail along Four Mile creek during our walk.
Monday, June 30
Happy Brithday Mom!!!!
Today is my mom's birthday. She turned, well 40 if you decide someones age by how active, in good health, and beautiful they are. We celebrated by going for a nice walk together. Below is my mom and I during the walk with Arapahoe in the background.
And here is my mom and dad enjoying the beautiful trail along Four Mile creek during our walk.
And here is my mom and dad enjoying the beautiful trail along Four Mile creek during our walk.
First Days Back in Colorado
I have spent my first few days back in Colorado being a typical Boulderite. I went to North Boulder Chiropractic to see Dr. Dave, who works miracles, I swear! Then I headed down the street to get a latte at Amante Coffee. I went for a run on the Switzerland Trail AND I even went for a road ride. My first road ride in 6 months! I knew that every cyclist in Boulder would be heading west to enjoy the mountain rides, so I headed east to enjoy my favorite roads to train on during the winter. Luckily, the fields are still green and the mountains still have some snow on them. Oh so pretty!
Friday, June 27
Driving to Colorado
Caleb and I left Guanajuato mid-day on Tuesday. The plan was to drive to Monterrey Mexico where we would stay the night in order to cross the border in the morning on Wednesday. However, as we approached Monterrey we still had an hour or so of day light left and figured we would just drive the 1.5-2 hours to Nuevo Laredo and cross the border into Laredo, TX. I was a little tentative about crossing the border at night but it turned out that crossing the border was very simple and safe. Caleb and I spent Wednesday and Thursday driving across ALL of Texas, the pan handle of Oklahoma, and the southeastern part of Colorado. Believe it or not, the drive was very beautiful. My favorite part is the wind farms in northern Texas. I love the contrast in the first photo below, oil rigs in the midst of a wind farm. It is pretty cool to see the change from a petroleum state to a renewable energy state so evident. The second photo is just my fascination with wind farms. I find them to be surreal and mesmerizing.
Megan and Caleb's Excellent Adventure (Part II) - San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato
Caleb and I left Mexico City last Sunday afternoon to head to Colorado. However, we did manage to pull an all nighter the night before we left partying away on my roof top terrace. The occasion for the party? My very good friend Abraham is moving to England for 6 months : ( I will definitely miss him while he is gone. Abraham and his wife, Pilar, have been incredible friends during my time in Mexico. The party also in many ways was a send off for me too and I was happy to spend my last night in Mexico City dancing away the night with all my friends.
In any case, Caleb, Endo, and I drove Sunday afternoon to San Miguel de Allende, which is a quaint little town about 3 hours north of Mexico City. The town is beautiful but pretty run over by gringos. Below is a picture of Endo and me in the main square. The second picture is of the main church in San Miguel de Allende late in the evening.
On Monday we drove an incredible road 45 minutes west to Guanajuato city. Guanajuato is incredible! We definitley enjoyed our stay there, minus the horrible beds in the terrible hostel we stayed in. Guanajuato is an old mining town and the city was built above the mines. The result is that the major roads of Guanajuato are in underground tunnels and the streets above are so narrow that cars can't make it through, making Guanajuato a very pedestrian friendly town. It is fun to just explore and get lost for hours in the narrow pedestrian streets above ground. At times I felt like I was cruising the streets of Vienna while in Guanajuato. The town has a pretty European feel to it. I highly recommend visiting Guanajuato! Below is a picture of Guanajuato, it doesn't do the city justice but it gives you an idea of how cool Guanajuato is.
In any case, Caleb, Endo, and I drove Sunday afternoon to San Miguel de Allende, which is a quaint little town about 3 hours north of Mexico City. The town is beautiful but pretty run over by gringos. Below is a picture of Endo and me in the main square. The second picture is of the main church in San Miguel de Allende late in the evening.
On Monday we drove an incredible road 45 minutes west to Guanajuato city. Guanajuato is incredible! We definitley enjoyed our stay there, minus the horrible beds in the terrible hostel we stayed in. Guanajuato is an old mining town and the city was built above the mines. The result is that the major roads of Guanajuato are in underground tunnels and the streets above are so narrow that cars can't make it through, making Guanajuato a very pedestrian friendly town. It is fun to just explore and get lost for hours in the narrow pedestrian streets above ground. At times I felt like I was cruising the streets of Vienna while in Guanajuato. The town has a pretty European feel to it. I highly recommend visiting Guanajuato! Below is a picture of Guanajuato, it doesn't do the city justice but it gives you an idea of how cool Guanajuato is.
Sunday, June 15
Megan and Caleb's Excellent Adventure - Oaxaca State
My brother, Caleb, arrived in Mexico City on June 4th. On June 6th, we took off to explore the state of Oaxaca. First stop was Oaxaca City. The rainy season has just begun here and the road from Mexico City to Oaxaca had several rock slides. Here is a view of the scene while we waited for a rock slide to be cleared. The bus driver used the delay to to his advantage.
Oaxaca is a very beautiful city with many churches. However, the Santo Domingo church is by far the most beautiful, especially at night.
Oaxaca has many traditional foods. One of which is mole. Caleb and I learned how to make mole from scratch during a cooking class we took. We also went to the market to eat traditional Tlayudas.
And had hot chocolate with bread. The Oaxaca region is very well know for its chocolate.
We also explored the ruins of Monte Alban. The foggy, rainy weather made the ruins even more magical than they already are!
After spending the weekend in the city, we were ready to see the sun, surf, and relax on the beaches near Puerto Escondido. The road from Oaxaca to Puerto Escondido takes you from about 5,ooo ft. to to the Pacific Ocean by passing through the Sierras, an extraordinary mountain range. The van ride took 6 hours and for those of you from the Boulder area, it was equivalent to ascending and descending Fourmile canyon over and over again for 6 hours straight. However, it was beautiful.
Upon arriving in Puerto Escondido, we were greeted with a tropical storm. I have never seen it rain so hard. Luckily, the weather cleared up a few hours after we arrived and it looked like we just might be able to have the beach vacation of sun, surfing, and relaxing that we had planned. The best beach for learning how to surf in Puerto Escondido is Playa Carrizalillo. Here is a view of the beach from above.
Caleb catching a wave with a little help from our instructor Julio.
We also took a 2.5 hour boat ride put into the Pacific searching for dolphins. We didn't see any dolphins but we did see lots of sea turtles mating and enjoyed the views of the Oaxacan coast with the Sierras in the background.
I had to head back to Mexico City last Thursday afternoon. But Caleb was enjoying Puerto Escondido so much that he decided to stay until Monday. For those travelers out there, the state of Oaxaca is a must see.
Oaxaca is a very beautiful city with many churches. However, the Santo Domingo church is by far the most beautiful, especially at night.
Oaxaca has many traditional foods. One of which is mole. Caleb and I learned how to make mole from scratch during a cooking class we took. We also went to the market to eat traditional Tlayudas.
And had hot chocolate with bread. The Oaxaca region is very well know for its chocolate.
We also explored the ruins of Monte Alban. The foggy, rainy weather made the ruins even more magical than they already are!
After spending the weekend in the city, we were ready to see the sun, surf, and relax on the beaches near Puerto Escondido. The road from Oaxaca to Puerto Escondido takes you from about 5,ooo ft. to to the Pacific Ocean by passing through the Sierras, an extraordinary mountain range. The van ride took 6 hours and for those of you from the Boulder area, it was equivalent to ascending and descending Fourmile canyon over and over again for 6 hours straight. However, it was beautiful.
Upon arriving in Puerto Escondido, we were greeted with a tropical storm. I have never seen it rain so hard. Luckily, the weather cleared up a few hours after we arrived and it looked like we just might be able to have the beach vacation of sun, surfing, and relaxing that we had planned. The best beach for learning how to surf in Puerto Escondido is Playa Carrizalillo. Here is a view of the beach from above.
Caleb catching a wave with a little help from our instructor Julio.
We also took a 2.5 hour boat ride put into the Pacific searching for dolphins. We didn't see any dolphins but we did see lots of sea turtles mating and enjoyed the views of the Oaxacan coast with the Sierras in the background.
I had to head back to Mexico City last Thursday afternoon. But Caleb was enjoying Puerto Escondido so much that he decided to stay until Monday. For those travelers out there, the state of Oaxaca is a must see.
Tuesday, June 3
Ajusco from Afar
I continually mention that I went mountain biking at Ajusco this weekend or that weekend. But what exactly is Ajusco. Ajusco is the tallest mountain in a mountain range to the southwest of Mexico City. I drive about half way up Ajusco to a park called San Nicolas (or as the locals call it, las llantas, which means tires. The parking area has a lot of car tires used to terrace the hill side). On clear sunny days, like today, I get a good view of Ajusco from my roof deck.
Monday, June 2
Its in the details
The place where I live in Mexico consists of 3 apartments. Two of the apartments (one of which I occupy) are essentially a duplex. The third apartment is in the back of the lot and was designed as an artist studio. Currently, the artist studio is being used as an office by two photographers. Last Wednesday (I know, its has taken me a while to actually sit down and write this), one of the photographers invited me to the opening of his art show at a gallery more towards the center of town. Considering I see the photographer everyday, I thought I better drag myself across town to his opening.
The opening was from 7-10pm and it should have taken me about 30 minutes on the metro to get there. I left my house at 7:30 with plenty of time to spare. Mexico City reserves the first 2 trains on the metro for just women and children from 4pm to 8pm. So when I got the metro I took advantage of this and got on one of the reserved trains. Now, I don't know what it is about men, but my sense of security on the metro increases about 10 fold when there are no men on my train. It has less to do with someone robbing or violating me or and more to do with the fact the men get angry very easily causing words and often pushes then punches to be exchanged. Rarely does this occur between women. In any case, I thought I was on my way.
Then the train stopped . . . for 20 minutes and not at a stop either. The trains don't have a/c so when its not moving, which causes at least air flow, it gets extremely stuffy and a bit claustrophobic inside the trains. By the time the train got to the next stop it was after 8pm and men pushed their way onto the previous all female trains. The metro was PACKED with people. We finally got moving and eventually arrived at the next stop. More people pushed their way onto the train. When the doors tried to close, they couldn't. Some men started to exchange words about who was blocking the door from shutting, etc. and a couple pushes were exchange. After 15 minutes, the train was still stopped and I couldn't deal anymore so I pushed my way off the train and figured I would just take a taxi to the opening.
Upon exiting the metro station, one of the women that had been in the same train car as me approached me. We both complained about how slow the metro was. She offered to share a taxi with me to the next metro station where we could get on another metro line that would bring us both to our destinations. It was evident that we had to get a taxi right away because more and more people were opting to take a taxi rather than wait for the metro to get going again. We flagged down a taxi and were on our way to the next station.
I offered to pay the taxi ride since the smallest bill I had on me was 100 pesos (about $10) and no change. The cab ride probably took about 10 minutes and the meter said the cost was 15 pesos (about $1.50, yes taxis are super cheap here by US standards). I gave the taxi driver my 100 and he immediately asked if I had any change. Yup, here in Mexico it is often difficult to get change for a 100 peso bill. Just imagine in the US some store or taxi driver saying they didn't have change for $10. But it happens all the time to me here. Luckily, the woman I was with saw this coming and already had 15 pesos waiting. I felt bad that she had to pay the taxi ride because to me, 15 pesos is nothing. But most people commute on the metro in Mexico City because it costs 2 pesos (yes, that is 20 cents). Commuting by any other means (taxi, personal car, and even some of the buses) is just too expensive for many people. Whether or not 15 pesos was a lot for this woman to pay I do not know, but it still bothered me that I was unable to pay the fare.
The least I could do though was pay for her entrance into the metro station with my card. A whole 2 pesos. In any case, the next metro line we took was rather empty and I was able to have a good conversation with the woman I shared the taxi with. Turns out last Wednesday happened to be some saint's day and everyone was going to a specific church on the previous metro line we were on. They essentially offer the saint a doll and in return, the saint is supposed to grant them a wish. This country is extremely religious and these types of things are a huge part of their culture. I will save my comments on what I think about religion in this country for another time.
At the end of the metro line, the woman and I would be going our separate ways. We finally introduced ourselves by name. Claudia walked me to the metro line I wanted to get on and we exchanged phone numbers. I was very grateful for her looking after me. It is very easy to plan a trip across the city by metro but if something goes wrong and you are forced to go out onto the street to find another means to get to your destination, you are at a complete lost to where you exactly are and what direction you even want to go in. This city is just so large and the streets are not gridded. Think of Boston, not Manhattan. With Claudia's help though, I was reoriented and on my way. It just goes to show that there are people out there that do things out of the goodness of their heart and for no other reason.
I arrived at the opening at about 9:15pm. Unfortunately, the opening was rather disappointing. There were approximately 10 photos, none of which caught my attention. I stayed maybe 15 minutes and caught a taxi home, which cost me 40 pesos ($4). Sometimes its just better to be fresas (snobby or stuck up) and take a taxi.
The point is, I often don't mention the little details of everyday life here. But these little details are what make up my life here in Mexico. The small details about the metro reserving 2 trains for only women and children, the fact that no one ever has change for $10, the large differences between men and women in this city (and in general), the generosity of others, how big and overwhelming Mexico City is, etc.
And speaking of the little details, as of May 1st (I think it was), Mexico City no longer allows smoking in any closed public areas. YEAH!!!! This means all the bars, discos, clubs, restaurants, etc. are smoke free.
The opening was from 7-10pm and it should have taken me about 30 minutes on the metro to get there. I left my house at 7:30 with plenty of time to spare. Mexico City reserves the first 2 trains on the metro for just women and children from 4pm to 8pm. So when I got the metro I took advantage of this and got on one of the reserved trains. Now, I don't know what it is about men, but my sense of security on the metro increases about 10 fold when there are no men on my train. It has less to do with someone robbing or violating me or and more to do with the fact the men get angry very easily causing words and often pushes then punches to be exchanged. Rarely does this occur between women. In any case, I thought I was on my way.
Then the train stopped . . . for 20 minutes and not at a stop either. The trains don't have a/c so when its not moving, which causes at least air flow, it gets extremely stuffy and a bit claustrophobic inside the trains. By the time the train got to the next stop it was after 8pm and men pushed their way onto the previous all female trains. The metro was PACKED with people. We finally got moving and eventually arrived at the next stop. More people pushed their way onto the train. When the doors tried to close, they couldn't. Some men started to exchange words about who was blocking the door from shutting, etc. and a couple pushes were exchange. After 15 minutes, the train was still stopped and I couldn't deal anymore so I pushed my way off the train and figured I would just take a taxi to the opening.
Upon exiting the metro station, one of the women that had been in the same train car as me approached me. We both complained about how slow the metro was. She offered to share a taxi with me to the next metro station where we could get on another metro line that would bring us both to our destinations. It was evident that we had to get a taxi right away because more and more people were opting to take a taxi rather than wait for the metro to get going again. We flagged down a taxi and were on our way to the next station.
I offered to pay the taxi ride since the smallest bill I had on me was 100 pesos (about $10) and no change. The cab ride probably took about 10 minutes and the meter said the cost was 15 pesos (about $1.50, yes taxis are super cheap here by US standards). I gave the taxi driver my 100 and he immediately asked if I had any change. Yup, here in Mexico it is often difficult to get change for a 100 peso bill. Just imagine in the US some store or taxi driver saying they didn't have change for $10. But it happens all the time to me here. Luckily, the woman I was with saw this coming and already had 15 pesos waiting. I felt bad that she had to pay the taxi ride because to me, 15 pesos is nothing. But most people commute on the metro in Mexico City because it costs 2 pesos (yes, that is 20 cents). Commuting by any other means (taxi, personal car, and even some of the buses) is just too expensive for many people. Whether or not 15 pesos was a lot for this woman to pay I do not know, but it still bothered me that I was unable to pay the fare.
The least I could do though was pay for her entrance into the metro station with my card. A whole 2 pesos. In any case, the next metro line we took was rather empty and I was able to have a good conversation with the woman I shared the taxi with. Turns out last Wednesday happened to be some saint's day and everyone was going to a specific church on the previous metro line we were on. They essentially offer the saint a doll and in return, the saint is supposed to grant them a wish. This country is extremely religious and these types of things are a huge part of their culture. I will save my comments on what I think about religion in this country for another time.
At the end of the metro line, the woman and I would be going our separate ways. We finally introduced ourselves by name. Claudia walked me to the metro line I wanted to get on and we exchanged phone numbers. I was very grateful for her looking after me. It is very easy to plan a trip across the city by metro but if something goes wrong and you are forced to go out onto the street to find another means to get to your destination, you are at a complete lost to where you exactly are and what direction you even want to go in. This city is just so large and the streets are not gridded. Think of Boston, not Manhattan. With Claudia's help though, I was reoriented and on my way. It just goes to show that there are people out there that do things out of the goodness of their heart and for no other reason.
I arrived at the opening at about 9:15pm. Unfortunately, the opening was rather disappointing. There were approximately 10 photos, none of which caught my attention. I stayed maybe 15 minutes and caught a taxi home, which cost me 40 pesos ($4). Sometimes its just better to be fresas (snobby or stuck up) and take a taxi.
The point is, I often don't mention the little details of everyday life here. But these little details are what make up my life here in Mexico. The small details about the metro reserving 2 trains for only women and children, the fact that no one ever has change for $10, the large differences between men and women in this city (and in general), the generosity of others, how big and overwhelming Mexico City is, etc.
And speaking of the little details, as of May 1st (I think it was), Mexico City no longer allows smoking in any closed public areas. YEAH!!!! This means all the bars, discos, clubs, restaurants, etc. are smoke free.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
