01.09. – 04.09.
Days before in Morelia, Michelle told me: You have to go to Oaxaca! You have to visit Hierve el Agua. What she did not tell is that I almost would shit my pants going up there. About 50 km after Playa Ventura the route is heading into the mountains again. For about 200 of the 450km there are only curves. The narrow road is often in very bad conditions. Either it is destroyed by water, consisting only of gravel, half blocked or broken by landslides. In many parts the mountain is on the right side and the gorge on the left. I sit cramped on the bike and don’t dare to take the eyes of the road. “Oh man, why didn’t you stay on the coast?” Sometimes, I don’t drive faster than 35-40 km/h. At around 2.500 meters above sea level, I am in the clouds. Although I do not see more than 20m wide, I’m a bit relaxed, because I do not see the abyss.
The population in this area is of a different sort, the facial features are different, even the clothing. It seems to me they are descended from an older culture.
Four nights in Oaxaca. One day more than I wanted to stay. On the trip to Monte Albán and Hierve el Agua I got into heavy rain and I had to dry the clothes.
Monte Albán is situated about 10km from Oaxaca on a mountain top and was the capital and religious center of the Zapotec, which belonged to the ancient peoples of Mexico.
Hierve el Aqua, about 60 km from Oaxaca, are two rock formations that look like waterfalls with about 50 to 100 meters height. They were formed by highly calcium carbonate containing water.
I liked Oaxaca. It’s amazing how quickly you “settle”, when you find a place where you feel comfortable. And how “difficult” it is to pack up and move on.
Since I am in Mexico, in Oaxaca, it was the first time that I met more than only one other tourist. I did not feel like an alien, like in some other places.
The lively city also shows another side of. Children, they can’t be older than 8 or 9 years, who are working as shoeshine boy or want to sell necklaces and other junk, older grannies running on their cane around, offering blankets or hand-tinkered dolls. Beggars sitting on the sidewalk. Sometimes I give a little, when despair appears very large.
05.09.
I spent the night in Tehuantepec, a slightly smaller city. It is hot and humid. After a short walk, I took a siesta. In the early evening I watch young people in a public place marching and drumming. I suppose they practice for Independence Day on September 16.
Dining out is still exciting. I try different things, often without knowing what it is. I try to eat fruits every day, which is a welcome refreshment. Fruit salad, cut in larger pieces, is offered on many corners. Mangos, pineapples, cucumbers, … are sold in plastic cups or just in bags, usually spicy. With chilli powder and a spicy salsa. Sometimes they also squeeze a lime on it.
I just wanted to take a small bite and entered a small restaurant with only four tables. “Restaurant” are also called the stalls with an oven and two plastic tables on the roadside. I ask for the menu. No menu. The employee listedsome dishes. Pollo frito, crispy chicken. I’ll take that, sounds like there is no salsa on that one. They bring me soup. I can’t remember that I ordered soup. Two other tables are also occupied. I watch them. Oh, you get a whole menu here. The soup tastes very good. Then they bring the chicken. Probably it was 40 years when they killed it. The menu includes a drink in an open glass with ice. I thought: From the tap? Oh what the heck. Why do I have drugs for diarrhea with me? I can not carry them around all the time. And took a large sip.
06.09.
I spent the last night in Tapachula, near the border to Guatemala. The 420 km from Tehuantepec are mostly straight ahead.
While I was sitting in the hotel lobby in Tapachula writing, everything started to shake violently. Un terremoto, an earthquake (with magnitude 6.5 about 30km linear distance south of here, as I read later). It lasts around 15 to 20 seconds. Everyone was getting out of their rooms and seeking protection under the door frames, including me. After a few minutes, there followed a short but weak aftershock.
What do you want to tell me, Mexico? It’s time to leave?
Goodbye, I liked it very much.
Thank you for reading, Jürgen.