Day 11 - ¿Halloween?

up groggy, info for Police report in - gracias, Dana.
oatmeal w/ platinos & cinnamon
Petricio interlude
inky errand
more altars at Los Lagos, very cool Mictlantecuhtli sculpture
found gallery on way home w/ hand-screened t-shirts - ¡qué bueno!
dropped in on Elvia at Roy's studio
tried calling Chicago Police from Roy's VOIP - too broken for police to understand
more success on landline at internet café - done all we can for the time being
mas chiles rellenos for lunch
saw a few trick-or-treaters over siesta
taxi to local mountain park - up the whole way
¿right? hm, maybe the other right
that's either a wasp or an ant - either way it's the biggest one I've ever seen
finally saw some squirrels
this country needs more pandas
birds on leashes & world accented Welshman
real live squirrel cuckoos
climbing on the tomb at the top means you are liable for any injury to yourself and are subject to prosecution - but it has the best view in the city
down the least scary stairs, taxi back
cookies & dead bread
more trainwreck TV
apparently, Romancing the Stone was had quite a few parts filmed in Veracruz - and the local stations love playing it
visit from Elvia - showing off the altar; soup, bean tortillas, dead bread, & cheese for dinner; lotería
washed hair in prep for early day tomorrow, time for bed

Day 10 - Many Plans

¿who let Quasimodo near the church?
Peeps went yang
dye boxes lie
french toast
pics of altars at Governor's Mansion
walk up to D & E's favorite park
stop at shops relocated from another park - all the bootleg CDs, DVDs, & games you could ever want
Los Tecajetes park - lots of pics
walk up to Casa de Mamá restaurant - not open yet
walked to Xalapa Theater, found ice cream
lunch at CDM - steak w/ cuitlacoche sauce - it's delicious - OMG, it's corn smut - but it's delicious - but it's CORN SMUT
flan & crepes for dessert
altars at Governor's Mansion are done, more pics
checked on t-shirts at shop - ¿punk shirts? no dice
pic review
¡siesta!
wakey headachey
breaking news - ¡someone in Chicago is an ass! filing a police report from Mexico should be fun
to local casino (it's not what you think) for a concert
to local park for a DDM play - audience had to shift locations for scene changes
back to apartment for tamales & rest
sleep calling
wrong number - up until 2

Day 9 - Calm Before the Storm

slept late, up to D futzing w/ pics some more
oatmeal w/ platinos & cinnamon
¿Batman poops up?
clean up, out to cemetery
cemetery open, lots of good pics - geckoes, cherub taken out at the ankles, some Jesi having tea
got a cream-colored shirt
bakery from a different neighborhood
looked at cemetery pics
out for shrimp cocktails, spicy beer
Omega-3, purple hair, and chain wallets
¡guanabana!
trainwreck TV, pasteles y café
trip to Governor's mansion to see people building altars
stopped by Roy's studio on way home
dyeing of hair, during which we discover the porous nature of the walls that are not tiled
chicken & cheese empenadas
lotería, imitations, accents
bedness

Weekend Update

Day 7
up early - no noises, can't fall back asleep ... I seem to be dehydrated. ¿Where's the headache?
talking politics w/ D
Pam creeps out of bed
french toast
heading out for bus tickets DDM chocolates
heading out for bus tickets
Ticketbus ... Ticketbus ... Ticketbus ... Ticketbus ... Ticketbus ...
going through local artisan & clothes shops
tea at Chinese store w/ Iris
rest at apartment
chilés rellenos with beans & rice for lunch
¡siesta!
minus air mattress may make a difference
more pasteles, eating some chocolates
the peep stirs
off to a DDM play by the lake park
bad movies en español
fall back here tonight
bedsy

Day 8
wind & roosters - getting up without a clock means daylight savings doesn't really do much for you
birdspotting, almost rain
wakey Pam
clean up, cloudy roof pics
bacon, eggs, & toast
to market to pick up fruit & flowers
to Los Lagos for artisan faire
got skull candle & Sante Muerte statue
walked around the lakes, saw ubercool playgrounds
building the DDM altar
rotissarie chicken, salad, bread for lunch
finishing touches, pictures
extra flowers to Esperanza w/ Petricio interlude
clean-up
more roof pics
showed off altar to Canadian neighbor
leftover pasteles, spiked coffee
E cleans up more
lotería card review, playing
more futzing w/ the altar
watching world series (¿will Red Sox clinch?)
chicken soup & bean tortilla interlude
candle photos & tweaking
Colorado kept it interesting, but Boston was on their game
bedtime

Day 6

rooster - zzz. band - zzz. bells - ok, enough already.
slow morning - clean up, oatmeal w/ platinos & cinnamon
we are here:
View Larger Map
walk down to the Coatepec bus stop again - saw café festival by Goveror's office (got to pet Fiona again), will stop by later
saw fresh coconut salesman by bus stop, will stop by later
more in-drive entertainment, much better this time
went to shops that I saw on ride out before, but nothing comes of it
more stray dogs in Coatepec market than most others - and most of them are by the chicken counter
found a folk artist for DDM decorations in market - also found out that D had lost his money
quick run back to bus stop, but bus is gone
Pam & I picked up some DDM stuff, waited for fellow traveler John to arrive
bought a few things at market, headed to local park - ¡very busy!
John bought us lunch (vege lasagna) and we found out that a Telenovela was taping in the area - thus the crowds in the park
fresh local ice cream, went back to bus stop
found our old bus - ¡and D's wallet!
trip back, where the Tiplets of Bellville are discussed
fresco cocos
picked up t-shirt for Pam at café festival
rest at apartment
¡siesta!
stealth mosquitoes with vanishing bites
Waiting for Elvia, D gets impatient
they arrive, ratones son ricos
to dinner at La Cosona - steak sandwiches w/ pitchers of sangeria, a different kind of coffee cake
band & dancers, 9 to midnight - ¡me encanta!
Elvia knows all the words
baile para amor de baile
D brought up for a dance - with two cramped legs
Elvia cabs, we hoof home
bright stars, brighter moon
blog & crash

Day 5 - Serendipity Strikes

¿Why in God's Name is a marching band up before 7?
I'll have my coffee REALLY strong
songs about fruit and chickens
french toast, clean up
trip to the local fruit market, got some snot fruit
dropped off produce, walked up to (different) bus station for trip to Naolinco, brought camera
vain search for paletes (local popsicles)
this is a really cool roller coaster
can't swing a dead cat without hitting a shoe store
small hike, amazing panoramic view, conversational locals - told of local parade
longoneza w/ dublados and salsa, horchata
hit leather shops, local DDM shop closed for siesta
waiting for Godot's parade ... ¿or not?
following the fireworks
I haz parade now, thnks.
Raul loves talking to gringos - muchos 'no entiendes'
Raul makes a connection - points out Lino Mora Rivera, legendary mask maker that D & E have been seeking for months
We get to see the workshop, buy from the artist
walk back to square, ¡DDM shop is open!
roller coaster, part 2
we find our paletes - this is getting weird
time for rest, tamales, & blog
pic review, and serendipity of weather becomes clear
bed calling

Vacation, Day 4

up to bells, roosters, & light
leftover dead bread, oatmeal w/ platinos & cinnamon
longish walk to bus stop, browsed shops
bus to Coatepec, in-drive entertainment (was it the bumps or was he supposed to sound like that), smells form coffee factory
shopping - coffee cream liquor, coffee jewelry, coffee
bouncy bus back, during which we discover we need to make a second trip
día de los muertos paper, but no t-shirts yet
stopped at studio w/ Elvia for a bit (¡guayabas from Bernice!), went to restaurant for lunch
muchos enchiladas & esponjadas
at Chinese store, we find Mexican skirt (made in India)
dropped off stuff, went all the way up to cemetery to take pics - qué lástima, not open
roof dog, meet balcony chicken
met fellow travellers on way down
dropped off camera, went to other shops looking for t-shirts - día de los muertos decorations spontaneously appearing
made arrangements for t-shirts
many crowds around Xalapa Cathedral for San Rafael
went down to the lake, were escorted around the park by a local stray
browsed shops & agora gallery, picked up bread & rats on the way back
¿parade? missed it by that much
pics of the moon
Bernice's fruit makes puckerjuice
¡yes we have empenadas!
Muffin, are you done blogging yet?
apparently, 'alzar' translates as 'to moose'
early night in
the something something... ¿the pampinola parade?

Vacation, part 1 - days 0 to 3

The Mexico trip, in outline form. Some lines have better back stories than others - feel free to ask.

Day 0 - travel day
woke at 6: 30, out door at 7ish
breakfast at DD, missed bus
walked to Montrose, missed train
train stopped due to track maintainance at Jefferson Park, shuttle to Harlem
Harlem to airport, security surly
arrived at gate at 9ish - Pam reminded me of Rent check - went back to security to drop off
apparently, The Cure is playing 3 nights in Mexico City, and we look like we're going
flight from 10 to 2, bad movies, many form errors
¡Bienvenidos a Mexico!
immigration easy, green at customs
D & E just outside, taxi easy, but got gringo price for taxi back to bus stop
Pam has headache from flight, some caffeine to ease
5-6 hours on bus - pretty, but tiring - bad traffic, bad movies, headache got worse, driver on first trip to Xalapa
¿pay toilets in Xalapa bus stop?
Ibuprofen is hard to find in Mexico
D & E have a pretty apartment, very nice roof garden, neighbor's roof dog
Four Cheese Pizza, Modelo Negro, Pam's headache a bit better
fog rolls in, ready for bed

Day 1 - travel hangover
Woke to roosters - will have to get used to that
headache all gone after sleep
cleaned up, had eggs, bacon & toast
looked at local flora, fauna & mountains from rooftop
walked around Xalapa, saw flower faire by Governor's office (sauces bought), artisan alley, kids {tradicional} dancing at local park
rotisserie chicken for lunch
¡siesta!
steamed tamales for light dinner
met Esperanza y Ruben & Petricio (cute dog)
agonized over Indians loss, watched PoA en Español
Ready for bed
tossey turney

Day 2 - the adventures begin
woke to birds & roosters, slow start
oatmeal w/ platinos & cinnamon
going to Xico w/ Roy - picked up a few supplies on way
waited outside for a bit, took pics
met Elvia, Roy shortly thereafter, Lourdes & Fiona (dog) shortly after that
on way to Xico, stopped at café on fruit/coffee farm
tour of farm - everything is edible, Fiona is thirsty
best. coffee. ever.
to falls at Xico - many pics, nervous peeps on bridges, two baptisms at falls, killed camera batteries
¿where does that road go?
stumble upon local carnival in Xico - unbelievable hospitality, best. molé. ever., parade, ¡Fiona pulls!, local town plaza.
restaurant by river - dog is thirsty again, Roy tells jokes, much trout, fog, fried bananas/plantains.
humid drive back - Fiona is restless, parking is silly
silly ponchos
¿time to blog?
picture review in 3 4 7 too many acts
¿sleepeez? too mas wind

Day 3 - the best laid plans
wind made for crap sleep, up to wind + D & E talking (way too early - 7:30ish) about the lack of water
no water pressure - some vertical pipes broken on roof, only a trickle of water
the oddly swollen hand
no shower, french toast & eggs for breakfast
changed money, went to Museo Artropologico - ¡No luz!
went through anyway, good natural light for most exhibits, fun gift shop - replica stamp & día de los muertos lotería cards
came back to apartment for lunch, water comes back on shortly thereafter
chilés rellenos for lunch - this is a pain that is going to linger
looking for día de los muertos t-shirts, other clothes
wind stops & sun comes out all at once
"You break it, you bought it"
stripes & burned discs
Vampire Hunter D & muchos zapatos
the parade that wasn't
ballet rest at last
dead bread
¿novelas with luchadors?
the empanadas that weren't
leftover chicken w/ day 1 sauces FTW
plumbers be bangin'
time for clean
Petricio interlude
time to blog