Los Mariachis in Mexico

When you are going on a road trip with another couple you always hope, that things will work out great. This hope was briefly but strongly disturbed the morning before we left. At breakfast Bas spilled some egg which forced Elaine to laugh and say: "you had an egg-cident". The whole table fell silent and even Elaine was thinking out loud: "My god, is this the level of humor we'll have these 2,5 weeks!?" After the silence a big relief overwhelmed us all. From this moment on everything could only get better. And oh it did, in every possible way.

First stop on our list was Oaxaca, this beautiful colonial town known for its Mexican haute cuisine and indigenous handicrafts, surrounded by mountains and several impressive historical ruins. The very first night we were able to recognize the culinary delight this city had to offer. We tried grasshoppers and several other dishes served with different moles. Moles are sauces of which the mole negro is the tastiest and most famous one. A thick dark sauce that almost tastes like chocolate and spices up the dinner. The first mescal to help digest was received with mixed emotions.
Next day we visited Monte Alban, ruins dating back to 500 BC and occupied by Zapotecs. Way before the Maya and Aztecs, the Zapotecs built huge temples and astronomical observatories, organized lively markets in the central plaza and played football to please the Gods. Now, someone should rethink the assumption, that the Brits founded this game. Only the captains of the winning teams wouldn't be sacrificed in the modern version. Maybe reintroduce?!

To experience the indigenous life of modern days and the nature of the region, we set for a day of hiking around Oaxaca, the next day. When it started raining we just thought, that we are not of sugar and enjoyed the walk. Who would have thought, that life would come to a standstill, when the Rain-God says so? After the hike and a relaxing movie on a very regional huge flat screen, we were looking forward to our nice room and a decent dinner in town. But the Gods made our bus not come. So we were wet and stranded. Luckily, there was a nice hut with a fireplace and a small store with beers and junk food. This is how we opened our "summer camp" for the night. And this is how annoying situations turn out great - making us talk and having beers until late at night.

San Cristobal de las Casas was our next destination. Here we learned the most important lesson of the trip - Always separate the Hippies!! They first came to support the revolutionary Zapatistas but ended up juggling and selling handicrafts, which we preferred to buy from the real locals. By the way, if your thing is masked, fully armed puppets of revolutionaries, San Cristobal is your town to go shopping. Did we already mention, that we really loved this town? No, really! It was a colorful one-story houses colonial heaven with delicious restaurants like "Emiliano's Moustache", where we had the best tacos so far!
Like the real Mexicans always do, we climbed our horses to visit San Juan Chamula, a small indigenous village with peculiar traditions and rituals. The church looks catholic alright and the saints worshiped are definitely as catholic as Bas and Bryan. But Ratzinger would infuriate his Vatican lethal power, if he knew, what really goes on in this place. Here the locals perform Mayan religious practices. This was the only way, back in the day, to preserve their religion in disguise. The floor is covered in pine needles and thousands of candle lights. The church was filled with cans of refreshment drinks. The Maya believe, that two things should never lack; fire and water. Obviously Coke and Sprite are the better water. Everyone is sitting on the floor, praying, singing, crying and mumbling. The culmination of the ceremony is the sacrifice of a chicken on the altar. We stood there having mixed emotions of intrusion and fascination.
Hereafter, we jumped on our horses, drank two tequilas and shot two drug lords before arriving safe in San Cristobal again, where Bryan put on a sombrero and played a song on his guitar.

We conquered the Mexican cities and now it was time to conquer the jungle and the howler monkeys. First Elias our great guide showed us Palenque, the famous Mayan palaces in the jungle. From here he brought us to our homes at the river surrounded by all animals and insects imaginable. We woke up early in the morning by the loud screams of howler monkeys. Not even an hour later we sounded just like them, when we rafted down the river full of waterfalls. When the guide screamed:"adelante fuerte", we peddled like idiots and when he screamed: "abajo", we dove into the boat before tumbling down the waterfalls. Ain't life grand?!
From here we had to take the boat to Yaxchilan, beautifully preserved ruins in the middle of the jungle, only reachable by water. Most impressive was the magnificent acropolis with many well-preserved hieroglyphs.

After these days of power tourism, we decided to chill in Valladolid. We spent a day laying at our hotel pool, drinking beer, having good food and doing nothing. Valladolid gave us also the opportunity to visit our fourth World Wonder this trip. After the Taj Mahal, the Chinese wall and Machu Picchu it was time for Chichen Itza. This pyramid is not only impressive because of its huge proportions but also because it is an astronomic instrument in itself. Twice a year, during the equinox, the sun shines in such a position at the central pyramid, that only the huge snakes are illuminated. Every layer and each stone is part of one big Mayan calender. If you clap your hands in front of the building, the echo you hear is the sound of the sacred Maya bird. Wow, could they build!!
Valladolid is also the place to visit and swim in cenotes, big caves under the earth filled with water. Normally people swim with fish, but we swam surrounded by flying bats and the echo of our laughter.

From Valladolid we could almost smell the Caribbean, so we made it fast to our final destination... Tulum... famous for its beautiful ruins, white beaches, palm trees and turquoise sea. Here our days of hammocking, swimming, reading, drinking Corona and eating ceviche were to start. We enjoyed four great days with Elaine and Bryan, who had to return to Berlin. Not only we were sad. The Rain-and-Storm-Gods cried for three days and we had to support the windows of our beautiful room at the beach with loads of plastic to keep the rain from coming in. Finally the sun came trough again, so that we could enjoy the last week after these 8,5 amazing months. One full week of sun-bathing, swimming, snorkeling with huge turtles and loooots of reading.

A summary of Mexico: ruins, tacos, beer, mescal, tequila, surviving Mexico City, seeing family and friends, eating and drinking with sombreros, participating in a drug war, swimming, snorkeling, horse riding, hiking, cycling, rafting, tarantula, iguanas, geckos, turtles, many colorful fish, howler and spider monkeys, snakes and ... beach. Looks like we covered it all!

This is how our journey ends after 8,5 months. That's right, friends. As you read this, we are flying back to Germany. See you very soon!
Besos!