We needed to get up to Mexico City to catch our plane home, however on the way from Acapulco there was a beautiful little town called Taxco that we decided to stop in. Beautiful white-walled buildings on this town built into the side of a mountain made this a picturesque destination and we stayed at a gorgeous little guesthouse.
The town used to be a silver-mining centre, however unfortunately all the silver has been mined out! That said, many silver jewelers still reside in the town (sourcing their silver from elsewhere in Mexico) and there was lots of beautiful handicrafts to buy (the cheap stuff) and look at (the expensive stuff ... eg life-sized jaguars coated in silver!)
The view from our guesthouse over Taxco
More Taxco scenery
The buildings built into the hill in Taxco
Mexico City
We boarded our final bus ride for our trip to Mexico City with mixed feelings. We knew that this was an important marker for the end of our trip, however it was also nice to leave long-distance bus travel behind in our lives after this point in time!!
The tourist guides and fellow travellers all warned about Mexico City. Stories of murders, kidnappings and gang warfare rang in our ears as we entered the city. Fortunately, during our 3-day stay we managed to steer clear of trouble and had a fantastic time!! Lots of great restaurants (Mexican and international) and amazing shopping allowed us to finish off our Mexico travels with our backpacks overstuffed with souvenirs and our stomachs full of tacos (until the final night when Mexico gave Dave one final bout of food poisoning as a farewell present!).
Top 3s
After passing through Mexico City unscathed, we boarded the plane for the loooooong flight home. This gave us plenty of time to reflect on our travels and come up with some "top 3" lists for the good, the bad and the ugly moments of our trip:
Top 3 Beautiful Beaches:
1) Playa Norte, Isla Mujeres, Mexico
2) Ipanema, Rio, Brazil
3) Playa Del Carmen, Mexico
Top 3 Scary Surf Beaches
Top 3 Scary Surf Beaches
1) Puerto Escondido, Mexico
2) Zipolite, Mexico
3) Copacabana, Brazil (the day we were there had ridiculously thick waves)
Top 3 "Random" characters on the trip
Top 3 "Random" characters on the trip
1) Talking the days away on the hammocks with Dan the hippy Chicagoan who runs a hostel in Zipolite
2) Getting up at 6am to watch formula 1 with Dan the hippy Canadian (and motorsports nut) who runs a hostel in Puerto Escondido
3) Getting very drunk with Galan the cocktail man in Montanita
Top 3 pieces of annoying music
Top 3 pieces of annoying music
1) The "without being disprespectful" song (don't know the name, don't want to)
2) "I got a feeling", Black Eyed Peas (cool a few times, but not a thousand times)
3) Any lounge/pop/reggae versions of once great songs (especially Pink Floyd)
Top 3 good musicians/bands overplayed so much that we will need a little break before hearing them again:
Top 3 good musicians/bands overplayed so much that we will need a little break before hearing them again:
1) Bob Marley (clearly the most overplayed music while travelling, anywhere!)
2) Sublime
3) Jack Johnson (even Kate was sick of him by the end of the trip)
Top 3 t-shirts/road-signs
Top 3 t-shirts/road-signs
1) "Advertising helps me decide" (t-shirt)
2) "There are 10 types of people in the world. Those that understand binary and those that don't" (t-shirt)
3) "Free tyre slashing. Just park here" (sign in a driveway, Mexico)
Top 3 books for a good read
Top 3 books for a good read
1) Millenium Trilogy (ok, cheating, but we couldn't pick them for 1, 2 and 3)
2) Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
3) Child 44
Top 3 thought-provoking books
Top 3 thought-provoking books
1) We need to talk about Kevin
2) Guns, Germs and Steel
3) Invictus
Top 3 Accommodations under US$50 per night:
Top 3 Accommodations under US$50 per night:
1) Brisa Marina, Zipolite Mexico (US$17 per night)
2) Hostal Sole Mare, Montanita Ecuador (US$30 per night)
3) Casa Dan y Carmen, Puerto Escondido Mexico (US$36 per night ... waaay below rack rate though!)
Top 3 Worst Accommodations
Top 3 Worst Accommodations
1) A freezing cold camper-van on the Seven Lakes Drive near Bariloche, Argentina (however fortunately the company made up for it ... Oren, Anita and Simon!!)
2) A hotel room in Pochutla Mexico which smelled like an open sewer
3) Dorm room in Bariloche where a German backpacker got up early to pack at 4am, drunk, with all the lights on
Top 3 budget meals
Top 3 budget meals
1) Chorizo on a fresh baked roll - The Choripan man in Bariloche, Argentina (US$5)
2) Empanadas - The taxi hangout in Salta, Argentina (US$1)
3) Ceviche - From one of the dodgy looking carts on the beach in Montanita, Ecuador (US$5)
Top food moments (sorry, couldn't fit this into just 3!!!)
Top food moments (sorry, couldn't fit this into just 3!!!)
- Half a roast lamb (literally!) and a bottle of Bundy - Andrew's farm in Argentina
- Parilla - Anywhere and everywhere in Argentina!
- Learning to make Mole de Fiesta - Oaxacan cooking school
- Jauja Ice Cream - Bariloche, Argentina
- Churrascaria - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Biltong and Droewors - Cape Town, South Africa (detour from South America, but still part of the trip!!)
Top Drinks (very difficult to fit into a top 3 as well)
Top Drinks (very difficult to fit into a top 3 as well)
- Caiprinhas in Brazil (and strangely in Ecuador, with their own aquadiente)
- Margaritas in Mexico
- Mezcal in Mexico (see you later Tequila!)
- Malbec in Mendoza, Argentina
And finally .. the beers (and now the top 3 thing is right out the window...)
And finally .. the beers (and now the top 3 thing is right out the window...)
Club - Ecuador
Pilsener - Ecuador
Quilmes - Argentina
Huari - Bolivia
Brahma - Brazil
Windhoek - South Africa (well, really Namibia, but drunk in South Africa)
Corona - Mexico (this poster now makes us cry)
Modelo - Mexico
Pacifico - Mexico
Sol - Mexico
Victoria Modelo - Mexico
Dos Equis - Mexico
.
.
Back home
This week, Dave boarded a fully functional plane, sat up the front, had a car waiting for him at the airport which took him to one of the nicest hotels in Melbourne, all without paying a cent ... a very stark comparison to the travel from the last six months! Unfortunately the days were now filled with meetings, emails, stress and powerpoint slides ... rather than blue beaches, Coronas, ancient ruins and (most importantly) hanging out with Kate.
Fortunately, after the first hectic week back at work a long weekend with Kate beckoned up at the Northern Beaches in Sydney. While we longed to still be on the road travelling, it did indeed feel good to be home, watching the rugby while catching up with family and old friends. Fortunately, Coronas were on sale at the bottle shop, so as we looked out over the beach, we hoped that we could keep living the dream for at least 2 days a week...
This week, Dave boarded a fully functional plane, sat up the front, had a car waiting for him at the airport which took him to one of the nicest hotels in Melbourne, all without paying a cent ... a very stark comparison to the travel from the last six months! Unfortunately the days were now filled with meetings, emails, stress and powerpoint slides ... rather than blue beaches, Coronas, ancient ruins and (most importantly) hanging out with Kate.
Fortunately, after the first hectic week back at work a long weekend with Kate beckoned up at the Northern Beaches in Sydney. While we longed to still be on the road travelling, it did indeed feel good to be home, watching the rugby while catching up with family and old friends. Fortunately, Coronas were on sale at the bottle shop, so as we looked out over the beach, we hoped that we could keep living the dream for at least 2 days a week...
Roughing it back in Sydney
Thanks for following our adventures over the last 6 months!!
Hasta Luego! or more accurately ... Seeya layda!
Kate and Dave
Guys, what an AWESOME trip! Based on booze, beaches and food, now THAT is what I am talking about.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to hear all about it in person.
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