Where in the world is Michelle?

The 31st of October 2011

The gorgeous UNESCO world heritage city is not only rich in silver and gold deposits, beautiful colonial architecture, brightly coloured buildings, plazas... it is all packed into narrow ravines and alleyways, often with steep inclines!

The city's cobblestone roads twist around buildings and hills in a complexing and unnatural pattern which left me wondering how the hell the taxi drivers knew where they were ever going.

Besides the fame the town gains from its amazing silver and gold mines, it is also home to the world famous Cervantino festival. We actually went to Guanajuato on this exact weekend of the festival!

During Cervantino arts festival, Guanajuato is not the kind of place you can just rock up fresh from the bus expecting to find some great last min accommodation for the weekend. To say the town was PACKED is an understatement, combined with the tiny street ways, we were all claustrophobic by the end of the weekend i think! SO MANY PEOPLE!!

Luckily on friday night before departing on the bus from Guadalajara to Guanajuato (very similar sounding names i know, not to be confused) we got in touch with a girl on couchsurfing.org. couchsurfing is a great website of a community of people around the world who offer their couch/spare bed/inflatable mattrass for travellors, backpackers etc.

It has proven to be quite a successful free accommodation finder, as long as you don't go and pick "Jose sexy4u" profile which features a Latin 40+ toplesss, oiled abs, Latino promising you a sleepless night in his single bed at his mothers house.

We were lucky to find Ilse, a mexican student living in Guanajuato, she said we could crash at her apartment for the weekend, as there was absolutely no accommodation left during the Cervantino festival. She looked pretty normal from her profile on couchsurfing, so we decided to turn up and hope for the best, if it turned out to be a 80 year old man... well i had my pepper spray handy.

The bus was only 4 hours from Guadalajara and we arrived saturday morning at the bus terminal. a 10 min taxi ride later we were in the heart of town where we were to find ilse's apartment. The irony of taking a taxi in Guanajuato, is that they can't really get most places as the streets don't all fit cars. he dropped us at the bottom of a hill giving some instructions along the lines of ; up, left, right, straight, down stairs, around corner, through alley.... ok we got lost after the first left.

after finally finding the apartment, we were met by a cheerful and lovely ilse who is a nice local mexican university student studying literature. Yes! we thought, its a normal person! (you can never be too careful on the internet!!)

Ilse was so homely and accommodating; she only had one double bed, and we were four girls! she said she would sleep at her boyfriends place, she gave us the keys to her place and we were in shock that such a stranger could be so hospitable! Mexicans really are such big-hearted and willing people, regardless of what they have or their financial situation.. they are almost always wanting to help.

The taxi wasn't getting up here!

Fran and i having our lucky kiss on the 7th step of Callejon de Besos (alley of the kiss) "

The Leyenda del Callejon de Beso (the story of the alley of the kiss) is a legend in Mexico:

Dona Ana was a young lady in love with Don Carlos, but Ana's father did not support their romance and threatened to organise her an arranged marriage to a spanish nobleman. The lovers found a solution in that their balconies on either side of the street were so close that they could kiss across the balconies. They would reunite their romance at the balconies. When the father found out of their secret romance, he went up to the balcony and stabbed and killed his daughter. Don carlos was broken hearted and branded the street Callejon del Beso.

On any given day in the city of Guanajuato, crowds of couples flock to Callejon del Beso, to have a kiss on the 7th step of the alleyway beneath the balconies, which is meant to bring good luck.

The 15th of October 2011

iQué bonita Puebla!

I really enjoyed our 2 days in Puebla on the way home to Guadalajara. I was really surprised to find out that Puebla is actually the 4th largest city in Mexico. It is a very slow, old colonial style town with beautiful buildings and architecture - and you really feel as if you are in a tiny town in the middle of no-where! in fact Puebla it is just one hour from the huge D.F (Mexico city), but lives in its own uninterrupted, tranquil world. It is also a UNESCO world heritage site.

The streets are beautiful and the houses are all painted amazing different colours, Puebla was actually the first city built by the Spanish. The city has an amazing old town which is really well preserved by the locals, who seem to take great pride in their city. it is a much more traditional and conservative city compared to, Mexico City for example. People tend to much more religious here. Puebla is a great place to spend a day or 2 looking around its fantastic markets, cathedrals and beautiful streets..

How many times can i say it? BEAUTIFUL!!

Apart from my obsession with colorful colonial style streets, i also happen to enjoy a spot of shopping - more specifically MARKETS!! Mercardos are on my hitlist in every city i visit, and Puebla was no exception. i LOVE a good market, mercado, tianguis.. whatever you want to call it. I love finding amazing one of a kind artisans goods from as closest to the source as i can get it (cut out all the middle men). Every city in Mexico has a certain type of craft it specialises in, whether it be leather bags and goods (San Cristobal/Leon), Silver jewelry (Taxco), Rugs and handwoven textiles (Oaxaca)... Puebla had the most amazing ceramics i have ever seen!!!
too bad i cant strap a huge ceramic vase to my backpack....

Mum, you might want to close your eyes for these... may arouse serious jealousy and sadness

The 12th of October, 2011

Waking up from another arduous overnight bus ride we found ourselves in the state of Chiapas.
This trip has proven to me that Chiapas is by far the most culturally and ecologically diversely enriched state in mexico, and definitely one of the best places i've travelled through. Chiapas lies at the very south of Mexico, bordering Guatemala and the Pacific ocean, it holds everything that you could possibly imagine Mexico to have. I think one would be foolish to visit Mexico and think the only places worth seeing are around the Yucatan peninsula and places like "Cancun" and "Playa del Carmen". The truth is that these places have slowly evolved into (in my opinion) the most unrealistic mexican experience you could possibly have. The diverse culture, language, peoples and incredible geography of Chiapas should not be overlooked as they reveal so much of Mexico to a traveler.

We arrive 7am at the incredible CAÑON DEL SUMIDERO just minutes from the capital city of Chiapas, Tuxtla Gutierrez. It is an extremely deep and narrow canyon which is surounded by a national park. The canyon's walls reach as high as 1000m!! needless to say we were speechless when we took a 2 hour boat trip down the narrow river which runs through the canyon.

By midday we were in the city San Cristobal de las Casas which caused a bit of nostalgia for me as it is significantly similar to the town of Antigua, Guatemala. The small city of San Cristobal de las Casas sits in the central highlands nestled in a small valley surrounded by picturesque hills. It is the most definitely the cultural capital of the state, the main center (or "zocalo") maintains its Spanish colonial theme and architecture, red tiled roofs, cobblestone streets and wrought iron balconies - (if u have ever visited Antigua, you can see what i mean it is IDENTICAL) . San Cristobal mostly runs off tourism, which is based on the citys history, culture and incredible indigenous population. Like many beautiful, colonial and tranquil towns through out Central America, the small city has been affected a little by tourism. There are a few restaurants, cafes and businesses run by american ex-pats and a plethora of hostels to choose from.

Most of the culture associated with Cristobal de las Casas is its vast indigenous population, the most important ethnic groups being the Tzotzil and Tetzal. These indigenous groups are well known for making textiles, ceramics and jewelry - which is why the market (or "Tianguis") in San Cristobal is incredible.
We stayed in San Cristobal for 4 days from which we visited several pueblo indígenas, the village of Zinacantan and the village of San Juan Chamula. both less then an hour from San Cristobal de las Casas.

San Juan Chamula is home to the indigenous Tzotzil Maya peoples whose language is of the Mayan. The isolated town has an autonomous status within Mexico, meaning no military/police are allowed in the village. The most interesting part of San Juan Chamula to me was the church. it shows the evolution of religion amongst the Mayan peoples after the Spanish conquest. Chamulan's practice a mix of Mayan customs with spanish catholic traditions.
Inside the church there are no pews, the floor is covered in green pine grass, coca cola bottles, amazingly coloured remedies from medicine men, and candle sticks melted to the floor, and dozens of people chanting prayers in their dialect of Tzotzil. Unfortunately there is no way to photograph the incredible customs and traditions of this town, as they are very strict against photography. People will get very angry if you take out a camera, and often hide their kids, and photography within the chruch is a complete violation, as a local guide told us, "if you take a photo in the church, they will kill you".... okay lets leave our cameras in our bags!

After a brief but overwhelming visit to San Juan Chamula we took a bus to another nearby pueblo indígena, "Zinacantan", whose peoples are the Tzotzil, indigenous Mayans. The women and men in Zinacantan still dress very traditionally, all women from from infant babies to grandmothers are dressed in the towns traditional colour of blue, and a very bright blue at that!

After our few (but not enough!) days in the enchanting San Cristobal de las casas we headed east to see what the geography of Chiapas had to offer.
in one day we saw enough waterfalls and lagunas to last me a life time.. Cascadas el Chiflon were truely breathtaking as you could walk up to a little platform just meters from the waterfall, i can say i have experienced the full force of a waterfall.. i just wish i wore my bikini and not all my clothes.
Lagunas de Montebello are a set of incredibly blue lakes which we were lucky to take a pit stop at, even managing to take a very old school style rafting tour, which consisted of 4 tree trunks tied together with rope... and what looked like a 12 year old boy standing up the front paddling us across the lake... not our most normal experience of the week.

After that it was on to Cascada "Agua Azul" (translated:blue water) which was, unfortunately more like "agua poo" as it was murky and brown on the day we visited... well the photo below shows its true beauty!
after that it was Cascada "Misol-Ha" (I KNOW 4 WATERFALLS IN ONE DAY, I'M CRAZY FOR WATERFALLS!!!) which is probably the least impressive of the day, but quite fun in that there was a small walkway constructed behind the waterfall that you could actually walk through (and its VERY loud)

The waterfall "Agua Azul" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .The enormous and powerful Cascada el Chiflon

Las Lagunas de Montebello

After our waterfall extravaganza we arrived late at night in the small pueblo of Palenque, which serves as a tourist hub and stayover for those visiting the archeological site of Palenque Ruins. We woke early the next morning excited to see the breaktaking ruins of Palenque.. and of course with my luck (always seems to rain every time i visit ruins?? weird mayan curse?) it was pouring down with rain. Luckily this did not ruin the ruins!! no pun intended. In fact it added quite a nice foggy and mystical aura to the incredible archeological site which is nestled in the midst of the extremely lush surrounding jungle.

Palenque Ruinas was a Mayan civilization in southern Mexico that flourished in the 7th century. The Palenque ruinas were made around 100 BC!! and then were conquered around 800 AD. After its decline it was absorbed into the jungle. Palenque is the most impressive ruins i have ever seen (and i've seen my fair share of ruins!!). Palenque has the most amazing architecture, carvings and sculptures still intact from Mayan civilisation. So much of mayan history has been read and reconstructed thanks to Palenque, from reading the hieroglyphic inscriptions, historians have been able to understnad the sequence of the ruling dynasty of Palenque
historians now have a long sequence of the ruling dynasty of Palenque in the 7th century and extensive knowledge of the city-state's rivalry with other states such as Calakmul and Toniná. The most famous ruler of Palenque was Pacal the Great whose tomb has been found and excavated in the Temple of the Inscriptions.

Soooo do i need a bikini for this rafting expedition? (its fricking freezing!!)

[i]4 aussie girls on the border of Guatemala and Mexico/i]

Chiapas you amaze me! Can't wait to return in the near future.... next up Puebla!

The 10th of October 2011

On friday the 7th, Fran, Lucy, Maddy and i headed to the most southern part of Mexico to explore a very different and beautiful part of this country.

After class on friday afternoon we boarded an 18 hours bus drive that would take us to the City of Oaxaca, which is the capital city of the state of Oaxaca. The bus trip left at 7pm on friday night, and we arrived around midday saturday. To say the bus ride was agony would be an understatement, not even our high dosage of Mexican sleeping tablets could aid our attempts to fall asleep in up-right seats with zero leg room combined with the terrible condition of the highway south 135D; which winding roads along cliff edges meant we were all extremely keen to close our eyes and wake up when safely in Oaxaca.

Bus ride from Guadalajara to the city of Oaxaca

After arriving in Oaxaca, we were relieved to access clean toilets, a shower and brush our teeth in our accommodation, before setting out to discover the city.
Despite the fact that Oaxaca is recognized as on of the poorest and most poverty stricken of Mexio's 31 states, i should rather by appreciated for its amazing indigenous peoples and cultures. The best known are the Zapotecs, Mazetecos and Mixtecs, but they are just a handful of many different groups. These cultures have survived to the present day better than any other in Mexico, probably because of its isolation in rugged terrain which has secluded its communities. Oaxaca makes up for 50% of Mexicos spoken indigenous languages, as almost one third of people in Oaxaca speak an indigenous language (not spanish). The streets of Oaxaca city made me feel like i had stepped back in time at least 200 years.

We explored the beautiful streets and allowed ourselves to be hooked in the market or "Tianguis" which seemed to go for a kilometre in every direction hosting everything from Oaxaca's famous Chocolate, to huge tapestries, to Pigs skins, to leather sandles to buckets of Arroz con Leche (rice pudding, the best!).
Oaxaca is famous for chocolate, it has a long history back to the times of the Olmec. The word "cacao" is traced back to the Olmecs (The Olmec are the oldest civilization, they actually pre-exist the Mayan and Aztec civilizations!). Everywhere you go in Oaxaca you will see chocolates in all flavours and forms, and lots of Hot chocolate which is incredibly delicious. We did come across one small chocolate factory which was making chocolate and we did not hesitate to sample..

What we did hesitate to try were the local delicacy: "Chapulines" which are roasted grasshoppers, in lime, salt and chilli... no thanks!

After a much needed proper sleep, we woke up the next morning at 6am to visit the magical Mayan ruins of Monte Alban
Besides being one of the earliest cities of Mesoamerica, Monte Albán is also important because of its role as the pre-eminent Zapotec socio-political and economic center for a thousand years. it was built around the "Middle period" around 500 BC.
The amazing Architecture of Monte Alban

Fran and I at the Ruins of Monte Alban

After Monte Alban and a few tacos for lunch we travelled to the nearby "Arbole del Tule" (Arbol meaning tree), which is the biggest tree in the entire world!
Arbol del Tule - The biggest tree in the world!!

We also took a short stop over at a Mezcalaria, a factory which distills Mezcal. Mezcal is an alcoholic beverage originated in Oaxaca, it is made from the "Pina" of the Agave plant (similar to tequila), and is known to have a worm at the bottom of its bottles. Many people who drink Mezcal can experience an hallucinogenic affect.

Oaxaca is also famous for its Tapestry, you can find beautifully handwoven and colourful rugs here for amazing prices, i myself bought 3 different designs and then wondered how i was ever going to transport them home.... still have to figure that issue out!
At the Tapestria we visited, two women showed us the process it took to make a rug, well after seeing that some take up to a year to make, 8 hours a day non stop weaving, i was amazed!
The women dye the fabrics such vibrant colours by using natural seeds and flowers

Now we face another overnight bus trip to the state of Chiapas which holds some amazing sites such as Palenque ruins..

Click on this link to see my plotted map of the whole South east trip: http://www.travellerspoint.com/member_map.cfm#/tripid/296559

The 19th of September

iViva Mexico!

One of the greatest celebrations is Dia de la Independencia (independence day) which falls on the 16th of September every year. i was lucky enough to be here in Mexico to be apart of it. Mexicans are extremely proud people and their independence from the spanish is very important to them. For the whole month of September people were already gearing up for it, Mexican flags are everywhere in shops, taxis and buses and cars.

We were given a long weekend from university so we decided to make the most of it and drive to a nearby surfing beach (quite famous amongst surfers) called Sayulita. Sayulita is a very small town which now has a few American expats living there and many people driving through for some surf on a trip down the Pacific coast of Mexico.

we left on thursday afternoon after classes and piled into Liam's car (another exchange student from sydney who owns a Jeep). Manolo, Liam, Charly (french guy living in mexico) and i shared the driving till Sayulita which is about 4 hours driving directly west to the Pacific Coast. The boys shared a dorm room in a cheap hostel, whose owners were constantly high, dredlocks down to their legs, lying in hammocks with a joint in one hand and rolling the another in preparation. They seemed to have no idea what was going on, or where anything was (including keys to get through the front door). Manolo and I opted for a slightly pricier ($15 a night WOAH!!) surf B&B up the road owned by a sweet american family.

Unfortunately for the boys, the surf was not exactly what was forecasted online (7 ft) ended being a swimming pool. they drove south in search of waves, i purchased an inflatable lilo and had a relaxing time in the water, i just needed someone to put a pina colada in one hand.

Sayulita beach...

Driving home on sunday night was basically hell. The car's engine decided to overheat every 5 minutes so we had to pull over and hose down the engine at random peoples houses! it took us about 8 hours to drive home to Guadalajara, we were all pretty miserable arriving home at 2am knowing we would have to wake up in a few hours for university.
However i did learn some great driving skills on the mexican roads, these include:
- when the speed limit is 60km do not drive any less then 150km
- when approaching a sharp bend with semi trailor trucks passing, keep going the same speed limit! infact never slow down, not even for speed humps!
- drive on the wrong side of the roads whenever you feel like it, just put your brights on so the oncoming cars know their probably going to die
- when it is night time, foggy and raining, its a great opportunity to drive fast and recklessly as there won't be any police on the roads

The 28th of August

Where was Tequila originated? GUADALAJARA, MEXICO!!

seeing as all you can really drink in mexico is either coronas or tequila i decided i needed to become a lover of one of the two.
i've tried beer many times but still hate it, Manolo always encourages me to take a sip every now and then, but it repulses me. Living in Mexico is even more challenging as the price of beer is cheaper then water, a 1.25 litre bottle of Corona will set you back 25 pesos ($2 in australia!!)
Okay so it was Tequila that i needed to grow a stomach for. We decided to visit the town of tequila (about an hour drive from Guadalajara city) to see how they make tequila and distill it from the Agave plant.

We first went to an Agave farm where we saw how the farmers harvest Agave. Tequila is made from the blue Agave plant which is grown all around Guadalajara and the state of Jalisco. The Agave plant is plucked from the soil and the bottom part (the pina) is taken to the distillery

The Agave plant

The Pinas of the Agave are loaded up in trucks and taken to the distillery

mmmm fermenting tequila (Smells like crap)

Then it is distilled in here from 3 months to 3 years depending on its age (the older ones are darker, better flavour, and obviously a lot more pricey)

Downtown Tequila

Needless to say after many different tastings (we had to try all the different flavours and ages!) and an open bar... we were both past out on the bus all the way back to Guadalajara and in bed by 7pm on saturday night.

8th of August, 2011

After a very teary goodbye leaving Alex in Honduras, she continued her travels down to Costa Rica, and i northbound to Mexico.
i flew back through guatemala for one day to pack my things from Manolo's house, say goodbye to his family, and jump on another plane to D.F (mexico City). from their we had another internal flight to the city of Guadalajara about an hour flight from Mexico City.
We stayed our first week in Guadalajara in a hostel while searching for an apartment here with a good location close to universities, shops and downtown.
it only took a few days and we were moved into our apartment. costing us each $2600 pesos a month (thats about $200 a month!!) we have a nice (just renovated,painted) clean apartment with a nice room with furniture, bedding etc, and clean kitchen.
The location is great, i am only one block walk from the main bus line which takes me straight to University and manolo's college is only a few blocks walk away. our street also has heaps of restaurants, cafes, bars and a mall with a cinema all in 5 minutes walk.

The first week of August was Orientation week for Exchange students at my university (Instituto Tecnologico y de estudios superiores de Monterrey) or just "TEC". there are over 200 exchange students from all parts of the globe and also many other australian students from other universities. as part of our orientation we went for 2 nights to the nearby city of Puerto Vallarta. Puerto Vallarta is on the Pacific coast of mexico about 4 hours drive from Guadalajara, my impressions of it were similar to a mini Cancun like holiday spot for Americans and some wealthy mexicans. the beaches are flooded with locals pestering tourists to buy tacky jewellery and sarongs, and the city is full of high rise hotels, all of which are "all-inclusive style" resorts.
our resort was also all inclusive, all you can drink (alcohol), all you can eat. which proved dangerous for all students involved. This was not really my style of travelling at all, i despise all inclusive resort style holidays and touristy places, but nevertheless it was a good opportunity to meet the other 250 exchange students.
the following week we started class, my timetable is not to bad although i need to go to uni monday- friday, but only in the mornings so i have the afternoons off. Manolo and i joined a gym down the road from our apartment which is very necessary as i am already eating tacos daily!
The food here is absolutely amazing, real Mexican cuisine is completely different to what western countries try to imitate, no mexicans do not eat nachos!! and tacos do not have hard shells, they are soft tortillas filled with different types of meat, for example (a short guide to mexican street tacos):

TACOS DE CANASTA: or “basket” tacos, sold in the morning, are the only tacos not prepared on the spot. They are made at home, wrapped in layers of cloth and paper to keep warm, and tucked into baskets. Sold from doorways, small stalls and even bicycles, they are sometimes called tacos sudados – “sweated” tacos - because of the steam created by wrapping the warm tacos. Small corn tortillas are commonly stuffed with either papas con chorizo (potatoes with chorizo), chicharron (pork rind), frijoles (beans), picadillo (spiced ground meat) or a specialty of the housewife who made them.

TACOS DE BARBACOA (personal favourite): The filling for these tacos is traditionally prepared by wrapping sheep, lamb or goat meat in maguey leaf linings, called pencas, placing it over a pan to catch the juices which help steam the meat, and burying it in a fire pit in the ground, something like an underground oven. Nowadays, especially in the cities, the method is simplified by wrapping the meat in papel de mixiote, which is a substitute for the now-endangered maguey leaves, and cooking it in a vaporera (steamer.)

TACOS DE CABEZA: literally meaning “head tacos”, are just that. they are popular in Mexico City

Tacos de Asada: Served on tortillas, and garnished with guacomole or salsa, Grilled Tacos can be a compilation of came asada tacos, triped tacos grilled crisp, or chaizo asado (Spanish-style sausage) tacos.

Tacos al Pastor/Tacos de Adobada: Made with thin pork steaks Shepherd-Style Tacos are skewered and seasoned with adobada seasonings, rotisserie cooked, or flame broiled, and overlapped on one another.

Tacos Dorades: (Best for hangover or late night tacos) Fried Tacos are also known as Flautes (flutes), or Taquitas. The tortillas for these tacos are filled with pre-cooked, shredded chicken, Barbacoa (beef), or Carnitas (pork), rolled into cylinders, and deep-fried crisp.

Tacos de Pescado: Made from grilled or fried fish, lettuce or cabbage, pico de gallo, sour cream/mayonnaise sauce

Virtually anything that can be rolled inside a tortilla becomes a taco. Tacos are pretty much the heart and soul of Mexican cuisine, but they vary from regions and states to different parts of the country. but the fact is that EVERYONE eats them, from rich well dresssed couples, to narcos, to laborers, they can all be seen standing on the side of the street next to a taco stand enjoying what is called "the most democratic of Mexican foods"

TORTAS AHOGADAS: the most typical and famous dish from the city of Guadalajara, it is literally like a drowned roll filled with meat, and quiet spicy

Mercado San Juan de Dios

The Market "san juan de dios" is the largest indoor market in the whole of mexico! needless to say, when you go to buy something you will probably not find that item, but get lost for a few hours and leave with many other items you didnt need. there are about 3000 stalls inside the market selling everything from nike shoes, to puppies, to xbox's and playstations, to specticles, to knives, to clothes, to seafood! EVERYTHING is in this market... but good luck finding what you actually want

26th of July

Ever since my visit to the Bay Islands in 2009 i have dreamed of going back. It was the perfect opportunity to show Alex a bit of Honduras and the islands before she continues on by herself down to Costa Rica.

The Bay Islands is made up of three islands, Útila, Roatán and Guanaja, which are about 50km of the Caribbean coast of Honduras.
Our Journey started in Antigua at 4am on wednesday when we caught a 5 hour shuttle bus to the border town of Copan in Honduras. Copan is a tiny town largely built due to the Mayan Ruins which fosters a huge tourism turnover of travelers crossing through this town on their way through Central America.
the town boasts about 5 hotels and 5 restaurants, most travelers only pass through for a day seeing the Ruins, some stay a night (as did alex and i).
We arrived around lunch time and spent the afternoon in the Parque arqueológico Copán Ruinas checking out the amazing mayan ruins. The ruins are a UN World Heritage site, as the ruins are believed to be one of 3 cultural centers of the "new world". the ruins show how amazingly advanced the Mayan civilization was, their hugely constructed pyramids, sculptures, murals and hieroglyphs illustrate their use of time, calenders, mathmatics and astronomy.
Their civilization was known for creating the first fully developed written language of pre-colombian Americas.

The amazing mayan ruins, 2000 years old

After the Ruins, we departed the next morning on a 7am bus to the coastal town of La Ceiba, on the Caribbean of Honduras. La Ceiba is the port where ferrys leave to the bay islands, so our sole purpose of visiting the town was just to catch the ferry. After a bus break down, an hour stranded in a roadside restaurant, and a bus change, we finally arrived in La Ceiba at 4pm in time to catch the 4.30pm ferry to Roatan island ($50 return ticket).
2 hours later we were on Roatan island, in the caribbean.. Paradise!
ofcourse, we had no accomodation (rule number 1 of travel with michelle, never have plans, never book anything in advance!!)

we quized our taxi driver on the cheapest and best accomodation on offer in West End, he took us to a beautiful little lodging aptly named "Lands End" which was at the most western point of the island, right on the ocean, and with the most amazing view of the sunset.
the place, run by a 40 something year old German, is marketed as an "ocean front lodge, bar & lounge, B&B." well, as soon as Alex and i saw the infinity pool overlooking the sunset, and 2 hammocks hanging 2 metres from the ocean we were sold.

we stayed 5 nights for around $100 each. (although our bar tab was equal to that).... breakfast was included, nice clean bed and room with fan and our own bathroom, - amazing!! it was the perfect place for Alex and i to relax and spend some girlfriend time before leaving eachother on our separate ways for the next 8 months...
we spent the next day lying in hammoks reading, swimming in crystal blue ocean (i mean CRYSTAL CLEAR BLUE), snorkling, sunbaking..
we rented a moped and rode around the island one day and saw some amazing places, we found one beach "parrot beach" absolutly amazing... we thought we were on a postcard!!
alex and i were speechless.. white sandy beachs, palm trees and clear water.... and then i got stung on my butt by a jellyfish... awesome

Alex enjoying the ferry ride over to paradise....... taking a boat ride to another beach... bluest water!!....... Alex lay in that exact spot for about 5 hours and then had 2nd degree burns the next day

Alex decided to combat her fear of fish by going snorkelling, and ended up loving it. we swam about 50 metres off the beach and were surrounded by some of the most amazing marine life i have ever seen. we spent hours swimming in huge pods of coloured fish, and saw some amazing coral and sea creatures.
we also ate some amazing foods on the island (see below my seafood pot of assorted sea creatures!!)
Yum! ............ Am i in a postcard??? .............. Reading until the sunsets at Lands End

The 20th of July 2011

iHola!

this past weekend was spent in the most beautiful place on earth, Lago de Atitlan (lake atitlan)
Lake Atitlan is a huge freshwater lake nestled between 3 amazing volcanos at a very high altitude. what makes it so beautiful to me is its tiny mayan indigenous pueblos (villages) situated around the lake. Maya culture is still alive today in these small villages, and traditional dress is common (not a tourist attraction). the two most common Mayan groups around Atitlan are the Tz'utujil and the Kaqchikel. these languages are very unlike spanish and you are still able to hear them spoken around the lake.
however in the last few decades the lake has attracted hippies and expat settlers from around the world and has created an economy that has begun to rely on tourism. There is also no road that circles the lake, to get from one town to another you must take a launcha (small motor boat).

we were so lucky to have amazing 5 star free accomodation at manolo's uncles Hotel in Panajachel (the main pueblo of the lake) which is one of the nicest hotels ive ever stayed in my life!! it was very traditionally mayan and beautifully decorated the and the staff treated us like royality!
on sunday we took a launcha over to Santa Cruz la Laguna a beautiful small pueblo on the other side of the lake with a few small places to eat and sleep, but the main reason we went there is to take the walking track to a small quaint village called Jaibalito. Jaibalito is practically unreachable except by walking, there is no place to sleep or eat so there are no tourists there (exactly why i love it). all the men women and children were traditional mayan dress in the colours of their town, Jaibalito. also, hardly anyone knows spanish! it was really beautiful to see such an untouched place.
After Jaibalito we went to another town (quite famous among hippy folk) called San Pedro. San pedro is most famous for, smoking weed, magic mushrooms and spanish schools. obviously you can find a large number of european travellors stoping in San Pedro for a number of weeks "learning spanish".
we only stayed a few hours, just enough time to have laugh at the local grey-haired expat hippie stoners in the street trying to sell us hash brownies.
after that is was back to the main town of Panajachel (which is connected to the road back to antigua)
after the recent hurricane and flooding in Guatemala tourism has really slowed down, especially in lake atitlan due to it being unreachable (as the road was washed away)
the towns were very empty and locals were stuggling to sell their handicrafts, artisans goods and jewellary. Alex and i had a big shop through the markets buying amazing jewellary and bags.
we took the bus back to Antigua on sunday night, which takes aproximately 3 hours

Look alike ??

are people here small or do i have a huge arse? /i]

[i]beautiful hotel, La Posada Rodireguez

The 19th of July 2011

Hola!

just got back from an awesome weekend in El Salvador with Alex, Nooki, Manolo and Hugo. we stayed at our usual spot at El Zonte beach where the boys have their surf spot. we also made it to El Tunco, another beach about 15 minutes drive south and Punta Roca, where the quicksilver surfing pro was being held this weekend. we went down to Punta Roca on sunday to watch the final heat surfed between an australian and an Hawaiian dude.
the heat in El Salvador is insanely hot, sticky and humid, but the beautiful ocean sunsets and chilled out local vibe make up for it.
we definitely enjoyed lying in hammoks, reading our books and watching the surfers ride the point break at Zonte.

And of course we ate a TON of PAPUSAS! (yummy salvadorian food, thick maiz tortillas filled with either cheese, meat, beans or everthing, topped with coleslaw and salsa)
3

8th of July 2011

HOLA A TODO
This week Alex (bestfriend from sydney) arrived in Antigua Guatemala to spend the next month with me here in central. Nookie (from holland) is also visiting for 2 weeks on her trip through Latin America.
Of course the first thing i had to do was take Alex to eat her first typical guatemalan meal (see plato tipico below) and tamales (maiz steamed in plantain leaves)... and of course she loved both!!

Us girls have had a great time going to eat in different little restaurants, cafes, looking through markets, climbing cerro de la cruz and raiding the paca (amazing second hand clothes market)
The girls on top of Cerro de La Cruz, & walking down the main street of Antigua

Manolo, Saul, Alex and i headed to El Punto surf break about 2 hours from antigua so the boys could ride some waves. we celebrated Nooki's birthday on saturday night in antigua with manolo, saul, hugo, alex and had a great a time.

Boards in the back and off to the beach .......... one tequila, two tequila, three tequila.. floor

It has been great to finally get to show Alex guatemala after so long trying to explain her everything here! she decided to take two days of spanish courses in antigua to learn a bit of general conversation in spanish and is now very motivated to learn, so that next time she comes back she can give the latin men some lip!
as always i had to pop in to Camino Seguro (safepassage) to catch up with my beautiful kids and see how they are doing. They were very excited to show me their very well practiced english (counting all the way up to 25, can say all the colours, days of the week, and months!) i was very impressed but also heartbreaking to tell them this time around i wouldnt be staying (i have to go to mexico to study in a few weeks). they were pretty upset with me and i left thinking maybe i shouldn't have gone to see them at all and let them down!
my beautiful Julisa .......... Las calles de Antigua

27th of June, 2011

Since arriving in Antigua, Guatemala on tuesday 21st of June, i've been having an awesome time catching up with family and friends.. and of course Manolo.
Needless to say i gave him the biggest fright of his life when he woke up on tuesday morning to find me sitting on his bed! (thank you to Hugo and Marlin for helping me with the successful operation)
I always forget how much of a wonderland Antigua really is, every time i return here i am in awe of its beauty, its people and its vibrance.
it has been great to see Rosy and manolo’s grandma again, and all of manolo's (HUGE) and beautiful family. We had a huge family gathering to celebrate the birthday of Karen (Manolo's cousin) who has also just had the most GORGEOUS baby in the world, Monique, who is now 6 months old and a little fashionista.
Karen and Jary also has 2 beautiful boys, Janek and Mikel. It was also nice to meet Christians (Manolo’s cousin) baby girl Michelle who is now 1 years old and completely adorable

Most probably realised that I have a slight obsession with babies, I’ve been visiting the kids pretty much everyday! Everyone picked up on this and asked at the family gathering, so Michelle when are you having a baby? Well that’s a bit awkward; I’m only 21 years old!
Of course I had to go see my surrogate mother in Antigua, Gloria, who rented me a room to live in during my first months in Guatemala, taught me amazing salsa skills, went out partying with the girls at night, and the only women I know who drinks straight tequila with no mixer! It was great to see her doing well with her salsa school and her gorgeous daughter Daniela who is now taller then me, and of course Romeo and Cleopatra (doggies).
On friday Alex (my best friend) arrives in Guatemala to spend her uni holidays with me! So excited to show her around this beautiful place!

the last few weeks has been a complete blur!
finished university exams, finished my job at Virgin Active and frantically packing a bag i'm meant to live out of for a year - only hours before my flight (and yes as always, i forgot the most important items)
This time around in Latin America my dollar will go EVEN FURTHER as the exchange rate is CRAZY high right now, ive exchanged lots of AUD over to USD and am having a great time spending heaps of it here in Los Angeles!
i am here for a day before catching my connecting flight to Guatemala City, i am SO excited to see Rosy, Manolo and the rest of the family in Antigua as it has been a whole year since i've been back.
i called Manolo on skype earlier (little does he know im going to arrive at his house in a few hours) and am about to burst my bubble with excitement, i love surprising people!!
waiting in LAX airport while only hearing spanish speaking around me, YAY its been so long!