lost in translation, again

back to civilization, or more like back to the land with an internet connection. the past 2 days have been pretty interesting with yesterday being the best day of the trip so far.

tuesday- we took the bus to cuernavaca- the bus system here in mexico is 1st class- and that is not laced with my usual sarcasm. it really makes the dirty dog, real dirty. they have a bus class system here and the 1st class and deluxe buses are pretty tight. they have a movie, AC and bathroom. we board a bus from mexico city to cuernavaca making stops along major highways to pickup and drop people off. we stayed @ a B&B which was a pretty nice place. it was a horse shoe style house with a courtyard, with no view- but it would have been nice if they did. we arrive in the city and we go to the "central" which pretty much all cities have a central square. we walk around and check out a few churches, ate some dank ass food, saw cortez's place, but pretty much took it easy. the best part of the day was the market. it was a craft market that was a city of its own. it was booth after booth covered with tarps in a square. they had everything from bart simpson marionettes to hand painted boxes and bowls. everything is pretty cheap and they all deal with you. the common line of communication when dealing is a calculator and them giving a thumbs up saying they want more or you giving the thumbs down saying less. it is pretty funny b/c they are pretty anxious to make a sale. if you start to walk away most will give you th e deal they want. there was also lots of silver jewelry there being cuernavaca is one of the many "silver cities". after the market we head over the the sqyure where there was lots of drumming- it sounded like a pack of wooks invaded the square with a drum circle- we walk up to find a bunch of people dressed in traditional aztec attire and a tall white chic that was lost dancing to the music- it was very choreographed and pretty fun to watch- behind them were the cuernavaca hipsters skating. being el leche el diablo aka candy (julie) is a hipster she spotted them a mile away. they were were not bad but they were no tony hawk either. after that we decide to head back to the B&B- easier said then done. being you are advised not to hale any cab you have to call one that is authorized through a company. the number i wrote down was not getting answered and we didn't have the number for the hotel to help us. after calling a bunch of people- to which none answered- thanks to you all- my mom helps us out and we get a cab- our goal was to be in by sundown just so we didn't have any problems. we get back to the B&B and make a trip down the street for some cervesa. we grabbed a couple of 40's, mexican style and headed back. it was kind of weird because along the way we pass a black SUV with talking in it- and same on the return trip...

wednesday- after being treated to a traditional mexican breakfast of tacos and cafe we head out tepoztlan. we asked for a cab but they advise us to take the bus- on the walk we pass the spot where the SUV was the night before to find a few used rubbers in the street- guess they don't have pay by the hour hotels in mexico. we go to the bus stop and wait, and wait and wait- we get anxious and start to walk towards town- after walking for 30 minutes or so we go grab a drink and ask directions. we ask in our best broken spanish and we get a reply that was 10 times faster then we could comprehend. then we hear a sound as beautiful as any siren- the sound of english. it is kind of funny b/c if they know english they prefer to let you get it out in your worst spanish and they they tell you no need they speak english. this lady that was 5 foot nothing starts talking in english and is very helpful and leads us to the bus- the enttire trip, 5-6 block was just "just 2 more blocks"- with her little legs moving swiftly it was hard for me to keep up. we briskly walk to the bus to catch it as its leaving. this was a 3rd class bus i assume. it was a pretty funny trip- all of the roads are cobble stone and the bus is almost like a bread truck with windows. it was bumpy and would just pull off where ever to pick up and drop off. after about 30 minutes we arrive in tepoztlan. the town is very small and surrounded by mountains. it says in the 60's and 70's it was a huge retreat for the hippies and is considered a very spiritual place, not often visited by tourists. we have been pretty lucky with what days we are in a chosen city- wednesday is market day in tepoztlan so we hit there 1st. it was a market of crafts and food- many people from surrounding towns were there to buy food till the next market day, which is saturday. meats, veggies, beans and crafts lined the square as far as the eye can see. the meat- what can i say about the meat- if you ever leave beef, chicken or goat out don't worry- is ok- just grab a few gocery bags, shred them and tie em to a stick to shoo the flies away. at least thats how thy do it here- being somewhat of a germaphobe it kind of made me sick thinking that our meat we eat in the restaurants is the same way before it's cooked. the markets here are like nothing i have ever seen. stimulation fo ever sense in every way. the colors, textures, music and just seeing how hey locals interact with each other is just something that would take pages to explain. in th center of the market we stumble across this seed and bean mural of a church scene, like everything here. this has to be 2nd to rome in churches and murals. it is on the gate @ the entrance to a church- we go into the church and we are both just awestruck. the paintings in the church were bar none the best thing i have seen this whole trip. after some more wheeling and dealing with the market people we start a hike to the pyramid that overlooks the town of tepoztlan. about a 2 mile hike so steep it needed steps in most places, i mean rocks assembled into steps. neither of us were really ready for this but we made it with a few stops. the views from the top were pretty nice and overlooked the entire town. after about an hr @ the trop we head down to catch the bus home. we go to the bus stop where we were dropped off and wait, and wait and wait. after 3 rounds of buses a random fellow comes by and asks us where we were going. turns out in mexico the pickup and drop off locations in a town are not the same. he tells us to go around 2 bends and there is where we need to wait. we thought we found the bus stop3-4 times but we kept asking people as we went just to be sure. we wanted to be home by sundown. everyone told us different or i should say there was a huge breakdown in the communication. after having to walk about a mile all the way out of the town pretty much we get to the station. we buy our ticket and i am thirty- i tilt up a bottle of water to notice that it's empty- i toss the bottle away and go to sit down then i feel this thing in my bag, a bottle of water, my bottle of water, yeah you guessed it- i tried to drink some random bottle of water- i wanted to cut my lips off and drink a bottle of clorox. we head back on a little better bus then the one we came on- which was suppose to drop us off @ the bus station by the B&B- nope- we could have probably jumped on a local bus to the stop but we did not want to end up in some random place by accident so we humped it. when we get back i wash with listerine twice in hopes of getting any germs from the water bottle. nothing actually went in my mouth it was just lip contact- i am going to assume i was ok, for my sanity being nothing has happened to me yet and i have no cold sores. we walked a total of 27 miles or so it felt like it over the course of the day. i must say taking the public transportation has been some of the most fun along the course of the trip. i know many people would not tolerate it @ all but we just say "what the hell" and do it. i am still awating my bus ride with the chickens and goats but the trip is not over yet.