Monica

The city officials main point about Progreso was that it was where the cruise ships passed, etc. My thoughts were: all right… cool, so can we go to where they dock?

This is another unique experience to see/feel/taste/hear the real regional culture of Mexico. Chiapas is known for its indigenous population, jungles, and musical style: xylephone. I’m sure I knew the name of the type of music, but, once again, it has completely evaded me.

When I was here, I loved it: colours everywhere, rich flavourful foods, indigenous women throwing hand-made crafts of brightly coloured wool at you. The best part was the boat ride through the Cañon del Sumidero. I remember on the trek that there was a secluded hotel/resort in the cañon. If you’re interested, it will require some researching. Otherwise, this boat trip is well worth the money! (It was a little pricey because its a touristy thing).

This city/town is one of my favourites. If you take a walk around the town centre and visit their famous BIG park (I’m bad with names, I can’t remember it), you’ll understand why. This is probably the one place that almost made me feel at home – the quality of life really seemed high. The streets were clean, the gardens and parks were full of life, little kids were running around this one square with live bands playing in the background. The locals seemed to enjoy a high socio-economic level. The architecture of this place adds to the appeal; a very cultural town.

I was travelling with a group of exchange students around Mexico for three weeks. San Luis Potosi was a stopover city, our destination was Zacatecas, about a 4 hour drive away. There was a mix-up in communication and I ended up being stranded in San Luis Potosi by myself, waiting for our charter bus.. that never did come. So, I started talking with the traffic officer to see if he had seen the bus: nothing. He then flagged down a police officer, asked him the same thing, they got on the radio, asking around if anyone had seen this bus: nothing. So, after about 4 hours of waiting around in the supposed meeting spot, I ended up going back to the “Public Security” police station or something. After several long distance phone calls and eventually getting a hold of the group, which were already lodged in Zacatecas (to give you an idea of time: we were supposed to leave San Luis Potosi at 3 or 4pm and by the time I finally got a hold of them, it was 11:00pm). Anyways, long story short: the police officer that had been with me from the beginning offered to DRIVE me over to Zacatecas, the hotel the group was at, once he got off shift. For the mean time, he drove me to grab some food and then offered his pad to me to rest at until he was done his shift and could come back and get ready to go. I was nervous about the whole idea, the idea of corrupt/bad police officers isn’t a new one in Mexico. However, this guy was sincere and definitely didn’t do anything to cause alarm. He and his friend ended up driving me four hours to Zacatecas, to get there by 2:30 am. As I had mentioned in other entries of Mexico, the hospitality is absolutely amazing – these are “people”-persons. Do not be discouraged or turn down one of their offers of hospitality; it gives them great reward to be able to do something nice for someone – as long as you return the favour sometime!

A group of 8 friends and I all decided to catch a bus from Queretaro to Bernal, about a 40 min. drive if my memory serves me correct. We got there knowing that we just took the last bus that ran from Bernal – Queretaro area. We hiked up the rock peak (which name completely escapes me at the moment). The trek to the top is worth the absolutely stunning view of the desert valley. When we descended, we decided to grab a quick bite to eat a road-side taco vendor (gotta love the 3 peso/tacos)! When we realized we had no way back, the vendor operator told us of a taxi driver who lives down the road a block or two, that we could knock on his door and offer to pay. As we were contemplating our options (no luck with the so-called Taxi Driver, he wasn’t around), we ended up flagging down a big-rig truck headed back the direction we wanted. He said he would drop us off at the side of the highway by the bus station in Queretaro. We offered to pay him when he let us off, but he instead he said “No, no, no! Please, don’t worry about it! Welcome to Mexico!” Northamericans take for granted this kind of hospitality. Not all Mexicans are serial-killing rapists or thieves that are trying to scam you!

See San Luis Potosi for another story on Mexican hospitality.

This is a beautiful city, architecturally, in the state of Michoacan. Very colonial, very beautiful. A sight to see: Every Saturday night the Cathedral is lit up with fireworks, there are some really beautifully decorated restaurants and open-air cafes, you’d swear you were in Europe.

It’ll give you a great insight into what coastal Mexican culture/living is like. And it is NOT what you think you see outside Puerta Vallarta.

I lived here for 11 months. This is an amazing town – world reknown for its surfing at Zicatela beach. There are several other beaches to explore, although they are not all that big. Downtown Zicatela is the place to be at night (either that or the Adoquin – the hub of shops, restaurants, and bars congregate here). Take a trip out on a boat to see dolphins/go sail-fishing, catch turtles, etc. The atmosphere is great: laid back surf style with hard-working locals. They all love to meet and chat with tourists, so don’t be shy or off-standish. They are an easy-going bunch; especially the “gang” at the beach (no, they’re not an actual gang – I just mean the band of ‘brothers’ that always boogie-board/surf down there, including the lifeguards!). This town doesn’t get NEARLY as much tourism as Huatulco, Acapulco, etc (there aren’t any cinemas, shopping malls, etc.) But there are a lot of back-packer, surfers, etc. that hail from all over (i.e. Italy, Norway, Brazil, Sweden, US – California, Canada, etc.)

My family and I went to eat at their outdoor restaurant. I felt like I was back in Tuscany the way you could look out through this magnificent structure and see gently rolling hills filled with vineyards. It also overlooks the serene Okanagan Lake. Whether you’re a connoisseur of wine or not, this place will make you feel cultured!

First off, I hope that’s how “Germany” is spelt in German. Now, for the story:

I was sixteen and travelling with a group of friends and classmates through Europe, a school-sponsored exchange. In Berlin, our guide took us all around Berlin informing us of the extensive history, especially of the World War II era. Checkpoint Charlie was a stop on our itinerary. A few of us were already worn-out and sick of being shepharded around like a flock of Canadian geese. Inside the museum, I decided to lose a few people and take in the photographs, displays, and artwork on a more personal, intimate level. As it turns out, a young Dutch guy caught my eye and I immediately lost train of thought and concentration in my self-taught History lesson. Just the two of us ended up staring at the same painting for quite some time on a wall out of the main area. We eventually got to talking and touring the whole museum together. I learned he was travelling through Germany with his father and would be in town for a few days (as was I only staying a short time). Conversations about our very different countries and childhoods ensued and before I knew it, my “flock” was preparing to leave. I didn’t know if I’d see him again but all reason and worry flew out the museum doors as we left the group back inside and tried to rush our goodbyes in the somewhat privacy of downtown Berlin. It was the most passionate, whirlwind round of kisses I had experienced.

To this day, we keep in touch. He came to out to Vancouver to visit me for two weeks in the summer of 2005, but by that time our fling had burnt out. Instead, I spent the two weeks showing him around Vancouver and Whistler. A great friendship rose from the ashes. And I’ve yet to cash in on my Tour de Holland.