MAZUNTE

Mazunte is a different kettle of fish altogether, a small village on the beach with atap roofed-houses, devoted almost entirely to tourism.

It is full of back-packers, mainly young (apart from us!!) and has a “turtle museum”, as local beaches are used for nesting by green and leatherback turtles. We travelled by public transport, which in the last stage meant a pick-up with canvas roof… We only spent one night here and in the morning I managed to organise a dive with an Italian who has been in Mexico for 20 years.

Visibility was not great but we saw quite a lot of fish, including a few little rays, a small green shark and another type of sea snake, pale with brown spots. When we got back, Magda found them preparing for a wedding on the beach!

Then we set off on the 7 hour journey to Oaxaca, 250 km inland. The road wound up into the mountains for 3 hours and we climbed into pine forests to reach San Jose del Pacifico at over 2,300 masl.

Then we dropped down the other side to a plain, hedged by mountains to east and west, which we crossed to reach Oaxaca at a mere 1,550 masl. More about the city and surroundings when we have had a day or 2 to explore…

HUATULCO

Huatulco, on Mexico’s southernmost coast, has existed for only 25 years, although there are older towns inland and along the coast. The town was planned for tourism and is ecologically friendly (all water is recycled for watering). It stands on the edge of a Nature Reserve which is where most of our bird-watching has taken place. We are in a little hotel in the centre, frequented mainly by Mexicans. A mile or two further east are a number of big, luxurious “all-included” hotels owned by international chains and full of gringos… Our companions in the bird-watching group, a nice French-Canadian couple, are in one (which came as a packet with their flight) and have suffered a week of party-animal neighbours banging doors at 2 or 3 in the morning. This has been especially taxing as our bird-watching has involved an early start every morning – the earliest was 0445 and the latest 0600!

Our guide, Eric, is very knowledgeable and comes from Oaxaca, where we are headed next. We have seen a great variety of birds (over 120 species) in a variety of habitats. Yesterday we went out to sea to see marine birds including a blue-footed booby which I saw in the Galapagos Islands, and a masked booby.

We also saw several schools of dolphins, a couple of sea snakes (said to be very poisonous) and a pair of green turtles making baby turtles! This evening is our last sally. Tomorrow we will stay in Mazunte, a few miles west, and then on to Oaxaca on Saturday so that Magda can go to the market on Sunday!!!

QUERETARO

It being St Valentine’s day, Querétaro was in party mood. There was a wedding going on in the first church we passed and all the restaurants were full, most with live music. We found a recital in the Lutiers’ School, consisting of three pieces for piano by Brahms followed by Schumann’s “Dichterliebe” cycle (poems by Heine). The city dates back to 1539 and has lots of churches and other historic buildings. It was also at the heart of three of Mexico’s C19th historical high points. On 15 Sept 1810 (3 days before Chile!), Independence was declared here by a priest, Miguel Hidalgo. Followed 11 years of war before independence was finally achieved… In 1847, USA invaded on a flimsy excuse and took Mexico City – holding it for 10 months; the government fled to Querétaro where a peace was negotiated in 1848 under which Mexico “ceded” nearly half its territory (Texas, California etc.) Then in 1863 Maximillian von Habsburg, the Emperor imposed by France, was besieged here and finally defeated. He and his two principal generals were tried and shot by firing squad outside the town. We walked round the next day – the old centre is quite small but the city has expanded enormously in recent years and new buildings stretch far into the distance. In the afternoon we took a bus to San Miguel de Allende where we spent a couple of hours. We had a drink in a bar where Magda was overjoyed to find a piglet! It is smaller than Querétaro and also full of historic buildings, but absolutely overrun with tourists, mainly from the US, so we were glad to return to Querétaro where at least most of the tourists are Mexican and it seems more real! On Sunday afternoon we set off back to Mexico City where we took a flight down to Huatulco on the south coast of Oaxaca for 4 days bird-watching…

MEXICO CITY 2

Wednesday was devoted entirely to the fantastic Museum of Anthropology with information and artifacts relating to Mexico’s many Pre-Hispanic cultures. In the evening we went to an excellent presentation by the National Folk Ballet of Mexican dances in the magnificent theatre. On Thursday we went south to Coyoacan, once a separate town on the shore of the lake from where Cortes mounted his final attack, and where he lived for 2 years while (re-)building Mexico City. We visited a house with restaurant on the site of what were then his stables! The owners have created a very pleasant if slight Disney-ish garden which we wandered round. Nearby is the house of Malinche, his Mexican interpreter and mother of his son Martin, now a theatre school. A tunnel is said to connect the two, but it seems to me highly unlikely. There was no secret about their relations. The town centre seemed a world away from Mexico City, although it is now part of the conurbation. There is a low, yellow-painted Town Hall facing the large church across a little square. The church is one of the earliest Spanish buildings in the country, started in the C16th, but updated in the baroque style. We also visited the Casa Azul, the house where Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera lived – now a tranquil little museum with her beautiful studio. From there we went on to Anahuacalli Museum, designed by Rivera (inspired by the pre-Hispanic pyramids) to house his collection of mainly pottery artifacts. It is built of volcanic rock (teozintle) and has a fine view from the roof terrace. It also contains the cartoons of some of his murals. One I found in very bad taste depicted Stalin and Mao releasing white doves of peace. From there we went back to the National Palace in the centre to see some of the finished murals… The bird men descending from a may-pole is an old religious rite which is still practiced – we saw it done outside the Museum of Anthropology. On our way home we walked through the beautiful National library. Friday 14th was our last morning in the city. We went to the National Art Gallery to see a collection of Mexican painting and sculpture from the C16th-19th. The preponderance of religious works in the first few centuries was very striking. We went straight to the airport to catch our bus to Querétaro, 3 hours NW.

MEXICO CITY 1

The flight to México was long, but remarkable for two surprises. The first was in the airport at Lima where we changed planes, being hailed as we were walking to our gate by friends from Viña, on their way home from Colombia! The second was that on the onward flight from Lima we were served supper after take-off at 2.30 a.m., but no breakfast before arrival at 7 a.m… We travelled to our very friendly hostel “Anys” by metro, then set out for the historical centre, where our first action was to have lunch! Embarking on the programme recommended by Alfonso, we visited the enormous cathedral built between 1571 and 1813. It was rather crowded by devout tourists looking at the relics of a pope, so we climbed the bell towers to see some of the 38 bells led by a diminutive Quasimodo. We had views over the huge Zocalo (main square) to the S – which was filled by an armed services recruiting exhibition (its presence also discourages protestors…) – and to the NE over the Aztec Great Temple. The temple used to be thought to be under the cathedral, a common Spanish practice (c.f. Cusco) but workers digging in 1978 came across an Aztec carved stone disc which led to the discovery of the temple. It was excavated over many years and you can now see a surprising volume of remains – our next stop. Aztec power lasted only some 200 years, but each successive ruler built over his predecessor´s pyramidal temple meaning that there are (at least) seven superimposed structures, each bigger than the last. The final height with altars was 45m, about as high as the roof of the nearby cathedral. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Templo_Mayor The temple has a very informative museum full of artifacts, including the famous disc of Coyolxauhqui. Next stop was the Education Ministry, decorated with idealistic murals from the 20´s by the socialist Diego Rivera (husband of Frida Kahlo). The building was a beautiful C17-18th monastery. Much church property was expropriated by the reforming government of Benito Juarez in the 1860´s. While we were inside, there was thunder and lightning and a brief shower of hail, but it had stopped by the time we set out westwards to have hot chocolate in the Café Tacuba (1912 and beautifully decorated). This was also once a nunnery… It was getting late, and the Art Museum was closed but the post office was not! The post office?! Yes! An extraordinary arabesque extravaganza built in 1911, carved stone outside (centre) and with a gilt cast iron flying staircase in the centre! Across the road is the Bellas Artes Palace (1934), where we booked tickets for a Folklore Ballet performance tomorrow. El vuelo a México fue largo, tuvimos dos sorpresas. La primera, estábamos en el aeropuerto de Lima cuando escuchamos un grito “Magda”. Unos amigos de Viña volviendo desde Colombia! La segunda que cuando salimos de Lima nos sirvieron una comida a las 02.30, pero no hubo desayuno al llegar a México a las 0700 … Llegamos a nuestro hostal “Anys”, muy acogedor, en metro, y salimos luego al centro histórico – fuimos directo a almorzar! Siguiendo el programa recomendado por Alfonso del hostal, fuimos al enorme catedral construido entre 1571 y 1810. Estaba lleno de feligreses que querían admirar las reliquias de un papa, así que subimos a la torres para ver algunas de las 38 campanas y disfrutar de las perspectivas sobre el Zócalo al sur y el Templo Mayor. Se pensaba antes que el templo estaba debajo del catedral, práctica común de los españoles (c.f. Cusco) pero en 1978 unos trabajadores del metro encontraron un disco de piedra tallada de los Aztecas y se descubrió el templo. Fue excavado durante varios años y ahora se aprecian unas ruinas enormes. El poder Azteca duró tan solo unos 200 años, pero cada imperador sucesivo construyó sobre el pirámide de su antecesor, y hay (por lo menos) 7 templos, cada uno más grande. La altura final fue de 45m – parecida a la del techo del catedral. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Templo_Mayor Hay un museo excelente en el temple – es para pasar el día entero – incluyendo el famoso disco de Coyolxauhqui. Después fuimos al Ministerio de Educación, decorado con murales idealistas del siglo 20 por el socialista Diego Rivera (marido de Frida Kahlo). El edificio era un hermoso monasterio del siglo 17-18. Gran parte de la propiedad de la iglesia fue expropiada por el gobierno reformista de Benito Juarez en los 1860. Mientras estábamos adentro, empezó a tronar y cayó un aguacero breve, y cuando paró fuimos a tomar chocolate caliente en el Café Tacuba (1912 con decoraciones hermosas). También empezó como convento … Se estaba haciendo tarde y el Museo Nacional de Arte estaba cerrado. Pero el Correo estaba abierto! Una extravagancia arabesca de 1911, de piedra tallada y con una escalera de fierro fundido dorado! Al otro lado de la calle está el Palacio de Bellas Artes (1934), donde compramos entradas para el ballet folklórico de México mañana.

FORTALEZA

Our final stage in the north east was Fortaleza. Lonely Planet speaks unpromisingly of it as a place to start from to visit the region’s beaches, however we found plenty of interest in the old centre. There is a 20th century cathedral which is rather grey and heavy and concrete-gothic-looking from outside (it was reputedly modelled on Cologne cathedral) but really works architecturally inside – Romanesque arches, light and airy with beautiful stained glass. We passed through a pleasant green park with a view over the sea, the social centre of the town 100 years ago, past an old and still functioning hospital to the “Tourist centre”. This is set in the early 19th century prison, an interesting structure in itself, which was closed down by the military dictatorship in the 60s - no doubt they needed something bigger and more modern! It contains a mass of shops selling local (or not so local) handicrafts, and a museum containing a selection of works of “popular art and culture”, some produced by or referring to ex-prisoners. There was a set of woodcuts on the life of a famous Robin Hood figure known as Lampiao, active in the 1920s and 30s until killed in an ambush in 1938. His was not the only band of Cangaçeiros (bandits) operating at the time. Next we went to the José de Alencar Theatre – he was a Brazilian writer and literary figure of the late 19th century – where we eavesdropped on a rehearsal for a concert. The theatre was built around 1910, lots of spidery cast-iron. We found a very interesting museum with an anti-establishment slant unusual in official museums. Among other things, it told the story of a self-sufficient proto-communist community set up in the 30s under a priest, José Lourenço. The local landowners and government, as well as the established church, took a dim view – no doubt they were sensitive because of the Cangaçeiros’ activities. In 1937 it was attacked, including by aerial bombardment, and destroyed. Over 400 people were killed. We then found a smart new culture centre (with free internet!) called Dragao do Mar (Sea Dragon) after a hero of the abolitionist movement – we had a good lunch in the restaurant and saw displays of modern art and folk culture but didn’t have time to see it all! Nuestra última parada en el nordeste fue en Fortaleza. Lonely Planet habla de la ciudad como punto de partida para las playas, pero encontramos varios lugares de interés en el centro. Hay un catedral del siglo 20, con aspecto exterior bastante pesado. Sin embargo el interior es realmente bello, con arcos livianos y vitrales hermosos. Pasamos por un parque, el centro social de la ciudad hace 100 años atrás, y un hospital antiguo que todavía funciona, para llegar al “Centro de Turismo”. Esto está dentro de una cárcel del siglo 19, en sí una estructura interesante, que contiene muchas tiendas de artesanías locales (o no), y un museo con una selección de obras de “arte y cultura popular”, algunas producidas por o referidas a ex-presos. Había un juego de grabados en madera sobre la vida de un famoso Cangaçeiro (bandido) llamado Lampiao, activo en los años 1920-30s, hasta que fue matado en una emboscada en 1938. No fue la única banda de Cangaçeiros que operaba en esa época. Después de eso fuimos al teatro José de Alencar – escritor brasilero de fines del siglo 19 – donde escuchamos un ensayo de concierto. El teatro fue construido alrededor de 1910, en fierro fundido. Encontramos un museo muy interesante, siendo un museo oficial del estado pero con una postura bien alternativa. Entre otros, cuenta de una comunidad proto-comunista y auto-suficiente que existía en los años 1930, bajo un cura, José Lourenço. A los fazendeiros y al gobierno les cayó mal – sin hablar de la iglesia – sin duda por las actividades de los Cangaçeiros entre otros motivos. En 1937 fue atacado, incluso por bombardeo aéreo, y destruido. Murieron más de 400 personas.

Parnaiba to Viçosa

From Sao Luis we took an overnight bus which did a loop inland and back to the coast again at Parnaiba, once an important port exporting local products such as carnauba wax, but now fairly sleepy as the river mouth has silted up. This forms an extensive delta on which we took a boat trip. There were more sand dunes and mangroves, and a good lunch. Then we headed down to the Ubajara National Park. This is set in an enclave of tropical forest in quite a high range of hills (up to around 900 masl) well inland. It rained. We stayed just outside the park in a pousada run by a German, Herbert Klein, who has been there for nearly 30 years. We slept in a fairly basic “chalet” and ate a very good breakfast – brought on a wheelbarrow – in a sort of gazebo. The park was a bit disappointing. It has a couple of trails but because of overprotective Brazilian legislation they are closed “for safety reasons” whenever it rains – which it frequently does. We were reduced to descending to the limestone caves – the park’s main attraction – in the cable car. The caves are not particularly spectacular but have some interesting formations. We took a couple of walks outside the park, through forest and a little village. We saw monkeys and other wildlife, but no snakes – unlike another couple who booked in and paid, went up to settle into their chalet, and when they came out met a 3 m long boa on the path. They simply packed up and left! We took a trip (30 km) with Herbert in his car to a local waterfall which was quite a bit more exciting than the national park! The river has water in it, despite the drought, because it is downstream of a reservoir belonging to an American company which produces, processes and packs fruit. They are required to keep the river flowing as it supplies a town further down. We walked down to the river and then followed its course down a series of small falls to the main waterfall, about 10 m high, with a cave behind it. At first the path just had a bit of scrambling, slippery in places, but nothing to write about. However the last two climbs down were by trees and were quite testing! We went with a Brazilian family of four. The mother and 20-something year old son dropped out very early but the father and daughter (at university) made it to the bottom and back! Our last night in the hills was spent at Viçosa, further north in the same range. The rain continued. It is a well-kept little town with a pleasant atmosphere, although it did not rate a mention in our Lonely Planet! (2005) De Sao Luis tomamos un bus nocturno a Parnaiba, antiguamente un puerto importante para la exportación de productos locales como la cera de carnauba. La desembocadura dejó de ser navegable, y la ciudad se quedó dormida… Salimos en lancha por el estuario, que forma una delta, con mangles y dunas. De ahí fuimos al Parque Nacional Ubajara. Está ubicado en selva tropical en una sierra que llega a cerca de 900 m de altura, lejos del mar. Llovió. Alojamos afuera del parque en la posada de un alemán, Herbert Klein, que lleva casi 30 años en Brasil. Dormimos en un “chalet” bastante básico, y disfrutamos de un buen desayuno, traido en caretilla. El parque es un poco decepcionante. Hay un par de senderos, pero – resultado de la sobre-protección brasilera – los cierran, “por seguridad” cuando llueve, lo que ocurre a menudo. Tuvimos que bajar a las cavernas – principal atractivo del parque – por teleférico. Las cavernas no son espectaculares, aunque contienen unas formaciones interesantes. Fuimos a caminar por los alrededores, en la selva y el campiño. Vimos monos y aves, pero ninguna serpiente – a diferencia de una pareja que llegó, pagó, y fue a instalarse en su chalet. Al salir se encontraron con una boa de 3 m de largo – agarraron las maletas y se fueron! Fuimos con Herbert en su auto (ver foto) 30 km a una cascada, un poco más emocionante que el parque nacional! El río lleva agua, a pesar de la sequía, porque está río abajo de un embalse, propiedad de una empresa norteamericana que produce, procesa y enlata fruta. Están obligados a mantener el flujo del río porque éste suministra una pequeña ciudad. Bajamos al río y seguimos su curso por una serie de cascadas pequeñas hasta la principal, que tenía como 10 m de altura, con una caverna. El descenso en un inicio no era muy difícil, sólo un poco resbaloso a veces. Sin embargo al final tuvimos que bajar por dos árboles! Nos acompañaba una familia brasilera – la madre y el hijo (de 20 y tantos años) quedaron atrás muy temprano, pero el padre y la hija llegaron hasta el final! Pasamos la última noche en la sierra un poco más al norte, en Viçosa. La lluvia seguía… Es una pequeña ciudad muy bonita y bien cuidada, que no figuraba en nuestro Lonely Planet! (2005)