Matters of the Art

Life is on the streets. Food entertainment and people of all ages We knew after we checked in to our hotel, settled in and figured out everything worked, it was time to explore. I put on my back pack, popped in my phone and the battery brick I bought because I run phones flat with photographs quickly. I added my guide book, some pesos in my travel purse and a bottle of water, along with comfy shoes on my feet. The rechargeable battery was my best investment. At 30 bucks it would recharge both our phones on the go twice in a day.  Mama at the market changing a baby, yes, those are the stones the streets and walkways are made of. If you have a hotel with a safe, it is highly recommended leave your cash except the day's spending money in it, along with your passport. Leave credit cards behind except for one, maximum. Most stores don't accept credit cards so plan accordingly.  Carry the tourist visa card you were given in your wallet and don't lose it. You must s...

Cathedral, under repair after earthquakes The first day in San Cristobal is dedicated to getting there. We found the bus by taking a taxi in Tuxtla to the bus station and from there hopped on a nice Mercedes style bus thing. The bus was not the wreck I envisioned full of squawking chickens, sheep and farmers in from the country. The Mexican bus stations are more civilized and better run than the ones in the USA because these folks use them and depend on them for regular transport. Most of the roads and some of the cars and all of the drivers would make me use the bus, without factoring in the lack of stop signs at four way corners. More on the way they do traffic later.... Transport of Choice: the motorbike The roads are in rough shape but being worked on constantly. I could see some earthquake damage but not nearly what I expected to see and figuring out road work from earthquake damage was confusing. Excavating cobble stones is probably not much fun, but road crews are at ...

On theway, Olympia to Tuxtla, October 21st .  Confronting a long day of travel to our jumping off point to Chiapas from Tuxtla, I didn’t even bother trying to go to bed and sleep.  Going to bed at midnight and getting up and on the road by 3:00 a.m. would have turned me into an over excited zombie. One last check of suitcases, making sure I had everything for two weeks in one small rolling bag and a back pack, I congratulated myself on my feat of packing for a week of cold weather to be followed by a week of hot weather in Mexico. And as always, I never wore half the stuff and wore the heck out of the rest. I was excited and a bit apprehensive, my friend Lynne has been to this area about 8 times and loves it more than anywhere else in the world. I, on the other hand, have read too many travel books about the dangers to tourists in Southern Mexico. Zapatistas, militia and drug cartels all ran through my head and played out worst case scenarios. I was going anyway, ea...

A list of Becauses becomes us as I begin this blogging novella about Mexico, and my passionate love affair with that country. Cuilapam, an abandoned 15th Century Dominican Convent. Our last day in Mexico but this photo sums it all up. Because: I hate the current government and their anti-immigration and trade stance directed at Mexico.  We are all immigrants in this very young country. Mexico has buildings that are still lived in and used every day from the 15th and 16th century. That's two hundred years before the USA contemplated being a country. Our inhabitants were too busy destroying the indigenous people occupying this country to worry about any other place. Mexico has had its own issues with indigenous people, racism, and the occupying Spaniards, issues that still exist both  here and there. Lynn and Roxy happy to be heading out at 3:00 for the longest travel day ever. Because: I am an artist and a photographer who grew up in a small farming town in Cali...

Mexico Coming Soon!