Travels, Music, Food & Tattoos
Sorgente: Intro
Archive | Uncategorized RSS feed for this section
Past and present
22 JunI think about this blog every day, I think about the reasons why I decided to write it and whenever I open it and read it, I always have that feeling that it has been one of the most beautiful things I have ever done.
And I wish I had the time and the focus, and the constance of those times.. when waking up was the step before writing. Taking out all the energy I have inside, my feelings, my stories, my beautiful life.
Now Life is still beautiful , is just different.
At the time of the trip and the blog, I was just wondering around the world experiencing travels and adventure in US and Mexico. Now I see myself with a satisfying amazing job running up and down for meetings and great projects in Dubai
I am preparing some word to speak about my experience here, and, given the time of the year in this part of the world, I will give you my thoughts about what I learnt of this culture, and religion. Ramadan.
Aside
That’s so me
9 SepI often log in with the intention of writing again.
I like to realize that even if it has been seven months since I wrote my last article, people still enjoys reading my blog.
So I click on “new article”, and feel like I am ready to start writing…then on the right there s a list of bizarre articles names, which I barely recognize as mine.
It feels so far away from that, I feel so different already and then concentration disappear. I say: next time.I prefer reading my funny stories and thoughts of my 90 days backpacking.
Even if I stopped writing on the 25th February, my way to Rio keeps going on. And I keep traveling quite a lot.
After my return to Naples in January, I passed through Barcelona for a dinner with my friends at Por Venir, visited Switzerland and its quiet lakes and mountains, cooked in Portofino for 150 people with a friend , topped up my oyster card in London just to feel like I was living there again, sung in an underground karaoke in Rome for one of my best friends birthday, played the hajje in istanbul in order to enter in one of the most famous mosques in the world, gained arabic residency and driving license for a new, fantastic job opportunity; Swum in crystal clear waters in Formentera and partied a teenager in Ibiza; I was kicked out from a governmental office for having my legs not covered enough, stood at the foot of the tallest building in Dubai and – last but not least – during a security inspection of a check control in Iraq I run out from the car because of a grasshopper. I imagined the day after local newspaper mentioning of an italian woman in Iraq for business purposes, shot as believed to want to escape from the Iraqi check control. That’s so me.
Chi ha detto che c’e’ un solo Messico?
25 Feb
Qual è la prima immagine che vi viene in mente quando pensate al Messico? :
“Belle spiagge di sabbia bianca e acque turchesi con temperature estive tutto l’anno”.
“Grandi cappelli colorati chiamati Sombreros e dei cantanti baffuti, i Mariachis”.
“Il famoso topolino messicano Speedy Gonzales che canta: “andale, andale, arriba, arriba”.
“Mezcal e Tequila”. Giusto. Ma forse non sapete che questo liquore in realtà è considerato il miglior rimedio per le malattie influenzali, che i messicani bevono in ogni momento e con qualunque scusa.
Non importa se il giorno dopo dovranno andare a lavorare con una gran sbornia, che loro chiamano “cruda”, alla tequila non si rinuncia mai!
O magari assocerete questo paese centroamericano a un bel cactus verde. Si, ce ne sono a migliaia di esemplari in Messico, ma magari ignorate che li’ lo mangiano lesso o alla piastra condito con uova, cipolla e carne, come farcitura di una specie di tacos chiamati “nopal”.
La cucina messicana e’ stata considerata patrimonio dell’umanità. E se pensi di conoscerne le caratteristiche ti basterà mettere piede in un mercato popolare per renderti conto che non avevi capito niente.
Guacamole con nachos è un tipico piatto messicano amato in tutto il mondo, ma il nome originale di questi deliziosi triangoli di mais e’ “totopos”, il nome nachos glielo hanno affibbiato i vicini texani.
E neanche i “burritos” sono messicani, bensì’ nordamericani, ma vi innamorerete della gran varietà di tacos e tortillas. Tacos e tortillas sono alla base di tutti i pasti; i messicani non rinunciano per niente al mondo a questa specie di piadina di mais o di farina.
E’ bello vedere le persone del posto che fanno la fila fuori i piccoli laboratori di produzione artigianale di tortillas, pronte per essere farcite a casa con gli ingredienti più disparati.
Una “torta” in Messico non è una torta come la si intende in spagnolo o italiano, il tipico dolce di compleanno. E’ infatti cosi chiamato un semplice panino imbottito, da comprare sia presso i numerosi venditori ambulanti ma anche in bar e ristoranti, ripieni di res (manzo), pollo, verdure e così via.
A noi europei piace soprattutto d’estate sorseggiare una bella Corona o Sol ghiacciata con una fetta di limone e diamo per scontato che sia una tradizione messicana. Niente di più’ sbagliato: anzi, per loro e’ il modo per riconoscere a prima vista un “gringo“, un turista, e magari ridere di questa nostra usanza buffa! I messicani doc preferiranno piuttosto bere una michelada: e’ pur sempre una birra – che loro chiamano “chela” – mischiata con succo di pomodoro e lime, sale e peperoncino.
Ai messicani piace festeggiare tutto, persino la morte. Hanno un icona per questa festa speciale che si tiene il 2 di novembre: è un elegante scheletro di una donna con un cappello chiamata “la Catrina”. Durante questa celebrazione popolare, i messicani “sorridono” alla morte con musica e festeggiamenti come nessun altra cultura sarebbe in grado di fare.
E’ stato spiazzante sentire chiamare un giovane cameriere ventenne “viejo” (vecchio) e un settantenne “joven” (giovane). Quello che può sembrare uno sfotto contraddittorio e’ invece costume.
In effetti, il Messico è in generale una terra di infiniti contrasti, misteri e sorprese, tra passato e futuro, tradizione ed avanguardia, lusso e povertà estrema.
Mi ha colpito tantissimo la gran varietà’ paesaggistica, climatica e folcloristica dei suoi 32 stati: benché siano estremamente differenti fra di loro, risultano tuttavia convivere armoniosamente in un grande paese di due milioni di chilometri quadrati, in cui vivono oltre 110 milioni di persone.
I deserti dello stato del Chihuaua, le giungle dello Yucatan e Chiapas, le incantevoli spiagge caraibiche del Quintana Roo, le splendide città coloniali di Puebla, Oaxaca, Valladolid, Merida e San Cristobal de las Casas. Antiche piramidi Maya ed Azteche e memorie millenarie. Ma il Messico e’ molto di più.
Città del Messico, comunemente conosciuta come una delle città più pericolose al mondo, si e’ rivelata un posto accogliente per una trentenne che viaggia da sola come me.
Incredibilmente affascinante, edifici antichi a contrasto con l’ architettura d’avanguardia moderna.
Gallerie d’arte contemporanea e tantissima street art, non c’e’ da meravigliarsi che sia la città’ con il più gran numero di musei al mondo; maestosi teatri, sontuosi viali, negozi di lusso, ristoranti alla moda, bar esclusivi e discoteche.
E’ sicuramente una delle città’ più inquinate al mondo ma vanta anche di tante aree verdi: il bosco di Chapultepec è il più grande parco urbano in America Latina, imponente quanto il Bois de Boulogne a Parigi o il Central Park a New York.
C’è solo una cosa che non si può fare in Messico ed e’ sciare. Purtroppo questo meraviglioso paese non dispone di alcun modo per praticare questo sport.
Ma nessuno né nulla è perfetto e posso garantirvi che il tempo non sarà’ mai sufficiente per poter visitare e vivere a pieno la gran varietà di meraviglie che questo paese ha da offrire.
E spero che attraverso le mie esperienze di viaggio, possiate scoprire i segreti più nascosti di questo paese cosi affascinante e misterioso, e sono sicura che a molti di voi farà’ innamorare, proprio come e’ successo a me.
The people’ s car. For Love, Peace and War.
6 Feb
The Beetle is probably the most popular car in the world. Actually, it is the most produced car of a single design platform with more than 200,000,000 models sold.
Its production lasted more than 60 years, starting in Germany in the early 30’s, when Adolf Hitler ordered the designer Ferdinand Porsche to develop “a car for everybody” and change the idea of the car as a privilege. He wanted to give a shape to an idea of a Volkswagen – ” the people’s car”, from German volks (people) and wagen (car).
The production of this car ended up in 2003 in Puebla, Mexico, being this city home to one of the biggest VolksVagen factories in the world after the german one in Woflsburg.
The Beetle has been used in so many different contexts, countless are the times it has been utilized in leisure as in movies scenes and commercials; who doesnt’ remember Herbie, featured in several Disney motion pictures starting in 1969 with Love Bug?
During the Second World War, its production was mostly aimed for military objectives and even became the symbol of the economic rebirth after the war, but at the same time it is now considered an icon for “peace and love” hippie movement during the 60’s.
There is a model called ” escape from Berlin”. AS all of you may already know, from 13th August 1961 to 9th November 1989 a 155 kilometers wall divided East Berlin from the West. This special model with a wider coffer so to hide people must have been very much appreciated from lovers or families divided by the wall. My innate romanticism makes me imagine romantic scenes such as a blonde tall girl getting anxious seeing that funny curved car to arrive , and that coffer to get opened and finally hug and kiss a tired out – but happy – tall and blonde, auburn-bearded guy.
The Beetle must have been a very reliable vehicle , being the car which has been most used as a Police car.
And you might not know that it won the first prize in different rallys, the one in Montecarlo in 1954 above all.
Many peculiar features charachterize this amazing car, but the fact that it is the only car able to float, it’s absolutely amazing. Probably not even his designer Porsche meant to, but must been a great satisfaction when two italian Beetle fans crossed the 7 miles of sea of the Strait of Messina that connects Sicily from the Calabrian coast. And not only in Italy, because some other brave fans reached the English coast from the Isle of Man with a Beetle, as well as in the bay of Hong Kong, in Lake Michigan and the Strait of Singapore.
The Beetle has thousands and thousands of passionates and fans who prefer to call this iconic car differently in their country. Please find hereby some, but it would be great if any of you reader could add any other one commenting below!
- Maggiolino or Maggiolone in Italy
- Beetle or Bug in United Kingdom and United States
- Vocho or Sedan in Mexico
- Escarabajo in Spain
- Bubbla in Sweden
- Fusca in Brazil
- Carosca in Portugal
- Kever in Belgium and Netherlands
- Käfer in Germany, Switzerland and Austria
- Coccinelle in France
- Buba in the ex Jugoslavia
If in Europe it is more a vintage object just used sometimes to have a nostalgic ride, or used to attend the many Beetle gatherings across the continent, in Southamerica it is absolutely normal to use it on a daily basis as a mean of transport. I saw many of them during my trip to Argentina, but I am sure that I saw more Vochos in Mexico in a week than in all my life. Red, fuchsia, yellow, spotted or with the typical Mexico city taxi colors: golden and red. Zipping through the busy Mexico City avenues or parked in a tranquil colonial street in Chiapas and Oaxaca. Once in Oaxaca city I saw 3 beetles in a row: one was red, the second white and the last one green: the tricolours of the two flags of my current favourite countries in the world: my native Italy and my adored Mexico.
My three months traveling
27 Jan12th October 2012 to 12th January 2013
October:
- 12th-15th New York, New York, Usa
- 15th-20th Chicago and Michigan City, Illinois, Usa
- 20th – 22th San Francisco and Sausalito, California, Usa
- 22th Monterrey and Carmel by the sea, California, Usa
- 22th-25th San Luis Obispo and Ventura, California, Usa
- 25th-28th Los Angeles, California, Usa
- 28th-29th Las Vegas, Nevada, Usa
- 30th- 31th Mexico City, Mexico
November
- 31th October – 4th Morelia and Patzcuaro, Michoacan, Mexico
- 4th – 7th Mexico City
- 7th – 9th Puebla and Cholula, Puebla, Mexico
- 9th – 11th Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico
- 12th – 17th Mazunte, Oaxaca, Mexico
- 17th – 22th Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico
- 23th – 29th San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico
- 29th – 30th Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico
December
- 1th – 3rd Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico
- 3th – 6th Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico
- 6th Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo, Mexico
- 6th-7th Mexico City
- 7th-8th Tepotzlan, Morelos, Mexico
- 8th-26th Mexico City
- 27th Bacalar lagune, Quintana Roo, Mexico
- 27th – 29th San Pedro Island, Belize
- 29th to 4thJanuary Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo, Mexico
January
- 4th- 5th Valladolid and Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico
- 5th – 6th Playa del Carmen
- 6th – 9th Holbox Island, Yucatan, Mexico
- 9th-12th Playa del Carmen
- 12th-13th Cancun-Madrid-Roma-Naples
Who said there is only one Mexico?
17 JanWhat is the first image you have when hearing the word ‘Mexico’?
“Beautiful white sand beaches and turquoise waters with summer temperatures almost all year-long”.
“Big sombreros and Mariachis”.
” The famous mouse Speedy Gonzales saying: andale, andale, arriba, arriba”
Tulum ruins and beach
Mariachis y sombreros
“Mezcal and Tequila”. Right. (But probably you don’t know that it is actually considered the best cure for flu and other illnesses. Mexicans drink it at all times and with whatever excuse; it doesn’t matter if the day after they will have to go to work with the strongest hangover, which they call “cruda“).
A cactus might appear in your mind when someone says “Mexico”. And you might be right again, but you ignore that Mexican enjoy eating it with eggs, meat and tacos, and they call it “nopal“.
Cactus in Mexico City
Cactus at sunset in Oaxaca
Guacamole with nachos is a combination loved all over the world; but don’t ask a local to get some for you, be aware that this is the North American translation for their beloved “totopos“.
You think you know Mexican cuisine until you arrive to Mexico and discover that its traditional flavours are kept hidden in the street markets.
I am not a burrito 😦
Love for Food. In mexico, for sure. Lunch at “Delirio” in Mexico City
You might feel disappointed to find out that burritos are not Mexican but you will fall in love with a huge variety of tacos and tortillas: Mexicans cannot delight a meal without this round flatbread made of corn or flour.
I loved to walk to the supermarket and observe locals queuing outside Tortillerias – old shops for handmade tortillas to be filled at home with the most delicious ingredients, especially meat, onion, corn and tomatoes.
A “torta” in Mexico is not a cake as in its usual meaning in Spanish. It is a popular, often cheap sandwich you might find both at the street vendors and restaurants, filled with res (beef), chicken, vegetables and so on.
Mexicans don’t put lemon in a Corona bottle as most of Europeans think. This is just a way to detect gringos – tourists. They would rather drink a michelada: a beer, which they call “chela” mixed with lime and tomato juice, salt and chili.
In Mexico they like to celebrate it all, even death. But I wrote an article dedicated to it, called Canta y no llores (on the day of the dead) , for if you want to know more about this peculiar celebration.
On 2nd November the most important woman in Mexico is actually the icon of death: an elegant female skeleton with a hat called “La Catrina”; here people “smile” at death with music and festivals, as no other culture might probably do.
La Catrina de Diego Rivera
Mexicans say “joven” – young – to a 70 years old waiter and “viejo” – old – to a 20 years old one.
But Mexico is in general a land of infinite contrasts, mysteries and surprises; between future and past, tradition and avant-garde, luxury and extreme poverty.
I took this picture in New Years Eve 2013, but the sign said Feliz 2012. I wish it was a better year for them
Different kind of landscape and environments meet in a 2 million square kilometres country of more than 110 million people spread out into 32 federal entities ( 31 states and a federal district ).
Chihuauan deserts, Yucatan and Chiapas jungles, stunning Caribbean beaches, beautiful colonial cities: Puebla, Oaxaca, Valladolid, Merida, San Cristobal de las Casas. Ancient Mayan and Aztecs pyramids. And so much more…
Me and Sandrine at Chichen Itza, Yucatan
Playa de Mazunte, Oaxaca
You can never forget the first night sleeping in the jungle
Colonial house in Puebla
When thinking about Mexico you might not associate it to “museums”; but Mexico City hosts more museums than any other city in the world, above all the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City, the most visited in the whole country.
It contains significant archeological and anthropological artifacts from the pre-Columbian heritage of Mexico, such as the Piedra del Sol (the “Stone of the Sun” or Aztec calendar stone)
Me and THE Sun Stone
In this Museum there is also 16th-century Aztec statue of Xochipilli: the god of art, games, beauty, dance, flowers, and song in Aztec Mythology. As well as in modern times, bon-vivants, life lovers are usually more open minded to diversity and people with diverse tastes and way of seeing life; Xochipilli was actually also the patron of both homosexuals and male prostitutes , a role possibly resulting from his being absorbed from the Toltec civilization.
Going back to museums and Mexico City, I can tell that this city has fascinated me with its beautiful buildings from several centuries ago and the most avant-garde architecture, full of contemporary art galleries, theatres, large avenues, upscale stores, trendy restaurants, exclusive bars and nightclubs;
The statue of Angel of Indipendence, Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City
A lovely cafe in Polanco, Mexico City
Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City
And Bosque de Chapultepec is right in the middle of the town, it is the largest urban park in Latin America, as big as some of the greatest in the world, such as Bois de Boulogne in Paris and Central Park in New York City.
There is just one thing you can’t do in Mexico and that is skiing; unfortunately this amazing country lacks of snow.
But you can’t have it all in life, in general. You have to make do with what you have. No one or nothing is perfect and believe me, you will still need many months to visit and experience the big variety of wonders that this country has to offer.
And through my travel experiences in Mexico, I hope I will let you discover the most hidden secrets and surprises of this mysterious country called MEXICO so that you can fall in love just like I did.
View from my 15 USD cabana in Mazunte, Oaxaca
A walk in the jungle nearby Palenque ruins, Chiapas.
Gran cenote, Tulum
Street vendor at Oaxaca local market
Canyon. Canon del Sumidero, Chiapas
Guadalupe Church, San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas
Making new friends in Cholula, Puebla
Afternoon laundry in Tulum
Cataratas de Agua Azul, Blue waterfalls in Chiapas
Pirates and colours in Neverland. Holbox
16 JanOn a tranquil afternoon at the Stayinn Barefoot in Mexico City I was having a nice chat to Diego, one of the guys who runs the hostel; I told him about my passion for the islands in general and gave him more details about a place I would consider as the “ideal” one to visit.
Based on my description, he told me that I could certainly find in Mexico that place I had imagined in my mind. He introduced me an island, a hidden gem in the Yucatan peninsula called Holbox ( you pronounce it Holbosch). Honestly I had not even heard of it once, but I was intrigued instantly.
I was lucky enough to be able to go there at the end of my three months trip, at the beginning of January with Sandrine, my lovely dutch friend who lives in London. She came to Mexico to visit me for about a week; we were very enthusiastic about going to this mysterious place together.
Holbox is an old fishing village founded at the end of 1800 by descendants of pirates who had “ended up” on that island in search of a refuge. Pirates are smart, I always thought it.
Nowadays you can reach it by taking a bus or a taxi from Cancun to a town called Chiquilà, it takes about 2 hours and a half; then enjoy a pleasant 20 minutes ferry to the island of Holbox.
Me and Sandrine got carried away from Holbox energy immediately. Upon arrival you will have at first sight an idea of the general environment of the island, noticing a very primordial harbour with a big sign on its office: “I don’t ask you to clean my island, but please don’t compromise it”.
There’s the strong interest to save this place from the massive and invasive tourism, and I wish it will last for long time.
Holbox is actually a very wild and preserved place also for being part of a protected area called Yum Balam.
Its nature is nearly untouched, you can randomly bump into birds, pelicans, whale sharks, dolphins, raccoons and often in a weird animal I had never seen before; I am talking about a marine mollusc called Chiton, commonly known as “cucaracha de mar”, sea cockroach. They are not as disgusting as they may sound, but their dorsal shells are quite big, which they need as a protection. While walking throug the white sands, you will find a lot of them. It’s nature, and it is so good to be surrounded by!
I loved Holbox for its singularity and beauty but most of all the absence of any type of exploitation.
During my Mexican trip I had experienced this wildness only in another hidden gem on the Oaxaca coast: Mazunte, but I have to admit that the charme of the island usually beats the one of the mainland to me.
There is no big store in Holbox, there are just few groceries and artesany shops, not a tall building, a single paved road nor a car.
Walking is ideal, but there are electric golf cars you can rent for about 10 euros per hour. There are a few old and abandoned ones in the street that can be transformed in a perfect photo shoot set. Me and Sandrine had a lot of fun doing it.
The culinary choice of the island is quite varied, with mostly seafood and italian restaurants. You can even find fancy ones, but always harmonious with the environment.
You may have understood how I loved this place.
But I could not continue delighting you with stories about Holbox without naming one of the top 3 hostels I visited in Mexico: the Tribu: It is situated less than 10 minutes walking from the harbor, it is a quite new hostel but it is already considered a symbol of the island.
We arrived to the Tribu at sunset time. I couldn’t imagine a more colorful building than that one, with such a good vibe that captivates you at the very first step into the hostel.
We were welcomed from a lovable English guy called Robin, a real vagabond; he lived in many places in the world and speaks many languages.
And Anna, a beautiful and patient italian girl who returned to Holbox to work after have firstly arrived as a guest.
For a couple of seconds I envied her and wished I could do the same one day. Returning to paradise and work there for a while, enjoying that beautiful location, nature, colours and good vibe…
We checked in and Robin took us upstairs, leaving us fresh towels and fragrant linen. They smelled of home’s laundry, at Tribu they don’t use drying machine but they hang them in a terrace absorbing all the fresh air from the island.
At Tribu you can stay in its spacious, cheerful and clean dorms or opt for a comfortable private room you can access through a likewise colorful turrett.
Our dorm was nice: we met Brad, a funny Australian guy and a charming mexican called Andres, which by coincidence resulted to be friends of some friends from D.F., it is such a small world!
We had a chat with them and went down to the cozy garden, surrounded by palms, canoes, colored beach-chairs and fantastic hammocks you won’t ever wish to leave. Everything was nearly perfect, mosquitos are probably the only annoying part of this amazing corner of the world.
And when you will be relaxed enough after the hammock you can choose if going to an incredibly equipped kitchen and cook a meal or simply have a tea/coffee and delight it in its cozy balcony (tribu family is often there chatting, eating, laughing and chilling ); but you can also go for a more romantic or peaceful time on the marvelous Tribu rooftop terrace with it magical views especially at sunset time.
Everything and everybody seems to smile at you when you are at Tribu hostel. You will even love to lay in the bathroom for its bright colors and funny drawings. The entire hostel decoration is consistent with the natural habitat and any detail is conceived and set with passion and taste.
There is no time in which Tribu’s fantastic staff does not put an effort in making any day or night a memorable one. Movie nights, jam sessions, salsa lessons, yoga, quiz night, barbecue and many more activities. You can’t get bored there!
During the day you can walk 3 minutes to the beach, or just chill at the hostel in the shadow and exchange your book with another at the reception; you can take a kitesurf lessons (Holbox is very popular for this sport too) , or just rent a bike and ride through the islands. It is long 40 kilometres and 1.5 wide, but 34 out of them are still intact and wild.
On our last day we rent a golf car with Brad and Jenny, a funny finnish girl with always a smile on her face; we broght few Coronas, Sol and XX beers and on the way we cought up with Sheridan and Helen, a nice couple from London who accepted our invitation to come with us to see the sunset.
I drove that funny car all the way to Punta Coco, about 10 minutes away. I am not sure of his name but afterwards also a funny american guy joined us with his bike, he brought a kind of bizarre swords and started to play with Brad and Sandrine.
It was a lovely afternoon. And one of the best sunsets of my trip. There was a red-hot sun, nice company, a sweet dog and a beautiful sea in front of us. What else you desire?
And then is when you think of how beautiful life is and how lucky you are to be able to enjoy it.
There are few spots to go at night when in Holbox, but at 11 pm Tribu bar opens its doors not only to guests but also to general public.
It gets quite crowded and you can sip a nice cocktails while chilling on one of the swings alongside the bar.
I had a quick chat with a nice guy working at the bar, Pietro, from Italy: he just arrived to Holbox for the season.
Depending on the night, the vibe goes on until late, we had a beer there and then went to a mezcaleria nearby the hostel.
It was a nice night mostly seeing Robin swallowing a mezcal worm. Sandrine looked incredulous, she did not know that if the worm comes out from the bottle, you have to drink it. Plus, they say that the worm contains a strong essence of this popular Mexican drink.
It was a pleasant night. I knew I would have left that place the day after unwillingly.
Those were moments I would never want to stop and certainly Holbox and Tribu are in my top 3 places of my entire 3 months travelling.
Valladolid mexicana
6 JanMe and Sandrine left Isla Mujeres in the early afternoon, we wanted to catch a bus to Valladolid and be there before the sun would go down; we decided to visit this town for a day so we could be close to the Chichen Itza ruins the following morning.
We had about 3 hours ride from Cancun to Villadolid, in a quite dirty and uncomfortable bus by a company called Mayab.
It was not like ADO, much cleaner and professional. On this bus every now and then a street vendor would board the bus trying to sell food or bags or whatever. Even though most of them were quite annoying, we found a very funny original one, who pretended to sell a special oil to cure so many illnesses in one that me and Sandrine burst out laughing like dumbs.
We arrived to Valladolid quite late in the end and while grabbing our luggage we bumped into an italian guy traveling on his own, Federico. “Are you also italian? ” we said. Typical clichés, and we left.
We found this colonial town quite nice at first sight, we started walking towards a hostel that had been recommended, called Candelaria Hostel but we had not booked any space.
We bumped into a beautiful red church with white edges and a moorish hint from the 17th century, the Candelaria: beautiful. And there was a blue sky that even if was getting darker was a marvelous contrast with the church.
On the way to the hostel we met again the italian guy of the bus, who told us that the hostel was unfortunately fully booked. We went anyway to see it, it looked really cool and smart and we had a look to its famous garden in the backyard.
As we were told from the receptionist that there was no space, we finally went in a hotel.
I had not been in a proper hotel for a while and I have to admit it was really clean and comfortable, I probably needed it, even if we were welcomed from the worst staff ever.
We joined Federico for dinner, he took us to a hidden corner where to enjoy authentic Yucatan food, as he feels kind of local in this area. He is a great traveller but is now living in Yucatan peninsula and often comes to Valladolid.
Few years ago he attended a master in England where he met a couple who moved to Mexico few years later. He decided to join them for an important project and so he is now living in El Cuyo. A place that is still very far from tourism, close to a biosphere reserve.
This place is apparently famous for hosting the majority of the pink flamingo of Mexico as well as being considered one of the most important beaches in the world for the nesting of the hawksbill turtle.
We had a lovely meal with Federico, drunk a few beers and enjoyed his really interesting life stories. He was really funny and smart, it felt like we knew him forever and we keep talking to him during our pleasant walk after dinner.
We passed through the Zocalo, “main plaza” and crossed a park with the fountain of the “Mestiza”.
On the southwest side of the Plaza there was the majestic 16th Century Cathedral of “San Servacio”. Beautiful: we took some pictures, commented on the cathedral and read somewhere that it had been scene of a bloody crime and had been demolished and rebuilt in the 19th century.
We got tempted from a churros seller on the square and bought a few. Unfortunately they were not really nice and probably cooked with an old oil.
Luckily it was the only bad choice of the night, since the rest was really good, there was a nice moon, a lot of tranquility and fresh air.
We walked a beautiful colonial street called ” calzada de los frailes” all the way to the Convent of San Bernardino di Siena, built by Franciscan missionaries in the 16th Century.
We wandered around enjoying the beautiful colonial architecture of this lovely town and when we finally got to the hotel all we wanted was having a rest and sleep.
The best of traveling is just meeting nice people as Federico, bumping into places you had never heard of and being far away from the conventional things you would do at home.
Related articles
- Valladolid… a magic town that has it all! (foodieinvallarta.wordpress.com)
Cenotes, Bikes and boundaries in Tulum
30 Dec30th November 2012
I woke up, took off my lovely fuchsia eye-mask and saw out of the window a white sign saying “Tulum” – a good relief after about 15 hours bus journey.
I did not have any idea where to go nor where to stay. Actually, I didn’t even know much about this place but the fact that it had stunning Maya ruins, beautiful white sands and turquoise waters.
At the taxi queue there were 4 people I had seen on my bus from Chiapas, they also seemed not to know where to go, they wanted me to go with them in the taxi, but the driver seemed not to agree in carrying 5 people + backpacks so I gave them a warm smile and thank them anyway; That is one of those sliding doors situations. The people you meet will obviously change the rest of the trip. I imagined to have hopped on that taxi with those strangers, but I realized to be more happy to have stayed. No taxi around, so I decided to go for a nice breakfast first.
It was 830 am, there was no rush. I ordered a fresh orange juice and a coffee. I wrote Elisabeth on whatsapp, she suggested me a place called La Cigana, 400 metres from the bus station and Just after the last juice sip I walked still a little bit lost and sleepy, to find this place.. I knocked few times at the hostel door until a nice Australian guy opened me, I thought he was working there but I found out he was just a guest. It was good news to hear from the staff that there was availability for me. I left my backpack in the room, put my belongings in the safe and joined few other people that were having breakfast outside. Among them, a pretty girl from the Italian Switzerland. She had just arrived to Mexico and was heading to Costa Rica, where she would work in a community as the previous year. She had a mysterious and a fragile look, but she was sweet and I even funny. Nathan, the guy who had opened me the door was there with his travel mate Steven: two students from Melbourne travelling South America with Rio de janeiro as final destination, as me; then, a lovely couple from New Zealand, Julie and Ben were having a coffee and talking about their next stop Belize. Me, Martina, Nathan and Steven decided to go and rent a bike and go to a cenote. We all rent a playera bike, stopped at a fruit dealer (delicious fruit) and headed to the Big Cenote. I was not familiar with this word neither.
I loved biking, enjoyed and felt a baby scampering for those wide long roads feeling the air and sun on my face. We even improvised a race to see who was the fastest, I won one. We finally arrived to destination: I had never seen something similar, we rented the snorkelling equipment and swam into that quite big Cenote, a kind of large open water pool; technically it is a type of sinkhole that contains water coming from the rain that infiltrates through the ground. When driving from a town to another in Quintana roo and Yucatan, you will see many of them; they are very popular in this area. At the cenote we saw many turtles and fishes, it seems to be suspended in the air while you re down there. We all enjoyed it, including my little doll Dora, who took her first season swim among frogs, turtles and huge leaves floating in the water. There were also many iguanas, one of which was huge and laying undisturbed on a branch observing the divers and the swimmers in the cenote. The only thing I really didn’t like was seeing beautiful colored peacocks pent up in a cage, it was horrible to see them there while the rest of his similar were enjoying their freedom in a wild context.
We left the cenote with a great desire of jumping in salt Caribbean waters. Biking through the coast we decided that the four of us would rather move to the beachside rather than staying at La Cigana in the town. We had a swim and the guys went back to the town while me and Martina enjoyed a delicious fresh fruit juice at Mezzanine lounge bar.
For dinner we went with the kiwi couple, Ben and Julie at a Tacos place: nothing good compared to those of Puebla. (I will keep comparing them during all my trip, but so far I didn’t have any better) . Then we all gathered at la cigana after dinner. Our Saturday night fever in Tulum ended up with tequilas for all of us, and while getting to a cab that would get us to the beach we sang ” one day baby we ll be old” from Asaf Avidan.
When I found myself on soft and white sand while listening to cool electronic music I woke up again from the amazing dream I am living; tequilas might help but I just believed once again that Mexico makes me happy.
There must be a special energy in this country! We danced all night long and met few Spanish guys living in D.F.
Mosquitos were quite a pain, but it was still a magical night, we even saw a shooting star and I nearly fell asleep in a beautiful paradise bay. My travel friends had gone back to the hostel.
Hotel Diamante was a paradisiac spot, but not worth to remember or recommend. That morning we decided to go to a 40 minutes colectivo to Akumal, a town halfway to playa del Carmen considered one of the most important turtle-spotting place. We were all with a “cruda” – hangover in Mexican Spanish. So I could not really enjoy that day as I might have wanted, but lying on the sand listening to Martina life stories while Steven was dealing with about 8 giant turtles was nice.
Once back in town we looked for a tacos place and had tequila shots on our hotel beach. Singing, talking and making time trying to be a good company for the kiwi couple who had to leave to Belize during that night. Our effort lasted until just midnight, when we kissed them goodbye and wished them safe travels.
If sleeping without windows was incredibly fantastic, hearing cucarachas under the bed was definitely frustrating; I am glad I was with a lovely company of three, most of them so friendly with cockroaches. They were even upset for having to disturb them and taking them out. I really envy the kind of people who deals with any kind of animal and don’t get nervous when meet one of them. Maybe it is because I always lived in a city and never really had the opportunity to become tolerant towards them. I always thought that this would be a great limit for me when having to travel, but I am sure that with this trip I improved a lot is aspect. And I am more than keen to get it better.
Boundaries are always good to overtake, even if sometimes it takes time. Willpower helps, if you have any, and it is a good point of start.
The morning after we woke up quite disturbed for the humidity, noises and general uncomforting feeling, but we had a nice breakfast on the rocks with nutella and bread and then walked all the way to the Tulum ruins.
They are situated on quite tall cliffs and it is one of the best-preserved coastal Maya sites. There is a big castle and several other buildings: those ruins are quite small but they are the only ones overlooking an unbelievable turquoise sea, one of those images you will keep in your eyes forever. A postcard.
We probably bumped into more than 30 iguanas during our visit of the ruins, hidden and camufled among the precious rocks. I like them a lot, and remind me a lot of Maldives, where is very populated by them. We enjoyed our last stop at the delicious ice cream shop “Panna e cioccolato” before to say them goodbye. Nathan, Steven and Marting were heading to Merida but I needed to keep my way on my own and headed to playa del Carmen.
I stopped with my right hand a crazy collectivo driver while holding the backpack with the other hand. While placing the backpack on the little bus I couldn’t stop observing those three smiling and enjoying guys who made my last few days trip more pleasant. The driver said: “rapidito senorita”. Time to leave.
Again on my own, always the same feeling. Nostalgic for the goodbyes but with the adrenaline of starting a new adventure.
The Gipsy Twin 