Nuestra Primero Terremoto(Our first Earthquake)

Last night around 7:30, we were on the beach and we felt a tremor! At first we ignored it and Karlie thought it might have been a big truck but immideatly afterwards it was apparent that it was a small earth quake. Welcome to the Pacific Coast!

This is me, "working"...for real y'all.

Holy Guacamole! A whole Month?

"You've been here a month? I haven't seen you. Don't you ever go out?" That's what this kid asked Karlie when she was hanging out on the Zicatela(the beach we live on) yesterday. And truthfully we've been so busy we hardly noticed we've been here that long. Working 7 days a week, rising and going to bed early, we really haven't been "out" much except to surf or walk along the beach but everyday as quickly as it expires, ends significantly with the orange sun melting inside the Pacific, ever inspiring. Things at work are really good. It's starting to pick up now that we're into Dec. and we've learned that trying to manipulate the weekly schedule can be a bit of una pesadilla(a nightmare). But we're really learning a lot and connecting to a lot of great folks who are amped about Mexican culture and learning Spanish and our Spanish is already improving as well. Que bueno! It's pretty funny too how comfortable we are with the culture here. When we first crossed the border it was a bit of a culture shock again but now it's old hat(or shall we say "sombrero viejo"). The screeching advertisements of the tortilla delivery VWs at 7am have become our alarm clock and we awake with a smile and the thoughts of warm masa. It's been a little hectic dealing with things since our boss Brian is still here and we're still not living on the school property so even though we're doing all the work we're still sort of the middle man which has proven to be tough. We thought he'd be gone by now but he's pretty Mexican so y'know "manana, y manana". Once we move into the school things will start to gel more but we'll definitely miss our apt. down on the other end of the beach, much farther from the highway but also farther from the beach than the school house. So besides work we've been trying to stay busy creatively too. Mike's been playing music nearly everyday since we got here! They played once and EVERY person in the place was dancing but the bass player was only passing through from Finland so at first it seemed like that was the first and last gig for a while. BUT our friend's buddies from Mexico City showed up to stay indefinitely so now they're a 5 piece and are playing a gig on Monday(which is the "big" night out here in Puerto).Cha cha cha. Karlie has taught a couple of private yoga classes and is trying to get the ball rolling to teach bi-weekly group classes here at the school. The classes will be donation based in the spirit of karma yoga...we'll see how it goes.
Paz y amor...

Follow the lines going south

It's been a week now since we arrived in Oaxaca. The drive down along the Gulf Coast was long, but only because we had to hurry down and didn't really get to smell the flowers. The weather this time of year is just lovely, a bit hot midday, otherwise divine. We are staying in a new apt.,one of 3 that our boss is still having constructed down toward the opposite end of the beach. Yes that's right-still being constructed which means lots of cement pounding and drilling, ahhhh Mexico. The area where we're currently staying is locally known as "la punta"(the point)and it's super chill and in a very Mexican neighborhood (read: roosters, dogs, dust, other farm animals running free, and erratic early hours bass pumping) called Brisas Zicatela. We are staying there for our training period and then we'll move on to the school property, which is more spacious than we remembered. Although the house here at the school is tiny(smaller than some of your living rooms)but we don't want to be inside anyway and another bonus is that it has an herb garden and the property has a coconut tree, multiple papaya,lime, avocado and mango trees too. Training has been good and hanging with our boss has been really enlightening as he is an American with dual citizenship and he's lived here long enough to know every in and out of local Mexican politics on every level. Our administration work entails loads of details including all the fun accounting that goes along with running a business but it's not so bad. It will just take practice like anything else. Besides, we couldn't ask for a better work environment...it makes it lot easier to work on silly spreadsheets when you're surrounded by lush tropical flora and you can glance down and see the Pacific waters! As you probably know this beach is known for it's surf, the biggest in Mexico, so we were surprised to see that there is virtually NO surf right now. It's kind of strange but also kind of good for us since we're poor excuses for surfers anyhow it just means that we can swim and kayak, which is usually not an option on this beach because of the fierce swells and riptides. Yeah so we've got a lot of work ahead of us but we're looking forward to it. We have not yet taken any of the excursions that we'll be offering and guiding here(rock climbing, waterfall hike, unexcavated archaeological site, etc.)but that will be a great, fun learning experience too. Our Spanish is a bit rusty at this point but it's only been a week, soon enough that will flow too. It's pretty sweet to be back here though. Strangely enough, for Karlie, coming back here after being in CA actually felt less strange than going back to Austin but that's just because it's small townish (40k-80k no one knows) here in Puerto. What a week! So you're all up to date now and as always we love that you're taking the time to share our experience by reading our stories...stay tuned. One love .

Headin' Back

We will be without our cats once again, unfortunately, as we head down to Pto. Escondido to run the Instituto de Lenguajes PE (puertoschool.com) until June. The blogging will continue. Come on down if you can get away!

Long road home

We left Puerto and headed down the road a bit to Mazunte, Oaxaca to soak up the good vibes and tranquil settings of the beach and Punta Cometa. We were there for a few days and enjoyed hiking around and swimming without risk of death. Punta Cometa, a big chunk of rock and red clay perched above, is the most southernmost point in Oaxaca and was a star gazing spot of the Zapotecs. The place emits some good energy and the locals are proud of it and its beautiful beaches and views. The area was a big sea turtle poaching area until some environmentalists from Mexico City stepped in during the 1990s and opened a turtle museum that is not to be missed and some small businesses to help the locals sustain themselves.
After that, we jumped the other side of the hill to Zipolite, old school hippie haunt and only nude beach in Mexico. Its a bit bigger than Mazunte and more developed but still just a slice of sweet sand bordered by rocky cliffs. We got lucky with our place to stay, again, and got to see it all from our room at Shambhala-a well kept rustic-inspired hotel,one of the first built there. They have their own meditation hill looking towards Mazunte that we had to ourselves where they have events and traditional parties and eat mushrooms, which are legal by the way as long as you don't take them down the highway. No we didn't try them, we're like, old, okay.
We finally left the coast after 4 months and started on the 1300 mile journey back to Texas. We climbed straight into the mountains and overnighted in San Jose del Pacifico, another mushroom spot, though legendary, with amazing views and cool weather at about 7000 ft. They have all these cheap wooden cabins there with fireplaces to rent. The cabins overlook the valley which is covered with a beautiful array of flowers and unique succulents.
The next day we drove out of the mountains a bit into the valley that Oaxaca City sits in. When we arrived there was a huge march to commemorate the protests a year earlier,complete with graffiti and lots of hooting and hollering but we somehow missed the whole thing. As we were walking around the zocalo that evening, we witnessed the fresh graffiti strewn around govt. buildings and churches and we started to figure out what was up. The next day all the red spray paint had been removed or covered up. We were there for 4 days and really enjoyed it. At 5000 ft. the weather is nice and we were finally in a colonial city again. We checked out museums, Monte Alban archaeological site, had some draft beer(for the first time since we left home), and good food. Oaxaca City is awesome! Its not too big and there was a lot going on there culturally. We just walked for days enjoying the scenery and international vibe.
After we went to a three dollar ballet and Karlie took a five dollar yoga class, we headed towards Puebla.
We overnighted just north of Puebla, which was nice for a big city, but too much to deal with. The next morning was day one of driving all day in the mountains, so beautiful, checking Teotihuacan archaeological site, the pyramids, on the way to Xilitla, way up in more mountains of deep jungle about 6000 ft. in the state of San Luis Potosi. We stayed at the former house of Edward James, sadly arriving late, as a last hoorah and checked out his surrealist garden, Las Pozas, the next morning on the way out. Las Pozas is an indescribable,massive sculpture garden in the jungle-hot and humid. Just as surreal as promised by guidebooks and TV programs-a dream world among tropical jungle and waterfalls. From there we grabbed some mangoes(U.S.2cents a pop on a roadside stand) and headed towards the lone star state for another breathtaking long drive out of the mountains into the flat coastal gulf areas. We finally had conversation with some military boys and our stuff was sort of checked for the first time in Mexico, I guess just because we were headed north but more likely because they were bored. Around sundown we crossed over at Matamoros and headed on to Corpus Christi hassle free after stopping at Johnny Carino's and drinking Fat Tire with our enormous plates of food. By the way after eating so much FRESH fish the microwaved salmon on our salad tasted a little sad and had the consistency of a day old pop tart. Ahhh...corporate restaurant chains.
So yeah, now we're in Texas again and we'll be in Austin after the 4th of July where we'll stay through the entire summer and likely a little beyond that. We have plans to go back to Puerto Escondido and stay for a minimum of 6months. We'd like to give it another go, continue working on our Spanish, and spend some time becoming more intimately acquainted with one stretch of the Pacific. In the meantime, USA, rock 'n roll! We'll keep you posted. Lots of love.......

Pto. Escondido, Oaxaca

So we've been here a couple of weeks and the place is starting to grow on us, as it happens, we may come back for a year and see what happens. We have a killer view from where we are staying of the huge swells that throw surfers around on playa zicatela. We have tried to surf at the point, down from zicatela, but even small waves are really fast and powerful here. The thing is that there's always a 8 or 10 ft. wave that creeps in every 10 to 15 minutes. There are a couple of REALLY nice little cove beaches that are better for swimming on the other side of town that we drive to sometimes, one of which there is a kids surf tournament going on. When little kids shred at the point, where you can't even paddle out, its pretty frustrating. Everything takes time right?
One of the best things about being here is that there is an abundance of cheap eats. The euro-italian influence here means that you can get away from the typical seafood plates and mexican dishes that are offered along the coast. Of course we cook most of our meals, the market here is great, but when you can get a good meal for a few bucks or so its a bit easier. Buying fresh fish at the market is the way to go, duh!?! The good fish here are red snapper and tuna, while in other places tuna has been more rare. I assume its sashimi grade, but haven't eaten it raw here yet.
Another good thing is that people speak Spanish here, even the tourists, at first, then usually if you have English as common ground it will go back and forth just for practice sake. We've been taking language classes lately at a little hillside school overlooking the beach. I need more practice and am polishing the skills I already have, while Karlie is learning grammar, even though she can already speak Spanish well for a guera del norte.
Yesterday we were hangin with some fiends and then I got to play drums with them. We had a little jam session and it went well, keys, bass and me behind the kit. Their drummer is gone for a few weeks and we may even play out before Karlie and I leave. Their style is a mixture of latin, reggae, funk, and rock. Estoy feliz.
Otherwise its been hot during the day with pleasant breezy nights, the rain is coming soon we hope as we are seeing more and more clouds. Puerto has apparently made an attempt to keep out corporate businesses, even in a town of 40K, so you really feel like your totally in Mexico, no 7-elevens, wal-mart(oh yes, they got em) or taco bell, or whatever. Also its a bit remote here, there's an airport close, but Oaxaca city is on the other side of the mountains, 7 hard hours, while Acapulco is also just as far up the coast. When you get down here you get a little more of a central america feel. Oaxaca and Chiapas have more indigenous people than any other states in Mexico and are also the poorest, shocker right? I won't go on. The shake up in Oaxaca city last year affected the area financially as well as culturally and only time will tell. More later, lovin y'all!

W.H.F.,Camping, and more Kayaking,Read on!

Hola! 3months of travel without regular amenities has given way to a Wild Hair Phase!!! Long, wild, unkept hair that's made us realize how attached we were to our stylists. Who knew? Maybe well actually get hair cuts soon. We are NOT the hippies you are looking for!

Many miles down the road were finally in Oaxaca. We had a stay in Lagunas de Chacahua, taking it easy, eating the freshest seafood imaginable. Since we last wrote we were just beginning to get used to a slooooooooow Mexican pace--1st camping on a SWEET beach side cliff on a tiny little beach area in southern Jalisco:peace and quiet, amazing views, countless shooting stars--oh but they can get slower. Things slowed down a little more by the time we hit the coast of Michoacan. Michoacans coast is mostly unspoiled and undeveloped and we camped in a "town" called Maruata(where we were the only gringos)and thus started a small string of adventures:
-petty theft,-rat infested cabaña,-Karlie totally ill and puking nonstop,-more attempts at surfing(MAN WE SUCK!),-getting stuck out on a bike with a broken crank whose PEDAL FELL OFF!,-learning to deal with bats, -making new friends and contacts...These and other adventures included stays in Nexpa, Saladita and then Troncones. Each town fantastic in its own way.

After all that we picked up the pace and hung out in the quaint, colorful city of Zihuatanejo. We had a good time there and enjoyed the vibe very much and visited Ixtapa too. Its too bad the beaches in Zihua are polluted, otherwise its great and the highlight was eating some terrific sushi,authentically prepared by a Japanese elder. Hooray!

Keeping on with our April travel mode, next stop:Acapulco. We stayed just outside the city in a scruffy, not so nice area called Pie de la Cuesta. We day tripped into the city and all in all found out what Karlie already knew, Acapulco kinda sucks! So we were eager to jet down south after just a couple of days there and a full day of driving brought us at last to Oaxaca. We were glad to be back on turtle speed on the beach at Chacahua.

Lagunas de Chacahua, a national park only accessible by boat, it's even more remote there than Yelapa and far less populated and touristy. Similar to Maruata:largely undeveloped, nothing to do but breathe the ocean air, lay in a hammock, and smile,smile,smile. Although we did have plenty of super fun kayaking adventures 1st at the spot where we camped and then some mangroves outside of Zihua as well as the immense Lakes at Chacahua.

So all of this driving has brought us at last to Puerto Escondido,Oax. Originally this is where we thought we may want to stay more permanently although now were so undecided! Currently torn between the Puerto Vallarta area or back to the states to our own Pacific Coast or kickin it here. Trying to stay open minded though we hope to see what sort of opportunities may be in store for us here. The universe holds the hidden truths and the adventures carry on. We feel blessed to be able to spend so much time alongside this magical coast. Thanks for reading friends!

Observations: observaciones sobre mexico

The passing game has got to be the most popular sport behind soccer. People will pass you on the highway or anywhere else, and on either side sometimes, just for some status in the line of cars. It is so machismo it aint funny, but ladies are guilty as well. Both will risk their life just to gain a few cars and then slow down for the speedbumps that are everywhere or get off the road for a taco! People coming the other way are expected to slow down and you are expected to let someone back in line instead of being in a wreck. We´ll just keep going with these: If you are too wasted to drive or walk you can send your 8 yr old kid to the tienda to get you more beer! Laws- 18 to drink and also to drive, yeah right! Laws-rules???? seem optional. Rice and beans together are regional, believe it or not, we are in black bean land now and the rice seems to be their friend, thank ya jesus! Its impossible to buy a bad tasting orange! If you don´t like pineapple, you need help! Chili and lime on everything, try it! Every band is a boy band sort of, they may be viejos though! Valentina hot sauce rules! It´s available in Texas I know. The sound of the tortilleria machine is haunting in the early morning, but the product is the perfection of corn! duh!?! and we can´t surf, but neither can you!

Semana Santa/Holy week

Hey y'all, we are in San Patricio Melaque now staying in Villa Obregon which is a short walk from Melaque towards Barra de Navidad, all set on a beautiful bay with a great laguna in between teeming with wildlife. Barra is more touristy than here and we are staying in a mexican neighborhood in a little casita that has a nice private palapa upstairs for hammocks and chillin. We had to secure this place a week ago because of the mexican holidays.In preparation for semana santa we have seen businesses and places to stay pop up out of nowhere, while under construction means that you can camp in the concrete shell. Camping on the beach is big for mexicans this time of year and you can pay for bathroom usage. Bahia de Navidad, the bay, is quite nice and has rock hills protruding from the sides of the bay. The waves are big sometimes but break too close to the shore with a strong undertow that messes up the end of the wave for surfing. This is a good place to go and get away but not as far away as Yelapa or Tenacatita. The beach is great, sunsets intense, cheap prices, non pushy salespeople, and totally mexicano.
We rented bikes for a week to take a bit of a break from walking and that's been fun. We tried to rent snorkel gear but it was faulty and we couldn't get our money back because the guy had spent it but he was wondering what we would sell the truck, kayak, and my frayed hat for. So we eventually struck a deal on some bikes that looked like they we from mardi gras in new orleans, pretty run down, I tweaked them a bit and they are ok now except for dueles in las nalgas.
Seems like spring break in Vallarta was a dud, but we go to bed too early anyway. Semana Santa seems to be the real deal, mexican style. We had a glimpse of what was to come a few weeks ago over a three day weekend in Sayulita/Bucerias. The beaches fill up with tents and all hotels are booked.
Another bay we checked out near here called Tenacatita is spectacular and undeveloped, smooth like glass for kayaking and with a good reef snorkel spot. We are going to try and camp there when we leave here next week but it may still be too busy because of the holiday.
We've been speaking lots of spanish here as no one really speaks english, or if they do they let you stumble before jumping in with english impatience. There's not much community here and no work to speak of. The work shortage is probably the same down the coast as urbanization is the trend like Vallarta, where there are more jobs in the area, but there's always the off season when a lot of people leave because of the dip in tourism and the oppressive heat. One observation is that there is a big anti litter campaign now in mexico, signs that say don't litter or sometimes don't contaminate or even don't burn plastic. Kind of like the 80's, and that's not all that's like the 80's....

Have Fan, Will Travel

Well it's time to say: Bye Bye Bucerias. We've had an awesome time here, made some connections and Karlie even got to teach some yoga. Now we're heading onward south to Melaque and Barra de Navidad. This area is hard to leave y'all. Diversity, beauty, surf, it's got it all.

We've officially been in Mexico for longer than a while which has been made evident now since we realized that the "clink, kink, chink" sound of hammer on concrete has become regular ol' background noise.

Here are some observations we'd like to share about living in one Mexican town for a while:
-big surf or a competition takes precedence over anything else(work, meals, sleep...whatever)
-All cars seem to be for sale
-NOTHING here is consistent--prices,schedules,public phones...ANY of these things can change at ANYTIME
-Constructions workers daily schedule looks like this: 1.work
2.eat, drink beers, nap
3.work while drinking beers if
it can be done while simoultaneously
starting at gringa tourists
-Traffic rules don't really exist. It's every driver for hisself!

Yelapa(A vacation from our travels)

We spent one great day and night in Yelapa:a coastal, hilly, teeny town divided by a river and pretty remote(boat access only). There are no motor vehicles here so its a true "getaway" destination particularly while being here in Mexico where things are really noisy. It's quiet, with NOTHING happening and far from city lights for fabulous star gazing. Quaint alleyways which are the alternative to roads and trails that look very much like the barton creek greenbelt leading to a waterfall.

Throwing rocks at bottles

So we are still hangin' in Bucerias and it is quite chill, lots of canadian and american retirees, but less tourists than Sayulita, this place is a real mexican town. We went back to Sayulita for a fair they had where there were more bars than rides...something for the parents to do! The best was a game where you throw rocks at bottles and you win beer, so great. The other cool winnings, from a dart game,were a bucket full of toilet paper, ramen, cookies, cooking oil,etc..... so useful! Who needs cute stuffed animals when you can get drunk, fry something, and wipe your ass? It went on for like 2 weeks and was a total riot, lemme tell ya.
We've had some difficulty posting photos and videos, but we'll try when we have a solid connection. Currently, the closest bar to the house is an Irish bar, its like a real bar that has guiness and expensive, very dangerous to the budget, but they have free wi-fi and a good happy hour. The weather has been Austin like, no rain this time of year though, and the waves were supposed to be huge the last couple of days, but it seemed typical, we are beginners anyway. We've been getting worked by them nonetheless. We went to Puerto Vallarta to "party" last saturday and it is pretty cool for a city, probably the best city of its size on the pacific. It has a great boardwalk, cool plazas, and is very gay friendly. We will be here during spring break and were toying with the idea of checking out the mayhem and laughing at piss drunk 18 yr. olds. We'll probably be with some old folks though, they start drinking early too.

Cuidado:Aguas Frescas are habit forming

¡Hola amigos! Well now we are in Bucerias, about a 15min. drive down a windy hillside road(be careful not to get clipped by a truck)from where we were before. We are staying in this house/condo/altern reality very strange dwelling that is nothing like the Mexican casitas in our imagination or the beachside bungalow we just came from and once again much,much more space than we need. But, were getting used to it and the price is right. We hooked it up from Paul's friend's friend and besides it's BRAND NEW and still less than 1 km from the beach:yeehaw. The beach here isn´t quite as nice as all the others around here but its beautiful nevertheless with fantastic sunsets. We sort of regret not bringing our bikes here but weve been kayaking and surfing and of course walking since thats what you do here. We are surrounded by beach towns and about 20min from Puerto Vallarta. Seriously though-weve got lots of space to share. Come on down. Mucho Amor, K and M

Sayulita:4th stop

Hola! Welcome to our Mexico journey. We left the good 'ol USA on Feb.5th and headed toward Guanajuato. Crossing the border was way too easy(knock on wood). No one looked at our stuff or really even spoke to us. We stopped to sleep in Matehuala and then on to Guanajuato. Guanajuato was lovely, colorful, and had plenty of cool weather to offer.

Onward then to Guadalajara...a HUGE city that was full of crazy traffic and lots of roundabouts!!! Mike got a whole new education in driving there. It's a nice city but really smoggy the history that abounds makes it worth it however.

We arrived on the Pacific Coast(yeah!)on our 6th night away from Bush's country to be greeted by turquiose waves and perfectly warm but temperate weather but uh it's pretty dusty on the dirt roads. A German hotel owner here told us there are plenty of Norteamericanos riding out the rest of Dubya's term here.

Currently, we're lovin' life. Staying in a big apartment here in Sayulita(just north of Puerto Vallarta)with 1 bed too many and a great kitchen. Anybody want to sleep in the other bed?

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned. We'll try our best to keep you updated. Muchos besitos. K&M