Apr 2007

Yo,

So I have been in the biggest city in the world, Mexico City (aka Districto Federal) since Saturday night, and I have to say that I have about had my fill. It has really been great, though. Cristina has been an incredible hostess, has showed me the ropes of the city, and I actually feel pretty comfortable here now.

A couple of days ago, I headed to the center and visited La Basilica, the largest of the churches here in DF...yeah, I know...another f'ing church, but the views from the top were pretty incredible. Yes, Brooke...I now know what you meant when we were looking out over Barcelona, and you said that it reminded you of Mexico City!

After La Basilica, I officially got ripped off by a cabbie and drove all over the city for 45 minutes for what should have been about an 8 minute cab ride. Pero, I finally arrived at the historical center called the Zocalo, where I visited the Palacio Nacional. There, a famous artist (I think Diego Torres, but that could be a pop artist) has painted a number of murals depicting the history of Mexico, especially the Mexico City region. This was definitely the highlight, as the murals are incredible, as is the history of the region...check some of that out on the internet if you are interested...I promise you won't be disappointed.

Yesterday I decided to get the rig out of storage and take a trip out of the city. I visited the ruins at Teotihuacan, which is a couple hours outside the city, and was formerly one of the largest pre-Aztecan settlements in the Valley. Definitely interesting, but in the blazing sun, I only lasted a couple of hours...I do what I can at all this touristy bullshit! At least I made it there for a visit, right?

We had planned on a baseball game last night, but after a long day in the sun, I didn't exactly feel up to it. I have decided to make this my last night in the city, and will head NW to Zihuatanejo and return to Saladita tomorrow. I am SUPER stoked to get back there and try out my new skills on that ever-so-forgiving wave!

Today was definitely the highlight of my visit here, as I was finally able to make it to Cristina's school for the morning. She showed me around a bit, showed me some portfolios, and rekindled my desire to return to the US in January to finish my masters...so that I can teach internationally! Thanks for the good times Stina!!!

Out for now. Much love.

Nick

PS - Made a posting on Craigslist for a travel partner...you might get a good laugh out of it if you search for it and are able to find it!!!

Here are a couple of pics from the past week or so. Some fun ones, I think!!!

six weeks in the books, one more to write still. and the plans are changed. nick doesnt want to leave mexico yet and i have a plane ticket for a week from today out of guatemala city. so here is the plan. i will travel 1-alone. and 2-by bus. both new to me so it is certain to not go smoothly.
so to recap, we left escondido and drive south to hautulco. there is an awesome surf break to the south another 30-40 minutes called barra de la cruz. literally a world class point break. when the waves are big it attracts some amazing surfers. luck for us the swell has not been huge. in fact its been a little too small at times, but we have fun, and are still learning a lot. so we have been at this spot for almost a week now. we just met a cool guy from switzerland. his name is marcelo and he is now traveling alone as his travel partners have all returned home. we actually invited him to travel with us for a few days and he will accompany us until saturday when we all go out separate ways.
here is the plan. we will remain here outside huatulco for another day and a half and on friday drive back north to puerto escondido. we will stay the night there friday and have out last big party together. maybe a beer or two. saturday we may put i may get my final surf in the morning then i hang in pto. escondido for the day. nick will be off toward acopulco, to meet a friend of his from mexico city who will accompany him into the big big city. i will be getting on a bus that evening to tapachula, a town near the boarder of guatemala. the next morning i get a bus to antigua, gt. this city should be very cool and i will hang out there for two nights before i make my exit, and return on wednesday the 25th.
so thats about all i have. surf surf surf. cheers.
-justin

yeah, that is right...the most beautiful wave that I have ever seen! Keep it a bit of a secret, but it is true! Some of the people here have indicated the same, and they have definitely seen their share of good waves!

We have been chillin' in Barra for the past week or so, basically JUST surfing. I have put in daily-double sessions for the past week, and have actually come a long way, as has Justin. We are both riding green water with ease, catching head-high waves from time-to-time, and having a blast. I would like to say that I am "slashing" off the top of the wave, which was my goal at Barra, but I didn't quite make it there...but I am close!

We are now back in Puerto Escondido for a couple of nights of partying before we part ways. Justin will be heading south (east) to Guatemala City, and I will be heading north to Districto Federal. I will spend a week or so in DF visiting friends, and trying to sort things out for the rest of the adventure. From DF, I will probably return to the coast so that I can once again hit the epic waves of the west coast before I head down south and finally leave Mexico.

McKenzie is still in good health, and loving life. She has become quite a wanderer at night (one brush with a near-loss situation), so I have really cracked down on her and even tie her up at night to keep her from wandering off. She LOVES the beach, and is really mellowing out about me being in the water when I am surfing. I think that she even was calm enough the other day to take a quick nap!

All for now. Much love and more to come.

Nick