Mexico City and Acapulco

Another week down, another great week of travelling. We are currently in a beautiful little beach town called Puerto Escondido after travelling through Mexico City and Acapulco.

Mexico City as expected was - huge. We got into town early from Puerta Vallarta on Sunday morning when it was still dark so we didn´t really get an initial grasp on how massive the city is. We checked into Hostel Amigo (which we´d heard good things about)and was right in the heart of the Centro Historico. You don´t need to be a genius (or fluent in Spanish) to realise that means the historical centre of Mexico City.

Despite reading in the lonely planet that Hostel Amigo was a ´quiet/ relaxed´hostel, we quickly discovered over our three night stay that it has quite a happening bar, with a barman who was quick to pour tequilla down everyone´s throat to get the party started. It proved to be a great place for us to meet new people, and we´ve picked up many tips for our upcoming adventures as well.


Lyds in the massive plaza in Centro Historico

Being a Sunday morning, the streets were pretty quiet and we used the day to pound the pavement and explore our neighbourhood. We soon wondered where on earth all the crazy traffic and 20 odd million people were that everyone had been warning us about. The area we were staying in had some beautiful old buildings that date back to the 16th and 17th centuries -including huge cathedrals, museums and parliment type buildings. What was quite amazing to learn was that when the Spanish first arrived, the local Aztecs were living on a island surrounded by a huge lake. To improve their abilty to conquer the locals, the Spanish drained the lake for easier access. Much of modern day Mexico City is therefore built on an old lake, so many of the older buildings are visably on an angle or sinking.


Some of the colourful street performers

Around Centro Historico we quickly ran into the biggest street market you are ever likely to see. Particurly on a weekend, you can literally walk through miles and miles of small-time vendors trying to pawn their cheap watches, fake sunnies, and low grade clothing on you. It didn´t take long to learn that even though there were about 3,000 stalls, there was only really about 10 different types of unique wares on offer. By the end of the day, after being constantly heckled for business, we were worn out from saying - ´No Gracias´. I.e. - no I would not like to buy your crap but thankyou so much for the offer.

The next two days were spent doing some hard-core sightseeing. We had a fantastic all day tour out to the ruins at Teotichuacan (try saying that 3 times fast !!!). On the way there, we finally got our eye-opening view of the ´real´Mexico City. Traffic in town was bumper to bumper, where the most agressive drivers rule the roost. It also seemed like 99% of the World´s VW beatles are located in Mexico, with every second car seeming to be one. As you get to the outskirts of the city, it became evident that most of the population live in small concrete shacks on the surrouding hills. It seemed as though millions of people live pretty well on top of each other. Apparently in Mexico City, there used to be a law that if you squatted and lived on a block of land for 5 years, you became the rightful owner.

On the way to Teoichuacan we took in a visit to the Lady of Guadalupe site (one of Mexico City´s most important religious sites). As well as some impressive chapels, the site also included the Pope Mobile used by John Paul the 2nd on his last visit to Mexico City !!

The (now ruined) city of Teotichuacan was built around 600AD by the MesoAmericans, abandoned about 200 years later and then rediscovered and used by the Aztecs around the 1300s. The site included two huge pryamids, the Temple of the Sun being the 3rd largest Pyramid in the World. You are able to climb to the top, and although it was stinking hot and had some dicey stairs, the view from the top was well worth the effort.


On top of the Sun Pryamid, looking over to the smaller Moon Pryamid

The next day we visited the Museum of Anthropology which had more sculptures, artwork and pottery from MesoAmerica than anyone could possibly take in. We had a great guide who by the end of the day had given us one heck of a history lesson about the region & people. On the way there we also saw quite an amusing protest by a Mayan group arguing for land rights. As part of their way of getting ´noticed´ they decided to do the whole thing nude !! Nothing like seeing 100 or so men and women buck naked in the middle of the busiest street in Mexico city. From the specimens we saw from the bus however, one would likely be more inclined to turn away and ignore their message, than see what their cause was all about...

Here´s a gallery from our trip to Mexico City...



If you can't see this album, click on this link - Mexico City Pics

After Mexico City we headed off to see what Acapulco was all about. Lyds wanted to head straight to the beach, while I wanted to see if I could spot the ´Love Boat´ (...joking.....kind of). It´s safe to say that it wasn´t exactly what we expected - Acapulco is a city of over a million people, and along the beach it´s basically massive highrise hotel after massive high rise hotel. We knew it would be touristy, but not as touristy as it was. As a result, everything was overpriced (for Mexico) - our hostel included (our bed room was litterally a ´bed-room`as nothing else could possibly fit in it). On the other hand it was right on the beach, which we quickly took advantage of. With all the high rise hotels, most tourists stay in their hotel pool area, so with Lyds and I being two of the few people actually sitting on the beach, we were easy prey for the many beach hawkers, desperate to sell some cheap trinkets.


No one told us Daniel Craig (aka James Bond) was going to emerge from the waters of Acapulco).

The best thing we did in Acapulco was visit the famous Cliff Divers - basically 7 or so young guys who launch themselves off a cliff at various heights up to about 30 metres, into a small landing area. They actually have to time their landing with the waves in order to avoid hitting the rocks below.


A diver launches into the water below..

One thing going for Acapulco is the fantastic bars along the beach. The first night we stumbled into a bar showing the Mexico v Brazil Copa America Soccer match. The atmosphere was electric and extremely rowdy given Mexico actually won the game 2-0. Despite this, two nights was enough and we´ve headed into Puerto Escondido which is a small beach town further down the coast. Within 5 minutes we knew we loved it and we are already talking about extending our time here.

Here´s a gallery from our time in Acapulco...



If you can't see this album, click on this link - Acapulco Pics

Viva Vallarta (now with pictures)

Week one down, at least 51 to go !!!

Well our amazing travels kicked off with an all inclusive week in Puerta Vallarta at the beautiful Palladium Vallarta. For months leading up to our wedding, Lyds had been hinting that she would love to start off our ´honeymoon´ with some sort of all inclusive trip. I had to be the voice of reason and let her know that it didn´t quite fit into our travellers budget, and we had to start off in Mexico city....all the while secretly booking the trip on the sly. Thankfully my trusting wife never put up an argument and let me book the flight without question.

To Lyds surprise, initial confusion but soon joy, when we rocked up to Vancouver airport, the 10am flight to Mexico City was actually the 10am flight to Puerta Vallarta.

Our week there was amazing. The hotel we booked was quite secluded and a fair way out of town. After a few hectic weeks of minimal sleep leading up to the wedding, it was nice to have a day that typically went like this...

10am (after at least 10 good hours of sleep)...cruise down to breakfast.
11am - hit the pool.
12pm - make the first venture over to the bar.
12-6pm, make some hard decisions such as...should I snooze (always a yes at least twice per afternoon)...should I hit the pool...should I do some reading....should I grant the waiters request to get me another drink?...it was really, really tough !!
7pm - onwards included dinner, a low grade musical show by the hotels local performers and/or yet another in the continuing Lydia v Doug classic pool competitions.


Looking out to sea

The resort itself was stunning, set in amongst a tropical rainforest right on the beach. They even had a little zoo with monkeys, turtles, parrots, peacocks, deer (!! go figure), and a crocodile. I was going to wrestle it, but I left my huge hunting knife at home....

They had 3 pools, half a dozen bars, and the usual buffet. They also had 3 specialty restaurants that we got to dine at to break up the buffet monotony. The Mexican restaurant was built into a cliff with stunning views of the ocean. The day we went there, it was about 35 degrees outside, but we refused to sit inside and soon set a trend with incoming diners who took our lead and braved the heat to enjoy the view. The Italian restaurant was a highlight, with the wonderful service complimented by a crab who broke free from his tank and seemed determined to join us for dinner. He even managed to stop Lydia amid one of her usual ´short´ stories as we watched him race across the floor towards us, waiters in close pursuit.


The view from dinner

For the first couple of days, the surf at the beach was almost passable. I got to body surf a few waves, and Lyds even got her first taste at boogie-boarding, which she loved and even managed to catch a couple of nice waves in her first few tries !!

We did trek into a couple of the local towns including Bucerias and Puerta Vallarta. We fast became experts at avoiding time share reps who were desperate to throw us money (i.e.- coupons) for a ´short´ presentation (which we had heard were a good 7 hours long).


One of the biggest magaritas you´re ever likely to see

As we sadly departed, after a week of leisure, we quickly realised we had stayed not a week too late as Mexican school holidays were kicking in, and I swear about 300 young kids showed up the day we left...phew !!

We are now in Mexico City having just taken the most luxurious bus ride that either of us have ever experienced. The seats were so big, that there was only 3 seats per row, instead of the usual 4. They also reclined so far, that it was like being in business class on a plane. The only unfortunate part of the journey was that Lyds had a rather portly women sitting behind her whose meal from the night before was apparently not sitting too well, producing a rather gaseous situation.

Here is a gallery of our time in Puerta Vallarta...



If you can't see this album, click on this link - Puerta Vallarta Pics

Adios for now.

What a week, what a wedding

Well, here we have it, the very first entry on our new blog as a married couple!!! Yikes! It is Friday afternoon, the movers have already cleared out our things and we are sitting in the living room looking at a very empty, very sad looking apartment. Our year long journey through Central and South America begins tomorrow morning and we can hardly wait.

But first, a quick overview of what can only be described as the most wonderfully perfect day of our lives. For weeks we had been diligently watching the weather in the hopes of trying to foresee what our day would be like. We soon realized that predicting Penticton weather was virtually impossible as we saw 38 degrees and sunny one day, and 90% chance of rain and 17 degrees the next. Seriously, I think just about anyone could be a weatherman. You can just say pretty well whatever you want and people will soak it up.

On the wedding morning we woke up to an overcast but warm day on God's mountain. As morning turned to afternoon, there was a slight drizzle but our photographer was able to use that to advantage and take some phenomenal photos of Lydia in the rain. As the 3pm wedding time came around, the perfectly timed rain cleared away and the rest of the day wasabsolutely perfect...



The service was at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Penticton. It was short, simple and very beautiful. Lydia's nephew Alex was the ring bearer and as he's still too young to walk, he stole the show by being wheeled up the aisle in a red wagon. Judging from the amount of flashes that went off in the church, you would swear the entire North American Paparazzi had hit the church.

Lyd's friend Angela did a beautiful solo of "You raise me up" during the signing of the registry which will linger in our hearts and memories forever. The church was beautifully decorated by all our friends and the whole ceremony was filled with love and laughter as we committed our lives to eachother as husband and wife.



Directly after the service we went back to God's mountain where we had our photos taken together and with all of our friends and family. We climbed all over the nearby mountain to get some of the fantastic photos you can see in the slideshow down below.



The night festivities kicked off at 6pm with a champagne reception outside before we hit the tent for the dinner and dance. The dinner was delicious and our emcee Shayn did a great job of keeping things light and organized as the night went on.



Our families all had a chance to speak and there were plenty of telegrams from friends who could not be at the wedding read out throughout the night. After the cutting of the cake, it was onto the bouquet toss (which incidentally went directly into the hands of our friend Shona...funnily enough it was only moments after her boyfriend James tried to pay Lydia $20 to throw it in the opposite direction :o) ) and then onto the dancing.

The rest of the night was a blur of laughter, dancing and great conversations. We have never before been to a wedding where the dance floor was packed the entire night and people refused to leave it at 2am when the DJ so desperately wanted to go home. The most fun I have had in a very long time.

All in all it was the wedding of our dreams and we feel incredibly blessed as we begin our journey together as life partners.

Our photographer took about 1,000 photos, which we've edited down to about 150 for everyone who's interested...



If you can't see this album, click on this link - Wedding Pics