Cafe Brujula Archives

March 14, 2017, I flew back to Oaxaca.

Airbnb

When I arrived I took a cab back to the Airbnb I had left two and a half months ago for 2 weeks ha ha leaving all my belonging behind in my room.

Susanna at the Airbnb was kind enough to take care of my bike and belongings while I had my extended stay back home for surgery.

As I entered into my new room, all my belongings were waiting for me inside! What a great place :-). I can’t say enough about Susanna and her Airbnb. They were so kind and accommodating. I will be forever grateful.

Meeting Fellow Adventurers

I couldn’t stay for long at the Airbnb though as I was meeting Curt and Lynette for drinks and dinner. It was going to be a long day 🙂

Curt and Lynette have been traveling the world for 3 years now. They have been to Europe, Russia, Asia, Australia, and now central america. You can find there website at http://www.twoxtw.com.

I have been keeping track of them as they have bounced from country to country. When I saw we were going to be close to each other in Mexico I wanted to meet up with them. However, I was just going to miss them. Fortunately, they decided to stay an extra day in Oaxaca so we could meet up.

When I got to the location where we were to meet, Brad Ringstmeier, another world motorcycle traveler was also there!

His website is at http://perpetual-moto-discovery.com/.

Our time was spent exchanging “war stories,” discussing what it meant to be a motorcycle adventurer, and advising each other what lied ahead on our trips since I was heading south and Lynette and Curt were heading north.

It was really nice to meet fellow travelers, but I was also tired from a very long day. I could also feel a cold coming on.

A Week in Oaxaca

I had booked a week in Oaxaca to rest more from my surgery and get readjusted to life in Mexico.

The plan was to see the sights I had not seen while I was there before. Plans, plans, plans, … instead I ended up with a bad chest cold. Those plans changed because of it. I just wasn’t well enough to go out and instead needed to recuperate before heading out of Oaxaca in a weeks time.

The week was low key and consisted on going to my coffee shop, Cafe Brujula, for my morning coffee before walking back to my Airbnb to rest up.

It was nice being back in the sun of Oaxaca. Things were pretty much the same. But gone were all the Christmas decorations including the tree and ice rink.

The Zocalo was still the buzz of activity with things happening everyday.

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption was as beautiful as ever.

And now the flowers were starting to bloom.

This “spring” all seemed strange since it has been hot all of December when I was here last. It had hardly felt like winter. I guess it was spring now ha ha

The week went by fast. My cold was still pretty bad. But I needed to move on as my Temporary Vehicle Import Permit for Mexico was to expire on March 28. That meant I needed to have my bike out of the country by then.

My Location for March 14 to March 20, 2017

This year I decided to spend Christmas in Oaxaca, Mexico. I will head home for 2 weeks on January 4, 2017, to attend my daughter’s wedding.

This isn’t the first time I have spend Christmas alone. I have done that 4 times now. It isn’t the best, but then again, Christmas is not my favorite time of the year. There are so many expectations that have to be met and I always feel like I don’t meet half of them 🙁

My favorite Christmas ever was going to Disneyland with the family. The expectations were few. It was all about us and having fun together. And being at Disneyland meant there were lots of things to do :-). I really don’t like just sitting around during Christmas.

Routine

It has been awhile since I posted 🙁 This is largely due to getting into the routine of staying in one place for awhile. It is actually a good thing for a bit after traveling for 5 months.

I wake up … go to Cafe Brujula for coffee.

In the courtyard there is a nativity scene. Don’t ask me how the baseball players got there 🙂

After coffee I do errands like Christmas shopping, grocery shopping, laundry, etc … walk around the city to see the sights.

Then it is back to my Airbnb where I watch the news, study Spanish, play a computer game and just relax.

Oh … and watch my toe nail come off. This was from Japlan where I banged my foot against the pavement while trying to control my bike as I hit loose gravel around a corner.

As it gets dark at around 6 pm I head out again to see what is happening at the Zocalo and grab dinner. At night I watch some of the TV shows I downloaded before I left. Then bed.

Zocalo

The Zocalo, or town plaza, is bordered by restaurants, a church, and a government office. It is a place where people gather to eat, relax, and just walk around. Every night during the Christmas season there was entertainment. This included, bands, orchestras, dance, nativity scenes with a petting zoo, a food craft display, and even Mass.

At this food craft event the place was packed. At one point I was moved by the crowd and there was nothing I could do but laugh.

I find the different priorities between back home in Abbotsford and here in Oaxaca interesting. Back home it appears to be more about saving money, creating and maintaining infrastructure and cleanliness. The puritan work ethic I guess.

You wouldn’t find free entertainment each night at a central place like here in Oaxaca even though Abbotsford, and Canada in general, is much richer. Oaxaca seems to do this at the expense of infrastructure maintenance and cleanliness.

I am not saying one is better than the other, only that the priorities are interesting and thought provoking. Perhaps we have something to learn.

Ice Rink

By the church there is a Christmas tree and ice rink. People love watching people skate. Well … most people don’t actually skate. They get onto the ice, hang onto the boards for dear life, and then inch their way around the boards until they get back to the door. They have fun though experiencing walking on knives on ice 🙂

Christmas Eve

For Christmas Eve I was invited by the Airbnb host to a pot luck dinner at 9 pm with others in the Airbnb complex which consists of 4 residences Only one other couple showed up besides the Airbnb hosts. However, it was fun. The other couple, from San Francisco, just got married and are traveling the world for a year before deciding on where to settle down.

At midnight it was like New Years Eve in Canada. Fireworks erupted and lots of noise. They love fireworks that just make a loud boom in the air. I don’t get that as I much prefer the fireworks with a colorful display.

We ended our get together at 2 am. However, I could hear loud parties until 4 am.

Christmas Day

Christmas Day was pretty subdued. Most the people on the streets were white tourists. Where did all the Mexicans go?! Sleeping I guess 🙂

Back in Oaxaca