Zihuatanejo and Mexico City - Part Two

Happy new years and welcome back. Have been in Cuba for the last two weeks - telecommunication services are not the country´s strong point.

Back to 17 December 2006 - Zihuatanejo was a quaint, cobble-stoned street beach town - much more relaxing than Acapulco. Laxed out at the beach and managed to fit in our first snorkelling of fantasia.

In Zihuatanejo, one activity a day was sufficient. This has since carried on throughout the rest of the fantasia mission.

There were a lot of festivities in the town during the lead up to xmas. We managed to walk in on what appeared to be a school street party one night. This is where we learnt that Pedro in Napoleon Dynamite was correct - they actually do hit pinatas that look like real people.

A week of cocktails and cruising was just what we needed before heading back to the madness that is Mexico City to meet up with the infamous X (aka Josh Boston) and to celebrate xmas mexican styles with Adrian Alanis´ family (Adrian is another friend of Jacky´s dads who we chose to inflict ourselves on!).

Welcome to Mexico City part two. It is at this point we wish to enlighten you with stories of the metro system in the city. Lessons for future visitors:

1. when the doors open, do not dawdle around. If you don´t, one of your tour group members (guess who?) may leave the station on a completely different train perhaps never to be seen again.

2. do not use the metro in peak times, which apparently includes the Friday before xmas. If you do, you will be extremely squished, groped and stared at like you are from mars. In our situation, one of the tour group members had to drop the shoulder to get off the train and another used the force of an empty coke bottle to fend off a groper.

3. if you are blind, do not use a benji style dog as a guide dog who follows you and allows you to walk directly into the metal poles in the middle of the carriages.

Josh arrived to join the tour group - at 1am on 24 December - muchas gracias.

Xmas Eve was spent purchasing the secret santa presents in the insanely busy market. In Mexico, xmas is celebrated on xmas eve. We were picked up by a driver sent by Adrian to join the Alanis family for the xmas church service, dinner, tequila, gifts and fireworks. The family were extremely welcoming and everyone had an awesome time. The fireworks were incredible - the giant double happys were awesome. A big thanks to Adrian and his family! Although it was a bit different to the traditional kiwi roasts/bbqs, but the mexican food was delicious and the tequila was nothing like those tequila shots you always regret at home!

Xmas day: we opened our secret santa gifts - all of which had something related to both Mexican wrestling and fireworks. Instead of eating, drinking and sitting out in the sun with the whanau, we went to a traditional Mexican bullfight - interesting. One main matador, a heap of his assistants, all dressed up in their shiny, decorative and tight outfits have three rounds (including a round where horses in full on protective gears who get hammered by the bull) before the bull eventually gets a sword through its heart. Pretty barbaric but exciting times when the bull got its own back by injuring the guys.

Boxing Day: not a pleasant day for Jaxs - who spent the day traipsing between the toilets and bed. She thought she was going to die - so everyone left her to it and went on a tour to various Mexican historical sights. The highlight of the tour being the Teotihuacan pyramids. The sight is scattered with pre-Aztec pyramids and ruins. Very dongerous steps up to the top of the pyrimid but it was worth doing a human pyramid on a pyramid!

(apologies for the 90 degree angle, once again spanish toolbars are not easy to use)

Josh´s trip was up - and he chose to leave as he had arrived (at a ridiculous time in the morning). Thanks Josh for making the mission over to Mexico to hang - good times! It goes without saying that all other visitors are welcome!