Central Mexico - Flying men and Mezcal

I decided to deviate a little from my plans at this point and kept heading north towards Papantla. I had been told that this was where Vanilla originally came from and that there was also a chance of seeing the Voladores or Flying men of Papantla. All the way through the state of Veracruz I had seen adverts on the back of busses for El Tajin which was obviously a historic site. Little did I know that I was about to arrive in the middle of the biggest festival of the year. All the Hotels in the town were booked solid and it was by luck more than anything else that I got accommodation on the outskirts of the town at about twice the usual rate. I did take a ride on the second day to maybe see the ruins but there were literally thousands of people around that side of the mountain and a lot of them at the ruins themselves. I saw no joy to be had fighting with the crowds so retreated back to the town and got some good footage of the flyers which was what I had come to see anyway. Plus there was enough other entertainment going on in town to keep me occupied.


The giant stone mural in Papantla


The Voldares dancing


Once they are all at the top of the pole


Then it's time to throw yourself of backwards!!


More local dancers from a different district

Tuesday morning and I headed back down the coast and inland towards Puebla. This is a city with a long Colonial past and again most of this has been well preserved in the Historic part of the city. The hotel that I had picked from the Lonely Planet guide was easy to find and exactly as described. This city is famous for it’s ceramic pottery and tiles that adorn a lot of the buildings and the hotel is a perfect example of this with an interior that can only be described with photo’s. The main square was only a stones throw away and is the centre of activity for young and old as the sun goes down and people come to enjoy the restaurants and park.


One of the beautiful streets in Puebla


The Cathedral lit up at night


Some of the famous pottery made here


The tiles are all over the inside and outside of the buildings, this is the Hotel


Another of the buildings around the main square

I was going to by-pass Mexico City and head for Morelia next but I decided to head back down south west and visit Oaxaca.


Oaxaca also has a lot of nice Colonial streets


These two were waiting for the day of the dead. But it's not 'till November

The GPS took me over the Sierra Madre and a fantastic ride, dry and cool in the altitude until you drop down a little into the town, then it warms up a lot! The cost was also quite high because I had been on the toll roads all the way, so because they charge the same for motorcycles as for cars it cast around Mex$350 or $30. I decided that on the Saturday I would take a tour that would show me the best of the area, not just the ruins. So we visited the local weavers, the ruins at Mitla, the Mezcal distillery (always a favourite!!) and I bought half a bottle of the eight years old stuff, then the Tule tree, and some “petrified” water falls.


The largest Tule tree, one of the biggest trees in the world.


Some of the stats for the tree


Some of the fantastic hand made rugs


The "petrified" waterfalls.


The Agave plant


This is the part they use


Not exactly a modern commercial still


The finished product, complete with the worm.

A very full day before I started out for Puerto Escondido on Sunday. This time I changed the preferences in the GPS for no toll roads, and had a very long day over some very twisty roads filled with hundreds of topes!! Sometimes you just cant win. So now I’m in the little town of Puerto Escondido. It’s famous for it’s surfing beaches and laid back lifestyle which is enjoyed by foreign visitors and locals alike.


Puerto Escondido


The busy main street - Not!! Fantastic.

I have also posted the video for Guatemala. I apologize for being in it.