Luggage, Pyramids and Oaxaca

Hola de Oaxaca,

Yesterday we spent an infuriating day waiting for our luggage to be delivered from the airport. Mexicana kept promising to have it with us by certain times of the day but didn't show and then stopped answering the phone. So instead of heading to Oaxaca as planned we had to schlep back to the airport in the late afternoon on the offchance the luggage might be there. And sure enough it was there, behind the Mexicana desk. We went Wolverine. But at least we finally got our bags - we've never been so delighted to see our stuff before - and were able to hop on a coach to Oaxaca this morning.

The drive south was breathtaking, if scary - the road snaking its way over and around soaring cactae-covered mountains. Oaxaca is just lovely. We spent the afternoon wandering around the main square, going into a market crammed with little eateries, colourful clothes and fresh fruit and veg. Unfortunately all the museums are closed on Mondays, but it was so nice just to potter around in the sun. Hace mucho calor aqui, but because it's quite high up there's a refreshing breeze to keep you cool.

On Saturday we went on a day trip to the Teotihuacan ruins outside Mexico City, visiting some ruins in the city first then going to the Church of the Lady of Guadalupe (the Virgin Mary) - the second most visited catholic church after the vatican - some 10 million visitors a year.

We had a really yummy buffet lunch at a place just outside the Teotihuacan pyramids that also makes incredible cloth and tequila out of cactae. The guy there taught us how they do it all by hand and then we had to have 3 shots of tequila each! Then we spent 3 hours being guided around the ruins. So interesting. Teotihucan was the 4th biggest city of its time, once having a quarter of a million residents, after Rome and Athens' half million, and i think Alexandria was first... This was over 1000 years before the Aztecs. They don't know the exact reason why the city was deserted but possibly due to the fact that they ran themselves out of natural resources because they were constantly cutting down trees and burning stones all through the night to make concrete to build their pyramids!

They had an obsession with building pyramids - one ruler would build one and then the next one wanted to build a bigger one, so he covered up the first and built on top of it, then the next one did the same and the next. The 65-metre-high Sun pyramid is the top one of 7 pyramids (6 have been found underneath). We climbed to the top of it. It has steps, but they are so steep, when you look down from the top it's almost vertical! Scary going down them. But we got some great pics. The one of us was taken above the Church of the Lady of Guadalupe, another is of the view from halfway up the Pyramid of the Moon at Teotihuacan, and the other is of the Plaza de San Domingo in Oaxaca.

Tomorrow we're off on a trip to see a massive tree, some more ruins and a petrified waterfall!

Hope all's well. Lots of love x

WE ARE HERE!!

Hola de Mexico City everyone!

After an agonising 12 hours spent at Gatwick wondering whether we'd make it on to a flight, we finally got plonked on a plane at the last minute and arrived at our hostel half an hour ago. We're sitting on the gorgeous rooftop terrace having had the obligatory free tequila shot (apologies in advance for any spelling mistakes) and supping on some sort of gigantic corona bottle while we write this. It's a lovely balmy evening and the view out to the cathedral is quite something.

Unfortunately, despite Mexicana's promises that our luggage arrived on the flight (they didn't tell us about) that left yesterday, the bags are still in Gatwick and may or may not be with us on Saturday or Sunday. If only we'd packed those malaria tablets in our hand luggage, not to mention essential other things like underwear and toothbrushes... All part of the fun, hey¿? Que sera....

There is an awesome trip to an active volcano tomorrow, but we are a little volcanoed out if truth be told and will probably need to go shopping for some essentials to tide us over for the next few days, but hope to get on to a city tour and have a good old snoop around this place. We can't believe just how huge Mexico City is. From the plane it looked like a giant selection of colourful pic n mix sweets - the houses are all different colours, with some really rundown looking places and some gorgeous old style buildings worthy of a photo or two - and it just seems to sprawl for miles and miles...

Well, enough delirious exhausted rambles for now, but it is just so nice to finally be here!!!

Bye for now,

xxx

Airspace still closed and we're still in Portsmouth...

The volcano continues to mar our progress and we look set to be stuck in Portsmouth for at least another couple of days. Hopefully we'll be able to have a nine-week trip, still taking in all the sights we'd planned to, at a quicker pace, but it's all dependent on the Icelandic wrath abating, so fingers crossed.

We've been far from idle during our time in Portsmouth, though. I've been jumping around the sitting room to Wii Fit while Mark has been running up and down to the fridge to eat cheese! At the moment he is busy making a trifle worthy of Masterchef, and I'm sure will be way tastier than anything we'd be eating in Mexico (prrrrp!!! - Piggy, that is for you)...

On Saturday had we been away, we'd have gone to see and walk around Teotihuacan, the third largest pyramid in the world. As we weren't there and it was such a lovely day daan saaf, we instead headed for Butser Hill and its heady heights. Here are a couple of pics of us at the top with Mark's mum. Pyramids Schmyramids.

Volcano vendettas

It's funny how similar Mexico City is to Portsmouth; remarkably similar landscape, inhabitants, weather... No, wait... This is Portsmouth, not Mexico City. We had to come back because a volcano in Iceland decided that after 200 years it fancied blowing its top. Cracking. Some say it's Mother Nature taking matters into her own hands and reducing everyone's carbon footprint for them, others that it's time that Northern Europe got a bit of natural fertilisation from all this wonderful ash... Who knows? But I really wish it had waited just 24 more hours, and would like to make it clear that this volcano won't be getting a Christmas card from us.

We've been told to head back to the airport tomorrow morning, but as Volcanos Spoilingus Holidayus is still erupting, it's not looking likely, so we'll probably be taking in some of Pompey's famous tourist attractions for the next few days instead. Mayans Schmayans!

Hopefully the next update will be from Mexico!

We're off...

Hi everyone,

Welcome to our travel blog. We're heading to Central America on the 15th April, beginning in Mexico City and winding up in San Jose (Costa Rica) on the 24th June. We'll try to update you (as non-boringly as possible) on our adventures as we go, and will endeavour to post some pics along the way too.

We'll be missing everyone big time, so please send us emails or facebook messages with news from home: sophie.r.dawson@hotmail.co.uk and markjamesgranshaw@googlemail.com

Hasta luego!

Lots of love,

Soph 'n' Mark