Well, Mari and I left at 11:50 pm on November 1st on a 3.5 hour flight headed to Houston Texas. This means we are arriving in Houston at 3:30 am Seattle time, or 5:30 am Houston time. In Houston we had a two hour layover as our next flight departed at 7:30 am (5:30 Seattle time) for a 1.75 hour flight from Houston to Mexico City. We came really close to missing this flight. At the last minute Mari wanted a coffee. We worked our way back through the airport searching for the last seen Starbucks. When we returned to the gate all passengers were already loaded and the doors were closed. They even went so far as to tell us it was too late to board. Yet miraculously, the doors of fate shined upon us and they allowed us to scurry onto the plane with our heads held in shame. We boarded an EMB-145 - a quite small plane. Only 20 rows, with one seat on the right and two on the left. This flight was uneventful in the fact that Mari and I were not sitting together, and my lack of sleep left me nodding in and out over the duration of the flight.
Arriving in Mexico City, we found out that our luggage had not been transferred from our Seattle-Houston Continental flight to the Houston-Mexico City AeroMexico flight. Our bags were lagging behind us a couple hours and we were assured they would be arriving in Oaxaca about 5 hours after our arrival. We spoke to a very fine gentlemen who told us our bags would be delivered to our hotel shortly after their arrival. Without options, we headed off to find our new gate with hopes of grabbing a little shut eye.
Gaining an hour as we headed into Mexico City, we now had a 4 hour layover until our final flight of the trip, Mexico City to Oaxaca, which boarded around 12:40 in the afternoon. Killing hours, nodding in and out, snacking a bit, we finally boarded another EMB-145. After takeoff the view of Mexico City from the air was mesmerizing. There were a string of volcanoes that cut their way through the dense housing areas that from the sky left me in awe, able to look into several of the ancient calderas. And once above the cloud cover we flew through wonderfully bright white and stunning puffy structures jutting up and above the normal cloud layer. This flight was more memorable, not only because of the beautiful views but also because the plane shuffled and jostled around in the sky and left Mariana yearning for a less tumultuous ride. Eventually we landed safe and sound in Oaxaca, willing and ready to start our journey for real.
Exiting the airport we double checked on our bags and were informed we would need to return to the airport for a customs inspection, as our bags were not in tow with us as we arrived in Mexico City for a normal customs inspection. Frustrated, yet accepting of the chaos, we grabbed a taxi and headed to Posada Don Mario - our hotel for the next couple days.
Arriving in the historic district of Oaxaca we found the weather in the upper 80´s, cloud cover a minimum, and the infastructure vibrant and inviting. We situated ourselves and rushed out to see a bit of the sites, knowing that our two days of no sleep would soon be catching up with us. In need of food, we stopped by a little restaurant named La Casa del Tio Guero. For starters - Mari had a blackbean/pepper soup with tortilla chips inside, covered in cheese called Sopa Conde - that was absolutely delicious. I had a vegetable chicken soup that was equally, yet differently delicious. For our plates, Mari had sliced pork with rice and veggies, while I had a poblano chile relleno with chicken placed within an outer breading shell served with rice and veggies. After a quick tour we retired and took a long needed nap.
Around 9 pm we were awoken by the senoritas that run the Posada because our bags had been delivered and were now on premises. We were excited by the fact that we didn't need to return to the airport the next day and happy that they were once again in our possession. But.... this happiness quickly faded when opening my bag I realized it had been pilfered somewhere along the way. The ladrones eventually ended up stealing my steripen water purifier mentioned in an earlier post, as well as all my camera equipment minus the camera (which I had with me on my carry on). This included my battery charger, all the cables for downloading and moving photos, as well as the extra memory card I had purchases before leaving Seattle. Also gone.... a Leatherman multi-tool I borrowed from a friend (Sorry Blake) and my ipod charger.
At this point we were steaming and upset (as usual in situations like this), but overall we understood that ultimately nothing was stolen that could ruin our trip. We still had all our clothes and money and travel books, and we took it as a learning experience. In the future we vow to never leave anything in a checked bag worth losing. The following morning we returned to the Oaxacan airport and tried in vain to file a formal complaint, yet to no avail. Ultimately, no one really cared. So we cut our losses, and spent no further time worrying about it. We have everything we need for the moment and will be replacing those missing items in the near future.
Overall, Oaxaca has been wonderful. The weather is gorgeous, the food is delicious, and the people are open and inviting. There are tons of gringos here, which is both good and bad, yet it makes settling in a very easy thing to do. The problems of our initial arrival have been put behind us and we are moving forward with our adventure. As all cables for the camera have been lost thus far, we have no pictures to accompany this post. But we will be working to cure this pictureless thread in the near future.
Hasta luego. Travis y Mariana
Around 9 pm we were awoken by the senoritas that run the Posada because our bags had been delivered and were now on premises. We were excited by the fact that we didn't need to return to the airport the next day and happy that they were once again in our possession. But.... this happiness quickly faded when opening my bag I realized it had been pilfered somewhere along the way. The ladrones eventually ended up stealing my steripen water purifier mentioned in an earlier post, as well as all my camera equipment minus the camera (which I had with me on my carry on). This included my battery charger, all the cables for downloading and moving photos, as well as the extra memory card I had purchases before leaving Seattle. Also gone.... a Leatherman multi-tool I borrowed from a friend (Sorry Blake) and my ipod charger.
At this point we were steaming and upset (as usual in situations like this), but overall we understood that ultimately nothing was stolen that could ruin our trip. We still had all our clothes and money and travel books, and we took it as a learning experience. In the future we vow to never leave anything in a checked bag worth losing. The following morning we returned to the Oaxacan airport and tried in vain to file a formal complaint, yet to no avail. Ultimately, no one really cared. So we cut our losses, and spent no further time worrying about it. We have everything we need for the moment and will be replacing those missing items in the near future.
Overall, Oaxaca has been wonderful. The weather is gorgeous, the food is delicious, and the people are open and inviting. There are tons of gringos here, which is both good and bad, yet it makes settling in a very easy thing to do. The problems of our initial arrival have been put behind us and we are moving forward with our adventure. As all cables for the camera have been lost thus far, we have no pictures to accompany this post. But we will be working to cure this pictureless thread in the near future.
Hasta luego. Travis y Mariana
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