Mazunte a Coyoacán

Mexico
3/9/2010
Agama Yoga Center, Mazunte
We left Oaxaca with two backpacks only half-full. We were lucky to leave most of our stuff at our friends house, right next door. We grabbed some tamales and then headed over a few blocks to catch a camionetta that would take us down to a small city called Pochutla. After a little wait we got onto the van with only the driver, his friend and us two. After a six hour drive across and down the Sierra Madre mountains with a short stop for tamales and bananas, we ended up in Pochutla, a warm weather, slightly inland city. The road down from the mountain was thick with vegetation, and we saw many steep coffee fields, Cacao trees (chocolate), bananas and fruiting mango trees. The streets of Pochutla were bustling with Mexicans, travelers, buses, collectivos, and taxis. This city seems to be a crossroad for many of the beautiful beach towns lining the pacific coast of Oaxaca. Once we got off the bus we waited curbside until we saw a pickup truck with a blue tarp on the back, with "Mazunte" written in soap on the windshield. In the bed, there is a tall frame, with two benches on either side, and covered in the tarp. We flagged him down jumped in the back with a Spaniard from the north of Spain, and started towards the beach. Traveling in the back of a pickup truck is truly traveling in style, wind in your hair, 360 degree view, it's very interactive. Once we got to Mazunte, a small sandy beach town, we started looking for "El Neem Resort", where we will be couchsurfing at the Agama Yoga Center. When we saw the sign at the top of the hill, we got out and paid the 10 pesos (we were overcharged, it should have only been 8), and walked into the yoga center. The Agama Yoga Center is set on the top of a tall hill in between Mazunte and San Augustinillo. Walking up the steep driveway to the top of the hill, the center is comprised of two large outdoor patios with giant palapas (palm frond roof). The giant square patio looking out over San Augustinillo's 3 beaches is the yoga hall, square with and uncovered porch surrounded on two sides by the ocean. The other patio is on the land side, right next to the yoga hall. This is the common area and kitchen. It is a circle, roughly 50 feet diameter, no walls. The whole center is open air, and is something very close to paradise. I said on two seperate occasions, that I would like to copy this house but a little smaller for my own. When we showed up the afternoon yoga class was currently going on so we headed to the common area patio and set our bags down. Everyone in the center was silent, all with welcoming smiles. We whispered to some people, and made some french friends, and then walked down to the beaches in San Augustinillo. We helped a group of fishermen push their boat back into the water, and then walked all the way to the end of the beach. The water here is cool and refreshing, but warm enough to swim. In the evening back at the yoga center as we were walking up the stairs we got a major whiff of delicious foods cooking. The smells of ginger, garlic, onion, and mushrooms were in the air, and I was definitely ready to cook some dinner. We made lentils and rice, an easy dish to travel with and cook anywhere. As we started eating dinner, a tall man, startlingly resembling Gandolf walked into the yoga hall and set up his equipment and started to warm up on his very different-looking instrument. The whole center started to fill people, because there was a concert tonight! Istvan Jeszenszky was the tall Gandolf look-alike, and instrument he was playing was called a "Sarod", a traditional Indian string instrument (up to 19 strings!). After everyone entered the yoga hall he began his concert. It started with the very elaborate twangy sound of the Sarod, a similar sound to the sitar, but more bass and deep, and different melodies accompanied by his very talented voice singing in Sanskrit, as well as other Indian languages. After a little while he changed his technique to a strum of the strings, rather then a finger-picking style, and really took off with intricate singing. While singing, he started emitting a very strange sound from his throat, the closest way to describe the sound would be that it was very similar to the sound of one of those long tubes that resonated when I swung over my head as a kid. The style of singing is called "Throat Singing" and has an amazing sound because he can make the sound while singing other things, there is a sort of "double sound" coming from his mouth. He continued to play a few other songs, I was very impressed with his talent and then he switched to a classical guitar and kept on playing. At the end, he got the whole crowd singing along with him, they were all singing a sacred yoga chant to the beat of two drums. Throughout the whole evening there was a very comfortable on-shore breeze and with the combination of the Copal incense, we really had an enjoyable evening.
I woke up about 20 minutes before sunrise the next morning to the sound of the Frenchman's bare feet stepping across the cement, walking towards the edge of the porch to meditate as the sun rose over the distant mountains. As we were breaking down the mosquito net and folding up our bed, Istvan started to play a soft melody on his Sarod. He had already set up his equipment and was now playing as everyone was waking up during the sunrise. We all moved into the yoga hall where he was playing and sat in a circle with Istvan at the front. He led us in the daily morning chant and added many of his own riffs on Sarod as well as the 7 chakra tones and chants. We sat in the circle for the first two hours of the morning until the 8:30 yoga class started which Geoff (he runs Agama) invited us to participate. Marybel came in and we all got into our yoga positions within the classroom. The class was very enjoyable, one of the best yoga classes I have ever taken. Once it was over we ate some breakfast and then headed out to the next town over, Zipolite. On the beach in Zipolite we met up with Zac and Antionette the Aussie/Kiwi couple we volunteered with in Oaxaca. After we swam a little, we headed to the local bar, "Barracuda" to watch the Real Madrid vs Lyon futbol (soccer) during the championship league in Europe. WE went back to the beach for a swim when we ran into the two Argentine girls we first met at the temescal in Xoxo! It was fun for all four of us to hang out on the beach and swap stories. Walking out of town, we caught the collectivo back to El Neem and settled in for a vegetable soup dinner and watched the stars while Istvan played his second night of the patio concerts.
The next morning when we woke up Istvan was already playing his Sarod as I was waking up and while my brain was becoming conscious, I heard the rich sounds of the instrument. This morning he did not use his amplifier or microphone, and it was just the natural sound and volume of the tinny-sounding Sarod that woke me. Since today was our last day couchsurfing at El Neem, we skipped the morning chant and yoga and headed down to the beach for sunrise. Our plan was to move over to Zipolite, we found a room for 80 pesos per night. We wanted to explore Mazunte first, so we walked into town first and then down to the beach. The bay, is crecent shaped with the best swimming towards the western end. We met another American and spent some time talking to him about his travels. In the 70's he started the import of organic black teas from Asia to the US, and into health food stores. Interesting. Heading back into town we got some bananas for lunch and went over to the Internet cafe. A couchsurfing host in Mazunte wrote us back! Sweet! She had put up directions for us at a bar at the entrance to town, and said we could come by anytime! We wrote down her name and the name of the bar, wrote her a quick reply, paid the 5 pesos for the Internet time, and hit the road to find her house. Since Selva wrote to us, and wants to host us, we decided to not move to Zipolite, and stay with her. The first part of Selva's directions to her house said to go to the bar "La Otra Cosa" and look for the paper she pinned up for us. We walked to the beginning of town and found "La Otra Cosa". Closed. It was 11:30 am.
There was a man sweeping the floor so Laina asked him if he knew Selva, he pointed up the hill and told us to go ask the people up the in the house. We went up the stairs behind the bar, up the hill and knocked on the porch of the house. Two Mexican women came out and we asked them if they knew Selva. They did, and since one of them owned the bar, she took the directions down, since they were put up a few days ago, and she didn't want random people to see them. Then she subsequently lost them. Enthusiastically, both her and her friend pointed and told us the directions orally with lots of gestures and sounds. After a few minutes of only partial comprehension and multiple repetitions, we gave them a big thank you, and walked back down the hill to the street. Laina says, " You understood that right?" I reply, " I thought you did!" Laina laughs and rolls her eyes and we put the pieces together we each understood and made an approximate plan. Crossing the street, we walk uphill on a smaller street until it dead-ends, then we follow a little foot path way up into the hills above Mazunte, separating the town from the coast. "you've gotta be joking." I said after five minutes on the trail. After a little the trail hits a dirt road, wide enough for a car. An older man of unknown race, and a woman come walking up the road. We ask them if they know Selva, or the Casa de Karla Magna, the woman who owns the house. " Karla Magna?" the man says, and warmly smiles, turning up the hill and waves to us to come with him. He introduces himself as Guido, an Italian who has tanned to the color of a walnut! The woman is a Californian who has been living in Texas, however, we continued to speak in Spanish, at least for the practice. They pointed at the house they thought was the Casa de Karla Magna, and said it would be best for us to go ask a neighbor exactly which house it was. He pointed to Pablos house and told us to head over there and ask him. Once Pablo saw us and we talked to him, we found out he did not know Selva, or where she lived. As we were talking to him two neighbors, both Québécois, from Montreal said they knew the house and brought us back to the first house Guido pointed at, and they said that it was the house for sure. We walked down the driveway and up the stairs to the two palapa huts, one open air, one brick. We met Silvana, Selva's roommate, a Peruvian that lives in Canada and is now travelling through Mexico. Silvana was in the middle of painting a meditation aid that was comprised of a sun with 9 triangles interposed within it. We hung out for a while and then headed out to Zipolite. We walked down the main road and caught a collectivo to the next beach down, Zipolite.
Eventually we met our host, Selva, a German girl with dreadlocks that are about half the length she is tall. She is super friendly and we hit it off immediately with some fun conversations and good food. Later we met up with Ant and Zac again and headed to a little town a short ride from Mazunte, called Ventanilla, "small window". We were searching to confirm rumors we heard that there was a crashed airplane on this remote stretch of beach. When we got to the town, we walking from the road alongside a lagoon that had a large population of crocodiles. When we got to the beach my first thought was "California!" The beach was massive. As far as you could see to your right here was beach, and to the right, rocks. The beach has the grandiose power that you find on N. Cali/ Oregon coast beaches. We started down the right side of the beach towards a spot on the horizon that looked like something sticking out of the sand. After walking towards a group of school kids, there was nobody on the beach. We walked about 3 kilometers and then we were upon it. The first part we saw was the tail section on its side with the rudder flush with the ground and the tail wind sticking straight up like a sail, the other must have broken off. There was no rust, or what looked like strong corrosion anywhere on the plane, and many of the circuits and wires on the inside were still intact. The second part of the plane was 300 feet further down the beach 1/2 buried in the sand. This part was the fuselage with the wing still attached.. The fuselage was mostly buried but the left wing was sticking up out of the sand at a 25 degree angle. Low enough that you could walk up it with ease, and bounce on the end like a diving board. You can see this wing all the way back the the beginning of the beach 3K back it stick so far out. After we snapped a few photos, Zac told us that he heard a story about the plane. The plane was supposedly a drug smuggling plane and the police got notice of it and subsequently shot it down. The price to salvage the plane off the beach would be way too expensive, and since it was on a remote stretch of the beach, so far from the tourist beaches they just left it. Still, it's a nice tourist attraction. After we walked back, we got a quick meal, hitchhiked back back to Mazunte, and spent a nice afternoon swimming and tanning on a beautiful beach.
Surprise! We spent the next day swimming, tanning and eating ice cream, not a bad way to spend the day. After out goodbyes with Zac and Ant (they are going to Guatemala), We headed to punta cometa the large peninsula that sticks out far from the beach. There, we saw a spectacular sunset and then gazed at stars with Selva, Kaitlyn, and the other girl from Colorado. We saw new constellations as well as old ones, Elephants, crazy dragons breathing fire, and also the usual, Orion, Ursa major, and some more.
On Monday we woke up and headed to the natural Jacuzzi that is part of punta cometa. This Jacuzzi is a small pool that has limited access to the ocean so the water really is not directly effected by the waves. They splash over the rocks and come in through a small channel to fill the pool. When one splashes in violently, the whole gets a big disturbance and you go flying from one end to the other. We hiked out, beached it up and then returned for another spectacular sunset.
We took a trip to the national turtle museum, a nice facility designed to help the locals generate income fro the turtles without exploiting them. We got to see many species of freshwater and saltwater baby turtles! My favorite part was seeing the tank of week old baby green sea turtles all pitch black, tiny and very cute.
Our last night in Mazunte there was also a final ceremony for all the yoga students who just finished their five week course. We all gathered at El Neem, just like our first few nights on the beach. There was a nice ceremony with a Mexican shaman and all of our friends. After the ceremony we had tamales and vegetarian enchiladas. We said our goodbyes and walked back to Selva's house to hector and Caleb and the rest of the yoga crew.
Our next two days were a blur of long bus rides, bumpy collectivos, and speedy minivans. With a quick overnight stop in Oaxaca at our friends house we caught the second-class bus into Distrito Federal, Mexico City.

Coyoacán
3/24/2010
It was great to be back with Ahmed and Bronson. We got back to their apartment 36 hours after we jumped on our first collectivo in Mazunte. They quickly invited us to their friends barbecue at a nearby condo. Changing our clothes and hurrying out the door less then 40 minutes after getting there, we found ourselves on the rooftop of the Capitol Park building. We met John and Alan, as well as many other people. on the roof there is a heated pool, picnic tables, and a barbecue. We had a blast chatting, eating grilled steaks,and chipotle tortillas and stayed up late. Waking up the next morning to a terrible stomach ache, I was unable to leave the bathroom. It was probably that whole
"altitude sickness plus barbecue-associated beverages" thing (Mexico city is at 7300ft). Laina and Bronson went out but I was left behind to relax and try to feel better. Once I was feeling better, we all went out to "Mama Conchita's" a local restaurant with cheap fixed 3 course meals. There we met Carlos and Stephanie, as well as Alan and John again. Alan and John moved down to Mexico 5 years ago from the US. We made plans to meet up with Alan tomorrow, john had to work. We all walked into the northern Roma district, which is very Bohemian and beautiful, got coffee and continued walking around Parque Mexico. We went back to their place and had salad and drinks (naturally, I abstained).
We met Alan the next morning and headed to the Zocalo. We explored cathedrals, markets and spent the day wandering around the east side of the center. Laina bought some beautiful fabric for the wedding, and I got a cool straw hat. The next day we got together again and went to Coyoacán, my favorite part of Mexico City. Supposedly Coyoacán is where Hernan Cortes lived when we took over the city, since the center was so badly destroyed. Coyoacán is like a small quaint city within a giant city. All the streets are small cobblestone and narrow. The central park is very old with lots of arches and pretty benches. There are old book stores, old candy stores, and tons of old buildings with beautiful architecture. Many of these old buildings have been restored into modern cafes and the such. We went to the Frida Khalo Museum, but did not have the time to go in. Getting back to the apartment, we had a small party with strawberries, mangoes and cream, chips, more food, and fun friends. We learned a lot about how to teach in Mexico city at the American schools and how rewarding it could be. We gave our sad good byes to our new friends hoping to see them again. The next morning we left Ahmed and Bronson with hugs and promises to return, and headed to the subway to begin our trip back home.