Four days stuck in Houston Texas

Leaving Oaxaca was hard. We had really come to love this vibrant and friendly city and we don’t know if we will ever be back as there is much more world for us to discover.

On our last night on our way to dinner we happened across this. 

Our journey to Houston was via Mexico City, but only for a two hour layover. Flying into Mexico City we could see what a sprawling metropolis it is. The airport was big and we quickly made our way to our departure gate to avoid any problems. I wandered off to find us some lunch and found a sandwich place. Oh I wish I had taken a photo of our lunch! When I ordered a ham sando and a hot cheese sando she told me it would be a 9 minute wait. Great I thought, they will be freshly made. No sad end to this story, they were delivered to me in long boxes similar to a cling wrap box, but the sandwiches were snuggled into a sliding drawer that when opened revealed something awesome. A family with two young girls were sitting by us, and even their eyes got big when I slid open the boxes. The Hot cheese sando was actually four ham, cheese and some sort of relish toasted sandwich. The ham sandwich was four tidy little sandwiches with ham, cheese, cucumber and dressing with their crusts sliced off. We couldn’t eat them all so Lance offered the feast to the little girls and they gobbled them up.

We had an easy flight to Houston with Lance chatting to the man next to him. He lives in Houston but works in Mexico and his wife is a Kiwi training to be a doctor! 

On Arriving in Houston the airport looked pretty deserted, that is until we turned the corner to customs. We had an hour wait to get through but passed the time people watching and would you believe dog watching! Not the sniffer dogs from customs, but little pooches in handbags! 

We finally arrived at our hotel at around 11pm. Back at the Embassy Suites for four days seemed a logical choice as we knew our way around, it was close to the mall and eateries and a reasonable price for our unplanned end to our trip. The same girl was at the desk and she was once again very welcoming, until she gave us the bad news . . . The elevators were broken and we were on the fifth floor! There are no fancy bell boys at this hotel so Lance made a start carrying our two large suitcases up the stairs. When I went to follow him with the smaller cases I wasn’t sure where the stair well was, so stood, feeling like a wally with the rest of our bags. A lovely young man came up to me and asked if I was Erynn and took the bags for me! He was just a guy who came across Lance expiring in the stair well and helped him with the bags, then asked if there was anything else and Lance sent him down to me. How nice is that, just another example of how nice people are.

Our room is better than last time we were here and we were  happy to have a lounge and two big TVs because we didn’t have much planned.

The weather was looking bleak with Tuesday expected to have a low of 1 degree celsius and on our drive from the airport a sign was flashing ’Arctic Blast coming, prepare your pets plants and pipes’. As I sit here writing this two days later we have had snow on the weather app but not out the window. I’m a bit annoyed that it must be close but not where we are, it is freezing cold any way so why not a little snow to keep it interesting. 

Fortunately we had packed for the high altitude in Quito, Ecuador so winter woollies were on hand.

Today is Martin Luther King Junior Day with a big parade downtown. There is a a load of young men staying at our hotel and yesterday they were carrying wooden rifles with shiny bayonets. And later when we were waiting for our Uber they went marching past us, practicing for the parade. This morning there were swords at breakfast as well. And the lifts are still broken.

Also that morning there were several emergency dashes to the bathroom, something we had eaten, or maybe the water, had made enemies in our bowels. It was so extreme we thought we would have to postpone our trip to the outlet mall. But I took some drugs and Lance came right and we made it out to the mall. 

The mall was deserted and freezing. It is an outdoor mall so when Lance sat outside waiting for me, he had to sit with the shopping bag under his bottom because the aluminium seat was so cold. When we got home, the lifts were still broken. They had been working when we left, temporarily working that is.

We made a few purchases, Lance did better than me, but there wasn’t a lot there to buy. Even yesterday when I braved the actual snow flurry to go to the mall next door to us there was not much to buy.  Yes! A snow flurry, sounds like something you would by at Mac Donalds doesn’t it? There were no people around so I could take the time to stand and watch tiny little flakes billow around me. They melted on impact so it was a not the fairy tale look of proper snow, but still! A snow flurry! 

The mall was pretty deserted and after an hour or so I thought it would be prudent to make my way home. This was after a few shops started shutting because of the weather and when a young shop attendant warned me to “take care not to slip on the way home Ma’am.” And I didn’t want to end up like one of those funny videos that we all watch of people slipping and a sliding.

By now the ‘snow flurry’ had turned into ‘sleet’ and was cold and stingy as it hit my face. But I warmed up quickly getting up the 96 stairs to our floor.

We ventured out for dinner at minus 3 degrees celsius to a burger joint across the road, oh and keep the word ‘joint’ in your in your head, because there is more about that later. Burger Palace was pretty empty and there was one guy serving, he was about our age and just said to take a table as we entered. He actually could have been out of a Seinfeld episode. “Whaddya want” came instead of “Are you ready to order”. But he wasn’t unpleasant. Just . . .odd. But the burgers were really great!

Back at the hotel we stopped at the bar for a drink and EUREKA! The lifts were working!

For the last 3 days we had been getting wafts of cannabis in our room. Not just a little suspicious sniff, these were waves that were quite strong. Then last night as we walked to our room it was really thick coming from the room next door. We hadn’t seen anyone going in or out the whole four days. 

After some TV we retired for our last night. . . then at 2am the fire alarm went off! Oh, and it was minus 7 outside!. Quickly layering up we emerged from our room like the Michelin man with layers of clothes and jackets, and me with my new beanie. And we were the only ones up! The hotel rooms are positioned around a large atrium for 6 floors up so all doors are visible. Wondering what to do and the alarm still squealing in our room we noticed two women coming up in the elevator. IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY PLEASE USE THE STAIRS. I know that every one of you have seen those signs and possibly have even had to obey one or two. The women were staff, one of which was staying in the room next to ours (not the weedy room) and was in her pyjamas. Apparently only her room and ours had the smoke alarms going off. Dope head next door on the other side could not be raised when she knocked on his door. After about 45 minutes the maintenance man arrived, fortunately not in his pyjamas, and took the battery out of our smoke alarms and sent us back to bed. Amazing! 

This morning the temperature has got up to -3 and we are sitting around until it is time to go tot the airport and hoping that the freeway is not closed because of ice. When we went down for breakfast at 9:15 the usual busy hub was deserted, just the remnants of fruit and some toast were available. The one lady who was starting to clean up could not speak English but got us some butter for our toast.

We are now packed and waiting for a pickup in a couple of hours. Despite all of the inconvenience at this hotel they are very accomodating and for the second time have allowed us a late checkout with no extra fee.

Here’s hoping that this is my last blog post for this holiday and we make it home without any delays. As you read this please cross your fingers, rub your rabbit foot and look for four leaf clovers. We may need all the luck we can get!

Thanks for joining us!

Last two oops no three days in Oaxaca Mexico

Our last couple of days went a bit like this:

Late breakfast at Pan.am which is delicious, and because the hotel buffet has not appeared again after we discovered it.

Lance mucks around in the hotel room and I go for a wander.

Back for some relaxation, a swim and a beer. And maybe lunch beforehand if we can fit it in.

Rest again then out for dinner, then an early night.

The reason the title of this post has been altered is because two days before we were due to fly to Quito Ecuador Sarid messaged us to see if we had heard about the conflict happening in Quito and another city. Apparently a drug lord had escaped from prison and some of his men had charged into the television studio and taking the journalists hostage on live TV. They held guns to their heads and put explosives in their face and in their pockets. Chaos broke out and the president declared an internal armed conflict and a 60 day civil emergency. Schools are working virtually and workers have been asked to stay home. BUT… the travel safe sites have said use caution if travelling there and airports are open. We have been in contact with the NZ consulate in Bogotá Columbia, which represents Ecuador and they said that they can’t advise us and we need to make our own decision, but the quotes they gave us help us make our decision:

On 8 January 2024, the President declared a 60-day State of Emergency following the escape of a major criminal from prison and subsequent prison riots, which has led to an increase in criminal activity nationwide. There have been reports of a series of explosions, shootings, vehicles set on fire and the abduction of police officials and prison security guards.

 

A daily curfew is in place nationwide from 2300-0500 hours. If you’re travelling to/from the airport, you will need to show your passport or ID and relevant boarding pass or flight itinerary. New Zealanders are advised to be extra vigilant, avoid public and crowded areas, monitor local media for developments and comply with any instructions and restrictions issued by the local authorities.

So we pulled the plug, rang Southern Cross Insurance and our travel agent Samara Liyanage from Flight Centre.

Intrepid Travel told us that because the boat tour to the Galapagos was still going ahead, and that they have had people land and get to the tour safely they will not be cancelling the tour. So no refund. Southern Cross also said that because Ecuador has classed the emergency at a level 2 and not a 3 or 4 then we are not covered. I guess a level 2 in Ecuador is very different to how it would be classed in our own country, New Zealand. However Southern Cross has said that a claim may be considered if we more or less plead our case. So a hefty loss for us for the Galapagos Tour and 4 days in Quito, and $5000 extra to change our plans.  It was cheaper to stay in Houston for four days than it was to fly home straight away. So we will finish in a different style but will make the most of it. Any suggestions of cheap things to do in Houston would be appreciated. We have been there before and done NASA. A positive is that it doesn’t look too cold there . . . until the morning we fly which has a low of -7 and a high of 1 degree Celsius. May be a room service breakfast!

We have been in ‘civil unrest’ before. Regularly when we lived in Papua New Guinea and once when staying in Athens. And even though they were a bit scary. we weren’t dealing with gang lords and Narcos types of gangsters. We feel that we have made the right decision and those of you who know Lance well will know his famous quote ‘It’s only money’. 

Enough of the drama and let’s focus on Central Oaxaca. It is the most beautiful place, and we arrived at the right time. I had assumed that the beautiful bunting and hanging piñata were here all year round, but this morning I walked outside and it was gone! Along with most of the markets close to where we are.

All of this bunting has now disappeared

The people are so nice and service and hospitality in the hotel, restaurants, cafes, shops, markets in fact everywhere you go is genuine and very good. There are lots of Mexican people visiting from other parts of the country and many of the tourists are American. I keep spotting elderly woman in dresses comfortable shoes, an apron that fits over their shoulders and braids or a scarf wound round like a turban. Most are quite tiny but wirey in stature. They are probably only my age! I have wanted to take a photo but it seemed bad manners, so sorry, no pic.

The language: many people have English or at least some and if not my Duolingo Espanol has been working. In fact a couple of times I have started with a request in Spanish and then they start talking to me in Spanish. They quickly realise that I don’t have much! Lance is doing okay and says hello and thank you and now a few more words. He is very good at mime and also works out what is being said from the situation. Although several times he has called me in to help.

Shopping: the tourist markets which have now disappeared are still pretty cheap, but you may pay a bit less at Mercado 20 de Novembre which is a quick walk from our hotel and this is where the local people shop as well as some touristy things. I have noted that there are very few flies or smells. There are also high end shops close to where we are staying where a beautiful dress is the equivalent of 700 or 800 New Zealand dollars.

The pet stall had bunnies, mice and iguana. I was worried that they may be for dinner but they also sold cages. Maybe to hold them and fatten them up?

Mezcal

Fancy chicken for dinner?

A butcher stall

Tripe, trotters and hooves

Grasshoppers, nuts and other tasty treats.

The weather is fabulous, most days have a high of around 28 degrees Celsius and a low of 11 or 12. Today was 30 and hot but not oppressive, as the humidity is nothing like we have in Auckland. We have had blue skies every day, and this is their winter! 

The buildings all around an old and full of character, even those that are in disrepair . Apparently they are not allowed to build new and must keep with the character of the the surroundings. Further out of Central Oaxaca there are new buildings, shopping centre and Mac Donald’s! Today I passed Domino’s Pizza on my way to the market, why, why, why when there is so much delicious food that is so cheap! I got a doughnut for Lance that was full of custard today and it was equivalent to $1.50 NZ.

Roof top bars are everywhere and we have tried a few. Again the food is great, but more expensive but nowhere near what we would pay at home. Lance has been drinking Heineken at most places or Corona. I have found a few Mexican red wines that are really lovely, I will be looking out for some in New Zealand.

The art: is everywhere, beautiful graffiti that rivals Banksy, handmade items in shops and clay work. 

There are a few people begging on the street, some elderly woman and some mothers with their children. When we leave tomorrow we will drop some pesos in the bowl of a young woman we pass most days, sometimes with her children and sometimes not.

This evening we will return to a lovely rooftop bar restaurant for dinner and drink to the lovely Oaxaca holiday that we have enjoyed.

Oaxaca and more tourist stuff! 8 January 2024

After the success with the buffet breakfast yesterday we shot out of bed and over to the hotel restaurant. Alas, no buffet today Senor!

The choices from the a la carte were very nice and they brought pastries and fresh fruit, but really, no buffet when we have just found it!

Wandering up to Sarid and Aenaes’ hotel around lunch time we jumped in with them for a trip to an Alebrijes workshop. Alebrijes is a style of carving and painting. The carved objects depict animals and more often animals with mixed parts. For example a wolf with a fish tail. The story goes that artist Pedro Linares fell ill and dreamed of these colourful spiritual animals this led to his creations. They were named Alebrijes because in the dream the animals were all shouting “Alibrejes!”. Alebrijes animals are everywhere in the shops, but a trip to a workshop was the right thing to do, it was fascinating.

Our guide ran us through the process from the carving of the soft wood of the copal tree through to the end of the process. At this workshop they used paint from nature. The colours were made from ground bark, corn fungus, indigo flour, cochinilla bug (like our cochineal), charcol, pomegranate which when mixed with industrial lime becomes turquoise. The key to the colours is when they are mixed with the juice of a lime and or industrial lime. It was amazing watching the colours change as he added these.

Then to hold the colours fast they are coated with a mixture of honey and resin. This is the process used by the masters and later we saw some at another stall that were nowhere near the same quality.

As we walked past the artists I asked if they have to follow a pattern for each piece. We were told that they just go for it and make it up as they go along. Well not exactly in those words, but we got the jist of it.

It is amazing how uniform the patterns are when it is all done freehand!

In this photo the master had filled the cracks that happen as the wood dries out whilst being carved. He fills them with slivers of copal wood and glues them in. Later he will trim and sand them to perfection.

We saw so many pieces that would have loved to have purchased, but getting them home is the problem. The best pieces have long thin protrusions , like tails, eggs, spikes or feathers. So I bought a little iguana, and I am sorry to say that when I unwrapped him back at the hotel I snapped his tail off!  Oh well, don’t lizardy things drop their tails?

Our next stop was just around the corner to the weavers market where both Sarid and I were amazed at how this lovely Senora worked the loom. She did explain it to us, well to Sarid who later translated for me, but look in this video how the colour changes when she pulls the loom. This was a small market  where the ladies sold their own wares. I bought a beautiful hand woven table runner.

Our last stop was at the pottery shop. Barro Negro pottery is unique to Oaxaca. Barro negro translates to black clay, and all of the pottery is black. Most pieces are hollow and have a filigree effect. When we came to Mexico in 2000 I bought one of these pots in Tijuana and have always loved it. Now it has some little friends ready to join it. Hopefully they make it home in one piece! I would have loved to have got a big vase, but alas, suitcase rules!

After a wee rest in the afternoon we met Sarid and Aeneas once again and enjoyed a mole (pronounced molay), this time as a degustation dinner. The restaurant Los Paco Centro is just around the corner from our hotel. And we had a very different and interesting mole degustation.

Most places give you complementary salsas with tortilla chips or bread. I was coveting the little triple bowl that had the three bowls squished together and wondered if firstly the restaurant would miss it, and secondly if Lance would spot it in our packing. 

The three salsas were quite different, the green was the most spicy and smooth, the tomato one was full of tomato flavour and not spicy at all and the third was a smokey dark salsa with loads of flavour.

Aeneas and I shared a bottle of Mexican merlot, the waiter did advise that they had one older than the vintage we had chosen that would be a better choice, so we went for it and were not disappointed.

Shortly after our 7 mole arrived. Previously when experiencing a degustation the course arrive one by one, but I can see the sense in the seven being presented all at once.

Our waiter went through each style of mole separately, they were all very different starting with green and moving through to a thick dark black chocolatey mole which has 31 ingredients and takes 7 days to make. We oohed and ahhhed our way through them all with the accompaniments of rice, roasted plantain (bananas) and tortillas. Funny though, the tortillas were served in a fabric bag to keep them warm and moist, but the bag was a Scottish style tartan! And while the waiter was explaining the complexities of the dishes James Brown was belting out in the background!

The owner, sporting a manicured handle bar moustache, came and chatted with us. He said that the recipes were 120 years old and had been handed down through his family. His wife had taken the grandmother’s recipes and refined them from a handful of this and a pinch of that to proper recipes. And his wife is Russian! She came out and had a chat and talked us into trying some ant eggs! She said any you see from now on will be frozen, these were fresh. They actually were quite nice and had nice flavours with them.

We shared a sort of torte between the four of us as we were completely full and satisfied. Another lovely day in Mexico!