Friday, June 24  

I left Mexico City two months behind schedule, a series of events had conspired to keep me there for longer than planned, but with everything now taken care of, and my allergies playing up, leaving the safety of a family home and the intoxicating smog and pollution of a decaying mega motropolis was of prime priority.

With me, a backpack carrying a few shirts and shorts, toiletries, and medicine, my cheap Mexican guitar, and a dodgy sleeping bag barely held together by rainbow suspenders.

My grandmother had packed me two 'tortas', (a traditional type of sandwich cross burger), two apples, and given me 500 pesos to help my measly savings that I naively hoped would get me through to Guatemala and the Yucatan. She was slightly worried, but blessed me, and "let God take care of him now".

The departure day was a Wednesday and I arrived just in time to catch the coach out.

A day before leaving and maybe as a warning from god, two scammers tried to get to all my freshly exchanged cash. They had a tip off from the bank teller im sure. I didn't fall, but it was close. I decided then that a money belt would be worn at all times, with a decoy wallet in my backpocket to be sure.

The bus roared to full speed as we hit the highway and rolled out of the thick, infinitely sprawling cityscape and towards Oaxaca (Wah/hah/kah). A hilly landscape unfolded before us, revealling a mostly barren and depressing vista. I hoped this would change as we got further from the city but was dissappointed. Cactuses and the ocassional shrub adorned the bleak brown landscape, while hungry goats would mill around hoping to find some green to mulch on and survive. Flanked the whole trip by mountains dead and wasted, raped of all their natural resources and beauty for a few 'pesos' and maybe some political points, I felt ashamed to be human.

When I reached Oaxaca it was raining. My contact was at 9:30 and it was only 3. I headed for a local bar to drink my fair share of cheap local beer.

I met Yosef at the "Labastida" a local park, after getting enebriated, playing my guitar for a pair of snotty faced 5 year old locals, and waiting at the wrong park. I realized it was the wrong park a minute before we were meant to meet, got some directions and ran to the Labastida.

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"Murdoch!!"

I sigh with relief.

We walk to his stay nearby while introducing ourselves.

Yosef has been living in Oaxaca for a year and a half as an English teacher, he has no money to get back to the states and he is overstaying his Visa, making him an American illegal in Mexico. We laugh at the irony of his situation.

As we enter the door to his place, the first thing he asks is if i'd like to get high and I smile.

Rolling a spliff with his housemate Lobo (the wolf), a Mexican writer who left the city to get some focus; we are soon discussing Huxley and Orwell, I say I found Huxley more impacting than Orwell, and Lobo tells me that Huxley would have liked that, since he was a big fan of Orwell.

"Orwell was making a comment on Communism" states Lobo.

I say that he was making a comment on society as a whole and he agrees.

Yosef and I go for some cheap food around the corner, then to a nightclub which is full. I left my ID behind but it turns out I need it, (in Mexico?) so we head to a dirty club across the road where I pretend not to speak spanish properly and get in without a problem. I soon learn that American tourists are the worst. The bar is crowded and steamy, local men are making moves to dance with the tourist girls who oblige if only for a laugh, I'm bored and tired.



We go back to Yosefs to crash after a few more pipes.

Mosquitoes feast on my hand through the night.

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   [ posted by Mr.P @ 10:03 ] 0 Comments

I am in Oaxaca and I am happy.



This is a very nice place, good weather, nice vibe, sort of touristy enough to feel cool but not enough to feel not cool. Nice cafes. Cheap Beer. Lots to see and do.

I am going to be writing a Keroucian tale.

From now on, that will be my blog.

   [ posted by Mr.P @ 09:44 ] 0 Comments

I just had two dudes try to scam my money, it was a good scam, i almost fell for it. Id just come out of the bank after changing a large ammount of money, and this guy comes up and asks me for help in finding a place he needed to go to to change some cheques, he said he couldnt read or write, so started to help him, then he stopped another dude (scammer 2) and asked him for help too, so we're both helping this guy, we say sure no probs, we'll take u to the bank to change your money, so scammer 1 says, i have to go get My little brother he's 8 and waiting for me around the corner, we go to look for his brother and he isnt there, so scammer 1 acts all freaked out and says he has to wait there for his brother, and if one of us could go change one of his 3 cheques and leave behind some security, so scammer 2 says, ok i'll go, here you (me) hold my wallet, so i say sure no probs. I wait with scammer 1 and scammer 2's wallet for scammer 1's brother and for scammer 2 to come back with the money, scammer 2 comes back and says, i changed the money it was no problem, i told the bank manager the story and that a young dude (me) was going to go change a second cheque, here's a ticket he gave me (this is where is start to get suspicious, which i already was a bit, because the ticket didnt have HSBC on it, which was the bank the guy had supposedly gone to) but anyway, i take the cheque and ticket and head to the bank, but they say, hey leave us some security, and im like, er.. i dont have anything of value, and so scammer 1 says, how about your wallet in your back pocket (SUSS!) and im like, ha, im not leaving that, so scammer 2 is like, come on, i left my wallet with you, you leave your wallet with me, you can trust me because i dont know this guy, and im like, ill leave my wallet, without money, and you give me your wallet, and then ill do it, and scammer 2 is like, come on you can trust me, and starts forcing the issue, i get this weird feeling, and i snap and go, you know what, fuck that, you can find someone else im not getting involved in this, i walk off and they start following me, i had to lose them in a movie style thing where i crossed the road, a bus came, i got on and took off. The last thing i saw was the two arguing between themselves.

Ive also been told to not accept joints from kids at the beach, because they have a scam with the cops where once u have the j, the cops come out and put you in jail and dont let you out unless you pay 10,000 pesos. Then they split the money. The bastards. I was really looking forward to smoking a doobie in a mexican beach.

   [ posted by Mr.P @ 05:54 ] 0 Comments

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