Saturday, August 6  

Spectacular views of endless mountains and hills, moss covered trees, lush greenery, ancient trees, vines, cliffs, gorges and rivers. Families of eagles soar by and indigenous women with colouful clothing balance impossibly large sacks on their heads while leading playing children down the mountain. Small wooden shacks and crops litter the steep inclines of the picturesque landscape and the air becomes crisp and cold.




The ride to San Cristobal is fine.

   [ posted by Mr.P @ 03:29 ] 0 Comments

The scene ahead is as surreal as the rest of my trip, there are dozens of men bathing in the river, they come from all over South and Central America, on their way to the U.S looking for a better life, there is fear in their eyes, and although they all seem to be doing well, not one of them in unaware that crossing the border could cost them their life, they bathe, smoke, drink, and wait for the night train to hitch a ride up through Mexico and to Tijuana.



I meet Vianey and we go to our corner, she gives me a sweet letter, we buy a lime posicle and talk. There are too many people out today, any one of them could be military, we go somewhere more quiet, a small alcove between two old houses, theres some kids playing football so we move again and go under the bridge to make out.

I walk her home, its hard to say goodbye, a final peck and our outstretched arms touch until its just our fingertips, I leave in the rain, whistling 'Que Sera Sera, Whatever will be will be..' as I go.

   [ posted by Mr.P @ 03:20 ] 0 Comments

Life couldn't be so simple could it, of course she has a boyfriend who is in the military and leaves a big gun next to his bed, of course the town I'm in is filled with military personnel so I can't just go out on the street with her, of course we need to hide all the time, and of course its all very exciting.

When I'm not sneaking around with Vianey I hang out with Colgate and Elias, Juancho and Boody, we smoke and drink. Ixtepec reminds me of my hometown Penrith, a bunch of kids that drink beer and skate all day, like my old hangout 'the Mondo' only much bigger.



Elais invites us to check out the river. Vianey comes along, it's a long trek..



Elias says we only have to cross three rivers, but in fact we have to cross seven, in the end we reach a giant tree that gives a magnificient view of vast swamplands untouched by the cancer of man. We smoke some fat joints and head back in the darkness, we almost get lost and Elias gives us a good scare. We make it back, soaked, but in one piece.

   [ posted by Mr.P @ 04:57 ] 0 Comments

The hammock swings, the waves crash, and the mosquitoes wont let me sleep again. Biting through my clothes, my face, my back, the soles of my feet, the itch gets worse and worse.. I finally get some sleep on a hammock in the morning but im soon woken up by the smell of breakfast.

A particularly ugly but likeable mushe called Karla takes a liking to me and rubs my arm, whispering sweet nothings into my ears, all I can do is grin and bear it.

The bus comes, we return to Ixtepec after a final swim. The waters are warm and refreshing. I sit on the bus, wet, we stop by Juchitan to get some Micheladas (beer with lemon juice, hot sauce and salt) and some fish cocktails. Mena and Ruben are with us, we take somo fotos and laugh about the Transvestite Mushes.

"What time is it?" I ask,

"Quarter to Four" answers Ruben,

"SHIT! I got a hot date at five!"

I run out to meet Vianey and get back to Ixtepec just in time. She's wearing a one piece green dress that hugs her astounding physique, we talk easily. I drop off my stuff while she waits on the street, we get some beers and find a quiet corner.

We talk about our past, her army experience, my band, we listen to music, we kiss, she's very much into it, we smoke some cigarrettes and feel each other up.

   [ posted by Mr.P @ 04:40 ] 0 Comments

Our ride comes as a bus full of indigenous transvestites called 'Mushes'. Led by a transvestite with only one arm called Amaranta. The whole thing is too surreal for words, we hop on and wave at everyone, and head to 'Playa Cangrejo' or 'Crab Beach', imaginatively named due to the large number of cute white crabs that scuttle around at night.

Damian and Pena are going to work with them to record sexual awareness shows for Zapotec radio and these are the actors/actrisses.

Gay music plays, the Mushes clap and sing and laugh the whole ride long.

At the beach I run into Candido, Soraya, Paul and the rest of the african drummer troupe. Im glad we ran into each other since I hadnt gotten a change to properly say goodbye in Oaxaca. We talk about the coincidence or lack thereof. An old Zapotec woman is cracking on to me and its strange. We order a huge feed of fish, octopus and shrimp cocktails and beers. We talk about Oaxaca and Lobo then go swimming in the lagoon nearby.

Soraya points out a single flower sticking out of the lagoons sweet water and a fisherman promptly rips it out to keep, Soraya is pissed and lets him know, Candido just laughs and its infectious.

They play the drums and dance, I go into the ocean with my blue travel beanie and the ocean snatches it away from me. They tell me to take it as an offering to the sea, that the sea deserves it more than I do and to let it go, i agree but im still pissed. They leave to Juchitan for a party and I stay with Pena and the Mushes. I get to know them, they talk about my eyes and try to flirt with me, one of them 'Galleta' or 'Cookie', gives me a headband to wear as a gift and that cheers me up. We go and record their radio show, I hold the mic, the room is boiling hot like a sauna. Dragonflies and birds of many colours play outside. I think about Vianey.

   [ posted by Mr.P @ 04:22 ] 0 Comments

She was the one of the prettiest girl I'd ever seen.. she was going into a clothing store while Boody and I were walking back from the water springs in the east. There was a pretty girl at the springs too but she had nothing on this one. We stopped and stared, she noticed and kept on looking, she laughed, we laughed, we walked off and thought we'd never see her again.

Walking with Boody we couldn't stop talking about this dark beauty who had noticed us, we saw her again and followed, but she dissappeared, we were convinced we'd seen a ghost. Hanging out with two of Boody's girl-friends she walked past again and sat behind us.

"Go talk to her"

"Nah, she's too pretty"

"Well at least ask her for a smoke"

"Ok!"

When I approached hey eyes lit up, she was waiting for us to say something, she didn't have anymore smokes but we could share one. We invited her to smoke a doob with us, she was more than happy to. The three of us walked to Elias's to get onebut he wasn't home. We sat and talked, she was 22 and had a career in the military but had desserted and couldnt return or she's have to go to jail for 6 months, she liked raves, and was stuck in Ixtepec with her boyfriend because she had no money to leave.

We walked back to the hangout near Juancho's house, they were going to the water springs, we'd already been but we'd go again as long as Vianey would too. She was up for it, we drank some Mezcal and took off in the darkness, singing from the back of the van to the open air and stars above us.

At the springs music was pumped out of car sound systems, Vianey showed me how to dance, everyone cheered us on, it was embarrassing but we kept going, I asked her to walk with me. By the spring we sat and talked then I took a quick dip. Sitting with her was magic, we listened to music and I asked if I could kiss her, she smiled and we kissed, then kissed some more, but it was time to leave so we got back on the van and rode back into the darkness. The wind was blowing and I was grinning.

I walked her home, she was worried we'd be seen together, we made plans to meet the day after tomorrow while her boyfriend was at work.

   [ posted by Mr.P @ 01:13 ] 0 Comments

I played a gig at Damians party, a bunch of Sublime covers sloppily put together and rehearsed by me, Hill, and a drummer whose name I can't remember. We closed the night after Damian and Penas band and another one in which Kleiver sung some Reggaeton, It wasnt the best but went down well, my thrashy grungy solo's were particularly noted by the crowd. I meet 'Colgate', a shaggy haired kid who likes to smoke weed and wears braces, he reminds me of Stixx, we go to the river and smoke, I also meet Boody, a funny kid who likes to hang out and skate, we make plans to go to the water springs the next day.

The hottest girl at the party, 'Itzul', asks Hill for my name, I overhear that and smile. But I never see or speak to her again.

I pass out. The next morning Damian's grandmother offers me breakfast.

"Coffee, Beer, Pepsi?".

Damian tells me his cousin is passing through Ixtepec to Tuxtla and I can get a free ride. We sit at the front and drink Caguamas (like longnecks but fatter). Damians cousin shows up, he has a white van with a killer sound system. He's going to get it washed, we go with him.

The crew hops on the back and we drive down the main street with the music pumping, everyone waves and smiles, girls laugh and wink and stare, they're all gorgeous, I stare back at them all, I feel like i'm in a movie.

   [ posted by Mr.P @ 04:07 ] 0 Comments

I get to Juchitan and call Kleiver, he meets me at the bus depot and we catch a bus to his windy pueblo. 'La Ventosa' or 'The Windy', where winds frequently reach up to 200km/h.

There's a group of small kids who all want to know who I am and where I'm from, we hang out, I play the guitar and they all sing together, I take some photos and go to a basketball game to watch Klievers brother play. The kids surround me and ask more about my life. "What do you do in Australia?", "Do you really have Kangaroos?", "Can you catch a bus to Australia?", "Is Australia really far away?", "Can you swim there?!", It's completely beyond them how far I really live, even with a map they can't seem to understand the dimensions since all they've known in their whole lives is their pueblo.



My whole body aches, I don't know if its from the bus or the sex, and the kids dont stop asking questions. Only had 3 hours sleep and I'm hell beat. Alicia is in my mind, I ask about hitching a ride out but I'm told it's not very likely, though I can try the petrol pump.

   [ posted by Mr.P @ 04:00 ] 0 Comments

The ride to Juchitan is the most delicious ride of my life.

The view is majestic and beautiful, dense rainforest parts to let the bus through it's thick green vegetation and wonders. Rocks silently watch us as we pass, allowing for all things as always, with the wisdom of the earth. I feel the sky, the sun, the eagles that elegantly fly beside us. I'm as close to nirvana as I have ever been.

My head is burning up but in a good way, I'm free and fulfilled, life is perfect.

   [ posted by Mr.P @ 03:53 ] 0 Comments

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