Bus trips

Saw some interesting stuff on the bus from Oaxaca back to Mexico City today. The road is beautiful: is passes through sharp, jagged mountains; and in some places, there are delicate cactus plants in every direction, as far as the eye can see. But the road is also treacherous, as it winds its way through the harsh landscape: we passed several roadside accidents, including a truck that had completely rolled over and off the road. For beauty's sake, and for safety's sake, I'm glad I took this road in the daytime.

Rather than catch a bus from Palenque to San Cristóbal, Alan and I decided to make the journey via colectivo (shared taxi / minibus). This was the first time I've undertaken a major intercity journey by colectivo, and all up, it was a great experience at a great price. Colectivos may be a little slower, and a little less comfortable (than buses), but they're also way more fun, and they get you where you're going, same as a bus does.

Caught the bus with Dave from NYC. It was OK, but as Dave (repeatedly) said, we shouldn't have gone 2^nd class. It took about twice as long as it should have (it took almost 4 hours). Stopped at every little hovel along the way. A bit of a drag.

Just finished about 17 hours' worth of bus rides, to get from Veracruz to Mérida. This trip was way too long: I should have gotten a plane instead. Ah well: at least I saved on a night's accommodation, by getting a night bus and sleeping all the way.

The Xalapa to Veracruz route is fairly short (about 2 hours), and there are buses servicing it very frequently. When I got the bus, at 2pm, they were running every 15 minutes. Not bad.

I've had enough of Mexico City by now. There's more to see here, of course: mainly museums, art galleries, and markets. But at the end of the day, it's just a (really) big city. Everyone here seems to just be treating Mexico City as a thoroughfare, or as a waypoint; but not as a destination. So I hopped on a bus and went to Xalapa.