Mexico

We just got back from spending a few days in Mexico over the 4 July weekend. It rained nearly all the time but as we were on a coach tour it wasn't too uncomfortable. However one of the main places we visited where we didn't sit on the bus for most of the day was Real de Catorce http://www.realdecatorce.net and we couldn't do a lot of exploring there because it was wet wet wet!

But the old cobblestone streets made it easy to walk without slipping, even in Liz's boat shoes with the drainage holes in the heel which also sucked the water up. I had brought them with me instead of my own walking 'boots' for the warm weather which I had expected in Mexico even if we were in the mountains.


I didn't mind much because we were back at our hotel at a lower altitude by 4pm and the sun was shining in time to go into town. It poured again while we were having dinner and the streets became a raging torrent in the time it took to eat a quesadilla! Luckily a taxi with one little Mexican lady stopped for us and we arrived back not too wet.


And speaking of food I ate a yummy cactus flower and cactus sprout salad that did wonders for the digestive system...




Very miserable on the bus on the next day (raining and raining and all we seemed to do was endless travel on the bus - missed the independent travel!)


I love travelling although I feel perhaps a little trepidation at heading to South America without any Spanish after the . Next week I plan to be in Guatemala for a couple of weeks. I'll be back in time to head to Miami to fly to Peru. I've been emailing with a woman in Chile who tells me the time I plan to go there will be rainy season still and far too cold to go the far south as I'd planned. So after the rain in Mexico last week and as there's all that volcanic ash still filling up the atmosphere in other parts of Chile I'm interested in, I've decided to spend only my last few South American days in Chile and use the extra time to travel to Ecuador and Bolivia from Peru.


Just had some sad news from Laura who I stayed with in West Bengal; ITTM will no longer exist in Kalimpong. Just after Laura's stint as coordinator ended and she had returned to England, Barbara who set up the trust and the centre, returned to an indefinite strike in Kalimpong. Ghorkas are seeking an independent homeland and are very active politically. There had been a number of strike days already during the time I was in and around Darjeeling & Kalimpong. Everything is closed, including transportation at these times.

It was very difficult for such a place as ITTM to exist whilst there was ongoing uncertainty from the unsettled political situation in the Darjeeling Hills. ITTM, the trust, will continue to exist; Barbara's view is that it's just time for some transitioning. I am so glad I had the opportunity to be in Kalimpong and stay at ITTM.