Alone in the Mountains

            The past couple of days have been pretty crazy. On Friday I was planning on moving into my new apartment. If it had all gone down I would have had a beautiful apartment right down the road from my school and close to the cool part of the city to boot. Plus after recruiting a roommate I would have been paying $210 for the month. Unfortunately when I went to the apartment and spoke to the land-lady she told me for the third time that the room wasn’t ready yet and to come back next week. Ha, shame on me for getting my hopes up, should have realized she was stringing me on. This was more than just a setback to my morale; I hadn’t renewed my room at the hostel and when I returned I found that there was no room left! I had to speedily find a hostel and once again lug all my gear across the city. Quickly got everything settled and fell into bed ready for a nap only to find out that my “private room” had paper-thin walls and instead stayed up listening to my roomates’ conversation. Went to bed after some apartment hunting , dinner, and some random picture taking. Spent the next day tying to do some errands but ended up being very unproductive. Also, I rented a bike and tried to ride on the highway to a nearby site but then remembered that the last time I rode a bike was 2 years ago and despite the old saying, its not that easy to jump back into. Imagine this, me with a bright blue shirt, covered in mud, carrying a huge backpack, trying to navigate on a bike on the free way in a busy part of Oaxaca.  Also keep in mind that I’m trying to read a map at the same time and daylight is fading fast. I thought of what my mom would say if she knew about this and for the first time I listened to that advice and turned back. I returned in one piece but by that time I was feeling pretty shitty. I was in a bit of a rut. I was frustrated and defeated and to make things worse I had no one to go out with that night. Its at moments like these that I really feel alone. Don’t get me wrong, for the most part being down here is fine, I have my friends from school as well as work from school to keep me busy. It only really sucks when something cool happens and I have no one to enjoy it, with or when I need a little bit of help and I have no one to turn to but myself. Yep, going to a restaurant alone sucks. I wanted to meet up with someone from school but without cell phones that becomes surprisingly tough so I decided to not even try. I walked around for a little bit and found a place that served mole’ (not the animal) but when it arrived at the table I found out that this was only soup and decided to head out again after finishing up. I was going to head to a typical tacoria when by sheer luck I walked past a shining beckon of hope. Before me stood a genuine, American sportsbar! I don’t think I have ever been so happy to see American kitsch and overpriced beers. And this place was the real deal; there were framed jerseys on the wall and memorabilia everywhere. They could have named it Bar America. As soon as I walked in I saw one of those personal keg towers and contemplated getting really wasted that night but with a smile on my face thought better of it. Instead, I sat down, ordered a crappy local beer and a chicken burger and watched the game in front of me. It was scoccer; some MLS team against a Mexican team. I was so happy I barely watched the game at all, I do however know that we won! I went to bed very content and with the goal of waking up early and trying to navigate that dam bike again. I figured since I was going to be up so early traffic wouldn’t be a problem, however, when I went down the next morning to get the bike I found it locked in the room I stored it in. “Oh well”. I walked to Mercado Abastos and told the first taxi I could find to take me to Monte Alban. Monte Alban is the biggest site in the area and one of Mexico’s most important ruins. I’ve been meaning to go to it for a while now but wanted to catch it during sunrise. This is why I was heading up the mountain in darkness via taxi (probably best the bike was locked up, don’t ya think). I had to hike the last bit since the park was still closed but I didn’t mind this a bit. In fact I loved it. Oaxaca is nice but when I’m on the road I can’t help but long for the mountains. It doesn’t help that the Sierras are always in view when walking around the city, just teasing me with their proximity. But there I was, finally out of the fast paced, loud city and enjoying the peacefulness that is nature. I got to the ruins in about ten minutes and immediately got to work. With tripod in one hand and my two cameras in the other I ran from place to place trying to get as many pictures as I could while the good light held out. Eventually though I allowed myself to enjoy the amazing structures that were built so long ago. Monte Alban was constructed on a man-made plateau on the top of a mountain. The huge stone pyramids were erected without wheels or pack animals and much of the construction of the city remains unknown to present-day archaeologists. Unfortunately even more is unknown to me. I hadn’t read up on the place and of course I didn’t have a guide but despite this it was still quite a site to behold. Standing at the top and looking down gives you a feeling of sacredness and having the place all to myself in the early morning hours made it that much sweeter. I eventually put the cameras down and strolled around. Even though I was still completely alone it didn’t feel like it; you’re never really alone in nature. I have three more weeks at school but I have decided that once that’s up its off to the mountains for me. At least for a little while I’m going to travel alone. Even after hooking up with someone I want it to be with some one who speaks Spanish and very little English, this way I can continue my education. After about an hour and a half I rode back to town and enjoyed the rest of the day. I never did get any use out of that bike (my only disappointment of the day) but I was too happy to care. I am now at the original hostel I stayed at when I first arrived and will remain for here the next three weeks. I have free wifi so you will definitely be hearing from me.

For now though I must say Adios,

Justin