Oaxaca City, Sunday

09:40. Didn't want to get up but I did. Stood outside hostel waiting to be picked up. Noticed SYTs eating so decided to grab a bit of breakfast about 9:34. Had a bread roll thing and a cup of coffee. Finished the roll and half the coffee when it appeared the same bus drove past three times, so I assumed it was mine being arsey and ditched the rest of the coffee. Don't think it was, there were two near identical buses up at the end of the street. My coffee has been taken away though so I am not waiting on the street. I would hope the fuckers would ring the bell but I am not that sure so I don't really want to go in and get another coffee and wait in there.

No water on me and just a couple of mouthfuls of soft drink left in a bottle I bought on Friday. There couldn't be a shop near enough to the hostel for me to have nipped into this morning, that would be too convenient. I assume I will be able to buy one somewhere today.

Precisely, I only started standing out here at 9:42. But that damn well ought to be OK - as I say, I think standard protocol is they do ring the doorbell. Might be here now.

09:50. Yeah, it had. Unmarked white minibus. I am first one on.

10:20. Looks like just two ppl incl me on tour.

11:45. OK, we saw El Tule then I got shunted off apart from the other guy to some other group. We just saw some demonstration of rug making. I must be losing it, I was vaguely tempted to buy one (the cheapest were MXN1000 and some of those were quite attractive). But I didn't. What would I do with the thing back home? And how would I get it back anyway? It did cross my mind to ask if they would post me one. But as I say, what would I do with it? I worry myself sometimes.

11:50. What the fuck? Guide just said we are going up a difficult road for 50 mins/1h to Hierve El Agua. So what happened to it being too dangerous? They fucking told me we weren't going there when I booked on Friday, not just when I enquired before that. I didn't bring any swimming gear either because I was told we weren't coming. Doubly not happy about this.

13:15. Been here about 15 mins. Road was indeed rather bad. Quite good views, and ditto from here. The waters apparently are not thermal, but they look like it as they bubble when they emerge. there are a few semi-natural looking swimming pools. It is annoying I can't go in because the tour company simply lied to me, but there you go.

I haven't put any suncream on today, we are here for an hour (45 mins now), I hope I am not going to burn. I have some in my bag but it's back in the bus. I am currently in the shadow on a small tree, but it's not enough. (It's quite pleasant as far as temperature goes as there is a breeze, I am just worried about burning.)

Oh, the big tree (El Tule? Or is that just part of the place name? Whatever) is indeed big. And yet curiously unimpressive in some sense, I don't know why.

15:50. Just finished lunch, milling about by the bus waiting for the others. Buffet at MXN130, I had two platefuls (I half intend not to go out tonight, and it will be nice if I don't have to dick around trying to find somewhere to eat) and feel rather stuffed. Not bad though and they took a 500 note without argument. (I had about 122 on me in other forms had they cut up rough.)

16:15. I think I have a bit of sunburn on the back of my neck. Oh well, serves me right for not dragging myself out of bed five minutes earlier this morning to put suncream on

The airconditioning on the minibus isn't up to much. It's not intolerable by any means but it could do with being a bit cooler.

16:30. Arriving at Mitla. 37 (sigh) pesos entrance fee. Apparently the archaeological site is small and we only need 30 mins here.

18:00. At the Mezcal factory. It's not the factory tour I half expected, we just got some free samples as the roadside shop. I suspect the tour company doesn't even pay them, they just do it on the offchance of sales. They seemed to suggest the way to drink it is to follow the drink with a bit of orange dipped in chilli powder. They had one which was some sort of cream version flavoured with peanuts which was interesting. Vaguely tempted to buy a small bottle for MXN80 but the idea of being stuck with even a small glass bottle in my luggage for the next four weeks just didn't appeal.

I tried the 5 and 8 year old 'straight' versions as well, not the younger clear stuff though since I wasn't buying anything and by that point I had guessed it wasn't actually being 'paid for' by the tour so I felt a bit of a freeloader.

Oh, the factory appears to be 'El Rey de Matatlan'.

Apparently the difference between mezcal and tequila is that the latter is made from blue agave while the former is made from from another kind. (I must say the agave plants we have seen today do lack that blue tint I remember seeing before.) Also tequila production is more industrialised while mezcal is more artesanal, although I wonder how true the latter is.

19:40. Call me a weak-willed git. Was half hoping not to drink today but have come to some bar in Zocalo. Got dropped off just off here about half an hour ago, a tree was down in one corner so I had to go round and I somehow got totally lost. I also needed to go to the only place I was sure I could buy a bottle of coke.

So many tiny but shit little reminders on my phone I keep sleeping on every fucking day. Oddly hacked off right now.

Still got to do my homework ready for tomorrow but it's just filling in some blanks on a text we went over in class but which I didn't fill in at the time. To be honest I am more confused than ever these days.

And I have to go to fucking Monte Alban after class tomorrow. Yay. I get to fuck around with buses to rush over there at 2pm when class finishes.

21:35. Just got back to hostel. Will charge laptop while I do the HW & sort out some of the little chores then maybe go surf on the terrace.

Saw a cockroach on the street on the way back, gave me a momentary start as I thought it was a spider. Must say I have seen few cockroaches lately, I would have expected them to be more common in this sort of climate. Not that I'm complaining...

00:23. Happy birthday Steve! Of course, it's been my birthday back in the UK for a while...