Wed 0837 at little terminal on Mina waiting for 9 bus to Monte alban. Annoyingly there is actually an 8 bus now the place is open and I can see the posters, maybe could have seen this last night, but the stuff painted on the rolling ahutter didn't mention an 8 bus. Not a huge deal. I can get any bus back but I only have a seat on the 1230 (though it looks like 1250 on ticket, which cost 120 BTW - I handed over a 500 and a 20 and got change no fuss), not quite sure how that works. My intention is not to rush round like crazy and take my time as I want, but also not to milk it excessively. Based on random web pages saw other say 2-3h is about right, we will see.
Didn't sleep great, hard to say why - perhaps just knowing I had to be up relatively early didn't help. I didn't sleep terribly though either.
Also spotted bus terminal to pluma hidalgo on walk over. Vague recollections of last night's guidebook reading suggests this might be somewhere I would be interested in doing as a day trip, though maybe I am confused and it is more of a stay over destination.
I think when i get back from ma i need to decide roughly how many days I want to be in Oaxaca and think about whether to extend at current hostel for a night if I can or whether I would prefer to eg go somewhere else in a dorm for a couple of nights and see if it is any more social. Maybe I will see if I can get a coffee somewhere and mull it over.
0850 stomach rumbling a bit. Not saying this never happens at home but it is part of generally poor diet I suspect. It is fine, I do have my raisin cake stuff if I need it while I am there.
1302 back in town, got 1230 bus. Having a latte at a small cafe near where bus dropped me. I had two shots on site, one using toilet paper from pocket and another I has to pay a bog troll in museum toilet for. Took it fairly steadily round site and even managed to see the outlying small ball court (which I somehow half remember from last time - otherwise the whole thing was slightly familiar but not really omfg I remember this and that and that) and other tombas. It worked out pretty nicely, I didn't milk it but didn't rush and feel I did the site justice. All this despite us actually leaving about 15 mins late as well.
Had another dump at hostel before leaving. I think this is just a side effect of all the food yesterday.
1307 quick look at guide book and pluma hidalgo is even further towards pochutla than San Jose del Pacifico. So my gut feeling is that that is to be saved for a future trip when I go down to those intermediate mountainy places between here and the south coast and its beaches.
1320 looking at map, I can't help feel that if I knew then what I knew now and hadn't been pushing towards Acapulco, it might have been better to do comitan and environs after San cris rather than now. But can't be helped, and if nothing else this does at least open up possibility of going back to San cris fresh-ish rather than overdoing it.
I might have a kombucha or another latte then go back to hosfel and see about extending for a night. Also before that check my notes on o6 (in theory synced, but in practice not) first and have a bit of a think about whether I want one or two more nights in oaxaxa. The basic plan of pushing on to comitan (perhaps with a night bus to San cris then immediately getting a bus to comitan) then return to sc for the following weekend seems broadly sound, and gives me about a week in conitan, albeit it then sees me with only just over a week to get from San cris to cancun after my weekend there. It feels a bit pushed to rush over to sc for the weekend this weekend though, plus if it is crappy I will feel I rushed for no reason. I think if I get over to comitan in a few days and find there isn't as much to do in terms of neighbouring towns as I'd hoped I may have to skip the weekend in San xris idea, or at least cut it short and maybe go there thu/Fri instead of a full weekend.
To be fair once the situation is clearer and I know where I am and how comitan works out, I could potentially book a flight back from tuxtla or whatever instead of bussing it back to Cancun. On a hypothetical future trip starting in Cancun I could then so places like Campeche westbound from Cancun instead of going via the south side of Yucatán as I did this time.
I need to be cafecul to balance relaxing and having a slow travel ish trip with feeling I need to rush to get back. There is no immediate rush but just getting the several hundred km east to Chiapas would probably ease my mind a bit, in terms of flexibility to spend time without feeling I am too far from Cancun.
I might get a giant bottle of coke or something and go drink it on tertace at hostel while I mull. But let's have something else here first.
1328 getting a cardamom kombucha, only a small bottle not like the ones at hoatel in San cris but wtf.
Vague plan is to go back to hostel, mull and then see how extension at that hostel or another works, go out for ice cream and maybe a museum (perhaps the planetarium) then have dinner at Charlie's (v near hostel) and a quietish night in. I am assuming Kombucha is low or no alcohol and I may try to make today another alcohol free day, partly on general grounds and partly anticipating a few tomorrow night at language exchange and some drinking in San cris.
The feeling I need to be making most of my time and having to plan is vague sapping at the sense of "yay, I am chilling in mexico" I aspire to.
1627 at charlies. Prob overindulging in pizza mediana.
I asked hostel (via whatsapp, couldn't find any staff) and I can only extend in a dorm. It isn't having to be in a dorm as such that is a problem, but that this makes extending only marginally more convenient than just going to a different hostel. Need to think.
I went for a walk and has an ice cream - I asked two places at the square near hostle full of ice cream places but they didn't so cones, they are all oriented to eat in or so plastic cups to take away, and the one I got a price at was as expensive as la michoacana for a cone. So went to LA michoacana.
Struggled to find a laundry, one wanted 60 pesos for half a kilo and wouldn't do underwear - I spoke to nice woman in there and confirmed this, she said you can do a self wash. In the end I found one round xorner from hostel and took all my clothes which is only 1.5kg (she weighed it) but I have to pay the minimum 3kg of 95 pesos, but I am slightly desperate and not awful. Did half wonder of I should throw the fleece and or packtowl in to get more value but I really didn't want them washing and the risk of loss is already big enough. This excludes of course the clothes I changed into (red short sleeved t shirt, the quechua socks) and one other pair of not worn since last proper laundry wash socks.
I did buy a litre of diet soft drink but didn't drink it, just may have it up on terrace tonight.
Not sure what to so. If I change hostel maybe I ought to do it for two nights. But I don't have to. There is still a tiny convenience bonus in changing to dorm at current hostel but another might be friendlier.
Not sure planetarium is open, j found something on web saying it shuts at 3 but that was dated 2017 despite looking official.
Current thinking is to maybe do a day trip to Mitla tomorrow. This just may change if I decide to get jump on a night bus tomorrow. Or just maybe a day bus to some intermediate place. But then time is ticking away a bit and it would probably be better to be around comitan with more time on the clock than burn 2-3 days on somewhere completely new en route. Plus if I visit somewhere en route there is an irrational sense in which i will say "been there" and be less keen to return on a future trip, so I sort of use the whole place up to some extent with a rushed visit.
If I weren't feeling at all time pressured I would probably move to another hostel for two nights. I am sure I can occupy myself for two more days and perhaps another mostly empty day before a night bus and a new hostel just might offer social opportunities. But as it is I do see some value in only extending a single night.
If I do got to mitla tomorrow I will have to wear this short sleeve top as it is all I have with the laundry. But I have plenty of sun block and for a single day I can slather my arms in it.
Gah. Going to stop waffling and see what my subconscious comes up with. I was at cafe Trebol for the latte and kombucha earlier btw.
Apart from hostel restrictions, one reason for wanting proper laundry is to get the grey trousers washed. They are not unusually dirty but obviously the trousers do get a lot of wear and I think hand washing then is less satisfactory than the tops, especially when not using soap but even so when I do.
"I choose never to forget... Driven to distraction... Is this love?" Playing. Is it Katrina and the waves?? The video just looks a bit like her.
1718 back at hostel. Had chat with Rosa (I remembered her name, she didn't remember mine but think she remembered me) and the younger woman who had served me when I paid. Nothing major but still nice, she said to try Huatulco next time.
Slightly over-perturbed by accom etc situation. I feel tbh also a bit vulnerable with nearly all my clothes at the laundry, I asked for low temp wash and dry but can only hope they don't get ruined or lost.
Really none of this is that critical. I don't think I want to jump on a night bus tomorrow, it would mean missing the lang exchange and it would be rushing off quicker than I planned and it doesn't leave much buffer for arguing or waiting for resolution if there is a problem with my laundry.
1811 had shower. Up on terrace. Lovely fluffy albeit slightly scarily huge dog, seems very friendly. Few people around in vague confusing staff-or-not ways. Insofar as it actually matters doesn't feel actively unfriendly here etc.
Still torn about what to so. If I do stay (in Oaxaca, never mind where, tho probably dorm here) tomorrow night, I an on the night bus to San cris Fri night so would get there sat and probably go on to comitan on same day. If I would kind of like (but am flexible and may not even go) to be back at old San cris hostel for Thu, that gives me Sat-Wed nights (and prob a fair chunk of the day on Sat, given night bus prob arrives early and comitan not far from sc, albeit I will be a bit knackered) so 5 days/nights for comitan and environs which isn't too bad, and I could probably also avoid wanting to be in San cris thu night to make that up to 6. If comitan is a bust I night skip staying in San cris again completely or just stay there (say) Mon/Tue nights while I try the sumidero tour again and then put the rest of the time towards doing stuff en route to cancun.
If I stay here in oaxaxa another two nights that feels like it cuts comitan time down a bit too much - sort of just 4 days, maybe 5. There is stuff to do but nothing is an absolute must do and as I have said I am likely to pass through again on a subsequent trip so no harm in having some things left to occupy me then.
If I push on and get night bus tomorrow night I maybe have too much time in comitan before a weekend in San cris afterwards, and I get to san cris a bit late (I am there Friday, but maybe knackered) to really take full advantage of the weekend just starting and I have already eg missed poss to go to el paliacate on this when it may be quieter etc. It also has an uncomfortable albeit probably OK interaction with collecting the laundry tomorrow before the bus goes.
I really don't think pluma hidalgo and San Jose del Pacifico are good substitutes, given they are even further by bus from Cancun and are in the wrong direction and i would feel a lot more relaxed being san cris-ish distance from Cancun -from sc it is a doable but unpleasant 17-24hish single-ish night bus to Cancun.
I could forget comitan and maybe sc too and just push on (albeit a night or two in sc to break journey and do sumidero would probably be smart) to somewhere like Tabasco or Campeche, but comitan night be good and it does kind of work nicely and if it sucks I can cut my losses after a day or two and almost be on that "just go to Tabasco or Campeche" plan.
So I think I am probably staying one more night here in oaxaxa and no more and therefore despite mild suckiness it is probably as well to accept the slightly reduced hassle of staying in a dorm here tomorrow night rather than moving to another hostel for just one night.
For better or worse it looks like comitan has affordable privates but no hostels or dorms, so it may be a bit lonely but can't be helped and maybe if I do overnight stays in nearby towns there will be some social aspect there. Just possibly this should argue against going to comitan but I think there may be hiking tour type possibilities round there and it would be good to see it and it isn't as if I have any must do (except ideally a cenote somewhere, and there may be some round comitan anyway) anywhere else in Yucatan before I go home.
I am not super energised about a probably 2hish trip each way to mitla tomorrow but it is also probably relatively low stress (modulo having to leave bag at reception, unless I get lucky and can get into dorm at say 8am) and would be kind of cool and would give me a feeling of having done something. and then Fri ivwould probably leave bqg at hosfel before night bus and mooch round town and maybe do the odd museum etc.
There is a lot of guesswork here but it isn't as if I am going to have any rational basis to think eg "if only I had moved to another hostel in oaxaxa and stayed for two nights I might have got to hang out with people", and equally the flip side of not staying two nights in oaxaxa is that I will get to spend that time around comitan where maybe I will meet people. Plus staying one night does at least open up some prospect of maybe an enjoyable language exchange. And while I won't want to be badlyhungover as I will be homeless the following day, I will at least have the whole day to "recover" (in the unlikely event it is necessary) before I get the bus in the evening.
1833 OK it may be foolish to trust it but the guide book does make conitan and encirons sound good and it also suggests there is a decent ability to get to places via colectivo without your own transport. I think it has to be well worth a gamble, there is also an (open) cenote fwiw. It may not be very social but you never know and I have at least some hope of social stuff at san cris hostel the following weekend and still some chance of it at wherever I go en route from sc to Cancun.
1843 back in room fwiw due to a missing bit of tape barrier I ended up standing on top of I think edificio b at Monte alban and someone whistled at me from right across the site and told me I shouldn't be up there. Felt mildly marked given the barrier was missing. But hey, at least I got to go somewhere I shouldn't.
Had quick look on meetup, nothing here tonight but lang exch is listed for tomorrow at wombat 6-1130.
No obvious staff around to discuss accom with fwiw.
Comitan sounds from guise book as if it is just off the beaten track enough that it might feel kind of excitingly adventurous to be there and thus be a little unlike the well trodden albeit quite cool nature of places like San cris and oaxaca etc.
1857 OK WhatsApp chat with hostel. They want 190 for the dorm which isn't fantastic but is comparable to other dorms in town and as waffled for just one night I guess the hasle of changing isn't worth it, especially when I plan to be out at night on my own account anyway. And it is one night in dorm before prob night bus then two nights in a private in comitan. It is all single beds no bunks so the main possible objection of an upper bunk isn't an issue. Some other dorms do have aircon and I am 99pc sure they don't here but it is not so hot and for one night it just isn't a huge deal.
OK, I can probably put my bag in a locker in dorm at 9 and I may be able tobleave it at rception before then if I push it. I will close with the deal and then maybe go out for a wander or coffee or something, albeit probably try to have an early night and take advantage of the privacy while I have it etc.
It is a bit of a shame not to be able to leave earlier than 9 or to have the flexibility to lie in, but since I am probably trogging over to mitla neither of these is a huge deal.
2013 on upper terrace, deserted except for big fluffy dog. Went out for maybe an hours walk roind town centre. Toyed with going to Trebol but it was (not too surprisingly) shut so just walked. Will have a bit of water and read a bit up here then probably an early night.
I checked night buses before going out. They are slightly shot but not utterly terrible. Bloody expensive at maybe 50 quid for the most expensive (the same one I came out on) and only a smidge less for others. I may go with a slightly cheaper one assuming it has a toilet (it probably does) just cos the timing is a bit better. I an likely to be getting into San cris an hour or so before sunrise and therefore depending on when the buses run even with some hanging around I could be in comitan by 8 or 9ish which is likely way too early to check in but at least I can probably leave my bag and with a private room especially I can maybe go to bed very early in the evening. It is a bit of a faff but probably not utterly awful.
Not feeling super chipper but also not too bad, it feels like I have a plan and while not perfect the plan is reasonable both in terms of results and pain of execution.
I may hold off booking bus and comitan accommodation until Fri morning (eg just in case I learn anything at lang exchange which changes my plans) but we will see how it goes. If there is good free cancellation I may book accom earlier to get it locked in.
It was sort of cool to be wandering round main square etc. I will be sad to leave etc etc. But as I say, while it may be a few years (but maybe not, depending on cheap flights and my willingness to maybe take a perhaps short trip in autumn sometimes), it is quite likely I will be back in oaxaxa given its position on the bus routes.
I have some ideas where to get a bus or collectivo to mitla and it just may only be an hour each way, but I can also maybe ask at reception at 9 when I do the room swap. The relatively early start would also argue for going to bed early tonight. I haven't drunk alcohol by the way, I an thinking I may have a beer on two on the zocalo friday during day when I am hanging around. I may also force myself to try grasshoppers (I have seen street carts selling them, they are red) eg tomorrow afternoon.
For random reasons (I wanted something to read and it was in Gutenberg top 100) I am reading Middlemarch. I have no idea what if anything is going to happen but I can't help feeling Dorothea and/or her husband are going to get badly fucked, maybe by themselves. Mr Brooke's description of marriage as putting one's head in a noose and him not having loved anyone enough to risk it feels super apposite, maybe more so today than it was back then.
FWIW I took way too many crappy photos at Monte Alban but I guess they are nearly free and I don't really think taking them spoiled my appreciation otherwise. One or two of them are probably not too bad, but it is so hard to capture the feel of the place in general and yet I feel obliged to try to snap everything.
I suppose to some extent I can also have a bit of a lie in on Friday, subject to not feeling edgy about the prolonged homelessness looming that day and the next.
I did have one mildly aggressive beggar on the street earlier BTW during daylight but not a big deal. He was just slightly rude when I said "no, sorry" before letting him get his whole spiel off.
2038 I might go down to room and move towards bed. The dog left not long after I came up. I feel OK and nothing is wrong but I am the tiniest bit tired and a bit bored sitting up here. I am not gagging for social contact, which is lucky as the chances of any feel slim.
Yeah, let's go down.
2042 there is a room on the roof off the route to the actual terrace and a bloke seems to be giving haircuts in there with clippers. Odd.
2052 done teeth. About to go to bed.
Youri told me that at some major archaological site - let's say chichen itza - the local vendors would make a noise with some toy and call out "Jaguar! Jaguar!" (In Spanish, so J souned as a Y). This amused me, but today I actually got the hear the noise as the relatively small collection of marketish stalls outside Monte alban had people doing exactly this, including the Jaguar! Jaguar! Cry. I have some very bad video and audio recordings which just may have caught this.
I can't be sure if you could hear them doing this while in the actual site, but I would guess you could at the bits nearer the entrance.
Oh, and that reminds me that while waiting for the bus in zipolite one of the local journey trucks went past and I half overheard some probably Americans sitting waiting for bus near me and they obviously had the same thought as me about what if our bus was one of those, because they sort of looked at it and one said something about it would be funny and another said he would probably cry. Maybe I utterly misinterpeted their looks and the partially overheard conversation but I suspect I didnt and the shared independent thought was somehow oddly cool.
(The seats are benches down the side with no padding.)
2057 lets go to bed.
Didn't sleep great, hard to say why - perhaps just knowing I had to be up relatively early didn't help. I didn't sleep terribly though either.
Also spotted bus terminal to pluma hidalgo on walk over. Vague recollections of last night's guidebook reading suggests this might be somewhere I would be interested in doing as a day trip, though maybe I am confused and it is more of a stay over destination.
I think when i get back from ma i need to decide roughly how many days I want to be in Oaxaca and think about whether to extend at current hostel for a night if I can or whether I would prefer to eg go somewhere else in a dorm for a couple of nights and see if it is any more social. Maybe I will see if I can get a coffee somewhere and mull it over.
0850 stomach rumbling a bit. Not saying this never happens at home but it is part of generally poor diet I suspect. It is fine, I do have my raisin cake stuff if I need it while I am there.
1302 back in town, got 1230 bus. Having a latte at a small cafe near where bus dropped me. I had two shots on site, one using toilet paper from pocket and another I has to pay a bog troll in museum toilet for. Took it fairly steadily round site and even managed to see the outlying small ball court (which I somehow half remember from last time - otherwise the whole thing was slightly familiar but not really omfg I remember this and that and that) and other tombas. It worked out pretty nicely, I didn't milk it but didn't rush and feel I did the site justice. All this despite us actually leaving about 15 mins late as well.
Had another dump at hostel before leaving. I think this is just a side effect of all the food yesterday.
1307 quick look at guide book and pluma hidalgo is even further towards pochutla than San Jose del Pacifico. So my gut feeling is that that is to be saved for a future trip when I go down to those intermediate mountainy places between here and the south coast and its beaches.
1320 looking at map, I can't help feel that if I knew then what I knew now and hadn't been pushing towards Acapulco, it might have been better to do comitan and environs after San cris rather than now. But can't be helped, and if nothing else this does at least open up possibility of going back to San cris fresh-ish rather than overdoing it.
I might have a kombucha or another latte then go back to hosfel and see about extending for a night. Also before that check my notes on o6 (in theory synced, but in practice not) first and have a bit of a think about whether I want one or two more nights in oaxaxa. The basic plan of pushing on to comitan (perhaps with a night bus to San cris then immediately getting a bus to comitan) then return to sc for the following weekend seems broadly sound, and gives me about a week in conitan, albeit it then sees me with only just over a week to get from San cris to cancun after my weekend there. It feels a bit pushed to rush over to sc for the weekend this weekend though, plus if it is crappy I will feel I rushed for no reason. I think if I get over to comitan in a few days and find there isn't as much to do in terms of neighbouring towns as I'd hoped I may have to skip the weekend in San xris idea, or at least cut it short and maybe go there thu/Fri instead of a full weekend.
To be fair once the situation is clearer and I know where I am and how comitan works out, I could potentially book a flight back from tuxtla or whatever instead of bussing it back to Cancun. On a hypothetical future trip starting in Cancun I could then so places like Campeche westbound from Cancun instead of going via the south side of Yucatán as I did this time.
I need to be cafecul to balance relaxing and having a slow travel ish trip with feeling I need to rush to get back. There is no immediate rush but just getting the several hundred km east to Chiapas would probably ease my mind a bit, in terms of flexibility to spend time without feeling I am too far from Cancun.
I might get a giant bottle of coke or something and go drink it on tertace at hostel while I mull. But let's have something else here first.
1328 getting a cardamom kombucha, only a small bottle not like the ones at hoatel in San cris but wtf.
Vague plan is to go back to hostel, mull and then see how extension at that hostel or another works, go out for ice cream and maybe a museum (perhaps the planetarium) then have dinner at Charlie's (v near hostel) and a quietish night in. I am assuming Kombucha is low or no alcohol and I may try to make today another alcohol free day, partly on general grounds and partly anticipating a few tomorrow night at language exchange and some drinking in San cris.
The feeling I need to be making most of my time and having to plan is vague sapping at the sense of "yay, I am chilling in mexico" I aspire to.
1627 at charlies. Prob overindulging in pizza mediana.
I asked hostel (via whatsapp, couldn't find any staff) and I can only extend in a dorm. It isn't having to be in a dorm as such that is a problem, but that this makes extending only marginally more convenient than just going to a different hostel. Need to think.
I went for a walk and has an ice cream - I asked two places at the square near hostle full of ice cream places but they didn't so cones, they are all oriented to eat in or so plastic cups to take away, and the one I got a price at was as expensive as la michoacana for a cone. So went to LA michoacana.
Struggled to find a laundry, one wanted 60 pesos for half a kilo and wouldn't do underwear - I spoke to nice woman in there and confirmed this, she said you can do a self wash. In the end I found one round xorner from hostel and took all my clothes which is only 1.5kg (she weighed it) but I have to pay the minimum 3kg of 95 pesos, but I am slightly desperate and not awful. Did half wonder of I should throw the fleece and or packtowl in to get more value but I really didn't want them washing and the risk of loss is already big enough. This excludes of course the clothes I changed into (red short sleeved t shirt, the quechua socks) and one other pair of not worn since last proper laundry wash socks.
I did buy a litre of diet soft drink but didn't drink it, just may have it up on terrace tonight.
Not sure what to so. If I change hostel maybe I ought to do it for two nights. But I don't have to. There is still a tiny convenience bonus in changing to dorm at current hostel but another might be friendlier.
Not sure planetarium is open, j found something on web saying it shuts at 3 but that was dated 2017 despite looking official.
Current thinking is to maybe do a day trip to Mitla tomorrow. This just may change if I decide to get jump on a night bus tomorrow. Or just maybe a day bus to some intermediate place. But then time is ticking away a bit and it would probably be better to be around comitan with more time on the clock than burn 2-3 days on somewhere completely new en route. Plus if I visit somewhere en route there is an irrational sense in which i will say "been there" and be less keen to return on a future trip, so I sort of use the whole place up to some extent with a rushed visit.
If I weren't feeling at all time pressured I would probably move to another hostel for two nights. I am sure I can occupy myself for two more days and perhaps another mostly empty day before a night bus and a new hostel just might offer social opportunities. But as it is I do see some value in only extending a single night.
If I do got to mitla tomorrow I will have to wear this short sleeve top as it is all I have with the laundry. But I have plenty of sun block and for a single day I can slather my arms in it.
Gah. Going to stop waffling and see what my subconscious comes up with. I was at cafe Trebol for the latte and kombucha earlier btw.
Apart from hostel restrictions, one reason for wanting proper laundry is to get the grey trousers washed. They are not unusually dirty but obviously the trousers do get a lot of wear and I think hand washing then is less satisfactory than the tops, especially when not using soap but even so when I do.
"I choose never to forget... Driven to distraction... Is this love?" Playing. Is it Katrina and the waves?? The video just looks a bit like her.
1718 back at hostel. Had chat with Rosa (I remembered her name, she didn't remember mine but think she remembered me) and the younger woman who had served me when I paid. Nothing major but still nice, she said to try Huatulco next time.
Slightly over-perturbed by accom etc situation. I feel tbh also a bit vulnerable with nearly all my clothes at the laundry, I asked for low temp wash and dry but can only hope they don't get ruined or lost.
Really none of this is that critical. I don't think I want to jump on a night bus tomorrow, it would mean missing the lang exchange and it would be rushing off quicker than I planned and it doesn't leave much buffer for arguing or waiting for resolution if there is a problem with my laundry.
1811 had shower. Up on terrace. Lovely fluffy albeit slightly scarily huge dog, seems very friendly. Few people around in vague confusing staff-or-not ways. Insofar as it actually matters doesn't feel actively unfriendly here etc.
Still torn about what to so. If I do stay (in Oaxaca, never mind where, tho probably dorm here) tomorrow night, I an on the night bus to San cris Fri night so would get there sat and probably go on to comitan on same day. If I would kind of like (but am flexible and may not even go) to be back at old San cris hostel for Thu, that gives me Sat-Wed nights (and prob a fair chunk of the day on Sat, given night bus prob arrives early and comitan not far from sc, albeit I will be a bit knackered) so 5 days/nights for comitan and environs which isn't too bad, and I could probably also avoid wanting to be in San cris thu night to make that up to 6. If comitan is a bust I night skip staying in San cris again completely or just stay there (say) Mon/Tue nights while I try the sumidero tour again and then put the rest of the time towards doing stuff en route to cancun.
If I stay here in oaxaxa another two nights that feels like it cuts comitan time down a bit too much - sort of just 4 days, maybe 5. There is stuff to do but nothing is an absolute must do and as I have said I am likely to pass through again on a subsequent trip so no harm in having some things left to occupy me then.
If I push on and get night bus tomorrow night I maybe have too much time in comitan before a weekend in San cris afterwards, and I get to san cris a bit late (I am there Friday, but maybe knackered) to really take full advantage of the weekend just starting and I have already eg missed poss to go to el paliacate on this when it may be quieter etc. It also has an uncomfortable albeit probably OK interaction with collecting the laundry tomorrow before the bus goes.
I really don't think pluma hidalgo and San Jose del Pacifico are good substitutes, given they are even further by bus from Cancun and are in the wrong direction and i would feel a lot more relaxed being san cris-ish distance from Cancun -from sc it is a doable but unpleasant 17-24hish single-ish night bus to Cancun.
I could forget comitan and maybe sc too and just push on (albeit a night or two in sc to break journey and do sumidero would probably be smart) to somewhere like Tabasco or Campeche, but comitan night be good and it does kind of work nicely and if it sucks I can cut my losses after a day or two and almost be on that "just go to Tabasco or Campeche" plan.
So I think I am probably staying one more night here in oaxaxa and no more and therefore despite mild suckiness it is probably as well to accept the slightly reduced hassle of staying in a dorm here tomorrow night rather than moving to another hostel for just one night.
For better or worse it looks like comitan has affordable privates but no hostels or dorms, so it may be a bit lonely but can't be helped and maybe if I do overnight stays in nearby towns there will be some social aspect there. Just possibly this should argue against going to comitan but I think there may be hiking tour type possibilities round there and it would be good to see it and it isn't as if I have any must do (except ideally a cenote somewhere, and there may be some round comitan anyway) anywhere else in Yucatan before I go home.
I am not super energised about a probably 2hish trip each way to mitla tomorrow but it is also probably relatively low stress (modulo having to leave bag at reception, unless I get lucky and can get into dorm at say 8am) and would be kind of cool and would give me a feeling of having done something. and then Fri ivwould probably leave bqg at hosfel before night bus and mooch round town and maybe do the odd museum etc.
There is a lot of guesswork here but it isn't as if I am going to have any rational basis to think eg "if only I had moved to another hostel in oaxaxa and stayed for two nights I might have got to hang out with people", and equally the flip side of not staying two nights in oaxaxa is that I will get to spend that time around comitan where maybe I will meet people. Plus staying one night does at least open up some prospect of maybe an enjoyable language exchange. And while I won't want to be badlyhungover as I will be homeless the following day, I will at least have the whole day to "recover" (in the unlikely event it is necessary) before I get the bus in the evening.
1833 OK it may be foolish to trust it but the guide book does make conitan and encirons sound good and it also suggests there is a decent ability to get to places via colectivo without your own transport. I think it has to be well worth a gamble, there is also an (open) cenote fwiw. It may not be very social but you never know and I have at least some hope of social stuff at san cris hostel the following weekend and still some chance of it at wherever I go en route from sc to Cancun.
1843 back in room fwiw due to a missing bit of tape barrier I ended up standing on top of I think edificio b at Monte alban and someone whistled at me from right across the site and told me I shouldn't be up there. Felt mildly marked given the barrier was missing. But hey, at least I got to go somewhere I shouldn't.
Had quick look on meetup, nothing here tonight but lang exch is listed for tomorrow at wombat 6-1130.
No obvious staff around to discuss accom with fwiw.
Comitan sounds from guise book as if it is just off the beaten track enough that it might feel kind of excitingly adventurous to be there and thus be a little unlike the well trodden albeit quite cool nature of places like San cris and oaxaca etc.
1857 OK WhatsApp chat with hostel. They want 190 for the dorm which isn't fantastic but is comparable to other dorms in town and as waffled for just one night I guess the hasle of changing isn't worth it, especially when I plan to be out at night on my own account anyway. And it is one night in dorm before prob night bus then two nights in a private in comitan. It is all single beds no bunks so the main possible objection of an upper bunk isn't an issue. Some other dorms do have aircon and I am 99pc sure they don't here but it is not so hot and for one night it just isn't a huge deal.
OK, I can probably put my bag in a locker in dorm at 9 and I may be able tobleave it at rception before then if I push it. I will close with the deal and then maybe go out for a wander or coffee or something, albeit probably try to have an early night and take advantage of the privacy while I have it etc.
It is a bit of a shame not to be able to leave earlier than 9 or to have the flexibility to lie in, but since I am probably trogging over to mitla neither of these is a huge deal.
2013 on upper terrace, deserted except for big fluffy dog. Went out for maybe an hours walk roind town centre. Toyed with going to Trebol but it was (not too surprisingly) shut so just walked. Will have a bit of water and read a bit up here then probably an early night.
I checked night buses before going out. They are slightly shot but not utterly terrible. Bloody expensive at maybe 50 quid for the most expensive (the same one I came out on) and only a smidge less for others. I may go with a slightly cheaper one assuming it has a toilet (it probably does) just cos the timing is a bit better. I an likely to be getting into San cris an hour or so before sunrise and therefore depending on when the buses run even with some hanging around I could be in comitan by 8 or 9ish which is likely way too early to check in but at least I can probably leave my bag and with a private room especially I can maybe go to bed very early in the evening. It is a bit of a faff but probably not utterly awful.
Not feeling super chipper but also not too bad, it feels like I have a plan and while not perfect the plan is reasonable both in terms of results and pain of execution.
I may hold off booking bus and comitan accommodation until Fri morning (eg just in case I learn anything at lang exchange which changes my plans) but we will see how it goes. If there is good free cancellation I may book accom earlier to get it locked in.
It was sort of cool to be wandering round main square etc. I will be sad to leave etc etc. But as I say, while it may be a few years (but maybe not, depending on cheap flights and my willingness to maybe take a perhaps short trip in autumn sometimes), it is quite likely I will be back in oaxaxa given its position on the bus routes.
I have some ideas where to get a bus or collectivo to mitla and it just may only be an hour each way, but I can also maybe ask at reception at 9 when I do the room swap. The relatively early start would also argue for going to bed early tonight. I haven't drunk alcohol by the way, I an thinking I may have a beer on two on the zocalo friday during day when I am hanging around. I may also force myself to try grasshoppers (I have seen street carts selling them, they are red) eg tomorrow afternoon.
For random reasons (I wanted something to read and it was in Gutenberg top 100) I am reading Middlemarch. I have no idea what if anything is going to happen but I can't help feeling Dorothea and/or her husband are going to get badly fucked, maybe by themselves. Mr Brooke's description of marriage as putting one's head in a noose and him not having loved anyone enough to risk it feels super apposite, maybe more so today than it was back then.
FWIW I took way too many crappy photos at Monte Alban but I guess they are nearly free and I don't really think taking them spoiled my appreciation otherwise. One or two of them are probably not too bad, but it is so hard to capture the feel of the place in general and yet I feel obliged to try to snap everything.
I suppose to some extent I can also have a bit of a lie in on Friday, subject to not feeling edgy about the prolonged homelessness looming that day and the next.
I did have one mildly aggressive beggar on the street earlier BTW during daylight but not a big deal. He was just slightly rude when I said "no, sorry" before letting him get his whole spiel off.
2038 I might go down to room and move towards bed. The dog left not long after I came up. I feel OK and nothing is wrong but I am the tiniest bit tired and a bit bored sitting up here. I am not gagging for social contact, which is lucky as the chances of any feel slim.
Yeah, let's go down.
2042 there is a room on the roof off the route to the actual terrace and a bloke seems to be giving haircuts in there with clippers. Odd.
2052 done teeth. About to go to bed.
Youri told me that at some major archaological site - let's say chichen itza - the local vendors would make a noise with some toy and call out "Jaguar! Jaguar!" (In Spanish, so J souned as a Y). This amused me, but today I actually got the hear the noise as the relatively small collection of marketish stalls outside Monte alban had people doing exactly this, including the Jaguar! Jaguar! Cry. I have some very bad video and audio recordings which just may have caught this.
I can't be sure if you could hear them doing this while in the actual site, but I would guess you could at the bits nearer the entrance.
Oh, and that reminds me that while waiting for the bus in zipolite one of the local journey trucks went past and I half overheard some probably Americans sitting waiting for bus near me and they obviously had the same thought as me about what if our bus was one of those, because they sort of looked at it and one said something about it would be funny and another said he would probably cry. Maybe I utterly misinterpeted their looks and the partially overheard conversation but I suspect I didnt and the shared independent thought was somehow oddly cool.
(The seats are benches down the side with no padding.)
2057 lets go to bed.
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