Big City, Epic Festival, and 7 Beaches…

Yet another sad hiatus here amid the dusty halls of TL.  Nary a single mot published here since I managed to peck a review of my month+ adventures skipping all over Italy more than 5 months ago.

But I’m soon off on yet another adventure (in less than 2 weeks – yikes!), so I thought I’d at least pop in here and drop a few of the prep details, as well as – officially bid a fond farewell to the passing of one of my closest travel companions…

‘Tis truly a sad tale to tell, of the recent passing of my beloved “Purple Rollie”.  Amazingly, I nabbed it (a “High Sierra” w/ zip-off rucksack and hidden convertible backpack straps) for just $10 at a *Goodwill* in Seattle more than 15 years ago!  And that sweetheart has since served my carry-on-only nomadic packing needs through more than 30 different countries!

Only recently did it finally give-up-the-ghost when the sliding handle broke (blessedly as I gripped the LAST boarding pass for my flight from Spain back home to Ecuador!)  I tried (in vain!) to get it fixed here in Cuenca, but as the handle was aluminum, there was no way to solder it back together.  So…

R.I.P. sweet Purple Rollie – thanks for the memories!

Though I’m not likely to ever find such a uniquely colorful, long lasting rollie, I did manage to unearth a new wanderlust side-kick here on this 8,400+ ft. mountain-top in Cuenca (in the diminutive 22″x14″x9″ size required by most airlines for carry-on).  Albeit not in the sweet deep purple of its trusty ancestor (rather, a humdrum ordinary black).  But my new travel sherpa does have spiffy new quad “spinner” wheels, plus a nifty built in TSA security lock – so I’m once again good-to-GO!

And GO I shall! In little more than a week.  Not even 6 months since my month adventure in Spain and Italy – next week I’m again hopping on a silver cigar-tube to fulfill a long dormant wanderlust bucket-list wanna-do *SOMEDAY* item:

Witness “Día de los Muertos” (“Day of the Dead”) IN the land that spawned it hundreds of years ago…

MEXICO!!!

Three weeks.  I’ve learned that a month or more is pushing it for this dodderin’.  After about 20 days or so – everything just begins to blur together, and I rather lose my appreciation for what I’m seeing.

So 3 weeks for this adventure it is:  a week to dive head-long into the astonishing array of unique sights and (especially) the FOOOOD that Mexico City has to offer; followed by a week in Oaxaca (said to be THE best locale in all of Mexico for celebrating La Dia Muertos); and to top it off – a final week wiggling toes in warm sand along the beach at Puerto Escondido.

Mexico isn’t new for me (this will be my 5th visit – my most recent, a short pilgrimage simply to gawk at those wondrous Monarch butterflies – literally – DRIPPING from the trees amid the Michoacan forests 5 years ago).  But it’s the first I’ll have time to more earnestly explore Mexico’s capital: CDMX (Ciudad de Mexico) – the largest city in North America (pop. 21+ million).  With more than 150 museums and an uncountable number of taco stands and other street-eats – a week surely won’t be enough to even scratch the surface of this 700 year old megalopolis.  Ah but trust that I shall give it my best shot! 😉

And Oaxaca?  Said to be the “Foodie Capital” of Mexico, this southern city is noted for its variety of the classics:  mole (7 different kinds!), tlayudas, enfrijoladas, nieve, chocolate, younameiit.  And I fully intend to stuff my face with as much of it as I can in 7 days.  Add to that, as Mexico’s preeminent hub for celebrating Día de los Muertos (with bountiful parades, sand-paintings on the cobbled streets, a bazillion fresh marigolds piled on thousands of candle-lit alters, et al) – my week there promises to be a most amazing experience.

And finally – choosing a playa to wiggle my toes in – Puerto Escondido has verily SEVEN of them!  That, plus a far more laid-back vibe than the touted (and pricey) tourist-traps of Cancun, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, Los Cabos, Tulum, etc.  In short, much more the TravelnLass’ cuppa-playa-tea.

So do stay tuned. What with a brand new TL “Negra Rollie” to christen, plus another air ticket (or three) in my pocket – there’s bound to be plenty of Mexico adventures to share here at TL Central.
 
 

 
 
 
 
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