Catching Up

Finally, I have internet again! I have missed blogging, as well as receiving your comments. I really do appreciate your comments and emails! By the way, if you double click on the pictures, they should enlarge -- in case you have trouble seeing some of the smaller ones in a collage.

We’ve covered a lot of ground in the last few days. On Thursday, we drove from Toluca to Taxco, an old colonial town built on a hillside. We had to drive through hills and mountains, but the roads were surprisingly good. There are both toll roads and free roads in Mexico, and we’ve been taking the toll roads when possible, however, even the free roads we’ve been on have been good. Unfortunately, cars aren’t subject to the same emissions standards here as in the U.S., so we’ve been behind a number of very stinky cars and trucks.

In Taxco, we visited the Iglesia de Santa Prisca (a church). It is large and imposing on the little zocalo (square). Both the interior and exterior are dramatic and ornate. Taxco is also known for its silver mining and there are silver shops all over the place. The cobblestone streets are filled with people and cars. Although we’ve encountered a lot of vendors aggressively selling their wares, in Taxco they really took it to another level. It did get a bit annoying after a while.

On Friday we spent another long chunk of the day in the car, winding down the mountains toward the coast. It was interesting to see how the topography changed. It was mostly desert through the mountains, and as we approached the coast the landscape became much greener.

The kids have been amazingly patient with all the driving – the Gameboy and mp3 player with books on it have helped a lot. We also played some games and Rafael napped some.

We arrived in Acapulco in the late afternoon and as soon as we’d dumped our stuff, went for a swim in the ocean. The water is very comfortable and there are pelicans swooping into the ocean just a few feet from the swimmers. As for Acapulco, it is big and crowded – pretty much what we expected. We were only there for two nights, and are now in Puerto Escondido, which I will blog about tomorrow!