Text: Peter Johansson
Editing: Christer Lundstedt
Photos: Christer Lundstedt, Peter Johansson
Videos: Christer Lundstedt
Saturday 22nd of July
08.45 It is morning here at Hotel Sacre in Tuxtepec. Today we have woken up by our own power. No ringing mobile phone has disturbed the sleepers. A new adventure awaits today. We will cross the mountains to the next destination on the trip, Oaxaca.
09.43 No adventure has started yet. It's mostly a calm and quiet morning for us.
10.31 The quiet morning in the room was interrupted, we took our pack and pick and went to the bus station. Here at ADO's bus terminal, it's anything but cool.
10.56 Soon it will be time for us to go by minibus. It's been a while since the last time. The reason why there were so few free seats left when we wanted to book the other day is simply that the vehicle does not have many seats. We booked the trip on ADO's website but on the bus it says Cuenca. Most likely it is one of many small businesses connected to ADO.
11.13 We are on our way out of Tuxtepec and have just passed a pineapple. It is Monumento de Flor de Piña.
11.40 We travel south towards the mountains and have passed and we met and have seen vehicles we are familiar with from previous trips, tuk-tuks. Damn, the road is bumpy! There are lots of bumps and speed bumps in the villages we pass. My all but good handwriting is getting even worse if possible.
12.16 Our minibus has stopped in the small town of Valle Nacional (San Juan Batista Valle Nacional). It is likely that more passengers will connect.
12.30 More passengers boarded. Some sat in one place but some are allowed to stand. We sit politely at the back of the minibus.
13.10 Those who were standing have chosen to step off. There were some who probably just ran an errand in town and went home to their village. Those of us who remain serpentine our way upwards towards even higher heights. Yes, not on your own of course but in our vehicle.
14.00 We have now reached an altitude of over 2000 meters above sea level. Outside the bus it is fog and a light rain. The driver drives slowly, unclear why. For a while we were afraid that there was something wrong with the minibus. Inside the windows of the bus, music is playing, Vuela, vuela. It sounds like a Spanish version of the French Voyage, voyage that the French singer Desireless sang in 1986.
18.49 Now we are getting ready to do something other than rest after today's long journey. We don't get to see much of the city tonight. We will do it tomorrow as we have a full day here. Oaxaca, officially called Oaxaca de Juárez, is the capital of the large state of Oaxaca. The city is a popular tourist destination and an important place for the Zapotecs and Mixtecs, the two most important of the state's indigenous peoples. There are 736,139 inhabitants living here in the city.
Sunday 23rd of July
ADO's warm waiting room in Tuxtepec.
Today's vehicle is cleaned before our departure.
The passengers have found their seats. Soon we will leave.
We pass a pineapple on the way out of Tuxtepec.
Today we travel through the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca mountain range.
Finally we get to stretch our legs!
A tired Christer has made a new friend.
The road to Oaxaca.
We have stopped in Ixtlán de Juárez.
Christer has dinner at the Hotel Veracruz.
Peter fills up with food and drink.
On the way back to the hotel.
Peter in room 211.
08.37 The two travelers are awake and a lot has happened during the hours we slept. The Swedish women's soccer team overturned a 0-1 deficit and won the match against South Africa 2-1. Today, our friend Roberth also turns 50 years old and the football match between AIK and Malmö FF in the Allsvenskan is interrupted due to a row in the stands. Here in Oaxaca, as far as I know, not much has happened so far this day.
09.14 There is activity outside our breakfast window. We are back in the hotel restaurant and here we have each ordered a breakfast package. 09.49 That breakfast package was certainly not a bad start to the day. The AIK match got underway again after the unrest and it was 0-0 when everything was finished. 10.42 With the most important belongings packed in our small backpacks, we are now ready to see and familiarize ourselves with the city of Oaxaca. The city's name is not entirely easy to pronounce and comes from the Nahuatl language, the language spoken by the Aztecs. The origin is the word huaxyacac which is a tree that grows in the area. 11.00 The city walk begins with a short bench break in the park El Llano a short distance from our hotel. It's Sunday and quiet in town. Right now an airplane is passing over us. 11.08 An elderly lady just came by and asked for a financial contribution. She got some coins. We have one day to see Oaxaca. Had we had one more day, we would probably have made an excursion to Monte Albán, a major tourist destination outside the city. It is one of the oldest cities in the New World (America). It was founded in the 5th century BC and there are pyramids and temples from the Zapotec culture.
These figures welcome guests to Hotel Veracruz and Oaxaca.
It's quiet on the streets on a Sunday morning.
El Llano, Oaxaca.
Calle Reforma, Oaxaca.
Calle 5 de Mayo, Oaxaca.
Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán.
11.20 We have walked from El Llano and reached a street with colorful houses, Calle 5 de Mayo. The number of tourists has increased and local handicrafts and all kinds of souvenirs are sold nearby.
11.25 Outside the church Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán, aptly named because it is domingo (Sunday) today, people stroll past the market stalls. It's a sunny day but naughty clouds are gathering on the horizon. 11.29 There is music, dancing and performances in front of the church. On a large ball in the middle of the performance it says Fundación Contreras. Joining in the dancing are a number of large dolls. It is a bit unclear what this is about but it is unique, entertaining and attracts people to photograph and film. 11.44 We continued down the Macedonio Alcalá pedestrian street. It is a really cozy pedestrian street with life and movement. At the intersection where the pedestrian street meets Avenida de la Independencia, there is a large doll on the roof and another on the street. In the street stands a bearded man with large horns. The one on the roof is holding what looks like a maracas and has a potted plant on his head. 11.53 Now we are inside the city's cathedral. Music can be heard from the square, and even here there is singing and playing. In here, it's sacred. Out there, rock music is played from a stage opposite the cathedral's entrance. Catedral Metropolitana de Oaxaca Nuestra Señora de la Asunción is the cathedral's long complicated official name. Construction began around 1535 and it was consecrated much later, on July 12, 1733. It was due to earthquakes in the 16th and 18th centuries that the cathedral had to be rebuilt several times. 11.57 After the visit inside the cathedral, we listened a bit to the concert outside before the sound suddenly disappeared. Did it all end so abruptly or was there some technical problem? 12.09 Music is also played in the nearby Zócalo square (Plaza de la Constitución). Once again we hear ABBA's single from 1979, Chiquitita. It is really popular here.
Dance and music in the street.
Oaxaca is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Christer in front of the church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán.
Templo de Sangre de Cristo.
Calle Macedonio Alcalá, Oaxaca.
Someone is standing on the roof.
12.12 We have photographed the church Templo de La Compañía de Jesús, which is located at one corner of the city's main square. Now we are going to take a walk to see the next interesting church.
12.23 The church is brown-grey in color but actually beautiful nonetheless. Where should the two of us take the opportunity to go? In other words, we have reached the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad. It was built between 1682 and 1690 and is dedicated to the Virgen de la Soledad, patron saint of the city of Oaxaca. The church is built in Baroque style. Outside the church we have seen a wedding couple, it is tradition that we see them during our travels. 12.53 While we are waiting for the chosen lunch restaurant to open, we cool off inside the magnificently beautiful church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán, where we started today's city walk. Here it is ornate and beautiful. We see golden ceilings, walls and altars. The church was built between 1570 and 1608 as part of the town's Dominican monastery. Like other large buildings in this earthquake-prone region, it has incredibly thick stone walls. 13.29 Our wait for food is over. We have ordered pasta dishes from Pizza Nostrana Spaghettería. Eating pasta on our travels is almost as common as coffee and sleeping, but only almost. We are probably the first guests here today. Shortly after our arrival, some more guests have entered. 14.11 The thirst is quenched and the hunger suppressed. Plus, the rain stays away. It's time to head home for a siesta in a cool and rain-free room. 14.46 Another Mexican city can now be added to the documents. Now it's time for siesta. It feels good to be back in the room 211.
A man with horns stands before us. We go to the right.
A tall girl in Oaxaca.
Metropolitan Cathedral of Oaxaca.
We look at the inside of the cathedral.
A concert is going on outside the cathedral.
Zócalo (Plaza de la Constitución).
15.27 Acquainting ourselves with cities is rewarding for the senses. Spending time in a room and not doing much is also good for the senses. They get to rest and escape all the floods of impressions.
16.14 A search on the internet has taught us that ABBA released a Spanish-language version of Chiquitita in 1979. It is probably mainly the version that we heard so often here in Mexico. In any case, it is ABBA themselves who made the music and nothing they picked up from somewhere else.
17.09 It's time to stop resting in the room. It's getting to be time to think about if, what and where we're going to eat our upcoming dinners tonight. 18.24 The thinking has finally yielded seeds. If these seeds germinate and grow into something solid, we will see in due course. 19.05 It's almost time for us to go out. The forecast predicts rain tonight. If it does, then it rains, we want to know how much and how long it will rain. Our original plans were to familiarize ourselves with the part of the city north of the hotel. That part of town is called Reforma and has a lot of good quality restaurants. Now the rain seems to stop those plans. 19.30 The weather unfortunately makes it impossible to go and look for restaurants at a profit or loss. It's raining way too much. We are instead back at yesterday's table here at the hotel restaurant. It will be easy tonight.
We say goodbye to another well-grown woman.
Calle de Carlos María Bustamante, Oaxaca.
Templo de La Compañía de Jesús.
Basilica of Our Lady of Soledad.
It is beautiful inside the Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán.
Peter eats lunch at Pizza Nostrana Spaghettería.
20.33 That was a simple dinner, but rather a simple meal and dry clothes than culinary and soaked clothes. It's pouring down there. We are satisfied and happy that we thought wisely and stayed indoors tonight. A lady was standing at the reception typing on a typewriter when we passed. It's been a long time since we saw it anywhere.
21.40 After many ups and downs, we have managed to listen to the Swedish Aktuellt news transmission via SVT Play. We didn't get a picture. Our WiFi connection is too weak and unreliable to be able to watch TV via the Internet. The Swedish news covered fires on Greek islands and the Spanish election, among other things. 23.20 The last night here at the Hotel Veracruz is soon approaching. It was a nice day today and nice to have a day without transport and regrouping. A phase of the journey with many hours on the bus is about to begin. It should probably go well too.
Monday 24th of July
08.14 A new week has begun. In Israel, despite protests, the Knesset has voted through a bill that could lead to limiting the powers of the Supreme Court. In addition to an update regarding the news, we have managed to wake up and have showered.
09.00 Now we have eaten for the last time in this dining room. There have been four meals here at Hotel Veracruz. It is now time to gather ourselves and what we have taken out of the backpacks. 09.34 Hurray, today we will not go by minibus. It will be a large and hopefully comfortable bus. Before boarding, we will buy some snacks at the ADO bus terminal which is next to the Hotel Veracruz that we just checked out of. A man in Stockholm has applied to burn a Quran, a picture of Iran's leader and two doll heads in front of the Iranian embassy on Saturday. It should be seen as a protest against the way people are treated in Iran. This burning obsession never seems to end. 10.05 The luggage was placed under the bus, tickets were shown, a woman with a handheld metal detector checked us and our small backpacks before we got on board. Once there, we were filmed and the driver shouted out that the trip would take seven hours, not just five hours as the timetable says. What is this due to? 10.19 It wasn't really that strange. The answer was simple. The bus from ADO continues for another two hours towards its final destination after we get off. 10.36 We travel on road 190 towards the southeast. Along the road there are constantly signs about the sale and production of mezcal. 11.02 Rolling green hills and mountains wind along our route. Even the road winds. 12.14 We go straight through and over a slope. It is steep up on the left and steep down on the right. Today's final destination is Santo Domingo Tehuantepec, a city where we will spend the night before the journey continues to the state of Chiapas tomorrow.
Monday morning in the room at Hotel Veracruz.
On site in ADO's bus.
We travel from Oaxaca to Tehuantepec.
We have reached Santo Domingo Tehuantepec.
Our nice room 214.
View from our room.
14.43 We had our doubts for a while but it seems that the timetable holds, we will arrive soon. We traveled through sparsely populated areas today. The state of Oaxaca is about the same size as Ireland and also has about the same population.
14.56 We have arrived in Santo Domingo Tehuantepec, Tehuantepec for short. The city is located on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, where Mexico is at its narrowest. We have found a taxi outside the small bus terminal. Trying to open the locked tailgate of the taxi like me is a stupid idea. It's brutally hot here, right now body temperature in the shade, +37°C. 15.40 We arrived at Hotel Calli (https://www.hotelcalli.com) and the gatekeeper asked for the room number. For obvious reasons, we couldn't state that because we hadn't checked in yet, but Christer showed the reservation and our taxi was let in. The same reservation was shown again at the reception and this time we were given a key. Now we have a pool view from room 214. Also we have been promised to stay after the check out time tomorrow as our next bus leaves in the evening. However, it costs extra. 16.37 Here in the room, not much happens, but what amazing things can actually happen in an ordinary hotel room? They are hardly designed for larger events. In any case, it is a really good room in a hotel with a pool and a restaurant. Back home in Sweden, Christer had booked us into the smaller Hotel Donaji, but we changed our mind and changed the booking to this one. Right now it feels wise and necessary. Santo Domingo Tehuantepec has 67,739 inhabitants and was founded by the Zapotecs in the period just before the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century. It remains an important city for Zapotec culture and known for its markets where the women hold much of the power. 17.25 Goodbye the room! Now we will familiarize ourselves with the hotel, the hotel area and the surrounding area. Out there sometimes laughing, sometimes crying children.
Our hotel has a pool!
Hotel Calli, Santo Domingo Tehuantepec.
Peter on an afternoon walk.
Dinner at the hotel's restaurant, Nanixhe.
Christer's dinner before it was eaten.
We walk home in the evening darkness.
17.56 On our walk round trip to an OXXO store, we saw the pool area, squirrels in palm trees and a dead dog by the side of the road. After doing a little shopping, we are back home at the hotel again.
19.11 It's almost time to visit yet another hotel restaurant. We hope for good food and drink in the hotel's restaurant called Nanixhe. 19.57 We chew on bread and sip beer from the Victoria brand while waiting for the dishes we have ordered. Those at the neighbouring table are drinking red wine. The bottle is in an ice bucket. It's not to my taste. There were unexpectedly many international guests here. As always, there are tourists from the Netherlands on site. They are everywhere we travel. 21.09 On the way back to the room, we walked in the dark towards the pool. In the grass it flashed everywhere. Some kind of insect seems to work at night with the headlamp on. 21.22 Time to sum up the dinner. It was good, filling and good for those who are not in a hurry. It took a while to get what we ordered but it was worth it. It was great from the first bite to the last sip. I ordered barbecue skewers and Christer ate a piece of meat together with rice. 22.44 The evening is calm and we look forward to tomorrow when we will enjoy ourselves by the hotel pool. It will then be a quiet day before a long journey by bus in the evening.
Tuesday 25th of July
08.54 Everything has its own way here at Hotel Calli. We have both woken up and showered separately and by our own power. In the near future, we will try to manage to eat breakfast downstairs in the hotel's restaurant.
09.52 No breakfast was served, but we were full anyway. At home in Sweden, the man who applied to burn, among other things, a copy of the Quran has regretted it. 10.31 Soon it will be time for a dip in the polygonal pool inside the hotel area. It's a welcome dip. It is both sunny and warm today. It's been a few years since we last swam in a hotel pool. 11.02 We have changed each other in the nice pool. It's nice to take a dip and then slowly let your body air dry in the heat. Now maybe we should take the opportunity to read a little in the books we have with us. 12.20 The pool visit and book reading is over. It is now time to shower off and plan our remaining stay here at the hotel. 13.17 I would be lying if I wrote that we have been diligent tourists here in Tehuantepec. Although this place is more of a hub, a stop on the way to other interesting things. 14.54 Not much else has been done but now we will return to the restaurant for a late lunch which will also serve as today's dinner. 15.05 Now Christer has made the big effort of the day. He has ordered the main meal of the day for both of us. We are waiting for spaghetti with minced meat sauce. 15.08 While Christer was checking online when our next bus will arrive, we were told that they have run out of meat sauce here at the restaurant. We changed accessories. Now we just heard a gecko call. Yes, our bus is expected to arrive at the bus station at 17.40.
Morning at Hotel Calli.
We enjoy ourselves by the pool on this hot day.
Peter has stepped into the pool.
Christer's turn to bathe and swim.
A pasta lunch before departure.
We say goodbye to Hotel Calli.
16.10 It's done and done. We have eaten and paid. It's time to start getting buses ready. This applies both to the person we are traveling with today as well as ticket purchases for future trips.
17.17 It was extremely hot (+38°C) walking from the hotel to ADO's bus terminal, but we managed to cool off a bit at OXXO along the way. It is always good to have some useful food and drink with you. 17.55 Damn how nice it is to finally sit comfortably on a cool bus. We were sweating profusely before the bus showed up. 18.48 Now we have been standing at one and the same stop at a bus terminal for a quarter of an hour. I and probably others want to continue the journey. 19.00 Finally we leave Juchitán (Juchitán de Zaragoza). Wonder what kept us there. Were we ahead of schedule or was there something wrong? 19.34 We go east again on road 190. If you look out of the bus window, you can see flashes of lightning jumping between the clouds. If you look inside the bus, there is not much jumping or anything else going on. 19.58 It's time for another stop. This time it is for the purchase of food. How long will we stay here? 20.16 Now it seems that those who have provisions are coming back on board. A little guy in the bus is playing some game with an enervating sound. It's a jingle on repeat and volleys of gunfire. Can't he read a book instead? 20.30 At last we seem to be ready for further departure. How late are we? 21.41 We wind our way uphill on a road that seems to consist only of curves. We are at the border between the states of Oaxaca and Chiapas. 22.40 There is a new stop for our bus. We are in Cintalapa. How long are we standing here? If all goes well, we won't be as late as I feared. 22.45 We got away quickly. This is great. 23.42 The day and the bus journey are coming to an end. We are approaching Tuxtla Gutiérrez.
You can see 19 photos from July 22 in this photoalbum.
You can see 77 photos from July 23 in this photoalbum.
You can see 21 photos from July 24 in this photoalbum.
You can see 12 photos from July 25 in this photoalbum.