San Jose del Pacifico....

Hola a todos!

Well, I just returned from an amazing 6 days in San Jose del Pacifico and Mazunte, two very incredible places in Oaxaca. Since there are many pictures to show, I'll keep this post to San Jose del Pacifico (SJP).

Anyway, after giving a presentation at the Oaxaca Lending Library on what it's like to be an archaeology student in the 21st century working in Oaxaca to a bunch of folks, I packed up to go to SJP with my dear friend Chuck who had kindly agreed to accompany me on this trip. Actually, what with some of the drama that had been going on in the house we were both ready to get the heck out of dodge and relax a bit.

So after settling this kitten I had rescued the night before in with a generous vet, we set off on our adventure to find a suburban to take us to SJP, the first leg of our journey. Thankfully, after wandering around for almost forever we found the place, bought our tickets, drank a caguama, and got on the suburban.

View from our first cabaña.

Now, SJP is the halfway point between Oaxaca City and the beach. Known along the various hippie social networks for having some of the best mushrooms outside of Thailand, SJP is an amazing place, with or without taking hongos magicos. Its a picturesque setting with mountains, pine trees, and yes "agaves in the mist" as Chuck and I joked often.

Speaking of agaves, our first full day in SJP we took a trip along a hiking trail and discovered these gigantic agaves. They were so frickin cool and prehistoric. It was like being in the late Cretaceous period or something.

Me and one fairly gigantic agave.

Chuck and another gigantic agave.

After our hike and a caguama at this Italian restaurant, we went back to our hippie retreat and, embarking on another viaje, watched the clouds roll in. Being 9,000 ft above sea level, we were above the clouds so it was amazing. Just look at the photos below to see what I mean.

View from out cabaña door.

Watching the clouds roll in.

Another view from the same cabaña door.

Sunset arrives.

The next day, we moved to a different cabaña, La Famosa Cabaña Dos. This cabaña sits right at the edge of a mountain, so the view is spectacular. Watching the clouds roll in this time was different and interesting, because we were right at the level of the clouds. So as they rolled in we were enveloped in clouds, which meant rain but also the sensation of being wrapped up in fuzzy. It was amazing.

Watching the clouds roll in....

....like being in a fuzzy, condensed water vapor blanket.

The best thing about the whole journey, other than the temazcal or ritual sweat bath we did, was Pup-pup, our spirit guide and doggy guardian. She followed us everywhere, passed several loyalty-tests, and stayed outside our cabaña doors for the entire cold night. At the end, when we were boarding the suburban to go to Pochutla, she actually jumped on board and snuggled under a seat. I had to drag her off the vehicle, and watch as she attempted to chase our suburban down as it was leaving. Sigh. ¡Qué triste!, but how glad I am to have met her all the same.

Pup-pup, our spirit guide and companion animal.

Next up, Mazunte!

Cheers!