Bugs and Creepy Crawlies Just in Time for Halloween

Making our way to Olinala was an adventure taking 2.5 - 3 hours. More mountains, up down, around. Our driver was careful to not have any head on collisions. Nice of him. Once here we easily found the Moon Travel book recommended Hotel Cindy. It is owned by an older man, Domingo. He and a bevy of young girls run the place. For some reason there have been lots of bug and critters in my life since we arrived here. I am hoping to leave them here when we leave in the morning. Last night we both wore ear plugs which protected our ears from earwigs and kept the noise level at a minimum especially at 5am this morning. Basically there were at least 3 earwigs on the bedside table last night. In the morning we came across a scorpion in our doorway. As soon as I opened the door and the light hit it, it went scurrying for the next doorway. Caroline got a quick photo though. Then, as we were descending the stairs, a giant grasshopper swooped just milimeters from my head. Later in the afternoon at lunch Caroline had to flick an earwig off my shoulder - that really freaked me out. Back in the room for a quick siesta, an earwig was having its way with my toothbrush. And finally (we can hope)in the tiny church yard I was buzzed by a giant bumble bee or something like it.

I don´t mind spiders, but these other things really bother me. I did find the scorpion fascinating. I have only ever seen a dead one and one in a cage at the Vivarium. I like to think of myself as pretty tough and not easily ruffled. I become a blathering idiot when it comes to these things.

Other than bugs and creepy crawlies, Olinala has been absolutely beautiful. The people here are incredibly friendly (including the missionary who tried to lure us into watching a movie about Jesus they were playing on the wall in the place next door to our hotel). The girls who run our hotel and make food are very sweet and have fun talking with us about random things like bugs. Everyone on the street has been very nice. We have both received lots of stares as if people have never seen two gringas in their town. It is probably true they have never seen a woman as tall as Caroline. Kids are particularly impressed by her and will stare as we walk by and then turn so they can keep watching! We have met lots of sweet dogs and even a few cats. Tonight we even found some pigs, burros, cows/bulls, and giant turkeys and chickens. Speaking of which, the animals here appear to be VERY well fed compared to other places in Mexico I have been. It makes me happy to see.

Finding food for Caroline has been an interesting task and somewhat humurous. We ask for a torta with queso Oaxaqueno (somewhat like mozzarella) and they go to the store, come back and tell us there is only Bimbo (bread in a bag) no rolls. We settle for tortillas. Then she shows us the cheese she has, something much different than the one we requested. But they try very hard. And in the end we ate like queens: handmade tortillas, refried beans, tomatoes, avocados, onion, and salty fresh cheese. That was after a giant plate of papaya, pineapple, and oranges with fresh honey. Wow. I believe it will be a bit easier to find fish and other edible items for Caroline in Acapulco.

The craft stores have been exactly what I expected. Beautiful works of art stacked up one on top of another. Francisco (Don Chilo)Coronel is definitely the most talented and his prices are reflective of the quality. He even had silver and gold leafed boxes, then painted with the traditional flowers which were gorgeous. There are a handful of shops around town. I think we hit all of them. I will take photos to post at some point. I got a decent variety of the available designs, but somewhat regret not sucking it up and spending the money on a silver or gold one from Don Chilo´s.

Tomorrow we are off to Acapulco. It is going to be a very long day, starting at about 6:15am, catching a combi (van) back to Chilapa and from there, getting back to Chilpancino and then Acapulco or possibly straight through from Chilapa to Acapulco depending on what is available and how uncomfortable it will be.

Mas tarde.