Pyramids of Monte Alban

Monte Alban is one more very important historical place in Mexico, where you can see pyramids. This place is based on the mountain, for this you have to go by bus to mountain.






Famous place by its ¨Ball game¨, after which one person, who lost the game was sacrificed.









And this is how looks way to/from Monte Alban. That was trip with adrenalin, because street wasn´t wide at all, but it was used for driving both directions and as you can see on photo, it was a bit high.




After Monte Alban we came back to Oaxaca city to sightseeing there and when we came there, it started to rain really hard, so he had to run and wait for rain finished. We decide during this time to eat lunch on marketplace.
To be continued...

Nochixtlan

Continuing to telling about my trips and new experiences, trying new things, I will move with retelling what happened in the August.

We with Mariana, while rest of the team went to International Congress, decided to go to Oaxaca state, to visit her friend. We went 3 of us - Mariana, me and David. Mariana´s friend, who´s name is Elizabeth (Eli) live in small town called Nochixtlan, what is 6 hours from Mexico city.
We arrived there at 6am, in the beginning eat different tasty things and then went a bit to sleep.

First of all we went for a walk around the city. We arrived in this dates also because city had big celebrations and city was making many nice activities inside. Already from the first minutes I was feeling very good, because I was outside of Mexico city, where is hard to relax, but here was silent, not in rush and also people was excited about coming celebrations.




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After half an hour we finish to watch the city :) and we can hope just to relax. I was first time in my life sleeping in the hamak of course with my iPod :)




Then during the day started carnival. It was big one, dance groups came here from all Oaxaca state and atmosphere around was just amazing.

















This day was special for the city and for this people was allow to drink alcohol on the street. So we also wanted to enjoy this opportunity :D and we created our own cocktails from Rum Malibu and second from Tequila.




In the night was happening second part of carnival, where some people from carnival was going to special houses to eat and drink. In the front of everyone was going city council (at photo in the middle in a blue shirt). When they were entering house where we were waiting for them, started to rain and a bit later it was really strong rain. Funny was that city is based on the hill, so when we were going to home under the rain, you feel that you are going through river, because water has flow :) So finally we got completely wet.


We returned to house and Eli´s family gave us clothes to change and we were waiting for rain to finish and also for 4 am, to go to dance. 4 am, because till this party disco was asking entrance fee and we didn´t want to pay it :) We went to dance salsa and then to sleep, because in the morning at 9am we wanted go to Oaxaca and Monte Alban to watch this famous places.

So finally we managed to leave city at 12 pm and arrive to Oaxaca at 2pm and from this place we left directly to Monte Alban to watch pyramids.

Looking for solution

2 posts ago I was writing that had problems with their culture, with making friends, ... I know that I always have Vikus with her family (who is like my family), but I need more friends, one friend can not be with you all the time.

For solution of problems I met with mom of one of my ex-friend (intelegent women and speaks english well). We met with her for 2 hours talk, where we were discussing very different topic, where biggest part was talk about Mexican culture, making relations (friends and more serious). I got really good inputs, what should I do and also understood that mexican too big flexibility is not very bad thing and there are many good things inside (for example being less stressed in the life).

After meeting I decide to make personal goal setting for next 6 month. It looks this:


Let's see how will it work. It won't be easy, but I need to try.

Example of planing skills and punctuality

This weekend we with my some people from my team were planed to go to Puebla for weekend, for attending Posada (kind of Christmas party) and also to visit Africa Safari - famous museum, like zoo, but without borders, so animals can easily walk around.

We planed to live office at 4 pm to arrive there at 8-9 pm. So finally only Mariana and I left at 4:30 pm office and other 2 collegs stayed because didn't finish their work and guy because didn't want to pack his bag, had to go from office to home (but much comfortable to go directly from office to metro). They arrived to party after 11, when dinner already finished, when we broke all pinatas - activities finished and left only siting and drinking activities.

After party, I decide to not push anyone to wake up early(it wouldn't work anywhere) and I hoped that someone researched how can we get to Africa safari. So finally Juan Manuel told let's meet at 12:00 in the center to go to Africa safari at Saturday. Finally next day everyone gathered only after 2 pm and it was already late to go to Africa Safari, so finally our plan to go at Saturday there failt and we just were hanging around the city all the day.
I was talking with some of people(who came also from Mexico city), who wanted to go with me and Fabian (friend from Germany) to Africa safari at sunday morning. 2 from them (colombian girl and one mexican boy) told that want to go and may be will go. Everything finished, that in the evening everyone (except me and Fabian) left to home (to Mexico city), I was shocked that they just decide that they want to go home and don't care about that they have opportunity to visit unique place. To live to Mexico city, most of them needed to take bags from home. From place where we were staying at that time, were going buses to house, but they as I understand from culture are "whatever to money" and lazy to put some effort in order to economy money, so we could go there for 2 USD (5 people) by bus, but they just "I feel I want comfort" took taxi and we paid 8 USD for it. I completelly understood their culture of lazyness and don't care about expensies and if someone decide something, all others don't say "no, I don't want", they just follow.
So without planing and don't care about time, 5 people, who come from Mexico city, just lost opportunity and spent a lot of money just for 1 party and hanging around city.

Next day came. We with Fabian had plan to visit Africa Safari and we decide to not invite anyone with us, because it will make our life just harder and we will loose much time in the morning. In the Saturday evening, from one local girl we got to know that to Africa Safari is going public transport and from center of city is going special bus what cost 20 USD and include transportation there, ticket, transport inside the museum and back and everything for 6 hours. We counted and if we take public transport and go there by ourself and will use 25% discount coupon, then we will make trip on 13 USD. So we decide that we can make a bit effort and economy good amount of money and we went there and made all trip more interesting and only for 13 USD. So on economied money we could buy lunch and dinner.

In the bus was very interesting situation for us. As we already got used, that if you plan something, only in 10% cases things things will go on time, in others case, things will be delayed 1.5-2 times. So bus, what was driving us inside the Africa Safari made stop and told that it is for 20 minutes. There was toilets and food places. That food places was only with most popular food - cheaps, coca cola and beer (only things to buy and nothing too healthy, but if you want to eat healthy generally in Mexico you can find something, so situation with food here is OK, you can buy what you like and what is healthy).

After 20 minutes only we were next to the bus and when we came to bus driver, when passed already 25 minutes and we told him, lets go inside the bus, he told "yes let's go" and he stend up and ... went to toilet, I was thinking that he had to be first in the bus. So finally the break took ... 40 minutes.

Then was second stop for 10 minutes.
This is time when break started.


How bus looked after 14 minutes:

And we left after ... 22 minutes.


I'm already not angry about this punctuality and not feeling comitement from people to others' time, I'm just loughing about this "efficiency".

One more interesting thing happened in the end of our visit, when we were waiting the bus on the sun and didn't know, when will it come. So we decide for fun make hitchhike (here noone is doing it, because is very dangerous). The most interesting is that we MANAGED to stop ... first car and it took from us 1 minute :)



Here is some picture from my trip, just to see what a great ideas to create such park - Africa Safari (as always all pics you can find www.flickr.com/photos/sergejs/sets ).