Firstly, I would like to send out my love to my family, who recently has been though a tough patch to say the very least. To Tina Masi and Rahul, Massaji and Leena, my thoughts are with you. I love you.
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I have frozen my pompis off in the past five days! Just my luck that this is the first time EVER that Mexico has been cold; the people here are just as shocked as I am. Scarey...this global warming thing man. Seeing as how I only have a total of about ten articles of clothing, I am layered up with 8 of them on a daily basis, and even so, I am still cold (houses made of concrete do NOT help in 0 degree C weather). I find myself itching to leave on my next mini venture, to hit the southern beaches and feel sweet warmth upon my face. I said it once before, and I'll say it again, warmth is entirely underrated.
Since I've been here, I finally hit up my first salsa club, Mamarumba, out in the city. It was Cuban night, which meant all Cuban rhythms (which I love), filled with people from age 20 to 50 dancing the night away like I have never seen. I so enjoy watching people enjoy the art of dance, letting loose, feeling the music, smiling, no matter how old. There is no doubt in my mind I will be one of those 50- year- old women rockin' it out in a salsa club thirty years from now. To top it off, there was also an unbelievably talented band that performed on and off throughout the night. And seeing as how salsa traditionally requires a partner, I spent the night dancing with various men with equally various styles of dancing. At times I felt as though I was literally being thrown around, at others, I felt a little dizzy from being spun one too many times (I wonder if they secretly get a kick out of that).
Another thing I realized that night is the interesting way in which Mexican men ask you out. It was the same story every time: "how can I invite you to a fiesta if I don't have your number?" I was amused. In India it's all about chai, here it's about fiestas.
Two days later Norma, Omar and I went out to see Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl (two volcanoes, the second and third highest peaks in Mexico at 5452m and 5220m respectively). Legend has it that the warrior, Popo, fell in love with Izta; and when she died from grief while he was away at war, he made two mountains and layed her body on one while holding her funeral torch on the other. From a distance, Izta resembles a woman laying on her back. Today, however, Popo is still an active volcano (with most activity in the winter), and having had a minor eruption in December 2005, its rim is not accessible to visitors. Norma and I kept joking about how "we don't think" it would just happen to erupt again while there. But it was weird because we were there the day before the year anniversary of its eruption. Upon entering the national park, there is a warning sign that informs visitors to the high risk of entering due to current volcanic activity.
While Izta is climbable, it is meant for "experienced" climbers, especially with the high risk of altitude sickness. Even at 3600m we had to be aware of the symptoms since we had driven up. Admittedly, I thought about returning to do a trek this week, but after my last volcano experience with Gunung Rinjani in Indonesia (which nearly killed me- literally), I thought I would play it safe this time around :) I'll become "experienced" first...then I'll take on my next Rinjani. I cannot lie though, I do so love volcanoes- they fascinate me; they make you work, but in return, offer the most tear invoking sights.
Some more firsts: I ate rabbit (felt a bit odd about that), and I tried Pulque, an all natural alcoholic drink said to be the true and most authentic agua de Mexico.
Almost totally forgot to mention: I was recently informed that UCLA beat USC for the first time in like, what, 8 years? Hell ya!! Go Bruins :)
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