Monday, March 27, 2006
Do we have to go by bus?
This past weekend, Lea, Julia, and I went to the quiet beach town of Melaque.
Lea arrived in Guadalajara Friday around noon. I got permission to teach my classes early so that I could leave by 10:30 for Guadalajara. I arrived at the bus station just in time for me and Lea to catch a bus to Melaque.
I have never liked bus travel much, and those blog readers who have been keeping up know that I had uncomfortable bus trips to and from Puerto Vallarta back in January. This is because getting to the coast around here involves traveling through the Sierra Madre mountains, which can seem never-ending.
My motion sickness usually consists of a headache and a feeling afterwards that I am still moving around. I was once on a two-hour boat trip to Catalina Island, with my high school orchestra, and I felt so sick aboard that I had to sit outside to keep watching the horizon, even though it was freezing in the wind. I never threw up, though.
What’s going on? I threw up on the bus ride to Melaque. And on the ride back to Guadalajara.
I was surprised that I got so sick. Even when I felt it coming on, I didn’t think it was really going to happen. Just as we were finally pulling in to Melaque, on level ground and going slowly, I started salivating a lot, and then I had to run into the back, where I threw up into the sink.
On the way back, I didn’t think it’d happen again, but I was better prepared. I had a plastic bag ready. I didn’t eat much before getting on the bus. I still got sick, though, right in the middle of the mountainous part of the trip. I ran to the back of the bus again, to spare my neighbors, but I ended up being knocked about in the back. At least I wasn’t the only one—next to Lea was a poor boy who kept throwing up about every five minutes. I suppose I am grateful that I only had one bout.
Anyway, besides the bus part of the trip, the weekend in Melaque was nice. It was quiet compared to Puerto Vallarta. There weren’t too many tourists, though the entire beachfront is lined with bungalows and hotels and palapa restaurants. We ate at a beach restaurant that first night, and there weren’t many guests there. The waiter, Chuy, seemed bored, because he talked to us a great deal. He even told us a dirty joke, which we didn’t really want to hear. Then we just went back to our bungalow and slept.
Saturday we walked along the shore. At the end of the abandoned-looking malecón, the point was rocky. We climbed big rocks and watched black crabs and the spray from the waves. As we walked back to the sandy beach area, we saw a huge group of black birds flying low over the surface of the water from between the rocks to the beach. They looked like a type of cormorant, and there were hundreds of them. They landed in the water close to the sandy shore, bobbing their heads into the water and coming up with shiny silver fish in their beaks. For several minutes they fished along the beach. We were fascinated. It could have been a scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s Birds, so we were a little wary, but it was also beautiful.
We swam and sat on the beach all day. At first we were in the sun, but then we realized pretty soon that we should get under an umbrella. We rented a table with an umbrella at the beach restaurant of our bungalows. We read a lot. I think I burned a bit. The next day we went out on the beach again, but we only had about half an hour before we had to get ready to get on the bus back to Guadalajara.
The trip back was worse than the first. The driver was going alarmingly fast around the curves in the mountains. I felt terrible and knew I wouldn’t be able to get on the bus back to Arandas immediately. We all went into town and had dinner. Then I got on the last bus to Arandas and arrived home around 11.
I have cancelled my afternoon classes this week, for Lea’s visit. Lea is actually in Guadalajara for a couple days now, hanging out with a friend there, so I could’ve taught the afternoon classes today and tomorrow, but I’m glad I don’t have to. I spent the afternoon doing much-needed laundry and mopping. This evening I ran a few errands. Lately I haven’t had that kind of time on weekdays. I miss my free afternoons!
Julia and I have been planning a week of travel in Mexico the first week of my spring break in April. Originally we were thinking of taking a bus to Puerto Escondido, the beach in Oaxaca that I missed during my Christmas vacation. Now I am wondering whether we shouldn’t find a way to fly somewhere instead of traveling by bus…. It’s the only really affordable way to travel here, though, and the first-class buses are usually very nice. It’s just the mountains that are in the way of the beach, and the enormous expanse of this country, that make travel difficult. We know so little about Mexico in the United States, and one of the things I never realized is how big the country is. So much of Mexico to see, so little time! Perhaps spring break will be a good time to see if Dramamine actually works.
Lea arrived in Guadalajara Friday around noon. I got permission to teach my classes early so that I could leave by 10:30 for Guadalajara. I arrived at the bus station just in time for me and Lea to catch a bus to Melaque.
I have never liked bus travel much, and those blog readers who have been keeping up know that I had uncomfortable bus trips to and from Puerto Vallarta back in January. This is because getting to the coast around here involves traveling through the Sierra Madre mountains, which can seem never-ending.
My motion sickness usually consists of a headache and a feeling afterwards that I am still moving around. I was once on a two-hour boat trip to Catalina Island, with my high school orchestra, and I felt so sick aboard that I had to sit outside to keep watching the horizon, even though it was freezing in the wind. I never threw up, though.
What’s going on? I threw up on the bus ride to Melaque. And on the ride back to Guadalajara.
I was surprised that I got so sick. Even when I felt it coming on, I didn’t think it was really going to happen. Just as we were finally pulling in to Melaque, on level ground and going slowly, I started salivating a lot, and then I had to run into the back, where I threw up into the sink.
On the way back, I didn’t think it’d happen again, but I was better prepared. I had a plastic bag ready. I didn’t eat much before getting on the bus. I still got sick, though, right in the middle of the mountainous part of the trip. I ran to the back of the bus again, to spare my neighbors, but I ended up being knocked about in the back. At least I wasn’t the only one—next to Lea was a poor boy who kept throwing up about every five minutes. I suppose I am grateful that I only had one bout.
Anyway, besides the bus part of the trip, the weekend in Melaque was nice. It was quiet compared to Puerto Vallarta. There weren’t too many tourists, though the entire beachfront is lined with bungalows and hotels and palapa restaurants. We ate at a beach restaurant that first night, and there weren’t many guests there. The waiter, Chuy, seemed bored, because he talked to us a great deal. He even told us a dirty joke, which we didn’t really want to hear. Then we just went back to our bungalow and slept.
Saturday we walked along the shore. At the end of the abandoned-looking malecón, the point was rocky. We climbed big rocks and watched black crabs and the spray from the waves. As we walked back to the sandy beach area, we saw a huge group of black birds flying low over the surface of the water from between the rocks to the beach. They looked like a type of cormorant, and there were hundreds of them. They landed in the water close to the sandy shore, bobbing their heads into the water and coming up with shiny silver fish in their beaks. For several minutes they fished along the beach. We were fascinated. It could have been a scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s Birds, so we were a little wary, but it was also beautiful.
We swam and sat on the beach all day. At first we were in the sun, but then we realized pretty soon that we should get under an umbrella. We rented a table with an umbrella at the beach restaurant of our bungalows. We read a lot. I think I burned a bit. The next day we went out on the beach again, but we only had about half an hour before we had to get ready to get on the bus back to Guadalajara.
The trip back was worse than the first. The driver was going alarmingly fast around the curves in the mountains. I felt terrible and knew I wouldn’t be able to get on the bus back to Arandas immediately. We all went into town and had dinner. Then I got on the last bus to Arandas and arrived home around 11.
I have cancelled my afternoon classes this week, for Lea’s visit. Lea is actually in Guadalajara for a couple days now, hanging out with a friend there, so I could’ve taught the afternoon classes today and tomorrow, but I’m glad I don’t have to. I spent the afternoon doing much-needed laundry and mopping. This evening I ran a few errands. Lately I haven’t had that kind of time on weekdays. I miss my free afternoons!
Julia and I have been planning a week of travel in Mexico the first week of my spring break in April. Originally we were thinking of taking a bus to Puerto Escondido, the beach in Oaxaca that I missed during my Christmas vacation. Now I am wondering whether we shouldn’t find a way to fly somewhere instead of traveling by bus…. It’s the only really affordable way to travel here, though, and the first-class buses are usually very nice. It’s just the mountains that are in the way of the beach, and the enormous expanse of this country, that make travel difficult. We know so little about Mexico in the United States, and one of the things I never realized is how big the country is. So much of Mexico to see, so little time! Perhaps spring break will be a good time to see if Dramamine actually works.
