Obamanos!!!

9 de Octubre, 2008
Saturday the 20th of September began by waking up at 5am to leave at 5:30am to go to Tula and Queretaro. Tula is home to an archeological site which has some pyramids and ruins from before the colonial period so we hiked around there for a bit. I hiked to the top of one of the pyramids and noticed the spectacular view of an oil refinery polluting like non-other off in the distance…So much for pollution controls in México because I could actually see the vibrant colors of the pollution being emitted just beyond the ruins…AWESOME!!! Later we went to Queretaro, which is a city where lots of important historical things happened, especially among indigenous people. This city was large and had a really different type of food but was still amazing. Needless to say, after going around in tourist trolley receiving a city tour of the aqueduct, too many old dead guys who are all important, and too many churches, we had fun taking pictures of our shadows….
The following Saturday we woke at 8am to hike the cliff on the outside of the city, which is named La Bufa. The hardest part of the hike was definitely hiking up the callejon leaving the city because it was sooo steep. After arriving at the top, we were greeted by firemen from the city who all happened to be between 18-25 years old and were strapping us up in our gear to repel down the cliff. Haha. Well, the day was beautiful and very warm, and I put on the gear and was going down at the same time as my friend Roger. He went a lot faster than me and after I went over the side of the mountain, I started getting really nervous. You always have to keep one hand behind you to control your speed, especially on the part where you are no longer by the cliff. All of a sudden I look down and Roger had flipped himself upside down and was going down that way. I was super nervous suddenly and everyone was yelling for me to flip upside down and I shrieked a nervous NOO! Really suddenly. Haha. When I reached the ground, I was shaking more than I was at the top….Beyond this, the view of the city was amazing, and I will post pics soon of the view.
Today the International Cervantino Festival starts here which lasts for about 3 weeks with an abundant amount of art, movies, music (CAFÉ TACUBAAAA!!!), and other activities…Downfall, the population doubles to triples on weekends which means a) not enough bathrooms so guess what happens in every alleyway in the city!!! (Especially with the drunkards) 2) A high crime rate, but don’t worry because if you get mugged and they don’t assault you, its totally ok 3)There are no taxis to get home, but if you do find one, their rate is at least doubled 4) Due to all the threats from drug cartels, there are going to be tons of police, soldiers, military here with their massive riffles and dogs who are as big as me…Don’t get me wrong, I am super excited especially since I am leaving this weekend to go to the beach in Puerto Vallarta! YAY!!!