The Way It Was

Written by Karen.
Our blog has been quiet for awhile.  Our last real-time post was on the banks of the flooded Lake Tziscao in Chiapas, Mexico on April 14, 2015.  We were planning to cross over into Guatemala the next day, but our plans suddenly changed.   My sister Julie had her most recent MRI reading on April 15th and it didn’t look good.  Her current brain cancer treatment was no longer working and it was time for a different treatment.  Things for Julie were about to get much more complicated and so it was also time for Adam and I to return to the States and help Julie.   

Flashback: Getting In Tune With Kowloon - January 2014

Written by Adam.

Directly across the harbor from Hong Kong proper, Kowloon is but a short ferry ride away.  But, the contrast between Hong Kong and Kowloon could not be greater.  Kowloon hosts such cultural sites as the Hong Kong Museum of Art, the Hong Kong Museum of History, the Hong Kong Science Museum, and even the Hong Kong Space Museum.  Other aspects of the waterfront promenade include the Chinese version of an Avenue of the Stars, honoring the rich moviemaking tradition that featured Hong Kong as a home base for the Chinese movie industry that produced entertainment for a broad domestic and global audience.

In Case You Missed It...

Happening now at Lake Tziscao, Chiapas, Mexico.

Oaxaca - Part Deux

Written by Karen.
Change of plans.  Instead of heading further southeast along the Mexican coast and crossing the border into Guatemala as originally planned, we instead turned left back towards Oaxaca. 

Beach Bumming Along the Oaxacan Coast

Written by Karen.

From Oaxaca our small caravan of two headed southwest across the Sierra Madre mountain range to Puerto Escondido on the Oaxacan coast in search of some sun and beach time. According to our paper maps the trip over Highway 175 was less than 200 miles.  According to Google, the trip would take us just over 6 hours driving time.  We have learned from experience to double Google’s driving estimates while in Mexico.  After this trip, we would learn to consider tripling Google’s driving estimates when it entails mountain driving.  We would be going from 5,102 feet in altitude to sea level; a drop of over 5,000 feet.  If you thought that we would be easily coasting downwards on this stretch of road, you would be mistaken. This seemingly quick jaunt of 180 miles to the beach took us two days to finish. 

Ruins in the Sun - Mitla, Oaxaca

Written by Karen.

Approximately 26 miles outside of the city of Oaxaca, in a small town named San Pablo Villa de Mitla, lies the significant pre-Hispanic archeological site of Mitla.  It is considered to be one of the most important religious sites of the Zapotec culture.  It is further believed that Mitla was still occupied and active as the main religious center for the Zapotecs when the Spanish arrived in the early 1520’s. 

Frozen Waterfalls

Written by Karen.
Hierve el Agua - located just outside of Oaxaca - is one of only two places in the world that have natural rock waterfalls made of minerals and calcium carbonate deposits that look like flowing water.

We had heard that the road to reach Hierve el Agua was challenging - with steep drop-offs, no guard rails, narrow, winding, dirt roads, needed four-wheel drive, etc. - and we actually decided against putting Chinook through the trauma of driving up to visit Hierve el Agua. It’s off the beaten path and we’re being a bit conservative with Chinook so that we can go the distance into South America. 

Welcome Back!

Written by Karen.

Hola!  Welcome back!  Hopefully, this post finds all of you well and happy in life.  It’s been awhile, and it’s good to be back writing on ‘This Journey We Call Life’ again.  

Okay, time to get the blog back up and running!