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Archive for the ‘Transportation’ Category

Beatles in a Beetle

Posted in Creativity, Music, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 21, 2022| 8 Comments »

Meet The Beatles in a Beetle! You just never know what you will see on the streets of Oaxaca.

Now I can’t get, “Drive My Car” out of my head!

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Day in the country, part 2

Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Food, Markets, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 21, 2021| 10 Comments »

Thursday is market day in Villa de Zaachila. Thus, once we turned off the carretera, we crawled our way into town joining scores of other cars, trucks, tuk tuks, motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrians, dogs, and the occasional goat. The scenes were pure country village. Once parked, we meandered our way along the street stalls, stopping to examine their wares and chat with vendors.

However, our stomachs were grumbling and our trajectory was set — Zaachila’s mouthwatering barbacoa de chivo (goat) beckoned!

Once sated, we went in search of Zaachila’s beautifully decorated pan de muerto (Day of the Dead bread). It was still a little early in the season but, zigzagging up and down the bread aisles, we eventually found a couple of vendors and bought a few to be placed on our ofrendas.

Being members of the “clean plate club” and needing to walk off our very filling lunch, we walked toward the Templo de Santa Maria de la Natividad to begin the Muertos mural walk to the Panteón. However, before even reaching the church, we were stopped in our tracks by this massive and incredibly moving mural dedicated to the victims of Covid-19.

New Day of the Dead murals had been painted along calle Coquiza since I was last in Zaachila two years ago and I will post pictures later. In the meantime, next stop — a mezcal palenque in Zimatlán de Álvarez.

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Moving days

Posted in Casita Colibrí, Gardens, Home, Transportation, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on June 29, 2021| 13 Comments »

Yes, that is moving days, plural! However, neither rain nor breakdowns nor dark of night kept Casita Colibrí (the name moved, too) from moving twelve years of furniture, art and artesanía, kitchenware, clothing, books, and massive container garden to its new home.

Day one began at 4:00 PM and consisted of four trips and a little rain to move from the old casita to the new — hauling furniture, boxes, and some of the smaller plants. Some of it was carried down the dicey stairs and some went over the balcony. Needless to say, the crew of five, plus yours truly, were worn out when we called it quits at 10:00 PM.

With all the furniture ensconced in its new home, the task of day two (postponed a few days due to mechanical issues with the truck) was to move the trees, their ginormous pots, the chimenea, and worm-rich barrels of soil that I have been cultivating for several years. It wound up taking two trips and almost four hours to lower the plants, etc. from one rooftop and then hoist them up to another. Oh, and did I mention, having to detour several blocks due to an accident? Another day of sheer exhaustion!

However, when all is said and done, everything arrived safe and sound, save for one cracked pot. Of course, that doesn’t count the sore backs and the revenge of cactus thorns. Willie Delfín and his crew were amazing.

Now the decorating and landscaping fun begins!

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Baseball returning to Oaxaca

Posted in Culture, Sports & Recreation, Transportation, tagged , , , , , , , on May 18, 2021| 6 Comments »

After a canceled 2020 season, Mexican League baseball returns to action and Oaxaca city officials have given the okay for fans of the Guerreros to return to the stands at estadio de béisbol “Eduardo Vasconcelos”, though capacity will be limited to 35%. And, this season the Guerreros will be led by their new manager — former Guerreros player and fan favorite, Erik Rodríguez.

VW bus often parked near the Estadio Eduardo Vasconcelos, home of the Guerreros.

The Guerreros open their 2021 season on May 21 in Puebla against the Pericos and then return to Oaxaca on May 25 for their home opener. Looking at their schedule, I might just have to put a game or two or three on my calendar. Post vaccinations, it feels good to be able to get out and about once again!

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Indomitable bugs abound

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on March 23, 2021| 2 Comments »

In varying states of repair and disrepair and in a rainbow of colors, old but indomitable VW Beetles (known as Vochos in Mexico) are still seen tooling and sputtering their way around Oaxaca — an ideal car for navigating the narrow streets and limited parking in the city.

As the old Timex watch commercial used to say, “It takes a licking and keeps on ticking!”

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Hey little Cobra

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Music, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , on September 24, 2020| 7 Comments »

Hey little Cobra, is that really you in front of Santo Domingo?

Not the usual set of wheels seen on the streets of Oaxaca and neither are these (click images to enlarge).

The Bash Road Tour has roared into town with 50 high performance cars and unlike the above referenced song, this is not a car race.

According to organizers, it’s about coming together and enjoying the beauty of the cars and Mexico for the five days of the tour. They departed from Aguascalientes on September 20, day two they stopped in San Miguel de Allende, day three took them to Puebla, today they are in Oaxaca city, and tomorrow the tour concludes on Oaxaca’s coast in Bahías de Huatulco.

And check out the leader of the pack (above). It’s a Mexican made Mastretta, spectacularly painted by Oaxaca’s own Jacobo and María Ángeles of San Martín Tilcajete, and sponsored by Grupo Amantes whose mezcal making is centered in Tlacolula de Matamoros — an amazing sight brightening this grey day. Now if I can just get “Hey Little Cobra” to stop playing in my head!

h/t: A & C

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Bicycles R Us

Posted in Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , on May 10, 2019| 2 Comments »

Need a bike?

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Need parts for your bike?

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Need to have your bike repaired?

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San Juan Guelavía has just the shop for you!

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VW wedding wheels

Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 21, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Wedding wheels in Oaxaca…  Some are big

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And some are small.

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Bus doesn’t stop here

Posted in Buildings, Creativity, Signs, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 27, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Sorry folks, the bus doesn’t stop here.  Why?  You ask.  Doesn’t red mean “stop”?  Not here.  Not now.  There is DANGER; this edifice is in a bad state!

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And, make sure to produce, disseminate, and teach about the dangers of buildings in hazardous states of disrepair.  As Mother Nature has reminded us twice within the past week, this is earthquake country.

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Little vochos that could

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Exhibitions, Museums, People, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 17, 2017| 4 Comments »

Slowly the cars began to move.  Slowly they climbed the steep hill.  As they climbed, each little steam engine began to sing:  “I-think-I-can!  I-think-I-can!  I-think-I-can!  I-think-I-can!  I-think-I-can!  I-think-I-can!  I think I can – I think I can – I think I can I think I can–”  (The Little Engine That Could)

In this case, the little engines that could are Volkswagen Beetles, known in Mexico as vochos.  These indomitable VW Bugs are ubiquitous on the streets of Oaxaca — in a rainbow of colors and in every stage of repair and disrepair imaginable.

Fuschia vocho parked on street

They can even be spotted traveling along the walls thanks to artist, Efedefroy…

“Vocho art” isn’t limited to murals on street corners.  Check out this Huichol beadwork “Vochol” I saw on exhibit at the Museo de Arte Popular in Mexico City last October.  It is the work of Francisco Bautista, Kena Bautista, Roberto Bautista, Diego Díaz González, Emilio González Carrillo, Víctor González Carrillo, Alvaro Ortiz, and Herminio Ramírez.

And, that isn’t all…  Mexican artist, Héctor Garnelo Navarro has covered a 1994 VW Beetle  with “19,800 semi-precious stones (e.g., obsidian, jade) that form images of pyramids, animals, ancient deities (Quetzalcóatl [Feathered Serpent, Creator God] and the Mictlantecuhtli [God of the Underworld]).”  It is known as the Vocho Teotihuacano (Teotihuacán Beetle) and according to this article, he is finishing a Vocho Maya and is considering a Vocho Alebrije — the latter inspired by the wood carvers and painters of Oaxaca.  So, keep your eyes open!

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Have brooms will travel

Posted in Culture, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , on January 3, 2017| 2 Comments »

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Bike city

Posted in Culture, Exhibitions, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on December 2, 2016| 1 Comment »

Prior to heading to el norte, I stumbled on the delightful exhibition, Ciudad BICible, at the Casa de la Ciudad.  It is a glimpse into the history of the bicycle — its role in society, culture, and its importance today as a means of transportation in the city.

The exhibition invites visitors to reflect on how the bike has managed to point cities towards a more tolerant, healthy, equitable, and human way of living, and how we can make Oaxaca a “Bike City.”

Ciudad BICible opened October 7, 2016 and runs until January 29, 2016.  The Casa de la Ciudad is located at Porfirio Díaz 115, at the corner of Morelos in Centro Histórico, Oaxaca.

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Taxi driver day

Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Holidays, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , on August 12, 2016| 4 Comments »

The morning of August 12:  Almost continuous explosions of cohetes (rockets), shrill incessant traffic whistles, honking horns, and the distant sounds of a band (or two or three).  What in the world?  I had errands to run, so out into the cacophony to confront the unknown, I went.  It only took walking to the end of my block to realize what I’d forgotten.

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It’s Día del Taxista, the day when cab drivers and their families decorate their taxicabs and process en mass through the streets of the city, accompanied by bands, monos, and pirotecnicos (hence the booms and bangs).

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I not only forgot what day it was, but I also forgot my never-leave-home-without-it little Lumix, so the above were taken with my iPhone — something I almost never do and which explains the “creative” image below.

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I have NO idea how it happened, but I’ve got to say, it does illustrate what riding in a taxi in Oaxaca often feels like!

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Vintage cars of Havana

Posted in Culture, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on April 29, 2016| 6 Comments »

In a time long ago, in a land far away, my mother bought a 1955 red and white Ford Fairlane convertible with red and white leather upholstery and a V8 engine.  What a car!  With top down, several road trips from the San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles ensued.  And, “Betsy” even bumped along dirt roads and forded streams on camping trips up to Mount Lassen.  We had her for ten years before repeated repair trips had my mother saying, “Enough!!!” and trading her in.  It was a very sad day.  What almost 16-year old wants to learn to drive a big boring pale yellow 1965 Ford Fairlane station-wagon?!

However, Betsy lives on the streets of Cuba!!!  Last week’s Havana vacation had me seeing her and her older and younger Ford brothers and sisters everywhere — even Edsel!

Also there were her cousins.  Most of the vintage cars, known as almendrones in Cuba, are taxis and, once destination and price are agreed to, they ply the streets taking passengers from point A to point B.

Though often they just cruise up and down the Malecón seeing and being seen enjoying the sea breeze and spectacular setting.  It’s an especially popular pastime among tour groups and wedding parties.

The Stills and Young wistful elegy to Neil Young’s first car, Long May You Run, keeps playing in my mind.

Long May You Run

We’ve been through
some things together
With trunks of memories
still to come
We found things to do
in stormy weather
Long may you run.

Long may you run.
Long may you run.
Although these changes
have come
With your chrome heart shining
in the sun
Long may you run.

Well, it was
back in Blind River in 1962
When I last saw you alive
But we missed that shift
on the long decline
Long may you run.

Long may you run.
Long may you run.
Although these changes
have come
With your chrome heart shining
in the sun
Long may you run.

Maybe The Beach Boys
have got you now
With those waves
singing “Caroline No”
Rollin’ down
that empty ocean road
Gettin’ to the surf on time.

Long may you run.
Long may you run.
Although these changes
have come
With your chrome heart shining
in the sun
Long may you run.

To the vintage cars of Cuba, long may you run!!!  And, for those concerned, as we were, about collectors coming in and sweeping up many of the 60,000 old American cars, according to a couple of articles I’ve read, that might not be the case.  Because of their age and the US embargo, “the cars have jerry-rigged modifications” that make them undesirable to collectors.  Then there is the pride owners have in their cars…

Cristian Paez, 40, said he has no intention of letting go of his 1956 purple and beige Bel Air convertible, purchased long ago by his grandfather. ‘Not possible,’ declares the burly 40-year-old, not for any price. ‘I love driving this car.'”

Stay tuned here and on Oaxaca-The Year After for more on the Havana adventure.

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B is for Bug

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 22, 2016| 4 Comments »

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And a slightly squashed Beetle, at that!

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