Woa woa Chihuahua. The weekend here started with a huge one Friday night.... We were staying at a hostel where the lobby is converted to a bar on the weekend. What started out as a couple of quiet beers very quickly became the party of the century. It's amazing how you can be talking to someone in English while they talk to you in Spanish and you somehow manage to have a conversation. A shitload of beer is probably a good lubricant for such a situation! So after a fairly hard night on it Friday, Jarrod had given up drinking. On Saturday night we just went down to the lobby again for a beer to help us get to sleep (the music was pretty loud in the room). We got chatting to this bloke (Luka) about nothing in particular and he says he's going to this other club, do we wanna come? Why not, what could possibly go wrong...
You shoulda seen this place. It was not Mexico. We walk in and there is this big open courtyard, with a massive palm tree in it. The music is full-on house and there is a giant projector screen playing 3-D animations of repeating shapes and human-like figures dancing around. Needless to say everyone was drinking water. So we grab a drink and just stand around dumb-founded. While I go and use the bathroom (which is actually a bathroom, you can urinate in the toilet, the bath or the sink) some chick walks past Keesy and Luka and then turns back for a second look. Luka, the guy who took us there, just grabs her and drags her back to where they are standing. So when I come out from the bathroom there's this girl standing there looking a little confused. We all get chatting and she invites us to this side room where you can sit down. We stay there for a drink or two and a few other people come and join us... when they ask us to this other room with a bunch more people. This is when the fun begins. Turns out the guy that had this room was a local drug lord (Mexican mafiosa). He spoke perfect English, having been very widely travelled, and after some time we had him talking about how he smuggled Coke from Hamburg to London... among other things. He was very generous and wouldn't let us pay for a beer.
We had a very fun time, but that was Saturday night and we didn't get home until Monday morning. Woa Chihuahua.
Rest and relaxation was required in Durango after a few mental days in Chihuahua. However, by the time we arrived in Durango after a 12hr bus trip we were both left aggitated and on edge. The guide book mentioned the trip should take 9hrs but 11 hours in and we still weren't there yet. Since Dave is a mathematician he had to come up with a formula for trip distances... take the stated time and add at least a quarter... this is because they always fail to take into account the 45 extra stops they make to pick people up, transport them a block or two, and drop them off again.
We hailed a cab from Durango bus station on arrival. By now it was 11pm and we were just about starving to the point of cannibalisim.
"El centro y arriba" we told the cabbie and in a flash he took off and drove us to a cheap and slightly run down hotel only a few blocks from the main plaza. We threw our bags in the room and raced down street to grab some spicey mexican hotdogs and a damn good Burrito. It was just what we needed and we finished off the night watching the final few scenes of the greatest movie of all time "Gladiator".
We both found Durango have a European kind of feel. It was clean, had a lovely tree lined plaza and a beautiful cathedral. It was the town´s melting spot for people to meet and after sunset a major pick up spot for teens. With not a whole lot to do, Durango served it´s purpose just nicely. So with the batteries fully recharged and a bottle of Chillian red in our stomach's we headed to the mining town of Zacatecas after two mellow days.
The bus took off through the barren mexican desert en route to Zacatecas. Rain greeted us through most of the 5 hour journey, and only really let up about half an hour outside of Zacatecas. When we arrived the place was a little cold and wet but packed full of people. Our spirits were high. We found the hostel we wanted to stay at with minimal fuss. "Hostal Villa Colonial" was well renowned for being a lively place to stay for shoestring travellers. It had a kitchen, book exchange (to Nerd-alert Dave´s delight), laundry, cable TV/DVD lounge and a bar. We also read in the guide book that the owners speak perfect english and reguarly take quests out on the town. It was perfect for us.
At the entrance to the hostel we were greeted by the owner with "Hey Aussies." We replied in the usual way "G´day mate" still not quite sure why he knew where we were from. Maybe it was the fact we were wearing t-shirts, shorts and thongs and everyone else was dressed for winter. After shaking his hand, he checked the availablity for us. "Sorry boys we are all booked out, there´s a dance festival on in town. Let me make a few phone calls and I find you somewhere to stay." After a few minutes of phone calls we had got as another hostel close by and told us we were free to use any of his facilities and quickly signed us up to a margarita party the following night.
Zacatecas to our suprise is a beautiful city, with tiny alley ways, arches and winding cobble stone streets. As Dave was reminded many times it was like a coastal Croatian city.
