New Years Eve In Zocalo Oaxaca

New Years Eve In Oaxaca

Forget organised event, it was more like a free for all.

Every street vendor was trying to sell their  various home made fireworks.

Unlike the UK, children were almost encouraged to have a go at lighting the small bangers.

The combination of small children and unpredictable home made fireworks must have caused a few burns by the end of the evening

Oaxaca Mexico - 27th December 2008

The 27th December was a day of travelling.

After leaving Tulum we drove to Playa Del Carmen, we then caught a ferry to Cozumel and a flight back to Mexico City.

We then had to change for a connecting flight. which flew us to Oaxaca.

Oaxaca was a fantastic city, with a small town feeling.

Its a World Heritage Site, which means that all the buildings have either been restored or are about to get restored.

The main square of Oaxaca (Zocalo) is a magnet for both tourists and locals.

There is something different each day and night. Whilst we were there we saw a brass band, a full orchestra, a celebration of light and on New Years Eve a DIY firework display.

In addition to the above, there are also loads of kids launching balloon like tubes into the air.

Noches de Luces Oaxaca or Night of Light

Tulum - Mexico 23rd December 2008

Upon arrival in Tulum, we headed for a dive shop to book onto a Cavern dive at the Cenotes.

We found a local hotel close to the dive centre to allow maximum sleep time, in a bed which wasn't full of itchy beasts !

The following morning, we got up a walked accross the road to the dive centre.
We were met by a very relaxed brit, who was to be our guide for the day.

He had spent the last 3 years working in Tulum, and most of his time was spent diving the caves of the Cenote.

After a very thorough briefing, we all started our 1st dive into the Grand Cenote.

It was completely different to normal diving, as there is no daylight above you.

You instantly appreciate just how dangerous this type of diving is.

We were only diving in the cavern section, but there was little to no chance of getting out if something was to go wrong.

On the second dive, Alison opted for the snorkeling whilst I continued with the diving.

The second dive was a bit more challenging, as it required a 4 to 5 meter jump though a hole in the ground into the water of the cave below.

The dive site which was aptly named the Temple of Doom was much darker and required better control of buoyancy to prevent crashing into the walls and ceilings of the cavern.

The water was also much colder that the previous dive, although there was also a layer of salt water as you went deeper which was at least 2 degrees warmer.

The dive between the fresh and salt water was quite strange, as it was like an oily texture which was almost hallucinogenic at times.

The light was too poor for a camera, so I only managed a single shot from the first dive.

The second dive might have damaged the water proof housing due to the height of the jump, so I decided to dive without it.

As Christmas was approaching and we still hadn't booked anywhere, we decided to jump into a taxi and check out the hotels close to the beach.

As it was Christmas Eve, we thought that it might have been difficult to find space.

As it was, the first place we checked out was pretty empty so we checked in.

The hotel Blue Tulum was very relaxed, although not quite as relaxed as we were when we went for dinner!!

The maids must have been a little shocked as well, as we were using every possible hook to hang up washing as we were running short of clean clothes.

We got rather carried away with the luxury of clean hot water and beds without bugs, that we booked in for a couple of extra nights.

We ended up leaving on the 27th Dec, catching a Collectivo ( shared mini bus ) to Playa Del Carmen and then a ferry across to Cozumel where we caught a flight back to Mexico City.