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On the one hand, life in Colima is very pleasant. The weather is tropical, very warm and sunny most of the year. Colima is peaceful and quiet and very safe. Life in Colima may be described as anything but stressful. On the other hand, the place is situated in the boondocks. It does not even come close to being international and buzzing. This means that the atmosphere in Colima is a little provincial. That is the main reason why I have to get out of Colima every now and then to inhale some fresh air. Opportunities to inhale fresh air usually arise between semesters and at the end of the year. These opportunities have led me so far to a few places in Mexico that are worth chatting about. Manzanillo One of them is Manzanillo. Manzanillo is the second largest city in the state of Colima and is situated directly on the Pacific Coast. There is the biggest Mexican port on the Pacific Coast. Manzanillo also attracts a bunch of tourists. Even though I have not yet graced Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan with my presence, Manzanillo seems to be similar to these two places. Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan are also situated on the Mexican Pacific Coast. And they attract a bunch of tourists as well. In particular Mazatlan is blessed with a heap of gringo students during springbreak. One of my students once told me that he discovered the meaning of life in Mazatlan. In his opinion, the meaning of life consists of alcohol and women. When he told me about his discovery, my eyes went through the roof. It looks as if we are going to have to discuss this topic privately in detail. As far as I can tell, Manzanillo consists of two parts – the old and the new part. The old part rather deserves to be ugly and run down. The new part consists predominantly of hotels, golf courses and other facilities for tourists. All this means that I am not really inclined to live there. For a day or a weekend, Manzanillo is fine, but also enough.

Outdoor room in Manzanillo, Mexico. Writer with students in Colima, Mexico.

Although I have been only once to Guadalajara and spent only a few hours there, let us include Guadalajara in our little journey. However, I did not go there to enjoy a buzzing city. Instead, I needed a new passport. For that reason, I had to bless the German consulate there with my presence. As I had promised students to be back on time in Colima for a soccer game, I did not spend more time in Guadalajara than necessary.

You have to get your priorities right in life. What is more important than a soccer game? When you are un poco ruco (Spanish slang for a little old) and the other players are young enough to be your sons, you just have to play a little differently. The purpose of the exercise is no longer to be as often as possible where the ball is. The purpose of the exercise is rather to be at the right place at the right time. With a little experience, you anticipate situations in soccer games. That is one advantage of being un poco ruco.

Anyway, Guadalajara is the second largest city in Mexico. Like many other big cities, it enjoys a vibrant culture as well as fine museums and galleries. There are also a lot of historic buildings in Guadalajara. During my few hours there, Guadalajara reminded me a little of Johannesburg. The altitude and the city centre of both cities do have some similarities. However, Guadalajara suffers from less crime than Johannesburg. This means that Mexico’s second biggest city is a bunch safer than the country’s capital, Mexico City.

Mexico City

Because a friend of mine and I spent a few weeks in Oaxaca and Chiapas last year, we had to change buses in Mexico City. That is the main reason why we spent a few days there. As I am slightly arrogant, I reckoned that handling Mexico City is a cakewalk for me after living in Johannesburg. I must admit that I was wrong. Compared to Mexico City, the City of Gold - which is Johannesburg’s nickname – is a sleepy and dull village. Spend an hour staggering around in the centre of Mexico’s capital and you are completely bushed afterwards – because of all the people, all the cars, all the street hawkers, all the noise and all the who knows what else. The place that I liked best in Mexico City was my bed.

However, in case you have to be there, do have a look at the city’s historic centre, the Plaza de la Constitucion, or zocalo. Hernan Cortes created the Plaza in the 1520’s. He used material from the temples and palaces of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec city he demolished. After demolishing Tenochtitlan, Mexico City was built on it. In case you feel like reading a historical novel on the time when the Spanish and Amerindian cultures clashed and eventually started to melt, do give “Aztec Autumn” by Gary Jennings a go. It tells the story from the angle of an Indian teenager.

Worth sussing out is also Teotihuacan. Teotihuacan was Mexico’s largest ancient city. It was the capital of Mexico’s largest pre – Hispanic empire. It is located on the outskirts of Mexico City. Do have a look at the Quetzalcoatl Temple and other ancient buildings. The experience is quite impressive. In a nutshell, however, it is beyond my limited ability to comprehend why anybody should have the desire to live in Mexico City. The place is a circus.
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The main square in San Cristobal de las Casas.

Oaxaca As pointed out above, Mexico City served primarily as a stopover on the way to Oaxaca and Chiapas. The state of Oaxaca is situated north of Chiapas, in the South of Mexico. The city of Oaxaca is the capital of the state Oaxaca. The population of Oaxaca Ciudad may be more or less half the population of Colima. Oaxaca radiates a very special atmosphere. The atmosphere of Oaxaca is relaxed and energetic as well as cosmopolitan at the same time. The atmosphere there is cosmopolitan because quite a few Europeans live in Oaxaca. Many of them live there because they were looking for an alternative lifestyle. They have found it in Oaxaca. There also also a bunch of tourists staggering around, which is virtually the only feature I was not amused with while being in Oaxaca. I do not like to be where heaps of Joe Sixpacks and Johnny Paychecks are.  However, a significant portion of the population in Oaxaca – possibly the majority of the population there – are Indians. The Indian population adds to the special flavour of Oaxaca. It makes Oaxaca completely different to Colima and most other places in Mexico. Similar to most Mexican cities, the centre of Oaxaca is the zocalo. The zocalo is a public square in the heart of the city. It is often shady. In Oaxaca the zocalo is also arcaded. I spent hours there doing not much except reading and inhaling the extraordinary atmosphere. There are also several quite good cafes and restaurants near the zocalo. Like in Colima, it did not take me a bunch of time to find my favourite restaurant for extensive breakfasts. While my favourite restaurant in Colima is “Los Naranjos Campestre”, it is in Oaxaca “Del Jardin Café”. Watch the sky and the light in Oaxaca, together with the indigenous population and the colonial architecture – and you understand what I mean by special atmosphere. Even though I have been to quite a bunch of places throughout the world, Oaxaca does stand out. It is one of a kind and very fascinating.

San Cristobal de las Casas does stand out as well. But the reasons are different, which make it stand out. San Cristobal is situated in Chiapas. Chiapas is Mexico’s Southern Most and poorest state. The first glance around tells you already that San Cristobal and Chiapas are poorer than the rest of Mexico. The proximity to the border of Guatemala is apparent. Like Oaxaca, San Cristobal is touristy. But it is by far not as touristy as Oaxaca. When places are not touristy or less touristy, I feel more drawn to them. It is probably another feature of my trait that crowds are not my cup of tea.

San Cristobal is situated in the pine – clad Valle de Jovel and is surrounded by Mayan villages of the highlands of Chiapas. There are various indigenous Indian groups living in the highlands of Chiapas – e.g. the Tzootzils and Tzeltals. These tribes speak languages that derive from the Mayan language. Only the Zoques in the north of Chiapas speak a language that does not derive from Mayan. Their language is rather related to the Mixes tribe in Oaxaca and the Popolucas tribe in Veracruz.

On the one hand, San Cristobal radiates quite a relaxed and a little bohemian atmosphere with its bars, cafes and restaurants including the music scene there. On the other hand, the city centre is usually packed out with army and police. The reason is the Zapatista uprising that started in 1994.

The Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) derives its name from Emiliano Zapata. Emiliano Zapata fought in the Mexican revolution in 1910. The Zapatistas fight or claim to fight on behalf of oppressed people, predominantly Indians in Chiapas. They demand education and jobs, respect for indigenous peoples and cultures. Even though I do not deserve to be called an expert on revolutionary groups in Latin America, there appear to be a few differences between the Zapatistas on the one hand and the Shining Path in Peru and FARC in Colombia on the other hand. A main difference seems to be that the former are not involved in drug trafficking to finance their activities.
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However, nothing out of the ordinary occurred during my stay in San Cristobal. The only thing that came more or less close to danger were the many holes in the streets. Looking at it in hindsight, I am more than a little surprised that I did not fall into any of them. Do not worry about Zapatista uprisings in Chiapas. San Cristobal and Chiapas are worth sussing out. Laguna La Maria Every now and then, I have to get away from it all. The purpose of the exercise is to enjoy peace and quiet in nature. The place to be for me in South Africa for this sort of exercise was Rustler’s valley, near the border to Lesotho. In New Zealand, Waiheke Island was the place for me to enjoy peace and quiet in nature. In Mexico, I do this sort of thing at Laguna La Maria. Laguna La Maria is situated in the state of Colima near the town San Antonio. It is a lagoon virtually right in the middle of nowhere. You can rent there what New Zealanders in the North Island call a bach. New Zealanders in the South Island call it a crib. Gringos probably call it a cottage, some sort of little house for weekends. You can fix your own meals there. Or you can cut a deal with the manager and he does it for you. As I am a little huevon (Spanish slang for lazy), I usually prefer the latter. The altitude there is a little higher than in the city of Colima. So it is pleasantly cool there in winter. There is only nature, nothing but nature. When I returned from Laguna La Maria to Colima, the noise in a shopping mall almost drove me nuts. Very close to Laguna La Maria, there is the Hacienda de San Antonio, which belongs to the AMAN resorts. However, I very much doubt that a hotel room is worth eight hundred US – dollars per night. But that is subject to debate.

A photo of Laguna La Maria in the state of Colima.

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Summary

When living overseas for the long term, you settle in after a while and start feeling at home. It usually dawns on you that you feel at home where you live when you look forward to returning to that place after a holiday/vacation for example. I have had this sort of experience a few times already – when returning to Miami after a week in San Francisco, when returning to Johannesburg after a week in Zimbabwe and when returning to Auckland after being a little more than a week out of town. It has been similar in Colima. After an extensive trip to the deep South of Mexico, my soul almost jumped for joy when I returned to the quiet and peaceful place that is currently my home turf.

On the other hand, a change of scenery is necessary on a regular basis, no matter where you are, no matter what you do. The change of scenery serves various purposes. It recharges your batteries. It broadens your horizon. It makes you feel young and fresh again, no longer ruco and huevon. A change of scenery….The world in the twenty first century is a village. However, the village is big enough for quite a heap of changes of scenery. Go for it.

Jurgen Klemann
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To read Jurgen's two previous articles Click Hereand Click Here. Jurgen Klemann can be contacted at the following: jhklemann@gmx.net

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