Roadblocks and Tube Socks

Imagine that you live in a small town in Oaxaca, one of the poorest Mexican states. Your newly-elected governor has just run off with all the federal funds that were originally allocated to improve the rough 2-lane highway that runs through your one-horse (one-burro?) town. Seeing as you are poor, indigenous and living in a "free" country, you don't have a whole lot of political power, but you really want that road to be fixed. You decide that the best way to make a statement and to get the road money back is to rally the neighbors and friendly neighborhood semi drivers to stage a roadblock. Seeing as said road is the only means of transportation between the capital (also named Oaxaca) and the popular vacation destination, Puerto Escondido, this is actually a pretty good idea.
Now imagine that you are a Notre Dame student studying in Puebla. You decide to take advantage of a Monday holiday, bite the bullet, and take a 15-hour bus to Puerto Escondido. After a brief panic attack in which there appear to be ZERO seats left on any bus between Puebla and Puerto, a disaster which prompts more than a few Hail Mary's and a last minute trip to the bus station, and a chance encounter with a angel-disguised-as-a-ticket-agent, you are confident that the worst has passed; you have your bus tickets in hand. Well, most of you do.
Lesson of the day: it is, in fact, possible to board an ADO bus in Mexico without a ticket, although this is not the suggested approach.
You board the bus, well-prepared with books, snacks, water, music, Dramamine and a barf bag. Ten of the 15 hours are on serpentine mountain roads. After about 14 hours, you are roused from a restless sleep and told to get off the bus; this is the end of the line. It turns out that there's a roadblock and the bus can't go any farther. You're going to have to take a taxi to the roadblock, trek through town with your luggage and find your way to Puerto Escondido on the other side. You might make another LOOK MAMA GRINGOS scene as you tromp through town in rolled up sweatpants and tube socks. Nice work Tube Socks. But don't worry, the roadblock protest will probably be over by the time you return on Tuesday.
Ok, enough imagining. This is real.

We found the "Hidden Port". Once we got over the initial frustration of the roadblock, we found the humor in the situation and went on our merry way to the beach. Puerto Escondido is known for its beautiful beaches, relaxed atmosphere, and top-notch surfing waves. We stayed in a hotel/hostel located a block away from the beach (kudos to Amanda for organizing!) and the daily schedule went a little something like this:

1. Breakfast on the beach. The sun was blazing at full strength by about 8:30, so it was worth getting up early to take advantage of the few minutes between sunrise and furnace mode.
2. SUNSCREEN. This is an important step and not optional.
3. Play in the waves. I didn't actually try surfing, but got my fill of riding waves on a boogie board and body surfing. My sinuses definitely got cleared out and I think there's still sand in my ears from being tossed around in the ocean.
4. Nap on the beach. This really only lasts for a few minutes before you realize that you forgot to re-apply sunscreen. Hello, skin cancer!
5. Cool off in the ocean.
6. Order a drink (lemonade, of course. Don't worry Mama Redline).
7. Nap in a hammock.
8. Repeat until the sun goes down.
9. Dinner on the beach.
10. Ice cream. Of course.

This weekend wasn't terribly eventful as far as recounting an epic tale goes, but it was fantastic. The end of my time in Mexico is rushing towards me and it was nice to have a weekend without an itinerary or plan. We were able to relax and just enjoy each others' company. Although the roadblock was not, in fact, gone by Tuesday, it had mysteriously moved 15+ miles down the road and we were able to pass without too much trouble. Life lessons of the weekend include:

• Mexican street dogs, like Mexican teenagers, find no shame in making sweet, sweet love on the public beach (this is only a slight exaggeration). On a related note, you should not feed said stray dogs crackers and peanut butter unless you really want a shadow for the rest of the day that will rub it's greasy self on you and chase off would-be vendors for free.
• Don't pick the seat near a slightly obese elderly man on the 15-hour bus. He WILL snore.
• Don't expect mainstream movies on the bus. Instead, you should expect bizarre movies about Russian roulette, mountain men, Valentine's Day, old men enrolling in university literature classes, and Hannah Montana.
• Oye. Abre tus ojos. Mira hacia arriba, disfruta las cosas buenas que tiene la vida. (Translation: Listen. Open your eyes. Look up, enjoy the good things in life.) Disclaimer: This is secretly stolen from a cumbia song. But it's relevant, so I stole it.