Thewesternprovinceblog

A 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 history nerd travelling The New World. ¿What could possibly go wrong? Join me on my way to The fabled lands of Ar Wladfa 🇦🇷

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A 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 history nerd travelling The New World. ¿What could possibly go wrong? Join me on my way to The fabled lands of Ar Wladfa 🇦🇷 in 🇨🇴

  • Final day in Oaxaca

    Final day in Oaxaca.

    Hola todos. Sunday was the final day in Oaxaca City. As to what to do today I had two choices, it was either do a tour of Hierce el Agua, which would have been a 9 hour tour and was a bit late to book onto yesterday anyway or take it easy and finish off a few places in the city. The latter It was.

    I was up and running and headed to the organic market for some breakfast again. There was some music playing too but not a full party like Saturday was. Once I was fed and watered next stop was the convent museum next to the temple of Santo Domingo. It was a cool place with a museum about various aspects of historic Life in Oaxaca. It was a pleasant place to look round too going through the old corridors and looking out at the botanical gardens – which you cannot access unless booked in advance for a short amount of time due to there being endangered plant species kept there. All good stuff. Once done it was back to the market for lunch and decided what to do next.

    As it was Sunday and my last night here I decided to go and watch a Lucha Libre – this is Mexican wrestling which is done in a very similar way to WWE but with masks on. Still it’s good entertainment and they often fight outside the ring and throw each other towards the crowd so you have to be on your toes. All good fun though. It got funny at the end when it started raining and it got slippery adding to the chaos. By about 10pm it wrapped up and I went on back to my gaffe and had an early one.

    Today Monday I was woken at 0500 by a big rain storm though it seems to have stopped for now and weather is predicted to be north of 30 deg C in Salina Cruz. Today we start the road to Chiapas!

    Note to see videos you will need to go onto the Instagram post.

  • Saturday Market Madness!

    aturday market madness!

    Hola todos. Last one to bring you up to speed with things. So as I mentioned last. I woke up today really rather depressed over a lot of different things too much to elaborate but lo que hay. Off we go to start the day. First up to to take a hot shower. No hot water apart from a dribble but plenty of cold. Looks like we starting the day like all the successful people on the Internet today!!!

    After this I decide I’m going to go out & get some breakfast somewhere and I decide to head back to that market from the walk tour. I get there and it’s quite busy but I can get a seat & have some chorizo con huevos with a cafe con leche. Lovely food. But I’m still feeling like bruhh I’m fed up!

    About half hour goes by then I force myself to go talk to this old English couple sat near me that goes well then this place livens up really quick. It turns out it was someone’s birthday here and soon the music comes on & the festivities start. 

    It is quite a fun time as they have guys coming round dishing out free samples of mezcal and abuelas dishing out free cakes and things like that. These locales then come and sit next to me and we get chatting end up having some lunch together while all the while being plowed with more free cakes and mezcal. Well this turned into something special very quickly! They eventually move but another local sits and lunches with me and she gives me some info about places doing live music Tonight. So that’s tonights entertainment sorted too! 

    It gets even better as everyone’s having a good dance & sing song someone says something and  next thing you know there’s sweets flying everywhere. Yes they dished a out of free candy for everyone who could catch it! 

    This goes on a bit but is a good craic. I leave there at 4pm as had to go pick some more laundry up but what a fun day. Go for breakfast end up spending 6 hours in a party!

    Rest of today was fairly uneventful but the live music is pretty chill and I’ve had time to catch up on the blog now. I’ll look to make some more vids once I’m down in Chiapas. Speaking of which Sunday is the last day here before the push to Tuxtla Begins. hasta luego!

    I cannot upload videos here so to see the videos go to the Instagram post

  • Viajeros y Duendes

    The view from the terrace bar at Hostel Viajero

    iajeros y Duendes!

    Hola hola! Got a fun one for you today! So we left off heading over to Hostel Viajero to have a drink and say ye or nay. So i rock up there and head up to the terrace bar. It’s pretty busy and the cervezas are flowing. It’s a ye from me to stick about here for a bit. I stand by the bar and end up chatting to about 10 different gals and geezers over this hour I’m there. All good fun though nobody really sticks around. There’s also a salsa and bachata class going on in the background. I need to get back into that but right now wasn’t up for it and was a bit late to the party. It’s a good vibe but then as per my luck things took a sharp turn to the downside when I end up meeting a another welshie!

    So this girl spots my accent and gets chatting. She’s from Midwest Wales and I get to talking usual small talk. So far fine then she pulls up her bag and it has a pin of a certain controversial little place in the middle east that has gotten everyone riled up back home…….let’s just say we were not on the same page with that one and during the ‘debate’ she happened to rant on a about of lots of stupid welsh political outrages back home……..There is a lot more I could say but “if say anything I’m in big trouble!” I had to bite my tongue and quietly disengage. Oh well she wasn’t much of a looker anyway! I hang about for one more then head back to a terrace bar by El templo.

    Finishing the night ends with a bit of cheap entertainment as up there I get a front row seat to watch some midnight engineering operation going on – a big truck with a crane pulls up to the place next door then a minute later another little truck pulls up with pallets stacked way higher than they would be allowed to be back home and right away the lad gets out and climbs on top of this wobbly pile of pallets and gets to work with his other mate and someone else at the top of the other terrace. It’s quite entertaining watching this going on mundane as it is as you never know if it’s going to be the next big fail on Reddit but fair play to them they got the Ikea delivery up there without any fails. After this it’s closing time there and time to head back. They also undercharged me on the bill which is never a bad thing!


    Saturday however I wake up feeling rather depressed. Had planned to do this tour but didn’t bother and instead headed to the marketplace for breakfast but things soon take a turn again. But for better or worse? Well that is for the next installment. Ciao ciao por ahora!

  • Tours of Oaxaca

    Hola todos. Been a few days since the last blog. This last few days has been a low point on this trip so just to mash the events of the last few days together. 

    Thursday was an admin day between hanging round after checking out of that hotel and having to wait to 15:00 to be able to check into the new hostel it was a day of hanging round and doing laundry. With limited internet couldn’t make any videos and the internet here is working but hit and miss.

    Checking into the new place it was a better vibe than the last place. I got in, sorted myself out then had a drink at the bar there and met some good locals who were friends of the owner there. They told me don’t bother going on excursions because protests are blocking lots of the roads. So was a day in Oaxaca for Friday. That evening was uneventful.

    Friday rolls round and I decide to book on a walking tour. It was a small group but quite chill and our guide was quite knowledgeable and friendly. Talked a lot about the history of the city and it’s significance in Mexico. Oaxaca Is a very politically active city as can be seen in the streets pretty much every day. It was also the home city of both Benito Juárez, who kicked the French out after 1867 (see 5 de mayo) and founded the modern mexican republic, and Porfirio Diaz, an enlightenment president turned dictator who ruled for 34 years until the 1910 revolution. They both studied in the university here. Not enough room here to go in depth but you can look it up if you want to read more into these guys.

    We went about the city some more until at the end of tour we ended up at a lovely local food market where all the grub was organic and home cooked. Lovely stuff. After the tour ended and our group went our separate ways I hanged about and met some other solo travellers. Was okay and swapped details but didn’t hang out. I went back for a quick siesta and freshen up before heading out for the evening. They recommend I go to the terrace bar at Hostel Viajero. So that’s where I’m headed later……

  • Día 33 – Excursión a Monte Albán 

    Día 33 – excursión a Monte Albán 

    Hola todos disculpa por la tardanza with the blogging. Long story short I’ve been staying in a place where the WiFi has just been dogshit and have had to watch my data usage hence the delay on the blog. After my arrival in Oaxaca I spent Tuesday exploring the city and while there were some nice spots in and around town it really wasn’t much to write home about. However I did book onto a tour for Monte Albán, where the Zapotecs came down from the sky.

    This was the first guided tour of the trip and it was good. I couldn’t decide on English or Spanish so flipped a coin and got English. I was at the meetup point for 0800 and 23 others came round waiting for the bus. It was an interesting mix of Brits, Americans, a few other euros and a big family of about 8 Aussies. On the bus up I ended up being sat next to one of the Aussie girls from this group and got chatting and turns out they were over there for some wedding as one of their family married a mexican and got the whole tribe over for the festivities. It was good fun chatting to them but unfortunately once again was their last full day before flying home so did not swap details.

    We soon get to the site and meet up with our guide, a chap called Miguel who was very knowledgeable on the Zapoteca peoples and their history which goes back to around 2000 BC, predating that of even The toltecas of Teotihuacán.

    I will do a video on Monte Albán to cover it in more detail when I am somewhere with better internet access, but the TLDR for now is they were another advanced civilization much like the Maya or Aztecs and had their own brutal tendencies around the ol’ human sacrifice. Its not confirmed if true but one of the most gruesome forms of it. Let’s just say it’s a good job this place was abandoned by the time of the Spanish Conquest otherwise this would have been given no quarter how scary such things would have been to see in person.

    This tour went on about 4 hours with 2 hours of guided tour and an hour to have a free look round yourself. Good stuff and then straight back to town. In my opinion this was just right – no time to get taken to silly tourist trap places in between. Would highly recommend.


    Coming back I had to decide whether to move on or stay the weekend. I eventually decided on the latter and found what I think is a nice social hostel and I move over there tomorrow. It seemed like a better choice than rolling the dice down in Salina Cruz, which doing some digging on it while it has a nice beach is also a miltary port town so doubtful I’d meet too many other tourists down there. I plan for my stay there to be short as just a pass through to Tuxtla, Chiapas. Also I needed to do laundry too so more time here doesn’t hurt. It’s a chill enough place and have felt safe here as well. Might be able to get another excursion in as well let’s see how it goes!


    It’s my last night in ‘Casa Cambrian’. Tomorrow I move to the new hostel. Here’s hoping the RNG 🎲 rolls us good people over there! Getting a bit fed up of meeting crazies and people you can’t read too well!
    Eso es todo. Catch you mañana!

  • Day 31? Arrival in Oaxaca

    Day 31? Arrival in Oaxaca.

    Hola todos. Late blog as had issues with the SIM and the place I’m staying at didn’t have reliable WiFi so had to leave it until today.

    I was up and out on time for my 10.00 bus to Oaxaca. It was a 5.5 hour ride and it got busy once we called at Puebla CAPU to pick up passengers. It was not a full bus but busy enough that I didn’t get a row to myself like the first one. Once we got rolling there were some lovely views though didn’t get a great view because a lot of people had the curtains down on the bus. It probably was for the better as these roads wind through the mountains and do look pretty mental to be fair. It reminded me of the mountain ranges of Western Anatolia around Pamukkale.

    Arrival in Oaxaca was smooth if slow going as there’s a protest going on which was blocking the main road to the bus station so drive had to do a loop around the outskirts to get us to it the other way. Bit of a faf but we arrive all good.

    Due to the roads being blocked trying to get an Uber or taxi is more of a faf than worth it so opted to walk to my gaffe. It was about 25 mins but doing so I could have a good look round and first impressions of this place are it’s pretty chill.

    I get to my hotel and it is a clear downgrade from the last place. It’s not quite the Cambrian Hotel Aberystwyth bad but not that far off. At least the shower got running water! It is a bit of a sweat box at night but slept okay.

    The evening was uneventful bar meeting a rather energetic American lad in this wine place I went to last. I couldn’t tell if he had a few or had taken something but chatted and then quietly left him to it and had an early one – don’t need another crazy on my first night here joder! 

    Today I’m having a proper look round Oaxaca and it is a pretty chill place. I’ll do a separate post for today if anything interesting happens later. Tomorrow I’m going to Monte Alban which is a big Mayan ruins. This will also be my first group trip so fingers crossed I meet some decent people.

    This pretty much sums up events so far in Oaxaca. It’s a slower pace of life here again than Puebla.
    As for what’s next I’m unsure whether to stick around here for the weekend or make for Salina Cruz on the coast which will put me closer to Chiapas. Either way will not be extending my stay in casa Cambrian! Might give one of these social hostels a go but let’s see…….last time I dormed it wasn’t a great time. Can tell you the story on that one another time!
    Eso es todo por ahora!

  • Puebla Post Mortem

    Hello everyone, an extra blog for yesterday to give a bit of a post mortem on Puebla. It’s also now a full month into this Grand Misadventure of mine!

    Puebla post mortem:

    So how has Puebla been overall? Despite the downer end to it I am willing to put it down as a moderate success. I think I have made a few new friends and met a couple of crazies and had a few stupid experiences not all of which have been blogged here.

    Puebla is a pretty place in the old town and it is pretty safe though it is not Europe you won’t get into trouble if the cardinal rule is obeyed – and that is don’t be a dick or don’t be a wey in Mexican!

    In general you have to move round quite a bit if you want to see the sights here although you can just chill in the center. The food here is also very nice.

    Would I recommend Puebla to those watching back home for a short trip? Yes but don’t stay nearly 2 weeks give it about 5 days then move on. It’s been fun but had its ups and downs and sadly it’s finished as a low point on this trip. If you want to ask anything about Puebla, feel free to DM me or comment.

    Anyways it’s a new day, new week and new place. Onwards to Oaxaca and lets see what we can see!

    Muchas Gracias. Catch you from Oaxaca!!

  • Locked out and locked in

    Hola todos! Getting up this morning it has been exactly a full month since setting out from Wales and I am about to be heading out of Puebla south to Oaxaca. Unfortunately the last few days here haven’t been great and it’s ended on a bit of a low point if I am being honest.

    To give a brief run down on the last 2 days (28/29) Saturday was quite quiet, I went to @lauzkruspe birthday gig and that was good very good but regrettably I called it an early one due to coming down with a horrible head cold.

    Sunday was a rest day but how it went vs the plan was wildly different. I wake up feeling quite fresh and at 10am I decide to leave my room to go get a shower then head out for some coffee and a bite but forget to bring the keys on the self locking door 🤦‍♂️. Without my phone I can’t contact the hostel staff and rummaging round the storeroom no master key is found. JODER!! tried picking the lock with some paperclips and a butter knife but to no avail so have to sit around the kitchen for about 6 hours until someone comes by and has the number. Once we make contact it is sorted quickly but still not great! at least there was some communal water and i had my orange juice in the fridge otherwise this really would have been torture.

    Once sorted I rest a bit more then go out for some food and a quiet few for my last night here in Puebla. A quiet one was had and tomorrow we leave for Oaxaca. Will keep you posted.

  • Dia 27/28 – Parques and Pesadillas!

    Day 8/27 – Parks and Nightmares!

    Hello everyone. Well the last 2 days have been a bit of a blur since Cholula. Thursday I didn’t end up doing much of anything although my gothic friend has invited me to her birthday bash on Saturday and she told me where the venue was – a bar down by this park so with nothing to do I went down there to have a nose but was shut so ended up checking out the park and chilled in a hammock for 2 hours then nap and had a gentle few with American friend not too much.

    Today I woke up with cold sweats from yet another recurring nightmare and decided to get up and go to another park. This time the Arborterra in Ecological Park. It was a safari themed environment in a biosphere but the price to get in was steep so I was worried and worried about going in so go to have a coffee in the restaurant next to it then get chatting to a Mexican mama and Hija and that’s enough to lift the black dog off me and get me to go in. Glad I did!

    It’s quite a peaceful and chill place full of various birds and reptiles and the people running it all seem genuinely happy to be part of it. Which is always nice to see. 

    I finish up the tour and go back to the restaurant and they are still there so chat some more but don’t get details but I decided to end up having a light lunch there and taking in the vibe after they left.

    Then comes time for the next fucking nightmare. It was about a 40 minute walk getting over here and it was only 3 quid to get an Uber back so that was the plan but my phone starts having a funny and going to emergency calls only. My E-sim had shat the bed again!!

    I went through the usual fixes but nothing was working and I really didn’t want to do this hike back especially as it started raining. No joy so walking it we were! Luckily despite the distance it was pretty much a straight line all the way back bar the last few blocks. Still not cool. Had this happened at a different place and time this could have been a very dangerous situation.Still I find my back good enough. Get home, grab a hot shower then get on WhatsApp to Jetpac support. We spend an hour going through all these fixes and none of it works then they say they’ll escalate it. An hour goes by and crickets. During this time I ended up buying another E-sim with a different carrier and behold it goes straight in and works fine.
    Jetpac then comes back saying apparently there was a big issue with Telcel but I am connected on the other one fine. At the time of writing the main E-sim is still out of action but got the other one for now. Another LFE learned – have a backup in case this happens to you in future!! Didn’t completely ruin the day but it was a lot of undue faf. So yeah. Bloody hell I could use a drink! Pesadilla – that’s nightmare in Spanish for the no sabos following us.

  • Dia 26 – Cholula

    Day 26 – Cholula 

    Hello everyone. Yesterday I went to Cholula, the home of the biggest pyramid in the world although unlike Teotihuacán this one is largely buried and the Spanish built a church on top of it. 

    To get to the top you have to climb up lots of stairs but when you get up there there are some epic views of Puebla and other cities nearby and the church inside is something else. 

    Going back down there are several excavated structures in the same style as those in Teotihuacán and a bit of places where you can read more on the site and it’s history. Cholulas is quite bloody for two reasons.

    The first is they were partial to the human sacrifice too but they had a thing for sacrificing children. Yes children! to the water god to bring the rains.

    The second major thing is this is the site of the most bloody massacre of the Spanish Conquest of Mexico. In 1519 Hernan Cortez’ conquistadors and their Tlaxcalan allies massacred the tribe that lived here, sacked the great temple and set the place on fire on the way out during their march to Tenochtitlan.

    Why did they do this it’s not known but if I was to take a guess they probably walked in on a kid being sacrificed and decided they didn’t want to be dragged off to the water god in the dead of night and therefore they were not having that!!

    The rest of the day after that was relatively uneventful. Might make a video on Cholula as there’s more to it than this narrative can fit.