Niagara Falls - Reality Shock

I did not have a burning desire to visit Niagara falls, but when my housemates planned a day trip I was happy to join. I had heard word that the area around the falls was quite built-up, but none of these warnings prepared me for the devastating truth... While the falls themselves are stunning, the mash of empty hotels, over-sized casinos, games arcades, cheesey advertising and transparent tourist-grabs that crowd the viewing platforms were enough to ruin any hope of truly appreciating this natural wonder.

I was left feeling saddened by the reality of how nature can be exploited for the sake of making a buck. Poor Niagara, such majestic beauty should not be ridiculed by becoming a drive-through destination, to be ticked off a list with the click of a camera. But I suppose I reinforced this whole cycle by being one of those tourists myself... ah...
Here's some clicks I took, trying to cut out the encroaching buildings. 

This is the Whirlpool, a point further down the river, where water rushes down the rapids and circles around before turning a tight corner. I think I liked this view better than the actual falls! The colour of the water was mesmerising. 

It was pretty cool seeing the falls semi-frozen and snow covered...

 In other news, my uni over here has been on strike for almost a month now... Not sure what this is going to mean for finishing the semester on time... All rather frustrating, but made better by the evidence of spring! Snow in the city has melted and the temperature seems to be on a steady incline. Fingers crossed!

Down South to Mexico!

I have spent the last two weeks in Mexico, now returned to Toronto with a slight tan and perhaps a slightly too relaxed attitude, considering the school work that has piled up...

Anyway, Mexico.
The first couple of days were spent in Mexico City, visiting Frida Kahlo's house, walking through markets and trying to navigate the metro. We then bussed it down to Oaxaca (on a very nice bus with a very loud TVs..). Oaxaca is great - colourful, full of markets, food, artistry, music. We stayed at a pretty wonderful place right in the centre of town, quite a treat. Did a couple of day trips while we were there, out to Hierve el Agua and Monte Alban, as well as to witness the making of mezcal (similar to tequila) and the weaving of tapestries.

This is Monte Alban, an ancient city outside of Oaxaca. A huge site to walk around, and it was really hot. One memorable part of the trip was finding a colony of ants while resting under a tree, I watched them of a long time - incredible. I wonder how long they've been in this city...

 Oaxaca is a city of cathedrals. 

Road downtown.

I wish houses everywhere were painted such great colours... Mine will be!

One of many delicious food stands in the market!

Also went out to see this giant tree! The world's largest circumference, with a girth of 36.5m. Gorgeous!

And this is Hierve el Agua, natural mineral springs on a mountainside. I didn't get to swim as I had hoped... but it was still cool it see it.

Then in was on to the coast. A mini bus took us on the six hour trip over the mountains, as we watched the terrain change from drier grasslands into rainforest and then in coastal palms. Quite the winding trip, not for the sensitive stomach! We arrived at destination Puerto Angel at night fall and had to navigate our way along to beach to the other side of town where we hoped we would find our hotel. We did! A late night swim felt so good after the bus ride! Next day we awakened to explore the little fishing village. What a wonderful spot! We ended up staying there for the majority of the trip, thinking of leaving but finding it impossible. The days would begin with a walk to the next beach for a morning snorkel, usually a trip to one of the nearby towns, eating plenty of seafood, perhaps an afternoon nap and then another swim. Slows your pace right down, being in a place like that. I stopped taking pictures at this point, I'm not entirely sure why. Maybe the combination of swimming, heat and laziness all just made it too inconvenient. But here are a couple of snaps I did get.

This is the 'road' into town.

Eventually it cam time to leave, and we made our way up to Puerto Escondido where we stayed for two days. Again, a cool spot. I had a delicious swim on our last day, before flying back to Mexico City and then home ("home").

I had a traumatic experience in the airport on the way back where I got confused about the time difference. I was getting a connecting flight from Washington DC back to Toronto and totally misjudged how much time I had. Then on top of that I was at gate 2 instead of gate 24! So had to make a run down to the other end of the airport, all bags in hand, dodging mobs of people and yelling back apologies. I got to the gate after boarding had closed. The lady said oh you've come in from Mexico, must have got stuck  in customs. I said, yeah... when in fact I was sitting at a different gate for like an hour, eating a sandwich and doodling around on the internet... Whoopsies.

Back home, though, safe and sound. Now for the hermit days of winter and study.