Oaxaca, Mexico 

31 Oct - 13 Nov 2022

We had signed up to join Nick Greece in his first guiding venture as soon as he had advertised a trip that would combine paragliding and Mexican culture, food and drink. (Plus, he gave us a discount so we paid $2500 each for the week. Airfare was around $1750 (about what we had paid to fly to Colombia – and that was First Class!). Since Nickś trip started on 6 Nov, we decided to go early so that we could be in Oaxaca for part of the Day of the Dead festivities. That was a good decision. We booked an Airbnb for the 1st through 5th and flew on Halloween to DFW where we overnighted at La Quinta. Once we got to Oaxaca, we were able to walk around the Historic city center and even do a trip to Monte Alban. On Sunday we checked out of the Airbnb and Nick and his local guides picked us up and transferred us to the nearby El Diablo y La Sandia B and B. Then the flying could commence.  

30 Oct, Sun – Rain. Prep day for our trip. C.J. got started on some green tomato sauce pretty early. I got packed up. Laundry. I used one of the expensive proctored Binax Now Covid-19 home tests and got a negative result as expected. C.J. did the same with the same result. Then I reported the results to Nick. We checked in and printed boarding passes, but we could not check our bags online.

 

31 Oct, Mon – Rain. Windy overnight and there were more walnuts on the ground and some limbs. We finished packing then I went outside and picked up some stuff and drained some of the 2.2 inches of rain out of the yard waste bin. We left at noon. Fortunately, it was not raining. We got a quick pickup at ParkNJet2 and managed to snag a SmarteCart when we got left off. When we checked in at the AA ticket counter, the agent was going to charge us for three checked bags but when I asked about one free first bag for each of us based on my AA/Citi credit card, she charged us only for the one bag ($40) It was about four hours to Dallas-Fort Worth (we bought a “charcuterie tray” ($9) on the plane since there would be no food at the hotel).  We took just our carry-ons down to street level and then walked quite a distance to the waiting zone for hotel shuttles. The first shuttle was going to a different La Quinta, so we had to wait for the next one. It was only six minutes to the hotel and check-in was quick, too. No food was available (although we could have ordered out). I had trouble sleeping with the roaring fan in the air conditioner.  

1 Nov, Tue – Up at 0620 for an uninspiring breakfast (although it did have pre-made omelets and some sausage patties). We caught the 0800 shuttle and were quickly back at the airport where we went through security and right to our gate. Although we were again in Group 5, we got on right after the priority group finished boarding. It was only about two hours to Oaxaca and we got in around 1239 local time (CST). Slow line for Immigration and no cart for our gear. We had a porter load it all on his hand truck and that got us through the line, the scanning, and then the customs officials opened our three big bags. Once that was completed, the porter rolled us out; I picked up 4000 pesos at a Scotia Bank ATM, paid for a taxi, and gave the porter a tip when he got our stuff to the taxi. It was a slow ride into Oaxaca because of all the Day of the Dead crowds, but we got to 120 Panoramica del Fortin just as some people were coming out of the door. We guess one of the old guys was Carlos, but we still aren’t sure. They and a young girl, Cailey?) helped carry all seven of our bags up two flights of stairs to our room. We hustled around trying to change into clothes appropriate for the warm/hot weather so we would waste as little of the rest of the day as possible. We walked down the hill into Centro Historico where there were lots of Mexicans and tourists milling around the decorated streets and shops. In addition to the official Artisan House, there were lots of small tents and some block-long tents filled with craftspeople. Around 1700 we stopped for a chocolate malteada (not as good as those in Colombia) and a "paleta de brownie". Fortified, we walked through another big artisan tent and then along the street below a retaining wall for a cemetery. I thought we might find the entrance and check out how a cemetery might be decorated for Dia de los Muertos, but we never found an entrance. It was getting late and we were now tired and hungry so we picked an uncrowded restaurant, Casa Convite, outside the busy area and had mescal margaritas, guacamole with peas, onion and greens, then an adobo fish “with macho bananas” that we could roll in tortillas. Unfortunately, C.J. found it to be pretty spicy. By this time, the sun had set, and a breeze had begun chilling us. We headed back to the Airbnb and got unpacked. I'm not sure what we will do for breakfast tomorrow as we did not find any open grocery stores (or even convenience stores) on the way “home”. Lots of noisy fireworks (or at least loud bangs) throughout the evening, and we met more people in costume heading down to El Centro than returning, many in costume and/or face paint. We could find no blanket in the room, so we laid out C.J.’s poncho in case the room got too cool (It was quite warm when we got back today). 

2 Nov, Wed – Brrr, it was cool enough overnight that I pulled my fleece vest over me. In the morning I had nice hot water for a shower and the sun was beaming in our window by 0730 or so. I rinsed out my socks and underclothes and set them outside on the terraza. On the way out we stopped to ask Carlos for a blanket (manta). We bought water at a nearby convenience store and then went looking for breakfast. We stopped in various places, but we didn’t find an open bakery. We walked through the ornate Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzman – absolutely covered with gilt swirls and squiggles. We headed down the Calle 5 de mayo toward the zocalo and cathedral taking pics of the Dia de los Muertos decorations all around. We saw the Hotel Quinta Real and then cut over to another less touristy street. We stopped in a large convenience store (Pitico on Av de M. G. Vigil) and bought two bananas. Shortly thereafter we found a nice restaurant (Cerro Humo) that had a menu sign out front announcing what they had for desayuno. We had a bowl of blue overnight oats (avena de matcha azul?) for C.J. and avocado toast with a poached egg, good cocoa and cold rooibos tea with various flavors. Next stop was the zocalo where we wandered through a slew of markets (C.J. bought an embroidered mask for 35p) before turning to the cathedral. It was much less ornate and there was a mass in session. Just as we started to head for home to charge my camera battery and rest for a while, we saw a parade coming up Av de la Independencia. It was small – just one band, a few cars with effigies, a bunch of dancers (with flowerpots held on their heads) and two big, white, dancing giants – but we stayed to watch the performance as it reached the zocalo almost to the cathedral. Then we headed back home around 1230 stopping to buy another larger bottle of water. We rested until nearly 1630; Nick called and said we’d have lunch at El Jardin across from the Cathedral on Thu at noon. I had found online a place that served the local specialty, tlayuda, mentioned in Lonely Planet, so we headed off to find the location that was about six minutes away, near Our Lady of Soledad basilica (and the Jaguar Yuú (say Ḧow are you) Café). I turned off Crespo too soon onto Morelos and we ended up at the basilica where we found the courtyard covered with sand “paintings” (really bas-reliefs) and people setting up for an eight-o'clock concert. Also nearby was a food court of neverias or ice cream shops. We looked all around and then figured out we needed to be on the next avenue down and finally found Tlayuda El Negro, a busy but unpretentious place with lots of locals. We fumbled with our choice for a while, Google Translate not being much help, and settled on sharing a tlayuda, a large stuffed tortilla with costilla, pork rib. No knives or forks and the beer came in a bottle. There were three bowls of condiments, but only the avocado sauce wasn’t too spicy for us. There was a poster advertising a Guelaguetza performance every night at 2000. The waiter said it was 60p per person. After dinner we headed back to the neverias and allowed ourselves to be seated at the Neveria Alameda. We thought we were ordering ice cream copas, but instead it was a strongly flavored ice, maybe like a Slushee, good though. We walked past the sand paintings, which were now illuminated, back up the hill in the dark with no problem, but it was really dark on the last leg along Panorama del Fortin. Not so tired tonight, we had time to write in our journals and read before sleep. 

3 Nov, Thu – Slept in until around 0830. Then we hung out in the airbnb until around 1030 when we left for el centro. We walked to the big market (20 de noviembre) and wandered through all the narrow aisles. Nothing caught our attention more than the number of flies buzzing around the fresh meat. Nick called again and said he could meet us at 1215 in front of the cathedral. We stopped for a “malteada” at the Choco Mio next to the Mayordomo chocolate shop; it was pretty good, but more like chocolate milk than the thick malteadas we had in Colombia. We had lunch with Nick, Caroline, his again-pregnant wife (due 23 Feb) and their two-year-old boy Becket. Nick had a lot of information, especially about his plans for reforming the USHPA board now that he is a director. After lunch (a shared Cubano torta) C.J. and I went past the big market to the SW to a big artisan market where we did not find anything we had to buy. From there it was a long walk back uphill to the Airbnb. We rested and did some journaling and Duolingo. Considered going back to Tlayudas el Negro for the Guelaguesta performance this evening and dinner. We left about 1900 and had plenty of time for the dinner of tlayuda con arrechera (skirt steak) before the show started at 2000. We missed a lot of the story which was all in Spanish but the eight dancers, with two wearing large skulls, were energetic and expressive. We left before the third act; we had thought it was all over. Dinner plus beer and hot chocolate con leche, no charge for the performance. The walk back up the hill seemed even longer than usual, but at least the streetlights were on along Panoramicá del Fortin. Back home before 2130. 

4 Nov, Fri – We had kind of decided to walk up the Cerro del Fortin using the stairs that lead to the entrance to the Auditorio de Guelaguetza, so I looked for a breakfast place on the way. It was only a short distance from our Airbnb to Café Boca del Monte and when we got to the terraza, we found Nick there finishing up his breakfast. We ordered hot chocolate del monte, huevos con jamon, and a bowl of fruit with a little granola and yogurt. Great view, good food, and Nick paid for our meal again! Just down the street is the Hotel El Diablo y la Sandia where we will be staying from Sunday until we leave. Nick said he could get a truck or van to move our gear on Sunday. He was getting everyone onto What’s App so we could all communicate by phone/text. Many of the twelve clients are already here or are arriving before Sunday, and a good number are from the Seattle area. After breakfast we started up the long stairway to the arena and then went clockwise around it to the Asta Bandera Monumental, a large flagpole (no flag today) and the heroic statue of Benito Juarez. We continued up Nicholas Copernicus Road to the planetarium on one summit of Cerro del Fortin. One of the security guys was able to point out Monte Alban in the distance to the SW. We returned via the stairs that circle the arena and descended the long staircase back to Av de Crespo and back to our room. We rinsed out some clothes and set them in the hot sun to dry. C.J. got her wing ready for flying in case Nick takes some of the group out on Saturday. Around 1700, having heard nothing more from the early-arriving group members about dinner, we walked down into Centro past Santo Domingo to a more upscale restaurant, La Olla (“the cook pot”). We had a sampler plate Comal de Maiz, a salad Ensalada Temporada, a main dish of Mole Verde de Pescado, a Bohemia Oscura beer and a Tamarind drink. Continuing the celebration (?), we had two desserts: a pumpkin tamale with Oaxacan chocolate ice cream, and a chocolate tart with pistachio ice cream. On the way home I got turned around and we had to backtrack part of a block to get going in the right direction. We stopped to watch what looked like part of a Guelaguetza dance performance in a festival tent near Santo Domingo. So, there were still Dia de los Muertos events happening. Back at the Airbnb, it was hot even with the fan running. And the wifi signal was so weak I had to write this part of today's journal to my thumb drive. I later found out that I could go outside on the terraza and get a decent signal, enough to use Overdrive to download a book or two from the library. 

5 Nov, Sat – We thought we might check out the really big public market at Central de Abasto and find a place to eat breakfast along the way. Google Maps provided a route that cut through a couple of barrios on paths rather than streets and we didn’t find any place for desayunos. We had sent a What’s App message to the group about what we had planned and just as we were getting sort of close to the market, we got a bunch of messages back saying that the area was not safe for tourists on their own. We turned around and walked back, cut through the neverias and across the plaza of OL of Soledad (which was swept clean of the sand paintings) then headed along the street to Cerro Humo. [Something was going on with the garbage collectors because we saw a bunch of garbage trucks parked in groups, not out picking up trash. Later we heard something about a strike and a change in government administrations.] We decided to skip the same old place and ended up at at Tizne Cocina where we had OJ, French toast and a bowl of fruit with honey and granola. Since our plan had been disrupted, we had to come up with something else. We walked up to the museum connected to Santo Domingo, but there was a line and only forty people were admitted every hour. Monte Alban was a possibility, but we couldn’t find any tour shops open on a Saturday. With help from the What’s App group we finally decided to take a taxi and found one just waiting for us. He quoted 250p which sounded okay (since we had paid 600 to get from the airport). The driver dropped us off at the parking lot where he told us there would be lots of taxis when we were ready to come home. It was already hot in the sun as we climbed to the entrance where we skipped the line for tickets by using a credit card in an ATM-like device. The archeological site was large and well-maintained, and reminded me of Chichen Itza. It took us at least three hours to walk and climb around the whole site.[We looked at some tombs associated with residences in the north, then went to the central plaza and all the way to the south. Coming back we checked out the arrowhead-shaped building noted as an observatory. We climbed up the long steep stairs to the North Platform where there was a great view of the Central Plaza. We exited up stairs on the east side and saw the ball court before descending to the entrance and the museum.] We bought a bottle of water since we had drunk all of ours. It had been really hot in the sun until later when clouds formed (we thought there might be a storm and we had no raingear with us). Then we walked through the museum which was included in the entrance fee. We returned to the parking lot but the one taxi there was already booked and there were no others. After a while, a private bus arrived and most of the people waiting got on, A local guy told us that it went to “Centro” and that we should get on. The bus driver came over and told us it was only 100p for the two of us and he was going to Centro. It was hot on the bus, and we didn’t get going until a little after four and then we took what seemed like a different route [Which “Centro" was the bus going to, anyway?]. I started looking at Google Maps on my phone and saw that we were going to Central de Abasco, just where we had been warned away. Fortunately, after that stop we ended up near the Zocalo and got off in familiar territory. We tried to find the Michoacan ice cream place, but it must have been closed on Sat. We sat in the park for a while figuring out where we should eat and decided to take a look at La Popular. However, the reviews for Zandunga tempted us in and, even better, the roof opened cooling the place down. Nick said he and Aaron Nash would join us and they did after we had already ordered. We had refrescadas de jugo rojos, a big bowl of guacamole and the signature dish of Isthmian (istemos) wedding stew, slow cooked beef-fruit-veggies with a salad. While we were waiting, a street parade went by; it looked like it was part of a wedding celebration we had seen earlier at Santo Domingo. We got back to the Airbnb around 1930 and worked on Duolingo and journals while running the fan to cool off the room. Nick said he would pick us up to move to the hotel at 1100. 

6 Nov, Sun – We got up shortly after 0700 and I got a shower. Then we packed up almost totally waiting for the Café Boca del Monte to open at 0900. C.J. ordered three tacos with quesillo y chapiones. And I got the emmolada (?) with an egg. C.J. had tasteless tea while I had the chocolate again. It was after 1000 when we left to go back to the Airbnb to finish packing. We moved our stuff down to the lobby and shortly after 1100 Nick arrived in a pick-up with a driver. We got moved the short distance to Hotel El Diablo y la Sandia and left our gear piled in the hallway until rooms were ready. Nick was conducting a session on setting up the InReach for the trip so we did that, too, using my Chromebook and then syncing with the Earthmate app on our phones. We changed the account message and each of the preset messages and recipients. After all that we were ready for a break so we went to the Café for a Smoothie de Boca del Monte (strawberry, ?, and nuts), and a moka frappe. Both were very icy (but the mango smoothie that one of our group ordered looked much smoother). Later C.J. and I walked almost to the zocalo to find a cajero automatico in a bank building. It took five tries before I found a machine that worked and then figured out that ”cheques” meant checking account and “ahorro” meant savings. We took out 3000p and returned to the hotel. We had already been assigned a room so we got unpacked and looked for all the stuff we had misplaced. The hotel room has a little safe so we were able to store our passports and extra cash. Everyone should be present by six when a briefing is scheduled. Dinner as a group at 2000 at Sur a Norte Restaurante Great dinner: A fruit juice mezcal drink, appetizers (with chapulines and holy leaf), then the main, either ahi tuna or beef, both very good. I also snagged an extra mezcal margarita. I sat across from Peter who is vegan, Tom “Tank” was to his right and Joshua was to his left. Joshua’s partner, Negine, was to my right and Tyler was seated to C.J.’s left. We walked back with Max who is from Boston and looks older than his 54 years (He was at the Red Rocks Open this year). 

7 Nov, Mon – Up at 0630 to get a shower and get to breakfast before 0730 – good fried eggs with a non-spicy green sauce and toast. The staff made hot chocolate for C.J. and me. Before 0815 we were loading the roof of the van and were soon on our way. It was pretty long drive to the south, then up a rougher road to two possible LZs where the guides put up wind flags. Then we drove up a rough dirt road to the primary LZ on a ridge at 5700 ft. Back on the paved road we drove to a sharp turn onto a concrete pavement to the lower launch at 7560 ft. Nick and Estefano (from Valle) did a briefing and then we got ready to take off. There was more wind than expected but it was pretty much straight up the hill. I launched maybe fourth and went left climbing but then I noticed that I had left my chest harness unfastened. I had to let go to click it and then, even though I was above the north ridge, I wasn’t climbing. Nick tried to direct me to the right toward a wing that he said was climbing better, but that didn’t really seem to be the case. Nevertheless, I pulled away from the ridge heading east toward the LZ and found no lift. I continued sinking with very limited forward speed. For a while I thought I was going to sink out into the trees before reaching the clearer part of the ridge. However, I found some lift along the way, not enough to circle in, but plenty to get me to the LZ and work my way down. I got popped on final but managed to land right next to the flag (about 0:12). It was hot packing up and C.J. flew for 38 min and got to over 9000 ft. However, she found it hard to get down into the LZ, and when she did, she didn’t flare hard, so she skidded in, not a good idea in the rocky LZ. Meanwhile, I had had to go to the bathroom twice on launch and had had diarrhea at the LZ (in the dry corn field). Fortunately, I had some TP in my harness. After helping C.J. pack up we threw on the van and headed back to Oaxaca where we showered and changed clothes. We must have missed everyone else going out for lunch, so we went to Café Boca del Monte only to find it closed. Then we wandered around the Santo Domingo area until we chose a place at random. AM Café had decent smoothie/frappes and we shared a good hamburguesa with fresh chips. Back at El Diablo, the girls (the guys apparently were all crashing in their rooms) shared some tropical fruit with us before we went back to the room to write in our journals. I also re-synced the InReach so as to have our local numbers receive the preset messages. De-briefing at 1730 wasn’t particularly informative. Afterward, we went back to the room and hung out. At 1930 Nick sent a What’s App msg about “Santo Domingo going off” with some kind of Day of the Dead event. We went over and there were dancers with flower baskets, devil-masked, antlered characters with hairy pants, whirling creatures, tall dancing figures, a band, and large illuminated whirling balls. We watched until the groups that had been on the plaza in front of Santo Domingo began to move off down the street toward the Zocalo. We bumped into Nick and the rest of the group and watched for a while longer before heading back to the hotel to warm up (I had only pulled a Dog shirt on over my t-shirt.) 

8 Nov, Tue – Up at 0638 and out again by 0815 after breakfast of what seemed to be tortillas cooked in a red sauce. Then C.J. and I rode in the pickup to the new, higher launch at Santa Inez. We arrived just as the blessing ceremony was beginning for the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the local community. After several speeches and sprinkling of holy water, Nick made the first flight and landed in the usual LZ. The rest of us left just as a meal was being prepared and went down to the lower launch. Conditions were said to be somewhat strong on the ground in the valley (gusts to 26kph) and it was somewhat gusty on launch. I took off about midway through the group and had decent conditions at first but then began sinking as I headed for the Horseshoe SW of the LZ. Fortunately, I found some weak lift to turn in and didn't have to continue to the landing. I got up over launch-level and then 1000 ft higher and could push out east to the big power lines. There I climbed to about 9500 and struck out north toward a village (San Lucas Tlanichico. I ran into a wide stretch of lift and didn't have to turn for quite a ways. Then the sink began and I couldn't seem to get out of it. I turned back south and looked for a landing place near the two greenhouses along the paved road between Zaachila and launch. I had scoped out a suitable field when I got low enough to see that there was a powerline running E-W parallel to the road. Since I was planning to land to the north, I looked for another field that was not bisected by a power line. I chose one that looked to be a fallow, grassy field on the south side of the road. (0:43) I should have chosen the nearby plowed field because the one I landed in had high weeds and lots of burrs. It was a pain to pack up the wing, but the van arrived as I was finishing roughly stuffing it in the bag. I spent the ride to get the next pilots scraping and pulling the burrs off my pants, socks and shoelaces. We picked up Max and Estefano who had done a tandem with Negine. Then we went south to the next town where we couldn't find a route to pick up Nick and two others. Fortunately, the pick-up had grabbed them. After a transfer, the van headed back to the hotel while the truck went to get C.J., Chema (guide) and Dan, who were all farther south (they would have been farther but had turned back from their southernmost point). We stopped at a roadside mercado gastronomico and half of us ate at El Cabrito Barbacoa. We mostly had the same thing: a good brown lamb (or goat) soup and one or two lamb or goat tacos. Back at the hotel, I got cleaned up and waited for C.J. to arrive around 1800. She had lots of prep tasks to do to be ready for tomorrow, but we got the call to leave for El Teca Restaurant around 1900. Food was good but I didn’t think  it was all that special. We had big glasses of limonada and jugo de tamarindo, tamal de crema y queso, and a shrimp and garlic dish with rice and cucumbers. We also had a sweet dish of wild cherries (with lots of seeds/pits). Back shortly after 2210. 

9 Nov, Wed – Up at 0700. We had a light breakfast snack of cocoa and sweetbread since we were having breakfast on launch. Breakfast was prepared by the family who owns the launch and was cooked over wood fires. Tortillas were squeezed off a big hunk of masa and flattened in a tortilla press. Then they were baked on a flat, round, stone griddle. A brown sauce (mole?) was smeared on it and then either potatoes and chorizo or scrambled (?) eggs were added and the tortilla was  rolled up. The abuela was heating homemade cacao mixed with sugar in water, beating it with a molinillo and serving it in either unglazed pottery bowls or mugs. There was also a big round loaf of bread with a figure of Christ on it. We had plenty to eat, and there was lots of food left over. We hung out until close to 1300 and conditions did not improve enough to make flying safe for all the group. So, we headed off to San Bartolo Coyotepec in the region where the black pottery is made. C.J. and I found Heladeria Pochote that served ice cream rolls made on a very cold surface. Back at the meeting place in a park at 1400, we got back in the van and headed off to the town of the alebrijes, San Martin. We got a tour of one workshop/sales room and then looked in several other shops. Across the street from where we stopped, an artist was painting a red bull on a sign high above the street. Later we saw that he was beginning to fill it in with alebrijes-style designs. Next we drove to lunch at Almú, an outdoor restaurant. There were no written menus or prices, but Nick and Estefano helped C.J. and me get a cazuela of vegetables and mushrooms covered with cheese and without peppers. Everything was cooked at a central hearth over wood fires. Once again there were handmade tortillas, some small ones cooked until they were crisp and crunchy. The cazuela arrived bubbling hot from being baked right in the fire. We also had a glass of maracyua water and a beer. From there we drove to an artisan mezcal distillery. We saw where the boles of the agave (or maguey?) were roasted in pits, then chopped into pieces using machetes. Next, they were put into a stone trench and pounded with heavy wooden pounders. From there they were shoveled into large wooden barrels and left to ferment. Finally, the liquid was transferred to alembics and heated, the gas cooled (and, if they were making better mezcal, distilled again). We went into the somewhat-rough tasting room and tried five different kinds of mezcal. C.J. and I shared tiny sips trying to stay somewhat clearheaded. No one bought any of the mezcal which ranged in price from 800 to 1850 pesos (for the pechuga, chicken breast) (350p for the tasting). None of them had the gusano, or worm, in the bottle. By then it was getting late and we were supposed to be back at the hotel by 1900. Traffic, as usual, was heavy at that time and it took close to an hour and a half to return. We were just in time for the mariachi band which had been hired (by Nick?) to celebrate Dan’s wife’s birthday (Carolina). We got to share the tres leches cake before we went back to our room to clean the black goo out of C.J.’s Playtpus nozzle and write down what had been going on today. 

10 Nov, Thu – We left around 0840 and went to the new, high launch (La Rella?). We hung out and briefed for an hour and then launched. I was maybe fourth off and I did not get up to the left and I sank along the ridge past the school to where the upper ridge joined the lower ridge. I found light lift and worked up almost as high as the upper launch. Then I followed the line of the lower ridge in strong lift until close to the end where the ridge forked and began descending. [Along the way I had a left tip collapse and had to pump it out.] I was down to 8k and watched people start to cross the gap sinking. I went part way but even a bird thermal did not get me up much above 8000 so I turned back. After working the top of the fork above a small dam and lake, I had gained a few hundred feet and tried the crossing again. This time I made it all the way across and lost about 1000 ft in altitude. I worked the ridge on the south side of the gap but could not connect with anything for more than a few turns. I slid down the slope to the east, made a circle around a cornfield with the stalks all cut and landed to the south. (01:12) (9500ft) It wasn’t perfect because there was a low area on my path that I barely cleared and landed on a slope with the wing overflying me. I radioed that I had landed (no reply again) and carried across the dirt road to a flat place with shade where I could send a What’s App message and a LOK from my InReach and pack up. A man with a young girl pulled up and asked me to be in a photo with the girl. He didn’t wait around for me to get packed. However, a half hour later the van showed up and we went first to the nearby (1.2km) village of Vigallo to pick up Tom/Tank and buy drinks. Then we chased down Max who had gone south another 8 km. After filling the van, we all headed through village of Zaachila and then west to Los Dorados de Zaachila, a rustic eating place. C.J. had landed in the LZ after 1:48 because she was not feeling well so was not very hungry and had only a bowl of chicken soup. I had a costilla plate (pork ribs) with rice and two sauces: a green one and a brown mole, and we both had a big glass of maracuya juice. Several people ordered tlayudas which were half the size of the table. Stopping there kept us from a traffic blockage that was supposed to end at 1700. After showering and changing we went up to Café Boca del Monte to have something cold and wet. No ice cream, but we had a moka frappé and a mango smoothie. We sat with most of the group from the Seattle area and talked mostly with Michael Jensen and Aaron Nash. Michael once again picked up the tab. We watched the almost full moon rise over the eastern mountains around 8 p.m. 

11 Nov, Fri, Veterans Day – Left around 0830 to the upper launch where a woman was cooking coffee and food over wood fires. Launch was in the cloud, so it was a little cool. Briefing set a task to fly north to get a look at Monte Alban since the SW wind was supposed to come in strong in the afternoon. We waited until it cleared and then Chema launched and got up right away. Everyone followed and most looked to be at cloudbase or in the fringes of the cloud. I launched last right after C.J. (who had some trouble with her forward launch and fell forward). I had a lifty line to the left but didn’t climb to cloudbase, only to 9500. I worked above the lower launch ridge where another pilot was launching, tried the left ridge and the Horseshoe ridge. Sometimes I was up, sometimes down, definitely not in sync with C.J., Michael and the tandem (Estefano and Negine). Patrick landed out, so did Josh and Mark was in the LZ. I managed to stay up and get out to the flats aiming for the brown field next to the main road where Nick had landed on the first day. Fortunately, I lucked into a climb near San Lucas Tlanicho and climbed and drifted to the NW. I had to alter my course to stay at least 3km from the village of Culiapam which does not permit overflights. [We all put it in our instruments as a Route.] I could see Monte Alban but I wasn’t as close as the guys who had left earlier and worked their way along the mountain where the clouds were. I was able to spot our pilots and I headed over to where it looked like they were trying to get down. Eleven of us, including the tandem, landed in a nice field surrounded by barbed wire. C.J. made it over the wire but was distracted by her feet being stuck together, probably due to the hooks on one boot grabbing the laces on the other. She landed on her harness and her wing fell back so that her lines were on the wire, but not her wing. Some other people were not so lucky, and one had the wing on the wire and one or more landed outside the field. I landed at the same time as Michael and we both had good landings (01:30, about 9.5 mi). After packing up we went to a tiny tienda for drinks and snacks. The truck and van showed up soon and we drove back around the north end of the Monte Alban ridge.  Nick is scheduling individual debriefs. Maybe I should talk about a wing that has more speed than my medium-size seven-year-old wing. I took a screen shot of our tracks on XCFind on the Chromebook. Dinner on the rooftop terrace at Casa Oaxaca at 1915. C.J. and I shared a carrot salad and rabbit. It was good but not world-class great. On the way to the restaurant, we passed another wedding parade forming on the plaza of Santo Domingo. 

12 Nov, Sat – We got up a bit earlier to be ready to load the van at 0715 to got to the 20 de noviembre mercado for breakfast. We both had scrambled eggs with ham and cheese plus a bowl of hot chocolate with a big bun. (300) Nick brought us a green smoothie as well. We couldn't finish the big plate of beans and eggs. Then we drove to the high launch and launched close to 1230. Everyone (I think) beamed up from the ridge to the left of launch to 11k. I got up to 10,030 ft and left the lift when it got turbulent. I figured that I was approaching the top of lift anyway. The task was to fly to a 3-mile cylinder around Zimatlan, then back to the lower launch, south to a two-mile cylinder around St. Gertrude/SANGER, and then NE to ELEFAN/the “ladys bar de elefante rosa”. I flew along the lower launch ridge again to near the end and then flew out in big sink toward ZIMATL where I worked the clouds until I got up enough to head north. I had no intention of flying the out and back task, so I crept NE hoping to reach the goal. I was down to 6500 or so when I crossed the ridge with the big power lines. There was decent lift there and I got enough to reach a point due south of the goal along a reasonable unpaved secondary road. The field was a cut corn field which was oriented E-W. (01:17). [ A total flying duration for the trip of 4hrs54min] I packed up somewhat carefully since this was the last paraglider flight of the trip. Because there was no shade, I started walking toward the main road where ELEFAN was located. I got a ride in the group pickup before too long. Then there was a longish wait for the van which had picked up C.J. at the LZ (after a good flight to the south past Vigallo and back) and others. We stopped at Zaachila to pick up Estefano and Veronica (Mark’s partner) who had flown tandem. Back at the hotel C.J. and I did not waste much time but changed clothes and then walked down to the big market south of the Zocalo looking for a T-shirt for Wally and a blouse for Ginny. We got the blouse but even though we walked all over, we did not find the perfect tee for Wally. We returned to the hotel ready for dinner and ended up going by ourselves to Café Boca Del Monte where we had a Cubano sandwich with salad and another smoothie and mocha frappe. By the time we had finished eating C.J. was freezing and a band had powered up its amps right near us on the small terraza. Back at the hotel we spent the rest of the evening packing up to leave around 1100 on Sunday for our 1410 flight. I checked in online, for what it's worth. 

 

13 Nov, Sun – Travel Day. We slept in a bit more because breakfast wasn’t going to be served until the usual hotel time (not on our group’s accelerated schedule) of 0830. After discussion and sleeping on it, we used PayPal to send a lump sum gratuity to Nick of the amount he had discounted our trip fee. I had thought that I might walk down to Ay Gúey clothing store to get a shirt for Wally like the eagle tee that Chema was wearing Saturday, but it doesn’t open until 1100 when we will be on our way to the airport. We left $20 in the gratuity envelope for the housekeepers. We were the only ones going to the airport at 1030 except for Max, so we got a ride in the pickup. From the airport we had a good view back to the city with Cerro del Formin and the auditorium. And we could see the Monte Alban ridge and some of the ruins. We paid a porter to move our bags a short distance to the American Airlines check-in counter. This leg of the trip we had to pay for our checked bags ($104?). We got through immigration and security and hung out in the small gate area; we had a sandwich for lunch (180p). After takeoff we were heading south so we had views of the area we had paraglided over and the launch ridge, as well as the landmark gap I had flown across to land near Vigallo. The flight was late, so we landed late and then had to hustle to get through US Immigration and Security (even the TSA Precheck line was long) and the AA app sent us to Gate B6 instead of the correct A25. We got a ride on one of the airport carts (which I didn’t know were run for tips) and even had to change carts when there was a change in levels. Back to SeaTac around 2130, nice clear night but cold. Our car was coated with frost and the temperature kept dropping until it was in the 20’s as we got to North Bend around 2300.