Stars was, likkke, totally awesome in Pontiac on Saturday. Torquil (left) was especially angry, Amy (right) was especially sweet, the bass player (not pictured) was especially brooding, and the patrons were especially Canadian.

Maoxie looks so good in the morning. So good!

Today:

I discovered that Maoxie weighs a disappointing 13.5 lbs. Come ON Maoxie!
Also, I downloaded Camino. Lookout, pals.

So, I'd wanted to see the D.F. for quite some time (perhaps ever since Señor Metz's stories back in the late twentieth century), tickets were quite cheap to Mexico, and that's how I ended up there. It happened on the fly, which meant we were seated in the opposite of the best seats on all our flights. The seats are neither here nor there, though. Some highlights, in chronological order:

1. Flying over the crazy sprawl of Mexico City, and leaving the airport to see citizens (or at least one citizen) wearing long sleeves and scarfs against the sixty-/seventy-degree weather.
2. Learning that a fellow resident, Byron-Bay born and raised, in our Mexico City hostel grew up up playing with cane toads just as presented in the best Cane Toad movie ever.
   
3. Discovering that all museums and bosques in Mexico City are closed on Mondays, but mitigating the tension caused by that discovery with some delicious huaraches.
4. Viciously burning the backs of my hands on the quite tiring cycle up to the leveled-off top o' Monte Alban (gotta hand it to the Zapotecs), and then realizing that bringing a frisbee up there to enjoy its wide expanses would have been a most excellent move. Next time.
5. Lazing under the enormous Tree o' Tule, and tasting roasted garlic crickets for the first and probably last time.
   
6. Sampling all the worm-ridden Mezcal Oaxaca had to offer, accompanied by questionably ketchup-sodden snacks.
7. Eating tamales at Oaxaca's 20 de Noviembre mercado twice, and relizing the genius of mole negro during round two.
8. Flying around Oaxacan mountain curves por bus as described below. I sat next to a mother and daughter for part of this ride, and they smelled so good--like paper mache. The whole experience was very soothing, and I'd do it again for the same $8 in a red hot heartbeat.
9. Surfing on Playa Zicatela and Carrezalillo. Owch. I liked it, but I can't do it yet. Still, I learned to balance on my board for tens of minutes on end, and quite enjoyed the vibe of just sitting out in the bay, waiting for a wave. Next time I foresee more success.
   
10. Enjoying the combination of hammocks, lazing, frisbee on the coast with resident stray dawgies, large jarras of Sol and Corona on the balcony, and everything else that Puerto Escondido (the town, not the movie) had to offer. Ah.
    

The sun is shining brightly in Oaxaca today, and I´ve gotta say that the bus ride from Oaxaca City to the coast was one of the most delightful rides de mi vida. We cruised through three climates and around many mountain curves in a relentless downpour while our amazing bus driver manned the wheel with aplomb. Now it´s off for surfing adventure numero dos. Beautiful.