It was about my trip to the Botannical Gardens on Saturday. This will be a cut version of the story that I was happily drawing out until the power dies yesterday afternoon.
The lessons of my experience are :
1. Don{t presume a Botannical Gardens is a local, public, popular park.
2. Don{t presume that when you are told [it is near to..[ by a Mexican, or person from a large country, that the place is actually near to whereever they tell you.
Being from Nelson, for me Nelson College for Girls is NEAR my house, or KFC is NEAR the beach or NayCol is NEAR the airport.
3. Don{t take a bus if you don{t know where it is going. this is something I do frequently, and my brilliant, impatient method of jumping on the next bus to show up has failed me in Auckland, Christchurch, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Wellington... I can name at least one huge failure in each city.
I don{t mind however, i always come off the bus with a story, some exercise and feeling little more grateful to finally reach my destination.
I jumped on a bus labelled [Jardines[ presuming the Botans were a frequently visited and close place. This lead me to a community up in the hills. I started back on the highway but a pathless tunnel forced me to walk among the communers (I don{t know how to spell this word as I have never used it.. i usually say [us[ ).. anyways I made my way back and about an hour into the start of my misadventure I had found the right bus stop for Mismaloya.
Mismaloya is the most famous beach around these parts (which, by the way I haven{t seen yet! I have seen all the hotels etc blocking it however), I am going to go this week... hopefully with Camera in tow.
Anyways, Mismaloya is what everyone (aka 3 personas) were saying was RIGHT BESIDE the Botanz. I trusted this. I got on the Mismaloya bus, which is white instead of the usual Blue or green, paid my $5.50 pesos/60c NZ and started the exciting ride. You basically drive high up, around hills that have bays at the bottom, but you can{t see the beaches because they are covered by hotels and mansions... actually I could see a little in the bus, you defs can{t see much walking... trust me, I wasted a good 4 hours one day.
A minute in there was a sign for the Botanz 18km. Wow! I thought, that is quite far,but that{s okay, because it is CLOSE to Mismaloya and that is where this bus takes me... lucky.
The bus drove for about 20 mins, we weren{t going too fast (The driver was texting) so my brill maths detirmined we would be about 1/2 way there.
At the beginning of Mismaloya there was a 2nd road sign.... 5km. Not far!
We then carried on for another 5 mins to the Bay, Boca-something where we caught the water taxi to Yelapa last weekend.
I then started to walk. Speedwalk, on road up in the forrest - very NZ and North Queensland road it was, all familiar. There were a few waterfalls along the way, and for the most part the road was beside Rio Mismaloya, the river that was gushing and loud.
I ran out of water early on, but had a lot of energy... i thought I was making good progress. It wasn{t for an our of power walking that I came across another sign.... 4km. And just like that, I was deflated. I couldn{t believe that it was possible for a 5min bus ride and 1 hour power walk to get me only 1km!
No es possible!
Anyways, I figure that either they got the signs made up and then plonked them anywhere, or that is one km if it was straight, but it follows the hills in a twisty mess.
Soon a ute with two businessmen stopped, they didn{t know where the Jardines were, but were willing for me to jump in the ute boot thing, which is frequent transport, especially for kids and for carpooling to work.
Boy it was cool kneeling in the boot racing along the road with the cliche of having the wind in my hair.
They weren{t sure what to do with me, so dropped me after about 10 mins in a town (which I was suprised to see after seeing no one NEAR for the past hour)
I started to walk when, like earlier, there was no buses in sight. When I passed 2 gardeners they told me that I was on the right road, but it was a far way. I was happy again that I was on the right track. It wasn{t actually far, I guess that the Mexicans-distance-thing I thought now exsisted wasn{t with all people.
But I guess they thought I was a taxi-ing tourist.
Boy it was fab to suddenly spot the large building with [Botannical Gardens*
draped across... no recuerder whether it was in Inglis or Español.
The man who runs the place (as it is a tourist attraction/venue for weddings/club for expats) is a full on cowboy from somewhere Southern US...lets say Texas. The place has a large building with tables and chairs and sofas... es muy bonita - I really must get some photos up. Anyways, they upstairs is a resturant, where I had the most ammmazzzing guacamole (believe me) with Tostado, an alternative to corn chips. The also brought me a cold flannel, which is the best idea ever.
I swam in the river there, which was quite intense in places, but it was the perfect temperature. Slightly icy but after my mission (btw - I left my house at 9AM, i arrived at 1pm), in 30*+ heat, it was perfect.
There are a few walks set up around the grounds, they are really well kept. I just did my homework for a few hours and then walked a bit when I could feel my legs again after my beastly work out.
I stood at the gate of the jardines while 2 buses (they come each half hour) passed me by. The first one, I wasn{t too fussed. But half an hour later when the 2nd one did too, child - hold my weave! I was waving like a madman, the driver looked at me, looked away and didn{t blink an eyelid.
When the staff from the park got off at 6, they offered me a ride - two American expats and a joyful Mexican grandfather, who doesn{t talk with them because he doesn{t speak english and they don{t speak spanish. Anyways, I was so grateful and ended up the driver lives virtually nextdoor to me, so it took me about a 1/12 of the time to get home as it did to get there.
One of the Americans told me about this town that was taken over in the middle of the night by some court-ordered ruling that decided the town should be in the control of a rich business man from Guadalajara. Just a few months ago, the decision was made to close down the town- all businesses and kick out the 1000+ population in the middle of the night! He only heard the story when he went down to stay there for a holiday (it is two hours south of here)...the news didn{t even make it hear originally, he was suprised that CNN wasn{t on this one... it is so hugely unjust.
It{s aparently a beautiful place (Juan, who I live with, talked of the same place because it was him and his friends{ favourite camping spot... / only camping spot), so I guess it is going to become a huge tourist town... Like how Cancun didn{t exsist until rich americans created it... but I don{t know of the history of people there... but I am so curious as to where these people are living now.. the town has been closed off with police barricades!
ending rant.
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