My Story – Part one: The Decision   

People in Oaxaca constantly ask me, “So Arion, where are you from?” and when I say New York, their next question is undoubtedly, “What are you doing here!?!” As I’ve answered this question so many times, my automatic response is, “I ask myself that every morning!” They usually laugh not at all satisfied with the answer but no one insists. The truth is that it’s quite an interesting story and it goes a little something like this:

I’m a fan of the author Carlos Castañeda. In his books, he speaks of Oaxaca as being a very magical place, a hotbed of converging ley lines and high energy. I, being a meditation junkie, of course, wanted to check it out. So one day curiosity got the best of me and I scrounged up some bucks and took a trip down here to see, (or feel), for myself. I initially figured I’d be here for 2 to 3 months then go back to Denver where I was living at the time... but this was 11 years ago!

Flying through Houston and arriving in the Mexico City airport, I went down to baggage claim and picked up my duffle bag which contained, pretty much, everything I owned at the time and headed out to get a cab to the TAPO bus station where I would catch my bus to Oaxaca but not before changing my 300 dollars into pesos at the nearest currency exchange booth. It was all the money I had and I pushed it so far down into my pocket that I heard the seams rip.

Tip: Be sure to do the money exchange thing in the airport because you will get the best rates, the lines are short and as soon as you leave the airport you are going to need the pesos. If you find yourself in need of changing your money into pesos and you’re not in the airport, go to the nearest bank and do it. Your only other option would be the many currency exchange booths called Casas de Cambio but the rates aren’t as good as they are private companies and tend to take larger commisions for each transaction.

As soon as I walked out the main door of the international terminal I was stalked by 3 different taxi drivers, that approached me at different times during my short walk from the door to the curb, offering their services in low voices as if they wanted to sell me drugs in front of a police station. Needless to say I was wary of them and wondered if they were even taxi drivers at all. Looking at each in their eyes and having no other choice, I picked the best of the worst and hopped into his green and white taxi cab. That day the cab driver charged me 70 pesos for my short, yet exhilarating, 25 minute ride to the TAPO bus station. Of course on paying him I did what only a foreigner, new to Mexico, would do, I tipped him another 10 pesos. I didn’t realize that in Mexico you don’t tip taxi drivers as you would in the states.

Tip: I’ve been in and through the Mexico City airport many times since that day and I have found that taking the train, (the Metro) is so much easier, faster and cheaper. The train terminal is very close to the airport and the way to get there is clearly signed. The train takes you right into the TAPO bus station in 10 minutes max and you only pay 2 pesos for a ticket!

If you don’t want to take the train and you feel you must take a taxi, don’t take the taxis that are in front of the main entrances. Go up to the second floor of the international terminal to the peatonal bridge that crosses over to the other side of the street. When you get to the other side and go down the stairs you will find local taxis that will take you to where you need to go for half the price.

As soon as I got to the bus station I bought my ticket to Oaxaca City which cost me 359 pesos at that time. My departure time was 12:45 am and I still had to wait an hour for my bus to leave so I ate something in the small food court that they have there, checked my email, bought my Twix bar and headed to “Puerta 3”. Now I spoke a little Spanish at the time yet I was beginning to feel a little nervous because no matter how much I concentrated I just couldn’t understand what the hell that woman was saying over the loud speaker. It came across as jibberish like, “Blah blah blah blah - Oaxaca - blah. Blah blah - a las cuatro - blah - cinco - blah blah - mañana...” Finally I just resigned myself to listening for the destination of Oaxaca and the time.

When I finally got on the bus and it started pulling out of the terminal, the driver got on the mic and informed us that our trip to Oaxaca would take us approximately 7 hours and for us to enjoy our trip and....... but before he finished talking I was already nodding off. When I woke up from my intermittent sleep, I immediately checked my watch. It was 5:30 in the morning. My neck cramped, I sat up in my seat and took a peak out the window. It was just beginning to dawn and the sky was lit up with a dim blue. I could see only the silohuettes of the nearby hills, the cactus that were scattered on either side of the highway and the outline of the clouds at approximately a 45 degree angle over what I figured was the horizon. As I laid back against my chair I just stared at the sky as it got lighter and lighter when suddenly I realized that those outlines in the sky weren’t clouds at all. They were mountain peaks! At that moment, everything fell into perspective and, looking around, I realized that we were driving through a deep valley and the mountains, only a few kilometers away, climbed straight up into the sky giving me the impression that we were being embraced and protected by Mother Earth. Feeling the high energy of those ley lines Carlos referred to, I eased back into my seat, closed my eyes and smiled. I knew at that moment that I had made the right decision coming here.

I’m going to bring this article to an end and call it part one. Keep an eye out for part two shortly. See you next write!

See you next write!

About the author:

Arion Diaz runs the website OaxacaVideoGuide.com, raises his 9 year old son, meditates, draws, writes and gives private tours in Oaxaca, Mexico. If you´re coming down to Oaxaca for business or vacations, give him a call locally at 951-127-1454 or email him at info@oaxacavideoguide.com. See you soon:)

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