It was worth it...

      What a roller coaster day it has been! It was hard to wake up, our posh hotel room in Mex City was comfy and dark. We are taking things day by day, without set plans, because with a dog you never know what unforseen obstacles you may run into. We actually had to sneak Oscar into the hotel last night, shhhhh!
     We checked out quickly this morning and hopped a cab to the bus station. We got there about twenty mins before our bus was to leave. I had checked the ADO website, and dogs were allowed so we put Oscar into his soft carrier and stood in line for tickets. After a slight scare( you don't take credit cards???), we got in line to load the bus. Then my heart sank, I was going to have to put Oscar in the cargo zone UNDER the bus! NO! I attempted to pay to let him be up with us, but alas the answer was no, and the bus was leaving in two mins with or without us! I was scared, but I had no choice. I tried to place him in a safe spot, and I prayed for a stop or two along the 7 hr trip to take him out.  We have his hard kennel but we had no time to put him in it. About 2 hours into it, the bus stopped the driver walked down the aisle returned to his seat and we started moving again. Ugh no stop for Oscar. Finally, without any stops we made it to Oaxaca. As soon as we stopped they started unloading the bus and a man came and pulled me to the other side of the bus and pointed at the cargo bay. There was Oscar, tail waggin and happy as a lark. He had gotten out of his carrier and rode the trip chilling on the luggage, my little escape artist! Happily reunited, we went inside the station decided on a hostel for the night. Oh man! We picked the right one. It is incredible. Its a compound with a few adobe-brick houses, a cafe and a bar, a pool, and plenty of room for Oscar to explore. Julieta welcomed us, showed us around and set us up with  a tour of some ruins tomorrow. Jay and I just kept exclaiming to each other that we couldn't believe we were at such an awesome spot. I can't imagine it getsmuch better than this! Our private cabin has a king size bed, a/c, breakfast, and an ensuite bathroom (not common in hostels)...for $16 a day (220 pesos)!  Here are some pics from the ride down and La Villada!

PS: I'm writing this from the hammock on our balcony!