Diary of 3 Weeks in Mexico

June 26th 6:15am
Tuesday

My last days in Mexico flew by~ of course vacation days always do. I’ve just boarded my first plane bound for home, the exact route I took to get here, but in reverse: Houston, Cleveland, Syracuse. I’ll be in the states before nine and home with my parents for the night around 5pm.

We arrived back at the hostel at about 10 the other night and stayed up for awhile emailing family and talking with our hostel friends. We’ve stayed in this same hostel 7 or 8 nights now and have gotten to know the owner and staff and other familiar faces. Exhausted from the weekend we fell into bed about midnight and we slept in yesterday morning… our last day in Mexico was overall quite relaxing. We had brunch with our friend Becky who walked us to her favorite café- a fifties style place with a lot on the menu and great prices.

We chatted for more than an hour and were the only women in the restaurant the whole time. Men came in and out~ either settling by themselves at one large table reading a newspaper and asking for a shoe shine, or in a small bunches gathering in the back to play dominoes or chess. It was a really interesting little bubble- a small slice of a different lifestyle we got to peek into.

After lunch I decided to spend the afternoon at the lake – Lake Chapala is the largest lake in Mexico and small towns border the water’s northern edge, just less than an hour south of Guadalajara. I chose to hop off the bus in Ajijic – a town that could be described as quintisential, but wealthy Mexico. The old streets are narrow and slope downward from the rolling mountains to the lake. The townspeople walk wherever they’re going and there’s only one traffic light in the whole town. The streets leading down to the lake are filled with beautiful shops and fine dining restaurants… and the houses are beautiful.

For such a small town there were a lot of real estate agencies and American couples- and I noticed this place to be a town for retired couples, offering a warm, friendly, easily maneuverable town, with one of everything, other English speakers, a lake and very American-friendly people. It was quite an enjoyable little day trip~ and the bus dropped me back in Guadalajara before 7.

Kristen and I had dinner at our favorite plaza – at the Fenix bar- our most frequented café in the plaza with the church- our last Mexican mean and the first in a few days that hasn’t made my stomach feel sick. It seems the change in diet had begun to upset my insides… but that’s alright. I still enjoyed most of what I tried, and am glad I did at least try.

We spent the night with our hostel friends, having a drink, packing, calling home, and arranging last minute details for the morning. Kristen’s still in bed and has a few more hours until her flight leaves, so we said goodbye quickly at 430 as my cab waited outside.

Looking back, the month of June has passed so quickly, though it feels like so long ago when we began our adventure arriving and meeting in the airport. So much we’ve seen, accomplished, enjoyed, we crammed so much into these 22 days. Yet it’s been incredibly relaxing allowing plenty of time for 5 books worth of reading, lots of writing, some movies and a few mornings sleeping in or days resting on the beach. A bit of a variety of everything Mexico offers, together with Kristen and the people we met along the way… this has made the month an incredible experience. I am going to also be so grateful for this journal. I’ve spent hours deciding how to best describe things and trying to mention everything for I feel that only by recording my experiences can I take some of what I’ve seen home with me.

Coming to Mexico, I didn’t know exactly what I was getting into, recalling my first journal entries, I was so nervous and unsure. This trip and Mexico itself has surpassed all my expectations. It seems while, yes, Mexico is poor in parts, very agricultural, and sometimes behind the times – it’s often by choice. Life is simpler, people are happy, super friendly, accepting, have pride in their country, and are super family orientated. Many Americans have tainted perceptions of what Mexico is~ I can tell you what it is not: its not a country that everyone wants to leave and risk their lives crossing the US border, people aren’t all poor dirty and vengeful toward Americans. The landscapes can be breathtaking and being here can teach you priceless information about your own life. I’m quite sad to leave today.

I thought coming to Mexico would let me cross a country/place of the life list. I found instead I want to explore it further ~ one day visiting the Yuketan and Cozumel, possibly a trip to Mazatlan and Baja’s La Paz, and hopefully one day returning to Guanajuato.

I’ve got a lot of traveling to do.