Viva Mexico!
I just got back from a week in beautiful, sunny, Mexico with my even more beautiful, sunny wife and I feel amazing. I can not tell you how much I needed that vacation. It dawned on me, as I was sitting on the beach, how much taking a little time away from your routine helps you to hit the “reset” button. You gain perspective, inspiration, and a sense of confidence in what your next steps are supposed to be. Now that we got that out of the way, if you’ve never been to Mexico you have to go!
We got off the plane in Cancun and onto a bus which took us to Playa Del Carmen where we’d spend the next week in paradise. Walking out of the bus station the first thing to hit my face was the sun and the breeze. We started walking down 5th Ave., little shops and vendors lining the streets. From behind a man approached and spoke to me in broken english, “You want some blow?” he said to me. I smiled at him and replied, “No, that’s alright.” We walked past 4th St., then 6th St., and a little vendor stepped away from his cart to ask me, “You like to get high?” Again, with a smile on my face, I replied, “Thank you, but not today.” We finally made it to 8th where we turned right and began down the sloped street toward our hotel and the Caribbean Sea which lay ahead of us. We approached our hotel and saw a kind looking, older gentleman walking around selling cigars. As we passed him he said, “Cigars?” and I said back to him, “Not right now but maybe after we get settled in.” He retorted with a grin, “You like something better?” Still staring at him we walked through the front door of our hotel.
After checking in and getting our luggage to our room, which was a beautiful example of how minimalism can be so elegantly done, we decided it was time to grab a bite to eat. We headed back downstairs and out onto the street where we were met by the same older gentleman who, again, offered me cigars or “something better.” Walking slightly faster up the sloped street we turned the corner to a hybrid street/marketplace full of beautiful sights, intoxicating smells, friendly merchants, and two men offering us, consecutively, “booger sugar,” “nose candy,” and “dookie,” which I have to admit I don’t think I’d ever heard of until that moment. We politely declined all of their offers and ducked into a corner restaurant where we both exchanged looks and had a great laugh.
The rest of the trip was amazing and was sprinkled with many of the same offers. Regardless, Playa Del Carmen is a place I would definitely travel back to in a heartbeat. The locals were so friendly, the food was unbelievably fresh and delicious (we found a place where they made their own tortillas as you ordered), the beach was beautiful, and the air was clean and refreshing. Traveling reminds me of how massive and diverse this world truly is and how much there is to experience and learn. This fall we plan on traveling to New York for an extended weekend and next year we’re seriously considering England as our destination.
If you can, travel. Even if it’s within your own country I guarantee you’ll have experiences you’ve never had before and see things you may never have known existed. The world is too beautiful a place to deny it from being seen.
If you have a suggestion or an observation about something, anything, please e-mail it to me at ducttapebacon@gmail.com or feel free to post a comment.
Cheers,
- Justin
