A home for my words.

I’d been living back in the US for a while at this point. I’d convinced myself that I’d be able to fit in my love of international travel. At one point, I was even working a fun job with “unlimited vacation days.” The issue was, the company relied on me or one other coworker to always be there. That meant that if one of us was out, the other had to be present to hold down the fort. So taking any vacation time was difficult. There were some perks, like how I was able to set up my schedule so that I could work four 10-hour days and use the fifth weekday to do snowboarding lessons for two months without having to use vacation days. Outside of that though, my unlimited vacation days were essentially for naught as I couldn’t travel the way my heart truly desired.

When a friend wanted to celebrate his birthday with a large gang of friends in Guadalajara, Mexico, I decided I would do everything I could to make it happen. And before that, I’d tag on stops in Puerto Vallarta and a day trip to Sayulita!

Puerto Vallarta

I chose a dirt cheap Airbnb that happened to come with homemade breakfast every morning. I’d had a rule to never book an Airbnb if there were no images of the bathroom or if they simply didn’t do a good enough job of showing the bathroom. Let’s just say that I have since reinstated that rule.

So the best part for me was just walking around Puerto Vallarta. I stayed in a very local neighborhood, but it still wasn’t too far from tourist attractions on foot.

I remember the rush I felt on the first day to make it to the beach as quickly as possible. My favorite artist, Justin Nozuka, had released a song at the time that perfectly summed up my emotions once I made it to the shoreline: “I saw the ocean, and I felt myself soften.”

The beach area was always lively with plenty of street art, performances, restaurant, and shopping opportunities to keep visitors entertained. I even did a tour of some of the regional spirits.

I even found out about a hike I could take through local neighborhoods to make it to a view point. I stayed perched there for a while, taking in all of the surrounding buildings and the sea I’d just been relaxing at.

In keeping up with my transparency on the down moments of travel, here are two:

1. Apparently there’s a stereotype that foreigners to the area are there to indulge in certain illicit substances. That meant when my asthma and allergies were triggered by my stuffy lodgings and I found myself sniffling greatly on my way to buy some fresh tortillas, the neighborhood kids taunted me about why they thought I was really sniffling. (*Rolls eyes*)
   
2. I remain a minimalist because it’s just what makes the most sense when you’re someone who has moved and traveled as much as I have. So the main thing I allow myself to buy in each destination is a fridge magnet of the country that I’m in. Only one fridge magnet per country. And while I was shopping for said fridge magnet, I was profiled as if I was trying to rob the joint. For a magnet that probably cost a couple pesos!

But getting to connect with sand, trees, and waves tends to cure much of the ailments that arise from negative human interactions. And I met nice people along the way. I even allowed myself one more purchase: a small painting made by a local artist of a black cat, perched in a window, overlooking the sea. I felt like the cat represented me *^.^* I still have it to this day and it’s one thing I’ll be able to keep no matter how far I travel.

Sayulita

I squeezed Sayulita in as a day trip given my timeline. It’s the type of place that definitely screams out how much it’s built for tourists. I enjoyed touring the main strip, walking along the beach, and then having my all time favorite beach meal: fried fish and fries. I ate like a queen whilst overlooking the beach below.

Guadalajara

This portion of the trip was dedicated to celebrating our friend’s birthday. One of the members of the group had actually been born and raised in Guadalajara, so it was interesting seeing the city through her eyes vs. our own eyes as tourists.

Conclusion

I’m glad I got to experience a few places in Mexico, but there’s still more I’d like to see. I always hear people raving about Mexico City, so that’s on the list. San Cristobal de las Casas and a few of the popular beach towns also pique my interest. So perhaps in the future!