When I started my trip, I’d planned to only spend about two months in Mexico. And yet here I was, after San Cristóbal, a mere two weeks away from having spent a full 6 months in the country.
I’d loved how I’d been travelling so far. It was so nice spending longer periods of time in each place. It gave me enough time to get to know people and become familiar with the community – and it was a lot cheaper, because AirBnBs, co-working spaces, bike-sharing schemes, and gyms all offer monthly discounts.
But all of that was about to change. As an Australian, I could stay in Mexico for 6 months at a time, and would then have to leave. So in my last two weeks, I had to change my pace. I needed to drop by Oaxaca to pick up some things I’d left there, and then make my way to Mexico City where I’d be getting a tattoo, and then flying out to Guatemala.
How’d it all go? Well, let’s just say things were different….
The hard parts
1. The night bus.
First of all, I got a 10:45pm night bus from San Cris to Oaxaca. It was rough because I had to check out that morning, and then had soooo many hours that I had to pass without a ‘home’.
That doesn’t seem like too big a deal – you’d think I could just visit a museum and maybe go to a cafe and fill up that time. But I’d just gotten sick, and I felt utterly exhausted. I remember desperately wanting to just put my head down for a moment. But without a ‘home’ I had to force myself to stay awake and upright, dragging myself, for hours, between various cafes, drinking copious amounts of tea.
That was bad enough, but then I had to actually go on the night bus. I usually hate it because I sleep terribly. There’s multiple stops through the night and at each stop the lights come on and they loudly call out the name of the stop to wake up anyone who needs to get off there.
But this time was even worse. A tank truck had run off the road in front of us, and we were stuck there, unmoving, for hours, as they tried to determine whether it was likely to blow up.
I’m glad they were being safe, obviously. But it did mean that I was on this bus for over 14 hours. I ran out of water pretty early on. I hadn’t packed snacks either, and I was starving. My stomach hurt. And the aircon was on full blast, making the air so dry that it hurt to breath.
It was basically my idea of torture. I think I’ve learned my lesson this time – I am never getting on a night bus again.
2. Getting locked out
After getting the night bus to Oaxaca, I spent the day feeling like a zombie. I was so sleep deprived and sick and grumpy. So I figured I’d have a nice dinner and go to sleep really early that night.
I went home early and got ready for bed. But just as I was turning off my light, I heard the bathroom door swinging in the wind. I stepped outside to close it properly, and my bedroom door shut behind it.
The AirBnB I was staying at in Oaxaca was an open apartment. The corridor was essentially ‘outside’, and each room had its own lock and key. I had just gotten locked out of my room, without my phone or a jumper, or anything at all. The other rooms were also locked up. I couldn’t even leave the apartment, because opening the front door also required a key.
I legitimately thought about curling up on the wet floor of the shower. I was so tired and so cold. Instead, I wrapped a few towels around me and curled up in the hammock. A cloud of mosquitos surrounded me and I tried to wrap the towels tighter to protect myself. The two towels weren’t enough to deal with the cold either, so I curled up in a foetal position and just shivered for hours, changing positions every little while as my thighs cramped up.
It was literally 5 or 6 hours until Sebastian (my host, but also kind of a friend who I knew from the last time I’d been in Oaxaca), got back from his DJ-ing gig and let me back in with the spare keys. Such an awful night, and all entirely my own fault. So much for catching up on sleep!
3. Kefir-gate
Two days after that, I’d booked a tour to Monte Alban and some other ruins, and woke up extra early that morning so I could go to Boulenc first to buy a jar of kefir and a sourdough sandwich. On my way back I suddenly realised that my arm felt a bit wet. I pulled my bag off my shoulder and realised that the entire jar of kefir had spilt all through my bag.
I had my phone in there, and my kindle, and my headphones. And a book. And so many other things. I was also meant to go on that tour in another 20 minutes. So I had a very short amount of time in which I had to rush home, clean everything out, and desperately try to save my electronics. And then I had to literally sprint to the pick-up point for the tour.
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It was incredibly stressful. My Kindle died, which sucked, although my headphones and phone managed to pull through. And Boulenc offered me a replacement kefir for free, which was nice.
Anyway, when I got to Mexico City, I bought a replacement Kindle, this time waterproof. Hopefully it’ll be better able to withstand any future accidents I have.
The best parts
Monte Alban
I hadn’t gotten around to visiting Monte Alban the last time I was in Oaxaca, but I went this time, and it was so cool. First of all, the place is enormous. It was the biggest pre-Hispanic city in Oaxaca for 13 centuries, and is thought to have been the capital of the Ancient Zapotec Empire.
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Second of all, it’s gorgeous – both the ruins and the views around it. The Ancient Zapotecs flattened the top of a mountain to build Monte Alban – although nobody knows how they managed to do that. Either way, it has perfect 360 degree views around it, which was useful at the time to see approaching enemies. The enemies are less of a concern now, but it does mean you get absolutely breathtaking views all around.
But here’s the coolest thing – or maybe the saddest thing. After being inhabited by both the Zapotecs and later the Mixtecs, and surviving for thousands of years, Monte Alban was abandoned by the time the Conquistadors arrived. Not only abandoned, but intentionally covered up with earth and vegetation so that it was hidden. I wonder why. How does an entire city – a capital – get abandoned? Maybe we’ll never know – but it is still only partially excavated, so maybe one day it’ll yield more of its secrets.
El Jardin Etno-botanico
A garden doesn’t sound that exciting, but the Jardin Etno-botanico was one of my favourite experiences in Oaxaca de Juarez. You can’t go alone, you have to go on a tour – but oh man it’s worth it. When you go on the tour, they explain the importance of the different plants they’ve got there, and you learn so much about Mexico’s history and geography and culture at the same time.
For example, did you know that vanilla is actually endemic to Mexico? It’s a type of orchid and it used to grow wild in their forests. Mesoamericans used vanilla beans for their scent, to create jewellery, and to flavour their food and drinks. In fact, for a very long time, Mexico was the only place in the world you could get vanilla, even after the Spanish came there, because until 1841, when it was discovered that you could hand pollinate vanilla orchids, people would try growing vanilla in other countries but the plants wouldn’t produce beans.
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But during the Mexican revolution, production of vanilla in Mexico halted, and afterwards, huge swathes of Mexican forests were cut down to run gas lines through the land instead. Without the forest ecosystem and microclimates, the vanilla plants struggled to grow. Mexico went from being at one point the only producer, and later the major producer of vanilla in the world, to only producing a tiny amount of vanilla, usually produced by indigenous families and small farms. Richer Mexicans would process the vanilla and sell it on, but the farmers made hardly any money so that little by little, fewer and fewer people could afford to produce vanilla here.
Madagascar is the major producer of vanilla in the world now, but their vanilla actually came from Mexico – it was brought over by the French in the 1890s. In fact so many famous and ubiquitous plants around the world came from Mexico, and they all have fascinating stories like this – which you can hear all about at the Jardin Etno-Botanico. Highly recommend visiting.
Shut up and Write in Mexico City
Writing is hard! It’s hard getting myself to sit down and write, and it’s hard getting ideas and figuring out how to say what I want to say – both when I’m blogging, and when I’m trying to work on my novel.
But when I was in Mexico City I went along to a Shut Up and Write meetup, and it was awesome. We went to Banneton Bistro, which is one of those cool places where they only have 6 things on the menu – written by hand, on the window – and it changes every day depending on what the chef wants to cook. They had such good food – it’s all Mexican/international fusion, and the chef picks a different country’s cuisine each time to ‘fuse’ with, so you can basically eat your way around the world if you go there regularly.
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I think it was open just for us, and we took over the top floor, ate together, drank some wine, and wrote. Often when travelling places for a short time, you don’t really get a lot of social interaction – actually, you do, but it can feel like a lot of work when you’re constantly meeting new people. This was a really nice way to get to spend time with other people who like doing the same thing I like doing, in a low pressure, comfortable, and welcoming environment.
Lucia Mercado Sustenable
It may seem weird that I’m adding a store to this list, but I loved this store so much and popped in a few times while I was in Mexico City. It’s a zero-waste store – the first one I’ve been to in my entire life. It was around the corner from my AirBnB and had so many delicious snacks, like chips made out of dried hibiscus flowers, which were delightfully salty, sweet and tart at the same time.
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Everything was in giant jars, with tongs or pumps to let you measure out exactly how much you want. I carry lots of reusable containers with me, so I filled up on snacks, soap, moisturising cream and black tea. I was so impressed by the high quality of everything there, and also by how cheap it all was. I love this idea so, so much and at some point in the future, I kind of think I’d like to start my own zero-waste store.
The lessons
Things change when you leave
This is so obvious. I’d loved the time I spent in Oaxaca de Juarez. I’d loved the time I spent in CDMX. But it just wasn’t the same when I came back. Friendships are like baby little seedlings – you plant them and they’re growing well, but if you go away for ages, you can’t come back and expect them to still be growing strongly. And people leave, or go on holiday, so even though you’ve come back, the people you want to see might not all be there.
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Anna had warned me about this. She said that even if I wanted to move to Oaxaca de Juarez permanently or semi-permanently, going to San Cris for a month would change the friendships and routines I’d built up in Oaxaca. And she was right. I didn’t end up staying permanently or semi-permanently, but if I had, it would have felt a bit like starting again I think. Not entirely mind you – it was so nice to see some people, like Jair and Gary and Evelyn, and even Christian from Cafe El Volador – but for the most part, you don’t just pick frienships up where you left them. They definitely regress.
Travel days just suck
Travel days suck. No matter what you do, they’re always exhausting, and it’s almost inevitable that you’ll feel grumpy and tired and unmotivated.
Every time I arrive in a new place, that first day is hard and I think that I don’t really like that city or town. Then I get a good night’s sleep and my whole perspective changes. Now I’ve learned to just accept that I’ll be a bit depressed and moody that first day.
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But I’ve also worked out a great routine for those first days. I shower and then I unpack fully. Unpacking fully makes such a difference – it makes the place feel like home. I even put out some art (the lithography prints Amy and I made, and/or the drawings I’ve done) to decorate each new room and make it feel more familiar and cosy.
Then I go to the supermarket and buy whatever supplies I need. If I’m staying longer, I’ll suss out a co-working space, maybe a gym, and maybe a laundromat. And then I’m set! I usually go to bed early, and read a book or watch Netflix so I can just relax and veg out after doing all that hard work to get set up.
Having a routine helps any place feel a bit more like home
Short term travel feels harder than long term travel. You don’t have as much time to get used to a new place – and even though I’d been to both Oaxaca de Juarez and Ciudad de Mexico before, I was staying in completely different parts of town this time, so I still felt like I was in a new place.
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But what I found really helped was sticking to my routine. On Mondays I’d draw in the afternoon. On Thursdays I’d work on my blog. And on weekends I’d lose myself in a book, and enjoy feeling like I had no responsibilities in the world at all.
I think this is so important for long term travellers. Moving around constantly can leave you feeling adrift otherwise, and it can be lonely when you constantly leave behind whatever friends you make. Routine is definitely responsible for keeping me happy and sane.
I did wonder, given how much I loved San Cris, if I wouldn’t like Oaxaca de Juarez or Ciudad de Mexico as much. But I loved being back in both of those places. They’re all so different, but all wonderful in their own ways.
I still don’t love short term travel, at least while working. It’s exhausting. You try to fit so much into a short amount of time, and when things go wrong, it’s a lot to deal with.
But despite all of that, there is something to be said about knowing that you only have a few days in a place. You treat every moment as if it’s far more special and precious than you do when you stay somewhere for a long time – when it’s easy to start taking things for granted. So I’m glad I had that reminder.
Goodbye Mexico, at least for now. Next stop: Guatemala.
The Way of the Potato 