Northern Cabos, La Paz - Feb 13
Having not been able to eat much the day before, I went to get some food a bit before check out. I didn’t eat much but at least it was something. I packed up and headed out, saying goodbye to the owner as I left. At the time I don’t think I realized that I was still sick so I went on as if nothing was amiss. Little did I know that the hangover was still lingering. I had to stop several times because of the heat and my own exhaustion. Once I arrived at the bus station I felt pretty bad but hopped on the bus all the same. It took about 35 minutes, including one rough two minute period where I thought I would be sick, before I was finally able to relax and sleep a little.
The bus took about three hours and then we arrived in La Paz just as the sun was setting. I took a little bit of time to shake off the bus ride buzz and took a taxi to the hostel, which is a little difficult to find because it’s basically a house where people let you stay. I met a Frenchman named Roman, or something like that, and he invited me out but I had just eaten two pieces of nutella on toast and was out for the night.
What to Do, Spend Money of Course - Feb 14
After my Nutella induced coma of 14 hours a woke up to an email saying my flight payment had not been accepted, sweet. I began searching around for other flights only to find that first class was the only ticket type I could purchase. I opted to call the airline before hand and they kindly told me my card was declined, for no reason I might add, and that I needed new tickets. If you ever want to know how to double your ticket price just let me know, it is super easy and only the slightest amount annoying and frustrating.
I then called to book a spot on a tour for Isla Espiritu Santo which I was almost able to do in Spanish but, alas, Spanish without gestures from someone’s face or hands is still difficult for me. It was looking like I was going to be late for the meetup for the boat trip but luckily the owners of the hostel were headed to town and gave me a ride, nice.
First stop on the trip was a look/swim with some whale sharks. The one we found was not big, a little less than 3 meters but still pretty cool to see. I opted to not pay extra for the snorkel and fins but jumped in the water and took a look as best I could. Next up was a quick stop at a beach to pick up wet suits where I spoke with some of the other people, regretably, in English. We then headed to see some sea lions, which was cool but I decided to stay on the boat this time around mostly because of the cost of a wet suit and the lack of shade in the water, I had forgotten to bring my sunscreen. The last real stop was another beach for lunch where we had sandwiches and ceviche and then relaxed for a good while.
On the way back we stopped at a few cool rock formations and things where the captain explained a lot of things in Spanish and I’ll admit that sometimes I tune out and just look at stuff. Once back in town, I went for a nice lenghty jaunt around town, ate some wings that I did not like and went back to the hostel once again. It was a simple day after the wings fiasco and I believed I was satisfied with the amount of stuff I saw.
Starting to Enjoy Reading and Waiting - Feb 15
Flight day! Today I got up at a leisurely hour, slowly packed my things and headed for the airport. I asked for directions for the nearest taxi at an Oxxo and a kind man told me about the clinic where they pick up. I thanked him and headed out but before I could make it a block, the same man pulled up in his car and offerred me a ride free of charge because the taxis were too expensive. What a nice dude. He told me about paying it forward and how I am lucky to be able to do what I’m doing and he’s totally right, sometimes I need to be reminded that, even though some things don’t go that well for me I’m still incredibly fortunate to be able to do what I’m doing. That was a great mental boost for me.
I arrived at the airport a little bit earlier than the recommended three hours before my flight and decided to spend it reading. This is how I read basically all of Brave New World in one sitting. Thanks for the recommendation, Dan. I haven’t been much of a reader in the past but I’ve got to say that I’m starting to enjoy my time reading and relaxing more and more. I don’t know if that is just an age thing or if I’m just that idiot that hasn’t read enough in his life but either way at least I’m enjoying it.
First flight, first class, overpriced, slimy yet satisfying. It was a strange experience to get the looks from people that said “You do not look like a first class kind of guy.” as I parked my butt in the seat prior to throwing my beat up backpack in the overhead and sporting my hodge-podge of a tank-top, pull-over, hat, shorts, and running shoes. It felt kind of good though, maybe they thought I was some sort of young millionaire or something. Who knows. The flight went by smooth enough and we landed in the Mexico City Airport. At this airport I quickly found my gate and sat down. Along comes an elderly woman who has previously left her things on a chair. She sits down, lies down, and about two minutes pass before she falls asleep. Not seven minutes later I am given the privelege of hearing the loudest, most ear-piercing fart I’ve ever heard in public come from this lady. She jolted herself awake, quicly sat up and I proceeded to leave my seat to go laugh. I can’t say it makes my ticket price increase worth it, but it definitely helped.
One hour of a movie later and I landed in Puerto Vallarta, payed way too much for a taxi and met the kind girl who stayed late at the hostel to check me in a little after midnight. Alls well that ends well.
A Beach for Everything - Feb 16
I woke up, ate some cereal and managed to have a short Spanish conversation with the new woman behind the hostel counter about how to get to a few of the places I wanted to visit. I then basically spent the day exploring the city. I walked south down the beaches, sat, read, and watched the people. I did that again while coming up the beach too. Then again a little further up. I checked out the malecón and found the restaurant that I was recommended.
After the food and a shower I walked upstairs to see who was hanging out. Luckily for me it was basically everyone. I introduced myself, grabbed a beer and our night began. We chatted for a while, we being the Frenchies, three Danes, an American, and the Dutchman, and eventually the Polish girl that works at the hostel. A few of us grabbed dinner and then hung out at the hostel again. It take much time for them to get it out of me that I sing and play guitar. So, I immediately started playing the songs in my repertoire until my audience eventually yelled out requests that I was happy to oblige using my phone when necessary, which was almost every song. This continued until 4am. At some point during the night we made plans to go to Sayultia and split up to go to sleep.
A Surf Town and A Whole Chicken - Feb 17
Like clockwork, everyone that had agreed was awake and ready to depart to Sayulita. The group was made up of Barbara (the Polish hostel worker), Jesse (the American), and myself (god knows what I am to them). We met up with Barbara’s friend Sofia at the Walmart stop, wished her a happy birthday and got on the next bus for the surf town of Sayulita.
Upon arrival we split to get food, Jesse and I went to a small chicken cart. Seeming like he knew what he was doing quickly ordered “Dos pollos, por favor.” After seeing how much chicken they put on the grill to heat up, I immediately understood that they took his order to mean two whole chickens where Jesse was expecting two tacos. I’m confident that my Spanish would allow a fix to this problem, but instead I let it happen, taking a chicken for myself and splitting the bill. We ate what we could, walked around the town, and head to the beach where we met up with the girls again. And so began a whole lot of chilling at the beach. I didn’t spend much time reading, instead opting to grab some of the extra sleep I felt entitled too after being made to sing for five hours straight.
At some point Jesse decided to explore the town more and that was the last we saw of him for the night. As the sun set we ended up meeting with Edwin and another hostel-goer named Efren from the night before. We grabbed a few beers and chatted on the beach until it was time for our bus. One sleepy but bumpy ride later and we made it to sweet bedlike salvation.
Here’s a photo of the sunset in Sayulita.
Lapping Around Yelapa - Feb 18
Having made some plans with the group last night to visit Punta Negra I was up on time for our 9am departure. The problem was that Efren was the only other person who was also ready. Jesse was up and about while I was reading in the lounge area and I was sick of waiting for people so we both decided to check out my originally desired location of Yelapa, a recommendation from Gonzo.
We took a bus to Boca-something-or-other (too lazy to type into Google) and were greated by a man who spoke English well. While selling us the tickets for the water taxi he told us that they were 140 pesos each, for a total of 280. I heard him say some different number so I attempted to repeat him saying “240, right?” and he looked a bit confused and started to write down my number. I had no intention of changing the price because it was already pretty reasonable but I didn’t know that this sort of thing would’ve even worked. One water taxi later and we were in Yelapa. We quickly walked up to see the waterfall which acted as a nice fresh water shower and massage and headed to the beach for some food, beer, and relaxation.
Here’s a photo of a cat I found while waiting for the water taxi, no context included! The internet loves cats and I’m just trying to get famous.
Jesse tried his first ceviche, and loved it. I’m so glad I could introduce someone else to this dish, so damn tasty. If you haven’t, try it. Almost too soon and it was time to head back on the boat. But before we did that, the same man from before was adding up our bill for the restaurant. He gave us the total of 420 pesos, to which I jokingly replied “Don’t you mean 380?” We laughed and he took Jesse’s 500 peso bill. After Jesse got his cash we quietly realized that he gave us 120 pesos in change. I then came to the conclusion that I have some secret power of influence. It is a power I will weild with the utmost brazen disregard. Yeah, disregard is the right word.
Another water taxi and bus and we were back at the hostel, saying goodbye to one of the French people from the other night who, unfortunately, did not get to see the whales she was wanted to see for the past two days. I quickly parked myself here in the lounge area and began writing this blog post. Now I’m thinking about what to write next as I write this sentence.
Wait.
I can see that I’ve caught up to myself on the blog. Nice!
At this point I’m figuring out buses and accommodation for Guadalajara and pensively thinking about what I actually want to accomplish with the rest of my travels. At first, I decided to travel mainly because I had some friends who recommended Mexico and I had a blast trying to learn Spanish so I wanted an outlet to try it out and become truly fluent. As I go, I’m realizing that I’m kind of just following a path that I think anyone might take through this country instead of putting more thought into where I want to go, what I want to see, and how I want to do it. I know I want to make more friends, I know I want to become more fluent in Spanish, but I’m not sure where I want to do that.
If you’ve got suggestions for anything I’d love to hear them. Thanks for reading, everyone!