150 Happenings & Thoughts From My Trip to Mexico
#4. I was nervous about my first time traveling with friends, but it was amazing.
This was supposed to be a list of 100 but there was simply too much good stuff to try to condense it. I broke it up into the following categories:
Random
Meeting
Friends/New Connections
Food
Mexico
Animals
Money
Funny
Excursions/Fun
Productivity
Me
Takeaways
I feel like having a list like this actually makes the trip that much more real and tangible when I look back at it. It’s something I’ll probably continue for future trips. It’s those small moments that bring the experience back to life for me. A list like this is a way I can bottle up those small, insignificant moments and jokes that brings the experience back to life for me. (Give it a try! And if you do, let me know how it goes!)
Random
I’m impressed with my Spanish skills (I guess language sticks with you).
Had an hour-long conversation that flowed in and out of Spanish and English naturally.
Expats are an awesome community of people.
I was nervous about my first time traveling with friends, but it was amazing.
So this is what an episode of Real World would actually feel like…
We all need someone who takes the lead, gets shit done, and keeps us all on track (and it’s not me).
It’s never too late to learn how to swim.
Cold showers help you feel alive.
No luck finding a scorpion.
I’ve definitely gained weight on this trip.
Here’s to a proud winter tan.
Meeting
Celebrating 12 years clean with a bunch of strangers who felt like family.
So grateful to be part of a worldwide recovery fellowship (most welcoming meeting I’ve ever been to).
Had my first meeting on the beach.
Helping someone else in a moment of need is the most rewarding thing ever.
Reaffirmed the power of deep listening - people don’t need advice, they just need space.
FYI “I’ve spilled more than you’ve drank” is NOT something to say to a newly sober 20-year old.
A meeting where all women were the celebrants!
Friends
Get a picture of your friends you can use for blackmail (sorry Matt).
New friends are just waiting to be made everywhere.
It feels good to have more brotherly figures in my life: they’re family.
Amazing how deep you can get with someone you just met.
It’s beautiful to have family, whether blood or choosen.
“Take up space, girl. Take up space.”
Cameramen
Cameramen are hilarious, always trying to get the perfect shot.
Walking around with a professional cameraman taking photos and asking you to pose must be how famous people feel.
It’s fun seeing cameramen play with their toys.
Being around people who have what you want normalizes the possibility of you achieving it, too.
If you put in the hard work, you’ll be successful.
Gays
Yes, there are gays in Mexico (Hiiiiiii fammmmmmmmm!!!).
It’s nice to have moments with an option to go back in the closet, and to not do it.
Coming out is a big deal. Even if you already did it. Even if you were young. Even if it’s not a big deal anymore. Some people may never have the courage to do that. They may never get the chance to live as their free authentic self. Imagine your last minutes being alive, and realizing that you never gave yourself a chance to really live. That’s heartbreaking to me.
New Connections
Ask your masseuse her name. Get her a glass of water. Help her carry her table to her car.
Ran into a random friend from NY. Small world.
When a lady asks you to take a photo, impress her by also doing a cool video.
Met my soul sister Tricia (way too many similarities to be a mistake)--and we keep in touch!
Vulnerability is a refreshing breath of fresh air; it’s someone speaking in your language in a foreign country.
Food
Best ceviche and guac ever.
A friend ordered the most delicious looking lamb dish and I didn’t eat it. I guess I really am a pescatarian.
It’s weird to eat octopus after watching My Octopus Teacher (I think I might stop).
Imagine having a restaurant somewhere it rains so infrequently that your restaurant doesn’t need a roof (Tulum).
Nutella pizza: YES YES YES
At the Turkish restaurant, opt for the spot on floor for the full experience.
Ginger beer—hell yes (I need to learn how to open a glass bottle with no bottle opener for next time).
Best hot chocolates and chais I’ve ever had.
Abuelita es mi amor nueva.
Horchata actually isn’t dairy.
You might not get sick while in Mexico (just don’t drink tap water).
If you can find local yogurt, eat it for the local cultures and probiotics.
After 2 hours of sleep, it’s nice to still not crave coffee.
Siempre es temporada de helados.
Sharing meals and desserts is better.
It’s sacrilegious to have a meal without soup (Chinese tradition).
Apparently there’s one lady in town who makes BOMB tres leches.
Mexico
My curly hair loves Mexico.
Experienced what it’s like to visit a developing country.
I could never be one of those taxi hustler sales folks at the airport.
Mexico gets a bad wrap.
People here are really hardworking. And they care a lot about relationships and family.
I can’t wait to visit South America.
The resort walls on Route 307 are beautiful.
Calling people friends and family is a cultural norm. I like it. Hey amiga.
Tulum is such a cute little city, so is Playa de Carmen.
Happened to arrive the same day Mexico declares it’s at war against the cartel.
Federales are freaking intimidating (but a woman in uniform…..ooohh la la!).
Federales have a police dog that doesn’t need a leash. Why do ours need a leash then?
Share your location if you’re afraid of being kidnapped.
The stars look clearer in Mexico.
Slow reception is good reason to not be on your phone so much.
Looks like 70 degree January days might need to be a new travel ritual.
Animals
The Dogs of Akumal don’t need my help?
Saving frogs from the pool.
The micro moment of spending a moment with a little crab in his own little world.
Dogs ride on mopeds.
You might get pooped on at the spider monkey sanctuary. Be prepared to buy a new shirt.
I cried on the spot hearing about someone’s dog who passed away the day after she got back from college.
Raccoons visiting our deck at night.
Street signs to beware of Jaguars???!!!
Sneaky little lizards everywhere.
The bird sounds in that one park sounded like a horror movie.
Money
Gave my credit card to someone to pay for an excursion, and then trusted the address they told us to drive to to get there.
Buy the photos. They’re overpriced, but a year from now, you won’t remember what you paid. You’ll remember the experience.
Buy the shirt that’s too small if you really love it. You’ll make it fit.
100 pesos is about $5. Quick math for pesos to dollars is to move the decimal to the left once and then divide it by 2 (Ex. 3000 pesos=$150).
Trust is the most valuable currency.
Wow, it’s possible to vacation cheap: lunch for 4 people, drinks, apps and desserts—$40.
“Do you want to insure your ATM withdrawal?” Ummmmmmm….?
Street performers block traffic until they get a tip. Annoying, but brilliant tactic if you ask me.
Yes, $20 for a bracelet is a lot, but at least you’ll remember it now. And you’re supporting the Mexican economy. (I forgot to haggle.)
Funny
Yoshi only crashed the car 5 times.
It’s a rental, don’t be gentle.
Family is all those seemingly insignificant moments of closeness and teasing (making fun of each other is a love language).
“Glad to be your Jeff.”
“Loosen those wrists, fellas.”
“Want to go pee and see a dolphin?”
Knees need sunblock too. Who would’ve thunk?
NYers haggle the best: “Can you do better?”
It’s nice to be silly with other silly people.
Why is my tongue always doing weird things in every photo?
Excursions/fun
Snorkeling is magical–hearing only your breathe and that crackling of the ocean.
ATVing is fun but I don’t think I’ll do it again. Dune-buggying though—sure!
ATVing is more fun as a passenger. Leave a mud stained handprint on your friend’s chest from death gripping them.
Talk about the dangers of ATVing after you finish.
Cenotes! Underground natural lakes, they’re beautiful. (You’ll kick yourself if you don’t dive in.)
If at first you don’t jump and succeed, try again.
I know it’s scary, but it’s more scary up there than down here.
At Tulum ruins, the holes in the houses are not bathtubs. They’re where they buried the dead.
Found a really cool sand spinner meditation thing.
Saw the biggest 7-11 sign ever (taller than me).
Dancing at the club…in the rain
Dance in the rain at the club. The dance floor opens up a lot more.
Ignore the 7 people that ask if you want to do coke at the club.
When you order a drink while women are standing on the bar counter, don’t look up. And also, offer to help them down. (Why are they up there?)
Jump in the club jacuzzi with your jeans on.
Don’t charge your phone when you just danced in the rain.
Productivity
Hearing that people read and connect with my work touches me straight to the heart.
A zoom doesn’t have to have video on to be effective.
A 30-minute monthly call can really change things with the right person and right conversation.
Keeping overhead low doesn’t mean you can’t spend $30 a month for that thing you really need.
Had a coaching session on the beach. Something about being present with waves crashing is so perfect.
Me
Grateful for (and obsessed with) the brick ceiling in my room.
Wiggle your toes when you’re happy, why not?
We’re Not Really Strangers is awesome game, definitely recommend.
Massages on the beach are amazing .
And nothing wrong with 2 massages in 1 week.
Most people are tense on one side or the other–I’m tense on both.
I have a tendency to downplay the big things I’ve accomplished in my life.
Many people spend their whole lives talking about leaving a situation they’re not happy about. I’ve already done it.
My life is beyond blessed and full of all the best spiritual gifts. I’m so full of love.
Grateful for a life I don’t need to run from, and a self that I’m at home in.
It feels good to be with other people, but I still need time by myself.
I love starting my day with silence and writing.
What is an adventurer?
I crave depth. It can be intense for some folks, but it livens me up.
It’s not my job to help anyone that doesn’t want my help (and it’s not up to me to say who needs help).
Relaxing
I’ve learned how to relax and not need to constantly be doing something
It’s okay to take a vacation to another country just to nap in the sun.
I don’t feel bad about sleeping in until 10am on vacation.
Crying
It’s okay to cry on vacation. Numerous times. It doesn’t mean anything is wrong or that you’re not happy. Sometimes it’s the space you need.
I like reading books and crying on the beach, apparently.
The Orphaned Adult (book). One day, if we’re lucky, we’ll all be orphans. How can we process that grief?
Takeaways
It’s nice to have a job you don’t dread coming back home to.
It’s nice to not take myself so seriously.
It can be scary to be intimate. To say, “This trip made me feel closer to you. And I love you.”
I miss the feeling of coming home to someone and sharing about my day. Even the boring days.
I seem to make friends everywhere I go (guy on plane, kid on plane, Lyft driver, Gia).
It’s nice to not need to escape from my life.
Life changing moments don’t get celebrated with fireworks and a loud bam. They’re quiet times where suddenly, everything changes.
You deserve being splurged on.
Reunion trip needed.