letting it flow; mexico to guatemala

if there is anything you need to give up during travel, it’s the need to control any and all situations. because quite honestly, things never happen as you anticipate and seem even more prevalent when you are going ‘by the seat of your pants’ and living out of a small backpack. if anything, travel has continuously reminded me the need to let go, surrender, and fall into some sort of flow that at times feels seamless and other times quite messy.

solo travel puts you in your place. it takes you out of your comfort zone on the daily. it stretches you, forces you to sit with yourself, and feel any and all emotions. sometimes I think I’d be better off staying safe in one place with a stable job, enjoying the routine of everyday life, not worrying about my next week or trying to figure out what’s next… but then I realize that just wouldn’t be me. yes, I am someone who loves routine and finding some sort of makeshift routine keeps me sane while travelling, but I also know that a life of moving around, exploring new areas, and staying open to the opportunities this nomadic lifestyle offers is what brings me to life.

sooooo, what’s been up the last few weeks?

well for starters, I went to mexico. totally unanticipated and last minute, I met a couple others travellers who were going and persuaded me to join entirely by the promise of ‘worlds best tacos’. with that, we packed our bags, took a ridiculously hot and sweaty ten hour bus ride, completed the exhausting border crossing, and ventured our way up north to mexico. settling into southern mexico in the chiapas, we stayed in san cristobal where I fell in love with all things mexico. similar to guatemala, the culture is sprinkled with a very colourful culture, friendly locals, jaw dropping landscapes, beautiful traditional clothing, and unreal food. oh and don’t worry, the tacos did not disappoint.

no sooner than we arrived we had already decided to stay longer than planned. to say it was because we found the best local taqueria in town and extended our stay solely to eat their tacos every night that week wouldn’t be a lie. we also happened to be there during numerous christmas and church festivals that went on for the entire week. endless songs, daily parades, marimba music, and four a.m. full on celebrational bombs (not the best part) added to the experience of it all.

we loved visiting some of the smaller villages in the area, frequenting the local market, roaming the streets endlessly, and taking a small boat tour through some of the areas renowned river canyons (definitely my highlight!). moving through the high walled canyons was surreal and at times the natural beauty of it all emotionally overwhelmed me beyond what I can express in words. it truly make you realize how magnificent and fragile this world is and brings me back to why I believe we all naturally have such a deep draw and true connection with mama earth.

so after a fantastic week in san cristobal we spent two more days up around palenque, mexico where we roamed beautiful old ruins and spent our last day on motor bikes touring around the winding country roads to locate the local waterfall and cool off in the water for the day. it was such a freeing way to spend my last full day in mexico.

so with a heart full of gratitude and stomach full of tacos, I left mexico for a long day of travel back to guatemala. taking the so called ‘less desired’ and longer route, I opted for the back roads as it would avoid the major highway, pass through smaller local villages, and include a small boat river crossing which also served as the border line between the countries. to me, this sounded perfect!

long as the journey may have been, I was happy with my decision and stoked to get back to guatemala. right from the border I promptly headed to flores and tikal, where I was blown away by the UNESCO world heritage site of the ancient maya ruins.  known for being the largest city of the mayan classic period with endless ruins to roam among the dense jungle, the entirety of this experience was truly mind blowing.

after this adventure I headed back down south to antigua. while antigua is known as one of the top spots of guatemala, my experience here wasn’t what I would have hoped for. the city was certainly remarkable with its old colonial buildings, bright colours and neighbouring volcanos, but I was quickly overwhelmed with the extent of tourists in the area. but above that, my experience was mostly damped by a wave of sickness that hit me harder than I had ever experienced in any of my travels. whether it was food poisoning or catching some bug, I became violently ill for an entire week.

after four days of lying sick as a dog in my hostel bed and completely zapped of all energy (that’s what happens when everything that goes in comes out one way or another hahaha), I decided to brave the long chicken bus ride back to xela were I would spend christmas with a friend I studied and lived with during my spanish lessons. while slowly starting to feel better but unable to do much, I figured a change in scenery from my dark hostel dorm was probably necessary. so christmas eve, we ventured from antigua to xela and stayed in an airbnb for a couple of days before embarking on the travel plans we had set for the coming weeks. however, over christmas things got pretty rocky as I was hit again with a bout of the sickness that knocked me out even harder than before. barely able to move in bed, the physical and mental strain of the sickness brought on a strong sense of homesickness that got me pretty good during the holidays. during this time, as my friend and I were also gearing up to leave in the next day or two when I felt better, he suddenly decided that he was going to fly home to europe the very next day.

sick out of my mind, totally caught off guard by the sudden change of plans, and depleted of all emotional and physical energy, I knew I needed some time to slow down and take a breath. deciding to return to lake atitlan, these days were exactly what I needed. this time served as a space to recover and heal, process the changes, explore options of what I wanted to do next, and also revel in the beauty found within some of smaller villages along the lake that quickly brought me back to life.

soaking in the sunshine and warmth, enjoying the slower pace of my days, roaming the streets, connecting with incredible local artisans, and staying with a wonderfully hospitable local family, I sorted out a very tentative plan for the coming week. instead of travelling with my friend as planned, I decided I wasn’t ready to leave guatemala just yet.

maybe it’s been the incredible kindness from the locals, my growing love of the culture, finding bliss roaming the colourful streets, or the simple thrill of riding the chicken busses on the regular, but guatemala has stole my heart and I’m going to squeeze in every last moment of goodness I have in this country now.

heading back to my spanish school in xela and moving into the local yoga studio, I spent one last week in the city to study, practice yoga, and enjoy returning to the familiarities of the city I’ve come to know so well. now, with a total of five weeks of full time spanish lessons under my belt I feel grateful for the hours and hours of one-on-one classes - the struggles, mental exhaustion, and lessons learnt from all of the schooling. having a beginners sense of the language has been incredibly beneficial as I’ve travelled around now, but having never studied spanish prior I know I have a long way to go. that being said, it’s been wonderful to learn so much and leave feeling eager to keep it up!

and now having just returned to the lake again, I feel really content. all of these sudden change in my plans have just gone to show the need to let things unfold naturally, surrender, and simply stay open to the changes. viewing each change of plan not as a closed door, but simply a redirection to something new. so with a couple weeks left in guatemala, I plan to savour each day, get up to a few more adventures, and continue expressing gratitude and joy for all of these experiences before I bounce over to costa rica later in the month.

thanks for following along.

xox.