Tales from Mexico

Back from the sun and the warmth of Mexico to heavy rains and record-breaking flooding in the Pacific NW. Mexico was amazing from start to finish - a few stressful moments in there; however, nothing uncharacteristic of any holiday, really. It was wonderful to lose my grasp on time and responsibility and do exactly what I felt like doing, exactly when I wanted to do it. Days spent lazing about on the beach and drinking poolside pina coladas; warm, sultry evenings of indulgence on outdoor patios. There was late-night dancing in the middle of a crowded city square - with passersby wondering just who on earth we were. That electric shock machine - what was that?! I think we all lost a year or two off our lives because we were too damn stubborn to give in to the electrifying pain shooting up our arms, as it meant losing the challenge. Tequila shots and boas(?). I'm still beaming with pride that my man successfully downed a pint in one long gulp without spilling a drop. (I helped him to the car later.)



My girls and I, reunited, were just like old times - as if not a single day had passed since our days in London town. Singing at the top of our lungs in an Irish pub to popular songs performed by a local band, tossing back tequila shot after tequila shot ("Queremos ver si Amanda es amiga...!"), and dancing until our legs felt like jelly. Such fantastic times!

Mexico City itself was quite polluted and poverty-stricken, and I wasn't too taken by the city initially - but having the fabulous tour guide that we did, we were able to experience all the best the city had to offer, which the ordinary tourist would certainly miss. Then it was off to Cuernavaca to explore the cathedrals, then Taxco, a lovely little village where we were nearly stranded on account of the tour company deciding they simply didn't want to carry on to Acapulco. Ana and I threw a nice big fuss, so they sorted us out with first-class bus tickets and a private van to take us to our hotel, which - by the way - was magnificent. We actually weren't sure we had the right place at first. The next couple of days were spent playing in the water on wave-runners and water skis, snorkeling (mildly disappointing as the water was very cloudy and all we really saw was each other), and riding out on a little boat to catch a front-seat show put on by the world famous cliff divers. Like I said, the trip was not without its ups and downs, like when Adi's tequila caught up with him and he had a rather miserable morning and I got to play nursemaid, or when that guy charged us 270 pesos for three pina coladas, or when I donated my sweater to the cabbie, then gave the same cabbie 400 pesos instead of 40. Oh, and then there was the 24-hr flight delay on the way home; but we ended up getting free flights out of it, so it all paid off, which means our flights to NYC will be free. Hey, things happen for a reason.

It was an emotional goodbye for me; good friends are hard to come by and I certainly cherish mine. I'm broke now, so won't be traveling anywhere again before NYC...and then everyone will have to come and visit ME!