These are a few of my favorite things...

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Buen dia.

Ive been thinking of some of my favorite things and experiences of Mazunte. Ill be leaving probably tomorrow or the next day and have a lot of free time to reminisce on what Ive really loved here. Im gonna break it down.

1. Swimming everyday. At least once, probably twice. The waves are just big enough to be super fun to play in but not big enough to be dangerous. Go farther up the coast and they get big enough that people arent supposed to swim, only experienced surfers. These waves still get big enough though that if youre not watching, they can catch you can have you rolling up the beach. It was scary for me at first but once I realized they werent actually taking me anywhere, it was fun. Expcept for the water up the nose, which is always uncomfortable. Or if youre tumbling along the bottom and get your back roughed up. Ive learned some killer moves though to respond to the break. Diving underneath it, which pretty fun. I was afraid at first because at this time I had had a few rough tumbles and facing the wave head on seemed frightening. The second move is the superman where you propel yourself into the curl of the wave and pop out the back of it. The bigger the wave, the higher you pop out and its really fun.

2. Crabs. Little crabs, big crabs. The last place I usually see them is on the beach though. They hang out in town, at hostels along the beach and on roads. Im pretty sure I saw some burrowing in holes in the ground too. Theres a small street running parallel to the hostel that I walk down often and its fun at night to see something dark scurry quickly away. My first night I didnt know what it was.

3. Hammocks. I have built such a deep appreciation for hammocks than Ive ever had before. Id like to shout out Tommy, for supplying me with a hammock the day before I left. You were right Tommy, its such a great hammock and very versatile. There are many other hammocks here, but much less comfortable and there inferior to my hammock. Theres a solid 2 or 3 hours of the day when its just straight up too hot to do anything but sway in a hammock and hope for breeze.

4. People. Ive met some lovely people here. Some in the hostel, some outside. My first week here especially there was a really rad group of people that made the best company. We would just laze around the hostel in the sand most of the day and talk or swim. Some sisters from Argentina that gave me some really positive and life changing education about child birth capoeira and shared their matte with me, several aussies who are always good hearted and down for a laugh, a wonderful motorcycle traveler from Sweden and an og Brit who was more or less aussie convert. When they all left, I was a bit sad but it was alright. I had made some other friends and had reading material and writing that I needed to do. There is a yoga shala, the om shanti community. They were doing drop in yoga classes just 5 minutes away on that street behind the hostel until they relocated yesterday (theyre still closeby though). There are some really cool people involved there. I met a really cool drummer from Colorado named Stray. He does african drum classes on Sundays and theyve been really fun. A group of us are going to have a drum circle on the beach tonight, and the moon is either full or almost full so that will be really cool. The teacher from the aerial class. The aerial class is also on that small street behind the hostel which is awesome. Shes young but incredibly strong and a good teacher. Ive almost learned a new hoop move, its a drop. I would have probably done it last night but I got sick again yesterday (its just non stop here). And then a local older man who owns a posada next door. Hes a friend of a friend who I met so I can ride with him back to Oaxaca. Hes in his sixties but so healthy and youthful that youd never tell.

5. Being right on the beach. This is awesome for several reason. Its just somewhere to be. Especially if the hostel guests are drinking or in that mood, its a place for me to go and think or relax and just sit on the sand. Also, because there are no trees, its almost always lit. More so the fuller the moon is. And right now its very close to being full. I went swimming wtih some friends last night. I tried to get everyone to be naked, the other girl and I were. Ill keep working on everybody. Its a good place for me to meditate, set up my altar and pray, practice poi, or dance in the dark. I want to get better at dancing freely but still get shy so doing it in the dark helps.

I may think of some things later but this is what I got right now. Most of my days are so laid back. I read, swim, lay in my hammock for hours, hang out with people and talk. Swim again. Ive been going to aerial, which converts to less than $4 for a 2 hour session which is crazy. There is a limited amount of equipment, but still. And the fact that its so close to me makes me feel very blessed. I tried aerial in Oaxaca, but it was very far from where I was in the city. Kind of difficult to get and commuting added almost an extra hour and it was everyone under 14 so I focused on yoga there instead. Just something to keep my body active because Im a lot happier that way. Theres so much yoga here in Mazunte and a lot of conscious donation but aerial has been satisfying and its easy to be lazy here 😊

I got sick again right after my last blog post. Talking to other people that are staying here for extended periods of time working or doing work exchange, I guess its pretty normal. Its hard on the body to be in intense heat all the time. Thank goodness all I have to do is sit in my hammock.

It would better if Tyrone was with me, but oh well. I dont know how he would respond to the heat either. Maybe Ill buy a van and come pick him up. I miss awful bad.

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