My first five days abroad, EVER!

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At this moment I lay on a wooden bench, on a large rooftop, under a straw roof with the sounds of birds (mostly chickens), dogs and unknown to me insects surrounding me. It’s another gorgeous day in paradise for me 😊 I’m finally starting to descend from the surreal cloud nine I’ve been walking on the past several days, this new reality of mine is just that, reality, now! And it’s been friggen fantastic, I feel like too much has happened in the 5½ days I’ve been in Mexico to only be that amount of time! I’ve encountered more stimulation in these few days than I have in years it seems. The wanderlust has captured me indefinitely this early on! The biggest thing I’m grateful for in this new way of existing is not having to be time conscious! To a point of course, since I do have morning meditation, my workshop, and then lunch and dinner. Otherwise I can do with the day whatever I please. I haven’t felt the need to rush in anything I do, most of the time I’m even unsure what time it is or what day it is! I’ve dreamt about being able to live this way for as long as I can remember, and nothing beats actually living it!



I know full and well I was supposed to come to this exact place at this exact time in my life, I feel the universes influence now more than ever! From the people I meet, to the activities I partake in and situations I’m in, to the many conversations I’ve had, I feel the presence of the universe strongly, the synchronicities are magical!



So I arrived in Mexico City on Tuesday, and not knowing any Spanish in that airport brought about an instant culture shock! Like who the hell doesn’t learn any Spanish before arriving in Mexico?! *facepalm*! Luckily there were a few people I encountered who were able to help me. I’ve heard from a few of my traveller friends that generally people are happy to help us out so I’m going to remember that advice! I took a shuttle to the Holiday Inn, where I was staying for the night, and I had a blast, lol. I thoroughly enjoyed capturing a glimpse of the people around me in that drive, I’ve come to realize the pleasure in people watching ha ha! It was strange to see the whole layout in this little section of Mexico City; dilapidated, graffiti covered businesses and houses lined up beside beautiful, newly constructed businesses and houses. Poverty and wealth intermingle commonly here.



I left Mexico City on Wednesday, and although I enjoyed observing this city and being in a new place, I was relieved to leave it. The vastness of the city is overwhelming, I don’t enjoy staying in large cities like this, there’s too much disconnect with one another and rush to get from here to there. I much prefer the laid back vibe of the smaller towns……like my next stop….Puerto Escondido! I instantly felt at ease when I arrived here, aside from the suffocating cloud of humidity that tried to kill me in my first steps off the plane, that was just greeeeeeat! This place has so much character, I have not once felt unsafe or in any kind of danger here. Puerto Esondido is not a big tourist destination, it is a small one though for the surfing. The waves here are pretty incredible, they have literally knocked me down while swimming in them several times! I’m in love with everything about this town, everywhere I turn there’s something beautiful and new to be seen. Seeing the amount of trees and just plants in general that I’ve never laid eyes on before is a treat, I love viewing something for the first time every day!



My first big shocker here was the amount of stray, starving dogs that have taken over this town, the amount is overwhelming, and would be extremely hard to gain control over. From the streets in town to the beach, they’re EVERYWHERE! Most are very noticeably starving, and since many of the residents here aren’t well off themselves there’s no help for these creatures. I’ve been calmly approached by some dogs, and even those ones are timid from being poorly treated, many head shy. I witnessed a young boy kicking at a dog yesterday in front of many other people, apparently it’s not a big deal. I will get used to this to some degree like everyone else does, but I won’t allow myself to completely lose my humanity with this, I never want to not be bothered when a creature near me is suffering and dying 😞 Along the beach is where many of these dogs hang out, one came up to me on the beach the other day in pretty bad shape. His mouth, nose and eyes all filled with sand. His demeanour very gentle, probably from being so weak from starvation. I start petting him softly, noticing the feeling of his vertebrae and the indentation of his empty stomach. I was quite far down on the beach and had no water or food to offer (or pesos to buy either), but I could tell by the dog leaning on me and nuzzling his head in one of my hands that this might be enough for him right now. Just to have someone give him compassion for a few moments that he so desperately seeks every day. I witnessed another heartbreaking site while in a nicer part of the town. A few of us were walking along the popular shops and restaurants, when I laid eyes on the worst state I’ve seen a dog in yet. The hip bones were jutting out, you could very clearly make out every single bone of this dog from the vertebrae to the ribs to the legs, probably wouldn’t last another day or two 😞 The dog was standing only a few feet from a table full of people at a restaurant (most restaurants don’t have windows or any barrier from outside) who would have clearly seen this, and not one person could throw this dog a piece of anything! I really wish I would’ve had some pesos on me to get this poor soul some food or water. This is sure preparing me for my animal volunteering projects later on where I’ll definitely see animals in sad states.



Now, having just come from a first world country, it is another culture shock to witness the out in the open poverty here. Like I said before, this place isn’t huge on tourists so there’s not a lot of options for sources of income. There is almost nothing modern, in the western world sense. The roads for instance are not maintained, some of the main streets are laid with brick, but no upkeep on the potholes occurs. All of the residential streets and back roads are dirt roads. The residents (many ex-patriates) that do have money do have gorgeously unique houses, many have rooftops for lounging. For most others without money they reside in one or two room huts, many look as though there going to fall apart at any given moment. Either a living room or kitchen, or both, in these shacks are on the porch. I walked by many places last night and could see the people watching t.v. outside. The majority of homes and businesses also don’t have windows. I’ve really taken to walking most places barefoot lately as is quite common here, and eating fruit right off the street! Just outside the sanctuary are two abundant mango trees so there’s a free snack available at all times! Theses mangos litter the roads here, I’m loving it! Oh and also nearly everyone here owns chickens.



Even though many of the people that live here are poor, it really does seem like they’re happy and content with their lives, just like I heard it is in more poor countries. Whenever I wander around here, the energy I feel from others is always relaxed, I never hear yelling, but instead laughter. The simpler the life, the less there is to worry about. As long as you have a roof over your head, know where your next meal is coming from and have the love of friends and family, than you’re richer than you think.



I’m very grateful to have met such unique, vibrant, good-hearted souls at The Sanctuary. The three other volunteers here have made this place feel like home to me. Alejandro, Deborah and Myriam are seasoned travellers who’ve shared some fascinating stories with me and some advice too! I’ve been lucky enough to have real, raw conversations and encounters with each of them, it’s been very refreshing for me to witness a glimpse into someone’s soul that I’ve just met, I live for that shit 😊 I am fortunate to have met these people at my first overseas stop, so I’m looking forward to all the other people I’ll come across along the way!



I’ve underwent many firsts in the past five days: earthquake, papaya, group chanting, playing a Harmonia, having sweat-soaked hair for an ENTIRE day, movement meditation, eating a mango off the street than having the fibers stuck in your teeth for days, diving under a giant wave, being struck to the ground by one of these waves, eating raw soup, making raw soup, being charged by a giant asshole cockroach, seeing dogs on the verge of death and nobody batting an eye, eating a coconut that I gathered myself….and many more have occurred and many more are to come!! Being out of my element this significantly and to this degree is exactly what I needed in my life! This kind of lifestyle feels more natural to me than any other way I have lived previously. I feel more connected to my true self than ever before, words cannot do how I’m feeling justice!! Anywho………this is enough blogging for today…..until next time ya’ll 😊

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Photos

The lovely beach!
Puerto Escondido Beach

Ma Girlies:)
Sophie, me and Deborah:)