Days are starting to go. Today was the first really relaxing day of the entire trip. I did almost nothing but visit the market, a couple churches, and shopped a little for souveniers. I chilled at the Zocalo for a bit, called home, and used the internet. San Cristobal is definitely different than other Mexican cities I’ve been to. It’s definitely more indigenous in culture, but it doesn’t feel different enough for me to be intrigued. Cobbled streets, women and men wearing colorful ponchos, and a nice souveneire marketplace near the church that I took advantage of today. Some kids tag alongside their mothers on the streets trying sell whatever they have. Some are fairly insistent and follow you for about a block saying this for 5 or 10 pesos and all that. I came to the realization that even though it was a Tuesday morning/afternoon, a lot of kids were on the streets, not in school. Perhaps school’s not in session? But I get the feeling that this is their way of life, how so many seemed to have kids at such young ages and how their professions in this town of theirs seem to be suiting their idea of a lifestyle just fine. San Cristobal also has some unusual weather. It’s not unusual here for it to be really sunny in the morning, raining hard for 3-4 hours in the afternoon, and just chilly at night.
I guess I should write more about the people I met rather than how I’m feeling and what I’m worried about. Ran into a British couple, Louise, 24, and her boyfriend Dave, 22. Both graduates of University of Manchester, she majored in Theology and World Religions, and him Geography. They’ve been traveling for about 10 months now, coming to an end here. They’re heading to where we just came from, El Mazunte, and back home from Mexico City in about 2 weeks. They volunteered at this place in Ecuador with forestation for a couple weeks for $100 a week for accomodations and food. They stayed an extra month cuz they liked it so much there. Then they travelled through Bolivia, which they said was one of the poorest countries, Peru, a more expensive place. They skipped Chile but loved Argentina. They didn’t like Venezuela much, they said. They felt very unsafe there and stayed maybe 3-4 days. Stayed in Colombia some, and loved it. I wish I didn’t need a visa for Columbia, I would definitely go through that country. A stray cat decided to snuggle on my stomach and I happily obliged for 30-40 minutes before heading out.
They loved Guatemala, didn’t feel unsafe at all. They said that Tikal is a must visit, their most favorite site so far. They said that the Mayans beat the Incans hands down with their temples, and liked Tikal even more so by bit than Macchu Picchu. They’re on about $20 a day budget. I thought it was somewhat weird that while they were conversing with Fiona, an Australian, they were talking in terms of US Dollars, not pesos. We made decent spaghetti for dinner, and Fiona and I bought a cheap Chilean wine for 72 pesos, a Merlot which actually happened to be pretty nice. They left soon thereafter and I did the dishes.
Alfonso was the best fish cook I’ve ever seen. It only cost us some 45 pesos, too. He spoke very good English, having lived in Texas for 10 years (which he says he shouldn’t have done because that place is dreadful), then moved to Atlanta for a year and Boston for 8 months. He came back, rented out the place he is running now, and says he loves doing it. Turning 40 soon, and never married, no kids, although he does currently have a girlfriend. He was quite a character, and Mazunte was very much a great experience due in much credit to his charm.
I’ve been getting a lot of interests about my car. It’s pretty much the only 1980 Mercedes Diesel here. At least that’s what it looks like. There was one a couple days in that was looking at it from a gas station, another from Monte Alban who just approached me. I knew he liked it right away so I popped the hood open, and revved it, and he said it sounds beautiful. The mechanics who were fixing my car opened up the hood even though there was nothing wrong under that thing and joyfully came with me for a test drive. I opened up the sunroof and a big grin went across both of them. There was another guy on the beach of Puerto Escondido who was just watching me back out. He had a back pack on him, with sunglasses, a hat and a pair of shorts, and twisting his head to see my car back out and leave the beach.
I get the feeling that tourists that have traveled quite a bit don’t seem to automatically get the idea that it’s so easy living the life tha tyou desire for yourself. Making enough money for yourself and your significant other to travel, if that’s what you truly desire, is fairly a simple concept. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I look around and think about what other people need. Surely I do have my own professional and personal goals as well, but I don’t seem to be fascinated by how much this experience is all going to change my own life. I want my life to be an impact on others, hopefully without their knowing. Perhaps my inspiration will die down in time. But I strongly believe that it’s almost too easy for you to be financially happy enough doing things for yourself.