Hot-Air Balloon over Teotihuacán.

A is for Amigos!

My grandiose ideas of travelling in Mexico have been in the pipeline for years.

More specifically, 4 years.

An unlikely source, granted, but when you consider I lived with 10 Mexicans in Brazil, things start to make a little more sense.

Around 50 of us lived in the Casa do Campus accommodation in Porto Alegre - international students and Brazilians alike. Living on top of each other, sharing two kitchens and one cabana, we understandably bonded quickly.

As friendships blossomed, we would ask each other questions about the other’s native countries - the differences in cultures intrigued us all.

I grew particularly close with a group of Mexican girls - Sonia, Tali, Luz, and San - all of whom come from the state of Guanajuato. So, as you can imagine, I had lots of conversations with them about home.

Luz, Sonia, and Tali in the cabana at Casa do Campus!

In short, the girls absolutely gushed about Mexico, and in particular their state Guanajuato. How beautiful it was, how delicious the food is, how much history and culture there is, and most importantly, how much better the tequila is.

2018 Lottie was captivated, and not long after, I started dreaming up a trip to the country I’d heard so much about.

Fast forward 4 years, Guanajuato was safely on my travelling route. If I was going all the way to Mexico, I just had to make sure I’d see as many of lovely girls who had sparked my interest in the first place.

Although Luz and San sadly aren’t currently in the country, lucky for me, Sonia and Tali are, and they were very excited when I told them I’d be visiting. The connections made in Brazil stand the test of time!

Sonia, Tali, and me back in the day. Someone desperately needed to tell 2018 Lottie to save Insta story pics without the caption.

On my first night in Guanajuato, I was so excited to meet up with Sonia and her boyfriend Hugo.

Hugo - a friend from France - was also on the same study exchange in Brazil, and we all lived together at Casa do Campus. More than friendship blossomed between Sonia and Hugo however, and since then the pair have been in a long distance relationship between Mexico and France, doing 2-month long stints in either country at a time.

A very welcome coincidence was that Hugo would also be in Mexico whilst I was, so amazingly, the three of us could have a mini reunion.

Hugo, Sonia, and me in Guanajuato!

After a squealing and hugging reunion right in the centre of Guanajuato, the 3 of us would then go on to spend the weekend together.

That night, we went out for food - Sonia got me try the local dish of enchiladas mineras - and then we headed to some bars, all the while catching up on our lives since we last saw each other. Jobs. Relationships. Gossip. Covid. Working from home. A far cry from the bunch of international students with no responsibilities we once were!

The following morning, we met up again, and over breakfast we talked logistics about heading to the cabins.

A few weeks prior, whilst me and Sonia were organising what we’d do whilst I was in Guanajuato, she had invited me on her family's mini holiday to a cabin in the sierra (mountains) just outside Léon, a city an hour away from Guanajuato City. Wanting to spend as much time as possible with Sonia and Hugo, whilst also thinking it would be silly to pass up on such a unique opportunity whilst travelling, I of course said yes.

Sonia, Hugo, and I were to head to the cabins directly from Guanajuato City, meeting the rest of her family there. And it wasn’t just her parents and siblings we were meeting - extended family were going too. Uncles, aunties, cousins, and her tía abuela (great aunt) meant there would be 13 of us in total.

I started to get a bit nervous about the night in the cabin, fully aware of my status as Sonia’s British friend who was gatecrashing their quality family time.

As we pulled up to the cabin in the absolute middle of nowhere (and therefore no phone signal either), nerves hit their peak. I slinked in behind Sonia and Hugo, greeting everyone one by one. It seems like Sonia had told them all about me, with her mum even calling me Lottie, la famosa. It’s always a bit anxiety-inducing when someone says “Oh I’ve heard all about you”, nevermind when 10 strangers say it one after the other in Spanish.

Cabins in the sierra. Home for the night.

Soon enough though, my nerves began to settle. As Sonia’s tío Hector offered me a beer, and the family started asking about my trip, I started settling into the group and their dynamics. Bouncing off one another, listening intently to each other's stories, and even being sarcastic with one another, I started to feel at home with Sonia’s family. Unas vacaciones de tus vacaciones (a holiday from your holiday) as Sonia’s dad put it repeatedly, every time I thanked him for inviting me.

As the evening creeped in, everyone moved outside, and Sonia’s dad and tío fired up the barbeque.

Makeshift BBQ which was very successful.

Now, this is where the force-feeding starts.

With all their loving and welcoming intentions, Sonia’s family wanted me to try a bit of everything made that night. This, however, was probably enough food to feed the 5000, not just the 13 of us.

Every new dish brought outside from the kitchen or taken fresh off the barbeque was placed in front of me, along with urging comments along the lines of "tienes que probarlo!” (You’ve gotta try it!).

At first - when I was hungry - this was great. All the food made was so delicious, from the quesadillas, to the calabacitas asadas (roasted courgettes), to the arrachera (a very tender cut of beef).

Lovely bit of arrachera and some chorizo, before it was plonked on my plate.

However, as the evening went on, and the food kept being placed on my plate, it became more of a struggle. To not be rude, I kept smiling sweetly and happily accepting anything that came my way.

At one point, when I was really starting to feel full, I politely declined another quesadilla from Sonia’s tía Monica, to which she gave me a look, and simply said “una más” (one more), before placing it on my plate. Even saying no meant more food. I was in a bind.

When the food finally stopped, I was just about ready to pop. Slumped in my chair, I felt that kind of fullness you normally only get on Christmas day - the one where you eat so much you need a mid-afternoon nap.

Napping was not an option however, as Sonia’s family then brought out the tequila, mezcal, and wine. Trying to exert as little energy as possible, so that I could stay awake and continue to enjoy the evening, I sipped on my drink, played Uno with Sonia’s primos and hermanos, and chatted on until it was socially acceptable to finally crash into bed.

Looking at our faces, a shady play must've just occured.

The next morning we all woke up slowly, pouring into the kitchen bit by bit.

Cue breakfast, aka, the next session of force-feeding.

As I sipped on my coffee, Sonia’s tía abuela insisted I just HAD to try a pan de muerto (traditional sweet baked roll). Ignoring my protests that I wasn’t hungry (because I genuinely wasn’t due to the sheer volume of food from the night before), she plated up the pan de muerto and handed it over.

Although I was stuffed, I can't deny that the pan de muerto was lovely.

Sonia’s tío Hector laughed at my polite despair, and when I finally finished it, he insisted to everyone that I was still hungry and that I wanted otro. Shooting him a pleading look whilst he cackled, I had to fend off Sonia’s family from giving me another.

Unfortunately for my stuffed self, it seemed like Sonia’s tía abuela took a particular shine to me. 10 minutes later, she gleefully handed me the first giant serving of omelette with toast. Whilst she once again ignored my protests, tío Hector sat opposite me laughed again and said “así son las abuelas mexicanas!” (That’s just what Mexican grandmas are like!).

The rest of the day went on in a similar fashion, with me politely declining food, and being given it anyway. In the end I just started accepting it without protest, just to make life easier for everyone.

One thing I gladly accepted however, was a present from Sonia’s tía abuela. She had brought with her some dulces to give to her grandchildren, and had also brought one for me. I was so touched by the gesture and thanked her profusely.

My present from Sonia's tía abuela. Made from tamarind, pineapple, chili, and covered in chocolate. Although that combo might sound bizarre my fellow Brits, trust me, it works.

Then, like the petty 5 year old I am at heart, I went to wave it in Hugo’s disgruntled face as he hadn’t been given one. England 1, France 0. The token güero had been dethroned.

When it became time to leave the cabins later that day, I was genuinely sad to go. I had such a great time there, relaxing and disconnecting from the outside world, having some wholesome family time (albeit with someone else’s family).

As we said goodbye to each other, Sonia’s family urged me to message them if I needed anything, and we all said we’d hope to see each other la próxima vez (the next time I visit).

No pics of all of us from the weekend sadly! But here's one with the majority!

Saying goodbye to Sonia and Hugo was even more sad. I thanked Sonia for welcoming me in, and we promised to see each other when she’s in France next. Not gonna complain with that one, after all, it's easier for me to get to France than Mexico.

Nos vemos en Europa!

Going from spending the weekend with Sonia and Hugo, I then spent the following few days exploring Guanajuato City solo.

The old mining town turned UNESCO world heritage site has a very interesting history, and it was the epicentre of Mexican Independence against the Spanish. With its colourful buildings, subterranean roads, and even a Mummy museum, the city quickly charmed me, becoming one of my favourites in Mexico.

View of Guanajuato City from above. Make sure you don't skip this one just cos it's not on the gringo trail!

Time ticked by however, and I was soon to head to San Miguel de Allende, another beautiful city in Guanajuato, where I was to meet up with the lovely Tali.

The parroquia (cathedral) in San Miguel de Allende. Beautiful town, but full of retired Americans.

Tali was always the life and soul of the party when we lived together in Brazil, ready to force you to dance at any given moment. She always had your back, and her big personality meant when she liked you, she loved you, and if she didn’t like you, well, good luck.

A part of me wondered if Tali would still be the same bubbly and outspoken girl after our years apart, or whether adult life had taken its toll.

Tali and I in Brazil. Another interesting choice made my 2018 self to save this picture in only black and white. I despair.

My question was swiftly answered when she shrieked and ran over to me in front of the busiest plaza in San Miguel, immediately handing me a present of a massive bag of sweets, and demanding that we take pictures together. Same old lovely Tali!

After eating lunch, drinking some cocktails, and bringing each other up to speed on our lives, Tali made a beeline for the parroquia, the beautiful light pink cathedral in the centre of San Miguel, so we could take some pictures together.

Enter the photographer. A guy around our age with a 2012 Justin Bieber haircut, and a huge DSLR camera in hand.

He introduced himself as a professional photographer who takes pictures of tourists and sends them the pictures via Airdrop, only asking for a voluntary donation in return.

I turned to Tali whose face had lit up completely. She pointed out that if we got pictures together from him then they’d definitely be good. I couldn’t really argue with the logic - we had just been trying to select a victim we thought could take a decent photo.

So why not, ey?

Now, I’ve gotta hand it to this guy: he did well with telling us how to pose. Put your left foot back. Bring your right hand up. Tilt your head sidewards. That did not stop me from feeling awkward as hell though.

I’ve since deleted the solo pictures he took of me cos I could not bear the embarrassment of having them on my phone. However, the ones of Tali and I are a mix of either funny (because of the poses we’re doing), or are actually just nice pictures, but either way they’ll be treasured memories.

We love to see it.

Tali sadly had to run off shortly after this, as she was going to view a house to buy (adult life), but she promised that the next time I visit Mexico I can stay with her in her house. What a gem.

At any rate, it’s not only Mexican friends I came to visit in Mexico.

One particular British expat has ditched her hometown of Otley for Mexico’s cosmopolitan second city, Guadalajara. Luckily for me, said expat happens to be one of my best friends from university, the lovely Flo.


B is for Birthdays!

(My 24th birthday, in fact).

Flo and me! Im Mexico! We've come a long way since our Jesmond days.

Once I’d booked my flight to Mexico, and therefore knew I’d be away from home for my birthday, I knew there was only one person I’d want to spend it with: Flo.

Planning my route in Mexico largely hung on my own strictly-enforced deadline to get to Guadalajara for my birthday.

Cancun to Guadalajara in the space of 6 weeks, aka traversing half the country, explains some of my shorter stays in certain cities.

Before I continue, for those of you that don't know Flo, I should probably explain what she’s doing living in Mexico in the first place.

Long story short: she fell in love with a Mexican boy, Yelco, whilst on her Year Abroad.

Echoing the aforementioned pairing of Sonia and Hugo, Flo - having also studied Spanish and Portuguese - went to study in Porto Alegre the semester after me, met Yelco at Casa do Campus, and the rest is history.

Casa do Campus really does churn out transcontinental love stories.

After years of long distance, last year Flo made the big move to Mexico. First living with Yelco and his family in the previously mentioned town of San Miguel de Allende, and later moving to Guadalajara just the two of them. Qué romántico!

The lovebirds, Flo and Yelco (#Floco)

Arriving in Guadalajara on the Friday evening, the birthday antics started that very next day with a trip to nearby Tequila. (And by that, I mean Tequila the actual town, not some strangely worded way of saying we drank some tequila).

The town of Tequila is, unsurprisingly, famed for its production of the eponymous alcohol. Fun fact: Tequila to Mexicans is like Champagne to the French – only tequilas made in the region are able to claim the name!

With Tequila being just an hour away from Guadalajara, Flo had suggested the trip for my birthday. She suggested that we avoid the tourist traps of the distilleries in the town itself, and just get into the nitty gritty of it all, heading straight to the cantaritos (Mexican pub/bar where Mariachi bands play live music, people dance, and you drink tequila, obviously).

Yelco rounded up 2 of his friends, Paco and Romina, so there ended up being 5 of us on this little adventure to Tequila. Yelco also said he would drive us all there, to save money on taxis. What a gentleman.

We headed to a particular cantarito that Flo and Yelco had been to before and rated highly. On arrival, we were surrounded by fields of agave (what they make tequila from), and there was a token guy on a horse with a sombrero on, so I had high hopes.

The hopes got even higher when I saw everyone was Mexican apart from me and Flo. Perfect, I thought, no other gringos. You can always tell how good a place is by how many gringos there are (aka the less the better).

At cantaritos in Tequila, you usually order a giant jarra (jug) to share, and spoon out the contents into your own personal jarrito (essentially a big mug).

The giant jarra, and me and Flo posing with our jarritos.

The delicious drink in the jarra is made up of tequila, orange juice, grapefruit juice, grapefruit soda, a sprinkle of salt, and a squeeze of lime juice. Unreal stuff. And you get to keep your own jarrito!

The next few hours just consisted of drinking from the jarra and chatting (or well, chatting as best we could with a mariachi band right next to us). Together with some interludes for picture taking in the agave fields, the afternoon was a proper success.

Agave: the plant that gives us tequila.

Arriving back in Guadalajara (after a journey where poor Yelco had to drive home 4 drunk idiots sharing an aux cord), we were joined by James and Oliver, Flo’s lovely (British) neighbours, and we carried on the festivities at a nightclub called Genesis where they played 80s music in English. Not what I expected from Guadalajara’s nightlife, but hey, if a DJ plays 3 ABBA songs in a row without prompting, they’re automatically in my good books.

The next few days saw Flo, Yelco, and I get into a little routine. Whilst Flo and Yelco were at work, I filled my days with a lot of chilling and exploring Guadalajara (and its many historical buildings and coffee shops). When they returned home in the evenings, we either cooked together, or went out for food and drinks. Simple but effective.

I really enjoyed the pace of life whilst I stayed with Flo - it felt like we were living together again like we had in 4th year of university. I finally got to rest properly in a place I felt comfortable, so all the sleeping troubles mentioned in my last post dissipated. Blissful.

Flo's patio and kitchen in Guadalajara. Home for the week.

On the morning of my 24th birthday, before Flo headed to work, she woke me up from my blissful sleep to wish me Happy Birthday. She handed me a birthday cuppa, a card and presents from herself, and also a card from my mum which had arrived a few weeks before. A fabulous start to the day.

As per our little routine, I had the day to myself whilst Flo and Yelco were at work. After Facetiming my mum in the morning, I got ready and took myself to Tlaquepaque, a pueblo mágico that’s sort of within Guadalajara (it’s all quite confusing to be honest - Guadalajara is basically a giant city made up of 5 smaller cities, Tlaquepaque being one of them).

Tlaquepaque.

I spent my day wandering around the aesthetically pleasing streets of Tlaquepaque and looking in the little bohemian shops dotted everywhere. I also Facetimed my boyfriend Pat whilst I was there, which although was really lovely, it did mean I had to retreat to a Starbucks to get a good wifi connection. It was my birthday though, so no judgement on Starbucks please.

After retreating back to Flo’s and having yet another lovely Facetime with 2 of my best friends Elsa and Emily, it was time for Flo to spill the beans on the secretive birthday meal plans she had been keeping from me.

It turns out for weeks Pat and Flo had been colluding to take me out for a posh meal in the evening. With Pat providing the funds to cover a meal for me, Flo, and Yelco, and Flo providing the knowledge of nice restaurants in Guadalajara, the two of them came to an agreement on La Tequila Landmark. A Mexican restaurant in a boujee modern complex in Guadalajara’s financial district. How fancy!

Donning the pink sparkly top I had packed specifically to wear on my birthday (you have to plan these things), I was ready to be wined and dined!

Just me and my birthday organiser.

Arriving at the restaurant, the 3 of us soon found ourselves in a pickle with what to order. As we perused the impossibly good menu, torn between about 5 different dishes, the waiter came to our rescue. Handing us the tasting menu, he explained we could pick any 7 dishes we fancied, and they’d be miniature versions of the regular orders. The perfect answer to our indecisive greediness.

Pat’s generous budget covered the tasting menu for all 3 of us, so we dined like royalty that night.

My favourite dish of the evening: tequila prawns. Deliciousss!

Rounding off the evening with a complimentary birthday pan de elote and an awkward Happy Birthday serenade (they never get any easier with age do they?) we headed back home and crashed. Being fancy takes it out of you apparently.

With it being such a nice mix of chilled and special, my 24th has gone down as one of my favourite birthdays ever, so thank you to everyone who made it special!

Birthday cakes courtesy of Flo! Get a girl who treats you like Flo x

I can’t move on from talking about Guadalajara until I discuss the other special evening I had there. One very close to my heart. Makes me emotional thinking about it…

The curry night.

Back when I was feeling ill in San Cristobal, times got tough. All I wanted was a curry to comfort me. By that point, I couldn’t remember the last one I’d had - I foolishly hadn’t eaten one in my final weeks in the U.K. The cravings were real.

Unfortunately, curries are hard to come by in Mexico. So, I swiftly messaged Flo, asking if we could make one together when I arrived in Guadalajara a few weeks later.

She quickly responded, one-upping me with a proposal to go out to their favourite curry house, Ali’s Corner. That message alone almost cured me, and for the next few weeks when the cravings reared their ugly head, I remembered about Ali’s Corner, and all was well again.

The highly-anticipated night saw me Flo, Yelco, and their neighbours James and Oliver absolutely buzzing. As I read the menu I was practically salivating. I was ravenous. We decided to get multiple curries to share between the 5 of us, accompanied by rice, garlic naans, and even some samosas. I was ecstatic with this setup, as it meant I could satisfy the cravings from all angles with the multiple different curries. What a treat.

The stuff of dreams.

I took one bite of the Paneer Butter Masala, and I swear it brought a tear to my eye. The curries on the table rivalled those from top curry houses back home, and it was a great comfort to this Brit Abroad. The meal was like another birthday treat, and oh did I lap it up.

What a lovely bunch!

If my week-long birthday celebrations in Guadalajara weren’t enough, the truth is the celebrations started the week beforehand (birthday princess over here).

The birthday present from my mum took place whilst I was in Mexico City the previous week: the hot-air balloon ride over Teotihuacán.


C is for CDMX!

Teotihuacán is an ancient Mesoamerican city located 30 miles northeast of modern-day CDMX (abbreviation of Ciudad de México aka Mexico City - can you see how hard I’ve tried to make this cutesy ABC thing work? Pls appreciate it).

Teotihuacan is one of those must-see places. Any Mexico City travel guide will tell you that. The massive archaeological complex boasts two huge pyramids - the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon - as well as thousands of other smaller compounds that would have been temples, plazas, and palaces.

Whilst researching how to get there and how much it would cost, I kept seeing promotions for a hot-air balloon ride over the pyramids. It looked incredible, but was definitely out of my budget.

Suddenly, a light-bulb went off in my head.

Days before, whilst on Facetime with my mum, she asked me if I’d want anything in particular for my birthday. Money, was my response. Surely any traveller’s birthday request.

My mum, however, was a bit disappointed with this, as she wanted to give me something a bit more personalised and memorable. Aww Tracy.

So, after seeing that the hot-air balloon ride was within her typical budget for presents, I set my sights on it and messaged her straight away, hoping that this would be the perfect alternative.

Spoiler alert: she gave me the green light.

On the day in question, it was a brutally bright and early start. A 5:30am pickup. I questioned how badly I really wanted to go when the alarm went off that morning.

After a quick snooze on the bus there, we arrived at a giant field filled with hot-air balloons. The field was also filled with hundreds of people, and I was shocked at this. I had got so into my budget travelling mindset that I forgot people actually did expensive things like that on holiday, just for the fun of it. Oh to still have a steady stream of income.

Balloons everywhere!

A lady with a high-vis jacket and a clipboard called out the different groups like a teacher on a school trip, and we all organised ourselves accordingly. Amongst the many couples and families, I was thankfully placed in a basket with 3 Irish girls who were jokes.

I’d never been in a hot-air balloon before this, and to be honest, I didn’t realise they were so pleasant. I barely even realised that we’d left the ground because it was just such a smooth take-off.

Such an amazing view, especially with the morning mist.

Our hot-air balloon pilot (is pilot the right term? I was so tired when he introduced himself that I can’t remember how he referred to his job) put on a Spotify playlist filled with flying-related songs (much to the Irish girls’ and my amusement), and we cruised high above the ground. The slow and graceful movement of the hot-air balloon was so peaceful, I felt so calm and at ease during the flight.

As we approached the Teotihuacán pyramids, gliding through the archaeological complex, I could barely believe my eyes. I felt like I was in a dream.

Honestly beautiful

Our pilot lowered us so that we weren’t too far off the ground, passing through the middle of the two pyramids. I’ve never seen anything like it - it was incredibly impressive.

Teotihuacán from the ground.

Including the trip to Teotihuacán itself afterwards to see the pyramids from the ground, the whole experience was the best thing I’ve done so far on my trip (thanks mum!). If anyone reading is thinking of going to Mexico City soon, I’d highly recommend it.

In fact, I’d recommend CDMX full stop. I was genuinely so surprised by how much I liked that city.

I’d heard so many Mexicans bad mouth it, saying it was crowded and unsafe. Other travellers had said it was cool, but that other places were better. So, I just didn’t expect too much from one of the world’s largest cities before I got there (naive when I think about it now).

Zócalo (main square) in CDMX.

I ended up spending 6 nights in CDMX and I still didn’t do half as much as I wanted to. Like any capital city, you’ll probably never get through everything, but two touristy highlights of my time there were the National Anthropology Museum, and lucha libre.

The National Anthropology Museum is easily one of the best museums I’ve ever been to. And I was hungover when I was there. I repeat: I loved it and was hanging, so you can only imagine how good it is.

National Anthropology Museum.

Myself and two English boys, Matt and Owen, who I’d met the previous day whilst waiting around for the hot-air balloon, headed to the museum after a particularly heavy night out.

We were awestruck at the sheer amount of pieces on display. All from different Mexican cultures, spanning thousands of years of history.

The museum is divided into rooms by cultures, displaying artefacts from that particular culture, and giving lengthy and interesting descriptions on various pieces. My favourite room was definitely the Aztec (or Mexica, as the people group was actually called) room, famed for its incredible Aztec Calendar Stone which hangs centre-stage.

Aztec Calendar, the museum's famous piece.

As Matt pointed out, it was particularly impressive to see so much national history being showcased in that particular nation’s museum. The 3 of us sighed as we thought of the British Museum in comparison, with its stolen artefacts from other nations. The National Museum of Anthropology in CMDX is what a national museum should be like.

Going down a slightly different cultural route, another must-see in CDMX is lucha libre.

Lucha libre is the beloved sport of professional Mexican wrestling. Think WWE, but with colourful masks and a good vs evil storyline.

Although lucha libre isn’t a real fight and is fixed so that good guys are always gonna win, don’t be fooled, it’s still one hell of a show. The luchadores (fighters) perform jumps, flips and throws that are carefully choreographed and will leave you gasping and cheering.

My hostel Casa Pepe organised various trips to the lucha libre shows throughout the week, so I thought it best to sign up to one of those, to get to know people from the hostel.

Included in the price was some tacos, a mezcal shot, transport to and from the arena, our entrance ticket, and most importantly, our very own lucha libre mask. As soon as the basket of masks to choose from was placed in front of us, I knew which one would be mine. I quickly snatched the pink one with silver sequins. A truly fabulous mask.

Looking ready to be a luchadora myself.

Arriving at the arena, the crowd was already fired up. With hype music playing and the old-school go-go dancers doing their routines, we were ready!

It's a whole production.

One very amusing thing about lucha libre is that the crowd gets so into it. Screaming and shouting at the different luchadores, calling them absolutely everything under the sun. It honestly seems like the crowd uses it as a form of anger management. How healthy.

Having said this though, lucha libre is absolutely a family affair. Small kids in mini masks sat alongside their grandparents, in turn sat next to some tourists, it’s a really fun day out.

Oh and the beers are huge too. So that’s a plus.

Masks ready for sale.

I could go on and on about my time in CDMX. The Xochimilco Boats. Chapultepec Castle. Palacio Bellas Artes. Even a Drag Queen night at the amazing hostel Casa Pepe. It’s all great.

I can say with confidence that the past 3 weeks have made me so happy. Seeing Mexican friends after so long, spending time with Flo again, and even making some great new friends in both CDMX and Guadalajara, it just shows you it’s never really about where you are, but it's about the people you’re with.

On the Xochimilco boats with Poppy and Lucy, who I'd made friends with in Bacalar! Travelling world is a small world.

With that idea in mind, I turn to my next chapter: my G Adventures tour.

After nearly 8 weeks traipsing around Mexico, I’m now back in Playa del Carmen, aka the starting place for my month-long G Adventures tour heading south through Central America. I’m a mixture between excited and nervous.

I’m excited to see beautiful countries such as Guatemala and Nicaragua, but I’m a bit nervous about being around people all the time again! After doing nearly everything solo for the last 2 months, it might take some adjusting. But then again, it’ll be so nice to just have the same set of people for a month straight. No sad goodbyes or no missed meetups - just (hopefully) lots of fun!

Spanish update: now this is more like it! The past 2 weeks in Guadalajara and Guanajuato have seen me speak more Spanish than the rest of my time in Mexico put together. Hallelujah! A particular highlight was the time spent in the cabin with Sonia’s family. Speaking Spanish the whole time (bar a small interlude to talk to her sister about Harry Styles - had to be done as the token British girl), it was exactly the practice I needed. Chatting with Sonia’s parents, getting to know her tía abuela, and joking around with her tíos and primos, it really felt normal and natural again. And trust me, there’s not much better than someone laughing at your jokes in your second language.

Tan update: probably paler than when I left for Mexico. I don’t think I’ve sat out in the sun for longer than 15 minutes at a time since I left Puerto Escondido 3 weeks ago, and so, naturally, I’m frighteningly pale once again. Luckily, I have a bit of my trusty Garnier gradual tan left, so I’ll slap on a bit of that before I leave Playa del Carmen, so as to not scare prospective friends on my G Adventures tour with my translucent skin.