This story takes place in Central America for 35 days. 35 days of living free and loving the journey of life and the unknown. There are so many places to visit outside of the GREAT USA, but this is going to be about my favorite places yet; Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. Also, there are only two ways to travel.
1.) Solo
2.) With Others
This was my first trip where I wasn't on my own- going solo into an unknown country can be harsh on the start-up sometimes. This time I joined up with Ernesto in Mexico City. He speaks a fair amount of Spanish. When he consumes a product, you can assume two things... one, he will never waste it and ... two. He will never pay the full GRINGO price... sorry let me re-phrase that... the Full F#$King Gringo price - he is a professional haggler. He works, works hard at enjoying life and making sure he never has to return to the country where we both met in 2008... SOUTH KOREA! In that small town called Deokjeong - about 50 clicks south of the DMZ. He saved his money. He saved more than anyone else I know could have or did. He had the same job as me, English TEACHER... Song Sam Nim. He worked on contract for one full year. And he's been traveling ever since on those savings. The exchange rate didn't help. That's for sure.
He has family in Mexico City. We stayed with them for only one night before heading out on the highway, looking for adventure and to find Paul, the DEADHEAD. Mexico City is big. There are purple trees visible on approach to MEX. You will find that since most homes don't have yards for their pets, they use their roofs instead. They have their pets completely off the ground and placed on rooftops. It is a funny sight to see.
Mexico is the cheapest country I've been to. For $3.00 you can order a full plate of rice, beans, endless tortillas, soup, tacos, and fruit drinks. For $22.00 pesos you can buy a liter of Corona and don't forget to return the glass bottle - you will receive a few pesos in return. You can travel via the Metro for just $2 pesos. expect people to be moving and living at a slowed downed pace. It is great and even necessary in the heat of the day.
As we changed out some of our gear to save weight we began to see that one of us two had over packed... me. This was very unusual to Ernesto, since the last few trips we had together in Korea revealed quite the opposite side of myself. The side that brings nothing and then doesn't worry because of a strong faith in people and God that in all situations, it will be alright. People love to help out, and I wasn't one to say NO to such a good deed. Ernesto even said many times to me that I never contributed on any trip - but I had changed since he last saw me. I had matured and now I contributed too much it seemed. I was more prepared than him - even after removing most of the items from my packs.
Later, we were sitting on the floor of the bus terminal of Federal de Norte in Mexico in between a taco stand and a gumball machine. We had everything we were to survive on in our packs, plus his guitar and my gadgets. Ernesto got the bus tickets to Zihautanejo while I stayed on guard over our stuff. What did we bring? And what did we actually need/use? Are two great questions. First off, let me tell you what we had.........
