I can hardly believe it. Mexico. Mexico brought me back to Earth. Mexico reminded me what it is to be human. I come from a world of immense promise and accessibility, with luxuries like air conditioning and the ability to purchase ANYTHING you want and have it delivered in just a few days time. My home nation has it's faults and blemishes, but Mexico helped me come to terms with the privileges I have.
These last 6 months in the United States of Mexico have been my only visit to the country in my life. I've never been here before- I'm not a spring breaker, a resort goer, or a cruise ship crawler. My first time in Mexico is when I crossed into Tecate on the southern Californian border back in early November. After those 6 months, I rode my motorcycle down the Baja Peninsula, dove deep into Sinaloa, lived in Jalisco, saw Guadalajara, Tequila, and Lago Chapala, I visited the capitals of interior states like Aguascalientes, Zacatecas, Durango, rode both 'Espinazos del diablo', went to 2 motorcycle rallies, lived in Mexico City, went to Puebla, Morelos, Oaxaca, San Cristobal de las Casas, visited numerous Maya cities across the Yucatan, and finished off in the ritzy resort town of Tulum. I traveled the nation from Northwest to Southeast and did everything I could. You just can't see it all in 6 months. When I found places I'd liked, I stayed.
I stayed with new friends and sometimes their families. I got a massive tattoo sleeve down my arm. I regained and expanded my Spanish vocabulary, confidence, and even picked up the Mexican accent and slang. I made it on a couple local news outlets and my videos on monuments across the country have been viewed by tens of thousands of people. I've slept in my tent, on people's floors, in numerous hostel and hotel beds, and even the floor of a ship after sneaking through security. I had two apartments I lived in for more than a month each. I dove deep into what would be considered dangerous cartel territory and got to know the people who live in the shadow of a towering black market superpower. I went out on a limb and did mushrooms with a shaman, a complete stranger, and have a life-altering experience that made me question my life goals and drives. I dealt with financial and physical blows by losing and breaking equipment and getting horrifyingly sick multiple times. I had a cop take advantage of me. I repaired my motorcycle after various accidents and issues, fell many times, and learned the flexibility of living in a logistically unreliable culture.
When I planned for Mexico, I was naive. I'll admit- I was scared. It's hard to go against months-- nay, years and YEARS of media conditioning. I knew Mexico was dangerous, I'd watched the cartel videos, I'd heard the news, and I planned accordingly with little input of anyone who's traveled through Mexico like me. Hell, I didn't know anyone who had done what I did, nor did I know any Mexicans personally. I had so little input other than the violent shock-biased news media which skews to danger and violence. I didn't plan on staying long in any of the northern regions for that purpose. Upon diving down Baja and crossing, what did I do? I went against every plan and rule I had and dove straight into Sinaloa, drove at night, and slept under the roofs of people who were strangers just days or hours before. After just a few short nights with local Mexicans, the worries melted away. The fear-mongering news conditioning was quickly ironed out and rewritten in my psyche. These are people, just like anywhere else, who live with violence and danger like much of the world. They have families, goals, dreams, and get up in the morning to go to work every day just like I do. They have loved ones, look forward to birthdays, and laugh at mother-in-law jokes like anywhere else.
It didn't take long for me to get back into the swing of Latin America. I remembered what it was like to be different. To look different. To stand out. To be judged. To be given "gringo prices" and intentionally given wrong directions. I earned back my 'sea legs' with bartering and negotiating, and learned how to navigate people who WILL judge my book by its cover. I had racism pointed my way both online and in person.
What's most of all is I learned to be more patient and forgiving of myself. There are so many things that can go wrong in a world like this and a lot of it WILL be my fault. It took a while, though. The first few months, I was angry at myself SO OFTEN. All the time, in fact. I had anger ISSUES. Months into the journey, I began to deal with these issues as facts of life, not character flaws. Bad times not only make good stories, but they can also even -lead to good things.- As an example, if I hadn't broke my blinker, I wouldn't have spent 8 days with a family in Merida traveling to many Maya ruins, eating and drinking with their neighbors, and watching their family live and love a simple life in their little suburb. If I didn't get lied to by the hostel worker that said there was motorcycle parking, I wouldn't have met a beautiful Mayan Mexican woman there, who I ended up living with for a month as she too was in a state of transition in her life.
Mexico changed me. You grow up fast in an environment like this. You can't just throw money at problems and you can't bicker your way into getting what you want like you can in the states. Things require patience and tact. You watch and learn how those who have less do more.
I capped off my visa only 3 days before it expired. Belize has now taken me in, the last nation on continental North America I have not yet visited. New challenges await, poorer more densely populous countries lie just beyond.
Saga 6 will be all of Central America, my journey to the end of the North American leg of the Pan-American Highway before I take my flight to South America, Lechuza in tow. I want to thank Mexico for helping me remember what it is to be human. I learned just how flexible, persistent, social, and resilient I can be. As a thank you, I'll do everything I can to teach everyone I can about your misunderstood nation and just how loving, caring, and lively it can be.
-JT
5/1/2023