Breaking Bad: Mexico

Hi all! 

A few photos from my last few months in Mexico. 

I started off in Mexico City, which has about 20 million inhabitants (so, almost the same as the population as Australia). It's a cool place (in both senses of the word). I think it's the world's highest capital city, around 2000 metres, and it's often called the "City of the Eternal Spring," which I think is a bit generous. I was there in the hottest month of the year and the sun came out for about an hour a day, so I'd call it the "City of the Eternal Extremely-Early-Spring (Practically still Winter)" 

Cathedral in the Centre of the City

I stayed in an apartment in an area which reminded me a bit of North Fitzroy: crumbling 1920's mini-mansions covered in vine, trendy cafés selling tofu-stuffed tacos and - of course - yoga and meditation studios galore. 

Easter Sunday in Mexico City

Then I flew to the coast to a city called Puerto Vallarta and stepped onto the set of 'Breaking Bad: the Burrito Edition´. Breaking Bad is a big US show about a chemistry teacher who became a meth dealer to fund his cancer treatment, but in my version of the show we had a guesthouse owner who was trying to become a pill dealer in order to fund the creation of a rehab clinic (or perhaps a ´healing centre´).  Yes, it was that insane. 

I spent a whole month listening to the other members of the house sit at a table outside my room while they talked  about their  various addictions, compared rehabs, spun conspiracy theories  and generally mastered the art of giving opinions without fact. 

View over Puerto Vallarta at Sunrise

This is the sales-pitch that the owner would give to try to sell his pills: "So guys, do you know anyone who's in chronic pain? A buddy of mine, who got shot in the face when he was four, sold me some of his extra OxyContins...so I can sell them to you for fifty pesos each. They're great for pain!"

Yeah...they are great for pain, because they're morphine.  They're highly addictive and the US has a huge problem with them at the moment because people get hooked on them really quickly and then can't get off them. So, this guy was importing Oxys into Mexico to sell to any random person who wanted to try them...as if Mexico doesn't have enough drugs!

 The whole month was totally depressing and I couldn't wait to get out of there. On the upside, the place had a nice pool, which the owner was planning to drain and fill with flesh-eating fish that he would then sell to beauty parlours in Mexico  --  who would use them to nibble the dried flesh off customer´s feet during pedicures. (Did I already say I couldn´t wait to get out of there?)

The pool, which has probably been drained and filled with pirahnas by now. 

Then I moved two hours up the coast to a little town called Chacala which was right on the beach. I stayed at a beautiful B&B where I got a lovely room at a bargain price, because it is summer here and for some reason no-one wants to come to the beach in Mexico in summer. 

Chacala Beach

So, for $440 a month I got to experience B&B life and discovered you meet a whole different type of traveler in B&Bs (basically, people with proper jobs). I met a psychotherapist from the US, a Dutch couple who run a fair-trade business in Mexico, a couple running a rehab centre, and a woman who works with migrants and refugees across Mexico. Lots of stimulating conversations! 

The view from my room at sunset. 

The woman running the B&B is originally  from the Ukraine and is currently setting up an online business selling fair-trade clothing -- so she was really interesting to talk to and we had a great month hanging out together. 

Jenia, the woman who was running the B&B

Last week I took a four hour bus-ride inland to Guadalajara, Mexico's second biggest city. Wet season has just started here and here are some photos from the bus -- it looks more like Ireland than Central America! 

I think I'm going to stay in Guadalajara for the next few months, because I really like it here. The people are really out-going and even though it's a big city they are still really friendly.

I haven't got a TV so I've just been watching World Cup matches on the TV's that are set up in the local markets and stores, which has been a great way to get a taste of the World Cup fever. They all give me a pitying look when I say I'm from Australia and say, "Ya se fue!" (They've already gone home.) 

So then I have to explain that soccer isn't that popular in Australia and we are pretty happy just to get to the World Cup. Anyway, Mexico has "ya se fue" by now as well, so people aren't feeling so sorry for me anymore. 

And, I can´t finish without my latest embroidery!