Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Not goodbye, only see you later

I said a bittersweet goodbye to Mexico yesterday. I really felt at home in Guadalajara, and being away for only a few days has me reconsidering my plan to work on the coast. Thursday, my last night in the city before my coastal vacation, new friends and I listened to Radaid (check them out, their world/rock sound is amazing) at Teu Lloc and then enjoyed the awfully awesome early 90s music and videos at Wall Street bar. For me, it was the best way to say goodbye (well, not goodbye per say, maybe until next time) to the city.

Friday I took the bus to Mazatlan, a beautiful beach town on the Pacific Ocean. The promise of crashing waves, summer-like sun and a poolside lounge chair were the only things keeping me sane on the eight our ride. Remind me never to take that long of a bus ride again. Bus plus curvy mountainous roads equals nausea like none other. I got into Mazatlan at around 11 p.m. Friday, crashed and woke up to rays of sun peaking through my window at the Old Mazatlan Inn. (If you're thinking of a Mexican holiday, think Mazatlan, and think Old Mazatlan Inn. Then, after all that thinking, book it. You won't regret it.)

I had the relaxing vacation I was hoping for to end my Mexican adventure. I walked the boardwalk, climbed a mountain to the tallest natural lighthouse in service in the world, dipped my feet into the pacific, cooled off in the pool, ate fantastic food and had a couple beers with friends on the beach. Oh, and made some progress on the Spanish book I bought from the Liberia in Guadalajara that has the best vanilla cappuccinos. For three days I walked down to La Copa De Leche restaurant for breakfast, dug into huevos rancheros and read with the sound of the waves crashing in the background (and surprisingly, I understand quite a bit, but also have made it a point to underline all the new words and look them up to help with my vocab). Yesterday, I walked around town, soaking in all the Mexico (and summer sun) I could before coming back to the US. I packed up my last things at around noon, hopped in a cab and bid Mexico farewell.

What a difference a few hours can make. By 9:30 last night I found the Green Tortoise hostel in Seattle, and settled in to this new city for my next adventure. And now, I'm sitting in in Seattle Coffee Works, next door to my hostel and half a block from the Public Market drinking coffee and working on my laptop like everyone else in the thousands of Seattle coffee houses. It's odd to understand with ease everyone's conversations (not that I'm eavesdropping, the words coming out of people's mouths actually are easy for me to understand, so I find myself hearing bits and pieces of conversations without meaning too). This trip is completely spontanious, nothing planned. Any ideas, send them my way.

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