Still Learning
It was a mere two months ago when we wrote that we were going to chase the sun and 72 degrees year round. Coming off of France in November we were done with cold grey rain. So a universal statement was made: No More Cold Weather! Yet our conversations this past week have challenged that decision. Yes, we’ve loved the weather we’ve had so far this winter. From Florida to Jamaica to Mexico, we’ve been enjoying sun and warm temperatures. We’ve got a great tan. The slippers have remained packed away in our suitcases. So why are we questioning that decision while we’re here in Mexico?
For any of you who’ve been following our wanderings from the beginning, you know the highs and lows that we experienced in Mexico last year. Mexico City: too big for us! Sayulita: Small but hard to walk. Puerta Vallarta: Beautiful flowers but expensive and giant creatures invading our kitchen! And a bit primitive for our then novice travel selves. So many people were surprised when we said we were going to give Mexico another go this year.
This time we chose Playa del Carmen on the Caribbean coast of Mexico. The idea: It would be more modern and we could still enjoy consistent warm weather and beaches. We knew we were trading culture for comfort. The Airbnbs were more affordable and more modern. But we knew it was a town purpose built for tourism. No mountains, no quaint Mexican charm. But sunny skies and white sand beaches. We booked our Airbnb for two months. We knew we might be a little bored, but with two pools in our condo and a city to explore we thought we’d be set!
We’re now one week in and have come to some realizations. We don’t hate it, but we definitely don’t love it. Yes, no coatis can try to eat our granola. Yes, we have two pools. But that pools have limited chairs and most days there is no room to sit. The saragassum (seaweed) has arrived on the beaches two months early here in the Yucatan. And it smells. Throughout the city. There is no malecon here for long strolls by the seaside. You can’t walk on the beaches for miles. The only real place to walk in town is down 5th Avenue, which is full of street vendors trying to lure you into their stores for a taste of tequila or a massage. We like the ability to walk two blocks to a major grocery store or Walmart. But we prefer the charm of Puerto Vallarata. We don’t feel like there is a soul to Playa. Just commercialism. And for a one week vacation? It would be great. For two months of real life? Not for us. So we’re going to pivot. We’ve cancelled our last month and are heading to London February 7th.
But what about the 72 and sun you might ask? Its cold, grey, and rainy in London in February. Yep. But that’s where the learnings come in. Turns out while we absolutely love and crave being near water and in the sun, more importantly we need to be able to walk, explore, and be part of culture. To be honest, we kind of forget there even is an ocean here because the beach isn’t as accessible as we’d like.
Also, we’ll admit, we like a bit more modernity in life. We like being able to use the water that comes out of the tap for drinking and brushing our teeth. We like being able to flush toilet paper (yep….reality of life in Mexico when not on a resort). Are we spoiled? Maybe, but the beauty of this life is that we get to chose what makes us happy.
So why London? Well, we can’t get back into the Schengen Zone yet as we haven’t been out for 90 days yet and we have a full 90 days planned starting in April. So we want a city, we want to walk and not have a rental car, and we need to be heading towards Istanbul. And by now you all know, London is our happy place. We can walk 8 miles a day and still see new things. We get the culture. We love the vibe. So we’ll bundle up and embrace it will full hearts and smiles.
Until then, we’ll work on our tan. We’ll get some planning done for the next year and beyond. We’ll go to the dentist. We’ve got a trip to Chichen Itza, the Mayan pyramids this week. And we have some meetups scheduled with some fellow nomads. And then we’ll pivot. Because we can.