From Merida to Cancun. Going Full Circle.

Hibiscus

I arrived back in Cancun today.

I really enjoyed Merida.  It grew on me more each day.  For no explainable reason Merida was my goal destination in Mexico and I only wish I had listened more attentively to my inner voice and bee-lined it there.  I could have spent a month in Merida getting to know it’s cracks and crevices and not spent weeks in sterile and Americanized tourist traps.  Lesson learned.  Raul said I could come back anytime and teach English and make a decent living.  Note taken.

Tonight, I checked into my hostel.  Thirteen bucks a night for a mattress in a 12-bed co-ed room close to the bus station.  I went searching for dinner and by sheer accident found myself in exactly the same plaza my host brought me to on my very first night in Mexico.  And so the comparison was so easy.  A month ago I was worried and tense.  Chaos surrounded me and I perceived danger everywhere.  Tonight, I strolled calmly through the plaza, ordered and ate dinner, bought churros from a sidewalk vendor,  stood and watched people and felt comfortable standing – just standing alone – and watching the chaos.  Not worried.  Not afraid.  Just fine.  It’s taken a month of solo travel but finally I am comfortable in Mexico.

And…

I leave tomorrow.

Philadelphia-bound.