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Beach. Bitch? Beach?

I'm so sorry... writing consistently while also trying to live well in the moment with new friends turns out to be a lot harder than I expected. It's been about 3 weeks since I last wrote and I'm feeling guilty that I haven't kept my posts up to date for anyone who may be curious about my travels in Mexico over the past month and a half. According to Google maps I've travelled over 68 hours on the roads of 3 Mexican states, and that's without the terrible routes the busses take which somehow take double the expected time. That means I've got some catching up to do!

When I last wrote I was just starting my time alone in Puerto Escondido (E), so I'll begin from there!

When thinking about my trip in Mexico from the beginning I was hoping to get my fill of beach time since the beaches near Corner Brook are a little lack-luster. I knew that a popular beach town where I could bask in the sun and drink fresh fruit juices for cheap was a place called Puerto Escondido. I was totally right. Puerto is a city of over 45,000 but the beach vibes are real.

After taking the over night bus from Mexico City, I opened up my map and started walking toward a hostel that looked pretty inviting! Luckily for me, they were full and I had to check in to the 4-storey home-turned-hostel across the street, Bonobo Surf House! If you ever visit Puerto (which you should), stay at Bonobo. It is in a residential area just off of a small street which had plenty of restaurants, surf shops, open air yoga studios, and still just a 5 minute walk from the beach. I felt so at home here that I totally unpacked my 35L bag and prepared to settle for a few days.

Who wouldn't want to settle here?? For just about 11$ a night I was a happy backpacker- ready to read, drink, and sweat next to the pool in between trips to the beach. I was alone again but excited to meet some new people and Bonobo had just the right atmosphere for meeting and spending time with others. It wasn't a party hostel since we had to shut down by 10pm, but it was incredibly social as people gathered under the table in the shade to share stories of recent travels and give recommendation of where to go next. I met some absolute darlings here- Lisa and Bas (the best couple in the world) from the Netherlands, and Won (the youngest and coolest ever 40 year old to exist). There were countless others too who were amazing and helped me to enjoy my 3 days (which turned into 9) in Puerto. Also shout out to that one guy who stole food from the fridge even though everything was labeled. We all knew who it was...*ahem.

The first few days here were very quiet, and I loved every minute of it. Here are some pictures because, well, I did so little there's nothing to write about.

I did participate in the release of some baby turtles! That was neat. They were so smol. Unfortunately my Snapchat decided to delete the pictures from my memories. It's okay. Think: little guys smaller than the palm of your hand in a small shell of a coconut bowl being released towards the crashing waves as the sun was setting. People from all over the world were giving them encouragement and saying sweet words to start them off on their journey in the ocean for the rest of their lives. At first I was kinda hesitant about the whole project, but after hearing some numbers about the rate of survival for sea turtles I was glad to be a part of keeping them safe, even if it was just to get them to the ocean.

I told you before, I was prepared to travel the rest of my two weeks in Mexico alone. It was a few days into my trip here though that my babe Abe told me his work was delayed. Deep down I was thrilled cause I knew with a little convincing (turns out, barely any) he would come back to Mexico and keep the fun times alive for other few weeks. I picked him up at the airport and we quickly returned to the caguama buying life.

He very easily made nice with my friends, and the guests at Bonobo turned into a happy little family.

We had a little photo shoot with Lisa on Zicatela beach.

We went to a salsa night with locals in the city after the boys competed with one another over a foosball game.

We swam together in the pool in the mid-day heat.

Lisa and I (*and Mr Bonobo the dog) did some yoga.

We spent a day at the most beautiful beach; Won even took a Polaroid picture for us.

And one morning, the most special of mornings, Lisa, Bas, Abe, and I woke up before the sun to go on a dolphin tour.

Guess what? I cried. Not a lot. Just a tear or two rolled down my cheek. It was one of those times in my life when I can say that I was truly happy with everything that was within my control. I was in a beautiful place with beautiful people experiencing something for the first time. Or maybe cause it was a sunrise. Something about a good sunrise makes me emotional.

We saw SO many dolphins- so many that the guide got on his walky-talky and told the guy on shore that there were a lot. We saw some huge sea turtles, too! Abe even convinced me to jump in the water and swim around for a bit 😊. We made it back to the hostel by 10 a.m. and I felt so happy and satisfied with our adventure that I don't think we did much else for the rest of the day.

I want to say thank you to Lisa, Bas, Won, and all the others at Bonobo Surf House for making the 9 days in Puerto so comfortable and memorable. You guys are absolute babes and I wish you all the best in future travels.

That about sums up the time I spent in Puerto Escondido, while still sparing you the details of how sweaty we constantly were. Mazunte is next! Even sweatier. Hard to believe, but true. I'll share some of those details soon.

Until next time.

-Sasha

안녕!

-Sasha

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