Off the Grid

Dear friends,

Our final week in Mexico was exactly what we needed.

From our Airbnb outside of Oaxaca City we drove to the city center for the afternoon. We spent the day exploring the winding streets and markets, before making our way out of town to a small lake just off the side of the highway.

Farmers spent the evening walking herds of goats and cattle along the shores of the lake. The animals came and went like the cars driving along the highway in the distance. It was quiet, despite the movement, and it was the perfect spot for a night before heading back to the coast of Mexico.

The next day we drove to Puerto Escondido, a large but laid back town known for its beauty. There wasn’t anywhere in the town itself to camp so we found a spot about 30 minutes south of the city at the end of a beach.

This beach was a hidden gem, it was quiet here, other than the locals who would come to spend the day with their family, or enjoy the sun setting over the gentle waves. There was no service here, and we had just stocked up on food and water, so we decided it would be the perfect place to go off-grid for a couple of days.

A couple of days before this, when we made it to the Air BnB outside of Oaxaca city, it really did feel like another chapter was ending. The pace at which we were moving and the pace at which the roller coaster was running, finally felt like it had come to a stop.

Making it to this beach on the coast of Oaxaca felt symbolic, like a new chapter was beginning. Days like these were the days I had been dreaming of in anticipation of the trip. Slow days on the beach, having nowhere to be but right here. There was a sense of ease followed by a sense of presence that has felt unreachable for quite some time.

The dust had finally settled.

I sunk my toes deeply into the sand and took a deep breath. I listened to the sound of the waves and watched the sun slowly dip below the horizon.

We stayed here for three days before heading East to a beach cove called Bahia de Tembo. Bahia de Tembo was absolute paradise. The road getting in was rough and rocky, and we weren’t totally sure we’d actually be able to make it out, but the beauty of what we were surrounded by made that worry nothing but a distant memory.

We enjoyed the solitude surrounded by nature, disconnected from the outside world. It was hot here, so we were living in our swimsuits, running in and out of the water whenever we could. The beach was lined with palapas, the perfect break from the heat.

At the other end of the beach was a small natural pool. It was teeming with a rainbow of tropical fish. The water was steady and clear, and warm from the sun. Throughout the day locals came to swim in the ocean and take a dip in the natural pool, sharing the bliss of the moment with one another.

Each morning I made my way down to the beach to meditate. Sitting with my legs crossed in the sand I began to contemplate.

I was feeling tense and unsettled with myself, and confused as to why. The challenging moments we had been experiencing had very much passed and I was surrounded by paradise with nothing on the agenda, however, I was feeling dissatisfied.

Being exactly where I am now, is the life I have always wanted. I am travelling the world with my best friend, living in nature and getting the opportunity to express myself creatively in a meaningful way.

Sitting on this beach it was like I was waiting for all the positive emotions to come flooding in. That because the bad had passed, I should be greeted with good. Waiting patiently, I realized that it wasn’t coming.

Breathing deeply, I sat drowning in a sea of emotions.

In our culture we have a belief that once we have the things we want, we will be forever happy. That all the bad will disappear and we will be greeted with a steady state of peace.

This belief that we can achieve a state of happiness that will last forever neglects the fact that there will always be things in life that we will have to work through.

We are constantly moving through cycles of good and bad, of up and down, and to let them flow most naturally, we must let go. Because what you resist, persists.

And let go I did, breathing deeply into my Self, holding space for the complete experience.

Shinzen Young, author of The Science of Enlightenment, explains in their book that “To have a complete experience means to experience something in a state of extraordinary concentration, sensory clarity, and equanimity”, to be fully present with ‘what is’.

In an interview with Michael Toms she states, “one facet of liberating insight involves learning how to diminish suffering and elevate satisfaction through having complete experiences of pleasure and pain… When you have a complete experience of feeling/thinking self, you become free from it.”

So sometimes in these moments all you really can do is sit tall like a mountain.

And of course, Alex and I enjoyed some more beautiful sunsets together during our off-grid venture.

There were five dogs there. They were all fairly shy, but they enjoyed hanging out with us from time to time, especially when there was food involved.

One day we were sitting on the beach and Alex noticed a fresh coconut that had fallen on the sand. We brought it back to our car and after about 30 minutes, successfully cracked into its center. Its juice was hydrating and the meat of the coconut was rich in flavour. We used the meat to make some cocktails and fed the rest to the dogs, who were very appreciative. Fun fact, dogs love coconut!

The following day there were some locals who were clearing away dead weeds with their machetes. The two young men were doing work for an older gentleman. He pointed to some of the fresh coconuts at the top of the palms. The young men wrapped their arms and legs around the trees and began to climb upwards to their sweet reward. Once they reached the top they perched atop the green leaves and chopped away at the ripe coconuts, dropping the fresh ones down to the ground below. They harvested about 15.

Once they shimmied back down the 30ft. tree they began hacking away at the coconuts, which is when we realized there was very much a technique for opening them. In no time they had gotten to the center and were chugging back the fresh water. Alex and I sat in awe at their feat.

After they each had a coconut or two they came over to us and offered us both one. We joyfully accepted and offered them some mezcal as a thankyou.

That same day was our last day there. We had run out of water and food. We can carry about 32 litres of water at a time, and we can really only make that last around four days, which limits the amount of time we can be off the grid. So as our resources diminished it was time to leave.

Luckily, getting up the uneven, craggy road was a breeze if not inelegant, and we were off to a campsite at a restaurant, on a beach, in the middle of nowhere.

Upon arriving, we were greeted by a man named Oswaldo, who turned out to be just as wonderful as all the reviews had said on iOverlander. Oswaldo was 74 years old and had built his restaurant, Blue Rock, with his wife from the ground up. When Oswaldo was young he worked as a fisherman. He woke up before dawn to get ahead of the heat and get as large a haul as he could with nothing but a large net, before biking 19 km each day to sell his fish at the market. Biking 19 km in 30-40 degree weather with sometimes more than 80 kilos of fish on the back. Many years later he worked on a fishing boat that capsized. While underwater and trying to make his way to the surface the boat landed on his spine and left him partially paralyzed.

Despite the accident, he continued to work everyday of his life to help support the dream that he and his wife had built.

Oswaldo spoke slowly and elegantly to us, and this was the first real Spanish conversation Alex and I have had where we’ve been able to understand and converse back. We’re learning folks!

In the morning they made us coffee and eventually sent us on our way.

We were heading to our final destination in Mexico, Tapachula, a city bordering Guatemala. We ended up camping three nights at a non-profit called “Mission Surf.” The project supported local youth learning how to surf.

After being off the grid for so long, we were appreciative of the access to resources that we had here. We had running water, a proper sink to wash dishes, electricity, Wi-Fi, showers and some of the nicest bathrooms we’ve seen in all of Mexico. AND there was a pool, hammocks, many different covered and shaded areas, and we were right on the beach.

It’s the little things.

When we were there we were the only guests, alongside a young man named Uriel who was painting a mural for the kids.

Uriel’s English was limited but he was friendly and eager to get to know us despite the language barrier. We spent the afternoon sharing beers and stumbling over our broken Spanish and English and ultimately finding commonalities amongst the differences.

Music transcends culture and language and we shared all sorts of artists and songs that we admired, singing along together.

We talked about his Maya origins and traditions, and shared stories of the Mayan gods. We discussed our experiences in Mexico, the ups and downs and the deep beauty we felt, as well as the sadness for the impoverished communities.

He told us that this is actually a very tourist perspective to think that because people don’t have much that they are unhappy. He told us that these people are perfectly content with their lives, they just value material possessions less than we do. Although we didn’t think a structurally sound house was a material possession, It was humbling.

We made dinner for him and he returned the next day with lunch for us. Kindness always rewards kindness.

After three restful nights here it was finally time to say goodbye to Mexico and cross into Guatemala.

We had ended up staying at Mission Surf a little longer than intended because we had to sort out some paperwork, but we were set to cross the following day.

We were nervous, but proceeded with confidence and about three hours later, we were officially in Guatemala!

In the last newsletter, I had mentioned that we applied to volunteer at a cacao farm in the mountains of Guatemala, but we had missed our interview. Funnily enough, she was also unable to meet at that time and had sent me an email, but I never received it. We were able to reschedule and we will be spending the next two months volunteering at Tuqtuquilal Centro de Regenerativo - the cacao farm!

Before then we will travel through Guatemala for around 10 days then make our way North!