Mexico Day 77: Slowing down & settling in

Santa Maria del Tule, Oaxaca //

Despite the various noises heard around town, we’re feeling very content here at El Rancho RV Park.  It’s the first place in all of mainland Mexico that remotely resembles a US-style campground, save for the tall block wall and solid steel gate that encloses the place.  The weather is ideal with temps rising to the mid-eighties during the day and dipping into the mid-fifties at night.  The air is not humid but also not too dry.  The sun shines brightly throughout the day but there is plenty of shade to take cover in.  I like it here and I make it known that I’m in absolutely no hurry to get back on the road.  During conversation over breakfast Heather, Adam, Mark and myself easily reach the consensus that we’ll stay an entire week.  The slightly cheaper weekly rate helps lock in the decision.

A nice change of pace from working inside of our camper is the opportunity to work at the pavilion by the pool.  I spend a few hours there until the heat of the day prompts an afternoon swim.  The four of us relax for a bit in the pool and just as Mark makes his way back to the camper, one of our Canadian camp neighbors joins us.  Her name is Judith and her and her husband have been driving their van around mainland Mexico for nearly the same exact amount of time that we have.  It’s interesting to hear what a vastly different route they’ve taken though it comes as no surprise.  You could road trip Mexico fifty years in a row and never take the same route twice, the options are endless.  

We’ve had so few interactions with other travelers.  It’s a delight spending time at the pool chatting with Judith.  Getting to know a stranger, not to mention getting to speak in English, is something we’ve had few opportunities to do over the last six weeks.  In that timeframe, I’ve met and spoken to a total of four other travelers like us.  An interesting takeaway from each of those conversations is that anything pertaining to safety while driving around Mexico has only come up once and it was a light-hearted mention at that.  If I’ve learned anything the last six weeks it’s that the fear around the idea of traveling around Mexico is much more far-reaching than the danger itself.  There are certainly places to avoid and precautions to take.  And I have no idea what’s in store for us in our remaining time in Mexico.  But so far, in six weeks, there has only been one time we felt like we were somewhere we shouldn’t be and that was our very first day here.  It has been affirming (and comforting) to talk to other travelers and hear them have nothing but positive things to say about Mexico.

Back at our cozy camp, Mark lounges in a hammock while I indulge in my second hot shower in two days.  Afterwards I remove our comforter from the drying line and can officially say that every single washable item in our camper is clean.  For dinner Mark makes a delicious pesto quinoa filled with fresh veggies.  I settle into my chair beneath the glow of our string lights and take great pleasure in the fact that we’ve found such a lovely place to be still.  Still for an entire week.  It feels good, really really good.

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