Mexico Days 72-74: Sunburnt & Satisfied

Zapotitlán, Puebla //

For three nights in a row, it’s an easy decision to sit still another day.  After our most stressful driving day to date, we had ironically found ourselves at the most peaceful camp we’d been to in all of Mexico.  The good reviews on the iOverlander app are what led us here, it wasn’t until we got here that we learned about where we were.

Jardin Botanico Zapotitlan is located within the Tehuacan-Cuicatlan valley, a UNESCO world heritage site.  The area is recognized for its biological diversity, high number of unique species, and technological water management which allowed the development and evolution of one of the oldest civilizations of the world.  Carved into the cactus forest are a handful of campsites, numerous hiking trails and cabanas for rent.  It appears as though a great deal of care has gone into lightly developing the grounds while preserving the bountiful desert ecosystem.  

Four nights in a row we enjoy a level of silence we have yet to experience in mainland Mexico.  There are no roosters, no barking dogs, nor is there any traffic noise or music of any kind.  It is blissfully silent until dawn when Mourning Doves wake and begin to coo across the desert to one another.  Their calls are the most gentle alarm clock I could ever ask for and while we never see them, I love listening to them.  Day visitors, other campers, and the municipal police doing their daily rounds pass by our camp each day but the quiet stillness is never disturbed.

Each day we rotate between catching up on work and sitting in the shade of our truck while admiring the beauty of the desert and mountains that surround us.  Not only is this the most tranquil place we’ve been since leaving Baja but it also offers familiarity to Arizona’s Sonoran desert that brings me a great deal of comfort.  Before we started spending our winters in Baja, the Sonoran desert was where we went to escape the bitter cold of the Colorado Rockies.  The giant saguaros that surround our truck here in Zapotitlán symbolize many great memories made since we began living on the road full-time.  Because everything from the driving to the food to the landscapes has been new and unfamiliar since arriving to the mainland five weeks ago, this familiarity brings a welcome sense of feeling at home.

I am relieved that by our fourth night here I feel ready to be back on the road.  It took every bit of those four days to recover from the stress induced by the drive to get here.  And yet, ironically, without the stress I doubt the peace of the desert would have been as palpable.  Life on the road always has a way of driving the point home that highs aren’t possible without the lows.  There’s no way to know happiness without knowing sadness, fear, and pain.  The last four days were undoubtedly a high and I savored every moment. 

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