flâneur: “from the French masculine noun flâneur—which has the basic meanings of "stroller", "lounger", "saunterer", "loafer"… or "a person who walks the city in order to experience it". (wiki.com)
la flâness: sexier, female version of the above.Archive for March 18, 2010
Paradise, Interrupted
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As soon as I walked into this place, I thought: “Paradise“.
The beach, the waves, the glowing sunset over a rocky shore to one side and jungle with only a few scattered late evening surfers to the other…
My very own cabana, with my very own bed with my very own mariachi-themed bedspread… covered by my very own mosquito net that so reminded me of the canopy I always wanted as a child!
Dinner made for me by an awesome lady I call Panties!
Perfection.
But it wasn`t until I spent a good 45 minutes before bed cleaning up every last trace of the cucaracha (cockroach!) that I`d been so quick to murder – disinfecing my floor of his remains so his friends wouldn`t come for his revenge and because I`d heard they lay eggs when you kill them! - that I remembered that perfection has its price.
And the price of this Paradise would be high.
The Road to Tepic – Only Seeking Jungle Beach
Vancouver left me for D.F. (México City) hours before I rolled out of bed. It had been WEEKS since I`d had my very own bed and hotel room, and I spent hours stretching out in my bed, with the TV on in the background for a taste of new and home life, and doing floor yoga to wake myself up slowly.
I ventured out into the plaza (literally right outside my window) to grab some breakfast and a morning coffee, and brought it back to eat in my very own bed… mmm…
I would catch the bus to Tepic from the small bus station at the end of the main road, where the highways began (I was headed to the Riviera Nayarit Coast for some Jungle Beach chillout time in San Blas; only small busses go that direction, and I had to transfer in Tepic).
I just missed my bus, and had about forty-five minutes to wait for the next. I sat back in the sun, and ran into our friends from the billiares the previous night! One, by one, the soccer player (then, and now wearing the full gear – team shirt, shin pads and all), the friendliest old man from the domino crew, and then one of his buddies a few minutes later on. I was already a townie! I chatted with a few locals sitting around me…everyone was so friendly and social here! Maybe it was the tequila…
The road to Tepic was long, winding and stunningly beautiful. I hadn`t expected it!
I was one of three people on the bus, as we headed north-east through the many scattered tiny agave harvesting towns outside of Tequila, through the mountains whose rugged edges were smoothed out by the green and bushy vegetation. The mountains somehow folded into themselves, creating a seemingly endless bumpy surface, reminiscent of a parachute having landed over a field of fluffy, piled up snow. The bush was arid, but still green. Every once and a while we`d pass by yet another patch of agave. Abba, Connie Francis, and romantic Méxican music played on the bus` radio… and I wished I`d taken the free tequila sample shots on the way to the station so I could appreciate it!
The land got greener and greener, and hillier as we approached Tepic. We passed by an archaeological site… ruins of some sort… and with all my maps I couldn`t figure out which one it was.
apparently groups of Huichol and Cora Indiginea live in this region – they are well-known for their spirited use of hallucinogens (peyote, etc.) and it is common to meet foreign travellers seeking spirit-quests in the mountains. It is also apparently the country`s biggest marijuana growing region.
Farmers, agriculture, and more cowboy towns…
Then we passed a few massive tar fields closer to Tepic… destruction is always in the most beautiful, remote of places, isn`t it.
Though I nearly got off at the wrong stop (Mexican people just love to agree with you, I`ve found over my time here! “Is this Tepic?“ “Yep!“ Well, it wasn`t.)… I reached Tepic in one piece. And I was lucky enough to spot a smaller bus to San Blas down the long row of buses! I got on immediately, and realized I wasn`t lucky enough to have had a chance to grab any food for the two-hour or so journey to the jungle… and I was starving! Lesson learned: Always pack a snack!
The driver even stopped for me to grab a bite but there was nothing but a fruit stand… which was so not the lunch I needed.
The bus to San Blas was PACKED. There is only one route to the coast in that rather remote direction (North of Puerto Vallarta, South of the ferry ports to the Baja Peninsula). The bus was crammed with commuting workers, mums with their school children, and old grannies doing their weekly runs to the city. We whipped through dirt roads, stopping at little towns and `side of the road` stops for people to hop on and off. As so often is the case with these off-the-beaten path type routes, I was the only foreigner on the bus.
My first real glimpse of the jungle was about 45 sweaty minutes West of Tepic. And it only got better and better.
Vibrant forested green hills grew higher and more vast… little communities and tall skinny palms proudly spiked up their wacky hairdos, competing to beat out their peers for sun.
The place I`m going had to be wonderful! How could I not get excited?! I listened to the happiest music on my iPod all the way there.
I got off the bus and, upon recommendation from the young English-speaking girl and her family from the bus, took a cab to the line of beach cabanas, just down a wide dirt path (and past the Marines` Base) out of town. I came to the deserted Stoners` Surf Camp and negotiated myself a darling price for a week long stay in my own little thatched roof cabana. And turned around to see no other than… Panties! My favorite Swedish friend from Guadalajara hostel! We screamed and laughed (we hadn`t had a chance to say goodbye, or share our future destinations!)! And now, we were the only two people there!
She shared her large pasta dinner with my exhausted, exhilarated and starving self, and we chowed down on the long wooden tables in the restaurant part of the Surf Camp.
The sunset was glorious, and I was ready to relax.
