Travel notes

Just some random observations and thoughts that occurred to me throughout the week.

• After only a couple of days in Mexico, even though I'm linguistically challenged, I really feel as if I could hold a decent, basic conversation if I stayed here for a month. I think I could pick up Spanish.


• I had my very own Mexican nightmare the first night I was here in the country. I went to buy a cup of ice cream and the cashier kept telling me it was only 1400 pesos. Then when I would reach in my wallet I'd realize that was actually about 100 USD. This happened over and over and over again until my brain broke the cycle and all I wanted to do was return the ice cream. Thankfully, I woke up before I got stuck on trying to return food.


• I really miss ice. We came across a restaurant in Taxco that purified their water for tourists so it was alright to drink their water. More importantly, it was OK to drink their Sangria with ice. I think this is easily the one thing I miss the most when I travel outside the states.


• International travel is changing for me. I remember my first couple of trips away from the U.S., I remember being so struck by stupid things like air quality, traffic congestion or driving habits. The more I branch out the easier it is to look past these minor differences and make other more important cultural and historical observations. I realize just how unique the U.S. is because I see a lot of similarities between the handful of other countries I've been to - even though they're spread across different continents.


• This was an intensely personal trip for me, and I found myself distracted - I didn't have my head in the game and, unfortunately, it shows in the images I brought back. Everything worked out as well as could be expected, I think, in the end, but I know I missed some shots. There's no excuse for that.


• This was also a ridiculously fast trip; I want to go back. There's also so much to see too - this country is huge. I'd love to go to the Yucatan.