On the Coast of Mexico, with Family

Many months ago, as we whiled away yet another month in Mexico’s mountainous interior, Bruno and I began daydreaming of the United States. The parks and preserves and monuments of the Southwest of the United States, to be precise. At some point during our year-long stay in Mexico, its traffic, pollution, and jubilant disorder had started to feel a little overwhelming, and we craved the clean and quiet wide open spaces of its more ordered northern neighbor.

Now, though, with only 100km to go before we reach the Nogales border with Arizona – which we will cross tomorrow morning – we are having second thoughts about leaving Mexico.

This past week, with the country stretching further north than we had realized and time running out before a reunion with a friend, we’ve made a bee-line toward that long-dreamed-of US border. With each kilometer driven, as the temperature slowly fell and our beloved coconut trees became more and more absent, a sort of nostalgia for Mexico set in.

It’s true that we’ve been here over a year now, and its Spanish-language, ubiquitous avocados, and affordable camping have become comfortable and homey. It’s true, too, that we are total wussies when it comes to cold weather.

But I actually think the main reason for our sudden fondness for Mexico is that we just spent five glorious weeks on its Pacific Coast with my parents.

My folks had left their RV last spring near Mexico City, so when they flew back to Mexico this December, they picked it up and drove to meet us on the coast. They arrived just in time for the holidays – and boy, there were a lot of them! There was Christmas and New Year’s, of course, but there was also Bruno’s birthday and Phoenix’ second birthday. Though Mexico itself wasn’t the focus of these special occasions, I can say that it was a pretty picturesque backdrop to it all. To be able to dine outside with sunsets over the ocean; to open gifts outside on Christmas morning, birds chirping over the lagoon behind our campsite; to ring in the New Year as we watched Chinese lanterns float over the Pacific – it added a further element of festivity to our special days.

Actually, the Pacific Coast of Mexico added a festive element to all days, really. Coconut-eating feasts after Phoenix’ nap followed by countless afternoons on the beach and family sunset-watching rituals, our days on the coast felt like that perfect mix of routine and special occasion. Phoenix became so accustomed to watching the sun set over the ocean and rise on the other side that he has officially mastered the cycle of the sun (and repeats it to us essentially every morning)! The amount of adorable photos we have of him gazing at the setting sun is something I’ll treasure forever.

When our family first arrived on Mexico’s Pacific Coast in November, Phoenix was quite weary of the sea. I couldn’t blame him – the waves and current really were rather treacherous. This past summer, which we spent on beaches in Canada, Greece, and France, he was equally skeptical of the sand, needing to be sat on a towel and fussing anytime his hands got filled with sand. After our 2.5 months on the coast of Mexico, though, not only was he asking us to bury him up to his neck in sand – and spending endless hours happily playing in the sand (a mama’s dream come true) – but he so thoroughly conquered his fear of the ocean that we have rolls of film of him giggling and jumping over waves, running in and out of the sea until he’d fall into bed at night, exhausted.

I think it was Phoenix’ thorough love of the beach that has made Bruno and I wonder, driving further north toward the US border, if we’d made the right choice. How would we keep him occupied without a beach nearby? Certainly there’s no chance he will be as enchanted with a desert or a hike up a mountain?!?

If we are feeling sad to take Phoenix away from his beloved beach, I am feeling equally sad to leave my parents (or Phoenix’ “Grand-maman” and “Grumps”, as they are called). My parents are big beach people, so our afternoons along the ocean were extra special. Not only were they happy whiling away their hours by the water, but they were getting to enjoy it with their own daughter, and their only grandson. It so filled up my heart to know that my parents got so much bonding time with Phoenix. Every morning, Phoenix could barely finish breakfast, he was so excited to get to their RV for a visit. In the late mornings, the three of them would often go for a little exploratory walk together around the campground. The afternoons were spent at the beach – whether or not Bruno and I were there! I’ve said it before, but I seriously believe that the ideal ratio of adult to young child is four-to-one, and Bruno and I happily took advantage of some much-appreciated extra free time!

I am so, SO grateful for the time our little family spent with my parents. I’m grateful we managed to meet up for the second year in a row in Mexico. And, truth be told, I’m grateful that the Mexican coast was such a welcoming host to us for those five weeks. I think Mexico might be one of those countries that manages to surprise you, just when you think you’ve got it all figured out.

Alas, the decision has been made, and tomorrow we drive into the United States. As with any new country, our family will have to find new routines and ways of living and traveling in our bus that suit our new environment. It will be an adjustment – especially not to have a beach just around the corner!

But when I recall the blog post I wrote a couple months ago after first arriving to the coast of Mexico – which complained about incredible heat and the disruption of our previously-established routine – I’m forced to admit that, in all likelihood, once the dust settles in the southwest of the United States, we will find a joyful rhythm there, too.

Onward, ho!