Stuck in Cholula

We are stuck in Cholula, Mexico.

This probably sounds funny coming from a family who lives in a home-on-wheels. I mean, the essence of our very lifestyle is kind of the opposite of being stuck anywhere, right?

So I might need to back up a bit on this one.

We returned to Mexico mid-May after 6 weeks in Florida in France, and the subject of what we were going to do with our 2.5 months in Mexico before another overseas trip had been a topic of conversation for quite some time. See, the 2.5 months in question fell during Mexico’s summer rainy season, so it wasn’t immediately obvious where in the country we could go to minimize encounters with sticky, steamy heat.

After lengthy online research and conversations with locals, the conclusion was evident – you can’t escape rainy season anywhere, really. We’d have to face it, no matter what.

Bruno suggested the Emerald Coast north of Vera Cruz. It wasn’t too far from the Mexico City International Airport – a key factor for people like us who travel very, very slowly – and at least we’d [theoretically] have the ocean breeze to combat the region’s 80% humidity.

I wasn’t sold on the idea – and daytime highs were announcing 35 degrees celcius throughout June – but I didn’t have a better plan, so I acquiesced and we headed that way.

On the way toward the coast, we are plagued with what I can only call a series of bad luck events. First, the hardware on one of our bedroom drawers gives out. Then, our fridge handle breaks. Bruno’s laptop falls hard onto the ground from several meters high (major scratches but thankfully Lenovo builds ’em strong). We get into not one, but two little fender benders while trying to manoeuver the bus through tight spaces. Lastly, both of our heaters break, one after the other.

None of these problems (apart from our expensive German Herber-Spacher heater) are a big deal in and of themselves, but as my own parents can attest after their time in Mexico, when that many things go wrong in a row, you start to wonder if you’re cursed.

Or in my case, if you’re following the right path.

A day’s drive away from the Vera Cruz coast, I start Googling Zika virus updates for 2019. Bruno and I are trying to get pregnant again (!) and this disease can be devastating for fetuses. I can’t find any recent Zika updates for that region, but do read that rainy season is the riskiest time for the virus. The exact time we’re going to the coast. Official recommendations are for women trying to get pregnant to weigh the risks and postpone travel if feasible. If not, refrain from trying to get pregnant for at least two months after departure.

Suddenly, going to Vera Cruz seems foolhardy. Even if I can’t think of a better plan.

Utterly confused now, we decide to drive 50km to Cholula, where we’d spent a week back in March. The campground was nice enough (with a laundromat down the road – a key feature here, guys!), the 2,000m+ elevation was perfectly anti-Zika, and we’d have an address to order bus parts for our repairs.

As we awaited our bus parts in the mail, I started wandering around the town. And I found an open-air produce market; a super fun zocalo (basically a giant town square with lots of green space and playgrounds) for Phoenix to play in; a few tasty vegan restaurants (!); and best of all, a yoga studio.

I can’t speak for Bruno, but I was set. I had everything I needed in order to exist comfortably and happily here while our packages arrived and our bus got repaired. In fact, I secretly hoped the packages would take their good old time arriving, because my goodness, this yoga studio was the real deal.

It’s funny to admit that a yoga studio is all I need to be happy, because you certainly don’t need to live in a bus to find one – in fact, the two are sort of antithetical. I guess, subconsciously, one of the reasons I think I had been so unsure of what to do with our 2.5 months in Mexico was because I was conflicted about what I actually wanted out of that time. So many people would give so much to have a 2.5 month vacation to travel around Mexico – they’d probably even be happy with 2.5 weeks! I knew, intellectually, that this time was a gift and a privilege, but I couldn’t quiet my inner voice telling me that, actually, what I want right now (what I’ve pretty much wanted since Phoenix’ birth, and something I’ve spoken about a lot on my blog) is to just be. To find a place that checks all the boxes and to just go about living there. Forget the travel, the culture, the history. I just want to be with my family and, frankly, with myself.

The bus parts came, the repairs were made, and I could tell Bruno was eager to hit the road. And then something happened which was both unfortunate and fortunate – Bruno got a toothache. Like, a really really bad one. Like, one that brought him to a dentist! It turns out he needed a root canal – poor guy – and that, in Mexico, root canals involve, like, six dentist appointments over the course of a month or so.

By luck, an American gentleman renting a villa in the campground recommended a great dentist nearby, and Bruno is halfway through his treatments (his pain is gone, by the way). When he told me the other day, after his third appointment, that he’d still need another three, I replied sympathetically, Poor you! And, so we’re stuck in Cholula another few weeks?

But underneath my serious, sympathetic face I was beaming. More yoga! More vegan food! More chilling! More self care!

So, you see, we are indeed stuck in Cholula. It’s just that I’m rather quite happy about it.