Mexico: Stepping Out of my Comfort Zone
December 6 2020 | Tagged: Mexico
Turkey was shutting down again. I didn't need another lockdown. So I flew to Mexico.
For years, I had put off going to Latin America. But with life in Turkey about to get complicated, I bit the bullet and booked a flight from Istanbul to Mexico City.
For years, I had put off going to Latin America. But with life in Turkey about to get complicated, I bit the bullet and booked a flight from Istanbul to Mexico City.
Mexico. Yes, you heard right. Nomadic Backpacker is now in Mexico.
Nick, a friend on Twitter said, "Wtf!!! I go into the bush for a few days and you're in Mexico".
This is almost following Sarah's Modus Operandi, "If you snooze you lose". Stay alert and be prepared to move at short notice!
Sometimes you just gotta do it.
I was in Turkey. They were locking down again, little by little. First a partial curfew, then 2 weeks later a weekend curfew. When would it stop? When the whole country is under 24/7 lockdown no doubt. I had no desire to be part of that.
I had contemplated Mexico as a destination when thinking about where I should go when I was in Albania. I chose North Macedonia. That was awesome but turned into a bad choice (or did it?).
I escaped the mayhem there by going to Turkey. But essentially I was going from one wok to another.
As soon I heard about the partial curfew being introduced in Turkey, I knew it was time to make a decision.
Mexico was open. Wade told me it was where I should try and get to. Sarah was already there. I booked Istanbul-Mexico before I talked myself out of it.
Talk me out of what?
Meery said, "why nervous...you've been a traveller all your life?". This is true. Nomadic Backpacker, long term traveller (and content creator), 28 years as a backpacker and now on 98 countries and I AM NERVOUS about travelling?
This is going to take some explaining.
Latin America has a reputation. Whether it deserves it still is another matter. I am a Latin America Virgin so who am I to make that call. But these are my feelings!
And this reputation is basically what made me avoid this part of the world for so long. I always used to say that my reason for not coming here was my lack of Spanish in a country where they don't do English very well. This was, of course, just an excuse.
They don't do English very well in China but it never stopped me going there. Of course, I picked up a few words here and there, xie xie, mayo, piao, dafu, miFan and the numbers, 1-10. I survived and even thrived there despite the lingo or lack of it.
I speak enough French to get by in West Africa, I understand quite a bit of Italian, and that, together with a bit of imagination, I am muddling through here. Of course, everyone knows the standard words, Amigo, Buenos Dias, Nada. I do actually have quite a few words in my vocabulary.
Latin America's reputation is of the higher than normal possibility of theft and mugging. On par with certain areas of South Africa, and yes I travelled there. And yes, I never felt comfortable and was attacked by 2 lads brandishing knives upon arrival in Cape Town.
But is Latin America any more dangerous than riding the Tram-Historico in Lisbon, or getting your bag snatched by thieves on Vespas in Roma or your pockets picked in London or the glue sniffers in Addis who like to spit on you as they walk past and offer to wipe it down and relieving you of your wallet in the process? In some places yes. Honduras for example.
MRP gave me some sound advice. He knows how I was nervous about coming here. And he knows my modus operandi. I like to walk everywhere. I travel light so I can do just that. I don't like to take taxis from the bus or train station. Up to 6km to my hostel I will walk. And if it's further, public transport.
"On the way to your hotel, you are the most vulnerable. Just take a taxi for a couple of bucks". This is sound advice. Do you need to follow this in every place? Probably not but it is wise to err on the side of caution. After all, you have everything you own on your back.
This takes away my freedom. I like to walk. A fast-paced walk will stretch the legs after sitting in a bus for 12 hours. And I am quite the cheapskate traveller. If I can save a dollar here and there I will.
In coming here, I am stepping out of my Comfort Zone. Yet in London I will walk with my stuff, I rode the Tram-Historico in Lisbon, I walked, again with all my stuff past the junkies in Addis. Yet here I won't be walking across town with my big bag. The need to ride a taxi for the concerns running around my head is the way I will be able to travel here.
This whole process is about being out of one's comfort zone. You have this fear but you just have to find a way to work with it.
My comfort zone is my freedom. And if I have to take a taxi because of things in my head, my freedom is gone.
I was a little nervous about the metro as well. I pushed passed that barrier by forcing myself to just do it and then feeling relieved and happy that it was nowhere as bad I was expecting. In fact, it wasn't bad at all. No aspect of riding the metro here was sketchy.
Of course, you don't leave your phone in your back pocket. This is something no one is doing here. Don't stand by the door as there is a chance that someone will grab your bag and sneak out of the door just as it closes. This is not just a Latin America issue. This can be an issue anywhere.
I was trying to think when I last stepped out of my comfort zone. I guess in West Africa I was stepping in and out of my comfort zone on a country by country basis, sometimes on a daily basis but it was more like just stepping just a tiny bit over that line.
In Sierra Leone and Liberia, it was a bit sketchy at times and was warned about walking around at night or I recall how I was told when I needed to come back from a bar where they had WiFi, that under no circumstances should I walk. "It's 400m!". 'Yes, I know. Get the girl there to call you a cab". I walked. Probably not a good idea but hey.
Comfort Zones are in your head!
I feel OK here but it is still in the back of my mind that I am not in Kansas anymore. And I am managing to live out of my comfort zone.
Video clip to support this story:
Nick, a friend on Twitter said, "Wtf!!! I go into the bush for a few days and you're in Mexico".
This is almost following Sarah's Modus Operandi, "If you snooze you lose". Stay alert and be prepared to move at short notice!
Sometimes you just gotta do it.
I was in Turkey. They were locking down again, little by little. First a partial curfew, then 2 weeks later a weekend curfew. When would it stop? When the whole country is under 24/7 lockdown no doubt. I had no desire to be part of that.
I had contemplated Mexico as a destination when thinking about where I should go when I was in Albania. I chose North Macedonia. That was awesome but turned into a bad choice (or did it?).
I escaped the mayhem there by going to Turkey. But essentially I was going from one wok to another.
As soon I heard about the partial curfew being introduced in Turkey, I knew it was time to make a decision.
Mexico was open. Wade told me it was where I should try and get to. Sarah was already there. I booked Istanbul-Mexico before I talked myself out of it.
Talk me out of what?
Meery said, "why nervous...you've been a traveller all your life?". This is true. Nomadic Backpacker, long term traveller (and content creator), 28 years as a backpacker and now on 98 countries and I AM NERVOUS about travelling?
This is going to take some explaining.
Latin America has a reputation. Whether it deserves it still is another matter. I am a Latin America Virgin so who am I to make that call. But these are my feelings!
And this reputation is basically what made me avoid this part of the world for so long. I always used to say that my reason for not coming here was my lack of Spanish in a country where they don't do English very well. This was, of course, just an excuse.
They don't do English very well in China but it never stopped me going there. Of course, I picked up a few words here and there, xie xie, mayo, piao, dafu, miFan and the numbers, 1-10. I survived and even thrived there despite the lingo or lack of it.
I speak enough French to get by in West Africa, I understand quite a bit of Italian, and that, together with a bit of imagination, I am muddling through here. Of course, everyone knows the standard words, Amigo, Buenos Dias, Nada. I do actually have quite a few words in my vocabulary.
Latin America's reputation is of the higher than normal possibility of theft and mugging. On par with certain areas of South Africa, and yes I travelled there. And yes, I never felt comfortable and was attacked by 2 lads brandishing knives upon arrival in Cape Town.
But is Latin America any more dangerous than riding the Tram-Historico in Lisbon, or getting your bag snatched by thieves on Vespas in Roma or your pockets picked in London or the glue sniffers in Addis who like to spit on you as they walk past and offer to wipe it down and relieving you of your wallet in the process? In some places yes. Honduras for example.
MRP gave me some sound advice. He knows how I was nervous about coming here. And he knows my modus operandi. I like to walk everywhere. I travel light so I can do just that. I don't like to take taxis from the bus or train station. Up to 6km to my hostel I will walk. And if it's further, public transport.
"On the way to your hotel, you are the most vulnerable. Just take a taxi for a couple of bucks". This is sound advice. Do you need to follow this in every place? Probably not but it is wise to err on the side of caution. After all, you have everything you own on your back.
This takes away my freedom. I like to walk. A fast-paced walk will stretch the legs after sitting in a bus for 12 hours. And I am quite the cheapskate traveller. If I can save a dollar here and there I will.
In coming here, I am stepping out of my Comfort Zone. Yet in London I will walk with my stuff, I rode the Tram-Historico in Lisbon, I walked, again with all my stuff past the junkies in Addis. Yet here I won't be walking across town with my big bag. The need to ride a taxi for the concerns running around my head is the way I will be able to travel here.
This whole process is about being out of one's comfort zone. You have this fear but you just have to find a way to work with it.
My comfort zone is my freedom. And if I have to take a taxi because of things in my head, my freedom is gone.
I was a little nervous about the metro as well. I pushed passed that barrier by forcing myself to just do it and then feeling relieved and happy that it was nowhere as bad I was expecting. In fact, it wasn't bad at all. No aspect of riding the metro here was sketchy.
Of course, you don't leave your phone in your back pocket. This is something no one is doing here. Don't stand by the door as there is a chance that someone will grab your bag and sneak out of the door just as it closes. This is not just a Latin America issue. This can be an issue anywhere.
I was trying to think when I last stepped out of my comfort zone. I guess in West Africa I was stepping in and out of my comfort zone on a country by country basis, sometimes on a daily basis but it was more like just stepping just a tiny bit over that line.
In Sierra Leone and Liberia, it was a bit sketchy at times and was warned about walking around at night or I recall how I was told when I needed to come back from a bar where they had WiFi, that under no circumstances should I walk. "It's 400m!". 'Yes, I know. Get the girl there to call you a cab". I walked. Probably not a good idea but hey.
Comfort Zones are in your head!
I feel OK here but it is still in the back of my mind that I am not in Kansas anymore. And I am managing to live out of my comfort zone.
Video clip to support this story: