Finally, more than four months after leaving Mexico, I’m writing the last blog post of this leg. (Fun fact I just learned before posting: My last FAQ post for Mexico, for Leg 12, began: “More than four months have passed since we left Mexico” and started with a lesson about flexibility. I guess I’m consistent!)

I want to say I’ll never fall so far behind on the blog again, but we’re six weeks into Leg 19 and I haven’t done a single post for it yet. Luckily, it’s only three posts so far, four if you count the “We’re Home” post I’ll do here in Salta. 

But back to Leg 18. Once again, Mexico did not disappoint. We loved every minute of our four months there. And while it feels so familiar to us now that it is practically our second home country (I hope they would accept us!), we still learned several valuable lessons on this leg. 

Flexibility Is Key in Travel

This is a lesson we’ve learned many times over (not just in Mexico!), but we had several experiences on this leg in which our ability to be flexible paid off, especially for transferring from city to city. In Queretaro, I had reached out to a driver via WhatsApp a couple of weeks in advance to arrange a private transfer to Tequisquiapan because I didn’t want to navigate a regional bus with all our luggage. Unfortunately, the driver fell ill and his wife contacted me to cancel a couple of days before our scheduled ride. Luckily we’d met another driver in the meantime and he was available. Though he charged a little more than the first driver, it still worked out great. 

Then, we leaving Tequisquiapan, we arrived at the bus station to learn that our “luxury” bus to Mexico City (ETN Turistar) was cancelled and we’d have a several hours wait for the next one. After confirming availability with another, less swanky company (Flecha Amarillo Coordinados), I was able to cancel our tickets at the ETN counter for a full refund (after a bit of paperwork I persevered through) and got us on the next bus out. We ended up arriving in Mexico City at close to the original time for about half the cost ($15/ticket versus $30) and the ride was actually quite comfortable. And we were grateful not to have to sit around a bus station for three hours!

Don’t Assume Uber is Better 

Another transit lesson came at the Leon airport when we arrived from Zihuatanejo for our stay in Guanajuato. I saw some mentions of taking Uber from the airport to Guanajuato (about 45 minutes) so planned on that. When I requested the ride, the pickup point was shown just outside of arrivals. However, after waiting and getting dropped and waiting some more, the driver messaged that we’d have to walk about six minutes to beyond the airport gates. It was very inconvenient (uneven ground) and it turned out a taxi would have been the same price, available immediately, with no long walk dragging our luggage. Going forward, I vowed to always check the taxi options before just Ubering. However, I already broke that rule when we arrived here in Salta, though that time Uber actually worked out great.

Always Take Your ATM Card from the Machine

This shouldn’t need to be learned the hard way, but sadly for me it was. The HSBC ATMs in Mexico give you your cash and receipt long before spitting out your card. When we arrived in Zihuatanejo, which included a hassle at customs in which we had to throw away our chef’s knife to avoid a shakedown, I was pretty flustered and Chad was extremely irritated by the customs issue. We had dropped off our luggage at our Airbnb, which was still being cleaned, and hot and tired went to a cash only cafe. I settled Chad in with our backpacks and a beer and went off to the ATM. Being flustered and in a hurry, I neglected to retrieve my card after the transaction and didn’t realize it until that night. Luckily there were no major negative consequences. I locked the card, asked at the bank if it had been turned in (they said if it had, they would have just thrown it away if it wasn’t an HSBC card), and ordered a new one. 

Chad’s ATM card continued to work so we still had access to cash, though I requested he go with me every time I used an ATM going forward to make sure I didn’t lose that card too. It took two attempts and over three months to receive my replacement card from Schwab (more Mexican customs issues), but it finally arrived in Guanajuato where our host was kind enough to send it to us by DHL in Mexico City. So the cost of reimbursing that shipping and giving a little extra to the host in gratitude was the only consequence of my error. Ever since I’ve been extra-careful to make sure I always take my ATM card from the machine. And I notice with appreciation when ATMs return your card before disbursing the cash. 

Accept (but don’t expect) Kindness from Airbnb Hosts

We were particularly fortunate in our Airbnb hosts on this leg. Each of them went above and beyond for us in their own ways. Our Zihua host provided water and weekly cleaning throughout our stay, coordinated through her manager, Judith, who was also very kind and friendly. When it was time for us to leave, Judith’s son even gave us a ride to the airport. He was very nice and convinced us to put his adopted city, Morelia, Michoacan, on our list for a future trip to Mexico. Others had been recommending it as well, so it is firmly on the list.

Our Guanajuato host, in addition to taking the time and trouble to ship my debit card to me when it arrived a couple weeks after our departure, checked in on us during the brief lockdown we experienced after a cartel leader’s death and also gave us a ride to the bus station when we departed. Our Queretaro host gave us a late checkout so I could take one last Zoom call before our ride to Tequis. And our CDMX host greeted us with sushi and wine for our arrival night dinner, as well as providing a cleaner every couple of weeks and being a friendly neighbor.

One of my favorite parts of travel is seeing and experiencing the kindness of strangers who simply want to make life easier for their fellow humans. I hope we return and extend that kindness at every opportunity. 

Summary 

In my last “What We Learned” post from Mexico, I said we learned it was possible to get tired of Mexico, despite how much we love it. This time around, after a 2+ year absence, we left feeling like we could stay another four months. I’m especially grateful we gained such a better appreciation of Mexican history on this leg. We have a really good handle now on the key people and events from Mexican Independence. On our next trip, I want to do the same for the Mexican Revolution. We haven’t put Mexico back on the calendar yet, but it’s great to know there is so much more to explore. We’ll be back soon!