The Nature-Loving Lung Polluter and other Fun Encounters in Mexico

I like to find the humor in traveling. While many writers are looking for an inspirational twist, a great travel tip, or the perfect photo, I am often jotting down notes on things that make me giggle. Here are a few of my favorite comedic occurrences from my latest trip to Mexico.

The nature-loving lung polluter

When I went to the Isla Coranado to snorkel, I went for a hike (in flip flops) first. I was there with a guide, so I blindly followed his lead. As he lead us through some pointy bushes and onto a path, a large group of people on the beach were yelling at us. My guide repeatedly said “No, it’s okay! I know where I’m going!” and we moved on. A few minutes later, a woman ran up to us on the trail, out of breath. She began berating our guide and yelling at him for not following the proper trail. The guide immediately apologized and said he thought he was using the right trail, and begged for her to excuse his mistake. A normal person would have accepted the apology and moved on, but this lady was not done. She spent another 5 minutes lecturing him on how hard she and other people worked to create the path, how disrespectful he was, etc. I felt like a kid watching their friend getting yelled at by their my mom. Talk about awkward.

Isla Coronado, workplace of crazy Nature Lady

She eventually released us and let us finish our hike. However, upon our return to the beach, she immediately pounced upon us. She held a cigarette in her hand as she motioned wildly and spoke of her high rank with some organization or another. The guide was apologizing profusely, but she interrupted him fiercely by saying “LET ME FINISH!” The whole time I couldn’t help but smirk as her cigarette ashed all over her beloved island. My only regret is that I don’t have a photo of her scrunched up angry face.

Decoration or food?

When I got to my hotel room, I was greeted with a personalized plate of chocolates. Sure, they used my legal name that no one uses and also put my last name before my middle name, but the thought was nice and the chocolate was delicious. However, I was rather perplexed by the sticky pentagon that served as a base for the chocolates. At first I thought it was just decoration, but when I touched it, the surface felt sticky and a little gooey – like a Jolly Rancher melting in the sun. Is this candy? Should I try to eat it? It’s a huge pentagon, how do you eat it? Should I just lick it? Over the next few days, I discussed this sticky pentagon with other guests on the trip who received the same thing. We all shared stories of putting it under water to see what would happen, trying to taste it, and last, a odd man who actually consumed the entire plate-sized pentagon, even though there were seashells stuck inside of it.

Sexual harassment or a language barrier?

One of the hotel activities I took part in was aqua aerobics class. It was taught by a cute, young guy who spoke English pretty well, but still had a very strong accent. True to Mexico’s reputation, the music played during the class was something you might hear in a Mexican dance club, and the moves involved a lot of hip thrusting. Those things alone were enough to make me giggle, but the instructor’s commentary took it to the next level. As we got low, did our pelvic thrusts, and did a sort of “ride the pony” move, the instructor continually said “yeaaaahh, you like it? Do you like it? Yes? You like it? You like it?” I felt like I was with an very unsure lover. I wanted to tell the instructor how awkward he sounded, but how could I possibly explain? Instead, I bit back immature giggles and tried to work my glutes.

Sexy aerobics?

So can I go to your blog and blog you back?

During my stay, I ran into a lot of older guests who wanted to know what I did for a living. Instead of telling them I’m a freelance writer, translator, tutor, and a variety of other things, I tried to keep it simple with just travel writer. Turns out that wasn’t quite simple enough.

I cannot tell you how many times people asked questions like “A travel writer? But what do you do?” or “You have a website? Like on the internet? I could just type it in and it would be there?” It was both adorable and hilarious to see how the age gap affected their ability to understand my profession. One particularly sweet but confused lady asked if she could “blog me back.” I just told her, yes, yes she could. And to that woman – if you are out there reading this, thank you for patiently listening to the description of what a blog is and still asking for my website’s address. You can blog me back right there in the comments below!