sings George Ezra, while I'm rather desperately trying to find the words to end this trip, that in reality has ended over a month ago. By now, Maik and I have traded beaches and palm trees with meadows and oak trees, spicy greasy food with not-so-spicy greasy food, and chilling out in hostels with new friends has become chilling out at home with old friends. One moment we felt the sun and sand on our skin, and the next we're back in every-day-life-Dresden, using dish washers and drinking water from the tap, the feeling of swinging in a hammock alsready pushed into the back of our minds.
I tried going back to memories from the beginning, when we were in Cancun, Tulum or even San Cris, and yet this girl in the according pictures feels like a different reality. A good one.
I wanted to write more about our fun time with Lauren and Alan, but my thoughts are pale, emotions already fading.
Every nation has different rules to play by, different cheats and treats, and I felt quite comfortable in the Mexican reality. BUT ISN'T IT SO DANGEROUS?!?!111 We didn't get into much trouble, all minor incidents and no problems in the strict sense of long-lasting consequences. So we probably got lucky, maybe -and this is a wild theory- even treated in a positive racist way because we're white. Or maybe, after all the problems regarding violence, at least for a tourist th good outweighs the bad in many ways in Mexico. Who am I to know what kind of a country it is?!
We'd probably agree that Germany is a safe country to visit, right? And Dresden, well, surely your ministry of foreign affairs would green light a visit, no?! Absolutely. Well, except if you look different maybe, you know, having a non-caucasian ethnic background, except if you decide to visit the Dresden Altstadt on a Monday night... oh-oh. I was once asked by a Turkish colleague in a kindergarten in Frankfurt if I really recommend him to go to Dresden, he heard it's super dangerous. That shocked me. I never felt threatened in my hometown, but then again, being comfortable can be a very subjective thing. Here I'm not afraid of being kidnapped but rather of having an accident with my bike and a car (drivers are usually ignorant), then losing my temper and being sueded for a lot of money, or maybe being stuck in a phone or appartment contract that I've signed, you know, getting in law trouble... I believe, I can't BE safe, I can only FEEL safe.
It's all in our minds. Paradise. No more beaches here, bitches, but friends, good friends! Those with a huge transparent reading "welcome home", waiting at the bus station. And my parents were waiting, too... I'm a lucky bastard! And rich as well, so why the sad face? It feels good to be home.
Flying with planes is witchcraft, I'm telling you, just a few hours and the world has changed. Home is familiar, yes, but maybe I have changed?
Goodbye, Mexico, land of our dreams and people with open hearts, did I pack some of your positive spirits? Hello, Germany, quality land and home of our home, let's share some of the spirits we illegally brought (you can only bring 1l per person, no mames wey..., where do you get Mezcal or Pox here?). Us two repatriates spent the night with dear friends on the balcony of our new shared flat, where old memories mix with travel stories. It doesn't matter that we haven't slept in the plane, the first night back is spent in celebration of reunion.
But once, long ago now, Maik and I would wake up in the morning, get out of bed and step right into the sand of Isla Holbox on the floor of the dorm room, trying to find a shady spot for breakfast and then convincing sweet Vero to give us two coffees instead of food within the free breakfast. And then... beach. There wasn't much else to do on the island, and there were times when it would have bored me a lot to go on beach-holiday for 10 days. I always liked the sea, but I didn't grave it or dream of it. Maik has a different opinion on that matter, after growing up on the island of Rügen and living 5mins walking from the beach, it became a part of his life. To me the sand rather meant I came to an end, there's only so far and long for me to swim, and then what? A long strip of dirt followed by an endless, dangerous part of water, what's so fascinating about that? Well, after countless, beautiful days and sunsets, the "beach bug" might have gotten me, as well, since I now truely enjoy spending day after day on the sea. There's something about the constant and yet ever-moving surface, to be watched for hours, no need to justify you look at the waves but really, you're looking at yourself.
Anyways, Maik and I spent most of our last days in Mexico at the beach and we were loving it. Playing frisbee, reading books, hanging out, going for a swim, watching the sunset, these were our daily activities, only interupted by organizing food or social events. Isla Holbox is indeed a horrible tourist trap and on the first 4 days we got eaten up by sandflies in our tent so badly that we thought about going back to Cancun early (I know, that's how bad it was itching!), but luckily could change into a dorm room instead. So the days flew by as we almost won a pub quiz with our hostel friends, took 2 dogs from the animal shelter out for a walk during a thunderstorm, and got up early to see the wild flamingos at the far end of the beach. We didn't take the long walk to see the bioluminescence again, for one I was sure it wouldn't be as awesome as at the Laguna Chacahua, and for another during the nights we were busy occupying the hammocks and hanging out.
And the people you meet! Isn't it funny how they are usually both human and a cliché, like walking contradictions? Lee, the windsurfer from Britain said he didn't like people and I would tell him to hide everytime new travelers checked in, and I made a lot of those stupid jokes all those days we were hanging out. Louis from Puebla, Mexico, decided to live three years in different cities all over the globe and for now is selling delicious snacks on the beach while living in a hammock on Isla Holbox, going from endless optimism to teary-eyed rants over fucked-up Mexican politics. I also had long discussions about feminism with German/ Italian Ali, who was raised catholic but then coverted to Islam, and right now is hitch-hiking by himself through Mexico. Leonie is only 19 but already has been to Africa and is now traveling through Latin America on her own, probably stepped on a stingray in shallow water and needed some support, to be taken care of, but she also kicked my ass to get up early and do fitness on the beach. And last but not least, Gry was really fun to be around, though I was convinced her accent is German, she's actually Danish, and said the most random, hilarious things. "Slingshot in Danish is slangebøsse, which is snakefaggot. Or snake gay."
More random thoughts?
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