Day 6

This was a bad night. The AC had been set to a temperature far too cold by someone, so I had woken up numerous times to put another blanket on. I had finally had some warmth and rest to my body, when Jim woke me up. He said it was Sandrina's last day and he had seen her go downstairs. He wanted to make sure I didn't miss my chance to say goodbye to her. I really appreciated the gesture. 

Speaking of gestures, I noticed a white sheet draped over me in addition to the beach towels I had thrown over myself in the middle of the night to cope with the cold. I looked at Sandrina's empty bed and her sheet was missing. I think she must have taken her sheet and given it to me while I slept. That is so kind. She plays a tough woman, but inside, she has a heart after all. 

I spoke to the Mexican girl in the bed next to mine for a bit as I got ready. We both talked about how cold we were through the night, but I rushed downstairs to see Sandrina. 

She was there with Jim and the old French couple. The French couple didn't speak a drop of English, but they wanted me to ask Jim if he was married. He was not. The French explained that they had been together for 54 years. The lady, whose name is Marie-Thérèse, saw Roger at the cinema. He was so handsome that she said then and there that she would marry him... and she did. 

I turned my attention to Sandrina and thanked her for covering me in the night. She said she had noticed that I was curled up and cold, so it only made sense. We chatted for a bit and she thanked me for a lovely few days. She told me to let her know if I was ever in Murcia so that we could go Stand-Up-Paddle-Boarding together. She also made me promise to send her a photo of Jim after the barber because she hated his current scruffy appearance and wanted to see how handsome he could be after a clean. She laughed that she was desperate.

Jim headed off to the barber and Sandrina grabbed a cab to her bus station. She gave me a big kiss on the cheek and waved goodbye. 

I went back upstairs to prepare for another day of heavy sun protection. On my bed, I found a note on a torn piece of paper. It was from my Mexican bed neighbour. It read that it was really nice to meet me and she hoped we could stay in touch over Instagram. She left me her handle and I added her and thanked for her kind message. 

I ran a few errands for my place back in Vancouver and received a message from Billie asking if I'd like to go snorkeling in a couple of hours. She had gear and had discovered a spot where turtles came to feed. It sounded like an offer I couldn't refuse. Meanwhile, I packed up my stuff for the day and tidied up my bags as much as possible. I was heading on my overnight bus tonight at midnight, so I had to check out of the hostel by noon. I would leave my stuff in the hostel until nighttime and only bring my necessities to town.

I found a cafe near the spot where Billie wanted to meet and decided to make my way over. Just as I was about to leave, a freshly-trimmed Jim appeared. I obediently sent a photo to Sandrina who said he looked like a 10/10 now. He looked so good, in fact, that she was tempted to come back from Chiapas to be with him. Hilarious. 

Jim left with me towards the cafe because he was headed to an electronics store. His jerry-rigged fan had stopped working and the electrician in him had discovered the problem. He needed a new wire to fix it, so he was off. 

I met Billie alone since Mark had gotten seasick from an earlier boat tour they had done. We put on snorkeling gear and began our little expedition. The water was initially murky, but it cleared up just as we got over a bed of coral. There were so many stunning fishes floating around! I saw massive sea urchins, with the longest spikes I had ever seen. I saw cool long fish with electric-orange and highlighter-yellow stripes. I saw fish in an electric-blue shade that I didn't know existed in nature. There were these gross, weird fish that looked like rotting guavas. They kind of hung out at the bottom of the water and had partly flaky brown skin, covering pieces of bright yellow skin. These same fish had buggy eyes placed on the top of rods coming out of their heads. Coolest of all, I saw puffer fish. They were electric blue with vivid white specks. They seemed very chill. I was really amazed and grateful that Billie had given me the opportunity. 

As I got out of the water, half of the skin on my forehead flaked off. Perhaps the salt dried it out, but I now looked like a Dalmatian. Billie said her and Mark wanted to take me to dinner as a send-off for my last night in Huatulco, so I should go home and take a shower before meeting them again. 

When I got back, the Mexican girl, who I had learned was called Nina from her note, looked super excited to see me. She thought I had left, but was glad to have another chance to talk. She opened up a lot more this time than last night, and turned out to be much chattier than she initially seemed. She told me about how the traffic situation in Mexico City varies dramatically: Sometimes, it take 30 minutes to get to the airport, but sometimes it takes 90. Yesterday, she called an Uber to get her an hour ahead of time, but it took the Uber 40 minutes to arrive. As a result, she missed her flight and had to immediately rebook one at a premium. She said it was worth it because she really wanted to get to Huatulco, but she said she couldn't tell her parents because they'd be mad. We laughed about this.

Mark and Billie arrived at my hostel to come and pick me up. We walked 15 minutes into town to grab dinner at a place that was well-rated on Google Maps. Did I mention Google Maps isn't reliable? The place was closed when we arrived. 

Luckily, in the words of Jim, the universe had other plans. On the walk there, we had seen a restaurant with awesome music playing inside. We decided to go there instead and it was amazing. The decor was beautiful. They had hand-painted murals and beaded seashells everywhere. The guys playing music were so talented, and, though I had no idea what songs they were playing, the rest of the crowd sang along happily. The atmosphere was phenomenal, and the food was decent too. I had some fish ceviche and octopus tacos. 

Mark and Billie told me more about their escape from Mormonism and praised my parents for not raising me religious. I asked why Mormons had so many kids and they told me it was a good way for the faith to spread. Mark and Billie only had two because they were unable to have kids and had to adopt. Mark and Billie weren't an arranged marriage, but they had to marry someone else in the faith to remain in good standing with God. Mark had done a mission in Venezuela, so he got different style underwear which were referred to as "G-Lines". These signified that he had completed his mission. He was thus eligible for marriage. 

Billie wasn't sure about him at first because he didn't pray three times a day and a wife's salvation depended on her husband's, but they were married 3 months later nonetheless. This was interesting to me because of their different backgrounds. Billie became a member of the Church through her dad. The Church offered people a stipend and free living if they performed tasks, like farming and sewing, for the Church. Billie's father had 6 kids to feed, so he took advantage of the stipends without ever completing the work. Hence, Billie grew up moving to a new Mormon colony every 6 months when the current colony would catch on to her dad's scheme. Mark's family was serious. They had been Mormons forever. 

When Mark got distant from Billie 10 years ago, she assumed he was cheating on her. He was actually doubting his religion and worried about telling her. When he eventually did, she was fearful for her own salvation. She resented him for jeopardizing the family and they separated for a while. 

When the pandemic struck, they weren't able to go to Church and she eventually came to similar conclusions. She said she now loves Mark more than ever because he's an amazing guy and because they're both allowed to wear something other than Mormon underwear. They've now been together for 38 years. 

I thanked them for the lovely dinner and told them I might see them again in the coming years. 

I got back to the hostel with a few hours to spare before leaving and spoke to the old French couple once again. They asked my first name and asked if it was Russian. I told them it was in the same Slavic family. When they realized I was Serbian, they got very excited. They had gone around Yugoslavia in a Camper Van for 4 months with their 3 kids in 1979. They loved it. They loved Tito. The country wasn't the same after it fell apart. They told me it was all the fault of religion, just like in India. According to them, India was the most beautiful country in the world, but it was ruined because of religion. 

They also told me I had to visit Toulouse because they still had the Camper Van. It was still running and the grandma took it to the market sometimes to sell little souvenirs she'd pick up on her travels. 

The French leave tomorrow morning. They say they're sad to see the gang we had going falling apart, but hopefully they'll see us again. 

As the clock gets closer to midnight, Jim offers to walk me to the bus stop. In a way, it's a nice gesture, but I also know that means I'm not going to catch a break from listening. I stop to buy him a crepe on the way to thank him, and the proceed to listen to 2 hours of stories about how he volunteered at a concert and met Gene Simons from Kiss. He showed me photos of his trailer and told me more about the universe manifesting the best thing at the best time always. 

He also brings up something interesting. He says Mexico today reminds him of Canada 30 years ago, back when the country was still free. He says back then you could ride a scooter the way the Mexicans do, you could sit on the curb and smoke a joint, you could say what you wanted. You can't do that anymore and that's why he's escaping the country. I completely agree. There's a freedom in being in a place that isn't sanitary, ordered and structured that is unparalleled. This is the only true liberty.

At last, a Mexican lady appeared out of nowhere to yell a series of names. "Natasa Micovez" was called to van #6. I assume that's me, so off I go. It's quite comfortable inside and I am seated next to a 16-year-old couple that is madly in love. Awkward. Apart from the fact that I have the seat closest to the door, I think this should be ok.