working and wandering in volcán

[amw]

Hello everyone, i am now the hitchhikerly age of 42. Did i get to have the big 40th bash that i have been delaying for 2 years? No, of course not. Not that i much care about having a big birthday bash - i hate enforced fun. But perhaps that's the joke of your 40s, you'll spend the whole decade wondering if you missed out by not appropriately

Comments

[amw]

Mexico is far and away my number one destination place to visit in Latin America. I am quite sure i could easily spend 3-6 months there traveling around. I already know that i love the food, and the scenery looks incredible. They have a great electronic music scene too. The only thing stopping me is the worry of police corruption and narco/gang violence.

That said, loads of people - including some people i know personally - have visited Mexico in the past couple years without any problems. Thing is, i think they are staying to large, middle-class communities in the big cities, or sequestering themselves in mostly-foreign resort towns. I'm not sure how dangerous it is to travel around independently like i do, taking chicken buses and staying in low budget accommodation mostly used by domestic travelers.

I always feel a bit more worried than average too because of being trans - i can often pass as male and that's helpful to avoid casual assaults on the street, but on the other hand if people read me as trans then i become a target for different reasons. And although i do dress kinda like a bum, i don't look quite as rolled-in-mud as a full-blown hippie/homeless/hobo type, so i still probably attract a bit more attention as someone who might have cash or a rich family.

[olamina]

Yeah my friend is living in Merida now which is a kinda posh expat enclave but exploring moving to Queretaro. She has tried to lure me there but I do worry about violence. I've heard horrific things from friends of friends about roadside carjacking and stuff. No thanks.