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

[dadi]

Belated happy birthday! I am glad to read you less depressed!

[bennuheron]

Happy belated Birthday!

[olamina]

I feel like there are many places in Mexico that would meet your requirements. That said Colômbia is safer. Salento is fantastic if you can make it there. Nice hikes, cute little town. Backpackers passing through to occasionally chat to.

[olamina]

I feel the same about turning 40 with little fanfare. I think it's all quiet drinks from here on out.

[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

[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.

[geminiwench]

I love your nature pics so much! That prairie in Panama looks so much like Eastern Washington or Eastern Montana I can't believe it! Stunty pine trees, bunch grass, and basalt boulders!

[amw]

Isn't it wild? I was really surprised to walk up the road and suddenly find it sitting there, it's like i was right back in Kamloops.

It's been helpful to be staying in fully Spanish-speaking areas with no/few foreign tourists, because i am also learning some of the local terminology for this stuff. For instance, i learned the word páramo, which describes this very arid, rocky landscape where not much stuff grows. Along the border of Panama and Costa Rica there is a bunch of it, they have cactuses and everything. Unfortunately it's remote and difficult to visit, but now i know the word it will be easier to ask locals in wherever i am if they know of nearby landscape like that. I think usually locals try to sell rainforests and waterfalls to the tourists because that's what most people like, so when you have less "mainstream" tastes it's good to be able to explain that.

[geminiwench]

Being unconventional in general, is usually the hard way to go.... but at least you get to chase the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and experiences you really love!

I really do feel so many people just want to do what they've heard other people have done, more out of an interest in joining the crowd than a personal explicit interest in the place/event/food/etc.

I appreciate your interest in the places less traveled.

[meowmensteen]

Happy birthday. I'm not that far behind you. I'll be 41 in April. The scenery in the desert is beautiful, but my favorite part of this post was the stuff about working in restaurants. I'm definitely one of those people that only knows fancy foods because I quickly scarf it down in the back kitchen... on a funny note like that, I have on coworker who is obsessed with feeding the crows (against my advice), and he likes to feed them prosciutto, pate, and compte cheese. Those poor crows are going to die of heart disease.