MEXICO

El placer de viajar sola. by Fernanda Pérez-Caballero

A veces la vida no te da otra opción, a veces si.  A veces las ganas de viajar son más que las ganas de esperar a que alguien te pueda acompañar. A veces es más grande el placer de moverse a tu propio ritmo.  Nadie a quien esperar, nada que cumplir. Solo tú.

A veces viajar es algo que tienes que hacer por ti mismo, para crecer, para evolucionar y cambiar la perspectiva; y créanme que no hay mejor crecimiento que el que te llega rápido y de frente. El que no te llega por casualidad, si no porque tú lo estas buscando. Me gusta pensar que viajar es siempre buscar crecer, llegar a algún destino que te convierta en una mejor versión de ti. 

Viajar sola me ha dado tanto. Desde ese sentimiento de independencia y poder sobre mi misma, hasta experiencias que son sólo para mí, eventualidades con las que sólo yo me voy a quedar, Momentos en la vida que son un regalo, y que tengo el placer de vivir por mi cuenta. Viajar no siempre tiene que ser al ritmo de un programa o un itinerario, si no al ritmo en el que se presentan las cosas, y que mejor sentimiento que viajar por el placer de hacerlo y nada más.

Siendo mujer, tengo que admitir que a veces no es fácil viajar sola. Hay lugares que me exigen más preparación, más tiempo, más seguridad. Pero el hecho de que no sea algo tan sencillo hace que el viaje se vuelva algo único, un logro. Crecimiento que yo busqué. Todo siempre es como tiene que ser. Dejándote llevar llegas a donde tienes que llegar, y darte cuenta de que en realidad nunca estas perdida es uno de los regalos mas grandes de atreverte a despegar.

Escribo esto sentada en un avión, en medio de mucha gente que no conozco. Y aunque estoy sola, en realidad me siento bien acompañada, porque viajando me he dado cuenta que no tengo mejor compañía que la mía.

Mis queridos viajeros, espero se animen a despegar solo(a) por lo menos una vez en su vida, sin ninguna razón de por medio, más que el placer de conocerte a ti mismo.

Les escribo muy pronto, amor siempre.

#loqueescriboaveces 

F. 

Mexico City Series / La Lagunilla Market #VISITMEXICO by Fernanda Pérez-Caballero

Hello dear reader, thinking about visiting Mexico City? Don't think twice.

Let me show you around our real Mexico. One of my all time favorite things to do at the city: Antique shopping at La Lagunilla Market. You'll fall in love, mark my words. 

Meet my dear old, beautiful Mexico. Located right in the center of this infinite city, La Lagunilla Market opens all Sundays without exception. Streets full of rich, forgotten history, blending beautifully with the chaos of this huge market, thousands of people buying and selling. Old houses full of antique furniture waiting to come back to life. 

You can find anything here: from old books and cheap antiques, to furniture, crystals, used clothing, old records, beer, tacos, hand made body oils and perfumes. Collectables and junk all mashed up together. Paradise for passion hunters. Pure magic I tell you. MÉXICO MAGICO. 

This market is located right next to Tepito - aka 'el barrio bravo'. So you shouldn't wear or carry anything valuable. Better if you get dropped and picked up by UBER, you can also get around with public transport, metro La Lagunilla is located just a block away from the market itself. 

Our traditional Quesadillas. 

Our traditional Quesadillas. 

DO'S

  • Get there early (10am)
  • Bargain - most prices are elevated, you can (and they expect you) to ask for a better price. 
  • Eat local food - never say no to real Mexican food. 
  • Ask for 'La calle de las antigüedades' - Most of the market is full of cheap things, true treasures hide in old houses in certain streets. 
  • Bring cash - only. Leave your wallet at home. This city site is well known for pickpocketing. A fanny pack is really the best choice for your money and cellphone. 

DONT'S

  • Wear anything valuable. Leave your wrist clock and jewelery at home.
  • Make anybody mad. People here usually have eachother's back reaaally protected. Gangs may be around.
  • Leave your kids unseen. Don't let them wander off. Losing your peeps here is really easy. 
  • Show off. The less, the better. 

Have fun, buy history, eat local. Fall in love with our beautiful, chaotic Mexico.  

Photo Jan 15, 4 19 49 PM.jpg

Chiapas, México. by Fernanda Pérez-Caballero

A while back ago I got a map on my birthday. I started picking places from Mexico that I had already visited. Being born in México, it was shocking for me to realize that I had a few (a lot actually) places on my map without a checkmark. It was obvious to me that if I wanted to see all these places, not just from México but from around the world, I needed to start traveling alone, nobody to wait for, nobody to stop for. So this is a start. The beginning of a trip for myself.

Welcome to Chiapas! The first trip paid by me, for myself only. Chiapas is located in Southeastern Mexico, bordering with Guatemala. In general, Chiapas has a humid, tropical climate. It is also home to the ancient Maya ruins of Palenque, Yaxhilán, Bonampak and Chinkultic. A week in Chiapas was more than enough to fall deeply in love with the jungle, the city, the ruins. 

I started my week-long tour at Palenque. Among so many green, Palenque is an amazing place with so much history. Beautiful ruins so out of time, naturally absorbed by the jungle that surrounds it. The size of the ruins will make you wonder how the hell were they built so long ago, without technology, bull-dozers or whatever. I mean, really, only human (super human) force. Tenoch, our guide, proudly told us all about the history of the place. Palenque ruins date back from 226 BC to around 799 AD. The jungle is covered all over with all the amazing kinds of green you have ever seen; mahagony, cedar and sapodilla trees are popular at the region. Humidity at its finest. We had the chance to explore for about 4 hours, I do recommend you to ask for a personal guide, so much history and interesting facts lay underneath the ruins. 

Take note: you need good, closed shoes, you'll sweat like you never have, bring water.

Yoga here is a must. 

Next stop, la Selva Lacandona, (Lacandon Jungle). It covers an area of approximately 1.9 million hectares extending from Chiapas into northern Guatemala and southern Yucatán. Here you NEED a guide. This guide will not only be of great help, but also your passport into the jungle. Locals don't like tourists, your guide will be the friend in between. I can't even begin to explain the humidity, we were lucky it wasn't that sunny. I had the chance to stay here an entire day, i met locals and I was invited to their house. Sadly taking my camera with me was just not an option. They believe that cameras in general take a portion of their souls when taking a picture. They live 100% from the jungle, so they protect it with their heart. (As we should protect our environments). 

Cataratas de Agua Azul is a waterfall body that consists of many cataracts following one after another. Located just 69 km away from San Cristóbal, perfect blue water with high mineral content. Beautiful view all-around, and a large market by the side where you can buy almost anything. From coconuts to wetshoes. 

One of my favorite places had to be at the border between México and Guatemala. (I lived in Guatemala for almost 6 years and its safe to say its one of my favorite places on this planet) Río Usumacinta defines part of the border between Guatemala & Mexico.The view is UN-belivable, it really is. There's a really good restaurant at the top of a hill where you can see both countries sharing this beautiful view. 

(I had to hug Guatemala's geographic limit)

My last place to visit was magical. Cañón del sumidero, a deep narrow canyon surrounded by a protected national park, located just north of the city of Chiapa de Corzo. You can take a tour on a boat that will take you through it. You may get wet, but trust me it is absolutely worth it.