I’m so so late with my blog entries! We spent almost a month in Mexico with friends and that was the highlight of our trip. The festival of the dead couldn’t have been better. After the extremely touristy Tulum, playa del Carmen, Cancun and Isla Mujeres we left for Oaxaca. The beaches were picturesque with white sand, turquoise water and fish swimming around us. Having said that, what we really loved, were the cenotes 💕

The cenotes are large sinkholes made of limestone and filled with groundwater/ rain water. They were used by ancient Maya as a sacred ceremonial place for sacrificial offerings. We absolutely fell in love with the cenote Azul. Leo managed to dive from a height of 5,4 metres. It was fascinating watching the rocks and the fish through the crystal clear turquoise blue water.

Oaxaca was overwhelming. I haven’t seen a festival being celebrated with so much gusto. Until now, I thought that festivals in India were the most spectacular ones in the world. Beyond the celebration, what struck me most was the Mexicans’ approach to death and their departed loved ones. The dead continue to live as a memory and they truly die when they aren’t remembered. Just like in the movie Coco! Cemeteries are crowded with family members who decorate the tombs of loved ones with marigold flowers, burn copal incense and offer mezcal.  

The party continued in Puerto Escondido where we stayed at Rafa and Berenices home. Leo was thrilled to have finally found friends to play with.

Rafa and Bere are both very talented jewellery designers. Rafa is also a musician, surfer and an artist with a Midas touch. I was lucky to get a pottery lesson from the maestro himself and I managed to make two bowls. Yippee 😁 

We also took a salsa lesson from an Argentinian dance teacher. He asked us who we thought was the best soccer player when we introduced ourselves as French (like many people in Latin America). I knew I couldn’t go wrong when I said Maradona. I got a handshake and a big smile. Arjun mumbled Mbappe instead of Messi and the salsa class was a disaster 🤣

I cooked an Indian thali for all our friends in Puerto with everyone helping me chop and stir. 

Good things don’t last forever and it was time to leave and Arjun reluctantly bought the tickets to get to San Cristobal. He was rather glad when I conveniently fell ill and had to extend our stay by a week. Leo was happy to skate and play with his friends for another week. I was happy watching the mesmerising sunset everyday 🌅