Hitting the Road
On our last night in anclote we settle for a chill evening to reflect and gear up for life on the road (again).
The last few days have been a whirlwind as we prepare to move back into the bus. As we are officially into high season a few local shops have been hosting welcome events. A good chance to meet and talk to others while sipping some wine and eating a few hord'vores over a bit of live music. Definitely scary mexico stuff you wont see on the nightly news!
We've prepped the bus for departure and reloaded most of our stuff...possibly with a bit of space to spare. 
Otherwise, we've been out and about trying to hit all our favorite spots and see our favorite peops. Thursday we hung out with Ana, who gave us the gift of milagritas. These tiny trinkets (icons of anything from arms and legs to ears of corn) are meant to represent the things that you'd like to thank the universe for (of for those less positive, for the things you'd like to ask for or for a little help with).
In local religious custom, milagritas are pinned onto the robe of the appropriate saint- we will simply be carrying them with us to help both us and the universe to focus. Sifting through the these tiny trinkets was really fun for us as it gave us a chance to think about the things we already have and what exactly we want from our trip, ourselves (and the universe) along the way.
Friday our friends here joined us for a bit of a going away party on the roof. What began as happy hour turned into a late night dinner, and tossing paper airplanes off the roof for distance. We are so grateful for everyone that welcomed us in like long-term friends and treated us as though we were staying forever. tempting...
Saturday we took care of many projects on E, watched the duck game and had a post-thanksgiving skype home with friends. So great to see and hear our close friends, but these communications hit deep, especially around the holidays. Tough to see them having fun without us and even harder to say hello to a baby we haven't yet met and see him growing up so rapidly in the few months we've been gone. We don't doubt our current direction, but we still battle with the fact that our desire to explore and find ourselves takes us away from the people we love (such a very large part of who we are).
We also spent the last few days eating at our favorite spots (which means karma spent a lot of time laying out front of them). Luckily we were able to feast on another pizza from the Blue Shrimp during the game, and spent our last night on the romantic rooftop of Cafe Como No eating sunday pozole. Like in other towns, the nameless taco stands remain among our favorites. A few blocks over is a local family who simply opens their home's front door and bbqs delicious tacos on the front stoop. Sitting with the locals and watching visiting kids go from eating tacos to playing in the living room is all part of the experience.
It's amazing how fast time has flown by here while we nested in our little place by the sea.
Tomorrow we will wake up early (have another pineapple pancake breakfast sandwich) and we are back on the road. Back to living and camping in our kombi that we love. Back to keeping a lookout for a tortilleria in every town we visit and stumbling upon cowboys and their carnicerias with homemade chorizo, steaks, and queso fresco. Back to refried beans in a bag (these are actually quite delicious). Back to meeting new people, discovering new pueblitos and seeing new landscapes. Back to the unknown with surprises around each corner. 
Goodbye to the beautiful Nayarit jungle. You are gorgeous and your birds and bugs are loud. Goodbye pacific ocean, at least for a little while. Goodbye dean and yumiko. You live in a lovely place and we enjoyed the glimpse into your life. Goodbye to a yoga mat always unrolled and an art space always available. We will continue pursuing our passions but in a different, more compact, bus-friendly manner. Goodbye palapa sports bars and Oregon duck football, the season is over. Goodbye king size bed, AC, shower and running water, you have been luxurious. Goodbye Chuy, you work everyday for at least 12 hours (except your birthday) and you're always smiling. Goodbye Borrachos that fish all night and drink cervezas all day, thanks for all the fresh tuna. Goodbye rich tourists, there are likely no golf carts where we are headed. And goodbye ballena ciclista, be safe.
