On my own once again. Linda left for the comforts of home last week, leaving me with a bit of quiet time before my next leg of travel to San Miguel de Allende.

I head off for an afternoon stroll to explore the markets, the street side cafes, the graffiti art along the side streets, the Pochutla produce market … all capture the brilliant textures and vibrant colours of this coastal region of Oaxaca, home of the Indigenous peoples of Mexico … undoubtedly the earliest inhabitants!

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Given the past few years have been somewhat emotionally charged ones, losing my sister, brother in law and a dear close friend, it has been pure ‘comfort food’ to start off a new year, a new decade in the company of a friend who knows me so well … someone I can just hang with, be myself around, who accepts me despite my many quirks. Good soul infused companionship! Sometimes I even make Linda laugh out loud 😂!

It’s been a pleasant month. Leisurely mornings, sipping coffee on our patio, listening to the waves, the ocean view so soothing. Often we strolled into town for a late breakfast of fresh papaya juice, toast and beans or an omelet at either Posada San Cristobal, Nice Place on the Beach or Buda-Mar next door.

Zipolite has a unique small town vibe with an eclectic mix of accommodations. There are tents perched on the beach, mixed in with thatch roofed huts, small boutique hotels, all manner of little casitas with rooms to rent dotting the hillsides and main streets. Not a five star luxury place within a hundred kms of Zipolite … some sort of building ordinance I would think? The town consists of a handful of streets along the stunningly beautiful Zipolite beach …. normally these bits of real estate are nabbed by the big chain hotels that dot tropical coastal regions around the world. The population is somewhere in the range of a thousand people. It is an interesting mix of various indigenous Mexicans, tourists from everywhere … Americans, Canadians, Italians, French, Germans, Austrians, Finns, Scandinavians! Many are young backpackers who often come for a week and decide to stay for months or years … seekers of every persuasion, artists, musicians, surfers. Some seem lost in a different era … the sixties perhaps 🙄. Lots of alternative lifestyle sorts are drawn to Zipolite … the eclectic extends beyond the accommodations 🙄 … we are definitely an interesting assortment. As a local homeowner told us “there is no place anywhere quite like Zipolite” 😌

My favourite part of living here is enjoying a daily glass of freshly pressed papaya juice every morning! A simple pleasure 😊.

Since Linda left, I have walked the beach to welcome sunrise every morning, sans clothing as many here choose to do. Very natural and freeing. “When in Rome” …….. 😊! I sense this may well be a main draw for many ….. the only legally sanctioned nude beach in all of Mexico. It has become a rather pleasant side benefit this week. I opt for early mornings just before sunrise … fewer if any people around 🙄!! The play of morning light on the water mesmerizes … the gentle ocean breeze on my bare skin … perfecto!

After too many years of a rather haphazard “on again, off again meditation practice”, a meditation routine of sorts is slowly taking shape. I am learning to apply a meditative attitude wherever I am, whatever I am doing. My emotionally turbulent self of old, rarely surfaces … still I do honour that too … it was a chapter in my life … ok maybe too many chapters 😂 … all part of my journey. Today, thankfully, I feel at peace more often than not.

Aaah these rambling reflections rumble around in my head, competing for space with the zenny more mindful moments 🙄

Aiming this year for more calm, less doing, more being, less having, more sharing, less judgement, more kindness, more compassion, more love ❤️