Do you think that any one the cells in our body has the vaguest idea of what it is they’re a part of? I think that the same can probably be said about us.
In the last few weeks we’ve buzzed through the central highlands of Mexico. We hung out for a few days in the big city of Guadalajara. Which had a lot of energy… and enough culture so that we could drink our beers with our pinkies extended. But it was still way too much of a loud, writhing, questing mass of humanity for my taste.
THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN’T BUY HERE
KAILA GETTIN’ INTO THE GUADALAJARA ART SCENE
We spent a day in Guanajuato. In my opinion the first of the really European feeling cities that we’ve seen.
NOTHING ADDS MORE “POP” TO A PIC THAN A COKE TRUCK!
And then we ran into San Miguel de Allende. If today I had to pick a place to HQ, this would be it. Bear in mind that we stayed at a very comfortable, small camper park, in the heart of town, that was also home to three impeccable red clay tennis courts… an impossibly rare find in any country.
To be comfortably encamped and surrounded by the sounds of tennis was really, really nice. I was on the court coaching by day two of our stay.
The city.
The architecture.
Some Mayan ruins.
Tennis. Great Food. And a warm climate. What’s not to like? We even went to “a night at the arts” as the guests of some very cool local artists that we met… and we ran into the same pretentious assholes that every art scene attracts. Yep, San Miguel’s got it all.
Our arts experience reminded me of some amzingly revealing research that a Cal Berkley professor named Paul Piff is conducting. His theory is that having more money than we need makes us mean (you can check out his work here). He’s well on his way to proving his case. But I was wondering… if money makes individuals mean… well, imagine what can it do to an entire culture.
Which brings us around to the United States… and two questions I get nearly every day here in Mexico… once they realize that we’re Americans, not Canadians (Americans are too afraid to come here these days… so much for the “home of the brave”). What’s up with you guys and guns? And… Is Donald Trump really a presidential candidate? What can I say? Maybe it’s because I’m getting a little long in the tooth but it sure seems like the politics of America today is just incredibly out of step with the people who live there.
EVERYONE’S A WRITER THESE DAYS
Then we moved on to Teotihuacan. And this is a place that just kind of slowly blows your mind. First, it’s massive. Second, no one even knows who built it. And third, no one knows what the hell happened to them. But you get one feeling for sure. That the people who lived here thought that they were it… A number one, the top of the list, king of the hill. This was the Manhattan of Central America. If you could make it there you’d make it anywhere… And then… rather suddenly… it wasn’t. And no one knows exactly why. Although sociologist Jarred Diamond owns the most commonly believed theory… rapid deforestation, climate change, and the wealth and opportunity becoming concentrated in too few hands. This apparently led to some unhappiness, and anger… and violence… and killing, mostly of those too few hands… and then the party ended and everybody left. Are you listening America?
By the way, if you find yourself in San Juan Teotihuacan there’s an unreal savory empanada shop just across the street on the east side of the main plaza. They have at least a dozen flavors. They are DELICIOUS. And they cost just twelve pesos a whack. We fed the entire family to their incredibly gluttonous content, for less than two hundred pesos (about $12).