Author: tolchinsky

Though people would look at me askance whenever I told them I left on the day my visa expired, there was really no other way. I couldn’t bring myself to leave any earlier, I couldn’t bear to depart from Mexico. My last week there, on the Riviera Maya, was one of awe and mechanical difficulties. Read More …

Miramar Laguna Miramar is one of those rare places in the world which has not yet been raped by man. It lies in the middle of the jungle, and though there are villages on its farther shores, there is no road that leads to it, so people coming to and from their home have to Read More …

San Cristobal The famed Chiapas! Land of the Maya, the Zapatista, and the jungle; and the other favorite state of most Mexicans. Still sick from throat to gut, but on the road to recovery and excited to reunite with Phil and Jayne. As a Russian, I was naturally drawn to learning about, and meeting, Zapatistas Read More …

Part I: Mountain Our little caravan is in a tiny village in the middle of the southern mountain range near Oaxaca. There is no cell signal, running water or internet. Phil and Jayne ran into a guy they had met earlier on in their Mexican travels, who then invited us to spend some time in Read More …

Jayne, Phil, Ida and I loaded up Cricket, Juggs and Georgia, and headed into the south-eastern mountains of Oaxaca. We sought to relax in the mineral springs of Hierve del Agua, but I secretly hoped for much more – and Mexico delivered as always. About an hour on the highway brought us to a great Read More …

Finally in the great city at the foot of three valleys! This side of the Sierra Juarez is much cooler than the Veracruz side – thank god! We are surrounded by mountains and valleys.  There has been a strong wind and a bit of rain, but the sky has made up for it with gorgeous Read More …

This chapter of my journey involves Ida. It is incredible how, after knowing each other for only a week, we are very much like an old couple. We do everything together, we enjoy each other’s company and make each other laugh constantly, we ride through beautiful landscapes at sunset, swim in virgin rivers… but always Read More …

What a first night! 6 hours of music, dancing, and falling in love. At first, my host Ezri, Manu and I walked around the center of Veracruz, then focused in on a courtyard with a stage in the middle. It felt like Cuba, or how I like to think Cuba will feel. The salsa was Read More …

The night I arrived in Orizaba, my host Miguel, his girlfriend’s family, and I, went out to eat. Afterwards the women went shopping and Miguel and I went for a walk. I saw a mass for the first time since arriving in Mexico 4 months ago. We observed the observant and spoke of architecture, the Read More …

Mexico City would not let me go without a fight: yesterday I was punished by the Mexican food gods. After joking that Mexicans put lime and chile on everything, I proceeded to squirt lime in my eye… later that night I blew up some powdered chile into the same eye. My eye became a Mexican Read More …