After having enough of the amount of people in Mexico City I took the night bus to Puerto Vallarta. From there I made my way up to Punta de Mita. It was finally time to surf again, even if the waves weren’t that great the scene was great. Clear water with turtles, puffer fish, tunas and pelicans flying by. The only problem, pointy rocks with sea urchins! Not the best idea to surf over them.

There is a famous surf spot nearby of Punta de Mita. To get to the spot you just take the bus or hitchhike down the road. You get off and try to find the entrance. Then you walk through on wooden beams dodging the crocodiles. Congratulations you made it to the spot. It’s that easy!

After enjoying Punta de Mita I am trying to hitchhike to the next town Sayulita. As I wait on the road with my backpack for one minute a person with a broken windshield picks me up. He is currently smoking a joint and is driving to Puerto Vallarta so he can only take me till the next crossing section. I wait for another minute and a guy with a motorcycle picks me up. I thought I was done with sitting on the back of a motorcycle. Turns out I’m wrong. Me again with shorts and flip flops cruising on the back of this motorcycle. This time the driver is chill. He doesn’t even want money. So I get off at the next location and wait another minute till a Pick-Up truck comes and picks me up. This is too easy! I arrive in Sayulita faster than the bus! Nice.

This town is something different. There are a lot of tourists. A certain hipster type so to say. That hip that when you walk into a bar the probability is quite high that someone is laying on the table and getting a tattoo. So there is all these mustache wearing, oat milk latte drinking, organic eating alternative people. I thought they came all for the surf. I was wrong they came for the parties. Not exactly my kind of traveler I like to meet. Nonetheless I meet Séan in a small bookshop. We talk a little and I go about my day. As I stroll around the city wondering if this is still considered to be Mexico I get a text from Séan. “Hey I own this old VW Beetle you want to come to a festival in Compostela. I know a few people there where we can sleep, I am leaving in half an hour.” Damn! this is what I am here for. Seeing some locals and not some pseudo alternative people. So I agree while hurrying back to pack my things. Either he is going to harvest my organs or we are going to have a good time!

As we cruise to Compostela in this crazy thing of a car Séan, from Ireland, tells me he had traveled on a motorcycle from Alaska to Argentina. He has a big interest in these old cars and knows how to fix them. As he tells me this story the car breaks down and we are stranded at some road. “Don’t worry” he tells me “I know the problem.” As he picks up a hammer and steps outside of the car. He bangs the hammer against the front three times. Get’s back into the car and starts the engine with no problem. “Those god damn pumps” as we cruise further into the mountains. We meet with some friends of Séan. We go to the ‘Lord of Mercy’ Festival. Sounds boring in a 20.000 inhabitant city?

It is not. First there was a parade. Trucks with Mariachi bands on them were driving by. Half of the trucks and a Jesus statue were getting stuck in the overhead wires of the street. So there is people pushing these cables with sticks. Super funny to watch. I bet my colleagues get a heart attack if they see this.

After the parade we go to the church. There is a Mariachi band inside as well. Interesting to see a church so far away where the prayer just sounds the same as back home. Well just in Spanish. Afterwards we go to eat something.

Afterwards the real party is getting started. There are a lot of drinks. On the main square in front of the church there is a big firework. Food is everywhere and already a lot of bands playing music. Here is a short impression of the whole thing.

After the firework the party was getting started. As there were more and more mariachi bands coming and playing it seemed to me like a tight competition. If you would move 2 meters you would hear a different band playing. All the senses were overstimulated by the smells the sounds and the lights. As I was comparing this city to my own hometown which has twice as much people I could see a difference. Actually this town was feeling more alive and the bands played all through the night. While back at home someone would complain at 11 in the evening because of the noise. These guys are party animals! Something incomparable… We dance and drink and dance more. My eyes are already falling down but there is no sign of stopping.

At 5 we get the locals breakfast, which was intestine soup of the cow. So there is all sorts of chewy and soft stuff in the soup which is you won’t really know what it is. I just closed my eyes and ate it. I am here to try something different ain’t I? Even if my face is saying something else I ate it all like a champ and then it was finally time to go to sleep.

This happens if you say yes to certain things. You get to experience the friendliness of strangers and get to live some adventures. I could have stayed in Sayulita and meet more pseudo hipsters. In my opinion this was more fun and more enriching. Seeing the real locals party. Comparing the similarities and the differences. It just shows me that even if the culture is totally different humans are all the same. They strive for connection with friends and strangers. They all want the same. A happy life filled with love for friends, family and strangers.