Earlier this year, one of my good friends, Finley Damman, invited me on a trip to Mexico. At first I was unsure whether to go or not because I am a very avid skier and prefer not to miss out on the season, but after thinking deeply for a day, I decided I wouldn’t be able to visit Mexico any other time soon. Finley grew up in a very small town a few hours from the city Merida, and now currently lives in Salida, but his family is still very involved there. They own a large studio for designer lamps, chairs, and tables and are considered well known in the furniture community.
As the day crept nearer, I started to pack and contemplate what to bring that would fit in my bag. The night before our departure, I didn’t sleep a bit, partially because we were leaving Finley’s house at 3:30 in the morning, but mostly because I was super excited. After a long car ride, we arrived at the airport in Colorado Springs. Going through the airport was nice and easy. The TSA line and walk to the gate were short. Everything was smooth sailing until we arrived at the Houston airport, where we had a five hour layover. We waited, and as the time came closer to us boarding, a huge lightning storm rolled in. At first, the flight was supposed to leave on time but then the bad news came. After four long hours of waiting in the airport, the flight was delayed for three more hours. That was possibly the longest three hours of my life. After finally boarding the plane, we took off and landed in Merida, Mexico.
When I stepped off the plane I felt a wall of hot humid air hit my body. I couldn’t wait to start exploring. It was late and we drove to Finley’s house immediately to go to bed. I woke up the next morning to the sounds of birds chirping in the jungle beside the house. We got ready to leave and explore the small town. We talked with people that knew Finley and his parents, and every person we met was very kind. After that, I had my first bite of the local street food: a pig roasted underground for a few days. It was the best food I have ever eaten. After eating amazing food and meeting wonderful people, we went to the beach. The waves at the beach were not very big, but the water was really warm. I could have swam there forever.
After doing all of those amazing things, I got to meet Finley’s old friends! They were very kind and funny, although they didn’t speak English so I had to try my best to speak Spanish to them. Later that night they invited us to a cenote! The cenote was by far my favorite part of the whole trip, it was so beautiful and looked like a dream, the water at the bottom of it was around 200 feet deep in spots and you could see down 100 because of how crystal clear the water was. The best part of the cenote was the 50 foot jump into the water below. The cenote concluded our trip in Mexico, and we caught a direct flight back home the next morning.
