Falling in Tulum
I fell twice in Mexico. I fell off my bike and I fell in love. This is not at all how the trip was supposed to go. After Christmas, I left my family and took a bus to Tulum, I planned to meet friends a few days before New Year’s Eve, party my butt off and then relax into a 6 day yoga retreat. The New Year’s partying would give me an experience of living outward with pure, unabashed fun. Then, I would surrender into yoga – a practice that allows me to go inward and work out kinks in my body, mind and soul. Well, as they say, not everything goes as planned.
At about 5am on New Year’s Day, a very cute Mexican guy said, ‘Happy New Year!’ As soon as I looked into his eyes there was an immediate connection. We kissed at sunrise and hung out at the party until Cinderella had lost her shoes, her sunglasses and a fair amount of dignity and decided she actually needed her bed. As I shuffled quickly into a cab, Mexican Mowgli kissed me through the window and told me to get his contact details from his friend who was sharing a ride back to the town. We got side tracked into talking about Mayan culture and I totally forgot to get his name!
NYE is over and now the yoga retreat begins. I had to convince myself that my cab window kiss with Mowgli was a fleeting party moment. The next phase of my trip is about to begin. The first few days of the yoga retreat were blissful, the conversations with my retreat mates were serene and connecting. During one of our breaks I decided to take a bicycle and ride off alone into town. I was searching for a cash machine that actually contained cash. I was thinking about the last time I was cycling a beach cruiser at Burning Man and how much I miss regular breaks on the handlebars. As my mind was somewhere in the past, the cycle path split in two. Somehow the front wheel fell off the path and I forgot that the breaks were on the pedals and I went flying sideways! BOOM! I crashed on my left side and my shoulder took the brunt of the impact.
A very sweet man came to my rescue and consoled me as I sat on the Mexican pavement in complete shock and disbelief of what had just happened. My body was shaking, tears were pouring out of me and my reaction was beyond my control. At first, I really did not want to get back on my bike, He encouraged me to do so and said he would follow me back to where I was staying. Through my tremors, I did my best to speak. I asked for advice on how to clean my wounds and was told to shower with soap and water. SOAP?! Mum and Dad would never think of washing my wounds with soap! Oh, wow! I’m a grown woman feeling like a little girl yearning for the care of my parents. Actually, it was nice to be reminded of that feeling. Thank goodness we found a friendly first aider who sprayed antiseptic on each wound, but it stung like hell!
I got back to my room and looked at myself in the mirror. I was in complete shock, and I cannot remember the last time I found myself in such a state. I cried and cried like a baby, telling myself it was good to keep the tears coming. If I hadn’t been in such close proximity to my neighbours I could have wailed and screamed, like a little girl falling into my mother’s healing arms. Instead, I had to keep consoling myself and telling myself I was okay. I was also frustrated because I knew that this was the end of the yoga retreat for me. I had little movement in one arm and bruising all down my left side.
A friend imparted some wisdom to me. She said, “sometimes we need accidents to give us an emotional outburst that we need but are perhaps unable to give ourselves.” That made sense to me, but I felt as if I was already having regular emotional outbursts in my life. My Masters Program in Spiritual Pshychology is a monthly emotional detox of surfacing old and new (emotional) wounds and I am able to process a lot of feelings, but perhaps there was more. I guess there’s always more…
OK, so now I’m annoyed. I can no longer participate in the yoga retreat and I didn’t get Mowgli’s digits! As fate would have it and a little bit of detective work, I managed to track him down on good ol’ Facebook. Now I had the perfect excuse to be ‘off games’ and had a green ticket to party and get intimate with Mexico. Whist I write this with a joking tone, something kind of deep, dark and magical occurred between us and I felt myself falling in love. There was something wild, free, sensitive, searching and downright sexy and alluring about this man. He had the most beautiful eyes and the fullest lips and a kiss that I will never forget. Oh what I would do to steal another kiss from him. Not unlike the fall on my bike, my body was out reacting in a way that was beyond my control. Only this time I didn’t want my mother, I just wanted more and more of Mowgli.
Alas, it was a holiday romance, but I fell for him in a short space of time and my heart was cracked open. I can’t judge it as a good thing or a bad thing. It’s a wonderful thing to be footloose and fancy free, I cherish my freedom of being single and having fleeting romances. However, neither fall left me unscathed and pain free. Would I change it for the world right now? Hell no! What a fabulous experience and gratitude for the game changer of the bike accident or I would never have had the time for the very special Mexican Mowgli.
Viva Mexico! Thank you for the unpredictable falls on your wild land! Muchas gracias! What an incredible trip and I hope to return soon and sample more of the picante passionate hombres!
The Chic Seeker Recommends…
Clothes at La Troupe
Perfumeria Coqui Coqui
If you have the heart to wait in line for a reservation…eat at Hartwood
Sundowners at Hemmingway
Beautiful restaurant Posada Margerita
Party at Papaya Playa Project
The Chic Seeker 
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