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Paradise, Paraíso, Paradiso

Stacey Tourout • May 04, 2023

  The best things in life are free. The best things in life don't come easy. The best things in life are shared. The best things in life wake your heart up. The best things in life are the ones you least expect.

  Our elevation drops around six hundred meters via a windy, pot-holed, loose gravel, make you want to smile, cry, vomit, hold your breath the entire way, Mexican shelf road. I am gifted the opportunity to drive thus road so that Matthew could capture the experience from above on the drone. I take small peaks at the view in between laser focus navigating, but try not to get distracted. To make matters a little more interesting, I hear a familiar "uh oh" as we watch the drone suck itself into a shrub along the cliffside. Off Matthew goes to retrieve our companion, while I pray to every god above that Sunday's brakes don't let go. It is taking everything inside me not to ask to switch, but there is a small fire in the pit of my stomach attempting to torch the fear. We keep going, with my trembling hands wrapped around the wheel, and once the road flattens, I have to admit, I'm proud of myself.


  Michael goes first in his 60 series Landcruiser to check that the tide isn't too high. Now that we've made it to the ocean, the route to the beach we're aiming for is along the rocks underneath a cliff overhang. If the tide is too high, our trucks would be driving through salt water puddles which is undoubtedly NOT an option. Thankfully, the 60 series disappears around the corner and that's our queue. At this point in the drive my heart has left my chest and is surfing the perfect break beside us. All this scene needs is a paper map sprawled in my lap, and a compass hanging from Matthew's neck.

  What is your idea of paradise? Is it a snapshot image of palm trees reaching over a perfect white sand beach? Is it knee deep with a fishing rod in water so clear the fish can't hide? Maybe paradise to you is in the mountains surrounded by nothing but the silence the snow brings. My idea of paradise varies as we touch different corners of the world. Paradise takes form as the little treasure chests Mother Nature hides on your life long scavenger hunt. And sometimes, if you're lucky, you're the first one to open the chest. I truly believe there is a paradise for everyone, and some share the same favourites.


  San Cosme, also known as Saint Cosme welcomes us with a warm embrace you'll forever be coming back for. A cove fit for a painting holds palapas, sea shells and sand to wrap between your toes. Mountains act as the portrait background, and home many creatures that roam the night. A natural hot spring presents itself at peak low tide as natures secret plate of dessert. Dolphins make sure to wave when they pass twice a day, and the pelicans entertain our eyes when the sun sinks a little lower. Fruit coats the roofs of our mouth, and tequila washes it away. Smiling feels way too natural, as the salt falls between the creases of our faces. A perfect moon rise hums, and waves peel into the cove in perfect rhythm to serenade you to sleep.

Well Baja, you've been tough on our rig, but what you've left us with is a lifetime of memories.

A Hard Goodbye

By Stacey Tourout • 23 Jul, 2023
What is your idea or perception of familiar? What does the “comfort of your own home” look like to you? I know for us familiar looked a lot different seven months ago. Familiar used to be coming home through the same door, sleeping in the same spot, buying the same groceries, hugging the same people. Mexico gave us a new sense of familiar that we weren’t expecting. Familiar is the smiles and greetings from strangers. Familiar is patience as we learn a new language, and familiar is the phone in our palm for Google translate. Familiar is being open to laying our heads anywhere, and familiar is feeling safe. Familiar is not knowing the food you’re purchasing, and letting your taste buds be the judge. Familiar is being so excited about the unfamiliar, that you’ll never know familiar again. Let’s just say the comfort of our home has transitioned from four walls to a million new, way more colourful walls. We love it here.

Soul food in the South

By Stacey Tourout • 12 Jul, 2023
The incredible contrast between temperature, flora and fauna that Mexico elevation reveals will make sure you never feel prepared. Whether you’re coming down a mountain into the hulk green sauna, playing hide and seek with perfect surf breaks or slowly rolling the window back up when you see a pine tree. Mexico touches your skin with different hands around every exaggerated bend.

Cheer for Chiapas

By Stacey Tourout • 06 Jul, 2023
Scrolling on my phone maps around our current location, I notice a think line I haven’t seen in awhile. I pinch, and zoom in to get a better look… a border. Guatemala awaits our arrival, but Mexico still has its strong hold on us. Chiapas could potentially be our last state if we choose to skip the eastern section. This thought throws my stomach out the car window while driving over the bridge. See ya later tummy. It feels like Mexico has warmed up to us just as much as we have to it. In the early days we questioned more and enjoyed the nervousness of our first date with a new country. We moved quickly. Now, , more comfortable with our surroundings, the language and the culture, we’re finding it hard to leave.
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