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“ No Ball Games “
“ No Cycling “
In the UK, one can easily spot these signs in courtyards, parks and gardens.
On the contrary, In Las Coloradas, a little village in Yucatan children playing freely in the streets.
It is a blissful experience.
The streets of this little town are vibrant in colours and rich in peace.
It is a place frozen in time, with a deep sense of community. The salt mine flanks one side of the city, an untouched white beach flanks the other.
A placid breeze caresses the palm trees. The only sounds here are the waves and the children laughing.
This is the Mexico I was looking for.
In this surreal place, I met José, a local guide.
We jump in the car and shows me the surroundings, the pink lagoon of the salt mine, the virgin beach, the flamingos, the so-called “Mayan Baths” where the indigenous came to purify their skin smearing it with the mix of pumice stone and sand found in the ponds.
As usual, I make lots of questions. - How many flamingos live here? - In which season there are most? - Why the lagoon water is pink? - Will this beach be ruined by unconsidered urban development? (Hopefully not)
I want to take in as much as I can of this place that looks like coming out of an Andy Warhol painting.
José answers patiently to all my questions, although he is sceptical… “Why do you ask so many questions? I mean, I am grateful you do, but I don’t see often tourists so engaged”
“Because this is all new for me, I never saw a flamingo in my life before, or a beach with such clear water with no one around, it is so peaceful. The colours vibrant, the people are welcoming and calm. I cannot believe the paradise that I am walking through!” I reply
He was appalled, not quite understanding. “Why, what is it like where you live?”
The rush hour, Oxford Circus, The Shard, the rain. London is miles away and very, very different but, thank you Google!
It was his turn. - How tall is this building? - why is the river so dirty? - Is it cold there? - How many people live there? - What does the snow feel like? - I smiled while answering.
“I never saw anything like this in my life, everything is so modern, so cold, and there are so many people!”
We kept exchanging knowledge of each other’s cities for a good hour, we were both in awe and extremely curious of each other’s differences.
At the moment of saying goodbye we hugged and thanked me.
Not for showing him London, no; he thanked me because he fell in love with his birthplace.
“You see, anyone gets used to their habits, their place, their comfort zone so easily, one starts looking through the wrinkles and with time it gets easier to see more and more of its negative side. While for someone new, everything looks fresh, pristine and wonderful"
It is incredible to see how much one can get used to one's everyday life. What for a person is obvious and repetitive, for the next it can be amazing, to say the least miraculous.
Find your sparkle in your routine, in your own way of living.
There is a little magic everywhere.