So I have a confession to make, I wasn’t looking forward to going to Acapulco. If you frequently read these posts then you probably know that I don’t really enjoy going to tourist areas. In my experience tourist areas using have loads of people, everything is expensive, you aren’t actually experiencing the true culture of the county/location, and it tends to be pretty dangerous. Think about it, tourism means money which then draws all types of people who want that money.

So when my mom brought up the idea of going to Acapulco I was torn. On one hand I really wanted some beach time, on the other I didn’t really want to go into tourist wonderland. I am so glad I decided to join her.

I think I can speak for the both of us and say that we had a really good time in Acapulco. Thankfully, our experience was not one of the typical tourist, and instead a view into the actually culture and day to day life of the people living in Acapulco; all made possible thanks to one of my mom’s coworkers E.

E. is originally from Acapulco, but moved to the United States about 30 years ago where she now has 3 kids, one grand kid, and works at the local high school. E works hard to not only provide for her kids, but also send money back to help fix up her 86 years old dad’s house. During our visit to Acapulca she bent over backwards to make sure we were having the best possible time in her hometown; she’s an amazing lady.

The plan was this: fly out of Mexico City at 7 on Friday, arrive in Acapulco and then spend the next 2 days doing the beach thing. Unfortunately, Volaris had different plans. Being good travelers, mom and I arrived about 2 hours early to the airport to ensure that we made out flight. We had just enough time to eat a dinner, watch the waiter throw away the half a burger mom had wanted to save, and walk to our flight… well at least we thought we were walking to the flight. Instead we got an email from Volaris in Spanish saying something about our flight. Was it canceled? Was it delayed? It was anybody’s guess. The monitors all said the flight was on time, and so anxiously we searched for an info desk. 4 hours and 3 gates later we were finally getting on our flight.

Poor E had been waiting all that time for us to arrive, so when we finally arrived at 11 we ended up having to spend the night at her friends house because her dad’s was too far away. The following morning we woke up and drove about an hour to a small town on the outside of the coast. As we pulled up I knew this was the exact type of travel experience I love. Children, mothers, and fathers were all walking around playing, laughing, and scolding. Unseen dogs were barking a greeting as the sounds of a thriving neighborhood hit my ears.

The following two days we packed full of adventure. We took a boat to Palau where we made friends with a young group of Mexicans and talked politics. We spend Sunday boiling our white as hell skin under the perfect sunny sky. We swam in pools and oceans, Played in the wake, covered ourselves in sand and made many friends. Today I am thankful for friends around the world and their undying generosity.