Some home truths

I suppose until this point I've been posting about all the wonderful things I've seen, done and eaten. But I think it's important to comment on the things that don't "go on instagram" so that a fair view of what travelling is like can be seen.

Firstly, the weather is very unpredictable. It's rainy season, which, for the most part, means a torrential thunderstorm around 5pm for 2 hours or so. This I found to be veru frustrating in Mexico City as that was the time I'd want to go out to eat (any later would be unsafe) and yet due to the biblical rain storms that made things really difficult. I also managed to get the worst sunburn on the first day here. I left the hostel and it was drizzly and overcast. I started a walking tour at 11am and at 11:05am the sun came out and started beating down for the remainder of the 2hr walking tour. Worst of all I had a tshirt on so the tan line is absolutely ridiculous. It's started peeling already by now and for a while on my shoulders it hurt to carry my backpack - not great whilst backpacking!

I had some street food in Puebla and the next morning I was really, really unwell. I had a 5 hour coach trip to Oaxaca which made me really worried especially as I felt unable to leave the hostel. This also happened to me 6 years ago in Guatemala so luckily I was prepared and had some melts to help with this kind of thing so I was able to get my coach but had a stomach ache the whole time.

Another thing is that Mexico is absolutely HUGE. I've already done one overnight coach trip (which was like being on a rollercoaster in the middle of the night - I'm sure our driver had a death wish) and I nearly threw up 4 times it was that horrific. Not ideal when I was hoping to sleep the whole 10 hours. It's also more expensive than a hostel and much less comfortable - but the alternative would be to travel during the day and so miss out on things!

Next. Sleeping in hostels is hard work. I feel tired a lot because people come in after I've gone to bed and then get up before me too - so sleep cam be very interrupted. So far I've only had one snorer! My back aches quite a bit every day which will be a cumulative effect of hostel beds, coach trips and carrying two backpacks. I often hit my head when I sit up - forgetting I'm essentially in a box!

Finally, I miss my husband so much and the time difference is really hard work. He's already at around 2 or 3pm when I wake up and as I don't have WiFi out of the hostel by the time he's finished work I'll be out and about and so might not even speak to him that day. We've managed to have a couple of calls since I've been away but this is the first time I've been travelling since we've been together and although I love travelling alone I didn't realise how much I'd miss him.

So there you have it - it's not quite as dreamy as the pictures show but as long as you know what to expect, you should be fine.