Playa Chica was a dream come true. But the dream also came with hundreds of mosquito bites, some sunburn and sand. Sand everywhere. So while we were sad to leave Fish and our beach paradise, there was certainly some excitement about the prospect of a shower. Oh and our next stop, Guadalajara, was the birthplace of tequila, so we had that going for us.

After offloading our temperamental Chevvy Blazer, we were back to travelling by bus. Normally that wouldn't be an issue, but just keep in mind that we hadn't showered for the past three weeks… So I'll take this opportunity to apologise to everyone who had the misfortune of sharing the bus to Guadalajara with us.

However, we rectified this quickly after our arrival and were thankful for the opportunity to scrub off the grime and wash our clothes. This was then quickly followed up with an appropriately rambunctious night out in Guadalajara.

After so long on the beach, we were pretty stoked to see what the city of Guadalajara had in store for us. However, those plans were quickly waylaid by the combination of a hangover and the rediscovery of the delights of civilisation, including couches, Netflix and a blender for nice-cream. We spent our whole first day in Guadalajara all cuddled up on a couch watching Netflix documentaries about the drug cartels of Mexico and how Acapulco was one of the most dangerous cities in the country at the moment. Coincidentally, Acapulco was the first beach we camped on after leaving Mexico City…

The next day we felt terrible for spending a day in this beautiful city in Mexico lying around on the couch. We decided to rectify this quickly and searched for the most enlightening cultural experience we could think of. The best we could come up with, after feeling the effects of too much tequila from the previous night, was to pay a visit to its birthplace, aptly named Tequila. At Tequila we were quick to make up for our lack of cultural experiences the previous day and really drink up the spirit of the town.

Fortunately for everyone and their sense of smell, the bus to Mexico City was preceded with plenty of showers and possibly even some deodorant. Arriving there, we were more than a bit excited at the prospect of a big soccer match. This quickly turned to disappointment when we got there and found less than 1,000 people in the stadium and a quality of play that somewhat resembled Scott trying to pick up. It was uncoordinated, messy and ultimately ending with Scott rolling around on the ground like most Latin American players. However, we made sure to make up for that and some more the next night.

 For our last night in Mexico, we were sure to give it the send-off it deserved. It was unplanned, chaotic and probably a pretty accurate reflection of our time in Latin America. I won’t go into all the details for the sake of all of our future job prospects, but it began with $1 tequila shots and Lucho Libre, a form of Mexican wrestling. It ended many hours later with Lachie trying to crawl into our bed claiming he just wanted to hang out. Well sorry Lachie, but it’s 3am, we have a flight in a few hours and I’m pretty sure that’s vomit on your shirt. So no, we don’t want to ‘hang out’.

A few hours later, in various states of hangover, we said our goodbyes. Scott, Eleanor and I headed for a few days in Los Angeles leaving Lachie, Harry and the Spanish speaking world behind. Leaving Lachie without a carer is always a risky move, but luckily in his state of complete inebriation, the most damage he could do to himself or anyone else is choking on his own vomit. Fingers crossed.

It was the beaches and exploration that won me over in Mexico. But it would have been nothing without the people. Throughout Mexico, and all of Latin America in fact, there was this energy. A palpable excitement, friendliness and sense of community everywhere we went. It was in the language, the way people spoke to each other and the friendly smiles constantly thrown our way. Whether you’d known someone for a few years or just met them, everyone was an amigo.

 Our time in Latin America was unforgettable (despite Tequila's efforts to make us forget). We have nothing but good things to say about every country we spent time in (and their healthcare systems right Lachie?) It's safe to say that we could have easily spent our whole year in just one country and still felt like there was more to be discovered and experienced. So I think I speak for all of us when I say goodbye, for now, Latin America, but not for long.

Hasta pronto,

Pat