Interview on OpenMind.com.ua

Orest Zub is a talented Ukrainian entrepreneur and blogger I've met some years back when passing through Ukraine. Our paths crossed again a few months back in the south of Mexico and it's been a lot of fun to catch up. Orest requested an interview for his blog about Colnect and my lifestyle and he has now published it on his blog OpenMind.com.ua. As the post is in Ukrainian language, I've embedded the interview video (mostly in English) here below.

Cañón del Sumidero

Over an hour away from San Cristobal lies a very well known tourist attraction: some nice canyon in which you take a boat ride to enjoy seeing the water, some birds and an occasional crocodile. One great thing about a crocodile here is that the Spani word is cocodrilo, which I personally like a lot :)

One cocodrilo lazing in the sun

The trip itself is quite nice but not too exciting. Perhaps I've been to too many boat rides and many of them had a much nicer background. Allowing swimming in the river to cool down from the heat and cleaning the huge loads of trash from the river bank could definitely have raised the bar here. Amazing that something designated as a national park (or whatever the term is - they charge money for entrance) is so horribly dirty with trash that has obviously been there for a long while.

Not much current in the river but the life jackets make it look adventurous

One Frognector appreciating the view

One pelican who couldn't care less

San Cristobal de Las Casa, Chiapas, Mexico

Feel good to be back on the road. Chiapas seems to emerge as my favorite state in Mexico. San Cristobal de Las Casas is very colorful, relaxed and has lotsa different faces with less European genes in them than other parts in Mexico. Only downside was the weather is so much colder than on the coast due to the elevation. Next time I'll come here at summer.

Mangoes

Shampoo and Conditioner

Much colder than before

God's light enters the church

Breastfeeding in public is quite common in SanCris

Quite a good falafel, considering we're far from the middle east

Gotta keep in shape, now that I don't have the ocean so near

Many pro women rights graffiti around.

Not many vegan-friendly items in the bakery but these were good

Random Hebrew eatery expressions all over the sun

Goodbye Mazunte

Today I'm leaving Mazunte after 3 months of staying here. It's been the place I've stayed longest during the last years and, truth be said, it's not because it has been one of my favorites, but because I was tired of traveling and wanted a good rest near a nice beach.

A visitor to the family house

While detail-wise it seemed like it could have been the perfect place (beautiful beach, chilled vibe, good combination of tourism and long term denizens, music shows and parties almost every night), different places interact differently with different people at different times. While the mosquitoes, the flies, the uncleanliness of the family house where I lived in and the lack of proper Internet are all things that I could manage well, the fact I haven't met enough people with whom I felt I could communicate on a deeper level was more disappointing. The parties have mostly had Cumbia music, which I've come to extremely dislike after being brainwashed with it over n over here. Gutting different fish and shark catch on the beach and throwing their smelly content back into the water didn't make me feel better swimming in them, neither as a vegan or a person with a functioning sense of smell. Add some water cuts, Internet cuts, toxic smoke from burning trash and you'll see this piece of paradise won't be the first place to which I'll go back to. It's definitely not a bad place, just wasn't a very good one for me.

Selfie became one of the top words of 2013...

Now let's go for the good things as without them I'd have left long ago. I've hosted different people, both friends and CouchSurfers I've just met, some of whom I was extremely happy to have around. I went to swim nearly everyday and believe it did good to my general health even though there were some things to counter-balance that good :) I played a lot of guitar on the beach. I did manage to push forward on Colnect and January 2014 has shown a considerable surge in traffic. I did feel well having my own place and preparing my own food mostly.

Colnect is kicking STRONG!

That's it, now a short tour of Mexico and then towards London.

Me, taken by Judy

Caguama might mean a turtle, but it's more importantly a large beer bottle (between 940ml and 1200ml most often)

Eating and playing guitar with friends

Smugness does occur

So do partial haircuts

Funky shape of airloom tomatoes

Jaw harp I got in Cambodia

Water bottle truck selling filtered water. Scams apparantly abound with these as well, most often trying to replace a plastic bottle in good condition to a crappy one. The bottle's deposit is 50 peso whereas the water itself 11-13 peso so guess where the money's at :)

Pochutla hospital is NOT recommended. This chart shows alleged maximum waiting times for patients who ask for medical attention. We've waiting nearly 3 hours and got a friendly but not very professional assistance.

To those unfamiliar with the spiritual side of "Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the OTHER side" - here's one who has reached nirvana

Mazunte can surely make anyone go bananas!

Sunrise, Moonrise, Sunset, Mazunte

Here are some beautiful pictures from Mazunte. They haven't been edited, aside from cropping. Mind the location of the sun at sunrise on consecutive days. Really easy to see how it moved. The moon rise today has been amazingly beautiful. The pictures are just a fragment.

Mazunte Sunrise Feb14

Mazunte Moonrise Feb14

Mazunte Surise Feb13

Mazunte Sunrise Feb12

Punta Comete Sunset

B&W Punta Comete Sunset

Mazunte Moonrise Feb12

Sunrise over Mazunte Beach

Some beautiful sunrise over the beach where I currently stay. Enjoy the pictures and come visit :)

Next Months on the Beach, Come Visit

Following long months of arduous travels, the time has come to relax and focus more on Colnect. The video below shows the room I've rented near the beach in Mazunte, Oaxaca, Mexico. I intend to stay here for the next 3 months. There's an extra bed for guests so if you know me, you can probably come and stay over by the beach.

Less than a minute from my room to this

RIP Babulinka

"Life is what happens when you're busy making plans"
"People plan and god laughs"

Dana's grandmother died a few days ago after a long time of less than perfect health. She was a dear and kind woman and very much loved by her family and friends. Dana & I actually previously discussed what we'll do if that happens and unfortunately it did. So now Dana's on her way back to Israel to support her family through these hard times. I am staying in Mexico for now. Expecting to visit the UK and then Israel in a few months.

Picture from the last time I saw her

Dieda RIP

Babulinka RIP

Morelia Tourism Promotion

How did we get to promote tourism to the Mexican state of Michoacán? Guess these things just happen. We stumbled upon the tourism office, which seemed quite abandoned and were greeted with a fantastic staff that were very happy to help. Seems Michoacán has a bad reputation recently due to the narcos growing plants for drug production in the south western part of the state. Well, not all of Michoacán is dangerous as we now know for sure and it's a very beautiful state to visit. When we were asked later to make a video promoting tourism to the state, we were happy to help as well so here it is below.
and now for some pictures from a beautiful city named Morelia

Sope - it's yummy, it's fresh and can be made VEGAN!

Is the person inside smiling?

New age mariachi?

Gum tree

Enjoyable way to ruin your teeth and entire body

Morelia also has a very impressive cathedral 

Man on a horse in the middle of the square is unfortunately a very common thing throughout the world. Yes, most people consider horses a vehicle rather than an enslaved sentient being. Enjoy the ride.

Breaking the chains of oppression and finally going topless in public? Hell YEAH!!!

The old aquaduct doesn't induct water anymore