Chillies, Cacti and Suffocating hugs
This is something I celebrated back in December 2019. I was published in my first magazine, Pacific Longboarder Magazine. This was a dream of mine for a long time, to share my stories and images together and to be published in a magazine that I truly respect and admire. I wrote a piece about how I ended up in Mexico accompanied by images of my Mexican home, Sayulita. I’ve wanted to share this piece for a while now, I was waiting on the magazine to arrive in Mexico but in true Mexican postal style, it never arrived. Or it did, it’s now somewhere else in Mexico, who knows! I got ahold of the digital copy and pieced this together to celebrate and share one of my dreams coming true because if we don’t celebrate our dreams coming true, what’s the point of having them right?! Thanks Pacific Longerboard mag for this awesome opportunity. Enjoy the article below!
Chillies, Cacti and Suffocating hugs.
How did I end up in Mexico when I grew up in a small Australian coastal town? Good question! I guess I ended up here after following a 13-year fascination that one day I thought I’d like to live in Mexico after numerous conversations with my Mexican workmate. I spent many years doing laps between Australia and South America, not quite making it to Mexico. So finally for my 30th birthday, I bought myself a plane ticket. That’s when I realised those 13 years of fantasising weren’t for nothing. The rhythm, colour, heat, balmy waters, fire laced sunsets, endless waves, lines of palm trees, cacti, glowing smiles, rapid-fire Spanish, and endless supply of tacos – it grabbed me like it never wanted to let me go, embracing me like a suffocating hug, holding me so tight, I couldn’t breathe. But at the same time, I didn’t want it to let go, chaotic and calm all at the same time.
That sensory overload became my goal. To go back to Australia, build my photography business and return to the land of chillies, cacti and suffocating hugs. It took me 2 years to get back there but this time I was equipped with a dream, just no idea of exactly where or how long for. Without much thought, I decided at the last minute to follow my cousin’s suggestions of a surf trip along the Pacific Coast of Mexico. I decided to start in Sayulita, finish off some work and then continue on my journey. But I never left. One week in, I decided I was going to call Sayulita home with its enticing energy, full of mixed cultures, sweaty saltiness and lovely longboard waves. 1 year later, I’m still here.
Sayulita Mornings ~ buy print here
I’ve been blessed with so many magic moments since making Mexico my home away from home but one thing that sticks in my mind is the opportunities that have arisen once I took the leap and decided to follow my dreams. Traveling to countries I’ve always dreamt of, floating in the ocean, snapping away. But with every adventure comes those life lessons that hit you in the face when you least expect it, like my water housing leaking twice in 8 months, costing me a small fortune. And not to mention, communicating in my wonderful Spanish, asking if I can shit my telephone instead of charging, that I’m going to go look after the tits instead of tents, and calling doors whores. But I wouldn’t trade any of this journey for anything in the world. Because while I sit here and wonder if I’ll ever be able to communicate fluently in Spanish or keep my camera dry, I get to wear a smile that lights up every bone in my body, because I decided that one day, I’d like to live in Mexico and one day, I did just that.
