Nomadic Zen – A Vagabond’s Guide To Happiness

It was told to me once before that rainbow starts the minute you decide you’re going to go. From there it becomes a journey that is unique to each person each time they embark on it. Things get decided, plans are hashed out, and then life unfolds as you get closer and closer to getting home.

I’m not even sure how it began this time. I forgot who told me about the gathering in Palenque, but as soon as I knew the family was going to meet in southern Mexico, I was on my way. The trip to get there would take me over a month, but I got so much out of it like I always do. It’s nice to have an open ended path to somewhere. I have a lot of long term goals in my life that I’m setting out to acomplish, but I know that the unknown path to that salvation will teach me the lessons I need to learn to achieve those goals. It’s like in Paulo Coehlo’s book, “The Pilgrimage,” I need to know what to do with my sword before I get it.

I think Josue told me about it while I was in Monterrey. That would mean I’d have to cover nearly an entire country to get there. I’d ride 1st class busses, 2nd class busses, and then busses I found in shady parking lots. Taxis, collectivos, and hitching rides that zipped me along small unknown towns. I slept in hostels, homes, palapas, tents, hammocks, beaches, and a few cat naps in the car. I ate, drank, swam, slept, partied, danced, and owned existence with friends from all over the world. After all of that, I finally got there.

It had come down to the last day of the journey. I woke up in San Cristobal de Las Casas and needed to take a series of collectivos from where I was to where I wanted to be. I checked out of inti inn and walked down to the bus station. I checked the bus schedule and saw there was a bus for $70 that would take me directly to Palenque but it didn’t leave for 3 hours. When I decide I want to go somewhere, I like to stay on the move. I opted for a collectivo for $35 that was a 2 hour drive to Ocosingo. I bought a bowl of fruit for $10 and hopped in the van.

Ocosingo is known for it’s market that provides a hub of trade for the region. There are also some Mayan ruins in the area and makes for a day stop for some passing through. I was dropped off in the middle of town and it was only across the street that I’d find my next collectivo to Palenque.

This stretch of the journey was very beautiful. There aren’t many major freeways in Mexico and there definitely weren’t any in this part of Chiapas. It was a slow ride that wound around mountains, valleys, and quaint Mexican towns. The weather was perfect and coming down from the cold mountain climate of San Cristobal the rise in temperature was welcoming. We even had a nice traffic jam that because of my lack of Spanish, I wasn’t able to determine the cause of. I sat patiently and watched as everyone stood outside of their cars
sharing the moment together.

I didn’t spend much time in the town of Palenque, and I’m told there isn’t much to explore. It’s just a hub of travel for the folks that are going either to the ruins or elsewhere along the way. I was hungry at this time from the ride and I saw a Oaxacan restaurant across the street. One of my favorite dishes that I’ve had in Mexico would be eaten for what could be the last time. I ordered a Tlaypus which is like a giant steak quesadilla with oaxacan cheese. It’s crispy on the outside and warm and melty on the inside. I also got to watch Rambo while I ate it.

From there my directions told me I was to take a collectivo to Panchan, the inbetween place between Palenque and the ruins. I would have had an easier time knowing that the collectivos marked “ruinas” were actually going to Panchan. I eventually managed to get my ride and before I knew it, I was standing at the welcome sign to the Palenque ruins. To the left was a dirt road that lead to a little oasis in the jungle that has a couple of bars, hostels, and places for the tourists to enjoy.

I saw a girl wearing a homemade skirt and sporting dreadlocks about the rainbow gathering. She told me it was a 14km hike through rebel controlled jungles and I really shouldn’t do it at night alone. My other option was to wait until morning and take a collectivo to the village outside of the site and walk a much shorter distance. I decided that was the better option and I would stay the night here in Panchan and get an early start in the morning.

The place was pretty packed and I wasn’t keen on spending money to camp in the jungle. I heard a couple guys sitting outside of a 1972 VW Microbus having a conversation in English and I asked if they knew of a place to camp. He suggested right where I was standing was pretty good and as I set up my tent we began to have a conversation. Turns out we had been in contact on facebook about me riding along with him. We ended up going in different directions, but we finally managed to meet up.

We talked for a bit before Eduardo came into the scene. A friendly Dutch guy who had a fire inside of him. He was cheery and friendly and I’m now very happy for that chance encounter. Seth came from Colorado in his van and had just left the gathering that day to go explore some local waterfalls. Eduardo had purchased an old beatle in cancun and been driving around the area exploring. We would end up at the last minute to give it a go tonigt and see if we could drive in to the gathering. It was dark and sounded complicated to get there, but I reasoned if we got to the point where we knew we were lost, we could turn around. I packed up, threw my stuff in his convertible bug, and we went roaring into the dark unknown with beers in hand.

The gathering was near the village of San Miguel and we would pass through Babylonia on the way. We were told about many cattle gates that would have to be opened and closed and each one gave me the opportunity to get out, stare off into the stars, and try to inhale them. The country side was absolutely stunning with beautiful tree covered hills being illuminated by nearly a full moon. The road was rocky, windy, and full of craters, but the beatle managed to climb on with Eduardo at the helm.

As we drove through the small villages the locals were outside to greet us. Everyone was friendly, full of smiles, and helped guide us by being outside and pointing the direction. The locals were happy we were there and I was happy for that. It made the journey that much more rewarding to have a group of indigenous villagers cheering us on for that last couple of kilometers.

We put the cover on the bug and it was time to take the last bit of distance by foot. we followed the path down a hill and on the other side of a stream was someone telling us where to go. He said the path was through the stream so we began out traverse barefoot and weighted down by gear. On the other side a burly man with a beard and dreadlocks embraced me, spoke a sentence in Spanish, and said to me, “Welcome home, brother.”

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Tales From the Road by admin