It was December, 2019.
After spending a week visiting Mexico City, Mexico’s capital, with our friend Paloma, Roberto (my boyfriend) and I flew to Cancun, in the Southeast of the country. Truth be told, we had a lot of stereotypes about Cancun. We had in mind an overcrowded and overrated city filled with a lot of tourists and not-so-clean beaches. But since we were already in Mexico, we decided to visit it anyway and spend four days there.
We chose to stay in the city center, a bit further from the beaches, as we wanted to experience the “real Cancun”. To be where the locals were living, not the tourists.
On a Sunday night, after a day of visiting the city, we returned to our Airbnb. Roberto and I started to get hungry, so we checked on Google Maps the few restaurants nearby that were still open. There was one that wasn’t too far from our place and looked ok, so we decided we would have dinner there. It was very dark outside. And the streets were quiet. There was not a single sound. When we arrived in front of the restaurant, it was closed.
“What do we do now? It’s Sunday, and it’s getting late. Should we check out another restaurant on Maps?” I asked.
“Everything must be closed now. But let’s walk a little and see if there is something.” Roberto answered.
Because it was already late, we both deep down knew we would find nothing open and would return to the Airbnb with an empty stomach.
At least, this is what we thought.
As we kept walking in the dark, we suddenly ran into a small garden where we started to hear music.
“OMG, that’s salsa!” I shouted.I joined the people and danced for a few minutes before we kept walking to find something to eat.
Then, a few meters further, we started to see some lights and hear some noise. It was a small Christmas market selling handmade crafts. We started to hear more people talking, and to smell food. We turned our heads to the left.
Guess what we saw? Another Christmas market! Soon, we discovered a giant square (“plaza” in Spanish) with a huge Christmas tree, food markets, and a stage with people playing traditional music and dancing on it. A bit further, there was even a big 7-Eleven store in front of which people were dancing cumbia and bachata.
Ten minutes before, we were still in the dark with no one, and now we are here? That night, Roberto and I had so much fun. We had great local food, danced, and laughed a lot. It turned out this night was one of the most memorable nights of this 2-week trip in Mexico.But this night wouldn’t have happened if I had checked something else on Google.
Maybe we would have found something located on the opposite side of this square.
Maybe we would have seen that everything was closed and would have decided to return home.
Or maybe we would have found something written about this “Christmas Night event” and would have been there.
But NOT KNOWING or expecting at first that we would find this place and the great surprise it was to discover it, is actually what made this moment so unique and beautiful.
Uncertainty can be uncomfortable. It certainly is. And it certainly was that night when we were starving.
But we found a hidden beauty in it.
The gift of something unexpected. The gift of something bigger and better than what we have imagined.
What was supposed to be a quick dinner at a restaurant after a tiring day turned into a night of joy and celebration.
So my task for you is:
As you read these words, allow yourself to let go of control for a minute, a day, a week.
Allow your curiosity to lead you through this uncertainty.
And see what happens.
Until next time, with love,
Suzanna
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