Thinking back on 2023 and trying to summarize it with a couple of words. What comes to mind is adventure and experiences. I also have some questions about my direction and where I’m headed. Still can’t answer that one hahhaaaa… I love to travel and being in nature, so I hope 2024 includes that. I also hope I get to be healthy so I can keep exploring and experiencing!
Here are a few highlights from last year…
Visiting Patagonia in Argentina in February. Stayed in Bariloche and it was beautiful. Surrounded by water and nature. Also visited the little town El Bolsón where I would spend more time in if I visited again.
It was weird travelling and being in a country with such high inflation. You paid double for things if you paid with a card. To get cash you had to wire it to yourself and then line up at Western Union to get it.
Went to a wedding of a good friend in Palm Desert. Everything was kept off social media so I couldn’t post pics of the beautiful groom & bride. I really enjoyed Palm Desert and hope to go back.
After Palm Desert I went to LA and my sister came too from Sweden. We stayed with Sandy and her family so I got the good stuff all at once, family & friends while visiting LA. Took advantage of Sandy’s make up skills and got some work done too… I’m trying to plan a trip to LA asap to see Sandy as I miss her a lot!
In April I visited Puerto Escondido here in Mexico for the first time. Wow, what a cool beach town. Not busy and developed like Tulum. Very chill and relaxed. Would definitely go back here too 🙂
In May I went to the Mycelia Retreat in Jamaica. Definitely one of the top experiences in 2023 that made a big impact on me. Such a beautiful time with mushrooms and an amazing group of people. I hope to host my own retreat this year. Let me know if you’re interested in coming 🙂
In June it was time for a yearly hike up north in Sweden for my sister and I. 3rd year in a row and we plan to keep this going. This time we did the first part of the Kings Trail. 6 days and 5 nights and we loved every day of it!
In August I visited Oaxaca the city. Very beautiful. Drove to the small village called San Jose del Pacifico. It was mushroom season and had a great mushroom trip out in the woods there.
In October it was time for Medellin in Colombia. First time trying paragliding and another mushroom trip 🙂
And the last adventure of the year went to San Miguel de Allende. That trip included trying Kambo and San Pedro for the first time. Very powerful and intense experience.
Not to forget, Hunter celebrated 1 year as a new family member. I love him so much 🙂
Soooo, how about you? Got goals, direction or things you want to do/achieve in 2024? I hope you gotten a fabulous start to this new year!
Wow, what a trip. Oaxaca City is truly as amazing as everyone says. I visited Puerto Escondido earlier this year which is part of the Oaxaca state that I also loved. The best part is that it is only about an hour flight from Mexico City.
Arrived and checked in at Pug Seal Hotel that a friend had recommended. Very cool design, artsy and it’s in the middle of everything…
No time to waste and being hungry, I picked a restaurant from a list that another friend of mine had compiled with recommendations for Oaxaca. Went to Casa Oaxaca and yum yum yum, everything was delicious. Especially the lobster 🙂 I also like that they prepare the guacamole and salsa in front of you and ask how picante you want your salsa to be.
Also necessary to get the caffeine fix. Kiyo Cafe was my spot and they also had a little store with locally made stuff…
The town is beautiful and colorful. Little specialty shops, cafes, and lots of bars and restaurants.
I love mezcal and tried some drinks at Sabina Sabe. Muy bueno!
Called it a night after that…
Next day I had breakfast at the hotel. Oh, and since I’m a bit restless at times and can’t just sit and do nothing, I thought – why not swing a little before breakfast arrives…
Next door to the hotel they had this supercool shop called Peyote People. They have art inspired by peyote and made by locals. I have tried a bit of peyote and I will hopefully get to participate in a full ceremony with it soon…
Then picked up a rental car and the destination was the mushroom town San Jose del Pacifico. The town is known for magic mushrooms and I think Vice made a show about this town once…
Checked in at Casa Elba. Supercute place with different style cabanas surrounded by nature.
It was walking distance to town which is very small and charming.
Decided on an early dinner at an Asian restaurant called Tatsu. It was a bit further up from town and the view and sunset from there was beautiful! Spicy and good food too.
Breakfast at the hotel with the company of these 2 pugs that lived there 🙂
Needed more coffee and walked to town. It’s pretty cool because pretty much all of the time you are above the clouds.
The best coffee shop is Oaxacid. People are very friendly here and like to talk about the town, magic mushrooms and anything else you want. Met an interesting guy while drinking coffee. He said he’s been a ‘wanted’ person and came to San Jose del Pacifico and hid here. During Covid he made some controversial video and people with machetes were looking for him in town. Luckily it started raining and that was apparently a sign from the gods that he should not be harmed. Luckily everything had cooled down now and he could roam free. Very interesting conversation…
Decided to check out the next town over called San Mateo Rio Hondo. The road kept getting smaller and narrower until it pretty much was a dirt track. Arrived in town and it was pretty much one lane streets so decided to park, walk, and see what I could find…
I was looking for a bakery, but Google maps was not very accurate here. Saw some smoke coming from a house and though there might be a bakery located there. I was right, but apparently not the bakery I was looking for. But I got to meet this great lady and her husband that baked and sold bread to stores in nearby towns/villages. They had a clay oven with a fire where they baked it all.
Headed back after about an hour and half. Found a restaurant on the way back and since I didn’t find the bakery I decided I might as well fill up with proper food instead of sugar 🙂 This guy had just picked these chanterelles and I love them. Ordered all my food with chanterelles and my favorite was this cheese with the mushrooms on top – wow!
This restaurant was by a hotel called ‘Hotel Boutique y Cabanas Alto La Sierra’. It looked nice and they were just adding more cabanas and of course they were decorated with mushroom art 🙂
When I walked into the town I spotted this sign about magic mushrooms. I decided to hike up the short little path to a small house. There was a lady hanging up laundry and I asked if she was the one selling shrooms. Yes it was and she showed me what she had…
I did a magic mushroom ceremony the next day. I will make a different post about it because it was an amazing and a very insightful trip!
At night I ate at an italian place called La Taberna Los Duendes. Like everywhere, there were designs inspired by mushrooms. The entrance, cheese plate, napkin holder etc. Food was really good and you got huge portions. I ate here after my mushroom trip as well. How cute is my mushroom hat that I bought?
The day after my shroom trip I had a relaxed morning and shopped for some mini knitted mushrooms from this lady to put on a Psychonaut Explorer jacket I’m planning to make 🙂
Then headed back to the city. It’s about an 2.5 hour drive depending on the traffic. Stopped at one of the road side markets as well. They all sell mushroom artifacts. Or actual mushrooms 🙂
One tip, if you decide to head out to San Jose del Pacifico, bring cash! Not all places accept card payments and there are no ATM’s.
Checked in at my airbnb which had a private little pool. Of course I made the most of it while there 🙂
Next up was a food tour to taste some local flavours and mezcal. Very tasty and almost drunk when finishing up hahahaaa….
Next day I met up with a group to go visit Hierve el Agua. It’s about an 1,5h drive away and it is a set of natural travertine rock formation. I thought it was hot springs, but learned it’s not. These are mineral springs and I thing the guide said the only other one exists in Turkey. Very cool!
I had spotted this awesome pottery store the day before and went there after the tour was done. I could’ve bought half the store because the stuff was amazing. It was pretty expensive and I settled for 2 mugs. This one with mushrooms and another one with a mouth and pill on the tongue. I wish it would’ve been an acid tab instead 😉
Also found this guy and he had a screenprint that reminded me of my mushroom trip so I bought it…
Changed up and went to have a semi private tasting experience at Crudo. Wow! It was sushi, but with added Oaxacan flavors. If you have to pick one place in town to eat, eat here! We were only 6 people, but they also have a restaurant where you can eat.
That pretty much concluded my Oaxaca & San Jose del Pacifico trip. I’m pretty sure I will go back as I had the best time. I can really recommend visiting here! I will write about my mushroom journey too 🙂 Here are some left over pics…
Hope you are doing great. Anyone still on vacation? Me? I’m off to ship a pair of heels someone won in an auction and then working out. Also did an interview for the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet this morning 🙂 Oh, and I’m trying to manage my 3rd day without sugar, bread, pasta and chips. Very hard but I’m determined to make it at least a week!
I’m the type of person who likes to have a future trip planned. A bit restless 🙂 So this week I booked my flight to Jamaica for the end of this month. Going to a special retreat there, and I think it will be amazing. Then my sister and I did a video call and booked our hike for this summer. It will be a 6 day, 5 nights hike on Kungsleden/Kings Trail up in the northern part of Sweden. Takes a bit of planning with trains, busses, flights and making sure you book each overnight hut for the right date. Really looking forward to it, and it’s our 3rd summer we’re doing this 🙂
Apart from booking these trips, it was a pretty mellow week. For some reason going to the gym this week was very hard. Felt lethargic and the work-outs felt hard. But as always, was so good after finishing! See how happy I look hahahaaa…
Then the weekly content producing. I always share the edited pics, but here’s a pic of us checking the light on the spot where we want to shoot. Almost too hot to handle LOL…
And the light was good so it ended up looking like this…
And some more shots… I love my sugar daddy t-shirt I found in a thrift store 🙂
Also a couple of pics from the shoot I did in Puerto Escondido. Made me miss the beach…
I’m not the only model in this family. Just look at Hunter’s pose!
Sorry Hunter. Here’s a couple of more of him. Also my friend came over to help me with some computer stuff, but Hunter thought it was enough work for one night and just planted himself on his computer 🙂
Sunday-funday, you up to something? I think I’m going to paint on a Psychonaut Explorer jacket I’m working on and then go to a cafe and read. Right now I’m reading the 2nd book of Joe Abercombie’s ‘The Age of Madness’ series. I read the previous trilogy before this one too and liked it a lot. It’s nice when reading a series you know the characters and can keep plowing through.
Sooo, whatever you’re up to, I wish you a happy Sunday and a great upcoming week!
Puerto Escondido was way better than I had expected. Such a chill and relaxed place. I guess it wasn’t always as people used to party there a lot, being loud, and staying up late. But they have changed the rules and most places now close at 11. Suited me just fine 🙂
It was also a lot hotter than I expected. First thing after checking in was jumping in my private plunge pool and cooling off 🙂
I stayed at Villa Lunaya by Zicatela beach. Someone had written in the reviews that they spent most of the time in the plunge pool. I did the same. It was the best part of staying there 🙂 But the place is really great and I’d stay there on my next trip as well. Only 4 rooms and nice design. Oh, and they have AC!!!
The location is great too. It’s on a quiet side street, but the beach is around the corner. Literally 2 mins away 🙂 So after cooling off in the pool I headed to the beach and watched the surfers in the sunset.
Decided to get sushi for dinner at Sommo. Charming place, but unfortunately the sashimi was expensive with not a lot of flavor. The seaweed salad and some special with truffle and foie gras was great though.
I was still hungry after and found these two guys flipping burgers on the street. My type of dinner and the burger was delicious.
Sometimes (a lot of times) I’m a bit restless. Or if I don’t burn off some of my energy I get antsy… What’s better than a barefoot walk on the beach?
And after that, guess what? COFFEE! As if the location couldn’t get any better, there is an awesome coffee/breakfast place just around the corner as well – Ojitos Abiertos. I was there every morning 🙂
Checked out the town after. Mostly one main street with shops, restaurants, and cafes.
There was a lot to choose from when it came to eating. There is this popular and tasty fish shack tucked away in an alley. You sweated your ass off, but the food was worth it!
Another great spot was a place right next to the cafe – La casa del surfer. Freshly caught fish for the huge fish tacos! Go early because they sell out of the fish later…
Everyone recommended the Thai restaurant called Lychee. I love Thai food and the food here tasted pretty authentic. And I spotted this beautiful red cat there that reminded me of Hunter. He was not so interested in me though 😦
No trip is complete without some work! I found a local photographer on Instagram and we booked a shoot. Even though we were out at 8am, my makeup was melting off faster than you can say caliente! I’m waiting for the final pictures. Touched up so I look non-sweaty and flawless like a true IG model 😉 Here’s some BTS pics though…
I had a feeling after that I might have a UTI. Since I had booked a tour for the next day, I didn’t want to risk not being able to go so I decided to call a doctor over. I love how simple doctors visits are over here. I just WhatsApp’ed him, filled out a form and questionnaire and an hour later he was over. Turns out it false alarm, but better safe than sorry 🙂
So next day it was time to check out some crocodiles. Had a private tour guide and we drove about 1.5h south. He told me this place is run by the neighborhood community here.
I try to be aware of places with animals and make sure they’re not in cages or used for performing tricks etc. Since they had these deers in an enclosure I asked why. He told me that they used to hunt and eat them (and turtles) and they almost became extinct. They now realized that they can’t continue like this and these are ‘preserved’ and bred so they can have more of them in the wild in the future…
On the way to the boats there were a few stands that advertised magic mushrooms, mezcal with Peyote, and other fun stuff. Had to check it out and I asked how it was possible for them to just sell it like this in the open. If I understood him right, it’s legal there. I bought a mezcal with a magic shroom in it 🙂
After sweating so much on the tour I said we have to go to the beach next. I was dropped off at Zipolite Beach. After looking around a bit and deciding where I wanted to plant myself down, I spot a group of naked guys. I asked the guide if this was the nude beach all excited.
-“Didn’t you say you wanted to come here” he asked confused.
– “Siii”! I just though he would’ve said something, but whatever, I was happy! He left me there and said he’ll be back in 2 hours to collect me 🙂
Apparently this is the only fully legal nudist beach in all of Mexico.
Afterwards he took me to the little hippie town Mazunte. Wow, what a cool place. Even more chill than Zicatela. I would like to stay here a couple of days next time too.
Another beach I saw while we were out… I guess there was not that many people on this beach so the lifeguard had time to do some fishing too 🙂
Great day. Finished it up with dinner at this restaurant SHA with Oaxacan food. Ate here twice and my favorite dish was the seafood tlayudita. It’s something local, but damn how tasty!!!
Some more pics of whatever else that caught my eye. This little local cat family for example 🙂
The flight back to Mexico City was at 10:30pm. Luckily I was able to pay for a check-out at 6pm so I spent the day in the plunge pool and on the beach…
Last dinner before heading back to the airport at Atarraya. Very nice place and the spicy pineapple mezcal drink was muy bueno! Had to have 2 🙂
And before I say bye I want to give recommendation for all the fellow travellers out there. I travelled with only a carry on. I have had this bag for about 7 years and it has travelled the world with me and it is still in perfect condition. There are so many pockets and compartments so everything stays organised. I’m not getting paid for this, but truly just love this bag for travel and want to recommend it 🙂 (www.ebags.com)
Flight home was delayed an hour, but the flight between Puerto Escondido to CDMX is only an hour and 15 min so no stress… Really great vacation and I’m pretty sure I will visit again 🙂
Happy Easter to you all! I miss the pÃ¥skägg, aka the Easter Eggs I used to get in Sweden. Like a colorful paper egg filled with candy. I always used to tell my mom not to go cheap on the candy. Made sure she went to a place with the highest quality candy. Since I always hated buying socks, my mom always put socks in my Easter egg too hahahaaa. Anyways, what do do you think of my Happy Easter cards? Hunter wanted his own one…
Also got bored of my hair so went and got it changed up. Someone told me that only crazy girls and strippers have pink or blue hair. Well, sounds like I’m somewhere right in between hahahaaa…
Got the camera out right away and made the most of the styled hair…
Since I’m hitting the beach tomorrow I dragged my butt to the gym so I can show off my soon-to-be-6-pack 😉
I watched a lot of great movies this week. I got 2 new movie services – Arrow Player and Criterion. I really recommend them! Cool and different movies on both. I also saw the new John Wick film. Lots of action but I kind of got annoyed people were getting shot/punched etc like 50 times without dying. I got to say I prefer the 1st and 2nd one better. But action-wise it delivered.
Then on Arrow I saw ‘Millionaires Express’ (1986). It is a martial arts, western, comedy movie from Hong Kong, written and directed by Sammo Hung. It’s funny, exaggerated, and with a lot of ‘kung fu’ fighting. I’d give it 3.75 out of 5.
Then watched ‘Before Sunrise’ (1995) & ‘Before Sunset’ (2004) with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. Just have to re watch the 3rd movie in the ‘series’ next Before Midnight (2014). I love these movies. I love the story and that it spans over 19 years with the same main characters. I really recommend these if you’re in the mood for some romance stuff. I rate them strong 4’s out of 5.
Then watched ‘The Executioner’ (1974). A Japanese martial arts movie where three street toughs are hired to take down a Tokyo drug dealer. A lot of action, fighting, and with great sound effects. I laughed a lot as it’s funny as well. I rate it 3.9 out of 5.
Finally watched ‘Mulholland Drive’ (2001). I like David Lynch and this was a great movie. A mystery/thriller that is a bit twisted with some weirdness in it. I really liked it. I give it 4 out of 5.
I’m also almost finished with the series ‘Better Call Saul’ and ‘The Last of Us’. I love Saul and might have to rewatch Breaking Bad after this. ‘The Last of Us’ has gotten better and more exciting the further in the series you get.
OK, going to finish my coffee and then go eat somewhere. Then packing for Puerto Escondido. Limiting myself to a carry on since I’m guessing I’ll be in a bikini most of the time 🙂 Unless I locate the nude beach hehehee… Leaving tomorrow until Friday.
Puma Swede Blog 