For the first time on my trip I’m in a non-colonial city. I’ve become used to the main square, older buildings, cobble streets and interesting atmosphere so Tuxtla – which looks like it could be any city in southern Florida – was a bit of a change.
Since it’s not a major tourist destination (typically just a place to change busses for other locations) there are limited options for budget lodging so I decided to see if I could do some couch surfing. I was lucky enough to be adopted by a 20-something local guy who let me take over his guest room.
Gabriel was very welcoming and my first night there we went out with a friend of his for a drink. It was a bit more challenging than you would initially think considering that everywhere we tried to go was closed but I got an interesting tour of Tuxtla in the process.
My second night there, after I’d spent the afternoon exploring town, I returned to a party. Gabriel had been to a football match with some of his friends and family and they’d all returned to his house after to drown their sorrows about he loss. It was a fun evening and I spent a lot of time talking to two of his cousins who both live in San Cristobal – would have been nice to know them when I was there before!
The next night I didn’t get a chance to see my host before I left but I did have a nice chat with his house mate. All-in-all it was a very positive surfing experience in what could have otherwise been a very dull city.
