One of my favorite things in Mexico.  There are hundreds of these in Yucatan - they are fresh water sink holes.  Some are in caves, with bats, turtles, and fish.  They are beautiful, refreshing, and tropical.  I'll add some pictures one of these days.  These were created by the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs (I also found a monument to the dinosaurs).  The asteroid hit Earth in the Gulf of Mexico, just off the coast near Progreso on the Yucatan Peninsula.  It was bad news for the dinosaurs, but great news for humans 65 million years later...  we get to go swimming in the cenotes!

People in Mexico were very kind to panhandlers.  Much more than in the US.  I routinely saw people drop a few pesos in someone's cup.  In the US I almost never see someone give money.  Here, we often blame the poor for their own situation, and people often don't want to "encourage" begging.  People will often tell about that one story they heard about a guy that makes over 100k a year begging.  In Mexico, people are sympathetic to others' hardships.  They are less judgmental and more willing to spare some change.  Maybe it's the strong Catholic faith, or maybe more people have experienced hardship themselves and they understand.  Whatever the reason, I am going to be more giving in the future.  I also experienced people being very kind to me.  Many people offered help with translations, directions, making appointments and reservations.  
On the other side of the coin (pun intended), for a financial transaction, many people will overcharge and scam you.  Maybe it's their way to fight back against American imperialism.  Maybe they are just trying to get as much as possible because you never know when harder times will come.  Regardless, bargaining is an expected part of the culture here, so it is necessary to shop around, research prices, and be prepared to walk away if the price isn't right.
The Catholic Church.  I think I read that 99% of Mexicans are Catholic.  It is major part of people's lives and culture.  It shapes their outlook on everything - including Covid.  Everywhere you can find Catholic churches, rosary beads, and statues of Guadalupe.  I also learned that the Vatican has cash and investments worth 5-10 billion dollars.  Naturally, this raised some questions...  but I will leave it here.

The driving and the car were fine.  I drove in Yucatan - the roads were great, drivers were fine, no problems.  But the rental company was a scam!  I rented the car from Hertz on Priceline.  Or so I thought.  It independently owned, and I later found out that I fell for the same scam that many other people did.  There are many terrible reviews on Google for this location, and I added my voice to the masses.
I rented an automatic car, but when I arrived, they said they only had manuals.  Then they said they had "just one" automatic left, but it will be more money.  I showed the email confirmation I had, but there was a bunch of Spanish, I wasn't too worried because it was a Hertz rental location, and I just signed the contract.  I was charged $903 for a five day rental.  I submitted a complaint to Hertz online, but I never heard back, so I called the customer service number, and they told me this location was independently owned, so I needed to contact the manager there.  That's when I found the google reviews.  They did similar things to everyone else.  I won't be getting a refund.  This was the most expensive rental car I've every had.
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LESSON LEARNED:  Always be VERY cautious before handing over any money.  Do lots of research.  Don't trust anyone.  If it's not the original agreed price, just walk away.

Dear Ayne is a content creator I follow.  She makes videos on travel, women's issues, social issues, and any other interesting topic.  She ran a women's empowerment retreat for women to meet each other, and we had workshops on a variety of topics, such as self improvement, personal finance and investing, goal setting, acro-yoga, and meditation, among others.  This was such a wonderful experience for me based on where I am in my life.  It was a chance to step away from regular life, relax, and reset.  This is a special group of women - we are all very different, yet very similar in that we all want to improve ourselves.  We ask questions, share knowledge, and support each other without judgement.  And we are still in touch with a WhatsApp group chat!  We share successes and frustrations, ask finance and business questions, and we even have a weekly co-working session where we log in with our web cam on, but we all work on our own different projects.  By working on camera, we can help each other focus and stay motivated.  Sometimes it is easier to work when you have a study buddy to hold you accountable.  I left the retreat with new friends and feeling motivated and excited about things I wanted to change in my life.  This retreat was the first week of my project, and I am very glad I had the opportunity to meet these wonderful people.  This week was the perfect way to reset my life and start my project.

I always have a difficult time explaining hostels to my American friends.  I very rarely get a good response from them.  They often assume they are only for college students, or that they are dirty or dangerous, or they want to stick with a more luxurious view of travel by staying at nice hotels.
When traveling alone, hostels are my preferred place to stay.  Yes, some are dirty and some are definitely more "party hostels" full of younger people.  Bathrooms and kitchens can be questionable.  It is important to read the reviews before booking.  In general, I'd say they are not really family-oriented, but some of them do accommodate families.  Many have private rooms, and overall, I'd say they are set up to be more social than hotels, which makes them a great option for solo travelers.  Many are keeping their dorm rooms to half capacity for Covid.  I have never been the oldest person at the hostel, and I am now 39 years old.  Think of them as just "basic accommodation."  You'll get a basic bed, shower, a thin towel, hopefully hot water, hopefully internet, barebones kitchen, and a secure place to keep your stuff.  You'll also save a lot of money and make new friends.  Staying in a hotel is definitely a nicer experience, but if you're traveling long term, this will become expensive quite fast.  To give you an idea, my private room at a hostel in Mexico City was $23 USD per night, and my dorm room in Oaxaca was $11 USD (both of these include all taxes and fees).  The dorm room was normally shared with four people, but for Covid it was limited to two people.
Airbnb is usually not the cheapest option, but they can be unique, more privacy than hostels, and they often have usable kitchens for long term stays.  Some cities have suffered from over-tourism, partly due to Airbnb.  For example, Venice, Barcelona, and Reykjavik have had a negative impact from this.  Other times, it can be a great option for both the tourist and the owner.
Hotels

All if it was magic.  The city of Oaxaca is colorful and beautiful.  The coast is cool and rugged.  There are murals all over the city.  There is a stunning cathedral.  The street food is just as good as Netflix promised (there is an episode of Latin American Street Food series dedicated just to Oaxaca).  I stayed at a hostel in the city that was perfect also.  It had a great group of people, and I loved our chats in the hostel bar in the evenings.  This was probably my favorite hostel experience in Mexico.
On the coast, I stayed at an Airbnb in Puerto Escondido - it was probably the best Airbnb I've ever stayed in - it had a terrace with hammocks and a thatched roof that was perfect for relaxing and watching the rain.  This is a surf town, and I enjoyed spending time on the beach watching the surfers.  I wish I spent a little more time on the coast to soak up all the relaxing atmosphere that was here.
Mezcal comes from Oaxaca.  It is made from the Agave plant, just like Tequila, but it is made from a specific breed, and it must be made in Oaxaca to be called Mezcal (just like how Champagne must come from the Champagne region in France, otherwise it is just sparkling wine).  It's not my favorite, but I did have a bit and I went to a mezcal distillery.

AHHHHHHH I am going to have to travel slower to stay under budget.  Traveling between places really increases my daily average since these days require bus or plane tickets.  Traveling faster allows you to cover more ground.  Traveling slower allows you to get to a know a place deeper, and it allows you to spread out your expenses more.  I'm guessing I'll be more motivated to cook if I don't look at it as needing to try all the food places in a short amount of time.

I love Mexico City.  It's at a high elevation, so it is a cooler temperature compared to the coastal cities.  I was here during rainy season, so that also made it cooler, but the rain wasn't overbearing - just a minor inconvenience and fewer sunny days.  Kind of like Seattle weather.  A lot of places were closed for Covid, such as the National Palace, Aztec museum, Xochimilco boats, and Leon Trotsky's home.  Many places had limited capacity, so you needed to purchase tickets in advance online, such as Frida Kahlo's home.  Strong Covid precautions were taken everywhere, such as mask mandates, hand sanitizer, shoe sanitizer, and many places even spray down your whole body when entering.  You stand with your arms out and they spray your down, ask you to turn around, and they spray your backside.  No one complained, everyone followed the rules.  I don't think Americans would tolerate the full body spray down in the US.
I definitely got New York City vibes here.  There are cute cafes and excellent restaurants everywhere.  I loved the live music all over the place.  Musicians and mariachi bands strolling around and people pay for a song while dining outside.  There are beautiful parks, delicious street food, and a fun Chinatown.  I had the best dumplings of my life here - Mexican-Asian fusion dumplings.
I reconnected with Daniela here (a lady from the retreat who lives in Mexico City).  My favorite place I visited was Frida Kahlo's home.  I had a print of her painting "The Two Fridas" in my apartment.  The original of this painting is actually at the Museum of Modern Art (closed for Covid).  Now I need to watch the movie again :)

After Merida, my retreat friend, Daniela, left.  I headed to Valladolid, another colorful and even more humid colonial town.  It was here that I experienced the most intense heat.  I actually got tiny blisters on my skin as a reaction to the heat, which I've never had before.  While here, I stayed at a guesthouse I found on Hostelworld.  The owner was a painter, and he pained several murals on the property, there was a hammock in my room, and there was a nice garden outside for your morning coffee.
While here, I also visited Ek Balam, an ancient Mayan city.  Chichen Itza is famous for its massive pyramid, but I think Ek Balam was more impressive since more parts of the city were intact and visible.  Several area were open for tourists to explore, so I was able to climb some stairs, look around, and imagine what it looked like in its prime.  There were fewer people visiting, so it made the trip more pleasant also.  
I also did a day trip to Izamal, the yellow city.  ALL THE BUILDINGS ARE YELLOW.  Like the Coldplay song.  It really was beautiful to see.  It has Spanish colonial architecture, but the yellow color is a tribute to a Mayan sun god.  I took a carriage ride around the city, and there is a Mayan pyramid to climb.  It was hot, my blood sugar was starting to drop, so I thought I would get some sorbet - it looked like a nice strawberry dessert...  but it had chili in it.  The flecks were not pieces of fruit.  There were flakes of chili.  I didn't finish it.  The fruit and chili combination is common in Mexico - like fresh pineapple with chili or gummy candy with chili.  For me, it was an interesting flavor to try, and I suppose I would like it more if I took time to get accustomed to it, but it's not my favorite.

After spending some extra time in Tulum, I rented a car with one of the retreat ladies, and we traveled to Bacalar, and then on to Merida.  All of the photos I've seen of Bacalar show turquoise water and cute thatch-roof cottages.  However, we were there during rainy season, so it was cloudy and rainy.  The water was not as bright, but we did get some time to kayak on the lake.  It was fun and relaxing, and there is an excellent restaurant directly on the water, but I would like to visit again when it's sunny.
From Bacalar, we moved on to Merida.  Merida is a very humid and colorful colonial town on the Yucatan Peninsula.  We did a free walking tour to learn some history.  In the early days, Merida answered to Spain instead of Mexico City, and to me, it still has more of a European feel than the other cities I visited in Mexico.  We took a day trip to Rio Lagartos where we saw crocodiles, a flamingo colony, and a pink lake (the pink color comes from dead shrimp that can't survive the extreme salty water near the salt factory).  We also visited a memorial to the dinosaurs near Progreso.  The asteroid that killed the dinosaurs hit planet Earth near this spot, so the memorial is a nice tribute.
We stayed at an Airbnb in both Bacalar and Merida.