July 3, 2014, Mexico. I had met Ruben when I first arrived in Mexico City to visit Alejandro. They had picked me up at the airport and I’d stayed with Alejandro at his dad’s place in Ixtapaluca. Ruben was extremely kind. He seemed to feel bad about the misunderstanding I’d had with Le, and welcomed me back wholeheartedly. I had left some vitamins and clothes with him during those first few days of the trip and planned to send them home. My pack weighed 45 pounds and I needed to lighten my load.

Ruben loved Elvis and all things Americana. He was eager to share his music collection with me, implored me to watch some of his videos, including an Elvis concert in Hawaii. He had tons of music videos from the ’50s and ’60s. I went for a walk along the Paseo de Poetas and saw tributes to Pablo Neruda and Gabriel García Márquez. The rainy season had made everything lush and green. At the end of the road, I walked a bit further along a dirt path, but I stayed cautious, aware not to go too far alone.

On Tuesday, we took a lovely trip past Amecameca to San Rafael, which sits at the base of the nearest volcano. Apparently, there are waterfalls up in the hills, but Ruben was very worried about hiking there. As we approached the trailhead, he said, “They’re probably thinking, ‘There go the victims.’” He had given me a stern lecture the night before about safety, warning me not to go anywhere after dark. He told me about several times he had been robbed on the combi—the VW bus service between Mexico City and Ixtapaluca. His warnings kept me up that night. I even wondered if I should just go home and skip what now felt like a dangerous country.

Still, I ventured out for about 20 minutes into the beautiful cedar-strewn mountains. Waterfalls cascaded from the hills, and it was the first time I’d seen truly clean, running water in Mexico. I would have loved to stay for hours, but I knew Ruben would worry, so I hurried back down. On the way back, we stopped at an old church—yet another beautiful cathedral. That evening, we returned to his house in Ixtapaluca and watched The Other Side of the Mountain, a gorgeous film set in what looked like the Swiss Alps.

Wednesday was dedicated to the shipping project. The box I was sending weighed about 11 pounds, but Mexico doesn’t allow pills to be mailed. I considered FedEx, but they charged $120 USD—definitely not worth it. So I wrapped the supplements in bubble wrap and labeled them as artesanías—the only way to get them through. I had to buy special paper, glue, and tape to prepare the box, and then spent nearly half an hour weighing each set of items and writing a description in Spanish—then making a duplicate for customs. Finally, I got it sent. What a relief—truly a weight off my shoulders.

Later, I walked to the next township where Sergio has a paletería (popsicle shop). Francisco was there too, and we laughed and talked for a while. A young man working for Sergio suggested we hike to the waterfalls the next day, but it didn’t work out—Ruben had to leave to visit his daughter.

Thursday morning, I packed up (always a big project) and got ready to leave. Saying goodbye to Ruben was sad, but I hoped I’d get to see him again when I returned to Mexico City. We drove to the bus stop, and just as we arrived, a bus to Puebla pulled up. I bought a ticket and hopped on.

On the ride, I met a kind young man named Ulises. He gave me tips about places to visit near Puebla. He was headed to Tlaxcala and even gave me his number. When I arrived at CAPU (Puebla’s main bus terminal), I was amazed by how clean and organized it was. The información turística desk was incredibly helpful—the attendant spent half an hour with me, describing different places to visit (all in Spanish), and gave me several maps and brochures.

From there, I caught a local bus toward the Zócalo, the historic center of town. I walked several blocks looking for a decent and affordable place to stay. I found both a nice posada and a hostel and eventually chose the hostel—International Hostel of Santo Domingo—just two blocks from the beautiful church with the baroque Capilla del Rosario.