Groton Friends in Mexico

The highlight of my summer was undoubtedly the first two weeks of break. Right as summer started, four friends and I traveled to Mexico, my home country. Although I was extremely nervous for my Groton friends to meet my family and friends, the trip could not have been more fun and memory-creating.

After a 12-hour travel day that included a layover in Dallas (and Nate ’24 almost missing the plane for a bagel), the trip started with my friends arriving in Mexico City. Naturally, I took them to my favorite Mexican restaurant, where they were able to try authentic Mexican food. With only a few days in my hometown, Mexico City, we managed to visit pyramids, ancient cathedrals, and tourist attractions, while also playing paintball and meeting my friends from home. It felt unreal to have my Groton friends see the country that has been my life-long home. It almost felt like a fever dream when they met my siblings and my closest friends from my past school.

It was especially fun going to the pyramids, Teotihuacan, a few hours north of my house. I had never been to this tourist attraction, so I was also amazed by the size of the pyramids (one being the third largest in the world). In Teotihuacan, my friends and I were able to walk around and explore the ancient ruins.

The next stop was a small lake town a few hours west of Mexico City. After a fun and loud car ride, we took the next few days to hike, water ski, and swim in the pool. Most notably, we all taught Cam ’24 to water ski for the first time and saw Griff ’24 fall about a thousand times trying to do tricks on the wakeboard.

Finally, and the highlight of the whole trip, was a week in Ixtapa, a beach on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. While we mostly spent our week biking from beach to beach, playing backgammon, and drinking pineapple-coconut smoothies in the pool, we also found time to go surfing. Although Ben ’24 outcompeted all of us with his surfing skills, the picturesque and remote Mexican beach with my American friends was unforgettable. With countless sunsets in the pool, chess matches, and waves “bodysurfed,” Ixtapa was an incredible stop.

Soon after a flight back to Mexico City from Ixtapa, my friends left back for the U.S. The two weeks in Mexico with them were unforgettable.

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