El Nevado de Toluca, is definitely one of my favorite places on earth. Thanks to my job I was lucky enough to be there for a couple of February’s in a row. Having long tournaments and staying there enough to have some days off.
My “Days off Personal Policy” is that this day has to be a long, worthwhile one. Make it seem like a weekend. No sleep if possible — if needed; cease the movement time to catch a snooze and recharge, but we may not be back to this place so, let’s get moving.
My first time there I wanted to see the Nevado. At the hotel I asked for tours to go up. The alarming slow pace at the which the clerk and the information was moving made me chase a new route. I went out for food to downtown Toluca which let’s be honest, we are talking about a whole afternoon of tasting. La Vaquita Negra del Portal’s tortas menu can take a week of your life, no problem.
So, as I was on my Uber there, I spoke to Don Sergio a local who’s retired at 65 Ubers to make a living, and pay his small vehicle. He told me, “tours are too expensive” so I asked him about alternatives, this led to me asking him; what his your daily goal was, when he told me the number it became clear that I could use the tour money to have an even better experience. “I will see you tomorrow at 5:30am at the hotel lobby, we are going to El Nevado together”.
He was not there a 5:30am but he did call. “I am on my way, please don’t leave — I’ll be there shortly”. 6:50am we were on our way. A stop at the Oxxo, a serious snack, water and candy investment went down. Enough coffee to awake an army and a fruit beverage for Sergio. Once we got there it became evident this was no longer a test to his car but we were on an adventure. Around 8:40am we were up. Looking down on Mexico’s greatness. Man I love this memory! I asked Sergio to join me. He was tired, he told me he would like to stay snacking and sleeping in the car.
The next year I came back, and wanted to repeat my trip, Don Sergio wasn’t able to come with, but he referred me to a “kid” he knew from work. The “kid” — in his 40’s — was up for the task. David and I repeated the adventure, same formula. I asked him about how many times had he been to the Nevado, since he is a local. None, he replied.
Well, that was about to change.
I took him with me, we walked and chatted for almost 4 hours, I took pictures for him to share with his family and friends, we ate our snacks next to the lagoon. We had meaningful conversations, like two good friends who just happen to met earlier in the morning. We came down to the parking lot with a group of European tourists on the back of a Ford Lobo. Back in Toluca we went for tortas and then part ways to never speak again. I got back in time to share a dinner with the team, and even to go visit a local brewery that adds pine wood to one of their brews.
A good day off. One that made me feel grateful. We humans are not that different when we give it a chance.
