Greetings from rural Mexico! I’m writing from Cuetzalan, a former coffee-growing town nestled in the gorgeous Sierra Madre Oriental.
For the last week, I’ve been on a solo road trip through some of the lesser-known Mexican towns to the south east of Mexico City, from rural Oaxaca to Puebla and Veracruz.
These places have been on my radar for a long time, and I used my recent storytelling show in Oaxaca as an excuse to take a week-long road trip through a series of “Pueblos Mágicos” I’ve been wanting to visit for a while.
This has been a truly incredible trip through parts of Mexico that feel forgotten by time. I’m shooting a lot of film and will share the pics and my itinerary soon. But in the meantime, I wanted to share a brief check-in from an abandoned hacienda in the foothills of Orizaba.
This trip was partially inspired by this month’s book club pick, On the Plain of Snakes, a travelogue documenting travel writer Paul Theroux’s two-year solo road trip through Mexico.
The book help me discover places I’d driven by countless times, such as the village of Santo Domingo Yanhuitlán, Oaxaca, where I snapped the following pic with a local villager.
We’ll hold the book club discussion for On the Plain of Snakes on Thursday June 8th at our usual time: 4PM LAX // 5PM CDMX // 7PM NYC. Zoom details below for paid subscribers. Upgrade to a paid subscription for full access to The Missive, including our monthly live book club discussions.
Lastly, I’m offering an $300 early bird discount for my debut storytelling tour of Mexico City. It’s going to be an amazing week-long immersive experience that will show you the best parts of Mexico City while honing your storytelling craft - culminating with the chance to share a story live at Cuéntame!
“On the Plain of Snakes” Live Book Club Details:
Date: Thursday June 8th,
Time: 4PM LAX // 5PM CDMX // 7PM NYC
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