San Jose del Pacifico 🍄 Magic Mushroom Capital of Mexico

Hola! Bienvenidos! Welcome to magical San Jose Del Pacifico! Buenos Dias! Good morning Country Collectors! Today we are embarking on an adventure to the magical mountain town of San Jose Del Pacifico for digital detox above the clouds. But before we get started make sure to hit that subscribe button and ring the bell 🔔 so you don't miss out on any of our future adventures! Let's go! We are just waiting for our DiDi which is like Uber here in Oaxaca. Hola! Buenos Dias! Alright...Listo! (Laughing) Alright, we have made it to Lineas Unidas. Since we don't have our own car we are going in a collectivo. These have been coined "vomit vans" and i am really nervous for this ride. It's supposed to be super windy up in the mountains. Three and a half hours of that. I don't know we got dramamine and brought some plastic bags just in case. The tickets were 140 pesos each or about 7USD. They leave every half hour. We just have about 10 minutes and then we will see you in the van. Heidi? Gracias! OK. And it's really nice because they have assigned seats and we got like the two behind the driver. So hopefully this is gonna really help with the motion sickness. I feel like when you're in the back of the van that's when you tend to feel it a lot more. We've driven about one hour. We are by Ocotlan and so far the drive has been really nice and smooth. We haven't gotten in to the mountains yet. But you can see them in the distance and they look gorgeous. When we pulled over this lady came over with some gelatin and Flan. I got some Flan. It looks FLAN 🍮 TASTIC! We're in the city called Miahuatlan. It's about two plus hours from Oaxaca City and I feel like I am on a boat. I'm just swaying back and forth. I feel like the dramamine that we took definitely made us drowsy because we have been in and out of sleep the whole time. And i feel like i could just crash right now. I am exhausted! So far it's been nice. We probably have about another hour and a half and i'm wondering if that's going to be the really tough part since it hasn't been that bad. Our five minutes is up it is time to get back on the bus. Let's get this trip done and start this fun! (Laughing) We are up here in the mountains now. The driver just opened his windows and you can smell that fresh mountain air. We're almost there! We made it! And we are so excited and honestly that ride wasn't that bad. Our driver was super cautious. So he wasn't like whipping around all of those curves. We are just now going to head down to our accommodation. So come with us. We are staying at Casa Elba, which is just about a 15 minute walk north of San Jose Del Pacifico. Luckily our driver dropped us off right here but if you do stay outside of town and you're dropped in town they do have tuk-tuks. Which is a little transportation that'll take you to your place. Alright, let's head down! I like the walkway. This looks super cool already! Check this out! This is reception right here. This is so cute! There's two pugs inside! Hi! It is definitely a pug's life! (Laughing) It is time to go to our cabana. And look who's taking us to our room! (Giggling) Here you go! He's got an itch. Yeah you gotta stop for an itch. Everybody needs to stop for a good itch once in a while. Just ask Baloo the Bear. All right you ready? Oh and look at this! They have a little bistro here. Hola! Buenas Tardes! Oh wow! This is so nice. It's a chiminea! I know! Here we go. Oh man this is beautiful. I found Heidi's bed. (Laughing) It's set up for her. Oh stop! You can sleep there! Oh and here's our little cabin...Cabin in the woods. As you see I am already grinning ear to ear. It feels so good to be back in nature like this. Definitely what Adam and I needed after being in cities for a long time, in busy areas. Let's check out the room together! Wow! Big nice bed. It gets really cold here at night like down in the 30s right now. So they'll come by tonight and make us a fire so we can stay toasty. We also bought jackets when we were in Oaxaca and some hats as well. I love that they supply coffee for you and a speaker to listen to some music. They have a fridge and check this out... It's a tree! There's a tree in our bedroom! And right here to the side, that's the shower. (Laughing) Wow! I know. It just, I love even in here you just feel like you're a part of nature and we're so glad you came along. And it looks like Adam's already settled in. That sun on your face. This is so nice. It's so peaceful and gorgeous out here. What do you say we just hang out and then head up to the bistro in a little bit? I think that that's probably the only thing that can make this any better is some comida! Yeah! We'll see you up there! Hello! We just took about a two hour nap. Adam is still in bed. He's like, "it's freezing." Its Cold! He, was not made for cold weather. Let me tell you. And i'm looking outside right now and the clouds have rolled up into the mountains and it's like a complete blanket of clouds. I can't see anything else so i'm gonna get him out of bed and we're gonna head up to the bistro for some food. Come with us! Let's go upstairs. And look how adorable this bistro is and not just because Adam's in it. Awwwww Babe! It's so sweet. This is such a comfortable couch and they have blankets in case you get cold. Heidi ordered us a little sampler of foods and some hot chocolate to warm up. Can't wait! Oooooo yea! You see that steam coming out of there. It's so nice and hot exactly what we needed. When you come to Oaxaca you have to try their hot chocolate with leche milk or with water. It's probably gonna burn my mouth but, i gotta try it for you. Ooooo, you can taste the cinnamon in it. It's fantastic! Swiss Miss you better watch out! (Giggles) They brought out a complimentary plate of chapulines which are grasshoppers. If you come to Oaxaca you have to try these. They put them in a lot of their traditional dishes such as Tlayudas. They're so delicious. Mmmmmm. They put some salt and some lime on these ones. Forget the popcorn. Pop a grasshopper! (Laughing) Check out this cute little platter we got! We have garnachas, tacos and tetelas. We are waiting on our gorditas but we can't wait to jump in. We just got back from dinner and they built us this roaring, beautiful fire. As you can see i've already taken my jacket off because it's getting so warm. I might need to take some more off, so we're going to have to sign off for the evening. We'll see you tomorrow! (Rooster Call) Good morning! Oh man. Last night Adam and I slept like a couple of babies. Right now we are gonna go up and get some breakfast that's included in our stay and then hit the town and explore what this wonderful place has to offer. We'll see up there! And look at these beautiful views as we come up out of our accommodation. We just saw like a hawk soaring there. Yes i am out of breath because it is 8,000 feet up here the elevation is it's wildly high. Luckily we were in Oaxaca before this. We were already around 5,000 ft. which has given us a little chance to acclimatize. But if you're coming here especially from sea level make sure to take it slow give yourself a day or two to really adjust to it and stay hydrated people. We care about you. Our place is about a 15-minute walk from town. So we're just gonna take a little stroll and show you what we see along the way. And you guys can't really see it but it looks like town is right there. Oh it's so cute! Uuuh I'm not sure what i'm seeing here but does this mean there are go-karts this way? That'd be cool. Let's go find out. While the road is a little bit busy they do have this small pathway that seems to run along the entire length of it. And whoo! I already have to take off layers. As you can see the sun is shining and it feels so good. It's nice and warm it's definitely such a contrast from last night where it was freezing. But yeah, bring layers be prepared but also be prepared to be warm in the daytime. Oh yeah baby take it off! It's getting mucho calor! (laughing) While you're walking make sure to keep your eyes where your feet are because there are definitely some little drop-offs that you can easily trip on. Like right here. Yes pay attention. Check out this views! Views for days! We've only been walking about 10 minutes and I can see the sign into town right here. It looks like they have hiking, biking and cool places to stay. Let's go check it out. It's so quiet I feel like i'm gonna wake up the entire village... from my vlogging and I have a quiet voice! As we've been walking around we keep spotting these super cool Jeep trucks and Wagoneers. It's definitely not something you see that much of back home. And right as you enter town the trees open up and you get this beautiful view. Spectacular! Hug Bug! Yeah!!! It looks like this very quaint town starts right at that sign we just showed you. Goes right down to the end where that bug went. Like down here and then... just sort of snakes up on the mountain right there. There's a mirador sign up here so we'll go up there and hike that later but let's keep walking down this town. Let's see what it has to offer. Yeah! And if you're looking for a souvenir or you forgot to bring warm clothes these ladies behind us are crocheting. This little hat right here it's 130 pesos so about seven dollars and look at this cute little dog. They also have some sweaters and ponchos as well. And she said i could try it on Oh man that's cute! Yeah! And it matches! It does match! I love it! There's a ton of restaurants and hostels around here. And check this out behind me this is something you don't see every day. Looks like they're drying their meat out here! Traveler tip make sure to bring enough money with you when you come to town. There are no atms. And we've heard that the closest one is about an hour away. And why did the chicken cross the road? because there was a car coming! (Laughing) I keep saying wow but it is so stunning. There's just mountains, on mountains, on mountains, on mountains. And the air is so fresh. I think it's really easy to get caught up in our everyday lives and forget our connection to nature. It's so true with all those screens and tv and digital this and that. You can just let your brain zone out but what you really need to do is unplug from that once in a while and just take in what mother nature has to offer. Yeah, disconnect to reconnect. That's a good one! We're so glad you're here with us! According to this sign right here it looks like there's a swing right over here. Let's go check it out! You know we're suckers for a good swing... but we are not swingers people! (laughing) What a magical, mystery world it is here. We just stumbled on this place called El Bosque Encantado. And here they have this suspension bridge as well as three swings. The bridge is 2.50 cents or 50 pesos and the swings are 40 pesos or two USD. Let's do this! It's swinging a little bit but it feels very safe and stable. This is definitely the most beautiful view I have seen so far. That is 50 pesos well spent. And look at this guy up here. He's got a bird on his back. Wow, it's a parrot! Oh look at that! Tu Mascota? Yeah. Frida. Frida! Oh he said I can touch no no no i'm really nice I swear. Oh wow so sweet! Gracias. All right let's go see Adam on that swing. And look at these pine cones. Doesn't this remind you of the hobbit? You better not be an orc or I will (Blowing sound repeatedly) (laughing) Wow! This looks like the swing at the end of the world. It looks so cool! My turn! All right they even have seat belts. Safety first! You know i'm a big safety fan. Whoa! Don't forget to lift your feet. I definitely recommend doing this it's a lot of fun and you're strapped in so you should feel totally safe. That was so much fun and I got free pushes the whole time. I don't even have to push back. Yeah! I was just saying, this guy, he's doing a lot of exercise. Adam's a big guy. (laughing) Hey!! Well that was exhilarating. This guy behind us just told us this was the end of town. So we're gonna hike up to that mirador and make some stops along the way. Come with us! Adam just goes look there's the mirador. It looks so far away hopefully we make it. We're really gonna try for you but if we don't I hope that these views are enough. Alright this is the second sign we've seen with a go-kart on it where are my go- fa? go farts - go farts (laughter) Where are my go-karts people? Stop teasing me! ooh what'd you get? I stopped and grabbed a quick cup of cafe de olla. It literally translates to pot coffee. They cook it in a clay pot they add some unrefined cane sugar and cinnamon. It smells muy rico! oh wow that is so good! Do not add sugar to it because it's already sweet, but in the perfect kind of way. Alright we are gonna head up the mountain here. Look at there, there's a mushroom. This is something we have not told you about yet. As you can probably hear there's a lot of construction going on. We are noticing there's a lot more accommodations being built around here and there's a lot of cafes that say wi-fi so it's not as disconnected as we thought. UP and up and up! Here we go! And make sure to get water bring water drink water all day because you will get dehydrated! Want to shoot some hoops quick? Shout out Coach Head! Dang Adam I never saw you jump so high! That's right I got ups baby! (laughter) Only in the mountains! It's cause the air is thinner! I can see the Mirador sign right up there we're getting closer! Are we? Adam's like, "are we?" (laughter) Something that we have not mentioned to you yet is that this is the magic mushroom capital of Mexico. They're not technically legal here but because of its remote location that people govern themselves and they actually allow the sale and consumption of them. Some people just come here to have fun and take them but there's actually a much deeper meaning. They've been used as part of sacred ceremonies for hundreds of years here. In western medicine recently they have also found some new evidence that shows these mushrooms and their effects can help you with your ptsd, depression, and anxiety. If you are going to come here and take mushrooms which we are not telling you to do please understand that there's a lot more to them than just recreational use they actually have a purpose and meaning to the culture of the people here. Now let's head up the mountain and check out this view! Adam is gonna get a little candy bar or something we didn't have lunch so we're feeling it. Look at this pretty dog over here oh he's only got three feet! And even up here they sell nice woven hats to keep you warm. What can I get for you? What'd you buy? We got some chocolate covered raisins and a snickers bar we just need something to get us by. Or I should say I need something to get me by until we get some food. And look at these beautiful wildflowers. There's bees over here! Woohoo and it looks like we have made it to the walk up to the mirador. It's 35 pesos to access which is a little under two dollars. Let's go! There's a bunch of signs yeah we've counted probably like 10 signs already I love it though. Eleven, Tweleve.. Yeah there we go! Es posible to carry me? No, no one's gonna carry you. Adam is not a hiker so he's doing this all for you! I'm already out of breath look at these steps here! Wow. They just go up and up and up. We can do this! muy dificil? no tanto. okay okay. diez minutos. oh okay! ooh here we go! Adam you can take as much time as you need. Thanks babe. I know some of you went ahead with Heidi but everyone that stayed back here with me I appreciate you! And check out this view already! Are you talking about me? Of course! Aww babe you're so sweet! How you doing? I'm doing okay. Yeah. Just take it slow. Exactly! See if you need to do it quicker just do it on time lapse. Woo hoo it's definitely a leg burner but I know it's gonna be worth it. And I see the mirador sign is just right ahead. Adam said, "I feel like I'm in Hollywood except there they arrest you if you're by the sign." whoo Remember it's not just the steps it's the 8,000 foot altitude that gets you. You almost made it! good job! I'm on top of the world! (laughter) Are you okay? Great! You just were like scaling the side of this mountain. That's right I'm making it authentic! Look at this view! I know it's incredible! We're right in front of the mirador sign here and there's a bench so we can chill out and relax and enjoy the fruits of our labor. I think we deserve a rest we saved you a seat right here. Yeah You look like Mr. Hollywood but Mr. Mirador! Hola mirador amigos! Oh man so stunning. And look how tiny the town is. It's like perfectly small. I'm just, yeah we're in heaven up here and we hope you are too! Recently we had a youtube comment thanking us for disproving Hollywood. A lot of the videos movie stuff that they show us it's just like dusty roads and nothingness and that couldn't be further from the truth. Mexico is so diverse and we really hope through our videos we are showing you just how lovely it is! And the best part is we've barely even scratched the surface in the last year of being here. I want to go everywhere! Is that possible? Can we go everywhere? I don't think so! There's so much to do. Would you come with us if we went everywhere? I hope you would! And we know a lot of people come here just to take magic mushrooms but there is so much more to it. There is hiking, biking, just walking in the forest. Coming up here to this mirador and temazcal ceremonies. Which are a spiritual type of cleansing that involve a sauna and a shaman that guide you and help you to release not only toxins in your body but let go of things you're holding on to in your mind. And help you reconnect to nature and your body and the earth. So yeah we're actually gonna go down and try to find one because I think we could use some spiritual cleansing. I mean I know the digital detox has been wonderful so so far So why not cleanse our spirits as well? Come with us! And as you can see the clouds are coming in like last night. They said around four o'clock they come down into the mountains and make that beautiful blanket. Goodbye beautiful view thank you so much for showing off! And it's steep going down so just be careful. Take it slow! And what kind of hiker are you? Like I prefer going up. Adam of course likes coming down. Coming down hurts my knees so yeah let us know in the comments below what do you prefer? Coming down is always so much easier than going up for me! And Alexis just told us there is a temazcal right over this way. So we are gonna go check him out to try to do a temazcal gracias! We literally just walked down here and there's the sign for the temazcal. I like easy and close especially when we just walked up this entire mountain. And look right on the side of the mountain - this looks like some sort of gourd. It actually looks like a watermelon but I don't think it is. It looks like we found it! It was really close so I'm excited -let's see if they're here! It appears that no one is here. I've called out hola a few times but no one's answering. It looks like everything is closed there's a big chain on the gate here so we might have to go look elsewhere. That'a alright. To see if we can get a temazcal. Yeah let's go back down into town. Let's go do this! We're country collectors, we don't just give up that easy! oh my gosh! As we were walking down the mountain I couldn't help but notice this beautiful outdoor workout area! There's also a basketball court, church and some bells over here that look like they have a beautiful view! Just let me finish my set I'm getting into that! Oh my god. (laughter) Don't hurt yourself! Too late! These are some interesting looking swings! Let's try them out! Adam do not do that! Oh it's a tight - oop got it! A little squeaky! Yeah second swing of the day! I'm an expert! Ut! (laughter) Ut oh! It's stuck? oh my gosh! Got it! We are really hungry so we stopped here on the side of the road we're getting some esquites you'll find this all over Mexico and in Oaxaca everywhere. It's corn shaved off the cob and then they add mayonnaise, tajin, some spices, lime! It's delicious. I'm just gonna mix this up a little bit I don't want to take a huge bite of mayo even though I love mayo. Alright let's try it out! WOAH! It's hot but it's delicious. Definitely try esquites when you come to Oaxaca! The corn was so good I'm getting a piece of cornbread to go with it. Adam loves his cornbread! I do love cornbread. Let's try this baby out! Mmm.. That is really good I might even dip it! Mmm it's corn-astic! Corn-tastic people! This lady who just did our esquites for us just said that there is a great place to do it temazcal called Casa de Paco so we're just waiting for a taxi to come along and take us over to there. Sounds good! I love this! okay this is cool! So it seems like it is where we just came from. But who knows? It could be way farther up the mountain or around a corner. Yeah. I'm excited either way! Me too. We just turned off the main road and we got on this very dirt rough road which leads me to believe this is going to be the place we want to go. It's away from everything, it's off the beaten path. I can't wait I hope you're excited too! Alright we have made it and aww look who has greeted us here! We just first want to make sure that he is here and we can do this because it was a crazy ride. A really long ride. And we don't want him to leave unless we can do it. But yeah let's head in and check it out! Aww - lead the way! Hola? wow this looks beautiful! We are just striking out today. He said if we come back on Sunday at 11 o'clock it'll be happening but there wasn't like we don't have a phone so we couldn't call anyone. And he also doesn't have a phone. Yeah so I don't know. I don't think we're going to be able to do a temazcal. But that's alright. I'm glad we had him wait. So we're gonna head back into town and just find a good spot to watch the sunset! Come along! Well we seem to have striked, stroke - how do you say it? I think we struck out! There you go! We struck out two times and because the temazcal is very spiritual we're taking this as a sign that it just it wasn't our time to do it. There are other places you can do these in mexico as well. We really wanted to try one but sometimes you don't want to push fate. We went on a journey to try and do this and we wanted a very traditional experience and it didn't work out so we didn't want to try and push it and just do something for the sake of doing it. Which is fine. We are now at la cumbre which is one of the most popular accommodations in town here. So let's go up and hopefully see a sunset! The clouds have moved in. We've loved having you along so let's go up and just enjoy ourselves! Hey! Oh yeah there's a tough guy over there! guard dog Man I'm out of breath again. Yeah this place has been breathtaking! This place looks super neat. They've got some paintings everywhere we've heard they have private rooms that are pretty affordable like eight dollars. And look at this view! Wow this place is really beautiful it's kind of like all pieced together. Check this out this is built right into the mountain you can see the mountain right there. So we're gonna head up right here to the restaurant. Watch out for the bears! Looks like a friendly bear to me. This place is really cool it honestly looks like they started with one building and then have have just built one here and there and there and there kind of like it's like tetris almost. Yeah but it's very cool they have multiple levels. Yeah it has a wonderful view. We got a couple beers! We got some victorias so we're gonna sit here and watch as the clouds move in. I'm not sure there's gonna be much of a sunset because of all of the clouds. It's completely covered. Yeah. So we are actually gonna end this here. Thank you so much for coming along with us today and if you take anything from this video it's you know to take care of yourself. To disconnect to reconnect. To really know your limits. I think it's just so easy to pick up your phone and stare at that screen for hours. There are literally scientists and teams of people that find ways to addict you to that stuff. So you have to make the choice to put it down. Even if it's just for a day or an afternoon. It's going to help you right up here and you're gonna feel much better. Absolutely! So if you enjoyed this video give us a big thumbs up, comment, subscribe and don't forget to... Ring, ring, ring, ring the bell! And we are heading to the Pacific coast after this so we are going to Mazunte and Zipolite. So if you want to see some of that stay tuned! We'll see you. Next time. Adios!