The author, Shinji who is originally from Osaka in Japan now dwells in the gargantuan metropolitan capital of Mexico that is Mexico City. With the age of 50 creeping menacingly around the corner, he was unsure of his next move. So he began to ponder.
Should I buy a Ferrari?
Die my hair blond and get heavily tattooed?
Invest all my life savings in JVC?
All of these options had their plus sides.
Then, one day he read about the Evergreen Ranch which is located deep in the forest of Chiapas.
It was at that very moment he decided to put the Ferrari on the back burner and get his riding boots on.
After arriving in Chiapas our intrepid adventurer struggled to reach his final destination, which was, the Evergreen Ranch. His mind began to drift. Where is the local tattoo parlor? Then by chance, he bumped into Stephanie, the co-owner of the ranch.
Over the next four days, Shinji, nature, horses, dogs, chickens, and the pursuit of outdoor calls of nature became as one.
With no radio waves at hand, he began to realize why travelers from across the globe desired to stay at the Evergreen Ranch.
Reading the worldâs first travel memoir about the Evergreen Ranch will compel you to travel to this magical place to not only be connected with nature, but also to experience the warm welcome you will receive from Stephanie and her family.
Your time here will stay with you forever.
The author, Shinji who is originally from Osaka in Japan now dwells in the gargantuan metropolitan capital of Mexico that is Mexico City. With the age of 50 creeping menacingly around the corner, he was unsure of his next move. So he began to ponder.
Should I buy a Ferrari?
Die my hair blond and get heavily tattooed?
Invest all my life savings in JVC?
All of these options had their plus sides.
Then, one day he read about the Evergreen Ranch which is located deep in the forest of Chiapas.
It was at that very moment he decided to put the Ferrari on the back burner and get his riding boots on.
After arriving in Chiapas our intrepid adventurer struggled to reach his final destination, which was, the Evergreen Ranch. His mind began to drift. Where is the local tattoo parlor? Then by chance, he bumped into Stephanie, the co-owner of the ranch.
Over the next four days, Shinji, nature, horses, dogs, chickens, and the pursuit of outdoor calls of nature became as one.
With no radio waves at hand, he began to realize why travelers from across the globe desired to stay at the Evergreen Ranch.
Reading the worldâs first travel memoir about the Evergreen Ranch will compel you to travel to this magical place to not only be connected with nature, but also to experience the warm welcome you will receive from Stephanie and her family.
Your time here will stay with you forever.
The directions I received by email from the Evergreen Ranch started like this. âIf you come directly from the nearest airport, Tuxtla Gutierrez, you can take a taxi for two hours for 1,000 pesos (about 6,000 yen). But you can also come by bus or shared taxi."
This is followed by a detailed description of how to find a cab or local bus in any village. The village of San Isidro Chichihuistan is located in the Teopisca region of Chiapas, southeast Mexico. A large ranch there is the destination of this trip. It is called "Evergreen" in English because the ranchers are an American and French couple. In Spanish it is called El Rancho Evergreen.
I live in Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, where I work for a Japanese company and live with my family, but it was during the winter of 2018 at Christmas time that I decided to make this trip. My wife and two daughters decided to go to Japan for the winter break, leaving me abandoned during the festive season. During their absence, I had four consecutive days off, which is rare in this country. That is Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the Saturday and Sunday before that. But at home in Mexico City, it is cold at this time of year. A chill fills the air, but for me, considering economics, it is not worth turning on the heater only for myself. What is more, being home alone, combined with the low temperatures, would make me feel lonely. So, I decided to travel to the trickiest and most remote place to go, where I know I'll get a kick out of the whole adventure. After contemplating where to go on this escapade, "Evergreen Ranch" came to mind.
This ranch appeared just once in the travel magazine "MĂ©xico Desconocido", which introduces hidden places to travel to in Mexico. I had purchased every issue of the magazine for over five years till then, and I noticed that most of the popular spots kept popping up every two years or so. One day they would be in the "Top 10 Beach Resorts for Couples" section, the next it's in the "Hidden Beach Spots" section with a different photo. However, this ranch was unusual and showed up only once, and the American kind of name, âEvergreenâ, stood out from the crowd of other hidden destinations. According to the article, the husband and wife co-owners of the ranch have two children, both girls. They are in their mid-teens, similar to my daughters. They grew up in Mexico, speaking French, English, and Spanish fluently. They and my two daughters have the same backbone, that is, they grew up in Mexico with foreign parents. Hopefully, I would get to know this family. I could envisage the four girls playing happily together in the future. In addition, there are many horses on the ranch and you can learn to ride them. This is one activity that I have always wanted to do.
According to the photos on the ranch's website, the cottages on view look traditional and the animals are cared for by the family. To get there, you first have to go to San Cristobal de las Casas or simply âSan Cristobalâ a village in the state of Chiapas, where you can find many indigenous people who continue to live in a traditional way, and then drive for another hour.
âIf you are going by public transport, when you arrive in the town of San Cristobal, walk to the central market. From there you can take a bus to the nearby villages, and when you get off in the village of Nazareth you can take a shared taxi.â
It was quite a hassle as well as time-consuming to have to make all these connections. But the owner of the guesthouse, who at the time didn't know what kind of person I was, a hippy, perhaps a rich guy, a poor student, young or old, emailed me with these options. If you charter a taxi from the airport and pay about 6,000 Japanese yen, it will take you to the ranch deep in the mountains. But "if you take the public bus normally used by the villagers then a shared taxi, it costs 1,800 yen," it says. In the eight years I've lived in Mexico City as an expatriate for a Japanese company, my occasional trips have been mainly to the beach, where I've always been accompanied by a transfer from the airport to my hotel. In addition to the cost of accommodation, flights, and meals, I've always opted for the all-inclusive style. As I've become more and more resort-oriented, I took it upon myself to read the directions from Evergreen Ranch as a kind of challenge. The information I received gave me food for thought.
âIt may be a little difficult for you to come for the first time, but most travelers get here by bus or shared taxi. We usually share taxis with people in our village. But if you are rich enough, you can get a taxi directly from the airport.â
It didn't say so directly like that, but this message made me think that it was impossible to take a taxi directly from the airport to the ranch from the point of view of "The Evergreen common sense". This encouragement to guests to save money is clearly reflected in the price categories of the rooms. The Barn Wood Room, where I stayed, has three beds, and the price was 250 pesos (1,500 yen) per night for a bed, 400 pesos (2,400 yen) for two beds, and 700 pesos (4,200 yen) if you rent the whole room. I took a look at the pictures on their website and it looked like an old-style crafted hut, built from wood from the village. "The Cottage", the other one was already booked up, even though it was a month and a half away before my trip.
âMany of our guests stay here for a long time, so most of them share their rooms with other travelers. If you wish to pay extra, you can rent a whole room for yourself. What would you like to do?â
So says the email from the guesthouse. Part of me wanted to stick my neck out and share a room, but ultimately I didn't want to bother any unfortunate roommate with my world-famous snoring and sleep-talking, so luckily for everyone, I decided to rent a whole room for myself. Also, it's still cheaper than any hotel I usually stay in. Arriving at a traditional cottage like this, to my mind it would definitely be more suitable to take a local bus or shared taxi than to arrive directly in a chartered private taxi as it would give me the feeling of a true adventure.
When I was a student in my early twenties, I studied in Mexico for two years. During the school summer holidays, I would take the bus to various places. At that time I never thought of the option of taking a taxi alone. In Mexico City, for example, I always took the metro, and in Oaxaca, the state next to Chiapas, I rode the local buses which was a life experience in itself. Fast approaching a rickety, green bus that belched black exhaust fumes, which would stop anywhere in the street when you raised your forefinger from your right hand. I learned this by imitating the locals. When stopping, I hurried to join the other passengers to squeeze in through the always-open door. Cheaply, I suppose, is how I've always got around.
As time went by and I was about to turn fifty, I could only take three or four days off at the most. I have learned to use this as an excuse to "buy time with money". It sounds poetic, but it's just a fixed way of thinking that makes you give up on the details and hassles which you may encounter. It stuck in my mind like a fatty piece of meat does to your belly and finally, I couldn't get rid of it. But what do I do with the time I have saved? The answer is ânothing specialâ.
In 2018, Shinji Yoshikawa, a Japanese ex-pat living in Mexico City, decided that since his family was away during Christmas, he would travel out of his comfort zone and visit a place heâd read about in a magazine. He had no idea about the adventures that awaited him.Â
El Rancho Evergreen is located in San Isidro Chichihuistan near San Cristobal, Chiapas. It is run by an American, Samuel, a French woman named Stephanie, and their two multicultural daughters, Zoe and Cheyenne. To get there, our fearless traveler took a smooth plane ride to Tuxtla Guiterrez, the nearest airport, which he slept through, then a bumpy and uncomfortable bus ride he did not sleep through. Finally, his voyage culminated in a shared taxi ride to his destination, which was neither comfortable nor uncomfortable.Â
The authorâs adventures are sprinkled with humor as he thoroughly enjoys his vacation, even when things donât go exactly as planned. For those that have not experienced ex-pat life in Mexico, he shares some tidbits about Mexican culture, such as no central heating systems, the rarity of on-time transportation schedules, and the reality that the nearest wi-fi signal is quite a hike up the hill and by the big tree which you can climb to improve your reception.Â
Iâd have to say that my favorite part was Yoshikawaâs description of Christmas Eve with his host family and other guests. Despite being shy and retiring, the author voluntarily added to the festivities by borrowing a guitar and singing in three languages. What a memorable experience for everyone!
Although Yoshikawaâs high-jinks amused me greatly, there were some writing issues that could be improved upon. As the authorâs first language was Japanese and his second Spanish, this English version had multiple vocabulary and word use errors, punctuation mistakes, and a few things that, well, just got lost in translation. Another pass-through by an editor for some additional spit polish and shine would not be amiss here.Â
Any world or armchair traveler would love this book, which amounts to a short travelogue rather than a round-the-world escapade. It isnât a long read. After all, the authorâs visit to El Rancho Evergreen lasted just four days. Nor is it a tedious read, as many travel stories can be. Yoshikawa pokes fun at his own expectations and finds that the road less traveled is delightful in its own way.Â
So if you enjoy a good travel story, Mountains, Radio Waves, and a Love Letter: Days of Adventures on the Evergreen Ranch by Shinji Yoshikawa will make your day!