Traveling with a bunch of guys through the Baja peninsula on motorbikes involved plenty of preparation for our first foray into off-road adventure touring. We had a checklist of bare essentials to pack for the adventure, including first-aid kit, cooking gear, tools, spare tubes, oil filters, tents, surfboards, camera gear, etc. And while these items were at the forefront of my mind, as a female, naturally I had to consider menstrual care products for the duration of our trip, which was going to be at least three months, of which most time would be spent in remote locations among desert landscapes and stretches of rugged coastline.
I’ve always been very selective when it comes to my preferred choice of tampons and having traveled in Mexico before, I knew the selection was limited at best and I’d be forced to take enough to see me through the trip. Maximizing what limited space a motorbike affords meant that carrying enough tampons for each period and having them take up precious space just for that “time of the month” did not appeal to my sense of efficiency. Given that we would be traveling to remote areas where we would have to take all rubbish with us, or burn what we could, the idea of carrying used tampons until we found the next rubbish bin or killing the ambiance by throwing them onto the campfire were equally unappealing to me.
Faced with this dilemma that the boys didn’t have to consider on their list of things to pack, I mentioned it to my very resourceful, environmentally conscious friend who simply asked, “Why don’t you just use the DivaCup?” Her casual tone gave me the impression that to her, it was such an obvious choice, that I hadn’t even considered.
I think I surprised her more when I responded by asking, “What’s the DivaCup?”
Like most devotees, my friend quickly shed some light on the subject for me, praising it for the ease of use, practicality and the obvious benefits regarding its environmental impact. I don’t consider myself to be an ignorant person and yet my oblivion to the existence of menstrual cups demonstrated that I’d been living under a proverbial rock all these years! I didn’t need any more convincing, I was sold on this revolutionary product and thought it was the perfect opportunity to make the switch from tampons to the DivaCup.
As strange as it may sound, I was looking forward to my next period and getting to try out the DivaCup for the first time. When the time came, we were camping in Northern Baja amidst a cacti forest as far as the eye could see and although there was no power or internet, the echoes of all the DivaCup blog posts I’d read online came flooding back to me and I couldn’t agree more with all the women who’d attested to its ease of use and comfort. I’ve always been fortunate that my period is quite light and relatively brief in duration, (which can be uncomfortable with tampons at times) and I was so happy to learn that the DivaCup perfectly accommodates my flow. I was also stoked that desert disposal simply involved digging a hole to pour into before burying it back up—quick and easy, while also making me feel good about minimizing my carbon footprint.
Suffice to say that I am well and truly converted to the way of the DivaCup! It’s crazy to think it’s been around for so many years, and yet it was only at age 31 that I came to know of it, but as they say, better late than never.
I’m still traveling through Mexico and the DivaCup continues to be an integral part of my journey. I look forward to being an unofficial advocate for this amazing little product and encouraging other women to get on the Diva bandwagon!
Leticia N.
Leticia is a free-spirited outdoor enthusiast who loves nothing better than living a simple life where the natural world lies at the core of all the things that make her truly happy. She is happiest when her time is spent surfing, traveling the world, laughing, snowboarding, making music, creating, cooking, getting into discussions about amazing food, spending quality time with family and friends and her beautiful and inspiring partner, Gary. Although Leticia works as a freelance writer and has dabbled in secondary teaching in the past, her goal is to create a utopian creative space where she can combine all of her passions and surround herself with other people who also aspire to living a creative and fulfilling life. You can follow her journey on her shared blog, The Howling Sea.
