Mexico

1/4 – 2/1/2024

OK -it has taken us a lil bit of time to get a rhythm on our travels, including finding some time to update this website, Instagram, family texts, etc.  We’ll continue to get better but travel updates on the website will be about every 2-3 weeks-SH 🙂  !!

Tracy and I left on 1/3/23 to head to Phoenix and meet up the rest of the crew.  For us, every road trip has to begin with some specific treats.  We were also treated to some cool views on our way down to Phoenix.

           

1/5/24:  So our journey began back on 1/5/24 when we crossed the border at Mexicali East.  Tracy and I in our Sequoia, Edels and Roz in his Defender and Kelly and Grace in their Land Rover LR3.  Kelly and Grace are a mother/daughter group Edel’s knows from his Arizona Land Rover Club.  Seasoned overlanders and really cool folks.

This is the morning we are leaving from Phx to go meet Kelly and Grace.  Can’t believe we are actually ready to go.

We didn’t get a group pic before crossing the border so we’ll show the group a little bit later.

Our border crossing went smoothly for all but Edels. Edels not only connected with a green agent to secure his TIP, a teen with little experience but he had to walk out to the parking lot to show the matching VIN number with his title. This added about an hour to the border crossing time. This is the start of a theme that we will be experiencing throughout Latin America – that everything is a little slower and takes a little longer than expected (except the drivers).

1/5-7/24:  Ok – so crossed the border on the 5th and headed to Pete’s Camp in San Felipe.  This is our go to 1st day stop after about 8 hours of driving – restaurant and bar, restrooms and safe camp spot.  The whole restaurant staff loved the green PanAm 2024 bracelets  – they are a hit for whomever gets them.

          

 

 

      

Just so we are clear – that is one, and only one, burrito on Grace’s plate – could be world’s largest and it matches the size of her smile.  Unfortunately, Kelly’s smile wasn’t as big as she came down with stomach distress that kept both Kelly and Grace up all night. Kelly claims it was food poisoning but in any event, we gave Kelly a C-Pack and she gutted it out for another day/evening in San Felipe before feeling better. Thankfully, Kelly and Grace opted to stick it for another several days rather than heading North immediately. We are glad they joined us for the remaining part of their trip.

1/7/24:  We left Pete’s Camp and headed to what is one of our favorite beaches – Punta Final which is near Gonzaga Bay.  The unfortunate part of the 1st month of our trip is we were chased by wind and chillier-than-normal temps which is a bit of a bummer when camping.  So instead of 2-3 days at Punta Final, we weathered the night of threatening storms and high winds and decided to head further south.

       

 

   

1/8/24:  To try to avoid the winds, we headed to see our friend Tony on the Pacific side of Baja.  We aren’t really sure what Tony does for a living, but he hangs out in a tiny fishing village with the lobster fisherman and so he always hooks us up with fresh lobster caught off the coast.  On the way to Tony’s, we pass Coco’s Corner.  For those familiar with the Baja 1000 race, there is a small store/rest stop that has become pretty famous over the years.  It is called Coco’s Corner after the owner named Coco.  His previous location was on the race route and folks would stop by, say hi, have a beer and the ladies would nail their underwear to the ceiling.  Classic…am I right?

Coco had to relocate his place off the race route closer to Highway 5 a few years Back and, sadly, recently passed away.   Nachito now runs the place.  While not possessing the bigger personality of Coco, Nachito is welcoming and happy to spend time with us.  We signed the guest book bought him a beer, posted a PanAm sticker and, in return, he added his own handy artwork of our rigs.

         

So the night of 1/8 we slept at Tony’s beach near the town of Villa Jesus Maria.  Tony was happy to see us once again and made sure we had 5 pounds of lobster tails for the journey south.  As you can see from the video of Tracy at the beach – the wind and cold is still with us.

We didn’t get many camp photos here, but Tony’s dogs became family and we managed to get stuck trying to climb out from Seal Arch Beach near where we camped.

     

 

Here is Grace and I going from stuck on a sandy hill to unstuck using traction boards.  The hill is steep, sand was deep and trail rutted so some speed was needed.

1/9/24: So, with lobster tails in the cooler, we headed south and back across to the Sea of Cortez to the town of Mulege.  We got a late start trying to get Grace and Matt unstuck so stopped for a night in the town of San Ignacio.  An oasis in the middle of a desert fed by natural springs and covered in palm trees.  Super small, but beautiful with a solid restaurant, hotel and coffee shop

                    

 

I love the outlet panel on the street – early Tesla charging model?

1/10-12/24 – Mulege:  For those who haven’t been there, it is a super chill little town right on the water.  There are several cool beaches south of town to camp.  Based on a recommendation, we received from Kayla (thx Kayla!) at a brewery, we chose Playa Coco’s.  We spent 2 nights at Playa Coco’s, kayaked, found some petroglyphs, met some great folks and had a super time.  Our neighbor Sal (been coming to Coco’s for 28 years in the winter), was loaded with helpful info.

            

 

      

The “permit” above shows Matt’s rig and a Kia?  John still hurting as how can anyone confuse a 1984 classic Defender Dormie with a Kia!!  While at Coco’s Playa, Roz made homemade pasta and grilled up a portion of our lobster tails – what a meal.

          

 

Here is pasta making in action

Kelly has a friend in Mulege named Sarah who we met for lunch and did a little town tour with her and her hounds.  She does a podcast, is writing a few books, does lots of overlanding and camp hosting and is quite the character.  Her lunch recommendation provided Roz with her best meal of the trip (blackened fish tacos) and the rest of us with yet another wonderful meal experience.  Have we mentioned that we eat REALLY WELL?

                     

 

 

 

 

1/13/24: After Mulege and Coco’s Playa we headed to Loreto on 1/13 to spend the night and visit with Tracy’s mom (Betty) and her sister Steph.  We stayed in the Oasis Hotel, walked the male on and had a great dinner.

     

At dinner, a lady named Patricia was celebrating her 90th birthday with her daughters.  We couldn’t help but buy them all a Tequila shot.  Patricia showed her daughters how to properly celebrate.

1/14-15/24:  we left Loreto and moved on to Puerto San Carlos for 2 nights so we could get in some whale watching.  No camping, but we stayed at a small, nice beachfront hotel in the midst of opening.  Their service was extraordinary but the water pressure was not. The entire port is supported by one large water tower and it only has a gravity-fed water system so, literally, the water was dripping out of the shower faucet.  Edels discovered the issue after soaping up but fortunately, he doesn’t have much hair, so it only took a few minutes for his to de-soap and shampoo.

Otherwise, the town visit was special as the Humpback whales were jumping and dolphins were there in groups of over 100 and of course the food was excellent.

           

Here is our boat and captain Elio.  Good dude, didn’t speak much English and had to do some fast electric repairs as his console caught fire and was smoking while we were out at sea.

             

               

   

   

But Elio delivered the goods on a superb whale watching day.  Our little boat went out of the bay into the Pacific and the swells were a little bigger than we wanted in our 20’ panga, but it was worth it.

 

1/16/24:  We left Puerto San Carlos and the next leg of the journey took us down the Pacific coast from Puerto San Carlos to Cabo San Lucas.  We were hopeful that the dirt trail on the map for 100+ miles would be epic as it was part of the Baja 1000 race trail and it was.  Cut through a thick cactus forest about a mile inland from the coast.  However, the trail was constant “whoop-do-do’s”.  That is a technical off road term for undulating dips.  This trail had them every 10’ instead of every 20-50 yards and it made for a very slow ride.

 

The landscape was awesome and we camped right in the middle of the cactus forest.  It was crazy, thick cactus with moss all over it from the ocean mist that came in every day.  The Baja 1000 is marked with very simple paper signs telling drivers which way to go.

                                

1/17/24: We continued down the road in the cactus forest amazed at how thick the cactus is.

Landscape was great to explore and found these ground cactus – didn’t know if they grew this way or were just tired 🙂

   

So after a day and a half of grinding on the trail, we were low on gas so we headed to the nearest town for gas and then had to find a campsite as Todos Santos was too far away to reach before sundown.  We found this great camp spot called Cactus Overlook.  We set up camp and decided it was time for another epic homemade pasta meal. Roz made the dough and cranked out pasta with her hand held pasta maker, but the pasta maker didn’t do well on the trail and broke – so Edels and Matt hand cut pasta for 2 hours.  Soooo worth it!

 

1/18/24:  On to Todos Santos!  Super cute town that has been discovered.  Too touristy for us, but we had to stop at the Mexican restaurant across the street from the original Hotel California made famous in the Eagles song.

   

   

The margaritas were so strong the bartender came and gave drinking directions to Roz and Tracy – to stir before drinking.  Well, they each put back 2 and we can’t show any video or pics of the remainder of the day.  Suffice it to say there is a reason they come with directions!

So on to Los Cerritos beach.  Another great beach area that unfortunately has been discovered.  We needed a campsite and so we overnighted in a campground at the beach – kinda loud, but close to the beach so we could enjoy the beach bars and Tracy and Roz could tackle the boogie boarding.

   

1/19-20/24:  We moved on to a camp beach spot about a mile away for a few days.  Weather got better, water still chilly but lots of whales that we were able to watch from the shore. We met some other van lifers here. Andy, LandyAndy 4×4, Paul the surfing fireman and Gergritt, the German Canadian– all who had the gift of gab.

  

1/21/24:  We wanted to make one more stop on our way to Cabo San Lucas, so we headed down the road south to Playa Jimi – a sweet secluded beach — unless it is Saturday night and then the local folks come out and fiesta with music and beach fires.  We stayed there Saturday night lol. We found that the locals play music louder than Americans.

A young couple in a Jeep were trying to drive on the deep sand on the branch and the driver couldn’t engage the 4WD. He tried and tried but kept digging himself deeper into the sand. After refusing help from us once, he gladly accepted and we quickly scrambled to deploy our MAXTRAX to recover his vehicle. Success! His name was Emilio and, ironically, he works at his father’s 4×4 shop in Cabo and sells MAXTRAX. We think he’ll never forget MAXRTRAX again.

Cabo San Lucas

Jan 21-23

After leaving Beach Jimi, we were in need of some real R&R, showers and some work on the trailer that we were pulling. The weight in the trailer and rough terrain started to take its toll on the trailer (affectionately called COCO). We found a decent AirBnB for a couple of days and enjoyed a great taco lunch across the street after which we caught up on business, sleep, laundry and searching for a welder to work on the trailer.  While driving in downtown Cabo, we coincidentally drove by the 4×4 shop of Emilio, Puro 4×4!  We stopped in to say hi and asked if his father might be able to help us. In fact, he could. After 2 days and $500, the trailer was re-built. It had been held together by 2 bolts so now it’s fortified (and heavier…much heavier), painted and undercoated.

1/24-26/24:  We tracked North out of Cabo along the east coast of Baja on dirt roads to Playa Pulmo. Among other things, it’s a National Reserve and has remarkable surfing and snorkeling. Unfortunately, when we arrived, the wind was at hurricane speed so all bets were off for snorkeling and swimming. We met some other vanlifers and enjoyed the full moon and great vistas…despite the brutality of the wind.

We picked a camp spot out on a point in the park.  As always the food and sights made dealing with the wind a little more bearable.  We walked the very small town supporting whale watching and snorkeling and readied for our trip to new beaches to the north and met a young couple who were truly car camping.

             

We also met a guy as we were leaving who needed a ride to pick up his car (in the middle of nowhere) and we all worked on a conversation where no one knew much of the language -those are always tons of fun.

1/26-27/24: Los Barilles

We transitioned to the next beach, Los Barilles. It’s known for its kite surfing, wind boards, big waves and guess what? unending winds. We stayed at a recommended campsite near the beach and it was filled with folks who travel from all over each year to stay there all season. We couldn’t figure out the attraction. While the showers and toilets were wonderful, there was nothing else going on…in town…or around town.  We couldn’t wait to move on. With that said, we did meet a couple of other van lifers who recommended a local food truck (Mango Bakery!!) that served homemade baked goods. They were the best!

The kite surfing was captivating to watch – these folks were amazing and it was chaos on the water there were so many.

1/28/24:  LaPaz

It was time to say goodbye to Roz. Bye Roz! We loved her company and look forward to having her re-join the group later in our journey. So John buzzed Roz back to the Cabo Airport and met Tony, Todd and Camille a few hours later and escorted them back to La Paz to met up with everyone. Tony is a Defender fanatic who drive his Defender and a Chevy Colorado pickup to Baja and intended to complete the Pan American Highway. Unfortunately, he only arranged for 1 TIP so he cannot continue without returning to U.S. Despite this unfortunate news, we got to enjoy a week of Todd and Camille using Tony’s Colorado in addition to handling with Tony for a few days.

We connected late in the evening at Peace Camp in La Paz.  It was part hostel/part overland camp spot/part airBnB…we think? lol.  Anyway – very cozy to stay there but the hosts were amazing and we were able to grab a shower, walk the malecon, fuel up with some good food and then head out to some amazing beaches.

1/29-31/24:  Muertocitos and Saltito Playas

We stayed a few nights on these neighboring beaches. We had to share with a few locals in the day but basically had these to ourselves after that.  We have had these beaches on our radar to visit the last 4-5 years and were never able to make it work.  They did not disappoint!  We also made a friend with a local dog, caught needle fish, found some creepy gel-like critters in the water and had a visit from a cute little tarantula.

       

1/31-2/1/24:  Van Life Party – We planned on checking out a “Van-Life” party on Tecolote Playa outside La Paz on 2/1/24.  The fiesta ran for a week and had folks with all types of rigs show up.  We hoped to meet some folks who could hare some cool travel tips with us – but we all had in the back of our minds it was going to be a bit disappointing…and LOL – the participants delivered.  Just not a vibe that worked for us.  So we headed out to a beach north a mile or two and enjoyed a few nights.  The visit from the paragliders was pretty cool.  However, the guacamole was seriously some of the best we had and that is always a good thing.  And yes – Matt got stuck in the deep sand once again – but the miracle traction boards make extraction simple!

2/1/24:  We ended our stay on Baja by taking a ferry over to Mazatlan.  There are 2 ferry companies – Baja Ferries and TMC.  Baja Ferries is more traveler friendly and also takes commercial trucks, while TMC is more commercially oriented and will fit on travelers and their rigs if room is available.  We picked TMC as they traveled on 2/1 and wholly cow it was wild.  Massive ferry jammed with truckers, travelers stuck on last on a ramp inside the ferry and amenities were bathrooms (few) and a small mess hall.  We had a fish truck leaking fish water in front of us and some other kind of odor wafted about – but we met new folks and as always turned it into an experience.

2/3/24:  Mazatlan!  Free at last!

 

2/3/24:  We arrived on Mexico’s mainland after a long night on the ferry and book an AirBnb so we could catch up on sleep/laundry/showers and check out Mazatlan.  we were there on a Saturday night and man was the malecon hopping.  We found this street hot dog stand with crazy long lines and had to check it out.  Man – el Charly Hot Dogs were incredible.

 

       

Edel’s is a true professional!

UPDATE #2

You’ll notice in this update some incredible photos  – while we all think we are as good with an iPhone as the kids in the commercials – Todd really elevated the photo game with his phone and camera.  You’ll know Todd’s work when you see it…Well done Todd

2/4/24:  Copa Del Sol

We left Mazatlan, headed south and arrived at a turtle sanctuary/camping area with the hope of staying overnight only to find that the sanctuary was closed to a private party. We pivoted rather quickly and found a beautiful spot a stones throw away from the sanctuary. Curiously, there were thousands of broken turtle shells scattered in the area and we were unsure as to why. After making a lovely dinner on the beach we settled in for the night. In the morning, members of the turtle rescue team showed up in a pickup and we helped them collect sand and sea water to create a nest for a crocodile that was expecting to deliver. River crocodiles are prevalent in these parts and we heard stories about both man and pets getting devoured by these beasts while walking near the river banks. After getting the materials they needed, Team Pan American went on a long beach walk before hopping in our vehicles and heading south for more adventures.

                        

2/5/24:  After stopping in the surfing town of Lo de Marcos and discovering it’s really not a Mexican village but rather an American and Canadian town of octogenarians, we decided to move along and drive onward.  It is just amazing how folks even find these small towns and even sadder – how they transform them into a US-Canadien suburb south of the border.  But I will say the town was colorful.

               

We explored several beachside communities and settled in Litibu. We liked the area very much and cruised the beach campsites but they were too small and crowded for what we needed. Other camping options were at a minimum and it was getting late and we were all hungry. Guacamole time!  We had great experiences in the past where we befriended a waiter or bartender and they in turn invited us to their home to camp…since it was late and we had no options, we employed this strategy at a restaurant called Litibu Sunsets. We approached the waiter asking if we could camp in the lot and Todd even volunteered to shoot photography for the restaurant to use in its own promotional activities. How could they say no? The owner of the restaurant enthusiastically agreed so the photoshoot commenced, we ordered wine and dinner and after closing, we were allowed to camp in their lot. Everyone was happy….even Esteban the night watchman who was rewarded with a PA2024 hat.

                           

                              

2/6/24 – We bolted out of Litibu and headed down the pacific coast – through the mess they call Puerto Vallarta (although the old town is still pretty cool)  and enjoyed a gorgeous drive through the jungle and out onto the coast.  We had a fee ideas of possible camp spots off iOverlander app, but they didn’t really pan out.  There was a lighthouse mentioned on a beach and we started searching.  The road lead us into a massive beach development under  construction call Xala.  A super cool stretch of beach near a turtle sanctuary being transformed.  We found our lighthouse and were allowed to stay on the beach where we found all kinds of crazy foot prints.

                                                       Large cat??               

2/7-8/24:   Perula

The following day we drove through the seaside town of Perula. It’s a very small, one street village, that has a white sandy beach that runs for miles in addition to several small islands within the bay.  We ate one of the most memorable lunches at the Pirate restaurant which included guac, a redfish relleno and ceviche that was out of this world. After deliberating for hours, we found the perfect beach where we stayed for three days. Some of the crew, chartered a chalupa to take them across the bay to one of the remote island beaches. There, they explored, chased hermit crabs, and enjoyed meeting other van lifers who had made the same journey.  We soaked up the sun and enjoyed every last moment as we were on our last few days before heading in-land.  The waves in front of our beach camp would occasional make the sound of a bomb going off and explode into the air.  It was a cool place to relax for a few days.  Todd showed a few tricks in night photography which was fun.

                                

There was one more stop before we started towards Tequila…and beyond. It was a beachy area known as Manzanilla. As we drove past the dozens of beaches and camping spots, we first came across one that was recommended in iOverlander. It actually turned out to be an abandoned hotel but the beachfront was still intact. We spoke to the locals and they said we could stay on it for free but it just didn’t feel right. John and Todd explored the abandoned hotel with a drone but unfortunately the drone lost signal and crashed. The drone was recovered but needs some repair work before its next flight. Meanwhile, Tracy and Matt found another camping area that we had virtually to ourselves. We camped that night on the beach, cooking up an extraordinary meal and listened to the waves crash all night long.

Before we officially pushed off, we stopped at a local car wash to get our vehicles de-sanded and de-dusted. It was a long wait so we made breakfast for everyone at the carwash. Chorizo hotdog/egg/tortillas were on the menu and they couldn’t have been tastier. Everyone at the carwash was amused by our pop-up dining experience.

                

2/10/24 Pochote lake

We put some long hours on the road to get to where we needed to go. We had hoped to see the Super Bowl in Tequila so the timing couldn’t have been better. Tracy received some intel from other vanlifers (White Westfalia) that there was a small agave farm who hosted vanlifers and also gave tours of their distillery. We were in! We drive and drive and drive and had to pause at a lake as the drive and through hills was too much for one day.  The lake was oddly scenic with lots of dead trees sticking out of the water.  Once again on the way Edel’s gets pulled over – so cute how the local police want an up close look at his rig.  Tracy caught a case of the giggles at happy hour and we all caught it.

                             

2/11/24:  Tequila!!   Super Bowl

We got a good jump on the day to be sure we made it to the birthplace of tequila….you guessed it – the town of Tequila.  Super Bowl in Tequila – yeah – this was going to be good.   We set up camp at Jose’s Tequila Puntual. His family has owned the property for 120 years and has 600 acres of blue agave. We headed into town and it was bustling with locals and families from all over Mexico. There was so much excitement and energy as a bullfight was scheduled and some celebrity bullfighters were in town. We enjoyed the Super Bowl at a restaurant which, for the most part, we got to enjoy to ourselves and had a team of teens catering to our every need.  The amount of photos is a good sign we loved this place.

                                                                                                           

                                                                                     

On Monday, we woke up early and got to meet some of the other vanlifers which arrived late on Sunday. Several of us got an intimate tour of the farm, agave growing techniques and insights and eventually, we made our way back to the distillery.  We learned about all aspects of growing agave – how Jose employs his farm animals to eat the weeds in between the agave rows through how to harvest baby agave to plant elsewhere. Tracy demonstrates and shows some serious skills after some instruction from Jose.

                       

Jose then gave us the full production tour…Edel’s new best friend

         

And after learning first hand how tequila is made, we got to sample the goods. !Muy Bien!  We indulged and purchased two bottle of Tequila Puntual: Anejo and Extra Anejo. We will be inducing for weeks to come.  (And by “we”I think we all know that means Matt and “weeks” is code for “days”)

 

Alas, our trip to Tequila came to an end. We were ready to roll once again.  After the tequila tour and tasting we had about 3-4 hours to make our way in the direction of Guadalajara.  After a long day of driving on Mexican tollroads, most of which are two lanes, but are still far superior than taking the local streets which are riddled with topes of every size, shape. In fact some villages have more topes than residents. It makes traveling on the local roads very tedious and challenges our suspension and patience. In any event, we arrived at public park that features a thermal river.

2/12/24:  Rio Caliente

Everyone was excited to hop into warm water to relax and as an easy alternative to a shower before making dinner. John and Todd were first to jump in and while the water wasn’t exactly thermal it was slightly warmer than body temperature. While soaking Todd noticed something biting him and sure enough there were hoards of fish that were nibbling the dead skin off his feet legs and lower back. John experienced some fish nibbling as well but Todd had the full attention of the majority of fish. Tracy and Matt joined the rest of the team and settled in for a soak.  That night included a quick dinner and then to bed…to rest up for more driving the next day to Guadalajara.

3/13/24 Guadalajara

We headed out early to check out old town Guadalajara – goal was to see it for a few hours and then head south.  We tend to stay out of big cities as there is no parking, we are pulling a trailer (complicated in these cities – trust us), locals drive with reckless abandon and did we mention topes?  Yes the notorious bumps are littered on every street it seems.  But what the hell, we did it anyway and fell victim to all of the above.  But, there is was the oldest bar in Guadalajara Bicicleta (The Bicycle) that needed visiting and we had to try a famous sandwich called the torta ahogada.  Basically it is bread, pork, salsa, cheese and a side of soup to pour over it.  The torta was good or interesting…not sure which.  But we hammered it checked out some of the old town and headed south.

                                                          

2/13/24 Charly’s Restaurant

While in Tequila, Heidi, a fellow van lifer mentioned that they were stopping at a Swiss Restaurant and Camping park. As we were heading south from Guadalajara, we needed a place to stop as it was getting late in the day – so we aimed the team towards Charly’s.  Unfortunately, when we arrived we discovered that the restaurant was closed on Monday and Tuesdays but lucky for us, camping was available. We cruised in and set up camp….only to find Heidi and her husband had arrived as well.  Interestingly, this was a gathering place of Swiss and German Expats and their thunderous vehicles. Heidi’s unimog was dwarfed in comparison to some of monster overland rigs that were camping at Charly’s. In the words of Carlston, a German tourist and Mann truck owner,  Edel’s Dormobile was a “very quaint” vehicle in comparison. Some of the group stayed up late and was regaled with personal stories from an elderly German tourist and former ski bum about the world, politics, travel but mostly about himself.  Denice, one of the owners of the camp gave us great insight into places to see and do as we headed south toward Guadalajara, With knowledge in hand, we packed up early the next morning and took off still disappointed that we did not get to enjoy the Swiss cuisine offered by Charly.

         

2/14/24 Happy Valentines Day at The El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary

The team has been most excited about visiting one of the four sanctuaries in this area of Mexico which is home to the Mariposas Monarch butterfly migration from Canada to the Mexican forests around Michoacan and the Estado de Mexico. The butterflies travel for two months following the winds toward their winter home in Mexico where they arrive around December and stay until mid March. About 44% of all monarch butterflies winter in and around this sanctuary area.  Here they find a warm place where to mate. In December, they tend to stay on the upper part of the sanctuary (at the entrance) where they stay on trees one close to the other to find a shelter from the cold. Once the temperatures get warmer they come down to the river eating from the resin of the Oyamel tree and drinking in the stream of waters.   We arrived on a very cold rainy day so we didn’t see much butterfly activity but it was an adventure getting there – to say the least. The drive up to the 11,000 ft altitude was extraordinary. The road was a twisting, turning, tight ascent of over 5,000 feet through a tiny village which took about 2 hours.

                         

Once we arrived at the sanctuary the trail only continued. We opted to ride horseback up to see the monarchs based on a last second recommendation from a fellow tourist. Great advice! The horseback ride took us up a separate trail and lasted about 25 minutes….straight up  – except for Tracy’s horse which arrived in 23 minutes because it thought it was in a competition and galloped her into the dismounting area at lightning speed.

     

We aren’t sure who worked harder…the horses or the guides who kept the horses in check. In any event, the horses effort saved us about a 2 hour steep ascent. Once we dismounted, we still had about a 30 minute hike uphill. Once we arrived, we only saw “pods” off monarchs huddled together. Evidently, there are tens of thousands of butterflies in each pod and there were pods as far as the eye could see. Remember, this is one of four sanctuaries in the area so the sheer number of butterflies is staggering.

              

In any event, once we captured our photos and videos we turned and headed down the montain. It was about a 2-hour decent. We worked up an appetite and grabbed a quick bite to eat at a vendor in the parking lot. Blue tortilla quesadillas. They were warm and filling and definitely hit the spot. Since it was late in the day, we transitioned to one of the power parking spots to set up camp. A lot of locals came out to see our camp set up.   Several local dogs also joined us for dinner (a very common occurrence). The temperature dropped into the 40s but we managed to get a good night’s sleep and were fortunate to have access to the local bano and coffee in the morning which was negotiated the night before.

2/15/24:  Green Grass Camping- Eco Albert Park

On the way to Grutus Tolontongo we got stuck na highway roadblock put on by the  truckers.  Turns out truckers are getting their rigs stolen along highways at night and some are ending up murdered (we did see a body along side of road – but no clue as to what had happened).  So they do these roadblocks to get the government’s attention to improve highway security.  Seems very reasonable – although sitting for 3-4 hours in a standstill of 100+ cars and trucks is interesting.  We were lucky as we got stuck right after we gassed up and were right outside a gas station and convenience store.  So we waited…love the condition of this truck’s spare and is this hound not the best!

                          

After another day of driving, it was getting late and we needed to find a camping sport for the evening. Lo and behold, IOverlander came through and we stopped at a public camping area that looked more like a golf course than a camp ground.  It was rainy evening and this spot was spectacular. It was carved out of a mountain and had a babbling brook adjacent to the camping area. The entire campground was established on a blanket of perfectly manicured grass. We situated the rigs just so and prepared a wonderful dinner before retiring for the night.

                     

2/16/24. Gruta Tolantongo, Cardonal, Hidalgo

The soaking pools venue was recommended to us by Denice at Charly’s restaurant but it was so much more than what she described or what we were expecting. We drove for about 2 hours to get to the pools as early as possible. We found parking and changed into our swim suits. What we saw was stunning. Dozens of thermal pools were built into the mountainside….We enjoyed the soaking pools that had beautiful vistas of the deep mountain canyons and vines of the other thermal pools and thermal river.

                                            

But it was so much more than just thermal pools. While it’s a waterpark, the name does not do it justice It’s a cave, It’s a series of waterfalls (La Gloria) it’s flowing thermal river, it’s a series of caves and tunnels. It’s a resort that also has camping and zippiness and other activities. It was mind blowing. We loved seeing families from Mexico enjoying this natural wonder. We really enjoyed the morning there and it was definitely worth the extra couple of days of driving.

This waterfall is so cool…here is another short view

Once dried off, we headed south, but stopped at a side road restaurant for lunch and some awesome Barbacoa.  After lunch we started the trek down to Oaxaca.  What we didn’t know was that we were headed into a monster storm.

2/16/24 Evening: Emilio Zapata

We stopped about 3-4 hours before Oaxaca in a weird little town called Emilio Zapata where a couple was not really open for campers in their land – yet – in their future plans.  They allowed us to stay and it was only a little weird as there were nicely carved holes in the ground about the size of graves…hmmm.  Edel’s went top chef for a yummy dinner and yes, the rain came hard that night and didn’t let up till we got to Oaxaca.

2/17-21/24: OAXACA!!!

We had heard nothing but awesome feedback on Oaxaca and it did not disappoint.  We came in dripping wet from the road and the only place we could find to sleep was a hotel in old town who could securely handle our rigs at night.  Again – big cities, camping and finding a secure spot is an art form.  The cool part of where this hotel was located is that was 4 blocks from the old town square and had secure parking in their courtyard for the rigs.

      (Add Edels fix pics)

Each vehicle needed some TLC and so we knew we were going to be in town for at least 3-4 days.  So we dropped vehicles off to be serviced and fixed and settled in to see what Oaxaca had to offer.

1st up was Monte Alban which is a Mayan/Aztec ruin at the top of a hill outside the city.  We had a guide (Fabritzio) who gave us the low down on Monte Alban’s history and the stories and views were awesome.  Oh and our taxi driver (Gabriel) was a baller in gettting us safely through the crazy traffic we Matt as a distraction trying to speak Spanish to him.

     

The old town of Oaxaca really has a solid vibe to it.  Lots markets, food and restaurant options and churches-museums which did a nice job of telling the story of the town.  Let’s do the town and food separately because each deserves its own section.  Let’s start with the food and Mezcal as Oaxaca is ground zero for Mezcal production.  We all like Tequila, but none have really mastered the Smoky Mezcal flavor yet.

There are massive indoor markets where you can buy anything to eat (literally) and food vendors line the streets.  Many were selling fried chapulin (grasshopper).  I mean, we considered it, but passed.  The one street food venue that stood out amongst all other s was “Meat Alley”.  It is a covered section of the street where meat vendors line either side and you walk around, pick the meat yo want, the sides and your drink – under the watchful eye of a guy who makes sure you can get a seat, all the things you order…and oh yeah – Pay!.  It is full on chaos and packed, yet somehow all the things you order end up at the table you found.

                                           

              

Tracy found a mole restaurant where you can sample the 7 different mole flavors.  The recommendation was fabulous and the mole tasting really highlighted the differences between them.  I believe we all settled on Mole Coloradito as our favorite

    

The Town:  The town was preparing for their celebrations for Carnival.  Many towns in Mexico do the same in February.  Oaxaca is a town for a few million so nt small, but man the old town area has a mellow vibe and ties to their past cultural heritage is well preserved.

                   

            

     

Matt needed a haircut and the stylist also tackled his attempt at a beard and make him look less homeless – She did work magic!

   

2/21/24 – Salina Cruz and Tehuantepec (Near Playa Brasil)

We headed off on the morning of the 21st to wards the western coast to check out the beaches before having to head back up north towards Palenque and the El Ceibo border crossing with Guatemala.  The beach was wide and very nice, but the wind followed us again and made camping on the beach impossible.  We found a restaurant on the beach who welcomed overlanders to camp in their parking lot.  We appreciated how much the restaurant made a nice wind block!  However, it was amazing how bad the sand fleas were in those high winds.  Tracy and John got munched – but Matt escaped somehow.  Edel’s took his rig out onto the beach to get some photos down by some dunes while Tracy and Matt walked up the beach in the winds.  In the video you can see where Tracy almost picked up a new traveling companion.

          

2-22-24:  Off to Palenque

We would have liked to hung on the beach a little more, but not in the high winds.  So, we  decide it is time to make some progress to the Guatemala border as we are deep into February and still in Mexico!  Palenque is the last decent sized town before you cross into Guatemala on its northern border.  We were not sure the team could make Palenque in a day as everything works against you driving:  Topes (speed bumps), 2 lane roads, poor condition roads, crazy drivers and bio breaks for the fellas!  So we head off and see how far we can get before the sun goes down.  On the way we pass migrants walking alongside the road.  We saw lots in the mountains before we hit Oaxaca (just didn’t get any pics).  It is sad to see – I mean how bad does your home life in your country have to be to pay for some transportation and then have to walk 5k miles and not be assured you can get into the US?  Mom’s, dad’s carrying kids, small families, random groups of folks just walking and carrying very little.  Heat, rain, wind – not being political – sad to see.  It was odd as we only saw them starting about 50 miles from Oaxaca and then on the road to Palenque.  After that, we didn’t see any all the way down to Panama City.

We kept on trucking the rest of the day.  The drive was scenic as we went through various mountains and jungles.  Edel’s rig just fits in these areas.

   

We were not going to make it to Palenque and so we hit the apps we had to find a place to stay for the evening.  It was a really cool spot called “Jaguar Ranch”.  It was sort of an event place run by 2 brothers, who were very welcoming.  Lots of trees, a soccer field, nice facilities, etc.  The only downside was its proximity to the highway.  Man it was a busy highway and the truck traffic all night was tough.  Another funny thing looking back at “The Ranch” is that this was an area in Chiapas, Mexico, where malaria carrying mosquitos “can be” encountered – doesn’t mean will be!  So, we all had our malaria meds with us and somehow it slipped our minds we needed to start taking them about a week or more BEFORE entering malaria areas.  We did have a day of the meds under our belt which was good as because we all got munched by the little buggers once night came.  We didn’t have any trouble remembering the meds after this!

 

              

John befriended our Mayan protector.  We need all the help we can and who doesn’t want a Jaguar God looking out after you…right?

            

2-23-24:  Palenque and Tenosque and Campina Coco

We are getting the itch to cross into Guatemala and so head to check out Palenque and then find a camp spot close to the border to we can cross early the next day as it is less crowded.  We heard good things about Palenque, mostly the ruins outside the town, but also that the town was pretty cool.  Well we never got to see the ruins and the town felt a little crowded in all honesty.  Lots of hustle-bustle.  We grabbed lunch, refilled our water and made our way to Campina Coco which was a little south of the town of Tenosque and only 30′ from the border.  We did run into a mad butcher and Matt had to hold up a building…but other than we decided to head out.

     

 

Campina Coco is a lovely camp set up on the property of a family who is opening their doors to overlanders  Lots of trees, flowers, a small river running through it – really nice.  Also a bathroom and shower! Yes- showers are special when you can get them and although this one didn’t have hot water (most don’t), the water isn’t that cold and man it feels good.  They had a little 6 year old named Marisio who was such a chatter box.  It did not matter that we could not speak Spanish, he just gave Tracy and Matt a tour of the property chatting the whole time.  Sweet kid.

 

2-24-24:  Crossing into GUATEMALA!

This brings the Mexico section of our trip to a close.  What a wild ride it has been.  We have seen lots of cool places, ate like kings, met great people and have had lots of time behind the wheel to contemplate life while dodging the next truck passing in your lane right in front of you.  See you over in the Guatemala section of the website.

Cheers!