San Francisco to Tierra Del Fuego leaving Nov 2010 (Nissan Xterra)

coydogsf

Adventurer
We were really surprised by how much we liked Guadalajara. Could have been the good weather or the Christmas decorations but the Centro was really nice to walk around. Very European and modern but with a distinct flavor of Mexico. Read the whole story on the blog in Guadalajara.









And Patzcuaro had the same charm in a smaller package. Two sleepy central plazas with a great market and stores selling handicrafts from the villages surrounding Lago Patzcuaro. Christmas preparations and Virgin of Guadalupe celebrations in full swing plus a nice campgound. We highly recommend it but be ready for chilly nights in Winter. Easy to make a day trip up to Morelia though you might want to read our impressions first. Read the whole story on the blog in Patzcuaro and Morelia.









It's been an eye opener spending time in Colonial Mexico. Not the sombreros and burros people tend to think about. And wait til you read about Guanajuato and San Miguel Allende coming up next!

Note: Check out Where have we been? and Where are we now? on our site for GPS tracks and current SPOT location.

Dave
 

coydogsf

Adventurer
From Patzcuaro and Morelia, we headed north around Lago Patzcuaro, filling the truck along the way with incredible intricate but brutally cheap catrinas and ceramics before reaching Guanajuato, city and state. The tunnels on the way in were fun but it's what's above ground that blows you away. The whole story on the blog at Guanajuato.







Here’s little video I put together that I hope captures the feeling.



And in San Miguel de Allende, we learned a valuable lesson about the ups and downs of moods on trips like this and the differences in what people are looking for in a town. We also learned a little more about the security situation in Mexico including what those armed trucks might have been doing in Morelia and once again, relied on the ExPo for the latest info. In the end, we got into the festival atmosphere of the holiday season and you could say, things really ended with a BANG! Read the whole story on the blog at San Miguel de Allende, it sucked... us in.




IMG_1863_thumb.jpg


We zigzagged back south (there doesn't seem to be a good way to hit all these spots in a straight line) to check out the Mariposa Monarch Sanctuary, with millions of butterflies returning to Mexico every year for the winter. They're kinda like Canadians that way. It was as amazing as we'd been told and we felt just as safe in Michoacan as anywhere else. Read the whole story on the blog at Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary.







And a little video I put together of the experience.



Next updates will be Teotihuacan, Mexico City and Oaxaca for Christmas!

Dave
 

coydogsf

Adventurer
Teotihuacan is an impressive archaeological site and makes a great homebase for exploring Mexico City, without having to drive in it (too much). The full story on the blog at Teotihuacan, Mexico City and Tehuacan.

The pyramids are just a short ride and 10 pesos from the Teotihuacan Trailer Park. Check out a video I made of the visit...









We took a bus (and subways and more busses) into Mexico City, met up with forum member TommyD and checked out the Frida Kahlo museum. There's no question but that this city is a monster but it's worth seeing.





If you're on the road, let us know. We'd love to hook up!

Dave
 

coydogsf

Adventurer
We got lucky with an apartment in Oaxaca over the Christmas holiday where we explored the local mercados, hung out on the zocalo, toured the nearby attractions of Mont Alban and Hierve el Agua, experienced the Night of the Radishes, oh and also did a whole lotta sitting around. The whole story on the blog at Oaxaca for Christmas.


















Next out to the Pacific Coast and Playa Zipolite for New Years and some time on the beach!

Dave
 

latinoguy

Adventurer
Digging the pics and your blog writing with a sense of humor. Mexico is not a beautiful as the pictures you take makes it appear. :ylsmoke:
 

coydogsf

Adventurer
Thanks guys and while of course our route is trying to hit the highlights, the colonial cities, beaches and wildlands of Mexico really are pretty amazing.

So for the next installment, we head to Zipolite for New Years Eve. We might not be able to deliver history-making stories of wild parties but you might be interested in 5 days on the beach and visit from ExPo rockstar Christian (2AroundtheWorld) and friend Shaun on the way to Panama on an exciting mission. Zipolite was a quiet, mellow beach town but with lots of interesting "scene." Check out the whole story at Zipolite and the Pacific Coast.













Next we cut inland to San Cristobal de las Casas and the Yucatan via Palenque.

Dave
 

coydogsf

Adventurer
From sea level up to 7000 ft and finally back on the Pan American Highway. San Cristobal de las Casas is yet another beautiful colonial town, only with a Chiapas spin that includes a much greater presence of indigenous peoples selling in the markets and, unfortunately, begging from tourists. We found a local organization and tried to do a little towards our goal of being "Gone for Good" and generally enjoyed the mix of people from young, hip, urban Mexicans to Euro transplants to bus tour tourists. A side trip to the Canyon de Sumidero was impressive but the trash in the water frustrating. The whole story on the blog in San Cristobal de las Casas.












There's a definite change in the air as we entered Chiapas. Next across southern Mexico to the ruins at Palenque.

Dave
 

coydogsf

Adventurer
We'd been warned about Zapatista roadblocks on Highway 199 between San Cristobal and Palenque but as usual, that information was a little outdated and overblown. That being said, we *did* encounter roadblocks. You can read about that and more on the blog in Palenque.

Some highlights...





The Mayabell campground was a great base to explore the ruins and take a day trip to Agua Azul. While it may not have been as full as usual, it was better than the empty RV parks we'd been seeing up north. I think the kind of traveler who makes it this far down is more aware that Mexico is a big country and the violence isolated.











That doesn't mean we didn't have some excitement. Turns out the third red ant bite is *almost* enough to bring down a large mammal. But I survived.



From here, we make our way across to the Yucatan for some more ruins and some beach time on the Carribean in Tulum.

Dave
 

Cesar99

CapitolSouthbound
Pretty cool!

My wife and I are in the initial planning stages of pretty much the same trip- but DC to Tierra for us. Your site is great and we have already begun to steal some of your ideas as we prep. Thanks for the info and safe travels!

Cheers,

Cesar
 

coydogsf

Adventurer
Hey Guys,

tommyd, hope all's well and you've gotten to hang out with your wife either in Mex or FL. We're having a great time. You figured out when you're going to visit yet? New rough schedule is on our "Route" page.

Cesar99, do it! We gathered a lot of info from other blogs and forums (which is part of the reason I want to document the trip for other people). In the end, you'll do it your way.

The blog and this thread are a little out of date (but catching up). We're now at Tikal and heading further south into Guatemala after a great four days with James and Angela from NoLimit Expeditions in the jungles in Belize. Full update to come!

Dave
 

coydogsf

Adventurer
Latest updates from the trip...

What’s often referred to as the “Yucatan Peninsula,” the cootchy-coo of a finger sticking up into the Gulf of Mexico to tickle the US beneath Florida’s armpit, is actually made up of three Mexican states: Campeche, Yucatan and the marsupial-sounding Quintana Roo. The later is actually home to Cancun, Cozumel, and Playa del Carmen, some of the more well-known beach destinations in Mexico. All three are filled with ruins left behind after the decline of Mayan civilization about 1000 AD.

Yucatan ruins and an out of the way cenote on the blog in In Ruins in the Yucatan. We keep turning the last page on our Mexico Lonely Planet and seeing the index. Guess we're almost through Mexico.










The main complaint we’d heard from travelers about the Riviera Maya, the eastern side of the Yucatan Peninsula that faces the Caribbean Sea and includes the vacation destinations of Cancun, Cozumel and Playa del Carmen, was that rampant development meant little or no public beach access or inexpensive camping. From the beginning of the trip, we’d planned a “remember-this-is-sorta-a-honeymoon” splurge in Tulum, a more laid back, eco-friendly alternative to the Club Meds about 100km south of the major resort towns.

Kitesurfing (well, lessons), seaside ruins, an underwater photo shoot and a monkey bite are among the highlights. Check it out on the blog in Tulum.











A few camping stops on the way down the coast before we hit our second border crossing and end more than 70 great days in Mexico. Check out the pics and stories from the remote Costa Maya on the blog in Costa Maya and South to the Border.





In all the blogs we’d read planning for this trip, we’d gotten the impression that border crossings were a maze of complicated paperwork, arcane procedures and corrupt officials. It’d been over 70 days since we left San Francisco and we’d only crossed one border so far; Today would be our second, from Mexico into Belize.

Across the border into Belize and up close and personal with wild howler monkeys on the blog in The Border to the Community Baboon Sanctuary.





More to come!

Dave
 

Ruined Adventures

Brenton Cooper
Ruta Puuc

Very cool. Were you the only people at Sayil & Labna? That's what's so cool about Ruta Puuc is there's fewer crowds (except Uxmal of course).
 

coydogsf

Adventurer
Very cool. Were you the only people at Sayil & Labna? That's what's so cool about Ruta Puuc is there's fewer crowds (except Uxmal of course).

There was one other group at each but it's defintiely a different feeling than being in with the crowds at Chichen Itza for example. Hard to know. We were pretty much alone at Uxmal towards the end of the day on a weekday. Believe it or not, ditto at Tikal a couple days ago at about 3 pm after the busses were on their way back to Flores.

Ruta Pucc is definitely a nice excuse to get off the main roads and explore. We highly recommend "The Pickled Onion" in Santa Elena. Listed as a restaurant only on Lonely Planet but she's got nice cabanas around a pool. Info on the Route page on our site.

Dave
 

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