Sprinting Across Mexico

I am not sure I fully comprehended just how HUGE Mexico is until we got to mainland. When we were planning this trip we said to each other, "two months in Mexico sounds sufficient." Based on what? I have no idea. But that was the time we set aside to explore the country. We ended up taking a month to see Baja, and because early into our MX adventure we made plans to meet THE Tyler Whitman (my brother-in-law is famous if you didn’t know!) in Tulum, we realized we only gave ourselves 3 weeks to get all the way across the country! That meant we had to fit in everything we wanted to see before getting to the Yucatan Peninsula in 21 days… It didn’t feel like enough! 

Side note: It’s strange what has happened to my sense of time since we left our jobs and began traveling. A typical vacation when working full time would be a long weekend to see a new city or two weeks to explore 1 or 2 countries. Now, it feels as if weeks have become days and months have turned into weeks. Visiting a place for shorter than a few days feels rushed, where before it would have been more than enough time. It is problem that is beyond strange and a problem that I am very, very grateful to have.

Anyway, 3 weeks to get ourselves to Quintana Roo starts now! 

As soon as we got off the boat (intact, no van overboard as we feared would happen) we gassed up with our caravan crew- a young family of four from Quebec and a retired couple from Quebec! (We have met SO many Canadians in MX!), and hauled ass to Mazatlan, Sinaloa. Located at the most southern part of the state, Mazatlan is a resort town and known to be a safe haven for tourists- much different than the rest of the state as indicated in my previous post. It took us about 5 hours to get there thanks to the toll roads which was pretty quick! Although, not thanks to the toll roads for costing us $500MXN :) We stopped for the night with the intent of making it to the Sayulita area the next day where we would spend the next 4-5 days. 

A member of our caravan crew.

After an extremely strange "inspection" point we made it to Sayulita. Locals had taken over in Nayarit to act as "state" police because Nayarit in fact does not have state police? They asked us to stop, asked us some questions and then began asking for a few dollars to buy a Coca-Cola. Stating the "donation" wasn’t mandatory, but just to say "thanks." I guess thanks for acting like local police? I have NO idea, but after a couple minutes we proceeded right by, only slightly weirded out.

During those 4-5 days, we were able to witness the sweetest release of baby sea turtles. And my first time getting to see it in person and not just from pictures! We had snuck down the beach from where our van was parked- at the end of a dead end street, right on the beach, in front of an ecological institute- to take a "shower" at the free beach showers for the public to rinse off after swimming in the ocean. As soon as we got to the shower- bathing suits on, Dr. Bronners in hand- there were probably 20-30 kids with their mothers all crowded around the showers.  They watched as these two white people rinsed off and soaped up in front of them, and then all of the sudden the kids ran down to the surf where two women from the eco-institute had a styrofoam cooler. They had hatched turtles with them! It was such a sweet experience watching all the kids gather around them while the women taught them about the baby turtles and instructed them on what they were about to do. They all lined up and were given a baby turtle that they released on the sand and the babies eventually made it to sea. It was such a cool experience being there to witness this community coming together to be a small part of the turtles lives and help them better their chances of survival.

Our "campsite"; aka. dead end street that we parked at for a couple nights in front of the ecological institute.

View from our campsite.

All the kids running to the beach to clean their bowls.

All lined up ready to get a turtle!

The hatched tortugas, ready to be released.

Sandrine and her baby turtle.

While we were in Baja, we met a couple who lives in Guadalajara and just so happened to be in their last two weeks of a 1.5 yr long trip around the world. Michel and Janette cycled throughout part of Europe, bought motorcycles and rode across India, traded in the motorcycles for new bicycles and cycled across South East Asia, and finally flew to L.A. and rode their bicycles down the West Coast to Baja before flying home to Guadalajara. So many of our friends and family members have commented on how adventurous we are for overloading to South America, but the more and more people we meet- like Michel and Janette, we feel our trip seems pretty tame in comparison!

After we left the coast, we took them up on their offer to come to their home in Guadalajara. We explored part of the city with them and met their family- spending a lot of time over at Michel’s grandmother’s house.  She’s the matriarch of the family and it was so cool to be a small part of their world for a couple days. People in and out of Abuelita Alicia’s home. Cousins, granddaughters, children. So much food, all the time. We had our first comida china with them- after we had already had some lunch, they insisted we eat with them again :) They made us feel like family and it was nice to be around them for a couple days. Michel’s sister even woke up early and made us crepes the morning we left. Michel and Janette- if you’re reading this, thank you again for your hospitality and having us for the weekend <3 Meeting people like you make trips like this so much richer.

Quick stop on our way to Guadalajara: Mascota, Pueblo Mágico, Jalisco, MX

Enjoyed this cute little town for a night.

Made it to Guadalajara- first stop, Tejuino!

Michel and Janette lent us their bikes and watched Miles while we explored el centro de Guadalajara.

Guadalajara, Jalisco, MX.

Alice, Janette, Michel, Zach, Jordyn.

Zach making guacamole for all the Mexicans- they approved!

Miles enjoying himself over at Abuelita Alicia’s house.

Final farewell with Michel, Michel & Janette.

From Guadalajara we continued east knowing we wanted to spend about a week (well, we wanted to spend more! but realistically had about a week before we really needed to book it to the Yucatan peninsula) exploring some of the Bajio region of Mexico. The region spans several states and is the fastest growing in the country and has historical significance due to the part it played in several wars including the Mexican Independence War. It also features baroque-neoclassical style architecture that has been preserved for centuries since Spanish rule conquered the country. It is also is part of the volcanic belt of Mexico- putting it’s elevation higher and therefore the weather being much cooler than that on the coast or at sea-level.  And finally, it is speckled with UNESCO world heritage sites due to the reasons I mentioned above along with the population of the regions holding on to cultural traditions making the cities we visited feel authentic and lively. 

Guanajuato was by far our favorite town we visited in the region. It is built in a sort of canyon making its streets steep and roads narrow but also making the layout of the city breathtaking as colorful buildings are folded into the hills. It used to be a mining town and, at the peak of its production, supplied 2/3 of the world’s silver. Now, the city’s economy is growing due to tourism but it still feels authentic and really lived in by locals. Our friend, Michel, from Guadalajara got is in touch with his friend and local artist, Julio. We spent a night with him checking out his studio and hearing a little about Guanajuato from a local’s perspective. We really enjoyed walking around the city and the view from our campsite- probably the most epic one we’ve had to date! After a few days here, I may or may not have exclaimed to Zach that we are going to move here one day :)

View from our campsite! So colorful.

Spent a lot of time walking around the city.

Guanajuato selfie.

There were lots of cool cobblestone streets.

And even ones that cut underground instead of over the hills of the town. 

Loved the feel of this city.

And the views didn’t disappoint either.

Still walking.

More walking.

Found a tiny little alley.

And walked down its stairs.

Locks of love in this tiny alley.

Dogs everywhere came out to check out Miles.

Found a cool market & had the most delicious tortas.

Market views.

Julio showing us some of his sculptures.

Street signs.

Led us to donuts.

Resting after our walk and getting some work done.

This campsite is easily in our top 5. 

San Miguel de Allende was next on our list and was extremely beautiful as well. Its cathedral, the most iconic landmark in the city, was of baroque-neoclassical architecture and the foundation of the church dates back to 14th and 15th centuries. The town is an extremely popular tourist destination as it has many "sister" cities located in the U.S. There are also many ex-pats that live in San Miguel de Allende, so the city really caters to more of a tourist crowd versus locals- like it felt in Guanajuato. But that was OK for us, because we went on a hunt for a gorgeous handmade alpaca wool rug and really think we hit the jackpot.  On this trip, I have been wanting to collect pieces that I can decorate our future home with- once we settle in a place and our home is no longer a 60sqft home on wheels :)- and we were able to find our first big piece.

Streets of San Miguel de Allende.

Cobblestone streets, hills, churches.

Catedral de San Miguel de Allende.

Our beautiful rug :)

Our final stop before settling in to the long drive to Quintana Roo was Santiago de Queretero- the home of an old co-worker who probably never thought we’d drive through her town, but was extremely happy that we did :) We spent a weekend with Gaby and she took us to all of her favorite places- Cerrito Ruins right next to her house, El Pueblito (where apparently several male and female residents are also named Pueblito), El Centro de Queretero at night, Cadereyta, and Bernal. We ate (a lot), we cooked, we tried nopales- a type of cactus that is stuffed and grilled, we walked a lot, we ate pan de queso- kind of like a danish, we visited botanical gardens and learned about all the cacti in the region, we ate gorditas, and then we ate some more :) I felt so happy to see Gaby again and catch up at her home. She has visited San Francisco so many times for work, but it was such a joy to get to see where she lives and spend time with her there too.  Thank you, Gaby, for being such gracious host :)

Ruinas de El Cerrito.

El Centro de Queretaro.

Ancient aqueduct that is still in use today. Brings water to the center of the city.

Gaby’s Mexican eggs :)

Botanical gardens in Cadereyta.

Harvesting babies- all 2 years old.

Agave bigger than us!

Grilled Nopales

Nopales cactus stuffed with diced nopales, carnitas & queso.

Served with tortillas.

So good!

Trying to get a good picture in front of this rock after I slid down the side of this hill.

Walking around Bernal with Gaby.

Selfie with Gaby!

Overlooking Bernal.

Once we said our goodbyes, we settled in for the long haul and sprinted as fast as we could to get to Quintana Roo. It was 30 hours of driving over 3 days and a lot of Game of Thrones audiobook, but we finally made it to Bacalar, Quintana Roo, where we are going to rest and re-charge before picking up Tyler from the airport in Cancun! Next post is all about the Yucatan before we bid farewell to Mexico… for now :)