We had 30 days to leave Mexico, and our next destination was going to be Guatemala. There were quite a few miles to cover but it didn’t get in the way of exploring new territory in Mexico, we sure made the most of those remaining days!
And our first stop was Rancho Sofia, on the outskirts of the town of Tlaxco in the state of Tlaxcala. What we love about our style of travel, other than eating our way around the world, of course, is the fact that plans can change in an instant due to the great people you meet. Karsten and Stefi from the Dino Adventure were heading to Sébastian’s place at Rancho Sofia and invited us to join them. Sebastian is another fellow German who moved over to Puebla five years ago, he soon got married and now has two gorgeous little girls. They live on a great piece of land beside this beautiful, tranquil lake. The setting creates a relaxing vibe too, we enjoyed a great grill together, many beers and some delicious marshmallows over the fireplace.
The next morning the Dinos gave us an extensive room tour, and we of course returned the favour. You can watch the ‘Dino’s Room Tour’ here and the ‘Silverskin’s Room Tour’ here. videos here.
Since we’ve already dodged every pothole in the state of Puebla (we have now driven through the state twice) it seemed rude not to check out its capital of the same name. We set up camp at the ’Las Americas’ trailer park in neighbouring Cholula and caught an Uber to the city.
We started our city quest by ordering a few tacos and a pizza in the main square. What a good idea, because our decision-making as to what to do in this city was all of a sudden made easier, there were, after all, about four huge tour buses lined up outside the restaurant. So why not conquer the capital on a double-decker bus! Seemed like an obvious choice…and we are really glad we took that ride. Woah, is Puebla huge!
There is much to see, including the colonial buildings of the old town and their unique tiled facades; the large green spaces on the outskirts (looks like there are plenty of activities to be had there, such as a cable car ride, skate parks, contemporary cafes, etc.), and of course the colourful letters set upon a hill with great views of the metropolitan capital. We naturally stopped here and took the obligatory photo.
Cholula (which is basically an extension of Puebla) is also worth visiting. This time though, we brought Silverskin along for the ride. We wanted to know whether there really were 365 churches in this city (apparently the Spaniards wanted to build a church for each day of the year during the Spanish conquest), so we flew our drone. The number of buildings to be found doesn’t really match that figure today but there are some pretty impressive domes set upon these hills. Just check out this one!
This iconic church ‘Santuario de la Virgen de Los Remedios’ was built on top of the remains of a native temple (as was the case with many sacred sites during that period), and on a clear day volcano ‘Popo’ can be seen puffing clouds of smoke in the background too. What a photographer’s dream! Seems like Richie wasn’t the only one who thought so either, it turns out that this scene has been following us around the last 10 months, with our travel guide also sporting the image on its front cover.
Well, happy to also have the photo in the bag, we could now leave and explore more of Puebla’s region. We headed south and checked out Mexico’s biggest safari park: “Africam”. Here we met up with the Dinos again and followed their big beast around the park.
We were pleasantly surprised with our visit, most animals were left to roam freely around the dusty terrains, and there were a lot of African species to be found. Actually, the big five are not only limited to the African continent, …here rhinos, elephants, hippos, water buffalo, lions, giraffes, zebras and even bears take residence with many other inhabitants too. We were not expecting to spend the entire day there. Good job a wild camp lies just around the corner for the evening! Another beautiful lake destination with the Dinos, and some pretty awesome ribeyes for the grill.
We parted ways the next morning but are sure it won’t be long until we ‘meat’ again.
Oaxaca… We couldn’t leave Mexico without visiting our favourite campsite again: ‘El Rancho’ in El Tule. We took the faster toll roads this time, which certainly wasn’t any less pleasing to the eye than the slower route. These roads went over mountain passes, through cacti and Joshua trees and a variety of beautiful landscapes. It was stunning. Zoe kept entertained by catching up on her activity advent calendar and the six hours went by quickly. We had reached our travelling hub by evening and were not alone. Friends old and new had congregated and many more BBQs were had.
Other than a little bit of Christmas shopping here and there, and purchasing some of Oaxaca’s finest bread at ‘Boulenc’ bakery, we didn’t take in too many sights this time round. Abigail and Zoe, however, did check out the famous tapestry of Teotitlán del Valle. Accompanied by Phoebe and Perry (our friends from North Carolina), we watched a demonstration of how carpets were made through the use of only natural products. We are talking juices extracted from plants and blood squished from insects. Absolutely incredible! They took us through every step of the process from spinning wool to mixing natural dyes and using a special weaving machine to create the unique patterns. And unique they were. Each individual rug had a meaning behind their designs… some with Mayan representations and some with titles like “Eternity”. The only sad thing about this visit was the fact that we couldn’t take one away with us. Our camper is definitely too small. But if you’re in need of a rug then definitely stop by at ‘Josefina Mdz Artesanias y tapetes’.
There are three main routes down to the Oaxacan coast and we selected the middle one that travels through the magic mushroom town of San Jose del Pacifico. It was scenic all along with many, many curves. San Jose del Pacifico was the perfect halfway stop and although much colder, had remarkable views. They say on a very clear day a view of the ocean can be seen from the restaurant we chose to park at for the night!
But other than the spectacular views, it was the mushrooms that the busloads of tourists were after. This place was full of alternative little market stores offering everything mushroom, from mini statues to knitted products, to the real hallucinogenic deal. We took a pass on the latter but did fill our tummies with the huge mushroom dishes served at the restaurant. Boy were those portions big!
The next day, about a four-hour windy road led us to the beautiful Oaxacan coast. Here we stayed at ‘Don Tacos’ in San Augustine for a few days, meeting yet again a bunch of overlanding friends.
This bay took us by surprise. Beautiful still, calm waters welcomed us with clean, white powdery sands. It was paradise. And a banana boat tour, a jet ski ride, or a fishing excursion will bring you to an ocean full of life. Richie and his buddies were fishing for tuna one morning and returned with eighteen fish in their buckets. All whilst marveling at the huge turtles swimming by, the manta rays doing their stunts, and the dolphins showing off with their spins. They even caught sight of a humpback whale. Wow, what a successful start to the day! And it didn’t stop there. They turned their tuna into delicious ceviche and fed a whole party of 30 hungry campers. It was like feeding the five thousand! A happy fish feast! And one of Richie’s favourite days on this trip.
But it was time to press on. We had decided to complete the remaining miles to the Guatemalan border in convoy with the Simons (those friends from North Carolina). They were renting an Airbnb for Christmas in Lake Atitlán and once again invited us to share in on their festivities.
We drove a couple of hours south along the pacific coast, finding ourselves a wonderful beach camp set amongst some pretty spectacular sand dunes.
We grilled ribeyes and shared them with our hosts Oskar and Karin, who in return shared their fresh shrimp salad with us. I guess you could call it a surf and turf party, accompanied by lots of beers of course!
The Oaxacan coast is another one of Mexico’s hidden gems. Whilst most tourists flock to the Caribbean waters near Cancun and Playa del Carmen, these rough and wild waves on the pacific side are left almost empty. Sand dunes accompanied by staggering rocky cliffs spread out for miles and miles.
La Mesilla was our choice for crossing the border. We’d been here back in August when getting our extension, so we were about to enter familiar territory again. Driving through Chiapas: Tuxla, San Cristobal and Comitán. What was not too familiar though was the major roadblock we encountered along the way. We’d heard so much about these happening in Oaxaca, so I guess it was only right that we experience one before leaving the country. After all, huge trucks blocking the highway was seen as “normal…just another protest”!
Well in good old Mexican style, the locals can always make a bob or two through these dramas, and here we were able to support some farmers by taking a diversion over their land. It was quite the adventure, following a guy and his son on their motorbike, as they took us over dirt roads, through cow and cornfields and under low hanging branches, watching them get off and quickly chop a few trees with their machete so we could pass. All this on a hot and sticky day. After 30 minutes we were back on the main road; 100 pesos lighter!
Rancho San Nicolas in San Cristobal was the next major stop. We did however break the journey at ‘Cascadas El Aguacero’near Tuxla. Abigail walked the 700 steps to the falls at 7am and joined the others for the Oreo breakfast birthday cake after. It was Perry’s 10th birthday and we were glad to be able to celebrate with her!
San Cristobal never disappoints. We enjoyed another stroll through this lively town, taking on the bars and Cafés and doing a lot of people watching, or might we add wedding watching – there was a lovely mariachi procession for the occasion.
With another loaf of bread in our hands, bought from our favourite bakery, we drove on to Comitán, where we spent our last night in Mexico, wild camping in a very lovely pine forest. And we couldn’t say goodbye to this huge, colourful, vibrant and diverse country without eating just one more taco ala Aracherra, grilled to perfection!
Mixed feelings were only natural on this final evening. We were happy and excited to begin the next chapter of this exciting journey, but knew, we were going to leave with a tear in our eyes. Mexico sure has its ups and downs, we’re talking mainly topes and potholes here, but its land with its truly wonderful people, is rich in culture and full of life. Forget what the narcos movies and media portray; once you set foot on Mexican soil, you’ll fall in love with it – hook, line and sinker.
Hasta Pronto Amigos, we’re certain we‘ll ‘meat’ again!
