"THERE WAS NOWHERE TO GO BUT EVERYWHERE" - JACK KEROUAC
We all have that image in our minds of Mexico. For some its dusty desert towns equipped with men in sombreros, donkeys, skinny street dogs and tacos stands. Or maybe you picture miles of white sandy coast line dotted by all-inclusive resorts, with locals trying to sell you things on the beach and booze fueled parties that last until the sun comes up. And of course there’s one thing we all “know” about Mexico for certain, it’s dangerous!
I can tell you that until this trip I had the same perception as everyone else and I’ve traveled to Mexico 7 times before even buying this van. Of course those trips were to Cancun, Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, and Rocky Point so my view of Mexico was limited to tourist destinations and not the real Mexico. It’s sort of like people traveling to the United States and seeing New York, Las Vegas, and Hollywood then traveling back home and telling their friends they’ve seen the United States. We all know those cities are not the best representation of our country but we do the same exact thing when we travel abroad. After traveling more than 2500 miles for 6 weeks from Tijuana to the border of Guatemala I can tell you the Mexico I experienced is completely different from the perception I started with. Once you get away from the busy tourist destinations you will find a vastly undeveloped and untouched country with some of the most beautiful landscapes you have ever seen. You can find miles of pristine beaches just waiting to be surfed, old colonial towns located 7000 feet above sea level in dense pine forests with temperate climates similar to Colorado or Oregon, cosmopolitan cities equipped with hipsters, people on smart phones, serene parks, busy town squares and the kind of restaurants and bars you would find in coolest new areas of your town. Instead of people selling useless stuff on a beach there’s doctors looking for work in the non-profit sector to help their community, architects who found their calling in the music industry, artists who are looking to make a name in the big city and archaeologists who can talk for hours on their day off about something they love. The thing that blew my mind the most about Mexico was the people we kept meeting. I guess maybe it’s the media in the United States that represents the Mexico in such a negative light but when you actually get outside of the tourist areas you find that the people are the same as anyone you might meet back home. They’re just people trying to find themselves, build relationships and families, find a job that makes them happy and live a life that is meaningful. In the end they just want to live the happiest life they can in a country that is lacking some of the infrastructure we enjoy and often times take for granted in the United States. Matt and I stayed in Mexico for 6 weeks total and during that time we were pulled over four times. Three were by the Federales (federal police), who only took a quick look into the vehicles and then wished us a good day and once by local cops who ultimately required 50 pesos ($2.50) in order to let us go for driving on a high pollution day. It was actually a legitimate stop by the police, we were in violation of the law, but the fact that they wanted money instead of issuing a ticket was a bit shady. We had zero problem with crime, most of the highways were as smooth as the ones in The States and besides getting minor food poisoning once from eating corn with mayonnaise on it that had been sitting out all day we had no issue eating and drinking at all the taco stands and restaurants we went to. All in all traveling through Mexico was very safe and very easy. -Tim-
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Written 1.28.2017
One thing that is already apparent on our trip is that we gain a lot of knowledge, inspiration and excitement from people we meet along the way. We spent a night in Boca de Pascuales, near Colima where a volcano had just erupted a few days earlier, and met Tini and Fede. Tini, a German and Fede an Argentine have been traveling Mexico and Central America for the past months after previously living out of a minivan in Hawaii. They were heading north to Sayulita to spend a few months surfing before driving back to the US where they’ll sell their vehicle so they can eventually head to Australia, buy another van and chase surf down under. We started chatting when Tini noticed the cabinetry Tim built in his Previa. This led to hours of van tours, travel stories, essential travel gear tips, border crossing advice, police bribes, Instagram exchanges, surf spot beta, the Mexican cartel, auto mechanic questions, etc, etc.. We were complete strangers, from different corners of the globe, brought together by our insane desire to live in our vehicles and see the world. And though we only had one night of chatting we definitely were inspired by their passion and commitment to the van life. You can check out Tini and Fede’s amazing Instagram account “lifeisbetterwhenyoutravel”. https://www.instagram.com/lifeisbetterwhenyoutravel/ |
AuthorMatthew Lautzenheiser - Conquistador of the Useless. Archives
April 2017
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