Mexico
Adventures
Mexico
"The Magic of Mexico"
The Magic of Mexico
!Viva La Mexico!
You can’t always expect hot showers, paved roads or quiet nights in Mexico. But what you can expect, especially if you get a bit off of the beaten path, is magic. From accessible indigenous communities, amazing ruins, beautiful beaches, forests, jungles and mountain ranges and delicious food, Mexico has it all.
Northern and Central Mexico
There are many overland routes through Northern Mexico including overlanding through Baja California and taking a ferry to mainland Mexico.
But since we started our trip a little later than planned, we chose a faster path, crossing the border in Laredo and exploring some of the Pueblos Magicos (http://www.pueblosmexico.com.mx) in Northern Mexico, the Bajio and Central Mexico.
Cuidado!
Mexico has a bad reputation. And we must admit, the first few hours of driving after crossing the border in Laredo, Texas were pretty nerve wracking because we knew that the roads are controlled by the cartels at night and we’d be in big trouble if we broke down. But after we arrived in Monterey which is a few hours south of the US border, we felt safe. And with one or two exceptions, we felt safe in the rest of Mexico. With that being said, we’d recommend against driving at night which increases your risk of getting into an accident. And we’d also recommend against wild camping in more remote areas. But as long as you avoid spending time next to the border or in certain parts of the Pacific Coast, you’ll be fine. And as a reward for being a bit adventurous, you’ll feel like you have the country to yourself since most overlanders, especially those from the US, are too terrified to explore what is in reality a relatively safe country.
Parque La Huasteca
Our first stop in Northern Mexico was Parque La Huasteca outside of Monterrey.
This park is in the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range, a beautiful limestone mountain range outside of Monterrey. There is plenty to do inside the park including mountain biking, rock climbing and even a via ferrata, making it a great place to spend a day or two before heading south. Other options in the area include El Potrero Chico which has a huge campground and is one of the best sport climbing areas in the world.
The Pueblos Mágicos of Northern Mexico, The Bajio and Central Mexico
Our route through Northern and Central Mexico involved checking out some of the Pueblos Mágicos including San Luis de Las Pozos, Pátzcuaro and Valle de Bravo.
We particularly liked Valle de Bravo since it offers great mountain biking, paragliding and stand up paddle boarding. San Luis de Las Pozos and Pátzcuaro are also beautiful although there is a bit less to do there. Other great options include San Miguel de Allende (a popular expat retirement community), and Taxco. The Pueblos Mágicos have great food and welcoming locals, making them great stopping points on your way to Oaxaca and Chiapas.
Outdoor Adventures in Northern Mexico, the Bajio and Central Mexico
Northern Mexico, the Bajio and Central Mexico provide numerous opportunities to get your adrenaline flowing (or just get some great exercise).
For example, there is world class rock climbing (and a via ferrata) in El Potrero Chico and Parque La Huasteca and the Sierra Madre Oriental. There is good mountain biking and trail running around Mexico City and in Parque La Huasteca, San Luis de Las Pozos and Valle de Bravo. And Valle de Bravo is one of the best places in the world for paragliding, with awesome cross-country routes circumventing granite peaks and connecting thermals from the mountains surrounding the city to the Lago de Bravo. My tandem trip with a local guide was amazing. Another adventure not to be missed is the Matacanes Canyon Expedition, a full day guided canyoneering expedition outside of Monterrey.
The Oaxaca Valley
Oaxaca is one of the most amazing regions of the world that we have ever been to, offering diverse adventures including beautiful beaches, indigenous communities, sophisticated colonial cities and rugged mountain ranges.
We were very excited to get to Oaxaca. And we were not disappointed. We started our trip in Oaxaca by spending a day in Oaxaca City, a beautiful colonial city in the heart of Oaxaca where we were introduced to Mezcal, an alcoholic beverage made from the piña or heart of Agaves. At first, we found Mezcal to be smoky and strong, but it grew on us and by the end of our trip to Oaxaca, we had each developed an appreciation for specific types of Mezcal including Espadín and Tobalá, which is made from wild Agave. We also explored Monte Alban, an impressive ruin city close to Oaxaca City that was the center of Zapotec civilization for thousands of years.
Oaxaca contains several rugged mountain ranges and we were determined to explore them, especially since we knew the next few months of our trip would be hotter and more humid. Fortunately, we found a local guide who led Karl on several days of enduro mountain biking in the Sierra Madre Mountain Range above the Oaxaca Valley. The cross country and enduro mountain biking in this mountain range is awesome. I biked through the Pueblos Mancomunados, a group of remote Zapotec villages in the range. Like most things involving two adrenaline charged guys, the downhill runs became a competition. I think Pedro was impressed by my skill descending rocky, technical terrain (which is common in Colorado) but much less impressed by my skill riding on the super slippery pine needles through the forests.
Nudists, Turtles and Wild Beaches on the Oaxaca Coast
The Oaxaca Coast is just as amazing as Oaxaca Valley.
Over 10 years ago Karl completed a surfing trip from Saylita to Puerto Escondido with a group of friends. The beaches were beautiful and wild and the surfing was world class. Fortunately, although there has been some development on the Oaxaca Coast in and around towns like Puerto Escondido, it’s still very easy to get off of the beaten path on the Oaxaca Coast. And the surfing is still world class.
Having a four wheel drive vehicle is helpful on the Oaxaca Coast. It enabled us to get to some completely deserted beaches. But a 4WD vehicle isn’t necessary to get off of the beaten path. For example, we parked in a campground in Lagunas De Chacahua Parque Nacional (http://www.lagunasdechacahua.com) and had a beautiful, 7km long beach entirely to ourselves. The only person we saw on the beach was a group of park rangers who let us help them release hundreds of baby turtles that had hatched onto the beach at sunset. We didn’t go to the island in Chacahua since we didn’t want to leave our vehicle unattended on the mainland, but it looked and sounded like a great place to spend a few days.
We wrapped up our trip to Oaxaca with a few days at Zipolite, an awesome beach town that has definitely been discovered, but is still off the beaten path. One of the cool things about Zipolite is that it’s a haven for bohemians from around the world who have chosen to live or stay there for extended periods of time. It’s also the only beach in Mexico where nudity is common and legal. Eventually we had to leave the nudists behind and head to Chiapas, land of amazing coffee, Tzeltal and Tzotzil indigenous communities and, of course, the Zapatista rebels!
Chiapas
Chiapas has one of the largest indigenous populations in Mexico and is home to numerous Mayan ruins set in the rainforest.
For us, this made it a must see region of Mexico as we continued our quest to interact with indigenous communities in some of the wildest places in Mexico. San Cristóbal de Las Casas is a great place to get your feet wet in Chiapas. We had an amazing week there, enjoying one of the most beautiful colonial cities in the world and mountain biking through the indigenous communities surrounding the city. San Cristóbal was the center of the Zapotista rebellion in Chiapas. The rebellion was brutally and quickly crushed by the Mexican Army with help from the US. But after spending some time in indigenous communities like San Juan Chamula, we felt like we had a bit of an appreciation of why the Zapatista movement was formed (and to a certain extent is still alive today). Chiapas’ hydroelectric power plants generate a lot of the power for all of Mexico. Yet the people of Chiapas get very little in return from the Mexican government. However, these poor, proud people nevertheless seem happy with their lives, despite how little they have.
From San Cristóbal de Las Casas, we took the “safer” of the two routes toward Palenque since thieves had robbed a bus load of tourists on the main road to Palenque the day before. The safer road involved driving for hours through the Lacandon Jungle, a region that is used by Mexican cartels for drug smuggling (the South America cartels land planes full of cocaine in the jungle and the Mexican cartels transport the cocaine overland to the US from there). After several hours of driving on a horrible road past small military checkpoints manned by young and nervous looking Mexican soldiers, we wished we had taken the main road to Palenque, despite the remote risk that we could have gotten robbed. This experience, in addition to the US/Mexico border crossing, was one of the two times we felt unsafe in Mexico.
Two of the best adventures in Chiapas are visiting the Bonampak and Yaxchilan ruins. The best way to reach these ruins is from an indigenous Lacanja Chansayab indigenous community where you can stay. The Bonampak ruins are home to some of the best preserved Mayan murals in the world. The Yaxchilan ruins are set in the apex of a horseshoe shaped bend in the Usumacinta River. The journey to these ruins involves an hour-long boat ride on the river was particularly unforgettable, especially for Oz who was fascinated by the huge crocodiles on the bank of the river.
We finished our trip to Chiapas by visiting the Palenque ruins. Palenque was a huge city and the ruins, including the architecture, hieroglyphics, murals and sculptures, are amazing. The day after visiting the excavated ruins, we headed into the jungle to explore some of the 1,000 structures in the rest of the city, only 10% of which have been explored, never mind excavated. After spending the day climbing buildings that were reclaimed by the rainforest over 1,200 years ago, including huge cedar, mahogany and sapodilla trees, we felt an even greater appreciation and even connection to the ancient Mayans.
!Viva La Mexico!
The Yucatán
We finished our trip through Mexico in the Yucatan.
Although Yucatán is more developed than the other regions of Mexico we explored, it is nevertheless full of world class adventures. The Yucatán was the center of the Maya Civilization, and is home to some of the best Maya ruins in the world including Calakmul and Ek Balam. The Yucatán is also home to thousands of sinkholes or “cenotes” which provided the Maya with access to groundwater since there are no above ground rivers on the peninsula. The cenotes also had great spiritual significance to the Maya who believed that they were gateways to the underworld. It’s challenging to find off the beaten path adventures on the Yucatan. Expect lots of tourists, including people snapping Instagram selfies, at many of the ruins. However, despite this fact, some of the smaller towns like Valladolid are a lot more charming than the larger cities like Cancun. And the cenotes are fascinating to explore, even if you aren’t a cave diver.
We entered the Yucatan Peninsula from Chiapas, crossing through the peninsula from west to east through the beautiful Reserva de la Biósfera Calakmul to the east coast. From there, we headed north toward Valladolid, exploring numerous cenotes along the way. We stayed in the first hotel of our trip in Playa del Carmen where we spent a few days relaxing and recharging on the beach. While in Playa del Carmen, Karl also jumped on a few cave diving trips including a trip to some of the best (and most challenging) commercial cave dives on the Peninsula including Dreamgate and the Pit. After Playa del Carmen we headed south to Tulum to explore the Tulum Maya ruins and finally to Chetumal to spend a few days preparing for our trip to Belize. Overall, the Yucatan is magical, as long as you avoid the most crowded cities, e.g. Cancun, ruins, e.g. Chichén-Itzá and towns, e.g. Tulum which is easy to do if you are an overlander.
Here are a few of Our Mexico Favorite Adventures.
