Feeling a new sense of excitement, relief and overall enthusiasm, we departed Ajijic confident Koru was back to normal and as dialed as the day we bought him. Our next destination was the important pueblo of Guanajuato. Sarah had been there once before and had recalled it’s interesting history and compact layout. First however, we had to navigate some interesting roads with less than ideal fellow drivers.
Well, after some recoup efforts and reorganizing of the van, we were ready to move on from Guadalajara. Mexico’s biggest lake lies a short 30 minutes south of the city, so we knew that would be a good place to venture, if only for one night.
After a very exciting first 2 days in Guadalajara, Mexico, we decided to take it easy for a day. We woke up late, and decided to go on an afternoon bike ride. We pedaled the bustling throughways and quiet neighborhood streets taking in the views, smells and sounds. After a short 30 min, we stumbled upon “Tortas Rika” where we promptly dismounted to share a torta ahogada and an agua de horchata. Matt was still in shock about how delicious…
After leaving the beautiful mountains of Ñorthern Mexico, we had our sights set on arriving in Guadalajara to experience the Indepenence Day celebration known as “El Grito” which happens on the eve of September 16th. Sarah spent a year living in Guadalajara studying for her degree in Spanish, so we were thrilled to see some of her old friends and spend some time in the city she had lived in a decade ago.
The time came to leave Potrero Chico and continue south. Having thought we’d seen one of the most incredible canyon sites, we made our way to the unbelievable area known to climbers as El Salto, named after a famous waterfall on the Rio Santa Catarina in the canyon during the rainy season. We first needed to navigate our way through the center of Monterrey, one of the bigger cities in Mexico. We can confidently say that it was one of…
The first thing that should be noted in this post is the ease with which our border crossing happened. With our minds full of anxiety leading up to the crossing, we had no idea what was to come. American media and worrisome family and friends having infiltrated our expectations with thoughts of negativity and danger, we were on high alert. How long would it take? Will they rip our hippy van apart looking for who knows what? Are the cartels waiting…
Now that the van is packed, and we are officially on the road, the fun of exploration can begin! We started our trip right away with a hike up one of Colorado’s high peaks, Mt. Belford. It was nice to get outside in our element once again after weeks of stressful preparations. Back on the road, we kept our way south through the town of Salida, and slowly into Crestone. Crestone far exceeded our expectations with its beautiful setting reminiscent…
Counting down the days 5, 4, 3, 2…….and 1, we’re on the road! It is difficult to put into words what it was like getting prepared for a trip and lifestyle change of this magnitude. Now that we are officially on the road, all chords attaching us to stable life severed, we can now look back while breathing easy. Despite the romanticism involved with traveling around in a van with no job and little responsibilities, it was one of the…