Mexico, we love you.
We have just spent the last four and a half months in Mexico and it wasn't enough. This country is vast, beautiful and diverse. The food is spectacular, the people amazing. There is so much to see here and we barely scratched the surface.
In all the time we have spent in the country, not once did we feel not safe. I have to admit that before we entered all the noise had started to get to us. Is it safe? Will we be hijacked? Etc etc. But nothing happened - zero. There are areas to stay away from and we did. We always asked around and followed the advice of the locals and didn't partake in anything stupid. The first question people ask us when we tell them about our trip is, have you had any problems. When we tell them none at all they always look surprised and thats too bad. There are obviously issues in the country but its not everywhere. The people here are saddened by whats happening. They have such pride in their country and rightly so. I guess all we really want to say on this topic is don't write Mexico off just because your local news tells you to. I'm sure glad we didn't.
We really thought that driving through Mexico was going to be difficult but it actually wasn't that bad. We had envisioned roads that were barely drivable, riddled with potholes, monster sized speed bumps etc etc. It did have all that, but it was manageable. The roads are signed quite well, although some make no sense. (Imagine signs that give distance telling you that you are getting farther away the closer you get) Everything they say about the driving styles we have found to be true. Passing on blind corners, crazy speeds and anything goes. All that aside we are still happy we chose to bring a vehicle and not a backpack. Stopping anywhere, anytime we want to and staying in little towns far off the tourist trail have added an extra dimension to our trip.
But its the people who make the country. From one end to the other they are so warm and friendly. They are always offering to help and believe me we have asked for a lot of help. We have found that so many of the stereotypes are completely untrue. We've done a lot of people watching and from what we can see above all the family comes first. They are always up for a chat, even when we barely speak the language.
Here are some of the highs and lows of our time in Mexico....
First the lows
- of course the diff
- the heat in the Yucatan
- eating grilled cactus
- prices, they were higher than we expected
- the poor dogs
- catching every cold bug going around
- the scars from all of our mosquito bites
- treatment and handling of domestic and wild animals
And the highs
- visits with family and Shannon
- driving the baja
- tamales
- body boarding in the pacific
- colonial cities
- mole sauce
- fish tacos
- our mad dash through the highlands of Mexico
- cold Pacifico or Modelo on a hot day
- when the truck drove after the diff was installed
- sitting in the square and people watching
- cenotes
- all the wonderful people we've met!
Mexico has exceeded all expectations. Lucky for us, we have decided to turn around in Panama and drive home - so we'll be back!!
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| no air conditioning, so unbearably hot |
