The first day of Alta Via 2 is one of the longer stages of the trailβ although not overly demanding, it racks up nearly 20km with an easy via ferrata taking you up your first summit for amazing views of Puez-Odle Nature Park. Itβs an excellent introduction of whatβs to come over the next two[...]
There's a common fantasy among vanlifers about opening your doors to a private sandy beach and running into crystal clear water while colourful fish leap around you and a local man cracks open a fresh coconut. It's the kind of easy living that has made vanlife into the instagram sensation it is now[...]
On 4 May, 2022, after a year and a half of living on the road, I walked out of my van with the essentials crammed into 2 backpacks and said goodbye to the place that has felt more like home than anywhere Iβve ever lived.Β I spent the last decade shifting constantly between countries and state[...]
Back in Central Mexico, we spent this week skirting Mexico City to visit 2 of the most spectacular attractions in the country: the sprawling pre-Aztec city TeotihuacΓ‘n in the State of MΓ©xico and the jaw-dropping network of hot springs and limestone caves that comprise Grutas Tolantongo in nearby[...]
As we continue our journey north through Mexico, we spent this week exploring a new and surprisingly wonderful state, Veracruz. Long and slender, it occupies an enormous swathe of the Gulf Coast, while also containing some of the countryβs densest jungle, best coffee regions, and even the highest[...]
Our final week in Chiapas was spent chasing countless waterfalls and generally attempting to avoid the sweltering jungle heat of Palenque and surrounds, before heading somewhat spontaneously through the neighbouring state of Tabasco. Alongside Oaxaca and Baja, Chiapas has turned out to be one of ou[...]
By our third week in Chiapas, weβd made it down to the Guatemalan border (and even managed a few day-trips across), but rather than continuing south through Central America as we'd once intended, we instead drove a wide loop around the perimeter of Chiapas. Often within spitting distance of her i[...]
Although punctuated by another visit to the emergency room, this week also featured some major highlights, both in terms of culture and natural beautyβ San Cris may just be our favourite town in Mexico and El ChiflΓ³n takes the cake for most spectacular waterfalls! San CristΓ³bal de las Ca[...]
Finally leaving Huatulco National Park after an extended stay, we made one final stop in Oaxaca and then headed across to Chiapas. Mexicoβs southernmost state is also the farthest south weβll be going on the trip and we intend to squeeze all of our magical jungle fantasies out of its many natur[...]
After several months of exploring the forests, mountains, and magical inland towns of Mexico, weβre finally back on the Pacific Coast and living our best beach life here in Oaxaca. It doesnβt get much better than sandy feet, salty hair, a deep tanβ and our van! We spent this week hopping b[...]
Our incredible journey through Oaxaca continued this week as we ventured to yet more mezcal palenques and then into the mystical pine forests of the Oaxacan Sierra, swapping hot afternoons spent among the agave for crisp sunsets at elevation. Everywhere we go, I am overwhelmed by the beauty of this[...]
Weβve spent the last several months listening to foreigners and Mexicans alike saying that their favourite place in the entire country, the βbest of everythingβ that Mexico has to offer, is Oaxaca. No other city or state has received even a fraction of this hype, nor such consistently glowing[...]
Cruising out of Mexico City after an extended stay, we headed south this week into Puebla, a truly beautiful state dominated by the countryβs tallest volcanos and home to one of the greatest inventions of the 17th century: Mole Poblano. Although our travels didnβt take us to every corner, I fou[...]
Fresh on the heels of an emergency hospital stay, we scrapped ambitious plans for the week and instead settled into an airbnb south of Mexico City so that I could rest and recuperate. By the end of the week, I finally felt well enough to venture out and explore, from Xochimilco to CoyoacΓ‘n to Roma[...]
Every year, more than one billion monarch butterflies make the 5,000km journey from Canada to Mexico, arriving into high-elevation forests just outside of Mexico City to "overwinter" in near-constant sunshine. The Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve is a pocket of true magic amongst the sacred[...]
From experiencing the absolute best of Mexican hospitality and witnessing one of the most incredible natural phenomenon in North America to ending up in hospital, this was simultaneously the best and worst week weβve had in Mexico so far. What we've been up to this week Departing San M[...]
We wrapped up several wonderful weeks in Jalisco by visiting the state capital and Mexicoβs second largest city, Guadalajara, which was far more delightful than weβd imagined. The end of the week brought even more excitement as we headed inland to Guanajuato, getting farther off the tourist tra[...]
Just off the East Cape of Baja California Sur, Cabo Pulmo National Park protects a 70-sq-km area within the Sea of Cortez, famously described by French explorer Jaques Cousteau as the "World's Aquarium". What may seem like hyperbole is actually the most fitting description available for Cabo Pulmo[...]
Coming fresh from a year of vanlife in the American West, we were convinced that Baja would present a big change to our usual boondocking and free campingβ we expected mostly paid campgrounds and crowded RV Parks, and even fretted about how we'd find clean drinking water or fuel in between towns.[...]
Only 50 miles out of Mexicali but a world away from the city bustle of 1 million people lies one of Baja's most incredible hidden gems, a natural hot spring nestled into a palm-fringed granite canyon where it's possible to soak in private rock pools as the sun descends over the mountains. And as en[...]