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 Coyoacรกn 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 weโve 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 Mexicoโs second largest city, Guadalajara, which was far more delightful than weโd 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 campingโ 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[...]
Although off to a less than exciting start (with a long and unwelcome illness), this proved to be another beautiful week spent in the Mexican state of Jalisco as we explored the area surrounding Lake Chapala and two new Pueblo Mรกgicos.ย What we've been up to this week Iโll be honest, itโ[...]
Finally leaving the coast behind after nearly 2 months on the beach in Baja, Sinaloa, Nayarit, and Jalisco, we cruised inland this Monday to explore some of the countryside. If anything could drag us away from the relaxed vibes of San Pancho, surely it was Tequila, a small town know as birthplace o[...]
After mumโs wedding in Puerto Vallarta and so much celebrating with family, we are back on our own and exploring how we do bestโ in our little home on wheels! This week, we hung around PV long enough to take in some of the best sights before scooting north through Riviera Nayarit to soak in our[...]
Different from our previous time on the road in so many ways, we spent this week outside of the van, entirely surrounded by family, old and new, for my mumโs wedding at a beachfront resort in Puerto Vallarta. It was everything I could have hoped for her and such a wonderful time with family in th[...]
Baja is one of the best destinations in the world for vanlifeโ whether it's road-tripping down the peninsula in a converted van or just posting up for months at a beautiful beach in an RV, thousands of yearly travellers make Baja their home away from home. And yet, so few of these travell[...]
For our last week in Baja, we drove north from Cabo along the wild Pacific Coast to explore Todos Santos, which ended up being one of our favourite destinations on the peninsula. It was genuinely difficult to tear ourselves away from the beaches, whales, and sea turtlesโ but we had a ferry to cat[...]
Enjoying our time in Cabo Pulmo National Park so much last week (and missing it the moment we drove away), we ended up driving right back up to Bajaโs East Cape at the start of this week and sacrificing time in the busy resort centres of San Josรฉ del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas. It was the best deci[...]
For all the fascinating marine life and incredible creatures who inhabit the Sea of Cortez, perhaps none is more impressive than the whale shark (tiburรณn ballena, en espaรฑol), a plankton-feeding carpet shark whose calm grace and striking beauty belie its almost incomprehensible size. Rea[...]
Starting off with a visit to the only place Iโd ever been in Baja before (and a big part of why I pushed so hard to bring the van down here in the first placeโ charming little La Ventana), this was an incredibly full week of kayaking and snorkelling in Cabo Pulmo National Park on the East Cape.[...]
Travelling deeper into the heart of Baja California Sur, we discovered several of the peninsulaโs best beaches and experienced some true magic in between. From kayaking right out of our van door into the crystal-clear Bahรญa Concepciรณn to swimming alongside enormous whale sharks in the Bay o[...]
Our first full week in Baja was every bit as magical as we might have hoped, and perhaps even more soโ it was an incredible blend of secluded beaches whose quiet bays teemed with marine life, vibrant cactus gardens extending all the way to the waterโs edge, ancient cobbled towns, and palm-fring[...]
Bordering the southern USA for a whopping 2,000 miles, Mexico presents one of the best (and easiest) opportunities for North Americans to experience international vanlifeโย and yet so many travellers are intimidated by the permit process, the border crossing, and the perceived difficulty of drivi[...]
As a condition of driving your vehicle into Mexico (the Baja Peninsula OR mainland), you are required to obtain a Mexican auto insurance policy that, at minimum, covers third-party liability. When that vehicle is a valuable van or camper (and especially your home), it's even more vital to have a co[...]