Back in the USA !

Day 208

Current Location: San Antonio, Texas (USA)

Total Countries visited: 9

Total Miles Driven: 26,753

Hello everyone !  I am writing from San Antonio, Texas... Both Large Marge and I successfully crossed the border yesterday into El Paso, Texas... and we're now back in the USA !  Adios, Mexico, I will miss you very much.

This is a weird feeling.  I'm literally only days from being finished with my trip.  Large Marge is doing as well as ever, as if she had a a fresh breath of youth recently - or perhaps it's the cold weather that fits her better, given her recent menopausal bursting accidents.

And that last border crossing was actually fun !  Who would have thought I would actually say that... I did have to wait for an hour on the bridge because of all the rush hour traffic, but I was entertained by all the peddlers and window washers who were trying to score one last peso before we made it safely back to the motherland.

Yoda tried to stop him, but this window washer had too much Force.

And the border patrol officers were unusually nice to me this time...  They performed the customary search of Large Marge, but they went through it really fast, and in fact they even cleaned it up a little (they put all my food that was laying around in a little plastic bag, thanks !)  Oh well - I don't have any funny border stories for you this time, sorry !

Over the last 9 days I have driven over 2,000 miles... that's a lot, I really packed it up !  I promised myself I'd go out with a bang, and I did... I saw some incredible things (wait until you see that sunset).  So here we go:

Guadalajara

Guadalajara is the second largest city in Mexico, with a population topping 5 million.  And unlike Mexico City, it feels clean, liveable, civilized.  I only spent one day in Guadalajara, but I loved it !  It has gorgeous architecture (with its two-domed cathedral being the center of it all), street art everywhere to add to the scenery, excellent food and vibrant nightlife with salsa bars hopping at every corner until late into the night.  It also has another one of those gigantic labyrinth markets that sell absolutely anything you can imagine, from food to clothes to jewelry and more... Definitely one of the most Mexican cities I have visited, and one of my favourites.

La Calavera, disguise usually associated with the day of the dead.

Main cathedral, can be seen from anywhere in town.

Seriously ?  What are you supposed to do with that exactly ?

Water games.

Puerto Vallarta

Just a few hundred miles west of Guadalajara is Puerto Vallarta, a wonderful beach / coastal town that is very tourist-friendly.  A lot of money has been put towards making the city welcoming to foreigners, and there are sculptures everywhere, a very wide pedestrian-only street (the Malecon) lined with restaurants and bars, and drink specials every night.  I suppose that the only negative thing I could say about Puerto Vallarta, similar to Cancun, is that it's not Mexican enough.  Too many tourists everywhere have taken over the entire place.  But that's not really a complaint - I still got a tan, and I still had a blast.

A fun coincidence was that I arrived in town at the very beginning of the Mardi Gras / Carnival festival which lasts 3-4 days.  Parades in the street, dancers, fire walkers, it was spectacular... Too bad I didn't bring my camera for that !

Beach in the Zona Romantica near my hotel.  It was a bit cloudy.

Can't go wrong with $1 beer / margaritas !

Beautiful sculptures all over the Malecon.

Mazatlan

Mazatlan is another coastal / beach town a few hundred miles north of Puerto Vallarta, but that's pretty much the only comparison there is between the two towns.  Whereas Puerto Vallarta is touristy, Mazatlan (at least the old part of it where I stayed) is not - I could count the non-Mexicans on one finger, literally.  That was great - nobody spoke english, mexican music everywhere, and it was still Mardi Gras, so I celebrated Mexican-style and really enjoyed it!  Mazatlan beaches are also incredible, mostly because they are surrounded by the city, and one of the main streets where most restaurants / bars are located (another Malecon) is right on the ocean.

And then there was the sunset.  Or should I say, the Mother of all sunsets.  This was the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen.  The sky went completely pink, then orange, and clouds became rainbows, I could not believe I was not dreaming - colours like this do not exist in real life.  Please judge by yourself and let me know if I was dreaming.

The sun is about to set.

And here you go.

I think I was dreaming.

And the clouds became rainbows.

Mexican band for the carnival !

Copper Canyon

The last attraction of my trip to Mexico was Copper Canyon.  Interestingly, when I was planning my trip last year it was the first thing I put on my to-do list, as it is world-famous and renowned for its natural beauty.

I stayed two nights in the little town of Creel right on the edge of the Canyon, at 8,000 feet elevation.  The first thing that struck me was the temperature - it was cold !  During Winter in northern Mexico, at 8,000 feet elevation, I could swear I was in Colorado or even in Canada - there was some snow on the ground, the smell of wood burning was everywhere as people were trying to keep their houses warm, and there were no palm trees - only pine trees everywhere... it was weird.

Large Marge looking comfy in Creel, Mexico.

Beautiful rock formations just outside of Creel.

I spent some time (not enough time though, it would take at least a week to see it all) exploring the canyon and its surroundings... Copper Canyon is amazing.  It is often compared to the Grand Canyon in the US, but to me it felt very different from it.  Copper Canyon is actually a network of 7 canyons, and the area that the canyons cover is much greater than the Grand Canyon.  At its widest and deepest, Copper Canyon is wider and deeper than the Grand Canyon, but what truly sets Copper Canyon apart is that there is so much more access to it than the Grand Canyon.  There are roads going inside (and at the bottom) of the Canyon, there is an Orient-express like train that traverses each of the canyons (with magnificent views I hear, and of course with a bar / restaurant car on board - I will definitely try that next time), and there are actual villages at the bottom of the canyon, where indians have been living for hundreds of years and keeping their customs alive.

Basaseachi Falls, the tallest in Mexico.

View of one of the canyons - you can actually zipline through it !

Monster makes a comeback!

On my second day there I decided to hike down to the bottom of one of the canyons to soak into some hot springs.  It was quite a hike, 3.5 km (over 2 miles) straight down the canyon, and at the end you are rewarded with a set of swimming pools where hot water is being diverted from a nearby spring.  Mind you, if it were up to me I would have put the swimming pools at the top of the canyon, but I guess they didn't have much of a choice (the hike back up was quite challenging).

Some interesting tidbit on my way down, as I had nearly arrived at the hot springs I see three cows sitting at the edge of the road - one baby, and two adults (call them mama cow and papa cow).  I didn't make much of it, but as I got within 25 feet papa cow stood up facing me and gave me a look that could either signify anger or the total lack of intelligence (at first I thought it was anger).  Given that papa cow had very sharp horns, and given that I have been told in the past that wild cows can charge if they feel threatened (especially with baby cow needing protection), I stopped in my tracks and tried to think of alternatives (I was not turning back, no way).

Good cow, bad cow... what to do ?

Alternative 1 - take a detour through the canyon.  This one seemed easy.  I was only 20 feet above the river bed, so I figured I would walk down to the river, walk along the river until I am past the cows, and walk back up to the trail.  Unfortunately, I had not anticipated the possibility of running into cousin-cow (who was also very angry/stupid, and very pointy) that was blocking the only access to the river and became agitated as I almost walked over it.  Retreat, fast !

Alternative 2 - become friends with papa cow.  I ran back up to the trail, and decided that my only other option is to make friends with the mad cow by throwing it food.  I figured, if papa cow likes my food, he will think I'm a friend and let me pass, bingo !  So I pick up the only granola bar I had left, cut a half of it and try to throw it just in front of papa cow so that it can get a good taste of my friendship.  I don't know if was due to nervousness, or if driving a large vehicle for 6 months made me that much stronger, but I completely miscalculated my throw, and the granola bar landed directly on papa cow's head.  Oops !

But this is where the story ends.  Papa cow was actually of the stupid (non-angry) variety, and got scared by the granola bar hitting its head, so it ran away from mama and baby cow, leaving them to fend for themselves (typical, I know).  I could now pass safely.

It was worth it.

Swimming in the warm (98 degrees F) water at the bottom of a 2,000 foot canyon was quite amazing and relaxing.  I spent some quality time there before attempting the arduous climb back up to Marge.

The last amazing thing that happened in Copper Canyon that I would never have thought possible is that as I was driving away from Creel in the morning to make my way back to Texas, I hit a major snowstorm.  I could not believe it, and neither could Marge.  I was terrified and euphoric at the same time.  Thankfully, Marge handled it like a pro, but I still cannot believe that I drove through a snowstorm in Mexico.  How many people can say that ?

I am not making this up !

She is an old pro.

That's it for now folks !  I am going to enjoy the San Antonio Riverwalk tonight, eat good meat, drink gigantic margaritas, and continue heading towards Florida where Large Marge will finally be put to rest.  It's almost over !  Wow !