A month in Mexico – designated by Becky as our retirement-moon hung out there like a a threatening storm. I haven’t traveled much outside the US, and nagging thoughts about immigrants, cartels and the basic unknown were taking root in the back of my mind. Of course, Becky had no doubts and no fear (at least none that she would admit). Why, I thought, don’t we travel to a country with less of a chance of ending up in the trunk of a car? But it’s not cool to be afraid when your wife has no doubts, so I put those thoughts away, and got my gear packed up.
Our trip involved 4 phases. A few days being tourists in Mexico City followed by a plane flight to Tulum for cenote swims. Then a cross-Yucatan bus trip to Campeche to fish for baby Tarpon. Then the trip would culminate with another long bus journey down to the Guatemala border where we would take an 8 day raft trip along the Usumacinta River. What could go wrong?
It turns out the reason Becky was unworried is that she had done quite a bit of planning before we left. This would turn out to be our super power in Mexico. Here’s a few of our highlights (and lowlights) of the trip:
Mexico City:
Becky eating breakfast downtown Mexico City
If you haven’t been to Mexico City, start thinking about a trip here. The downtown area is historic, beautiful and super clean. Lots of great museums, tours and restaurants. We did a tour of the markets which was totally amazing (did it through Airbnb Experiences). We stayed right downtown and walked everywhere. Learning to find and use the ATM’s was a small but fun challenge but other than that our stay in Mexico City was wonderful – we will be back!
Learnings:
Stay downtown. If you are going to visit the Frida museum, reserve a ticket a few weeks ahead (we didn’t). Do some guided tours. You’ll learn some amazing things about the city.
Beautiful Cathedral in downtown Mexico City
Tulum:
We flew into the Tulum with a plan rent a car and stay at an AirBNB for 5 nights and drive to different areas of the eastern Yucatan for swims and tours. Renting a car in Mexico is an adventure. We were picked up at the airport by our rental car “agent”. While driving to the AirBnB, we asked about the police and the roads. She said, “Yes you
Warming up after swimming in a cenote.
might get pulled over, but if you do, don’t tell them this is a rental car. Just say you borrowed it from a friend”. And “Don’t keep all your cash in your wallet. Just keep like $50 and tell them that’s all you have”. This instruction session didn’t do a lot for my confidence.
Our first day in Tulum, we went to a centote (natural swimming hole) and noticed that we had an almost flat tire. With lots of hand waving and un poco espanol, we found a tire shop and got it fixed. After this shaky start, our experience with the rental car was perfect! We drove to several centotes, restaurants, grocery store and markets. A super highlight was our visit to Azulik Uh May. This place is deep in the jungle, with no signs pointing the way. And it is not to be missed! To read more about it start here:
At the super amazing Azulik Uh May
https://www.archdaily.com/906448/azulik-uh-may-jorge-eduardo-neira-sterkel.
We also visited the Reserve de la Biosfera Sian Ka’an in our little rental car. The road was very, very rough, but the scenery was really beautiful.
We immersed ourselves in the Tulum area of the Yucatan, and never had to hide our money from the police!
Learnings:
Overall our time in Tulum was fun but it won’t be at the top of our list next time. Tulum feels like it’s already been discovered. There’s a LOT of construction going on (this will be the Destin of Mexico). While the centotes were generally good, we’d need to do some research to find some that are less commercial than the ones we visited. And be sure that Azulik Uh May is on your list.
Campeche
The next phase of our trip took us across the Yucatan peninsula. Becky had figured out that we could do this by bus. I
Becky with a Campeche baby Tarpon!
was (of course) concerned about the bus ride. Like everything on this trip so far, the bus was so much better than we could have imagined. The whole process was easy and the bus ride was quiet and beautiful. The station was a little hectic, but it felt so much more connected than going to the airport. After a full day on the bus, we found a taxi and got to our AirBnB. Campeche was FANTASTIC! The historic district had super narrow streets, historic buildings, beautiful colors and felt like nowhere I have ever been. The AirBnB was beautiful (and cheap at under $100). There were many restaurants and historic things to see about this amazing city.
Our main purpose for this leg was two days of fly fishing for “baby” tarpon. On the first day of fishing we were picked up by Sam – the brother of our guide for the day. Sam took us through the winding streets to an area lined with boats. Our guide Rodrigo was waiting for us in his old, but well maintained Panga. Panga’s are the traditional fishing boats of Mexico and many Caribbean areas. Over the next two days we had a ball with our guide. He took us to many spots and we caught some beautiful fish. And the pristine mangrove studded wetlands were amazing to see.
Learnings:
Campeche was great. We loved the feel of the city, loved the fishing, loved the history, loved the restaurants. We will be back to do this again!
Up on the ancient wall in Campeche
The Usumacinta River
Becky on the Usu.
We left Campeche (again by bus) headed south towards the Guatemala border and a town called Villa Hermosa. The final phase of our trip was an 8 day rafting trip down the Usumacinta River with friends from Salida, Co. This river combines both flatwater and whitewater, historical mayan sites, good camping and even a few travertine waterfalls. We had an amazing journey on the river. Like any journey, there were highs and lows.
A month removed from the trip, I don’t remember many lows other than having several super long rowing days on flat water due to the cartel
activity along the border, running out of wine on the 2nd night (followed by a high of a motor boat delivery of wine the following day) and some moments of dealing with heat.
Travertine waterfall on the Usu
The highs included touring jungle covered mayan sites that are many miles removed from any roads. Floating past amazing travertine waterfalls from side tributaries. Hearing the howler monkeys at 4am when the moon set over the horizon. Walking up to a cenote complete with a resident crocodile for a swim. Sharing “nipple beers” with our friends (standing nipple deep in the river with your first beer of the evening to cool off) after long, hot days on the water.
Learnings:
The Usumacinta part of our trip reminded us that it’s about the journey – not the destination. The time spent with Becky and also all of our river friends embeds itself into who you are and where your life will go next. Through these weeks away, I realized that Mexico is a really amazing place. While I’m sure there are risks – the trip did not feel risky. And something I know from a lifetime of outdoor activities is that you can’t just listen to the scary stories and let that keep you from living. Our retirement-moon was fun, challenging, beautiful, exciting, and I would do it again in a heartbeat!
After a long day on the water.
Campsite on night 3
Our hardy group