We are back in the USA! We crossed the border two days ago and are spending some time now in our new home state of Texas. We're headed to Big Bend National Park which we've heard great things about and are excited to explore in the coming days. See photo below of our border crossing and our campsite in Marathon, TX.
We were planning to spend at least another week in Mexico and even had Airbnb reservations in Zacatecas for four nights starting today. But a bartender in Aguascalientes strongly advised us not to go to Zacatecas on account of the rampant cartel violence in the city and region. There are two different drug cartels battling over turf in Zacatecas and many non-cartel people have unfortunately gotten caught in the crossfire. I also spoke with police in Aguascalientes to confirm this and they also told me that it would be best to avoid the whole region until things calm down with the current cartel violence. There's so much media attention on the Mexican drug violence and the US State Department currently has many travel advisories on most states in Mexico. We've tried our best throughout our trip not to buy into this fear mongering that is so pervasive but we also didn't want to do anything stupid and it just felt like going to Zacatecas was a risk that we didn't need to take. After more than three months traveling in Mexico, we were also starting to feel a little road weary and were excited by the prospect of being back in our country.
Our week started out in San Luis Potisi which is a fairly large city in central Mexico that used to be a major gold and silver mining hub in past centuries. After being in La Huasteca Potosina the previous week, it was great to be in a larger city with different food options and some excellent museums. We ate at a Japanese restaurant which was surprisingly decent although they put cream cheese in the sushi rolls which is actually fairly common in Mexico. We also visited the National Mask Museum and the Center for the Arts which were both spectacular museums. The National Mask Museum had some really outrageous masks that you need to see to believe (see photos below). The Center for the Arts was probably even more impressive as it's an old federal prison that's been converted into a major arts center in the city. It houses many sculptures and other pieces of art from the surrealist Leonora Carrington which are also quite remarkable (see photos below). San Luis Potosi also has this huge, amazing park that we visited both days that we were in the city called Parque Tangamanga that is great for biking, running and every other activity imaginable.
After our SLP visit, we drove on to Aguascalientes which is a smaller city known for its colonial architecture and many hot springs around the region. Our drive was especially interesting as there were hundreds of pilgrims doing their annual pilgrimage to the sacred Wirikuta desert, where they believe the world was created. The Wixarika Indians were walking on the side of the road in very hot conditions and the average distance traveled is 250 miles so this pilgrimage is no joke! Other than getting spooked about the cartels during our visit to Aguascalientes, we enjoyed our visit and since the National Museum of Death was closed for remodeling, we made the excursion to the outskirts of town to the Museo Espacio which had a rather bizarre collection of modern art (see photo below). Ginny also got some sweet blue tinted sunglasses which she has been wearing constantly ever since (see photo below).
[Ginny here, because some have asked me to chime in more on this blog] So there you have it - the end of our Mexico trip and our first real taste of vanlife. We drove over 4,000 miles, across 12 different states in just over three months. Probably spent about $300 in tolls - well worth it in our opinion, given the vehicle swallowing potholes you encounter on the libre roads. We had 51 free nights and 41 paid nights. Of those 41 paid nights, 11 nights were at Airbnbs, with the rest averaging just under $10/night. Much to my relief, we only encountered one road block, paid one mordida (police bribe) and didn't come up against any drug cartels or banditos. Can't even guess how many topes (speed bumps of various sizes and materials) we drove over, but it felt like thousands and are fortunate that Gemma didn't suffer any damage. We ate our weight (and then some) in tortillas - unfortunately, the same can't be said for veggies, but fruit...lots of fruit! We didn't come upon many others in vans at all - they're probably all in Baja, but we met some interesting folks, including one European couple that we're sure to keep in touch with. And surprisingly, we didn't return with a Mexican dog, which are the chillest! There is so much more to say about this wonderful country and we're sure to share more with you in person. But for now, just get down there yourselves and enjoy! Who wants to go with us next time?
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