We #teamAstrid (Anthony Sicola of Overland Nomads & Bryon Dorr of Exploring Elements) took 7 ½ days to drive from Santa Cruz, CA to Guanajuato, Mexico. A long journey of about 2100 miles with a route through Tucson, Nogales, Guaymas, Mazatlan and Guadalajara. “Hank the Tank,” Overland Nomad’s trusty fully overland-equipped 80 series Toyota Land Cruiser has treated us well on this journey so far. The mission was to get to Guanajuato by the evening of Dec. 4th for the Muskoka Foundation volunteer welcome dinner. We would then help out at a few local orphanages until the night of Dec. 11th when the Maya Rally kicks off with a big pre end of the world party.
We drove over 14 hrs the first day to arrive in Tucson in order to make an early morning border crossing the next day. Around 2pm we stopped for lunch and in Redlands, CA and I managed to get the only real #$%K up of the trip out of the way early. I had left my passport on the scanner at Anthony’s house when making copies the night before. With a quick call and help from #teamAstrid HQ, Astrid and her Mom, the passport was on its way to the Tucson Airport FedEx location for morning pickup. With a few hrs extra sleep in a hotel near the airport in Tucson we managed to pickup the passport and only be a few hours behind on our rough schedule. Best-case scenario for such a big mistake. No harm no foul, right?
We crossed the border in Mexico at Nogales. We bought our Mexico vehicle insurance at Sanborn’s before crossing, had a quick chat with a few US border officers, and then drove for 31 km before getting to the passport & vehicle permit station. Quite an odd experience since there were a few exits and you weren’t even forced to stop at the station, as it was just along the hwy with a few signs. No lines and a quick process overall. We also had no issues or searches in this area, which is said to be one of the rougher areas of Mexico. We spent the night at the Hotel de Cortez RV Park in the roof top tent after enjoying some local food in downtown Guaymas, soaking in the breeze off the Sea of Cortez and catching up on some internet and enjoying cervezas in the hotel lobby.
After a quick workout run in the hills above the Sea of Cortez we hit the road to Los Mochis. Early in the day we had a PGR search of the vehicle. Very professional and kind officers that seemed to just want to check out and ask about the Land Cruiser. They did go through some bags and came across the condoms I always have in my toiletries kit, which they proceeded to hold up, let everyone know about and have a good laugh. All good though and we were on our way. We tried to connect with a friend of a friend who had a great camping spot for us in Topolobampo, but after waiting for some time and darkness setting in we executed our only prudent option and went to the only RV park near by, the Los Mochis Copper Canyon RV Park. Be warned, it is LOUD at this campground as it is along the hwy.
We made the “quick,” everything takes forever in Mexico, drive to Mazatlan and enjoyed an afternoon swim in the ocean, great shrimp dinner and much liquid libations. On the way into town we drove through the downtown area and got our fill of the built up tourist area with just the 20 min drive. Highly recommend the Mar-A-Villas RV Park for the great people and amazing beach access. It is VERY loud though, so bring earplugs. We enjoyed a lazy morning and a quick beach run, which hurt so good.
On our way out of Mazatlan we found Hank’s doppelganger, it even had Maya Rally stickers on the side! We quickly did a U-turn and met Monica and Jeff of Overland The World. We quickly hit it off and decided to caravan the rest of the way, as they were on the same schedule. We put in a good drive and rolled into the Delia’s RV Park. The proprietor Brenda is super friendly and the wifi and hot showers were great. It was a Friday night so the house of ill repute across the street was a bit loud, but not really an issue.
We headed off to see the circular pyramids of Guachimones and do some tequila tasting for the day. After getting a bit of a tour from the GPS and not finding the pyramids, Monica and Jeff had to hit the road and meet family in Guadaljara. #teamAstrid found the pyramids and then had a quick tour of the Herradura factory, which we highly recommend! We then met back up with Monica and Jeff for dinner with their family. Our first experience with the Mexican locals was at P.F. Chang’s, a restaurant that neither of us had ever been to before. The conversation was well worth it and the food wasn’t bad. We got to experience about an hour of night driving to get to our camp spot for the night at Chimulco RV Park. Great place, but Anthony had to convince the guard that Hank was a recreational vehicle because they don’t allow tent camping.
We had a really lazy morning enjoying time in the hot springs and on the internet and then headed to Tlaquepaque to check out Jeff’s other Uncle’s business and see the town. Tlaquepaque is an amazing arts district and Antiquia De Mexico is a very cool furniture shop. We locked down the trucks in the furniture warehouse, took a taxi to Centro Guadalajara, got a room at Hotel Frances (The oldest hotel in Guadalajara) and then had a night on the town. Very cool city!
After another “short” drive we made it to the amazing mountain town of Guanajuato and managed to find the Morrill Trailer Park after a discussion with a few locals. Amazing place that we are itching to explore more. For now it’s off to volunteer with the Muskoka Foundation before the Rally properly kicks off on the 11th.
A few observations about Mexico so far:
-Time in Mexico is slooooow. Just accept it and you’ll lose a lot less hair.
-There are lots of dogs everywhere, and they will bark ALL night long. Get used to it and/or bring earplugs.
-There are alto signs at many intersections that have traffic lights. Ignore the sign and sort of obey the light. Alto signs are optional anyway in Mexico;)
-How many ways can a single road go? In Mexico I know for sure that somehow 15 goes at least 4 directions at once!
-It is easy to find tacos, pizza and Chinese food in Mexico, but not much else.
-It always takes at least 3 people to watch 1 person do a job.
-Shoe stores have absolutely amazing merchandising. Just check it out when you get to Mexico!
-They drink a lot of soda in Mexico. Normal super market size soda is 3L!
-Good tequila can come in a plastic jug:)
A huge shout out to all our new overland friends for truly bringing this experience to another level. You guys rock! Getting excited for the very vague thing that is the Maya Rally. Follow along on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram. Be sure to also check out the great media coming from Anthony, the other half of #teamAstrid, at Overland Nomads.
We’d like to thank our awesome sponsors: LED Lenser for brightly lighting our way, Triple Aught Design for the sweet American made threads & Warn Industries for our recovery kit that might be needed very soon.
#teamAstrid is named for Astrid Sicola, Anthony’s wife, who has recently battled Leukemia and is still recovery from the many complications of such a disease. She planned to physically be here with us, but instead she is at home getting stronger and her positive energy and amazing strength are with us every day.
