CANCUN!!!

Thursday 20th of July

Next day we left the hostel towards our long awaited Cancun. It is worth mentioning that this stage of the trip was the most expensive one in tolls. After passing the city of Merida, about one third of our way there, the road turns into a very well maintained highway with very little traffic. At this point we were well into the Yucatan Peninsula and heading into one of Mexico’s most beloved state, Quintana Roo. This state is famous for its gorgeous Caribbean beaches and also home of Cancun and the Riviera Maya.

We arrived at Cancun at mid afternoon, with enough time to hit the beaches before the sun went down. The strip, similar to one of the Florida Keys, also called the “zona hotelera” (hotels zone), was so different from the rest of the city that seemed almost like a different country. Every hotel chain imaginable had a splendorous building or set of buildings on the ocean front. We found out later that in average the cost for a room in one of these fancy hotels was around $200. The tourist area located along the key looked at times like a blend between Las Vegas and Daytona Beach, but nothing like Mexico. They were even more Americans walking around than Mexicans. The exuberance of the commercial zone was at times too much, and in our case it was especially disturbing. Imagine driving three thousand miles out of the US and into the heart of Mexico to end up in franchise of American commercial capitalism. Eerie. Once I hit the Outback Steakhouse and saw no trace of my fellow Hispanics the scenary started to give me goose bumps.

Regardless of the hardcore globalization, the beach still met our expectations. It was the beginning of the Mexican Caribbean shore and the mildly warm turquoise sea dominated the landscape. As the sun set we headed back into the city to find another backpacker’s hostel, which proved to be so successful the night before. Indeed we found one that a guy recommended back in Campeche. It was called the “Hostel Maya” and it cost about 100 pesos a night, 20 pesos more than the one in Campeche but as the owner of the hostel (a very nice guy) was telling us, that’s what you’d spend for a cab from the airport to the hostel. Pretty funny uh? I’ll upload a video tour of the hostel soon.

Speedbumps and sleeping at Campeche

Wedesday 19th and Thusday 20th of July

We had a very long drive from the archeological areas. The road was full of speed bumps, called “topes” in Mexico. These god forsaken obstacles are all over the place. Apparently, Mexico has a law permitting civilians to put “topes” in front of their house if they feel like it. Thy come in every size and color, some even seem disguised on purpose so you can’t see them until is too late. Add to the situation all the extra weight from luggage and stuff. The result, every time we passed through one of these the car’s bottom grinded excruciatingly every time. Multiply this by all the hundreds we’ve been through already, and that would start to explain the symphony of screeches and squeaks coming out of the rear suspension.

After a long day, Campeche seemed like a really good place. It’s a small and clean colonial town with friendly people and narrow streets at its downtown. We arrived at around 11pm without a place to sleep and not really in the mood for camping, especially after our experience in Tampico. We drove around and asked for hotels. We visited about 4 or 5 and all of them were full. Lastly, we settled to look at a hostel, like the kind you see around Europe for backpackers. We spot it a couple of times but we were uncertain to how clean or safe would one of those be. So far we were spending around $55 per night in each hotel we have stayed. Turns out this hostel, named the Monkey Hostel, was only 80 pesos a night (about $7.5) per person. It was clean, it had a laid back environment and it was filled of interesting people. You did have to share the room with 6 other people and the bathroom was also shared. They also had free internet, books, a shared space to socialize, a guitar (awesome idea!), table games, and a fantastic view... just check out the picture! It was perfectly located right on the main plaza with a great view of the park and the town chapel. Check out the video for a guided tour of the hostel by me, just click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iy809Gjy5Os .

Palenque Ruins

Wednesday 19th of July

Next day we said our goodbyes with Karla and her family and left for Palenque. Palenque was deeper in the inlands of Mexico. The road started to get a little rough and later we found that the area was known for having one of the most humid ecosystems. Indeed, we got plenty of 5 minute showers along the road. The archeological site was great, very well maintained and quite stunning. We spend a couple of hours there and then headed for the falls. On our way to the falls we made another stop at the Misolha falls, a pretty random stop to be honest, we just saw a sign and decided to check it out. It’s probably the most successful random stop we’ve made so far. These astonishing falls looked like some landscape taken out of a postcard. The small lake to which the fall landed was open to tourists to swim in it. Of course, we jumped right in. The water was refreshing and the view from up close was spectacular, as you can see by the picture. You can notice two small dots on the lower right corner of the picture, those are Gabriel and Erick swiming around. After an hour or so, we continued toward Agua Azul. The Agua Azul falls, which mean blue water falls, were pretty nice, but because of the weather they weren’t even close to being blue. They were more like brownish-gray. It was around 3 when we left Agua Azul. From there our next destination was Cancun. The plan was to leave Agua Azul early in the afternoon and start the trip to Cancun making our first stop in Campeche, if we managed to get there at a reasonable time. It took us longer than I expected, but around 11pm we finally got to Campeche, our first stretch towards Cancun.

Xalapa (pronounced Ha-la-pah)

Monday 17th and Tuesday 18th of July

Next day we left for Xalapa. In Xalapa I knew a girl whom I met through a website, believe it or not. I don’t usually operate that way, I swear, but after trying a bunch of different things in preparation for the trip this seemed a shot worth taking. I met Karla through couchsurfing.com. This website is an online community of travelers and backpackers who offer their couches and hospitality to travelers who happen to be in the area. It’s a worldwide community. I set up my profile and started sending emails to everyone offering to take up to 3 people on our route who didn’t seemed too sketchy. From the ones I picked, only a couple wrote back, one in Xalapa, Mexico and another one in Playa del Coco, Costa Rica. We exchanged a few emails and chatted online a little before we actually met. We first met with Karla that day, when we arrived at Xalapa, 1 hour west of Veracruz, around 9pm.

Karla took us in for a couple of days and offered to be our tour guide. As soon as we got to Xalapa we went to get something really Mexican to eat. We got some late-night tacos at a stand right on the street. Very local thing to do. Hey, you gotta try everything. Having grown up in a 3^rd world country myself my stomach is strong enough to take some stuff, but this was pushing it. Luckily we were all fine afterwards. Next day Karla took us to a little town called Xico, very charming. Over there I bought a great fruit liquor made out of maracuya, a very acid fruit with a delightful flavor. Afterwards, we headed for the Texolo falls. They were very nice falls in the middle of the vegetation. We had some lunch on the same town right after that, and we kept enjoying the Mexican cuisine. That night we made plans for the next day as we left Xalapa, and Karla’s father, who was a retired History Prof. gave us a lot of useful information about the culture and the sights around so we could have our options. The final decision was to take another day and head to the ruins of Palenque and the Agua Azul falls.

First stretch in Mexico: Tampico

Sunday 16th and begnining of Monday 17th of July

Last time I wrote we were spend the night at Matamoros, just pass the US-Mexico border. A lot has happened since. I haven’t had the time to peacefully sit and write in detail our adventures, but this is actually a sign that we always had so much to do that we didn’t have time to do anything else. I’m glad we are really taking advantage of this trip.

After spending the night at Matamoros we departed for our second destination: Tampico. Tampico is a city right at the middle of the Mexican coast of the Gulf of Mexico. We arrived there after a 6 hour drive. Our first instinct was to go to the beach and have our first beach day at the gulf. We spend the rest of the afternoon there, played some soccer with a bunch of kids and sneaked into a private club to use the pool. Nobody seemed to notice or care. After that we sneaked into a hotel to use the bathroom and change. We decided also to camp on the beach as part of the real road trip experience, but first we went to hit the bars and check out the Tampico night life. Not much worth seeing. After a few beers we attempted to put up the tent (at 1:30 am). After a few minutes we finally crashed from all the hard work, but we somehow managed to finish the tent though.

In the middle of the night I heard some movement. When I opened my eyes I was by myself in the tent. As I exit the tent I saw far in the dark my brother running. It was truly a surreal scene. After a couple of minutes both Gabriel and Erick came back and explained that a couple of thieves attempted to take some our bathing suits, which we left outside to dry overnight (probably a bad idea to begin with).

Getting to Mexico

As the extra day went by, we reminded us that we had a greater goal to drive to. So we left for day 2 of our trip, which had turn out to be day 3 now, towards Houston. As we left Alabama and we adventured into Mississippi, Gabriel noticed our AC going warmer and warmer, until we had no AC at all. As we pulled over to a gas station we also apparently lost the power steering. I don’t know if you have ever driven a car without power steering, but it can be quite an exercise on your arms if you’re driving in the city. Lucky for us ninety-five percent of our trip was down a straight line on a highway. Anyways, we asked directions to the closest mechanic. We pulled in to this local auto repair shop in what appears to be the cradle of the Dixie spirit in Mississippi (another mild culture shock occurred somewhere in here). Moving on… The mechanic made us pop the hood and in less than 10 seconds he dipped his arm in the maze of cables and pumps and pulled out a broken engine belt. He looked at us and in a semi-sarcastic tone said: "I think this is your problem". Forty five minutes and ninety dollars later we were back on the road and leaving Mississippi to enter Louisiana. Parts of the highway in Louisiana were suspended over the surface because of the swamp areas that are characteristic of the area. These sections could stretch for tens of miles.

After all the delays plus a late departure from Birmingham we arrived at Houston. Add to the situation another 30 minutes to an hour trying to find the hotel. Against all odds, Google maps failed me with the directions. Finally, we arrived at the hotel around 12am at night. We passed out as soon as we settled in the room and on the next day pulled ourselves together early to seize the day. And we did. As we approached Brownsville, the Texan city located right on the border, I could see the vegetation starting to change. The forest-like vegetation was gradually replaced by palm trees and bushes. Eventually, we arrived at Brownsville, the last stop in the US.

The crossing from Brownsville to Matamoros, the Mexican side of Brownsville, was right ahead. We had done plenty of research and spent plenty of time and money to be ready to cross the border without any complication. As we got closer to the border we saw the Mexican border control post. We approached a little more and started to follow the white arrows on the road and the signs towards the crossing point. We passed next to a big building, over a couple of speed bumps, and past a toll-like section that divided the lanes and either flashed you a green or red light to go or stop for further inspection. All of this happened in a 20 second period. Nobody even noticed we were passing by. Then, in an almost surreal fashion, we drove a couple of blocks down and found ourselves in a truly Mexican urban area, almost identical to what I’m used to in Lima, Peru. We scratched our heads trying to think if we missed something, delaying our excitement for finally crossing into Mexico. We pulled into a gas station and debated a little and decided we should walk into the border control building and ask if we did what we should. Better safe than sorry. Indeed, we omitted all the paperwork and fees needed to enter as a tourist with a US registered car. One hour and over $100 later we had our paperwork straighten out and entered Mexico with a clean conscience.

Matamoros reminded me of any medium town in my native Peru. We walked around downtown and stepped into a local bar for a couple deserved Coronas. We couldn’t start our Mexican odyssey without some Coronas. We spend the night in Matamoros in a cheap hotel for about $45 for a room with 2 beds. This place was extremely tacky and in pretty bad shape overall, but the price couldn’t be beat. I assume the high prices were a consequence of the proximity of Matamoros to the US and as we got further into Mexico the prices would decline. Next day we packed early, had some Mexican-style breakfast and departed towards Tampico, our second destination in Mexico.

Alabama anecdote

Our first stretch was towards Birmingham, Alabama. The 12+ hour drive will prepare us for what lies ahead. Next stop is Houston, and from there to the border. The car is running great and we somehow managed to fit all the stuff in the car, something I find miraculous to this moment. I have a lot of time in the car to do stuff, and I brought my laptop with me with a car power adaptor so I’ll be typing and doing other interesting stuff during the trip
I’m writing from the south of Texas right now as we passed Corpus Christi a few miles ago and we continued or journey through the southern states, which we have acknowledged to have its own unique cultural characteristics. It was the first time the three of us were experienced the true southern culture, and we really got a close look at it in a few different ways.
In Birmingham we stayed at my Aunt Carmen and uncle Tavo’s house. They were both very welcoming and accommodated all of us and also offered us to stay an extra day, an offer that we took. That night we visited a local bar with my aunt’s kids, Gustavo and Alonso. It was a picturesque and laid-back local bar, in a southern-kinda way. After a few beers and a couple games of pool we had a first row view to a true Jerry Springer like brawl. Add to this a heavy Alabama accent and the result was so odd and amusing it was truly entertaining. The one guy (proudly wearing a big mustache) was suddenly verbally attacked by a fairly large woman, who turned out to be an "informal girlfriend". The guy was happily escorted by a younger and "lighter" version of the yelling woman. This was the catalyst of the situation. As the big-boned now-ex-girlfriend yelled, the guy and he new girlfriend kissed openly for everyone to see. The crowd in the bar was the equivalent of a group of fans in a boxing arena. We left after the situation calmed down, and on our way back I started to feel like the rod trip was already paying off.

The preparations for the trip

Last time I wrote, the wheels were in motion for our long planned road trip and the date was rapidly approaching. The last three weeks were really grueling as we had to visit the embassies in DC one too many times until we finally got all the visas and info needed. We talked to at least half a dozen different people who have done a similar trip or know about the area in question to get us ready for all the stuff books and the internet doesn’t tell you about. We even got contacts in all but a couple of our destinations to have a point of contact and somewhere to stay. We spent over $600 in repairs and parts for the car, including a spare tire, to make sure we’ll be safe. We even bought a pepper spray for god’s sake! I bought a GPS and I’m taking my laptop with the Encarta World Atlas software to map our position constantly and we have about 10 maps of every country we’ll visit and a couple of books as well. I promise we will NOT get lost. We’re also taking with us our cell phones with international roaming for emergencies. We spent about $130 in Wal-mart and Sam’s Club to stock up some food, water and extra gear. I think we’re ready!

Did I mention we got the car? It was certainly what we were looking for. A 1995 Mazda Protégé with 129,000 miles on it. It runs great and, best of all, it bears a vigorous 1.5 liter motor promising to deliver over 35 miles per gallon at all times. That’s a relief since we have a lot to worry when talking about gas expenses.

Eventually, D-day came along. On Tuesday at 7am we departed. It was really surreal to think that we were finally loading up the stuff and departing towards this long-waited project. We had very little sleep the day before but plenty of time to rest on the way.

The movie that started it all

About a year ago, we had a typical movie night at home with my brother and my roommate. We sat together to watch "Motorcycle Diaries". What an impact this movie had on us. If you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favor and get a copy. The movie tells the story of a young Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, later to be known as "El Che Guevara". El Che is one of the biggest Latin American revolutionaries and was mystified after presumably being murdered in a American CIA-organized military operation. But the movie talks about his roots and the events that made him from a shy medicine student to an icon representing freedom for the latin american people. The majority of these events take place during a road trip (hint! hint!), which the movie focuses on. He embarks in this adventure to drive along the continent, from Argentina to Venezuela, accompanied by his best friend and driving a motorcycle that looked like it was made out of World War 2 surplus inventory. It was nicknamed "The Mighty One". During this voyage el Che encounters first-hand the reality of a struggling South America outside of his protected life in the city. The further he went the more he felt the burden of guilt from all the years he spent unaware of the reality beyond his life. After the trip, Ernesto Guevara found himself transformed. I believe it was the intention of the director to leave it to the audience to judge weather the main character was changed for the better or not. I personally believe, and surely many others with me, that after his journey he became a better man. Stigmatized by some, idolized by others, if we judge by the accuracy of the facts in "Motorcycle Diaries", nobody can deny the nobleness of his purposes and ideals.

We had all thought about doing something big while we were at this stage in life. We are now living by ourselves, working and making our own money, and having the summer free for plans. It had to be something we could not do easily, something that takes advantage of our current circumstances and we could not do later on in life. After the movie, the idea lighted the bulb above our heads. We've heard of people trying to do the road trip to South America before, more than half of them didn't do it, and from the one's who attempted it only a few got as far as they wanted to. Since the idea came up we have been planning and waiting for the perfect time, timing is key for this kind of thing if you want to keep your life rhythm going (school, work, apartment, bills, etc.). After about a year of dreaming we got our window of opportunity lined up for the summer of 2006. For me it was truly beautiful timing, I would be graduating on May and working like crazy for the next few weeks to save money and then off to the road ahead with no job, class, or commitment to come back to. There's no word to describe the feeling of being able to cruise the land with no deadline or thing to come back to. It would probably be the only time in my life I will be able to do so.

About 8 months ago the planning got serious. We were originally 4 guys, but one backed up eventually because of school and classes. The idea was a continuation of what it became almost an urban myth among the community of young Hispanics in the DC metro area. I gotta lay down a quick background on this "community" because of the impact it had in my life. It’s a very small community, mainly all with the same story of how they ended up living there. Their parents were diplomats, work for the navy or army or air force, or worked for some international organization like the World Bank. All of these are quite common in DC, one of the political power centers of the world. All the countries have their biggest and best embassy in Washington DC and send their most qualified people, with their families and kids. All these kids end up getting to know each other and build friendships over the years. The rotation of posts for military and government positions is common every 2 to 4 years, so we get new people all the time, and some of them, like myself, stay to finish school or to pursue some other goal. So we get new blood every year from all over, making this "community" quite interesting and ever changing.

At the end, there were three guys left on board. My roommate Erick, my brother Gabriel, and myself. Right after school ended I took it upon myself to put any skill I had to plan and prepare for the trip. I have a sense on how to gather and sort out relevant information, this came up to be very handy. I did LOTS of research on the internet, made contacts, called people, found people, got the pertinent information, what to do, what to avoid, where to go, what to buy, etc. We all got our hand into this as the time went by. It’s been a long time since we dreamt with this trip, and now we're on the final countdown. We will be cruising south on Monday, July 10th 2006. Point of departure: Gaithersburg, Maryland. Final destination: Lima, Peru. Expected distance to be traveled: 5,300 miles or 8,400 km. 8 days to go!!!!!

I want to leave a blueprint for future travelers that have had similar plans to drive around the Americas to show them that it is possible and how to go about doing it from start to finish. I want to prove that is not only possible, but also an experience worth having. I will certainly remember this for the rest of my life and will tell the stories from this journey to my grandsons. My brother talked to one of the few people that did a similar trip not so long ago under similar circumstances. The guy was a recent law school graduate and he mentioned that he learned more in this trip than in all the years through college and law school. Pretty powerful statement uh? Look forward for my postings in the next couple of months about how we planned and executed this plan to cruise along the continent.

Here's a map highlited with the places I've visited so far. I will post another one after the road trip with all the new countries we cruised by.

Yeha, that's Antartica you see there as one of the countries I've been to, but that's a whole other story. Look forward to that one in another blog.