“Every great story begins with adversity”

Posted on January 23, 2013 by Teresa

This is a quote that our friend (Dan Weatbrook) shared with George at some point. Every time things start going wrong by his doing in some way, he throws it at me. Theoretically, I agree, but it irks me to no end when things are buggered up and he says it. Case in point – Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca. George had read about the place. The reports lead us to believe that it would not disappoint. We had some issues finding a place to stay the previous night, so we were already running on half empty.

We were driving pretty slow as we approached the parking lot. Some local boy managed to hop on and hold onto the back of the truck to hitch a ride up to the parking lot. George caught a glimpse of him as we were driving up there. He was very clear in his demands when we stopped. “money” (to watch the truck while we were gone)… — “no”, “cookie”…–“no cookies”. repeat x 3.

You had to hike about an hour to get to the butterflies. We had heard that it was a requirement to pay a local guide to come with us up the well beaten path. We started the hike up, but didn’t encounter any guides (clue #1). We assumed this was due to the fact that we had arrived early. As we were walking up, we passed some local venders which was a good sign, and then started hoofing it up the hill. Very quickly, it was not clear which path we should take as there were roads and paths going everywhere (clue #2). I wanted to turn around, but G was persistent. Very soon we started to crisscross with a fence (clue #3), most likely a boundary fence. Eventually we made it to “the top” or what we thought was the top. We heard some noises, and then realized that it was a chain saw (clue #4). Considering that they enforce silence around the butterflies, this could not be our final destination. G went to ask for directions from the man cutting down the tree. It turns out we had hiked in the exact wrong direction. As we headed in the right direction, I got a little frazzled (yes, tears). This was followed by the inevitable line “every great story begins with adversity” and George laughing maniacally at me which was not well received. The backstory is that we didn’t have any time to waste. Every day was precious since we were hauling ass across Mexico to surprise my younger sister.

We walked for a few miles and finally came to such a well beaten path, we knew it had to be it. We had also started to see more butterflies, a very good sign. I had given up hope at this point, so a very welcome sight.

We found the butterflies and a few odd looks from the guides since we were flying solo. It was awe inspiring. They were clumped so thick that they looked like leaves and bark. When the sun was hidden by the clouds, there was a flurry of activity as thousands of the butterflies flew about. For your information, up close, butterflies are kind of mean looking things.

So, we saw the butterflies and avoided the park entrance fee. Success – it would be a great story.

San Miguel de Allende

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Teresa

I first heard about San Miguel on some travel show and subsequently from a series of friends (August+Natalie and Rachel). It’s known for begin a wonderful colonial town where hordes of foreign artists have settled. Generally, people stay on the coasts when vacationing in Mexico, so I was excited to see some of the interior. Though in all fairness, San Miguel is pretty swamped with tourists.

We chose a popular campground in the city. After a little maneuvering in the narrow streets, we claimed the last spot in the perpetual full campground. It was full of the ‘around the world overland vehicles’ we had become accustom to. It was certainly a first time seeing so many in one spot though. The couple camping beside us had come 4 years ago for a day and decided to stayed. We planned for a shorter visit.

Again we felt some serendipity in our timing. It was the anniversary of San Miguel. There were a number of events planned including a marathon, concert with a bunch of foreign dignataries and fireworks. We walked around the town, had a wonderful dinner (damn true Mexican food is delicious) and watched the concert. It gets pretty cold in San Miguel at night, so we relied on some hot chocolate to sustain us through the concert. The fireworks tower they assembled seemed a little like the leaning tower of pisa to me, but it lasted through the post-concert fireworks which were…bananas. They lit off a bunch of conventional fireworks and then sections of the fireworks tower one by one. Gradually, they worked their way to the top of the tower. At one point George observed that the only thing left was for the top to fly away…and then the damn thing did…hahaha.

I now know two things about Mexicans for certain. They take Tequila and fireworks seriously and kill it on both.

Back on a boat

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Teresa

First off…sorry for the little hiatus. We had a tight timeline in Mexico, so that we could surprise L.Batt. (more on that later) and then had friends and family coming for a visit.

On the 15th of January, we planned to take a ferry from La Paz, Baja to Mazatlan to avoid driving the long way round. I was anxious about heading to the mainland. We had read that Mazatlan wasn’t the safest, and I wasn’t sure what to expect with the ferry. A few days earlier, we decided to skip the cabin and just sleep on deck. I had European ferries in mind when we made this decision. Driving up to the ferry terminal was a little disorienting, and then we learned that George had to drive the car on himself while I needed to walk on. No cool ferry terminal officials. I tossed our sleeping bags and mats into my backpack so we could sleep on deck. There was a lot of waiting to board, but finally I started making my way through security and customs.

They shuttled us over to the ferry in small vans, so I had to check my bag. I later learned that I could not pick this up until we arrived in Mazatlan in the morning. I was so flipping frazzled by the time I met up with George. Silly thinking about it now, but they messed with my plan, dammit.

Needless to say, the ferry was not like European ferries I’d been on. There was a room for passengers without cabins (assigned seats), a cafeteria (blah food), and the deck area of course. That was it for public space. I definitely felt a little claustrophobic, but as a consolation prize they did play a series of second rate new to dvd movies, yeah 😉 George also said that down below was utter chaos with transport trucks pushing their way in.

The ride was 17 hours in all, and thankfully went by pretty quickly. George met a few folks to caravan with out of Mazatlan down the coast. This was a relief, because honestly, all we wanted to do was hightail it south before dark. Our new friends had a chance to meet the ferry captain, and he passed on a few tidbits of info including how the banditos compel cars to stop on the road in the areas we were driving through (rope across the road).

We made it to San Blas that night and set up camp for the night in a little dead end street by the beach.

Cali

Posted on December 21, 2012 by Teresa

We drove fairly far out of the way to hit SF and then cruise down the coast to LA. I crave efficiency, so the chosen route was slightly annoying for me. As usual, G pushed for it and it was worth it. It was great seeing old friends in SF and getting a taste of the tech industry there. Also had the pleasure of touring the Pinterest offices. Fun. The coastal (slow + inefficient + beautiful) drive from SF to LA is definitely worth doing at least once. Super lush with some great views. We held up at a friend’s house in Long Beach (thx Ian). What a great area. Long Beach aims to be bike friendly and the communities by the water have that laid back beach feeling. Cruising on the amazing bike path along the beach in LA might be the best thing ever if you’re wondering.