San Cristolbal de la Casas

We stayed here in San Cristolbal de la Casas for a couple of nights while we did some minor repair on the camper. We were able to really see this colonial style city after getting lost in it for over an hour. We finally ended up camping at a rv park/hotel. Not a bad city although not suitable for El Grande Rojo for the streets are tiny. We found it nearly impossible to manuever our rig through these cities.

The Submarine Canyon

The Submarine Canyon is between Tuxtla Guttierrez and San Cristolbal. It is a beautiful place with amazing wildlife and the landscape speaks for itself. We saw tons of crocodiles, monkeys and exotic birds here. Dorian and I call it the grand canyon of Mexico. We were fortunate to have a guided tourand even Ivy was allowed the experience. The locals thought we were crazy when we brought Ivy onto the boat.

Tuxtla Guttierrez

Tuxtla Guttierrez is the nicest city we traveled to. It is not loaded with tourists and we were able to enjoy live music at night. We really liked watching the locals dance merigue and Samba as the band played at the park.

We went to the zoo here where they have local animals displayed. Yes, I said local animals. The zoo has alot of shade so it is really enjoyable to walk around. The animals there seamed to enjoy it too. The rat looking animal is called an Agounti and they are everywhere. The pig looking animal is actually not even in the pig family.

We stayed in a nice hotel. Well we camped in back of the hotel with access to their pool and bathrooms. It was a really nice place and we enjoyed it there for three nights.

Salina Cruz and Cinatepa

We stayed the night in Salina Cruz but didn't get a chance to enjoy it there much. We were hit by a huge storm that was flooding the port town so Dorian and I decided to head inland through huge mountains covered in lush jungle.

We almost pulled over and camped on the side of the road because it was so beautiful but we kept driving and found a nice little hotel. After giving the owner our fifteen dollars for the night we were swarmed by winged insects. They completely covered the camper. They made it impossible to even open the camper door. We frantically left without even getting our money back. These bugs have really delicate wings and we still have pieces of wings throughout the camper and truck.

After we raced the sun to a town called Cinatepa where we stayed in one of the dirtiest hotels during our trip. This was a difficult day of traveling but the views made it all worth it.

Barra de la Cruz

This is Barra. The well known surf spot in Mainland Mexico. It's about a twenty minute walk to the beach from the camp. It starts to get really jungly from here on. The surf is insane and there are tons of guys in the water. The beach is beautiful with huge rock formations. The current is strong for swimming but I still went in about every ten minutes because of the heat. The sand was hot then and Ivy and I took refuge under a falling down palapa while Dorian surfed.

There is a gate collecting a small fee to enter the beach road. We stayed at the only camp on the inside of the gate. The locals were great. I really liked the girl who ran the restaurant but she spoke as little English as I do Spanish. Our view was amazing. We camped with cows, chickens and horses here. Ivy really enjoyed chasing them while Dorian and I gazed at the lush rolling hills.

There were many gringo surfers here when we camped. It was crowded there and loud at night so we only camped for three days. We probably would have stayed longer if it wasn't so crowded. This is a beautiful place that Dorian and I may consider visiting again.

Zipolite Beach Mainland Mexico

Zipolite Beach is awesome. This beach is graced by well built palapas and meditation lookouts. The waves here are great and the water is clean and clear. The current is strong so I made sure that lifeguard Dorian was present when I went for a swim.

We stayed at a small camp and met our new friend Jeff who manages the property for a local mexican family. He is a very spiritual guy who has been enlightened by getting rid of everything. He only owns a few things that he can fit into a backpack. Dorian and I thought he was really cool. We hope to cross his path again one day.

We also met two canadian families who drove down from Canada. I was able to trade with them macrame classes for some books on Central America. They also gave us some information on border crossings that we would be crossing. They were both really cool families.

The beach here is very tranquil. Dorian and I loved sitting in the hamacks for hours a day.

swimming beach in Puerto Escondido, Mainland Mexico