Home on the Highway - San Francisco to Ushuaia in an 87 4Runner.

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I spent 20 minutes trying to come up with a clever title, not much rhymes with Yucatan. I thought maybe YuCAtaN DO IT! but then gave up on that. I considered making up a fictional character named “Yucatan Dan” who lives in the jungle and grants 3 wishes to lost gringos. “I wish for 20 gallons of DEET bugspray…” Perhaps “Doin our thang in the Yucatang”… I don’t know! I have spanish class in 30 minutes and need to get this post done. Focus James!

We pushed further down the Caribbean coast headed towards a concentration of Mayan ruins called “The Ruta Puuc”. The Ruta Puuc is about 25 miles of backroad that connect 6 different Mayan ruins together. In Mayan times there was actually a road of limestone running through the jungle connecting many of the large sites. Unfortunately this road is long gone and were stuck to boring ol’ tarmac.

We drove on and on through the jungle on the paved roads eventually arriving near the Mayan site of Uxmal. The Sun was setting and we needed to find a camping site quick. We pulled our usual maneuver of scoping out the surrounding areas for cutty backroads, eventually finding one that looked good and turned off into the deep jungle.



We followed this trail for miles, passing 2 small bee farms and not much else. Intrigued as to what the hell this random road in the jungle leads to we pushed on further. Slowly the road deteriorates to little more than a single track ATV trail. After 10 miles of slow going through the jungle we stumble upon a very small, very creepy camp.



Hmmm… Skulls, dirty old clothes, random stick structures, 15 miles deep in the jungle. Me thinks we should NOT camp here.

Next morning we woke up and headed to Uxmal. Uxmal is a magnificent Mayan site. Estimated to have supported over 15,000 inhabits at its height in 900 A.D. or so. The site is one of the finest examples of Mayan construction, relying on precisely cut stone blocks for the exterior of the buildings rather than plaster which wears away quickly.





The carvings here were still in great shape and easily recognizable.



The site is surrounded by dense jungle as far as the eye can see, we were driving around somewhere in that mess the day before.



They had a wonderfully intact ancient mayan ball court as well.



The “goal”. I believe the way the game is played is the players are allowed to use any part of there body aside from there hands and feet. The game is over when someone sends the ball through the hoop. Rumor has it that the captain of the losing team is sacrificed. Now that’s some team motivation!



They also had this weird shrine to penises, or is it penii?



Fractals everywhere, endlessly repeating patterns, the Mayans were definitely spacing out on something…



We spent about 1/2 of the day touring Uxmal then headed down the road towards another site named “Kabah”

Kabah is home to the “Codz Poop”…

Surprisingly enough. to me, Codz Poop is in fact not petrified Mayan doo, but in fact a hugely impressive “Palace of Masks”. The entire face of the building is compiled of hundreds of repeating “Chac Mool” (The Rain God) carvings.



Read the whole story on the blog Home on the Highway

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The trip sounds awesome, and its good to see you guys seem to have the attitude to make it through some of the more obnoxious borders that you have coming up without letting it really bug you too much. Best of luck

Oh and btw, quit running into things!

ha tell me about it!

[Esmi]

I spent 20 minutes trying to come up with a clever title, ...

"Catch me if Yucatan" is yours, gratis, from me, as a small token of my large gratitude for you sharing your trip with us.

I am digging every entry. You've gotta post more frequently -- too long to wait!

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"Catch me if Yucatan" is yours, gratis, from me, as a small token of my large gratitude for you sharing your trip with us.

I am digging every entry. You've gotta post more frequently -- too long to wait!

sunnuvab! thats a good one

Were caught up to right on the Mexico/Belize border now, should have Belize blog up next week. Were in Guatemala now hanging out in San Pedro taking spanish lessons so I have no excuse not to write

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It seems obligatory for all overlanders to write a “Reflections on Mexico” post after their travels through the country are completed. Not only for collecting their own thoughts but also to share the truth about this “dangerous” country. While Lauren and I were preparing for this trip many people thought we were insane. Oddly, It wasn’t for the fact that we were planning to drive 25,000 miles to the bottom of the world. We were primarily labeled insane for simply wanting to drive into Mexico.



“Cant you just skip Mexico?”

“Have you thought about shipping around Mexico straight to South America?”

“I have heard/read/seen that you are going to be beheaded, raped, robbed, scammed, schemed, murdered, sold into slavery; the instant you step across the border to Mexico.”

Honestly, I cannot really blame them. The media blasts us with reports of daily beheadings, bodies lining the streets, downright bloodbaths. Momentarily while preparing for the trip we would feel a shimmer of trepidation as well. What if our years of research, planning, and reports from people who are actually IN Mexico were wrong and they were all right? Would there be banditos waiting to have their way with our innocent American flesh?




We pushed aside these fears and stood strong, after all… hard facts beat out hearsay everyday.

There is no doubt that there is truly a war going on in Mexico. A bloody drug war, a struggle for power between the all-powerful gangs and the quickly dwindling police and military forces of Mexico. However this war is concentrated primarily to the border areas and rarely involves anyone that is not poking their nose where it shouldn’t belong. I will leave my opinions on America’s drug/immigration policies being a primarily catalyst for this war for another time…

The MAJORITY of Mexico is a beautiful, peaceful, tranquil place. We found plenty of farmers/fisherman/working class people quietly going about their business. We found zero insane banditos hellbent on attacking innocent gringos. We primarily encountered children laughing and playing in the streets, women washing clothes and making fresh tortillas by the roadside, and hombres walking their cows from field to field.





We also found lots of police and military checkpoints searching for drugs and guns along our way. We saw 50-cal machine guns mounted to police truck cabs. It was not rare to be shopping in a supermarket picking up some milk next to a sawed-off shotgun wielding security guard. However after the initial “gun shock” wears off these things start to just be part of the routine.



Never in our entire month journey all throughout the far corners of Mexico did we ever feel remotely in danger. Lost, confused, frustrated, yes. In danger? Never.

Mexico is getting a raw deal. There are tons of RV parks, campgrounds, and other tourist attractions that are drying up and going to waste down here. The media has put a downright HALT to peoples plans to visit this beautiful country. Every single traveler we ran into had the same story to tell, zero problems whatsoever, great people, great food. We are here to tell you, do not be afraid. It is a wonderful place, full of wonderful people, with a rich and vibrant culture.



Fear is a strangle-hold on life, Do not let the fear of the unknown keep you from exploring outside your comfort zone. We have found that good research, a sharp mind, and a easy smile will keep you out of trouble 99% of the time.

Next time you hear someone talking about how dangerous Mexico is, Ask them the last time they were there? And then… point them to our blog.

http://homeonthehighway.com

[tikirob]

Well said! I tell people that I want to travel to Mexico and I get the same responses! Again well said! Enjoy yourselves!

[ab1985]

Those are great words of advice. I truly believe the world would be a better place without 24 hours news networks.

[nwoods]

Excellent post. I really enjoy your writing. I've been wanting to comment directly on your blog, but have been unable to figure out how (I don't have a Facebook account). I am really, really, really enjoying your adventure report, along with Team Equipt's, but man, is there some sort of conspiracy about posting a few occasional swimsuit photos? Both of these threads post these awesome beaches, and talk about the swimming, and have attractive women along, and yet somehow, there's never a camera around??? LOL!

[nasko]

hey mate, I am enjoying your pics and the writing. That being said, there were a number of Canadian tourists killed in Mexico, my very close friends had their car stolen at gun point, my friend's sister-in-law children were kidnapped. It is all relative. My friends lived in Torreon (my buddy's father-in-law owns a farm there) but recently moved back to Toronto, as they definitely did not feel safe there.

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You shouldnt need any facebook account, just type the comment, click POST AS and choose Guest. That should let you post without needing to sign up for anything. Let me know if its not working