I know I said in my last post that this would likely turn into an annual update blog. I did not intend for it to be this long but here we are. I cannot even imagine trying to write out everything that has gone on the last 2 years but I will summarize to the best of my abilities!
Wow, where to even begin. This will definitely have to be broken up into a few posts as there has been so much that has happened. I am going to have to heavily rely on Google photos and Maps to write this accurately. My last post was in early May of 24, we had traveled throughout the Yucatan and made plans to drive from our home in Puerto Aventuras (Just south of Playa del Carmen) to Washington to explore more of Mexico, see friends and family and then hit national parks on the way home. It was (mostly) a resounding success! We set off on May 23rd thoroughly prepared with front and rear dash cams, emergency car repair kits, a spreadsheets, anticipation, optimism, excitement and a healthy amount of fear since we had never taken a car trip this long, especially through a country we were not that familiar with.
THIS was going to be the trip of a lifetime. We had arranged home exchanges and pet sits along the way and to be honest, we spent more money in toll costs than we did in gas and accommodations combined. We stopped in Campeche to enjoy some stone crab at Lisa’s favorite restaurant, La Pigua. After a good nights sleep, we continued on to Villahermosa. I will say that was, without a doubt (that is saying a lot given what happened later..) the most sketchy part of the trip as it was a 2 lane highway. If you have ever driven in Mexico, it isn’t about how many lanes are on the road as it is how many cars can fit. After a harrowing, anxiety attack producing several hours, we were seriously questioning our life choices. Traffic was horrendous- Semi trucks were coming into oncoming traffic, we were trying to stay on the road while dodging moto bikes, tuk tuks and people on bikes as well as pedestrians who were on the highway. To this day, we truly do not understand how no one was injured that day. After a good nights sleep and some food, we made the decision to keep going. (Tip, never take the 180d through Villahermosa and Campeche if you can at all avoid it!) We traveled from Villahermosa to the town of Catemaco. I was not familiar with this town when I picked the route, it just seemed to fit what we were looking for on an off the beaten path, lets explore Mexico, location. It turns out that Catemaco is the Witchcraft capital of Mexico. The main attraction is it’s tradition of sorcery/witchcraft that is rooted in the pre-colonial period and is mostly practiced by men. This tradition is well-known in Mexico and attracts clients from various walks of life, including businessmen and national-level politicians. We had a fabulous 3 night stay at a locals resort (aka no gringos) called La Finca . Besides a fairly significant language barrier, we hit it off with a local family who was there on their summer vacation and it was an amazing cultural experience all the way around. The picture below is of the lagoon in Catemaco, taken from our room.
We knew that we were not going to be able to see and hit all of the places we wanted to on the trip out of Mexico so we allotted more time for exploration in Mexico on the trip home. The next 7 days included stops in Puebla, where we discovered the most amazing dish, Mole Poblano, native to Puebla. It is nothing like any mole we had tried before and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves with mole tasting menus during our short stop there. Onward to Queretaro for a one night stay before hitting Matehuala then onto Monclova for the last stop before crossing the border at Eagles Pass. We had been purchasing gas the prior to going to the hotels just as an extra safety measure as we had heard about people being followed from gas stations on the highway and we didn’t need to stop just yet. We made such good time on the road that we decided to skip Matehaula and go straight to Monclova, a few cities city over so we had more time to cross into the States the next day.
This is where we erred. Our best friend from Puerto Aventuras had told us not to drive that weekend, it was just before the elections and there had been some showboating from the local cartel. They wanted to ensure whoever was elected knew they had no intentions of changing their agendas. With the exception of the nail biting strip to Villahermosa, the trip had been flawless and we were comfortable trying to get to Eagles Pass sooner than later as we were concerned about crossing in the dark. When the decision was made it was the middle of the day, we had plenty gas and sunlight left and wanted to make the most of it. We arrived in Monclova without issue, gassed up and stayed at a quaint hotel that offered Sunday brunch. It continued to be a very positive experience and brunch was great. A man we could only guess was Jefe (Boss) of the town came to the restaurant and was greeted loudly by every one there, in tow, was a young boy, likely his grandson, who stared and pointed at Lisa. His grandfather quickly corrected him, we found it quite funny. I am fairly certain he had never seen a true gringo with blonde hair before.
After brunch, we hopped in the car, headed towards the boarder with our Sentri cards in hand, confident we would be in Texas in just a few hours. As soon as we approached what would be the last gas station in Monclova, Lisa started yelling. I couldn’t really wrap my head around what I was seeing, all I could hear was her yelling, go faster, GO FASTER! GO FASTER! Right in front of us, several men had pulled over on the side of the road with ski masks on and another truck had parked horizontally to block the northbound side of the road. They were armed with automatic assault riffles and were pointing at oncoming traffic. Despite not comprehending what I was seeing, I punched it and we were able to drive around them and were not followed. We intentionally bought the car that we did and installed the front and back dash cameras for a reason. We were not what they were looking for. It was an absolute horrifying experience and while I pushed our little CR-V to the limit for a good hour afterwards, we were being passed by large, lifted trucks from Texas, which I could only imagine, were the targets. After regaining some level of confidence that we were in the clear, I had Lisa play back the video, I was really still in disbelief that what we saw. Guess what? No video. The camera stopped recording about 3 seconds before we came across them. They had a ?? Something that interrupted the camera and prevented it from recording. It was truly an unbelievable experience and when someone from Mexico gives you advice about driving, take it!
We made it to the town of Piedras Negras about 3 hours before sunset. Bridge 1, the only one of two that had Sentri access lanes, was completely closed due to an accident. It took 30 minutes to go 1 mile, the sun was setting and people trying to cross the border were becoming more and more aggressive and agitated. Given this was on the heels of what had just happened, it was understandable that a lot of those people, ourselves included, could not wait to get to the other side. We finally made it to the checkpoint well after sunset and had no issues crossing the border, the agent was quite nice and luckily, didn’t send us for secondary inspection despite having a car load of stuff. We spent the night in Eagles Pass, reflecting on how lucky and how stupid we were at the same time.
Thinking about a road trip through Mexico? I HIGHLY recommend joining the Facebook group, On the road in Mexico. It was a tremendously helpful resource.
Be brave! You only die once 