Mexico Fall 2018 - Winter 2019

Four months after Joe's rotator cuff surgery we were ready to leave Avon, CO.  After our aborted trip the prior winter, we were anxious to get back on the road, this time with our new rig.  First goal: the Barrancas del Cobre, in the Sierra Madre of Chihuahua, Mexico.

From there we planned to work our way south through central Mexico, Oaxaca, Chiapas and the Yucatan. 

We hoped to be in Belize by Karen's birthday in February 2019.

Trip Details
From
Avon, Colorado
To
Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Start Date
Thursday, September 27, 2018
End Date
Tuesday, January 15, 2019
Trip Reports

South to Mexico

Date
Thursday. September 27, 2018
From
Avon, CO
To
Cochise Stronghold, AZ
Miles
836
First Tracks

Late September was the perfect time to leave Colorado.  Although the aspen were approaching their peak fall colors, nights were still quite warm and we were confident we...

Into the Sierra Madre

Date
Monday. October 01, 2018
From
Cochise Stronghold, AZ
To
Creel, Chihuahua, MX
Miles
682
Into Mexico

The previous spring, our route into Mexico had taken us down the eastern shore of the Sea of Cortez. We had purposely chosen the coastline not just for...

Exploring the Copper Canyon

Date
Saturday. October 06, 2018
From
Creel, Chihuahua, MX
To
Guachochi, Chihuahua, MX
Miles
465
Creel and Surrounding Area

The drive to and from Uruachi, and then on to Creel was long and tiring, and we because we arrived late in the afternoon in the...

Durango, Nayarit and Jalisco

Date
Friday. October 12, 2018
From
Guachochi, Chihuaha, MX
To
Tapalpa, Jalisco, MX
Miles
991
Durango, Durango

Our tour of the Sierra de Madre and the Barrancas de Cobre complete, we left the Sinfarosa overlook, bound for Durango, Durango.  

Durango, Durango is not a Mexican...

Mexico's Day of the Dead

Date
Tuesday. October 23, 2018
From
Tapalpa, Jalisco, MX
To
Erongaricuaro, Michoacan, MX
Miles
286
Patzcuaro

A few weeks before leaving Colorado, we had secured a three week house-sitting job in Erongaricuaro, a little town along Lake Patzcuaro in the state of Michoacan. The lake...

Central Mexico

Date
Thursday. November 08, 2018
From
Erongaricuaro, Michoacan, MX
To
Tehuacan-Cuicatlan Biosphere Reserve, Oaxaca
Miles
889
Guanajuato

It was finally time to leave Erongaricuaro and continue our exploration of central Mexico.

We had done a month-long house-sit in San Miguel de Allende the previous year, and...

Oaxaca

Date
Tuesday. December 04, 2018
From
San Jose del Chilar, Oaxaca
To
Hierve el Agua, Oaxaca
Miles
110
Magical Green Macaws

After leaving the Tehuacan-Cuicatlan reserve, we headed south on the two-lane road to Oaxaca. While the toll-road would have been faster for sure, we tend to prefer the...

Chiapas

Date
Monday. December 17, 2018
From
Playa San Augustin, Oaxaca, MX
To
Tonina, Chiapas, MX
Miles
399
San Cristobal de las Casas

From Playa San Augustin, we struck out for the mountains of Chiapas and San Cristobal de las Casas. After dropping almost a mile in elevation...

In the Land of the Lacandon

Date
Friday. December 21, 2018
From
Tonina, Chiapas, Mexico
To
Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico
Miles
233
Naha Ecotourismo

I had been interested in seeing the Lacandon jungle ever since my first overland drive in Mexico, some forty years earlier. At that time the forest was just beginning...

Campeche and Quintana Roo

Date
Saturday. December 29, 2018
From
Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico
To
Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Miles
704
Calakmul

Our next destination was Playa de Carmen, where we planned to meet up for New Year's with our friends Dan and Carrol from Sammamish, Washington. They had rented a...

Exploring the Yucatan

Date
Tuesday. January 01, 2019
From
Playa de Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico
To
Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Miles
610
Searching for Cenotes

By this stage of our journey, we were pretty well into a rhythm of making half-day drives ending up at a nice spot to camp, with nearby...