News – I’m Returning to Mexico!

Those who have been following my travels in recent years will know that I’ve spent more than 1 ½ years exploring the vast country of Mexico and have visited about 2/3 of its diverse destinations. I’ve already written 45 articles & photo galleries about my explorations in Mexico, all of which you can check out here.

Mexico is one of my absolute favorite countries in the world! I was bound to return sometime. Even though I’ve visited more than 50 destinations in Mexico, I’ve yet to explore the vast northwestern region. So that’s where I’m going this time, starting next week.

Lash at Museo de los Muertos – Aguascalientes

I’ve actually been in and out of Mexico three times already. I first arrived about two years ago, in late January, 2016, arriving overland into Yucatan Peninsula from neighboring Belize. I spent three months exploring amazing Yucatan and fell in love, not only with the country, but with a Mexican man as well.

I left in April to complete previously arranged travel plans to Puerto Rico and Florida then returned to Yucatan to stay with my partner. A couple months later, we broke up so I continued exploring eastern areas of Mexico for several months.

After a Chrismas/New Year’s visit with family in Florida, I returned to Mexico yet again. That time I flew into Mexico City to explore the country’s huge central plains and the long central Pacific Coast, while reviewing 50 luxury and boutique hotels along the way. From there I proceeded down through all the countries of Central America, which took an entire year.

I recently flew into Phoenix, Arizona from Costa Rica for a big 80^th birthday bash and visit with relatives.

While planning the Phoenix visit I noticed on the map how close Phoenix is to the Mexican border. And soon my fourth trip to Mexico was hatched.

I’m quite excited to finally explore several new regions of the country.

LashWorldTour at waterfall cenote - Yucatan - Mexico

Here I am at a cenote with a high waterfall cascading down from its rim

While Mexico is generally thought of as just a big hot, dry dusty desert, that’s actually only true of a fraction of Mexico. The country is incredibly diverse in terms of climate zones, topographies and vegetation. Mexico has just about everything, including hot steamy tropical jungles, mangrove forests, powdery white Caribbean beaches, volcanoes, rugged mountain ranges, rough black sand Pacific surf beaches, pine forests, canyons, cenotes and more.

So despite having explored Mexico for over 1 ½ years, I have yet to see one single desert! Now is my big chance.

Soon I’ll be crossing the border at Nogales, Arizona then heading southward through the states of Sonora & Sinaloa then westward through the famous Copper Canyon to Chihuahua then south to Durango & Zacatecas then eastward across the central highlands, finally ending in Mexico City.

wearing a cowgirl hat at the world’s largest tree – Oaxaca VAlley

Highlights of my upcoming trip include:

– Exploring the vast Sonoran Desert

– Hanging out and camping at beaches along the Sea of Cortez

– Visiting the restored colonial town of Alamos

– Riding the famous Copper Canyon Train

– Visiting colonial Durango, base for many Hollywood westerns

– Finally visiting Real Catorce, a ‘Pueblo Magico’ in the high central desert

– Re-visiting several of my favorite central cities, including Zacatecas, San Luis de Potosi and Queretaro

While I’m researching my trip, it’s becoming quite clear that I’m in for a very different Mexican experience that what I’m accustomed to!

desert at Phoenix – Arizona

Mexican Deserts

For one thing, as I already mentioned, this will be my first time to visit the hot, dry desert states of Mexico. I’m getting an introduction to this climate and topography right here in Phoenix. And my oh my, it is exceedingly hot and dry!

Of course being here in July is undoubtedly introducing me to the most extreme temperatures. Let’s see how my travels go through the Mexican deserts in August! I’ll bet I’ll be spending a lot of time indoors during the middle of the day.

staying at Finca Rosa Blanca Resort

Accommodations

Secondly, in terms of accommodation, Sonora and Sinaloa do not seem to be set up for budget travelers. At all! Unlike the rest of Mexico, where hostels and very inexpensive budget hotels abound, this region of Mexico doesn’t seem to have any hostels or budget hotels on offer anywhere! Yikes!

I’ve checked all the hostel sites I know plus Booking and AirBnB, as well as general Google searches and everything else I can think of. But nada.

I’ve also checked out all the work exchange and house sitting sites I know, too. With the exception of a few places, there’s pretty much nothing on offer in this area of Mexico,

So I will clearly have to take a new approach to traveling through this region until I reach the central towns and cities again, where I know great hostels and budget hotels are readily available.

I would probably be rather nervous abut this state of affairs…but I have thankfully managed to find accommodation options for the first 2-3 weeks of my trip. I have a Couch Surfing host to stay with in Nogales, Mexico, just across the border.

I found a great beach side campground in Kino and a beautiful guest house near the beach in San Carlos. S at least I’m set for the time being.

I’ll probably start relying heavily on Couch Surfing for the remaining towns and cities I want to visit until I get to the Copper Canyon. From there on it looks like I’ll be able to find hostels. And who knows what other small Mexican casas de huespedes, pensiones and alberques (other types of local accommodations) I can find in person that aren’t present online?

I’m sure it will all work out just fine.

Huge American Presence

This is going to be weird, I think…It seems like a lot of Americans travel down through this region of Mexico, particularly along the Sea of Cortez. They all seem to drive down across various US borders then drive to seaside towns and resorts.

A lot of them travel by RV. The Rvers even travel together in huge groups- caravans of Rvs – and hang out together in big RV parks. Eek. Sounds awful.

In other parts of Mexico I generally have not come across many Americans nor many travelers exploring the country by car, let alone by RV. In other parts of Mexico everyone gets around by Mexico’s fantastic, luxurious public bus system.

Looks like it’s going to be considerably different in Sonora and Sinaloa in terms of the types of travelers I will encounter and the types of accommodations I can find!

Maruata beach – Michoacan – Mexico

Final Thoughts

In any event, I’m really looking forward to my upcoming travels through Sonora, Sinaloa, Chihuahua and other states of central Mexico. I’m particularly excited about exploring the Sea of Cortez beaches, Alamos, the Copper Canyon, Real Catorce and re-visiting several of my favorite central Mexican colonial towns.

I’ll be writing regular stories and tips about my travels, so stay tuned for heaps of info and photos about northwestern Mexico.

Meanwhile, you might find the following articles helpful:

Costs to Travel in Mexico on a Budget

My Route through Central Mexico and the Pacific Coast

Beach Hopping along Mexico’s Central Pacific Coast

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