Ends of the Earth Expedition

Recently, Overland Journal ran a cover shot that depicted a somewhat macabre scene, the ancestral remains of Peruvian indigenous peoples arranged into a pile, with several struck into natural poses, like sitting.  In the background is the Turtle Expedition truck and then a fantastic mountain. There were more than a few comments about the cover, to which Stephanie (my wife and the designer of the Journal) responded. “Travel is messy baby”. 

I believe that cover image describes adventure travel more accurately than any cover I have seen on Overland Journal, or any other adventure periodical. Why?  Because it depicts an entirely foreign environment to most people, one that represents quite apparently, a different burial practice, but also a different culture, religion, and ethnic group. And because once you leave your comfort zone, which typically consists of the city you currently live in, every new environment you visit begins to stretch not only what you believed a place or people would be like, but more importantly, it shows what YOU are like.  Pull a person out of their little controlled environment and their real fears and/or courage comes to the surface; their real ignorance and/or understanding.

I am not fearless, and am a lifetime away from any real understanding, but travel has been a wonderful teacher, as each new culture, each new challenge begins to shape my understanding of the world, and my belief in what is possible. Most importantly, it has validated that the world portrayed on Fox news or CNN (or take your pick) is NOTHING like the real thing.  Most people completely misunderstand Mexico, and their only experience with the country was that trip to Tijuana as a freshman in college.  Well, I can assure you that Mexico is nothing like Tijuana, but you will need to come visit the colonial cities, eat the incredible food and stand on top of the tallest pyramid outside of Egypt yourself to decide.

 So, travel IS messy, and there is a big world out there filled with people that look different, smell different and talk different than you do.  They eat different foods and pray to different gods, and that is an amazing thing…  

Mexico continues to inspire and impress me, even after years of traveling within its borders.  There are of course places in Mexico that are more than a little rough around the edges, but when you find a gem, it can be absolutely spectacular.  Up to this point, my favorite cities in Mexico were Alamos in mainland, and La Paz in Baja.  Alamos is rich with history, and has a clean, quaint feel, further emphasized by the excellent Hacienda de los Santos, which is one of the most beautiful hotels I have even spent the night in.  And not because of an extreme degree of opulence (which I dislike), but a wonderful sense of classic and very comfortable elegance.  La Paz is a city rich with energy, with very little of the Cabo San Lucas plastic feel. La Paz has depth, and an excellent malecon, lined with great restaurants and hotels.  A decent stop on an overland route across Baja to San Evaristo and then down the coastal route into La Paz.

Well, by standard for what an exceptional Mexican city can be has just moved way up the scale with Guanajuato.  We camped just south of the city in an excellent campground called Bugamvilla (located on the road to San Miguel de Allende, at about KM 8.5).  The first night, we decided to pile everyone in the EarthRoamer Jeeps, which worked fine, but navigating Guanajuato takes some serious experience or planning.  Just finding a parking spot was intense, BUT, I have never had so much fun being lost.  The major routes through and around the city are also waterways during storms, and there are several routes that go entirely underground. You pop out in various locations and have a few options for turning down a street, etc. before descending into another tunnel - very cool.

The real charm of Guanajuato is the general academic and European feel of the place, which is due to a large, and beautiful university and a dozen or more language schools.  People of all ages come here to learn spanish, and the streets are filled with people of all nationality, color and attire.  We explored most of the city of foot, including the Museo de los Momias, which proved fascinating, but expectantly macabre. Fortunately, the tour of the Museo is short lived…

Overlanding is really not about “fourwheeling” (in my opinion anyway), though driving in challenging terrain is certainly something I enjoy otherwise.  In reality, vehicle-based adventure travel really requires a more tempered approach to technical terrain, unless your schedule, resources and equipment supports a Camel Trophy style siege on a deserted track.  It becomes more about mechanical sympathy and preserving the resource (your truck or motorcycle) than the challenge of overcoming a difficult obstacle.  The journey and destination are both important; at least more important than any one part or challenge in particular.  When you combine that with the fact that recreational 4wd trails are limited to non-existent in most developing countries, the idea of engaging 4wd in Nicaragua is much different, and a much greater risk than in Utah. But still, fantastic dirt roads abound in many countries, as modern infrastructure has fortunately not yet met the back-of-beyond.

The road from Alamos to El Fuerte is just one of those fantastic dirt roads, linking two ancient colonial pueblos via a dusty corridor first used by Tarahumara (and still used by them) and then Jesuit priests as they built missions all the way to California.  This region was also rich in platina (silver), and is still actively mined today.  

What made this a great dirt road?

Well, it had nothing to do with engaging 4wd (mostly to limit wheel spin), and everything to do with the little ranchos, the smiling and running kids, the beautiful canyons and rugged mesas, the complete lack of traffic - the perfect first dirt road of our trip.

No matter how many times you do it, crossing an international border is a thrill, especially in a vehicle.  Coming into a country via an airport is certainly fun too, but is much more clinical, organized and well - easy.  However, navigating your way in an entirely foreign land to a point on a map where you leave one country, and then for a moment, you are actually stuck in the borderlands between two crossings, not legally IN either place.  Then in a few yards or a few miles, you repeat the process all over again, finding the customs offices, importing your vehicle, paying duties and fees, and hopefully getting it all figured out in enough time to get to the scheduled campsite.

Today, we cross the border into Mexico, a border crossing I have done enough times to lose count of, but yet, it is still a thrill; a milestone for our trip of thousands of miles.  As a traveler, I have a strong connection with Mexico, because of its people, its incredible scenery and the near endless number of backroads that crisscross it.  Our first stop is a beach camp in San Carlos, which makes for an easy drive from Tucson.  Last night, we camped on the property of Overland Journal’s executive editor, Jonathan Hanson, a place I always enjoy visiting.  

The dawn of a grand adventure. Day one

The team is in great spirits, and there is a fantastic sense of excitement and wonder as we face our first day - South!