BajaNomad - Mainland Mexico

Mainland Mexico

Capt. George - 1-18-2008 at 09:14 PM

we've gone through some beautiful places, but

It sure ain't Baja.........

will not be rushing back here anytime soon.

Packoderm - 1-18-2008 at 09:23 PM

Why not? I like the Yucatan except that it is too far to drive down with my dog. Maybe you didn't chance upon a good place or go camping? Maybe try Isla Hobox. I can agree that much of the Yucatan has more of a European flavor which can be off-putting.

DianaT - 1-18-2008 at 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Capt. George
we've gone through some beautiful places, but

It sure ain't Baja.........

will not be rushing back here anytime soon.

Where are you on the mainland? The mainland is a world away from Baja, but then again, every state on the mainland is very different.

There are some parts of the mainland to which we will not return, but there are other parts we love, just like Baja, but -for very different reasons.

Really curious as to where you have traveled on the mainland.

Diane

Mango - 1-18-2008 at 09:34 PM

Where did you go/Where are you?

As you found out the mainland can be quite different. But, there are still some very wild and remote places on the mainland.. you just have to hunt them out unlike Baja. The camping, even in the remote areas, is almost non-existent in any form that resembles what you get in Baja. Some great hotels, centros, and nice zocalos though.

I've been all over the mainland and I love the colonial architecture, ruins, and small mountain towns in the forests. I don't like the urban sprawl (outside the older centros) that can be endemic in some areas of the central highlands.

Capt. George - 1-18-2008 at 11:16 PM

drove down past Mazatlan (teacapan)then crossed Tepic, Guadalahjara, Mexico City, Puebla, Veracruz, Villerhermosa, Chetumal.....

stayed awhile in Xcalak, Mahajual along that coast, big, big problems with banditos...breaking into B&B's, campers etc with people sleeping in them!

fishing opportunities not like Baja...right now we are in an RV Park, Paa Mul, just south of Playa del Carmen...Beautiful place, great people but still not Baja. Be here a while, going back to sell house in Florida while Deborah holds down the fort here.

Great experience driving across Mexico but I would not be too quick to do it again cap'n g

DianaT - 1-19-2008 at 12:03 AM

Sounds like you drove down past Mazatlan on the coast---IMHO, you missed some of the best parts of Mexico. While we love old town Mazatlan, too much of the Pacific Coast is an overcrowded snowbird fest this time of the year. We really prefer the inland areas --- except Guadalajara and Mexico City, IMHO are best visited without a vehicle.

Where you are now was quite open and beautiful not too many years ago, but it has been a major area of development in the recent past.

It definitely is not Baja, but some of our favorite places and memories are on the mainland. But those places are not places to camp and fish with wide open skies like Baja. They are very different and I miss them for different reasons.

Good luck on selling the house and hope you come to visit when you return to Baja.

Diane

capt. mike - 1-19-2008 at 06:24 AM

the only thing baja has over the mexican carribean is that it's closer and therefore easier to get to from USA.

given a choice - Man i'd live in Quintana Roo or Yucatan in a heart beat.
and you STILL can find some good buys there. But those hurricanes will get your attention........... my biggest disappointment was not knowing about isla Holbox until after i 1st left the area!!
gives me a great excuse to go back!!.........and drift diving at night off Cozumel!!

rts551 - 1-19-2008 at 08:31 AM

George

Glad you guys are doing well. See ya when you return

Mango - 1-19-2008 at 02:46 PM

Sounds like quite a trip. You might consider stopping by Campeche and/or Palenque on the way back. Campeche might be a little hard to drive a big rig through. However; there are some hotels on the waterfront just next to the old Centro that are located right off a pretty major road. These hotels have parking as well. There is a good seafood restaurant just across from the Puerto del Mar.

Palenque has some great ruins and jungle, and is well worth the trip.

I agree with jdtrotter that many of the towns on the mainland are best explored without a vehicle. Often, the best hotels to stay at in these old towns are in the very center of the city. These hotels, located in the historic districts, were around long before cars. The streets are often very narrow which makes driving even a car difficult. Usually these older hotels don't have any off street parking.

Take care and have a great trip.

capt. mike - 1-20-2008 at 07:55 AM

the coolest old town in mexico i have visited is Merida, in northern Yucatan. goes back to 1500s as a port. The streets are very narrow like old world Europe and the hotels are really in the same vein. Walking around is eerie as the buildings, old ones, ARE TALL and with the very narrow streets, more cart pathways really, you don't get daylight unless the sun is overhead - the rest of the time its shadows varying degrees till dark.

seems like the modern middle ages..

DianaT - 1-20-2008 at 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by capt. mike
the coolest old town in mexico i have visited is Merida, in northern Yucatan. goes back to 1500s as a port. The streets are very narrow like old world Europe and the hotels are really in the same vein. Walking around is eerie as the buildings, old ones, ARE TALL and with the very narrow streets, more cart pathways really, you don't get daylight unless the sun is overhead - the rest of the time its shadows varying degrees till dark.

seems like the modern middle ages..

It is a great city---has grown a lot in the last several years. We spent a wonderful Sunday there several years ago. Every one of the small plazas had a band---lots of different styles of music and dancers.

My "Panama" hat I bought there finally fell apart, and it is also a great place for cotton hammocks----guess we need to go back.

Have a great time and hope you head up to BA after you return to Baja.

Diane

Oso - 1-20-2008 at 09:55 AM

In Merida, a real treat is the Cochinito Pibil served in the underground restaurant in a Cenote. Forgot the name. When I was there in the 60's there were still several Model A & T Fords rolling around, some serving as taxis.

Cap'n, I don't suppose you found out anything about my ship on your way up the coast?

sorry - CRS attacks again......

capt. mike - 1-20-2008 at 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Oso
In Merida, a real treat is the Cochinito Pibil served in the underground restaurant in a Cenote. Forgot the name. When I was there in the 60's there were still several Model A & T Fords rolling around, some serving as taxis.

Cap'n, I don't suppose you found out anything about my ship on your way up the coast?

refresh me Bear - i am headed south soon, can try again.

bajalera - 1-20-2008 at 12:24 PM

A few years ago one of my sons, a grandson and I drove from Whidbey Island, north of Seattle, on a grand tour of Mexico, planned to include archaeological sites and historic places. Went through Chihuahua to Mexico's Gulf coast as far south as Palenque, criss-crossing to the Pacific side several times. [Washington license plates got a lot of "You DROVE here?" comments from other Gringos in the far south.]

Visiting places we had only read about was an experience to remember forever, and it didn't cost a whole lot because every town seems to have cheapo hotels with friendly and knowledgeable hosts.

The price of gas, though, would up the tab today.

Oso - 1-20-2008 at 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by capt. mike

Quote:

refresh me Bear - i am headed south soon, can try again.

Early 60s I shipped out of Belize on board the Arawak Chief. a 107' coastal freighter, we ran aground about 5 miles south of the Punta Herrera light. I've always wondered if the hulk is still there or if someone ever managed a successful recovery.

Cap - 1-21-2008 at 01:49 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by capt. mike
the only thing baja has over the mexican carribean is that it's closer and therefore easier to get to from USA.

given a choice - Man i'd live in Quintana Roo or Yucatan in a heart beat.
and you STILL can find some good buys there. But those hurricanes will get your attention........... my biggest disappointment was not knowing about isla Holbox until after i 1st left the area!!
gives me a great excuse to go back!!.........and drift diving at night off Cozumel!!

Right again! But of course,
That all depends on where you live in the usa. Key west is an easy day hop from the Yucatan. Baja is beautiful, and unique, but I would have to agree with you about QR and Merida. You will love Holbox as well. If you like Merida for its older charm you would probably enjoy Veracruz as well. The absolute don't miss of Southern Mexico though is Chiapas.
I just had a quick turn around flight to KDVT and got some of your sunshine today, made me wish I was somewhere in Mexico.

capt. mike - 1-21-2008 at 06:58 AM

Punta Herrera light - ?? i still don't have a clue?

Cap - DVT??!! hell i'd a come out to buy you lunch or something!

ok - i just read the trip reports from BBP's CenAM '08. I am psyched now to go to Honduras.
Reports on Costa rica bore me and Belize is non friendly to small planes, San Jose blows big time.
So, i think it has to be Honduras and the coastal islands you can land on.
Maybe after mainland '08 Cabo Boys '09 could become Cen Am boyz?

Cap - 1-21-2008 at 10:15 AM

Thanks Mike, I will drop you a line next time. I was just dropping some people, and getting back before the ice got bad.

You will love Honduras too! You are right about C.R. It is Ok but not friendly to foreign GA. Huge mistake for such a tourism dependent country. Don't forget Guatemala, esp if you like to fish. Belize is a bit trying to get into initially but once you are in you can fly around all you want with little trouble. There are only a couple of the boys that would be up to the challenge of a Central america run. They are mostly vfr guys.
I look forward to having a jp4 marg and comparing notes

Oso - 1-21-2008 at 11:33 AM

Mike, actually I meant the Q. for George. If he drove the new road up from Majahual to Playa del Carmen, he would have passed by or near where I was shipwrecked and "marooned" for three months. After that I lived on Cozumel a year or so. Cancun didn't exist yet and nobody lived on Holbox- the only thing there was huge swarms of mosquitoes.

Barry A. - 1-21-2008 at 12:10 PM

One of our favorite places was Valladolid, between Chichen Itza and Cancun------no tourists, and a great place with 2 nice hotels right on the Plaza------did I say "no tourists"? We liked it so much we used it as a base of operations for a week.

Spent 3 days in Merida in a nice hotel right on the central plaza, and that was a great place for taxi excursions, walking tours, etc. Off street parking available for tiny cars (like ours)

3 days in Chetumal was also wonderful----no tourists again.

Spent a week in a 7 bedrm villa right on the beach in Talum----very cheap for what we got.

Our favorite "ruin" was Uxmal-----nothing else came close. Even Tikal paled in comparison to Uxmal, IMO.

Spent 5 days in Campeche-----very neat old walled city, with lots to see on day trips around there. Parked car outside the walls, and walked into our hotel within the walled city.

We flew down to Cancun, rented a car, and toured that way----no camping. (stayed in a hotel in old Cancun on the mainland--cheap)

The entire Quintana Roo/Yucatan experience was outstanding in our opinion, and very inexpensive if you stay away from the "hot" spots, which we did, other than day-tours. Down there for a little over 5 weeks and spent about $4K for the entire trip including airfare-----such a deal. :lol:

Oso - 1-21-2008 at 02:09 PM

Valladolid is definitely a Mayan town. On Cozumel we lived for a time with the Canto family and I was privileged to know Captain Claudio Canto. Captain Claudio could remember when the town of Felipe Carillo Puerto was known as Chan Santa Cruz, capital of the Mayan Free State occupying most of what is now the state of Quintana Roo. The British gov't in B.H., now Belize, recognized the Maya as a de facto independent nation. The Captain told me many great stories of those times when the islanders and mestizos from Merida did not dare to set foot on the Q.R. beaches for fear of being killed by the Maya.

capt. mike - 1-21-2008 at 03:49 PM

ok Cap sounds good to me.
and if you ever have a chance to RON i have a pretty good B and B 5 min from SDL too.

B&B = Bed and Bar............... :biggrin:

tjBill - 1-22-2008 at 03:09 PM

I love Veracruz. Beautiful historic port. Although if feels more Caribbean than Mexican