Puerto Aventuras to Charleston
Going back and looking at the articles from our 3 month trip through Mexico in 2019, I realized that we got home and immediately focused on selling our home and moving to Mexico. What we didn’t do was write about our trip back to the states. Today, I have decided to try and recreate that journey.
To backtrack, for those not familiar with our adventure, we left Mount Pleasant, South Caroline on January 7th 2019 (And We're Off — Just Imagine Vacations). We spent our first night in Tallahassee, Florida. From there we traveled along the gulf coast and met up with our friends Caroline and Bob in San Antonio (First San Antonio then on to Mexico — Just Imagine Vacations), to caravan, along with our two dogs Tootsie and Maya Alux, as far as Telchac, Yucatan on the gulf coast of Mexico. We crossed at Eagle Pass, Texas (Crossing into Mexico — Just Imagine Vacations) and our first stop was Matehuala, San Luis Potosi at the famous ex-pat stop, Plaza Palmas Midway Inn Hotel Las Palmas Midwayy Inn Matehuala, San Luis Potosi. (laspalmasmidwayinn.com).
We chose to take the scenic route through the mountainous spine of Mexico, and after a long first day driving we spent a five days in San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato (San Miguel de Allende — Just Imagine Vacations). We had plenty of time to explore since we didn’t need to be in Telchac until February 1st. After SMA we stopped in Cholula, Puebla, Oaxaca, Minastitlan, Veracruz, Palenque, Chiapa and Campeche On the Road in Mexico: General Impressions — Just Imagine Vacations.
Upon arriving in Telchac, we had to say goodbye to our dog Maya who passed away in Merida. We stayed two weeks on the gulf before moving on to Puerto Aventuras, Quitana Roo, Jumping Ahead: Puerto Aventuras, Quintana Roo — Just Imagine Vacations where we would spend 6 weeks and making a life altering decision to sell our home and all its contents and move to Mexico.
We took from January 7th to February 18th to travel from Charleston to Puerto Aventuras. Then we headed back to South Carolina on March 31st.
Our first destination was Calakmul, Tabasco. We stopped for lunch in Bacalar and headed to Puerto Calakmul, Hotel Calakmul | Hotel Puerta Calakmul | Chicaná a favorite of mine. It is located right off the highway at the start of the road into the Calakmul ruins. It is a rustic, glamping type hotel, which ordinarily is not my type of accommodation - but this has excellent service, great food and a beautiful location. During our visit we had the opportunity to meet a wonderful group of Mexican gentlemen who were dining at the hotel restaurant. They had many questions about all our travels through Mexico. They also pointed out that we had seen much more of their country than most Mexicans ever get a chance to, and we explained we hoped to see much more.
We chose not to see the major Calakmul Ruins, as we had a long way to go and the ruins are an hour down a dirt road from the hotel. Besides, se knew we would have other opportunities as full time residents of Mexico. Instead, we stopped at two smaller ruins, Becam and Balamku, as well as at the famous bat cave. The bat cave at sunset when thousands of bats fly out for the night is an absolute must see and do. I would highly recommend a visit to this area, and preferably before the Maya Train brings more and more tourists. It is an easy drive from Merida, Campeche or the Maya Riviera.
Next stop was just an uneventful overnight at Villahermosa, Tabasco, and then on to one of my favorite surprises, Orizaba, Veracruz. We spent the night at the Mission Orizaba, Misión Orizaba - Hotel with Pool | Mission Hotels (hotelesmision.com.mx) a lovely hotel located close to everything. Orizaba definitely deserves its Pueblo Magico status. It sits high in the mountains at 4,000 feet, at the toot of Pico de Orizaba, the highest peak in Mexico at more than 18,000 feet. The small city is rich with culture and history, as well as being home to some of Mexico’s friendliest people. For instance, as Mike and I stood at the zocolo looking confused, a young man approached us and asked if he could be of assistance. He then volunteered to show us around Orizaba, which would also give him time, as he said, to practice his English. We had a marvelous 2 hours of conversation and sightseeing. We definitely want to go back to see more of the area and take the gondola ride up the mountain. The weather in Orizaba is more like Seattle, cool and damp, than we could have thought possible.
I will say the drive from Orizaba to Queretaro is one of the most hair-raising I have ever experienced! We were one of very few cars surrounded by huge trucks on hairpin turns straight down. I was happy when we finally ended that travel day. We stayed at Casa del Atrio Casa del atrio (lacasadelatrio.com) an amazing little bed and breakfast which shares its location with a wonderfully eclectic antique store. I would highly recommend this place, centrally located, comfortable and wildly decorated! The hosts are incredible. We wandered around the shops of Queretaro and loved it. For dinner we met up with our friend Gary, who surprised with an amazing small Indian Restaurant in a private home, away from the center of town. I’m not a fan of Indian food, but this was incredible. Tthe setting in their backyard was gorgeous, food delicious and the host and chef were dressed in full Indian attire.
We loved Queretaro so much that we will be back to visit in a month. We will be sure to write about it in a more timely fashion this time.
Leaving Queretaro and heading back to Matehuala, where the journey began, it was a long but uneventful day. Our last day in Mexico was not our best day traveling. We left Matehuala heading for the border and ended up in a monume ntaltraffic jam. Surrounded by dobles (trucks pulling 2 trailers), backed up as far as the eye could see, no one moved for over three hours. The only plus was that, once traffic was moving again, our navigation detoured us through the big, very impressive city of Monterrey. As you are driving along through flat, barren country all of a sudden these incredible, craggy mountains pop up out of nowhere. And at their feet is this modern skyline. We hope one day to have time to explore Monterrey, but not then, with our delay and arriving at rush hour all we could do was pass through.
We made it across the border just as the sun was setting on the Rio Grande. Back in the USA we spent our first night in Laredo. The rest of our trip home went fast, with quick stops to see Mike’s Brothers. Dave was in Orlando and as we were telling him about our trip he jokingly asked “so when are you moving to Mexico?” We shocked him with our answer. Next stop was brother, John, in Beaufort SC. John had been told already by his brother so he was prepared for the news.
When we got back home we went to see Kenny Chesney perform at the tennis stadiumon Daniel Island. He started the concert off with his hit “Have Another Beer In Mexico.“ We took that as a sign that we had made the right decision, and looking back on this adventure I have no doubts we did! We have made amazing friends, we enjoy our lifestyle and location and are looking forward to seeing more of this great country.