We are faced with a big question to answer as we plan the next stage of our trip. From Santa Monica, where should we head? The goal is Mexico, but which would be the best route? Do we stick to the PCH, head down the coast and into Baja California? Once there we’ll have to get over to mainland Mexico to continue our journey south. That part of Mexico hasn’t come up on my radar before, plus we’ll have the additional difficulty of sorting transport as we’ll have to leave whatever US vehicle we’ve hired in the US! I do love the idea of using boats to get places though, so not discounting it yet.
The alternative route we are considering is to head inland from Santa Monica and visit the Grand Canyon. I was lucky enough to experience an amazing trip here back in my telly days with Arizona Outback Adventure lead by the fantastically-named Brian Jump. (Sadly, as we are mid-build at home all of my photo albums from that trip are stashed away, and I don’t have digital copies. I would have loved to share them with you.) My husband is desperate to visit the Grand Canyon, and I’m sure the kids would be blown away by it too. From there we would probably choose to fly to direct to Mexico City for the next leg of our adventure.
What should we do? I’d love to hear your views!!
I was last in Mexico over ten years ago, and I can’t wait to go back. With a friend I spent a few days in Mexico City followed by a week in San Cristobal de las Casas. Writing this blog has given me the chance to look back at my old travel journal which starts with the following lines for this trip:
“1st December 2006
Sunset in Mexico City, drinking Coronas at the rooftop bar in Hostal Moneda. Views across the incredible, beautiful cathedral which overlooks the main square, Zocalo.”
Once in San Cristobal we enjoyed the relaxed feel of the city and explored the local sights (the speed bumps on the roads are etched into my memory). It was winter. A little vocab note in my journal, cobija = blanket, is an evocative reminder of cold, often rainy weather.
Before this trip I’d only been on a weekend trip to Baja California, down from Santa Monica when I was living out there. Good memories of sitting on the beach, on cheap, roadside purchased rugs, drinking Coronas! This time it’s probably a good thing that the old photos are inaccessible!
On our grand adventure I really want to visit Oaxaca and I’m keen to take the family to San Cristobal. I think we need to see Mexico City and experience at least a little of what that vast metropolis has to offer. When I was last in the city it was a public holiday, and none of the museums or main tourist sites were open, so I feel it really deserves a revisit.
Mexico also is the place where we ought to stop for a couple of weeks, take a break from travelling and really make an effort to get Spanish in our heads – enrolling us and the kids in lessons. A homestay would be ideal here I think, though I know the kids would benefit from staying in a place with a pool. I wonder if we can make both requirements work?
The Puerto Vallarta area is beautiful, for the “beach rest” part of your time in Mexico, and very affordable! The Puerto Vallarta Botanical Gardens are absolutely stunning, with hiking trails that go for miles through the mountains, and a crystal-blue river with warm water (a weird experience for us, who are used to freezing rivers!). You could spend days there and never see it all. We can’t wait to take our kids there.