Nebaj was our (somewhat hastily selected based on the malaria map) stop between Lake Atitlan and Cobán.  And that one night stopover just happened to be on New Year's Eve. The drive to Nebaj was super gorgeous - winding mountain roads through quaint Mayan villages.  Enroute, we were certain we'd made the right choice in... Continue Reading →

There was one reason and one reason only for going to Antigua - to climb the volcano.   The plan was to climb the dormant Volcán Acatenago, which is right next door to Volcán Fuego, an active volcano.  From Acatenago you can often see eruptions and lava flows on Fuego from a safe distance.  But... Continue Reading →

Lake Atitlan is another of those incredibly special places on Earth.  We mentioned in our Terraza de la Tierra post that one of the guests was a Norwegian aristocrat who lives in Guatemala.  He'd invited us to come rent an apartment on his huge and gorgeous estate Villa Eggedel.  We'd decided this is where we'd... Continue Reading →

Exiting Mexico was time-consuming but civilized.  Entering Guatemala was chaos.  It's not like we didn't know it would be more nutso on the other side of the border but it happens so fast it's quite a shock!   Our newly minted truck title isn't quite a miracle worker because the title is not in my... Continue Reading →

We needed to overnight somewhere enroute to our last stop in Mexico, San Cristobal de las Casas in the Chiapas state.  Blasting out of San Agustinillo area without stopping at an ATM turned out to be an error.  There were no ATMs near our departure route and we saw we'd be going through or near... Continue Reading →

San Agustinillo is in the Zipolite area of Oaxaca and is a tiny little town with a fun but inconsistent surf break, a good swimming area of the beach, and very mellow attitude.  It's possibly the most dog friendly place we've been on the trip so far and Ted gave his stamp of approval along... Continue Reading →

There is no doubt when you enter a special place.  You know you’re in a special space.  This is a special place.  Wildly photogenic too.  Stunning views from a mountainside that reach all the way to the Pacific 7500’ below.  Lush gardens full of incredible vegetables.  Mountain stream running through it, cascading to waterfalls below.... Continue Reading →

We didn’t really plan to go to Mexico City since it’s a bit off-topic for this trip.  But a couple days earlier my cousin Hans texted saying that he needed to take a flight to maintain his frequent flyer status and was thinking of Mexico City and were we by chance in the area.  Indeed... Continue Reading →

Our destination was to camp at the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary high in the mountains of the Michoacan state.   In case you’re wondering why this is cool, reference Wikipedia:  Monarch butterflies perform annual migrations across North America which have been called "one of the most spectacular natural phenomena in the world”.  Starting in September and... Continue Reading →

We stopped for just one night in Guadalajara on the way to the butterfly sanctuary.  Dmitri’s dad has a friend who lives in Guadalajara and recommended a great restaurant in Tlaquepaque right on a famous market.  We went there first for a delicious meal and some light shopping during which Nina got 3 hand-made finger... Continue Reading →