Mexico
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Michaela’s Favourite Photographs: #7 Fishing Grounds
Puerto Escondido, Mexico 2018. There has to be at least one wildlife shot in a collection such as this. Each of the seven beaches of Puerto Escondido has a character all of its own, ranging from gentle family friendly waters to the giant rollers of the Mexican Pipeline surfing beaches. The pelicans, perhaps counter intuitively, gather on the town beach closest to civilisation – but then, this is also where the fishermen are, fish must be at their most plentiful right here. This shot combining the majesty of a big bird with the power of the waves perfectly captures part of the essence of the town beach.
- Africa, Belize, Central America, Independent travel, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, North America, Panama, Photography, Travel Blog, Wildlife
That Was 2022
When we retired at the end of 2019, full of wide eyed enthusiasm about seeing the world and feeling like the entire world was our oyster, we had a vision of what a year would look like. This was of course before we had any inkling that something very nasty was about to escape from China and have something of an impact on those plans. Resourceful as we were in ‘20 and ‘21 (we travelled as much as we could and more than most), 2022 has probably been the first year which really did match the dreams we had at the start. As a year which started in Costa Rica…
- Africa, Asia, Central America, England, Greece, Independent travel, India, Mexico, North America, Photography, Transport, Travel Blog, Turkey, World food
Questions About Travel
Travelling the way we do, in regular lengthy stretches, is not something everyone is fortunate enough, well enough or even inclined to do. Whatever your chosen style of travel, there are some questions which all of us who do so are asked on a regular basis. Like… What do you miss about home? Answer: very little. My stock answer is “proper English ale” which is true, I do find myself craving a good pint sometimes. Michaela meanwhile goes straight for the roast lamb and mint sauce. With both of our families being scattered around the country, we always make a round of visits on our return and probably don’t see…
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Looking Back And Planning Forward
Our garden looks strange as we take our first look at it after 12 weeks away. So much has died in the unusually hot and dry summer, but the heavy rain which has now fallen in the last few days has turned all the dead stuff into an untidy grey. Green patches try their best, but there is precious little colour and the whole garden looks a kind of damp monochrome with splashes of green paint. Within minutes of our arrival home, we are alerted to the drama unfolding at Balmoral and, around four hours later, the Queen’s death is confirmed. As the BBC plays the national anthem Michaela and…
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Tales Of Smut, Keys & Turtles: Last Days In Mexico
We described Tulum in our last post as being too over developed, too touristy and very much too over priced for our liking, with an enormous amount of further development in the midst of construction, but, you know, everywhere has redeeming features – it’s just that in places like Tulum you have to look a bit deeper to find them. The music in some of the bars in the main street is simply too loud to hold a conversation, so loud in fact that I’m reminded of what my Dad used to say. “I do detest pubs which are so loud that I can’t hear myself drink”. But as we…
- Belize, Central America, History, Independent travel, Mexico, Music, North America, Photography, Transport, Travel Blog, Wildlife
Nearing The End & Back Into Mexico – Or Are We?
Only on our last night on the island do we discover Caye Caulker’s best bar, where the superb soul/blues band named, perhaps predictably, Andrew & The Go Slows, are playing live. These guys are so good – Andrew, if that’s really his name – has a voice so soulful that he gives us goosebumps. Anything and everything from Lynyrd Skynyrd (Sweet Home Alabama) to Tom Petty (Mary Jane’s Last Dance) to Bill Withers, Otis Redding and Kings Of Leon, given THE most soulful, bluesy treatment. This guy is GOOD. Time to go. As we pack up our backpacks once again and prepare to walk the short distance to the “water…
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Ancient Sites & Plunging Cenotes: Our Time In Yucatan
After several hours of walking the ancient sites in soaring temperatures and 100% humidity, jumping from the rock platform down into the cool, cool waters of the cenote is exhilarating and refreshing beyond belief. Swimming in one is a pure joy, but more of that later. A half hour collectivo ride out of Valladolid is one of the so called “new” seven wonders of the world, the extensive remains of the ancient Maya city of Chechen Itza. Paying our entry fee and ambling towards the first section of the city, the first thing that strikes us is the sheer number of visitors. It’s not even peak time of day yet…
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Valladolid: Gateway To Wonders But So Much More
We leave the lovely little beach town of Puerto Morelos with a real sense of disappointment, an unshakable feeling that we really missed out here. Not so much that the seaweed invasion spoilt both the beach and the sea – though that was disappointment enough – but more the fact that I couldn’t shake off the bout of “travel tummy” enough to enjoy the town’s splendid bars and restaurants. Being a beach town, this is probably the best collection we’ve seen in Mexico, but regrettably I just wasn’t up to making the most of it. As we walk home on our last night here – a Friday – after eating…
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Puerto Morelos & The Seaweed Attack
Puerto Morelos marks a minor milestone on our 2022 travels – it’s our 48th bed of the year, one more than our previous record which we set last year. And it’s only August. Altogether we’ve been travelling for over 180 days so far this year – we’ve only been in our own home for 49. The pristine white sand beach which is in all the on line photographs has a sargassum seaweed problem just now. Having talked to people here and then researched it ourselves, it seems the current situation is abnormal with unprecedented levels of sargassum growth this year, with a reported 24.2 million tons being pulled from Mexico’s…
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From Chiapas To The Coast With A Touch Of Tuxtla
Usually the first one we hear is just before 7am, though occasionally we hear an earlier one and sometimes a handful just after midnight. And then at regular intervals throughout the day. We didn’t know what they were at first – somebody shooting rabbits, perhaps, but then, could the louder ones be cannons? They’re sky rockets, of course they are. It turns out that in the provincial towns of Mexico (the pueblas), there is an obsession with buying or making fireworks and then lighting them outside the church. Apparently intended to “amplify” prayers and take them closer to God, these rockets don’t light up the sky or provide colourful shows,…
