On December 1st me, my wife and our 13yo daughter and 16yo son struck out from Montana to begin an 80 day, 10,000 mile expedition that would take us as far south as El Salvador in Central America. We took about 5 days to get to San Antonio TX, stopping by places like Ship Rock NM, and Carlsbad Caverns. In San Antonio we stayed 2 days while we got the truck some final maintenance before crossing the border. I had heard stories of mechanics in Mexico adding water to the oil and didn’t want to rely on a South Of The Border (SOTB) mechanic if I didn’t have to. So we got fresh fluids and a tire rotation. And some amazing bbq! Then we drove to Cotulla just north of the border so that we could get an early start the next day. It’s best to get going early. You don’t know how long it could take, and they say there are more problems with cartels in the afternoon and closer to the border. Leaving early gave us maximum time to get as far south as possible before dusk. Key rule for SOTB travel: ALWAYS be at your camp by 5 or 6. No driving at night if at all possible. Monterrey, MX We crossed at the Columbia Bridge border and it was a pretty straight forward process. They’ll Direct you where you need to go. Make sure you have your passports, required Mexican car insurance, and your TIP (Temporary Import Permit) There were some long lines and it ended up taking us about an hour and a half to cross the border. Side Note; change dollars into pesos on the US side of the border. Generally the country is less safe up north and very dry so we opted for hotels for 2 nights till we arrived in San Miguel de Allende. Once there we found (via the iOverlander app) a great campground close to the heart of the city. There were some amazing rigs with Overlanders from around the world. We spent four days there. We cooked our own breakfast and lunch but took advantage of some of the fantastic restaurants and taco shops the city had to offer. San Miguel de Allende, MX, cathedral From there we struck off towards the south stopping by the ruins of Teotihuacan, the metropolitan city of Puebla and made it to Coatzacoalcos at The southern tip of the golf of Mexico. Along the way we enjoyed even more amazing Mexican food, seeing 250-year-old cathedrals, and volcanoes that top out over 18 thousand feet! [most of the Mexican interior is over 7000 feet of elevation] Temple of the Sun, Teotihuacan Pico de Orizaba 18,491 feet Sumidero Canyon. 3000 ft tall walls! Around Coatzacoalcos the country turns green, and as we headed south from there into the Chiapas region the mountains became dense green jungle. We stopped in the city of Tuxtla Gutierrez and toured the breathtaking Sumidero Canyon. This is definitely a Must-Do! Then we spent 5 days in one of our favorite towns San Cristobal, in a hotel, since it was rainy, and it was city. Food, culture, architecture, artisan markets. Side note; overland camping is difficult in this region. Most of the entries on iOverlander are Mexican gas stations called Pemex. Not a good place to stay unless you are in a hard-sided camper. We have had nothing but great experiences with everyone in Mexico. There was never even a hint of danger! No narcos, no corrupt police, no shakedowns. There are random military checkpoints permanently set up along the roads. We got stopped at about 2/3 of them. They just wanted to know who we were and wanted to check out my truck. Most of them were car guys checking out a sweet rig! I even got sent off from one checkpoint with a high five and a fist bump! Crossing the border into Guatemala at the La Mesilla crossing was an adventure! It was easy and straight forward, but the dense crowds on very narrow streets was what did it. We literally had to push thru the crowds with our truck! It was supposed to be a 5 hour drive to the house in Antigua that we rented for two weeks for the holidays. But driving in Guatemala is about twice as long as Google maps says it is. And it is extremely draining! [Most overlanders recommend that you not drive for more than about four hours in Guatemala.] Anyhow we arrived at our house in the dark after 9 1/2 hours of grueling mountain driving. At one point in the road we came within 20 feet of 10,000 feet elevation! Vulcan de Agua, Antigua GT We didn’t drive at all in Antigua. Such a great town. It’s over 500 years old. So many colonial ruins and amazing restaurants 2 weeks went by in a flash! From there we found an amazing Overland campground on the shores of Lake Atitlan. We stayed there with other world overlanders for a week. It was very restful as we were able to set up Kim and leave it that way. Everything there is accessed by boat. There’s so much to see and do! Panajachel, Lake Atitlan, GT Tuk Tuks Pasaj Cap overland campground After moseying around Guatemala for another week we entered El Salvador. Convoluted but tranquil border crossing. Just lots of hoops to jump thru. We made it up to the mountain town of Ataco to spend a few days with dear friends. Short trip. Back to Guatemala. We arrived at the jungle town of Lanquín in the cloud forests in east central Guatemala. The last 10 miles was a steep and muddy road that made us glad for the heavy rig and good tires. We enjoyed swimming in the turquoise mountain pools at Semuc Champey and wished we could stay longer. the natural pools of Semuc Champey, GT On our way out there was a bus with a blown-out tire that was attempting to be pulled by a water truck blocking the road. They were making zero progress! We had a solid day of driving ahead of us and so I decided to go around on the uphill side, but right before I was clear the back end kicked out and smashed my bed and tail light against the water truck. My first body damage! From there we explored the north eastern part of Guatemala. (In route I got to cross off one of my top overland bucket list items: take my truck on a small river ferry!) There are so many things to see up there. We visited the lake town of Flores and climbed the spectacular ruins of Tikal, along with some other lesser-known ruins that were pretty much equally spectacular. Camping there was kind of tough. Muggy, muggy jungle! Flores island & The ruins of Tikal, GT Crossing into Belize was a trip! You say “adiós” to short brown people, cross an invisible line, and walk into the customs office and say “hello” to tall black people with Jamaican accents! English is the official language for Belize. But because it is a Central American country they also speak Spanish. And with the heavy African population from the Caribbean they have developed their own way of speaking that is more or less equal parts of English, Spanish, Creole! Food there was amazing, and completely different than everywhere else. We would’ve liked to of spent a little longer here but we are starting to see that we are running out of time. And we are still far from home. Amazing campspot on the edge of Chetumal Bay, MX We are now back in Mexico at the south end of the Yucatán peninsula. We love it here as we have spent two months here previously. We made a stop at the crystal blue waters of Lake Bacalar then we headed out the remote fishing village of Xcalak (Ish-calock). We were hoping to take advantage of the beautiful and otherworldly camp spot that we had previously found, but spiritual promptings and mosquitoes dictated otherwise. we later found out that the cartel had used that spot for landing a drug plane! We spent several days swimming in the waves and snorkeling the reefs. Leaving there, sadly, we headed due west to the Pacific coast of Mexico. Oaxaca, in retrospect, was one of our favorite stops. The Overland camp there was one of the nicest that we have stayed in. The city in the food were exciting. (If you make it to Oaxaca try a Tlayuda, you’ll thank me.) We could’ve easily stayed another week! This begins the section of our journey where we have to push hard in order to be back in Washington for work. Having an unlimited time frame would be so much more fun! Oaxaca to Puebla to Guadalajara to Mazatlán in quick succession. Guadalajara was ok, for a city of 5 million people. Mazatlán was very cool! The ocean at sunset was magical. The food and nightlife were fantastic as well. Unfortunately we could only be there for 24 hours as we had to catch the ferry over to the Baja Peninsula. If we missed it on Sunday the next one didn’t leave until Wednesday. Riding the ferry was a singular experience! The ferry was an ocean going ship unlike what we are used to here in Washington. You have to get in line at least 4 hours before sailing and once in line you can’t leave. You can buy tickets for the ferry the day of but you probably won’t get a cabin. Which means that you get to sleep on the floor. Don’t get me wrong the floors are nice and clean and carpeted, but it’s still a floor. The ship provided you dinner (not tasty!) and there were plentiful vending machines. The passenger compartments all had large screen televisions with movies playing to pass the time. Getting off the ship was an exercise in SOTB inefficiency. It took 2 hours! After arriving in La Paz we ate probably our best meal in Mexico and then headed up to Loreto. Awesome place! There we were able to slow down for a few days and enjoy life, and sleep in. And more amazing food. Check out Taqueria Super Burro if you go. Traveling north we stopped in the desert oasis town of San Ignacio to go whale watching. Baja is such a wild gem, wide-open spaces and little government presence. It’s a place where you are free to roam and explore. It’s very safe and very friendly. A few days later we had our last tacos in Mexico and crossed the border in Mexicali. The line moved fast and once at the customs booth they waved us on with only a few questions and no inspection. (Make sure to cross at the East crossing in order to cancel your TIP.) The last leg of our journey saw us doing 8 hour days with a “fun” stop each day. In the end we had a life-altering experience. We saw 23 of 32 states in Mexico along with 3 other countries. We saw many amazing things, and meet even more amazing people. We always expressed our love and respect for their countries knowing we were ambassadors for ours. We helped people we meet along the way. (including one vehicle recovery !) And they helped us see that there are good, kind, hard-working people wherever you go. Don’t believe the media and their overdone reports of rampant crime and corruption. Yes it exists, but it does here too. Just do your homework, keep your situational awareness up, and be friendly (and don’t be a drunken ass like a lot of Gringos do) and you will have the time of your life! For more pics and more stories you can follow us on Facebook at Expeditions Nelson.

Baja Trip report (At the request of Dan Cronin, for those going next summer) Me, my wife, Boy14, and Girl11 just got back from a 21 day expedition thru Baja California. I was quite nervous about it as I have never camped in a foreign country. (Canada doesn’t count!) And try as I might I am surrounded by our lame main stream media who wants Gringos to be afraid of Mexicans. (Watch the news and see the spin they put on everything!) Our trip showed me that Mexico is one of the nicest, chilliest places to visit. We felt totally safe, and cared for. The people and the food are amazing as well! Actually the food was off-the-charts amazing!!!! We had a hard time researching this trip. There is so much info on so many places, for so many different kinds of visitors that it’s hard to compile it all. So we ended up just going a day at a time, learning along the way. One of the things that surprised me the most is how extremely mountainous and rugged the Baja peninsula is. They even have one peak, Mt. Diablo, that is over 10,000ft. Baja is very big. I’m not sure why but this kinda surprised me. It was also enhanced by the fact that travel is very slow down there. We averaged about 40mph on the “highway”. (Think crappy country road) To me Baja was about long stretches of boring accentuated by points of shear WOW. Generally speaking the northern 1/3 of the peninsula is not as interesting as the rest. Same for the Pacific Coast side; much less interesting than the Gulf of California side. If you go I would recommend getting about 10 hrs south before you really slow down and enjoy things. Otherwise you’ll waste some precious time with lackluster spots. (Catavina) I don’t want to bore you with a day to day itinerary but instead would like to share some stories and some pointers. We heeded the advice not to cross at Tijuana due to the extremely long border crossing lines. (up to 3-4hrs) We crossed at Tecate further east. Very easy. In fact we literally did not stop the vehicle, we just rolled right on thru and no one asked us for a single document! Didn’t even see anyone. The lane light stayed green so we kept driving… We decided to go to Ensenada to get stocked up on groceries and gas and “break ourselves in” since there was a trailer park south of town on the beach that was very protected. BTW they have great grocery stores there. They even have Walmart and Costco. You can get everything you’ll need there. We were able to find ice everywhere, and there were water purification centers in many places as well. We tent camped too. I say this because I want you to be aware that you do not need a RTT, or an ARB fridge to make this (or any other) trip. (San Ignacio) We then took 8 days traveling down the Pacific Coast side. There were a few nice highlights like the desert oasis of San Ignacio and then out to the bay of the same name to see the mama and baby Humpback Whales. (Tip: late February is when the migration is at its peak with anywhere from 2-4,000 whales! And the mamas WANT their babies to meet you! Unlike the 12 whales that were there who did not want us to see the babies….) After that we ran a section of the Baja1000 course on which I blew out a front strut and had to drive very carefully for the next 2 days till we could get to civilization. (side note: much, nay, most of Baja does not have cell signal. An InReach would’ve made me feel better) With the busted strut we consulted iOverlander (which is absolute gold!!!) to find a small town to get to. We found the quaint pueblo of La Purisima. A hotel allowed us to camp in their inner parking lot for $3. And we had one of the best meals in all of the trip at a dirt-floored, single lightbulb restaurant run by a chef who just loves his small town and chooses to work there. It was excellent. Some other places you will want to see are Catavina, Mision San Borja, and Mision San Javier. (San Borja) We carefully made our way to the gulf town of Loreto and rented a condo for 5 days of showers, real beds, restaurants, and sightseeing. If Loreto was in the US it and its surrounding mountains would be a national park! The place is stunning, you’ll want to spend at some time here. And the food is to die for. (Tip: go to Asadero Super Burro for amazing tacos and humongous burritos) Then we set off for 8 more days of camping along the Gulf of California side. I wish we would have known how much more interesting it was on that side than the Pacific! There are so many great camp spots on the beach! Palm trees, tacos, moon rises over the sea! (tip: firewood can be hard to come by. Expensive when it’s at the beach. Scavenge some if you can. But if you do buy wood you’re in for the treat of it being predominantly mesquite wood, which makes for a beautiful smelling campfire) One beach we stayed at was El Coyote. You had to share it with others, but it was very nice. After cooking on the fire I went to see how the water was. To my surprise the water lit up with green, glowing light as I kicked it; bio-luminescent algae. We all spent the next 45 minutes around mid-night splashing and playing in the dark. We then traveled a bit further north till we could access a tougher section of the Baja course. It was a 4Lo type scenario. But it led us to a really neat deep rock canyon where we spent the night on a nice sandy spot. Around 9pm we heard a truck coming down the trail, which was odd since it was in the middle of BFE. I killed the light to camp as I’d just as soon they pass on by without notice. Well they stopped, so I turned my camp lights on, then decided to hold my machete at my side, then flipped on my side flood lights at which point I found a guy quickly walking from his truck towards us. The flood light surprised him! I asked what he needed (I’m full-fluent Spanish speaker) he then said (made up? I dunno) that people had been stealing his cows and he was just checking on us. I assured him there were no cows here and he went on his way. But it left my Spidey senses tingling for quite a while! This was the only time in the cumulative 13 weeks I’ve stayed in Mexico that I have ever questioned my safety. One thing to remember is that Baja is part of the Sonoran desert, deserts can get very cold at night. One night it got down to 39 degrees! It took all the blankets we had to not freeze. Not stay warm, just not freeze. We finished out the trail the next day. Passed by Coco’s Corner. (Didn’t stop, not interested in visiting a dirty old man with a panty collection!) On our last day we did some grocery shopping in Mexicali for some of the good foods that you can’t get here. Had THE best tacos of the whole trip (Asadero Acatlan de Juarez) and then crossed over and went to Yuma. I admit that I was sad to leave Baja, throat might have tightened up just a bit. What a neat place! Accessible, welcoming and enjoyable to all who dare strike out on their own adventure and see that the people of the world are generally good, caring souls who want to live in peace, just as you do. Don’t listen to the media!