Ruinas, Playas and Hora Feliz!

We started the Mexican part of our holiday in late October, heading from the Texas border all the way down the Gulf Coast to the Yucatan, then across the mountains to the Pacific Coast.

Firstly, let’s start with the Texas border crossing… Well, I must admit our Spanish was pretty poor at this point – we got by on “No intiendo” (which means “I don’t understand”), much to the exasperation of the Mexican customs officials who were trying to guide through this multiple step process. Nevertheless, we made it through, and were suddenly confronted with the fact that we were driving a large campervan through Mexico and couldn’t understand a single thing. Our lives flashed before our eyes as we swerved between a chicken bus and a pothole the size of a VW. All this in the first hour. Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore!

Our route took us firstly down the Gulf Coast (aka the “crappy” coast of Mexico), so we put in a few hard days of “driving” (riding speed bumps and dodging donkeys). We managed to find an absolute gem of a beachside campground in a spot called the Emerald Coast. We wished we could have stayed longer but unfortunately we learnt an important lesson about the Mexican banking system – nada. We had to depart early because we ran out of cash and couldn’t find an ATM nearby.

Moonrise over the Emerald Coast

Nevermind as the next stop was Campeche – a gorgeous Spanish colonial town marking our first point of call in the Yucatan Peninsula. This was the first place in Mexico that we felt comfortable enough to free camp for a couple of nights outside the tourist bureau and within easy walk of all of the towns delights. Walking along the malecon whilst watching the sun setting over the Gulf of Mexico, we thought: if the rest of Mexico is half as good as this, we are in for a treat. Here we tried one of the national dishes – Pollo Mole Poblano – which is similar to chicken enchiladas but covered with a chocolate & spice sauce, which is a very interesting combination of flavours!

Spanish colonial streets of Campeche

About a thousand years ago the Yucatan Peninsula was a major political / cultural / religious centre of the ancient Mayan civilization. Hence there are ruins everywhere – with each one claiming to be either the biggest, oldest, tallest, most triangular or whatever. The first two that we chose, Uxmal (pronounced like “ush-marl”) and Chichen Itza (pronounced like “chits ‘n eats her”), were doubly impressive due to their night-time sound and light shows and day-time abundance of iguanas. We spent many hours at each - pouring over, climbing up and walking through the ruins: here are a couple of pictures.

Some of the Uxmal ruins (with an iguana in the foreground)

Chichen Itza's Light & Sound Show

Skull reliefs at Chichen Itza

So having knocked two of the ruins off our list and feeling like intrepid travellers we headed for the flashy and very-fake town of Cancun, still in the Yucatan Peninsula, but this time along the Caribbean coast. You may have heard of Cancun before – it’s a place of international cruise ships and 5 star hotels where rich folks can enjoy a beachside holiday without having to speak a word of Spanish. Unfortunately our budget excluded us from the 5 star set, but we did manage to find our own paradises on nearby Isla Mujeres and Playa del Carmen, where we tucked into the happy hour (Hora Feliz!) 2 for 1 beers & cocktails with gusto!

Enjoying a couple at Isla Mujeres

Deciding to give our livers a break, we headed to a lovely beachspot a few miles further south. This was my idea of the perfect beach – beautiful fine white sand, very warm water (say 28 degrees or thereabouts), a coral reef just off shore for snorkelling, and a few restaurants along the beach perfect for people-watching. We made friends with the Canadian couple in the campervan next door and mostly did a whole lot of nothing. We did, however, take a day out of our nothing-ness routine to do a spot of scuba diving in a few of the nearby cenotes. The Yucatan doesn’t have any rivers, and all the fresh water travels to the ocean via a natural underground network. A cenote is an above ground opening into this network. It was marvellous diving – the visibility was unlimited, the roof & floors of the caverns were covered with stalagmites and stalactites, and the sunlight shone through the opening of the cenote creating god-finger rays in the water.

Perfect beaches along the Yucatan Peninsula's Carribean Coast

Our campsite (Daisy's on the far right)

With much regret we said goodbye to the perfect Caribbean beaches and headed inland to the mountains, stopping of at our third ruins, Palenque. The geography of Palenque, being set in mountainous jungle, was very different from the ruins we had previously visited. Many of the ruins were completely covered by jungle, giving an “Indiana Jones” feel, especially with the local howler monkeys providing the soundtrack!

Palenque

Palenque

Howler monkeys at Palenque

We’ve already run to several pages and we’re only half way through Mexico, so I think I’ll leave it at that for now. Adios amigos!

Squeal Like A Pig…

It’s only been about 2 months since our last blog – it feels like much longer as we’ve covered so many miles and seen so many things. We crossed back into the States from Canada at the New England Border, made our way down the East Coast stopping off at lots of cool cities like Boston, New York, Washington DC, and made our way all the way down to the Mexican border.

Our first stop was Maine, which is home to lobsters, blueberries and lighthouses. We tried our best to combine all three wherever possible. A typical afternoon could be spent hiking near several lighthouses, eating wild blueberries found along the trail, and finishing with dinner at a BYOB lobster shack (with the sound of a lighthouse fog horn in the background). No utensils are allowed at a proper lobster shack- you pull apart soft shell lobsters with your fingers, dunking the meat in the melted butter before gorging on it. Of course this means you end up with melted butter and random lobster bits everywhere, but that’s all part of the fun! When we were feeling especially decadent, we’d finish off with blueberry pie and whoopie pie for dessert.

Lobster lunch in a restaurant at Bar Harbour, Maine

Portland Lighthouse, Maine

Next was Boston, a gorgeous city that seemed to be still living on the glory of the American Revolution. Flags abound! And the various statues and plaques around the city give the English a real serving. (Most probably well deserved, I’m sure – but amusing nonetheless).

The balcony where the Declaration of Independence was first read to the American public

Our Aussie friends Sally & Brett have been living in New Jersey for a few years now - we popped by to say hello and ended up staying a week. Thanks guys for putting us up! Sal’s meat pies helped keep the homesickness at bay. We could also travel into New York by train, thus saving us from navigating Manhatten’s streets in a campervan. New York was – well New Yorkish. Highlights were downing a “dirty water” hotdog in Central Park, riding bikes straight down Broadway through Times Square (scary!), catching up with our other friends Rosie & Ryan at the top of the Empire State Building, and of course eating too much cheesecake.

Sal, Brett & Cole enjoying an old fashioned New Jersey diner breakfast

Riding our bikes down Broadway through Times Square, New York

Checking out the Views from the Empire State, New York

Washington DC, on the other hand, felt like the complete opposite to New York; DC’s city streets are calm, wide & majestic. And there is so much to do! We followed the usual tourist tracks – The Whitehouse, The Capitol, National Archives, many of the memorials (Lincoln and FDR were my favourites), Arlington Cemetery etc. We also popped by the National Aerospace Centre – which was so awesome! Anyone who has a hidden inner geek will be fascinated for hours.

The Apollo Capsule that Armstrong, Aldrin & the other guy returned to earth in after the first moon walk

After all this city action, we welcomed the opportunity to get back into the wilderness again. Following the scenic route south through the Shenandoah National Park, Blue Ridge Parkway & Great Smokey Mountains gave us about 1000kms worth! We’d stop every 100kms or so to stay overnight, hike out to a waterfall, ride horses, or learn a bit about the Appalachian people and how they got by back in the late 1800’s. If you’ve seen the movie Cold Mountain, then you’d get the idea. (Deliverance was also set in this area, but perhaps not as reflective of our experiences…)

Appalachian Trail marker

Horseriding in the Great Smokey Mountains

A hop, skip and a jump past Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi; we headed for Louisiana. Not really knowing a lot about Louisiana besides that New Orleans was devastated by Hurricane Katrina a few years ago, I really didn’t know what to expect. I was so pleasantly surprised by this state – I think it is now one of my favourites. To start with, New Orleans is just rockin’. I mean, any town where you can buy your drinks “to go” and party on down the middle of the main street with jazz music spilling out of every bar along the way has just got to be cool. Add to that purple beads and blow-your-socks-off cocktails, and well – lets just say that it took us 2.5 days to stop feeling hungover. Just can’t rebound like we used to! Outside of New Orleans, Louisiana feels distinctly different from the “Main Street USA” feeling that dominates much of the other lower 48. It’s hard to describe - a heady mix of hot breezes, swamps & alligators, plantations & slavery, French & Arcadian influences, seafood and gumbo. All up, Louisiana was a very pleasant surprise indeed!

On Bourban Street, New Orleans

Alligator in the Louisiana swamps

Heading into Texas the first thing we noticed was the damage from the recent hurricanes. They’re doing their best to get everything up and running again, but it’s going to take a while. The most noticeable thing is the piles and piles of dead trees lining the highways waiting for the garbage truck to pick them up. Some towns lost half of their trees, maybe more. But funnily enough, everyone is in good spirits. The Texans we met seemed to be very proud of the cleanup efforts (as opposed to that Louisiana mob – whom the Texans seem to think are a bit too laid back. But then again, Texans think a lot of things…)

The best thing about Texas is the BBQ ribs. So much better than any we’d tried in Australia, which don’t deserve to be placed in the same category. It’s worth a trip to Texas for the ribs alone. I’d suggest you limit your stay to Austin, our favourite Texan town - lots of uni students and live music give it atmosphere, and abundant bike paths suited our preferred mode of transportation.

Blues band in Austin

Here’s the map for this latest leg of our travels.

Next Stops – Mexico!!! Down the Gulf Coast to the Yucatan, across the mountains and back up the Pacific Coast. It’s time to start seriously working on our tan…

Je ne parle pas francois, parle vous anglais?

As promised, after our last blog we headed off on a long, cross-continental drive to the Great Lakes, and then on to Quebec. We stopped at a few of the famous destinations along the way, including Little Bighorn battlefield, and the corniest of them all, (but not the cheesiest), South Dakota’s Corn Palace.

Indian Memorial at the Little Bighorn Battlefield (aka Custer's Last Stand)

The exterior (and interior) is entirely decorated with corn ears

We had been told not to go to Mt Rushmore, in the Black Hills of South Dakota, by an expat-American before we left, and we are glad that we ignored the warning. If you only had 10 minutes to find out what this country is all about, we think that this place would give you the best starting point. It’s got it all – flags, photos ops, the landscape carved by man, and a million tourists (but only for 10 minutes each).

5th President?

The first city that we came to, and the largest since we left LA, was Chicago. This city advertises itself as the “second city”, and we’re now even more excited about the prospects of New York, as this second city had us buzzing. The first thing you notice is the skyline - Chicago’s skyscrapers live up to their reputation. And it is also cool how “outdoorsy” Chicago is for a major city – there are awesome bike paths all over the city, including miles and miles along her lakeside “beaches”.

Enjoying a Martini in the John Hancock Building

Chicago Skyscrapers

Chicago's Lakeside Beaches

Playful beaver at Chicago Zoo

After Chicago, we meandered through Michigan on our way north and discovered the best thing – cherry wine! If you eat dark chocolate at the same time, I swear it tastes just like a liquid Cherry Ripe, only alcoholic!

Over the border, we spent a few days with Nathan’s Uncle Kevin and Aunt Diane who live in Niagara, on the Canadian side. It is always lovely to spend time with family, especially those that live so far away!

At Kevin & Diane's place
Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls

Leaving the comforts of familiar faces behind, we ventured into french speaking Canada (and rediscovered how bad our rudimentary french really is). Fortunately the first cities – Ottawa and Montreal – let you off lightly as most things are bilingual. Not so easy in Quebec City however, but the extra challenge just made it all the more rewarding. We liked it so much, we ended up going there twice! The first time, we fluked the timing of our visit to be the peak celebrations of the 400th birthday of Quebec City. A significant proportion (it seemed like almost everyone) of people in the streets were garbed in period costume – it made for a really delightful day of wandering around the old town amongst the cobbled streets!

Montreal

Period clothing in Quebec City

The rest of Quebec province was just delightful. Let me say that again for emphasis – provincial Quebec is just delightful. This is a place that we are promising ourselves we’ll come back to, as whilst we had a few weeks to explore, we were still left wanting for more. Some of the regions (such Baie St Paul) were akin to Berry or Eden – picture a little town with only one main (flower-lined) street with lots of little restaurants, a microbrewery, fromageries, lots of little art galleries, a few chocolateries offering chocolate-covered blueberries, perhaps a bakery or two with fresh croissants – what a lovely way to spend a day or two or more! And some regions (such as Gaspesie) were little fishing villages reminiscent of what I would imagine the south or central coast to have been like, say a few decades ago. Picture humble little fishing towns, with only a few hundred population, selling freshly caught seafood cooked with French-ancestry flair. Or hiking up coastal mountains to check out the Catholic church at the top - stopping here or there to eat a few wild berries along the way (and keeping an eye out for black bears, moose and whales all the while). We didn’t see any moose in the end, but there were plenty of seals and whales, and we almost rode our bikes into an unsuspecting black bear.

Another town - another view out the bedroom window! (Sorry mum, I know I shouldn't be drinking in bed, but we don't have a lot of space in here!)

Little Beachside Town on the St Lawrence River

Dinner Time! This time with the sunset outside our kitchen window...

Trout fishing in Quebec?

For Megan who asked us to start taking photos of our dinners... (Lobster with garlic butter on one plate, grilled chicken with maple syrup glaze on the other.)

Wharf of one of the little fishing villages in Gaspesie by night

And then we ate it :)

It is also lovely reading the tourist brochures that are translated from french into english, and so are written with french flair. Here’s a sample paragraph describing a Lighthouse Trail – “The Gaspesie has fourteen proud witnesses to history, five of which have been given a second life thanks to the judicious interventions of enthusiasts. Thus, these true sentinels of the sea or their outbuildings have been transformed into museums”. Or here’s another: “Proud of their heritage, the residents are, each day, filled with wonder as they appreciate the wildflowers, the herds gazing in the fields, and the horizon that melts into the St. Lawrence River”. Now, isn’t that just charming?

Also, here’s a map of the latest leg of our trip. Next stops – start heading south all the way from New England to Mexico. First up is New England (Maine lobsters), New York and the Washington DC region before heading inland to the Mississippi which we’ll be following all the way to New Orleans.

Out & About in Canada, Eh?

We’ve been loving all the flowers that are blooming at the moment. They’re everywhere! And Vancouver, (which was our first point of call since our last blog update), was no exception. Catching up with our good friend Luke gave us a much needed hit of the Aussie accent & found us back into the habit of sinking beers with good company in front of a movie on a large screen TV. Oh how I have missed that! We did also manage to get out and see a few of the sites of Vancouver – Nathan found heaven in Stanley Park (rugby and cricket being played at the same time!) and thanks Jacqui for the sushi tip.

At Luke's place

After a short stay in Vancouver we started heading inland towards the Rockies, via the Okanagan Valley. Mmmm, wine tasting region again. This time, the local specialty was fruit wines and ice wines. If you’ve never tried a Canadian Ice Wine, don’t, cause you’ll be instantly addicted and they are rather expensive. They wait until the middle of winter when the grapes are at least -8 Celcius before harvesting. This results in a yield 1/12 of normal wine, hence a high sugar saturation & price!

We’ve been enjoying the cultural similarities in Canada, especially the warm hospitality. None more so than in Osoyoos where we accidentally made some new friends. While searching for a free camping space near the lake, we found ourselves being offered to camp in a lovely older couple’s driveway, which included beers & cheese in the evening, breakfast spread in the morning, and long hot showers!

Thanks John & Elaine!

The Canadian Rockies – were not short of spectacular. I think this has been our favourite destination so far. The problem with hiking in this region, is that it is inevitably uphill, or upmountain should I say. But the views were worth it – here’s a few to tempt you to include the Rockies in your next Canadian holiday. Roger's Pass

Emerald Lake

Bow Lake

Valley of the Five Lakes

Lake Morraine

When we heard that our trip would coincide with the Calgary Stampede (aka the "greatest outdoor show on earth"), we made a quick detour to check it out. And managed to score free platinum tickets from some nice people on the train – bonus! I must say though I have never seen so many cowboy hats in one place before. The big feature was the rodeo - they had the works: from little kids trying (and failing) to catch a pony to bull riding. The other main event was the country music bar – our taste in music none withstanding, we skipped this one, as the queue to get in was over 6 hours.

Yeehah! Bull riding rodeo

Where cowboy hats are the fashion...

Only 6 hours from here (and this wasn't the end of the queue...)

Having declined to purchase kitsch cowboy hats for ourselves, we headed back into national parks – this time to USA’s Yellowstone and Grand Titans. Being on the site of a “super-volcano”, Yellowstone provided a very different experience to the other national parks we’ve visited in USA & Canada thus far. With soaring geysers, boiling mudholes, fossil forests, and geothermal areas, Yellowstone is a geology lesson in action. This combined with a concentration of free-roaming wildlife (picture several hundred head of bison blackening the green valleys) made for a very interesting few days!

Mammoth Springs (smell the sulphur!)

Grand Prismatic Pool

Old Faithful Geyser

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

Speaking of wildlife, in these past few weeks, we’ve been delighted at every turn with an abundance of animals we’d previously only seen on TV. Black & grizzly bears, elk fjording rivers, herds of bison migrating across the road in front of our RV, hoary marmot popping their heads up along the hiking trails, bald-headed eagles soaring overhead, big horn sheep herds with lambs, white mountain goats blending in with the snow, as well as all the usual critters that we’ve now come to take for granted - like deer, squirrels, gofers, prairie dogs, chipmunks, etc. We’ve gotten into a pattern of “animal-hunting” with our camera after dinner...

Racoon in Stanley Park, Vancouver

Big Horn Sheep on the Wilcox Pass hike in the Canadian Rockies

Roadside Elk in the Canadian Rockies

Fawn in the town of Waterton, Waterton National Park

Camping with bison, Norris Campground at Yellowstone National Park

Migrating bison, Hayden Valley at Yellowstone National Park

Here's a map of this leg of the trip:

Next stop – we’re heading east along the northern plains (Plains Indian / Custer’s Last Stand territory) via Chicago & the Great Lakes, before heading back into Canada again to check out Niagara Falls, Montreal and Quebec…