We left Guatemala and sped through the next three countries.  We had to be in Panama City to fly home mid-June and wanted to spend some time in Costa Rica, so that, along with the van developing a clutch problem, meant that we had to limit our time here. In Guatemala we had the luxury of being in the mountains at around 5,000ft but we soon found ourselves at no more than 500ft with 30°+ tropical climates and sleepless nights due to heat and humidity.

The roads on the whole were in reasonable condition and we found ourselves sharing the carriageway with every type of vehicle including animal drawn carts.  We only bought fuel once and that was in El Salvador where we could still buy ultra low sulphur diesel.  The cost was around 78p a litre. 

Water was a little trickier but we filled up a couple of times in El Salvador which we made last until Costa Rica. 

El Salvador

We entered El Salvador without too much trouble and headed into the rolling hills where we spent a couple of nights surrounded by coffee plantations.  

We had done very little hiking in recent months having decided we weren’t fit enough to take on the volcanoes in Guatemala, we opted to do the Santa Ana volcano in western El Salvador.  We met up with our German friends Boris and Tanja to do the early morning hike up to the top of the volcano – it took a couple of hours to get there but well worth it! 

We then had an uneventful journey across the country but not stopping to explore anywhere. 

Places stayed:

Buena Vista Camping, Juayua:  US$30 pn.  RV/camper parking is on a large open concrete area formerly used for drying coffee beans.  Breakfast is included and provided in the restaurant next to a small garden centre and beyond that building is a camping and glamping area with toilets and showers.  It’s a short walk into the town of Juayua. 

Casa de Cristal, near Santa Ana: US$7.50 pn.  Large uneven grass area with showers and toilets a short way away.  A great place from which to start the Santa Ana volcano hike and the views were definitely better here than from Cerro Verde.

Cerro Verde Car Park, near Santa Ana:  US$1 pn plus national park entry fee of $6 each.  The car park is surrounded by a few restaurants and souvenir shops so it’s busy during the day but quiet at night.  No facilities once everywhere closes.  There are walks from the ranger hut but all need guides.

Finca Macedonia, San Miguel Tepezontes: US$5 pppn. A  restaurant and small camping area in the hills surrounding Lake Ilopango. Toilets onsite and a shower in the owner’s house available.  The restaurant is definitely worth a visit for the pupusas. 

Truck stop at border with Honduras: US$3 pn. Large gravel lot used as a rest point for trucks crossing the border.  Nothing there but quieter than expected as we parked up as far from the entrance as was possible.

Honduras

Following tit-for-tat action between the UK and Honduran governments, we had to get a tourist visa for Honduras despite it being a CA4 country for which we didn’t need one.  In Guatemala we submitted reams of online documents to the Honduran Embassy and a week attended the embassy in person to get the visa and collect our passport the same day.

Although we had a 30 day tourist visa, a miscommunication at the border meant we ended up with a 3 day transit visa so it was just as well that we hadn’t intended to see anything!  Our only brief stop was in the town of Choluteca and the DHL office to hand over our drone as they are not permitted in Nicaragua; DHL Choluteca have a well oiled service shipping drones and other electronic equipment over Nicaragua for collection in Costa Rica. 

We spent one night in a truck stop just before crossing into Nicaragua and it was pretty much the same as the one in El Salvador. 

Nicaragua 

Our most eventful border crossings since we started this journey were in entering and exiting Nicaragua!  All the borders we’ve crossed so far seemed to have been job creation schemes, high on bureaucracy and low on logic, but in this instance we also had to deal with a list of prohibited items.  We knew about drones but there was a lot of Spanglish back and forth between us and customs to ensure we retained ownership of our kitchen knives and ancient walkie talkies! 

On our way south through the country was when we first had a clutch problem.  The van was still drivable so we continued to a campsite where there was a highly rated mechanic nearby.  We contacted him and he said he would come to us but after five days of waiting, and a quick check by another local mechanic we decided to push on to Costa Rica where we knew we could definitely get to a Mercedes garage, even if on the back of a tow truck.  Having hung around so long for the original mechanic we didn’t get to see too much other than the campsite!

Campsite used:

Southern Nights Hotel and Camping, San Jorge: $15 pn including EHU. Large area at the back of the hotel with five concrete pads for RVs and campers. Each pad is huge and has its own electric point and concrete table and benches. Non-potable water.  Showers and toilets available. Right on the bank of Lake Nicaragua and easy access to the ferry terminal for the island of Ometepe.

As well as Guatemala being a favourite place to visit, the old capital of Antigua was also high on people’s lists.

The former colonial city sits in a valley surrounded by volcanoes, including the active Fuego, and along the cobbled streets the brightly coloured buildings house every type of business.  With many foreign visitors the food choice is amazing and you’ll find every diet well catered for. 

The city was founded in 1543 as the Spanish colonial capital but after a devastating earthquake in 1773, the capital was transferred to Guatemala City.  Much of the city was rebuilt in the colonial style and some pre-1773 ruins also remain.  

Our main reason for visiting was to experience the Semana Santa festival and also for June to attend a Spanish school for a week – four years of Duolingo provides plenty of vocabulary but not all of it relevant to life on the road!  After 20 hours over five days of one on one tuition and conversation, I can definitely say the confidence in speaking has grown.

We arrived well ahead of Semana Santa, or Holy Week, to secure a good spot on the campsite which we knew would be busy.  Boy do they pack them in!  But despite all the rigs on site, we were not disturbed except for when one of the processions passed along the road right behind the van.

Semana Santa was like nothing we had ever experienced before; the sights, sounds and smells were an assault on the senses, all commemorating the final days of the life of Jesus.  There were daily processions involving thousands of people from the city and surrounding villages and vigils held in the churches.

The huge wooden andas, or floats, each weighing up to 3,000kg, were carried on the shoulders of over 100 cucuruchos (bearers) dressed in long robes with the main floats being followed by smaller ones carried by female cargadoras.  The highly decorated floats are surrounded by people swirling incense burners as they parade through the streets for hours at a time.

One of the joys of travelling is being able to immerse ourselves in new cultures and this was certainly an experience not to be missed.

There are places along the PanAmerican where travellers seem to congregate and Vagamundo Camping is one of them.  We are by no means alone on this route and in Antigua we met up with several other vans whose paths we had previously crossed on the way here: Roland and Coli who we last saw in Canada, Boris and Tanja with whom we spent Christmas, Seb, Franzi and family who we visited in Mexico after the birth of their daughter, and Bernie and Rolf who we saw just before we briefly returned to the UK at the end of 2024.  A few beers and long lunches were enjoyed, exchanging travel tales and future plans.

We returned to Antigua after our second trip to Lake Atitlan as we were still waiting for a delivery which had now been delayed several times. We walked over 20km in two days exploring the city now that the crowds of Santa Semana had gone.  We visited ruins and museums, punctuating our wanderings with good coffee and food.

We haven’t yet really touched on the restaurant scene; you can eat in small family establishments or opt for fine dining in restaurants up in the hills with views across the city. And as for the bakeries, well we weren’t deprived of good bread or cream cakes!

We had some amazing meals here mainly down to recommendations from Neil, a fellow Brit traveller who with his wife Pat, has spent a long time in Antigua.  We were hoping we’d actually manage to finally meet up in person but we missed each other by a few days.

The climate here was perfect – hot days and cool nights, and it was hard to drag ourselves away from Antigua, it really had everything we could have wanted and we will return.

For more photos take a look at our Facebook page ClewleysOnTour

Camp site 

Vagamundo Camping, Antigua: Q160p/n, Q140p/n for stays over 5 days.  Large grass campsite for any type of camper, RV, truck, and tents plus glamping in the various vehicles around the site.  Electric points and water taps are scattered around and there are no fixed pitches.  The site has toilets, showers, a pool and decent bar/restaurant, offers a laundry service and is a short walk from the city centre.  They are also happy to receive deliveries for those staying at the site.

Many people told us that Guatemala was their favourite Central American country and having spent six weeks there, we now understand why.

The crossing from Belize to Guatemala was straightforward if a bit admin intense.  Like many of these borders, you move between booths, cross the street for copies of the last stamp and back to another booth to get the final document in place.  We already have multiple copies of our documents but often customs want a copy of the stamp immigration has just put in your passport.

The eastern side of Guatemala is relatively low lying and covered in jungle so very hot and humid.  After a brief stop in Flores to restock the fridge and cupboards, and top up the water and LPG tanks we headed to one of Guatemala’s top tourist attractions, Tikal.

We’ve written a separate post on Tikal covering the process for entering the park and the tour we took. If you want to read that then click here.

After Tikal we moved south to the Rio Dulce for a few days in the marina there – we had use of the marina swimming pool and it was wonderful!  From here we took the collectivo boat service (basically a public bus equivalent) out to Livingston, a Garífuna community on the Caribbean coast.  The boat takes a couple of hours to get there, making stops along the way to pick up passengers and also to show the local flora and fauna.

The Garífunas descend from African slaves who were often survivors of shipwrecks and the indigenous people of San Vincent. In the late 18th century they were exiled from San Vincent by the British and now a few Garífuna communities are found along the Caribbean coasts of Belize, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua.  

We spent a couple of hours in Livingston and enjoyed a typical Garífuna meal whilst there.

As usual, after a few days the heat got to us so it was time to head to the mountains.  The drive was broken up by a couple of stops on the way before we arrived at Lake Atitlan and between here and Antigua Guatemala, the old capital, we’d spend the next five weeks.

Lake Atitlan is a huge volcanic lake, known as the deepest in Central America, and is surrounded by steep hills home to old Mayan and communities.  Access to several of these towns is only by boat and water taxis crisscross the lake all day. The taxis are easy to flag down and are a cheap way to explore the lake.

We visited the towns of San Marcos, San Pedro and San Juan with the latter being our favourite.  The first two are very much backpacker destinations but that’s not to say they are not worth visiting and in all three towns we drank good coffee and ate well!

A short walk from our campsite in Panajachel was the Atitlan Nature Reserve.  We didn’t see too many of the resident monkey troop, in fact we saw just the one, Thomas, but the butterfly house was well worth the visit.

The reserve also offers “extreme” activities including zip lining and BiciCable, where you “ride” a suspended bike along wires over the valley and jungle.  As we’re always up for something different, we gave the latter a go.  The wire is only 250m long (you cycle it twice, there and back) but riding up the second half each time was hard work but great fun and we’re glad we did it.

After our second visit to the lake we took a short trip north to the town of Chichicastenango, home to the largest market in Central America.  We found the same arts and crafts that we have seen in other places, not that that stopped us buying a couple of things! 

We wandered back into town again the following day to see a little more of the town without all the market stalls.

When not at Lake Atitlan we were in Antigua Guatemala but we did and saw so much there, I’ll leave it for another post!

Motorhoming in Guatemala

The roads varied from well maintained and smooth to tight cobbled streets, some with holes and many with túmulos (speed humps).  Local drivers were on the whole OK but never get in the way of a chicken bus enroute to somewhere – they don’t stop for anything! 

We were able to buy purified water and filled the tank either with a hose or if desperate by emptying 5 gallon containers (garrafons) into it. We did also fill from campsites as we have a filter system onboard and there were no repercussions from that.

LPG was widely available.  We are going through gas quite quickly but it’s for the fridge as we’re not hooking up often.

We use ultra-low sulphur diesel and we found plenty of Puma fuel stations stocking the fuel as “Ion Diesel”.  Nice price too – about 70p a litre!

Campsites ranged from very basic to all singing and dancing but there was not one we wouldn’t use again.  A number of restaurants and visitor attractions also allow overnight parking, often free to encourage you to eat there.

Campsites used

Camping Tikal: Q50pppn.  Camping on a large grass field a couple of minutes walk from the entrance to the ruins.  There are showers and toilets on site plus a couple of restaurants nearby.  It can be noisy but that’s from the sounds of the jungle rather than other campers!

Mar Marina, Rio Dulce: Q200p/n.  There is a small gravel car park by the yacht club reserved for RVs.  There are toilets, showers and electric hook up (available on request and at extra cost) and you also have access to the pool and restaurants.  Great location for accessing the boat trips along the Rio Dulce to Livingston.

IPasaj Cap, San Marcos, Lake Atitlan: Q100p/n for a grass pitch with water and EHU.  A tricky site to get to and get into;  there are lots of hairpins down to the lake and then the campsite is on a steep slope on the lakeside.  There was a large overland truck on the site and we can imagine it was quite an adventure to get there!  But once there it’s a great campsite within easy walking distance of San Marcos.  Pierre, the owner, butchers his own meat and also sells local fish – both were very reasonably priced.  They offer a laundry service and the site has its own dock from where you can flag down water taxis to get across the lake.

Camping Bahia Atitlan, Panajachel: Q200p/n.  Large grass area right on the lake.  Scattered electrical sockets attached to trees (hate to think what happens in the rain!), as well as a pool and restaurant on site.  The town of Panajachel, from where you can take water taxis across the lake, is a short walk away as well as the Atitlan Nature Reserve.  There was more rubbish across the site than we’d normally see but there had been some sort of festival there the previous week – we are aware of other RVs that had been hemmed in by the tents!

Casa Tzocoma RV Ecopark, Chichicastenango: Q100 p/n.  A great little forested campsite with lots of electric points, toilets, showers and most unusually, a proper dump point!  Really friendly and helpful owners.  The campsite is a 10 minute walk to town (all uphill on the way there) which is famous for holding the biggest outdoor market in Central America – the big market is Thursdays and Sundays.

Other park ups

El Centro Cultural Y Deportivo car park, near Flores: Free.  Large open car park for the sports ground.  No facilities but close to a large supermarket and a short walk to the island town of Flores.

Restaurant Marea Rojo, El Rancho: Free.  Large popular seafood restaurant on the main road across the country.  The restaurant was really busy when we arrived (it was a Sunday) but once it closed at 7pm, it was very quiet.  No facilities.  We ate in the restaurant and had enough leftover food in a takeaway box for lunch the next day!

Cabana Suiza Restaurant, near Guatemala City: Free.  A Swiss style chalet restaurant with a great view over the city.  Parking is on a grass field and there are toilets nearby.  We ate breakfast in the restaurant the following morning (it came recommended) and can confirm that it was a good recommendation.

There are so many stories about travelling in Mexico that we thought we’d put together a summary of our time there.  We spent six months in total, from September to March, travelling the length of Baja from Tecate before heading to the mainland where we turned south, then east across the Yucatán peninsula and finally exiting Mexico into Belize.

Security

Probably the first thought for anyone thinking of driving to Mexico – we had plenty of warnings about cartels and corrupt police!  We do take our safety seriously and set ourselves up to receive warnings from the UK Foreign Office to receive security updates on the country via email.  We also had a map of the country downloaded from both the UK and Australian governments to give us a visual image of the areas to be avoided due to cartel activity.

The police and military are highly visible and we’d see pick up trucks carrying armed personnel on a daily basis.  Checks on the road are common but we were not stopped very often and when we were, we were asked a couple of routine questions before being waived on.  

We had a plan between us for dealing with any difficult situations but we can gladly say that we never had to use them and felt safe for our entire time in Mexico.  

Roads and driving 

It’s safe to say that covering long distances in a motorhome in Mexico takes far more time than any sat-nav will tell you.  The toll roads are not too bad but other than that expect roads littered with potholes and topes (speed bumps).

Fuel stations are plentiful and we’d heard plenty of stories of scams operated by the attendants.  We almost exclusively used Pemex because their diesel was ultra low sulphur and they accepted credit cards.  One of the scams involves not zeroing the pump but the attendants we met usually pointed out that the pump showed zero.  They also bought the card machine to us so our card was never out of our sight.

Weather

Along the coasts it was either very hot or very hot and humid with nighttime temperatures of 23° to 28°C.However by heading inland and getting up into the mountains we found the perfect combination of warm days and cool nights.

Shopping

It’s probably quite shameful to say that we mostly shopped in Walmart and Costco, mostly because it was easy and we knew what we were getting. We did top up in some local markets but was a bit hit and miss with the small stores as to what stock they carried.

Food

We loved the food here and as it was so cheap, we ate out often.  We also learned not to be put off by the appearance of a place – we had some great food out of small family restaurants that you could easily walk past. 

Water

Even the locals don’t drink the tap water in Mexico and instead buy large 20l garrafones of water from a purification shop.  We were able to find plenty that had hoses so we could fill the tank directly.  We spent about £10 a month on water and we use the water from our tank for everything in the van – drinking, cooking, washing up and showers.  We do have a filter system and everything that comes out of our taps is filtered so in a few places we did fill up on campsites without any issues.

Campsites

Most of our favourite campsites were run by Europeans and former travellers – they know from experience what makes a good place to stay.  That’s not to say that non-European run sites were bad (some were exceptional), they were just different – usually not so well organised or maintained to such high standards but there’s nowhere we would not go back to.

For those with cassette toilets, dump stations are rare; we have a separating toilet which makes things a lot easier and emptied our grey tank on wasteland away from towns and rivers. 

Van storage 

We came home to the UK for a short visit and left our van on a campsite without any problems.  Many campsites offer this service. 

In Mexico we had a 10 year Temporary Import Permit as we are registered as a Motorhome on our registration document. We did not need to suspend our TIP.

The final leg of this tour of Mexico began with two weeks based in Santa Maria del Tule, a short drive from Oaxaca city, where we were joined by June’s daughters who had flown out from the UK for a holiday. 

We picked the campsite because it also had rooms for rent (as do many campsites here), had an airport nearby and most importantly, due to the number of personal recommendations we received!

Tule itself has a number of attractions including the world’s widest tree and some great food.  We ate at the Mercado Gastronómico several times as well as having lunch at Casa Embajador, a local mezcal producer.

With the hire car (it’s so good when the children are old enough to drive abroad!), we were able to explore the local area including the ruins at Mitla, the Zapotec’s main religious centre, known for its intricate geometric patterned architecture.

At Hierve El Agua two waterfalls are encrusted with petrified calcium carbonate and other minerals giving the impression that they are frozen.  

Oaxaca city is a great place to visit and has something for everyone. We took a taxi from the campsite and spent a day wandering around the major sites before lunch in the Mercado 20 de Noviembre and a drop or two of mezcal, accompanied by chapulines (cooked grasshoppers) overlooking the main square.

The hilltop Zapotec ruins of Monte Albán give great views over the surrounding countryside and are a fascinating place to visit.  

The girls and I also did an afternoon’s cooking class at Dos Corazones, learning to cook a few dishes passed down to Chef Adhey from her grandmother.  We booked this trough Tripadvisor and can highly recommend the activity.

Having bid farewell to the girls we headed to the Pacific coast of Oaxaca, avoiding the main town of Puerto Escondido to stay in San Agustin, a small village a little further south along the coast.  We were however defeated by the heat after a few days so started heading north and east as we moved inland.  

The Cañón del Sumidero was carved by the Río Grijalva and was formed about the same time as the Grand Canyon.  We took a boat trip along the river between the 1,000m walls, spotting the local wildlife.

We arrived in San Cristóbal de las Casas on Valentine’s Day and we’ve never seen anywhere decorated to celebrate all things love quite as much as here.  The town is located in the. mountains at almost 7,000 ft in altitude which made for the perfect weather of warm days and cool nights.

We were also recommended a great place to eat by fellow travellers which was close to the campsite.  You could quite easily walk past Comal but we had one of the best meals we’ve eaten in Mexico here, all cooked over a fire with the kitchen open to the diners.

We continued north from San Cristóbal following the scenic but previously too dangerous to drive, Highway 199, stopping at the Cascadas de Agua Azul, where the water really does live up to its name.

At the end of the highway lay the ruins of Palenque, one of Mexico’s most important archeological sites and definitely our favourite Mayan ruins.  The process for getting into the site was a little convoluted with us having to visit three different cashiers (job creation scheme?) before taking the shuttle bus to the entrance.  We loved the fact that on this mostly reconstructed site, we could really get amongst the ruins and climb on a couple of the pyramids.  We didn’t use a guide and found the site easy to navigate including the stretch through the jungle.

After a couple of days on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and meeting up with friends and fellow travellers in Merida, we began our tour of several cenotes, large water filled underground caves.  

Los Tres Cenotes de Cuzama are linked by a narrow gauge railway where you are pulled along the rails on rickety horse drawn carts.  The journey to the cenote was as much part of the fun as swimming in the beautiful clear waters of the cave.

Our last cenote was Choj Ha and we definitely left the best to last!  This was a large open cave with the roof completely covered in stalactites and the clearest water.

Our biggest disappointment was Chichén Itzá, Mexico’s most famous Mayan ruins.  The site was smaller than we expected and even by arriving as it opens, there was no escaping the crowds.  Unlike other sites you cannot get too close to the ruins and they allow hundreds of souvenir vendors to set up stands.  We were there a little more than an hour before deciding it was time to leave.

Our penultimate stop in Mexico was a couple of nights next to Bacalar Lagoon, the longest freshwater lake on the Yucatán peninsula. The lagoon is home to stromatolites, one of the oldest forms of life and thought to provide the earliest source of oxygen for life to begin on earth. 

Our final stop was a campsite/beach club and restaurant in Calderitas on the Caribbean Sea.  Not our usual type of campsite but a great place for us to gather everything we need to move on to our next country.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our posts from Mexico and we will do a summary of our time here shortly.

Campsites used

El Rancho, Santa Maria del Tule: MXP350pn on a fully serviced level grass pitch.  The site has toilets, showers, a well equipped kitchen area, a washing machine and lines, a swimming pool and a couple of rooms to rent.  It is a 10-15 minute walk into Tule for its restaurants and attractions, 20 minutes to Oaxaca city centre and 30 minutes to the airport, both by taxi.  

Camping Don Taco, Bahía de San Agustín: MXP350 pn. Beachside so parking on sand. Some sockets around to plug in, showers, toilets, kitchen area and large palapa with tables and hammocks.  Small area for van parking but lots of communal space and short walk to shops and restaurants. 

Camping & RV Park San Nicolás, San Cristóbal de las Casas: MXP350 pn on a fully serviced grass/gravel pitch.  Showers, toilets, kitchen and a large communal room with a pool table  – the town is at 7,000ft so the nights are cool. There’s a laundry close by and the town is about a 15 minute walk away.  Lots of trees around. 

Costa de Sol Camoung, Champotan: MXP100pppn basic beach camping (power available at extra cost) but you can still use the showers, toilets and swimming pool.  A fair distance from any town so you need to have anything you need with you. 

Cenote Xnuuk: MXP200pppn.  Small campsite with its own cenote run by a couple of German travellers.  No power except in the palapa.  Outdoor hot shower and composting toilets.  They offer a laundry washing service and they sell fresh bread when they bake.  Access to the cenote whenever you want.  

Yax-Ha Cabañas and Trailer Park, Calderitas: MXP350 pn.  Grass pitches with hook up, several water points (filter needed) and unusually, a dump point!  Access to the sea but it was a little rough when we visited so we didn’t try.  The site is shared with a restaurant which is open to the public and runs more like a beach club with a resident DJ blasting out music poolside from lunchtime until close.  Luckily for us we visited midweek and the music stopped relatively early.  Toilets and showers are used by both the campsite and the restaurant. We had a good meal at the restaurant but it was relatively expensive for Mexico; there are several more restaurants within easy walking distance but we were being lazy! 

Other park ups

Agua Blanca: MXP100pppn.  Small grassy, sloping parking area next to an event venue and the beach.  No services.  Quiet when we visited.

Pemex, Zanatepec: Free.  A bit of road noise but relatively quiet until the night attendant decided to blast the radio through the tannoy system in the early hours for a couple of hours!

Cañón de Sumidero car park: Free.  Car park for the canyon boat trips.  No services except toilets during the day.  The security guard closes the gate at night so it’s very quiet.  

Cascadas de Agua Azul car park: Free (you pay a fee to enter the park).  Large car park area for the falls where it is possible to stay overnight.  The area is full of shops and restaurants but they are quiet at night. 

La Chiapaneca Restaurant, Palenque: MXP250 pn.  Parking in the grounds of the restaurant, a short drive from the ruins.  Electric is available at an extra cost.  There is a pool but it didn’t look too clean when we were there.  A little road noise.

Los Tres Cenotes de Cuzama car park: Free.  Large grass field used for parking for the cenotes tour.  Toilets available during the day and very quiet once everyone had left for the day.

Near Chichen Itza: Free parking next to a large sports field.  Nothing there but a great location from which to get to the ruins first thing.

Cenote Choj Ha: MXP100pppn.  Overnight parking in the cenote’s small car park so again quiet once everyone has left.  Toilet and showers on site but possibly only when the cenote is open.

Laguna Bonanza, near Bacalar: MXP150pppn.  You are allowed to camp in their car park (we were in a grassy area so as not to block the main parking area) which also has a toilet and shower block.  Located right on the lagoon and the restaurant is open at weekends.  Insect repellent is a must!

This entry is titled as such as we loosely followed a tour with the same name in our Lonely Planet guidebook taking a large loop around the northern central highlands.  This area takes in colonial cities, Mayan ruins and beautiful natural spots.

We began by spending New Year in San Miguel de Allende, a former colonial town now inhabited by artists and North American expats.  The orange hued houses and cobbled streets make this a great place to wander around or just sit in the main square, drink coffee and watch the world go by. 

We went to the main square for the New Year celebrations and the Mexicans certainly know how to party!

The next colonial city was Guanajuato, a former centre for gold and silver mining nestled in a steep sided valley.  Whilst in the town we encountered some of the Three Kings Day celebrations – lots of music, dancing and parades in this case.

Puebla is known for its Talavera tiles which have created some of the most decorated churches we have seen and for its mole, a sauce made of a blend of chillies, nuts and other spices.  The typical mole here is brown, rather than the black Oaxacan version, using raisins to sweeten the dish rather than chocolate.

The geology of Mexico with its volcanic history has created stunning scenery and many spots for outdoor swimming, either in cenotes, flooded limestone caves, or in thermal rivers.

Our first spot was at Puente de Dios, a cenote with a collapsed roof so open to the sky.  We didn’t swim here as it was raining and comparatively cold, but we did explore some of the site on foot.

Our next stop was El Salto, but unfortunately for us our timing was off and the water which cascades over the waterfall was literally turned off by the hydroelectric company at the end of the falls.

We headed to the town of Tanchachin, driving mile after mile through fields full of sugar cane.  From here we took a boat trip to the Cascadas de Tamul where the water was definitely flowing.  It’s a trip we really enjoyed but word of warning, you have to row the boat yourself! The boats usually take a minimum of 8 passengers but we were with just two others so had to work a little harder to get to the falls.

A little off the beaten track is the Sótano de las Golondrinas, the largest known cave shaft in the world and the second deepest pit in Mexico, which twice a day is witness to the fight of thousands of white-collared swifts.  Just after dawn they slowly spiral out of the cave and fly away,  and just before dusk, they return.  We paid to enter twice to see both events.

The gardens of Las Pozas, near Xilitla, are the creation of eccentric Englishman Edward James.  He took inspiration from many sources to construct weird and wonderful concrete structures in the jungle.  The site was left to decline but is now slowly being restored and definitely worth a visit.

The Grutas de Tolantongo is a real tourist attraction (and charges accordingly) but we visited midweek when it is considerably quieter.  The site consists of caves, thermal pools and a warm, blue river along with shops and restaurants.  We try to avoid busy places but we couldn’t not visit here!

We found Mexico’s version of the Giant’s Causeway in the San Miguel Regla area.  The Prismas Basálticos are in a large park and you are able to walk in next to the columns.

Reading about the region’s mining history we were surprised to find references to Cornwall (yes the one in the UK).  The miners came over to share their expertise in the gold and silver mines but also bought with them, the Cornish pasty.  The pasty continues to be eaten today, although now containing fillings to suit Mexican tastes, and at the Museo del Paste, you can make your own and leave it to bake whilst you take a tour of the museum.  

For some Mayan history we headed to the east of Mexico City, to Teotihuacan, the region’s most significant archaeological site.  We didn’t take a guide but as many of the information boards are also in English we don’t feel we missed anything.  The site consists of three pyramids, the Pirámide del Sol, the Pirámide de la Luna and the Templo de Quetzalcoatl, linked  y the Calzada de los Muertos, the Avenue of the Dead.

The following morning we took a sunrise hot air balloon trip over the site (not expensive we thought at about £95 each which included, for us a flight of 45 minutes, tea/coffee with biscuits beforehand and a buffet breakfast afterwards).  This was definitely the way to see the entire Teotihuacan site and appreciate it’s splendour.

We also tried to visit the Pirámide Tepanapa in Cholula.  This pyramid is the world’s largest yet it looks nothing more than a small hill which is because almost the entire building is underground.  Unfortunately when we visited the tunnels into the pyramid were closed but we did walk up to the 16th century Santuario Nuestra Señora de los Remedios Catholic church which sits atop the pyramid.

Campsites used

San Miguel de Allende RV Park and Tennis Courts:  MXP500 p/n for a fully serviced, gravel pitch.  This is expensive by Mexican standards but has a well kept shower/toilet block and is in an ideal location for walking into town, so worth the extra money in our opinion.  Entrance is a bit tight through the small streets and larger rigs should follow the instructions on iOverlander as to the best route in.

Morrill RV Park, Guanajuato: MXP300 p/n with electric and water available on some pitches.  Has a decent shower and toilet block. This is nothing more than a car park really and vans are packed in and some areas are on quite a slope.  However again it is within walking distance of the town centre; downhill all the way there and definitely a workout on the way back if you don’t take a taxi.

Campamento Puente de Dios: MXP260 p/n but we’re not sure what this actually should have included as the one person we saw wasn’t very communicative!  It’s a forested site and it was raining so we didn’t venture too far from the entrance gate (also needed no trees for Starlink!).  We had intended to stay for two nights but the weather was showing no sign of improving so after visiting the cenote we moved on.

Campamento Tiempo & Espacio, Tanchachin:  MXP200 p/n including water and electric.  We received a really warm welcome to this little site nestled in amongst sugar cane plantations.The pitch was grass so a little muddy after the rain and we were able to use blocks to even out the slope.  They were great in helping us sort our trip to the Cascadas de Tamul and provided lunch for us when we returned which prompted an unexpected cooking and spice lesson from Lucy, one of the owners. The town has a good selection of restaurants all within easy walking distance.

Casa James Hotel, Spa & Museum, Xilitla: MXP300 to park overnight in the hotel car park which is close to Las Pozas. There is a toilet block in the car park and we spent a quiet night there.

Grutas de Tolantongo: MXP50 per day to park which allows for an overnight stay but on top of that it is MXP230 per person entry each day and a two night stay actually means three days of charges.  Camping for vans is in the car park so no facilities but the wider site has toilets, showers, water, small stores and restaurants.  We had a great couple of days there but best to avoid weekends when it gets very busy.

Prismas Basalticos Ecopark, Regla: MXP100 per person, per day entry. Like several other attractions, overnight parking is allowed in the car park and there is a grassy camping area but you pay for two days’ entry.  The park has toilets, showers, a swimming pool area, shops and restaurants. We had a quiet night once the bars closed (about 11pm). 

Teotihuacán Trailer Park: MXP300 p/n including water and electric.  Parking is on grass.  Site is a little bit messy with some old vehicles there as well as some vans in storage but the owner is really friendly and helpful and the site is within easy walking (3km flat) of the ruins.

Other park ups

Pemex fuel station near Ráyon: Free.  We stayed overnight at the back of the fuel station to break up a long drive.  There were a few dogs around but it was a quiet night.  

El Salto car park: Free. We asked to stay overnight after visiting the waterfall and it wasn’t a problem.  The site was very quiet.

Cave of the Swallows car park: Free.  When we visited it was very quiet and we were able to stay in the small roadside parking area next to the cave entrance.  We were on quite a slope however!

Pemex Fuel station near Zimapán: MXP50 – not sure if this was an official fee or it went straight into the attendant’s pocket but for £2 we were happy to pay it to break up another long driving day.  We parked at the rear of the fuel station and had a quiet night.

Pirámide Tepanapa car park, Cholula: MXP200 per night.  One of the car parks for the pyramid allows overnight parking.  It has toilets and the attendants are very keen to offer car washing, at a price!

Walmarts car park, Tehuacan:  Free.  It’s a Walmart car park so not much to say other than it was surprisingly quiet! 

Jardín Botánico Zapotitlán Salinas: MXP200 per night.  This is part of a larger nature reserve and we were able to park in the area of the cabins.   No services but very quiet and amazing dark skies for stargazing. 

Having safely crossed the border (see previous post) it was straight into the mayhem of Tecate and finding our way around a Mexican supermarket.  

From there it was on to our first stop which was recommended to us by @giasa.inviadi who we “met” on Instagram but who we’d meet for real at the ranch. It was great to be able to sit down with them, Raul (one of the ranch owners) and a map to plot out a route for Baja.

We basically zigzagged across the peninsula from one beach to another, moving from the heat on the Sea of Cortez to the humidity of the Pacific with one stay in the mountains for a couple of cool, dry days.

Baja is known for its beaches but the forested mountains of the Sierra de San Pedro Martin were a welcome change of scenery and at over 8,000ft a blessed relief from the sun and heat.

A little south from the Sierra is the area around Cataviña, a weird landscape of huge boulders and larger cacti.  

The landscapes have certainly been very different to what we expected and much of the central area is remote desert and extinct volcanoes.  

Motorhoming on Baja

The most difficult thing so far has been negotiating the pot holes in the roads! It doesn’t matter if you’re on the main north-south road or in a small town – every so often the tarmac is broken up, undulating or just not there. 

And if you dare to explore a little further then it’s dirt tracks and topes, speed bumps to us Brits, in a multitude of sizes.  On the plus side we’ve encountered no road rage and driving, on the whole, is quite a leisurely experience.  

No-one drinks the tap water here so we’re buying all our water from Agua Purificada shops and they are everywhere.  We are using iOverlander to find those which have a hosepipe rather than using the 20l “garrafon” containers used by locals – think the big bottles on office water coolers.  In most places it would have cost us under £5 to fill our 120l tank and despite our water filter system, we think it’s a price worth paying!

We’ve had no issues with finding fuel and all but two garages have accepted our credit card.  We are aware of a number of potential scams involving fuel stations so are extra vigilant each time we fill up but so far, we’ve had no problems.

You definitely need a constant supply of cash! Most fuel stations and large grocery stores will accept cards but for campsites it has been cash only.  We both each have Monzo and Revolut accounts so can easily withdraw sufficient cash without any UK charges but there are local fees to pay.

Wild camping is not easy in our vehicle as we cannot get too far off the beaten track but campsites are, in relative terms, cheap.  We are also conscious of our security so only wild camp where we feel safe. We’ve paid between MXP150 and MXP500 per night, the equivalent of £5.80 to £19.30 at today’s rate and what you get for that varies widely – just don’t try to compare with any sites back home. We are dry camping so no hook up and we don’t use the campsite water to top up the tank.  It has been a little difficult to truly rate the campsites as we are still very early in the season so have had most places to ourselves (not that we are complaining about that!) and a lot of places are still preparing to open fully.

Campsites used

Rancho La Bellota: no set fee but a donation is appreciated. Our introduction to Baja and a great start.  This is a working ranch and has accommodation for fee paying guests but also a small area set aside for passing travellers with its own toilet and shower.  Spring water is available and the spring also feeds a small swimming pool. All very clean and well looked after. Raul is a font of knowledge for Baja and recommended places all along the peninsula.  He and his wife Caroline made us feel very welcome.  Only downside is the 17km of off-road driving to get to the ranch.

Campo Meneses, nr Ensenada: MXP500 p/n. The most expensive site we’ve used so far but wasn’t really much more than a car park for the beach. Basic showers and toilets.

Don Eddies, San Quintin: MXP325 p/n.  As we didn’t need hook up (extra cost) we were able to park on the water’s edge.  We had access to a shower and toilet.  Restaurant and bar on site.

Parque Nacional Sierra de San Pedro Martin: MXP60.67 per day entrance fee to the park which includes camping.  The access was a bit bumpy and probably not for big rigs.  Forested campsite and we noticed a couple of Portaloos.  Well worth the 100km drive from the main road.

Quinta Cristina, south of San Quintin: MXP200 p/n. A small seaside campsite but a bit of a gem – we planned two nights but stayed for five! There are no specific pitches but there are several palapas scattered around, each with a water tap, table and BBQ grill.  There are also a couple of Portaloos. No beach to speak of but the sea is accessible.  The owner came round a couple of times a day to check everything was ok.  It’s a local fishing point and families would come to fish and have a BBQ.

Papa Fernandez, near Willard: MXP150 p/n.  Beach camping on the Sea of Cortez.  Several toilets  (Portaloo or pit toilets – it was hard to tell!) but the reviews said not to use them so we didn’t.  Restaurant has good reviews but was closed when we visited.  Great beach for bird watching.

Guerrero Negro Campground: MXP350 p/n on a fully serviced pitch. Toilet and shower available.  Nothing more than a large, open car park which was fine for a stopover as we headed south.  The campsite is behind Mario’s Restaurant which was recommended to us.  We ate there and the food was fine but as we were the only ones there, the atmosphere was lacking a little! 

Wild camping spots 

Condor viewpoint – on the road to San Pedro Martir.  Sadly no condors but a great spot with amazing views out to the Pacific.

Cactus camp, Cataviña – a night hiding in amongst the boulders and cacti.

Playa La Gringa, Bahia de Los Angeles – a large area of wild camping on the beach with the town not too far for amenities.  Toilets available as you enter the beach but follow the road round for parking on more solid ground. Great place for bird and wildlife watching.  We took a wildlife boat trip with a company in town and it was amazing – blue footed boobies, ospreys, pelicans, sea lions and whale sharks.  

We picked up the Alaska Highway again at Watson Lake following it all the way to “Mile 0” at Dawson Creek (we did it backwards!). 

By this time our route was being determined by wildfires and we did have to take Jasper off the itinerary after the devastating fire there.

Although the clock was ticking on our time in Canada we still had for a couple of diversions so stopped at Liard Hot Springs Provincial Park where we were lucky enough to secure one of the last camp spots for a couple of nights.  Camping here comes with free unlimited access to the hot springs and we spent a couple of hours soaking in the waters.

We were on a bit of a dash south but broke up one of the driving days with a stop at the Ancient Forest in the Columbia Mountains, a temperate rainforest located 800km from the ocean!  We came across this on Atlas Obscura – a great app for finding weird and wonderful places across the world. 

By not going to Jasper, our route took us past Wells Gray Provincial Park where we stayed a couple of nights.  The park is great for hiking and there are so many waterfalls. 

We crossed the provincial border into Alberta and headed to Banff, one of the main tourist spots in the Canadian Rockies. 

We chose to walk into town one day, about 5km mostly downhill and on a marked path, to explore Banff more and whilst busy, it wasn’t unbearable. Whilst known as a skiing centre, there is plenty to see in the summer and by the time we took the bus back to the campsite we were exhausted!

From the town centre we took the tour bus, about 50 mins each way,  to Lake Louise to see the famous turquoise lake – it didn’t disappoint!  There is free RV parking (day use only) near the station in Banff and from there it’s a short walk to the transport hub. 

Johnston Canyon was also worth a side trip but an early start is needed in order to secure an RV parking space! We’ve taken to getting on the road early and having breakfast once we’re parked.  We can then take our time.

For all things in the Banff area forward planning is highly recommended. Being on the road we didn’t know exactly what days we’d be there so left it late to book anything – our four night stay at the campsite was split over two pitches and the timing of the buses only gave us two hours at the lake.

At the visitor centre in Banff we were advised that some of the Icefield Parkway had reopened and whilst we could still not get all the way to Jasper, we could now get to the Columbia Icefield Visitor Centre.

It feels like we’re always saying this, but this really was one of the most spectacular drives we have done! The road cuts through huge mountains, many of them topped by glaciers.  We ran out of superlatives to describe what we were seeing.

On our way to the US border we stopped at a trail head for the Paint Pots (another Atlas Obscura find!). We weren’t sure what we were heading to and a short walk took us to two small ponds and lots of mineral filled red/orange mud.

Sadly that was the end of our time in Canada and it’s somewhere that we’d certainly come back to. Next stop was Montana to see some new to us parts of the USA.

Motorhoming 

On the whole we are using free overnight spots but did use the following:

Liard Hot Springs Provincial Park: CAD26 p/n no services but water and toilets in campground (although water tap was out of order when we visited).  Forest site and some large pitches were shared. Camping fee includes unlimited access to the natural hot springs.

Falls Creek Campground, Wells Gray Provincial Park: CAD23 p/n plus CAD6 p/n reservation fee. Forest site with a number of pitches by the river.

Tunnel Mountain Campground Number 1,  Banff: CAD30.50 p/n no services.  A forested campsite with water and dumping facilities.  A free shuttle bus will take you into town but it costs CAD2 per adult to return to the campground.  

We’re using iOverlander on a daily basis to find park ups, water, dumps, LPG (propane) and laundromats.

Safe to say we had a blast in Alaska and ticked off a few things we had pinned on our Google map from when we originally started planning this trip.

We didn’t spend too much time in the larger cities, stopping mostly for supplies as larger supermarkets are not so easy to find.  Our route was almost a figure of eight starting and ending in Tok taking in Fairbanks, Denali, Anchorage, the Kenai Peninsula, Whittier and Valdez en route. From there it was back towards Canada.

We managed to secure a camp spot at Teklanika Campground in Denali from where we were able to explore the park on the transit buses.  We didn’t see too much wildlife but Denali showed herself in all her glory for the three days we were there; on average she is visible for only three days in ten so we were very lucky!  Only about half of the park is accessible due to the road being reconstructed after a landslide a few years ago when the permafrost melted but that didn’t take away from our visit at all.  They anticipate it will be another couple of years before the public is allowed beyond mile 43.

An unusual stop next at the Alaska Scottish Highland Games and a celebration of all things Celtic (they had Irish dancers too so not entirely Scottish!).  We passed a couple of hours watching people throwing various odd shaped things to the sound of bagpipes in the background. 

Before leaving the UK we had a good clear out of all our “stuff”, selling what we could and putting the money into a “days out” pot for doing things we wouldn’t normally do.  We arrived in Anchorage for one of those days – a flight in a float plane to a glacier, spotting wildlife as we flew over the Alaskan tundra.  Big smile time for both of us.

Homer Spit at the end of the Kenai Peninsula would be our most westerly point of this trip.  We spent a couple of days here with a beachfront park up and a couple of visits to the Salty Dawg Saloon, famous for people pinning $1 bills to the walls, ceilings and just about anywhere else they can find!

Seward was home for 4th July where there were parades on and off the water, fireworks and the Mt Marathon race where very fit lunatics run a 3.1 mile course up and down Mt Marathon just outside the town.  The race climbs almost 3,000ft and takes runners across mud and loose rock.  We were amazed to see two runners aged 84 and 88 cross the finish line!

We drove to Whittier to catch the ferry to Valdez but in order to get there we had to drive through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, a shared road and rail tunnel between Portage and Whittier.  Road traffic flows for 15 minutes in one direction, stops for 15 minutes and then the direction changes for another 15 minutes.  When the road traffic is stopped, it’s the turn of the trains!

As we were on the ferry to Valdez we decided to take a boat tour (the power of social media!) and were able to book ourselves on the Lu-Lu Belle for a glacier and wildlife cruise.  We had an amazing day seeing humpback whales, albeit briefly, sea otters, sea lions and stunning glaciers.  Captain Fred gave a running commentary and his crew provided delicious, reasonably priced food and snacks from the galley.

Our final stop in Alaska was Chicken.  The story behind the name was that the original gold mining settlers wanted to name the town after the ptarmigan birds prevalent in the area but couldn’t agree on the spelling so called it Chicken instead!  After a beer in the saloon we camped, for free, in their carpark.  

Motorhoming 

For this section we did use a few paid sites, especially in towns.  Denali National Park has several campgrounds and advance reservations at this time of year are essential.

Teklanika Campground, Denali National Park: USD40 p/n for camping only and reservations needed.  No hookups, water for containers only and vault toilets on site.  There are full water and dump facilities for RVs close to the park entrance.  At Teklanika it’s a minimum three night stay and you are not allowed to move your vehicle between arriving and leaving but it’s easy to get around on the transit buses (additional cost of USD33 each but valid for multiple days). 

Fishing Hole Campground, Homer Spit: USD30 p/n for camping only on a large gravel carpark.  No booking for this one, just first come, first served and not much marking of pitches.  Water and dump available at extra cost (free if you head back into Homer).  Great though for easy access to the bars and restaurants of Homer Spit.  We also arrived early enough to get a waterside pitch.

Boulder Campground, Seward:  USD45 p/n in a similar carpark to above.  Being the 4th July all the municipal campsites were fully booked and we just managed to get one of the last places here; lots of pitches but big rigs were taking 2 or 3 places so it was a bit of a scramble.  Free service point just across the road. Good location between downtown Seward and the marina.

LuLu Belle RV park:  USD30 p/n for a fully serviced pitch.  We chanced on this place by sheer fluke as it is where the office of the tour we wanted to take was located. Close to the town centre.

The Alaska Maritime Highway is a network of ferries running between various points on the coast and the outlying islands.  It’s a great way, although not necessarily a cheap way, to see the country from a different perspective and is sometimes the quickest route between two places.  We used the website for booking and they are very adept at getting vehicles of all sizes on and off the ships.

Fuel on average was under 80p a litre!

We’re using iOverlander on a daily basis to find park ups, water, dumps, LPG (propane) and laundromats.