Travel Blog

Shark Adventure Cancun Mexico

I was in Mexico City from January 9 – 16 2009. Mexico City may not be considered the “Adventure Capital” of the world but Trek Escapes offers many trips that begin or end in Mexico City such as:

Peregrine Adventures: PSML Mexico in Depth

Explore Worldwide: MX Indian Mexico

Tucan Travel : DMA Sombrero

Imaginative Traveller: Mexico to Antigua

Trek Escapes also offers special airfares with Mexicana Airlines to many places in Mexico, Central, and South America. For just a few extra dollars stop in Mexico City to or from Buenos Aries, Guatemala City, Havana, San Jose, and other destinations. Mexicana flies directly from Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto. Mexico City is certainly a destination on its own, but if definitely worth a 4 to 5 day stay.

Here are some of the things not to miss:

Markets - Local markets or ‘mercados’ are in every neighbourhood.

I visited the Mixcoac, Xochimilco, and Coyoacan Markets.

The markets were full of colour, sounds, music, and life. I also visited a special artesian market and picked myself a ‘Tree of Life’ with a Mexican Day of the Dead theme. Day of the Dead is November 2. Mexicans are one of the few countries in the world that celebrate this day, in which people go to the cemeteries to offer tribute to their departed ones. But this is not a sad celebration, on the contrary, people give family and friend’s candy treats in the shape of skulls and bones made of sugar and chocolate.

I also bought some candles in the markets and a Virgin of Guadalupe box. I also went to an unusual market called The Sonora Market. Sonora has two themes. One is for party decorations for kids and adult parties but 10 steps inside you will find quickly find out the other theme is magic. All kinds of amulets, plants, and relics can be found. No photos are allowed at the Sonora market. It was a bit eerie.

Culture:

A highlight of my week was the Ballet Folkloric Dance. The dance is presently held on Wednesdays and Sundays at the Museum of Anthropology. The Ballet is full of great upbeat Mariachi music (typical of Guadalajara) Marimba music (the music from Veracruz), and other traditional music forms from Mexico. The show has fantastic sets, bright costumes and the best local dancing show ever. The show does not miss one beat or have any missteps. Typical Mexican themes are presented throughout the evening. I bought the DVD to take home.

Outside the Anthropology Museum at Chapultepec Park we lucked in to a special local show of men flying, playing a flute, while spinning upside down from a pole at least 40 meters up. They are called Voladores de Papantla.

I visited the famous house of Frida Karlo in the historic counter culture district of Coyoacan and the Dolores del Olmedo museum in the Xochimilco district near the famous Aztec waterways and flower district. I also visited a Modern art museum at the Ciudad Universitaria. This is one of the world’s largest universities. (Tuition here is about $ 10.00 per year but to get in you have to have VERY high marks from school). The University has been declared a UNESCO heritage site famous for its great architecture and campus reserves.

The Basilica de Guadalupe. The Basilica de Guadalupe is considered one of the holiest places in all Americas. December 12 is the annual day of celebration in all of Mexico for the Virgin. The Basilica of Guadalupe is not just another Catholic church, but the central place of worship for Mexico’s patron saint and the home of the image responsible for uniting pre-Hispanic Indian mysticism with Catholic beliefs. It is virtually impossible to understand Mexico and its culture without appreciating the national devotion for Our Lady of Guadalupe. The blue-mantled Virgin of Guadalupe is the most revered image in the country, and you will see her countenance wherever you travel.

The Basilica occupies the site where, on December 9, 1531, a poor Indian named Juan Diego saw a vision of a beautiful lady in a blue mantle. The local bishop, Zumarraga, was reluctant to confirm that Juan Diego had indeed seen the Virgin Mary, so he asked the peasant for evidence. Juan Diego saw the vision a second time, on December 12, and when he asked her for proof, she instructed him to collect the roses that began blooming in the rocky soil at his feet. He gathered the flowers in his cloak and returned to the bishop. When he unfurled his cloak, the flowers dropped to the ground and the image of the Virgin was miraculously emblazoned on the rough-hewn cloth. The bishop immediately ordered the building of a church on the spot, and upon its completion, the cloth with the Virgin’s image was hung in a place of honor, framed in gold.

Discover:

I took a day trip outside of Mexico City called Valle de Bravo.

On the way you drive through forests and around mountains. We drove through the famous pine forest wintering habitat of the Monarch Butterfly. Valle de Bravo is a small market and adventure sport town running up the hills next to a pleasant lake. The area is peaceful, sporty, and quaint all at the same time. There are a lot of other places near to Mexico City for excursions such as Taxco, Tepoztlan, Puebla, and Cuernavaca.

Food:

The Mexican food we get in Canada is nothing like the food you can find in Mexico. From the local vendors try:

Tacos Al Pastor
Enchiladas Suizas
Pozole
Quesadillas
Chilaquiles
Arrachera
We ate out in the Condesa district. It was 10:30 PM on a weeknight and the cafes and restaurants were all full and lively. Dinner for 5 with wine and dessert and tip came to $ 150.00.

Getting around by Microbuses, the Subway, and Metrobuses are easy and safe although busy at all times of the day. Be prepared to be able to buy CD’s, Kleenex, gum, pencils and other miscellaneous items while on the Subway.

I advise the official Airporter taxi from the airport to the city. You pre pay a flat amount –usually 250 - 275 pesos and hop in an official mustard and white taxi and it is easy, fast, and safe.

Have local currency available as you arrive. This is the equivalent of about $ 25.00 to $ 27.00.

On a special note in 2010 Mexico will celebrate its 200th year of Independence. I will make sure I go back to help celebrate and you should too. Make sure you book your trip South with a special stop in Mexico City with me.

Please contact me for all your Adventure Travel needs and consider flying Mexicana on your next trip to Mexico or points south.

by Philip Beck

We drove and walked around Cabo San Lucas on Monday, January 14th.  We walked around the Boulevard Marina and the water front (known as the Malecon) where all the boats and yachts are located.  There are many restaurants, a few resorts and tons of vendors set up, selling you anything from candy, gum to clothing, jewellery, hand crafted ornaments, you name, it they had it!  We found a somewhat busy patio (Restaurant Wamango De Baja) on the Malecon and decided to stop in for the special they were offering - 5 beers with nacho chips and salsa for only US $10.  We watched the sunset and really enjoyed the day.

That evening we went to the local supermarket named Super Plaza Aramburo, because we needed to buy a few groceries.  For people who do the all-inclusive and they think Mexico is really cheap, think again!!  We found out that food in Cabo is not cheap at all and to give you a few examples: a green pepper is about US $2.38, that is for one pepper, most vegetables were very pricey because they are not grown in the Baha and are mostly imported from the US or mainland Mexico.  Anything canned such as soups, vegetables were about US $2 to $3 per can…quite outrageous!!  We bought a pasta sauce and it cost almost US $5.  Bread was not bad, often at about US $1.50 to $2, but some may even think that is pricey.  So it goes to show you that unless you are actually grocery shopping in Cabo you will never know how expensive food really is!  We are not really sure how the locals can actually afford to grocery shop in Cabo.

We were told that Cabo San Lucas, Baha California Sur, was about 2 ½ hours away.  We were getting really excited because the drive would be a piece of cake in comparison to the drive we had driven the past 2 days.  We were almost at our 1st adventure spot we planned to feature on the website  www.adventurestodo.com
and we were happy that we made it.

On Sunday, January 13th we reached Cabo San Lucas at about 2:30pm and started looking for a hotel.  We found Hotel Santa Fe http://www.hotelsantafeloscabos.com/cms/ and we are still there today.  Upon arriving in Cabo the speedometer read 179725.

We drove around a bit that day and familiarized ourselves with the main strip in Cabo San Lucas and found it to be quite welcoming.  We can see why Cabo is one of Mexico’s top destinations because it is so beautiful here!  Cabo offers an endless list of activities, dining and entertainment for all tastes.  The adventure activities and/or sports are discribed in detail in the next few days of the Blog.

The drive was 9 hours on Saturday, January 12, 2008 and we finally stopped in La Paz, Baha California Sur Mexico, and the capital of BCS.  This was probably the most insane drive and Steve drove most of the way because I had a close call with a semi truck as he veered into my lane and I could not stop shaking for a few hours after that.  Prior to arriving in La Paz, we had a close call with not being able to find a gas station, luckily we found an off-the-road station at Puerto Escondido, a huge port just past Loreto, BCS.  By this time the speedometer read 179170.


We stayed at Club El Moro Hotel (
http://www.bajainsider.com/baja-california-travel/baja-desti nations/la-paz/hotels-la-paz-01.htm
) on the main strip in La Paz.  This was a pleasant hotel and the service was very nice.  The balconies were lovely as well.  The wireless Internet did not work very well in the rooms and we had to sit out on the patio for full access.  The room was a bit more than what we wanted to spend since we are on a budgeted trip but it turned out to be a great experience as we ended up driving the main strip and got to see a lot of what La Paz has to offer.

Prior to arriving in La Paz, we had a close call with not being able to find a gas station, luckily we found an off-the-road station at Puerto Escondido, a huge port just past Loreto, Baha California Sur.  By this time the speedometer read 179170.

We also want to mention that while driving the Baha California the roads at the start were not too bad but as we kept driving the Baha, by mid-way we realized that this drive would be quite a tough one.  The mountain roads are quite narrow, very steep and every few miles we saw a cross with flowers, showing that someone had died in that area.  It is a very emotional drive and vey ‘white knuckledÂ’ in some areas.  There are many accidents on the Baha because people are either careless, or rush the drive, or maybe even drive at night.  There are cattle on the road such as:  cows, bulls, goats, horses and donkeys, and they seem to simply pop up in front of you as they are not fenced off and roam freely.  We were not sure if they were owned by locals or simply wild cattle.   We had a couple of close calls on the drive down.  This is a huge reason not to drive at night in Mexico.

We drove about 9 hours and decided to pull into an off-the-road hotel in San Ignacio, Baha California.  We were trying to make it to Guerrero Negro but realized the sun was setting soon and we could not drive onwards any longer.  The hotel was quite a large setting with a restaurant and bar, named Rice and Beans Oasis - http://www.ontheroadin.com/baja/bajarvparks/riceandbeansoasis.htm . The bartender was also the hotel check in guy and everything else that night.  He was very pleasant and we really enjoyed the atmosphere there.  The food was OK and reasonably priced.  We met a retired couple from Hope, British Columbia that evening.  There were quite a few Americans there as this is a well known RV Park location.  This Hotel sponsors or is a pit stop for the Baha 1000 (off-road race) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baja_1000 )  Steve really enjoyed this as he is a huge race fan proven by the other sites we own, so we took some pictures of the signed car hoods in the restaurant lobby.

We arrived in San Quintin and ended up staying at a 4 star Hotel that night named Maria Celeste Hotel.  It was really inexpensive and even had wireless Internet.  The hotel staff was very polite and the accommodations were clean.  We went out to eat at a local restaurant recommended to us by the hotel personnel.  The restaurant was named Mision Santa Isabel.  It was really good food, but we thought quite pricey for where we were located – in the middle of nowhere!

Friday, January 11th and we are off to another full day of driving.  We filled up in San Quintin and the speedometer read 178290.  Since we left Calgary, Alberta, we drove 3,235 km.  Friday the drive was very spectacular, however the mountainous highways were quite scary at times.  The road was very well paved most of the time, but it became narrower and the steep drive through the mountains was quite adventurous.  We drove about 9 hours and decided to pull into an off-the-road hotel in San Ignacio, Baha California, Mexico.

So the next morning, Thursday, January 10th, we woke up especially early to make sure we get through the Tijuana Boarder Crossing.  We drove about 10 minutes and we seem to have driven into Tijuana!!  There was no one there to stop up or ask us any information as to why we are going into Mexico , etc..; things one would expect when one crosses the Border into another country.  So, after driving about 3 blocks we realize we are in f&*#$^ Tijuana!!!!!!  We started freaking out because we had no clue what to do.  So we stopped the car and decided to go back though to the US Boarder since we needed to get our Mexican Tourist Cards http://www.bajabound.com/before/permits/visa.php and Temporary Vehicle Pass http://www.bajabound.com/before/permits/vehicle.asp  which we needed to enter Mexico mainland.  So we asked for directions and ended up waiting to get back into the US (at the US Border) for just over an hour.  Get this – then we get pulled over, because they randomly select cars to check for drugs, guns, etc…  So we wait, while they check over our vehicle.  We finally make it back into San Diego, California, by about 11am and filled up our car one last time and by the time we left San Diego, for the 2nd time, the speedometer read 177973.

We get ready to cross the Mexican Border once again and this time we stopped prior to entering Tijuana.  We would not advise anyone to enter Mexico through the Tijuana Border Crossing, that is if you plan to further onto Mexico mainland.  The reason is that it is quite confusing since all the offices one requires to get the Mexican Tourist Cards and Temporary Vehicle Pass (which you have to have if you enter Mexico mainland) are not all in the same place.  We were able to obtain the Tourist Cards there and even then we had to fill out the Cards , then go to a Bank they require us to pay at (the cost was 237 Pesos, so about US $24 each) and then go back to the Tourist Card Office to get them stamped.

As for the Temporary Vehicle Pass, we had to fill out the forms in that area and drove into Tijuana about 4 blocks to another area, I think it was called Banjercito, a bank of sorts, to finalize payment and details and then we obtained the Temporary Vehicle Pass (cost was 328.19 Pesos or about US $33.)  This Pass is required if you drive into Mexico as they do not like Canadians and/or Americans bringing cars to Mexico to sell them.  You have to return this Temporary Vehicle Pass upon your return into the US as proof that you still have the vehicle you entered Mexico in.

So finally we drive off into the sunset, sort of speak.  The roads were not bad at all and the weather was really beautiful.  We were exited that we got all the paperwork completed and that we were finally on the road to Mexico.  Our only concern now was to get to a destination prior to sun down as we were advised not to drive at night in Mexico. We drove for about 5 ½ hours that day and made it to San Quintin, Baha California.

When we entered Mexico we drove Highway 1 and there were 3 Toll Roads http://www.mexperience.com/guide/essentials/toll_road_charges.htm ; http://www.bajabound.com/before/driving/tollroads.asp , called CUOTA, we drove through on the way.  There are the Toll Roads, which are better paved, much faster and probably safer, but you have to pay.  We paid (at JSOA – 26 Pesos, or US $2.60, at JRANGEL - 26 Pesos, or US $2.60 and at JVAZQUEZ - 29 Pesos, or US $2.90.)  There are also free Highways, called LIBRE, meaning free; but they are not well paved and much slower.  We advise you take the Toll Roads.

We booked the 3 hour ATV/Off-Road Tour with Amigos Cabos Moto Rent.  The company scheduled a taxi to pick us up from our hotel but he was a bit late.  Nevertheless we enjoyed the drive down to the ATV location.  They are located about 15-20 minutes away from Cabo San Lucas on Highway 19 towards Todos Santos.  We were geared up and ready for action!  Steve was very excited because he loves racing of all sorts and I was really looking forward to driving the ATV.


We were guided for about 20 minutes, through some rough terrain, to join the rest of the people down at the beach.  Upon arriving at the beach, we were given instructions to drive carefully and what to watch out for, etc… and then we were left on our own for about an hour or so to explore the area.  The scenery was gorgeous and we loved being left on our own to drive like maniacs.  We got our tires stuck once or twice but it was so much fun getting dirty on the trails!!  It was really hot out too and we were having a blast!  The unguided hour seemed to go by way too quick.





We joined the group once again, at which point we were taken through some more trails, then we stopped at an open style restaurant/ bar to have some drinks and food (not included in the price) so we bought a cerveza and it was really good!

We took a break there for about 15 minutes and then back off-roading for another 40 minutes, guided this time, finally making our way back to the ATV location.  We were dropped back at our hotel by about 4:30 pm.  We jumped in the shower immediately.  If you ever want to experience ATV/Off-Road we suggest you do not wear good clothes because you will get dirty.  We would certainly recommend this tour as it consisted of most terrains that the other ATV companies use but also the beach tour was phenomenal!  The staff was terrific and very helpful.

Amigos Cabos Moto Rent
Address: located about 20 minutes away from Cabo San Lucas on Highway 19 towards Todos Santos
Tel:  (52) (624) 144-4161 or 143-0808
Web:  www.amigosactivities.com
e-mail:  sales@amigosactivities.com