The end of the Safari
Asuncion, Paraguay
April 20, 2011
Back to the real Latin America
Asuncion, Paraguay
April 14, 2011
Culture and civilization
Buenos Aires, Argentina
April 10, 2011
Up the east coast of Argentina to Buenos Aires
Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina
April 9, 2011
Punta Arenas, to sell the Safari?
Punta Arenas, Chile
April 8, 2011
End of the road
Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina
March 28, 2011
Hiking Patagonia
Parque Nacional Torres del Paine, Chile
March 27, 2011
Parque Nacional Los Glaciares
Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, Argentina
March 25, 2011
More Patagonia on the way to Los Glaciares
Tres Lagos, Santa Cruz, Argentina
March 24, 2011
Stones, gravel, and cut tires on Ruta 40 South
Perito Moreno, Santa Cruz, Argentina
March 21, 2011
Summertime in February continues
Bariloche, Argentina
March 19, 2011
Lake country in the summertime
Lago Malhua, Chile
March 15, 2011
To the Vineyards! South from Pirque to the Lakes
Valle de Colchagua, Chile
March 14, 2011
A weekend of comfort
Pirque and Santiago, Chile
March 13, 2011
A port with character
Valparaiso, Chile
March 5, 2011
Geysers and starry nights in the Atacama Desert
San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
March 4, 2011
The last of Peru – No. More. Mountains. Please?
Tacna, Peru
February 27, 2011
Mt. Chachani – AKA self-inflicted altitude-related torture
Mt. Chachani, Peru
February 26, 2011
Down to Arequipa and Hunting for X-treme tours
Arequipa, Peru
February 25, 2011
The Andean Plateau and Lake Titicaca
Puno, Peru
February 24, 2011
The Inca Trail and Machu Picchu
Cuzco, Peru
February 23, 2011
Sand-boarding, Nazca Lines and camping at altitude
Nazca, Peru
February 22, 2011
Cruising south from Lima (and Peruvian politics)
South of Lima, Peru
February 21, 2011
A little bit of city living
Lima, Peru
February 20, 2011
Back to the mountains
Huaraz, Peru
February 19, 2011
Hunting a better left
Huanchaco, Peru
February 18, 2011
Peru – the North Shore
Chicama, Peru
February 17, 2011
Surfing in Ayampe
Ayampe, Ecuador
February 16, 2011
Doing circles of Ecuador
Baños and Quito, Ecuador
February 16, 2011
Montañita for New Year's Eve
Montañita, Ecuador
February 7, 2011
The Race to Montañita for New Year's Eve
Otavalo, Ecuador
February 5, 2011
Highlands of southern Colombia
Parque Nacional de Purace, Colombia
February 3, 2011
Cruising Colombia – Rio Claro and Bogota
Rio Claro and Bogota, Colombia
January 30, 2011
Party time in an amazing city
Medellin, Colombia
January 24, 2011
Roadtrip to Medellin
Antioquia, Colombia
January 22, 2011
South American Begins: Cartagena!
Cartagena, Colombia
January 20, 2011
Crossing the Darien – "No Hay Problema!"
Darien National Park, Panama
January 14, 2011
Good times in Panama City
Panama City, Panama
January 13, 2011
The run to Panama
Dominical, Costa Rica
January 3, 2011
Santa Teresa with a big crew
Santa Teresa, Nicoya, Costa Rica
January 2, 2011
The Interior of Costa Rica (with Kasia, Gosia, and Maciek)
Arenal, Costa Rica
December 24, 2010
Hunting beaches in Nicoya
Playa Avellanas, Costa Rica
December 23, 2010
Return to America? No, Bienvenidos a Costa Rica
Liberia, Costa Rica
December 22, 2010
Isla de Ometepe
Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua
December 22, 2010
Surfing Playa Maderas
Playa Maderas, Nicaragua
December 13, 2010
Across Nicaragua to San Juan del Sur
San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua
December 12, 2010
Cops and potholes – The crossing of Honduras
Southern Honduras
December 2, 2010
Playa El Tunco, El Salvador
El Tunco, El Salvador
November 29, 2010
Fun with license plates
Chichicastenango, Guatemala
November 15, 2010
Chichi market, north to Coban and on to Samuc Champey
Chichicastenango, Guatemala
November 15, 2010
Road Trip to El Salvador
La Hachadura, El Salvador
November 4, 2010
Hippy colonies in the jungle
San Pedro de Atitlan, Guatemala
November 4, 2010
Into Guatemala and down to Lake Atitlan
Lago de Atitlan, Guatemala
November 3, 2010
Urban and colonial Guatemala
Lanquin, Antigua, and Guatemala City, Guatemala
October 31, 2010
Deep in the jungle at Semuc Champey
Semuc Champey, Guatemala
October 31, 2010
The ultimate tow-out
Lanquin, Guatemala
October 30, 2010
Up to the hills: San Cristobal de Las Casas
San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico
October 29, 2010
The Oaxaca coast
Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico
October 27, 2010
Outskirts of Mexico City
Cuernavaca and Tepoztlan, Morelos, Mexico
October 26, 2010
Mexico City
Mexico, D.F., Mexico
October 25, 2010
Central Mexico – Tlaquepaque to Zitacuaro
Michoacán, Mexico
October 24, 2010
Land of agaves… and Tequila
Guadalajara, Mexico
October 23, 2010
Serious chillin
Sayulita, Nayarit, Mexico
October 22, 2010
Looking for surf…
San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico
October 21, 2010
Operation ceviche with Jorge
Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico
October 20, 2010
Gasoline theft
Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico
October 15, 2010
Copper Canyon Hike Days Three and Four
Barranca del Cobre, Chihuahua, Mexico
October 14, 2010
Copper Canyon Hike: Days One and Two
Barranca del Cobre, Chihuahua, Mexico
October 13, 2010
Train up the Copper Canyon to Creel
Topolobampo, Sinaloa, Mexico
October 13, 2010
Cabo Pulmo, La Ventana and the Ferry to Topolabampo
La Paz, Baja California, Mexico
October 12, 2010
Southern tip of Baja
La Paz and Los Cabos, Baja California, Mexico
October 11, 2010
Surfing Bocana de San Vincente
Bocana de San Vincente, Baja California, Mexico
October 11, 2010
Cave Paintings
Mulege, Baja California, Mexico
October 10, 2010
The Search for Cañon La Trinidad
Mulege, Baja California, Mexico
October 10, 2010
Pristine beaches of central Baja
Bahia Concepcion, Baja California, Mexico
October 4, 2010
The Mexican desert as you imagined it
Baja California, Mexico
October 3, 2010
Surfing Erindira
Erindira, Baja California, Mexico
October 2, 2010
Last stop in the USA
San Diego, California, USA
September 30, 2010
Rockin in style
Los Angeles, California, USA
September 27, 2010
Extreme desert heat
Death Valley, California, USA
September 23, 2010
Mount Whitney – Summit Ascent
Mount Whitney, California, USA
September 22, 2010
Bienvenidos a Tijuana
Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
September 21, 2010
Mount Whitney – The Trek to Trail Camp
Mount Whitney, California, USA
September 20, 2010
San Luis Obispo to Lake Isabella
San Luis Obispo, California
September 20, 2010
Surfing USA… or at least procuring boards
Santa Cruz, California, USA
September 14, 2010
Wild California – Big Sur
Big Sur, California, USA
September 12, 2010
Highway 1 to San Francisco and Palo Alto
San Francisco, California, USA
September 8, 2010
The northern California coast
Sinkyone Wilderness, California, USA
September 5, 2010
Redwoods – some really big trees!
Redwoods National Park, California, USA
September 4, 2010
Looking for caves, finding gold mines
Oregon Caves National Monument, Oregon, USA
September 2, 2010
Crater Lake
Crater Lake, Oregon, USA
September 1, 2010
Leaving Hood River
Portland, Oregon, USA
August 31, 2010
Life in the Hood
Hood River, Oregon, USA
August 29, 2010
Mountain biking on volcanoes
Mount St. Helens, Washington, USA
August 25, 2010
Mountain biking Post Canyon
Hood River, Oregon, USA
August 25, 2010
White water mattressing
Hood River, Oregon, USA
August 15, 2010
Arriving at the Colombia River Gorge
Interstate 84, Oregon, USA
August 14, 2010
Offroading in the USA
Nez Perce, Montana, USA
August 13, 2010
Hiking the Sky Rim trail in Yellowstone
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA
August 10, 2010
Almost in Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, USA
August 8, 2010
Time to roll!
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
August 7, 2010

Bienvenidos a Tijuana

Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico September 21, 2010By Kuba Soltysiak

September 21st was the big day, finally entering Latin America.  Our North American insurance was set to expire in 24 hours and our Mexican insurance was starting that day.  In the morning we repacked the car, eliminated unnecessary items and cataloged everything we had, for both border controls and insurance purposes…

We stopped for a last American hamburger, fries, and coke…

…and we were off to the border at Tijuana.  There was no lineup and formalities were minimal, we didn’t even get our passports stamped.  It later turned out this was a little bit of a problem, and it seemed that the border guard we had was a little new and didn’t quite get what was going on.  More on this later.

We took highway 1 south from Tijuana towards the city of Ensenada on the Pacific Coast.  The natural terrain was quite similar to that of southern California, but the built up surroundings were most definitely Mexican.  The architecture, storefronts, billboards, and pace of the traffic announced that we were in Mexico.  The toll road from Tijuana to Ensenada though could rival anything in North America (the North America north of the border).

In Ensenada we stopped at a modern tourist information office and picked up some advice on hostels and beaches from a very helpful information agent.  We also made a detour passed a closed Instituto Nactional de Migracion office, where we were informed that we were supposed to ask for a tourist card and a car importation permit at the border.  We had told the border guard that we were spending three weeks in Mexico then driving to Guatemala, but he didn’t mention anything about it.  In any case, the office was closed, but we were told we can obtain the permit and tourist cards at another office farther south.

Following the recommendations from tourist information, we drove about 100km south of Ensenada to a turnoff onto a rough road to Erindira, town on the Pacific Coast.  The turnoff was relatively well marked, but the rough road onwards to the ocean was not.  To help us out, the two maps we had didn’t quite agree with each other, and neither map seemed to match the roads we were seeing.  We even detoured onto somebody’s ranch thinking it was the road.  After an hour or so of tough navigating we were getting hungry and stopped at the first open restaurant we saw on the side of the road.  By restaurant I mean cinderblock building with a picnic table inside and a kitchen.  The nice lady served us some delicious sandwiches (tortas) and told us we were already in Erindira, and gave us some rough directions to the hostel.

By this time it was getting dark though and the main road was dirt and washboard, meaning that every track going off into the desert hills could have been the right turn she was talking about.  Another half hour of cruising around and we found the hostel.  Just what we were expecting –  a bunch of foreign-plated cars with boards on top, a bunch of Australians drinking beer in a typical hostel yard.  It turned out there were only four people plus us staying at the hostel, but we decided to spend the night and see what’s up.  Lulu, the host, took care of the music and served some beers so we had a nice evening.

 

One Comment on “Bienvenidos a Tijuana”

  1. I’m not sure is it just the camera angle or not, but that is one HUGE burger you’re holding there, Jono. BTW, the last video isn’t working for me? According to YouTube, it’s a “private” video. What are you guys hiding from us?