Check out our latest adventures as we drive from Mexico City to the Yucatán Peninsula, with stops in muddy Veracruz, flamingo-filled Celestún, colonial Mérida, historical Chichen Itza, touristy Tulum, and finally Laguna Bacalar. Enjoy!
So many familiar faces!
After a month on the road with little more than ourselves, the last 2 weeks have been filled with familiar faces! Here are some highlights.
Eating a mountain of nachos with Rachel and Jordan in Cancun! We got lucky - they had just landed and we were about to hop on a plane to the Caribbean.
We left El Chapulín in Cancun to cash in on some family time in Antigua (Caribbean) - so rare to get us all in one place. Congrats Anu and Trav on the engagement!!!!!
Met up with the wonderful Phillips family (Lee, Camille, Courtney, and Marla) for a relaxing day at El Pez and a tasty dinner at La Zebra in Tulum. Thank you for wining and dining us!!!
Also randomly bumped into Hayden (Liv's friend from SF) and Justin (our new friend!) at a restaurant in Tulum and then spent NYE with them on the beach! Cooked them dinner out of the back of our car and danced the night away on the playa.
And now, back to Ash, Liv, and El Chapulín. Here we are camping on the shore of beautiful Laguna Bacalar, one of our favorite campgrounds so far.
AshLivin Video #4: Mexico (part 2)
A new video! Once again a little late, but that's just how it's going to be. Check out our adventures in a magical desert town, our journey through a beautiful, mysterious, and sometimes strange jungle, and finally our stop in one of the world's largest cities.
Enjoy!
AshLivin Video #3: First days in Mexico
Here's a video update from our first week in Mexico! Check out our border crossing, the beautiful El Potrero Chico, and meet our new friends from Monterrey! Sorry it's a bit out of date - it took ~12 hours to upload this video, and this is the strongest internet we've had!
Enjoy!
Xilitla --> Zacualtipán
Today was a hard one, guys: it took us 6 hours to go 100 miles. After traversing some of the worst roads I've ever been on, and always behind a Honda civic or VW bug that seemed to take no notice of the terrain, we got behind a dump truck that couldn't make it's way up the mountain through the mud. We sat for 20 minutes before it was our turn. El Chapulín worked her ass off slippin' and slidin' but she, and Ashwin, got us out of the mess with no scratches! It was another 3 hours of driving (at night, through fog, and on winding roads with sheer cliffs at every turn) before we made it here: a gas station hotel with this amazing street food vendor out front. She and her posse made us quesadillas with Oaxaca cheese and homemade corn tortillas...and were even crazy sweet enough to heat up a can of our pinto beans at their house next door! It was the most stressful day yet but look at the smile on this guy's face. He's in heaven. (And so am I.)
¡Mexico!
Hola!
We crossed the border into Mexico about a week ago and (almost) everything has been amazing since! Next time we have good internet we'll post a new video, but until then here are a few pics!
Our first stop: climbing mecca El Potrero Chico
Making new friends in un pueblo magico near Monterrey - thanks for being such amazingly hospitable hosts Diego, Angel, and Manolo!
Redefining street food - just made a last minute lunch "on the road" in Ciudad Valles
AshLivin Video #2: Carlsbad Caverns
11/22/15
Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico, USA
As of today, we're finally in Mexico (!!!), but here's a video highlight of one our stops in New Mexico.
REAL TALK: The Not-so-United States of America
By the time most of you read this, we will have begun our journey into Mexico! We spent our last night in the US at a Marriott in Laredo, TX about a mile away from the border. It was filled with last-minute preparations, a gluten-free margarita pizza, and (surprise surprise) a tsunami of emotions.
There were the obvious feelings - anxiety about bidding farewell to certain creature comforts (like the English language) and nostalgia for Ashwin's and my almost 4-year journey as a couple. But they were overshadowed by rage in my muscles and sadness deep in the core of my heart about what is happening in our country right now.
In Chicago, another black teenager has died from the bullets of a white police officer's gun. Video footage of 17 year-old Laquan McDonald being fatally and unnecessarily shot 16 TIMES was released yesterday. (The footage had been held by the court for 400 days before the officer was charged with first-degree murder.)
Meanwhile in Minneapolis, 5 people were shot, non-fatally, by white supremacists at a Black Lives Matter protest. What were they protesting? The fatal shooting of another black male, 24 year-old Jamar Clark, by a white police officer.
And if that wasn't enough to enrage each and every one of us, our disgusting treatment of innocent Syrians, mostly women and children, seeking refuge within our borders should be.
I'm sorry you're so scared, America, but your fear is killing innocent people. I think it's time you and I take a break.
AshLivin Video #1: El Chapulín
11/20/2015
City of Rocks, New Mexico, USA
El Chapulín
We've been on the road now for 5 days and our home, El Chapulín, is treating us so well! Here is the trip, so far, by the numbers:
0: Flat tires or car issues (I know, it's only the beginning)
1: Shower
1a: Tarantula sighting in the desert
2: Green smoothies made in our Magic Bullet blender
3: Times I've changed my underwear
4: Cups of camp coffee consumed
5: Nights slept in the car on our gymnastics mat (so cozy!)
6: Vegetarian meals made using our refrigerator, gasoline-powered stove, and swing-out bumper with foldout table
7: Miles hiked in Joshua Tree
8: (x100) Miles Ashwin has driven
9: (x100) Total miles driven
10: Times Ashwin has gone in and out of the roof box for our gear (thanks, babe. i'll drive more.)