January 5 -13

We have spent the last week driving through palm groves and the beautiful, lush, mountainous terrain of the mainland. Our goal has been to put as many miles on as possible, eager to reach the Guatemalan border. We made several beach stops along the way, some secluded we had all to ourselves, others discovered.

In Puerto Vallarta we stopped in a local marine supply store and Ben got a sweet spear gun for his birthday. He's looking forward to paying it off with fresh fish.

We made a one night stop in a small ocean side town called Tenacatita with palapas and hammocks lining the beach. The next day we found a secluded beach (without a map in front of us, we cant recall the name) There were several abondoned buildings, it looked like a hotel/resort that never took off. What a treat though! Our own private beach stretching on for miles, we strolled the beach at sunset, then enjoyed a campfire of driftwood and coconut husks.

We spent a few days in Puerto Escondido, a world renowned surf spot. We lounged on the beach reading and watching the expert surfers. Ben also got his broken fin replaced on his surfboard, at a sweet makeshift repair shop.

Our most recent adventure was in Tehuantepec. While we were stocking up on produce at the local open air market, a woman befriended us and offered to show us around town. We were delighted to experience real Mexican culture. We attended a wedding fiesta, where the groomsmen made sure we had plenty of refreshments! Very friendly and accepting peoples :) We tasted of the local cuisine made by the Indians of the area, had our first elotes (corn), and later that night ate at a familys "restaurant" set up outside their front door, in the village of San Blas. We had a rough time navigating Homey through the tight, people and taxi stuffed streets. You should have seen the looks on the locals faces! They must not see many gringos, especially not in RVs. We camped out that night in one of the Catholic Iglesias (churches) parking lots.

The next morning we travelled onward to the city of Tapachula, about 20km from the Guatemalan border. We visited the consulate of Guatemala and stocked up on free tourist info as well as handy maps. Now we are making final preparations for our border crossing tomorrow morning. We are looking into Spanish schools in Quetzeltenango and Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. We plan on attending for a week or two. We need to better our communication skills!

Mexico has certainly been a good learning experience for us. We are getting much better at navigating the pot hole and tope (speed bump) filled roads, which often times are without signage. We'll be posting our next blog from Guatemala, all of our love!
Ben and Em