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Jun 19

A burrito before an afternoon of climbing. And by afternoon of climbing I mean a bit of climbing and lots of messing around at the top trying to ensure that we’ve done all of the things that mean we will not die on the way down.
Claire (just before rappelling down):
“.. just to let you know that I don’t think this is a good idea! ..”
Which, it occurred to me, would be a classic thing to have inscribed on a gravestone.

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Jun 18

It’s great to be back into the stunning countryside of BC. It’s simply world class. Mountains, lakes, rivers, trees, repeat. It could do with a few more Latinos though :)

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May 10

I hate airing down our tires. The ARB deflator is cumbersome and awkward, but allows us to choose the right tire pressure for the conditions, to make the offroad sections of our travels a bit smoother. I hate it even more when it’s blisteringly hot, in a desert and, to top it off, windy and dusty. Sometimes I get the Arab headgear going, which helps a lot. A shamagh is a super useful piece of clothing in the heat - heads scarf, head and face cover, neck bandana, Google the folding options! :)

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May 6

Sitting pretty under the towering cliffs at Huasteca, one of our favourite camp spots in Mexico. It can feel a bit eerie, being out in the middle of nowhere at night. The occasional wind howl reminding you of Mother Nature inside your cosseted ravine location. A few friendly locals cycled or hiked by but, other than that, blissful solitude.

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May 3

Highway 50 is titled ‘America’s Loneliest Road’. While it’s true that there is little in the way of towns and people, they have managed to distil the population into a whole bunch of crazy. From the pandemic conspiracists screaming about masks to un-invited lunatic mechanics wielding a collection of ill advised engine advice. All set against the backdrop of massive swathes of empty desert and Fallon’s Navy Training Base (the actual Top Gun) sending jet fighters screaming along the ridge line of your camp site. But, it’s entertaining and it’s Nevada. And, generally, the vast bulk of the population have been cut from the Howdy-Doody-with-mommas-Apple-pie school of American charm. One area in which it shines, along with much of the south west, is an abundance of quiet and remote camp spots, like this one near Gleason Creek.

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May 1

I think this counts as social distancing? One of the great things about camper life has been the ability to stay away from people during the pandemic but still enjoy freedom of movement. Other than a visit to a grocery store (because food is kind of essential) we can stay off grid for a couple of weeks. Solar power keeps us supplied with computer juice and we have 70 gallons of water, which we are e good at being frugal with. We still grab a meal out or a coffee, looking for outdoor patios where available. But, mostly, we keep ourselves to ourselves. The funniest thing is other people’s understanding of personal space, leading us to engage in some kind of Covid Waltz as we move away from the person we are speaking to who immediately then moves forward to take the gap we just created.

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Apr 30

A quick time travel back to three weeks ago, and a sweet morning run through the amazing cliffs and trails at Huasteca. Following a tip off from @tucks_truck we checked out the park and found some good climbing on a few easy routes not far from the camp spot.

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Apr 30

After the more rough n ready camp spots of Latin America, it’s a lovely change to drop into a perfect little site next to a river. Wiped clean of any and all culture but also spotless and quiet. We’re overwhelmed, again, by the number of places to stay. Pick a road, pick a trail by the side of the road, stop when amazed, set up camp. Job done.

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Apr 27

Checking out camp spots near the Chama River. There are so many amazing places to stay in the South West, we found at least ten great spots in this trail alone. We ended up staying nearer the entrance, next to a part of the river that was marginally white water; the constant white noise aiding for a great nights sleep. I love Mexico but the constant ‘all hours’ ranchero music wears very thin, very quickly.

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Apr 27

After ticking off a few easier routes at Huesteca we headed to the sublime limestone cliffs of El Potrero Chico (The Little Coral). They tower 1,000 metres above the small collection of hotels and campgrounds below and, on weekends, the climbing is set against a backdrop of Mexican's having tailgate parties on the road below. We took this misty, moody shot on our run one morning. The routes are pretty stellar and really high too.

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Apr 24

Back in the deserts of New Mexico. Hopefully the final stop in a painful three day drive across the unwaveringly dull landscape of north east Mexico, south east Arizona and south west New Mexico. We stopped at this spot for the night, just off the highway about an hour from Santa Fe. When we set off this morning the scenery changes almost immediately from the flat nothingness we’d been seeing to some nicer hills and cool looking vistas. Climbing tomorrow! :)

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Apr 21

After our desert camp we headed up to the 'Pueblo Magico' of Real de Catorce.Now, the words Pueblo Magico get thrown around a lot in Mexico. It means Magical Town and was the brainchild of someone on the tourist board. There are now 132 and counting, ranging from truly magical to, erm, a bit shit if we're honest.
This town was somewhere in between. In the middle of nowhere it's a crusty craphole layer on the outside. But walk a bit further and you start to see a sprinkling, if not abundance, of Magico. A great church, some surprisingly good places to eat, a few snazzy looking hotels which have kept the mining town character and a few 'throw it up we'll rebuild in next year' hotels whose character is more of the short lived variety.
In amongst all that are some cool looking slices of how the town probably looked before. This colourful little tienda was on the outskirts of the town, literally a minutes walk away from a posh creperie where we had savoury crepes, a cappuccino, and a Twinings English Breakfast Tea.

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Apr 14

Our first desert camp spot for a while; tucked away off the road on the way to Real de Catorce. We hit 7% humidity when we arrive which I think is a record for us. Dry eyes, nose and the skin of a centurion. Great camp spot though.

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Apr 13

We got up early for a run and to catch golden hour for the pretty Mission church in Concá. Quite a mix of stark and desolate, desert scrub running in the hills, followed by the pretty and whimsical colours and stonework of the church. This guy had turned up for Sunday mass early, by about two hours. I guess he was looking for company. A photo subject for me and a free rural Spanish lesson for Claire.

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Apr 8

What started as a route to avoid the licence plate restrictions in certain towns became a stunning drive through one of Mexico’s Biosfera reserves. The perfect off road trail if you don’t like lumpy obstacle courses! It reminded us a lot of some US trails, apart from the sweet little Mexican towns scattered along the route. The best parts of travel always come at the least expected time.

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Apr 6

Grabbing an ice cool lemon and lime from a street seller on our last day in Cartagena. It always amazes me how delicious street food and drinks are. Especially if you go to hawkers that only do one thing, they tend to do it well.

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Apr 5

We finally dragged ourselves away from the beach. Our ‘just one night’ turned into nine nights as we hunkered down over the Easter Holy Week.
Back in the road again we headed from sea level to over 2600m, and the town of Real del Monte. As you can see, a parking lot is our home tonight. Bizarrely, this town excels at oven baked pasties. And they are extraordinarily good.

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Apr 3

Beach life for a week. Despite not usually being big fans of sand and salt, this has been a great place to wait out the Semana Santa celebrations. Away from everyone, avoiding crowds, somewhat quiet (unless you count a party next door until 4:30am as noise; thankfully we have good earplugs). We'll get back on the road after the weekend. It looks like we'll be heading up the east side of Mexico for the 'TBRT - Mexico Part 2' journey. We've heard of some good climbing in Monterrey from Colin (@wanderingpeso ) so we'll probably stop by there for an injury or two! :)

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Mar 26

Walking down an art street in Caratagena's Getsemani District a couple of days before we flew to Mexico. It feels weird to have left Colombia. The food, the language, the people. All very different to Mexico, but all so similar. They have a strange connection considering the seven (?) countries in between are all so different.

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Mar 24

Incredible. Sea level. Completely flat. Perfectly paved. We haven’t run on this kind of surface for years! Glorious. There are so many ru nners in Mexico, of all shapes and sizes. Colombia was almost zero runners and loads of cyclists. It’s strange to see the juxtaposition of the two countries in such a short space of time. Having spent over two years in Colombia and Mexico short view is that Colombia is a posh Mexico. The differences between the two being why I love each of them so much.

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Mar 24

Another taxi ride. This time to the Shipping Agents office to meet Negrito the dog, Luis and Claudia. A trip to the bank sorted us with a 10 Year import permit for Mexico, which is great. We should pick the truck up on Friday, Monday or Tuesday.
I love the coke bottle / subwoofer / car bomb wired from the ceiling to the dash. Also, none of the taxi drivers here seem to know where they are going. Thank God for Google Maps.

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