Mexico - Off the Beaten Path

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4974]

Ok, so I said I would update this thread last summer after our trip down there and I didn't. Apologies. So here is an installment. We went up to Pinal de Amoles coming from the Queretaro side and spent a night. The town itself didn't feel too remarkable as far as beautiful buildings and stuff other than you could feel the potential for lots of cool stuff to explore in the area. Restaurants were spotty and the roads were narrow because it was basically built on the side of the mountains. We still had our big Nissan NV van at the time, and there were a few places where we had to roll down the windows, pull the mirrors in, and cross our fingers just to make it to our Airbnb. The town was up in the clouds, so it was pretty misty the whole time and I couldn't get any pictures that did it justice. The drive up, however, was pretty awesome. You go from dessert all the way through several transitional ecosystems on the way up with great views the whole way. Sucks to be the driver, however, because the roads demand attention unless you pull off and spend a bit of time to take it all in.

Anyhow, we went to this place called Puente de Dios (Queretaro, not San Luis Potosi) nearby. More sketchy roads of course, but nothing you can't handle in a normal vehicle unless you get caught in a situation where you actually have to pass someone going the other way. You have to pay a reasonable amount of Pesos to get a tour guide to take you up the trail, but you are rewarded by a stream flowing through what at times almost feels like a slot canyon. The path is often suspended on the side of the canyon.

 

After a decent hike in which is easily accessible for young kids you get to the Peunte de Dios.

It doesn't look like too much from this view, but what you are basically looking at is a land bridge over the stream with shafts of water flowing into it from giant rock vaginas in the ceiling.

This is the view from inside, looking the same direction as the previous picture.

There are also active silver mines on the trail down to the Puente de Dios, and you can buy rocks full of silver ore from the locals along the trail. Also, Pulque. On the drive down into the valley you will see lots of maguey being cultivated on the sides of mountains that are far to steep for any sane person to try and cultivate anything. After you get done with your hike, take a bit of time to enjoy some locally and traditionally made pulque.

Apologies for the sideways pictures, that happens whenever I upload them unless I edit them in some way and ain't nobody got time for that.  

[SimonBolivar 10957]

100% not "off the beaten path" as just about all of Mexico City is here but Huatulco on the Oaxacan coast has been great this week and in the summer I dont believe there are any direct flights to Canada/US so there are hardly any whites here (well besides me).

Really nice people and I've gotten the correct change 100% of the time which is usually not the case in Mexico City or Quintana Roo. My wife also refuses to speak to me in English and she thinks that might be why we haven't been ripped off yet this week. Food is great too if you don't eat at the shitty all-inclusive resort.

[beer 3220]

On 1/15/2022 at 7:58 AM, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

Nacho Crazy Uncle Karl’s Margaritaville Mexico Thread.

Want to hear about some hidden gems of Mexico.

Have San Cristobal de Las Casas in Chiapas and Merida in the Yucatán on the books, looking for some more ideas with trip reports, do’s and don’ts,  pics, etc.

Did you get all the way to Palenque?  Lived in Tuxtla for 6 months in the 90's and trekked all over that area but San Cristobal was my absolute favorite.  Always stayed at the Hotel Don Quixote for about $9/night.  Always brought home a big bottle of that homemade hooch from Chamula too. 

[beer 3220]

As for Oaxaca, we really love the city, and they used to have flights into Puerto Escondido and Huatulco.  There was a bus to Oaxaca but it was a miserable ride through the mountains. We always stayed in Puerto Angel but our favorite old hotel was destroyed in an earthquate in the 90's. 

Edited July 14, 2023 by beer

[rage-a-holic 4369]

14 hours ago, beer said:

Did you get all the way to Palenque?  Lived in Tuxtla for 6 months in the 90's and trekked all over that area but San Cristobal was my absolute favorite.  Always stayed at the Hotel Don Quixote for about $9/night.  Always brought home a big bottle of that homemade hooch from Chamula too. 

San Cristobal is turning into the new Tulum for douchebags and women. "Homemade hooch" was probably Pox. Lots of Pox stores in San Cristobal now.

[RollLeft 5040]

We rented a car, from Cancun, a few weeks back and drove to Chichen Itza.  There is a new toll road, that is now complete, which makes the drive super easy.  We did the Ik Kil cenote right after to end the warm day with a cold dip. 

nmp

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4974]

Very nice. I have a whole bunch of places like that marked on my Google maps of places to check out, but most of them are clustered around the area from Queretaro up through San Luis Potosi. I need to find more places like that for when I am in that area.

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

2 hours ago, rage-a-holic said:

San Cristobal is turning into the new Tulum for douchebags and women.

Lulz 

[beer 3220]

7 hours ago, rage-a-holic said:

San Cristobal is turning into the new Tulum for douchebags and women. "Homemade hooch" was probably Pox. Lots of Pox stores in San Cristobal now.

Pronounced posh, yes. If it had a few bugs it was extra good. It cost $7 to take the really nice gold ADO bus from Tuxtla Gtz. When I was there the city had literally just been retaken from the Zapatistas about 2 weeks before. 

Edited July 15, 2023 by beer

[LonghornJones 837]

The wife wants to go to San Miguel de Allende for our 10 year anniversary next Spring. I had never heard of it until this thread, which does not give it rave reviews. We cut our teeth in Sayulita 2-3 years ago, and really enjoyed the slower pace that non-resort Mexico has to offer. I am more of a Mexico beach person than  interior Mexico, but I would really like some advice to push me in her direction.

Safety is my #1 concern, and as much as she wants to rent a car, I am against it bc I'm being a P. Our Spanish is very poor. We cannot conversate without sounding like buffoons', hence why I'm more comfortable with more touristy areas. But, I know there has to be somewhere that is close to meeting both of our needs (similar to Sayulita). Oh, and less than an hour drive from a larger airport with a direct flight from DFW would be ideal. Any ideas?

 

[mycox 582]

San Miguel de Allende is very safe and gringo with lots of expats.

The only downside is getting there as you mentioned; it's a pain in the as to get to. Rental would be a good option, but there is no way I would try to drive in and out of CDMX. I think you can fly from DFW, but it might require a connection.

[LonghornJones 837]

There are direct flights from DFW to Leon (2 hrs away) and Santiago de Querertaro (1 hr away).

Edited October 3 by LonghornJones

[rage-a-holic 4369]

1 hour ago, LonghornJones said:

The wife wants to go to San Miguel de Allende for our 10 year anniversary next Spring. I had never heard of it until this thread, which does not give it rave reviews. We cut our teeth in Sayulita 2-3 years ago, and really enjoyed the slower pace that non-resort Mexico has to offer. I am more of a Mexico beach person than  interior Mexico, but I would really like some advice to push me in her direction.

Safety is my #1 concern, and as much as she wants to rent a car, I am against it bc I'm being a P. Our Spanish is very poor. We cannot conversate without sounding like buffoons', hence why I'm more comfortable with more touristy areas. But, I know there has to be somewhere that is close to meeting both of our needs (similar to Sayulita). Oh, and less than an hour drive from a larger airport with a direct flight from DFW would be ideal. Any ideas?

 

SMA has more old white Americans/Canadians than actual Mexicans. It's a massive hotspot for ex-pat retirees. I thought that was common knowledge.

There are hundreds of ex-pats driving that route back and forth from South Texas every day, it's one of the safest.

Did you read this whole thread? There are a lot of good suggestions.

 

[LonghornJones 837]

17 minutes ago, rage-a-holic said:

SMA has more old white Americans/Canadians than actual Mexicans. It's a massive hotspot for ex-pat retirees. I thought that was common knowledge.

There are hundreds of ex-pats driving that route back and forth from South Texas every day, it's one of the safest.

Did you read this whole thread? There are a lot of good suggestions.

 

I did, and there are a lot of great mentions. This thread mentions SMdA, but does not have anything super positive to say abt it. I really just want to know if there is another "Sayulita" that I am unaware of on the Pacific coast. Maybe a sleepy surf town near Mazatlan, etc., or some interior local on a large lake where we can get the best of both worlds.

[rage-a-holic 4369]

8 minutes ago, LonghornJones said:

I did, and there are a lot of great mentions. This thread mentions SMdA, but does not have anything super positive to say abt it. I really just want to know if there is another "Sayulita" that I am unaware of on the Pacific coast. Maybe a sleepy surf town near Mazatlan, etc., or some interior local on a large lake where we can get the best of both worlds.

Gotcha. SMA is gonna be a lot of walking, shopping and eating, surrounded by old white people. It would absolutely not appeal to beach people.

My recommendations would be:

• Puerto Escondido/Mazunte/Huatulco
• La Paz
• Lo de Marcos/Guayabitos (just north of Sayulita)

If you opt for Puerto Escondido, but still want a taste of the interior, you can fly into Oaxaca, shop, hit some mezcal places in Santiago Matatlan, then it's a cool 3 hour drive to PE through a really high, winding mountain road.

[DFWTexEx 276]

I am a fan of San Miguel de Allende. We go every year. I’ve backpacked around Mexico and have done all that but SMA is just great for me now. My husband is a gringo city boy and he loves it too. We do a beach trip too and they are very different.

[SimonBolivar 10957]

20 hours ago, rage-a-holic said:

Huatulco

Meh, if I wanted to hang out with that many Canadians then I'd just go to Vancouver.

[rage-a-holic 4369]

3 minutes ago, SimonBolivar said:

Meh, if I wanted to hang out with that many Canadians then I'd just go to Vancouver.

It was more of a reference point...he wants something like Sayulita, which is Mazunte.

[Gale Snoats 242]

We flew to Mexico City this summer and spent a few days there then flew to Puerto Escondido and spent a week there.  We really enjoyed both. PE is much more off the beaten path compared to other Mexican beaches we've been to (including Sayulita).  I think we saw one or two groups of white folks the whole time we were there.  

[rage-a-holic 4369]

7 minutes ago, Gale Snoats said:

We flew to Mexico City this summer and spent a few days there then flew to Puerto Escondido and spent a week there.  We really enjoyed both. PE is much more off the beaten path compared to other Mexican beaches we've been to (including Sayulita).  I think we saw one or two groups of white folks the whole time we were there.  

Puerto Escondido is 10X times larger than Sayulita, both in area and population. It's a global surfing destination. I'm not sure where you were holed up, but there are crackers everywhere.

[SimonBolivar 10957]

6 minutes ago, rage-a-holic said:

Puerto Escondido is 10X times larger than Sayulita, both in area and population. It's a global surfing destination. I'm not sure where you were holed up, but there are crackers everywhere.

I was talking to some Kiwis at the Huatulco airport that spent a month surfing there in a house without AC in July and they were flying to Houston for a few days before making the trek back to New Zealand. Their #1 concern was if their hotel in Houston was going to AC or not. I'm guessing that Houston was a bit different than they imagined.

[Gale Snoats 242]

We stayed in a house about 20KM's outside of town. We ate in town a few times and walked through the market a few times and didn't see any. We watched the surfers on the pipeline and there were a few gringos there.  We went to a couple of beaches close to town that were more swimmable that had little beach clubs and chairs laid out and those places were packed but no gringos just us.  We also went to a fancier beach and tennis club one day and no gringos there.  All that said, I'm familiar with your posts and extensive knowledge of Mexico and defer to you -- just providing my anecdotal experience as, overall it definitely seemed less touristy and gringo infiltrated than the 5 or 6 other beach towns we've been to down there.  My favorite part of the trip was watching those guys surf the pipeline. The break is really close to shore and it's crazy how big and powerful that wave is.    

[rage-a-holic 4369]

1 minute ago, SimonBolivar said:

I was talking to some Kiwis at the Huatulco airport that spent a month surfing there in a house without AC in July and they were flying to Houston for a few days before making the trek back to New Zealand. Their #1 concern was if their hotel in Houston was going to AC or not. I'm guessing that Houston was a bit different than they imagined.

They had probably been reading the Hurricane thread on Surly.

[HellesBier 188]

I like how this thread is "off the beaten path Mexico" and the last two people that have come in here have brought up Huatulco and San Miguel. 

"We want to go somewhere unique but our Spanish sucks and we are are afraid to rent a car"

Edited October 5 by HellesBier

[Gale Snoats 242]

We’re fluent and rented a car in Escondido. On the way back to the airport our rental died in the middle of the busy street in the middle of town. I jumped out and told 3 or 4 guys working at a body shop right there that we were trying to catch a plane and asked them to help me push it off the road. My wife steered while we pushed it off to the side and the head guy at the shop gave us a ride to the airport in his truck. Was really nice of those guys to help us. I told the rental car guy what happened and told him where the car was and he said no problem they’d get it towed.

[RollLeft 5040]

On 10/3/2024 at 12:49 PM, LonghornJones said:

I did, and there are a lot of great mentions. This thread mentions SMdA, but does not have anything super positive to say abt it. I really just want to know if there is another "Sayulita" that I am unaware of on the Pacific coast. Maybe a sleepy surf town near Mazatlan, etc., or some interior local on a large lake where we can get the best of both worlds.

If your chick wants to go to SMA then oblige her. It is marketed to women and they love that type of place.  It is the Sante Fe of Old Mexico. Its a reminder of what Mexico used to be.  It's a must, of the Mexico destinations, at least once.  It's no longer at the top of my list, but I have friends that love it.  I go there only for business or if she wants to.

I'd stay away from Mazatlan and especially sleepy towns in that area.  Its hot right now, not safe.     

Was in MX City the whole of last week.  Lots of business/governmental meetings with the "transfer of power".  The last few years have accelerated so much there and the future is bright with Grandpa out of the way.  Better buy your property now.  Soon it will be too late.  

[LonghornJones 837]

On 10/5/2024 at 5:53 AM, HellesBier said:

I like how this thread is "off the beaten path Mexico" and the last two people that have come in here have brought up Huatulco and San Miguel. 

"We want to go somewhere unique but our Spanish sucks and we are are afraid to rent a car"

Your comments have been invaluable. You really add a lot to the conversation.