First up, let me just tell you, Mexico is big, 127,000,000 people live there. 21,000,000 alone live in Mexico City The land mass itself is huge….New Zealand can fit into Mexico 7.5 times. Rosie didnt realise this when she marked all of the places on the map she wanted to visit on her road trip.
The Operator reigned Rosie in and made her calculate distances rather than just joining the dots. Crikey..The Operator was right, Rosie trimmed down the travelling, quality rather than quantity. Neither of us wanted to spend all our time on the road.
Lets get started by showing you where we will be visiting. We are starting on the right hand side of the map and travelling towards the left.
- Cancun – flying in, picking up a rental car and heading out the next day.
- Tulum – Beach Front Bungalows on the white sand while we explore the ruins, cenotes and town.
- Valladolid – Third largest city in the Yucatan – Base for visiting Chichen Itza, Ek Balam and Izamel (The Yellow City)
- Merida – Cultural Capitol of the Peninsular.
- Campeche – a UNESCO colonial beauty sitting on the Gulf of Mexico.
- Pelenque – Jungle resort location – driving stop over en route to San Cristobel de las Casas – Agua Azul waterfalls
- San Cristobel de las Casas – Picturesque Highland Valley Town.
- Juchitan – Town damaged by the earthquakes of last year – open for business – enroute stopover on way to Oaxaca
- Oaxaca – The cultural capitol of Mexico for traditional arts and crafts
- San Migual de Allende – our final destination where Rosie will be staying for one month – a jewel of a city with a compact old town and the best of both worlds, classic Mexican mixed with a modern vibe.
Rosie and The Operator cannot wait to get started. The Operator is flying from Auckland to LAX and Rosie is flying in from Tokyo to LAX. Our planes are landing within five minutes of each other. How good a timing is that! Lets wait for each other inside the Terminal after we have cleared customs. First mistake of the holiday.
Rosie was flying American Airlines…..Rosie has never landed and been processed so quickly in her life at an American Airport…it was bliss. This Airline seems to have there own dedicated arrivals area and it was incredibably empty of other travelers. Luggage collected, Rosie waits for The Operator…he cant be too far away either. Yay, so excited to see him after a month and get this new holiday started.
An hour later Rosie is still waiting at arrivals, NZ6 has landed….where the hell is everyone! Rosie is starting to panic, maybe she missed him and he is looking for me. Rosies saving grace was the suited private limo driver standing next to her holding a name board. He said he was waiting for a kiwi off the same flight and no one has come through yet….Ok, guess Rosie just has to be patient.
Another thirty minutes later…up the ramp rolls The Operator pushing his case. Rosie is jumping up and down waving, The Operator scans the crowd and moves on…in the opposite direction. Rosie uses her bright blue suitcase like a bulldozer and mows through the crowd in the direction The Operator has headed. He is already on his way to the shuttle buses…wait for Rosie!
The Operator seems surprised when a puffing Rosie catches up to him….The Operator said his processing line was so never ending long, he didn’t think I would have waited for him so long. Charming! He thought I would have abandoned the wait and gone straight to the hotel. Serious! I should have! We both vowed then and there to just go our own way and meet at the hotel when we meet up next time. Another holiday lesson learnt.
Time now for a shower, a sleep and lets get this holiday on the road. Tomorrow we fly to Cancun Mexico! Cant wait!
