Storefronts in Patzcuaro
Efrain was one of the waiters at the beach restaurant where we camped in Bucerias. A Mexican raised in San Diego, he spoke perfect English with Southern Californian slang. “Where are you guys goin’ next?” he asked. I told him that we were heading for Patzcuaro, a colonial city located in the state of Michoacan.
We wanted to mark 50 days of living in the van by treating ourselves to a weekend at the Royal Decameron all-inclusive beach resort in Bucerias, located just north of Puerto Vallarta. Bucerias (pronounced ‘boo-seh-REE-as’) happens to be nicknamed “Little Canada” because tens of thousands of Canadian retirees flock there each year to escape winter. We simply wanted to escape the van’s tight quarters for a few days.
We arrived in Mazatlan by ferry just a few days before Carnaval (the equivalent to Mardi Gras in New Orleans). This 5-day fiesta of the libido begins the weekend before Catholic Lent and is celebrated across Mexico with parades, costumes, music and dancing in the streets. This year, Carnaval took place from February 12 to 17.
All spruced up for Carnaval
Fun Fact: The festival of Carnaval is celebrated as a last indulgence of carnal pleasures that Catholics must give up for 40 days during Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter Sunday. The word ‘Carnaval’ is derived from Latin, meaning ‘take away’ or ‘goodbye to flesh’.
“Ugh, my head,” Gregor groaned. I would have also groaned if my mouth wasn’t so parched from the excessive drinking the night before. We celebrated our last night on the Baja peninsula by sipping margueritas and then shooting straight tequila and premium Jack Daniels in our van with fellow Westy travellers, Annie and Jeff. It was now the morning after, and Gregor and I were going to be on a ferry to Mazatlan in only a few hours.
Our camp spot at Playa Tecolote
We drove from the whale watching eco-camp in Laguna San Ignacio to the bustling city of La Paz in 7 days. Our goal was to take the ferry from La Paz to Mazatlan and explore mainland Mexico.
As we traveled south down the Baja peninsula, we met other nomadic travellers that we kept running into over and over again along the way.
One couple that followed our same path was Annie and Jeff of Roads to Roots. Annie is a gardener and Jeff is a bike mechanic. These fun-loving bohemians from Colorado souped up their white VW van, ‘Delilah’, to explore Baja and western USA.
We first met Annie and Jeff at the Mexican border. By coincidence, we met them again at the whale watching site in Laguna San Ignacio and then two more times in Baja.