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Mexico to Argentina
  • Frankie Martin
  • Frankie Martin

Mexico to Argentina

An open-ended adventure by Frankie Read more
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  • Trip start
    May 17, 2022
    Frankie MartinMexico to ArgentinaTraveler

    Mexico city

    May 17, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    First stop Mexico city.

    Highlights include Tenochtitlan, visiting the Estadio Azteca and getting acquainted with Mexican food.

    I ended up spending most of my time with two Dutch lads, sven and Steven who ill hopefully meet again in Guatemala.

    The football game was incredible. Such a great atmosphere with a whole corner of the 85,000 capacity stadium blasting music on drums, trumpets etc.    Read more

  • Frankie MartinMexico to ArgentinaTraveler
    2Called Chilaquiles, A common breakfast with eggs, tortillas, refried beans and a red or green salsa.

    Puebla

    May 21, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Next stop Puebla, a much smaller, much more comfortable and friendly city.

    I really enjoyed my time of 3 nights here. Puebla is a very pretty city and I met some great people here, and am going to travel to my next stop with a Swiss and Dutch lad, Robert and Woulter.

    The main highlights are watching a live mariachi band on the first night, visiting the local slights and joining a band on stage to win some beers by singing Yellow - coldplay.    Read more

  • Frankie MartinMexico to ArgentinaTraveler
    Sun-dried tomatoes and pesto on rye bread. 8.5/10Tempura prawn tacos. 9/10Mango smoothie. 11/10Hierve el agua, a natural infinity poolOur taxi driver back from here recently turned 15, but he managed to get us back safely.

    Oaxaca

    May 24, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Stop 3: Oaxaca

    After spending 3 nights in Puebla, I took a 5 hour bus ride to Oaxaca for four days.

    Much like Puebla, Oaxaca was a very easy city to navigate and I had a great time here.

    My hostel, Ticuchi, had a great atmosphere and I really enjoyed spending a few days chilling out around the hostel and really sinking into backpacking life.Read more

  • Frankie MartinMexico to ArgentinaTraveler

    Puerto Escondido

    May 28, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    Possibly the worst time to visit a beach.
    I didn't realise until I arrived in the town that a hurricane was expected to arrive within the following days.

    Because of the awful weather, I didn't manage to grab many pictures but my time here involved watching the champions league final, drinking as many beers as possible, including plenty of card games, in what felt like lockdown conditions, aswell as a trip to the beach on my second last day which ended with a seafood platter and then thunderstorms and torrential rain.

    Unfortunately the seafood was so good it was eaten before I even thought of taking a picture.    Read more

  • Frankie MartinMexico to ArgentinaTraveler
    1

    San Jose del Pacifico

    June 2, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    After the terrible weather at the coast the next stop was a small mountainous town.

    The journey to San Jose highlighted the damage caused by the hurricane with forest destroyed along the roadside and a bridge collapsing. This meant I had to wade through a knee-high river to get to a second bus, where I eventually arrived in town at 10pm.

    While there wasn't a ton to be done here, the scenery was epic and the hostel was by far the nicest I've ever seen. It was more similar to a shared lodge than a hostel with a very friendly atmosphere.    Read more

  • Frankie MartinMexico to ArgentinaTraveler

    Oaxaca pt 2

    June 5, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Since I couldn't take a direct journey to my next stop I had to spend a stop-over night back in Oaxaca.

    I have zero pictures from here so here's a piece of street art

  • Frankie MartinMexico to ArgentinaTraveler
    We were told only 3/70 baby crocs survive to adulthood. The little ones don't look so dangerousOne of the many free dinnersOne of the better free snacks, enjoyed while listening to some live music In the hostel garden

    San cristobal de las casas

    June 7, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    San Cristobal.

    Before I arrived here I was deeply unsure weather I should make this stop since I had heard many stories of people getting parasites or some other form of sever illness. Due to a contaminated water supply caused by Coca-Cola taking most of the regions drinking water, water is often recycled. This means strictly do not consume any tap water by accident or on purpose, including brushing teeth and showering.

    Fortunately I decided to go nonetheless, and San cristobal still has been one of my favourite stops to date.

    I spent a week here but could've easily doubled this if it wasn't for the excellent group of people who I'd end up travelling with for 3 weeks.

    To start, the city is located in the Chiapas region, the cheapest area of Mexico. Travelling on a budget this is incredibly appealing. Coupling this with the plethora of activities near by and the excellent hostel I stayed at it was a shame to leave.

    Being the cheapest region of Mexico, it allowed me to do more in my days, but also because I found a great group, I loved my time here.

    The best bonus was that while my hostel only cost £9 per night, it included a free breakfast, cooked snack and dinner, as well as free cocktails twice weekly.

    Since then, many people have stated that they believe the hostel was a money laundering front for the Cartel, but I won't complain.    Read more

  • Frankie MartinMexico to ArgentinaTraveler

    Lake Atitlan: first stop Guatemala

    June 15, 2022 in Guatemala ⋅ 🌧 20 °C

    After leaving San Cristobal I had intended to make two more stops in Mexico before departing, but since 7/7 of the group were all moving to Lake Atitlan, Guatemala next, I thought I'd appreciate travelling with a group for some time.

    Crossing the border was fortunately stress free and after a 13 hour bus ride, we arrived in Panajachel, the largest town on the lake. We then need to take a private boat taxi across to a small town, Santa Cruz.

    On my first day in Santa Cruz I wander into the town to realise there was nothing here. Fortunately, that wasn't the selling point for the lake. The lake was a picturesque location surrounded by inactive volcanos and mountainous landscapes.

    While I stayed in an adjacent hostel, the group I travelled with stayed at an aptly named hostel, Free Cervesa (beer). Every evening if you sign up for their family dinner consisting of 3 courses for the price of £8, you get 2 hours of unlimited beer before the meal.

    Atitlan was a lovely place to chill by the lake. I spent most of my time reading in hammocks and enjoying the odd Cervesa.

    Here I also got my first take for serious hiking. We hiked San Pedro volcano, a 3 hour, continual uphill climb in 30° weather with 2 hours back down. I only brought a litre of water so this was a genuine struggle, but without doubt worth it.    Read more

  • Frankie MartinMexico to ArgentinaTraveler

    Antigua

    June 21, 2022 in Guatemala ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    My second stop in Guatemala, Antigua is a small city know for being popular amongst backpackers primarily for the nearby volcano, Acetenango.

    Unfortunately, when I arrived here I was ill. I'm unsure if this was a cold or from accidentally consuming some lake water, so when my group went on the Volcano hike I declined the option to recover.

    I still really enjoyed my time here and it was nice to get some alone time to rest for 2 days. The city has some incredibly large markets which sell anything from knock off dvds and clothes to tooth paste and dog food.

    Here is where I had to say goodbye to most of the friends I recently met. I still had a few great nights here, especially the final evening together where we splashed out at a highly rated restaurant. I always Planned to come back here anyway and tick the volcano off the list.    Read more

  • Frankie MartinMexico to ArgentinaTraveler

    El paredon

    June 26, 2022 in Guatemala ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    After some time in the city, i needed some downtime by the coast.

    While there wasn't much to do in El Paredon except chill by the pool, get burnt on the beach or enjoy a cool beer at one of the four major hostels, I did enjoy my time here.

    I didn't however, enjoy the mosquitos. I have never been continually attacked so frequently like I was here. On one day I counted 30 mosquito bites on a single foot.    Read more

  • Frankie MartinMexico to ArgentinaTraveler
    My view of Fuego from Antigua (1.5 hours away, the day after the hike).Visibility was incredibly poor.A video from a different group,before their hike. Unfortunately we didn't even get to see this.This is what other people have been able to see from the campsite . All we saw was a wall of cloud.

    Acetenango

    July 2, 2022 in Guatemala ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Acetenango. Many people who I spoke to described this hike as the hardest challenged they've ever faced.

    I was actually pleasantly surprised just how much I enjoyed every step of this 1500 vertical metre climb ( 5.5 hours continually uphill).

    While undeniably its a difficult hike due to continually walking uphill on slippery surfaces, I had an excellent group to make the climb. Walking with approximately 30/35 other people, it was easy to take a short breather without feeling like I was holding people up.

    I made some great friends here and excellent memories.

    It is a real shame that we couldn't see any volcanic activity from the adjacent, highly active volcano, Fuego. But that's not the important thing. I challenged myself and the reward was good enough.    Read more

  • Frankie MartinMexico to ArgentinaTraveler

    Lanquin / Semuc Champey

    July 5, 2022 in Guatemala ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    The next 2 day stop was a small town called Lanquin, located in the heart of Guatemala.

    While I didn't find much to do here, hence the short stop over, the tour of Semuc Champey Park was an amazing experience.

    This tour started with scuttling through water cave only with the help of candle light. Although it was incredibly sketch with zero health and safety precautions, it was a thrilling experience.

    Afterwards we went to view and waterfall, followed by tubing In River where children swam out to sell you beers. In hindsight I probably should've thrown mine away after river water poured in.

    Later after an all you can eat Bbq, which really just involved fried chicken, we hiked to Semuc Champey, seen In the last pictures. A series of turquoise pools hidden within mountains.    Read more

  • Frankie MartinMexico to ArgentinaTraveler

    Flores - Tikal

    July 7, 2022 in Guatemala ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    Before heading to Flores I realised I took the least cost-effective route of Guatemala by running from North, to South, to North again. But Tikal is supposedly one of those sites you cannot miss.

    I have zero pictures of my time in Flores, the small island town, but that is unimportant since Tikal is the real highlight.

    Tikal dates back to 900 AD, making it one of the oldest archaeological sites but also the largest site in all of the Americas.

    I had the luxury of having an empty tour, except for two locals who only spoke Spanish. This meant when the tour guide was speaking about the history and culture of the site it was more like a 1 to 1 conversation between us. This was I could interact and learn much more information with more of a personalised touch.    Read more

  • Frankie MartinMexico to ArgentinaTraveler

    Livingston

    July 11, 2022 in Guatemala ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Livingstone seems like an interesting stop due to the cultural differences with the rest of Guatemala. This is because livingston has a mostly black population as it was a popular slave escape route from the Caribbean islands.

    Unfortunately I didn't enjoy my time here due to there being a lack of other travellers as well as activities.

    This is the only picture I took.    Read more

  • Frankie MartinMexico to ArgentinaTraveler

    Utila: the island

    July 12, 2022 in Honduras ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    I think it's probably best to split my time on Utila, Honduras, into two parts. Part one is my time on the island with part two being scuba diving.

    13 days were spent in a mixture of scuba diving, chilling by the sea or in a hammock or enjoy one or tow of the local beers.

    I could've easily seen myself staying longer and doing the Divemaster qualification if money was no issue.

    I also met my larger doppelganger.    Read more

  • Frankie MartinMexico to ArgentinaTraveler

    Utila : scuba diving

    July 24, 2022 in Honduras ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Just a few sample pictures sent by one of the other divers who was smart enough to bring a Go Pro with them.

    I absolutely loved doing the open water and the advanced open water scuba diving course, meaning I can now dive to 30meters depth.

    The highlights were the night dive, shipwreck dive and seeing all the wildlife. I was fortunate enough to see a couple green sea turtles, some puffer fish, a few sting rays and moray eels as well as one nurse shark.

    Sadly I didn't go out the day where a different group got to swim with a pod of dolphins, but you cant get everything.    Read more

  • Frankie MartinMexico to ArgentinaTraveler

    Leon - Nicuaragua

    July 26, 2022 in Nicaragua ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    A grueling day/nights travel via night bus with a tediously long border crossing later and I arrived in Leon, Nicuaragua.

    Although there wasn't a huge deal to do within the city I definitely made the most of it.

    On my second day we had a local walking tour where the guide explained what seemed like the entire history of Nicuaragua as well as showing us some of the local sights and markets. At the end of the tour he took us to a secluded courtyard and described what he thought were the main issues with his country's leadership. This was very non-typical due to the controlling communist government which wouldn't hesitate to jail him for simply speaking out against them.

    Later we went volcano boarding. A 45 minute hike upwards followed by a rapid descend down. Although I had heard this was dangerous, all the previous people before me didn't appear to go very fast so I thought I'd try for the no. 1 position.

    Typically you are supposed to sit half upright to go slow but I decided that of I laid horizontally it would be more fun.

    I ended up flying off the board twice, sliding unaided for 10-15 metres for both falls. Apparently I was going so fast the camera man missed me.

    In the speedometer I was clocked at 75km/h but I definitely was going faster before falling off the first time.

    Good fun but also very stupid.
    The video is me after my second fall.    Read more

  • Frankie MartinMexico to ArgentinaTraveler
    Ben 2 (left) - Ben 1 (right)Jan

    Granada

    July 29, 2022 in Nicaragua ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Granada. The second stop in Nicaragua. I didn't particularly explore this city as the primary attraction was the TreeHouse party. As the name suggests, it was a party within a TreeHouse.

    It's a shame I don't have more pictures of granada but that happens sometimes.Read more

  • Frankie MartinMexico to ArgentinaTraveler

    San Juan del Sur

    July 31, 2022 in Nicaragua ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    After a big party on Friday night it made sense to go to the next partying destination, San Juan del Sur known for Sunday Funday.

    Supposed to be a day long booze cruise from hotel to bar. Me and the Ben's decided to instead relax in the luxury of an air-conditioning convenience store where we could enjoy ice cold beers and whatever snacks we wanted.

    Puks Palace hostel was a delight and I came very close to volunteering here since the hostel was empty and the work would have been minimal, but this also turned me against the idea.

    I also managed to have a close to genuine British fish and chips which was a big success.

    I did however lose my glasses here in the sea which was a massive annoyance since it'd be 3 weeks until I got a new pair.    Read more

  • Frankie MartinMexico to ArgentinaTraveler

    Popoyo

    August 2, 2022 in Nicaragua ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    After a few busy days, 3 days of chilling by the beach was necessary. Popoyo is a small coastal town known mostly for surfing.

    I again somehow forgot to partake in the surfing so my time mostly involved reading, eating, drinking and more relaxing.Read more

  • Frankie MartinMexico to ArgentinaTraveler
    "Obliteration by mosquito"

    Omatepe island

    August 5, 2022 in Nicaragua ⋅ 🌧 28 °C

    The final stop of Nicaragua before blitzing through costa rica to the final country, Colombia.

    A lovely island located in the centre of Nicaragua's largest island. The hostel, also very empty, was an excellent place to chill in the day where i managed to get a near to genuine indian curry to hold off the cravings.

    Omatepe was a great stop with, similar to the rest of the trip, phenomenal scenery.

    For our last full day we rented moped and drove to the far end of the island to then hike for 2 hours to climb some waterfalls. This started out as a gentle hike but later involved climbing up rocks and scuttling down dirt ledges. Good fun but ever so slightly perilous once the downpour started.    Read more

  • Frankie MartinMexico to ArgentinaTraveler

    Monteverde

    August 8, 2022 in Costa Rica ⋅ 🌧 19 °C

    Costa Rica: stop 1 of 2.

    After a less than a week i decided against visiting Costa Rica not for any reasons other than financial. I am sure that the country is a delight with a plethora of activities to do and wildlife to see, its just unfortunate that the majority of activities are 5x more expensive than the neighbouring countries.

    Monteverde is a mountainous region of the country known for its rainforest and wildlife.

    The highlights of the stop here were the walk through the cloud forest, although we hardly saw any wildlife, and of course managing to find a genuine cup of english Tea.    Read more

  • Frankie MartinMexico to ArgentinaTraveler

    San Jose

    August 11, 2022 in Costa Rica ⋅ 🌧 20 °C

    Costa Rica: stop 2 of 2.

    Not particularly much to comment on when it comes to San Jose but the visit went as expected.

    I had heard many times that the city wasn't worth visiting and a dump in places, and while this was mostly true, i did enjoy wandering through a large city again.Read more

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