Blogs from Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico, North America

What to do in Chihuahua on a Monday - the day when nearly everything is closed? We still have the National Palace and the Cathedral to see, other than that it’s a wander around their shopping centre! We are booked on a late overnight bus tonight (it doesn’t leave until 11pm) and we have to vacate our room by midday so I think there is going to be quite a bit of hanging around! We decide to remain in our room till check out, loiter this afternoon and have our evening meal before checking in for our 12 hour bus journey. We have decided to turn up at the bus station quite early to check in as, worryingly, our allocated seat numbers are showing as ‘available to book’ online! There isn’t much we can do about ... read more

So this morning we really are moving on! I have had a bad night with aching arms and wrists - I think it’s a knock on from the mountain biking a couple of days ago! We sleep late! Bags are packed and stacked in the hotel breakfast room awaiting our collection later. Our hotel owner, William, is still marvelling that we made it down to the springs and is now telling us a story about his friend that went down into the canyon bottom to pick oranges. His mission was successful and he had a huge bag of fruit to take home. Now he starts his ascent back to the top which is steep and tough going. As he climbs back up, he meets people coming down and starts to hand out some of the fruit ... read more

Distance driven today: 336 miles / 541 km Cumulative distance driven: 4,452 miles / 7,165 km Today’s trip: Douglas, Arizona to Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico International border crossings: 1 Cultural attack on the senses since border crossing: lots Throughout the years, I have been privileged to travel to lots of places around the world, and subsequently, to cross quite a few borders. Border crossing is a rather interesting activity in my opinion, and the things you get to observe during a crossing can tell a lot about a country, its culture, its ethos, and generally about the similarities and differences between rules and laws on either side of the border line. I have often times been fascinated by the fact that, cultures, ethics, governing systems, and generally lifestyles, can be so different, on either side of a ... read more

My mum always set great store by the entry to a house. A proper entry was vital. It needed to be welcoming and give a good impression but without necessarily letting someone you didn't know straight into your living space. Some countries could take a lesson from my mum. We crossed three borders in the last week, all different. With the UK we were leaving and, apart from the loss of our spending in their country, they didn't really seem too bothered by the fact. On entry to the UK, on the Eurostar from France some months ago, we were interviewed, skilfully but gently, by an immigration officer who established who we were, what we had been doing, intended to do and for how long. For the USA we arrived after a long flight, longer because ... read more

J ai eu la chance de pouvoir faire le voyage "Chihuahua - Los Mochis" avec le Ferrocarril Chihuahua Pacifico. C est tout simplement magnifique. Apres 4h de sommeil et un bon mal de crane, suite a la soiree avec les mexicains, je pars a 5h du matin pour la gare de Chihuhua. Deja, le taxi est tellement pourri que je ne sais pas si je vais y arriver. Vous savez, le genre Nissan avec 800000km au compteur qui fait autant de bruit qu un avion ou 3 voitures reunies. Bref, on yarrive, sans me faire arnaquer, et boum je m endors dans le train. En gros, les 2 premieres heures n ont pas d interet si ce n est le lever du soleil. Le voyage consite en 650 km en 14h avec 39 ponts et 87 ... read more