Dick Davis - Bus journey across Mexico : exploring Mexico by bus from California to Guatemala : encounters and reflections

There is a phrase in Mexico, From Tijuana to Chetumal. It means from one extreme to the other. Tijuana touches San Diego. Its north and west and on the Pacific Ocean. Chetumal abuts Belize. Its south and east and on the Atlantic side of Mexico. Mexicans maintain, You can get anywhere in Mexico by bus. Mexico has 800 bus companies, and they are the finest get-to-where-youre-going system in the world. The two expressions got me thinking.

Crossing Mexico by bus would be a grand adventure, and taking the bus, stopping in places Ive never heard of, might make me feel like an explorer. I pulled out a large map of Mexico and looked it over. Id avoid resorts, beaches and Mexico City. I wanted to see the heart of Mexico, the interior. Id descend into the Copper Canyon, three times the size of the Grand Canyon, and cross deserts. Id follow the mountainous Silver Trail, routes established by the Spanish, and seek out early missions founded by Junpero Serra. Id stay in colonial towns. The route would take me through green jungles and past romantic waterfalls. Id visit indigenous villages and climb Mayan pyramids. And I would put Mexicos bus system to the test.

The destination would be the journey itself. The bus would give me a feel for Mexicos topography, the roads, the travel time and the distances. I would travel with Mexicans and get a sense of culture and history.

From Tijuana to Chetumal, its about 3000 miles, and with my meandering route it would be longer. I decided to take the trip in stages. The first stage would be from Tijuana to Zacatecas. Id travel light and buy a shirt, sweater, socks, or whatever, along the way.

I picked up a felt-tipped pen and drew a heavy black line on my map from Tijuana to Zacatecas. For practical value, it could have been a river in the Congo. I was not familiar with the route, nor did I know where Id spend the nights. I added up the miles for this first stage on the map. There were 1600 miles of desert and mountains, with the Copper Canyon in between Tijuana and Zacatecas. There were switchback canyon roads, some gravel and dirt, and roads that were not wide enough for two cars to pass each other. I wanted to do it all by bus.

I didnt look at the bus schedules. I was told that there were buses, and they would do the job. I formed a simple plan. Start at the Tijuana bus depot, look for a bus thats headed east along the general route traced in black ink on my map, select a ride to a town, hopefully not more than four hours away, maybe six if pressed, get off, see where I had landed, stay the night, add a day if it was interesting, then repeat the process over and again until reaching Zacatecas, or like Ambrose Bierce, I went missing.

Dick Davis

The Route: Day-by-day, town-by-town, outline:

Day Town

1 Tijuana-Mexicali

Mexicali-Ro

Colorado-Sonoyta-Santa Ana

Santa Ana-Hermosillo

Side Trip to Kino Bay

Hermosillo-Ycora-San Pedro-Creel

Creel Tour

Creel Tour

Creel-Batopilas

Batopilas Tour

Batopilas-Junction-Guachochi

11 Guachochi-Parral

12 Parral Tour

13 Parral-Durango- Zacatecas

14 Zacatecas-San Lus Potos

15 San Lus Potos- Ro Verde

16 Ro Verde-Xiltla- Mission Corridor:

Conc, Jalpan, Landa de Matamoros, Tilco,

Tancoyol

17 Xiltla-Zacualtipan

18 Zacualtipan-Pachuca

19 Pachuca-Tlaxcala

20 Tlaxcala-Puebla

21 Crdoba

22 Coatzacoalcos

23 Tuxtla Gutirrez

24 Sumidero Canyon

25 San Cristbal de las Casas

26 San Cristbal de las Casas, Chamula

27 Agua Azul, Misol-Ha, Palenque

28 Yaxchilpan and Bonapak

Campeche

30 Campeche International Festival

31 Edzna

32 Hacienda Uayamon

33 Camino Real, Uxmal, Franciscan Missions

34 Mrida

35 Chichen Itza, Valladolid

36 Chetumal

37 Bacalar, Tulum, Playa del Carmen

38 Cancn Airport

Expenses: Transportation: buses, taxis, and vans: $605

Hotels:..$1296

Meals:....$784

Miscellaneous, fees, entrances..$438

Total:...$3133

Average cost per day:.....$82.45