Pueblos Mágicos 2023

The time is rapidly approaching that I embark on another epic adventure with my good friend GLRay. This year, the adventure entails cultural exploration by visiting many Pueblos Mágicos and UNESCO sites in the central highlands of México. The general idea, as my brother-from-another-mother says, is to not have a plan. This year, we have a general idea of what we want to do, but it’s open ended and with a few exceptions, there is no itinerary. We will be traveling in a pattern guided by vagaries.

Our method of travel will be that of dérive. This word literally translates to “drift,” but thanks to some mid-20th century French philosophers, it can also refer to a spontaneous trip, completely free of plans, in which you let your surroundings guide you. This is a much different method of travel than either of us typically embark on, with lots of planning and strict itineraries. This is a journey of change, growth, awareness, and acceptance for what is.

We have some dates and timelines we must abide by, meeting up to leave, when to be at certain airports to pickup/drop-off family and friends that are visiting, visa limitations, etc. Other than the initial getting to México and our first couple of nights, we don’t know where this adventure will take us.

In my past adventures, I have been asked to write about them as most people don’t have the opportunities of travel that I have, and my stories are educational, funny, and inspirational – or so I’m told. I have found that the easiest way to reach people is on social media, but the little red flags and bells have me drooling worse than Pavlov’s dog, and I have better things to do with my time than watch cat videos and engage in toxic exchanges on social media. So the birth of this blog. If I can figure out a way to post my blogs posts of past adventures here, I will, but some of those are many years old and it might not be worth it.

The Dates

The current dérive plan – an oxymoron in itself is to enter México on May 14th, and to return sometime mid-late August, or maybe September… So as mid-May approaches, you will see more and more posts, and possibly a daily post once we enter México.

Meet the Players

El Alebrije – this is my beast. It’s a school bus conversion, it took me about 18 months to build. Another 24 months in fine tuning and changing things up to meet my needs. The latest iteration was to take out the two captain’s chairs and large dining room table, and in place install a sofa/lounge/bed and a smaller table (still sizable) for mobile work area/dining table, etc. For this trip, I will be taking just the bus. The Jeep (Pizote) stays home.

The word Alebrije is a new term in Mexican Spanish. For more information – visit El Alebrije

Owlbear – this combination is my friend GLRay’s rig. He bought the truck 18 months ago and the trailer about 8 months ago. We’ve been working on modifying the solar and electrical system of the trailer.