Initially, we were going to France. But then, we started thinking about the carbon footprint we would leave when we flew. In favor of smaller guilty conscious, we decided against a European tour. Instead, we bought a gas efficient car and started planning an extended road trip.
Each of us had one suitcase and a ½ meter of car space to call our own. Of course, my brother’s stuff had the gall to spread over to my side, my belongings gravitated towards the front, and my parents were relatively contained (naturally).
Packed like confortable sardines, we drove from Vancouver to LA, took a three-week detour in French Polynesia, flew back to LA, and meandered our way through the American Southwest. In mid-October, we crossed the Mexican border into the state of Chihuahua. In the car, about 25 km from the border, I learned how to conjugate three Spanish verbs, and learned about the intricacies of the political situation in Northern Mexico.
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| Our Route |
In Mexico, we strolled (can one stroll in a car?), okay; so we drove, leisurely through the state of Chihuahua, (passing through Creel and Madera to name a few towns), and into Central Mexico and Oaxaca. In Mexico City, traffic lines don’t exist, and when a light changes colour, driving becomes a race to be the first in the car column.
We lived a month in Oaxaca before commencing with our drive home. By this time we were all addicted to perfect avocadoes and an infinite variety of bananas, salsa and tortillas. We took the ferry to the Baja Peninsula and drove straight up to Canada. Finally, amid a snowstorm, we arrived home.
This is how I caught the travel bug. I dream about different cultures, languages, and ways of greeting. I can’t wait to learn more about the rest of the world. I have a bad (or good!) case of wanderlust.
For more details on our wonderful voyage, please refer to previous blog posts from the fall of 2008.
