Vagabonding Field Report: Camping in Northern Mexico

Cost/day: $40/day

What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen lately?

Our family of seven is camping in Mexico beneath a full moon and enjoying a tranquil evening after crossing the border into this ‘dangerous’ country. Just the day before, we were warned that we were ‘risking our children’s lives’ by taking them to such a lawless place.’ Completely alone in a farmer’s field, we watched the sun peacefully set and then rise again the next morning on our first full day in Mexico.

Describe a typical day:

Rising with the sun, my husband and I read and study before our five children awake. Then we prepare breakfast and enjoy the morning together, before packing up and hitting the road again. Driving south, we stop for meals at roadside stands, then camp for the night in apple orchards, corn fields or forests.

Describe an interesting conversation you had with a local:

Stopping once for food, a mother of several children notices us, and sends two of her daughters over to ask for money. Believing that teaching children to beg is dehumanizing, I instead trade some apples for the chance to take a photograph.

What do you like about where you are? Dislike?

I love the wide open fields, the kind and friendly people, the feeling of safety, the comparative cleanliness of the country (our family has recently come from India, and according to my oldest daughter, “Mexico is like Utah, not dirty like India.”)

I dislike the negative stigma of ‘danger’ that shrouds the entire country, because of a few acts of violence by a small minority of criminals.

Describe a challenge you faced:

Placing the truck into reverse, a powerful lurch makes me believe we’ve hit a vehicle behind us. My husband puts the truck into drive and pulls into a parking lot. We discover that our rear brake has locked up. I envision what the night ahead holds for us — stranded in a strange Mexican town for who-knows-how-long, expensive mechanic repairs, a hotel, truck parts that we’ll be unable to find in the middle-of-nowhere-Mexico. Instead, a stranger offers help, calls his mechanic who comes to us and replaces the brakes within a few hours. Our stranger-turned-friend brings blocks of cheese from his store and guava for my children to eat. We share a very special evening with a man who goes out of his way to serve people who doesn’t know.

What new lesson did you learn?

Sometimes what we fear will happen is often worse than what actually happens. Often ‘bad’ experiences are great opportunities and great memories. There are kind and caring people all over the world who will go out of their way to help you.

Where next?

We’re headed further south into Mexico. Next stop, Lake Chapala. Read more about camping in Northern Mexico or connect with me on Facebook.