13 Comments
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Curiosity As Our Compass's avatar

My wife and I just spent 5 months traveling mainland

Mexico in our van. Everything you say here resonates. We just crossed back into the U.S. two days ago and were saying that our interactions with locals were the most memorable and meaningful for us.

And experiencing the events of two weeks ago with the cartel reactions to the take out of el mencho gave us a real life experience in the distortions of media coverage, especially the social kind. It was scary for a day, but our friends were concerned much longer. The resolution is never news that sells.

Glad we found your Substack.

James Dalman's avatar

I applaud you for your adventure travels and going to Mexico in your van. We hope to be brave enough to do that some day. But I don’t where the fear comes from, because like you said, the media distorts everything. I think there is more danger in the U.S. than many places. I look forward to reading about your adventures.

Curiosity As Our Compass's avatar

We did Baja last winter for two months as a test run. Loved it. We enjoyed mainland more. More culture, history, geologic/geographic diversity.

Feel free to reach out via DM if you want to discuss, ask questions, etc. Happy to share our experience if helpful when you feel ready.

James Dalman's avatar

We'd love that! We discussed that it could be cool to travel as a caravan with friends, and it would be awesome to learn from those who have done it. Thanks!

Curiosity As Our Compass's avatar

And thanks for the follow!

Lu Kindblade, Kindwind's avatar

Fabulous article.

Andrew Sniderman 🕷️'s avatar

Happy Campers!

Steve Overby's avatar

I live in a Northwest suburb of Minneapolis, and have friends that will hardly go to downtown Minneapolis during the day let alone at night. Pre Covid I worked everyday down there and never had any problems. My wife and I also go down there at night for a show or the theater without issues as well. Would I want to be down there when the bars close, probably not, but that's true a lot of places. We also just came back from Cancun and met some wonderful people while there.

James Dalman's avatar

Thanks, Steve! I have family members in Minneapolis, Alexandria, and Aurora. Some said the city could be bad at times but others love it. I think any place has it’s problems, but then, it can also be based on preconceived notions or biases. There are good people everywhere, even in places that would be considered bad.

Steve Overby's avatar

My wife and I both also worked in South Minneapolis just off of Cedar and Lake Street for about 10 years. Never had a problem, and some of the best Mexican food around.

Carl Schell's avatar

One of the best parts of life. Not that I travel as much you guys do, but one of my favorite things is meeting new people at all the shows I go to. Cheers for more great observations from your road!

James Dalman's avatar

Thanks, Carl. It’s awesome you get out there and meet people, no matter where you go!