SOUTH OF THE BORDER Mexico is one of the most popular destinations among American overlanders. For Brits, Pictures: Jen Bright and Gav Lowrie
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or overland travellers from the USA, Mexico is one of the first destinations they’re likely to head for. That’s in part due to geography (it’s either Mexico, Canada or a shipping container, after all) but also because the nation south of the border is a fabulously vibrant land with bountiful opportunities to explore. If you’re a Brit seeing the world, on the other hand, Mexico is less likely to feature on your itinerary. You might explore South America, or
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the USA and Canada, but if you try to travel between one and the other you’ll run into the Darien Gap. Thus Mexico is unreachable from one popular overland destination and a dead-end from another. It’s worth visiting in its own right, though. That’s what Jen and Gav Lowrie found when they did just that as part of their world tour aboard Ruby, a Defender 110 from the 300Tdi era. Having crossed the border at Tecate, Jen and Gav set off at a
slow pace down the Baja Peninsula. Their route meandered from the west to the east of the cape, taking in both the Pacific coast and the Sea of Cortez as they crossed spectacular mountains and deserts dense with cactus, all the while enjoying lush beachfront campsites with view of dolphins swimming in the ocean. Further on, in the town of Mulegé on the shores of the Sea of Cortez, another wonderful campsite shaded by palm and banana trees saw
an unexpected reunion. ‘Sylvia and Martin, a German couple we befriended in San Quentin, arrived at the same campsite,’ says Jen. And with them and some long-term residents, we had a great few days.’ This is something that happens on the road – you say your farewells when your routes part but then days, weeks, even months later, it turns out you were all going the same way after all. The team arrived in La Paz, the capital of the Baja Sur region, in
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