March 2009-present

Endless fun and adventure.

The first time I went to Mexico, I was 20 years old, alone, and crossed the border into Ciudad Juarez on foot during the height of the drug wars. I had dyed my hair black and grown a mustache to blend in. Over the next week, I travelled and hitchhiked through the Copper Canyon to the Sea of Cortez. When I finally reentered the US, at Nogales, the border guards grilled me on why I would be so crazy to travel such a dangerous area, asking me if I was actually a drug mule.

Now, over a decade later, I go to Mexico yearly, and have lived there. I've probably made over a dozen trips, totalling more than a year of my life in this fascinating country. I'm fluent in the language and met Suhei in 2015 while trying to hitchhike from Baja to Acapulco, getting robbed several times in the process, sleeping in squash farms and sneaking into high-rise luxury hotel rooftop pools.

My family-in-law is entirely in Mexico. I have formed, and will always have, deep connections to this place. Like every country, Mexico has its fair share of problems. Infrastructure is aging, and roads have way too many speedbumps. But the people are wonderful. When I visit, if not for family, we are either on difficult packraft trips, running canyoneering routes, exploring caves, or kayaking to deserted beaches. I'll always be back for more.