Places Archives - Searching El Dorado

17/09/202317/09/2023

Celebrating día de muertos in Mexico!

All along our trip, we had the opportunity to discover many different local traditions. Several times, ancient pre-Colombian stories and customs fused with the Catholicism brought by the Spanish, a process generally known as syncretism. From the Virgin Mary represented as the Pacha Mama in Bolivia, to the guinea pig at the last supper in the cathedral of Cuzco, and the peculiar customs of the Chiapas indigenous people, we were surprised time and time again. We knew nonetheless an example of syncretism well before our trip: the día de muertos celebration in Mexico. As a matter of fact, we organised all our trip around that day. We wanted to discover the holiday’s folklore onsite!

11/09/202309/02/2024

10 things to do in Guadalajara

Guadalajara is the second-largest city in Mexico. It is also the place where Caroline lived for 5 months during her studies as part of an exchange program. She really enjoyed living in Guadalajara, so we had to make a stop there during our trip. We had arranged to stay with some of her friends. Her former roommate even came all the way from Canada. Quite a reunion!

16/08/202310/03/2024

Oaxaca: a city full of colors and life

The city of Oaxaca, located in the homonymous state, could be described as the most typical Mexican town. For any fan of the famous Pixar movie Coco, this is THE place to visit, as a lot of the movie’s scene are inspired by it. Here’s four things you can do in and around the city!

30/07/202330/07/2023

Discovering Mayan ruins in Mexico

Even after exploring the Mayan ruins of Copan in Honduras, Tikal in Guatemala, and Tulum, we were not yet satisfied. Plus, after our visit to Machu Picchu in Peru, we realised we had the possibility to see another one of the seven wonders. So we naturally decided to take our time while travelling to the north of Mexico. On the way, we stopped twice to visit as many ruins: Chichén Itzá and Palenque.

19/06/202308/02/2024

Chiapas and its indigenous traditions

Following our exploration of the southeast of Mexico, we moved towards the rest of the country. That is how we reached one of its most southern states: Chiapas. After a lot of bumpy roads, we stopped in San Cristobal de la Casas, the main city in the region. It is the perfect base to explore the area.

18/04/202308/02/2024

Enjoying sea and nature on the island of Cozumel

We definitely fell in love with the Riviera Maya. So much that we decided to extend our staying a bit more. To change settings just a bit, we moved to an island: Cozumel.

To get to the island, we first took a bus from Tulum to Playa del Carmen. From there, we took the ferry to Cozumel. During the whole ride you can enjoy a beautiful view of the spectacular Caribbean sea and all its colors. The water takes all the shades of blue and green, already from the harbor!

02/04/202308/02/2024

Up and down the Riviera Maya

We planned from the very start to dedicate more than one month of our trip to explore Mexico. We entered the country from the Belize border, and we were welcomed by the famous Riviera Maya: fantastic beaches, cenotes, and Mayan ruins! Here is a summary of our explorations.

13/03/202313/03/2023

Heading north: Lima and Trujillo

While on our way to the North of Peru, we passed by two other cities that offered some really nice attractions: Lima and Trujillo. They were not the highlights of our time in Peru, but then, between Machu Picchu and passing our diving license, we set the bar quite high. In any case, it is nice to visit this region of Peru, especially if you are interested in the pre-incan civilisations.

07/02/202313/03/2023

Five things to do in Medellin

When we were still living in Paris, we offered on Couchsurfing our relatively comfortable sofa-bed. We had the chance to host a lovely Colombian/English couple for a few days. They offered to return the favor if we were passing by Medellin. And just like that, Medellin became a mandatory stop during our trip.

After some months we finally had the opportunity to discover the city, partly through their eyes, thanks to their amazing hospitality.

08/11/202008/11/2020

Actun Tunichil Muknal: the Cave of the Crystal Sepulchre

After leaving the ruins of Tikal in Guatemala and in order to arrive at the Mayan riviera in Mexico, it is almost mandatory to pass through Belize. And since you’re there… why not stop and visit a bit? While the most famous attractions of the country are probably its beautiful coast and islands, along the way to Mexico you can also stop to visit the area around San Ignacio to discover its Mayan past.

We decided to focus our very brief visit on one thing only: the cave of Actun Tunichil Muknal, also known as ATM.