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00:00Expedition Overland's Pan American Series is presented by General Tire. Anywhere is possible.
00:40So we're coming to the end of our little Baja excursion. First leg of our trip. We're a few minutes
00:46away from the ferry and we're going to load up the rigs and relax for about eight hours. We're going
00:53through the night. We're going to sleep on some hopefully nice beds.
01:00After 10 days in the Baja, our ferry schedule dictated that we arrive in the evening. The non-drivers were
01:06allowed to board right away while the drivers, Jeff, Kyle, and I backed the rigs into the very bottom of
01:12the ship. And I will have to say that there is something very adventurous about this whole ferry experience. It's
01:19something pretty cool to do.
01:22The ship was something out of a Wes Anderson film. Kind of charming but odd. All of us are looking
01:28forward to a nice bed, a shower, and a night outside the tent. But we have to find our cabin
01:33first.
01:34It's so awesome. This is 69 and 70. Oh, there it is.
01:43All three rigs are down in the belly of this beast. Looks like we get to close out the Baja
01:49portion of this adventure. It's crazy. We're going over to mainland Mexico.
01:54And then all the countries that are coming up next. It just feels like the unknown. Almost in so many
02:00ways. Like, I don't know what we're getting ourselves into.
02:04The culture is going to be a lot different. Even mainland Mexico is going to be totally different than the
02:09Baja.
02:18We're still early. It's 7.50 in the morning. 7.45. We've got a lot of day ahead of us.
02:25Again, I want to emphasize and re-emphasize that any time anybody has the hair stand up on the back
02:31of your neck, call it out.
02:33That's really important and probably going to be one of the most important things in this next stretch of the
02:37trip.
02:38To head south meant that we had to travel on one of the many tall roads ahead.
02:45There's definitely a shift in the feeling to mainland Mexico. It has a different vibe.
02:50The roads are more structured, military checkpoints are frequent, and the overall atmosphere is heavier.
02:57We fuel our trucks at night if possible before making camp. And this stop was a bit interesting.
03:04This one's laughing at me because she hit my butt.
03:07Peach!
03:12Peach!
03:14She got a little frisky with me.
03:16Just out of nowhere she came up.
03:19Little smack.
03:20Feel the playful around here.
03:21You got a little playful.
03:23Must be the rain.
03:25So as we've been fueling here, we had a local come up and adamantly roll down the window.
03:31come here talk to me and give us some intel on some drug activity that's
03:36happening in the state that's about five hours from here and he was just adamant
03:40and saying hey do not go here there's drug war happening here but it's just
03:46confirmation to have locals come in and want to help you and say hey don't go
03:50into these areas there's harm there and you'll find that as you travel around
03:55the world that these people will come out of the woodworks like that that do
03:59want to help you and that the world is generally a good place with good people
04:05you just got to be smart about it and listen to good advice when it comes the
04:09rain was incredible the incredible home it's a welcome feeling to need your
04:13jacket after so many days of heat it's just that good as we set up camp and pay
04:22for the site Ty and Toby mingle with some locals and score a great opportunity he
04:28asked us what are you guys doing so I told Phil and then he's like I think I've heard of
04:31you guys
04:32he said come on down we're having a family union we're having a carne asada come on down I was
04:36like
04:36oh you guys are sweet thank you we're gonna eat you guys out of house and home
04:40I won't eat that right now I will go eat your family dinner
04:46come to find out they had some pretty interesting history too
05:08the reunion was full of life and the O'Connor's took us in like family the grill was the rim
05:15of an old Toyota truck and they told us it's very reliable and never break
05:19down
05:21your carne asada and then you put a little bit of salsa
05:25salsa
05:26not salsa and light salsa yeah this one
05:28gringo
05:28okay and go ahead enjoy your burrito
05:32all right
05:33okay
05:33oh this is kind of
05:34yeah
05:34we need some
05:35yeah
05:36yeah
05:36thank you
05:38oh my god
05:38oh
05:39be a part of it
05:41oh
05:41what did you get up
05:46it's amazing
05:49so far
05:50the best taco in Mexico
05:52is at a crashed family reunion
05:54they made us feel like a million bucks
05:56that is so good
05:57and it was great because it made us feel and think a little differently about the people and the place
06:02of mainland Mexico
06:04so as an overlander this is what you live for
06:07coming into an area that you thought you were just going to camp at and crash to get up in
06:11the morning
06:12and then you end up at a party
06:17with all these great locals cooking you food telling you about culture
06:20it's as good as it gets
06:24whoa whoa whoa whoa
06:28I got it
06:30I got it
06:30yeah
06:31and tomorrow morning we will go by too
06:34yeah
06:34come back
06:35yeah
06:35okay
06:36please do
06:37please do
06:37please do
06:39good morning
06:40when is the ass
06:42we'll see you
06:43oh the phone runner
06:52I could do this for the rest of my life
06:55these people are so sweet so kind
06:58this is this is specifically what I remember about this area of Mexico
07:02the kids always want to play with you and they're really curious
07:06it just blesses my heart to be able to spend some time with people that are
07:10that are from around here and get to see the culture around
07:12and they're they have been incredibly inviting and it's like we're part of the family here
07:17which has been amazing
07:19we got it
07:20Tio Beneventura
07:21Vamonos
07:22Vamonos
07:26Adios
07:35Adios
07:42I can't stop shooting
07:43very pretty cool colors
07:45yeah
07:49Ty and Jeff found some local fruit that they just had to try
07:57I've never tasted it
07:58I've never tasted it
08:00we have a couple other guys with us that have tasted it
08:02and they said you need to go get one
08:03but we got told by some other people that are staying at Cardicio
08:07to come down and grab the jackfruit
08:10Scott and I were introduced to jackfruit in Uganda
08:13and we had no idea that you could get it here in central Mexico
08:17very good
08:18oh you have them right here?
08:19oh good
08:20how long does it take for that to grow?
08:23like three months
08:24yeah
08:27we can open that one at camp
08:29now that I watched you do it
08:30we can open that one
08:31oh yeah?
08:31yeah
08:32yeah
08:32O'Connor said that
08:34eating the jackfruit
08:35is uh
08:36like taking 10 viagra
08:38no
08:40we may save this till the very end of our trip
08:44there are two things to note about jackfruit
08:46one
08:47it is incredibly sticky
08:49and one should put olive oil
08:51all over your hands and utensils
08:52before trying to cut it open and two it has a very strong smell and after two
09:08days in the fridge you will regret taking it with you trust us on that it's
09:12noon we've been hanging out here for quite a while just because it's so nice
09:16but it's now time to move on we've got to make it to Guadalajara tonight we're
09:21probably going to camp up in a hotel for security reasons and we're just going to
09:25be busting across the lower part of Mexico for the next couple days we've
09:31also been warned about quite a bit of drug activity and drug war stuff
09:34happening in this area as well so there is really no reason for us to spend a
09:38lot of time down here so it's a four-hour push today and then a big push tomorrow to get
09:43over to the Yucatan
09:45the areas we have to travel through are relatively safe on the main road system
09:49it's when you get into the more rural areas of the states of Zacatecas
09:53Micoaquin Guerro and Oaxaca we made it across this region in two hard days of
10:00travel and take the US travel warnings with a grain of salt if you follow them
10:04to the letter you will never leave your driveway finally we rolled into the
10:08Palinque area and that night after falling asleep the jungle became haunted
10:12with one of the scariest sounds any of us have ever heard
10:29I was getting tired and all of a sudden all hell broke loose behind me all through the trees
10:34was were demons in samurai warrior suits standing on top of the trees screaming at me
10:45and all the guys were completely snored out sleeping try to wake up Ty hurt and they
10:52wouldn't wake up until I'm like I'm not the only person hearing these people so finally
10:55wake up Kurt oh those are just howler monkeys I had never heard of howler monkeys it's not
10:59a howl it's a snarl a hellish snarl and so I had a really hard time getting to sleep
11:05last night because these things were going nuts
11:08with an early start we loaded up to head into the Palinque ruins site the Mayan ruins that you
11:15have in your mind of Indiana Jones and all that stuff that they're kind of unless you know someone
11:21who knows of something way deep and lost in the back jungle they're not easily found the Palinque
11:28Mayan ruins were occupied as early as 500 BC and thrive between 600 and 700 AD its ancient name was
11:36Lakma or big water and the city held a great deal of political power in the area ancient Mayan rulers
11:43would come to this place to discuss matters of the Mayan world and is the only known Mayan city to
11:49ever
11:49have women rulers being here gave us great context in the mine history and now we wanted to go find
11:56some
11:56other ruins that most people never see so we hooked up with a native guide to get us into the
12:01good stuff he
12:03took us into some steep and thick jungle the heat was intense and the humidity pegged to a hundred
12:09percent even our guide acknowledged the heat which made all of us gringos feel a little better he told
12:25us how the ruins have lasted for so long comes down to the plaster that they used on the outside
12:29of
12:30the walls to to boil it one tons of this limestone the Maya used to use between five or six
12:36tons of
12:37firewood so this place only Palinque places are 20 square kilometers this is a huge city it was a huge
12:46city so could you imagine how many trees was put it to build all this city it's a common theory
12:54that
12:54the Mayans over forested the area and that's what ultimately caused the fall of the empire channeling
13:01our inner Indiana Jones we stepped up into the dark halls of the ruin this was about to separate the
13:08men from the boys the cave was full of humongous lethal spiders look at that thing he's dead no he's
13:26taking the other one over here stop stop it oh there's another one this letter it's that's a big
13:35spider sounds like we're stepping on fortune cookie we're not like on a normal tour at all where people
13:45go we're friggin in a Mayan ruin way up in the mountains but that huge spider right there soon
13:54the biggest spider any of us had ever seen shook the rest of us out of the temple of doom
14:11Jeff decided he needed to kill it and we all thought it was a good idea and told him that
14:17we
14:17would wait outside Ty gave Jeff moral support and Scott filmed with nerves of steel we came in here
14:24thinking we only had one live spider and there's two one up on that ledge where my light is and
14:30there's one around the corner outside we listen anxiously to the kill squad within
14:38I'm so scared oh you just move around oh Jesus oh I got me Jesus oh Jesus I also don't
14:54feel good about this
14:58foutade you heard me you heard me but you're organism they're alive
15:00ready yeah really
15:04stand up
15:08oh my god
15:09oh oh he's resto
15:10oh he's right there oh my gosh
15:13oh oh look at that thing
15:24This thing screwed around and Ty and I had a hard tap and then he stopped it and I finally
15:32got him.
15:33Oh I hate every part of this. Look at that thing. Jiggle jiggle.
15:37I feel like crying.
15:46We had had enough spiders for one day.
15:50So we hiked a couple kilometers back to the trucks to find somewhere to cool off.
16:11It was exactly what we needed to boost our spirits from the day's draining heat.
16:18At camp, we prepared for another travel day ahead by doing some laundry.
16:27And eating a good meal before racking out.
16:37The next morning on our way out, we came across some hitchhikers.
16:41We just passed these hitchhikers that we saw yesterday at the falls.
16:45They just happened to be two really cute girls.
16:49And I'm a single guy.
16:51So you know, why not pick them up?
16:53So we've got room in Apollo here.
16:55I'm going to jump in the back seat.
16:57And this is something we've been working on.
16:59Back seat middle.
17:00This is something we've been working on this whole trip.
17:02They've been working on that.
17:03Are you going to sit middle in the back?
17:05Back seat middle, feet on the hump.
17:06Why would I not, you know?
17:08Why would I not?
17:08This is cute.
17:09A few miles up the road, the French maidens were found again.
17:13Yeah, you can throw your bags over the back of your shoulders there, guys.
17:16It's alright.
17:17You sure?
17:18Okay, okay.
17:20What are you doing?
17:22We are filming a show.
17:23You are what? A show?
17:24Filming a show.
17:25Okay.
17:25Yeah, you're on it.
17:29Where are you going?
17:30We are going to Oaxaca.
17:32Oh yeah, yeah.
17:33We are on our way to Panama.
17:35What kind of show?
17:37We let Jeff do all the talking.
17:39It's an adventure travel show.
17:40We wanted to give him all the opportunity in the world to make a pen pal.
17:44What's that?
17:44By yourself?
17:45Yeah, it's three vehicles.
17:48It's our own show.
17:51Expedition?
17:51Expedition.
17:58Yeah, we live up in the mountains.
18:01It's a very beautiful area.
18:03Yeah.
18:03Yeah, for instance.
18:06So you're hitchhiking all through Nesca?
18:09For the moment?
18:10Almost, yeah.
18:10We don't have return tickets.
18:14Yeah, yeah.
18:14Yeah, yeah.
18:15Yeah, yeah.
18:16Yeah, yeah.
18:18Just gotta find a husband.
18:23I don't think so.
18:24Oh, no?
18:26Husband, no.
18:27No, okay.
18:28Me, being in the other car, thought that maybe he could use some help.
18:31You have joined us for this short period of the expedition.
18:34I'd like to thank you for driving with us.
18:38We only ask that a small payment be made by providing a small peck on the cheek of Jeff.
18:46What?
18:46One on the left and one on the right.
18:48I have cheeky.
18:49And this will provide us with a small payment for the ride today.
18:53And thank you for flying with Expedition Overland in Apollo today.
18:57Enjoy your trip.
18:58Thank you, Ashley.
19:00Thank you, Ashley.
19:00I don't know what you said, but thank you.
19:02The payment being lost in translation, Jeff was going to have to settle for a picture.
19:07Perfect one, right there.
19:08That's it.
19:09Then, as quickly as they entered Jeff's life, they were gone.
19:14And then she walked out of his life forever.
19:18Don't get hit by a car.
19:19In a small state of dismay, we headed west to find another campsite as we make our way toward Belize.
19:25We just got in to check them all, and it was more touristy than we were hoping for.
19:30And as we talked to the guys at the gate, I had Kurt run up and chat with them.
19:35And they were like, yeah, there's some cool ruins up here not too far.
19:40We'll just take you up there and show you the road to get into them.
19:43And you can camp up there at the base of the ruins.
19:46So we're just following this guy, happy as can be to show us.
19:51And we'll see where this one leads.
19:53This might be exactly what we're looking for.
20:01Once on the trail, it took two seconds before someone was playing the Jurassic Park theme song.
20:06This place had the feeling that a T-Rex could drop a severed goat leg on your sunroof any second.
20:11The jungle was thick, and the trail become unused and narrow.
20:17It's getting more obstructed.
20:19It is getting more obstructed.
20:21It's starting to narrow up a little bit.
20:23So we're going to probably come off this trail with a little bit of pinstriping, but that's okay.
20:28That's what the vehicles are for.
20:31No one has been in here for a long time.
20:35It's time for redemption.
20:38Mackenzie Trail flashbacks are buzzing through my head right now.
20:41Just got to get my pants on.
20:44What was my first mistake at Mackenzie Trail?
20:47I had shorts on.
20:49So are you guys wanting to...
20:51It's just turned into a single track.
20:54Like there hasn't been a vehicle in here for a long time.
20:58So I think what we'll do is just have somebody run ahead if you guys just want to hang tight
21:01here.
21:02Or run maybe half a mile up or something.
21:06We're going to do some winching.
21:08We've got some downfall trees in the road ahead.
21:11Probably a little more than we're going to handle with our saws.
21:13So we're simply going to set up a winch point over the trees off to our left here.
21:17Use the snatch block to redirect the winch pole.
21:19Grab it from the far right corner and slide them out of our way.
21:23And get moving up the truffles.
21:43A little stragglers we've got to cut out.
21:45But it works so well.
21:48Set up a snatch block off a tree off somewhere else.
21:51Obviously we have hundreds of trees on the side of the road to utilize.
21:54Which is really nice because sometimes you're really looking for a snatch block and you don't have it.
21:58So we're able to utilize that.
22:00I think we're going to have to do it up here as well.
22:03The day was getting hot.
22:05Really hot.
22:06102 degrees reads on the Tacoma's thermometer.
22:09But the work was worth it to be reaching for what seemed like a hidden treasure deep in the jungle.
22:15In some ways this trail was similar to our time on the McKinsey Trail in British Columbia.
22:19But the heat and humidity definitely makes this trail a different challenge.
22:24We were going through gallons of water clearing the trail.
22:29But the effort was worth it as we started to see signs of ruins.
22:33And that hill right there is a temple.
22:36This is not an everyday occurrence.
22:38It's pretty awesome.
22:39That mound of trees is an old ruin and we're going to go climb to the top.
22:44We located the temple stairs which had almost completely been overtaken by the jungle and we climbed our way to
22:50its top.
22:53You can see miles and miles around you to the horizon.
22:57This is all, I mean this is kind of rolling hills through all of here.
23:01But it's pretty flat otherwise.
23:03So what a great vantage point for a civilization to look out.
23:07To look at their land and be able to keep watch on things.
23:12Amongst, you know, all of their other religious stuff they did here.
23:18What an amazing day.
23:20Hard work found us great reward.
23:27We picked out a suitable area within the ruins and cleared the brush to make camp.
23:36This place was straight out of fairy tales.
23:41We sat together, lost in the romance of adventure.
23:48This place and all its mystery provided a momentary cure to Wanderlust.
23:57What I just need to keep in mind is that adventure will happen.
24:00We just have to let it.
24:04relaxes, peace, peace, peace, peace, peace, peace, peace, peace.
24:08Now give it.
24:31So let's have two examples.
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