Here's the thing, I have been putting off a lot of the things I usually enjoy, like writing. And that, quite frankly needs to stop. It is currently March and I have been so busy preparing for my travels this year that I haven't given my previous travels the write ups they deserve. Mexico was one of my favourite parts of my USA trip. There are so many amazing places that I went that I have wanted to share with you all. Please accept my apologies for the delay. I have two months before Japan and South Korea and I am determined to get these posts (and hopefully videos) finished before I go.
I left you in Downtown LA. I checked out of that horrendous Airbnb and headed to the station to catch the Amtrak Pacific Surfrider down to San Diego. Honestly one of the nicest ways I have travelled so far. That view! In San Diego I reunited with an old friend Nima. I met Nima in Paris way back in 2012, remember when I lived in London for a year? Yeah, that long ago! Here is a quick visual summary of our time in Paris.
Proper BABIES! I met Nima, Quentin and Elouise at an art museum and we ended up spending the rest of the trip together. You can read more about those adventures
Long story short, I hadn't seen this legend in 6 years and he was taking me down to Mexico for the weekend! Most of this trip was a complete surprise to me. He had planned and booked it all, and damn he did good.
This was our first night. Campera Hotel Burbuja, a bubble camping hotel in the wine country of Mexico, Guadalupe. You can check out the hotel here. The bubble has two compartments. Once you step inside you need to close the door behind you before opening the main door into the sleeping compartment.
This is the entry area. It has a bar fridge, coffee machine and hanger for clothing.
The view outside the bubble
The view inside the bubble
Our first stop was Encuentro Guadelupe, a gorgeous minimalist property on top of an ecological reserve. These little pods just have a power point and a bed. You can't take your own cars to the huts, they will drive you up in little buggies. They have a gorgeous pool and spa that we didn't see in real life but next time I go I will definitely be staying here for a night or two. Below are a couple of photos off their site just to show you how truly GORG this place is in the day.
My first of many traditional ceviche's to be had this weekend.
Green catch of the day Ceviche with persian cucumber and avocado.
Still one of my favourite dishes of my trip (USA not just Mexico) was this bone marrow. Not so much the extremely spicy smashed grasshopper.
Bone marrow with Grasshopper Sauce
Our second dinner spot was Finca Altozano. This place was great, nearly every seat had a sleeping dog on. They were all friendly Labrador-ish dogs that I did shamelessly feed. But really how could you not?
I genuinely cannot remember what we ate exactly. I know we had a few tacos after these entrees. But the menu online is in Spanish and Nima my translator is not here to assist. The food here was delicious though, 10/10 would come back here and order anything and everything off the menu, even if I can't read what it is. It all tasted fantastic!
Before checking out of our as Nima would say "EL BUBLE" we took the opportunity to take some more photos of this unique accommodation. You can also see a peek into the bathroom on the left. I will have a video tour included in my Guadelupe video when I eventually finish it.
La cocina de doña estela is a really traditional family run restaurant serving staple Mexican breakfast all day. The owner isn't a trained chef. All of her recipes and styles of cooking have been passed down through generation upon generation. This was a really basic and massive breakfast. Eating at this restaurant is the closest you will come to feeling like you are eating a home cooked meal from your Abuela.
We ordered a couple of pretty standard dishes that they are quite famous for. My dish was Nopales con Huevo, two scrambled eggs cooked with Nopal Cactus, tomato, onion, anaheim pepper, with refried beans. Nima got I believe Chorizo con Huevo, two scrambled eggs with pork chorizo and refried beans. I could be wrong though. This was my first ever refried beans situation. I have never had it before and I don't think I will ever have it taste this good anywhere else. On top of this you receive fried tortilla chips, salsa and these thin homemade flour tortillas served with mouth watering, queso fresco fresh from the farm. In fact most of the food you eat here is farm to table. You can walk around the place and see them making the flour tortillas as well as these donut type sweets that I can't recall the name of.
This is a little stall outside of La cocina de doña estela where you can buy spices, dressings, jams, trinkets and everything in between.
Our next stop was Bruma, an architectural masterpiece of a winery. This incredible structure was built around a 300 year old oak tree, made of completely recycled materials and is above and below ground. For some reason the only photos we got underground came out real distorted and weird. The structure somehow cools itself and this space is where the wine is stored. We went on a tour of this winery and had our first tasting for the day.
Clos de Tres Cantros was our next winery stop, following along with a pretty strong theme of unique architecture. Designed by architect Alejandro D'Acosta and made out of 90% recycled materials made from the region. These chairs are actually old couches and housing material covered in concrete! We had a tasting here with a complementary cheese board, which was delicious.
These recycled bottles are filled with water and alcohol to help light flow through them. There are walls like this throughout the winery.
We just stopped into ALXimia winery to check out the structure known as "the flying saucer that landed in Valle de Guadelupe". Built by a mathematician turned winemaker and his astronomer dad this winery is three levels high with each level serves a different purpose in the winemaking process. They make less traditional wine here but are well acclaimed and are definitely on my go to list for my next visit.
Our next quick stop was to Casa Frida another design gem by Alejandro D'Acosta (theme of the trip?), scattered with breathtaking art by Raul Carrilo of the queen herself Frida Kahlo. I wish we had spent more time here and maybe even gone on a tour as every inch of this place has been designed with Frida and her style in mind. We only took a peek in main area but the grounds look equally as beautiful.
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| http://www.withlovepaperandwine.com/mexico-wine-trail/casa-frida-valle-de-guadalupe |
To read/ see more of this winery and rental home check out this blog post. The interior photos are just incredible!
This seemingly quaint winery quickly became the top winery we visited and the one I will recommend most out of all of the wineries on this list. Cuatro Cuatros is a unique and huge space with a winery, cabanas and a hidden restaurant. The cabanas were designed by Taller de Arquitectura to create a balance of wood, cotton and steel. The property is scattered with these huge beautiful cacti as well as vineyards as far as the eye can see. Two boats converted into bars stand tall amongst the desert backdrop. They sadly weren't open when we were there.
The real surprise comes when you hop on a little bus that crawls up the mountain side to this jaw dropping view on the other side. The contrast between the dry desert and ocean is truly breathtaking. On top of this cliff is the most picturesque restaurant I have ever been to.
We had a burger and my favourite ceviche of the trip so far. No matter how many photos I include in this post, it just does not do this location justice. Even the bathrooms are gorgeous!
After filling my camera with photos of Cuatro Cuatros and my belly with good wine and food we started our drive back to Tijuana. We passed through Mission Beach where there were a heap of horses on the beach. We pulled over to check it out. Next thing we knew we were on a couple of trusty steeds, no helmets, being taken across the beach by a Mexican cowboy. This ironically was my first time back on a horse since my accident the year before. I was pretty terrified but mainly because I wasn't wearing a helmet and I didn't know the horse. Plus knowing that they can sense your anxiety and fear stresses me out anymore. In saying that I really did enjoy this ride. Definite bucket list item ticked off, ride horses on a beach in Mexico.
I am going to end this post here as there is a lot to digest, but also because it's a pretty great summary of what you can do in 24 hours in Valle de Guadalupe. Huge shout out to Nima for taking me to all these incredible places and sharing your love of Guadalupe with me. Consider me completely smitten for this not so well known (yet) slice of Mexico.
Next stop, Tijuana (RIP me)..
