Creel, Mexico - July 21-25, 2023

[Martin Hash]

My wife, Gwynne, and I have been to Mexico a number of times; mostly in the tourist cities but we tended to stay in the more authentic parts where people rode dilapidated buses and ate street tacos. When I heard Americans talk about retiring to Mexico, I always wonder if they’ve ever been outside the resorts? I don’t know why Mexico is such a depressing place but it is: the ramshackle buildings, the decrepit infrastructure, the backwards people, and contrary to Mexican cuisine in the States, the food’s bad.

We came into Mexico from Arizona through a tiny border crossing at Antelope Wells with no other passing vehicles the entire hour we were there. It was the driver’s first time in these parts so we had no goal for a place to spend the night; we just pulled over to the side of the road in a remote stretch, setting up our tents between two barbwire fences with cattle on the other side. I surreptitiously put a coyote skull into the tent of a good-natured guy but he didn’t see it until the morning and thought someone had got into his tent while he was sleeping; maybe something mystical or demonic? I never told him it was me.

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After a long drive the next day, we stopped in Creel for the first hotel in 45 days… Except it was a dorm room so Gwynne & I went somewhere else for a private room. This turned out to be a boon in several ways because I got busy using the opportunity to get caught up with my travel documentation: editing videos, writing, collating, etc. I would start around 4 am and work until 11 am then take a break for a few hours to go exploring with Gwynne. Creel is a tourist location for the surrounding area so there were lots of tours and souvenir shops in the town center.



We hiked to an area with rock formation purported to be recognizable as frogs, “rana” in Spanish, and toadstools, “hongo” in Spanish. We enjoyed our walk there but kind drivers asked if we needed a ride.



The next day, Gwynne planned an excursion to a Jesus statue, "Cristo Rey," placed on top of a nearby hill. We’ve visited similar statues all around the world. We ended up having to scramble up the hillside but the view of the city from there was spectacular. We left Creel the next morning rested and without regrets. It was a good first stop in Mexico.