Well, today’s the day. After using up our first six month Mexican visa and spending the past four months in the US it’s time to (finally) cross the border once again. We are Mexico bound and we couldn’t be happier about it. The food! The friends! The freedom! The fiesta!

For any nervous Nellies out there we are officially NOT worried about Swine Flu or Drug Violence. Why? We wash our hands. With soap. Also, we have no plans of either a) becoming the chief of police of Juarez OR b) attempting to encroach on a dealer’s turf.

Our first stop in Mexico has us doubly excited (if that’s possible). We’ll be spending a couple of weeks in the Copper Canyon with Dave Hensleigh from Authentic Copper Canyon. The three of us will be on a totally flexible schedule (the very best kind) with an emphasis on finding people and places in and around the Copper Canyon that tourists on the usual Copper Canyon train trips never get to see or meet. We think of ourselves as guinea pigs on this exploratory trip and we can’t wait.

This means we’ll be out of touch for a little while but expect some worth-it stories and pictures and information about what to eat, where to sleep and what to do both on the rim and deep inside the canyon that’s seven times a grand as our Grand Canyon. We may even start calling it the “Grander Canyon.”

To keep you busy while we’re gone, check out this newspaper story we did about Zacatecas, our last major stop in Mexico before our visa ran out. This town’s got what just might be the most unusual disco, most shocking sandwich and most breathtaking catherdral view from a hotel room in all of Mexico, and that’s just for starters.

Here are some shots from Zacatecas:

Construction of the cathedral in Zacatecas began in 1730.

Zacatecas is filled with small streets, alleys and plazas. That, along with the architecture, reminded us of Europe.

The European-like streets of downtown Zacatecs.

The view of the cathedral from our balcony at the Santa Rita Hotel was spectacular.

A pedestrian callejon, or alley, in Zacatecas.

The Museo Rafael Colonel has a collection that includes thousands of masks.

Two nuns walk into a jewelery store....Zacatecas was built on silver mines and the stuff is now made into everything from key chains to religious items.

For obvious reasons, it’s been a mighty long time since we’ve found ourselves in a rental car. However, our trusty truck needed a checkup and some body work which meant we needed to rent some wheels while it was in the shop.

Funny thing about that….a recent massive hail storm here in El Paso, Texas caused a run on rental cars and there wasn’t a single one to be found. Luckily, we know people (we’re talking about YOU Luchagado and his trusty sidekick, Michelle) and they not only managed to score us a rental car but one with a mighty fine gas refill policy that was (good) news to us.

At the Hertz office here in El Paso the manager, Abel, hooked us up with a car and did it at a more than fair rate. We also learned that at many smaller Hertz offices, like this one in El Paso, you  don’t have to sweat it if you can’t manage to fill the tank before returning your car. In a turn of events we still can’t hardly believe our Hertz agent told us that they will refill the tanks of returning rental cars from a pump behind the office at a rate of $2.20 per gallon not the absurdly inflated $5-$6 per gallon that most rental car companies charge if you come  back less than full. Heck, $2.20 is even substantially less than the per gallon price at El Paso area gas stations. Check it out.

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Yes we’re out here to try new things and have adventures and go to far flung places. However, we believe there’s a line between intrepid travel and reckless travel and we do what we can not to cross that line.

This means reducing unnecessary risk whenever possible and being prepared to handle the risks we can’t avoid. We purify water with our SteriPEN. We secure our valuables with a whole range of Pacsafe anti-theft packs and locking systems. We protect our truck with Amsoil synthetic lubricants and we’ve armed it with a Mile Marker recovery winch and high-powered PIAA auxiliary lights. Our full arsenal of Adventure Medical Kits takes care of scrapes, bites and bruises.

But no matter how safe we try to be, serious accidents and illness can still happen. This is why we’re relieved to announce the newest Trans-Americas Journey team member: On Call International.

They’ve just supplied us with Extended Stay emergency medical evacuation coverage  which will ensure that we get to the hospital of our choice for the best care possible no matter where or when medical trouble strikes. Bottom of the Copper Canyon? No problem. Amazon river? Yep. Galapagos Islands? No sweat.

On Call International has 7 million members and provides assistance 24/7  365 days a year. Last year they received more than 273,000 calls from members and handled almost 1,500 evacuations (this number really surprised us). They also fielded 1,700 calls to their unique nurse helpline which is staffed by US-licensed English speaking nurses who provide immediate medical advice and assessment on the phone. If we’re someplace where local medical care isn’t available or isn’t very desirable this service can help us determine how urgent our situation really is.

We have been incredibly lucky over the first three years of our Journey with nothing more serious than upset stomachs and head colds afflicting us and we have every reason to believe (and hope) that our good health will continue–particularly now that we don’t have to worry about what would happen if we’re wrong!