From Aguascalientes to Playa Del Carmen. Took two nights and three days of driving. You don’t want to drive at night because you just don’t know the shape of the roads and you have to see where you’re going.
 
Three towns that come to mind. The first  one is Quere Caro, it's  so beautiful. New houses, condos mixed with the old city along the mountain side. Another town that  was interesting was Pulbla . I saw live volcano’s. Wow! looked like a big cloud of steam coming from it, I did by pass Mexico city and in I think it was San Jose Cayachapa driving from the top of a mountain to the valley below was stunning so lush and green with all the homes and some farm land below, lucky they were good roads to drive on. This is the time I needed my camera man Joe. He would have even knew the town and he would have made me stop for a photo.
On my way here I ran into about a dozen police stop checks and I only got pulled over twice. The English and Spanish thing works in my favour sometimes, they just laughed while I tried my best Spanish with a smile of course, and then they just let me go on my way. 
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This place is absolutely gorgeous and cost me nothing, thanks to my Calgary friends Glen Beckel and Terry B. Terry’s big 2,400 sf condo on the 20 th floor has three large bedrooms with a amazing ocean and city views. They invited me in to stay and I get to hang out with a couple good guys for a week! The 5 star condo is renting for $1500/week, well worth the price for its great location, close to everything. From my $3 to $5 a day hostel to a luxury condo what a nice treat thanks to my two Calgary buddies.
 
During my travels I often stay in hostels. l let them know I’m a blogger when I  travel to  Mexico and central America. I ask for a special price for using their facilities [washroom, shower, pool and kitchen]. I explain that I will be sleeping in my van parked outside the Hostel. On this trip, I am also looking to find some fellow travellers who might share the gas and tolls. I find that people who stay in hostels have each other’s back. A bond between all of us forms and we often hang out for dinner, lunch, walks and sometimes even a beer or two. The Hostel has all our information as we are all being tracked by our passports. Nice to know that if something happens, copies of our passports at our disposal.  

I am always looking for fun places great deals on the road. Around every corner there is one!. In Puerto Vallarta, there are two great, bars, Cheeky monkey and Sea monkey beers for a buck  and I was finding loads off great restaurants cheap  $8 to $12 dinner’s that include  chips and salsa with your meal. Terry took us to a couple of really good spots for steak and spaghetti. These were high end places but the price was very affordable! Oh, love the food here in Puerto Vallarta.

​ Well it’s time for me to move on now to Cancun and Playa Del Carmen, about a 28 hour drive. It should take about three days or longer depending on length of stay along the way. One town I must visit is Aguascalientes, a city in the centre of Mexico. I met Marcela in Calgary a few years ago who makes her home in Aguascalientes. She invited me to her place any time I’m around her city she only lives 2 hours from Guadalajara what a beautiful drive from PV to Guadalajara Mexico, and the city of Guadalajara is also so beautiful, stayed at a hostel in Guadalajara to see if anyone wants to join me and help pay for the gas and tolls J they charged me $10.00 and I get to sleep in my van again this hostel even has a pool table. Now in Aguascalientes.
 
I am so grateful to my friend Terry B for inviting me to stay at  his luxury condo in Puerto Vallarta. What a great way to start my journey south to Panama City. I am zig zagging my way there because I am exploring all Mexico and Central America. I love travelling and the freedom that comes with it….Been on the road one month already and the experiences have been over the top….Learning tons!!!! 
 
Pete Montgomery the high end guy from TravelCheapWithPete.com always looking for deals for you....

I want to thank Joe again for stepping in and do the Blogging on our travels together from Calgary to Phoenix. I do agree with Joe that I am all over the map when it comes to putting a trip together. I’m all over the map for a reason, I love diversity. I get to experience firsthand  a wide variety  of  counties, cultures and sceneries  that I drive through. I enjoy the ride and watching the world unfold around me! Joe, on the other hand, loves to take pictures. He takes more pictures than anyone I know. Many times I had to quickly stop on busy freeways, narrow roads, and dangerous cliffs and do U turns for his picture. I courageously told Joe one day on our travels, that he does not see much and then takes a picture of it.  Joe went nuts. “No one has ever said anything to him before about that”, was his reply. After some deep soul searching by Joe, he did agree to slow down on the pictures and relax, experience more, see more of the scenery. During the trip, the camaraderie between Joe and I was priceless. We took shots at each other constantly, we never laughed so hard in my life!

 Anyone who wants to join me on my travels, look at my contact page. There you will find my phone #’s and email’s. I still can’t believe that I picked up a sim card in Vegas for $60.00/ month. Unlimited talk, text and 4 gigs of data that I can use  in Canada, Mexico and of course the US. Hey, maybe I should open up the first AT&T store in Canada and Mexico. I should send this great idea to the Dragons Den and Shark Tank and AT&T. We pay way too much in Canada - time for change.

Before I drove my Van into Mexico, I had to purchase Mexican auto insurance. I picked it up from Alan @ Motor Mexico for $254.00, active for six months. I have myself covered even though I may never go back home. Oh, I forgot my two daughters Crystal and Tiffany might read this blog…. Its okay girls, I will see you every summer and I know you would like to visit me where it is warm in winter. In addition to auto insurance, a vehicle permit is required at a cost of $268.00 US, returnable upon departing Mexico. As a final point, I paid about $140.00 US for highway tolls so far and I still have lots to see in Mexico.

 It has been expensive entering Mexico. It is a new country with different policies and standards, each requiring time, patience and $. I plan to save on food and living expenses I will make up for it I got a real nice place on airbnb my own room and bathroom for $20.00 US and the couple that own the house are from Calgary, check out their room on airbnb for my first couple of nights in Puerto Vallarta, my van will be my home for most of my travels, right now I am staying at a hostel where I have full use of everything but I will sleep in the van, it started off for free but the reception did not know that it was free so she charged me $7.00, I will fix that up later, I agree I should pay something say $5.00 a night,  I know everything will balance out for me, for sure!

c.c Dragons Den, Shark Tank and AT&T
 Blog from Pete Montgomery from Travel Cheap With Pete com

​Blog by Joe Forzani for “Travel Cheap With Pete
We drove Pete’s Dodge Van, “Old Faithful”[we named it after Yellowstone old geyser that has been going forever]. The most exciting part was actually driving through the desert. Driving keeps you alert and awake. Reno to Las Vegas was 7 hours.  We would argue and scrap as to who would drive, then never give up the captains seat once we got it. To get the seat one time, Pete even tried to bribe me with Melatonin pills, hoping I would surrender....Didn’t work, but he tried....lol. Driving through the desert was boring and tormenting, straight, very flat roads for miles on end, nothing to see but dried sage bushes and a couple ancient gas stations....Conversation topics between Pete and I included married life, divorce life, kids, food, the universe and philosophies of life....When Pete got into his philosophies, I fell asleep....We had a better understanding of each other for sure...

​We arrived in Las Vegas early evening. Pete had the idea to look for a hotel in Old Vegas[Freemont Street].Upon entering the busy area, traffic came to a halt  because of the thousands of costume parader’s strolling the narrow streets. Half Vegas was there, owning, walking/crossing the streets at will...Bedlam for anyone there, we were in the middle of a Brazilian Carnival... Still looking for a hotel after a couple frustrating hours,, we tried to stay calm and think our way through. And we did!...We drove to an out of the way hotel and pulled up Hotels.com for anything in Vegas...Up came a 4 star next to Hard Rock at a great rate....Wow, from dejection to elation in 20 minutes...After tidying up it was off to Hard Rock for some supper and more parade watching!...Halloween in Vegas is like nothing on earth. People who would normally be boring dressers wore extremely creative, colorful costumes with themes ranging from the wild sexy bodies to Little Red Riding Hood....Endless supplies of costumes stumbled by us, often in groups showing off their “I wanna be glitter”. We couldn’t get enough, never laughed so hard...Want to have real fun, Halloween in Vegas!

Next day, Pete suggested to eat where the locals eat, a couple blocks off the strip.  Ellis Island is the best deal in town. We had half a bbq chicken, rack ribs, corn on the cob, baked beans, cole slaw and corn bread, all for 12 bucks. And, 2 buck drinks with Monday night Football. We needed a wheel barrel to get us out of there. Definitely a guy thing.... lol .
A few miles outside Las Vegas heading south, lies a large Hotel/Outlet Mall called Primm, state line of Nevada and California.  The Outlet mall carries all the best higher end stores and the brand name labels can be addicting .I do recommend this outlet on your travels...Pete got all excited when we dropped into Whiskey Pete’s, he said they named it after him...lol. Once inside we found Bonnie and Clyde’s death car. Very interesting display of the bullet ridden car and documented history of the tragedy. The video and newspaper clippings depict a detailed version of the event  and included Clyde’s death shirt. Bonny and Clyde were Bank Robbers and committed  murders, yet movies created a powerful love story between the two...Drama, you make the call....Wow, to imagine the two of them were  actually in that car....​

Montana....Our goal first day was Billings Montana. We were 100 miles short at dusk so settled in a hotel in Lewistown. Saturday 9pm town was closed, everything shut down, except for a small Pizza Hut who let us in, finally. We ordered water and pizza and shock occurred when milky water arrived looking like it was taken from a slew out back and pizza hand cooked in a microwave. No sickness and in bed by 10 pm.... Next morning after toast and hard boiled eggs we drove through Billings and arrived in Bighorn National Park, home of Custer’s last stand. Large vast area of battle ground, the land is untouched since the battle in 1876. Maps and war video pointed us to the battle strategy and grave sites where 176 of Custer's 7th Calvary died. There is a fence around where Custer had his final moments along with his 20 or so men. Very memorable, certainly a turning point in Native lifestyle and the expansion of the Wild West. ​

Wyoming....Spent a beautiful day in Yellowstone National Park....Driving around the park we saw many highlights including large, amazing waterfalls dug deep into geologically colorful rock formations....The  Old Faithful Geyser showed us how delicate and complicated the earth crust is and left wondering how little control man has over its built up pressures....We drove the full circle of Yellowstone, past many narrow walking paths, beautiful fall October landscapes, herds of buffalo, elk, deer and coyotes....It was great to be alive and Pete stopped every 100 yds for one of my pictures. We then drove on to Pocatello Idaho for a well deserved nights rest...​

Utah...Early next morning drove to Logan Utah, home of Utah State University...90 miles north of Salt Lake City, Utah State was my home and football team for 4 years. I receiver a football scholarship and degree  there out of high school ,and grew up in so many ways...Pete and I visited my old dormitory and even chatted with the student now living in my old  room...He couldn’t believe I lived there 48 yrs ago...We visited the football stadium and took great pictures on the field...It was a beautiful, clear warm day and so were the memories...Utah State is a real power house in College academics and athletics today....After lunch in Logan, it was a long 7hr drive through  the long and vast Great Salt Lake  to Elko Nevada...​

Nevada....Next morning it was on the busy freeway again, driving cruise control 70 mph and passing multitudes of 18 wheelers....Nevada is total desert and straight highways, and needless to say we drank many coffee’s and munched on healthy veggies while chatting up stimulating conversations....We wouldn’t see a town or city for hours on end, but roads and the days were perfect so time flew by...Pete always gave me the long boring roads while he drove the scenic, curvy roads with little traffic...Driving became a great team game....It was on to Reno Nevada, the Biggest Little City in the World....Reno is also home to my first roommate at Utah State. We haven’t seen each other for many years, but finally connected and committed to visiting him...We chatted for hours, talking old times like it was yesterday...Willie and his girlfriend Toni were superb hosts, suggesting places to visit and cooking delicious meals....Willie was head of  Fish and Wildlife for the State of Nevada and did he have the stories...Can you believe there are 35,000 wild horses roaming the open lands of Nevada...They took us on a tour of the Reno countryside, visiting an old 1875 silver mining town, Virginia City. Saw legendary boot hill, Bucket of Blood Saloon and the original suicide table at the Delta Saloon where many a gambler lots thousands then  killed themselves...The old town is completely  renovated but the legends and stories pour out of it....Pete and I couldn’t get enough...From old history we drove to Beautiful Lake Tahoe...Set high in the mountains looking over Reno, Lake Tahoe is a clean, fresh clear lake surrounded by mountains and forest...Scenic views everywhere, and summer brings hikers, boaters and sun worshipers for around the globe...Absolutely pristine....​