Help me plan an "escape from the city" vacation

April 25, 2007 5:01 PM

Help me plan an "escape from the city" vacation

I was born and raised in NYC and it is where I live now. I love this city and I will probably never leave it for good but every now and then I really need to get out of it and take in wide open spaces. It is not only great for a change of perspective but for me its necessary for the spirit.

What I have been really craving in my mind is doing something like going and staying on a ranch somewhere for a week or two and taking in serene surroundings, slowing down my city sense of time. Though in a way I know I probably romanticize this idea somewhat.

It stems from when I visited a friend in Albequerque, NM and we drove the road from Alb. to Santa Fe. For anyone who knows this landscape you will know what I mean.. theres something spiritually magical about it in a way I can't articulate..the land is somehow just... enchanted... if you will.. anyway it is the image I have in my mind.

So now i'm thinking something like Mexico or Central America somewhere but I have no idea what I want exactly. I've always wanted to see the landscapes of Mexico from those Carlos Castaneda books I read as a teenager.

Well I think i've by now very verbosely introduced my question which is .. can anyone recommend some kind of road trip / experience / idea that would scratch this itch?

posted by postergeist to Where to go? (4 comments total)

Well, what kind of landscapes exactly are you looking for. Being from Mexico, I know that what you want, you can definetly find here, since there's all kinds of land and lots of regions/states to choose from, depending on if you want to visit deserts, forrests, tropical rainforests, beaches, beaches on tropical land, beaches on desertic land, etc etc. Also, I'm sure there's "hacienda" or ranch-like places to stay nearly everywhere.

So, if you could just be more specific...?
posted by CrazyLemonade at 6:41 PM on April 25

I'm less interested in forests though tropical beaches are always nice. It would be nice to take that in plus the type of landscape I described in new mexico. A road trip through interesting towns and places mixed in with natural surroundings, swimming holes and places not so far off the beaten track that you can't meet people and other travelers.

Is that still too vague? I'm being less descriptive than you would hope because I don't know myself what I want.. I am very open to suggestions. My one biggest criteria is to slow down time and get the spirit soaking up the serentiy of natural landscapes.
posted by postergeist at 7:34 PM on April 25

Ok then I think that waht you need is to plan a road trip along the (kinda) center of Mexico. I strongly recommend you vist cities like Zacatecas, San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato. And then probably continue on down and go visit Cuernavaca, called the city of eternal spring. Personally, I only know the first three cities, and the road trip part has nice scenery, and the cities are pretty cool if you like the oldie, colonial feel.

It's probably wise to get one of those Lonely Planet books and really plan your trip, cause even if these are lovely places, you don't really want to get lost in Mexican highways and lost towns. Also, you can check out the types of places you want to sleep in, so you don't end up in the local Holiday Inn, I'm sure some books have tips on where to stay for that nice rustic Mexican feeling.

My email's on my profile, if you want I can help you with the planning process, once you start checking things out. But get a book first! I don't know which one he had (a big purple-ish one?) but a friend's brother took a couple of Europeans on a road trip through Mexico guided by that book. I'll ask him tomorrow.
posted by CrazyLemonade at 8:44 PM on April 25

oh yeah, also....hehe, I could totally house-sit your NYC place for you while you're here. It's my dream to go back to New York. (Went there in 1994)
posted by CrazyLemonade at 8:47 PM on April 25