Durango, Mexico

There has been much speculation in the last couple of years about whether it is still safe to go there. The only international traveling that I have done is to Mexico when I was young so I am not that experienced with traveling outside the U.S. But I plan to go and travel the world. I do not just want to go to countries that are very well know. Yes, we can travel anywhere we want in this world I think a good place to start is  going to the place your ancestors are from. Knowing where you come from is an important thing to know. If you do not know do some investigating, ask your parents and grandparents. My first trip out of the U.S was to my mother's home country Mexico in a state called Durango "the land of the scorpions".

 I was ten when I went there, but I can still remember it like it was yesterday. My family and I spent more then 24 hours together in car going through terrifying roads when we got to Mexico. We went on the scary highway "El Espinazo del Diablo" also known as the "Devil's Backbone". One of the scariest rides for me and I got car sick so I slept through most of the way.

A new attraction Durango has is the Baluarte Bridge that connects it to the coastal city of Mazatlán. This new bridge will take place of the old way of getting to Durango the“El Espinazo del Diablo”/ "Devil's Backbone". Driving through the Devil's backbone was a scary. I remember I was in the very back seat of a Tahoe closing my eyes at every curve eventually I just feel asleep. This new bridge will be part of the new highway they are building to cut down the hours from Mazatlán to Durango and to attract tourist. 
                                          Here is a picture of the bridge that was built this year. 

                                                          
                                                 Click me and see my creation.

 I went with my mother and siblings to visit family we have there. The part of Durango I went to wasn't the richest but it was full of culture. The cultural part of the trip was an interesting thing to see. Even though my parents tried to preserve their culture at home, being their was on a different level. Walking around the town I got to see horses everywhere, cows roaming around at night, mules and donkeys practically in every back yard. We rode quads all over town. When we crossed the river to get across to the other side of town we sat in the back of trucks. It was reckless but fun. It was exciting seeing a new country. When I got there I saw the huge difference in living styles they had their compared to the U.S. At first I did not want to eat certain foods there but I decided to be open minded. They had a lot of food stand out during the day and so much more at night it was amazing.One of the most exciting things I got to do was go on a five mile hike to visit the "aquas calientes" hot springs near the town. It was a mission getting there especially in the beginning because we had to get over a river that had a really strong current in our Tahoe. It was worth it though, there was such a beautiful scenery, I went on my first hike, and the hot springs were so relaxing. 

(This isn't the ones I went to its just a picture that resembled them the best)

The one place I visited that was full of Historical buildings and exciting people was the Plaza de Armas. I remember going in churches that were breath taking. They had food stands and ice cream stands  everywhere. People were going around everywhere trying to sell you things they hand made. There were so many people walking in and out of the plaza it was overwhelming so I sat on bench and just took it all in.       

                                     Plaza de Armas

Being at my mother's home country and seeing where she was born and raised was a good experience and it was something that I needed- i didn't know it then but I do now- to know where she comes from and why she is the way she is. So when considering traveling out of your home country consider starting where your family originated from. Even though Mexico isn't a underrepresented country it was a good place for me to begin my traveling experience.




If you would like to learn more about Durango, Mexico here is a link that talks about it. http://www.visitmexico.com/en/historic-center-of-durango-mexico

We all hear about the most well know places all over the world that people like to travel to and visit. Countries like Italy, France, Germany, ext. but what about all the other countries. Many countries have a lot to offer the world and we can learn from them but we are so focused on visiting all the well know countries that we don't even consider the rest. I know I am like that, and that is why I would like to explore overlooked countries. I have only been to one country outside of the U.S so I plan to go to more. Thus,  I will be looking at some countries that are underrepresented and research what they have to offer the world that we might not have know before. Hopefully it will give you an open mind to visiting places you might not have considered before.

To test your knowledge on how many countries you know here is a link to a website where you can take a quiz to see how many you know! http://www.jetpunk.com/quizzes/how-many-countries-can-you-name.php ...  As you name countries and if you are correct the countries turn green.

 

Do You Know Them all?

 

Here is some of our favorite childhood cartoons the Animaniacs singing all the countries of the world. Educate yourself and not dread it.