Our Budget-Friendly Solar Eclipse Journey From Canada to Mexico

Is this really real? Are we actually pursuing a celestial phenomenon, an astronomical story, is this the beginning of us becoming solar eclipse hunters? It is somewhat surreal. But here we are, and let me take you with us.

Victoria International Airport and West Jet

Victoria airport is always a breeze compared to the bigger International Airports! Security times were only 0-5 minutes. We sorted our liquids, gels and aerosols into the provided mini bags at a convenient counter and proceeded somewhat effortlessly through security. My film camera and camera lens were set aside and searched further with a swab. Notable purchase in the airport was a matcha-blueberry scone at the Fresh Cup. Pleasantly earthy and unsweet aside from the pink frosting lathered on top. A small breakfast with our coffee, but I wasn’t too hungry as I admit to be a covert nervous flyer.

I find it hard to differentiate from the excitement of blasting across a runway to reach take off speeds in the short distance we get. Even at the Victoria Airport where an unfortunate take off would only result in landing in a sheltered ocean bay where the Canadian Coast Guard base is located…it’s still nerve racking to think of this tube with flexible wings lifting off by the laws of energy. But what laws have bound the maintenance and overall disintegration of material over-time? This old plane has worked out it’s kinks over the years surely, so there is some reassurance there – but enough of the worry, let’s get to flying.

Flying Closer to the Sun

We’ve reached altitude and our 5 hour journey to Puerto Vallarta starts it’s count down. Some mild turbulence through the troposphere only bothered me a bit. I’m curious to know how the sun is affecting the ionosphere right now. On the last night in our quiet town the skies opened to reveal beautiful twinkling stars, flashing blues and reds, the distance light getting distorted from our atmosphere, our atmosphere distorted from the sun. The Sun is why we are flying to Puerto Vallarta. And not just to lie on the beach basking in it’s rays, but to watch it get covered up by the moon, for the April 8^th 2024 Solar Eclipse.

I’ve been hyper aware over the last few months of the suns activity, creating radio disturbances with coronal mass ejections and solar wind. I’m slightly hoping it continues to react as it nears peak activity in it’s 25^th solar cycle so we may be able to witness a beautiful display of the suns million degree Kelvin Corona during the solar eclipse. But we first have to pray for clear skies. The weather is a gamble on any trip, but this one is especially high risk. Although we’ve fully accepted the fact that we may only see the darkening of the clouds and Earth around us, i’d really hope to satiate my curiosity of the sun’s permissions. It’s fierce characteristics on display for our shaded eyeballs. How cool would that be?

Currently the forecast is partly cloudy in Mazatlán, our final destination for eclipse viewing, but hopefully the climate in Mexico blows a blessing over us.

Our Itinerary

We have nearly everything booked for our trip already, busses included. Our rough itinerary is this:

Victoria – Puerto Vallarta

~sleep~

Puerto Vallarta – Tepic – Mazatlán (5 hour bus ride)

~camping at festival for 2 nights and one night of hotel in Mazatlán~

Mazatlán – Puerto Vallarta – Sayulita

~Sayulita for 4 nights~

Sayulita – Puerto Vallarta – Victoria

Lots of long travel days on this trip. But we come bearing the shirts on our backs, our underwear’s and bathing suit, a tent and an adventurous attitude. Our baggage is small and manageable for our lengthy rides and I’m happy about the amount of time I get to write and read. Rare to come by these days. But still some evenings on the beach in Sayulita will be well appreciated, slow days and care-free nights. I’m fully ready to feel the culture shift of Mexico from Canada.

Puerto Vallarta

The first night we will be staying at a chain hotel, the Holiday Inn Express, located a convenient 5 minute walk from the airport. My first ever purchase using air mile points after many years of accumulation. Very stoked about actually getting around to utilizing some rewards points. The process was somewhat difficult, and downloading the air miles app was required to actually make the purchase. Puerto Vallarta became exceptionally expensive for us in our quick visit but we enjoyed ourselves non the less. Even pricier cocktails than in Canada with our current 1 CAD to 12 MEX rate.

Mazatlán and the Portal Festival

We will be taking a bus early in the morning to Mazatlán, with a quick transfer in Tepic, arriving around 2 pm. The booking was made using BusBud. Super easy and convenient for my English speaking self and I highly recommend it to anyone seeking a cheaper way to travel. My partner, having taken some Spanish classes in high school will be navigating most of our conversant adventures.

When we arrive in Mazatlán we will be seeking out some water and food for a small camping expedition at a festival, the Portal Festival just outside Mazatlán. Information on amenities was heavily lacking so we think it’s best to come prepared in case we don’t have access to the basics, which i’m doubtful of but better safe than sorry. Sporting only our wool military style blanket and a small tent without tent pegs as they’re deemed unsafe for a carry-on bag in air travel. We are used to camping so i’m hoping this won’t be too difficult for us. We actually camped outside the Victoria airport this morning even, in a secluded spot frequented by other urban campers. Only awoken in the wee early hours of the morning by a plane taking off. Somewhat romantic for us nomad types.

Sayulita

After the solar eclipse we return to Mazatlán for a night in an oceanfront hotel. Then a bus ride early in the morning taking us back to Puerto Vallarta where we board a local bus to Sayulita, called the compostela. This is one of my favourite memories from the last time I visited Sayulita. The compostela was crowded and hot, hopping curbs and dumping pot-holes, whipping around corners and speeding down the highway with expert precision. At only 30 pesos to ride, it’s a pretty fun time. We’ve got a private room at the Hostel La Rhonda. For 4 nights of bliss after long travel days and astronomical events.

Solar Eclipse Seeking Woes

I’m really looking forward to this trip, even if the clouds do us dirty on the 8^th for the eclipse, I’m sure the sun will shine on us some days and the warm weather wash away the remainder of our winter blues. Stay tuned for a recap on the eclipse, the festival, and our trip to Sayulita.