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Years
ago we used the travel/camping guides to Mexico and Central America
written by Cliff Cross who included numerous thumbnail photos,
often showing his Alaska Camper, of everywhere he traveled accompanied
by Not To Scale Maps of all the main towns and many out
of the way hidden paradises for which Mexico is justly famous.
His cartography included almost all the local services you might
need from water and ice to free camping spots beyond everyone
else and much practical advice for touring Mexico prior to The
Peoples Guide to Mexico in 1972.
Often in a crazed moment of traffic, looking for an ice house
that moved six months ago we would exclaim: "Oh, damn that Criss
Cross and his Criss Crossed Guide to Mexico!" While on a
tour to Oaxaca and back by VW van in 1987-88 I discussed the idea
with other enthusiasts of the "Cliff-Cross" school of travel and
we lamented that an updated version didn't exist, and we agreed
that it was too large a job to keep up to date in any event.
Years later......enter the internet, and now I would like to re-invent
the concept as crissXcross Mexico, featuring a 'Vintage Postal
Card' thumbnail postcard viewpoint, juxtaposed with current
views as I get around to assembling them, though I will never
cover the miles that Cliff did.
Of course, I'll also feature my favorite links to other Mexico
sites.
Here is an excerpt from a Carl Franz email:
....well,
you must be the first fellow Chris Cross fan I've met in the
past 20 years. I used to have his books, but lost them
along the way somewhere. I still search for them in used
bookstores, but no luck so far. He was a pioneer in self-publishing,
cranky as hell but very creative. A friend asked us to
say hello to Cross when we were both camped near Barra de Navidad.
But... when he suggested the meeting to Cross, he replied, "I
don't want to meet any fucking hippies!" End of story,
but not of my admiration for his work.
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