Favorite guidebook
Looking at this image of The People’s Guide to Mexico makes me happy. In 1994 my then boyfriend Andy, (now husband) and I drove a pop-top camper from Seattle, Washington to Cabo San Lucas, Baja, Mexico, on what was to be a one month road trip that turned into three. Before we left, Andy’s uncle gave us his well loved copy of this Carl Franz classic. Years later we happily passed along the book to a friend who needed it. The photo you are seeing here is a newer version picked up at a neighbor’s garage sale just recently.
This book is more than a guidebook to Mexico, it is a guide to ingenuity. Need to wash your clothes on the road? No problem! Carl Franz instructs to put your clothes in a large sealed container, fill it with water and a bit of soap, strap the contraption on top of your car and start driving. That is the “wash cycle.” To rinse your clothes simply empty the container, refill with clean water and start driving for the “rinse cycle.” Brilliant! We opted to wear dirty-ish clothes and to find the occasional laundry mat instead of try that trick but 20 plus years later and I still recall that advice.
I also attribute learning to cook on that trip. I had the time and Carl Franz provided advice as well as some recipes. Garlic soup anyone? Best mosquito repellent out there. The book is full of recipes with the tip that “cookbooks and recipes are like sex manuals; they can only provide you with directions, you do what feels right to make them work.” (Hey, this is really not your average guidebook!)
In the day when guidebooks have become dry and corporate, in the People’s Guide you get to know about the author, Carl Franz and his wife. You feel a part of their tribe and wish you could meet them on the road and join them for part of the ride.
Anyone else have a love affair with a guidebook? Is there one that changed your life as well? Let me know in the comments.
At Wanderlust Society we are trying to get past the generic, no-personality guidebooks of today. Carl Franz not your jam? No worries, fancy hotel travel and wine tasting will be right at home in Wanderlust Society as well. Instead of having one guidebook, our long term vision is to provide an endless amount, all tailored just for you.
