Chiapas · Oaxaca · Guatemala
Places to explore.
Things to try.
Different ways to live.
Riverside camps, a house run on rainwater, and life in southern Mexico and Guatemala. First-hand stories and practical guides, sometimes with children along.
Hi, I’m Luke.
I came to Guatemala as a backpacker. Two decades later, I’m in Chiapas, raising a family and building our house.
You can start with our river near Tuxtla, our cenote outings, or what our house actually cost.
How I ended up here →Trips & stories
Rivers, cenotes & coastal camps
Places we’ve enjoyed in Chiapas and Oaxaca, with the details that help you decide where you’d like to go.
A day or a night by the water
Balneario Isla de María: our river escape near Tuxtla
A warm river over small cascades, 80 minutes from San Cristóbal. We’ve never seen it advertised by a tour agency.
Two cenote outings
Cenotes in Chiapas with children
Clear water, forested craters and a lakeside camp near Comitán and Montebello. What we’d return for, and the differences between them.
A longer coastal trip
Camping on the Oaxaca coast with two children
A reef with turtles, nights under fruit trees, and the campsite choices that made five days on the coast so relaxing.
Making something useful
The stove I built to keep families warm
The woodstove I designed for the cold Guatemalan highlands: it burned less firewood than the concrete stoves it replaced, and was built to keep the room warm too.
Read the stove story →Building in Mexico
Building a home from the ground up
Our self-managed build in the Chiapas highlands: the real costs, the decisions, and what I’d do differently.
Start here · the most practical guide
What It Costs to Build a House in Mexico
San Cristóbal, Chiapas · costs paid mostly 2024–26 + estimates
Plan with the figures from my self-managed house build in Chiapas: land paperwork, structure, finishes, water and the extras that are easy to miss. Paid costs and estimates are clearly separated.
Read the cost breakdown →What could a different life look like?
For me, it has meant a house that runs on rainwater, work with rural communities, a bilingual family, and trips that leave room to see what happens. Some of the best discoveries have been small and close to home.
Everyday life
Living on rainwater: what daily life is like
No mains water, so the house runs on rain: washing clothes in the river, a dry season that left the cistern 90% empty, and learning to live by the seasons.
Follow along
Get the next article by email.
For a taste, read our two cenote outings near Comitán and Montebello. I’ll email you when I publish another article.