It was December 28, I think. No plans were yet made with my close-knit circle of friends in Austin to celebrate ringing in the New Year, and there was a little bit of buzzing about a house party… maybe Marfa/Big Bend. Camping – yes! I’m in. And then I get a phone call from one in the group – “Hey, what do you think about Monterrey?” And so we did it. 8 of us packed into 3 cars, stayed a night in Laredo, and hopped a Greyhound bus for Monterrey at 6am.

The weekend was more spectacular than I ever could have dreamed, and I’m still pinching myself at the time we had. We stayed at a wonderful little hostel in el Barrio Antigua, and walked everywhere we wanted to go. I took one camera – a new-to-me Canon AE-1, with a couple rolls of Portra800, and Ilford HP5 400 (b/w).