Yucatan Road Trip

Yucatan Road Trip

Written by Hunter Leavine

Photos by Mason Erwin

Videography by Ian Niklaus

WATCH OUR TRIP RECAP VIDEO

I didn’t get the chance to travel very much going up. Between financial constraints and sports commitments the extent of my globe trotting was about an eight hour radius around my home.

Like many of you, my childhood was however filled with listening to tales of adventure and outdoor exploration. My father would flip through old photos and tell me about duck hunting in Canada, chasing turkeys in New York (a trip that ultimately led to a Lyme Disease diagnosis), and near death experiences getting lost chasing trout in the Smokey Mountains. I loved those stories. I still do.

Traveling is about a lot more than the fish. Don’t get me wrong, the fish matter. I am up to five tattooed on my body and my home is filled with art and photos that almost exclusively have something to do with finned animals. 

But travel is also about getting outside of what we know. Our lives are filled with rhythms that repeat over and over like a song on repeat. Our songs aren’t bad. Many of our relationships, families, and things we love about our lives are a result of these rhythms and tunes.

But going somewhere new is like changing the station. Finding new songs to put on your life’s playlist. Learning about new cultures, enjoying new cuisines, pushing yourself to new limits, new lessons, and making new friends. 

Travel welcomes the "new."

My group's travel was a little…bumpy and resulted in a detour through Cancun rather than the planned route of flying into Tulum and taking a casual two and a half hour drive down to Xcalak.

That detour led to the world's most expensive margarita’s at Jimmy Buffett’s airport bar ($30 a pop), some street tacos in a small city that has probably never graced the pages of a travel magazine, a sighting of a Liger we almost hit going a conservative 70 mph down a jungle dirt road, and a lot of laughs throughout what was a seemingly never ending  rollercoaster of cortisol spikes.

By the time I laid down in my bed at Xcalak on the Fly, after eighteen plus hours of travel, I felt like we had accomplished something and was ready for an epic week of fishing…and an epic week it was.

If you looked at the board located in the bar area of the lodge it would have told you that we caught:

*A "Snapper Steal" is when you cast at a Permit and a small snapper eats your fly 

You would also see on an adjacent chalkboard that Chase Hancock and I lost to Blake and Joe in the cornhole championship due to miss timed margaritas. A mistake that WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN.

And while those are some great numbers to know, I do want to share a little more than what can be scribbled on a board. 

Our group consisted of ten Drifters and four guests from somewhere like Montana (or was it Utah? Anyway, they said they are going to “Rush Drifter” so maybe our paths will cross again and we can iron that out.)

Mike Free, who is new to fly fishing caught his first bonefish…then his second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh…you get the point. He caught a lot of bonefish. So many that he is now known amongst the Xcalak guides as “Bonefish Mike.”

Andrew Drapper, a five star recruit to the club out of Colorado,  managed to lose two nice Permit before most of us had even laid eyes on one. In the end he caught two (or was it three?) fish and chiseled his way into the Drifter Hall of Legends. He commemorated the trip with a fresh fly tattoo from a local “tattoo artist.” (Yes. I meant to use quotes there.)

Joe Espich, who had suffered a serious loss from a shark attack back in the Bahamas, finally scratched out his first bonefish, then landed his first permit, then secured his first (and last) victory against Chase and I in cornhole. (I’m not bitter or anything. It’s fine.)

WATCH JOE SNAG HIS PERMIT IN THIS ROUGH LOG

Rick, Randy, and Fearn (pronounced Fear-In), the self-proclaimed Three Musketeers, caught the first bonefish on my daughter's fly now known as “The Good Karma.” Randy also landed a permit in the world's brightest orange shirt that would have the entire roadworking community in bitter envy.

LEARN TO TIE THE GOOD KARMA HERE

Fearn and Chase set a new boat record of 27 beers in one day. They ran a two beer per hour pace and had impeccable  timing which allowed them to maintain complete focus on the bow of the boat. 

We played soccer with the kids which was an amazing way to better see the amazing community of Xcalak. During that game we also learned that Blake is what some would say “Surprisingly Athletic” (Their words not mine).

Not only is Blake a great soccer player, but he also is a great boatmate and allowed me to attempt a grand slam that resulted in me re-evaluating my relationship with tarpon and questioning whether I should give up fly-fishing altogether. Since Blake already landed a permit the day before he cheered me on most of the day and shared some great advice about life, business, and travel (If you are ever on a trip with Blake make sure to get on the boat with him).

XCALAK

The city of Xcalak is a sleepy, sun beaten town filled with beautiful colors, faded murals, fresh seafood, and lots and lots of mopeds. 

There are less than four hundred people in Xcalak and they all make their living in some form or fashion through the water. The pace of life is refreshingly slow, the food is amazingly fresh, and the guides along the coast are humble, hardworking, and humorous to be on the boat with.

CHECK OUT SOME SHOTS FROM AROUND TOWN

FOOD

If you know anything about Drifter you know we love food, almost as much as we love fish. We ate some incredible food throughout our trip. Here is a little “food porn” for all our hungry friends (Our club photographer Mason Erwin has a background in food photography).

LODGE

We loved the lodge. It was the perfect spot to enjoy morning coffee, afternoon cocktails, and late night shenanigans. In the mornings we were able to walk down the dock and easily hop on the skiff, chase hermit crabs around the beach, and smoke cigars on the private beach.

I can’t say enough about Chase Looney and his wonderful team at Xcalak. We couldn’t ask for a better trip or group of people to hang out with…and I know we haven’t released the official 2026 Drifter Schedule yet but I am pleased to say, WE ARE GOING BACK! Start tying your Raghead Crabs and saving your money now. 

LISTEN TO THE CAPTAINS COLLECTIVE PODCASTS RECORDED ON THIS TRIP

JOIN THE CLUB. FISH THE WORLD.