According to the newspaper of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the Gaceta UNAM, 3 Mexican students plan to cross Mexico, the United States, and Canada, cycling for 35 days and traveling 2.174 miles.
Their itinerary includes departing from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, crossing the border and travel through Texas, Lousiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York; once there, they will cross to Canada, arrive at the Niagara Falls and finish in Toronto.
The 3 students are Santiago Izeta Kelly, 23 years old, a student from the Faculty of Philosophy and Literature, Santiago Guzmán Pro, 24 years old, from the Faculty of Science, and Pablo Argüelles Cattori, 25 years old, student of philosophy who will be in charge of filming the journey of his friends traveling by car and waiting for them in the established points.
“The perception of otherness excluded Mexico from the American community and, personally, it was something that motivated me to want to know these people; however, we know that economically, socially, and culturally we share a lot of things,” commented Izeta Kelly in the university paper.
“For a journey such as this, in the time we want it to conclude, we must cycle approximately 87 miles per day (between 6 and 8 hours daily),” said Guzmán Pro.
“We want to convey a healthy and active lifestyle, as well as to reinforce the fraternal ties between Mexico, the United States and Canada,” added Izeta.
The uniform they will wear for their odyssey portrays the flags of the North American nations (Mexico, the U.S., and Canada.)
They also chose to include in the design the monarch butterfly, acting as a symbol of their journey and as a way to raise funds for the conservation and preservation of the species.
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