Mexico Mainland ....
Friday 10th June 2005
Tepanatepec to Juchitan 68.15 miles
Going the Extra Mile (or ten!)
Summary:Pretty flat by our recent standards. We are crossing the Isthmus which is the narrowest part of Mexico, between the Pacific and Atlantic coasts (only 210km) and the land is never higher than 250m.Not as hot as we thought and the drivers have been curteous allday. Nice day.
Hotel Victoria $13
Lunch $9
Ice at Pemex, normally $12, charged $20, paid $15
After a bad start to the day having to haggle with a Pemex petrol attendant about the price of ice (which we buy everyday fromPemex) I started to think Mexico was going to be a little like Peru. Peru is the only other country where we often had to questionprices. I did get overcharged by an old lady in Antigua but that was my fault and on the whole people were extremely honest in Guatemala, not even wanting to keep the change Looking back to yesterday though, it seemed like everyone in Tepanatepec was adding a few pesos to all the prices. I have been reprimanded a few times about this when I have complained to friends. After all, what is a few pesos to us? But why should it be one particular area that inflates its prices when others are much fairer. Especially when it is for drinks or food sold at a national petrol station. There I would definitely hope to pay the right price, not line the attendants pockets on his whim. Maybe I'm wrong (and stingey!)
Still, the day got a lot better. We had left late to give Ben chance to get lots of rest and try to recuperate some energy. And we were caning across the flat plains which made the cycling much easier.
We stopped for about two hours at midday. I had a huge fish which I ended up sharing with two noisy cats, and we watched the overheating lorries go by. A family turned up to eat at the same restaurant and although they were very polite to us, the father kept whistling at the waitress to get her attention. This happens a lot in Central America, especially in the more macho countries. As the men cannot whistle properly, it ends up like a sort of hissing which to me sounds pretty derogatory.
After the restaurant, there was another military checkpoint and we were flagged over to stop. It turned out to be just an excuse for the army to chat to us about the bike. Ben was being very curteous in answering their questions and even told them the roads in Mexico were in excellent condition. This last comment was a bit much but there again, there were seven machine guns pointed indirectly at us. Some of the soldiers looked like trigger happy youngsters so it was probably just as well to be nice.
We left again under a cloudy sky and with a strong cross-breeze which meant we kept cool. We are going to think about stopping for longer at midday and then cycling later into the afternoon for the next few days as it makes such a huge difference in the temperature. Although, today, we were still cycling at 8pm, which wasn't exactly what we had had in mind. We stopped once for a stone throwing competition, our tactics for breaking up the boredom a little on this particular stretch of road, and then finally arrived at La Ventosa crossroads, expecting a nice little hotel on the road.
But the police merrily informed us that we would have to do another 16km to find somewhere to stay in Juchitan. It is quite amazing to think that even when you think you have done your last mile for the day, a quick slurp of sugary orange drink and a promise of a cold shower, and from somewhere you can summon the energy to continue another 10 miles.
Before we left, the police - who were extra friendly - told us about a "Dalai Lama" on horseback travelling to Guatemala. What a shame we didn't cross that character. The police were not onlyfriendly but exceptionally accurate and even though we just made it before nightfall, every piece of information they gave us on the road, mileage and wind direction was entirely true. As a little bonus, we saw the funniest birds so far of the trip. We have seen a lot with beautiful striking colours in Mexico but these were very slim ducks, balancing on a fence, which had huge pink cartoon-like feet. They looked like they were straight out of Creature Comforts!
Saturday 11th June 2005
Juchitan to Jolapa 36.56 miles
Trashy Window Shopping
Summary:Dead flat and straight road to Tehuantepec but a vicious cross wind kept us at a slow pace
Room $12!
Probably one of our latest starts ever, we pedalled out of Juchitan at almost 11am. The wind did its best to push us off all morning and after only a short distance, I was wiped out once we arrived at Tehuantepec (only 15 miles).
We made our own food at a Pemex station. I was a more nervous than Ben about using our old Bolivian water heater for the noodles. Every time we plug it in, there is at least a little spark and to think the power source was on top of gallons of petrol. But thankfully, we didn’t blow anything up!
One of the workers came over and, assuming we couldn't speak Spanish, started formulating a conversation using hand signals and mime. It was impossible to know what he was trying to say. This happens quite a lot and eventually we put him out of his misery by replying in Castillano. I often wonder how far we would get if we tried to join in the puppet show, instead of talking. We will probably find out in China where sign language may be our only form of communication.
On the road to Jolapa we invented a new game of Roadside Trash Window Shopping. Since it is so long that I have been on a shopping trip, I decided to do some window shopping amongst the huge amount of rubbish Mexicans throw away along the road. There were all sorts of treasures: a beheaded doll, a pile of deflated pineapples, numerous CDs, numerous shoes (some in pairs), a pair of boots (not cowboy), a hat (cowboy), a toilet, half a hammock, combs and hair accessories and plenty of baseball hats. These baseball caps had obviously been swept off the heads of people riding shot gun in the back of pickups. Anyway, there was enough junk and rubbish to pass the time. Then we got a glimpse of the Presa Benito Juarez, a vividly blue lake just beyond the village of Jolapa.
Inspite of having quite a beautiful natural resource on their doorstep, the people of Jolapa and the town itself are very peculiar. At a supermarket on the road, the shopkeeper told us there was nowhere to stay in the village, even though his next door neighbour had a boarding house. About two dozen armed police patrolled the village centre, staring unnervingly at everyone. We learnt it was due to election results that didn't please everyone but found it hard to believe such a tiny place could need so much security. Finally, women selling tortillas at the small market would all start talking to you at once as you passed by, telling you to buy them. Once you were a few footsteps away, they would all go silent. And if you turned back, they would all do the same as if they were electronically activated. We had a little bit of fun messing about going backwards and forwards to wind them up but aside from being funny, it was also quite an eery feeling.
The woman at the hostel made us laugh telling us the price of a room at 18 dollars. We negotiated but we would never have stayed there if we didn't need a good night's sleep and a full water supply ready for the climb the following day. We filtered water from our pump which is a truly ingenious piece of equipment that we have never used. I set a precedent at 2 minutes to fill a water bottle. And after cooking we went to sleep in the weird little village where the hostal lady tried to make ends meet for her little girl and the neighbours next door parked their brand new Chevy Trailblazer outside.
Sunday 12th June 2005
Jolapa to El Coyul 40.69 miles
What is it About Oaxaca?
Summary:Hot hills. Ended the day at 750m.
Drinks $6!
Sandwiches $1
We made an early start with the woman from the hostal trying to sell us badly-painted ceramic dolls from the region. Not the most practical souvenirs to carry on a bike. We stopped for coconuts and realised there would probably be enough villages along the way after all. Had we known that we wouldn't have stayed in our least favourite place after all.
I think we saw two sides to Mexicans and Mexico today. We saw the side that watches you come sweating up a hill in the midday heat and still tries to charge you three times as much for a can of juice. Needless to say we went to the shop next door who were more than honest. And then the side of Mexico where the whole village is courteous and offers its municipal grounds for you to camp. And a very drunk guardian wants to make you a cup of tea. It is difficult to make up your mind about Mexico on days like today.
Monday 13th June 2005
El Coyul to Totolapan 48.88 miles
How Many Hummers?
Summary:Pretty tough. Recahed 1250m twice but still finished the day at about 950m. Drivers still courteous though.
Room $7
Breakfast $10 (4l water, juice coffe, ham,eggs and beans)
After microwaving ourselves all night in the tent, we were hungry in the morning. Two little boys who we had met the night before, Kevin and Jonathan, had been such expert salesmen, promoting their aunt's restaurant that we went to eat there. And it did set us up for the day. Lots of energy-rich stodge!
On the road about 50 hummers passed us. There were also military fuel vehicles and lorries stacked with soldiers, either asleep or with lollipops. It looked like about 200million dollars of military transportation. Quite an incredible sight, especially for a relatively poor country. A farmer at a busstop shared ourview and mumbled that they were Canyon Soldiers, not really protecting anything except open space. The farmer gave us a bag of delicious mangoes to eat. A very generous gesture when you still have a long way to go.
If the heat doesn't tire you in Mexico (it reached 50 degrees today), then the mountains will. If neither the heat nor the mountains tire you then the heat AND the mountains will.
By afternoon, we stopped at a busstop for some shade and I noticed an elderly couple arguing opposite. I commented to Ben that we would be like them in forty years but it was actually only 40 minutes before we were in the middle of our biggest argument ever. And it was all over the very sensitive subject of who would put the buns back in the top case. Not very mature! In the end I hit Ben on the arm and he threw two of the buns into the bushes and we cycled off in silence, both as angry as could be. We did do our best pedalling yet. We were so efficient in our stubborness. But it was the loneliest miles we have ever cycled.
Tuesday 14th June 2005
Totolapan to Mitla 27.22 miles
A Sad News Day
Summary:Uphill pretty much all day to 1850m, then finally down into the valley at 1600m. Windy afternoon.
Hotel Zacoteca $18
Ruins $5
Pizza $10
We woke up with three hens nestled at the bottom of our bed this morning. They kept trying to move then falling back to sleep again. We had found a room to stay in after being offered a bare floor at the gas station and an airy colonial balcony at the town hall. So much choice. It turned out to be our coolest night for a longtime but as I had left the door wide open, the hens had decided to join us in the morning.
All morning we crawled slowly up and over the next valley. It was hot, hard work with pretty butterflies and green and blue lizards for company, although they don't tend to hang around long on the side of the road once they see us struggling past. But sure enough, we did eventually reach the valley of Oaxaca and our first call was Matatlan, the world capital of Mezcal. It looked like a ghost town, save for shop upon shop selling the agave based alcohol. I hadn't realised that tequilla is a form of mezcal and not the other way around. Unfortunately, as we were on a cycling day, and as we are always the true professionals, we weren't really allowed to do any tasting. But the pungent smell of cactus distilling was enough to put us off. I thought it would be funny to set up a Scottish whisky stall amongst all the tequila to see how well it would fair and give the place a bit of variety.
We pressed on to visit the mosaic ruins at Mitla and found them to be interesting with ornate decorations around the stonework and a series of underground tombs, decorated just as well. We saw our first fellow tourists since San Cristobal and we even found the only one of two hotels to be reasonably priced and very comfortable. My favourite part of the day was disco Jesus at the back of the church, flashing away in all his disco finery.
We received some sad news in the evening that Ben's grandmother had died. I had always imagined being sat in her kitchen with maps, photos and endless stories of this tandem journey so it was very sad to hear that she had passed away. I had been daydreaming about Meme only that morning on the bike too. A very sad little day.
Wednesday 15th June 2005
Mitla to Oaxaca 29.35 miles
The Tree
Summary:Easy-peasy road. Cloudy and even a little rain. Very fast.
Magic Hostal $12
Entrance to the tree $0.50
Beer $2
In the small valley of Santa Ana, El Tule is a 2000 year old cypress tree. It could infact be as old as 3000 ... but noone knows? At first the tree looks like several roots all massed together but it is infact one huge giant entire trunk. But its trunk is as round as it is tall and the bark is withered and wrinkly just as the surface of a distinguished, elderly tree would be. Trying to take a photo of it is the best way to appreciate its immense diameter and understand the size of it. Some parts of the tree are so gnarled that you can see endless shapes in the wood: elephants, faces ...
But the tree is positively flourishing. Every branch leans out into slender leaves and flowers and many many tiny birds live within its protective body, making the tree feel very much alive. It is a tree that has seen more things than any other living thing on earth. The Arbol de Tule is quite a humbling tree to visit; impressive in its size and dominance over the town square and yet still majestic and peaceful, safe and protective. It would certainly make a lot of nice coffee tables too!
Thursday 16th June 2005
Oaxaca
Rest Day in Oaxaca
Summary:no pedalling
Magic Hostal$12
Michelin tubeless tyres $50
Ice lollies $1
This was one of my favourite stops. Firstly, last night I managed to persuade Ben to buy me a beer so we went out at 10.30pm and listened to cheesy rave music in a little bar. I also liked the hostal that we eventually chose to stay at. Oaxaca is a very "walkable" city and for once Igot everything done that I was supposed to: full washing, cleaning my camelback, mending socks, mending punctures, filtering water, emails etc. Ben even put the photos on the website with very little stress and no powercuts!
We bought a Michelin tubeless tyre to try a little further down the road. Ben is convinced it will be the answer to our rubber concerns.
We had a long lie-in, cooked all our food and even fitted in a visit to the Santo Domingo church, breathtaking in all its ridiculous decadence. But my big triumph of the day was gently pushing Ben into an old traditional barbers shop and with a few winks, a flourish of a cotton cape and several scissor snips, three months of scruffy hair and beard were shorn. Hooray!
It seemed like the Mexican barber was trying to do a bit of a bouffant at the front at first. Given half a chance he probably would've left the tache intact. But I insisted on Gringo cut and he reluctantly cut it all off. Talk about taking ten years off someone's age. It looked like I was walking round with a toyboy for the rest of the afternoon. So all in all, a successful day and I even phoned home and got to speak to my parents once they got back from yoga class. Yoga class! And they accuse us of being hippies!!
Friday 17th June 2005
Oaxaca to Nuchixtla 49.26 miles
La Autopista
Summary:HWY 135. Inspite of hills, the morning was fairly fast and easy but the PM was more tricky, swingning between 1900m and 2100m all afternoon. Hardly any traffic. Toll road but still not in great condition.
Hotel Central $10
Chicken dinner $3.50
I was a little apprehensive about taking the motorway today but Ben was so convinced, I agreed to go for it. Two cyclists, Anne and Ricardo, that we met way back in Costa Rica had told us to take the toll roads in Mexico, rather than the small federal roads and that piece of advice has always stuck in our minds. In the end, there was hardly any traffic because of the toll so it is good for heads down, feet to the pedals cycling. There are very few distractions. The only people we saw were a man and grandson herding goats with stones in plastic bottles and a handful of people selling colourful painted childrens toy lorries. There was also a man from the press who had broken down. He had on an "authorised marijuana smoker" t-shirt and got rescued by a British and American Tobacco van so hisluck must have been in.
It is quite tricky to get off the road but we had plenty of food and water and once we arrived at Nuchixtla at 5pm, we hadn't spent a peso all day. I was very happy with the day but strangely enough, I had a numb feeling through most of it. Never hungry or thirsty, nor hot nor cold. I never got tired or needed to pee particularly urgently. I just seemed to pedal. Let's hope tomorrow is the same!
Saturday 18th June 2005
Nuchixtla to Toll No. 77 66.95 miles
Dukes of Haphazard
Summary:Much of the same rollercoaster hills. Then from La Union, a fast downhill through canyon valleys and hills with cactus stubble, like a vast cactus beard growing across the landscape. Highest point 2400m. Lowest 1250m.
Water $3
Tacos $5
As soon as we got back on the highway this morning, the first car to pass us on the other side of the road was a cop car. Ben gave him a polite "just out for a Saturday morning ride on the motorway," wave. I discretely checked he didn't radio anyone, put his blue light on the roof and turn round or worse still, load his shotgun and chase after us.
We kept going, half expecting a big Gumball-style roadblock up ahead and a big show down with the police. But nothing so exciting happened. Infact, inspite of all the no cycling signs, the police don't seem bothered at all that we are there. The day continued without event until just after lunch when we stopped a couple of times, scrabbled about round the bike and finally discovered that my bearing in my bottom bracket had worked itself loose. Its not something we can fix on the road, but Ben had seen a good axle in Oaxaca and hestitated to buy it, although at the time, the bottom bracket wasn't creaking like it was now. We will have to ignore it, under the guise of monitoring it, for a couple of miles and decide where to replace it.
At a petrol station, a busload of retired tourists cooed at us and the bike. We were told it was 56km downhill to San Gabriel Chilac so we started to push for home. The downhill was stunning and very fast with the wind doing ittts best to push us off, again.
By the time we thought we had arrived at Chilac, we had developed a puncture and a man told us we were still 15km from anywhere to stay. Often our map gives us a city symbol but when we arrive, the location is nothing more than a couple of houses and a cow. We had arrived at the motorway tolls where there were restaurants, cafes and bathrooms, so I volunteered to ask the motorway people if we could camp on a basketball court opposite. After two quite positive gentlemen seemed to think it would be ok, the man with the final say added some complication about 24 hour close-circuit TV cameras and said we couldn't camp. He did offer to drive us and the puncture to Tehuacan in his pickup and we almost succumbed to his kind offer but we quickly remembered we wanted to pedal all of Mexico. Even a short lift would ruin our aim.
So we said thankyou and turned round and asked to camp in front of the first little café we came to with a friendly girl called Fatima and her brother. She made us a dozen tacos and we chatted about schools, military service and then Ben and I went to sleep. In the tent it was not too hot, although we had dropped down to 1300m and neither was there a great deal of cars passing on the motorway. All in all a good spot, although at home, I wouldn't even dream of sleeping on the motorway!
Sunday 19th June 2005
Toll No. 77 to Tehuacan 20.52 miles
Shopping List: 1 Splined Bottom Bracket
Summary:slowly climbing road to Tehuacan at 1750m. Mexico 1 Brasil 0.
Second-hand bottom bracket $30
Suncream $4
Groceries at Wal-Mart $12
Auto hotel $12
When travelling, sometimes the strangest things can appear quite beautiful. Like the sun rising bright red in the morning sky above the mountains behind our tent and the highway 135. Inspite of the cactus, the lorries and the metal fences, it was very pretty to wake up to.
We had decided overnight to get the bottom bracket replaced, either by going back to Oaxaca by bus, or by trying our luck in Tehuacan or Puebla. Cycling to the small city of Tehuacan proved this would be the right thing to do as my cranks creaked and moaned all the way there and there was a grinding vibration with every rotation. For one short moment we thought we might get a police escort when a coppulled up alongside us, but he just waved and drove off.
Buried in the valley, Tehuacan appears to be smaller than it actually is. We stopped at the first bike shops we saw. Even though it was Sunday, the rule tends to be that if there is a door, knock on it anyway. We did this and were gradually directed via other bike shops to the centre. In the centre, shops were open but the bikes were more of the Barbie and Sponge Bob variety. The owners though were again very helpful and gave us the address of a shop selling imported parts and international brands just outside the centre. While I waited outside with the bike, a lady at a juice stand told me she liked our motorbike. I told her it was a double bicycle and she said: "well, I still like it."
Total Cycles was closed but by chance some neighbours appeared and told us where Karim, the owner, lived. Another neighbour escorted us there and we asked, rather cheekily, if we could come back once Karim got back from his own bike ride, to see if he had the part. After eating and phoning home, when Karim got back, we were waiting on his porch with his Mum and the tandem. Luckily Karim was extremely helpful and generous (always worth knocking even on Sundays!) and he took a month-old splined bottom bracket off a Gary Fisher bike, to sell to us. All through the whole episode of getting closer to finding the part, Ben was beaming and enjoying the challenge no end. He was so happy that later he didn't seem to mind that I had spent nearly $20 in Wal-Mart. I am still a supermarket junkie. A very nice but slightly crazy lady joined us at the bike shop and kept taking photos of us to show to her husband who does some cycling, also on a yellow bike! Sometimes you have to work with people a bit.
We also took some photos with Karim, thanked him profusely and then set off to get some rest. It was really good to know we didn't have to traipse across Mexico in search of a new part and we could continue without needing a rescue vehicle.
We stayed at a semi-seedy auto-hotel. It was a little weird as there was a huge tarpaulin to pull across each room's private parking space. Presumably this is to hide your antics (and your car) from any prying eyes if you are up to no good but we obviously weren't so our tandem looked quite funny parked in its own space. At first I wasn't sure we wanted to stay there but the girl took 50 pesos off straight away and it was very quiet so we got to cuddle up and watch the Mexico v. Brasil football match.
Monday 20th June 2005
Tehuacan to Tepeaca 52 miles
The Call of Tarzan
Summary:very slight hill all the way as you climb the valley. Much more traffic than the autopista and very narrow.
Colonial Hotel $6 - excellent value, 3 double beds, TV, bathroom
Mega tacos $7.50
Back on the busy federal roads, we passed livestock markets, busy towns and more petrol stations than anywhere. The day's cycling gave me the chance to think about some generalities of Mexico:
*Churches and Zocalos - even the smallest villages seem to have a beautiful ornate church and a pretty plaza.
*The one thing you can buy everywhere in Mexico is a boyracer exhaust pipe.
*Every man has to wear a cowboy hat. A moustache is optional but recommended.
*People ride strange hybrid road bikes with huge wheels, which at first glance look way too tall for the average Mexican.
*"Topes" are everywhere. Speed bumps on the road with varying degrees of ferocity, often homemade by the villagers but always designed to wreck your vehicle
*Because the road network is massive, maintenance is a vast job and the roads have been some of the worst we have ridden, both toll roads and federal.
*Mexico has the first female police and prison officers that we have seen since Argentinian traffic cops.
*Beeping your horn means nothing more than "look at this crazy stunt I'm about to pull."
One thing that did make us laugh today was a tarzan car horn. We hear a lot of fake police sirens and wolf whistle horns but the tarzan jungle call is by far the best.
Tepeaca is highlighted yellow on our map as a place of interest and we wondered why, until we found it is the home of Nino Doctor. It is a little effigy of baby Jesus, surrounded by flowers in the city church, which is thought to have healing powers and attracts a constant stream of devotees. A family were saying their prayers to Nino Doctor and the mother waved the flowers over her two children before offering them to the little child doctor. I asked quietly if it could cure Ben of his flatulence. All manner of souvenirs were on sale of the child doctor. Quite a strange sight. So far Tepeaca wins our award for best tacos and best internet connection in Mexico and most original religious attraction.
Tuesday 21st June 2005
Tepeaca to Atlixco 54.3 miles
When is a Pyramid not a Pyramid?
Summary:Awful roads. Looks like they are widening in places but currently having a break from the work. Rubbish surface, dangerous, busy and signs led to nowhere. Impossible to navigate without asking a dozen times. Nowhere to stop to pee. A huge sign for Cholula leads straight to a rubbish tip! Sort it out, Mexico!
Hotel $8
Tripe meal at market $7.50! Yuk! Back to cooking ourselves ...
Today was not our favourite day in Mexico. We seemed to spend most of it asking for directions, trying to squeeze along the narrow federal road to Puebla and trying not to get knocked off the same road by awful bus drivers.
When we did finally arrive in Cholula, our planned destination, it was in all honesty a disappointment. The cycle there had been drab and grey and nothing changed much in the town. The pyramid, which should be the biggest in the world, can only be described as a hill with a church on top. And the youth hostal we tried wanted $25 for a room with unmade beds. We started getting grumpy and moaning at each other and not really knowing why. But then again, massive road signs leading to nowhere and bumpy uneven roads can put a strain on a relationship, not to mention on bottoms aswell.
So we did the best thing we could and pedalled on to Atlixco, deciding to miss out all the touristy spots in Puebla and Cholula. It felt great. We were liketourist rebels without a cause. And we even started to be nice to each other again.
Atlixco is fine (except the overpriced tripe soup at the market) and two rabid spaniels at the hotel took it upon themselves to guard the tandem ... with their lives. Since breaking the bottom bracket, I have been convinced it is due to the amount of times I get off and on the bike, using my pedals to jump on with all my weight on the left crank. So now I have developed a different method of getting off and on. It does look a bit like I am way too short for the tandem . I stick my leg over and a little hop and I can jump up without touching the pedals. The kerb does help to give me a bunk up, its just that I don't look very cool anymore. But hopefully, it will help the bike to last until its MOT revision in California!
Wednesday 22nd June 2005
Atlixco to Oaxtepec 61.16 miles
The Tourists are Back
Summary:Back on the motorway, much better for us. Nice views of Popocatepelt. Approx 750 uphill and 1200 downhill all day. Weather prettydull, some rain.
Hospedaje Silvia $11
Dinner at Ben's girlfriends $2.90!
Paletas $1
Juice 50 cents
Yesterday we got fed up with being tourists but today we got back into it as we came across a tourist information booth for the state of Morelos on the side of the road. We found out that Morelos is full of water parks, thermal springs and beautiful volcanic lagoons, and all this on the only part of the road we were alittle unsure of. We decided to try to camp at an enormous water park in Oaxtepec which I had also come across on the internet. Unfortunately the guys on the desk wouldn't budge on the extortionate price so we left wondering whether these people ever actually camp themselves. For an extra dollar wefound a room with bathroom and TV, far better value than the tent. Furthermore, it poured down all night so we were glad to be indoors even though, I'm impatient to get the tent out soon.
The ride here was very enjoyable. I saw a little beast with a very long tail and a scaley body which I can only conclude was an armadillo. Other animals included hilarious little voles which raced away from the side of the road as we passed. They all clambered to squeeze themselves down their little holes to escape. The brochures for Morelos claim the area is popular thanks to its spring-like climate. I didn't think they meant spring in England though but they must have as it has been cloudy, rainy and chilly all day.
Thursday 23rd June 2005
Oaxtepec to Tepoztlan 12.56 miles
The 400 Rabbits
Summary:For once an easy climb! Upto 2000m. Great scenery.
Hostal Los Reyes $12
Pizza $10
Ben was a little rough in the night and as I had suggested yesterday splitting the 1500m climb to Toluca into two days, now there was no question of a short day of cycling today.
It is easy to tell when Ben is under the weather as he eats the same amount of food as me. Ben is used to me iving him the last of my food. Or he'll get an extra taco before going to bed. If I say I will have a second cup of corn and chilli, he starts to panic and wonder what else he can find, just to make sure he eats more than me. But last night he lost his appetite and competitive streak and I knew then that something wasn't right.
We got back on the motorway all the same in the morning sunshine. At the first toll, trying to discretely pass the barrier as usual, we managed to set off the alarm and a guard came bounding over, brandishing his rifle. Luckily, he was laughing and even though he said we had to pay, the clerk in the booth came to our rescue and waved us through.
The road winds up to Tepoztlan very gently. It is not really an autopista, just a toll road. The scenery is quite dramatic with canyon-style jagged rocky mountains. On the top of one of these, overlooking the town, is the pyramid of Tepoztlan, with its folklore of 400 rabbits for 400 Gods of pulque. One of these rabbits was thrown off the pyramid onto the rocks below according to legend and survived, reassuring the locals that they were indeed Gods. Ben didn't feel up to the climb and when it started to thunder and lightening, it was all the excuse I needed not to make the steep climb myself. But the town is very pretty and full of tourists, even off-season and mid-week. We at least had a pizzaria to ourselves. We had fun watching the waitress go to buy ingredients for everything we ordered: cheese, chillis, fizzy water and lemon. We had ordered chilli pizza and lemonade!
Friday 24th June 2005
Tepoztlan
Karen's Solo Mission
Summary:no cycling
Hostal Los Reyes $12
Internet - a small fortune
Pyramid - free (couldn't find the desk to pay)
We decided to stay on an extra day today since we liked Tepoztlan and to rest a bit. On the way into town, down impossibly steep cobbled streets, I tried my best to twist my ankle. When that failed, I looked to the skies only to see beautiful bright sunshine. All this to avoid the climb up to the pyramid but there was only one thing for it, I would have to go and try to find the 400 stone carved rabbits at Tepozteco.
But someone was watching my reluctance as a little way up the slippery, rocky path, it started to thunder. Ben, on the way back to the hostal, didn't know whether to walk back down to meet me in the icecream shop! But infact I was persevering and continued to walk up through pretty horrible weather. The trees and vines hanging over the path provided a little shelter from the rain at first and two lads watching a bright blue caterpillar told me I was half way up. Besides there were so many other people on the path, I couldn't easily turn back.
I said "buenos tardes" to everyone I saw. Funny how when you are on your own, you notice others so much more. The temple pyramid was elegant but the view was blurry due to all the rain. And then I was disappointed to learn that all the carved rabbits have now been taken down and put on display in various museums. Great! I watched the lightning for a while, careful not to be on top of the temple pyramid. I ignored the "don't climb on the walls" sign as I couldn't be sure to which walls they referred. And then rescuing my bag of cookies from a big hairy long-nosed and long-tailed animal, I headed back down. I did get a glimpse of the road for tomorrow though.
Saturday 25th June 2005
Tepoztlan to Lagunas Zampoala 25.41 miles
Karen and Ben Get Mad (but not Even)
Summary:Uphill almost all the way. Climbed 1300m. Big rainstorm in the afternoon lasted into the night
Camping $2 for wood
Blue tortillas $2
We had the worst night's sleep ever last night. Ben only managed to drop off for an hour or two before the hostal people let a rowdy group of Mexican ***** in at 1am. They were right next door for an hour banging doors, shouting laughing and watching loud TV. I got up to complain and then chickened out and my hero Ben took over and went to shut them up. it worked. But not for long, so he went again. Then we told the hotel owner it was no good. And then the mother appeared in her nightie to try to reason with them. What awful scum they were.
I fell back to sleep but Ben had to listen to them arguing with the owner downstairs as he tried to get them to stop making noise. In the morning I woke up at 6am with a really fast pulse and I went crashing down the corridor and playing my radio really loud to relieve some of my grumpiness at lost sleep. But I learnt something about the pointlessness of trying to wake up Mexicans after they have had a bottle of tequilla. Ben and I were all for a nail-in-the-tyre revenge but the hotel family were watching us pack everything away and chatting to us as they must have known that we would try to get even. They gave us a refund and I felt sorry for the family. They said they had no choice but to accept customers like them who had no respect for anything (the garage was a mess and there were cigarettes on our tandem). But we carefully explained that they needed to chose between customers that wanted to sleep and those that wanted to party all night.
All this meant that I had a really bad attitude all morning. Ben told me that in Asia, it is seen as very bad to get angry. Momentarily I felt quite guilty but then I soon started thinking again about how pleased I would have been to know they were waking up with hangovers to sort out slashed tyres or a caved in windscreen. It wasn't until, back up at 3000m, in the pine trees, a village made a fuss of us and we tried blue pupusas, that I cheered up again. The pupusas are blue due to the colour of the maize used to make them. Very good.
We kept climbing as the weather got bleaker. The worst thing about mist and drizzle is not that you get wet, but that you cannot see to know where you are going. But then, not only did we have no visibility but we got wet too. Very wet. In just a few seconds we were washed through. Finally, the sign for the lagunas appeared and we dived under a roof of what we thought was an abandoned workshop to keep out of the pouring rain.
After 30 minutes, we put on our peculiar see-through ponchos to explore. I hoped we wouldn't get shot by someone confused by two unidentified waterproof wanderers. Ben found a little brick refuge with a wood roof, big windows with no glass and a wood-burning stove. We got everything inside and proceeded to crank up a fire to get all our clothes, gloves and shoes dried. Just as we got the fire going, a head which appeared round the side of the door gave me such a fright. It was the guardian of the "abandoned workshop," clearly not as abandoned as we thought. He said we were welcome to stay there for the princely sum of 2 dollars. I felt quite proud that even though we were trespassing, we did at least have a nice fire going so he should have been cross but also impressed by our outdoor survival skills.
Ben got in the tent to catch up on his sleep and I sat by the fire with my book while the pine trees I could see towering above us shook gently with rain. For two hours I felt really cosy and Ben said I was like a human hot waterbottle when he finally woke up. We made cheesy pasta and then got in our sleeping bag. The day hadn't turned out so bad after all.
Sunday 26th June 2005
Lagunas Zampoala to Toluca 38 miles
Meet the Pilgrims
Summary:Finish climbng through pine covered mountains then down into valley and nothing more than a few hills for the rest of the ride.
Hotel $12
Groceries $7
The sun came out this morning, something I couldn't have imagined yesterday, in all the mist and rain. We rode through a great place, the tarmac winding up through the pines, past the lagunas. It was very pretty, spoilt only by aconstant stream of litter and rubbish on the side of the road.
At our first village we spotted two cyclists and went over to say hello. But then we realised there were hundreds, all on a pilgrimage to Chalma to visitthe Saint. As we continued, we shouted hello to the pilgrims going the opposite direction. Some had started out at 4am so were at varying degrees of exhaustion.
We ate more blue tortillas in San Nicolas de Coatepec (from where they originate) and the family said it was really nice we had stopped there to chat. In Toluca, we found the most shiniest petrol station toilets of the trip. The fittings were all made out of brushed chrome and the flushes were infra-red. We could have been in a nightclub. That is one thing that cyclists normally notice - good toilets! Earlier, I hate to admit that during a rainshower I had used my plastic poncho as a cubicle along the side of the road. And it is see-through! I hate wearing those ponchos. Ben still loves his and says it is like being in a convertible car with the roof down and your head sticking out. Today, though his soft top cabriolet sheet of plastic did flap about a lot and on two occasions he couldn't see anything because of a runaway poncho in his face. Scary stuff on the bike.
Anyway, the toilets were a bit of a hint that Toluca is a rich town. The biggest expense at the moment seems to be on the political campaigns ready for the 3rd July elections. There were posters and banners, hordings and flags everywhere. And truly everywhere. It is a very US-inspired method of campaigning. We had to wait until 6pm for our hotel (some strange local rule) so after a complete stranger paid for two ice lollies for us, we wandered in the botanical gardens, an ex-market where huge stained glass window dominate the plant exhibitions. Again very rich and luxurious, situated amongst glamorous colonial buildings. I was pleased tohave stopped in Toluca to experience this side of Mexico too.
Monday 27th June 2005
Toluca to Tepetongo Park 64.28 miles
A No-Rain Day!
Summary:Busy to Altacomulco, then quieter for the second part of the day. Lots of wind. Never tailwind! No rain.
Camping $6
Tacos at lunch $5
Tin of sardines $1.50
We left late this morning but arrived early at Atlacomulco so, not feeling especially exhausted, we decided to continue. We had absolutely no idea where we would stop but posters started leading us to a big water park where we could camp. It was excellent.
We had the whole place toourselves and pitched the tent under the water slides. The sun (and the breeze) held out until late evening so wecould cookoursardines and enjoy them on the lawn. What a cool place to stop for a change. We fell asleep from 9pm until 7am under sparkling cloudless skies until a woodpecker machine gunning a tree woke us up.
Tuesday 28th June 2005
Tepetongo Park to Cuitzeo 75.36 miles
Strawberry Fields Forever
Summary:Very varied day. Lots of downhills, lots of uphills and even a few fair miles of flat. More good weather but not many refreshment stops
Hotel Rinconcito $9
Spaghetti $4.50
We are covering some good mileage at the moment. All the better for me as I am looking forward to California and a particular pool I know is waiting for me in Palm Springs. I asked Ben today what I would say if anyone in Palm Springs asked me my golfing handicap. He told me to say "my arms."
We passed a lot of strawberry fields with people picking by hand into baskets on their backs. Finally, after a good six hours of pedalling and one puncture, we arrived at Cuitzeo, across the Lagunas de Cuitzeo. We had been following campsite signs so we asked on the edge of the lake for the prices. The woman phoned her son to check and came back with a price of 15 dollars! It was way over double what we had paid for our luxury camping last night for just a space in a yard. We couldn't work out where the extortionate price came from until. Ben pointed out that she had probably told her son we were wealthy Gringos on a motorbike! I thought maybe the son was in Morelia where his wife had blown the budget on a shopping trip and we were his ticket to get the money back.
So I asked at the hotel next door and we ended up paying $9. What's more, we ordered two spag bols and the landlord bought us a beer. Of course, we had a fizzy water instead. Then we wandered slowly round the small town to refill on things. Everything was all very pretty and pleasant so today was another good day. And we finished it by happily swatting mosquitos in our room until bedtime.
Wednesday 29th June 2005
Cuitzeo to Angamacutiro 54.22 miles
Cowboy Country
Summary:Flat along the lake then steady climb up to Villa Morelos.
Mexican Selection $5
Hotel San Fransisco $15
Ben woke up and said "autopista" this morning. We had been discussing whether to continue on the main road or take the back roads for a day or two. My preference was for the smaller roads though as we had not seen a great deal of Michoacan life, only stopping off at lunch to be served by grumpy taco makers. The autopista wasn’t the most exciting route. We talked it over with the hotel owner and decided on the bac roads. I could tell Ben didn't want to go back over the laguna anyway. Even if its a short distance, he hates cycling the same road twice.
So after Ben tried to unblock our toilet, we set off. We were back riding rougher roads, through busy little villages where even children had cowboy hats and boots. Two kids raced past us, one sitting on the pizza box carrier at the back of the motorbike. And all the walls were whitewashed and then painted with new posters for rodeos, concerts or college balls. The band posters were back to, plastered to the lamp posts. I had missed Eddie Santiago and Conjunto Primavera smiling at us along the way! People were busy dragging horses and ploughs down their ranch fields, marked out by cactus plants or old stone walls. We went past a dozen bull rings and one village even had two.
We had a good lunch at a family café. The woman passed me a leaflet about Jesus and San Fransisco so I could only guess she thought I looked particularly ungodly. Perhaps it was my cycle helmet!
It rained all evening but luckily we weren't in the tent.
Thursday 30th June 2005
Angamacutiro to Ecuandureo 41.46 miles
Karen Gets Restless
Summary:Boring
Hotel $12
I hate to say it but today I got bored.
I could not find a single point of interest on the road as we crossed the plains. Furthermore, the excessive amount of litter got me down again today and there seemed to be a lurking smell of decomposing rubbish and old water everywhere. We did have some good tacos though but then the rain started and instead of sitting it out, after a blustery, wet ride on the motorway, I asked Ben if we could call it a day. Not very brave, especially as the weather cleared later in the afternoon. This will mean we will now need two extra days to get to Guadalajara but it has at least inspired us to take a detour to the largest lake in Mexico.
I definitely need an early night!
Friday 1st July 2005
Ecuandureo to Pemex at km 475 - 73.1 miles
8 Months Travel Anniversary
Summary:Easy road. Average speed 11.5 m.p.h. Not a lot of water or food stops. Almost no rain
Tacos and tostadas $8
Food from Pemex $10
We never made it to the lake after all. We weren't far off making it to Guadalajara though. Two punctures slowed us down a bit. One of them was quite dramatic as whilst we were eating our tacos, the air left the back tyre and the tandem threw itself sideways at a Dodge Neon car. Luckily the owner didn't notice a dirty great scratch down his door. Naughty bicycle. The autopista is very grubby along this stretch and there are pieces of glass and spikes of metal everywhere. So in the end, we stopped just short of the city and camped behind a petrol station. Still, it was cosy and I chatted to a few people on the forecourt while waiting for Ben so I was happier than yesterday when it came time for bed.
I think my problem at the moment is feeling a bit old and mouldy. Ben pointed out that that was natural after eight months on the bike. I realised I have been making a fuss about Ben's beard again whilst I probably have more fur on my own legs than he could grow on his chin! Nice.
Maybe some pampering is in order for me in Guadalajara. And maybe even a new t-shirt. One that doesn't smell of our bonfire at the lagunas!
Saturday 2nd July 2005
Pemex 475 to Guadalajara 16.8 miles
A Little Extravagence
Summary:Last few kilometers to Guadalajara. Surprisingly easy city to arrive at by bike
Hotel Haminton $10
Bike chains $20
Meal at La Chata $22
Beers on the terrace $10
A scorched red sky formed and disappeared behind the Pemex station as we packed up and went for breakfast. I felt miles better after a little adventurous but peaceful night's sleep. Only the rain woke us up in the night. We seemed to ignore the sound of cars and lorries thundering past.
The ride into Guadalajara took us past some poor suburbs and housing which reminded me of a previous trip to Mexico city. Most of the crumby housing looks to be being replaced by little prefabs though, each exactly the same as the neighbours with its own water reservoir on top.
Infact, it was a pretty stress-free ride to the youth hostel in the centre. The hostel is very friendly and housed in a beautiful building but it is also very expensive, twice as much as the price we ended up paying two blocks down.
After we had bought new bike chains, done some sightseeing, checked in and had a siesta, in that order, we went for a pretty luxurious meal in a very busy restaurant. It was totally full of families and then almost as many speedy waiters but the chicken enchiladas, covered in mole sauce were one of my trip favourites. I even liked Ben's tongue in green sauce. And washed it all down with a strong marguerita.
The evening plazas were full of people, young and old, so we decided on a few beers to people watch. A rather large lady sitting opposite me turned round to face us with a green lemon stuffed into her mouth.
"That's attractive," I said to Ben, thinking she wouldn't understand but then the musician announced her party was from Michigan. I think I will have to watch my language from now on ... quite literally. It is now the second time I have been caught out. The first being when I pointed out a man's frilly mullet hairstyle to Ben, only for his friend to start talking to me in English. My only choice will soon be to make my insults in French!
After my marguerita and beers, I spent the rest of the evening trying to get noticed by the musician just so he could do a shout out for us. Needless to say, he ignored me but this evening was exactly what I needed to brighten up a little. I think we are going to enjoy this city.
Sunday 3rd July 2005
Guadalajara
Missing the Rodeo
Summary:No cycling
Wal-Mart $50!
We were really keen to see a charreada rodeo today, especially in Guadalajara. The first tourist information stand told us they were at 4pm, the second told us 7pm. I tried to phone the stadium all the same as I wasn't convinced but couldn't get through so we decided to try our luck at 2pm, just to be on the safe side. We wandered down to the ring only to find a load of cowboys chilling out after the event. It had started at midday so Ben and I were really disappointed.
We walked back through the butterfly garden but it was no consolation and we decided to try to plan our route to try to get to one the following Sunday, before leaving the mainland. I felt a little bit like Mexico had mastered mass volume activities (such as at the production-line restaurant last night) but lacked in the personal touch. It seemed quite a basic request to have the correct time for a traditional national event. Grrr!
To cheer ourselves up, we went to Wal-Mart superstore and I upgraded all my socks and pants to bright, clean models and Ben just walked around saying:"just look at all these things!" and "just look at what you can buy."
Unfortunately, we must have fallen into some sort of shopping trap as we had almost 500 pesos of "things" by the time we got to the checkout. Still, we have enough noodles and pasta to get us to Mazatlan. It was also a lot less frightening than shopping at the market amongst the half-heads and blankets of folded tripe.
Monday 4th July 2005
Still Guadalajara
Independence Day
Summary:No cycling
We decided to stay an extra day in the city for no better reason than we really like Guadalajara. Everything about the town feels very Mexican. From the clowns and balloon-sellers to horse-drawn carts and a beer on the plaza. It is also very modern. We have never received so many free-samples before and on Sundays, the main boulevard is closed to traffic and opened to cycles, rollerbladers and joggers. The city suited us for an extra relaxing treat.
Tuesday 5th July 2005
Guadalajara to Magdalena 56 miles
Tequila!
Summary:8 miles to clear the city. Very busy - lots of traffic lights. Easy road to Tequila, then hills to Magdalena
Tequila museum $2.50
Hotel Magdalena $10
2 50cl bottles of tequila $3
I have been staring at my feet since this morning when I first put on my brand new Wal-Mart socks. They are so bright white, they keep distracting me as I pedal.
We could tell we were arriving in Tequila country as the scenery slowly became blue with agave plantations, the only type of cactus to make tequila. When we got to the small town, we visited the museum after a picnic of egg sandwiches, but we declined all the offers for tours. Ben said that after all, we had done the Tetley Beer brewery tour in Leeds and how different could tequila be?
We got ourselves two bottles of the famous drink and I bought two lemons but we decided to continue on to Magdalena, rather than staying in Tequila. Sadly we saw a little dog get run over on the way out of town. I was a bit stunned and didn't know what to do but luckily an old man moved him and he died quickly. Poor little thing.
Magdalena is another of these quiet little towns we like to end up in. The geology of the surrounding area is all shiny black opal stone so the town exploits it to make useful things like cowboy boot-shaped keyrings. We attracted quite a crowd when we went to get fresh bread, but as usual, one enthusiastic local repeated all the answers to our questions to the other villagers for us. In our hotel room, we drained our two bottles of tequila like the rock n roll cyclists we are!
I won't make the mistake of trying to go to the loo behind an agave cactus again. Those things are leathal.
Wednesday 6th July 2005
Magdalena to km 145 toll 63 miles
A Last Day of Rain?
Summary:Lots of climbs (1250m) and lots of downhill. Spectacular scenery and spectacular storms.
Dinner $9 (nothing else at all)
Even inspite of our two bottles of tequila sitting empty on the bedside table, we woke up fresh and bright and got straight back on the motorway.
The scenery was really interesting: more blue agave plantations, valleys and canyons and cactus trees appearing as we dropped down again and then disappearing as we climbed up out of the valleys. After more Wal-Mart egg sandwiches near Ixtlan, we caught a glimpse of the temple ruins from the road. Better still, there was also a farm of crazy-legged ostriches chasing about. Then the road started to climb steadily. A few drops of rain worried us a little but then by the time we reached the top, we were drenched anyway so had no need to worry any more. It was actually quite refreshing as we had hit 41 degrees today, but then a cool wind blew up and it literally took my breath away. I tried to shout to Ben to stop, for two reasons. One was that I couldn't even see the downhill, let alone want to go down it in such awful weather. The second reason was that I didn't want to lose control of my bladder in the chilly wind!
So we stood on the side of the road, peering out of our ponchos as the rain thrashed down around us. So much water fell in such a short space of time. After about fifteen minutes, the rain had cleared enough to continue and the river gushing at our feet had stopped so we stripped off wetouter layers and pushed on. Our clothes and gloves were absolutely saturated. We rolled down into an amazing valley at the foot of a volcano which was formed by old rock and lava deposits. It looked as though the lava had errupted and flowed down the volcano only weeks before as it seemed to engulf the trees and plants around. Butin reality, the vegetation was now pushing its way through and thriving in the black lake of rock.
We made it as far as a mirador before the rain got heavy again so we sat it out under a shelter with cups of tea and instant noodles. Without the bad weather we would have arrived at Tepic but by the evening we were still 28km short so we decided to camp at our second toll point on the motorway. Two restaurant owners let us pitch up camp in front of their café and we got the tent upjust before the heavens opened again. We ate with them and then made a dash for the tent. Inspite of being pretty small and not particularly expensive, our tent has never let us down in the rain and luckily again, everything stayed dry. Just as well as the downpour continued through the night. The restaurant people warned us about watching out for scorpions so we spent all night waiting to see if an 80s German rock group would appear. They didn't though.
Thursday 7th July 2005
Km 145 toll to Rosamorada 76.1 miles
Coming Back Down
Summary:Seems to take forever to get round hectic Tepic, then finally the downhill to the autopista is in a pretty awful condition. The motorway to Mazatlan is not finished yet so you have to squeeze along a very thin road with a lot of traffic. Pretty hot day.
Hotel San Juan $8.50
Paletas $1
Coconut and fruit $1.75
We woke up a little damp but ready for another big day. Since deciding to try to hit Mazatlan in five days, we have been caning the road. But to think we haven’t had a day on the beach yet may explain why.
I can't say I enjoyed the downhill as the road was very bumpy and we soon punctured and the federal road to Rosamorada was even more stressfull, especially for driver Ben. But we squeezed along, never quite knowing whether the pick-up behind us was going to hit us or not. I suppose that could be considered exciting but it felt more frightening than anything. I found myself holding my breath more than just a few times. A cow had just become victim of these narrow roads as we went past. It seems crazy that a little more tarmac would have made things so much safer but was never put in place.
We stopped in Rosamorada, pleased to get off the road. This little town is the birthplace of the Mariachis. The word comes from the French word "mariage" which was always the key event they were asked to play at. Our hotel owner gave us a little clay model he had dug up in his garden. Ben said it couldn't be Mayan as the culture had not been known so far north. But I said: "ahh yes, not known here in Rosamorada until the hotel owner dug his garden up."
Friday 8th July 2005
Rosamorada to Escuintlapa 71.18 miles
Easy Riders
Summary:Long hot road. More dangerous today with scary overtaking. Nice views of the mango plantations ... everywhere!
Hotel Virginia $15
Bag of apples $1
Ice $1
Tacos (not the best) $6
We seemed to be forever fixing punctures today so perhaps our new extra power patcches are not so powerful after all. Other than that, it was a day where you always seem to have a few extra miles to do.
But we did meet two exciting people today: David the biker, cruising Mexico for a month on an immaculate Harley D and Ludovig Hubler, who is hitch-hiking around the world and has already made it from France, through Africa and around South America and USA in the past 30 months. Definitely both easy riders, but in a different way.
David made me a little nervous about Baja California by basically saying we were we would "fry." He kept talking about scorching heat, no shade (even from 10ft cactus) and stretches of nothing at all. I think I will have to go over the map again. Could the Baja be one of our biggest challenges yet?
In the morning today, we realised we had left Ben's goretex jacket on the counter of a shop yesterday. Strangely the shopkeeper did not say anything, even though we were outside for a while afterwards. However, in the afternoon I found a very fake pair of Oakley sunglasses on the side of the road to replace my JTs which are on their last legs. As Ben says, sometimes you hit the road, sometimes the road hits you!
Saturday 9th July 2005
Escuinapa to Mazatlan 57.72 miles
Go Man-Go
Summary:24km of federal road to save going back to the motorway junction, then we jumped the barrier to finish on the autopista. A lot less traffic as its Saturday
Hotel Lerma $8.50 (good deal)
Hot potato $2 (with cream, taco meat, guacamole, cheese and butter - comfort food)
The fields of mango plantations are definetely the most attractive cultivations we have seen. The skinny, waxy dark leaves sway calmly in the breeze making us feel cooler as we waft past on the bike. So far though, the ones we have tried to scrump have been much to hard to be any good. It made me think of the avocados in Peru and how you should always plan a cycling trip when roadside fruit trees are in season. At least we had luck with Ben's coconuts in Costa Rica.
The other fruity thing was my bottom. Today had to be my most uncomfortable day of cycling for the whole trip and I wriggled all the way to Mazatlan. I really don't know why but it was definetely a day when I could've done with a spare pillow to sit on. I haveto admit I got a little grouchy too and when we stopped to fix yet another puncture, I had a little roadside shout.
It all made finally arriving in Mazatlan quite blissful. We found a peaceful and reasonable hotel, filled with Mexican families. Our room has two windows so a nice cool breeze can blow through. And we had the best baked potato to replace our much depleted energy supplies. But the best thing of all is that the relaxed little beach resort marks the end of our intrepid hike across Mexico mainland. In total, 2600km of Mexican highway cycled in just 32 days pedaling (without the 5 days rest) so we are pleased as can be.
Sunday 10th July 2005
Mazatlan
Homesick
Summary: no cycling, just internet and beach
Internet x2 3 hours $5
Tacos $6
(not a lot else, cheap day)
Late last night I found out that my ant had died earlier this week from terminal cancer that she had for six months. It came as a shock inspite of being inevitable and I felt really sad for my uncle and cousins. Quite selfishly, I also felt very far away from home and phoning my Mum and Dad only ended intears which doesn't really help as its not the best way to communicate down a long distance telephone line.
My Mum told me that my ant had really liked my cards and even though I can't make it to the funeral, I'll be thinking of everyone. I felt a little guilty to be away doing something quite special and not able to confort my family but I know noone wants us to change our plans.
On top of this, my company anounced 1400 job cuts and a series of three bombs exploded simultaneously in London on Thursday, killing 79 people.
So all this and being tired after the last stretch on the bike really hit me today and I felt knocked for six.
My remedy was to spend a little time on the internet reading updates and journals of cyclists we know. Someof these reminded me of past countries and reminiscing did me the world of good.
Then Ben and I watched the sun go down from the beach and I thought of Carol now able to rest peacefully.
Monday 11th -13th July 2005
Mazatlan
A great gesture
Summary: no cycling, butK&B did have a date to the cinema
Ferry tickets to Baja California: $75 each + $25 tandem
We pottered around Mazatlan for two days. We half heartedly tried to find a bottom bracket but then decided to try La Paz instead due to the higher probability of finding US-imported parts there. But Ben did make one fantastic revision to the bike, adding a mini-bar style cooler insulation to our top case. So now we have a fridge attachment on the bike. Ready for the hot, dry Baja. Or at least we hope we are.
But the best thing that happened to us in Mazatlan was a visit from our friend from France, Matthieu. He made the 16 hour bus ride down from Mexico city, especially to see us, knowing that we had to leave the same afternoon for the boat. What an honor. It was really good to see a familiar and friendly face after all this time.
So we met Matthieu at the bus station, had breakfast, had lunch and waited in the queue for the boat, all the while trying to cram in as much news as possible. Matthieu also came bearinggifts and so we had St Nectaire cheese with our egg breakfast and a bottle of Bordeaux to speed up the boat ride.
Unfortunately it was a short visit but we really appreciated it and we'll be indebted to our friend for brightening up an otherwise plain old stay. Merci Matthieu!
Next part: Baja California
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