Newsletter 2 - Mexico Mainland 2 Oct 1998
Velomad
the remainder of our travels in Mexico - the remaining 5 months.
We don't think it will be 5 times as long as the last one as we
don't have our diary anymore so we can't remember half the things!
We finished off our last newsletter heading for Creel, which
surprisingly enough for us we actually did - you know how great we are
at heading in the opposite direction to which we intend!
Stani had always fancied doing the train through the Copper Canyon but
on finding out that there was a cheap train (as opposed to the $1600
luxury one that one always reads about in the travel magazines) we
decided to go for it.
Whilst in La Paz we asked a Mexican friend to ring & find out if we
could take our bikes on the train. No problem - the price was 42 pesos
(about $5) & the bikes go free! Of course that was until we got there &
there was much shaking of heads & advice to speak to the train driver.
In the end we decided a bribe was required - being the tight fisted
travellers that we are we were reluctant to acquiesce to that recourse
(adamant in fact) and with the help of some Kiwi's we'd met, we
dumped the bikes on the train without permission.
Of course we got consistent harassment from the conductor for the first
couple of hours but in the end he left us alone.
The train ride was everything we'd hoped - spectacular scenery & each
stop provided views of traditionally clad Mayans. Quite a change from
Americanized Baja. Especially fun were the dozen or so kids who jumped
on at each stop & ran up & down the carriage selling tamales, hot
chocolate, grizzly sweet coffee, crisps etc. Stani was especially
enchanted with the sign in Spanish on the train that read "Keep the
train clean - throw your rubbish out the window"!!!!!!!
The ride out of Creel to Hidalgo was something else. The scenery
remained spectacular, as were the 5k sheer uphills & downhills (brakes
screeching!). Stani's chain was tried to its limits & failed miserably
- breaking on average 4 times a day. Our bike book recommended this
route only for the most toughened of bike riders - we didn't feel
hard in the end - exhausted is more appropriate! One would have thought
the rainy season had started - it POURED. Of course our waterproofs are
fab - except Stani's were in England & she had to resort to wearing
bin liners!
We then headed through the mountains to the silver cities of Durango,
Zacatecas & Aguacalientes. These all had superb scenery & gorgeous
colonial architecture. Good pacing too - each of these main cities were
about 70 km distance from each other.
Temperatures were right, not too hot & not too cold. Durango is famous
for its nearby locations of Villa del Ote & Chupaderos where just about
every Clint Eastwood & John Wayne spaghetti western seemed to have been
filmed. Great if you're a spaghetti western buff (which we're not!)
boring if you're a cyclist. However, it was made up by the pretty
little villages selling loads of cheap fruit.
On arriving in Aguacalientes, we were snapped by a local photographer &
appeared on the front page of the regional newspaper the next day. As
we had previously been interviewed for a paper in Baja, Richard had
appeared on Mexican TV; both of us had appeared in the local newspaper
in Los Mochis, we were beginning to feel like super stars in Mexico.
It's hard after all this time to remember details but what I remember
of Zacatecus was all the restaurants shut about 7 (about the time we
started to think about eating), the streets had a crazy paving that
Stani could not cope with as she had metal cleats on her shoes & kept
on sliding everywhere, with the result that by the time we left she
could hardly walk for pulling all her muscles.
In Aguacalientes we found a superb veggie restaurant (the only really
good one on our travels to date) - divine setting in a courtyard with
fountains, plants & a Buddha. The owner took one look at our skinny
frames & starving faces & treated us to 2 breakfasts for the price of
one. We spent that night in a local park deciding we wanted to actually
see the newspaper Article as we always cycled off before the paper came
out but it was a camping night so not cheapo hotel! The next day
everywhere we stopped people would look at us, look at their paper &
start smiling & waving. We were stopped constantly by people wanting to
chat. We decided to go - way too much attention! But one good thing
came out of it - we stopped in a bike shop to get a few spare parts &
the owner treated us to everything for free!
Onwards to San Miguel de Allende we headed, where we intended to stop
for 2 weeks to enrol in a Spanish course. But luckily for us we
intended to stop for 2 weeks to enrol in a Spanish course. But luckily
for us we stopped in Guanajauto 1st. Here we met a Mexican /English
couple who apart from being incredibly generous, putting us up for a
couple of weeks, introducing us to their friends, showing us around,
arranging for us to house sit this fabo house over Xmas & the New Year
(including a maid!) for free - they were great fun to be with too! We
spent over a month in Guanajauto doing a Spanish course for a couple of
weeks (actually a complete waste of time but we made lots of friends &
had lots of parties!) We met some mountain bikers who kept inviting us
out for rides & Richard even got lent a bike by one of the guys so he
could enter a bike race in San Migual. We visited he mummy museum -
quite quite gruesome! Both of us agree that this was one of the
highlights of our trip (- Guanajauto not the mummy museum!) so far. We
met an American couple cycling who were doing the same trip as us but
on a tandem!
Just before we were due to depart Stani got bitten on the knee by a
German shepherd & sat in bed for a week in great agony feeling sorry
for herself. But on the return of Doreen (the owner of the house) this
was all dispensed with as she decided all this feeling sorry for
oneself was simply not on, invited her friend Patricia over & stocked
up on vodka & happily persuaded us to drink the week away!
Eventually we had to go - SOB! We headed to Mexico City where we did
risk our lives daily by cycling around but lived to tell the tale!
Anyone who says MC is too dangerous shouldn't be listened to. It's
a beautiful city with so much to do & no more dangerous than any big
city like London or NY.
In Oaxaca we suddenly realized we were on the gringo trail - way too
many backpackers & although the city was nice it was no more special
than any of the other silver cities we'd visited. We'd heard too
much about how wonderful it was so we were bound to be disappointed.
Especially as the local Telmex office (Telecommunications) had no free
internet service like everywhere else & that we'd begun to consider
our right!
Mariposa - I forgot the Monarch Mariposa Reserve near Zitacuaro. Bloody
hard work to get to but really worth it. Before leaving England we went
to France for the weekend & visited futurescope. We saw one of those
total surround movies about the Monarch butterfly that migrates from
Canada to Mexico. Guess what - we were there actually when the
butterflies were! WOW & WOW again! Sorry I'm not particularly
articulate as the sight was worthy of Keats. Envision blue skies, white
fluffy clouds & an open plain with clouds of orange / black butterflies
- each with a wing size of your palm (well Stani's anyway!)-
thousands of them in the sky, on your head, shoulders & down your
trousers (I kid you not!) Imagine having difficulties knowing where to
place your feet in fear of treading on not 1 but 10 f them, huge pines
that are not identifiable as such because they are not green but a
brilliant orange! If somebody said this to me I still wouldn't have
an inkling of what a fantastic experience this was!
After we headed into the Yucatan Peninsula to do the Mayan route. We
visited Palenque, Cuba, Chichen Itza, Uxmal, Tulum, Teotihucan and more
besides. At first we were overwhelmed by their majesty & splendour but
then we ended up doing too many in too short a space of time & got
jaded. Teotihucan was memorable as the 1st we visited - the Pyramid of
he sun was 64m high , 213 m sq at base - covering almost the same area
as the
Great pyramid of Cheops in Egypt. What was fun was being fit from
cycling; we climbed to the top with relative ease. Then we sat on the
top, smoked a cigarette & sniggered between ourselves at the red faced
panting tourists who finally scaled the heights & peeked their heads
over the top!
Tulum should have been awe inspiring with its white sanded, blue sea
coastal setting. Unfortunately it was a grey, showery day & this
detracted considerably from the beauty. More enticing were the
Argentinian fire blowing acrobats that entertained us in the evening.
Palenque was special for its jungle setting and the fact that we had
met up with another German cyclist - so we had another person's
perspective. Chichen Itza was a disappointment. Not because it didn't
live up to our expectations but the fact that we were there for the
Spring Equinox. On this day the sun hits the balustrades of El Castillo
(the main pyramid) and the image of 2 serpents are formed running down
either side of the staircase. However, along with us was what seemed
like half of Mexico and we felt that we were at a Woodstock festival
instead of a sacred Mayan site!
We actually missed several Mayan sites (thank God!) because we stopped
unintentionally in Escarcega for a few days. We had cycled into town
intending to stop only for food supplies & a beer. Whilst Stani admired
(NOT!) the gun display in the central square and sucked gratefully on a
litre of Pacifico, Richard went shopping in the market, only to find 2
other English cyclists eyeing his cycling shorts & coming to the
conclusion that with his blue eyes he was probably not Mexican. After
all meeting up in the Central square & swapping stories for 2 hours we
decided we'd better book into their hotel & sample the local rum. The
next day we decided that another day of celebrating the gathering of
cyclists was in order, so Eric & Kate went to stock up on supplies at
the offy across the street & came back with 2 more cyclists! Ingrid &
Jeronimo were heading north from Tierra del Fuego so between the 6 of
us we had lots of information to trade.
What I still can't get over is how lightly packed Kate & Eric were.
They'd already cycled Europe, Turkey, Afghanistan, India, China etc &
were carrying a computer, SW radio (Kate what time & channel is the
Archers on?) and wait for it - an OVEN! But they still only had half
the stuff we did! I have deep fond regards for Kate & Eric but will
never forgive them for showing Richard that oven. He will never forget
their tales of pizza, homemade bread & chocolate brownies! I see it in
his eyes every time we can't find any bread & have to settle for a
soggy tortilla! Take note fellow cyclists - Kate & Eric also left us
with another legacy. The information that keeping your water bottles in
wet socks keeps the water cool & placing a towel in the back of your
cycling shorts stops the sweat running down your back & prevents that
sore chapped bottom at the end of the day.
These things sound crazy but they WORK!
We eventually left Mexico on the day our tourists expired - 6 whole
months! We loved Mexico & still regard it as our favourite country to
date but Stani was cheering as she rode across the border into ENGLISH
speaking Belize!
Our exploits since then will have to wait another newsletter another
day.
Thank you all our friends for your patience with our long silences &
remember although we don't correspond regularly we think of you all
often. We love hearing from you all so don't be shy & send us an
update of what's happening in your lives.
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Richard and Stani