Day 148-152 Sierra Gorda to the Gulf of Mexico

The last week has been classic bicycle touring: Major frustration, a stroke of good luck, great roads, terrible roads, complete change of plans, beautiful sights, weird sights, new foods, new people and accomplishing a major milestone.

Some photos to demonstrate:

Riding through the jungle. I think it is still jungle.

Ferry. The guys have a lever that the use on the cable to push the ferry across the river. Side note: The dog just hopped on and got off on the other side. I have no clue if the dog actually knows what she's doing.

Share the road with trucks, motorcycles, cyclists, and machete wielding workers.

Bridge and river

View of fields on very steep hillsides.

I learned to adjust the exposure on my camera so you can actually see the clouds, instead of just one big blob of white.

Amapola China: my new favorite fruit. You crack open the peel and suck out the seeds. It's the sweetest, juiciest fruit I've ever had. 

In addition to letting me stay in a vacant office space, they cooked me nopal con queso. Last time I tried to eat a cactus I ate it raw and it wasn't good.

Gigantic statue to honor the orange workers of the region. Oranges and citrus are huge in this area.

Orange market. One of many escalators. 

This guy invited me to stay at his friends place. A little awkward but they were very generous, and I was able to practice my spanish a lot. It is getting much better.

7000 miles! But I'm not in Panama yet? My grandma asked me if someone moved Panama. I think maybe I got lost.

Ruins of Tajin. The largest structure they built was also the last. Both inspiring and foreboding.

Hill overlooking the excavated ruins of Tajin.

Made it to the beach! Yay.

Topless sunbather 1

As I type this I am in Anton Lizardo. Tomorrow I will head south towards Oxaca, and spend some more time in the mountains.

Day 146-147: Sierra Gorda

 The Sierra Gorda is a place of incredible beauty. My first day I enjoyed sunny weather. 

Average view from road. 

Road to Cascade el Chuveye

Cascade El Chuveye

I didn't expect the park  for the waterfall to be used as a grazing grounds, but it is!

Folliage

On my second day, I did not have good luck with the weather. As one would expect, it rained in the rainforest. Dense fog made visibility very poor, and the roads were slick. Add to those two conditions steep winding roads and traffic and things can get bad.

I did have good luck with people. I hadn't gone more than 3 miles when a truck stopped. Unlike the last truck that stopped for me, a scary stranger did not get out and tell me to get in. Instead, it was a warm showers host that I had messaged but was unable to stay with. He offered to take me to Xilitla, which was over 70 km away. Puro subido. So I cheated again, but I do not regret it at all because of the dangerous riding conditions, and because Rodrigo, the warm showers host, was so wonderful.

Basically, he has changed the scope of my trip. I have been thinking over when I want to end my trip, and how much money I want to have left over, and been worrying in general about being in a rush to get to Panama. Also I officially burned myself out of mountains. I want to avoid them like Ebola.

With Rodrigo's help, I changed my route through Mexico to include a little of the central Gulf coast, the Pacific coast again, and the southern mountains in Chiapas. I will not make it to Panama this trip, and I am happy with that. I would rather spend the remainder of my time and money enjoying Mexico than rushing to  an arbitrary destination.

Rodrigo and I drank coffee, made notes in my map, and talked cycling and Mexico. I am very glad we were able to meet up. I rode 3 total miles on my bike that day.

Town of Xilitla in fog and rain.

Before leaving, I got directions to a campground on a ravine. I paid 50 pesos and because no one else was there and it was raining, the owner let me stay in one of the primitive cabins.

An endearing little road leading to my campsite.

Day 144-145: Sierra Gorda, or, Fat Mountain

The night in San Miguel de Allende was my last night with the Philtrons. We are two different bicycle tours and the time was right for us to part. They will be going at their pace on their route, and I will be going on mine. I didn't stop to think about it until Daisy pointed it out that we rode together for 6 weeks.

That's a really long time.

So thanks to Daisy and Jason for rolling with me, or me with them! And best of luck to them on their journey.

A lot happened in the Sierra Gorda. The first night I stayed at a police station because I thought it was the firefighter's station, and fire stations are common sites for cyclotourists to camp at. To compare getting permission to camp at fire station to camping at the police station, I would have to say that the police station is more intense. I had to talk to the police commander myself and explain to him who I was and what I was doing, and he didn't seem very excited about it. I also had to give my name and apparently they put it in their records that I camped there.

Of course it was all just a chest-thumping-power-trip-show because I got permission and they offered their showers and several of the subordinates were very curious and excited about hearing my story. But next time I will look more closely for the firefighters before talking to the commander.

The next day I really entered the Sierra Gordas. They are high enough, but to make me work even harder, I had to drop down what must have been at least a thousand feet in elevation before beginning the climb. In the photo below you can see the Sierra Gorda in the background, and right in front of me is a huge descent that just means more climbing later on. Urrrrg!



After "todo derecho," for "all straight," I think that "puro subido" is my next favorite expression used when giving directions. It translates to "Pure uphill." For me, the adjective "pure," when used to describe ascents, is absolutely terrifying.

When the puro subido begain, it really was pure uphill. And steep. I had been at it for an hour or so when a truck pulled over in front of me. More accurately, it stopped in front of me. Two men got out. The driver spoke in a voice that was deep and gravely with a thick spanish accent. If you were casting a movie and it called for "sleazy Mexican who speaks English with 95% grammatical accuracy and is a little scary," this was your guy.

"Where you goin, man? Get in the truck. I take you up the mountain."

"I'll be embarrassed if I don't do it myself..."

"Who cares about embarrassment's a long ways up. Get in the truck. We give you a ride."

Between his charm and the "puro subido" I was up against, I was easily convinced. And so I accepted, for the first time, a ride in a truck. He took me to a small city and turned off the highway. I realized that this was the moment of truth: either he would come to a complete stop and let me out, or he would take me up the dirt road, kill me, and feed me to the buzzards. I prepared to jump out the back.

Don't get too close to the edge.

The scary man let me out and I was off on my way. I climbed and climbed and climbed. The trees became more green, and the views crazier.

Eventually there was a passage that marked the top of the pass. On one side was sparse trees and shrubs, like the above picture, and on the other side was dense rain forest. Below you can see the road as it goes into the rain forest. This pass is called something like Passage to Heaven.

I enjoyed the downhill on the other side, but it was getting dark and so I sought shelter. I asked a man working at a store if her knew a place I could camp, and he offered a grassy patch of land by his store. Three children who were playing by his store helped me set up my tent, and I practiced giving directions in Spanish. I then realized that my grammar is about the level of a 6 year old.

I ended up being a celebrity amongst the youngsters there as the three children spread word throughout the village.

As I was about to turn in for the night and sleep, a group of guys slightly younger than me asked if I wanted to play soccer with them at the fustal court beside the store. I scored several times in the process of getting my clothing completely soaked with no chance of getting it dry overnight.

I did not understand a single non-cuss-word they said, but words weren't necessary. We spoke the universal language of soccer.

Day 143: Guanajuato to San Miguel de Allende

November 14, 2014

Defying all odds, I made it out of Guanajuato. I was nervous about navigating the tunnels, winding roads, truncated roads, and "glorietas" (traffic circles), but I went "todo derecho" (all straight) in the opposite way of San Miguel de Allende and somehow ended up making a large U shape to get to the highway, all the while staying on what seemed to me like the same road. 

I arrived in San Miguel de Allende an hour before sundown, and used the cell phone that I had just bought to try and call the Philtrons. They did not answer because they were trying in vain to find the host we planned on staying with. It was selfish good luck for me that I didn't know anything about their troubles any earlier because by the time I was able to contact them, they had made their way to a hostel for the night. 

We met some fun travelers at the hostel. It was clean. 

The ride was amazingly beautiful and calm. Heavenly. And the clouds!

My missing shoe did not show up. I am no longer in denial, and am now in the angry stage. Angry at myself for losing things all the time.

I decided the most fitting place to deposit my remaining shoe would be on the side of the road, where it can rest with thousands of other mateless shoes, and be a mystery for someone to ponder... How did this shoe get here? Where is the other?

Rest in peace, left shoe.

Day 139-142 Aguascalientes to Guanajuato

November 8 - November 11, 2014

Progress continues through more of Mexico's prominent cities. Before leaving Aguascalientes our host, MJ, showed us around the city. Aguascalientes has a beautiful downtown area and many modern parks which you can search for on the internet for pictures because I took none. Thanks MJ for a wonderful time in Aguascalientes! 

Last photo we will ever take looking into the sun.

We left Aguascalientes and took two days to arrive in Leon, stopping for the night in Incarnacion de Diaz. The highway we used to leave town was awful, and had tons of debris which gave Jason and i a flat each. Another mechanical problem was created when I foolishly decided to ride down a steep, rocky side road after I took this picture: 

The damage it caused is proving more serious to fix than the flats: my front rack snapped off at a crucial place. I knew when I bought it that I was taking a slight risk by buying an aluminum rack. I gambled and lost. 

That ain't right.

We will look for a welder who can weld aluminum. For now, my improvised contraption is working, although I have removed almost all the weight from the bag and it is causing me great disorganization. 

Leon has a beautiful city core and we were fortunate enough to have warm shower hosts, Fernando and Frida. We stayed with them in their house and conversed in Spanish. He gave us his sister's address so we had a place to stay in Guanajuato as well! Muchas gracias a Fernando and Frida!

Plaza in Leon. These are bustling places! It gets even more crowded than this picture.

Before leaving for Guanajuato, we had the memorable experience of talking to Fernando's chemistry class. We stood infront of 42 high school students and answered all sorts of questions about who we are, what our trip is like. After class was over, we were mobbed for photos, and requests for beard touching. I told them no, but at least one student sneaked a beard tug.

Guanajuato is just a short ways from Leon, and it only took us an afternoon to get there. We were surprised to find out that Fernando's sister, Laura, was more than asked by Fernando that we would be staying at her house. She didn't seem to mind, and by the end of the night I could tell for sure Jason and my Spanish speaking is improving! Being forced to converse in Spanish is wonderful practice.  

Plaza in Guanajuato

We left Laura's house to explore Guanajuato. We will spend tonight in a hotel downtown. Guanajuato is beautiful and has lots to do and see. Despite its charm, it put me in a foul mood as I got lost in its streets. I stupidly lost one of my cycling shoes off the back of my bike. I tried to retrace my steps but that is an exercise in futility as the streets are impossibly difficult to navigate because they criss cross and end and make curves with no sense of direction. Of course the crazy streets help give the city its charm, but it can be an aggravating charm nonetheless. I will have to add "shoe" to the list of things I have lost on this trip. 

Guanajuato from afar. 

Here are some of the sights along the way.

If you love dogs, you will love and hate what you see in Mexico. Lots of puppies and interesting mixes of breeds, but many live in the streets. 

Somewhere between Aguascalientes and Guanajuato

There are many "Yonkes" or junkyards around, but this one has to be the best organized. 

Day 138: Zacatecas to Aguascalientes

November 7, 2014

74 miles

Yesterday I became separated from the Philtrons and so I took the most prudent course of action and stayed in a hotel in Zacatecas instead of cycling past the city towards Aguascalientes. So today's main goal was making up the lost distance and reunite with the Philtrons in Aguascalientes. 

I woke up bright an early to rain, and 50 something degrees, which is a perfect combination for cold, uncomfortable riding. Add to that is the cobblestone streets and Mexican traffic and you have very dangerous riding. The fog was pretty though.

I tried to make my way to an alternative highway after deeming the route to the toll road too dangerous, but I got lost and overshot the alternative highway and found myself very close to the toll road. Because the toll road was only 3km away, I decided to battle semi trailers and rain and fog for that distance to get to the toll road and its nice wide shoulders and lower traffic levels rather than. I almost got knocked off the road twice before I decided to bike along the parallel dirt path. 

On the toll road things were slightly better. For some reason the cars and buses weren't giving me my space! And then I hit a construction zone and rush hour at the same time which forced me to salmon. Regardless I made it to a McDonalds in Aguascalientes to use their wifi and figure out where Daisy and Jason were. 70 miles at an average of 12 mph is not bad for a tour. I am a little tired, but it is a good tired.

Salmoning!

Turns out Daisy and Jason hopped a barrier and went into a store when I went past the construction. When I went back to look for them they were out of sight and so missed them. If I had been with them I would have been able to sleep in the cheapest hotel so far: 100 pesos. 

New State!

All is well and we are happily staying with a warmshowers host who is a Peace Corps member. He is very friendly and he even made us some food!

Day 134-137 Durango to Zacatecas

November 3-November 6

After riding the highway to Durango and Dia de los Muertos, the last few days of riding seem somewhat bland in comparison. It feels like the day is without purpose. Of course this isn't true. As I look back at the photos I took, I remember that bike touring isn't about having awesome things happen all the time. It's also about noticing all the little things that happen that most people don't notice because they are moving too fast. With that said I guess I have to go and play kum-ba-yah after I add captions to these photos.

Does this need a caption?

While we were staying at this hotel, I was fortunate enough to meet Alan. I got to talk with him in Spanish while we ate the lentil, rice and veggie dish I made.

Yum.... tuna!

A charming little city called Sain Alito. We agreed that we got more thumbs ups, waves, and friendly honks in one day here than we did in all of the United States. This is true most days in Mexico.

As you can see from these photos, it is cloudy! And I'm wearing a rainjacket! The wind made it sufficiently cold enough to force me to wear a jacket. First time I have worn it since Yosemite in early August. Also, it rained for a little while each of the last two days.

Snack time on tarps!

Cathedral in Zacatecas. 

Detail work on the Cathedral in Zacatecas.

This is how we park our bikes at a restaurant.

Currently I am by myself in a hotel in Zacatecas because I accidentally got separated from Jason and Daisy. I went up and over a bridge on a very busy highway, and apparently they did not. I have been relying on them for the map and directions, which I see now was a silly thing to do. After I lost them I had no idea how to get to the next city without using the highway that I deemed too dangerous to ride. I decided to not rush myself or do anything crazy so I got a hotel room and a map. Tomorrow I will try to make up ground!

What an exciting little hic-up.