The Heart of Mexico

This is Carlos Guadalupe and his mother.  Carlos found Tim's day bag on the bench next to the Virgin of Guadalupe church by his house.  The azul mochila contained important international travel documents as well as an IPod and other stuff you carry in a knapsack.  We can all give Tim a hard time for leaving his bag behind for the rest of his life but this was an opportunity for us to feel the heart of Mexico. About 2 hours later, upon realizing the bag was missing, Tim backtracked to find it immediately, unfortunetly he could not find the small church where we stopped to use the public telephone to call Alison.  He didn't get much sleep that night so the next day armed with signs translated by Alison to have the bag returned we headed out.  Luckily we were able to find the Virgin de Guadalupe church and after spending some time wandering around the neighbourhood looking in the garbage for the documents we dedicied to take the advice of a helpful gentleman and return to Tepoztlan until he did some investigating to find Tim's belongings and call us.  He was confident beyond a doubt that if the bag was left it would be returned.  We were getting ready to leave, anyone who has seen us saddle up our bikes knows this is not a quick process, Tim was resetting the GPS and I was taking a photo.  Then a woman came out and asked in Spanish if we lost a azul mochila, blue bag, after lifting his jaw from the ground in surprise Tim managed to communicate that indeed it was his bag.  The woman returned the bag and insisted that a reward was not necessary as it was his bag and should be returned to him.  We were touched by the humble honesty of this family and the neighbor.  We all hear strories of the hazards of Mexico but in a world of violence, is it fair to paint such a nasty picture?  We have discovered that there are good people everywhere and that most Mexicans are going out of their way to make sure we are safe and have a wonderful experinece exploring this country.   

This is Gabby, we met him in Toronto three years ago.  He heard the motorcycles circling the neighbourhood and peeked his head out of the gate to welcome us.  He knew we were on the road and took a chance to look out the gated wall to rescue us from the hot dusty road.  We were very weary and so happy to see his smiling face and to recive a warm welcome.  Please remember Gabby lives in Mexico.

This blog could not be complete until I thank Alison, Jarmo and their son, Noah,  for the hospitality and generosity shown this week.  They introduced us to many friends and wonders of Tepotzlan.  We are leaving tomorrow rested and well fed from our stay here and only wish they were staying until May so we could see them on the return trip. We know there are many new roads to discover between here and Panama.  We will treasure our memories of the moments we shared on the roof top terrace welcoming friends ,dancing in the kitchen, traversing city traffic to find an outdoor concert, hiking mountain sides searching for pyrmiads and birds and quiet moments enjoying the peace and quiet of this haven.  We are left with the challenge of  beating Noah at the game of "Last Word".

Finding the Mainland

Our bikes are always safe when parked for a sleepover.  Usually right outside our room and in a closed gated area.  This is the place we stayed when we drove off the ferry from La Paz.  We had no gasoline and were ready for a rest.  

Parking in the courtyard outside our room.

 We left for the nearest Pemex the next morning and drove through beautiful orchards and fields of crops.  The community of Las Moches is vibrant and busy after the laid back experiences we had in Baja.  We drove onto the toll highways called Autopiste and made excellent time as we headed south toward San Blas.  We stopped at a roadside place for a bite to eat and couldn't make out the menu at all.   Ten miners from Las Moches pulled up and noticed our predicament.  One burley looking fellow explained that in this part of Mexico, fish was eaten fresh, not cooked.  So he ordered a delicious seafood cocktail for us that was chock full of shrimp, octopus, scallops and other tasty bits.  We are so fortunate to have these kind people all along the way helping us out.

Jacaranda tree.  One of the many colourful sights.

We were constantly on the alert for banditos and highwaymen as we drove along the way.   Such was the advice of so many concerned well wishers in the northern part of the continent.  We were soon to discover the the true bandits were the men and women working for the government who were collecting the tolls on the autopiste.  Two vehicles double the toll that we pay and 25 pesos each soon became 91 each and then 108P each.  We soon realized that our daily budget was being used up simply by driving along these wonderful multilane highways.  We soon decided to join the unwashed masses on the auto libre and spend time reflecting on our fortunate position rather than racing through it.

These altars are found beside the highways all over Mexico.

We drove along through twisting hilly countryside, further away from modern conveniences like restaurants and gas stations.   We don't find the inconvenience of self-serve along the way but sometimes have to lend a hand holding the funnel or tube. 

Half a bucketful of fuel-100 pesos.

Rest stops are as varied as the needs  that bring them about.  Sometimes the need for shade, a bite to eat or a number of other reasons provide opportunity to meet local merchants.  On one occasion, we stopped beside a seven year old boy who sold chopped up watermelon in a plastic beer glass with a small plastic fork for 5 pesos.  We unfolded the little tripod chairs we fasten to the side of Camilla's seat, sat in the shade and crunched and munched on sweet, wet deliciousness.

A fragrant and shady place to rest along the way.

This photo was taken between Zihuatanejo and Altamirano.  The road was steep and twisty, full of switch-backs and was really slow going.  We reached the top of the mountain three hours and 120 kms later.  The principle refreshment offered upon achieving the summit... Mezcal of all things.  It did not inspire confidence in the ability of the drivers we encountered during the descent heading north and east.  The desert is severe here but provided nourishment for numerous creatures that hung out on the side of or the middle of the road.  Goats, sheep, donkeys, a horse, a pig, dogs, lizards, spiders, snakes, and others I'm sure I didn't notice played chicken or scurried off to the side of the road as we roared or crept by, depending on the topography.

One of the less artistic monuments found along the way although the tiny bit of shade was appreciated.

You might imagine barriers being built between the road and the great expanses of nothing but thin air leading to the canyons far below but you might be wrong.  Some gaps in the stone embankments suggest that the barrier might not prevent breaches.  These sights preclude the need for police with radar guns.  Common sense causes the reduced speeds we travel at rather than the fear of receiving speeding tickets.

Somewhere between aldente and medium rare.

Alison and Jarmo provide the entertainment at their home in Tepotzlan.

The moment I realize I have not lost all my travel documents.

 

 

 

 

Tepozteco-The pyramid above Tepotzlan.

These beasts make their home in the forests around Tepotzlan.

On the road in Mexico

    The two main rules we wanted to uphold were don't go home with anyone and don't drive at night.  We broke these two rules and lived to blog it.  The first day in Baja we were in Colonet drinking a coke outside the local Tecante trying to decide where we should stay when a lady in a big truck pulled up and took one look at us and invited us to her place.  She ran a mission on the out skirts of town.  It was too intrigueing to pass up.  We did hesitate momentarily before jumping on the KLRs and heading to her place, after all it was a mission.  Shirley and Martin showed us around their humble place and fed us a excellent meal, beans, rice and shrimp.  They showed us some real down home hospitality and we appreciated every minute of our time together.  They sent us off to bed at the hotel next door with a prayer and a blessing.  I think it was the best possible start to our stay in Mexico.
    Day 2 we broke the second rule.  We didn't intend to ride at night and promise it will never happen again.  It just got dark faster than we were riding.  Luck for us the little village of Rosalita had a bed with a hot shower.  We were enjoying a beautiful sunset approaching a plateau surrounded by mountain ranges then bang it was pitch black.  There was nothing in sight as we crawled along dreading the 80 + kms we had left to get to Guero Negro.  I was so happy to find a room in Roslita I would have paid any price just to get off the road.  The cook was a caring woman who took great care to give us a good meal.  I think she knew my nerves were shot.

Lovin' the view

desert vegatation

The Mission in Colonet

Yucca plants

More cati

Gassing up

The sunset that tricked us!

More Cati

Amazing views!

Mission in Loreta

   The scenery has been amazing.  The ride has taken us past coastal shores with waves crashing on beaches, through healthy farm lands, up and down mountainsides and through mountain passes.  The most fascinating scenery is the desert, it is alive and yet dead and desolate.  I didn't realize the variety of cacti and the vastness of the desert.  I describe it as trying to take a picture of the ocean, it is so big the wonder is lost in a tiny photo.
   I will finish off with some information about traffic calming divices in Mexico.  In order to get drivers to slow down on the highway approaching town there will be about 8-10 mini speed bumps followed by a large speed bump.  Apparently, we found out from Bill this evening, these are the passing zones for motorcycles.  This is the place for motorcycles to get around the big trucks. Also, there is the signage for sharp turns.  There are the normal black curves on a gold background but then there are the bends shown with 90" turn.  All bends, curves and 90" curves also have the black arrow on a gold sign.  There may be 3-12 of these on a turn.  The more sever the turn the more signs.  The sharper the turn the closer the signs are set together. If you come across a double arrow on a gold sign you better slow down. 

On a Mission

I called this blog "On a Mission" because we have something going with the word "mission" so far on this trip.  Our first hotel was in Mission Valley, the second was on Mission Blvd, the third hotel was called Mission Bay and our last night we are back in Mission Valley.  Interesting eh! These places are 40 -50 kms apart and we didn't realize the connection to "mission" until after the fact.  I will google mission and see if it has any signifiance to this adventure.

We knew coming here that we would look up my cousin and his wife, Chuck and Lori.  We had the pleasure of having dinner in their lovely modern California home.  Lori has a good eye for decorating and excellent taste.  The combination of white leather, fine art and antiques makes their home something special.  We also took in the Super Bowl game on Sunday...from which I am still recovering.  What was unexpected was meeting with Kerina, our niece on Tim's side.  We bumped into her at the San Diego Zoo and took advantage of being in the same city to hang out together.  She even put us up for a night.

Tomorrow we are going to depart this wonderful city full of friendly curious Americans to go to Mexico.  We have shed almost one third of the stuff we took here in an effort to make the load on the motorcycles a bit lighter.  Also, less stuff to organize and look after as we move along.  Kerina is going to take the thermarests back to Canada for us and the hotel staff was happy to have the surplus books, clothes and other stuff.  San Diego has been really good to us.  We were pleasantly surprised to find many guardian angels here in San Diego.  Thanks to the folks at ACE Relocation for helping us get started.

Oceanside, CA

Today we put our first miles under our belts.  We are now in Oceanside CA, with our motorcycles parked outside our motel room.  We are a bit heavily packed and will try to down size before we leave or at least rearrange the junk to make it seem like we don't have so much.  It is hard to downsize because we didn't really bring any luxury items and we think we need everything so we'll see how that goes.

We visited AAA today and have the proper insurance for Mexico, along with the forms to fill in for bringing our vehicles.  I think that is it for paper work unless we get ambitious and try to find the Mexican Consulate for Tourist cards but I think it can be worked out at the border.  We are getting mixed reports on the safety of travel.  The Mexican's working at Atlas thought it is was fine to go, even encouraged us to go.  AAA did not say don't go, as they did to a young guy with a new car and cayak, but they didn't encourage us to go either. Now armed with AAA advice and insurance we feel set to head south. 

The weather is perfect for motorcycling, 15 -18 C.  Not really beach weather but perfect for sight seeing and riding.  I am sure we will have lots of beach weather further south.  Tonight we plan to have dinner with my first cousing on my Dads side.  We are looking to him for some tips on what to do for the next couple of days.  Now we are toing to find a hot cup of tea.  We have not had a good cup of tea in days.  Life is tough on the road.