Author Archives: Daisy

… then suddenly we were in Patagonia.

A Patagonian vista

Last time we wrote we had a shocking announcement: we were going to quit riding south, and instead fly all the way to the bottom and bike back up. Surprisingly, Cancun marked the halfway point for our trip. We had ridden 9,220 miles to get there and had about 9,000 and some miles left to go. After crunching the numbers we realized that we would get to the far south during their spring. It would be bitterly cold, and the mountain passes would still be snowed in. As a result, we decided to fly south from Cancun and hit the summer season while riding back north.

Our celebratory “leaving the airport in Southern Patagonia” photograph.

Now, we are actually in Punta Arenas, the southernmost Chilean city. We are so happy that we are here in the summer, because even now it is so so cold! It reached a high of around 50 degrees F today, and that certainly didn’t include the windchill from the 20 mph ‘breeze’ that mostly blew directly in our faces as we rode to town from the airport. Needless to say, we are glad we packed the extra down coats!

So let me fill you in, just a tiny bit, on what it took to get here from Merida on the Yucatan Peninsula. We spent three days cranking out 200 flat, boring miles to Cancun. Highlights from these days were… finishing a great book on tape, and reaching Cancun. Once in Cancun we checked into a hostel that was essentially 15 bunk beds in one big room. Surprisingly, it was very quiet at night and we had a nice time. We also took the bikes to a local bike shop that packed them up for us in airline-approved cardboard boxes. It was very worth it for us, considering that it cost less than $15 per bicycle, and that last time we did it ourselves we needed 4 hours to finish the task.

Our view for three days. You can see how it might get a little dull…

A spot of color during out ride to Cancun. This whole city was painted a brilliant yellow.

Celebratory “we made it to Cancun” photograph.

We also cut a deal with a taxi guy who had a car big enough to fit the bikes. He would give us 100 pesos off the fare to the airport if we dealt with him directly and didn’t call the taxi company. Great! We made a plan for when he would pick us up. The next morning we were early for pickup, of course, which made the other taxi guys on our street start to get excited about stealing some business. We spent an amusing 15 minutes with them as they tried to figure out how they could get 2 bike boxes, 2 big boxes of gear, 4 small bags, and 2 people all into a sedan. Apparently, the taxis aren’t that expensive if you speak Spanish and can get the drivers into a bidding war! We could have gotten to the airport for 1/3 cheaper than advertised rates. Eventually though, the original driver came and got us in his big car.

In the airport with all the gear packed up.

In the US, getting a bicycle on a plane is a huge deal. When we flew to Alaska we had to pay $400 to get all our gear on with us. For this trip we were dreading the cost to get them all the way to Patagonia. To our amazement, however, there was zero cost at all. The agent at check-in just advised us to put more tape on our boxes to reinforce them, then sent everything down the conveyor belt. That’s right – no fee for oversized luggage, no extra fees, nothing. We were in awe.

I drew this whole thing on my personal screen, and Jason didn’t even notice! He was too busy playing Bejeweled2 on his own screen…

The flight was great too – a massive airplane that was only about 2/3 full. We each had an interactive screen, they offered us wine, and fed us two meals. I think I may stop flying domestically in the US and only fly to Argentina and Chile from now on!

Re-assembling the bicycles in the airport: always a minor headache.

We arrived in Punta Arenas around 6 am, and spent the next three hours in a sleep-deprived haze as we re-assembled the bicycles in the airport. It was with great excitement that we finally opened the doors and rode off into Patagonia. Immediately we noticed a few things: it was cold, rugged, and windy. It was also wildflower season, but we were too cold and tired to get our cameras out. We’ll get some photos for the next post, we promise.

Riding into town, with the strait of Magellan on the left.

We have been in Punta Arenas for close to three days, getting prepared for the next leg of the trip. Patagonia is a frontier land that is over-run with backpackers. The cities have dozens of hostels, some of which allow camping in the yard. We wandered the city, visiting museums and walking the waterfront.

Large and detailed murals are scattered throughout the city.

Punta Arenas has a lovely (if cold) waterfront.

This is Pelusa, one of the hostel dogs.

This is the first cat that has befriended us on this trip!

The mail is delivered by bicycle. Now we really love this city.

Some cormorants clustered on the beach downtown.

We also took an afternoon tour one day to see a penguin colony. The penguins were adorable, and we decided they were worth the scary trip on dirt roads in a van driven by crazy man.

The first penguin we saw.

These little penguins waddled all the way across the field in a line.

Jason walking in the penguin reserve. You can’t see the vicious wind, but it was there.

This is where the penguins live. What a life.

Next we will ride North, mostly in Chile but also dipping a bit into Argentina. The roads are quite isolated here, and Wifi hard to come by, so don’t be worried if the next update is slow coming.

Rest days in Merida and introducing… The Philtrons Pedal North!

We spent 8 wonderful days in Merida with Daisy’s parents, and had the full Mexican experience with them. Highlights include Mayan ruins, a horse-drawn tour of underground swimming holes, a broken down rental car, potential tourist scams, and a diagnosis of intestinal parasites. It is hard to believe we fit so much into such a short time!

The whole crew in Izamal: the yellow city.

Our first day here we went to pick up the rental car that we had reserved online months ago. However, we learned that reservations of cars are ‘subject to availability at time of pick-up’. Um… what?! This means that your reservation is more or less a joke, and in our case it was really a joke. There was no car for us! We had to come back the next day, wait for over an hour, and finally got a teeny -tiny car for a much higher rate than we expected. Oh well, we were so happy just to have a car. Booking tours for four people is pricey, and having the car meant freedom to plan our own itinerary for tourist sites.

The ruins near Merida were small but fun.

The ruins even had a cenote that we could swim in! The heads in the foreground are ours…

The first order of business was Mayan ruins. We visited two sites in the vicinity of Merida. The first was smaller, but really fun because it included a dip in a cenote. These are very deep freshwater pools that provided water for the Mayans and often ended up preserving many artifacts that helped archaeologists learn about their culture.

The second ruin we visited was Uxmal, a once-great city that is still beautiful. The carvings were exquisite on all the buildings, and there weren’t too many tourists to clutter up our photos (hee hee). We saw lots of iguanas lazing about in the sun, and even found some bats that had set up shop in the ruins.

Selfie at Uxmal

The carvings at Uxmal were exquisite

Our favorite tourist activity was a visit to three famous cenotes. The locals have set up a unique way to access them: horse-drawn rail car. We had to visit twice, since the first time we arrived in the afternoon and they had run out of horses to tow the rail cars about. The next day we arrived early and were among the first to set out. It was quite an adventure! The rail car seemed to be held together with a combination of metal wire and grease, and the horse bounced us up and down and all around. We even had to walk a section of the route since someone had inexplicably stolen some of the railroad.

Our horse and driver.

Pushing the cart where there were no rails.

Access to the first cenote. There is a tiny hole at the base of the tree.

The cenotes themselves were incredible. The first one was accessed through a tiny hole in the ground and a ladder made of re-purposed railroad ties. Once down the hole we found ourselves in a cave packed with stalactites and stalagmites. We descended to the water using a single rope to keep from falling, and the way was illuminated by our guide’s single flashlight. We lowered ourselves into the water and swam through the cave. It became pitch black when our guide moved his light elsewhere, and we had to find our way around by touch. It was incredible!

In the cave cenote.

A more typical cenote: streaming sunlight, clear water, reaching tree roots.

The other cenotes we visited were a little more stereotypical: crystal clear water in underground caves with rays of light streaming in from above. Tree roots descended from the ceiling in search of water, and we loved swimming in the cool depths. This is absolutely a tour we would reccommend, but not for the faint of heart! It was kind of scary getting into and out of the cenotes, but well worth it.

Panic time: rental car breakdown.

On the way back from the cenote tour we had another experience: rental car break down. We were driving on the highway when the engine just stopped working. I was incredulous, but luckily managed to coast to the shoulder and put on the blinkers. We were able to call the rental car company and they sent out a tow truck and a replacement vehicle within two hours, which was actually very nice. The whole family just relaxed and read our books, so it was really pretty similar to a siesta!

This was where we spent the afternoon.

Child seat Mexican style.

A few of the eight days were spent lounging and doing chores. While in Merida we took care of a lot of chores that we’ve been putting off for a long time. This means that we changed our bicycle chains, sterilized our water bottles (they all had some green growth at the bottom), and rotated our tires. We also managed to re-pack and get some new gear for cold weather (more on that below!)

We all went out to lunch a few times, with variable results. See photo below!

Jason and I ordered this: Relleno Negro. It is burned chile soup with turkey and really not that delicious.

Also in the good news department – I think we’ve finally got my ongoing stomach problems figured out. I got myself to a doctor, and got prescribed a round of antibiotics and anti-parasitics. Apparently folks in Mexico just de-parasite themselves every 6 months because they are so common here. I really hope the medicine works, since I am super sick of having stomach problems on bike tour!

Now, finally, the big news…

The Philtrons Pedal South is becoming The Philtrons Pedal North. Once we reach Cancun on January 11 we will fly (in an airplane) to the southern tip of Chile, and then we will ride north again all the way back to Cancun. We agonized over this decision, but in the end I think we will be very happy with it. Yes, it will break up the continuity of the trip and probably throw you readers for a loop, but we have good reasons!

There are roads in southern Chile that pass through incredible mountain scenery, complete with ferry rides, gravel, glaciers, and more. We have dreaming about these roads for years. The problem is that they are only accessible in the Chilean summer: January through March. If we rode our entire route North to South we would arrive far too early in the season to ride them… The solution? Ride the second half backwards! This also helps with other timing (like getting back to work, someday), and lets us avoid the problem areas of Central America until the end of the trip. In this way, we can get rid of everything valuable before entering areas where we are more likely to be robbed.

So, we hope you’ll keep following our adventures despite the sudden discontinuity! We’ll re-visit this decision in a couple more posts, for those folks that miss this one. We are super excited for this next leg to begin.

The rush (north) to Merida.

9000 miles! We reached this latest milestone near Merida, Yucatan.

You may have noticed that we aren’t pedaling exactly South these days, since we turned the corner in Chiapas and headed almost due north into the Yucatan Peninsula. The Yucatan is a big chunk of land in the Southeast corner of Mexico that is geographically and culturally distinct from the rest of Mexico, so of course we had to ride it.

Even better, my (Daisy) parents came down from Bellingham, WA to meet us for a week of rest in the capital city of Merida. The logistics of meeting someone on bike tour can be daunting, but somehow we managed to arrive in Merida on exactly the same day. In order to pull this off we had to put in some really big days on the Yucatan. Luckily, this place is flat as a pancake.

Rainy day on flat roads made it easy to ride many many miles.

We left Palenque early on Christmas morning. This meant that the traffic was light, as most Mexicans are Catholic and stay home to celebrate with their families. It was also dumping rain for most of the day, so we had little option but to ride ride ride all day. The roads were flat, and would have been uninteresting if it hadn’t been for the incredible birdlife. We saw many types of large birds from herons and egrets to hawks. For lunch we stopped in a giant roadside palapa (palm-roof building) and had Mexican-style eggs with tortillas while the rain poured down outside.

A great place to get Christmas breakfast. The Gator Boys (Discovery Channel show about Crocodiles) was playing in Spanish!

So many birds here!

Lower left corner: super cool pink water bird.

It cleared by evening, but we were in a pretty isolated area and there were no settlements or hotels to be found. We kept riding and riding, hoping to find something, but nothing appeared. Finally, after a whopping 97 miles we found a gas station. They informed us that the next town / hotel was another 10 miles up the road, but they also gave us permission to camp at the gas station. So we spent the night camped at the gas station: another first for the trip.

Yes, that really is our tent at the gas station.

We hoped to have the next day be a little more relaxed, but again we rode over 90 miles. This time there were small towns to stay in, but I insisted on a hotel. My stomach is still nowhere near 100% and the idea of camping in some town square without a bathroom was just too much. Unfortunately there were no hotels for the last 50 miles of road! We ended up in the super-budget rooms in a busy Mexican town on the Gulf of Mexico. Can you believe that, we made it to the Gulf of Mexico!

That’s the gulf of Mexico behind me! WOW!

These discarded cement circles were havens for the pelicans.

Lots of sugar cane production in the area. Kudos to Jason for getting his camera out fast enough to get this shot!

Jason found some street art.

We slept very well and even allowed ourselves to sleep in, since the next day was only about 50 miles to the capital city of Campeche. The road wove along the coast through tiny towns and along water that was lovely and calm. The city of Campeche was also lovely: the historical center had been completely restored in pastel shades and pretty buildings. We spent a long afternoon wandering the streets and climbing around the old walls that used to protect the colonial city. That night Jason ventured out into the square around 10pm to find the whole place hopping with Christmas cheer and enough flashing lights to make just about anyone sick.

Campeche wanderings.

The painstakingly restored pastel streets of Campeche.

From Campeche it was just two more reasonable (50-55 mile) days into Merida. We rode through the flat and seemingly endless roads of the Yucatan, mainly listening to books on tape and dreaming about cooking in a kitchen. There was more rain, too.

This is the kind of road we’ve been on lately. For real.

A highlight was meeting two more touring cyclists in a turn lane on the highway. We stopped for a nice chat and learned they were two Australians on their very first bicycle tour. It was great to chat with them, and we invited them to come visit with us in Merida.

Laura and Damon, our new friends from Australia. It was great to meet you two!

When we finally reached Merida we found a big spread-out city quite unlike the other Mexican cities we’ve visited. It seemed to sprawl on forever, and there were opulent mansions with security guards neighboring abandoned mansions whose glory was clearly lost decades ago. With very little trouble we located the house my parents had rented and happily settled in. My parents didn’t arrive until very late that night, but arrive they did. It was so great to see their faces again! We’ll post parental photos in the next update, for now, a few pics of Merida mansions!

Impeccable mansion complete with security guards.

Right next door: abandoned mansion with jungle slowly taking over.

Next up: highlights from our time in Merida, and the ‘unveiling’ of a big development in our journey. Spoiler alert: no one’s pregnant.

Oaxaca to San Cristobal Part 2: The mountains of Chiapas

Our route from Oaxaca to San Cristobal – over 400 miles!

View during the climb into Chiapas

Our introduction to Chiapas included another raging headwind combined with an unexpectedly steep 3,000′ climb. At times it was literally impossible to ride and we had to resort to walking up the hill. During the wind gusts it was too difficult to even walk, and we had to use our bicycle’s brakes just to keep from getting blown back down the hill. Yikes!! Needless to say, it was another day where we didn’t make our intended destination.

The winds were fierce – and so was Jason’s face

We turned off the main road an hour before sunset to seek out a small town to pass the night. Yet again, we found a tiny town where perhaps no gringo has ever gone. As we approached the main square we heard fresh bread being announced on the loudspeaker. We followed this sound to its source: the beer dispensary. Apparently, a local family uses it as a base to sell all sorts of homemade foods. The bread was delicious! We asked everyone we met about who to ask to get permission for camping. The town’s main official was out of town for another few hours, so we set up on a basketball court to make dinner. As we did so wave after wave of interested young men (and a lone woman) came by to gawk at us and ask us questions about our trip. Luckily, the official eventually returned and let us camp in his mother’s patio. She was kind to us and showed us her pet squirrel that she had rescued after it was hit by a car. It was a restful night, but we were ready to be back on the road in the morning.

Countryside during our dirt-road tour towards the Sima

Our next day in Chiapas was supposed to be easy… but of course it wasn’t. We had a nice morning of riding up and down rolling hills, and we planned to stay at an ecotourism center situated next to a giant abyss in the ground over 400′ deep. Unfortunately, we missed the shortcut turnoff and as a result we almost didn’t make it by dark. The last 8 miles of riding were on a narrow dirt road that led us to the middle of nowhere. We saw goats, horses, and cows all relaxing on the road. What we didn’t see were cars or any other tourists, but we bravely rode on. We emerged into a surprisingly well-kept and lovely area on the edge of an impressive abyss.

Jason is happy to have made it to the top of the 500′ dirt climb

Cattle (almost) blocking the road

The hole in the ground was a real thing! It was a circular area about 400′ wide that had simply sunk into the ground. The walls were sheer cliffs 400′ deep. We camped for free that night in a flat area off to the side and comfortingly nearby were fully functioning restrooms. The downside was the crazy British man also camping there who proceeded to have loud arguments with himself in the middle of the night. Luckily, he left us alone and was gone early the next morning.

The Sima de los Cottoras (Sinkhole of the Parrots). Unfortunately for us, the birds migrated north in November so we didn't get to see the dramatic circular exit at sunrise. (On the other hand, we got to sleep in!)

The Sima de los Cottoras (Sinkhole of the Parrots). Unfortunately for us, the birds migrated north in November so we didn’t get to see their dramatic circular exit at sunrise. (On the other hand, we got to sleep in!)

Traffic as we entered Tuxtla Gutierrez

Our next stop was the capital of Chiapas: Tuxtla Gutierrez. For the last five or so days we had been seeing caravans of folks running along the road carrying torches. We learned that these were pilgrimages for the Virgen of Guadalupe, who is very important for Mexicans. The runners were always accompanied by festively decorated pick-up trucks, mini-vans, or even tractor trailers. We exchanged waves and honks as we passed and got passed by them on the road. Their pilgrimages finally ended on December 12, and we were lucky to be in a very major city for the final celebration. The main street of this hectic town was shut down entirely to make room for pilgrims, street vendors, food, carnival rides, and thousands of pedestrians. We were delighted by the festivities, if a little overwhelmed. Once again, we were reminded that Mexico really knows how to party.

Main street turned (mostly) pedestrian during the celebration for the Virgen de Guadalupe

We were surprised to see carnival rides on some of the side streets!

Don’t forget the hundreds of motorcycles that were also part of the parade/pilgrimage – and the noise they made…

Many “colectivos” lined up to take folks all over the place. For less than $1 US each, we got a 20 minute ride.

Initially we planned to spend a single night in Tuxtla, but Jason began to feel a bit unwell the next day so we decided to take a rest. In the afternoon he felt good enough to venture out of the hostel. We took a collective bus to a nearby town where we boarded a speed boat to take a sightseeing tour of the Sumidero Canyon. This canyon was impressive for many reasons. The sides of the canyon rise up to 3000 sheer feet above the water in towering walls. In the narrow areas that weren’t cliff faces, rain forest abutted the river’s edge. We even saw a crocodile! It was a wonderful trip.

The canyon walls were tall and sheer

We loved how the hands went up to take photos – and we got to see it all from the back of the boat. The best was the girl with the full-size iPad.

Water dripped from above and created a formation they call the Christmas tree

This tourist attraction wouldn’t be complete without a floating snack store! (Surprisingly, there weren’t any dogs at this stop…)

The next day we set out for our biggest day of climbing yet on this trip. It was 6,300′ of elevation gain over 28 miles as we rode to the city of San Cristobal. It was to be our hardest day yet, and not just for the climbing. In the morning Jason decided he felt good enough to make the climb, so we headed out. Technically, he was right, but in retrospect we probably should have stayed put. About 1/3 of the way into the climb Jason was feeling poorly with an upset stomach and a headache. It was a surprise to both of us when he suddenly vomited in the road during a rest stop. It sounds horrible, and I guess it was, but after it was over Jason felt much better and remarked that it tasted like a strawberry-banana smoothie. Bizarre, but oh well.

Daisy’s super-loaded bike

Daisy enjoys a much-earned “elote” for a snack. She even likes the spicy sauce!

I took as much of the weight as I could off of Jason’s bike and we slowly continued climbing. He didn’t feel like eating but I tricked him into eating a lunch of fruits and veggies with peanut butter. Slowly, slowly, slowly we made it up the mountain. It was quite a moment of relief when we finally crested the last part of the hill and saw the shining city of San Cristobal in the valley below.

For now, we are staying put in the city while Jason recovers for a bit. We hypothesize that he ate something that really really didn’t agree with him, and it is just going to take a bit to work its way out of his system. We plan to stay here for around 5 days to also allow Jason to take some language classes, as long as he feels up to it. We’ll let you know how it goes!