Author Archives: Daisy

From Oaxaca to San Cristobal Part 1: Mountains, Wind, and more adventures.

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

Many mountain views like this during this stretch.

It has been quite a journey these last few days. We are finally, officially in Southern Mexico if you can believe it! This area is alternately incredibly mountainous and incredibly flat with famously strong winds. We feel proud to have conquered both the climbs and the wind. Our few days crossing the narrowest part of Mexico – the isthmus – included the windiest riding we have ever experienced on a bicycle. Our final climb to San Cristobal (accomplished just two days ago) rates as our hardest climb ever.

We can divide this portion of our trip into three sections: the ‘descent’ from Oaxaca, the crossing of the isthmus, and our entry into the mountains of Chiapas. Each of them could be a post of their own, but I did manage to condense the first two into this update. You’ll have to wait another day to read about our entry into Chiapas though, sorry!

First, the ‘descent’ from Oaxaca City.

Our indoor camping spot in an itsy bitsy town. We slept well here.

I use the word ‘descent’ cautiously to describe our three day journey from Oaxaca, at 5,000′, to sea level. I do this because we had to climb over 6,000′ in the process! While in Oaxaca we spent far more money than usual, so we jokingly decided to try and spend as little as possible for the next week. We later abandoned this idea when faced with a rainstorm and tired legs, but by sheer lack of services we ended up spending next to nothing anyway! We stopped early on our first night out of the city in a tiny town after getting rained on during a sinuous descent. Of course, the town had no hotel but in the process of asking for one we found a simple room attached to a restaurant. For $7 we had an indoor camping spot, a shower, and a bathroom.

The very best part of the room was the company. Three little kids aged 2, 4, and 6 were

Jason drinking a traditional corn beverage in the restaurant next to our room.

fascinated with our stuff and kept us company as we made and ate dinner. After dinner we were surprised by yet another festival! This time it was a street parade / fundraiser for some purpose. We are not sure at all, we just know that a live band and about half the town was wandering the streets asking for donations and dancing. We were immediately spotted as possibly the only gringos to ever stay in town, and forced to dance along with them. What a riot!

A glimpse of the town party. They took over the one road through town and were escorted by the village ambulance.

We met our first cyclsts since Tyler! Denny and Dennis were heading north.

Our next day riding was utterly exhausting, but also lovely. We climbed 5,000′ total as we rose out of one river valley and descended into another repeatedly. It was threatening dark when we reached a teeny town called ‘La Reforma’ where we got permission to camp at the town basketball court. Miraculously, they opened up a bathroom for us and there was free satellite Wifi! Of course, there were also fireworks at 5:30 am. The morning was salvaged by a man selling sweet bread from his truck. Yum!

So many hills all day long.

‘To educate a child costs a lot, but not educating him costs more’. We really liked this.

Our opportunistic camping spot.

On our way down the mountain finally approaching the coast.

The last part of our descent was finally pure downhill! It was a joy to blast out of the mountains with a tailwind. We ate too much fruit at a fruteria, and drank too much horchata and coconut water in a market town. It was beautiful.

The bag of fruit after.

The bag of fruit before.

The overdose of fresh drinks marked the end of the ‘escape from Oaxaca’ and the beginning of our crossing of the Isthmus. We had a mere 26 flat km (about 15 miles) to cross before reaching our intended destination… but it took us nearly 2.5 hours and had us wondering if we should get a ride.

Jason with the mountains of Oaxaca behind him. Note: He didn’t notice that I had stopped to take this photo and almost ran me over!

Flat land ahead of us!!

What? The Philtrons thinking about a ride?! Don’t worry, we didn’t get one, but we did think about it! You see, the wind was immensely powerful, and directly from the side. This means that we had to lean far to the side just to stay straight, and every time a large vehicle passed we would be suddenly sucked toward it by the difference in wind. We quickly decided to simply stop riding every time a truck or bus neared. In this way we crept slowly but safely towards our destination.

Evidence of crazy wind.

Many wind turbines.

The Isthmus is the narrowest portion of Mexico, and also the only portion where the mountains cease for a brief space. The winds from the Gulf of Mexico rush through this gap and rage through the flat lands on the Pacific Coast. We rode through this area on flat, straight roads while being gusted by the wind in all directions. It was neat to be surrounded by towering wind turbines, and frustrating too to be practically blown backward at times. We had the good fortune to stay with a host at the end of our windy day. Rodrigo, Lupita, and their three sons gave us a warm welcome. We spent the evening chatting and watching YouTube videos with the kids. It is amazing how much 4 and 6 year-olds know about technology!

More windmills on the flat road. Did I mention it was threatening rain too?

Jason watching Youtube videos with Lupita and the kids. It was hilarious.

After our overnight at Rodrigo’s home we once more headed into the mountains, but this time in a new state: Chiapas. This is Mexico’s southernmost state, and is known for more mountains, jungles, rainforest, Mayan ruins, and its vibrant indigenous inhabitants. So far, we have mostly experienced the mountains. Unfortunately for you, you will have to wait for tomorrow to hear about this next part of our trip!

Here are a few more photos that give more of a snapshot into our experience here:

These motorcycle-taxis are everywhere here with many modifications.

Two different kinds of moto-taxis. One driver was helping to guide us to a cheap hotel in the city.

Aw… horchata. The heavenly drink made from almonds, rice, vanilla, and cinnamon. So cheap and so refreshing!

Three days in Oaxaca City

New foods in Oaxaca! Crunch.

We arrived in Oaxaca city prepared to take a rest day, maybe two, but we ended up staying three days and four nights. We loved this town, and could have spent even more time here! It helped that we stayed in a really comfortable (and affordable) hostel, and that it offered the fourth night’s stay free! In our three days here we went to two fantastic sets of ruins, visited a giant museum, saw the widest tree in the world, visited a ‘petrified waterfall’, and learned about traditional dying and weaving of wool. We also ate lots of new exciting foods like mole and grasshoppers.

Our first day was filled with wandering the streets, eating new foods, and visiting a museum about the history of Oaxaca. Jason has been excited about trying new types mole: rich, flavorful sauces that are characteristic of this region. We went to the food market in the city center to get steaming plates of different moles, along with delicious fruit waters. As we ate a local woman came by selling fried grasshoppers – another typical food of the region. We decided the grasshoppers were really yummy, but we couldn’t look at them before we ate them.

Black mole: a very intense sauce made from over 40 ingredients.

Every day was another party! We are not even sure what this one was for.

The impressive church / convent building that housed the city museum.

Some high school students that interviewed us for a class project.

That afternoon we went to the city museum that is housed in a giant ex-convent that is more like a maze than anything else. The museum had lots of information and artifacts about the pre-hispanic cultures of the area, as well as about colonization and current life. It went on and on…

Our second day in Oaxaca we went to the stunning archeaological site of Monte Alban. This is an ancient city built on top of a hill at the center of three mountain valleys. The indigenous groups of the area managed to keep this site secret from the Spaniards until this century, so it was not looted or dissassembled by them at all. It was a stunning site, and it was particularly fun because we went with a new friend, Liam, that we met at our hostel.

Monte Alban was perched at the top of a hill, where the original inhabitants had landscaped it to be a flat plateau.

They used this impressive sundial for telling both time and tracking seasons.

You can tell we are towering above the valleys.

Many of these rock carvings were found and preserved here.

One area of Monte Alban.

We went all out on our last day in town and took an organized all-day tour. It was so much fun that we will consider this kind of activity in the future too. For about $15 each we got transportation to 5 different attractions, and a tour guide for our small group.

Our first stop was the Tule tree: the world’s widest tree. It dwarfs the church whose courtyard it sits in, and is surrounded by a constant stream of tourists.

Our next stop was our favorite. We went to visit a family who specializes in traditional wool weaving. They gave a very nice presentation on how wool is prepared, turned into yarn, dyed using traditional methods, and woven on a traditional loom. Our favorite part was learning about the red and purple dyes which are made from a tiny insect that lives on the prickly pear cactus plant. When the dried bugs are ground up, they add liquid of different acidity to make different colors. It was so neat! We ended up buying a rug, even though we’ll have to carry it for the next month. We just couldn’t resist!

The traditional way to spin yarn here.

The cochinilla bug all dried up on the left, and the cactus leaf it lives on.

Jason here is learning about the cochinilla bug.

All the incredible colors they can make with naturally found dyes.

Our new rug. Someday we will leave in a place with non-tent walls where we can hang it up!

Jason was too tall for this site.

After the wool stop we went to another archealogical site. This one was very interesting because it was occupied right up until the Spanish conquest of Mexico, when the Spaniards toppled one of the temple buildings and used the stones to build a church on top. Most of the other buildings were similarly vandalized, but one was defended and is now wonderfully preserved. The stonework was incredible, and we even got to go down into one of the tombs through a narrow, short tunnel.

Some of the very impressive stonework in Mitla.

They still don’t know what these pillars supported.

Next up was the petrified waterfall called ‘Hierve el agua’. Literally, this means ‘the water boils’. There is a mineral rich spring bubbling up at the top of a cliff. When the water cascades down the cliffside it deposits the minerals in slow motion, forming what appears to be a frozen waterfall. The government built some small swimming pools at the top to catch the spring water, and there were actually lots of people in and around them.

Our final stop was at a traditional mezcal factory. This is a type of strong liquor made from a cactus plant. To make it they cook the base of the cactus plant underground for three days, crush them into pulp and squish out the juice, ferment that for eight days, and then bottle it up to age. Quite a process! A few days after we learned this we accidentally bought some of the fresh-squeezed agave juice at a market when we tried to buy honey. It certainly does the trick though, and sweetens up our oatmeal in the morning.

It’s been a while since we last updated, and a LOT has happened since then, most of it outside of internet land. We will post again soon to tell of these adventures! We promise!

Back over the mountains – From tiny towns to ancient ruins

When last we updated we were in the charmingly named town of Tamazunchale, where we took the laziest rest day ever. Mostly, we laid in bed and read novels, only venturing outside once to buy food supplies. It was great! Since then, we have climbed back up and over the beautiful Sierra Gorda mountains and into the arid Mexican highlands surrounding Mexico City. We spent an amazing night in a tiny town church celebrating the villages patron’s saint day and learning their traditional dance. Back in the highlands we stayed with another welcoming host and then did some fast riding to visit ancient ruins – including the third largest pyramid on the planet!

It looks like a short distance – but that elevation profile explains a lot!

Now, some pictures and highlights.

Climbing high again.

Climbing over the Sierra Gorda again took us three days of effort. On the first day we enjoyed the climbing and felt good, but the clouds rolled in around 2pm and visibility was so bad that we decided to call it a day. We got a hotel in a little hill town and I (Daisy) managed to sleep from 7pm until 7am the next day. This was after I ate most of a large papaya and a big dinner of mole chicken with lentils. I was stuffed!

Yes, I ate nearly all of it. Then I ate dinner.

This house had coffee drying on the roof. Yum.

The next day we hoped to make a lot of miles (70?), but then reality hit us hard. There was still about 5,000′ of climbing to do that day, and there was no way. We did stop for ice cream in a little town after the one bit of downhill for the day. After that it was up, up, up to about 8,000′. We entered the high altitude pine forest, which was beautiful, but we were very tired well before our intended stop.

That is when something amazing happened!

The road we followed into the woods, complete with local fauna.

The next little town we came to was called Nogales, and seemed to consist of a few houses, some unfinished, and a tiny little church with a nice flat yard. We decided to try and get permission to stay in the yard of the church. We couldn’t find anyone, but a couple of teenagers told us that the whole town was at a party up the road. Following their directions, we took a little road a mile into the hills where sure enough, the whole town was having a party. They had a big tent set up outside a church, with music playing, big pots of tea and punch, and steaming plates of food. Apparently, it is the day of the patron saint of the town, so there was a big fiesta!

Fiesta! This is the only picture we took because it just didn’t feel right to take a ton of photos.

As we rolled up, all the ladies in the food line looked at us curiously, and by the time we parked our bikes and walked over to say hi they had already dished up two plates and sent them over! We were made to sit down with the young folks crowding around us to eat. As we ate they kept bringing us more things to drink – soda, black tea, fruit tea. This whole time we chatted with a growing group of village kids. Eventually we finally got to asking about where we could camp. We got permission to camp “anywhere”, but the food ladies insisted that we sleep in the church kitchen, where it would be warmer.

At this point the party was winding down. Jason and I helped put the chairs away, and Jason helped carry a heavy table back to someone’s house. The matron of the house insisted I go along with him, and then she sat us down in her kitchen to share some spiced Mexican coffee and a crazy fruit that they like to eat with coffee. We spent a while there, and then returned with her and her family to the church. Once there, we were roped into dancing with a small group of the local folks. We learned the traditional dance of that area and had a fun time. Of course, we were really tired by the end of this! We laid down in the church kitchen and were asleep before the dancing was even over. What a night!

Our corner in the church kitchen

The family that adopted us. Jason looks like a giant.

One last look at the wrinkly mountains.

Birthday treats for Daisy.

The next day we finally emerged from the lush mountains and re-entered the arid Mexican highlands. Not too much to remark about this day except that we finally were able to do decent mileage again. Also, it was my birthday! Not that we really remembered or did much to celebrate except for getting a nice(r) hotel room in the next bustling town. Oh! We did each eat an entire bag of potato chips in celebration.

The celebrated Christmas tree in Pachuca

We entered the city of Pachuca on another festival day (aren’t we lucky?), and found the central plaza swarming with police and workers setting up stages for musicians. Apparently it was exactly a month before Christmas and time to light the giant bizarre looking Christmas tree in the central square. As we later saw, there were even fireworks. We spent the night with Enrique and his family. His mother really took us under her wing and insisted we eat, eat, eat. She also spoke very slowly and clearly so that Jason could understand everything. His Spanish skills are getting so much better.

Bruno, Enrique’s rescue dog. He was so cute!

Finally, our last highlight for this section was the ruins of Teotihuacan. We spent the morning visiting the archaeological ruins, which were visually stunning. It was strange to realize, however, that the pyramids and other buildings were mostly just lumps in the field until the Mexican government got to rebuilding it with concrete. We weren’t sure how authentic the rebuild was, but it was still fun to imagine what the site was like a thousand years ago.

Also, the on-site museum was excellent. We particularly enjoyed watching the school field trip groups walking through. The little kids oohed and ahed at the human remains section.

Now, we are heading off into the countryside again to explore some backroads and head south towards Oaxaca. This upcoming area promises more mountains (no surprise) and also more jungle. Finally, there are few more random photos I would like to share that didn’t fit anywhere else:

For you, Xiomara!

One of the many unexpected vehicles we see on the roads here. This was a trailer being towed by a motorbike veeery slowly.

Durango to Guanajuato: Mexico’s highlands and silver cities

Huge vistas as we rode away from the many charms of Durango.

It was tough to pry ourselves away from the many delights of Durango, but we did it. Many miles of open plains, small towns, and windy days awaited us. Our route south from Durango took us over a few small mountains, but mostly kept us at about 6,000′ and riding through agricultural ranch lands. As we made it farther south we started to pass through rich colonial mining towns with centuries of history and hundreds of thousands of people. Our time in this area has been highlighted by wonderful hosts that we met through luck or Warmshowers (a touring cyclists hospitality network).

The miles we’ve covered in this section.

A snapshot of the chaos of the typical Mexican town.

Our first few days out of Durango were a bit challenging mentally. It rained for at least a bit for the first four days, and the wide open vistas just made us realize how far we had to ride between towns. Luckily, there were decently sized towns every 50 to 60 miles where we could stay the night and resupply. These towns were really neat for us to visit because they were so obviously off the tourist track. We were able to find incredibly cheap hotels and ride through their streets looking for food and water. Sure, everyone stared at us like we were crazy, but they were all friendly and, well, maybe we are a little crazy.

In the small agricultural town of Sain Alto we stayed in a completely unmarked hotel that was actually a one-bedroom apartment for $16. We also reached another major milestone: 7000 miles! Jason and I made celebratory beef stew for dinner, spending close to an hour riding through town searching for a carniceria (butcher-shop).

Jason got his haircut, and learned some hip new vocab, from this friendly fellow.

Jason got a haircut from this friendly fellow.

A momentarily quiet street.

It was a few more days of crippling headwinds and occasional thunderstorms before we came to our next big city: Zacatecas. This city is a UNESCO world heritage site, and for good reason. The rich silver mines in the area made many folks rich, and in turn they built opulent buildings and created an unforgettable city center. We spent an afternoon here and then flew out of town on the main highway.

One of many many such opulent streets.

The aqueduct in Zacatecas.

We spend a lot of time on the busy roads in these big cities, and feel surprisingly safe doing so. There are usually at least three lanes, and the cars seem to accept that we can take a whole lane for ourselves. There was a distinct moment I (Daisy) remember from leaving Zacatecas. We were riding downhill on a three-lane highway and I felt perfectly safe. Since when does riding on the highway in a major Mexican city feel safe to me? Well, since now I guess!

The only downside to Zacatecas was that we lost Tyler there, although not permanently. He lost track of us and decided to stay in town for an extra day to buy a map, and we continued on to the next small town. Tyler doesn’t have a phone, and we didn’t have any internet, so neither party knew what happened to the other. It turned out just fine though, since we met again at our host’s house in the next major city of Aguascalientes (Hotwaters).

Our bikes in the main square of Aguascalientes with a left-over sculpture from Day of the Dead.

Us and our host in Aguascalients. Thanks MJ!

Wandering the streets of Zacatecas with MJ.

MJ, our host for the night, is serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in this lovely city. He treated us to a downtown walking tour and introduced us to Cafe de Olla: Mexican Coffee that is sweetened and flavored with a variety of spices. He also gifted us a list of important Mexican vocabulary and slang that he has gathered over the last months – very useful!

The next night we had some impromptu hosts in the form of Mexican Red Cross first responders. We saw their ambulance depot and asked if there was a spot for us to camp there for the night. After they had absorbed our story (and called the boss!) they welcomed us in and showered us with questions. They encouraged us to visit the town center and the nearby county cemetery, which was surprisingly lovely and peaceful.

New Red Cross friends!

Our camp in the ambulance docks.

The cemetery in a small town.

Look carefully, and you see why the word for ‘bus’ here is the same as ‘truck’.

The very next day we rode into the roaring metropolis of Leon, which has over 2 million people living in the metropolitan area. We stayed with Fernando and Frida, two fantastic young high school teachers. They warmly welcomed us into the home, and the following day we commuted to work with Fernando and spoke with his chemistry class. For an hour we were peppered with questions by excited and giggly high-schoolers that wanted to know everything about our trips, our studies, and our lives. This was absolutely a highlight of our trip, and we felt so honored to be given the opportunity to meet so many young people!

Us and our hosts in Leon: Fernando and Friday were wonderful.

Us and our hosts in Leon. Fernando and Frida were wonderful.

Talking with Fernando’s high school chemistry class.

Laura, our host in Guanajuato.

Fernando also arranged one more night with another host: his little sister. We stayed with her for a night in the stunningly beautiful town of Guanajuato, another world heritage site that earns its status. Laura is a first-year chemistry student at the university here, and we had a great time chatting with her in her home near the college. After we left her house the next morning we didn’t make it too far before being completely charmed by this city. It is a city built into a deep ravine that is filled with tiny alleys, charming plazas, street venders, stairs, and colorful houses. We decided to spend two days here to rest, wander, get lost, and plan our next couple weeks in Mexico. This country just continues to charm us, and we are looking forward to what the next mountain range will bring.

In a day or two we’ll put up a post filled with pictures of Guanajuato, this stunning city. This post is already long enough!! Of course though, there are many more photos to share. Here are some of them:

A snapshot of life: getting tacos in the foreground whiles 'tourist police' guard our bicycles in the background.

A snapshot of life: getting tacos in the foreground while the ‘tourist police’ guard our bicycles in the background.

Another elaborate and massive church. Mexico’s colonial cities are jam-packed with them.

More fields, and this time a blue sky.

Daisy, proudly showing off her purchase of prickly pear fruit. Delicious!

This hotel was so cheap ($8) that they forgot to put the right size door in the frame. As a result, the mosquitoes snuck in and forced us to set up the tent on top of the bed!