Firstly, we would like to thank the FOUR people that entered into our wee competition. They were all great names and it was difficult to decide on a winner so into the pot they went. A special congratulations to Shelley who had the winning name 'ATONY' which means ´surprisingly small animal or fairy'! Once again, thanks to Tessa (my niece in Aussie) for generously gifting one of her 'My Little Ponies' from her own collection.
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The ride to the coast from Miahuatlan was beautiful and even had a heavy dousing of rain and hail for one hour before the sun shone once more. We rose up into pine forests and then descended into humid jungle-like foliage before dipping our toes in the water at Puerto Angel. Then it was a short ride around a couple of bays to Mazunte which is totally all hippied-out! We stayed at El Neem Agama Yoga Center which we found through Couchsurfing. You can stay for two nights free and participate in one yoga class if you so choose. We really enjoyed sleeping under the stars in the mosquito nets as it was very toasty there day and night. Thanks to Geoff and Hector for making us feel welcome. It was wonderful to have a dunk in the old ocean and let our super white feet (really bad cycling tan going on right now) see daylight. We checked out the Tortuga (turtle) Research Center which was established in 1994 after fishing for turtles was banned (which was really big in this area). It was great just to mooch about for a day wandering the streets of the small town, strolling along the beach at sunrise, finding a car all decked out in New Zealand goodness (we didn’t meet the owners who seem to be on a surfing safari from my homeland) and with the highlight being watching the sun set from a rocky outcrop at the east end of the beach.
Now all of this sounds pretty perfect, however all the while these lovely experiences are happening, I found myself still feeling nauseous, bloated and unable to eat much else aside a few crackers. Fortunately though, we met a girl at the retreat center that was a herbalist and she gave me some foul tasting herbal tea (Chaparro Amargo) that clears out parasites and the next day I felt hungry for the first time in a week and have been good since. YAY! Cycling and not eating is not a good combination as it turns out! After leaving Mazunte we found the coastal road (Highway 200) doesn’t really hug the coast and to go to the beach you need to turn off and cycle about 10 km’s. So we took some dips in rivers we crossed to cool down along the way. Also, it turns out the Oaxaca coastal road is not that scenic. There’s a lot more rubbish than other roads we’ve cycled on and it’s lined with very dry-looking barren trees. However, from time to time we did get a glimpse of the water from a distance and that’s always nice. So it’s the Isthmus of Tehuantepec for all those that just watched our latest video. The day after we took that clip the wind got way stronger in a gusty kind of way. Roland did an amazing job steering the bike however we found a portion of the day too dangerous to cycle and got a ride for 40 km’s just past Juchitan (where all the wind turbines are spinning furiously around). We weren’t so concerned with falling off our bike but rather being swept in front of a truck as we did swing into the middle of the road a few times but was lucky as no vehicles were behind us. It’s not our favourite thing in the world to hitch a ride but we like to think we have sensible heads some of the time. In between camping for a few nights under a bridge, behind an abandoned shack and in a cabin used during the day for loggers and the such like; we stayed with two other couch surfers. One was with lovely Nizbeth and her family in Juchitan (we were their first couchsurfing visitors which was cool) and then for three nights in Tuxtla Gutierrez (the modern Capital of Chiapas). After doing a 150 km cycle day we were greeted by Claudio and Angel in Tuxtla and promptly booked into the Camino Real Hotel which was totally unexpected and very generous. There was another couchsurfer already staying with Claudio and he felt bad that we would be using our mattresses on the ground. No amount of trying to assure Claudio that we were accustomed to sleeping on our mattresses and that we were simply appreciative of a place to stay worked. We were ushered to the hotel where we slept soundly in a king-sized bed and had extra long showers. The next day after a lazy morning we took in the Canyon El Sumidero in Chiapa de Corzo via boat. It was really pretty and the temperature was perfect with the breeze and shade of the towering canyon above us. We saw crocodiles and heaps of vultures but missed out on the spider monkeys that apparently hang out there too. That night we shared a meal out with Claudio and Angel and the other couchsurfer (Maddy, who just finished a cycling trip in the US). I even ate some seafood (go me!), watched Mexico versus Iceland (Roland represented Iceland), had a bit of a dance, and drunk one too many ‘Micho Sabores’. Eek! We arrived in San Cristobal de las Casas after climbing from 430m to 2100m. We stayed with our friend, Alejandro who we met back up in the Copper Canyon around Christmas time. It was so great to see him again. We got the house to ourselves for two nights as Alejandro is a doctor and volunteers in rural villages offering advice, education and treatment at no cost, which we think was pretty amazing. We really liked San Cristobal and even though there were a few more tourists around, it had a really good vibe, felt safe and there were lots of interesting things going on. For example, Alejandro lives across the road from a small plaza and every night we stayed there was live music and yummy food stalls and a buzz about the place. Our favourite thing to do in San Cristobal was strolling around the pretty streets, plazas and markets at night, lit with thousands of lights and fulled with entertainment and a good opportunity to people watch. We went to a local village called Chamula. They are an independent Tzotzil group and follow some unique religious practices, to the point where Chamulans practicing other kinds of Christianity (not Chamulan Catholicism) are expulsed from their villages. Unfortunately, when we where there we were totally bombarded with vendors (including children) pushing for a sale or to be given a gift. It makes for a tricky situation and generally makes you feel pretty stink saying 'no gracias' constantly. We weren't allowed to take pictures in the church but there were many locals chanting and praying with many lit candles and even sacrificed chickens at the alter. We also went to the graveyard that has black crosses for old people, white for the young and blue for others that have died. Off to Osocingo in the morning to see Tonina, some Mayan ruins and then onto the grand Palenque! What did we find on the side of the road?
Roland 120 Belinda 71 Things found on the road side: * Fernando López who drove around the world in 1998 with a car with no steering wheel. He is now in the Guinness book of records for it. He made the car himself and now the car lives in a museum in Argentina which is where he is from. However, he now lives in Taxco which is where we meet him outside a super market. (Sorry the photo is really bad). * An umbrella that had seen better days! Anything (at the point the photo was taken) was awesome to shade us from the intensely hot sun. * A straw hat that Roland suits to a T. * A donkey carrying a wheel barrow. They are handy and strong wee creatures. We see many on the road side now. Nibbling at grass or being worked. * A taxi sign * A packet of needles * A freaky looking soft toy that couldn't stay on our bike cause you had to turn your head every time you looked at it. Record breaking activity (For Cycling with Sally): * Drinking 16.5 liters between us in one day. Since leaving Mexico City it has steadily been getting hotter and hotter. Like up to 35 degrees Celsius. It's taking some getting used to! Our circumnavigation of Mexico City continued as we headed to Taxco, a boom and bustling silver mining town that clings to a steep hillside with narrow cobblestone streets that twist between well worn buildings. Now the ride from Metepec was made all that much more exciting by the two police car escort for 40km. We believe they had admirable intentions and just wanted to ensure our safety, but they may have been really bored as well. Thanks to Jose Luis (Warm Showers) we not only enjoyed the many sights and sounds of Taxco, but we also managed to adventure off to an outstanding secret waterfall area with crystal clear water, lush vegetation, green butterflies (unable to capture on camera), curious caves and not another person in sight. Just what the doctor ordered. Jose Luis is busy preparing for an around the world cycle himself and it was exciting to share some stories, advice we have gained and our many mishaps with our attentive audience member. We had a splendid time in Taxco navigating through the gauntlet of vendors, being overwhelmed by the massive amount of silver jewelry and feasting on beautiful fresh fruit in the mornings. Many thanks to Jose Luis and best wishes with your future travels. In keeping with our snakes and ladders route of Mexico, we headed north once more and really battled the heat before arriving in Cuernavaca. Once in Cuernavaca we instantly felt at home, with our SERVAS host family Alfredo, Lilia, Liliana and Alfedro Jr. and wished we could have stayed longer. Apparently Cuernavaca has more swimming pools that any other city in Mexico and you will have to take our word for it, nothing beats the heat better then a good swim or soak. Besides taking in a few of the cities attractions, gobbling up McDonalds ice cream cones, volunteering (see our Salvation Army Journal page), taking the dog for a walk and trying desperately to fix and figure out why our stove wasn´t working, the most memorable experience was eating together and speaking both Spanish and English. Something you don´t see every day: In the Cuernavaca Plaza, which is a large modern mall, they have a swimming pool with three large balls that children can play in. Sort of like a giant hamster ball for people. You can spend hours watching these kids trying to stand upright and bounce into their friends in this treadmill like conditions. From Cuernavaca things really started to heat up and we found ourselves not bothering to purchase the 1.5 liter bottles of water anymore, particularly when 25 litres are required and are much better value. We initially allowed four days to get to Oaxaca, but with the heat and lack of confidence with mile markers, we had our doubts. Especially when in a span of ten km we were treated to four different signs with four different distances for the nearby town of Cuautla. (23 km, 13km, 18km, 21km). Eventually with some very early starts, a few long breaks in shaded, breezy plazas and a few gruelling climbs we managed to arrive in Oaxaca City early and immediately took refuge from the heat in a nearby internet cafe. It was just our luck that Friday (13-March) was ¨give water to stranger’s day¨ and we were treated to some refreshing coconut agua with passion fruit. To the delight of everyone around us, after several hours of sweating and smelling, we finally left our shaded haven in search of our SERVAS hosts David and Kathy. They live in a remarkable three storey house which they have designed and had a hand in building. Kathy´s exceptional artist ability is express throughout the place with art pieces from around the world, unique hand crafted-painted furniture, brilliant tile work and design and many plants that give you a sense of coolness and homeliness. (Belinda´s mom would be in love). Well after about three and half months of travelling in Mexico, those sneaky, creepy, yucky crummy, tummy bugs finally caught up with us and we were just so HUGELY appreciative to be with Kathy and David. Having travelled throughout the world and spending a lot of time in Guatemala they unfortunately knew what it was like being sick and abroad. They were just amazing, as we were able to ride it out for the next few days in the comforts of a cool house and breezy hammock. We had only planned to stay a couple of nights with them, as they were expecting other guests who were travelling from N.Y. to B.A with their two year old son. Feeling sick, embarrassed, awkward and drained we were in the process of making a reservation at a nearby hostel, when the downstairs neighbor graciously invited us to stay with him and his family. At this point, the emotions of this unexpected suggestion was far too much for us to contain and we found ourselves fighting back the tears. By the third day of feeling nil, and we actually managed to summons up enough strength to meet fellow cycling tourists Scott, Karen and Martin (who we have met previously in Alaska and Creel respectively) and take in a couple of attractions. Oaxaca is a relaxed but stimulating city with arguably the best handcrafts shopping in Mexico. We headed first to the Zocalo (main plaza) and then rambled through several markets, cathedrals, plazas with street performers and finished with traditional Oaxaca Folk dancing at the Casa de las Artesanias de Oaxaca. (No good photos though!). It was great catching up with our cycling friends as we shared adventures and future itineraries through the rest of Mexico and Central America. Additionally, it was terrific to get to know the downstairs neighbors, John and Nora and their two kids Roan and Isla who are originally from Vancouver as well. John has just completed his second book called ¨The Tiger¨ which is to be released in August of this year. Having chatted about the book, learning about his interests and listening to him speak; I think it´s going to be a captivating read with many layers. We know that this beautiful city has much more to offer than what we experienced, but in these unfortunate circumstances, we met some pretty extraordinary people that really helped us out when we needed it most. Our only regret was not meeting up with our friend Abraham, who was so excited for us to finally arrive and the prospect of show us his charming home town. We then cycled for only one day to Miahuatlán and ended up staying two nights as we were still not feeling 100% and knew the road ahead was going to be tough getting to the coast. We stayed with Michael through Warm Showers and his friends, Juan, Marina and Carmen. We weren't allowed to lift a finger our entire stay and was able to rest, eat wonderful home-cooked meals and enjoy these lovely people's company. We also really liked hearing about Michael's cycling stories through Turkey. It's always good to be in the company of other cycling tourists. Cribbage Score: Roland 110 Belinda 69 Hope you have a nice big cup of coffee for this latest update because she is a woozy. After prying ourselves from all the comforts and conveniences of Morlia we set our course to Ciudad Hidalgo, Angangueo and the monarch butterfly sanctuary, Valle de Bravo and Metepec. As we blasted ourselves into the unknown, we had no idea how physically and emotionally charged the next few days were going to be. Traveling through the remains of Angangueo, a town that was recently ravaged by heavy rains and floods was incredibly disturbing. We couldn`t even bring ourselves to photograph the destruction to buildings, roads, homes and families (22 people died). We were further saddened and troubled to learn that logging in the surrounding area has amplified the force of these flash floods. In many areas of our ascent, complete sections of road had completely vanished and we were forced to navigate through what looked like a dried up river bed. The Mexican military had a huge presence, giving rations of food and water, leading reconstruction projects, directing and re-directing traffic and providing security. At one point they even stopped us, took down our names and advised us not to continue on our planned route. Unfortunately this was after a 2500m (3hr) climb and we had no intentions of turning around, especially since the worst was behind us. After a wait, a flash of our passports and where we had traveled from they wished us well and safe travels. High up in the mountains past Angangueo is where the monarch butterflies stay for respite from the Canadian winter. It was quite a sight being surrounded by millions of butterflies fluttering around in the warm afternoon sunshine, although sadly many died in the recent storms. At the entrance of the santuary is a make-shift community trying to make ends-meat by tourists visiting the butterflies. We were generously offered a place to stay with one of the families that lived there. They lived in a simple wooden cabin, with a fireplace and mattresses on the floor. It gets to below freezing overnight. It was a difficult and amazing experience for us. One on-going struggle we are continuously exposed to, which is related to the intimate and unique type of travel only offering by bicycle touring, is having the opportunity to meander through the villages, parts outside the city, places that are less (touristy) and that reflect a certain authenticity of how people live and how things actually are. Many times these sights, smells and insights are extremely difficult to come to terms with. We have also had the privilege to be invited and welcomed to into many many homes from a huge range of backgrounds. As guests, we are extremely appreciative of the hospitality and kindness offered by hosts. I guess cycling and camping along the side of the road (roughing it) gives you a certain perspective about life, how little you need to sustain yourself and how the simple pleasures of a roof, place to wash, a bed, warmth and companionship are true treasures and treats. Relating this and how people genuinely want to be apart of our cycling experience in some form or another, it`s very emotional and endearing. Having fathers in tears after you leave them and only meeting them for the better part of a day. Knowing that we will never see many of the people you come in contact with again- as they may not have the resources to travel, computers to email or even a telephone. Knowing that you have encountered something very special and memorable. This segment has also highlighted that working at a marriage is never-ending. Just when we think we are the 'perfect' married couple we hit a pot hole that we dip into and have to love each other out of it again. At times, when we get to a point of emotional saturation, all caring and considerate conversation goes out the window and then requires much reflection and talking an incident over afterwards. Sometimes, during our high moments, we think we're immune to hurting each other but in reality we need to be conscious in our relationship and renew our commitment to one another daily. Big Bird (our tandem bike) is a lot like a marriage. Two individuals with unique thoughts and feelings, moving along on one bike in unison in the same direction. The point is, we are very different people and yet we love each other dearly, even through times when we wish we could saw the bike in half and do it our 'own' way (sorry Big Bird!). However, only moments later we are wanting to weld the bike back together as there's no one else we would rather be doing this trip with. Just keeping it real for all our readers as this ride is a challenge in all aspects of life: it's physical, emotion, mental, and spiritual. Cycling to Valle de Bravo we found ourselves being accompanied by the Bernal family. Jesus and Tere stopped us for a chat and invited us back to their home (closeby) for lunch. We shared our pasta from our camp pot and they made fresh tortillas with chicken. They were so warm and proud and we felt very priviledged to be invited in. After lunch, the family of six piled into their truck and they followed us 50 kms to Valle. This was a first for us and very memorable. We offered Juan Jesus (Jesus's teenage son) to jump on the back of the bike and I rode in the car. It was quite an experience for Juan and strange for me following behind the bike. It was a tearful farewell upon arriving in Valle and although we only spend an afternoon with them, it has imprinted a firm memory in the minds of all involved. In Valle de Bravo we stayed with Couchsurfing host, Dilvar and his daughter Jordy. We really liked this beautiful town. Apparently many rich people from Mexico City visit and live there so the Police have a big presence to keep the town safe. It is situated right next to lake, which the views cycling into Valle was spectacular. While we were in Valle, Ellen (our host in San Miguel) and her friend Joanna came down and meet us. We had a meal together at sunset in El Michoacan Restaurante that overlooked the lake. It was so great to see them again and we are so appreciative of Ellen bringing down some mail to us aswell. We hope to see Ellen again at some point down the track; maybe Costa Rica or New Zealand. Before cycling to Metepec we stopped in at Jordy's school to speak to the kids there. It is a Wardolph school in a rural area and also has an organic, free range farm. We showed the kids pictures, told them a few stories and then showed them the bike. They were a great bunch of kids, interested in our trip, and fortunately understood our Spanglish. We participated in their tradition of having homemade bread and herbal tea for a snack (along with singing a song of thanks) and then we played a few games before leaving. We had a really fun time there. Thanks to Dilvar and Jordy for having us and also introducing us to some of your friends who have similiar interests to us. It was a pleasure. Immediately leaving the school we discovered our rear hub free wheel was not free, causing our chain to be loose when we weren't pedaling. We managed to get go up two 20 km climbs, however on the final decent only 20 km's from Metepec the chain got caught in the spokes which broke the chain, the cassette and several spokes. We managed to get a ride to our host's house (Celeste, who is a cousin of Carlos, the guy we met in Batopillas who actually lives in Mexico City) on a pick up truck but had to pay a hefty fee for his services. Big Bird is currently in Bike Hospital and being well looked after while we spend a few days in the Big Smoke. Carlos surprised us by arriving in Metepec, and we enjoyed getting to know Celeste and her family and friend, Gabi, eating yummy Pozole, having Mexican fare in a food hall, having water fights, reading books and general all round relaxing. Mexico City is massive. At night the city lights look like they go on forever. We are staying with Carlos, his Mum and sister (Esperanca and Perla) who are super duper lovely and have spoiled us with delicious meals. Our focus here has been volunteering (see the Salvation Army Journal page) however we have managed to take is some of the many sights here. We took the bus ride up to Teotihuacàn pyramids, checked out many of the huge malls, used the Metro/subway system that has heaps of art and interesting displays to view, went to the skate park with Carlos and checked out his tricks, cruized around town in Carlos's funky silver V-dub, and walked down the main downtown street (Reforma) that has grand old buildings and statues (i.e. Angel of Independance) as well as modern artforms. A new free initiative the goverment has introduced is Ecobikes. There are stations all down Reforma where you can pick up a bike and use it and then drop it back off again. It looked pretty cool. We've also had the pleasure of meeting some of Carlos's good friends, who we meet for dinner and this afternoon plan to go to their school and get our booties wiggling doing Zumba. Then tonight we are excited to watch the soccer match between Mexico and NEW ZEALAND! ..... UPDATE: We lost the soccer game, however fortunately it was only a friendly game. Zumba really gives you a workout but is super fun. Roland and I had one final walk in downtown Mexico and found ourselves being interviewed by a lovely reporter from CNN Mexico. You can find the link on our home page. We stayed one more night with Celeste in Metepec where we picked up our bike and prepared to hit the road again towards Oaxaca City. What did we find on the side of the road: * 10 cartons of chocolate milk.....ummmmm chocolate..... quite a good find and very satisfying after spending all day going uphill. Lovin' the....... ...... way the suburban buses operate here. They are a little bigger than a van and you can get on anywhere (you don't have to be at an official bus stop). The bus driver stops to pick you up even if the bus is completely full. In this case, he leaves the doors open so people can stand in the doorways. If you get on the back of the bus (because it's full) you just pass your money forward (person to person) all the way up to the bus driver. Then your change is passed back down the bus from the front. |
Roland and Belinda
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