Mexico

After leaving the quiet mining town of Real de Catorce I passed the Tropic of Cancer and onto San Miguel de Allende. The town boasts about 10,000 expats who come to enjoy the beautiful colonial architecture and year-round mild climate.

I met two Polish travelers who are hitchhiking around the world and using CouchSurfing to find places to stay along the way. I decided to give it a shot and met up with Michael who is a retired American now living in San Miguel. He has an awesome condo just outside the hustle and bustle of downtown that’s located next to a local market.

Walking around this beautiful town I was drawn to the plethora of doors. I started a little photography project to find and photograph interesting doors in San Miguel. Here are a few:

By the time I reached San Miguel I had ridden my bike over 5,300 miles! It was time for an oil change. I emailed the owner of Motos y Mas, Alberto. He let me know that they were on holiday but he offered to come in nonetheless. We changed the oil and filter, added a small inline fuel filter (I’ve already had to clean out the jets twice…), fixed the broken turn signal wiring, and tightened the shifter. Alberto also leads group rides for MotoDiscovery and is headed down to Ushuaia in a few months. I mentioned that I had seen numerous KLR’s around San Miguel. It turns out that Alberto imports them. If you’re in San Miguel on a bike, be sure to check in with Alberto.

By the time I left Alberto’s shop it was noon and I had 230 mountainous miles to ride before the next stop, Xilitla (pronounced hey-leet-la). The roads were beautiful; lots of twisties up and down through the mountains. I realized I couldn’t let my guard down after I saw a few folks passing on blind corners…  The dry desert eventually changed to luscious green cloud forest at about 8,000 feet with fog so thick that I could barely see 10 feet in front of the bike. It was spectacular scenery but unfortunately, I only stopped once in the mountains to grab a photo.

Before entering Mexico I was given three pieces of advice from friends:

1. Don’t get stabbed in Barcelona – I think I’ll be ok on this side of the Atlantic.
2. Buy a nice camera – I bought a Canon G11 to replace the cheap point and shoot.
3. NEVER ride at night…

I was concerned that my shadow was getting longer and I still had many miles to ride. I kept on, driving perhaps a little too fast through the mountains, passing trucks and buses when the coast was clear. Coming around a corner, without any warning, the road was under construction and the smooth pavement immediately turned to gravel. I struggled to reduce my speed and remain in control as I eased on the brakes. Phew… that woke me up. Shortly there after the sun had dropped behind the mountains and a light rain had started. Finally, I arrived at Xilitla as night set in. I quickly found a hotel to get out of the rain and get some rest.

By the next morning the rain had stopped and I went to visit the the main attraction – Las Pozas (The Pools/Wells). This interesting place was created by the imagination (and wealth) of the surrealist Englishman, Edward James. Although it looks like ancient Mayan ruins, in fact it was built only 5 decades ago. I enjoyed walking around the funky creations (that lack handrails – try that in the US!) where the jungle has begun to take back its land. Although it was very creative, I found it hard to connect to these “ruins” as they aren’t ruins that were constructed by an ancient civilization.

I’ll be back on the road in the morning for another full days ride. Cheers.

Awww, Mexico… I spent a few days relaxing and rock climbing in El Potrero Chico. It’s a beautiful place with stunning limestone mountains that attract rock climbers from around the globe to climb the bolted multipitch routes. It felt great to take a few days off the bike and get rejuvenated for some more riding.

I was able to borrow some gear and get some climbing in. I’m in the left photo and if you look closely in the right photo you can see Matt sending in the Virgin Canyon.

The author of The Whole Enchilada guide book, Dane, showed me to a cobbler in town who was able to sew loops onto my boots. I’ll use these loops to lock up my boots.

After dinner all the climbers get a little restless. We had speed rope-coiling contests and an elevated tug of war showdown. Here’s Blake and April getting serious.

It was a wonderful few days in the Potrero but I was anxious to hit the road. I left town for a short ride to Monterrey. Mexico’s third largest city.

I stayed at a hostel in the Barrio Antiguo (old neighborhood). Oddly enough the owner of the hostel had lived in Bedford, NH – what a small world! The only secured parking was a lot down the street. I negotiated from 100 pesos to 50 pesos arguing that my bike was so small. It worked. I walked for miles around the city, had some delicious street tacos, and stumbled into the Northeastern Mexico History Museum (that happened to be free for the month of November). I even went to dinner with a Mexican Lawyer; you never know when that connection could be useful…

The city was nice but I was ready for some new roads and cheaper living. The next morning I set sail for a full day or riding. Heading west through Saltillo and then south I gained altitude quickly. A construction road block halted traffic for nearly an hour. I tried to get permission to go by on my bike but to no avail. It gave me a chance to get some warmer clothes on though as the ride through the altiplano continued.

About 200 miles later that day I reached the road to Real de Catorce. Heading up to this old silver mining town was a challenge as the only road was made from cobble stone over a century ago. It was a bumpy 15 miles long (or 25 kilometers – I’m not really sure how many kilo-joules per fortnight that is though). You can’t fathom just how long 15 miles is when riding this road… Eventually I reached a 2 mile long, one lane tunnel that winds through the mountain to arrive at the town. I didn’t see any ventilation ducts in the 100 year old tunnel though.

The movie, The Mexican, was filmed in the town. I found a cozy little motel. For 150 pesos I have my own room, bathroom and shower, with an open air courtyard and crazy twisting staircases. The gentle sounds of donkeys, roosters, and barking dogs ease me to sleep.

Up here at about 9,000 ft it’s a dry mountain environment. When the sun goes down the temps drop quickly and at night it’s VERY cold. There’s lots of little shops that sell trinkets and a beautiful church that was originally constructed in the 18th century.

In the morning I went to the roof of the hotel to get some sunlight and make breakfast (oatmeal & fruit) in the Jetboil PCS Flash.

I went for a nice hike up one of the mountains following what used to be “the road into town" before the tunnel was built. It yielded great views of the town from above and an old ghost town up high on the mountain.

Here’s an old cock fitting ring/amphitheatre and the plaza de torros (bull fighting ring) that also remain from the mining days.

It’s been fun here and I’ll be back on the road again…