The first try filming from the bike—I hit a speedbump at 60mph and the camera flew off. Good thing I tied it down.
The second try. This is Chiapas, all hills and trees and jungle.
A chicken and the view that I saw as I came around the corner on the hilliest, curviest road yet from San Cristobal to Palenque.
Today’s ride was fairly short but my back hurt for most of it. I rode up impossibly high into the mountains to San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas. It’s a fairly spread-out town, all hotels and restaurants and small streets in between in a gigantic grid.
The highlight of yesterday’s ride was a touring bus pulling up next to me filled with high school-age kids. They all started screaming at me and asking my name, and then they screamed more when I told them. I gave them a thumbs-up and they all gave me one back, they were the most excited group of kids I have seen in my life.
I’m at a small cybercafe now. The hotel I stayed at last night was $15 and included giant ants who moved very quickly. The place I’m at tonight was $18 and does not include ants, but they let me park my bike inside the building (which you can see below).
I had a good 4 days at the hostel here in Puerto Escondido and now I’m headed on towards San Cristobal in Chiapas. I got a lot of work done in the room here due to the free wifi and rested up quite a bit. Pictures later tonight if I can find more wifi.
I made it to Acapulco. I felt horrible for the second half of the ride, dehydrated and uncomfortable. The hotel I’m staying at for tonight is OK but there’s no Internet so I’m here outside of the Starbucks to check email and update everyone. Lots of beautiful vistas today, giant canyons and dense jungle. Going back to the hotel now to cook chicken noodle soup and drink lots of water. I think the hostel I wanted to stay at is booked tomorrow; there’s another near here but I’ll have to check it out first thing tomorrow.
The bike hit 15,000 miles a couple of days ago—roughly 100 tanks of gas the way I fill it up. Today I thought it was running a little weird but after about a half hour realized it was a strong headwind. Note to self: If it takes that long to realize it means you are too tired to ride…
I was very sick yesterday and the night before, possibly from something I ate in Mexico City. I’m going to drive to Acapulco today, however. Miriam and her family were great and bought me rehydration fluids and meds.
In other news, if you donate to RAINN (the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network) in April they’ll match your donation!
A small farming town on the way to Toluca.
A small lake and a field with horses (caballos).
The view of Mexico City’s skyline from Maximillion’s castle balcony.
The Pyramid of the Moon as seen from the Pyramid of the Sun.
Lots to write about. I spent two days in Guadalajara in a pretty nice hotel in the historic district. My room was on the 5th floor but the security guard who helped me with my luggage didn’t know that there was an elevator in the parking garage so we schlepped it up two flights of stairs to the regular elevator. I did laundry in the free laundry machines the hotel provides after buying detergent at the Oxxo across the street. I also found out that Oxxo is pronounced “osso” like I had guessed. X is a tricky letter in Spanish.
I walked around the historic district and saw the magnificent old buildings, pictures of which you’ll find below. I did a lot of programming work on a project I’d like to put online soon, it’s a community-oriented website based around guitar solos. I think it’s kind of fitting that I’m finally working on it because my trip is like a guitar solo in many ways.
I’ve felt a little detached since leaving Mazatlan and I think it’s because the only people I’ve been able to talk to are Americans vacationing or living in Mexico. I set out to solve that by using Couchsurfing, a website devoted to helping travelers find couches to sleep on. I stayed with a very nice girl and her family. Her name is Miriam and she took me and another traveler named Paolo to Tarango and to Metepec, introduced me to her family and friends, and let me stay in her younger brother’s room. Today we went to the Bosque de Chapultapec, Mexico City, and the pyramids at Teotihuacan.
At Chapultapec we saw Maxamillion’s castle. It’s very well preserved (or restored) and seeing fancy things is always fun. I could use a wash in his gigantic marble bathtub. It was a tiring walk up the hill the castle, we were passed by a tourist car and I wanted to hop on. I took a panorama from the castle balcony.
Mexico City is not quite like I imagined; the pollution does not look the same as downtown Los Angeles does from the beach. It doesn’t feel dangerous. It feels very similar to Manhattan. There’s more graffiti here than I’ve seen anywhere else, and the majority of it is more elaborate than the graffiti in other cities I’ve seen. There’s much less stencil graffiti, however.
Teotihuacan was amazing; we climbed the Pyramid of the Sun and I took a panorama from there as well.
We went back through Mexico City on the way home. The Traveling Museum was setup in the zocalo and I was surprised to see it there. Sandy and I went and saw it while it was in Los Angeles; it is massive. It covers an entire city block and showcases Ashes and Snow, a photography and video exhibition. We ate tortas and headed home in the rain. It has been raining in Toluca since I arrived here.
I have a lot more to write about but I’m too tired now to get it all out. More later. Headed to Acapulco tomorrow, I hope to stay there for a few days in a hostel in Puerto Marques.
An aside: There were some website problems lately but I think they’ve been fixed. I also took the time to make the map work in Internet Explorer again, so if you haven’t looked at it in a while you can see where I’ve been lately.
