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More photos and videos to come....

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 (yes, we keep meeting teachers).  Then tonight we are excited to watch the soccer match between Mexico and NEW ZEALAND! 

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. 
 
 
We have now made it past the 200 day mark since starting our journey in Alaska last July.  All at the same time it feels like we’ve been on the road forever and yet only just started.  We’ve jam-packed a lot into our last seven months of life and as Roland often says “we’ve fast forwarded our marriage by 30 years” spending 24 hours together through the thick and thin of our adventures. 

Although we’re back on the road again, we’ve had five days off in Guanajuato, Morelia and Patzcuaro.  We are very much enjoying this area, but we also want to do some solid riding again and put some mileage under our belts.  However, this is highly unlikely as just ahead of us is the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary and Mexico City – the largest city in the world! 

We really enjoyed the more modern and industrial town of Irapuato.  It is not a typical tourist destination, however the town square was a mix of old and modern features, such as the pretty coloured fountain show.  We stayed with Couchsurfer, Andres, who kindly gave us a tour and insights into the city in which you don't typically get as a tourist.  Thanks so much for having us Andres and your mum too!  

At times we tried to get onto the toll roads ('cuotas') as there is not as much traffic, the roads are well groomed, generally flatter and there is a wider shoulder, but we were turned away twice and initially disappointed.  However, by cycling on the free roads ('libre') we cycled through many small villages, giving us a fuller experience of Mexican life as they are rather different to the cities we stayed in.  One night, we were having a break and playing cards next to a closed restaurant.  After a while, the owner pulls up with his wife and strikes up a conversation with us.  Turns out he lives much of the year in Chicago working while his wife runs the restaurant here in Mexico.  After some time, he invited us to stay in their spare room which we were very happy and grateful to accept.  The next morning we helped set up the restaurant for business and enjoyed watching Ramon's wife whip up fresh tortillas with ease.

Summary of towns we stopped in:
Guanajuato: We had the pleasure of staying with Kay (couchsurfing) in Guanajuato.  It was a very colourful town that had tunnels for vehicles (initally constructed during the mining era) running under ground so not to fill the innercity with traffic.  The mummy museum was weird as you literally got to see babies, men and women ´mummified´due to the temperatures and type of soil they were buried in.  I bet ya these people never thought they'd wind up in a museum where people from all over the world come to see them!  The highlight for us here was attending the local symphony orchestra with Kay.  A little bit of Beethoven - I say, I say!  Thanks Kay for having us on such short notice, we loved the view from your beautiful house.

Morelia: We stayed in a hotel here for two nights, compliments of Couchsurfer host, Paulo.  We couldn't believe our luck!  It was right in the downtown area and so we could have lazy mornings sleeping in and watching nothing much on TV before strolling around the city in the warm afternoon sunshine, taking in various museums and resisting many sweet delights in the mercado dulce (sweet market).  On return from our excursion to Patzcuaro (by bus) we stayed with Paulo one last night in his home and experienced intenstine, brain and eye meat tacos (a speciality) with him, his brother Gabriel and friends.  They were a great bunch of guys and we hope to see some of them again when they visit New Zealand.

Patzcuaro: We stayed with SERVAS hosts, Maria and Pablo (and their three beautiful dogs), in another pretty colonial town with all the central buildings painted white and reddish-brown.  Even though it was grey and rainy we enjoyed visiting our first pyramid ruins in Txintzuntzan and Ihuatzio.  Also, we viewed the oldest olive trees in Latin America in the courtyard of an old Spanish Monastery.  Thank you to Maria and Pablo for having us in your Alaskan log cabin and spoiling us with delicious meals and interesting conversation.

Bee and Ro loves:
'Panaderias' which are bakeries filled with all sorts of delicious Mexican pastries.  The great thing about them is they are not overly sweet and are so cheap.  We love how you just walk, grab a tray and tongs and you select what you want.  Each pastry costs between 1 and 6 pesos (10-60 cents) and they are oh so good!

Bee and Ro hates:
'topes' which are speed bumps.  There are multitudes of them in Mexico as no one follows the speed limits but we are finding they are really cramp our coasting style! "Pinche topes!"
 
 
Picture

That´s right folks, you have the opportunity come up with the winning name and be famous in the 'Cycling with Sally' world.  What more encouragement do you need to enter your suggestion?  Please post your comments on this blog entry.  The entry deadline closes on the 20th February.


On a completely unrelated note:
Big Bird and the rest of the cycling team have had a breach in security. Unknown to us all (except Belinda), we have been travelling with a mysterious container of deodorant that has managed to hitch a ride for the past month.  Big bird and Roland are still dealing with the betrayal.
 
 


One minute we were just arriving in San Miguel and the weeks spanned out ahead of us.  Yet, suddenly in the blink of an eye it is the day before we leave and we find ourselves preparing to spend some quality time with Big Bird again.  He’s probably been feeling a little deprived as he’s had to weather a ‘freak’ week of heavy rain, wind, thunder, lightning and hail.  Apparently, San Miguel  (on average) gets less than 0.1 inch of rain in the month of January, however we saw inner city streams turn into overflowing rivers that any extreme white water rafter would be proud to ride down.  In spite of the uncanny weather, we have had many clear blue days and by mid afternoon the cockles of our hearts are all warmed up and toasty.   Readers will be pleased to learn though that Big Bird won’t be glum for long as we have adorned him with a new mascot that has come all the way from Australia.  It was a birthday present from Tessa, one of my lovely nieces who selflessly gave up a My Little Pony’s from her own collection as we sadly lost Chelsea Lee (our first pony) up in Canada.  We are still waiting to find out if this cute little pony has a name.  If not, we may be open to suggestions……  In addition, we received four new tires from Schwalbe (Marathon XR) that they kindly donated to us through the help of Forza Motor Sport in Guadalajara.  We are keen to try them out and looking forward to our tires lasting a tad longer and not getting so many punctures.

San Miguel is a UNICCO World Heritage Site cause it’s pretty darn old and very picturesque.  So much so that many people (mainly American and Canadians) have made their home here.  The streets are lined with cobble stones and the houses painted in differing shades of reds and yellows.  As with all Mexican towns, the centre has a beautiful plaza with a Cathedral towering above and that can be seen from all around the town.   There is a great temporary Tuesday market here called Tiangis (does that word sound dirty to anyone else?) has bargain buys on almost anything you can think of i.e. even chicken’s feet if you’re in the mood!  Also, there are heaps of social events going on almost every day.  We attended a Chile Cook-off where we could try 35 different chile’s and vote for our favourite one.  It also had cultural performances from young girls with excellent show-horse skills and blokes doing lasso tricks.  We’ve also attended a couple of Art Gallery openings where in our travel clothes we sipped on glasses of wine, eat delicious nibbles and ooo’ed and ah’ed over sculptures and paintings.  The library here is also very cool.  It has a central courtyard, a café, entertainment and of course books!  This was a great place to play crib and bump into people that we had met through Ellen and Spanish class.  We also did a couple of day trips to the country where there are small villages.  Pozos is an old mining ghost town that has funky art galleries and stores that sell pre-hispanic musical instrument and Antonilco is another UNICCO World Heritage site that has a Church there too which holds traditional retreats and processions. 

We attended a bull fight, with the stands full of both Mexicans and ‘Gringos’.  I particularly had a hard time with it and found myself sitting behind a brick pillar and studying the fine brick-laying work intently.   Roland was brave enough to watch and awkwardly took a few snaps, as it seemed inappropriate to be recording on camera the slow death of the bull.  We were both a little naïve on arriving at the fight as we didn’t really think about how visually gruesome it would be.  It was hard seeing spears sticking out of the bulls with blood streaming down their sides, knowing they have no chance of getting out of that rink alive.  However, we did find the lead-up to the fight very entertaining with the flowers being prepared, the showmanship of the Matador and his assistants and even the vendors selling various knick-knacks in the stands.   I guess we can say it was a cultural experience but for us that will be the first and last time attending a bull fight.  Please note, these are our personal views on bull fighting and totally understand it is important to Mexican culture and it is not our intention of offending anyone that enjoys the experience.

I have been finding myself particularly domesticated; enthusiastically washing dishes, making our bed, and showering (almost daily) and savouring every minute.  Isn’t it strange that simple and often mundane tasks can be pleasurable when one doesn’t have a fixed abode?  We have both been making the most of Ellen’s large kitchen and utensils, while our trusty old camping pot and two spoons take a rest.  We made many meals, including last night when Roland cooked (his best yet) lasagna with spinach and ricotta cheese.  All those who have tried my chocolate mousse will be pleased to know it tastes just as good in Mexico as it does in New Zealand.  We’ve also been watching tons of movies, even some golden oldies like ‘Around the World in 80 days’ and ‘Gigi’ and doing a spot of Pilates from a 50 cent video we picked up at a garage sale we helped out at for the local rest home.

Our minds have been thoroughly sharpened through playing several games of Trivial Pursuit, Scrabble and Balderdash with Ellen and her very knowledgeable friends.  Our main focus since we’ve been here has been learning some basic Spanish.  On advice, we attended Warren Hardy’s school that was perfectly orchestrated to give us a foundation level of language.  After eight lessons and at least 24 hours of homework we’ve learnt functional Spanish where we can articulate what we want and need.  We hope to study further (i.e. learning the Past Tense) maybe somewhere in Nicaragua?   We were introduced to a terrific routine that one of our class mates (Brendan) devised and kindly invited us to partake.  After class, we’d head to this great Huarache stand (huaraches are fried tortillas in an oval shape and topped with meat, vege’s, cheese and salsa and they are oh so good!) and chow down for 20 pesos (about $2NZ).  Then we’d trek to a stall which sells wonder fresh ice-cream and all agree the world is a good place. 

Another highlight of our time here in San Miguel was meeting two fellow cyclists (Manu and Phil at http://www.radausflug.org ).  They too had started in Alaska and are destined for Argentina.  They hung about here for an extra few days due to the heavy rain which meant we could get to know them a bit.  They are from Austria and plan to go up the Yucatan Peninsula, into Belize and then onto Guatemala, which is our route too!  We hope to catch up to them and cycle through some of the Central American countries together which will be great.

Ellen (our host who we found through SERVAS) has been incredibly generous with allowing two rough-looking cyclists stay for the whole duration of our stay.  The combination of Ellen’s easy going personality, her broad social network, her spacious home, beautiful views from the roof and close proximity to downtown the perfect place to relax and stay entertained.  Thank you so very much!

Until next time folks……..




 
 
After two icy cold cycling days and multiple punctures in our tire and Roland’s bottom (from the camp spot we stayed in) we reached San Luis Potosi for a few days rest.  We stayed with Azucena (a Couch Surfing host) and her family where we were treated like family.  We enjoyed practicing our Spanish, having a walking tour of the City, drinking rich hot chocolate, taste-testing food at a Cervezeria (pub), trying Pozole (a soup filled with king-sized corn, meat and other vegetables, which is a speciality to the San Luis Potosi region) and cuddling the four wee puppies that Acuzena’s Cocker Spaniel dog (Korruba) was nursing.  We were sorry to leave but only had a day of cycling to our next stop, Rioverde, 130 km’s away.  Rioverde felt much warmer than S.L.P and we noticed all the mandarin trees growing as we cycled into this very green and tropical-like town.  We stayed with another Couch Surfer, Saul and his family.  Their beautiful home was the perfect location to weather the thunderstorm that came through.  In the afternoon we drove out to Media Luna with Saul which is a naturally warm lake in the shape of a moon.  We went at the perfect time as it was a cool day and raining and so there was no one else there.

Our detour from Rioverde Southeast through Xilitla (hee-leet-la), Jalpan (the Seirra Gorda), and looping down to Queretaro was a challenging but very beautiful ride.  We were treated to much warmer weather, jungle-like views, grand waterfalls and picturesque colonial towns either perched on hilltops or nestled in valleys surrounded by grand mountains.  The highest point we got to was about 2,300 meters which was just past Pinal de Amoles.  Fortunately, we got Belinda’s finest moment on camera!  In hindsight, we probably needed an extra two days to complete the ride comfortably, which would have allowed us to have more breaks.  Gotta love hindsight.  I must say though, once we did finally reach the top we got some wonderful views of the countryside and enjoyed the long and winding descent down the otherside.  The day we cycled into Queretaro we passed through a small town called Bernal which is situated next to the 3rd largest monolith in the world.  Fancy that!

For Belinda’s birthday we treated ourselves to a night in a hostel and gorged ourselves on Mexican biscuits (Chokies are our favourite so far).  It was a very funky place named Casa Caracol where we slept in a tipee! The hostel is conveniently located close to La Poza, the place where Englishman, Edward James called home for many years.  He was a rich but potentially a tad crazy with too much money and time on his hands.  He created an endless sprawl of enormous surrealist-style concrete structures, such as, giant orchards and stairs to nowhere.  The jungle is now taking over but it is very creative and pretty to walk through.  The other highlight for the birthday girl was having a $7 lunch compared to the usual $1-2 fare.  We had ‘mole’ for the first time which is a complicated and delicious sauce to concoct that we had with chicken and all these wonderful side dishes served in clay bowls.

We arrived into Queretaro just as it was getting dark and we found ourselves lost in this big City.  Getting directions on Google maps seemed very straight forward but we got muddled up in our 3-D surroundings.  We were in good hands though and after many attempts of trying to find our own way amongst the hectic traffic we sat tight at the ‘Italian Coffee Company’ Café eating expensive, calorie-filled cheesecake and waited for our hosts to meet us.  Silvia (SERVAS) and her kids kindly lead us back to their home with the hazard lights on.  We cycled madly behind them and watched on as the traffic swerved in and around our slow-moving convoy.  We made it in one piece and we were very grateful not having to navigate ourselves to the house.  We enjoyed two nights with Silvia, her husband, kids and sister-in-law (Hilda).  We were warmly welcomed and settled into family-life playing games with the kids, watching them in their gym class, sharing meals together and taking in some of the sights of downtown Queretaro with Silvia and Hilda.  We also got our bike serviced by a guy, Jose Luis, that stopped us on the roadside (for a photo and who happened to be a bike mechanic) as we cycled in towards the City.  We were again, blown away by Silvia and Hilda’s kindness as they lead us back out of the City so we didn’t get lost or have a hard time with the volume of traffic.  It really made our ride to San Miguel de Allende so much easier.  Thank you very much!

We are now in San Miguel de Allende and enjoying two weeks off the bike and learning Spanish.  We are staying with a wonderful lady (Ellen) that we found through SERVAS that has generously agreed to have us for our entire stay.  If you would like to ring us while we are here to have a chat please email us to get the number.  We will post another blog sometime while we are here.

Don’t you just love the drawing my brother-in-law, did for my birthday?  Albeit not entirely accurate!!!  Thank you Martin, we think it’s great!


 
 
 
Many apologies if this update sounds anything like many of the previous entries, but yet again hospitality and kindness have flooded our week. When looking for a pharmacy to pick up some extra bandages, we happen to stubble upon an electronic repair shop. Having destroyed one of the earphone in our crash, this seemed like the opportune time to replace them. Well the fellow in the shop had other ideas and only after an half an  hour he finally admitted defeat and generously gave us a new pair at no cost. How unexpected and amazing! It has to be said that after the previous week of mishaps on the bike, it felt marvelous to cycle from Parral to Durango without any incidents.  Four days later we found ourselves in downtown Durango and in the company of our couch surfing hosts and now warm shower hosts, Jorge Luis and Frida.  They are a super friendly, talented, warm and generous couple.  They helped us out big time contacting the Salvation Army in Durango, getting our teeth cleaned and getting our bike looked at once more. The squeak is GONE! We have enjoyed being apart of their lives by going to work with Jorje and meeting their friends and family. (The dog‘s name is Yoda). We couldn't have asked for a better time.  After travelling through a sea of elevation gains and losses, it was hard to image stumbling upon this high desert gem, Zacatecas. Truly an enchanting and charming city with an arial cable car,  impressive rock outcrops (Cerro de la Bufa) stunning cathedrals, stone buildings and roads, tours of the Eden Silver mine (also a Disco Bar underground), beautiful parks, and a hotel (Quinta Real ) that has been renovated from a bull fighting ring. Our terrific experience here in Zacatecas would not have been posible without Alejandra, her mum and son. We throughly enjoyed seeing the many beautiful sights Zacatecas has to offer and then coming home and spending time with Alejandra and her family. We had a cultural and language lesson last night playing 100 Mexicanos dijeron (like Family Feud),which was super fun but sorry that team ´Chido´won! Alejandra is a Politian and has her own political campaign, hence the posters and now sticker on our bike. 

Tortillas eaten since arriving into Mexico
368

Military Check Points
9

Rides offered  and refused
14

Crib Score
Roland 96
Belinda 55

Interesting Facts:

*McDonalds delivers in Durango

*The stretch of road between Durango and Zacatecas: passes through the 
Corona Brewery and the Tropic of Cancer, one of five major markers of latitude

*Eden Silver mine: At one time up to five people a day died from accidents and diseases including children working in horrific conditions. Produced 20% of the silver in Mexico

******* If you have read this far you MUST vote as to where you think we should              live after this trip (go to the bottom of our home page)....... You know the                right answer!  Also, you can listen to the song 'A bicycle built for two'.         
           How nice!


 

 
 

We got on the train, we got on the train!

After far too many nervous minutes, we finally managed to put our tandem bike and trailer on the end carriage of the train, MANY thanks to Eliana and her husband Christian for facilitating this.  It was like human ping pong, watching Eliana bounce from person to person, trying desperately to find someone in charge or anyone who would make the call.  Once on the train we finally were able to relax or for at least for 10 minutes as the conductor told us we should not have our bike in the isle and after taking the front wheel off and placing it on the baggage shelf, everyone was happy.   

Did we make the right choice by heading inland?

The short answer is that it entirely depends on the day.  Having burned ourselves far too many times in the desert sun, we thought a change in scenery, elevation and temperature would be just what the doctor ordered. Well the second day in Creel had us worrying something fierce as it hailed, snowed and sleeted on us the entire day. Needless to say the planned horseback trip was out, as nobody else wanted to brave the conditions. We finally settled on a van tour that took in all the sights of the area. We pretty much jumped out took a photo or two and then jumped back in. Definite highlights would have to include getting to know fellow travelers Daniel, Alejandro, Bernie and three Israeli’s thawing out in front of a wood burning stove, eating at our hostel and a trip down the road for something sweet.

Creel had another nice surprise for us as we met up with Cass, a fellow cyclist who we crossed paths with up in Alaska.  He had teamed up with Jeff and Jason, two brothers who started their tour up in the Artic Circle too.

And the cyclists just kept pouring in….

Later that evening we met another couple of cyclists, Karen and Martin, who again had started their travels in Alaska but had opted for an interior route down through America (The Continental Divide). 

Needless to say there were many farewells leaving the warmth and comfort of Creel.  However, the cycle out of Creel was much easier now that the sun had finally decided to show its self and melt the ice and snow from the previous day. Furthermore, we were joined by Martin and Karen as we made our way up and down, up and down, up and down. We had planned to meet at a school at the junction to Batopilas, but this was nowhere to be seen.

This being Christmas Eve, we began to feel slightly lonely being by ourselves.  Well as chance would have it, we spotted a building a ways off the road and without a sign post. Upon further inspection it turned out to be a hospital for the local Tarahumara people and after enquiring about a place to pitch our tent, we amazingly found ourselves in a birthing unit shelter with a wood burning stove, a shared diner and Christmas carols to boot. How incredible!  How Perfect! Many warm wishes and thanks to Luke, Deb, Abigail, Esther and Asa, for sharing this very special time with us.  We truly feel blessed to have stumbled upon this beautiful home, filled with a delightful family.  

From the Samachique Village, the good times just kept on rolling. The views of the canyon along our nearly 6,000 foot decent were exquisite. Additionally we were joined by our faithful companion ¨Copper¨ a grubby white dog that traveled with us for over 35 km as we slowly meandered up, down and around the steep, rocky and gravel road. After about 10 to 15 km we started to feel pretty guilty and provided Copper with some scraps and drink. Maybe this was the point of no return. He just kept on charging behind us on the descents and plunging himself into puddles and streams on the assents cooling off as he kindly waited for us.

Towards the end of the day our friend was getting very tired and could be heard barking at us. By the time we reached Batoplias, Copper was nowhere to be seen.  Both of us had a lack luster sleep as we worried about our friend who tried so valiantly to keep up. At one point we even tried to put him on the back of our trailer, but this lasted about 2 seconds. The next day our spirits grew immensely as we were informed that Copper was indeed alright and was seen, with his tail wagging, happily making his back up the road towards his home.

Well after a few days of hard climbing, a lazy morning followed in Hotel Palmeria (a real score at 150 pesos for two nights accommodation), consisting of sleeping, washing, playing cards and most importantly eating. The 8km walk to the Cathedral Perdida in Satevo seemed like the perfect afternoon thing to do. During our walk we even managed to sneak in a quick game of soccer with some local kids, but the ball kept going down the cliff into the river!

The next day we tried to hitch hike back up to the junction, but after six hours of trying we finally gave up!  During this time we did have the pleasure of meeting Carlos, who was in Batopilas visiting his Grandmother.  He kindly invited us to stay in their home, which was a real treat as this was the first time for us staying in a Mexican´s home.  We hope to meet Carlos again in Mexico City where he resides.  We also got to play some pool, take in the Hacienda San Miguel ruins and participate in a celebration of two girls’ Baptism day. 

We were up before the crack of dawn the next day to get the bus back to Napuchi.  After securing our bike to the top of the bus we made the slow grind back up out of the canyon.  It felt like a real treat to be cycling back on paved road again but it wasn’t long before we were forced to come to a stand still.  We noticed our bike was feeling floppy so we checked the tires but they were ok.  On closer inspection the frame near the rear wheel broke off so it was back to thumbing a ride again.  We managed to get a ride from Alvin and his wife into the town of Guachochi where he drove us from mechanic to mechanic.  During this time, Alvin´s axis literally snapped so he too was in need of a mechanic!  We then had another small scare as one mechanic told us our bike frame was aluminum but fortunately he was mistaken.  We got the piece welded back together and now Big Bird has a pretty awesome scar to show for it.   Cycling through the town in preparation to cycle again we got talking to Moses who owns a restaurant.  He wanted to talk with us so invited us in for a free meal that tasted so very good.  We’ve been eating a lot of tortillas and refried beans so chicken and salad was a real treat.  We had a lovely time conversing (well trying anyway) with Moses and his family and then continued on our way.  However, the next time we stepped outside the weather had changed and began to snow!  We set up camp off the road just outside of town and lay in our tent listening to the snow settle. 

So this morning we get up and are surprised it’s not too cold even though there’s snow everywhere and we set off ready for two days of solid cycling to get us into Hidalgo de Parral.  However, something more did happen because we are writing this today in Parral!  About 20kms into our cycle we hit some ice and low and behold we find ourselves skidding out and falling off our bike.  Unfortunately, Roland took most of Belinda’s fall and so has some pretty awesome grazes to show for it.  Turns out the conditions weren´t the greatest for us to be cycling in!  However, we did get a ride almost immediately and tried to keep warm in the back of a truck to Parral.  Big Bird managed to hold up OK but has some cosmetic damage.  So now we find ourselves in Parral, enjoying the comforts of a warmer, bigger city and taking some respite.

 It’s been a rather eventful week, jam packed full of wonderful highs and more trying times – makes for a good read though and juicy stories to tell our grandchildren!  However, in saying that, a major topic of conversation between us recently has been how fortunate and blessed we feel to be having these experiences, meeting such generous, kind and interesting people and knowing we have such wonderful family and friends back  home (New Zealand and Canada) that love us too!

Our plan now in to head to Durango, which is about four days cycle away where we’ll rest and get our bike checked out.  We also are very eager to get Spanish lessons and hope that will be a reality in the next couple of weeks as conversing like Cave People is becoming very tiresome........ "Me hungry", "toilet", "Uga buga buga" etc. 


Tortillas eaten since arriving into Mexico
331

Military Check Points
8

Crib Score
Roland 92
Belinda 55
 
 

After getting through one desert we were back into another after Guerrero Negro.  However, we did pass through a quaint oasis town called San Ignacio that has a lake and is surrounded by palm trees.  Speeding down a crazy steep hill into Santa Rosalia we had a first glimpse of the Sea of Cortez.  That night we managed to stay in a hotel room with Meaghan and Alisha for a total of 150 pesos ($15) at Hotel San Victor which was a super bargain.  Next we found ourselves in Mulege, where we stayed with Bill through Warm Showers.  You could definitely see the evidence of the hurricane that stormed through back in October.  Many roads were destroyed and a lot of rebuilding was going on.  Bill lived up a small hill so managed to escape the water but was stranded in his home for several days.  We were treated to a tour around town in his truck, which included a restaurant right on the beach and an ice cream stop.  Unfortunately, this was where we had to say goodbye to the two sisters.  We ended up spending seven days with them, which is the longest we’ve cycled with anyone.  They were going to enjoy a well deserved few days off at the beach before making the trek home to Vancouver, B.C.  We miss you, Meaghan and Alisha, please keep in touch!

 

After cycling down Bahia Concepción, which showcases some beautiful sandy white beaches, we primitive camped amongst the cacti.  We then found ourselves in Loreto, where we meet two other cyclists, Tom and Hayley, who (surprise, surprise) live in Vancouver, B.C!  In the heat of the day we chilled out on the groomed beach lined with palm umbrellas and then continued onto El Juncalito, 24 km’s south of Loreto.  This was our favourite beach in the Baja.  It was just a small quiet bay with a mix of American and Mexicans living together, mostly in Palapas set back off the beach.  We got to stay in a trailer, where we enjoyed a day off and also got thrashed at the game Upwords by Roberta.  While Roland had a relaxing morning I joined Roberta in a small baking class where some friends where learning how to make 90 minutes cinnamon rolls.  In the afternoon Roland and I took a walk around the bay to a sandy beach that had views of a marina.  In the evening we had a feast at Tay and Bill’s house with other friends of Roberta’s and also three other cyclists: Marion and Andi from Switzerland (who started in Argentina and going to Alaska) and Uli from Germany (who we meet a few days earlier and is also going south).  We enjoyed a pot luck meal with fresh fish (Doraldo) that Bill had caught and freshly baked bread that Roberta made.  It was sooo good!

 

The cinnamon bread French toast Roberta made us on the morning we left must have had something magical added because we powered up a long and steep mountain and then got up to 50kms per hour on straights.  We did almost one hundred kilometres before stopping for our first break.  This is where we met Byron (another Canadian!) and agreed to meet up later that day to primitive camp together.  After doing a total of 160kms and getting a bit burnt we joined Byron who had found a primo spot to camp for the night.  The following day we meet up with Hayley and Tom again so the five of us camped together the next night.  In the morning Roland and I parted with our camping buddies and busted it to La Paz.  We stopped in a taco stand for breakfast where we met two local guys who wanted to welcome us to Mexico and paid for our breakfast!  It was such a lovely surprise and made us feel really good as we’d just had a harassed ride with the trucks passing us and honking incessantly.

 

It turned out we didn’t have a place to stay in La Paz so we decided to just cycle straight to the ferry terminal and head to Mainland Mexico.  In all the cyclists we’ve meet recently, no one was going to Los Mochis but heading south to Mazatlán.  So I guess we are the only crazy ones going up into the mountains where it is cooler and also a big detour north again.  After watching The Dark Knight in Spanish and trying to stay occupied during the 6 hour boat ride, we arrived into Topolobampo (say that 10 times quickly) at 10pm at night and found a hidden spot to camp for the night.  Packing up the tent the following morning, a tarantula crawled onto our ground sheet, the first live one we’ve seen so far.  It was a tad creepy though! 

 

Today is our third day off in Los Mochis which has been a perfect place to rest.  Of the 17 days we had in Baja, we cycled 15 of them so it’s really great to be having a break.  People in Los Mochis appear to be relatively well off, especially compared to what we saw in the Baja.  We have met a great guy through SERVAS here who also has some very lovely friends.  Dan works at the Arizona English College and so our first day here we attended some of the classes where the students could practice their English by asking us questions and hearing about our trip.  Also some of his colleagues live in an apartment block which one of them is empty right now.  Once again, arrangements have just fallen into place and we have felt very blessed with having a ´free´ space to ourselves and being in the presence of some good company.  Jeremy, our next door neighbour, is from the England and also has a good command of the Spanish language.  We’ve been hanging out with him a lot and he has also been helping us with errands and chores we’ve had to do.  As well as catching up on sleep, we’ve been enjoying afternoon beers on the balcony, checking out Los Mochis nightlife, watching movies, enjoying Thai and Colombian meals prepared by Jeremy, getting our bike serviced by some really great guys who also gave Roland lunch (Big Birds the cleanest it’s looked in a long time), and enjoying the shade of the local plaza and parks.

 

Tomorrow we head into the Copper Canyon by train.  Roland and Jeremy are out buying the tickets right now and finding out if we can get our bike on there too.  We heard from some other cycling friends they had to beg the conductor to get their bikes on so we’ll see how that one goes.  If we can’t take Big Bird on, we’ll still go and leave our bike here in Los Mochis.

 

We can’t believe Christmas is only four days away.  I think it’s going to be a pretty quiet Christmas for us this year as we’ll be up in mountainous terrain which is a lot less populated.  We hope everyone has a special Christmas.  We are sorry not to be with our families!  FELIZ NAVIDAD!




Tortillas eaten since arriving into Mexico
169

Did you know?
Tequila is made from the juice of a particular type of Cactus plant.

Crib Score
Roland 68
Belinda 47

New Spanish word invented by Belinda:
"Skunkericka"
English translation: Skunk
This word is vital in Roland and Belinda´s daily diction as they are cribbage playing maniacs.  It was only two days ago when this word was first put to use, on a balmy Baja afternoon under the shade of a bus stop, when Belinda very skillfully ´skunkericked´ Roland..... however, she continues to lag behind on the scoreboard!
 
 
With huge excitement and nervousness   “Santa°s little helpers” crossed the USA / Mexico border and entered TJ (Tijuana) without incident.  And even though we managed to get kicked off the Toll Road and reluctantly had to take the secondary Highway to Rosarito, having a place to stay on our first night really was awesome. What made this day even cooler was that we were able to celebrate Chick's birthday, ate our first Mexican tacos and saw a Black Panther.

The next day we managed to jump on the Toll road without being stopped but had three punctures instead. Hmmmm. The road takes you past the FOX studio where they filmed Pirates of the Caribbean.  Once in Ensenada we headed directly to LA CASA DEL CICLISTA where we were greeted by the lovely Delia, her husband and Canica their dog with big ears.  Thanks to the amazing generosity of Gerardo Medina, we spent an addition night in Ensenada catching up on sleep and having some much needed time to ourselves. 

Leaving the comforts and familiarity of Ensenada, we once again hit the road substituting the urban sprawl and traffic for the mountains and hard climbs. Just a quick question, why do they paint the tree stumps white? In the Town El Rosario we were shocked to meet two fellow touring cyclists, Alisha and Meaghan, who started their journey in Canada. We really though we were the only ones out here. Our cheerful and upbeat evening was to be equally matched by a lousy sleep due to cock – a – doodle -  doing all night long. Cycling with the two sisters has been really nice, plus the terrain has becomes less polluted and more scenic. This large desert portion is filled with big rocks, cacti everywhere and large birds soaring high above.

In Chapala we happened to strike up a conversation with Huan Jose who gave us some fanstastic information about what lay ahead (not much), where to go and who to approach for possible accommodations. Taking this advice on board we, all four of us now, battled the intense super duper wind and rain and headed to a prospector by the name of Umberto. Needless to say, he was very surprised and very happy to meet us. Due to a couple of tough cycling days in a row, full bellies from a mega feast and the comforts of a caravan, we all slept like babies.

It has to be said, that the people we have encountered in Mexico have been so welcoming, patient with our fragmented Spanish, incredibly friendly and seem to love stickers a lot. We have probably received more honks, waves and thumbs up from people, than the rest of our trip combined. Maybe it has something to do with the santa hats?

What have we seen on the side of the road?
= Tons of dead dogs with their guts spilling out.
= Thousands of tires, aswell as in the cactus plants.
= One full bottle of Windex and a bottle of dish soap.
= Several car windshields.
= One Hacksaw Jim Duggin 2x4.
= A lot of rubbish in general - particularly plastic drink containers.
= A guy that has been sitting on a rock in Catavina for three years waiting for his royalty payments for: inventing the hula hoop; frisbee; writing the song "you're nothing but a hound dog" and being the little boy on the old movie Tarzan.

Crib Score
Roland 64
Belinda 44