Oaxaca to San Cristobal de Las Casas

I was planning to meet up with Alex and Alison, a Malaysian couple on a BMW GS Adventure doing a world trip the same direction as me. We met in Mazatlan. Alex had given me the hotel name and street, but Oaxaca being another maze of one-way streets, had me circling for an hour before I found it. It was great to catch up. 

We talked and ate and walked through town and had a great meet up. I stayed for two nights and on the last morning we rode together to see this giant tree, arguably the biggest diameter tree in the world. Whether it is or not, certainly it was impressive.

The tree was on the edge of the city and fortunately it was on the way to the cascada petrificada, a stalactite-like waterfall made of calcium deposits over hundreds of years flowing down a cliff. Pretty impressive! 

We spent some time taking photos then we rode back towards the city and I stopped at the town of Mitla. This is the heartland of Mescal, a tequila-like drink made from the agave cactus. I found a nice little shop where they gave me some tastings and I bought a small bottle – for medicinal purposes – after taking some photos of their distilling operation. 

There are hundreds of small stills and businesses producing this drink and plantations of agave are dotted everywhere. In the centre of town was the square and a nice looking hotel so I went in to check prices. $780 pesos. I laughed.

‘This is Mexico, nobody pays those prices.’

I rode 300 metres up the road and found a hotel for 200 pesos. It was fine! The next morning I walked around the ruins that the town claims fame for and walked again through stall after stall of indigenous handcrafts. It’s lovely colourful stuff but I have no room to buy anything on the bike so I just look and try to explain over and over why I can’t buy. Good practice for my Spanish. It was a picturesque town with some ruins at the top.

Moving on again I headed for the Pacific Coast this time through one of the narrowest parts of Mexico. I loved Puerto Escondido a couple of months ago and was hoping that Salina Cruz might match it, but unfortunately I found a massive oil refinery dominating the coast and businesses. It was already late so I headed along the coast and found a string of beachfront restaurants but none had accommodation. The place had a rundown feel to it and appeared to be under the control of the petroleum companies. I rode back to the highway and found a ‘love’ motel where I negotiated a nightly rate (normally hourly – what no chica??) and ate an overpriced meal in the attached restaurant. It was a hot night with just a noisy fan so I had an uncomfortable sleep with three showers during the night to cool down. I left first thing in the morning.

 I followed the route I had ridden with Felipe, Fausto and Lana some months earlier towards San Cristobel De Las Casas, mainly because it was the only route through the mountains. 

Unlike last time I was not planning to do a 600km day so after 300kms through windfarm territory I climbed back into the mountains and stopped at another waterfall and finally pulled up in a lovely town on a river called Chiapa de Corzo that had the largest square I have seen in a small town with a very old structure in the middle. 

I once again found a budget hotel just by riding around, with good secure parking behind a locked gate. Walk, food, sitting and watching people, this seems to be my evening habit in a new town. There was an increase in the number of Indigenous people selling all sorts of crafts and clothing. I had passed into the state of Chiapas and I had been told that around San Cristobel was the highest concentration of Indigenous people in Mexico.

 Once again I only stayed the one night and it was less than 100kms to San Cristobel, so I took the mountain road and was greeted with some of the most amazing views of the trip. High up in the mountains were small towns of Indigenous folk and what really amazed me was the agriculture. These amazing people farm fruit and corn on incredibly steep slopes that a normal person would not be able to walk on. And the agriculture goes for miles and miles through multiple little towns winding high into the mountains. Every slope has trellises or corn planted to the roadside and perfectly distanced between the plants. 

Elderly men and women with hunched backs were carrying timber and produce along the roads and tracks or were working the fields along the slopes. Such hard work, such a difficult lifestyle. Fortunately for me it was warm and sunny but here it is not likely to be like this often, with some clouds starting to build around the peaks. The place fascinated me.

 Eventually I wound my way to San Cristobel and stopped in a recommended hostel that offers motorcyclists a free night. Yes please!

Puebla - Veracruz - Oaxaca

Four relaxing days on the Stahlratte were great after the ride around Cuba. Cigars were burning and rum was flowing for the usual afternoon shenanigans.

I had a mission. I wanted to get back into the area I was in Mexico before I had to race to Cancun and Cuba. I felt like I travelled too fast through Oaxaca, Chiapas and the areas in between, staying only a night at the major towns and riding 500-600kms days. So I made the decision to backtrack to Palenque and catch up with my friend Felipe. Head down, I back-tracked through the little lakeside town of Bacalar where I had left my neck scarfe. Stayed in the friendly little hostel again for another night then rode a long day to Palenque. As usual his hospitality was fantastic and generous so I stayed for two nights at his hotel. 

The second night saw a group of riders on KTMs and Ducatis. One was the owner of the local KTM/Ducati dealership, another worked for him and they were on demo models. A couple of others had just bought new bikes. They were planning a ride to San Cristobel the next morning and invited me along, but I knew they would be riding faster than me so I declined and headed off towards Puebla.

 Puebla kept coming up for me. It is where the Ortega family I met in San Rafael live during the week and several people I had met along the way come from there. I wanted to catch up with the Ortega's again and I thought it would be a good place to stop and find a Spanish school. Two long days on the bike and I pulled into the north of Puebla. It’s a medium sized city, certainly large enough for me and not a crazy size like Mexico city. Over the next few days I made contact with friends, found a mechanic and changed the oil in Ziggy and repaired a couple of small problems I had in Cuba, namely the headlight. 

Once all set I found a small and very cheap room just out of centro, a yoga class and a Spanish school. Yoga lasted one class then I got sick after getting caught in the rain. I connected with the parents of a couple from Puerta Aventura and they had a cheap room that I stayed in for three weeks. Unfortunately the housemate was like the student from hell and after several arguments and putting up with a dirty, lazy, smoker who slammed every door he walked through, I decided it was time to leave and get back on the road. Three weeks of Spanish left me more confused than enlightened although I’m sure it is important to distinguish between Ser and estar, and between 23 different ‘esta’s’!!

 It’s funny but the open friendliness I had found with Mexicans seemed to dry up in Puebla. People were hard to connect with and those I did connect with were all busy and I didn’t really see them, with the exception of the Ortegas. 

My adopted family took me places and beautiful Diana taught me lots of Spanish and walked with me for hours in centro.

You guys were once again the shining lights and will be in my heart forever. But after three weeks I was getting restless, was yearning for some warm weather (Puebla is 2200m) and less cold rain. So I decided to cut my last week of Spanish class and my room rental and loaded up Ziggy to head to Veracruz.

 Now as it happens, you make a lot of contacts along the way and Mexico is VERY connected. My friend Dudu who I met going to Cuba, put out a call for anyone in Veracruz and I had a reply from James, a local business owner and biker with a BMW 1200GS. Immediately the hospitality and friendship I had come to love about Mexico reappeared and I spent the next three days in Orizaba, a small town surrounded by mountains, being fed, housed, shown around and introduced. I met a great group of people and was treated like royalty. Thanks for the shirt Arturo! A special long sleeve denim shirt with the Mexican flag embroidered along with the Aussie flag and a kangaroo. It is my new canvas for collecting patches and badges!

The ride there from Puebla started well with sunny skies, winding backroads and small towns that I love to discover. As I climbed into the mountains I could see fog ahead and sure enough I entered into a pea soup just where the mountain was the highest and windiest. 

Visibility was down to a bike-length in front of me and on three occasions I was on a tight hairpin bend only to be confronted in my lane with the rear of a semi-trailer that was using the whole road to come up the mountain. There is nowhere to go because there are no road verges, just a drop off the edge and the occasional metal barrier. It rates amongst the most dangerous rides I’ve had this trip. By the time I reached Orizaba it was pouring with rain.

But after a couple of days with James’s fantastic hospitality I headed towards Veracruz on the coast and some sun. I had heard a lot of positive things about Veracruz but I found it a bit expensive and touristy. I only stayed one night and did my usual walk around town in the evening. It’s always easy to find some good street food but after a look around I decided to continue the next morning.

Catemaco is a lovely little town on the edge of a large volcanic lake of the same name, just a couple of hundred kilometres south of Veracruz, slightly inland. I arrived in the afternoon and found a hotel at the end of town and negotiated a good chunk off the price because the place was empty. It is only days before the summer vacation and this place will be crowded and busy. Meanwhile it was quiet except for all the vendors prepared for the vacation. I was the only tourist walking along the lakeside, running the gauntlet with all the artists, food stalls and boat owners. The town is known for it’s witchcraft (bruja) and you can get a reading from a warlock. I passed. The first night I walked into the township away from the touristy malecon and as usual there was a large square with food stalls and people just sitting and walking around. It seems that this time of night between say 6.30 and 8 is when families come out and do their community socializing as there were a lot of people around.

In the morning was a great day starting with a two hour boat ride on the lake. It included a face caked in mud, good for the complexion, and stops at a few small beaches and a monkey island. 

Later I rode around the perimeter of the lake through beautiful lush rainforest. Found a steep and rocky road that led to an eco-park and 60m waterfall.

That day I found a nice coffee shop that had lots of books in English, some incense burning and real chai. It was a lovely spot with a great energy about it. I sat there in the evening overlooking the square.

The next day I packed and headed for Oaxaca. Half of the day was riding through lush green tropical vegetation with the temperature reaching 36C. I stayed on the libre (no cost) roads and passed through numerous small towns and hundreds of topes(speed humps)! I made my way to Tuxtepec where I had stayed one night before on the way to Puebla, but passed around it and headed to the mountains. I found a small restaurant and had a big meal of fried chicken to load me up for the ride into the mountains. It was still 200kms to Oaxaca and about 3pm. I wasn’t sure if I would get there.

Heading into the mountains was another of those wonderful Mexican winding rides and I moved gradually up in altitude as I wound around mountains, down into gullies and up to greater heights. 

The weather became cooler and after about two hours I hit the top of a mountain with a lookout and a sign reading 3000m. It was 12C. 

I had to put on my warmer gear as I was still in my body armour only, set up for hot weather. Even the heated hand grips had a workout. It became foggy and threatened to rain. At around 6pm I realised I was still over 80kms from Oaxaca so I followed a sign to a camping ‘eco village’. The dirt road wound down deep into a valley, dropping a good 500m in altitude and eventually this beautiful lake and valley opened up in front of me. 

There was an administrative-looking house on the right so I stopped and spoke with the owner. He offered me a place to hang my hammock for 100 pesos for as many nights as I wanted. He explained that it was about to get busy over the next few days (the weekend) due to summer holidays. I explained that I just wanted to hang my hammock and stay one night so he said I could stay for free. Near the lake there were a number of shelters so I hung the hammock in one and fortunately set up my wet weather tarp. That night a thick fog descended on the valley and in the small hours it started to rain lightly through the fog. By morning the rain was quite heavy and even though I was dry I had to pack up the bike in the open, clad in all my wet weather gear. As seems usual, I was ready to leave about 10am, and as if on cue, the rain stopped and the fog lifted. I rode back up to the road and took the winding mountains to Oaxaca without another drop falling on me.