Atlacomulco

Today we drove so much further than yesterday. We got up and at it earlier, and the roads straightened out quite a bit so we were able to pick up speed. We drove through amazing landscapes, starting out in jungle covered mountains reaching up into the mist and through a pine forest that looked much like you would see at home. It was stunning. Then when we popped out the other side of the mountain range, we found ourselves moving through smaller mountains that had almost no trees, tonnes of cactus, and a hot sun.

There were cows and burros on the road on occasion, and it was hard not to get distracted by all the amazing things to see while driving. There are Catholic shrines along the roadside that are like tiny buildings that contain a statue of the Virgin Mary. Sometimes they are extremely elaborate with lots of flowers, candles, statues, and strings of flags over the road all ending on the roof of the shrine. Other times it is just a small cement enclosure with a door to keep Mary safe.

Today we went into the most beautiful Catholic church I think I have ever seen. There were so many statues, so much gold paint, white walls, and amazing ceilings. It was overwhelming. Afterwards, we slipped into a little herbal store where they have all kinds of teas and herbs, plus oils, soaps, candles, statues, incense, and more... and for all kinds of saints, gods, spirits that will help you cure all your ailments, diseases or take care of your desires.

We are very close to the butterfly reserve so we are hoping to see them tomorrow. Shawn had a problem with his fender today and we need to get that fixed so that is definitely on the schedule as well. From there, we are making our way West, through Morelia and towards Guadalarja.

Still no proper internet, this is from a cafe, so no photos yet.

Ciudad Valles to Jalaca

We only drove perhaps 150kms yesterday due to getting a very late start and driving on winding roads with very little opportunity to pass slow moving vehicles. On top of that, there are little towns along the road every ten or twenty clicks and that means you have to slow down to about 40kms. When we planned this trip, we kind of forgot that not all highways have a speed limit of 100, but I still find it hard to believe that most secondary highways have a speed limit of 60 most of the time, and 40 through any town. It makes travel kind of hard.

BUT, we stayed in Ciudad Valles last night and enjoyed ourselves by walking around the streets and checking out a very large market, stuffing ourselves with various food items, and then packing it in early.

Today we hit the road earlier and managed to get in a good five hours of travel time, but still we perhas got 200kms down the road. We were on a VERY twisty road through the mountains that we thought would take one day to travel, but it will take two. The corners are crazy and you can only travel at about 50. On top of that, you have the little towns and their huge speed bumps, and the getting stuck behind slow trucks.

Regardless, we found a neat little hotel in a large town named Jalaca and we are settled for the night. Tomorrow it will be an even earlier day and we will hope to finish the last of the scenic route through the mountains. Our goal is to hit the monarch butterfly reserve where we will stay the night and see the butterflies the next day. Eventually, from there, we will go to Guadalajara.

No photos today as we are in an internet cafe and have no wireless access with our own computer. More to come soon.

Barretal to Tampico

Before coming to Tampico, we stayed in a little town named Barretal outside of Ciudad Victoria. We were close to the city but felt we were too tired to hit the city, and it is much cheaper staying in little towns. The hotel we stayed at was fantastic. Yesterday, we drove to Tampico and as we were tired, we hit the first hotel we saw. We weren't very impressed overall but today we came to the center of town, and are we ever glad that we did. The architecture is AMAZING, the plaza is beautiful, there are people everywhere enjoying themselves, and there is a lot to see and do. But enough, on to the photos. I am tired.

Outside our hotel room in Barretal. The hotel had these beautiful trees, and all around the yard were orange trees. They had beautiful grounds with two outdoor pools and some picnic areas.

We went for a walk in Barretal and stopped in front of this church. The man in charge of the church happened to be there locking us up and asked if we wanted to see inside. We told him we didn't want to be a hassle but he insisted.

This is Jesus, who lays in a glass coffin-like case near the front of the church.

This is the view from the back of the church.

The next day, we were on the road again. This is a very tame curve on our way to the really crazy road. This curve looks like a toddler's ride in Disney Land compared to what was up ahead.

This cat was sure he'd have his day in paradise if he just waited long enough.


Near the end of a sort of pier that served as a breakwater (I think) that had a light at the end. It was a super long walk to get to the end, and the whole way there were people fishing off the edges. The water on the left was crazy and huge waves were breaking against the pier, splashing water over the edge and spraying us with salt water.

Holly LOVES hugs!


Shawn navigating the streets of Tampico in El Centro (downtown)


Parking downtown before we go into the hotel.


Our cute hotel room. The ceilings are high, and we have three single beds.

Getting Jamaica juice from the ice cream / juice / churro store. Everywhere in Mexico they have juice for sale and it is usually served from these huge containers into plastic cups or little plastic bags with a straw. Jamaica juice is made from flowers. YUM!



Vendors along a side street.


Awesome architecture!


A church!


Check out this fancy shoe store!


But if you looked just to the left of that other shoe store, you saw this shoe store, DESTROYER!


The circus was in town, and to promote themselves, they had parked zoo like trucks around the plaza with wild animals in them. They were circus trucks like you see in children's books where the back is a huge cage. Holly took this awesome pic of one of the lions.


In the central plaza.

More architecure and the street.

These dresses are meant for girls celebrating their quincinera, their 15th birthday, a very special age that is celebrated with as much enthusiasm as a wedding.

And that is it for tonight!

Motorcycle update

We decided to stay in Tampico again tonight. We did however, decide to move to a hotel that is right off the main square downtown. Way cheaper than the last place and more character as well.
OK, so on to the topic of the motorcycle.
It's still running decently although it is really noticble the difference in gas quality from tank to tank. The topes are huge in Tampico and I bottom out on every one. That is of course if I don't hit them at speed and get air. As such, I have succeded in destroying the taillight/brakelight wiring. Oh and my front brake has deciced to stop working. So Mexican city traffic, no brake light, no front brake. And I am kicking all sorts of wierd crap off the road into my face.
So in short, still awesome! Tomorrow we are heading inland and I'll attend to the light and brake issue.
Pictures tomorrow or maybe later tonight as well as a much better Tampico, a night in the heart of the city, update.

From the last few days

I'm doing this backwards because I'm really tired.
we travelled 350 km today.
70km of that was hands down the best road I have ever ridden.
for the entire distance, there was maybe 2 klicks that were straight.
It was an hour of peg scraping aweswome. Left and right camber corners stacked like it was a dream.
Sadly I didn't get a single photo of the road. There were absolutley no shoulders or anywhere to turn off, straight jungle on both sides.
Mex 70 between Ciudad Victoria and Soto La Marina.
Check it.


Self portrait just after leaving our hotel.
We rode trough orange orhards.
there were stands at the side of the road for miles selling oranges.


I bought a bag of oranges from this guy.
10 pesos got us a 10 lb. bag of fantastic oranges.
He was a total salesman. Laughed alot and seemed really happy.

the next lot of photos are from the Bioparque Estrella.
About an hour away frfom Monterrey, its an outdoor zoo that features a 'get up close' safari.
And yes, we got close. For 10 pesos each, we bought cups of food for the animals.


This old giraffe was super hot for the food Laura had and as such, every one on the bus ran to see the Giraffe.








This camel went right for this poor lady. She ended up losing the whole cup.

That's all. tonight were are in a pretty swanky place in Tampico.

My bike is running great. And despite the hellishly bumpy roads and me jumping 8 inch curbs, nothing has fallen off. I went over the bike tip to tail and tightened everything, including adjusting the chain. It's blowing a bit more oil than I'd like but so it goes.
That's all. Tomorrow we go to the beach and maybe we'll stay in Tampico another night or maybe move down the coast some more.

Tampico!

We stopped in a small town before Ciudad Victoria last night and stayed at this awesome little motel. There were orange trees everywhere, it was so beautiful! We didn't have internet access though, which almost killed Holly, but we are now in Tampico and our hotel came with the works. I am SUPER tired so more will come later, but hopefully Shawn will post some eye candy for you guys tonight.

Day Two in Monterrey!

This is the cathedral next to the plaza in the center of downtown. It was very ornate on the outside with lots of carvings and a big statue of Jesus at the top. Over the door, the carvings looked more indigenous.

At the front of the church was this amazing mural that covered the walls and ceiling.


Another view of the mural, plus you can see a boy looking at the baby Jesus in a cradle near the Christmas tree. People were posing by the baby Jesus doll in the cradle there and having their photos taken, so I didn't feel bad about taking photos in the church.


Off to the right was this statue of Jesus.


In one of the side niches, another statue of Jesus.

And another view of the inside of the church.

We tried to visit the Museum of Contemporary art but it was closed for the holiday. This was a massive statue of a pigeon out front.

I thought it was cool that there are poinsettas growing in the gardens in the plaza here.

A daytime view of the Christmas tree that advertises for a brand of drink/pop. You can see the big blow-up bottles around the bottom there, and under that golden tinsel roof was a nativity scene.

Would you like to shop at Athlete's Foot?


Another Christmas tree on the other end of the plaza, but this one was just tinsel and lights, no advertisements this time.


We decided to see the whole nativity play tonight. It was really neat.


Joseph came out with Mary on a real donkey and then walked past the inns that told them they were full for the night. It was a really neat thing to do for Christmas.

By the way

You can click on any of the pics in the blog and see a larger version if you'd like!

Driving to Monterrey was pretty fun, a bit of an adventure until we hit the city, and then it became a HUGE adventure. Shawn is being modest about the highways. People are courteous... but that means that sometimes you are moving over dangerously far onto the shoulder to make room for someone behind you to pass while the people in the oncoming lane are doing the same.

Here they have one lane and a generous shoulder. You are expected to move into the shoulder when you see someone coming close behind you so they can pass. If it is clear, you signal with your left signal to let them know... but most people just pass you well before you do.

It sounds harrowing, but after driving it for awhile, it really makes sense. There are no huge trains of cars waiting to pass someone because there is plenty of room to pass almost anytime you like. About the only time someone won't attempt to pass you is when you are on a dangerous curve.

In the city is a totally different ball game. Many places have no lanes marked and people just drive wherever they want, cutting in front of you and crossing multiple lanes at once. Lanes will end without notice and roads end, offering a sudden split to the left or right with no signs to tell you which way you want to go.

On the freeways through town, there is usually no advance notice when your lane is going to exit or where an exit actually leads.

Making things even harder, main roads often have four or five different names depending on which area of town you are in.

When you get close to downtown, the roads turn into narrow one way streets with pedestrians crossing here and there, usually with no care as to whether you are going to stop or not. You learn quickly to look like you are going to plow ahead no matter what or cars and pedestrians alike are taking advantage of you.

Finding ourselves parked in a crosswalk at one light, a local lady gave us what can only be described as the evil eye, and made sure she gave it to us at least five or six times, even after she was a way down the block on the other side. I made sure that didn't happen again!

The staff at the hotel were more than friendly and helpful and they crowded around in a big group asking us all kinds of questions in English while we checked in. They wanted to know where we came from, where we were going, complimented my tattoos, and asked if I had a Harley. I think they were thrilled to practice their English, and thought we were quite different.

We walked the street our hotel is on last night and there were vendors all along it selling toys, food, and offering services to wrap presents. There were several men selling armloads of little puppies, and if Shawn hadn't been there to stop me, I would have been the proud new master of at least three. I got to hold one of the little fleabags and it was cute. They had some of them dressed in little santa coats, which made it all the more adorable.

As Shawn said, we hit the square where they were presenting the story of the birth of Jesus. It was really cool because it took place on several elaborate stages that had been built around the whole square. At the final stage where the birth took place, there was a pen of actual sheep and goats.

I think today will be spent exploring and eating good food. Perhaps we'll find more nun themed restaurants.

Some dogs near where we bought our Santa pinata in one of the towns along our way to Monterrey.

A little chihuahua at a roadside restaurant that we stopped at for lunch.

Shawn said this pop tasted.... different. The look on his face says it all.


Shawn taking off from a parking lot after stopping for gas.


Shawn on the road. As you can see, everyone is kind of driving wherever they feel like it.


Holly and Shawn in the nun themed restaurant. The walls were all tiled from top to bottom and there were paintings of nuns on the walls. In a different restaurant we saw on the street, the waitresses had actually been wearing nuns habits!


This huge Christmas tree was in the main square and was a huge advertisement for some kind of drinks. Every round decoration had a brand name on it.


One of the stages for the story of the birth of Christ. (the dude in the red is the devil, aaaaaah!)


The pen of sheep and goats at the last stage.

This is the first guy we have seen in Mexico with a huge beard. His family was taking photos with him, and we asked if we could too. His name was Nicholas!


Leaving the square, looking at the main street that leads to our hotel. The whole thing was blocked off for pedestrian traffic only.

And that's it, another huge post!