Summary:Small hill out of Huehue then, long downhill through steep narrow valleys. Climb up to border then down and along a hot plain to Chamic. Hot day.
The valley that we rolled through today was beautiful but claustrophobic in that we could not see where we were going or where we had been.It was however, all downhill and very green and airy. When we stopped for some fruit, I picked flies out of Ben's beard which had become victims of his facial hair fishing net! That beard is going soon and even sooner now after that. But I think Ben has already persuaded himself to shave it off when he reaches 30, which is tomorrow! Something about trying to look younger.
At La Mesilla, the border town, I used the last of our quetzals to buy some thoughtful and luxurious gifts for Ben's birthday. A little chicken bus keyring, a tortilla cloth, a banner for the bike and a cake, came to four dollars in total. No expense spared. Then we crossed into Mexico. La Mesilla has the worst reputation for charging tourists "extra" costs so our free crossing was speedy and trouble-free compared to what we were expecting.
Ben has kept his watch at Panama time all through Central America. If anyone questions this, he explains he is convinced he will need it again. Apart from in Nicaragua (which is the same as Panama) it has been a little annoying that if you ask the time, he says "in Panama it is 8pm. But today he got the last laugh as Mexico is also "Panama Time." He was perhaps right not to change it to save a few button pressings!
Even though the Mexican border immigration told us we could camp at a petrol station in the next town, there is actually a slightly over-priced hospedaje there. So we took off on the first roads of many, through scrubby lowlands. There were a few lonely farms but noone about. It made a big difference from waving to people every few kilometres in Guatemala. Also, it was bye-bye lovely smooth tarmac, and hola to bumpy paving. Still, we were so pleased to have arrived in Mexico, we didn’t mind at all.
Saturday 4th June 2005
Chamic toComitan - 37.98 miles
Ben's Birthday
Summary:Finish crossing the plains then very hot climb up nearly 1000m to La Trinitaria. Comitan is 20km further at 1560m. Very hard work - especially on your birthday!
Hospedaje $11
Spicy lunch $6
Birthday Beers $6
Happy Birthday Ben !
Ben was a good sport this morning, cycling with a decorated helmet and a Finding Nemo "Feliz Cumpleanos" banner on the front of the bike. He was quite lucky with all the extravagence to have a star wars cake too!
I did notice though that since turning 30, he has been asking why we're not pedalling nice, flat valleys instead of up a sheer 1000 metre climb like today. But it was a tough day for a birthday. We quickly gotthrough about seven litres of water on the way up too and will have to plan our resources a little better than in Central America, where there are shops and refills everywhere.
Still, a nice spicey lunch got us back on the road again. The cook asked us if we were just out for a Saturday ride!
We were pretty exhausted when we arrived in Comitan, a very pretty colonial town with a multi-tiered plaza. We left the sky thundering behind us and went to find a hostal with big old rooms and an orange courtyard. Very Mexican. Ben got some pesos which was a relief as we had only changed a few dollars at the border and had been running on empty. The spicey lunch had just about finished us off.
So after a quick siesta, we were all set for the festivities and a big birthday night out amongst the mariachis. We ordered quesadillas and a Mexican feast, then two Coronas, then two more, then ... had to go back home to bed where Karen wiped out before Ben even had chance to make a cup of tea!
What a rock'n'roll birthday!
Sunday 5th June 2005
Rest Day in Comitan
Also Ben's Birthday
Summary:no cycling - just eating
3 meals in nice restaurants on the plaza came to only $22
Comitan is very pretty and very quiet so it was not hard to relax today. Ben updated our website, inspite of a power cut and we both phoned home and I washed and mended clothes and started to look at Cycling in China websites.
We decided to continue the 30th festivities into today and ate out for all three meals. At breakfast we happily watched people go by while we ate our morning chilli. It has to be said that now we are in Mexico, people are a lotmore well-fed than in Guatemala. That is not good news for me who wanted to impress her family and friends by looking really svelte and toned after cycling America. Looks like I too may fall victim to the tacos.
Also, the children of the richer families (and there are a lot in Comitan) are done up to the nines on Sundays. Little boys have slicked back hairstyles and little girls have fairy dresses. We watched two toddlers tripping past with balloons bigger than them dragging behind and watchful, doting parents not far off. I commented to Ben that in Guatemala little kids know how to shine shoes, cut and sell mangoes and do a full mechanical revision of a chicken bus before their fourth birthday. They are definitely some of the most independent and streetwise children we have come across. But there again, they often have to be and here they don't.
So, all in all, what we couldn't drink in beers yesterday, we made up for in food today. As cyclists should.
Monday 6th June 2005
Comitan to San Cristobal 55.99 miles
Into Chiapas
Summary:Road climbs upto 2200m, then down to Teopisca at 1800m. Then climbs back up to 2400m and back down to S.C.d.l.C at approx 2100m
Backpackers Hostal $9
Veggies for dinner $2
More Canadian-style pine mountains greeted us in the sunshine today, except that here in Mexico there are as many cactus as pines. We made a fairly late start today, only expecting to go half way to San Cristobal but then by just after lunch, we were well over half way and decided to press on. The road was for once, far easier than we had expected. It was beautiful too and we passed through indigenous villages where everyone dressed the same.
The first village we reached, Amantenango, we stopped for corn-on-the-cob and fruit at a roadside stall with the friendliest, smiliest lady. She asked the usual questions but also looked over the bike and then asked us where England was. I pointed in a vaguely north-east direction.
"Oh, over those mountains, " she replied.
She and the other women were dressed in white dresses with bright decorations in cerise pink, jade, green and dark blue. At Teopisca, these colours became red, orange and yellow.
Up the hill and in Betania, women wore dark greens and blues with intricately embroidered shalls. On the way up it had been violet silk blouses with black fluffy goatskin skirts which look like angora.
All these different designs fascinated me but I still resisted taking photos. Maybe this was a good idea. Later, at our hostal, we were told about a tourist who had been chased all over town after taking a photo of the police, thinking they were a mariachi band! Eventually, the matter had to be resolved by the local village chief. I thought all this was really funny, especially the notion of mistaking rifles for musical instruments.
San Cristobal is very pretty but overrun with tourists. Even our hostal, which was great value and well-equipped, was full of bongo players sitting round a fire or asleep in hammocks or watching cartoons. We wandered the market but would do alittle more sightseeing tomorrow. For now, it was time for Ben's chorizo surprise!
On the bike today, we had been talking about countries to visit next. We were shouting out names like: Turkey, Mongolia and Scandinavia (by bike?). We must definitely be getting more confident at cycling now ....
Tuesday 7th June 2005
San Cristobal to Tuxtla Gutierrez 54.64 miles
God Bless Disc Brakes
Summary:10km of hill up to 2400m, then a short sharp descent, then back up to 2400m (why?) then down into Chiapa de Corzo river valley, under 500! A short climb back up to Tuxtla, capital of Chiapas.
Hotel Miranda $7
Icecream $3
Before leaving San Cristobal, we paid a visitto the Centre of Development of Mayan Medicine to try to find out why coca-cola is so venerated in some Mayan communities. They use it before a birth to ward of enemies since it is associated with a family celebration. But apart from that explanation, we are lost as to why entire churches can be devoted to it.
The museum is small but interesting and with a drop of about 1800m today, we could afford to take our time a little. The relief map at the museum does lull you into a false sense of security though as the hill outof the city looks like a little bump and not the mountain it is.
After seeing an Indian couple on the road where the wife struggled with a huge bundle of wood on her back, and the husband did nothing to help, I was quite upset. I told Ben that I thought the tandem promoted equality between a couple. It also represents a healthy and environmentally friendly way to travel. Ben was very pleased with all this until I said that it also promoted equality between the over 30s and those still in their sprightly youth.
We had a lot of attention from cars today. One travelling from Canada to Argentina and back took our photo so we will have to try to get in touch to request a copy of the picture. We have no real photos of us doing what we spendmost ofour time doing. Then later, as we arrived in the city of Tuxtla, six screaming school girls greeted us by cheering from the car window, twice.
Someone had told us that Tuxtla was "bien feo," or pretty rubbish. Infact the city is pleasant enough and after trying about a dozen hotels to get the cheapest, we were too tired to be too worried anyway.
Wednesday 8th June 2005
Tuxtla Gutierrez to Cintalapa 50.97 miles
Chasing the Clouds
Summary:1/2 uphill, 1/2 down. Very hot road.
Hotel $11
Mango ice lolly $0.40
As we left Tuxtla, we were offered a lift in a We Love Jesus van. As we are both rubbish at singing, we declined. Today felt like a very tough day for me. Most of the morning, was uphill and even by 10am, it was very hot. Also, I think I was bitten by a spider back in San Cristobal and have been watching the bite get redder and redder. So I have to admit, I had a bit of a sulk at one of our ice stops. By the afternoon though, we cycled some incredible scenery and passed a dead squashed two-metre snake so I started to feel better.
Then chasing the clouds is what we did for most of the afternoon, trying to catch up with the islands of shade on the road. It seems like they are always a few metres ahead though.
We stopped in Cintalapa and found a very cheap room. The woman asked us if we wanted it for the whole night so you get the type of establishment. There was no water in the shower but the woman pointed to a big plastic container with half an inch of water to have showers from. Finally, a drunk man told us it was the cheapest place in town so we made our excuses and left. Tonight, I was prepared to pay a little more for a shower and some peace and quiet.
In this little town, we really stuck out and we could feel the stares walking round. As I was buying a mango ice, Ben told me a little gilr in the queue wanted to talkto me in English so we had a little chat in the busy shop. Cintalapa has plenty of places to stay, cafes and internet shops and bakeries so we were fine. We stopped taking our malaria tablets today. The beard has still not gone though!
Thursday 9th June 2005
Cintalapa to Tepanatepec 49.90 miles
Happy 10,000km!!
Summary:A bit of rollercoaster road reaching a peak at 860m. Lovely smooth road over the border to Oaxaca.
Spaghetti $2.50
Posada hostal $11
Celebration icecream $4.50
It was Ben's turn to feel ropey today so after a couple of hours, we stopped to eat in the middle of nowhere. My theory was that he would perk up after some food, however, it would seem the heat has caught upwith him and all day he was knocked for six. The road was very pretty but pretty tough too.
Our highlight was passing 10,000km, a good mileage for our seven months. Ben told an old geezer on the side of the road that we had cycled 10,000km. He did cheer, although he didn't quite seem to know what we meant.
Also, even after one day of stopping our Doxycyclin, we get on much better in the sun. Someday soon, I'll have a nice tan.
