Oaxaca'd!

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Trip Start Jun 21, 2008 Previous
Entry Trip End Sep 03, 2008 Next
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  Oaxaca, Central Mexico and Gulf Coast, Mexico
Saturday, July 12, 2008

We left sleepy Puerto Escondido after having had a wonderful day there, what a cool little town! Jess had told me that the road to Oaxaca would be windy and we would probably have to go quite slow, which was fine by me... I thought....However the road was extremely windy and I ended up feeling a bit "car sick" on the motorcycle. Didn't know that was even possible!!  However the scenery was so stunning that I quickly forgot about my nausea and was completely lost in the valleys beneath us and the pine trees towering over us! And it was not raining which at this point is always a plus!
 
We stopped by a little waterfall and had our first "real" conversation in Spanish where we actually were able to make ourselves understood by this very friendly man who was kind enough to take a picture of us as well! I got a bit excited about speaking Spanish again and realized that we know so much more than we think or than we have used so far

Change of scenery...again!

. Just need to get into it and take every opportunity to practice.
 
OK...Oaxaca! What a lovely city. I fell in love as soon as we rode in. It is a colonial town with amazing looking houses in bright colors and cobble stoned streets. There was also a healthy amount of graffiti, which gave it the true city feel! We could have been in London or New York with all these old, beautiful but at the same time dirty buildings that on the inside hide uber-modern bars, art galleries, restaurants, cafés and jewelry stores. Again, I could have stayed there for days, it is such a nice contrast to all the beach cities we've been in so far. We found the hotel right away and it was beautiful. I am surprised every time we go into a hotel because they all have these amazing courtyards just covered with flowers  in every color imaginable, there are different levels, cobble stone stairs, statues, and  more flowers....
 
Hey Jess here...what a road from Puerto Escondido to Oaxaca!  Although we have a small hand-held GPS mounted to the handlebars, the base map is terribly crude and inaccurate and it's mostly to record our journey...the little electronic bread crumbs that we drop from place to place.  This little mountain road was not on the GPS and we just navigated the old school way...following street signs or the lack thereof

Break at the waterfall

!  In total, it was 160 miles of potholes, mudslides, herds of livestock and their shepherds,  and of course, stunning views...over 6 hours on the bike averaging about a 25mph slog.  Believe it or not, it never rained, but we had black clouds hovering over us like the little stink-cloud that follows Pig Pen from the Charlie Brown Gang.  I did not want to get caught at 6000 feet in the heart of Mexico's Sierra Madre in a torrential downpour!
 
We made our way with a little haste through the beautiful sinews of tarmac and gravel, passing slower vehicles up the steep grades, then hard on the brakes for the upcoming downhill curves...always keeping to the far right shoulder, less there is big truck or tour bus cutting the corner wide to maintain momentum. 
 
Finally over the mountains and safely on the high mountain plateau, we stopped at a small village comedor for a bite to eat.  The place was literally a little cement outhouse with an old thatched roof and a small sign outside reading "Hay queso de chivo" (we have goat cheese).  The two small Mayan ladies living/working there told me that they don't have a menu, you just eat what they cooked that day.  Our options were "Chuleta de puerco con arroz, o caldo pescado" -  Pork chop and rice or fish soup...we opted to share a pork chop dish (they only had one chop so we didn't have a choice), and although there were flies buzzing on, beside, and all around our food, it was simply delicious...especially for us road-weary motoclistas

Cattle drive!

.  As we washed the meal down with a couple of Coca-Lights,  villagers began to come out of the woodwork to stare at the extraterrestrial Skeeter Eater (the bike, submitted via blog comment by imjealous!) and gawk at the extranjeros as we shooed flies from our faces and relished in our good meal.   We're beginning to realize that much of the true beauty comes from the journey rather than the destination!
 
 But wait, I think I spoke to soon!  Cresting the rise and laying eyes on the colonial town of Oaxaca - we were both taken aback...it reminded me of some of the small picturesque pueblos outside of Madrid, Spain - Segovia and Toledo quickly came to mind and I found myself daydreaming of Spanish conquistadors, silver and jewel exports to Europe and the end of thousands of years of Mayan reign. 
 
Oh crap!...city traffic!...ok no more daydreaming.  Malin had the map in hand and was helping us navigate through the cobblestone streets to our amazing little hotel.  But...and this is a big BUT for me, it did not have onsite parking, but it did offer secure offsite parking.  For the first time I would not be able to wake up in the morning, glance to my left toward Malin, then turn to the right out the window to the bike, and be content that all my girls are safe and sound

Our aftermarket 140db horn quit working!

. 
 
So reluctantly I rode the 2 and half blocks to the parking garage, put my super-thick indestructible German-made cable lock around the bike and covered her up...it's only one night, but our trusty steed deserved the extra attention on her first overnighter without us.
 
Everything safely stowed away we hit the zocalo (town square) on a busy Friday night...and the whole town was out!  There was a young Mayan dance troop parading through town, local goth kids with dyed hair and iPods were sitting next to small indigenous woman selling their wares...people were sophisticatedly dressed up...some dressed down in a retro-cool way, a lot of clowns (they kind of freak out Malin) and street performers...the whole place was vibrant!
 
Malin I decided to splurge a little and go to a really hip restaurant buried inside the 400 year-old shell of a colonial storefront...it was amazing!...Malin ordered salmon which is quite exotic for these parts, and I ordered a rib-eye with a side of cactus!  The cactus was ridiculously good!  Note to self:  when back in the States, call Ronald McDonald and Jack and suggest the McCactus or the Jumbo CactusJack...could be lucrative

Lost in the clouds

.
 
The next morning...we woke up to rain....a lot of rain...and we had a very long ride planned back down through the Sierra Madre mountains to the coast, and then back up the Sierra Madre into the state of Chiapas to the city of San Cristobal de las Casas!  - - the heart of Mayan civilization as well as the left-wing Zapatista movement.  That would have us crossing the mighty Sierra Nevada three times in two days!  Okay...this is going to take some planning...and like Hannibal Smith from the A-Team..."I love it when a plan comes together".  But then that begs the question,  if I'm Hannibal, then who is Malin??...Murdoch?, Face Man?...B.A. Baracas maybe?...comments welcome.
 

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

Pine trees in the high tropics	Quick bio break	On the road	My self portrait!
Walking up to our room	Our room!	Pretty blue buildings....	Real life canine gargoyle
Flip flop dancers	Jess trying to join the flip flop dancers!	Discovering new Mexican beers	Delicious salmon
Art everywhere	Malin in Oaxaca	Our Virgin of Guadalupe

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