Guadalajara and Zapopan had a lot more to see but I had to get to Mexico City by Sunday night. A few months before I left I saw an email from the band Muse, one of my favorites, announcing their fall tour. In the middle of the tour was a few nights playing in Mexico City the week of my birthday. How could I not go? Tickets were a great price so I picked one up on Ticketmaster and planned to get to Mexico City in time for the show Sunday night. Oskar insisted I have a real breakfast before I … [Read more...]
Coyoacán
A Different Mexico City Here in Mexico City I'm staying in Coyoacán, which is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city. Through a friend I found an awesome guest house to stay in while I'm here (I'll write about that later). Coyoacán was once it's own city and so it has it's own zocalo and town centro. Stopping by a cafe and getting a chai tea to go, I headed to the zocalo just to relax and watch what happens here. With so much constant moving and doing on the trip, a morning of just … [Read more...]
Not Your Typical Hostel
Warm Heart Guest House in Mexico City When I tell people that I plan to be traveling solo for 8 months, one of the things people will ask me is "won't you be lonely traveling by yourself?" That's certainly a possibility and I will no doubt miss my family and friends, but traveling is what you make of it. One way to be lonely is to get a hotel room every night and not talk to anyone. Personally I think you miss out on so much by doing that. Traveling solo doesn't mean you're always … [Read more...]
A Birthday to Remember
I knew early on in the planning of this trip that I would celebrate a pretty big birthday on the road. On October 24th I turned 30 and was not at all how I imagined I'd celebrate reaching a new decade of life. If you had asked me a few weeks ago what I was going to do for my 30th birthday I would have said I would probably be in Mexico City, at a club with a world renowned DJ spinning good music and having a blast. Instead there was an opportunity that when I first heard about it I knew it was … [Read more...]
Grasshoppers. It’s What’s For Lunch.
In the heart of the small city of Tlacolula, just 30 minutes south of Oaxaca, lies one of the oldest markets in Mexico and Central America. People from the villages surrounding the city come to sell their goods each weekend just as their ancestors did hundreds of years earlier. I came to the market to see what it was like and to try a special snack found mainly in the state of Oaxaca. For weeks while riding my motorcycle from California through Mexico I would see the roads covered in … [Read more...]
The Ruins of Monte Albán
On a hill 10km away from a busy Walmart in the city of Oaxaca is Monte Albán, the ruins of a grand ancient city that ruled the region for 13 centuries. From 500 BC to 850 AD, Monte Albán is considered to have been the regional political, spiritual, and cultural capital of the Oaxaca Valley. Before arriving to Oaxaca I didn't know of Monte Albán but when I arrived I heard that it was one of the largest ruins in Mexico. I decided to go check it out with Marcelino, Ace of Cakes, who works at … [Read more...]
Wind Tunnels and Banditos
The Road from Tlacolula to San Cristobal de las Casas I wanted to stay in Tlacolula and continue to help out at the children's home but I have to keep making my way south to get to the boat on time to sail to Columbia. Believe it or not I was hoping to do another cement pour before I left. Leaving Tlacolula is easy as there's only one road. I followed 190 south into the mountains for about 3 hours. Gorgeous vistas around each curve. View Larger Map The road leaves the … [Read more...]
Dia de los Muertos in San Cristobal de las Casas
I didn't have any place to be for a while so I spent 3 days in San Cristobal de las Casas. I could have stayed longer as the city and surrounding area have plenty to offer and the family I stayed with was awesome. Located in a valley high in the mountains of Chiapas, San Cristobal is small but has an endless number of roads each with something to explore. I got in at night and after putting my stuff away I went out to the centro with Kevin, my host and fellow lover of ska music. It was his … [Read more...]
Chamula, Mexico
Chicken Sacrifices for the Cleaning of the Soul A few miles outside of San Cristobal de las Casas is the small village of San Juan Chamula. Kevin and I drove over one day to see what life was like outside the big city. Kevin and his father work in sustainable agriculture/development and they work with a lot of local farmers in the area. You would think that many of the farms in the small villages would use farming practices passed down from previous generations but most now use seeds … [Read more...]
Xela
It's Pronounced Shel-ah The road to Guatemala from San Cristobal isn't very long but it possibly has the most topes (speed bumps) per km. It made the trip to the border pretty slow. The last hour or so in Mexico it gets better. Checking my motorcycle out of Mexico was a breeze. Now I was ready to cross into Central America for the first time. I had looked up what I needed to do at the border and was warned about all the people who will solicit their border crossing services and offer bad … [Read more...]
Yo No Hablo No Bueno Espanish
A week learning Spanish in San Pedro on Lake Atitlan. The ride from Xela to San Pedro is only 51 miles but it was a slow two hours of riding because of heavy fog, rain, and the nice pavement turns into rubbish as you descend down steep narrow switchbacks down the mountain to the lake. I heard there was a recent robbery in between two of the towns along the route so I stuck close to the microbus that was heading down the mountain. Half way down the fog cleared and I saw why so many people love … [Read more...]
Tips for Motorcycle Travel in Mexico
On my trip from California to Argentina, I spent a month traveling through Mexico. Here are some things I learned along the way. This is not a complete guide, just some things that might help you plan a trip or get a sense of what it's like. If I posted something wrong let me know but I don't want to start a whole discussion here of Mexico tips. Just my take on it. You can find additional info on an ADVRider post here. Temp Vehicle Import Permit If you're traveling outside the free … [Read more...]
Rivers, Rocks, and Mud
Riding to Semuc Champey “The word adventure has gotten overused. For me, when everything goes wrong - that’s when adventure starts” That's a quote from the documentary 180 Degrees South. Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, says it and when I first watched the film that line stuck in my head. Thinking about this trip I feel like I've already been on an adventure. But in Yvon Chouinards definition maybe my adventure began yesterday morning when we left San Pedro. I decided to ride with Kyle and … [Read more...]
Broken Bolts in Cobán
I woke up early knowing I had to find a mechanic to have the damage from Semuc Champey repaired. To complicate things I was in a town I didn't know and would have to try to explain in Spanish what I needed done. Kyle and Trevor packed up to ride to Honduras to go scuba diving and I stayed in Cobán to find a shop that could fix my sheared bolts. The guard at the hotel had a motorcycle so I showed him what happened and he drew me a map to a mechanic. I pulled up to Taller Israel Moto Shop and … [Read more...]
Getting into El Salvador
But Only After Getting Lost in Guatemala City The morning started off early but with complimentary coffee and bread I was feeling great. But when I was all ready to go, I was blocked in by someone else at the hotel. After a few minutes of the hotel staff trying to figure out whose car it was, a woman came out to move it. By the looks of it they woke her up. Sorry lady. Not surprisingly it started to lightly rain as I left Coban. Not very much but enough to make the traffic on the road slow … [Read more...]