Oh how we love Mainland Mexico. After failing to secure a free ride across the Sea of Cortez by working on a sailboat, we caved and took the paid ferry ride. 12 hours later we rode the bikes off the ramp and into Mazatlan, full with 2 cruiseships of gringos walking around with their camera cases. I was feeling sick with some magical Mexican sickness, so the tour of town was short. The church though was a highlight, and probably the most beautiful church I´ve ever stepped into. Too bad the inside was full of dozens of tourists snapping photos (including myself, oops).
Out of town we were on a road with a shoulder. And cars. And more cars. We had hoped that most of the Mexican population, lots of people, would all live around Mexico city, which could be avoided. Not the case. Lots of peole live in mainland Mexico compared to Baja California, which I´ve come to expect. With lots of people came lots of people on bikes. Fun bikes. Rusty bikes. Bikes with milk crate racks. Racks with large tires in them. Bikes towing wheelbarrows. All of the bikes means that people are used to seeing bikes on the road, and that makes us smile.
It´s green out here, and we love it.
The riding was flat for days, all the way to our detour to San Blas. San Blas is a beautiful town on the Pacific Coast set amongst mangrove forests. We rode beside coconut and plantain trees, over bridges for creeks, and past tons of birds. Beautiful for a couple who just spent 6 weeks biking through the dry, but beautiful, desert of Baja. We rode up to the top of a hill and hung out by an old church and armory for hours, enjoying the shade and silence away from town. The buildings were from the 1500s, complete with plants growing on the buildings. Beautiful spot.
Camped on the beach for the night, and now we´re climbing slowly to the hills around Tepic. According to a Quebec bike touring couple we met a few days ago, we have 6,000 ft to climb to get to the highlands around Guadalajara! Wow. They also gave us the great info that it costs $500 to cross the Darien Gap from Panama to Columbia. Time to start counting our pesos!!!
will write again in Guadalajara, till then we´re riding in trees! Trees!
Oh my gosh . . . it looks like summer down there! I can't freakin' wait for summer!!!
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