Oaxaca

Another beautiful ride up the mountains from Puerto Escondido to Oaxaca, this time on the backroads.

I managed to find the only wires in miles for this photo.

My first two nights, I stayed at Hostel Pochon but moved here to Hostel Don Nino. This is the fanciest room I've stayed in and the breakfast is delicious. It's right across from Parque Juarez and yes, those guys are carrying a xylophone.

Every time I  walk through the park, I see several couples "making out". PDA seems to be ok here.

I'm studying Spanish every morning at a school here in town. It's only 3 hours but my brain hurts by the end. I just finished my homework.

These are pictures of the Santo Domingo Church. The inside is the most ornate of any church I have seen with a ridiculous amount of gold.

The zocalo is bustling every afternoon and all day on the weekend.

The churches here are sturdier looking due to the propensity for earthquakes in the area.

There is music everywhere. I much prefer these guys to the ubiquitous pan flutists. 

I'm not sure what these were about but it seems to be a protest of some kind on this government building.

La playa.

 As some of you know, I can spend a long time on the beach without doing much of anything. This is the mode I have been in since arriving here in the last week or two. From Zihuatanejo, I rode down the coast to Pie de la Cuesta. The beach there was nice and people rode horses. At sunset, seemingly everyone in town gathered on the beach and watched until the sun disappeared, breaking into applause at that moment. From there, I rode through Acapulco (big city with lots of traffic) and spent a couple nights in Playa Ventura. This was an even quieter beach with Mexican families vacationing. I didn't see another gringo there. Finally, I rode to Puerto Escondido, where I have been languishing since. I'm staying in a hostel (Mayflower) and a met a really great group of people from around the world. I have had to look at my computer several times to remember what day it is. Once again, I have almost no photos, so I will have to make an effort to take some before I hit the road.

Pie de la Cuesta from my balcony.

Apparently this posted twice. Sorry.

The woman at this restaurant took me into her kitchen to show me everything that she had cooked. The food was incredible (Mole pollo, arroz, frijoles, ensalada).

Playa Ventura

Zihuatanejo

The free road from Morelia to the coast was beautiful but long. The rest of the crew took the bus and arrived several hours earlier. I didn't take any pictures for 2 weeks so I must credit Alison for the pictures from the last post and Sarah for these. Zihuatanejo is a pretty town with lots of tourists, mostly Mexican. The high-rise resorts of Ixtapa are near but we did not go there.

We stayed in the Casa Azul and it was very comfortable. Our rooms were open air with thatched roof and a nice deck. 

And a good place to park the beast. 

We spent time at each of the 4 beaches in the bay.

Ate fresh seafood.

This guy was pushing this tiny kitten around in his truck.

I think I'll stay on the beach for a bit.

Christmas in Gringolandia

Whenever I mentioned San Miguel de Allende to the locals in the previous towns, they referred to it as Gringolandia. It is true that I saw more white people here than all the other towns combined, but it is a beautiful city with a thriving art scene. Our hosts, Doug and Brianne spoiled us with amazing accommodations  as well as a ridiculous amount of delicious food. It's also great to see Sarah as well as Alison and Rob. 

3 wise men of San Miguel de Allende.

We followed this procession through the streets. Each night, Mary and Joseph wander the streets looking for a place to stay and are turned away until Christmas.

Nativity in the Jardin.

Off to Morelia, where the cathedrals are amazing.

The governors palace had great murals, this one on a ceiling.

Chillin' at the palace.

Eating at Los Pioneros. Muy delicioso.

Zacatecas

Zacatecas is a great city. I spent 5 nights there at this hostel. Our host, Ernesto, showed us the city. 

The view from the terrace of the hostel. These colonial cities have beautiful churches and quaint centers with narrow streets and amazing architecture. I met a lot of great people in this town, including travelers from around the world at the hostel and some great local people. 

I took a tour of the silver mine, which was the economic basis of the city for hundreds of years. This is the entrance and we descended 4 levels. The bottom 3 levels are flooded. The tour was great although my Spanish is still not good enough to catch much of the information. I am going to attend a school soon so I can communicate better. I really feel like I'm missing lots of opportunities to learn. 

We took a cable car from the hill where the silver mine was located to this hill. It was high above the city and provided quite a view. 

Lunch on the road near Dolores Hidalgo. This place was a lot of fun and the food was delicious.

These guys talked to us for a while. People here are very nice and are generally curious to hear about the trip and my impressions of Mexico. I don't have to lie. It is a wonderful place.

El Espinazo del Diablo

 The road from Mazatlan was probably the most amazing motorcycle road I've ever ridden. Some call it El Espinazo del Diablo (The Devil's Spine) and others El Camino de Tres Mil Curvas (Road of 3000 Curves). They are not exaggerating. Around every curve, you might see a bull, pigs, donkeys or a truck using most of your lane. It was only 200 miles but I was bushed when I arrived in Durango. Here's a link to a video of a bike on this road:  http://vimeo.com/15886038

Breathtakings views when I could take my eyes off of the road.

This was at the summit. They are building an enormous bridge that is supposed to cut the travel time by 2 hours but likely won't be as exciting.

It's much drier on the other side of the summit.

My hotel in Durango. It is very beautiful inside.

Every place I stay seems to find a creative spot for La Bestia Verde.

This is right next door.

Unfortunately, when I was parking her, I broke the "kill switch" so she would not start. I wheeled her into the lobby and did some online research. I didn't feel comfortable with the ideas presented so, in the morning, I asked the people at the front desk for help (after writing down a page of translations that I thought I might need). The man called a motorcycle shop and in 20 minutes, they showed up at the hotel. Next, I got on the back of this bike:

while the driver pushed my bike (with his right foot) with another guy on it through the busy streets of Durango. Creative but a bit scary.

After a short time, all was fixed. They were a great bunch of guys and Othon spoke fluent English, which made the situation go much more smoothly.

Othon is 2nd from the left. The young man on the right was the mechanic and Reemberto (with the bandana) owned the shop and is the Comisionado Nacional of a motorcycle club.