Mexico - Mazatlán to Guanajuato
After two weeks of freezing in northern Germany and "quality time" with family and friends, we are back in the sun of La Paz. At Silvias place, we put on new tires, exchange the rocked cassettes and then make our way to the harbor to take the ferry to the mainland of Mexico.
The 12 hour crossing was by no means boring. We meet other cyclists and everyone tells their exciting stories about the Baja Divide. We often had contact with Sherri from Canada via Facebook and Burkhard from Frankfurt we already met near the U.S. border two months ago. Berry from London has been riding his bicycle around the world for over thirty years, but he has not given up his strong British accent.
Arriving in Mazatlán, after a short boat trip we came through coconut plantations and later through tropical forests towards the Sierra Madre mountain range. Many colorful birds can be seen and it rustles in the bushes. From the sea level to 2,700 altitude meters, just the right thing against the jetlag and after two weeks chocolate treatment.
We ride on Highway 40, also called "Espinazo del Diablo" (Devils Backbone). The winding mountain road was replaced by a modern highway a few years ago and thus traffic is limited to only a handful of cars and mopeds per day.
The scenic road leads through small, often very colorful villages. We really like Concordia where we spend New Year's Eve (sleeping from 20:00). Copala is also beautiful and medieval with its almost 300-year-old church. We have a nice conversation with Benjamin and his family from Mazatlán.
From 1,700 meters above sea level, the landscape suddenly changes from tropical flora to pine forests. Of course, the temperatures are also getting cooler up here and so there is also a hot drink during the lunch break.
In all the creation stories of Mesoamerica, man is formed by the gods from a pulpy mass of corn. This so-called Nixtamal is the basis of the corn tortilla. The tortilla has played an important role in the diet and culture of Mexico for centuries until today. While the Germans pretend to lift a spoon to their mouth as a gesture for food, Mexicans make a movement as if they were pushing a rolled tortilla into their mouths with their hand. Corn is an incredible plant, we have seen fields in humid-hot regions as well as at over 2,500 meters of altitude. In rural regions, corn is often harvested by hand.
Once on the high plateau, the Sierra Madre mountain range extends to the horizon - fantastic.
From the small Mexican nature park with its impressive rock formations and a waterfall, we ride accompanied on a disused railway line to the city of El Salto.
In El Salto, we cure our German souvenir by the fire for a few days. Only short walks can tolerate our runny nose.
Healthy again and along the plateau, Michelle suddenly had the zipper of our tent in her hand. Great, an invitation for spiders, scorpions and other animals. Fortunately, we will come to Durango the next day. In Sara's "Clinica de Prendas" she solved our problem in no time - we were incredibly relieved and grateful.
The German Hesse Burkhard then appeared in our hotel close to the center and we had a great day together in Durango.
For the mainland of Mexico, we have chosen the route of Mark and Hana (www.highlux.co.nz). However, the Trans-Mexico Bikepacking Route leads through the state of Zacatetas, from which all authorities and several locals have advised us not to go through it. Ahead of us, Gwen and Sarah have already found out which bus company has the best entertainment system to bypass the "tense region”. However, we did not want to miss the capital of the same name.
Zacatecas is as beautiful as Venice for us. The many old buildings are beautifully illuminated. We asked about the secret photo spot on the roof of a hotel for a long time.
Our streak of bad luck with defective material should not stop. Our sleeping mats are covered with patches and yet we often wake up in the morning on the cold floor. On the way to Aguascalientes, Felix broke a spoke and when we arrived there, the clip of Michelle's hip bag broke. We have been looking for a replacement buckle all day. We only found what we were looking for in the evening in the bicycle shop by the professional cyclist and Olympic participant Ziranda Madrigal. His friend Arqui then drove with us to his friend Pepe who has a leather goods shop and in no time the new buckle was sewn on. It was very nice to meet so many nice and helpful people in one day.
At the lake "La Saudesa" it was very cold in the morning and we decided to turn around again after the alarm rang. The second time we were woken up by applauding spectators. Our route leads through a local mountain bike race. Of course, we did not miss the opportunity to show what almost 10,000 km of bicycle training "on the mountain" can call up to date. When we arrived at the finish, we were of course warmly fed and had a lot of fun. We met several other mountain bike groups this weekend.
Also very diligent was an ant trail on whose menu was "leaves" today. It looked very funny how countless leaves danced upright in a line across the street.
We rinsed our first Mexican mezcal down our throats in a traditional mezcalería. The clear liquor is obtained from the agave. The fields on the roadside often protrude to the horizon.
Over steep climbs we get closer to the city of Guanajuato. One of the supposedly most beautiful colonial cities in Mexico - we should not be disappointed.
The city of Guanajuato, a real jewel in a mountain valley at about 2,000 meters above sea level. Once a miner's settlement, the historic city and the surrounding high-yinfilling silver mines are an UNESCO World Heritage Site today. The panoramic view from the Pípila statue is breathtaking for us at any time of the day. The many tunnels, old mining shafts as well as the countless small winding streets that run through the city often make the orientation challenging. Mariachi, a typical Mexican musical formation, can often be heard in the squares. The traditional costume with silver fittings is unmistakable - “La Cucaracha”.
