One of the
many great things about bikes is they allow your body to become slowly acclimatized to your surroundings. You can only travel so quickly and so
far at once meaning, as the air gets warmer or there's less oxygen while
going up mountains, the change is gradual and essentially pleasant.
Unless of course you bypass the biking for a bit and take a bus.
Coming
out of Puebla, partially to stay on track with miles and partially to
appease Jonathan's strong desire to swim in the Atlantic Ocean, we
hopped on a bus to Veracruz. Although the tickets were a little more
than we would've liked, we were quickly able to learn how simple our
lives had become. The amount of excitement we got from a "free" soda, air
conditioning, and a personal light above the seat is honestly a little
pathetic. But who cares when you feel like you're living in luxury!
Our
bus pulled in after dark, so we wandered to find food and quickly tried
to sleep. The next morning, spirits were high as we got our first
glimpse of the ocean and were able to follow the coast for miles, just
watching the endless blue wash in. At the first possible opportunity, we
brought the trolls down to the beach a gave them their first taste of
the ocean. It wasn't until after that we realized that was probably a
terrible idea between the salt and the sand for a mechanical beast. We
spent the next number of miles grinding it back out, rolling through the
greenest hills yet. We also quickly learned why the vegetation was
different down here. The humidity is like a thick summer day in Iowa,
and the sun heats everything up to well over 80 degrees by mid day. For
three guys used to the cool mountains, we were in for a very sweaty
surprise.
That night, we made
it to a little town called Alvarado. After asking around for a place to
camp and getting directed to a facility with a soccer field and
volleyball center, we thought we were set. However, the guard didn't
want to let us camp so we had to move along. He recommended the beach,
but some men on the street stopped us because they thought the beach was
too dangerous. Instead, by their recommendation, we followed a kind man
back to the fire station where he worked.
Just
as we were getting relaxed watching soccer on tv and about to catch up
on sleep by setting up our hammocks, the phone rang. The "firemen" (our
friend who walked us down the street and an elderly gentleman) started
getting ready. After a few quick glances, I asked our friend if we could
help. Surprisingly, he immediately said yes and we started throwing on
all the fireman gear: boots, pants, suspenders, coat, and helmet. Gloves
would have been nice and the shoes could have been about three sizes
larger, but we climbed up on top of the truck and felt pretty awesome
parading through town.
We made
our way over a bridge, past a long line of stopped traffic, and ended up
as the first responders to a semi that had fallen off the road,
flipped, and was engulfed in flames. We first set up the hose and
sprayed a fire retardant slurry until the tank was dry. It definitely
made a difference, but the flames were still substantial so we all
grabbed shovels and tried to smother the flames with dirt. Sweating more
than I ever thought was possible and wondering if the truck was about
to blow, other firefighters began to show up. As we were relieved, we
realized there were literal puddles of sweat in our boots so we sat on
top of the fire truck another couple hours and watched the action
unfold. By the time we returned, were fed a second dinner, and set up
camp, we were severely dehydrated and it was after 1am.
It was still awesome to play firefighter for a bit (especially since
they needed the help) and I have a much greater respect for the physical
fitness required and amount of heat you have to withstand in that
profession.
The next morning
came far too quickly, and the unrelenting sun didn't help our already
dehydrated state. We stopped on top of a bridge for breakfast and
destroyed an entire box of cereal before continuing on our way. Up to
this point on the trip, our offline maps.me app
hadn't failed us. However, we had seen signs for the "Costa del Oro" or
"Golden Coast" since Veracruz and our app didn't have the roads to get
there. After asking some locals, looking at the mountains in front of
us, and literally debating at the crossroads, we decided to go for it.
Naturally, the next part of our trip was winding into green mountains
with intense humidity. If the scenery hadn't been so perfectly
incredible, we may have regretted our choice. But just as we needed a
break, I spotted an orange tree and we cut up one of the tastiest pieces
of fruit imaginable. Before long (and a little longer for Jon since he
had another flat) we were rewarded for all our hard work with a long
beach to ourselves, tropical mountains in the distance, and a sunset to
top it all off. Believe me when I tell you we dropped our gear that day
and sprinted into the waves, getting tossed by their continuous strength
and feeling remotely clean for the first time in days.
Low
on sleep, hydration, and energy, we had a very lazy morning complete
with a pint each of Neapolitan ice cream and another ocean swim.
Although it was supposed to be relaxing, Kai was busier than the rest of
us, trying to get a tube in his rear tire that would hold air for more
than 10 minutes. Eventually we did leave, and found the actual golden
coast beach, just as beautiful as everything surrounding us. We hadn't
gone far before we saw a sign for a waterfall and camping. Looking at
the steep incline before us since it was headed back inland, we hoped it
would be worth the effort.
There
ended up being two camp sites. The first was more of the jungle scene,
and we climbed down to the river where a 6 foot waterfall doubled as a
water slide into a deep, clear pool. After getting our fill of fun, we
headed to the other site to sleep since it had a view of the ocean in
the distance behind a sloped green pasture. Setting up our hammocks in
the protection of some trees, we paid 10 pesos to hike on the trial to a
different waterfall. This one ended up being too tall to slide down,
peaking at 40 meters and located in a bluff of tropical vegetation. Just
when we thought this place couldn't get any better, the owners called
us over to point out wild toucans and later drove into town to buy fresh
fish for dinner. I don't know what they were, but they were big, red,
fried in a lot of butter, and made excellent tacos. The next morning I
woke up early to start the water for chai and was forced to journal
while watching the stars give way to the sun rising over the ocean with a
beautiful cow spotted hillside in between. Combined with the fresh
fruit trees, budding flowers, and soft grass surrounding us, we dubbed
our little camping spot "the Garden of Eden."
Back
on the road and towards civilization again, we got another blast of
heat and humidity. Sitting at a restaurant in the shade for lunch, we
could actually feel the day getting hotter. It's one of those scenarios
where sweat is dripping everywhere, sunglasses are fogged and there's no
clean clothes to wipe them, sunscreen is running in your eyes, and the
bike jersey is constantly soaked. Top it all off with a nice little 5.5
mile hill of switch-backs in the mountains, and suddenly you're a few
pounds lighter! The only saving grace about climbing up so much is you
can go down the back side and finally feel a cool breeze from the
motion. Ending up in a town called Catemaco, which happened to be on a
giant lake with tropical islands, we cooked our dinner on the roof of
the hotel and took some time to relax.
The
next morning, the heat was the same but we finally got smarter and woke
up bright and early to make riding infinitely more enjoyable. The
morning still had plenty of hills, but at least they weren't under a
scorching sun. Weaving through the climb and watching workers cut the
shoulder brush by hand with machetes, we nearly melted by the time we
reached the next town. At the front end of town, we noticed a sign that
said it was 42 degrees Celsius. Thinking ahead, I had written down some
conversions in my journal, but stopped at 40 degrees because I figured
104 Fahrenheit would be enough. Silly Ben.
Feeling
the need for some junk food, we went back to an old and familiar meal
of mac and cheese with hot dogs, cookies, and popcorn. It felt right to
vege out for a day, especially since we were able to find a Sunday football game on tv with Spanish announcers.
This
morning we kept our trend of waking up early to beat as much heat as
possible. Riding through a decent bit of dust and road construction, we
were still able to make great time. However, we had 3 unsolicited
comments in under 24 hours saying the place we were in wasn't safe. The
first came from a bit of a vulgar man showing us around the city. He had
better English than most so we were glad to learn a bit about our
surroundings, but he enjoyed whistling at girls and afternoon cervezas.
He told us there was some drug trafficking in the area and it wouldn't
be safe to go out much without him. Hearing the warning but not thinking
much of it, we got another one today from a taxi driver who chatted
with us during a break. Similarly, he said the state of Veracruz wasn't
safe and recommended we travel carefully. To top it off, a very friendly
man who loved the bikes and sold us fruit passed along the same
message. Feeling a bit uneasy since these people actually live in the
area and don't think it's safe, we looked at the map and realized the
following day there would be no cities and only jungle. Although we were
feeling strong in terms of riding, we took a blow to our bike pride and
turned north towards Coatzacoalcos to catch a bus south. If we needed
to be justified, we got it immediately. A guard at one of the toll
booths talked to us a minute (with excellent English since he lived in
Chicago for a bit) and told us just a few miles down they'd been having
problems with bandits stopping cars for money with machetes. Happy to be
in the comfort of a bus, we gladly packed our stuff up and headed
south. Even the trip was a bit tense though. Every time the bus slowed
in the first couple hours to drop people off, the whole bus would perk
up and look out the front to see what was happening. Jon and I put in a
headphone of Harry Potter in Spanish to pass the time while Kai read a
book, and later that night we were safe and sound in Tuxla Gutierrez.
Almost
a month in, not a whole lot has drastically changed. Gear is slowly
getting lighter as we drop off unnecessary items, but also getting a bit
heavier as we build up our spices and essentials like sugar and
powdered milk. The legs are definitely getting stronger, but every day
is still physically challenging. Some of the excitement has worn down,
but each day is different and we're stoked to compare Mexico with other
countries. Spirits are still high, views are incredible, and annoyances
with each other are short and minimal. Overall, I still can't think of
anywhere I'd rather be. Until the next update, thanks for following
along!
-Ben
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