Climbing Mountains Hasta Chilangolandia

Day 44 kt:71.4 ta:2132 gps: N 22°46.490' W 102°34.283'
Day 45 I stayed in Zacatecas
Day 46 kt:52.1 ta:732 gps: N 22° 32.941' W 102°15.093'

After crossing the Tropic of Cancer, I have noticed a slight change in the ecosystem. It is still very much like a desert prairie but there seems to be more moisture and more trees. When I woke up on the day I went to Zacatecas, there was thick fog covering everything. It had not rained the night before but my tent was wet as if it had. The wind coming from the south had a very tropical humidity. It remained, more or less, overcast all day on the way to Zacatecas. Right when I arrived in the city, it began to rain and hail. Fortunately, I did not have to travel very far to get to the hostel in which I stayed.
Zacatecas is a cool, beautiful city. It was a silver mining city during the 18th and 19th century and its colonial wealth is evident in its architecture. There are many obviously old buildings here that were made by skilled artisans that were brought there by the silver barons of the time. The central city is covered with winding cobblestone streets which are clogged with traffic. This can make maneuvering through traffic quite difficult at times. Today, it is still a thriving city. It recieves a lot of tourism and it is a college town so there are lots of young, beautiful people and there is a night life here. One of the cooler things that happens here on a nightly basis is called a callejoneada. The name comes from the word callejon which means alley. The callejoneada is a wandering street party that comes complete with musicians and a donkey laden with mezcal. The party grows as it travels through the streets. I could definitely live in Zacatecas.
The place I stayed at is a wonderful place named Hostal Villa Colonial. It is smack dab in the middle of the city and has one of the better views of the town's cathedral from its rooftop terrace. It is affordable but nice and travellers come there from all over the world. The owner speaks Spanish and English and does his best to make everyone feel welcome. While staying there, I even met two other cyclists who were biking to Argentina: Sjaak from the Netherlands is biking from Alaska to Argentina and Ryan from Canada is biking from his home in Winnepeg to Argentina and possibly through Africa and Europe afterwards. I got contact information from both of them and I am hoping that we cross paths again for they both seem like pretty cool fellows.
I managed to get my bike repaired but with some difficulties as, again, no one seems to have the same size rims, wheels, tires, spokes, or innertubes as I have. Once I get to Mexico City, I am going to get my entire real wheel relaced with new spokes. In retrospect, I shouls have probably purchased a mountain bike because it is much easier to find replacement parts. I usually have to go to several bike shops before I can find what I need.
It was hard leaving the city and my new friends today, but, alas, that is the life of a nomad. I took my time leaving the city. When I finally left, I was happy to discover that it is mostly downhill or flat while leaving in the the direction of Aguascalienties, Aguascalientes. When I chose a place to set up camp outside of the city of Ojocaliente, Zacatecas I decided to hop a fence due to the lack of good places to stay. When I was sitting by my campfire, a man on horseback rode up to where I was. He didn't seem to mind at all when I told him I would leave in the morning and put out the fire. He shook my hand and then rode off. It is always easier to ask for forgiveness instead of permission.
I have added cow brains and cow blood to the list of different foods that I have tried. They are called sesos and moronga, respectively. I was also happy to find a woman that sold tamales and atole in the morning. She not only had champurrado but also had atole de guayaba or guava. It is quite delicious. I have been feasting of Mexican food for Thanksgiving.
This is the time of year when I normally spend time with family and friends but I am sitting in my campsite alone, right now. I miss all of my family and friends but I am not even remotely longing to go home. Every day is exciting and stimulating and I have never felt happier or more secure with myself before. Even the aches and the pains that I would feel in my body whenever it got cold have left me. I am in as good a shape as I have ever been. I feel rejuvenated and I don't want this trip to ever end.

Day 47 kt:95.1 ta:2336 kt:95.1 gps: N 21°46.952' W 102°16.857'

As far as I can tell, I have entered the agricultural heartland of Mexico. Ever since I started approaching Zacatecas, I have seen nothing but farmland. The towns seem to be getting bigger, too. The central part of Mexico is the most densly populated part of the country. Every town I pass through seems to have at least five thousand people living in it. This is nice for me because I have many more food options and I don't have to worry about running out of water.
I rode about 80 kilometers to Aguascalientes by 3:00 p.m. today so I had plenty of time to surf the internet and find food. Aguascalientes is a large city of over a million people. It seems to have a large industrial sector as I passed by a Nissan factory and several other large plants, today. It has malls, movie theaters, and everything that you would expect to find in an American city of the same size. This is not to say it is like an American city because it is very much a Mexican city. For a city its size, I found riding my bicycle through it to be quite pleasant. There seems to be plenty of space for bicyclists and I saw everyone from kids to old men riding bikes.
I am camped out on the southern edge of the city as I was unable to make it out of the large urban area. I found an abandoned building, which Mexico seems to have an abundance of, and set up my camp. I am well hidden from the road so I shouldn't be bothered by anyone, tonight.

Day 48 kt:68.1 ta:2634 gps:N 21°17.230' W 102° 00.182'

I lost some time, today, when I had to fix a flat. That comes to 11 flats thus far on my journey. It is all right, though, because every flat I fix is pennance for when I would so gleefully break glass bottles on the street when I was a kid. The flat terrain has been replaced by rolling hills, not unlike those of the Texas Hill Country. The wind was coming strong from the west. Some of the gusts of wind almost blew me into the highway. I am just happy that it wasn't a headwind because that would have made my day pretty hellish.I crossed into the state of Jalisco today and should cross into the state of Gaunajuato tomorrow.
I ended up taking the cuota road between Aguascalientes and Leon. This saved me money because there were limited places to stop. I have only eaten tuna melts, palenquetas, and até, today, for I have a ton of all of those items. I am just trying to lighten my load a little.
About an hour before sunset, I saw the perfect campsite on the side of the road. By perfect, I mean that it is close to the road, well obscured so I could have a fire, and on the leeward side of a hill, meaning the wind would not bother me. After seeing this, I decided it was time to stop because I could not pass up such a nice spot. The extra time before sunset gave me time to start studying my Portuguese-English dictionary. It is never too early to start preparing for my eventual Portuguese immersion.
I feel like I have come to master the rhythem of fire. I have started fires, without lighter fluid or paper as tender, in a variety of ecosystems. The dying embers of the fire I built tonight are keeping me warm as I write this entry in my journal. There is fire in my belly from the warm food I prepared and I can now pick up hot coals with my fingers without burning myself. I have tamed the flame.

Day 49 kt:54.6 ta:1600 gps: N 21°04.102' W 101°35.660'

I have really come to understand the meaning of highway robbery a lot better while being on the road. Mexicans seem to really take it to heart. There are places on the highway that seem to mark up the prices at least 60% from what you would expect to pay in the city. Because of this, I make my best efforts to buy all of my food and water in the cities now.
My appetite continues to astound me. At my most ravenous, I can eat more than three pregnant women combined. I learned, today, that I can, indeed, eat a whole chicken by myself with tortillas and salsa in one sitting. I figure that is more calories in one meal than the daily recommended amount for the average person. I should have eaten a lighter meal, though, because this made me feel sluggish and tired. I even felt kind of feverish, though, I can't say this is because of the chicken. I decided I would quit riding early and rest up for tomorrow.

Day 50 kt:92.6 ta:1861 gps: N 20°28.875' W 101°12.825'

It turns out that my fever was nothing that 12 hours of sleep couldn't cure. I felt fine this morning, though, I drank drank several liters of fresh squeezed orange juice as a precaution. The juice is getting cheaper as I ride south which pleases me a whole lot. When I lived in Mexico City, I probably drank 2 or 3 liters every day because it was so cheap.
I passed through Irapuato, Gaunajuato, the self-proclaimed strawberry capital of Mexico, today. Alongside the highways leading into the city from all directions, one will find hundreds of roadside stands selling fresas con crema. I did, indeed, indulge. I even brought some dried strawberries covered in chile for later. Mexicans and I would definitely agree that sweet stuff can be spicy. Those who have tried my habanero-chocolate covered strawberries can attest to that.
I decided to skip going to Gaunajuato City, today, even though I had a free place to stay because I spend money in the cities like I have a week to live. I am more interested in natural places than historic places, anyway. If I wanted to visit a historic place I would have ridden in the direction of Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato. This is the town where Father Miguel Hidalgo rang the church bell on September 16 , 1810 and issued a sermon to those who congretated known as the Grito de Dolores. This is essentially the Mexico Declaration of Independence from Spain.

Day 51 kt:101 ta:3945 N 19° 42.263' W 101°10.979'

This morning, I found some thorns embedded in my skin which I had not previously noticed. I then proceeded to dig them out with my knife. They could become infected and they cause a constant annoyance so I would rather endure the temporary pain of stabbing myself to remove foreign objects than leaving them as they were. This is not the first time that I have had to remove foreign objects from my skin and I am sure this problem will only get worse when I get to the jungle.
I have not seen like hills like the hills I climbed today since I left the Sierra Tarahumara. It is different here, though. I am definitely no longer in the desert. There seem to be a lot more jungle plants than cactus here. This is not to say that I am in the jungle because it is still pretty dry here. With that being said though, I can feel more humidity in the air and it is noticably warmer in the night even though I am at roughly the same altitude as before. I rewarded myself when I got to Morelia, Michoacan by renting a room and taking a shower. I should be well rested for tomorrow when I get to ride through an area they call Mil Cumbres. This translates to a thousand summits. Woo hoo! Fortunately I think this refers to the general area and not the road itself.
Since I have been passing through more cities, I have been having to deal a little more with those who see me as nothing but a walking, talking peso dispenser. I can tell their intentions almost immediately because they have a greedy look in their eyes when they look at me. It is similar to being eye-fucked and I feel pretty violated after receiving these looks. I usually just pretend that I am in a hurry and that I don't understand Spanish very well when I encounter these types of people ,though, I am not afraid to flash my teeth if I have to. I am happy to share stories of my adventures with those who are curious but I don't like being treated like a dumb gringo with money.
I worry that every time I go travelling, I cause some cosmic shift in the universe that leads to friends of mine getting hurt. When I rode my bike down the west coast in 2001, a friend of mine lost his leg in a motorcycle accident. This time, some friends of mine got hit by a drunk driver, though, they are relatively okay. Also one of my BMX heroes, a man named Jimmy Levan, had a skateboarding accident and was comatose for the last two weeks. He is, now, out of his coma and is recovering but his insurance doesn't pay for everything. He still owes a lot of money in medical bills and I wish him a full recovery. I have had the priveledge of meeting him and getting to hang out with him for a while and he is a very down-to- earth, likeable guy. He hasn't let being a superstar get to his head. I hope that this is the last bad thing that happens to any of my friends.

Day 52 kt:44.1 ta:3004 gps: N 19° 40.816' W 100°53.644'

I have added Morelia, Michoacan to the growing list of cities here in Mexico where I could live very comfortably. It is another beautiful colonial city nestled in the mountains. It,probably, has the best preserved aquaduct that I have seen in Mexico, thus far. There are lots of young,beautiful beautiful people here as it seems to have its fair share of universities. I fall in love with another Aztec goddess every day. The difference between Morelia and the other colonial towns that I have visited is that it is on the edge of the jungle.
The markets in Morelia are amazing, though, not necessarily more amazing than those in other cities. The farmer's markets in Austin are pretty pitiful compared to these markets. There are so many fruits and vegetables for sale here that you can only buy in Mexico. Mamey is probably my favorite fruit that can only be found here. For breakfast, I had two licuados de mamey to go with my two cups of cinammon atole and one cup of fresh-squeezed orange juice. I then finished that off with a quesadilla made with fresh tortillas mushrooms and chile peppers. For brunch, it was made with puerco adobado, which is a chile marinated pork; beans; avocado; and cheese. The lady who made the torta gave me some excellent fire-roasted tomato salsa to go with it. The food of Mexico is, alone, enough to make me consider never returning to the U.S. again. I would very happily live out the rest of my days exploring the markets with the Mexican abuelitas every morning and enjoying the flavors of Mexico.
Morelia is a wonderful city but I have to keep moving. I really, really want to see the monarchs. With that being said, I moved at a very leisurely pace today. Though the mountains here are as high as the Sierra Tarahumara, it is a very different ecosystem. There are probably more jungle plants than pine trees at lower elevations for these mountains receive a lot more precipitation. Once you reach an elevation above 8,000 feet it is mostly pine forrest but the pine trees are much bigger than in the Sierra Tarahumara.
About an hour and a half before sunset, I heard thunderstorms approaching so I hastily set up camp. Right after I set everything up, I witnessed the fiercest hail storm I have ever seen in my life. I did not see any golfball-sized hail but it hailed enough to make the ground look like it was covered in snow.
I am camped out at over 8,300 feet so it will be cold tonight and tomorrow morning. There is a large fallen, rotting pine tree close by so, in the morning, I will dig out some dry wood with my buck knife and attempt to make a fire. Man's ability to survive in the wild largely depends on his ability to make a fire in any weather condition. I hope that I didn't just accidentally plagiarize my "Army Field Guide to Survival".

Day 53 kt: 70.1 ta: 3134 N 19°45.337' W 100°41.309'

It was surprisingly not freezing cold this morning. My tent was unusually dry as well. I have woken up on days when it did not rain at all when my tent was wetter than it was this morning. With that being said, I still decided to test my incendiary skills out by building a fire to cook with. I found some dry tender and mostly dry wood covered in pine sap underneath the rotting tree. I then proceeded to coax fire out of the wood. It was not easy and I had to cheat by using toilet paper as tender, but I was able to cook a warm breakfast with my little fire. If this were truly a survival situation, I would already have a cache of dry fire wood set aside and protected from the elements. Because of this, I was pleased that I was able to make a fire at all.
I thought that I was close to the summit at 8,300 feet but I didn't top out until I reached 9,500 feet. The road wasn't in the greatest condition but it had a whole lot of race-track turns that lean to the side as you turn. I love these turns as it sometimes almost feels like you are riding horizontally on a wall. I, however, had to keep myself on a short leash when I say a sign that said grava suelta or loose gravel. Loose gravel can be deadly for a bicyclist. It will cause you to lose traction with the road just as easily as ice. When you are going 40 mph down a mountain, the last thing you want to see around a blind turn is loose gravel. Eventually, the gravelly road gave way to the smooth asphalt, so I got to get a little bit more fun in before it started raining.
Boy,did it rain. While I was stopped at a store around 2:00 p.m. buying water, the sky just opened up. I tried to wait it out but I eventually realized that the rain was not going to relent. It was time to dig out my rain gear from my bags and put it on for the very first time of my trip. I usually don't like to wear it unless the rain is heavy or cold because I can get quite hot while fully suited up. This rain was both heavy and cold so the use of my rain gear was more than justified. There was even a little hail, though nothing like last night. I never gave thanks for Thanksgiving so I just wanted to say that I am thankful for my waterproof boots, jacket, pants, jacket, gloves, and bags. I am thankful that I have a dry sleeping bag and dry socks so I can change out of my sweat-soaked socks at the end of the day.
Mexicans are wonderful people but horrible drivers. The number of crosses on the side of any Mexican highway will attest to that. I have ridden my bike on straight, one-mile stretches of road where you can see for miles in both directions and still seen dozens of crosses. The problem with drivers here is that they are just too aggressive. Today, when it was pouring and the streets were beginning to flood, I saw many people trying to pass slower moving traffic in front of them. Being that this was an undivided, two-lane highway, this pretty much pissed me off. I would usually hog the lane and angrily gesticulate that I wanted them to returen to their lane before I inevitably relented and allowed them to pass in this manner. I would like to see one of the crosses on the side of the road read, " Loved by all except this others on the road." because I know that a large number of these people probably died as a result of their own asinine driving.
I managed to make it to Los Azufres today which was nice because the hot springs were quite a treat after riding through the cold rain. You can see the steam rising from them as you approach on the road. I am camped out right next to a stream that is fed by these hot springs. I am hoping that this will make my campsite warmer as I am above 8,000 feet, again.

Day 54 kt:59.6 ta:3110 gps: N 19°37.229' W 100°16.807'

I made it to Angangueo by 2:30 p.m., today. After seeing the steep, rocky hill leading up to the butterfly sanctuary, I decided that it would be less trouble to leave my bike at the bottom and hike to the top. There were some curious onlookers watching me as I locked up my bike so I asked them if I could leave my stuff at their house and away I went. As usual, the sanctuary was a lot further than people had told me. Instead of being about 5 kilometers away, it was closer to ten. I managed to shorten my trip to the top by hitching two rides. Hitchhiking is easy here as most people with trucks are happy to offer a ride.
I managed to make it to the butterfly sanctuary with just enough time to hike the last two kilometers to see the monarchs. I am in exceptional condition and I just about killed the old man who was my guide/babysitter while we were hiking to the top. Fortunately, he seemed a bit more spry when we descended the trail.
The best time to go to the sanctuary is at noon and not in the late afternoon. At this time the clouds come in and it gets colder so the butterflies cluster together to conserve energy and stay warm. There were a few butterflies flying around but the vast majority weighed down the branches of the trees in their clusters. I was not able to use the flash in my camera or cross the barriers so I was, unfortunately, unable to take any good pictures of the butterflies.
By the time I left the sanctuary, there was only about half and hour of sunlight left. I tried to get a ride down to Angangueo but I scoffed at the $30 the man wanted to take me down the ten kilometers into town. For $30 I can buy a lot of food. I was not as lucky hitching a ride to the bottom as no one was going down to Angangueo at night. I had to walk all the way to the bottom by myself. It was well past dark when I arrived at the place where I left my bike. The family that lived at the house where I left my bike was very nice and helpful. They invited me inside for dinner and showed me where I could find an affordable hotel. I was very grateful as I was very hungry and worried about where I would sleep because it looked like a thunderstorm was approaching.

Day 55 ta:2788 kt:41.5 gps: N 19°27.030' W 100°14.220'

I am not one that buys the religion that others are selling but if I were buying I would buy the religion with more tradition and better architecture. I have not seen a single church in the United States that comes close to equalling the ornate architecture that every single church in central Mexico seems to have. Just about every town in this part of the country has a church that is at least 200 years old and was constructed by skilled artisans. If you want to sleep in, tough shit because all of the churches here ring their bells early in the morning. This is a tradition that harkens back to the colonial times when they would ring their bells calling all of the Indians to morning mass. The friars would whip those who were tardy. Now that is effective proselytization.
As usual, whenever I rent a room, I don't leave town until the early afternoon. Going from Angangueo to San Felipe, there is a large downhill stretch. I played leapfrog with a big rig until I reached this stretch of highway. I would pass it at all of the speedbumps and it would pass me going uphill until I finally obliterated my competition on the long, steep descent. When I waved hello to the driver at the bottom of the hill where there was an intersection, the driver gave me a loud honk of approval.
The rest of my day was all uphill and I decided to quit riding about 2 hours before sunset so I could rest my weary calves. They were aching from the 20 kilometers of mountain hiking I did the day before. I can ride my bike all day long but I used a different set of muscles for all of my hiking.
I saw something today that would make a vegan cringe. Hell, it would probably make a lot of meat-eaters cringe. While I was resting at a convenience store next to someone's house, I saw a butcher come and slaughter a sheep right there, about three feet away from me. He drove up in his truck, chatted and joked around with the family for a while, and then killed the sheep. He perfuctorily grabbed the sheep and turned it over on its back, stabbed in the throat with a small knife, and then stabbed in in the brain through the same hole with a larger knife. It seemed like he had done this a thousand times before because the whole process lasted only a few seconds. The sheep even had a death twitch as it kept kicking the sides of the truck while the butcher paid the family. I think that I could kill an animal for food though I would do it a lot more squeemishly than the butcher did.

Day 56 kt:82.8 ta:3909 gps: N 19°17.163' W 99°36.134'

From Zitácuaro, Michoacan to the border of el Estado de Mexico, it is about 30 kilometers of pure ascent. I was ecstatic when I finally got to go downhill some. I am in Toluca, Estado de Mexico, right now, and I shoud be able to make to my friend's house well before sunset tomorrow. I am so excited that I get to see my friends.
I saw something that I found quite amusing, today. There was a little girl, not much older than eight years old, who brought an empty forty ounce malt liquor bottle to a convenience store for a deposit and then, promptly, bought a new one. She was probably buying this for some one who was older but that shit wouldn't fly in Texas.
There are some unexpected hazards of the roadway here in Mexico. Today, I had to dodge a loose spare tire and I have had to avoid the shrapnel from an exploding semi tire, before. Hopefully, there will be no more unexpected obstacles in my journey.

Day 57 kt:74.5 ta:2766 gps: N 19°14.702' W 99°07.637'
Day 58-62 I stayed in Mexico City

When I woke up in Toluca, there was a frost covering everything:my tent, my bags, the grass, etc... It was only after the fact that I found out that Toluca is the highest city in the republic. There are small towns that are at a higher altitude but not any large cities. The field where I was camped out at was at an altitude of 8,500 feet. It's funny but it did not seem that cold to me. Maybe, I have grown accustomed to these higher altitudes. I was even wearing my shorts by 9:00 a.m. This was a mistake for, by the time I had reached the top of the mountain range between Toluca and Mexico City, I had reached an altitude of 10,200 feet. I had flirted with 10,000 feet several times in the Sierra Tarahumara and Mil Cumbres mountain ranges but this was the first time that I reached the official 10,000 foot mark. The cold mountain wind was blowing hard. This inspired me to out on my sweater, gloves, ninja mask, and wool cap for the long descent into Mexico City. Needless to say, the ride down the mountain was very fast and took a lot less time than the ride up the mountain.
I knew when I had reached Mexico City because I started passing the traffic rather than the other way around. It is pretty much gridlocked from about 15 kilometers out of the the official city limits all the way through the city. I have compiled a list of rules for navigating the city for those who have not undergone the baptism by fire:
1.)A red light is only a suggestion. Most people do not seem to think that it implies a mandatory stop.
2.)If you are in the far right or far left lane and you want to continue straight ahead, watch out. I have seen people cut across five lanes of traffic to make a turn.
3.)Give the taxi and bus drivers as much space as possible. They are fucking crazy! They regularly execute maneuvers that would make a Nascar driver shit his pants. If you see someone in front of you flagging them down, watch out, because they won't hesitate to cut you off with inches to spare.
4.)Do not let yourself become aggravated. This will only make the situation worse. Chilangos, as Mexico City residents are called, are notoriously impatient. They completely overuse their horns. It is not uncommon to hear someone use their horns for 2 or 3 minutes straight. You have to somehow block out the horns and develop a zen-like acceptance that you are only going to move at a snail's pace.
5.)Pay attention!!! The moment you blink you could lose your life. Drivers here will run you over without stopping.
Trying to fix my bike here in Mexico can be beyond frustrating. I rode all over the city travelling to many bike shops looking for spokes. I probably went to about ten different shops asking if they had the right sized spokes only to be turned away. One shop in the central city even sold me the wrong sized spokes. I am determined to get my bike fixed. Si se puede.
Yesterday, I was happy to see that the same naked protestors that were here when I lived here before are still here. Now, they play drums and dance while wearing Vicente Fox and Carlos Salinas masks. The protests seem to be largely ignored but at least they are entertaining.
I am so happy that I ride a bicycle and not a car. Between the protests and the random road blocks there seems to always be a long detour for the drivers. I swear, sometimes the police here set up roadblocks for their shear amusement. I blithely ignore all of the roadblocks and go whereever I want. The police let bicyclists do whatever they want to do.