Quit our jobs, sold our home, gone riding!

[Kneescrubber]

¿Dónde vas ahora?


I cheated.  

[lightcycle]

¿Dónde vas ahora?
I cheated.  

Nosotros estamos viajando a través de México continental!

I cheat all the time too. We have an app called SpanishDict on our iPhones and we're always tapping away on it when we're speaking to people.

[lightcycle]

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/60.html



I've never thought of Mexico as being divided up into states, but like the US and Canada, Mexico has 31 states and 1 federal district. Right now, we've crossed over by ferry into our 3rd state, Sinaloa, after riding through Baja California and Baja California Sur. In Los Mochis, we waited till noon for Rick to finish his motorcycle service and then we all rode together southwards along the coast towards Mazatlan. It's about a 6 hour ride including a break for a late lunch.

Not knowing any better, we were routed to the toll road, which has a great speed limit of 110 km/h, but it was very expensive! We estimate that we paid the same in tolls that we did in gasoline. Note for the future, stay off the Cuota (toll) roads!


Cruising the Malecon in Mazatlan

In Mazatlan, Rick showed us to one of his favorite hotels right on the Malecon. It was relatively cheap since it's off-season and it seemed like we were one of the only occupants in the hotel. Rick took off to spend the night at his friends place and we would meet up a couple of times later in the city for a bite to eat.


Beach on the Malecon

Mazatlan is very much a beach town, but unlike the more well-known seaside resorts like Cancun, Acapulco and Puerto Vallarta, there are more local vacationers and less foreign tourists here. We like that a lot. We got to practice our Spanish with everyone. Man, I really need the practice...


Normally I'm pretty good at seeing where things are headed, but...


ooookey...


We stuffed ourselves with shrimp and seafood. I think this is the biggest meal we've had in Mexico!


After lunch, I felt like this guy...


Colourful parasails punctuate the sand, sea and sky


Sea and sky blend together as birds give chase to the sailboats


Pelicans dive-bomb the waves - the waters are filled with fish!


We tried some Cuban food for a change

Here I'm having a dish called Ropa Vieja, literally translated means "Old Clothes". It's a popular dish in Cuba and it's made of shredded steak in a tomato sauce, some plantains and rice. Although the owner spoke fluent English, Neda made me talk to him in Spanish. From the look on his face, I think I may have ordered "moldy laundry"...


This is the Gringo Tourist section. Everything is done up pretty, but it's way overpriced


This senorita was celebrating her 15th birthday, these are the guys in the party, the rest of the girls were in the nightclub

Plaza Machado is one of the oldest places in Mazatlan, lots of architecture influenced by the French and Spanish. It's recently been restored by local businesses to attract tourist $$$. Very pretty area to stroll through, but it felt a bit sterile, so we didn't stay too long.


Walking around old Mazatlan

The steets around old Mazatlan have been closed to traffic, I think this happens every evening on the weekends. There are tons of people walking the street. We felt much more at home in this environment, with street vendors offering everything from tacos to toys, shoes and clothing and stages set up at every intersection playing live music, dancers and DJs. Amazing!!!


The streets are crowded with locals enjoying their weekend!


Indoor market where the locals shop


Now *THAT'S* what I'm talking about! Keep it coming...


Open air concert in the closed off steets outside of old Mazatlan


Dancers strutting their stuff


Pre-Christmas nuptials


Christmas-time outside the Catedral de la Immaculada Concepcion. How appropriate!

[Rocky]

Simply lovely!! Thanks for the update  

[FJR-UK]

174 miles south of Mazatlan is a pueblo called San Blas. I was there when I was 13 years old, so 1960. It was a tropical paradise for me. Huge butterflies. Huge lizards. Pigs rooting in the streets. Parrots running free as household pets in the hotel. I'm sure it's changed out of all recognition, but if I was a close as you are now, I'd have to go have a look.

I got dysentery after eating a snow cone from a market stall.  

Wonderful trip you're having. Thanks for the report.

[lightcycle]

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/61.html



The Road of 3000 Curves.

When we met Phil and Jayne at the ferry dock in La Paz a week earlier, they mentioned that they were planning on riding this road when they crossed into the mainland. 3000 curves? How could we pass this up?

Rick had to leave Mazatlan earlier than us, something about getting back to Mexico City and going back to wo... going back to wor... nope, can't say it. Anyway, that left us by ourselves again, heading towards the mountains of the Sierra Madre Occidental. This meant that we were going to leave our sun-drenched beach haven for colder climates, so we had to mentally prepare ourselves for this. The Alaskan winter had scarred Neda deeply and she curses bitterly anytime she's forced to put on her jacket liner: "I thought I was done with this stupid thing!"


Stuck behind a couple of trucks, time to snap a picture!

I found out that another thing Neda curses at are the Cuota (toll) roads in Mexico. They are really expensive. Everytime we see a sign saying "Cuota", I hear a string of expletives over the intercom. So we go looking for the sign for the "Libres" roads. In this case, Carretera 40 Libres leaving Mazatlan *is* the Road of 3000 Curves, and the villainous Cuota road threatens to spoil all motorcyclists fun by smoothing the twists and turns by all manner of technology: bridges and holes through mountains.


Twisty heaven!

The pavement is smooth, but the air gets colder as we slowly ascend the mountains. Every once in a while, the bushes along the side clear and we're treated to a magnificent view of the green valleys below us. Traffic is light in the middle of this weekday, but we still manage to get stuck behind a couple of trucks and have to wait for a straightaway to pass them. I'm amazed at how brazenly these large vehicles cross the median when apexing blind turns. Surprised there aren't more accidents!

There is a sign about 1/2 way through the road reading, "Espinoza Del Diablo": the "Devil's Backbone", a very apt nickname for this piece of asphalt!


A different kind of hazard on the Road of 3000 Curves

Along the way, soldiers and army vehicles have occupied all of the tiny villages. Part of the reason they are building the high-speed Cuota road through the mountains is to make it easier to mobilize troops to combat the drug traffickers who have a stronghold in this region. The soldiers barely take notice of us, and those that do give us a thumbs up on our rides.

We're told it takes between 6-8 hours to make the journey between Mazatlan and Durango. We do it in 5, with an hour break for lunch...


Riding through the streets of Durango

The city of Durango is the capital of the state of Durango, and is the most modern city we've visited in Mexico so far. We've opted to stay here for a few days because we don't want to travel during the holidays. Also, we've planned an entire Christmas day of Skype sessions with our family and friends back home, and we take the time to scope out a hotel with fast Internet.

Being on the road for this long is a curious affair. In some ways, we are closer to our family and friends, because we are making more of an effort to keep in touch, without the excuses of work. So far TelCel's mobile Internet infrastructure has been quite extensive and impressive, outclassing any provider in the US and Canada. Not sure what we're going to do once we've travelled past this luxury.


Our favorite place just around the corner from our hotel for cheap eats
Chilaquiles for me and a gordita for Neda

We find a nice hotel right downtown and for the next few days venture out enough into the strip to become very familiar with all the local eateries. On Christmas Day, we treat ourselves to a Chinese buffet, which is I think our first non-Mexican meal in Mexico. The restaurant is staffed by two Chinese women, I think the three of us represented the entire Asian population in the state of Durango! They seemed just as amused as I was to see a brotha!


Frolicking in the fountain. During the day, temperatures were beautiful, but dropped quickly in the evenings and early mornings


Fountains and churches - two mainstays in Mexico architecture


There's always someone carrying around some musical instrument in Mexico!




Neda wrestles the camera away from me...


Catedral Basilica de Durango at night

There is a markedly increased police presence in Durango compared to all other places we've been to thus far. I'm not sure if it's because this is a larger city or because it's the holiday season, but police cars and uniformed officers vigilantly patrol the downtown streets. The plaza at night is continuously lit by the Christmas ornamentation and the flashing blue and red lights of the police car permanently parked in front of the Basilica.


Feliz Navidad from Durango!

[mbishara]

I book marked this page. You guys are doing great.


http://www.maged-bishara-montreal.ca/

[birdrunner]

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/61.html


We're told it takes between 6-8 hours to make the journey between Mazatlan and Durango. We do it in 5, with an hour break for lunch...

Glad to see you're keeping the SPORT in Sport-touring.




(I've got a  "LOVE/HATE thing going on here ..... jealousy is an ugly emotion.)

[Rocky]

All I can say is to repeat myself...fantastic journey    

[lightcycle]

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/62.html



We took a leisurely two days to travel from Durango to Guadalajara, opting to bypass the Cuota roads to take the non-toll highways instead. The roads are flat and boring, skirting the far eastern side of the mountains and nothing eventful happens, save for my Sena communicator, which stopped transmitting just as we arrived into town. The problem with constantly being on the move is that if we do need parts shipped to us, where do we send them to? And how long will it take? The logistics involved are annoying. So for the time being, I was in listen-only mode, which suited Neda just fine!

Guadalajara is Mexico's 2nd largest city. Our bikes are due for regular service (again, so soon?!?!) and we had originally thought to schedule an appointment in Mexico City, but after some research, we found a dealership just less than 10 kms away from our hotel! The only spot they had open was next Friday, so I guess we're here for a while! We took the opportunity to get acquainted with the city!


Main streets are really busy, so we took to the side streets

A lot of Mexican life centres around three things: the church, the market and the plaza. Every neighbourhood has a local version of this triumvirate. We rode to the center of town to the Marcado Libertad, which is the largest and most popular market in the city, right beside the Catedral de la Asuncion de Maria Santisima, which also happens to be the largest cathedral in Guadalajara.


Snack-time: Watermelons drenched with lime, seasalt and chilli! *delicious!*

Limes are Mexico's beloved condiment, they use them like Americans use ketchup. You can put them in beer, on tacos, watermelons, etc! We met a local girl the other day who just got married to a Belgian and had moved overseas to be with him. She told us that in Belgium the limes are so small and expensive, and this is one of the things she really misses about Mexico!


The moment the camera came out, this guy started doing tricks with his knife, flipping and tossing it up in the air. Very entertaining!

Mercado Libertad is huge; sprawling through indoor buildings and spilling outside into the open-air stalls. The air was alive with the sounds and scents of vendors selling fast food, groceries, toys, clothing. We had a great day snapping pictures and interacting with the locals, with Neda honing her ever-increasing Spanish skills. As for me, I was skilled enough not to need a knife to butcher their language...


Grabbing some lunch, over-the-counter-style, inside the Mercado

There are so many places to buy food, so we've developed two criteria for deciding where to eat: 1) no gringos! 2) it has to be busy. If there's nobody eating there, there must be a reason! I've fallen in love with the taco asada (shredded beef) and chorizo (sausage), but one item on the menu intrigued me - Brain Tacos! Walking Dead Style? It sounds much more appetizing in Spanish: tacos de sesos. Mmmmm! I've made up my mind to try this the next time.


Mercado is alive with bursts of colour everywhere!


Fruits and vegetables here are so much more juicier and flavourful than back home


Ice skating? In Mexico?

Outside the Catedral, there was a long lineup and when we investigated, we found that a large outdoor skating rink had been built, complete with skate rentals. Everyone wanted to try ice-skating, which I assume is a novelty in Guadalajara. It's 28C outside! Ice-skating skills must be a rarity here, because this girl target-fixated on my camera and I barely got out of the way as she careened towards me, arms flailing.

Also, no zamboni, so the ice got pretty funky after a while...


A different kind of taxi around town


Pedestrian traffic is heavy on this beautiful, sunny weekend. Catedral on Neda's left


Inside of the Catedral de la Asuncion de Maria Santisima

The inside the catedral is so beautiful and ornate, however there was a pre-recorded mass playing over the speakers, and the record kept skipping over and over again in the same spot. So we had to leave because it was a little bit annoying and slightly creepy A friend of mine told me that this catedral is a popular place to shoot TV shows, a lot of Spanish soap operas are filmed here!


A family is surprised by a toy bird flying overhead, set aflight by one of the vendors in the plaza


Boys playing by the fountain


Pensive? Or slow day for shoe-shining? I love the look on his face, so lost in thought!


Church spires compete to reach the sky


Catedral de la Asuncion de Maria Santisima, the centre of Guadalajara


Selling beads and other religious trinkets outside the catedral

[Scoop]

Such an amazing journey.  I'm eating it up jealously, while it's -15 outside    Seriously, you're doing what so many of us dream of but never do.  Thanks for sharing.

[Rocky]

What Scoop said    

[lightcycle]

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/63.html



Tequila is a Magical Village!

I know that sounds like something you drunkenly slur out aloud after 8 or 9 shots, but the town of Tequila, about 60 kms outside of Guadalajara, has been designated a Pueblo Magico by the Tourism Board of Mexico:

A 'Magical Village' is a place with symbolism, legends, history, important events, day-to-day life - in other words, 'magic' in its social and cultural manifestations, with great opportunities for tourism

The town of Tequila is famous for birthing the liquor of the same name. I had reservations about visiting this Magic Village, because of my bad experiences with the drink. The last shot of Tequila I ever had was in 2005, after a bender of a night in the Dominican Republic with a couple of friends. The morning-after-dry-heaving-head-pounding-walls-moving-around-you-hangover was the worst I've ever had in my life, and I swore off To-Kill-Ya forever.

But no harm in visiting the town, right?


Panhandlers compete for pesos by performing tricks between red lights. Currently this is the bar: Guy with a mohawk, juggling flaming torches, while on a stepladdder, covered head-to-toe in silver paint...

It's a beautiful, sunny day for a day-trip. As we leave Guadalajara, we make sure we plot a route with no Cuota roads. It turns out the free highways have a few entertaining twists and curves as it leaves the city and heads up into the hills. Still need to be careful around the blind corners because of this:


In the off-season, Alonso drives an 18-wheeler through Mexico


Riding through the streets of Tequila, Neda has her eyes set on the prize straight ahead - CuervoLand! Or Mundo Cuervo in Spanish.

The Tourism Board has really pulled out all the stops, and when we arrive into the city centre, we're greeted by music and a troupe of dancers dressed in indigenous costumes performing ritualistic dances.


Performer dressed in Aztec costume


Depicting an Aztec ritualistic dance


The captain of the dance crew calls it: "Una vez mas!"


Bells and bubbles


Tourism machine is even putting the kids to work


"Squirrel!"

Tequila is made from the blue agave plant, which is found here in abundance, because of the fertile red volcanic soil in the region. However, the distilled liquor can only be rightly called "Tequila" if it is brewed only in this town. Throughout the city, there are several pieces of art, paintings and statues dedicated to the process of making Tequila and the farming of the agave plant.


Hector and Manuel's latest practical joke on Juan may have gone a little too far this time...


The Mariachi - an ever-present Mexican tradition

Neda booked us on a tour of the Jose Cuervo factory, which is headquartered in town. This is quite a popular tour, and there is a special train that runs to and from Guadalajara called the "Tequila Express", that is very popular and allows people to get liquored up here without having to drive back drunk. I had no idea that Neda booked us on the Tasting Tour of Mundo Cuervo... UGH!


Disclaimer: These bikes stayed parked until we were 100% sober again


It all starts off with a little shot


More performers in Cuervo Land


To help fund this trip, I am now shooting magazine ads for Jose Cuervo

Our assigned tour guide describes the process involved in creating Tequila, all the way from harvesting the agave plant, baking it, sticking it in huge steel vats, then into wooden barrels and finally pouring it down people's throats. Neda was only interested in the last step, so we really didn't pay a lot of attention to those in-between steps...


Agave plants. Cuervo is Spanish for "Crow".

Our tour guide looked exactly like Dani Pedrosa. Except he was normal-sized and knew a heck of a lot about tequila. After the "basic" tour had ended, because Neda had booked us on the extended "Tasting Tour", we were led to the basement of Mundo Cuervo, into the special secret cellar where 250-year old, 30,000 peso bottles of Tequila were being stockpiled for the next Baktun.


We were offered a taste of Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia, $150/bottle, only sold in Mexico

By now, we were more than a couple of shots into the tour and I was dreading the impending after-effects. I was assured by our tour guide that the infamous Tequila Hangover is caused by other sugars added to the tequila and that the 100% Agave alcohol with no added sugars shouldn't cause any ill-effects. OhReeeeeaally...?


Tequila tasting class? Or Cascade commercial?

After the secret cellar tour, we were taken upstairs to the tasting room where we were given three tequilas, blanco, annilo and geez, I can't remember... the rest is kind of hazy... I think at one point, I put our guide in a headlock and then I gave him a little noogie while screaming, "Who's your daddy, Dani! That's right, Jorge's your daddy!", then we were kicked out of the tasting room...


So after the Tasting Room debacle, this was the only tequila offered to us. Here, Neda is a bit more sober than I am...

We spent the rest of the evening sobering up while munching on cheap tacos in an eatery just outside of the main plaza. I was not feeling too good. One of the folks in our tour group recommended that we take the Cuota road back home because there were a lot of drunk people driving on the way back to Guadalajara. So we dished out the pesos begrudgingly, even though it did thankfully get us back to our hotel much quicker.

I crawled into bed with a really bad tequila headache that didn't go away when the sun rose the next day.

Oh god, never again! (damn you dani pedrosa)

[stew71]

I'll keep saying it....fantastic journey and write-up.

Mrs DD could put together the next 10 years of ST.N calendars from just the photos in the this thread.  

[Mastros2]

Fantastic! I am really speechless. Really enjoying the "ride". Thank you!

Ron Jeremy?!?!

[stew71]

I crawled into bed with a really bad tequila headache that didn't go away when the sun rose the next day.

Oh god, never again! (damn you dani pedrosa)

That's just tequila's way to remind you to avoid drinking tequila.

[lightcycle]

Ron Jeremy?!?!

LOL! Yes! With a stylin stache!  

[lightcycle]

That's just tequila's way to remind you to avoid drinking tequila.

Lesson learned!

Again...

[Rocky]

As always, a great update    

[mbishara]

You guys are going to remember this adventure forever. Good for you to take the plunge that many people envy.


http://www.maged-bishara-montreal.ca/