Adios Mexico!

Mexico has been an experience and in a little over four months we have managed to begin to understand this beautiful, crazy, complicated and often understood country.

Since we crossed into the north west tip at Tijuana we have cycled over 3000 miles, crossed deserts, mountain ranges, gone from freezing cold to unbearably hot…and all whilst noticing the landscape and people change at a a drop of a hat.

Of course it’s not all beauty and plain sailing, on a bike you see a place warts and all. Here, in no particular order are our positive and negative thoughts on our time inMexico.

Top 5:

Montañas: We loved cycling through the mountains, especially in the states of Puebla and Oaxaca. Quiet, bendy and with guaranteed big views they made the slog up some of the steep and endless gradients worthwhile.

Baja: For a place that is essentially just cactus, we formed a strong affinity with the 1000mile peninsula that stretches from the US border southward. People were friendly (nearly every single vehicle or person waved/beeped a greeting), roads were quiet and camping spots were abundant. We met an entire community of ‘overlanders’ moving southward…cyclists, campers and bikers. In fact we met seven other cyclists, all of which we got to know and are still in contact with.

Cheap Travel: Now this isn’t strictly Mexico’s to take credit for, but we have lived a fairly comfortable existence despite our frugal budget. We have spent a lot of time camping, but cheap hotels, the occasional meal out and a couple of beers were all within our reach. Anywhere where a beer is consistently under £1 gets a thumbs up from us.

Variety: Where else can you find endless flatlands, 50 mile straight roads, 10 000ft mountain passes, snow, concrete jungles and cactus covered desert?

People: Despite also featuring in our ‘Low Five’, people have to be one of the highlights of Mexico for us. Positive feedback goes to the folk of Baja, Indigineous children in mountain towns and also the many Warmshowers hosts who took us in, fed us and gave us a place to rest our weary heads. Once we got to know people we found that we were met with intrigue and interest, but it was hard to break through the seemingly steely exteriors.

Low 5:

Rubbish/trash/basura: whatever you want to call it it is everywhere. From idyllic vistas on mountain passes to the middle of the desert, a few beer cans and second hand nappies aren’t far away. It seems there is no stigma or ill feeling associated with lobbing your unwanted goods anywhere and everywhere.

Cheer up Mexicanos: For a nation of people who are proud, there can be a perceived reluctance to welcome us, sometimes down to something as simple as a smile and wave. In particular waiters and waitresses have been in need of a cheer up, often seeming rude and unwelcoming, it would seem that customer service hasn’t reached Mexico yet! There have been plenty of exceptions, we have found friendly and welcoming people most places that our wheels have taken us…but sometimes it takes some searching.

Topes/Cobbles: Now here is a can of worms. With some careful estimation we have ridden over 10 000 topes (speed bumps). Ten Thousand! First they must be identified (signs are available if the creator of the tope is feeling particularly considerate), then the brakes applied (usually rapidly), then the impact taken (on bikes weighing over 50kgs)…and finally the killer blow, getting the heavy bikes back up to a speed that will allow us to reach the next tope within the current century. Now repeat a further 9999 times. We could probably have saved ourselves a couple of weeks had we not had to negotiate these evil creations.

Buses (plus 90% of taxi drivers): Most traffic has overtaken us with care and space, however letting the Mexicanos down is the above category. They seem to work on a policy of flat out acceleration or hard breaking, there is no middle ground, and they seem to consider bikes a mild inconvenience…therefore making minimal effort to pull around us. An honourable mention goes to all drivers in the state of Chiapas, who are on a one state crusade to overtake touring cyclists in the most inappropriate locations…blind corners with a truck coming the other way are a favourite.

NOISE: unfortunately we won’t be rushing out to buy the latest Mexican releases. If you are unfamiliar with the musical tastes of Mexicans, try your home electric keyboard in its most obscure ‘Play along setting’ and shout any Spanish words you know as loud as possible in accompaniment.
There is also no decibel limit on, amongst others: Cars, car horns, lorries using engines to brake, buses, talking, music in shops, small children, televisions and bands playing in town squares.

It’s all part of the charm of Central America.