Mundo Pequeño: Part II — The Long Road Home

Roadside Tequila

The crossing into Mexico went smoothly. The food poisoning that Eli and Noah came down with that night did not go as well. It was the full-deal, six-hour-body-cleanse kind of night.

By the time the morning came around, both men were completely drained and barely able to stand. They had no choice but to remain in the small border town for a day to recuperate and rest from the ordeal.

Our trip was often full of fun and beautiful adventures but there were also many moments like these where the unexpected and unpleasant come to call. The hardships and challenges were just as important for us as the joys.

When we got back on our bikes we found Eli and Noah had lost a lot of strength and we only managed to limp to the nearest town the first day. After that, they slowly improved as strength returned.

We found Mexico to be one of our favorite countries (other than Colombia) to ride in. The road conditions improved from what we had become accustomed to in Central America, and we were warmly welcomed. So many people had warned us about Mexico being dangerous but, as it had been in so many countries before, we never experienced any incidents where we felt unsafe or in danger: only friendly people interested in us and our trip.

Southern Mexico was hot but flat riding, the landscape of rolling jungle broken by grasslands and distant hills. We spent another rest day on the beach to say goodbye to the west coast before heading inland. Then it was up into the mountains again as we headed for the city of Oaxaca.

We found the mountains to be beautiful and the towns we stopped in to be relaxed. As the evenings came, everyone would go out into the streets to walk and visit each other. There was a feeling of peace and community. This was a drastic difference from what we had found in many of the towns we had passed through in Central America, and a welcome change.

An experience that stood out from this section of riding was stopping for lunch in a tiny mountain town with only a few houses. There was a man at a roadside table selling homemade tequila and mescal and he called us over. He asked us about our trip. He wanted us to try all the different flavors he had for sale. We had to stop after only a few because it was the middle of the day, and the drink much stronger than what you would find in a store. There aren’t many regulations when you grow, harvest, and distill your own agave in the mountains of Mexico. We made sure to eat a large lunch before getting back on our bikes.

NEXT PAGE>> Earthquake in Oaxaca