Assorted tasty chocolate from the states my mom sent me. Muchas gracias.
Can't always camp in the nicest of places, gotta make do with others sometimes. Which is fine, afterall, the sweet just ain't as sweet without the bitter.
I thought this was hilarious. For almost 1km, there were girls lining the roadside, with the same setup/prices, and selling dried shrimp.
Starting to see lots of orchards
Still lots of military checkpoints, most checking more thoroughly the north-bound side
Taking a break in a grove of mango trees.
Almost ready
Gracias
Usual story
The girl in the white wanted to take a picture with me, I said only if I can take one with you. When I told them I was looking for a hardware store to fix my tent, a kind gentleman pulled out his knife, and cut a hose to give me a hoseclamp - People are so incredibly helpful here
Clearing the brush I guess
Fishing the river
Other times, I get great places to camp. There was a family hanging out when I arrived. The woman was quite funny, when I asked her how the water was, she says "the lava?". They left as I made camp, and upon hearing I was solo, asked if she wanted to send some of the guys down from town to keep me company... I thanked her and declined, then they all burst into laughter. After they had gone, I stripped, and scrubbed clean in the river, cooked myself a nice dinner.
Loads of bats
First try at the fix
So much growth, every area of land is covered with life.
I see lots of these trucks, they carry produce.
I had been craving banana bread for a while. Oh so good.
Coconut muffin, never had that before
After a long day riding in the hot sun with cars, nothing like relaxing in the refreshing ocean and getting some waves. The only downside was this place was my first encounter with sea lice - they are tiny bugs that bit me all over after I got out of the water.
wow
Second try at the fix, but this time didn't hold as long
Bananas in the front yard
I'll miss you SC of a different kind
The large green fruit in the back left are Jaca, mild and sweet
Carambolo, or starfruit, one of the sourest, juiciest, intense fruits I've ever had
Jaca growing
Last look over Santa Cruz, and the lush growth
This is the saddest example of animal abuse I have seen so far. This poor thing was missing an eye, the hair falling off his body, it had probably been run-over by a car and should have been killed. I tried to give it food and water but he was scared and ran.
What a treat on a hot day, one of the most satisfying snacks on a hot day of riding
I got this for two (2) pesos - that's less than 20 cents in USD. I ate so much, I could barely ride afterward. I kept this one for later, was worth the weight when I cracked it open the following day during a break.
Field of tobacco growing
I stopped to fix my tent pole that had started to fall off the trailer and start dragging on the ground. I heard someone on the side of the road down below ask me where I was going. We exchanged a few words, and asked him if the plants were tobacco. He confirmed my query, and asked if I wanted some. I asked him if it had to be dried. Not fully understanding what he said, I resumed better fixing my tent pole, and when I looked up, he was motioning me to come down the hill. Then he handed me a bunch of dried leaves he just pulled of the plants. Awesome
The beginning of the craziness of semana santa
1kg of mangos for 10 pesos, thats less than a buck for fresh, ripe mangos
Camping next to some goats. With semana santa going on, I didn't want to chance riding into the night at all with the drunks driving around. A fellow was kind enough to let me camp near his home, and animal pen.
Thoughts of home
Fruiterias are real prevalent down here. They're great, sell only fruits and veggies, for real cheap. This guy was awesome, asked him where a purifacadora was (places where they sell filtered water), he filled up my bottles for free.
Doesn't matter what language you say it in, always a welcome sight
After a day of riding, relaxing on the beach with a hand-rolled stogie, from fresh tobacco plants picked the same day. Then went for a surf afterward
New friends all the time
Puerto Vallarta, and the looming mountains I had to get over
I could've taken a plane, that's just too easy though
Getting caught up with the news
Navigating the crowd with my bike on the malecon
Hanging on the roof with Graham and Chase
Graham working
Leaving Chase's
PV
Gino, Anna, and Goffey
This picture is misleading. I'm standing on a hill, same as the cars, the motorcycle and truck are on an even steeper hill. Sign of things to come
The punk kid torturing animals
With all the traffic coming into PV, it turned into gridlock. This guy tried to cross the median, they call this a Jeep?
Trying to cool off a bit, and cut some weight
Gino, trying out my rig
On the way to zipline
Some day...
Anna making sushi
Learning from Anna how to make it good
Gino riding with me out of town, taking pictures along the way
Then the hills begin
These were popping from the trees. Took me a bit to figure what was going on with the loud noise, and ensuing clatter of these falling. This one nearly hit me in the head, instead landed right in front of me and knocked the lid from my stove.
Long day of climbing
Abandoned adobe home
Gino was concerned that I would stay hydrated enough, got me this for the hill
Not even close...
La bufa at 2500 meters, near the top
Pine trees, now I know I'm getting high up
Soooo incredibly steep
Helpin'em out with their thermostat
Mexico has a branch of the government that drives these trucks around, just to help tourists
Saw a few of these burn marks on the hill on the way up. Cars giving up, and bursting into flames.
Made it. View from the top.
The first touring cyclists I've seen since Cataviña. They were riding from GDL to PV
Air strip for a crop duster
I said kilo y medio, instead of medio kilo. So I got 1.5kg of tortillas. Still, great fuel and for only 19 pesos.
Tortilleria
Trying to get through Mascota on the sidewalk, because of the cobble stone.
Lots of street-side memorials, this one was cut into the rock
Taking a break in the pine forest
Packing up in the morning at a hidden spot
Tamarindo jelly, yum
So many mountains for so long
Finally a bit of flat land for once
Usually around the towns and cities, they have a series of bumps, leading up to a big speed bump. Sometimes it seems for no reason - there are no side roads or anything. No matter, people take advantage of the slow cars and sell stuff on the side of the road.
I love how so many Mexicans improvise, making do with what you have.
Guadalajara, Jalisco, México
Very bike friendly city
Watching movies on the projector
Dancing to salsa for the first time
Sundays are biking days. They close down a bunch of the roads.
Sofi and Jorge
I love salsa
Working on my bike
Ghost Bici
Meeting at the house
Making guayaba juice. Few days later I made more, but used pineapple, mango, and strawberries, all fresh from the market.
Jorge, Bernardo, and Izhak
A lot of homes in Mexico, have the shower right next to the toilet.
Full shop of bike tools, making the bike good
Bike stripped, waiting for my wheels to get finished being built
They have night rides around town several times a week.
Cooked agave, sweet and unique taste
New hubs
Maggie cooking up delicious stuffed chiles
Delivering supplies to the firefighters. First time riding in the back of a truck around town.
Bernardo
The fire raging, filling the sky with smoke and ash, that would later blow into the city and burn my eyes for days.
It's amazing to see how many people came together to help out. There was so much food and drinks donated. Even at the house, people came by all the time to donate things for the firefighters.
Thunderstorm closing in on the fire, but only a few drops fell
The busy market in the morning
With a lack of variety in some things, they don't with hot sauce
Some really old buildings in GDL
Working on my blog at the cafe
So hot out, kids are playing in the fountain
Salva's going away party. He's been traveling around the world by bike for something like 9 years. He got stuck in GDL for over a month, and is now leaving to get back on the road.
They coaxed me into playing some music
Wouldn't see this in the States
Trying out Bernardo's alcohol stove that he made from a beer can, used some spokes for a rack
Fabricating supports for my pannier bags
Zip-lining with Gino:
My favorite part
Photos by Gino Addi [gino.samaniego@gmail.com]:
Oooo tortillas de harina on a iron skillet with some olive oil
Did I mention I love salsa?
Semana Santa in full swing on the malecon
Bull, Gino's favorite drink
Photos by Graham Mattock [g@mattock.com, mattock.com]:
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