Trans Mexico Sur

I left Oaxaca City earlier than I had originally planned. I was planning to volunteer at this hostel under construction for a free place to stay and study Spanish for a few weeks. However, I found myself pulling the small stick in an awkward love triangle I found myself in. The other people were people I was volunteering with so I decided it was best just to leave and focus on the road ahead.

I was a bit sad at first since things didn’t go as I was hoping, but that’s okay. Ultimately, it worked out for the best. As I was pedaling away I realized every moment and event that happened onward would only have happened because I left when I did. All because I was at the right place at the right time. Sometimes it is best to focus on what is ahead of you instead of what is behind.

Shortly after Oaxaca, I crossed into the town of Tule. Tule is famous for having the widest tree in the world. It is estimated to be around 1500-2000 years old.

It looks like multiple trees but it is just one. They wanted me to pay to enter to see it but thankfully I could hold my camera through the gate and get a nice photo anyways.

I was planning to follow the bikepacking route Trans Mex Sur to San Cristobal. I had been riding a lot of highways along the coast recently and wanted some off-road riding though the mountains. This meant a lot more climbing, and my first climb in a long time was right in front of me.

It wasn’t too hard and now I had a free downhill ride to Hierve El Agua, a small town know for its beautiful natural mineral pools.

I first went to a spot in the same town as Hierve El Agua to camp, since I heard it was less busy and cheaper to camp at.

Sun setting behind some agave fields.

The man who ran these pools was incredibly kind and we sat and talked for a while. His father was away who stays on-site and watches the pools so he let me sleep in his fathers hut. I’ll always take a chance to skip setting up my tent.

The next morning I had an uninvited guest staying in my bike bag. Thankfully I saw him before I reached in.

These are the main pools of Hierve El Agua that most people come to visit. They are beautifully perched on the side of a mountain with fantastic views.

I spent a few days waiting out a storm in a cute town in the mountains.

I really liked these little towns perched on top of the mountains. There wasn’t much else around.

The riding out here was tough, but rewarding. This was during an 800m (2600ft) climb in less than 10km.

Nothing beats these tranquil roads through the mountains.

This town was breathtaking. As soon as I pulled up to this lookout I had to stop and appreciate it for a while.

It was in this town I ran into two other cyclists! John and Kacper. I was excited to see some other cyclists and invited myself to ride along with them.

Kacper is a 22 yr old guy from Poland who started riding in Alaska. I respect him a lot for getting out there and doing this trip at a younger age. He’s making it work with what he’s got and he always finds a way to keep moving forward. He usually finds a nice place to work for a bit to get some extra cash to keep traveling.

John is a 50 yr old from Sweden who started riding in Montana. He and I had a similar route and we had a few moments where we realized we were in the same spots but only a few days apart.

All of us have Ushuaia, Argentina as our final goal.

It was started to get really hot during the days so we would take any chance we get to cool off in fresh water.

Shortly after this turn we ran into some local guys working on paving the road. One guy stopped us and started trying to tell us we needed to pay to pass. We all knew it was extortion and they were trying to take advantage of foreigners. It was mostly one guy leading it and it seemed like the others weren’t very happy to follow along, but did anyways. They were all holding machetes intimidatingly, but we knew they weren’t going to hurt us. We tried to talk our way through it and explain we knew it was bullshit extortion, but they wouldn’t budge.

We attempted to just ride away past them but only Kacper got away and one guy grabbed my bike and stopped me. They then blockaded the road to keep John and I from leaving. They said our options were to pay or turn around. We were in the middle of nowhere and there wasn’t another way around and we had to go forward.

After wasting a lot of their time arguing, we were at least able to talk him down to a fraction of the original price (just a few dollars), and passed.

Kacper was perfectly fine further down the road talking to some other construction workers about the ordeal. Apparently the guy haggling us was a politician and the other workers had to listen to him.

We were all pretty pissed about the ordeal because we knew it wasn’t a good representation of Mexico. The people we had been encountering had been so full of love and kindness and this was all of ours first time being forcibly extorted.

It was easy to forget about because we would only be shown so much kindness and generosity from the people ahead of us.

Later that day, I was really start to feel the heat and dehydration. My legs were refusing to pedal and I was starting to cramp up. I knew we had nearly 1200m (3900ft) and 40ish km left. In the condition I was in, I knew I could not make it and either I had to stop and rest to rehydrate for the day or hitch a ride to the destination town. A truck drove by and I stopped them and they happened to be going to the same town and offered me a ride. We passed John and Kacper and I told them I would meet them later that evening in town.

I was dropped off in the center of the town but decided to wait outside town for my friends to arrive. These are remote mountain communities that rarely see tourists so I was getting quite a bit of attention in the center and I preferred to go relax and enjoy the view.

Sadly I would miss my friends arriving at the center but I figured I would see them in the morning.

I found the house at the top of the hill and asked if I could camp on their land behind the house. They gladly allowed me to.

While I was setting up my tent the son came by and brought me some tamales and coffee. Then the son went over nearby and pulled a fresh pineapple out of the ground and cut it up for us to share. It was absolutely delicious and so so kind. All of the food, the corn, pineapple, and the coffee was all grown from their farm around my campsite.

It was quite a rainy night and still wet out in the morning. I was awoken by my kind hosts who invited me in for breakfast. They told me two other cyclists had arrived in town last night so I went down and invited my friends to come back with me to my hosts house for some breakfast also. My hosts were so humble and generous and this was what pretty much everyone was like in Mexico. Yeah, we had the run in with the extortionist, but for every one of those there are thousands and thousands of wonderful people.

I was so touched by this hosts generosity that I gave him a small amount of money as a thank you when I left. He looked at it but almost seemed upset or offended I was offering to pay him. He accepted it but I felt pretty bad. He was good from the kindness of his heart and didn’t want anything but kindness back and the money may have given off the wrong impression to him. I learned from then on its best to return the favor with love and kindness, something money is no replacement for.

Kacper had broken his chain and none of us had spare links for his type of chain. I thought I knew a way to fix it but it could ruin the chain more so we decided to see if there was a bike shop in the next town. Kacper was a champ and hiked his bike nearly 60km to the next town.

Kacper never misses a chance for a swim, even on a cloudy and gloomy day. You can see him in the bottom left.

At the next town we went to the town Municipal building and they allowed us to camp at the basketball courts. We also found out there wasn’t a bike shop in town. I decided to try and fix Kacper’s chain with a method I know in theory but not practice. After about 30 minutes of working on it I was thankfully able to reattach the chain. It wasn’t a strong or permanent fix but would hopefully be enough to get to the next city.

There were tons of kids at this town who were very curious about us. They talked to us for a while and showed off some of the English they knew. They challenged us to a basketball game and embarrassingly Kacper and I lost to some young kids.

The next day was still pretty humid and wet and the road was rarely flat.

I had been pretty lucky on my trip so far and I’ve rarely had to ride in wet conditions. This was really my first time biking through rain and I’m glad I had some friends to suffer with. If I was alone, it would have been much harder to push through this day, but with friends we could laugh at the pain together.

Kacper and John taking a moment to appreciate a river.

The previously mentioned river.

We were all soaking wet during this ride. A lot of the road was pretty muddy as well.

Made it to a town finally for some drinks and snacks. We laughed about how tough it was to push through that section. We were also covered in mud as well.

John’s bike with a little bit of mud on it. It felt great to be done with dirt roads and be on a paved highway for the rest of the day.

We all wanted a hot shower and bed after the past rough few days in the muddy mountains.

Kacper’s chain broke again but thankfully just a few kilometers outside of town. Tomorrow he will be able to go to the nearby city in a bus and replace his chain.

The next day we crossed into Veracruz, another state in Mexico. We found a cool riverside restaurant with a rope swing.

We found a nice quiet river to camp by.

Enjoying some beers with some locals. Veracruz had the kindest and friendliest people in Mexico so far. Most towns we rode through we were given food or drinks. Here we sat for about an hour talking with some locals and they gave us each a few beers.

A lot of the riding in Veracruz was along farmland with bright green rolling hills.

The day before I had lost my friends as they took a wrong turn and got stuck a little behind. Because the heat was getting quite extreme in the afternoon, I was starting riding around 6-7am to be down around 1pm.

These few days where some of the hardest with the heat. Near the end of the day I’d have to rest after nearly every 20 minutes of riding. Every time I was able to buy drinks I would down two sodas. The heat was nearly 39 Celsius (100 Fahrenheit).

I pull into a town looking to find somewhere to camp. The first house I pass, a guy yells out to me in English and invites me over. His name is Damien and we start talking and he gives me a beer. He has worked a few seasons in the United States so he has a little bit of English to pair with my little bit of Spanish. One beer turns into two beers and two turns into about ten. He invites me to pitch my tent at his house.

Later that night, Damien invites me to come to church. There was a holiday going on and the entire town (only about 60 people) was at the service. I was very timid and nervous to accept. I knew I would gather a lot of attention and everyone would be staring at me and want to talk to me. I initially said no out of fear.

I realized it’s best in these moments to just let go. Just say yes and open yourself to new experiences outside your comfort zone. These are where the best moments and experiences come from. So I told Damien I would come along.

We walk a few houses down to the church and there’s lots of singing and people hanging out front. Immediately as I start walking in I can feel everyone stare at me. Everyone is just curious since I’m an uncommon site. I start introducing myself and saying hello to everyone I can. Everyone is very excited to have someone like me join their service.

Damien and I sit inside and enjoy the rest of the service. At the end the pastor walks up to me and shakes my hand and thanks me for visiting. It was a very touching moment and it made pushing myself past my comfort zone worth it.

After the service there was a huge dinner celebration with barbacoa and consume. They made sure I didn’t go hungry.

It was a really wonderful night that I’m glad I went to. One of the hardest things for me on this trip has been getting used to the attention received in towns. I’m nearly a foot taller than everyone and I have long bright blonde hair and blue eyes so I stand out a lot. Most people are very curious and want to talk and see what I’m doing. I’ve been getting better pushing past my discomfort and opening myself up to these people.

I wake up very early and very hungover to begin the next days ride. I knew I had a big climb ahead and wanted to do it early before the heat.

Somewhere before the lake I cross into Chiapas, the last state for me in Mexico.

I reconnect with John and Kacper in the next town. John and I decide to take a day off while Kacper takes off ahead. John and I spend the next few days riding separately but always meeting up in town together.

It’s hard to tell but that big mound on the left is all trash. One thing in Mexico that has been hard to see is the trash. It’s hard to blame them though because it’s not like countries like USA produce any less trash. We are just better at hiding it. In a way having all the trash so visible is eye opening. The amount of plastic that is made and used once and immediately thrown away where it will be for hundreds or thousands of years is disgusting.

Just another pretty mountain town.

Stopped and had a snack here with this cutie. Yes, I shared my chips.

I met John later that day in a town near a National Park. We were planning to take a boat through the park together the next day.

The park was called Cañón Del Sumidero.

It is a river through some massive canons on both sides. These photos hardly do the scale of them justice.

It wouldn’t be Mexico without a statue of Mary somewhere.

The state flag of Chiapas is based off of the canon near this location.

The canon was home to some pretty big crocodiles.

And monkeys! These were the first monkeys I’ve seen on this trip.

A momma with her baby.

Our boat driver gave this lucky guy a mango.

Heading back after the tour.

I passed this and thought it was pretty cool. There is a tree growing on top of a tree. The roots even go all the way down the side of the main tree.

There was only two days of riding from the canon to San Cristobal, my final Mexican city. The final day would be nearly a full day of climbing. Thankfully the roads were fantastic.

For some reason it is uncommon for a road to follow a river. It’s very common in the states but it became something I grew to miss. This part of the route followed a river for a bit and I rode extra slow to soak it up.

I arrive at a small town just outside San Cristobal. I’ve now officially entered Central America since I got into Chiapas. I used to think Central America started in Guatemala but it also included Mexico. Chiapas used to be part of Guatemala, and it shows. Everything feels very different and more “Mayan”.

The women wear beautiful traditional dresses.

I’ve heard many good things about San Cristobal before arriving. Many other travelers call it a “mágico pueblo”. To be honest, I was ready to push on to Guatemala and didn’t have much interest city exploring. I only spent two days here focusing on replacing some bike parts and cleaning some gear. The time that I did get to walk around and see the city was great though. I could have spent a lot more time here if I wanted to.

Kacper and I plan to ride together towards the Guatemalan border, which is only about two days away.

Sadly Kacper is struck with a couple mechanical issues. His rack has destroyed his braze ons and the rack is hardly staying on. We try to fix it on the side of the road but have no luck. Thankfully we are close to a town with a bike shop.

We hangout with some beers while they perform surgery on his bike. It’s hard to know what they are doing to his bike but we hear a lot of drilling and power tools.

Thankfully the shop is able to get Kacper’s rack to stay on. They had to drill a few new holes in order to attach it. It took a while so we end up riding a bit later than planned. It turned out to be a fantastic ride thanks to the setting sun.

Our destination for the night and a sneak peek of what tomorrow brings.

We woke up and started the hike along the falls, El Chiflon.

These falls were nothing short of incredible and some of the prettiest falls I’ve ever seen. The water was bright blue and there was waterfall after waterfall.

The biggest of the falls. My camera wasn’t able to capture the full size of it.

The dude was munching on some papaya.

After El Chiflon is was a straight shot to the border on the PanAmerican highway. We rode to the town right on the border so we could wake up and cross early in the morning the next day.

I’m the morning Kacper and I got some breakfast and then stopped at the Mexican Immigration for our exit stamps before riding up the hill to the Guatemalan border.

I greatly enjoyed my time in Mexico but I was more than ready to finally enter a new country. I had been in Mexico almost the entirety of my six month visa and I could have easily spent much much longer there.

Now that my time in Mexico is done I want to vent about something. When I told all my friends and family about my trip before I left, I was received with a lot of negativity about Mexico. People only tried to warn me of how dangerous and bad Mexico will be and I even had some friends fear they would never see me again. Even at the time I knew this was all wrong and I wanted to go through Mexico and form my own opinion. I also hoped that my experience would help show some of those the true beauty of Mexicos landscape and people.

Yes, it’s true Mexico has some issues but every country does. The United States is full of all places that can be dangerous also. It’s important to not let these small small things ruin your entire perception of a country. Mexico is full of the kindest and most generous people I’ve encountered. I’ve never felt more safe on busy roads also. Drivers would pass with plenty of space slowly and usually with their hazards on, something that is rarely experienced biking in the United States.

So I hope my experience in Mexico has left a similar impression on you reading this as it has on me. I had so many great encounters with Mexican people that I didn’t even share in my posts. I was welcomed and taken care of by the Mexican people as if I was family.

I highly recommend visiting Mexico and going to the non typical places as well. I found that the further from the touristy areas I was, the better my experience.

Thank you all for reading along. I’m starting to put a little bit more of myself into my writing as I want to share a little bit more about what I feel and experience instead of just the photos and captions. I hope you all enjoy it.

I’m currently in Xela, Guatemala taking Spanish lessons. After two weeks of lessons I will be heading to a hostel where I may be volunteering for 6 weeks. So I’m not quite sure how or when I’ll share my first blog post about Guatemala but stay tuned!

Much love