The plug seems to be holding
I had planned to stop in a place called Chilpancingo. It was the right amount of traveling for the day, but although it’s a reasonable size it didn’t even feature in the Lonely Planet guide. The first hotel I came to I asked how much and promptly misheard the price of Mex $1500 too rich for me. I was walking away when the owner appeared and in English reassured me that it was Mex $550, more like it. The Hotel was only 7 months old and was one of the nicest I have stayed in. Not only that but the owner was another bike nut with a BMW650 X Challenge all kitted out with a large fuel tank for touring. After he and one of his staff helped me fix the puncture he invited me for dinner with himself and his good wife. How a shitty start to a day can turn out well. Unfortunately he wasn’t there the next morning and I only have the card from the hotel so (here it comes) I can’t remember his name!!! If you are reading this please contact me to let me know. To anyone else that finds themselves in Chilpancingo I can highly recommend staying at the Parque Sur Hotel.
Thursday saw me on another long day full of twisty mountain roads and Topes towards Morelia. This town was given perhaps the biggest rap in the Lonely Planet that I have read. I guess it’s a matter of opinion, I preferred Puebla much more. It didn’t help when the salsa I was given in the restaurant and was told was not “picante” nearly burnt the tonsils out!! It was no cooler at three O’clock when it burnt as much coming out (sorry). What a difference a day makes with the Hotels. The one I picked in Morelia was dark, damp and generally unpleasant, but I’d paid for two nights upfront, so I moved a hundred meters down the road on the third night to a nicer, cheaper one. The bike also got its first wash since Palenque.
A Mexican hat anyone??
Another magnificent Cathedral in Morelia
Part of the old aqueduct
A change from the cities was Ajijic on the shores of Lake Chapala. It’s a very small village where you are just as likely to hear English being spoken as you are Spanish. The reason for this is all the American and Canadians that have retired down here. It’s a very pleasant and relatively cheap place to spend your retirement!!
The streets of Ajijic are all cobbled, murder to ride on!!
The graffiti artists are back
The town side of the lake
And across the lake. Very nice, very peaceful
The next stop was Leon. It’s not that I was desperate to see any of the next few cities, it’s just that they are on the route north. I had been told that the main plus in Leon was the leather that is produced here. Just behind the hotel I stayed in are the most amazing shops for leather wear that I have ever seen!! Shoes and bags, but also cowboy boots in everything from leather to croc and snake skin. There were also arcades full of stalls selling coats in every style and colour you can imagine. The end result is that I bought myself a nice soft casual leather jacket for the princely sum of $56. It was too good a bargain to walk away from. The down side is that I now have to carry it around until I can possibly send it home.
Leon's Cathedral (how big are they going to get??)
All the leather shops you could want, and so cheap
Thursday and a nice run to Zacatecas. Once famous for the silver that was mined in the local hills around the town. It was also famous for one of the major battles fought by Pancho Villa in 1914 during the Mexicana revolution. There is a very nice cable car ride from one side of the valley over to the mountain on the other side from where you get an amazing view of the whole city.
In Zacatecas you have to climb to reach the cable car station
Keep going!!
Then jump on board
The view is worth it.
Go Pancho Go
CP,
ReplyDeleteStunning view of Zacatecas! Those hills look like a killer - just as well they give you some handrails occasionally. [The slope is hard to judge but just look at the drop from the doorstep to the window ledge].
Is that your first puncture? If so, you've had an amazing run of well-managed luck. Did you just use some of the sticky string plugs to repair it? Quite a few of the guys with XT1200s (tubeless tyres) carried this stuff. One of them had a rock punch through the tread making a 12mm hole. They just stuffed in strip after strip until it was full & sealed, then trimmed them off just proud of the tread. It stayed there for the next 3000km at highway speeds! I was amazed that it sealed & then further amazement that he was silly enough to ride that far on an emergency repair to that extent. It also says a lot for modern tyre construction...
Anyhow, it is an easy-as-pie repair without removing the tyre so I thought this type of kit would add to piece of mind on the road.
Its been quite a while between posts & I was wondering if you had again been captured by Mexican drug cartels or held for ransom by a group of local lovelies.
It is great to hear that you've just been having FUN!
Keep the rubber bits inflated and in contact with the road.
Rgds,
Mike H