CN - Friday
Tonight we are again off the gringo trail staying in Santo Domingo Zanatepec. It was an interesting ride through the mountains and back down to near sea level - and crazy hot again. It was in the 90's when we got into town. Along the route after stopping for gas in Santa Maria Jalapa del Marques and exiting the town we came upon a long line of cars - trucks and busses that obviously had been sitting there for some time. People were mingling about outside their vehicles, busloads of people sitting/laying on the ground, etc. We must have passed by 100 vehicles weaving our way through the mess. We arrived to the cause of the jam up and saw a large group of people that had strung up a rope across the road and using a human baracade not letting anyone through. There was a string of vehicles coming from the other direction just as long. It was obvious they had all been there some time. We assumed it was some kind of protest. Once we got to the front, we took shut off the bikes, took off our helmets and waited for the leader to approach. After a short conversation in Spanish he indicated we could pass. They lifted the rope and let us through! What a relief. This was the only road going in the direction we were headed. The only other option would be to backtrack around 200k back to Oaxaca and take the northern route around the mountain. I wish I captured it on video but my SD card in my helmet cam was malfunctioning and would not record all afternoon.
Shortly after that episode we connected onto the autopista and started making good time. As we were approaching the largest windmill farm I have ever seen we soon found out why they chose that spot for the farm. The wind was the strongest we have expereinced so far - probably a good warm up for the notorious winds we will most likely encounter in Patagonia. We stopped at the first hotel we saw in Santo Domingo Zanatepec and it turned out to be pretty good in terms of price and location. There were small restaurant shacks all around and a small market right next door. After a dinner of quesidillas from a small stand next to the hotel we crossed the street to have some cold beers at the market that had some tables out on the front patio. It was begining to cool down a bit so the evening was quite pleasant. After a bit, a local guy who had rode up on his moto approached us and struck up a conversation. His English was about as good as our Spanish so it was an interesting exchange that ended with Ken getting challenged to an arm wrestling match (Ken won both right and left). We decided at that point it was time to call it a night and excused ourselves saying we needed sleep for an early start in the morning.
Yesterday was a layover day in Oaxaca - the center of the mole universe. For me this was to be a highlight of Mexico as I have had an obsession with mole for quite a few years. I've attempted to make it twice and it came out ok, but as I have only sampled it in restaurants it in the US, I didn't exactly know what really good mole is supposed to taste like. The recipe calls for over twenty ingredients and involves toasting the chiles, nuts and spices just right before combining everything into a sauce. Now I know the goal as I was able to sample 5 of the 7 varieties while in Oaxaca.
After a great breakfast at a cafe/cooking school we spent the rest of the morning walking around the Benito Juarez mercado - interesting and lots of fun watching the hustle and bustle of the vendors trying to sell their wares. I bought three paste balls of mole - verde, rojo and negro. It can be reconstitued into the sauce by adding water/chicken stock. This has been my only purchase so far that can justify taking space in my bags. I will carry it all the way to Ushuaia and back home on the plane - score!
We had lunch at a restaurant famous for their mole and I got the mole negro con pollo. It was delicious! Ken is not a huge mole fan and had the queso fundido con chorizo. We then we spent the rest of the afternoon strolling around Oaxaca - a very interesting and historic but tourist loaded town. Most of the restaurant and bars had more tourists than locals. As a side note, our hotel was outstanding - the nicest of the trip so far - named Hotel Maela and a great location in the center of downtown. Dinner was at a restaurant known for their mole and I talked Ken into the five mole sampler that was only offered for minimum two diners. I think he actually liked a couple of the varieties. We even got our rice spiked with chapulines (chile fried grasshoppers) - little baby ones that were more palatable than the large plump ones at the market. We were seated next to three college students from the US who had been in Oaxaca since September studying and staying with host families. What a great experience for them! One of the girls was from Battle Creek not far from where I grew up in Michigan. We had a nice conversation (in English) and it was a nice change to be able to actually converse in English. Our Spanish is still not good so communication with people we met had been a struggle since we left Sayulita.
Tomorrow we will stay in San Cristobal - a historic city in the state of Chiapas. Our days are numbered in Mexico and we most likely will be crossing into Guatemala on Monday.
Tonight we are again off the gringo trail staying in Santo Domingo Zanatepec. It was an interesting ride through the mountains and back down to near sea level - and crazy hot again. It was in the 90's when we got into town. Along the route after stopping for gas in Santa Maria Jalapa del Marques and exiting the town we came upon a long line of cars - trucks and busses that obviously had been sitting there for some time. People were mingling about outside their vehicles, busloads of people sitting/laying on the ground, etc. We must have passed by 100 vehicles weaving our way through the mess. We arrived to the cause of the jam up and saw a large group of people that had strung up a rope across the road and using a human baracade not letting anyone through. There was a string of vehicles coming from the other direction just as long. It was obvious they had all been there some time. We assumed it was some kind of protest. Once we got to the front, we took shut off the bikes, took off our helmets and waited for the leader to approach. After a short conversation in Spanish he indicated we could pass. They lifted the rope and let us through! What a relief. This was the only road going in the direction we were headed. The only other option would be to backtrack around 200k back to Oaxaca and take the northern route around the mountain. I wish I captured it on video but my SD card in my helmet cam was malfunctioning and would not record all afternoon.
Shortly after that episode we connected onto the autopista and started making good time. As we were approaching the largest windmill farm I have ever seen we soon found out why they chose that spot for the farm. The wind was the strongest we have expereinced so far - probably a good warm up for the notorious winds we will most likely encounter in Patagonia. We stopped at the first hotel we saw in Santo Domingo Zanatepec and it turned out to be pretty good in terms of price and location. There were small restaurant shacks all around and a small market right next door. After a dinner of quesidillas from a small stand next to the hotel we crossed the street to have some cold beers at the market that had some tables out on the front patio. It was begining to cool down a bit so the evening was quite pleasant. After a bit, a local guy who had rode up on his moto approached us and struck up a conversation. His English was about as good as our Spanish so it was an interesting exchange that ended with Ken getting challenged to an arm wrestling match (Ken won both right and left). We decided at that point it was time to call it a night and excused ourselves saying we needed sleep for an early start in the morning.
Yesterday was a layover day in Oaxaca - the center of the mole universe. For me this was to be a highlight of Mexico as I have had an obsession with mole for quite a few years. I've attempted to make it twice and it came out ok, but as I have only sampled it in restaurants it in the US, I didn't exactly know what really good mole is supposed to taste like. The recipe calls for over twenty ingredients and involves toasting the chiles, nuts and spices just right before combining everything into a sauce. Now I know the goal as I was able to sample 5 of the 7 varieties while in Oaxaca.
After a great breakfast at a cafe/cooking school we spent the rest of the morning walking around the Benito Juarez mercado - interesting and lots of fun watching the hustle and bustle of the vendors trying to sell their wares. I bought three paste balls of mole - verde, rojo and negro. It can be reconstitued into the sauce by adding water/chicken stock. This has been my only purchase so far that can justify taking space in my bags. I will carry it all the way to Ushuaia and back home on the plane - score!
We had lunch at a restaurant famous for their mole and I got the mole negro con pollo. It was delicious! Ken is not a huge mole fan and had the queso fundido con chorizo. We then we spent the rest of the afternoon strolling around Oaxaca - a very interesting and historic but tourist loaded town. Most of the restaurant and bars had more tourists than locals. As a side note, our hotel was outstanding - the nicest of the trip so far - named Hotel Maela and a great location in the center of downtown. Dinner was at a restaurant known for their mole and I talked Ken into the five mole sampler that was only offered for minimum two diners. I think he actually liked a couple of the varieties. We even got our rice spiked with chapulines (chile fried grasshoppers) - little baby ones that were more palatable than the large plump ones at the market. We were seated next to three college students from the US who had been in Oaxaca since September studying and staying with host families. What a great experience for them! One of the girls was from Battle Creek not far from where I grew up in Michigan. We had a nice conversation (in English) and it was a nice change to be able to actually converse in English. Our Spanish is still not good so communication with people we met had been a struggle since we left Sayulita.
Tomorrow we will stay in San Cristobal - a historic city in the state of Chiapas. Our days are numbered in Mexico and we most likely will be crossing into Guatemala on Monday.
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| The goodness. |
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| Cool and strange mural. |
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| Five sauce sampler |
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| Chapulines at the market. |
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| One of many meat vendors at the market. |
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| Entry to our classy hotel. |
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| VIP secured parking in courtyard. |
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