August 14, 2015
The climb out of Hierve de Agua the next morning was a good test of things to come for the fully loaded XT250. The road had dried overnight, and the steeper sections could be done in second gear, but first was required for a couple of the tighter switchbacks due to the lack of momentum.
Down one mountain, across a short valley, and up and over the next. I did this several times, and the temperature differences were significant. Eventually I descended more than I gained, and it got much warmer.
The area between Hierve de Agua and Juchitan, and a good portion of Oaxaca for that matter, is famous for Mezcal, that cousin of tequila, and you can see farms all along the highway growing maguey, a form of agave.
Maguey plants awaiting processing in the street in Santiago Matatlan, a town famous for Mezcal production. There’s a guy on the other side of this pile with a large axe. Seriously.
I stopped in the tiny pueblo of Las Majadas for lunch and met Willie and his family. Willie spent eight years in Salt Lake City working on a landscaping crew before returning home two years ago, getting married and having a son. He was keen to speak English to me, and insisted that I speak Spanish to him. It made for a great experience. He got to refresh his English skills, while I got to work on my Spanish.
Willie and family
Willie’s wife cooked mojarra for me. Very tasty whitefish, of the tilapia family. This meal, with tortillas and two soft drinks, $4.
After lunch it was flat, windy highway to Juchitan and Ixtepec.For the first time since Galeana in Northern Mexico, I was completely out and away from the mountains.
I needed to find oil and a headlight bulb in Juchitan, and once I did, I realized I was out of pesos. Being Friday afternoon, all of the banks had long lines and there was no place to park nearby, so I rode north to Ixtepec and found a Banamex that I could park right in front of the ATM and stand in line.
Another night without wifi, but I’m okay with that. This trip isn’t about being online after all.