Day 172 - 186: Boiling, Brakeing and Beaching Whales
Currently in a cool little surfer village called Barra de la Cruz. Found a chill campground to pitch my tent, complete with hammocks, palm trees, the smell of salt in the air, and chickens running around like they own the place. A couple of surfer van lifers from California are here too, adding to the laid back vibe.
I realize that I am a couple of weeks behind on this journal and so have decided that I will just give some highlights from the past couple of weeks and say that I am up to date.
Back in Oaxaca city, I made plans to meet a friend from Guadalaraha in Huatulco on the Oaxacan coast, a couple of hundred kms from here in 10 odd days. So this means 3 days of actual cycling and 7 days of, well, not cycling.
So I left Oaxaca city without any cycling pressure and headed towards the Oaxacan coast. My makeshift hat from the last entry performed surprisingly well. Ended the day in Miahuatlan. This was quite an unremarkable town with no real reason to stop here. I must have been the only foreigner. With no rush, I found some nice coffee shops and a cheap bed so figured that was enough reason to stop for a few days.
Not much to say about my time here. The most productive thing I did was set up obsidian for writing and note taking as I had mostly been using one Google doc up until now. Other than that I mostly caught up on some YouTubers that I had been neglecting and played some online Go.
The next day I arrived in San Jose del Pacifico. This place is a magical place in the middle of the mountains. I found a cool hostel that has about 10 different levels. Imagine a maze of stairs and platforms on the side of a mountain that were clearly haphazardly put together over many years, and you won’t be far wrong. Each level was complete with a wooden patio connecting many rooms. The rooms were small and simple as why would you be in the room when you could be outside in the fresh air with such views…
And the views were absolutely outrageous. Was like something out of a Bob Ross painting with layer after layer of happy little mountains cast into the horizon, with the clouds nestled comfortably between them. Sitting outside on the conveniently placed armchairs and you would be treated to ever changing colors as the sun set. Or could just watch the clouds roll up the mountain towards you.
Met a lot of different people here. Whereas the last town I was the only foreigner there, here I am surrounded by foreigners. This little village is very much on the gringo trail. Met an Irish couple called Sarah and Mike who are on a backpacking trip but who previously cycled home to Ireland from China! Was very inspiring hearing them reminisce about some of their cycle adventures.
Went for drinks with a French girl and a Mexican guy one night too. Was funny that the Mexican had to play translator for the Europeans. Also met some people from the UK, Germany + USA.
Some people at the hostel recommended some hiking trails so I downloaded the AllTrails app, put some water into my bag and set off for a half day getting lost in the stunning forest. The hiking was mostly on trails as wide as my foot and with 50% gradient at times, it was hard going. But the forest views were just stunning.
Another evening I did a Temazcal ceremony. Picture something similar to a large clay pizza oven and then picture sitting inside of it with people chanting stuff in Spanish while throwing water on the coals in the middle. That would be a fairly representative picture.
I had heard good reviews from the people in the hostel that did it the night before me so said I would try it the following night. I arrived at the designated spot and I was the only one there. There is a large clay hut. I shouldn’t say large. It is small. I only say large as it reminds me of a pizza oven and it would be large for a pizza oven. But it is really quite tiny when you are hunched over inside it. There is an open outdoor fire outside the hut. I get in and the host gets a shovel and starts shoveling coals from the fire into a small hole in the hut.
He undresses too, gets in, pulls a thick heavy cloth over the door and suddenly we are in darkness aside from the very faint glow from the coals
He begins to flick water onto the coals from a bucket with a tree branch. It starts to sizzle and steam up and he begins chanting shit in Spanish. My Spanish is pretty terrible but I recognize the word for medicine, fire and something about his ancestors.
Between each round he would step outside and get more coals. Each round got progressively hotter and harder. By the 3rd round, even when he opened the flap for a second to step outside, I couldn’t see anything with all the steam.
Before the 2nd last round he gave me a tub of honey and instructed me to smother myself in it. Before the last round he gave me slices of aloe vera plant and I was instructed to rub it all over myself.
Between each round of his chanting, he would ask me if I was ok and if I wanted it hotter. I kept saying yes. I was this far in and wasn’t saying no at that point. I think if there were other people, he wouldn’t have gone so hot. So he keeps plowing water onto the coals and pushing the temperature higher and higher. I was so cooked at this point, I kinda expected someone to open the flap and throw pepper and salt in.
After about an hour, it was over. I stepped outside to the wonderfully cold air and was instructed to sit in a tub while the man chanted more stuff while pouring cold water over me. The cold water was heaven after being in the heat for an hour.
I was instructed to bring just 3 things to this experience. These were sandals, water and a towel. Guess what 3 things I forgot to bring? So I put on my shirt without drying myself and hiked back to the hostel in swimming shorts. Overall a great meditative experience and felt super relaxed and rejuvenated after it.
Left San Jose del Pacifico on Thursday. The maps said I had something like 3500 meters of downhill so I was expecting a super easy day. That was not the case as it was also 1500 meters of climbing. But climbing wasn’t the real problem. With so much downhill, one really needs their brakes to work. Mine did not. On even a slight downhill pressing the brakes would just about stop me from speeding up. I put up with this for a while but then the downhills got much steeper. Now I had to hold the brakes as tight as I could and would still speed up. I did a few downhills like this but quickly decided that I would end up killing myself if I continued this nonsense. So I decided to have my first attempt ever at fixing brakes.
Initially I thought if I just loosen the barrel adjusters that this would solve it. It, in fact, did not. I made it worse… So much worse. I hop back on the bike. I started rolling down some steep hill. I pull the brakes. Absolutely nothing. Literally nothing. I was free wheeling down the hill. I kept speeding up and the hill just kept getting steeper. I tried dragging a foot on the ground but it didn’t help.
I had to stop myself now. So at the spur of the moment, I decided the best thing to do is to half fall and half jump off from the bike. This I managed quite successfully I might add.
Heart pounding and glad to still be alive, I vow to always check my brakes properly after playing with them. I then pull out my pliers and allen keys and tighten both brake cables. This does the trick. I promise to not be so stupid again.
As I made my way further down the mountains and towards the coast it got very hot. Stupid hot. So even the flats were tough to cycle in. I think I have taken too long off over the last month or so and the hot season has caught up with me. But made it to La Crucecita without further incident.
The following day I met my friend from Guadalajara. Spent the next few days relaxing, exploring and camping.
Did a boat tour called Catamaran that took us to some different beaches. Loads of dolphins spent a good 10 minutes playing in the waves in front of the boat. Was a treat to watch.
Everyone thought we were super lucky to see dolphins, but we got luckier. Someone points to a spray in the distance. The captain brings us closer. Then nothing. Silence. Just as we were about to give up, we saw about half a dozen whales surfacing in unison, like you see in those nature documentaries. Absolutely stunning
The beaches were remote and pristine. Though the heat was pretty unbearable at times. So hot I would have sacrificed my friend to the gods for a little shade. (Not seriously of course. Probarbly)
This brings me back to the present day, though now it is night. After a late start this morning, I bid farewell to my friend after a real 1 star long weekend… Stars are hard come by apparently… Did a short 30ish km to this campground today
I haven’t done the math but I feel like since I arrived in mainland Mexico, I must have spent as many days off the bike as on the bike. This will change now. I have been and done a lot of tourist things in Guatemala and El Salvador before. So I now plan on making good progress through the rest of Mexico and central America without significant time off the bike. So time to shift back into cycling gear after so much downtime, tho I promise to check my brakes first.
