From Oaxaca heading south down to the coast we were finally rewarded with an absolutely amazing ride. The road lead through the Sierra Madre del Sur leading over misty mountains along twisty roads passing many rural villages. This was the most beautiful ride so far in Mexico! Our stop for the night was in San Jose del Pacifico, at about 2’500m up in the mountains above the clouds with mist blowing in through the valley from time to time. It was absolutely mystic up there!
This region is subject to torrential rainfalls in the rainy season, which we found out the next day. Turning around one of the many twisty curves the road was suddenly filled with rubble – the hillside had slid onto the road. A tractor was already at work clearing the rocks away and we were able to pass, looking up anxiously at loose stones still tumbling down. A few kilometers down the road a huge amount of mud had slid down – a major landslide! We were eventually able to pass – the mud clogging our tires made us slip everywhere, so we paddled through trying not to slide over the edge of the cliff. The road from here ran gradually down to the beach and the climate became more tropical leading to Playa Zipolite.
Playa Zipolite is one of Mexico’s few nude beaches maintaining the hippie culture form the 60ties and 70ties. We rented a cabin on the beach and chilled out for a day meeting up with Bettina and Nobert again. Because of the rainy season it was a damp experience in our beach hut though, with water leaking through the roof. So after two nights we headed on.
Our journey continued with a visit to San Cristobal de Las Casas and from there on to Palenque to see the ancient Mayan ruins set in the middle of the jungle. The road to Palenque lead high up into the mountains, crossing passes and dropping down into the jungle. The route is renowned for road blocks – the locals maintain the roads themselves and then hold up ropes across the road to stop you and ask for money. We were lucky and the ropes where down. In Palenque we spent a hot and sticky night in a hut in the jungle after visiting the impressive ancient Mayan ruins.
The next morning we were woken up by howler monkeys and set of heading south for the Guatemalan border. Taking the back roads through Chiapas was one of the highlights, riding through rural Mexico passing small villages in the jungle. We encountered a burnt out lorry in the middle of the road. But lucky again – no roadblocks! The last night was spent in Comitan, eating our last taco meal and crossing into Guatemala early the next morning.
