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Mexico in December?

emmed1

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Dec 21, 2014
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I'm off December 1st through the12th and am thinking of heading down to Mexico again. This time going a little further south, towards Guanajato and the pyramids as well as the mummies, making stops in Real and Mineral de Pozos. Maybe hit the Grutas de Tolatongo.
If anyone wants to join me pm me or post. I've been down 4 times now, both with groups and solo. Am fluent in Spanish so that helps. But I'm sure my wife would feel a lot better if I had some company.
 
You're really trying to get me into some serious trouble tempting me like that now, aren't you? :-)

Wish I could pull of a third week in mexico within 2 months, but we'll ride together again soon.
 
Thomas! Come back to Mexico with me! last time we never even finished our group trip! Stupid broken leg. I'm good as new now.
 
I am interested! How many days are you thinking you'd be on the road? Also, mostly on paved roads or a mix? That would help me decide what bike to take (paved only - Triumph Tiger 1050, unpaved - Yamaha wr250r) I am also fluent in Spanish and very familiar with Mexico. Been to Real, Guanajuato, and many other places in Mexico, but not on two wheels.
 
I would love to leave on the 1st and be back the 12th.
I ride a KLR and haven't been any places I haven't been able to handle on it. I also think that to get further south we are going to be riding more road than single track dirt. Maybe some packed dirt..terracerias.
I don't necessarily go there to ride hard, I go there to explore.
I want to go to Valle de Santiago in Guanajuato, there are supposedly 7 volcanoes and you can ride your motorcycle from one to the next. A crater with crystal white mineral deposit crust on the surface. There is actually a mountain bike race there December 8th where they hit all the volcanoes. And I now have contacts there who can lend us mountain bikes if we want to ride at any time.
The Museum of the Mummies, a Crater, some Archeological sites. Things to see.
But I'm very flexible and open to suggestions.
 
That sounds pretty good. I need to check with my bosses at home and the office if I can get the time off, but I think I can. Would take the wr250r if we are going unpaved - it's a great little goat and will go anywhere, including paved roads. I am not into riding hard either- I don't know how! :-) but exploration is what I enjoy myself. I would ride all the way from Dallas, so if you're riding from Houston we could meet in San Antonio or McAllen. Guanajuato is a delightful town and I am looking forward to seeing it again.
 
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Last time I went was with TexasPatrick and he rode his WR250. No problems.
Look up Termas de San Joaquin. Roman style hot springs baths west of Monterrey.
Lots of places I've been wanting to explore.
If you're coming down from Dallas I can borrow a trailer and we can trailer both bikes down to the border if you ride here to Houston. We have an RV park in Mission that lets us park there long term.
 
Ok, I am in. I will send you a PM and we can work out the details.
 
Jorge, we did it! It was an epic trip and I enjoyed every day and every experience! Lots of fun! Jorge knows this area of Mexico quite well and he was a great companion and guide. Don't have time to do a report, but here are some pics with some commentary. Looking forward to the next trip!

We met members of The B@stardos of Ciudad Victoria in Tula, on top of the Tammamul pyramid, and we spent time together that night and also in Ciudad Victoria on the way back. Great bunch of people!

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In Mineral de Pozos we explored a couple of silver mines and that was pretty interesting. The working conditions of miners way back then were awful!

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Spent one night in Guanajuato, which deserved much more time. Jardin de la Union was very lively and beautiful at night.

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Not far from Guanajuato is a group of craters, apparently created by meteorite impacts (not sure if this is true) - we visited Crater El Rincón de Parangueo, which was quite interesting and unique. Here is a picture of me with our guide because we went into the 500m tunnel to take us to the bottom of the crater.

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One of the highlights of the trip was Tolantongo and its cave, waterfall, river and pozas of mineral waters. We loved this place!

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We also loved Hwy 120 going through Sierra Gorda. Had to visit Las Pozas of Edward James, of course. What a wonderful place!

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Got to Campamento Jabali from Bucareli on a very sketchy road which required crossing a river and a scary bridge. But it was worth it, as the place was truly beautiful and calm. We partied with a group of guys from D.F. on their GS's who were staying at the cabins for the weekend.

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Enjoyed a celebration at the town where we spent a couple of nights near Xilitla, Huichihuayán. Huasteco women in church wearing their traditional attire.

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On the way back to Ciudad Victoria we took the old road and stopped at Doña Yolis's place for lunch. Her place has a a lot of character, as a mountain cabin of sorts, and her food was really good. She was making tamales for the Virgen of Guadalupe celebration that night.

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Puente de Dios near Jalpan was really fantastic, as was the Tamul Waterfalls near Tamasopo. Nature in La Huasteca is so gorgeous!

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We ate street food and also "comida económica" quite a bit and it was all very good. I added a couple of pictures of other meals we had. Delicious!

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Awesome! You hit a lot of the spots I plan on getting to eventually.

Thanks for taking the time to post.
 
Looks like a fabulous trip!

Great pix. Thanks for posting.

It was a great trip - total of 12 days, with 11 days in Mexico. Every day was a joy! No issues at all. People were friendly and welcoming, places were amazing, food was good and cheap, same with hotels. And the roads we traveled were really nice. Didn't ride much off pavement, only when needed to get here or there, but I appreciate the long suspension travel on my wr250r to absorb potholes and rocky terraceria with some big boulders. The wr250r is the perfect Mexico bike for me - light, capable, economical.
 
Awesome! You hit a lot of the spots I plan on getting to eventually.

Thanks for taking the time to post.

Thanks, Bart! It turns out that Jorge was part of the 2016 group you and I were part of. Let me know if you decide to head south of the border and I can give you more details.
 
Wow! What a great trip! You guys packed in some fun!
 
Thank you for all the kind comments. Here is my second batch of pictures, and I hope you enjoy them.

Hwy 120 from Xilita to Jalpan de Serra is a joy, with great views and lots of turns and curves. We stopped here for a bio break and to enjoy the lush landscape.

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The Cascadas de Tamul in Tamasopo were magnificent. What made this visit memorable is that rode our bikes there very early in the morning, at about 8 am, and there were no tourists there at all. Our boat with Sr. Salomé Mar was the only one on the river, and we got great customer service, including climbing closer to the waterfalls than the rapids permit. This was definitely one of the highlights of our trip.

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This is Hotel Paraíso in Tamasopo, a pretty simple hotel with rooms around this patio. We left the bikes under cover for the night. Across the hotels there was a great restaurante owned by a guy who lived in Texas for 20 years and decided to get back to the slower pace of Mexico. He says that now he feels like he is on vacation every day! :-)

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In Axtla we went to Castillo de la Salud Beto Ramon, a complex where they sell alternative medicine supplements, give massages, has a church and even a healer. We visited the healer and Jorge got a full healing treatement. After the curandero was done I took his picture.

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In Mineral de Pozos there survive a few silver and mercury mines from a couple of hundred years ago. Some mines have been rebuilt as cultural centers, others can be visited as ghost mines. There is one, run by Maria Isabel and her husband, the Hacienda de San Baldomero, that was special. La Señora María Isabel told us the sad story of her life and showed us the humble room where she lives with the man she married at 14 - no electricity, no running water. In this picture I am leaving the Hacienda. The second pic of me holding a baby goat from the herd that the couple tends to.

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We found this mother and son roasting peanuts and elote (corn) at the Crater of El Rincón de Parangueo and Jorge was quite generous with his tip for the peanuts he bought. So much so that tears ran down the mother's cheeks in gratitude. Small things that make a big difference. She agreed to have her picture taken.

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We spent one night in San Miguel Allende and met this lady from NYC who was traveling alone. Had dinner together at this street restaurant and then a mezcal at a local bar. Really good food, and expensive beer, as they had to run to a local bar nearby to fetch them! But it was all good.

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Where can you find a river of hot water? In Las Grutas de Tolantongo, Hidalgo. I posted a picture of "pozas" or pools above, and this is me enjoying the hot-water river. Amazingly good!

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Puente de Dios near Tamasopo has this incredible cave full of turquoise water - light comes in through the entrance and creates this amazing color in the water. This was another highlight of the trip, as we were not just outside looking in, but really immersed in nature, literally. The water was not hot, but it was pleasant.

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Guanajuato is full of colonial flavor, with beautiful squares and narrow streets. Jorge fell in love with this town and I am sure he'll be back to dedicate more time to it.

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Still upset I didn't get to go! Looks like a lot of fun. Where are all the photos of Jorge's bike on the ground :rofl:
 
Still upset I didn't get to go! Looks like a lot of fun. Where are all the photos of Jorge's bike on the ground :rofl:

Patrick, I can say without any hesitation that Jorge missed you!! And he spoke highly of you on a daily basis! :clap:

He did really well and dropped the bike only a couple of times... that KLR is heavy, man!
 
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