Minimalist’s ride through Mexico.

[Mike in Clear Lake]

z_clark, you 'da man!

 

[hardybaker]

Hey Jeff,
If you are going to the mine at the higher evevation, I would suggest you take a ride on one of the several old, no, make that VERY OLD Willys Jeeps or walk. IF you ride on the jeep, I would suggest riding on the roof rack, so you can jump ( for your life) in case the jeep stalls or has other problems. This ride I took to the top, was the highlight of my trip.It was terrifying. We walked back down, Beleive it or nor, I have a friend that rode his R1150 GS up that climb.( he was an expierenced trials rider.)
By the way, we rode that cobblestone rode at fifty mph and the guys from the Mexico City club, must have been doing eighty when they went by. And lastly, don't put your hand on your shock to see if it gets warm on the cobblestones. Mine must have been 130 or 140 degrees. Ouch. Have a ball amigo. Hardy

 

[Tourmeister]

 

[scar04]

Awesome pics so far Jeff.

 

[SL350]

Are there altitude kits for the Ninja?

Keep the pictures coming, they are very interesting.

 

[z_clark]

Day 4

I woke up and had some breakfast coffee in the lobby of my hotel. This is also where my bike was parked. I met George, another guest in the hotel. We sat and had our coffee together. He was from Monterrey, and gave me some advice on the roads. He also assured me that I wouldn’t run into many other gringos in Zacatecas (where I was heading). He said, “No, no hay gringos…..solo chilies verdes.”, as he pointed to himself. I assumed “chilies verdes” was referring to Mexicans, like himself.

I threw the back pack on my bike, rolled her outside, and was off. I had about 250 miles planed on they way to Zacatecas. (Free “Mex 57” to San Luis Potosi, then the free “Mex 49” into Zacatecas with a few side trips)

First it was back through the tunnel.

Not many pictures from today. I really just enjoyed the ride, stopped for lunch, and took my time.

Arriving in Zacatecas at rush hour was a bit unnerving. I did a bit of lane splitting and did not care for it much. Traffic was tight, but not aggressive. Drivers seemed used to sharing the road with motorcycles…as well as sharing the lane. I followed the sings for el centro, when I saw a decent looking hotel with a wide side walk for motorcycle parking. It was a done deal! Hotel Colon was $17 USD per night (low end of my $25 average), and was one of my best rooms. It had cable TV and HOT water all day long. It was just a 2 minute walk into el centro.

I rested up a bit, went out for dinner / coffee, grabbed a few pictures and called it a day. I was beat from today’s ride. I think it was speed bump overload!

Stay tune for day 5 where I get MUCH better pictures of beautiful Zacatecas, and get my breakfast from a guy with a donkey. Zacatecas was a big highlight of the trip.

 

[AusFletch]

He said, “No, no hay gringos…..solo chilies verdes.”, as he pointed to himself. I assumed “chilies verdes” was referring to Mexicans, like himself.

He may have been referring to a famous line from a famous Mexican song called "La Llorona". This song just FEELS like Mexico...

Great looking, trip, btw....I did almost that exact same trip with my wife in 2005 and repeated it a couple months ago with buddies from work. Thanks for sharing. -FLETCH

La Llorona

Todos me dicen el negro, llorona
negro pero cariñoso
Yo soy como el chile verde, llorona
picante pero sabroso.

Ay! de mi, llorona
llorona de ayer y hoy
ayer maravilla fui, llorona
y ahora ni sombra soy

Dicen que no tengo duelo, llorona
porque no me ven llorar
Hay muertos que no hacen ruido, llorona
y es mas grande su penar

Ay! de mi, llorona
llorona de azul celeste
y aunque la vida me cueste, llorona
no dejare de quererte

 

[z_clark]

Hey Fletch -

Thanks for that! The guy called himself a chilie verde with a straight face, so I assumed it was not a bad thing.

I really enjoyed reading your last ride report in Mexico. It helped with the planing of this one.

Thanks!

 

[AusFletch]

Hey Fletch -

Thanks for that! The guy called himself a chilie verde with a straight face, so I assumed it was not a bad thing.

I really enjoyed reading your last ride report in Mexico. It helped with the planing of this one.

Thanks!

Glad to help. I always deliberate greatly about reporting on Mexico. Part of me is content to let people think it is a miserable place that should be avoided so we can keep it for ourselves. You really have a great sense of adventure. Thanks for taking us with you. -FLETCH

 

[Mike in Clear Lake]

For you Spanish speakers, I write love poems and songs in Spanish. Just thought I'd let you know

 

[Soozy]

I am loving following your trip Jeff. High five on the minimalist approach to life. Many folks confuse 'wants' with 'needs'.

Can't wait for the next installment.

 

[ed29]

Jeff, great trip idea and report. Looks like I need to learn the language before I could try a trip like that. Would you consider leading some other 250s across Mexico sometime?

 

[z_clark]

Hiya Soozy, thanks for reading along!

Thanks everyone for the comments!

Ed, I don't know about "leading" others down south, but I would be up for going again any time!

 

[z_clark]

Day 5.

I woke up in Zacatecas and found their version of a Red Bull energy drink. I sat and observed a few happy customers come and go before I approached. Here is the man, his donkey, and his goods in the clay pots.

They all seemed to be consuming what ever he was offering, and waking away looking normal, so I was game! I asked what he had. His response was “aguamiel….es dulce”. To me, this translated to honey water. After getting home and researching, it is actually the nonalcoholic juice from the agave plant that when fermented becomes alcoholic. It was quite good, and did taste like watered down honey. It was very cold too. The stopper to his clay pots was part of a banana tree trunk.

My next stop was Mina el Eden. It is a short walk from down town. The mine was in operation from 1586 through the 1950’s. They mined silver, gold, iron, copper, and zinc. It has 7 levels, but they have too continuously pump water out to keep the top 4 open. There is even a discoteca on one of the levels that is opened on weekends.

First was the trolley ride, a rock museum, a guided tour, and finally a elevator ride back up. We were 3000 feet down! It was well worth the time.

Once back on the surface I took a ride up the Teleferico. The teleferico is a Swiss built cable car that takes you on a 7 minute ride up to Cerro del Grillo. There were some great views on the ride, and from the top.

After spending an hour at the top, I hiked the mile back down. I grabbed a few gorditas for lunch. This place is kind of like Subway Sandwiches. There are tortillas ready to be stuffed, and you just pick what you want in them. I had one with beans and one with chicharon. Chicharon is fried up pork skin and pork fat with whatever meat happens to be in there. I highly recommend it!!!

Also, Nescafe is really big in Latin America. I really love my coffee, but I am no coffee snob. This stuff will get you by in a pinch, especially if it comes from one of the automatic machines. You can choose what kind of Nescafe you want from the machine, I usually go for an Americano.

I spent the afternoon walking the town and relaxing in the park. Sorry, no riding today, but I did get a shot of a new 200 CC motorcycle for sale there. It was going for about $2,200 USD. Check out those engine mounts!

The town:

For dinner it was a few tacos de bistec and a few tacos de lengua (yeah - tongue). They were some of the best tacos I have ever had! Had they been open for breakfast the next morning, I would have been there.

There was an outdoor concert in the plaza around the Christmas tree that evening. We got to hear some of my Christmas favorites such as Queen’s “Another one bites the dust”, “We are the Champions”, a few rockin’ ones from the Beatles. So, it wasn’t Christmas music, but it was pretty good!

I got a few beers, and retired to my room after a hard day.

Stay tuned for day 6 when I see a 60 foot statue of Jesus and get lost in some tunnels!

 

[FatalException0E]

I'm going to have to come back to this thread when I'm on a non-websensed network. I'm missing out on all the pics. This sounds like a great time.

 

[anaconda]

 

[RedPill]

Lengua tacos! Lick 'em before they lick you!

I used to love the lengua lunch plate at a little Mexican place in San Antonio I frequented.

 

[Mike in Clear Lake]

Lengua tacos! Lick 'em before they lick you!

I used to love the lengua lunch plate at a little Mexican place in San Antonio I frequented.

Yep. I also like mondongo/menudo soup.

 

[TLRam1]

Jeff,

I do like traveling in Mexico experiencing the different culture, some magnificent scenery, good food (if you can handle it) and nice cool temperatures in the evening at the higher altitudes.

How did your stomach deal with the food in Mexico? When I traveled into Mexico that was one of my downfalls. I was unable to stomach their fare. I ended up eating nothing but canned soup for the rest of my trip to Mexico City and back.

Did you lock your bike at night and/or where you able to stow your bike inside your hotel, did you find it difficult locating a hotel to work with you on this aspect?

 

[Rman of 237]

Wow!! What a great thread. I just went into the kitchen and made tacos. And of course a bag of

 

[DaveC]

He may have been referring to a famous line from a famous Mexican song called "La Llorona". This song just FEELS like Mexico...



La Llorona

Todos me dicen el negro, llorona
negro pero cariñoso
Yo soy como el chile verde, llorona
picante pero sabroso.

Ay! de mi, llorona
llorona de ayer y hoy
ayer maravilla fui, llorona
y ahora ni sombra soy

Dicen que no tengo duelo, llorona
porque no me ven llorar
Hay muertos que no hacen ruido, llorona
y es mas grande su penar

Ay! de mi, llorona
llorona de azul celeste
y aunque la vida me cueste, llorona
no dejare de quererte

Babel fish translation:

The Weeping One All they say the black to me, weeping black but affectionate I am like green, weeping Chile sharp but flavorful. Ay! of my, weeping weeping of wonder I was, weeping yesterday yesterday and today and now nor shade I am They say that I do not have duel, weeping because they do not see me cry It has dead that does not make noise, weeping and is but great his to suffer Ay! of my, weeping weeping of blue celestial and although the life it costs, weeping will not leave to me of quererte

 

[RedPill]

Which is just another example of why Babel Fish doesn't really work . . .

 

[z_clark]

I did have a few stomach issues....it happens when you are eating different foods than normal. Also, eating from street vendors doesn't help. Missing out on the food would be a huge waste, so I normally just dive in and power through!

I did spend some time stuck in the bathroom on 2 mornings, but was still able to get out and about eventually. The best advice is not to take imodium unless you absolutely have too get traveling. It is best to let it take care of itself.

I parked inside hotels about half the time. The other times I would cable lock the frame to a light post. The cable lock came in handy for locking down gear too.

Part of the reason for taking my ninja 250 over my cb 750 was it's value. The ninja is only worth $2,000, and would less of an upset if stolen. I didn't want to have to be worried about security of the bike the whole trip, but I did take all precautions possible.

 

[Texian]

Awesome thread!

Keep it going, and stay safe!

 

[SL350]

Jeff,

You should get Kawasaki to sponsor your trip. I wonder how many times it has been asked what is the best "starter" or "beginner" bike on TWT. This thread is an effective sell for the Ninja and proves it can go about anywhere, anytime.