Update from Zacatecas

I ended up spending a couple days more than I had expected in Creel.  The town itself was nothing to get excited about, but I decided that something had to be done about my boots.  They were unbearably potent to say the least.  Not in a stinky feet kind of way, but in an ammonia / decomposing-carcass kind of way.  I can almost live with stinky boots, but the smell was being absorbed into my feet and into the bottom of my legs.  Even after two days, and having scrubbed my feet on three separate occasions, they still stunk.  Not a good way to make friends in a hostel.  So I filled my boots with a diluted-bleach solution and let them sit in the shower for a while.  When I finally rinsed them out, it had already began to rain and it continued throughout the following day.  Judging by the various growths and discolorations on my feet, I thought that a full-days ride in wet boots would not be a good idea.  So I waited out the rain and the sun on the following day dried my boots.  Now my feet, and anyone within 100ft of my boots, could not be any happier.

I set off early on Saturday morning to see Copper Canyon from an overlook in Divisadero.  It´s a popular stop on the famous train ride into Creel.  Although it was a bit hazy, the view was incredible.  I´ve never been to the Grand Canyon, but Copper Canyon is supposed to be larger and/or deeper.  In my opinion, the view was nice, and well worth the detour to check it out, but it was nothing compared to what I would see that afternoon.

After checking out Divisadero, I made my way south to Batopilas.  It´s a small town with a pop. 1,200, and it´s located at the bottom of a 5000ft canyon.  I had seen pictures of the road that leads down to the town, but pictures do not do the place justice.  The Canyon itself is huge.  I can´t even begin to guess how wide it is.  The road was unlike anything I have ever seen before.  There are enough switch backs, white-knuckle narrows, and blind-turns wide enough for one vehicle, to keep even the most easily distracted driver fixated on the road.  I was completely exhausted at about the half-way mark.  It became hotter with each switchback, and the road seemed to go on forever.  The heat, combined with my body ´´adjusting¨ to the Mexican cuisine (read ¨stuff coming out of both ends¨), made the trip a real struggle against dehydration.  I arrived in Batopilas around 5pm and found a quaint hotel for $10 a night.  Still battling a headache and with my stomach "adjusting¨, I skipped dinner and called it a night around 6pm.

The ride out of the Canyon was much more enjoyable, since my stomach let me drink water again.  I headed east to the state of Durango and spent the night in Hidalgo del Parral.  I never thought I´d say this, but I was happy to see straight roads.  Aside from the first day in Mexico, nearly every road has hugged the side of a mountain or wound through the woods.  It´s a lot of fun to ride, but it takes a long time to get anywhere, and it's both mentally and physically exhausting to ride like that for 8 or 9 hours.  I was also pleasantly surprised to see that Durango invested in road signs.  So the straight roads, combined with excellent sign-age, allowed me to cover some good distances and reach the city of Durango the following day, and the city of Zacatecas in the state of Zacatecas yesterday.  In fact, the only thing that slowed me down was when my bike was running very poorly on my way out of Hidalgo del Parral.  After fiddling with the idle and the air/fuel screw, I finally pulled off the road and started disassembling the bike in order to diagnose the problem.  I started by taking a look at the air filter, and decided to oil up a spare and replace it.  No luck, it still ran like crap.  I started to unbolt the tank so I could dig into the carburetor, when I noticed that my choke lever on the handlebar was engaged.  That will definitely cause your bike to run very poorly.  Seething with anger at myself for being so stupid and not noticing that earlier, I suddenly heard the last words my friend Ryan shared with me when I left Scottsdale.  ¨Jeff, don´t be so hard on yourself all the time.  When things aren´t going right, take a deep breath and relax.¨   So rather than smash something, or stab a hole in my gas tank and make an even worse situation for myself, I decided to fake a smile and take a picture to mark the occasion instead.

Comments

[Dave]

Nicely done, hope you didnt foul your plug... I always find myself getting angry at my bike. What I do is, think about the machine and realize what an amazing thing it is. Where it will bring me and learning the wrench on it will make all the difference in the world when I head out. Great pictures

[Claire]

Hi Jeff-I met you at the Mexican restaurant in Douglas AZ. I am happy your travels are going well. I applaud your spirit of adventure and admire that you're following your dream. I enjoyed reliving the Barranca del Cobre experience and can't wait to read about Southern Mexico, my favorite part. While you head to the South Pole, I just returned from the Artic Circle. Sweden was fabulous, I had a blast and can't wait to return.

Keep up the adventure and all the best. I hope the Spanish classes are going well.

[George and Annie Chenier]

Jeff we just recently met your parents they are a great couple and are very proud of you. They told us about this trip that you are taking and we look forward to following you in your adventure. Good luck, keep safe, and let the wheels roll on.

[Caroline]

Hey there Jeff,
I hope you remember me from UConn- you helped me out a lot with moving out of my room...
Your travel stories are so wonderful to read- you sound like you are really having the most truly unique and fantastic experience. And the way you write about it is very exciting.
I admire you for what you are doing- and hope that I can go on some sort of amazing journey one day..
I look forward to keep on reading!
-Caroline O'Dwyer