Mazatlan to Mexico City

After the craziness of riding into Guadalajara at night and in the rain, we decided it was safest to not ride into this city of 20 million people. It is not the riding in the city that is scary, both Justin and me are avid city riders; it is the interchanges outside of the city. Imagine riding your bike on 76 or 676 outside of Philly! It is like that, but with less light and way worse roads.

We are staying with some good friends of mine, Nallely and Edgar, that I met a year and a half ago at a WEF protest in Cancun. They helped me get out of jail and we have been close since.

The first day we were here we went to a market that only has metal-punk-artsy-hippie sorts of things. It was amazing. Veggie burgers for 50 cents! The anarcho-punks were in full force and there were plenty of zines, music, and info to gather up. The whole ambience of the place was amazing, very few cops or authorities and 100s and 100s of kids (you know, anyone under 30 or who still acts as such) who are not into the lifestyle being sold to them MTV or coca-cola. We mingled around for a while and then went to explore the rest of the city.

Hanging out with our 'girlfriends' from the boat hasn’t been as successful as we had hoped. I guess the whole energy of meeting on a boat and spending a night on a boat was lost. Maybe she thought that I would of changed my clothes or trimmed my beard since last time I saw her. ha. I ended up spending some time with her at the Zocolo where we saw a jazz concert, an art exhibit with all sorts of anti-Bush cartoons and anti-plan Colombia posters, bought some photographs from a vendor, ate some coconut treats, and took a ride on a bike taxi. Then we went to the Anthropology museum and to a section of the city called Coyocan. I had been there before but could not remember the dope restaurant I had eaten at. We got some expensive pasta at a chic hangout near the square.

We have spent a lot of time just wondering around the city, which is one of my favorite things to do. There is a market outside of Nallely and Edgar's house, which isn’t in the best neighborhood, to buy all sorts of neat things. One morning we bought Nopales, a type of cacti, mixed with onions and peppers, some tortillas, and some salsa, for less than $2.50 for the 3 of us to eat. Lovely. Nallely needed a part for her blender, and there is a guy in the market who only sells parts for a blender. Amazing. In the USA you would probably have to buy a whole new one.

Our new addiction, which is much healthier and a little cheaper, is juice in a bag. For about 60 cents they fill a giant bag with the juice of your choice and give you a straw to drink it. Watermelon, Orange and Fresh Lemon have been the 3 most popular.

We have spent four days here, great to be off the bike. Our next stop will be in Oaxaca, where we want to see the Monte Albun ruins and eat lots of vegan chocolate and enfrijoladas. There is also a community center there named after the Mexican anarchist Ricardo Flores Magon.

We have some big climbs ahead and will return to the heat soon. But, we have a lot to see in the last 1600 kilometers of our journey. We are entering the jungle and new indigenous cultures. 2 more countries and places I have been to and already love....

Thanks to everyone who sends emails, I appreciate it so much!