The weather was due to set in for the weekend, so we contacted someone on warmshowers.com, the wonderful website we discovered in the states that hosts bicycle tourers, offering a bed, laundry, kitchen and the obvious one, a shower. Luck was on our side and we were fortunate to get in touch with Ricardo and Juli who opened their home (technically Ricardo's father's home, but he was away for most of the weekend) and their company. Ricardo is Mexican and Juli is German. Although a fairly uncommon match within the Mexican culture, they have formed a beautiful relationship. We talked for hours and had spectacular conversations, talking about everything from everyday life to illegal immigrants in the US to the world as a whole. We thoroughly enjoyed the weekend just cruising around Puebla and Cholula as well as spending time with Ricardo, Juli and Ernesto (Ricardo's father, a great man who has worked very hard to provide his family with so much and encouraged them to make Mexico and the world a better place).
After 3 extra days in Puebla, we were off early Monday morning, our first official day back on the bikes. Next major destination: Oaxaca City (pronounced: Wa-ha-ka). Dodging traffic until the outskirts of the city, we were on our way. The roads are quite different here. Rules do not necessarily apply and as much as I wanted to always be looking around at the people and scenery, my head was down trying to avoid unsigned potholes as wide as car doors.
Ryan put his nose to the Lonely Planet guide at Ricardo's and learned a few tricks of traveling in Mexico. Although in the past we have typically slept in our tent, I was a bit unsure of putting us out in the open. Most towns have a small hotel or families will host guests in an extra bedroom, ranging from $10-$20 per night. Not a bad deal to end a day of riding with a shower. Life is looking up! By 4pm on our first day out we were on the hunt for a hotel room, nothing fancy, just a simply bed and shower. A sign outside the hotel, hanging from the gate had a big "100 pesos special". We asked about this but the owner said that rate was only for about four hours... So this motel charged by the hour? Ewww. Ryan later said that he thought the man meant it was 100 pesos for 4 hours because it was a Valentine's Day special. We basically stayed in a hooker hotel room. Other clues that should have tipped us off were the fact that we were never given a key to the room, a curtain that hid your car in the attached garage, more cleaning staff than occupants, a highly disinfected room, and 5 channels on the television, one of which was porn. Ryan must have said, "Sorry hun," at least a dozen times. On top of that, we got taken because we paid 250 pesos which is about $20. Since then, we have learned that we can get a decent room for 150 pesos, $11-$12. Not bad.
After 3 extra days in Puebla, we were off early Monday morning, our first official day back on the bikes. Next major destination: Oaxaca City (pronounced: Wa-ha-ka). Dodging traffic until the outskirts of the city, we were on our way. The roads are quite different here. Rules do not necessarily apply and as much as I wanted to always be looking around at the people and scenery, my head was down trying to avoid unsigned potholes as wide as car doors.
Ryan put his nose to the Lonely Planet guide at Ricardo's and learned a few tricks of traveling in Mexico. Although in the past we have typically slept in our tent, I was a bit unsure of putting us out in the open. Most towns have a small hotel or families will host guests in an extra bedroom, ranging from $10-$20 per night. Not a bad deal to end a day of riding with a shower. Life is looking up! By 4pm on our first day out we were on the hunt for a hotel room, nothing fancy, just a simply bed and shower. A sign outside the hotel, hanging from the gate had a big "100 pesos special". We asked about this but the owner said that rate was only for about four hours... So this motel charged by the hour? Ewww. Ryan later said that he thought the man meant it was 100 pesos for 4 hours because it was a Valentine's Day special. We basically stayed in a hooker hotel room. Other clues that should have tipped us off were the fact that we were never given a key to the room, a curtain that hid your car in the attached garage, more cleaning staff than occupants, a highly disinfected room, and 5 channels on the television, one of which was porn. Ryan must have said, "Sorry hun," at least a dozen times. On top of that, we got taken because we paid 250 pesos which is about $20. Since then, we have learned that we can get a decent room for 150 pesos, $11-$12. Not bad.
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