rest day

Ted and I arrived last night after a long trip here. Things don´t get going very early so, by the time we had our supplies and could have left it was after noon. This is really a lovely town and we didn´t have to think too long to decide what to do, we are staying another day. This way we can buy the food we want here, maybe find new lenses for Ted to replace the lost one, research our route a little better, relax, soak in the place and eat.

We are staying in a little hotel in the center of town. They were out of regular rooms so we took a dorm room. There are 6 bunkbeds in a divided room with no windows. Actually it is really better than it sounds because we are the only ones there and it is buried so far back in the building that it is very quiet and dark -- perfect for sleeping. We have also a kitchen, bathrooms, lounge chairs, a roof, etc. The price is killing us at $12.50 for both of us.

more photos

photos up to Guanajuato

Guanajuato

We just ate lunch and are sitting back on the bus feeling much better.
As usual food does the trick. Eating here, at this point is
challenging because we don't know the customs. For instance we just
pulled up to this big meat restaurant with big grills and huge frying
vats outside of a large semi-open dining room. Of course we are
clueless so we wait intil we see how it is done. Eventually I just
ask to to start and they point me in the right direction. Before I
left on this trip I decided that I would not try too hard to be a
vegetarian because of situations like this -- there are not too many
options sometimes. Besides the grilled chicken was really tasty!

Moving back chronologically we left ABQ yesterday at about 11:30 am
and went to El Paso. Once we got to EP we hopped bus lines and took a
bus across the border to the large bus station in Juarez. This
entailed unloading and loading the bikes four times. The fifth time we
loaded the bikes was simple because the compartment underneath was big
enough that we just rolled the packed bikes on upright. Before then
we had to take off the bags and slide them in sideways. We got an 8pm
bus out of Juarez and have been on it since. We are due in Leon in an
hour or so. From there it is about half an hour on another bus to
Guanajuato, where we will stay for the night and ride south from. As
busses go it would be hard to beat this one in its comfort. I slept
fairly well through the night on the reclining seats. Still, it's
time to stop for a while.

Ted: The suspension is soft, but the driving is hard. This bus
traveling is almost preferable to flying on an airplane, due to the
quietness, and the ease of boarding. Nobody has asked about the
gasoline we're carrying on dad's bike, nor the knives in my glovebox.
However airlines are still faster. Overall, though I think busses are
a nice way to travel. Our bikes are loaded upright fully assembled
with bags, and the people we travel with are nice. I wish we had a
little more reading material, as I've finished brave new world 1.5
times, and now have only the cheesy dramas they put on the screen to
entertain me. But hey, they're funny enough (though perhaps not in the
ways the directors intended).

Ted, 5 hours later: We have entered mexico, and are in Guanajuato. The
ride into the city was...adrenalizing. We rode fast, and close to the
cars over painful cobblestone streets, and through throngs of kids
being let out of school. Quite an experience. I went to put in my
contacts this morning, and discovered that somehow I only had one
contact in the case. I suppose I must have lost the other one doing
something daring , like taking them out in a moving bus with no light.
This city is something else. It's got huge tunnels, and tall buildings
on either side of the roads. It's like San Francisco but different.
It's built on inclines closer to cliffs than hills. Every building
has more than one story, always, and some of the hills are beyond
reason.

10:15 am Monday, June 2nd

Tristan and Ted

Parting photo of Andy and Ted. They are biking to a bus station in Albuquerque and will take buses eventually down to Guanajuato, Mexico.
I am happy to see them pursuing this dream and on schedule, too!

Leaving the cats behind.

Ted says: I'm still, even upon the day of departure, acclimating to the idea of leaving the world of climate control and lazy felines for a life of travel. Packing up here, we have more space than last year (due to dad's larger bags), but the same amount of stuff, leaving us with the option of excess, and/or luxury. We've got more room than we know what to do with, so I suppose we're going to be filling the space up with food, or something. When I think of food, only three items come to mind: powdered soup, granola, and Cliff bars. A limited venue, I know but we may come upon more goodies to fill our bags while we're down there. Last year we went fast because we had a set destination, and only so much time to get there, this year we both look forward to a more leisurely pace, with more rest days, and fewer miles. My swiss cheese'd gloves from last year have since been replaced with less corroded gloves which have yet to bend themselves to my will, and hands. Tonight, we set off to find new lands, to boldly go where gringos have gone before. Armed only with our wits, and a pair of padded shorts we depart. Cue the Indiana Jones theme!

Technology test

Before I left home I wanted to test out my equipment and methods for publishing this blog while on the road. When traveling by bike methods vary widely. In Mexico there are usually internet cafes that you can use for a very reasonable fee. You can also use your own equipment if you can ind a wifi connection. I will probably use both methods. I have included pictures of my tiny pocket PC computer along with its foldable keyboard. We didn't have the keyboard last summer and it took a lot longer to write the daily entries. I also have a different camera that shares a common memory card between the computer and the camera. Now, I compose the blog entry as an email and send it, along with attached photos, to the blog host. Viola!

I have also included a before and after photo of Ted's annual shear.

We are semi ready to go. The major stuff is taken care of and we only have to pack. At this stage we are planning on leaving town at 11 a.m. Monday morning from the bus station a mile or two from our house. That bus line gets us as far south as Delicias, south of Cd. Chihuahua. From there we'll keep going. Change of plans... we'll switch bus lines in Juarez and head further south to our destination hopefully on the same bus.