I left Zipolite wanting to get to some cooler temps and I was also in search of a new front tire. Seems like straight north to Oaxaca City was the best place to go.
Oaxaca sits at a very comfortable 5000 ft elevation, which in the tropics makes for a nearly perfect climate of warm, dry days and cool, but not cold nights and mornings. I immediately like the place. The city sits in a valley surrounded by mountains in an arid climate. The climate, topography and scenery remind me of Reno, NV. I know that sounds funny but if you were to visit both cities the similarity in the surrounding terrain and environment would be quite noticeable.
Its yet another interesting colonial city, famous for its Mezcal and Moles. Unfortunately I didnt do anything touristy here except wander around and take a few photos. Being a tourist is hard work, and after doing it for a couple of months straight I got tired of it. I was happy to sit in my hotel courtyard and relax.
I was on a mission to find a fresh front tire for the bike, and it didnt take long as a shop was just a few blocks from the hotel. So I went in and ordered a tire, which I was informed would take a few days to arrive from Guadalajara.
So there was nothing to do except relax, catch up on some internet stuff and take a few photos. This was some kind of flag ceremony in the main square, but I never did figure out exactly what was going on.
And of course, more churches………..
I saw this interesting Yamaha while walking around town. I’m not sure exactly what it is, but I have not seen one in the States, and it looks like it would make a really nice adventure touring bike.
Then of course there are the usual Mexican roof dogs around town……………
Mission accomplished: 80 dollars and 4 days later, fresh rubber for the front. I’m a happy camper.
Time to say goodbye to the folks at the hotel and make some tracks toward Chiapas.
I didnt visit any of the tourist sites around Oaxaca. Yeah I know, pretty lame huh? I was just not in tourist mode and was content to walk around town and not really do much of anything. It was some nice down time in a pleasant hotel.
Once my tire arrived I decided to head out of town and make tracks toward the state of Chiapas. When I stopped at a Pemex to fuel up, a group of Harleys came riding by and one of them peeled off from the group and rode up next to me while the rest of them parked nearby in the parking lot. The guy tells me that their “leader” wanted to talk to me and then pointed me in his direction. I met the leader, and he asked me where I was going and where I had come from. He then introduced everyone as the Legionarios motorcycle club and told me that they were headed the same direction as I was, and they would like it very much if I rode with them. Cool.
I was given a place in the formation and off we went. Being good Harley riders, they of course had to stop for food and beer about 30 minutes after we started.
Over food and beer, I learn that these guys are from Oaxaca and they are headed to Cozumel for a big annual club party where there will be hundreds of riders in attendance. None of them spoke any English, but they were very patient with my horrible Spanish, and asked me numerous questions about my travels. Although my brain began to hurt after conjuring up answers in Spanish to the multiple questions, we did have a lot of laughs about my Spanish. However they assured me that I was doing well and they could understand me quite easily. One guy that had a constant grin on his face started laughing about my pronunciation of something. (I’m sure what I said was probably hilarious to a native speaker) But another guy chimed in and replied, dont laugh too hard because his Spanish is a hell of a lot better than your English. These guys were obviously a total crack up and really fun to hang with.
Then the leader, Jose, said that they would be honored if I would come with them to their club fiesta in Cozumel. Wow, that sounds cool. I thought about it and really wanted to go with them, but I was feeling the need to get to Chiapas, get an oil change done and take off for the cooler temps of the higher mountain elevations. In retrospect, I should have gone with them as it would have been great for my Spanish and I’m sure I would have had an awesome time.
As we parted ways quite a few miles later at a road junction as we stopped for a pic, exchanged phone numbers and emails, they wished me safe travels. In addition they told me that if I had any problems the rest of the way through Mexico and Guatemala I should contact them and they would help me with whatever I needed. Very cool. Gracias amigos.
Adios Legionarios, it was great riding with you.
As they headed north towards Villahermosa, I headed east to Tuxtla Gutierrez. Next stop is Tuxtla, then San Cristobal de las Casas where I would meet a bunch of adventure rider and wind up with a passenger for a few days.