Twisties, Tuk Tuks & Thin Air
Days 17 & 18 Pines 2 Patagonia log
Puerto Escondido - San José del Pacifico - Salinas Cruz
We saddled up our ponies early Tuesday morning and road EAST for a change. As soon as we got out of town and started gaining elevation the temps dropped and our spirits began to rise once again.
Up to this point we had primarily stayed along the coast and had not done any exploration. These next few days opened our eyes to the beauty and mystery that the highlands of the Oaxaca Mountains have to offer.
After we jumped off the highway we were immediately met with sharp “twisties” and steep inclines. We stopped several times as we climbed up to an elevation of roughly 9,000’ above sea level to take in the views. They were stunning.
It’s still wild that we were riding along thousands of tall Coconut trees in the early morning and suddenly engulfed in thick forests of pine, cedar and cypress trees for as far as we could see.
As we continued to climb, we transitioned through about 6 or 7 tiny villages that time had forgotten and the world had left alone. The locals stopped and stared as our 3 motorcycles and there extraterrestrial looking jockeys motored across the cobble stone streets and flooded river crossings. Most were indifferent about us being there, some waved and smiled and some scoffed and went back to their chores.
The “roads” were unlike anything we had traversed up to this point. Some asphalt, some concrete, some dirt or rock and some that we will forever swear went straight up!
Once we got to San Jose del Pacifico it was clear we weren’t in Kansas anymore… it was funky, cool and way different than our last 16 days had been. We had a great little room and the dining options were really good.
We wandered the streets hopping in and out of shops with handmade goods, native attire, local elixirs and lots of Magic Mushroom themed items.
We checked off a bucket list item and rode a Tuk Tuk from town back up the mountain to our abode. It was a funny experience until we got shook down for another 20 pesos upon delivery, but we didn’t let that seal our joy.
The following morning we headed down the hill into uncharted territory. We took a left turn away from familiar roads and decided to figure it out for ourselves. This was unnerving a few times as we all asked where are we, but with a little trial and error and humility we again made it out of the unknown and back to civilization.
We took up residence is a great little home a few miles outside of Salinas Cruz. We were the only people there and again had the compound to ourselves.
After a little rest and changing our cloths we took the bikes for a short ride across town to a great little beach front spot where a nice couple made us a wonderful dinner.
When we returned to the house we began to plan out the next day’s adventure and sacked out early after some long but very memorable days in the mountains.
