A Long Hot Day

Pijijiapan – Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico

Well, the bikes worked well. That was good. And the riding was beautiful. But we ended up going 93 miles. Our longest day yet. Big day for this old man – pulling and with loaded bikes.

Not enough energy for a real report . . . But we’ll cover a few of the bigger pieces . . .

First off, we landed in Tapachula, the last bigger town before Guatemala – and we are definitely in the border region. Huge government and police presence. Doctors Without Borders also had a huge presence. 

And we saw a ton of migrants – heading north – opposite us – on the roads. I didn’t take pictures of these people. Just didn’t seem right. They are in for a tough road ahead.

We ended up going to a bike shop – Bici Reffacciones Jazmin – in Huixtla, in order to purchase an extra tube. We met the owner, Ubaldo, there. When we mentioned the migrants he said they would have crossed the river – the Suchiate – illegally from Guatemala into Mexico. He talked about Trump and how the migrants would have a hard time in the States and might be better off seeking their fortunes in Mexico. 

I don’t know what will happen to these people – but I can tell you it is difficult to see people with no home, basically no possessions (most of them had either nothing or a small knapsack), and no place to go. 

Ubaldo himself worked in Los Angelas for seven years – after himself crossing illegally. After he returned to Mexico he worked in a bike shop in Mexico City before moving back to Huixtla, where he was from originally, and starting the shop. He said there used to be more shops in town but now everyone rides mopeds rather than bikes, so it’s a tougher industry than it used to be. 

When we asked Ubaldo about hotels in Huixtla he suggested we just push on to Tapachula – which is how we ended up with our 93 mile day . . . But we are better set up for our border crossing now so I guess it’s all good.

One other thing on the migrants. A few days ago – I think our first day out of Oaxaca – we saw some people – mostly on bikes – making their way north on the opposite ride of the road from us. I wasn’t quite sure then – but now I’m pretty sure that was a group of migrants as well.

It’s a real thing that’s for sure . . .

Other quick notables for the day . . .

Tons of pretty rivers.

Iguanas. I think I saw six good sized iguanas sunning themselves today. Never did get a good picture – but I tried a few times . . .

Saw some more beehives.

The mountains along route are still pretty – but we’re starting to be nervous about the tons of climbing we have ahead of us in Guatemala. I mean, we hear the rewards are great – but still, it sounds like 20,000+ feet of climbing to get there . . .

Wish us luck.