Zipolite to Puerto Arista

Day 20 – Zipolite to Puerto Arista

Today, February 20th, is the birthday of a very important person in my life:

Ken Griffey Jr.

Just kidding. I have no clue when his birthday is, but it could be today right?

Today is actually my girlfriend’s birthday. The wonderful Tiana was born twenty-eight years ago on this very day. To say that I wouldn’t have a blog without her is to say the very least. I wouldn’t have a lot of things, and I wouldn’t be a lot of things. So, thank you to Tiana for being born.

So, on to today. I didn’t want to leave Zipolite as the pace there is truly addictive. However, I sort of had a mini panic attack when I realized that I still have over 2000 km and 6 border crossings to go before I reach Panama City. And I have exactly two weeks to do it all.

As I was getting ready to leave Zipolite, I got talking with an older Canadian from Alberta. He was surprised that I hadn’t had any trouble with authorities yet. He said that in Acapulco he was pulled over for not signalling a lane change. This is a funny charge as turn signals seem to only be used to say “go ahead, pass me on whichever side’s signal is flashing.” Therefore, when people pull over to the right, they ofter put their left turn signal on!

Anyway, when he pulled out his wallet to give the officer his license, the cop got a glimpse of the stack of 500 peso bills in there. He immediately told the guy it was a $300 American fine. He also said that if he didn’t like it he could come back to the police station. That’s kinda rough. I probably would have called the guy’s bluff and opted for the police station. Actually, I probably wouldn’t have a stack of 500′s in the first place.

I left at around 11am with my sights set on Juchitan de Zaragoza, about 200km away. I didn’t need to go all out, but I did want to rack up some kilometres, just for peace of mind. I thought I could make it to Tonala, but I didn’t want to ride too late.

Oaxaca Mountains & Me!

Remember when I told you about my bony ass? It’s still bony. Boney? I’m pretty sure it’s bony. Boney M. spelled it like that to be different. Just trust me…….stop looking it up. Anyway, at about the 200km mark each day, my buttcheeks start to hurt. And it only gets worse as the miles and potholes rack up. It’s getting tough to do more than 3-400km a day without repeated lunge/squat breaks.

I reached Juchitan at about 1:30pm and thought, “That’s all?? I ain’t done yet!” So I pulled out my Lonely Planet Mexico guide and checked out my options. The obvious one was Puerto Arista, described as a “small fishing town and part-time tourist destination”. I pressed on, with some vague directions to a campground.

After cruising through Puerto Arista and checking out the beach, I found Jose’s Cabanas y Camping. Jose is a Canadian – an Ontarian to be more specific – who moved to Puerto Arista a few decades ago. When he purchased his rather large piece of land, he covered it all with various fruit trees. His campground is essentially a few cabins and campsites set in an orchard. There are coconut trees (palm trees?), mango trees, lime trees, cashew trees, among others.

There is also access to a heavily wooded river, and a canoe! I’ll definitely make use of that, time permitting. There are also two Canadian couples staying at the campground, one from B.C., the other from Quebec. Both have VW Westfalia campers. I’m so jealous. I want. Real bad.

Anyway, After setting up my tent (at 60 pesos, or about $4.50), Jose invited me up to the roof of his house to watch the sunset. We drank beer and chatted about Canada, Mexico, golf- which I know nothing about- and whatever else crossed our minds. Jose then made me quesadillas for dinner, while I looked at a map to try to figure out the next day’s plan.

Campsite in Puerto Arista

After dinner I hung around with Jose a bit more while he smoked cigarettes and more. We also chatted with the couple from B.C. for a bit. Drew and Nancy (cue the Nancy Drew jokes, if anyone still remembers who that was) are two of the nicest people I’ve ever met.

After a while it was time for a birthday phone call to my girlfriend! I was kind of bummed that there isn’t wifi at Jose’s, as I would have loved to Skype with Tiana, but alas, I was forced to use some of my travel package’s minutes. She’s worth it though.

All in all, a good day. I wish I could spend more time in almost every place I’ve been. If I had it my way this trip would take triple the time I’m taking. But in that ideal world I’d also have enough money to make it last that long as well