Nanacamilpa

September 4, 2021

We slept well last night but still woke up very early. Our body clocks will eventually get to where they should be. To make matters worse, the sun only rises after seven thirty and we have yet to reach the autumn equinox. Mexico's time zone is pretty weird.

We made sure that we took advantage of everything on offer at breakfast before setting out through the village and onto the lovely cycle path past the brewery. It was chilly but the skies were wonderfully clear and we had good views of the surrounding countryside.

Getting ready to leave the Hotel Colonia this morning.

The raw materials for the brewery grow all around it.

After the cycle path, the next eighteen kilometers were rather busy traffic-wise until we reached the town of Calpulalpan. Here we had a choice. Either stick to the busy road which would give us a longer but gentle climb to Nanacamilpa or take the shorter back road through the hills which promised less traffic but would have us climbing up to 2750 meters above sea level. What an easy choice.

Lovely views of Mount Tlaloc for much of today's ride. It reaches 4120 meters above sea level and is the 9th highest peak in Mexico.

The back road was an absolute delight. One of the steeper sections had me walking my bicycle for the first since somewhere in Patagonia. It was hard work but pleasantly so while the easier road would simply have been a slog. For the first time it felt that we were actually cycle touring again.

One of our many stops to catch our breath. Hills, high altitude and unfit older folk are a great combination.

Cosmos - reminds me of the South African Highveld.

The road is flat at this point but it was also the highest part of today's ride at about 2750m.

Our last views of Monte Tlaloc before it disappeared behind the clouds. We hadn't expected to see snow here.

We reached Nanacamilpa around one o'clock and started looking for somewhere to eat. Unfortunately Leigh's tummy started to get a bit anxious so we instead headed for what appears to be the only worthwhile hotel in town, the Hotel Molenio. It is a very simple family run place but Eduardo (the son I think) was happy for us to bring the bicycles inside and to call his mom to cook us some lunch. They usually only serve a simple breakfast so we were really grateful for them going out of their way for us.

Lunch was a classic Mexican meal - tortillas, refried beans, cactus leaf, a flattened chicken breast and a fried egg with chipotle and salsa verde on the side. A big jug of lime juice was there to wash it all down. I should have taken a photo but I was too busy eating.

Today's ride: 35 km (22 miles)
Total: 139 km (86 miles)

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