Tehuantepec

September 26, 2021 to September 27, 2021

September 26th, 2021

Leigh's nausea continued today and we both had dodgy stomachs this morning, neither of which have cleared up yet. Thank goodness today was a short ride.

Today was also pretty hot -well over thirty degrees by the time we started riding which was some time after nine o'clock. We are going to have to get used to starting earlier in the day now that we at close to sea level.

Despite our unhappy tummies, the heat and two onerous climbs, the ride to Tehuantepec wasn't too bad. The climbs were actually short and of gentle gradient but hills and heat are an unwelcome combination. Surprisingly our legs felt quite strong and once the hills were over we raced into Tehuantepec.

We're out of the mountains and on the plains ... for now.

The South African flag on my handle bar bag is look a bit past its sell by date. I spotted a small Mexican flag on the road today and was tempted to pick it up reasoning that Mexican drivers would be less likely to knock over a bicycle waving their flag.

We have booked into Hotel Calli on the outskirts of town. By all accounts one of the better options. It is certainly a lot pricier than our usual choice but there is a pool which we hope to make use of. We're going to spend two days resting here before heading north across the isthmus to the Gulf of Mexico.

The hotel is quite large. It has also seen better days. Even so, the pool is sparklingly clean and , to use an old SA term, wee-wee warm.

September 27th, 2021

We had vague thoughts of heading down to the coast at Salina Cruz to check out the Pacific Ocean and maybe even have a swim but we were both still struggling a bit with the effects of what we think was some dodgy pork in El Camaron. So we spent the whole day working, ending it with a swim in the lovely swimming pool (Leigh) and doing a bit of birding in the hotel's garden (me).

Golden-fronted woodpecker (Melanerpes aurifrons)

The wind across the isthmus will be in our favour, that is mostly south to north, on the day after tomorrow and the day following that. So tomorrow we will take a short ride to Juchitan de Zaragoza which lies at the southern entrance to the gap through the mountains that is at the narrowest point on the isthmus. Then we will hope to make as much of the distance to the Gulf of Mexico on the two days with the wind behind us. After that the forecast suggests many days of northerly winds, something we want to avoid.

Today's ride: 34 km (21 miles)
Total: 693 km (430 miles)

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