Tuesday 21 October 2008

Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico

Surf´s up . . . . apparently! Having only just recovered from nipple rash after my last attempt at taming the waves in Baja I think I may opt out of surfing this time. Just stick with the apres surf hey! The hidden port of Puerto Escondido is world renowned for its surf and in particular, the Mexican Barrel! Sounds downright scary to me. There are also some vicious rips and currents so Stu and I will have to be super careful when paddling and wallowing.

Nobody recognises me anymore as I have just had my bouffant trimmed! It was getting a little out of hand and didn´t do me any favours in the overheating stakes. Now I resemble an American GI after the young senorita went for me with some clippers and a cut throat. I didn´t even realise I could say flat top in Spanish! It´ll always grow back greyer and thinner hey.

This is the first time on the trip that I have left my bike in the custody of another man. His name is Florenzo, moustache, about 5ft 6ins (big tash I know), kinda Mexican looking. Last seen wielding a large hammer above my bent and twisted panniers. I will return later this evening and, to be honest, I have no idea what shape the bike and panniers will be in!

After dabbling with some shots of Mezcal last night, we had a slow start this morning! Mezcal is an alcoholic drink largely produced in the state of Oaxaca. It´s similar to Tequila but made from a funky plant called Maguey and can be drunk with a worm in the bottle. Strong tasting stuff. Some say that the worm has halucinogenic and aprodisical properties but another Mexican said to us that if you drink the whole bottle and get to the worm then you´re bound to feel some effects. My bonse hitting the floor most likely.

We are now just 2 days riding from the Guatemalan border and our dark experience in Tijuana will not be forgotten. We´ll ensure that we arrive at the frontier at the crack of dawn, which should give us ample time for the formalities and perhaps a few informalities too! Adios.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hei du.
Why are you in Mexico when there is so much work to do here in Norway.

Freddy

Matt Cowing aka Big Bird said...

26th Oct, San Cristobal, Chiapas, Mexico. Having chowed down on the Mezcal worm last night, I can state that the effects were as follows: loss of coordination, dizziness, dehydration and a thumping head. I do recall hallucinating, with a image of my local curry house in my mind as I trawled the streets at 4am!