February 15th 2024 – Mazunté, México

Despite an early start it was scorching hot as we made our way out of Oaxaca.
South of the city we made good progress on newly paved topaz free sections of Hwy 175. We were not the only ones enjoying the smooth surfaces. Most everyone was speeding well over the posted limit.

After a couple of months in the country I have learned that traffic rules are only suggestions in Mexico. You can go as fast as you like, pass wherever you want and the color of traffic lights have no meaning. Add to that, that a driver’s license doesn’t require any education or test, only money, and you begin to understand why you should be ready for anything when navigating traffic. The lack of any kind of standardized training also explains why there is no rhyme or reason behind how the Mexicans use the turn signals.
The most popular is to flash your left turn signals. It can mean that you intend to turn left – or that the road ahead is clear for you to overtake – or that it’s not – or that the car is pulling left to make a right turn – or maybe a U-turn – or maybe the driver just thinks it looks cool..?

After about an hour we followed the “old” Hwy 175 up into the mountains. Until a week ago it was the route that everyone followed to get to the coast, but the 4th of this month a new expressway opened that cuts the drive time from Oaxaca to the coast down from 6 to 3 hours. It will be a toll road eventually, but for the rest of 2024, while they are building the toll booths, it will be free to use. As a result only the locals, tourists visiting San José del Pacifico or people who want to ride the legendary road use the old route through Sierra Madre del Sur.

As soon as we started climbing out of the valley the views and the riding became spectacular.

I had been looking for a place to stay in San José del Pacifico, but what I could find was either very expensive and crappy or just expensive and real crappy. In the end I settled for one night at an Airbnb in La Venta 5 kilometers further north that fitted our budget.

Early afternoon we pulled up in front of our accommodation. It was an old refurbished bar by the side of the main road. At first glance it didn’t impress. Then we stepped inside. It was surprisingly spacious and cozy, but what really made the place stand out was the view from the windows.
When I booked the place I asked the landlord about secure parking for the bikes. She had offered that we could bring the bikes inside if they could fit through the door. The small Hondas fitted just fine. It was cool having them parked next to the bed.

The place was so nice that we immediately extended our stay an extra day.
Sites like booking-dot-com and Airbnb are great for locating nice and interesting places to stay that you otherwise wouldn’t have found. Our modus operandi since we left the US has been to book 1 or 2 nights in advance – either the day before or the same day we arrive. When we get there, and if we really like the place, we then negotiate a cash price for an extended stay. Usually we end up paying between ½ and ⅔ of the listed price.

With the bikes left in the room to enjoy the view, we went for a walk in the village. It was rough but charming. We did a bit of shopping and grabbed a “Torta” for lunch.
The small roadside restaurant was owned and run by a young guy who had returned to Mexico 9 years earlier after having spent the first 19 years of his life as an illegal immigrant in the US. When he first arrived in Mexico he didn’t speak a word of Spanish. Since then he has not only learned the language but become an intrapreneur with a couple of small businesses and several projects on the drawing board.

Fast moving clouds constantly changed the view from our room.
The sunset that evening was magical.
I spent the evening catching up on this week’s 3 days MotoGP test at Sepang. I can’t wait for the 2024 season to take off!

It was a cold but beautiful morning. The view from the room continued to amaze us.
After breakfast we called for a Mototaxi to take us to San José del Pacifico 5 km down the road. It cost almost nothing and saved us from walking around in riding gear. The town came highly recommended by several people we had talked to. From my unsuccessful hunt for reasonable accommodation in town I had a sneaky suspicion about what we would find. Lo and behold, I was right.

The place had charming touches here and there, but generally it was a dump. Calling it a town was more than the ramshackle collection of buildings on a mountain side deserved.
It consisted of businesses catering mainly for tourists in search of a spiritual high assisted by psychedelic mushrooms. We encountered several backpacker type travelers with vacant eyes, in dire need of a shower and a haircut. I’ve visited similar “alternative” communities that embrace drug use. They have all been in various states of disrepair. It seems to me like spirituality and drug use is often used as an excuse for laziness.

The locals working in town were the most reserved and unwelcoming Mexicans I’ve ever met. Observing the state and behavior of several of the other tourists in town I understand why.

Don’t get me wrong – the area is beautiful, it’s just San José del Pacifico itself that I find repulsive. After a couple of hours in town we had had enough and hailed a Mototaxi to take us back to La Venta. Back at our cabin we enjoyed the quiet and the view.

We got up early to get rolling while the temperatures were still pleasantly cool. Hwy 175 turned out to be every bit as good as expected. The road is one long combination of curves all the way to the coast. For the most part it was deserted. Numerous food stands and other small businesses along the road indicated that it used to be much more busy. I don’t believe many of the places will survive for long, now that the new expressway to the coast has diverted most of the traffic. We did what we could by stopping for lunch at one of them.

The temperatures and humidity went through the roof in the afternoon. It’s the price of leaving the mountains this far south. A few kilometers before we reached the coast we checked in at a small hotel. It had 4 rooms besides the ones occupied by the lovely couple, Rita and Abdias, who owned and ran the place. It was a charming place, but the main selling point was the swimming pool. Only riders can appreciate how wonderful it is to get out of the riding gear after a hot day and immerse the body in pleasantly cool water.

We stayed for two nights. It gave us an opportunity to acclimatize a bit to the heat. Not wearing riding gear and having a pool within easy reach helped a lot. I pushed the envelope by going for an 8k run in the midday heat during our rest day. Katrine wisely decided to spend the time doing laps in the pool instead.
Besides the hotel there also was a small building with 4 apartments at the back of the premises. Our hosts owned that as well and rented out long term to friends. Everyone hung out around the house during the day and every night they cooked dinner together in the open hotel kitchen facing the porch. It created a relaxed and homelike atmosphere.
Several charming dogs kept an eye on things around the property. By the second day they had included Katrine and me in the pack.
Rita spoiled us with gourmet breakfasts consisting of a variety of traditional Mexican dishes. In the evening she treated us with delicious desserts. She was gifted in a kitchen!

After 2 days we relocated to Mazunté right at the coast. It’s the sea turtle capital of the world and the reason we left the mountains. Katrine wanted to visit the sea turtle museum. It had been closed for the last 2 days which was why we had stalled at a hotel a bit further inland where you get more for less.
It required determination to gear up for the short ride to the coast. We were drenched in sweat just from getting dressed. During my run the previous day I had discovered a scenic dirt road shortcut that halved the distance to our next destination.
Both Katrine and I were struggling with the heat, when we turned off the bikes in the shade of our hotel in Mazunté. It was so hot and humid that getting out of the riding gear didn’t make much of a difference.

This was a stark reminder of why we had stayed in the mountains as we made our way south through Mexico.
Maybe it’s our northern heritage, but we really don’t thrive in the heat. We had booked 2 nights in town and I’m not one for wasting money. We needed to endure and get the best out of our visit.

Mazunté turned out to be a laid back beach town off the beaten path. It seems to attract European expats and the ecotourism crowd. The place is packed with vegan restaurants, funky bars, spiritual offerings and it often smelled like a Cheech and Chong movie set. All parts fitted well together and created an authentic setting and a funky atmosphere.

Our first stop in town was the National Mexican Turtle Center. We had been told that it was an amazing place. Recurring hurricanes and earthquakes had unfortunately taken its toll on the place and most of it was closed and being restored when we visited. It was a big disappointment.

Next stop the beach. We needed to cool down. The water was nice but nowhere near cool enough to soothe our overheated bodies. In the end we staggered back to our room, took a long cold shower and lay wet on the bed with the room fans blowing directly at us. Not until the shadows grew long and our appetite persuaded us did we venture out again. Before dinner we dropped off our laundry with a lady in a dusty alley downtown. Hopefully we’ll get it back tomorrow.
A benefit of all the European expats that have settled down during the last 5 decades is the variation of food on offer. We settled on Italian. Thank God it was good! We needed something to take our mind off the heat.
Back at our room we dressed down to our underwear, pointed the fans at us and created the next chapter of our travelogues.