Friday November 5th
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| Cathedral in Jerez de Salinas |
Packed, breakfast and on the road by 9:30 (that’s pretty good for us). Today we ride towards Guadalajara. After the last experience we decided to break it up into a 2-day ride. We took the highway towards Zacatecas and ended up in Jerez de Garcia Salinas, a smaller town southwest of Zacatecas. The ride was good, traveling along high desert and then through some mountainous areas. We were up around 5000 feet so the was cool and somewhat clean. One thing I’m noticing is a lack of garbage along the roadside. I don’t know if the government has finally cracked down or maybe this part of Mexico in more environmentally sensitive. I guess I’ll find out the further south I go. The usual cluster f%#k finding a place to stay. We picked this town because it was relatively small (36000) but it was just as confusing as Durango was. We have learned to aim for the cathedral, this is normally the center of town but with random one-way streets it’s sometimes hard toe get there. Also the streets are narrow and parking hard. Perpetual Motion is key but often doesn’t allow enough time to get your bearings. We did find a nice place to stay with secure parking for the bikes. Dinner on the square and a walk around town before retiring to bed. Every night there is music in the streets. It may be part of the Day of the Dead calibration or maybe they are just having fun.
Saturday
Yet another slow morning but we only have 180 miles to go
today to reach Guadalajara. Again it’s high desert then into the mountains. A
brilliant ride with lots of small villages and great scenery. The landscape is
lined with stonewalls instead of cattle fencing. Our goal was to make it to a
hotel recommended to us by some friends of a friend of John’s. Simple
instructions: Drive straight into town, under the overpass and just beyond the
Grand Plaza (you can’t miss it) you will find the hotel. NOT! After driving
around during, what appeared as, rush hour for 30 minutes we stopped to ask
directions. I guess we missed a turn (what turn? We were supposed to drive
straight!) Anyway another 30 minutes and we find what we think is “the Hotel”
We go to check in and find out it’s $140 a night (that really cuts deep into
our $80 a day budget)! Fortunately they have no rooms. This forces us to find a
cheaper place down the road for $55 a night. They give us secure parking and a
great room with AC and a TV. Beers before dinner and a walk find us in the
biggest mall in Guadalajara. The only restaurant we could find open besides a
Steak house smorgasbord was a VIP. Yep the same as in the states. The only
difference being the servers were much cuter and didn’t speak a lick of
English. A walk home and hit the sheets around midnight.
Sunday
Shit! Just miss the Valencia Moto GP. Sounds like it was a
awesome race. Breakfast at the hotel and it’s off to the mall! Looking for ear
speakers (mine failed), a battery and charger for the camera (left the
originals in a hotel in LA Paz) and a new Kindle (mine failed when I hastily
packed it without protecting the screen). After 3 hours of shopping I ended up
with ear speakers, sun block and a bottle of wine. Tonight we go and stay with
the friends of a friend of John’s. More to follow…….
After 3 hours in the mall I got my ear speakers and nothing
else. Funny, malls in Mexico are just as tiring as malls in the US. Starbucks,
Subway and many of the same stores abound. The main difference is there are no
maps of the mall anywhere so you are forced to cover all 3 floors to look for
whatever. We then got directions to Lalo and Gini’s house and found it without
to much trouble. They actually have a number of homes, one in Salulita, one in
Mexico City and one here. This one is for getting away from work and relaxing.
It’s a beautiful home up in the hills above Guadalajara in a gated area
protected by the police. So safe I forgot my key in the bike and it was there
the next morning!
Monday November 7th
Lalo and Gina escorted us to 1st a BMW
shop where I got a new rear tire and then to EuroBike to drop off Max and Johns
bike to be worked on. It was a blessing having Gina with us as she acted as
translator to the mechanics on what we wanted done with the bikes.
Lalo and
Gina then took us to Tlaquepaque, an old section of Guadalajara that has very
high-end shops and good restaurants. It was the area where their revolution
began (I think). It appears Lalo and Gina are very well respected here. After
lunch the server offered us margaritas on the house. Of course I, out of
respect for our hosts, could not refuse so after 2 beers I had a margarita
followed up by a special blended margarita they called a tamrindo margarita.
Since the bikes wouldn’t be ready until tomorrow we headed home for some well-deserved
naps (I mean siestas). Gina once again served a delicious meal followed by
another fitful sleep.
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| Found a rear tire for my bike! |
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| Gina, Lalo and the boyz |
Tuesday
The bikes should be ready by late morning so we lazed around
the house doing laundry and such until Lalo could give us a ride into town. When
we got to the MC shop neither bike had received any attention so we hailed a
cab and went to the central area of Guadalajara. We did the mericado thing and
got a excellent lunch there consisting of 3 tocos, a chili and a pop for $2.50.
After we walked around the central area. Strip clubs, Nintendo salesmen and 16th
century cathedrals. We caught a
cab back to the bike shop to find John’s bike about done but Max’s a way to go.
In the meantime I had left my bike after changing the rear tire. This shop prides
itself on cleaning the bikes even if they hadn’t worked on them so about the
time we wanted to leave (getting home before dark is a priority of mine) a guy
starts washing my bike. They just don’t wash it they clean the engine, wash the
frame, rims and everything else then wax and apply plastic polish! By the time
he was done it was frigin dark! John’s bike was done so Max hoped on mine and
we rode back to Gina’s. Of course Gina was waiting for us with dinner ready and
we enjoyed another evening with them.
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| Lalo, the Tin Man and a blind beggerman |
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| Max in Guad. |
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| Even though they did nothing to my bike Victor and Euro Sports gave it a good washing! |
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| The Boys at Euro Sports who were most helpful and generous! |
Wednesday
We get to the shop around noon and find the mechanic still
working on the bike. After lots of translating and pointing we start to make
progress on the bike. They have gone through the entire bike and it still runs
rough. Max finally convinces him to take the carburetor apart. He finds that
the choke cable had come completely out, causing the choke to be partially on
causing the bike to run rich. Long story short the bike was done around 5:30
and in the meantime we have become great friends with the entire shop. Leaving
was with great sorrow. Lots of pictures and goodbye and the bill…..
The bill….. They had at least 10 hours on the POS KTM plus
parts and charged us $320!
The shop rate is $23 hour and the mechanic was trained in Montréal
at a KTM school.
He really knew his shit and accomplished what the KTM shop
in Bellingham could not.
They ended up charging us for 5 hours labor, nothing for
changing my tire and washing my bike. After tipping all involved we rode back
to the house for one last night before resuming the ride south.
Pictures to follow……..
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