After cycling up to Oaxaca, I stayed in the city for a whole Month learning Spanish, visiting archaeological sites & spending lots of time in the lively markets.
30.10.05: One of the many rivers coming down from the foothills of the 'Sierra Madre del Sur' in the lovely state of Oaxaca. I reached the state of Oaxaca on the 30.10.'05 after cycling about 2000 km along the Mexican coast. It was a great relief to leave the coast and cycle up endlessly long hills in the cool and fresh mountain air of the 'Sierra madre del Sur'.
right: A Mexican family, gathering riversand to build a house.
left: The village of Amuzgos in the foothills of the 'Sierra Madre del Sur'. I spent one night in the village of Amuzgos. The Amuzgos woman are still dressed up in their lovely traditional dresses. Before I got going the next morning I observed a pig being slaughtered right on the pavement, next to the market.
right: my dinner after a hard day of cycling. Often the little villages did not offer much else than fruit, vegetables and meat which had been lying around all day....so I often just preferred to eat vegetables. The avocados proved to be a great source of energy and stilled my appetite in the evening. Usually eating 2 every night.
left: a typical honey farm on a slope in the foothills of the mountains. The road up to Putla has hundreds of bends and switchbacks and the going was rather slow but incredibly scenic.
I left Putla on the 31.10.05 and cycled all the way to the top of the 'Sierra Madre del Sur' at 2400m above sea level. It was a 55km uphill. I thought the pass would never come to an end but the scenery was amazing.
left: The plaza at Tlaxiaco. The town lies at 2000m and is truly a great place. It is a typical Mixtecan town with a great market. I had not seen a single white person since I left Acapulco and it is awesome being a lonely tourist in a valley with such a rich cultural background. The people welcomed me in all the towns (probably more because they had never seen anyone cycle past their village!).
02.11.'05: It was 'Dia de Muertos'. (the day of the dead). A huge day for celebrating the dead in and around the graveyards. Houses, shops and restaurants put up great decorations with sweets, fruit, bread and other food. The graveyards were covered with hundreds of flowers and were beautifully decorated.
left: to cycle on the Mexican altiplano is lovely. Lots of pine trees and cool, clean mountain air makes the cycling really enjoyable.
right: The Mixtec archaeological site at Huamelulpan. On the way I passed this lovely village situated in the hills at 2300m. At the end of the village one can walk around in the archaeological area, not a person to be seen!
left: Cycling past a mountain village called Teposcolula in the heart of the Sierra Madre del Sur on 'Dia de Muertos', (day of the dead) on the 2nd November, I passed a mob of 'ghosts and skeletons'. The 'day of the dead' is one of the biggest festivals in Mexico!
After a hilly but very enjoyable ride through the mountains, I reached Oaxaca on the 3.11.2005. It is probably the most interesting city that I have ever visited. It has a colonial heart of narrow straight streets, liberally sprinkled with lovely stone buildings. The markets selling local art work, fruit and vegetables, clothes etc etc is just amazing and one needs days to see it all!
left: Typical Oaxacan street.
A Zapotecan woman, falling asleep in the middle of all the 'hustle and bustle'. I suppose a day of working at the busy market is more exhausting than cycling!
right: A street vendor with hundreds of balloons at the Zócalo. The city centre is lively! Bands play, people dance to music at the Zócalo and it is just great to sit down, relax and watch the 'tranquilo' Mexican life!
left: my class at the 'Instituto Cultural Oaxaca'. On Monday 7.11.2005, I started my 4 week Spanish course in Oaxaca. I was really happy at this school, even though it was a tough start, starting off with 'Preterito Indefinido' (past tense), was quite a blow on the first day. (they had put me in this class according to a entry examination) and it did not get any easier....harder by the day!!!!. Our teacher, Alma, was excellent and she explained everything in a very understandable manner.
right: The courtyard at the school. The courtyard is a great place for the 'conversation' class under the trees. After 3 hours of grammar it was relaxing to have a session out in the green. After lunch I spent time with a university student for our 'intercambio'. This is a exchange program where we speak Spanish for a while and then English, so we both learn the other language.
...and after 5 hours of Spanish I attended a 2 hour cooking class in the afternoons. It was a lot of fun, learning how to make the delicious Mexican salsas (sauces) and food, mostly with original cooking utensils. Then it was time to go home and do homework. I was glad when the weekend arrived......more tired than any of my cycling days!!!!
On the weekends there is so much to do around Oaxaca. On the 13.11.2005, together with 3 other students, we visited the ancient Zapotec city of 'Monte Albán'. This archaeological city is situated on top of a hill overlooking the valley and the city of Oaxaca and is truly amazing!
left: The view from the southern platform at Monte Albán, overlooking the grand plaza. How the people flattened the top of the mountain, 2500 years ago is just amazing.
right:Monte Albán together with Mitul, Liz and Catrina, 3 students attending the course at the 'Instituto Cultural Oaxaca'.
right: looking out of one of the ancient tombs at Monte Albán.
Visiting the Sunday market in Tlacolula (31km from Oaxaca) is a lively and fun experience!!
left: Typical, colourful Oaxacan art work called 'alebrijes' at the market in Tlacolula.
right: A Oaxacan woman with her chicken at the market in Tlacolula. Mmmh... chicken soup for dinner!!
The ruins at the 'Zapotec' town of Mitla (about 50km from Oaxaca), date back to a religious centre built a good 3 centuries before the spanish conquest. It was probably the most important Zapotec religious centre, dominated by high priests who performed human sacrifices.
The ruins show some fantastic stonework and a visit to the underground chamber was really interesting. It is believed that there could be an undiscovered tomb of Zapotec kings somewhere under the city.
In the last week of November 2005 we decided to have a party at our 'posada'. Well it was actually Liz and Sophie (the 2 girls staying at the posada with me) who wanted to cook everything that we had learnt in our cooking class! Man.......was it a lot of work! I was only happy once all the food was on the table!!!
left: 'Africa' pressing tortillas for our party at the 'posada'. Africa's parents run the 'posada' at which I have been staying at. It has been great fun staying at 'Posada del Fortin'. Liz and Sophie who were also staying there, came up with an idea to have a party. Liz and Sophie put in hours of work making chicken soup, salsas, etc etc.
right: Together with Sabine (swiss), Patricia and her daughter, Africa, we made a huge pot of 'Gaucomole' for the party which we held for some class mates who attended classes at the 'Instituto Cultural Oaxaca'.
left: Our classmates and guests in our kitchen area (out on the patio) at 'Posada del Fortin', This has been my home while staying in Oaxaca.
right: On the last weekend in November 2005, I visited 'Hierve el Agua' (the water boils). Well, it is actually not boiling water at all!! It is rather a cold 18 degrees Celsius mountain spring! We (Carolann, a student also attending Spanish classes and I) took a rough and dusty ride in the back of a pickup truck to get to this place way up in the mountains.
left: The cliffs at 'Hierve el Agua', encrusted with petrified minerals, giving the appearance of a huge frozen waterfall is truly amazing to see, set in a beautiful environment.
right: The 18 degree bathing pool at 'Hierve el Agua' up in the mountains. Yes, I did go for a dip...it was really refreshing!! I have probably never had a dip in a pool with such a fine view!
left: Williams (my intercambio and a Oaxacan university student) and I at the 'Instituto Cultural Oaxaca'. 'Intercambio' is an exchange program organised by the school. For an hour each day we would teach one another. Usually half an hour Spanish and then half an hour English. It was a great opportunity to learn about each others typical lives, cultures and opinions.
right: 02.12.2005 Our last day at school for the 2 hour afternoon lesson (communication). It was a great class and we really had stacks of fun with our teacher, Raul (the guy in the red T-shirt). However, John, Jake, Caleb and I could hardly wait to get our legs moving up some steep mountains. After 4 weeks of school, I desperately needed more exercise and so we were off to climb the highest mountains in Mexico. See my next stage: Mexicos volcanoes.
left: Christmas at the Zocalò in Oaxaca.
right: I left Oaxaca on the 30.01.2005. After not cycling for nearly 2 months, it was good to be back on the road. What I did not know was that the first day would come to an abrupt end after 70km. I had reached the top of the pass leading from the highlands down to the coast over a series of 3 passes. The first hill, a 30km downhill is a bikers dream.....or maybe not! Yes, I had a terrible 'wipe out', while going down the hill, I moved off to one side to let a car pass. I realized too late that under my wheel, there was no tar but loose gravel. I went flying like in one of those 'red bull adverts'. I skidded across the gravel to find myself bleeding very heavily. Luckily 2 Mexicans came to the rescue and took me to the next 24 hour clinic in the next village. Well...so much for a 24 hour clinic, no one was there so they put me in the next bus going back over the pass. By the time I had reached Matatlàn I was in great pain. The doctor gave me some injections and started cleaning out the wounds and he had to take out a number of stones between the flesh and bone. That evening and the next day I spent much time with the doctor and his family. They took great care of me, giving me plenty of Mezcal. 2 days later I tried to cycle again but I had to give up after 2 days (200km) because my arm was swollen up like a python.
So I stayed in Tehuantepec for another 2 days relaxing, giving my arm, leg and waist time to recover. There is a little university in Tehuantepec (only English and French is taught there), so I spent much time in the classroom talking English with the students. One student, Carmen took great care of me and showed me all around the place for a full day. With some other students I spent a day at the beach near Salina Cruz.
right: At the beach with some students!
I left Tehuantepec together with Matt. I had met Matt in Oaxaca. Matt also had a wipeout a few days earlier and needed his leg x-rayed in Tehuantepec. So we set off together on the 06.01.2006 and rode towards the southernmost state of Chiapas. For 2 days we had extremely heavy wind. We both were swept into ditches a few times by the exceptionally heavy wind.
right: Matt and I, having a break at a roadside 'tienda'.
left:Near the town of Tonalà. We had just made it to the town before the sun set. The mountain scenery is lovely in Chiapas.
right: I thoroughly enjoyed the ride through Chiapas. A lovely state in Mexico!
The Panamerican Highway was badly hit in October 2005 by severe floods. One can see the destruction the floods did to the highway. A good 60% of the bridges have been washed away! Tapachula was the last Mexican city which I visited on the 9.1.2006. It was time to say good bye to Mexico. I left Mexico with a heavy heart. I had so many nice experiences in Mexico which I will surely not forget. The people, culture and country really inspired me. A country which I definitely want to come back to! Good bye Mexico! Next stage see: Guatemala (stage 16), previous stages see Mexicos volcanoes and The central Pacific coast
30.10.05: One of the many rivers coming down from the foothills of the 'Sierra Madre del Sur' in the lovely state of Oaxaca. I reached the state of Oaxaca on the 30.10.'05 after cycling about 2000 km along the Mexican coast. It was a great relief to leave the coast and cycle up endlessly long hills in the cool and fresh mountain air of the 'Sierra madre del Sur'.
right: A Mexican family, gathering riversand to build a house.
left: The village of Amuzgos in the foothills of the 'Sierra Madre del Sur'. I spent one night in the village of Amuzgos. The Amuzgos woman are still dressed up in their lovely traditional dresses. Before I got going the next morning I observed a pig being slaughtered right on the pavement, next to the market. 
right: my dinner after a hard day of cycling. Often the little villages did not offer much else than fruit, vegetables and meat which had been lying around all day....so I often just preferred to eat vegetables. The avocados proved to be a great source of energy and stilled my appetite in the evening. Usually eating 2 every night.
left: a typical honey farm on a slope in the foothills of the mountains. The road up to Putla has hundreds of bends and switchbacks and the going was rather slow but incredibly scenic.
I left Putla on the 31.10.05 and cycled all the way to the top of the 'Sierra Madre del Sur' at 2400m above sea level. It was a 55km uphill. I thought the pass would never come to an end but the scenery was amazing. 
left: The plaza at Tlaxiaco. The town lies at 2000m and is truly a great place. It is a typical Mixtecan town with a great market. I had not seen a single white person since I left Acapulco and it is awesome being a lonely tourist in a valley with such a rich cultural background. The people welcomed me in all the towns (probably more because they had never seen anyone cycle past their village!).
02.11.'05: It was 'Dia de Muertos'. (the day of the dead). A huge day for celebrating the dead in and around the graveyards. Houses, shops and restaurants put up great decorations with sweets, fruit, bread and other food. The graveyards were covered with hundreds of flowers and were beautifully decorated.
left: to cycle on the Mexican altiplano is lovely. Lots of pine trees and cool, clean mountain air makes the cycling really enjoyable.
right: The Mixtec archaeological site at Huamelulpan. On the way I passed this lovely village situated in the hills at 2300m. At the end of the village one can walk around in the archaeological area, not a person to be seen! 
left: Cycling past a mountain village called Teposcolula in the heart of the Sierra Madre del Sur on 'Dia de Muertos', (day of the dead) on the 2nd November, I passed a mob of 'ghosts and skeletons'. The 'day of the dead' is one of the biggest festivals in Mexico!
After a hilly but very enjoyable ride through the mountains, I reached Oaxaca on the 3.11.2005. It is probably the most interesting city that I have ever visited. It has a colonial heart of narrow straight streets, liberally sprinkled with lovely stone buildings. The markets selling local art work, fruit and vegetables, clothes etc etc is just amazing and one needs days to see it all!
left: Typical Oaxacan street. 
A Zapotecan woman, falling asleep in the middle of all the 'hustle and bustle'. I suppose a day of working at the busy market is more exhausting than cycling! 
right: A street vendor with hundreds of balloons at the Zócalo. The city centre is lively! Bands play, people dance to music at the Zócalo and it is just great to sit down, relax and watch the 'tranquilo' Mexican life! 
left: my class at the 'Instituto Cultural Oaxaca'. On Monday 7.11.2005, I started my 4 week Spanish course in Oaxaca. I was really happy at this school, even though it was a tough start, starting off with 'Preterito Indefinido' (past tense), was quite a blow on the first day. (they had put me in this class according to a entry examination) and it did not get any easier....harder by the day!!!!. Our teacher, Alma, was excellent and she explained everything in a very understandable manner. 
right: The courtyard at the school. The courtyard is a great place for the 'conversation' class under the trees. After 3 hours of grammar it was relaxing to have a session out in the green. After lunch I spent time with a university student for our 'intercambio'. This is a exchange program where we speak Spanish for a while and then English, so we both learn the other language. 
...and after 5 hours of Spanish I attended a 2 hour cooking class in the afternoons. It was a lot of fun, learning how to make the delicious Mexican salsas (sauces) and food, mostly with original cooking utensils. Then it was time to go home and do homework. I was glad when the weekend arrived......more tired than any of my cycling days!!!!
On the weekends there is so much to do around Oaxaca. On the 13.11.2005, together with 3 other students, we visited the ancient Zapotec city of 'Monte Albán'. This archaeological city is situated on top of a hill overlooking the valley and the city of Oaxaca and is truly amazing!
left: The view from the southern platform at Monte Albán, overlooking the grand plaza. How the people flattened the top of the mountain, 2500 years ago is just amazing.
right:Monte Albán together with Mitul, Liz and Catrina, 3 students attending the course at the 'Instituto Cultural Oaxaca'.
right: looking out of one of the ancient tombs at Monte Albán. 
Visiting the Sunday market in Tlacolula (31km from Oaxaca) is a lively and fun experience!!
left: Typical, colourful Oaxacan art work called 'alebrijes' at the market in Tlacolula.
right: A Oaxacan woman with her chicken at the market in Tlacolula. Mmmh... chicken soup for dinner!!
The ruins at the 'Zapotec' town of Mitla (about 50km from Oaxaca), date back to a religious centre built a good 3 centuries before the spanish conquest. It was probably the most important Zapotec religious centre, dominated by high priests who performed human sacrifices. 
The ruins show some fantastic stonework and a visit to the underground chamber was really interesting. It is believed that there could be an undiscovered tomb of Zapotec kings somewhere under the city.
left: 'Africa' pressing tortillas for our party at the 'posada'. Africa's parents run the 'posada' at which I have been staying at. It has been great fun staying at 'Posada del Fortin'. Liz and Sophie who were also staying there, came up with an idea to have a party. Liz and Sophie put in hours of work making chicken soup, salsas, etc etc.
right: Together with Sabine (swiss), Patricia and her daughter, Africa, we made a huge pot of 'Gaucomole' for the party which we held for some class mates who attended classes at the 'Instituto Cultural Oaxaca'.
left: Our classmates and guests in our kitchen area (out on the patio) at 'Posada del Fortin', This has been my home while staying in Oaxaca. 
right: On the last weekend in November 2005, I visited 'Hierve el Agua' (the water boils). Well, it is actually not boiling water at all!! It is rather a cold 18 degrees Celsius mountain spring! We (Carolann, a student also attending Spanish classes and I) took a rough and dusty ride in the back of a pickup truck to get to this place way up in the mountains.
left: The cliffs at 'Hierve el Agua', encrusted with petrified minerals, giving the appearance of a huge frozen waterfall is truly amazing to see, set in a beautiful environment.
right: The 18 degree bathing pool at 'Hierve el Agua' up in the mountains. Yes, I did go for a dip...it was really refreshing!! I have probably never had a dip in a pool with such a fine view!
left: Williams (my intercambio and a Oaxacan university student) and I at the 'Instituto Cultural Oaxaca'. 'Intercambio' is an exchange program organised by the school. For an hour each day we would teach one another. Usually half an hour Spanish and then half an hour English. It was a great opportunity to learn about each others typical lives, cultures and opinions.
right: 02.12.2005 Our last day at school for the 2 hour afternoon lesson (communication). It was a great class and we really had stacks of fun with our teacher, Raul (the guy in the red T-shirt). However, John, Jake, Caleb and I could hardly wait to get our legs moving up some steep mountains. After 4 weeks of school, I desperately needed more exercise and so we were off to climb the highest mountains in Mexico. See my next stage: Mexicos
left: Christmas at the Zocalò in Oaxaca.
right: I left Oaxaca on the 30.01.2005. After not cycling for nearly 2 months, it was good to be back on the road. What I did not know was that the first day would come to an abrupt end after 70km. I had reached the top of the pass leading from the highlands down to the coast over a series of 3 passes. The first hill, a 30km downhill is a bikers dream.....or maybe not! Yes, I had a terrible 'wipe out', while going down the hill, I moved off to one side to let a car pass. I realized too late that under my wheel, there was no tar but loose gravel. I went flying like in one of those 'red bull adverts'. I skidded across the gravel to find myself bleeding very heavily. Luckily 2 Mexicans came to the rescue and took me to the next 24 hour clinic in the next village. Well...so much for a 24 hour clinic, no one was there so they put me in the next bus going back over the pass. By the time I had reached Matatlàn I was in great pain. The doctor gave me some injections and started cleaning out the wounds and he had to take out a number of stones between the flesh and bone. That evening and the next day I spent much time with the doctor and his family. They took great care of me, giving me plenty of Mezcal. 2 days later I tried to cycle again but I had to give up after 2 days (200km) because my arm was swollen up like a python. 
So I stayed in Tehuantepec for another 2 days relaxing, giving my arm, leg and waist time to recover. There is a little university in Tehuantepec (only English and French is taught there), so I spent much time in the classroom talking English with the students. One student, Carmen took great care of me and showed me all around the place for a full day. With some other students I spent a day at the beach near Salina Cruz.
right: At the beach with some students!
I left Tehuantepec together with Matt. I had met Matt in Oaxaca. Matt also had a wipeout a few days earlier and needed his leg x-rayed in Tehuantepec. So we set off together on the 06.01.2006 and rode towards the southernmost state of Chiapas. For 2 days we had extremely heavy wind. We both were swept into ditches a few times by the exceptionally heavy wind. 
right: Matt and I, having a break at a roadside 'tienda'.
left:Near the town of Tonalà. We had just made it to the town before the sun set. The mountain scenery is lovely in Chiapas.
right: I thoroughly enjoyed the ride through Chiapas. A lovely state in Mexico!
The Panamerican Highway was badly hit in October 2005 by severe floods. One can see the destruction the floods did to the highway. A good 60% of the bridges have been washed away! Tapachula was the last Mexican city which I visited on the 9.1.2006. It was time to say good bye to Mexico. I left Mexico with a heavy heart. I had so many nice experiences in Mexico which I will surely not forget. The people, culture and country really inspired me. A country which I definitely want to come back to! Good bye Mexico! Next stage see: