Day 2: Puebla to the City of Oaxaca
Today was another high kilometer day, as beautiful as a ride as uneventful.
We were following the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca mountain range. It begins just outside Puebla, at Pico de Orizaba, and extends in a southeasterly direction for 300 km (190 mi) until reaching the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Peaks average 2,500 m (8,200 ft) in elevation, with some peaks exceeding 3,000 m (9,800 ft). Cerro Zempoaltépetl is the highest peak in the range. We were to ride this range all the way to the Isthmus. It’s very sparsely populated but rich in vast, natural beauty.
Somewhere along the route, we stopped for gas, ice cream, and popsicles. Both are imperative when traveling. Enjoying our frosty snacks, we watched a tour bus roll in and lots of Eastern European people pouring out.
Bob was greeted by a very animated Polish man. So, we all gathered under the FCK Super* sign and talked nonsense to each other. It’s one of the joys of traveling. Smiles, laughs, backslapping, hearty handshakes, and wishes of good travels. This particular Pole was quite enthusiastic and had lots to say, but all of it was in Polish. There were several mentions of Trump, but we couldn’t get a sense of whether he was a lover or a hater.
We arrived late afternoon and hot in Oaxaca, and Neil had nailed a place near Centro. It was a pretty nice, tiny two-story home, but I drew the one shitty room. No lighting, no electrical outlet, and no fan. My only room complaint for this trip.
That evening, we strolled around town a bit. Oaxaca is a bustling place at night after it cools down. But no great stories to tell this night. We had other places to go.
* I could find no chain of FCK Super convenience stores. The closest match was a Danish football merchandise shop (FCK Fanshop)
