Dreaming of a white Christmas

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Take it from me, that hill that Rachel is pointing to has a dusting of snow on it. Who knew that it would be easier to get a white Christmas in Mexico than back home.

We have had an amazing few days and are finding it hard to take in. I'll do my best to capture some of the highlights.

We left El Encuentro and began climbing with a very strong head/side wind. The reason I'm not wearing my usual cap is because the wind was so strong I was worried it would blow off my head. At that point we were riding past a vinyard that was hedged with a row of giant yucca trees. These have been a feature of the past few days. They are enormous.

The wind and overcast sky made for cool riding which was a change from the heat we have been used to. I nearly posted my down jacket home from America but I'm glad that Rachel persuaded me to keep it as I've worn it a lot in the past few days.

As usual, our day was interspersed with wonderful interactions. The one below was with Luis and Christian who had been to the nearby town to buy a sombrero as a present for dad. 

We found a great little spot to camp just behind some bushes only a few feet from the road.

Christmas eve started with a stop at this brilliant cafe. It was family run, with everyone playing their part in the operations. The inside was decorated with bright murals and the menu had all our favourites on it.

We passed South beneath Saltillo as we did not feel like another big city. It was bright and sunny and the wind was on our backs. We were riding along the edge of a national park. Just to give us a reality check, the rear tyre decided to puncture. I wore a latex glove to keep my hand clean but when I took it off, I realised I'd used it before and put it on inside out so still had oil on my hand.

We were creeping our way up a long climb eyeing up the col at the top as a likely camp spot when we came across a Domingo waiting by his lorry. He had seen us a few times over the past few days and gave us a bag full of sweets, a bottle of coke, topped up our water bottles and gave us a high Viz gillet for the back of our bike. He must have waited in the layby for about 15 minutes for us to arrive. Once again, we were deeply moved by a random act of kindness.

Our haul.

The moon was very bright and we found ourselves excited about Christmas eve even though the next day was just another day on the bike. We were camped at 2300m and it was a chilly night.

We dropped down from the col and were treated to this view. We also entered our sixth Mexican state.

We were riding along a main road with nice gentle slopes and a nice wide shoulder to keep us away from the sparse Christmas day traffic. However, when the chance came to risk a detour on a dirt road over a 400m climb we didn't think twice. Even though we were not sure if the road we were aiming for would be tarmac or not. 

We met this lovely family. They handed over a bag of sweeties. I'm sure that it was a Christmas treat belonging to one if the girls but they were adamant that we took them. We graciously accepted and waved them on their way.

This is the hill we had climbed over. We were pleased to find that it connected with a tarmac road in a wide, high valley that was full of farms. 

Boxing day began with a gentle tarmac climb followed by a huge swooping descent. 

However, the tarmac soon ended and we faced about 50km for bumpy riding. We did not regret this for a moment. We rode through some amazing scenery and tiny villages. We were evidently something of a novelty and we enjoyed seeing a slice of rural Mexican life. 

This included bareback horse riders, wooden donkey saddles (ouch), goat herds, crops being tended and lots and lots of smiling faces. 

Our day ended with a long descent down to Galeana.

Including this extended section of balcony road that wound in and out of every stream coming in from the side. It was quite something.

By the time we arrived in town and found a hotel we were tuckered out. It had been a long tough day. I devoured a calorie rich milk shake and ate two dinners. 

We will not forget this Christmas. 

We have started a shared Google Photos album where we will put additional photos that we don't use in the blog or on Instagram. The link to it is: https://photos.app.goo.gl/xaLo3e3Ff69czWfG6

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