A day to remember

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This was a day when so much happened it is hard to believe.

We left our campspot by the road and enjoyed climbing in the cool morning air for about 30 minutes until it got hot again. The road continued to be a notch out of the hillside. On the climb we passed a viewpoint on a bend which provided amazing views down into the valley below. 

Round the bend we stopped in a cafe with free wi-fi so took the chance to have a video call with Perry and Jay. It was a delight to see and hear them both and to catch up on news. Outside the cafe were several heavily laden pick up trucks (I guess it makes sense to carry as much as possible on each journey up the hill) and the drivers were inside. They were keen to hear about our trip whilst they started their day with two whiskies each before heading back to their vehicles.

Next up was a river crossing the road. We took the chance to cool off and give our sweaty clothes a rinse.

 The cooling effect didn't last long but that was ok as we were soon at the summit. It was called "puerta de la soledad" meaning pass of solitude. It certainly was peaceful.

There was an enterprising chap selling ice creams from a coolbox in the boot of his car. We enjoyed a coconut one each as we took in the views down to the lush green valleys below. The Eastern side gets a lot of rain from clouds the form over the Gulf of Mexico.

We could barely take in what we were seeing as we descended. The cliffs at the side of the road that had dry and barren in the other side were covered in lush, dense vegetation with lots of water tumbling down. We could not believe we were in the same country that has been so dry and mainly arid for so long.

The hillsides were covered in farms with crops of broad beans, bananas, sugar cane, coffee and other stuff we could not recognise. It was as though we were in an entirely different country.

Stopped for a few supplies in San Jerónimo Tecoatl and not long after my nostrils filled with the scent of coffee being roasted. I jammed the brakes on and we popped into Miguel's coffee rosters for a delicious proper (not Nescafé) coffee. He weighed the beans, ground them, weighed the water to brew the coffee and timed the brew. It was perfect.

Next up was a chance encounter with a group of English tourists on a retreat. They had passed us yesterday and were very interested in our trip. It turns out that Emma is from Kendal - small world.

We were just getting over the random nature of the world that creates coincidences like that when Fernandez, a Policia Vial officer, pulled up beside us on his motorbike. He asked us where we were going and when we replied 'Huautla' he said 'vamos' and started escorting us. He was riding in front and was soon joined by Andrez who rode behind. Bear in mind that we were on a steep climb so in our lowest gear and going slowly. They kept this up for 45 minutes. It was so surreal. As we entered town all the stallholders etc gave us hugely welcomeing greetings. We felt like VIP visitors.

We were dropped off in the centre just as a group of motorcyclists arrived and they all wanted selfies with us which further enhanced the VIP feeling (a favourite pose was for the short female bikers to stand beside me so that I could rest my elbow on their shoulder. This caused great hilarity)

Nice hotel with a balcony overlooking the centre so we could sit and eat and take in the sights and attempt to digest all that had happened during the day.

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