Salinas Roca Partida

To see details of this section:

https://strava.app.link/9IAww8V1PGb

We left town via this wonderful pedestrian suspension bridge which gave great views of the river below.

Whilst it looked great and we saw a pair of otters in the water, it is very polluted from the effluent from the sugar mills.

As we rode out of town we passed banana plantations as far as the eye could see. The bunches had white plastic covers over, we guess they are to protect the fruits.

We knew we had a flat profile for the day and we were keen to get to Tlacotalpan but it was going to be a big day for us so we tried to keep a brisk pace going. Not always easy on a tandem as it is hard to take the weight off the saddle when riding in sync!

It was a hot day and we were keen to get out of the sun for a snack. This elaborately painted bus stop seemed ideal. However within a few minutes I had clocked up 50 mosquito bites before I had the time to cover myself in bug spray. 

More flat, fast miles brought us to Chacaltiaguis where we stopped for more food. Yet another superb family run affair. Sylvia (in the red top) was the head of affairs. We got to meet her husband, sisters, sons and grandchildren. There seems to be a pattern of behaviour when we arrive in these places. It starts with a reserved response (especially when we explain we don't eat meat), gets more friendly when we talk about our trip and gets positively warm once we chat about families. They always culminate in multiple photos in just about every combination. We love them (even if they bring our average speed down)

We then found ourselves in sugar cane territory. It is all harvested by hand and looks like back breaking, thankless work. It gets piled into trailers which tower full of cane. The trailers are hitched into trains of six which are then hauled along by tractor. We we approached a town with a sugar mill, these trains used the right hand lane as parking while they waited their turn to unload. We passed 30 trains of 6 trailers each. We then saw a parking lot which easily had twice as many parked up. Given the amount of sugar Mexico produces, it is no surprise that nearly everything is filled with the stuff. Bread, sweets, biscuits, coffee ... All comes sweetened to the max.

We rolled into Tlacotalpan after 120km feeling pleased to have reached our destination but a bit weary after a long day.

On the outskirts of town was a petrol station and the entire forecourt was filled with police. Turns out that there was a huge festival starting the next day.   We managed to beg a place to camp but sadly had to miss the festival because of the lack of accommodation for subsequent nights.

The town is again another amazing example of colonial architecture. The church and palms against the sky really felt like we were entering the tropics.

The town is famous for its mix of colonnades and arches. Every street is like this, even the back streets, and all are painted in the most striking colour combinations.

Rolling out of town the next day we had our sights set on the Gulf of Mexico. Our day started along the Papaloapan River befor crossing it via this bridge. There is a toll for crossing the bridge but we were just waved through.

After seven days on the bike with quite a lot of climbing / some long days we were getting ready for a rest day (or two) so we stocked up on food as our planned camp spot on the coast would not be near a shop. 

We came out of the grocery store to find that the trolley guy had covered our saddles with card. He did this for all the motos and scooters. We are unsure of the purpose but it amused us no end.

The final task to be ready for our rest was to stock up on alcohol for our stove. After asking around we were directed to a small shop on the edge of town. When I enquired inside I was presented with this Coke bottle from under the counter and assured it was 96% alcohol. Selling methanol in a soft drink bottle seems like a recipe for disaster but who am I to argue.

Finally, we reached the coast. The last time we saw the sea was in Mazatlán about 2 months ago. We plan to rest here and use them time to ponder whether to head for Belize or Guatemala...

Google photos https://photos.app.goo.gl/p8J9ERd7iN2bGiZy9

Email miketoyn@gmail.com if you would like an email update whenever there is a new blog post or if you want to get in touch

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/two.boldlygo/