Weekend Warrior — Page 16

Zona Bici

April 12, 2009 By Jillian

Through our guidebook we found Zona Bici, a bike shop with rentals and tours around Oaxaca. When we walked in we were surprised, a real bike shop here in Oaxaca! We were needless to say thrilled to see the quality equipment and booked a half day tour (45km) for the following day.[ad#final-review-ad]

Like many tours in Mexico, we found that we were the only ones on the tour. Initially we thought the lack of other participants would be good and we’d have more flexibility to stop and stay at places. We were quickly fitted for bikes and took off through the streets of Oaxaca to the country side. Our guide spoke a little English, but the tour turned out to be more of a ride than a tour. The pace was good, we were moving at a nice clip through the small villages, and the guide was careful and concerned about our safety. We made a few stops along the way in small pubelos, but mostly the guide stayed about 500m ahead of us. It was disappointing to say the least, we would have had a better experience had we rented bikes and taken a map on our own. We did get a little perfunctory background and history at one of our stops, but I definitely expected more discussion or conversation about the pueblos and the people. The whole time we felt like the guide had somewhere else to be. The tour lasted just over 3 hours and while it wasn’t a truly negative experience, our expectations for a tour (it really was just a ride) were not at all met given the the price we paid.

Kayak 360

April 4, 2009 By Jillian

We were introduced to Kayak 360 through the good people at Kayak Huasteca who had showed us the way down the waterfalls at the Rio Micos only a few short days earlier. Working out the logistics of where to be and when proved to be a bit of a challenge [ad#final-review-ad]was Kayak 360 is located off the beaten track, down by the river, far away from the city of Xalapa where we were staying. Had we had a car, this wouldn’t have been so difficult as Kayaking is just not a public transportation friendly sport.

Once there we had our choice of boats, mostly wavesports which suited us well, and were able to try on PDFs and skirts as well. All gear was in great shape and, even better, dry! Within a matter of minutes we were loading up the truck and hitting the river. As it was only two of us on the trip, one guide was plenty and the other members of the lodge who joined us in a raft were a welcome addition. Our guide, Tio Memo,has been paddling the area for 18 years and knew every nook and cranny of the river. He was a great guide, telling us everything we needed to know in advance. As the river is in Mexico, it was doubly appreciated that Memo spoke fluent English and we never had to be concerned with a language barrier.

For a full trip report click here but suffice to say we had a great day on the river. The folks at Kayak 360 were a pleasure to kayak with and, despite the fact that our group numbered only 2, were willing to handle all logistics and give us a very private day on the river. Thank you Kayak 360!

Kayak Huasteca

April 1, 2009 By Jillian

We used Kayak Huasteca for our trip down the waterfalls of the Rio Micos. I think the best part about kayaking with Kayak Huasteca was simply how flexible they were. With only a day or two of notice we were not only able to join them on the river but were also supplied with all gear and three guides for our group of four. I had heard a great deal about kayaking the waterfalls of Mexico long before I entered the country and could not allow myself to miss it. Aaron, Marjie, and Tomato (Alex) showed our group a fantastic time.

For starters, my wife and I consider ourselves to be intermediate kayakers. [ad#final-review-ad]I shared this with Aaron when working out some details in advance and he told me that the water was low enough that even non-kayakers would be able to handle the water with some minor instruction. I was shocked that he would be willing to take a couple of newbies over waterfalls but after seeing the falls and having such a wonderful time I would have been disappointed if he hadn´t included our inexperienced friends. Instead of it being just my wife and I, two of our backpacker friends were able to join and had the time of their lives.
On the river, the guides took the time to show the newbies how to perform a wet exit (eject from the boat when submerged) and call for help while submerged. The whole time I felt that they really respected the ability of individual group members, never did they push or cajole our inexperienced friends to do anything they did not want to do or were uncomfortable doing.

Once that was taken care of we hit our first fall and were able to run it as many times as we wanted. Where possible the trio of guides took movies (on our own camera) as we went over the falls, gave us a push when we needed it, and told us the easiest way to climb back up to do it over and over again. They also had their own camera to take pictures for us.
In the end we had an absolutely great time while I can say this had more to do with the fact we were running waterfalls than anything else, it was the attitudes of our guides that really made the day. Had they been indifferent or inflexible our group would have been cut in half, the run much much faster, and without all the extra fluff (paddling behind the curtain into caves, jumping over falls, repeating falls backwards, etc) that can really make things memorable. Thank you Kayak Huasteca!

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Creel & The Copper Canyon

March 25, 2009 By Danny

After having a great time in Baja California Sur we took the ferry to the mainland to begin the next phase of our journey, The Copper Canyon Railway. The train is a marvel unto itself as it passes through an area similar to our grand canyon, but through more tunnels and bridges than any other railroad in the world. Overall, the train was very slow but as we got deeper and deeper into the canyon the scenery changed from the Mexican desert to alpine forest, complete with crisp air scented with pine.

The hostel in Creel was a nice enough hostel filled with backpackers and other interesting travelers. I mention it though not for this reason but for the strange messages we found there. On the ceiling some had written “Detras de las voces des mundo es la risa Mexicana” (behind the voices of the world is the laugh of Mexico) and on the wall was a National Geographic map that said “Voices of the World”. Naturally, I took down the map (everyone else was looking at me as though I had two heads because they hadn’t noticed the connection) and found the below image behind it. Our first postcard will go to whoever comes up for the best meaning of this sign.

We began our Creel bicycle trip the next morning once we re-negotiated the price of the bike rentals from the hostel and headed off to the ‘reservation’ of the Tarahumara. These are indigenous peoples, related to the Apache and Hopi in the United States. Mostly they keep to themselves but the ninos are always willing to come to you and put out a hand and as for un peso while the ninas say compre as they hold up some handicrafts to sell. These children don’t actually speak Spanish, they just know enough to ask you to buy things or give them money.

Overall the biking was not too terribly special, mostly fire-roads through the wilderness that this mountain biker would not have called mountain biking. Having said that, about 30 minutes into our trip Jill slipped and sliced the back part of her calf on the gears of the bike. We have run countless adventure races, are trained in wilderness first aid, and always carry a very large first aid kit- which was safely stashed back at the hostel. I know, we’re idiots. Luckily, despite the depth of the cut, it was just in the flesh and made it into town for a visit to the clinic where we were told stitches were not required.

The clinic however was another story in that it was filled with Tarahumara whom we believed were there for routine care. Jill however was ushered straight in and take care of immediately, we assume because she is gringa and therefore could pay. Of course they wouldn’t let me back with her so Jill had to manage by herself, in Spanish, with only her Italian to get her through. Ahh, I love my wife. The nun did an exceptional job of digging all the dirt out of the cut with a bar of soap and some water. Luckily, when they needed to know if she was pregnant they thought to play charades rather than just speaking slowly!

Once we got Jill taken care of Sévérine, our new traveling companion, and I (it was only noon) continued with our bike tour, quickly finding the hidden trail (there was a sign) that other travelers said was impossible to find. We made our way to a waterfall (which wasn’t there) and to the lake which was nice, but filled with Tarahumara children who wanted to sell their wares, we gave them some apple instead. We then headed back as we weren’t wearing bike shorts and things were beginning to hurt where they shouldn’t.

Creel was certainly a nice place to visit and one could spend more time there but it had been enough for us. I think the most memorable part of the stay was later than evening when two stray dogs, or rather a perro and a perra, began to follow us. We changed direction, crossed the street, entered stores, got them to cross the tracks but no matter what we did they just kept following us. Eventually we realized that the perro was only interested in the perra so we know it was her that was following us but we still don’t know why. Finally we gave up and headed back to the hostel for dinner, an hour later when we left it took less than 30 seconds for them to find us again. We’re not sure what it was about us (Jill and Sévérine think it was me they were following) but it made for some good fun.

Espirtu Santo – Azul Tours

March 20, 2009 By Jillian

We began our journey to Espiritu Santo with plans to kayak around the island. Once we discovered this would be a two day trip requiring good equipment and some planning, we instead opted for a boat tour of the Island. Several other beach-goers highly recommended Azul Tours having themselves spotted several varieties of whales, including blue whales.

When we pulled up the morning of our tour we had no reservation. At 600 pesos Azul was slightly more expensive than competing Marlin Adventures, but there is no question that our tour was longer and more fruitful than the Marlin Adventures boat. Additionally, we were promised a lunch, including beer, on one of the world’s most beautiful beaches…but only after we’d had our fill of snorkeling with the ‘Lobos Marinas’ (Sea Lions).[ad#ad-3]

The boat itself was comfortable and apt to the job of showing up to 12 passengers around the island. It was small and open yet we did not get wet while riding and my camera was safe the entire time. As we approached the island we slowed down to circle a small colony of sea lions floating in the middle of the water. Our captain showed a great deal of patience ensuring we all had an opportunity to take pictures.

Next we received a radio call from another Azul Tours boat alerting us to pilot whales in the area. The captain, Saul, informed us that this is not common as pilot whales are usually here in August, not March. Regardless, he was just as excited as the rest of us and got the boat as close as he could for some pictures. This was particularly challenging as the pod would descend without warning and then reappear elsewhere, creating a challenge for Saul to keep up.

After following three different pods of pilot whales we received a radio call about a nearby humpback whale. While we were not able to get as near to the humpback, there was only one and it was able to stay under the water for a large amount of time making it difficult to track, Saul was the last boat to leave the area as we kept trying to get that perfect picture. I’m not sure I ever got it, but I certainly gained an appreciation for the huge size of the animal.

Next we sped off to Los Islotes where the there were so many sea lions the air stank of their breath and we had trouble telling whether the load burps were from them or from members of our boat. We donned tour provided snorkeling gear, including fins, and followed our guide as he showed us to the sea lions who were only too happy to check us out. Saul was not only the only guide in the water but he swam us around to different points to show us different fish, crustaceans, and still more sea lions. He brought a starfish up from the bottom for us to hold. You could tell the man loved his job.

Once we’d had our fill we climbed back aboard the boat and to Ensenada Grande where we ate delicious ceviche and Marlin, enjoyed a few beers, and swam in the crystalline waters. Once we were on the way back the show did not end however; I spotted a school of manta rays floating near the surface, a couple even threw themselves out of the water. We circled for a few minutes which was more than sufficient to take plenty of pictures.

We were told our tour would be 4-6 hours and we pulled in at the 6 hour mark. While we went to the same places as the other tours there was no question that we stayed longer as our captain put in the extra effort. We also learned it was extremely important that we drove to Playa Tecolote to begin our trip rather than starting way back in La Paz. The La Paz based trips spend the same amount of time on the water but much of this is speeding to and from the island. Additionally, these tours only see one half of the island; meaning no whales.

If you chill easily you would be well served to rent a wet suit for the snorkeling portion as the waters can be a bit chilly, but this is not necessary.

Zona Bici

Kayak 360

Kayak Huasteca

Creel & The Copper Canyon

Espirtu Santo – Azul Tours

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