Our next destination was the Oaxacan coast... mainly the 5-mile string of beaches along the towns of Puerto Ángel, Zipolite, San Agustinillo, and Mazunte. Mazunte is about 75 miles from San Jose, but it's all downhill, right? We should be there by the afternoon! Actually, we knew from other cyclists that some climbing was required to get out of San Jose. We took a look at the elevation profile of the route online, and saw that there would actually be 3 significant climbs this day, but those long downhills after each one were exciting to see. Still, I was skeptical we would make it all the way to Mazunte in one shot.
We got started around 9am and were climbing right away, a relentless hill that lasted for 6 miles. As we snaked our way, we occasionally got glimpses of San Jose through the mountain tops, still close as the crow flies. Then a nice downhill roll into the town of San Miguel Suchixtepec, much larger than San Jose, and picturesque with it's great white church perched right on top of a ridge overlooking both sides of the pueblo. Here we had our breakfast.
The day went on, with two more big climbs that nearly wore me out. But the descents were amazing... twisty, turny, and on-going through beautiful forests and sweeping views. Some of the turns were so tight and steep, there was fear I would certainly wipe out if I didn't brake hard. But I tried to brake as little as possible, learning to tilt my hips slightly and set the bike at an angle that would take a tight corner. Rarely do we have the opportunity to fully absorb the downhill ride, it is usually over too fast. But these were long and they were glorious. We got so good at it that we even caught up to a pick-up truck that had overtaken us earlier in the day, handling the curves better than it could. We took the first opportunity to pass it by so as not to waste any of the fun stuck behind the exhaust, riding our brakes. Passing this truck was a badass moment.
But still, those climbs. We climbed more that day than we did to get up to San Jose. So the day dragged on. Soon it was clear we were in the tropics, with lush jungle and the heat that goes with it. The last big descent finally winded down with a grand view of the Pacific, but we still had 20 miles to go. Here began the rolling hills and humidity, the mopeds and fruit stands with bananas for drapes and hammocks for siestas. Here the fatigue really started. We finally rolled in to Pochutla around 5pm, still 13 miles short of Mazunte but good enough for the night.
Pochutla is a hub in the region, the main center of commerce for the satellite beach communities. A real working Mexican town, inland and comparatively large, with little tourism. I waited in the central square while Lewis went to find a hotel. There was a large stage set up at one end, where a class of teenagers were practicing a Mexican Hat Dance routine, some in costume but most with invisible sombreros and skirt hems in hand, an entertaining end to a hard day. Lewis found a cheap hotel with a ground-floor room (so important for the bikes!) and we were in for the night.
**Due to some unfortunate events, this post and my next several will be done from my tablet using an app, so they may not be as well crafted as I would like them to be. Also, photos will be subpar for a while. I hope to be back up to speed in a few months!**