Wednesday morning I got loaded up and and rode downtown to meet Hank’s group at 8:00am on Houston St, just a few blocks from border Bridge #2. This is the smaller and less commercial of the two crossings in Laredo. Just when I though I somehow missed them as it was approaching 8:30am, 4 big BMW GS’s come down the street towards me. I had parked in the Wells Fargo Parking lot and was still just sitting on the bike with my helmet cradled on the mirror so I just threw on the helmet and gloves and filtered in behind them as they stoped at the light a block ahead. We payed our toll and crossed the bridge into Nuevo Laredo, MX. The first step in the process as you get across the river is to go through the light metered gate where you randomly (?) get a green light or red light on if you can proceed. Of course I get the red light and have to pull over to be searched. A quick document check and questioning what I am carrying into Mexico in my bags on my bike and then I’m off to the Immigration and Customs building to join the group. The couple from England (he’s Polish and she is Lithuanian) also got the red light so I wasn’t the only bike to get nipped right off the bat.
Customs and Immigration was pretty quick and easy as it usually is going into Mexico. There was an issue with one of the rental bikes that Hank had to fix that held up one couple – but other than that short delay it was painless. The whole process took maybe an hour, which included the mandatory deposit we all had to pay to the Banjercito for temporarily importing vehicles. Since my bike is new I paid approximately a $400 deposit which all vehicles 2015 or newer pay. We were on the road towards Monterrey before 10am. Hank asked me if I could run at 75mph on my 250 and I laughed – because I knew that is my top speed with the throttle pinned, with no wind and probably slightly downhill. I finally said I might be able to maintain 70, but that was stretching it. He gave me a quick set of instruction on his intended rout through Monterrey in the case I got behind that I absorbed absolutely none of and we were off.
Somehow I was able to maintain about 65-70mph and was lucky the German couple was not going much faster so I had them in my sights when the group pulled into a gas station to top up just as we were coming into Monterrey. Every time I got up around 70 the front end got unstable so didn’t want to try to go any faster…probably all the weight on the back of my bike unweighting the front wheel. I definitely have more clothes with me than any other trip. I didn’t want to look like a dirt bag during my month in Oaxaca. Usually when traveling I’m in a new town every day or two so don’t have to worry about wearing the same clothes day after day – no one to call you on it. I think I weighed my load of stuff I’m carrying (pictured) at about 42lbs. The GS would absorb that about of stuff, but for the little 250 its a load. Anyhoo, after gassing up we performed the unpleasant task of getting through the large city of Monterrey. It’s been about a year and a half since I have been that congested, lane splitting, dog eat dog craziness on a motorcycle. I soon got into the mode and came to appreciate the zippy little WR250. Finally, I had an advantage over the BMW’s. I could dart in and out of lanes pretty easily at the lower speeds of the heavy traffic. We made it through unscathed and headed south towards Santiago.
Santiago is a small town about 60k south of Monterrey where we stopped for lunch. It was a nice pace change from the congestion of Monterrey. Lunch was pretty delicious – I had a huge avocado salad for about 100 pesos (about $5 US). We were then off to our final destination, a small village in the coastal state of Tamaulipas called Santa Engracia. We arrived at the Hotel Hacienda Santa Engracia around 5:30pm and were greeted with fresh made Margaritas. The original property hotel was a hacienda built in the mid 1500’s. It had been converted into a hotel in the 50’s. At least that what I got from one of the waiters in my feeble Spanish comprehension. I need to google it to find out the full story because the hotel and surrounding compound was pretty darn cool. The stay included dinner and breakfast the next day for 800 peso each (about $40 US). My Victoria beers before dinner were only 21 peso’s each. Gotta love Mexico!
The next day after breakfast we took the back way out of the village and did a huge mountain loop enjoying incredible views all day. I enjoyed the time at elevation as the state of Tamaulipas is mostly tropical with its proximity to the ocean and mountain barrier. I rode the other side of that range on the way down to South America and it is basically dessert. Such a difference on the Tamaulipas side. So steamy hot! Up in the mountains in between it was nice and cool and dry. The roads were twisty but rather bumpy so I had to be a bit cautious for most of the ride. I’m basically on a dirt bike with knobby tires so not exactly the perfect tool for that task.
We stoped for lunch at the La Palucha Hotel in Ciudad Valles and then to our destination for the night in the village of Tanchachin. Hank had reservations for the group at the Hotel Cascada Huasteca. The name is for the amazing waterfalls that inhabit this region. We all walked to the river about 2 kilometers away knowing it would be brown from the recent rainy season. In the winter and spring it is a Caribbean blue from the natural spring and minerals at the source. Oh well, it was a nice walk and the surround mountains at sunset were pretty cool to look at.
It is Thursday evening as I’m typing this update but unsure if it will go out due to the weak internet in the village. So fortunate to hook up with this group as I’m seeing some very interesting places that I never would have found on my own. I have completely diverted from my planned solo route and am perfectly fine with that. Just going with the flow. I’ll be with the group all the way to Oaxaca and now get to experience Day of the Dead there as Hank had booked the rooms back in March. I had originally wanted to get there before my AirBnb booking on November 4th but couldn’t find anything anywhere near the Centro. Traveling is all about meeting people and I’m so happy I met Hank and am now traveling with this awesome group!