Veggie Boy goes to Mexico

Tonight I’m here in Laredo and will cross the border to Mexico tomorrow. I lot has happened in the past 7 weeks that has taken me from Denver to Michigan to Denver again then to Ohio, Virginia and now Texas. I was fortunate to spend some quality time with family and friends in all the aforementioned states. Much thanks to Jason, my sister Julie, Ken & Marybeth, Jeff and John for great visits. Jeff and John are old friends living in Dallas and Austin respectively that I haven’t seen for over 20 years so it was extra special to be able to connect with them after all this time. Thanks so much to you all for your incredible hospitality! With my current status as a travel nomad I’m so grateful to be able to connect and stay with family and friends along the way.

I left Virginia almost 2 weeks ago with the truck camper and trailered Yamaha WR250R. I arrived in Dallas 5 days later and left the rig parked on the farm of a friend’s uncle (thanks Stoney!). I just decided I didn’t want to run the little 250 the required 1500 miles to get to the border from Virginia. The 250 will be great in Mexico but not so much on US interstates. I went back and forth in my head on taking the BMW vs. the Yamaha and the end went with the smaller bike thinking that it would be much easier to deal with in Mexico. Riding from Dallas to Laredo has me second guessing my decision. I got accustomed to comfort after 6 weeks on the BMW through Canada to Alaska and back. The 250 is anything but comfortable, but not horrible. With a top speed of 75mph (and not exactly stable at that speed) it isn’t going to win any races. I only have about 3 or 4 inches of wiggle room between the tank bag in front and the duffle behind me. I’m sure I will come to appreciate it in Mexico but right now missing the BMW.

While it Dallas I stopped to have lunch with Joseph whom I had met in Ecuador on the trip down to Ushuaia. Joseph has traveled extensively in Mexico and it was good to catch up and get some tips for my upcoming trip. I told him my plans to slowly make my way south to Oaxaca where I had booked an Airbnb for a month to study Spanish and take some cooking classes. Joseph had suggested I stop to see Hank, a friend of his, on my way to Laredo. Hank is a bit of legend in the BMW community as he is a talented BMW mechanic and his own 1100GS has over 500,000 miles on it. He as traveled extensively all over the world on that bike and has his shop in Dilley, TX. He makes frequent trips throughout Mexico and is known to be a bit of an expert on the country. I arrived to his shop late morning and he was in his office talking to a couple from Poland and Lithuania. A few minutes later a couple from Germany walked in and he explained he was guiding a tour with 3 couples through Mexico leaving on Wednesday morning. We got to talking exchanging plans for Mexico and it turns out they were planning to be in Oaxaca the weekend before I planned to arrive – which is Day of the Dead weekend. I had tried to book my rental to arrive before the festival weekend but couldn’t find anything as it is mostly all booked out months in advance. Oaxaca is known for one of the top cities for the Day of the Dead festival so rooms book out way in advance. Turns out Hank booked accommodations for the tour back in March and a friend of his was to meet him in Oaxaca to share the double room he had booked but couldn’t come last minute. Hank graciously invited me to cross the border with the group, join them for the tour south and share his double room in Oaxaca during Day of the Dead! My rental starts on Nov. 4th so I only have to find a room for Sunday night in Oaxaca. The festival ends Sunday and the town clears out for the most part so should be a problem.

So tomorrow I met up with Hank and crew at the border for the ride down to Oaxaca. Everyone will be on a big BMW except me so I hope I can keep up. So looking forward to the journey south and then a month in the historic city of Oaxaca – let the journey begin!