Where to Today?

If the timing was off by just a few minutes; if I had passed by that spot on the road, ten miles outside of Mazatlan, five minutes earlier, or stayed the night in Mazatlan with a couch surfing host as I originally had planned, I would not have met the German couple biking in the other direction. Its hard to pinpoint exactly the events that led to my meeting this couple; God's good grace, coincidence, destiny - choose your word. The fact is that after not hearing back from the couchsurfers living in Mazatlan that I had contacted, I had decided to start my journey south down the coast several hours after I docked. At the precise junction where I could continue south down the coast or head east over the Sierra Madre mountain range towards Durango, I came across this couple. Our meeting was brief - they were in a hurry to catch the ferry heading to La Paz. Yet in the few moments we did share together there on the side of the road, they convinced me to head east over the mountains.
My ´plan´ had been to continue south down the coast of Mexico, stopping at beaches along the way and finishing my tour of the coastline from San Francisco to Guatemala. They had been warned against this boring route though, and shared the advice they had received from other bikers, with me. They told of the beauty of the mountains and the inland route through Durango, Zacatecas, and beyond, and just like that, for one reason or another, the next part of my life was drastically altered. It is an amazing feeling to be able to be open to the angels sent to you along the way and to try to decipher the messages being sent to you; it my circumstance, these messages can drastically affect the course of my day, or coming weeks or months. For many others who do not have my exact freedom, it can be a little harder to hear and see these things. Yet they are there, coming to your life as small or large coincidences or day or life altering events. For me, it was perfectly clear I was to head through the mountains. Who knows if something terrible would have happened to me along the coast, or if I was meant to be somewhere in the mountains for a particular reason. Go with it, I told myself, and headed east.
The next four days were some of the hardest yet of my trip. I climbed nonstop for about 90 miles, reaching heights of 2500 meters, or 7500 feet. The dense tropical underbrush finally gave way to pine trees and a much clearer forest floor around 6000 feet, and the smell of fresh pine reminded me of the mountains back home. White, yellow, orange, and red flowers reinvorgorated me and I saw and heard birds I had never dreamed existed. Along with the shores, I left the warmth of the coast behind me. One morning on this trip over the mountains I awoke to a freezing morning. My water bottles had frozen, and the dew on my tent had frozen. My fingers were so numb I could not start a fire. That day I battled 45 miles against a biting headwind in order to arrive in the bustling city of Durango, and a few days respite from my jouney. Phyically, I got to points I thought I might break or freeze, but I was able mentally to overcome these moments and have the perserverance to make it to the next campsite, the next town. Lonliness sets in usually as the sun is setting, but leaves when it rises, and will be something I think I will quickly be able to get used to.
Durango is a huge city. There is nothing spectacular or beautiful about its construction. Its sprawls in every direction, and the steeples of old colonial churches define its skyline. It is filled with universities, and students of all ages walk quickly everywhere. The central plazas are a mess of people, vendors, stroes, restaurants, pigeons, benches, and cars. I have met a pair of German exchange students studying biochemistry here that have put me up for a couple nights. Hot shower - spectacular. Bed - I can´t describe the feeling. Stove - the simple pleasures. Toilet - wow. I have much to explore and many people to look at. It is sunny here, but brisk, as we are still high up in elevation, although I´m not sure how high exactly. Time to rest and prepare for my next leg - to Zacatecas - unless of course my plan shifts.

And finally, new pictures have been posted. Between the album ´crossing borders´and ´la paz to durango´ is missing visual documentation of travels through Baja California, which I will try to post as soon as I get the pics from my old traveling mate.

PAZ