Denver to Latin America for 3 months

Woke up to rain this morning. Might be an inside sightseeing day.

But while I am sitting around, I will make a few more general comments.

First on what I have brought. I will mention that before I left, I bought a sleeping bag liner. It was from LLBean but you can get them at REI or anywhere. It folds up to the size of a softball, but is more than enough for my 178cm (5'10"). CoolMax Adaptor. At least in Mexico, I have slept in it every night. And I am so glad I brought it. Often it is the only sheet I need. But I will admit that this is in part because I am not a fan of other people's ( hotel) sheets. This is more comfortable than those too.

Second, I will mention again that laundry services have been very easy to find and pretty cheap. there has always been a lavanderia within about 2 blocks of every hotel or hostel I have stayed. The most I have paid is 70 pesos, but that also included delivery to my hotel. Normally it has been about 45-50 pesos ( a little under $4). Because it has been so cheap and easy I have not yet done the sink-washing routine.

Rain cleared up long enough to walk around the northern part of Oaxaca. Also a neat part with jardins and markets.

Today I moved out of my hotel and in with the family that I will stay with the week I am studying Spanish. It was a bit of a hassle making the move, but not too bad. I met the mother (Marta) outside of the school at 10:00. She drove me back to my hotel. Where I checked out and then followed her in the car, on my bike.

Safe secure parking for the bike and a comfortable room for me. Even have WiFi.



I was even invited to some form of get together this afternoon. Very kind. Originally I was going to go, but after settling in, I was a little beat so begged off. Marta does not speak any English, so it should help my Spanish. I am already pleased with how it is coming along. After another week of classes, I hope to feel even more confident.

The courtyard of the complex. My bike is under the cover at the bottom.

Nice to bump into you yesterday evening. Shall enjoy catching up further this week! Enjoy the sun!

Love the ride report so far. I'm planning the same ride (more or less) in January for 3 months. I'll be taking a similar route but I'll begin by going down the Baja...my goal is to go thru each country in CA, get to Panama City, turnaround and do it all over again.

Looking forward to your next installment.

Well last night I did manage to head back to the zocalo for some people watching. There was some fun traditional dancing.



I also ran into Hewby who is doing her own ride and report. Small world.

Today was sunny and clear from the beginning. Based on Marta's suggestion I took a bus ride up to Monte Alban. One of the very first cities in mesoamerica. Not Mayan, but Zapotec.

Beautiful and only about 20 minutes from the center of town.







Some steep steps to hike, though.





50 pesos round trip for the ride and 57 for the ruins.

After getting back, took my siesta and then some bike maintenance. Changed out the front sprocket and lubed the chain. Still need to change the oil. I might try and do that while I have such a good place to work.

Thanks WilderRider for such a great ride report, and all the photos. I'll be going again this year to Guatemala after two years of being stateside, can't wait. Saludos!

nice RR... so you've got to get a room every night?

Well yesterday I woke up to a nice breakfast. The family is all gone very early so it is waiting for me.



Then I started my first day of class. Luis is my instructor. About my same age and a very interesting guy. Of course, it is conducted entirely in Spanish. Lucky for me, I am the only student this week so it works out to be private tutoring. Hard to beat.

Most of the class is just conversation. We worked on some verb tenses and then practiced asking and answering questions. For example, "when was the first time you tried a beer?" Then giving an account of what happened. Luis has some interesting stories. I was just impressed with myself to be able to talk for a total of 5 hours in Spanish.

Plus to change things up,for the last hour of each session, we left the class and walked and talk. Among other things, to practice conversing in real world environments with street noise, etc.

Today in the afternoon, we will walk over to one of the markets. That is always interesting.

After an evening resting, I went back out for some people watching. Saw a parade of high schoolers and their band.



Included some dancers on stilts too.



Interestingly enough, I also twice ran into another American couple that I had met the day before on the bus up to Monte Alban. They have a condo in zihuatenejo, but are down here taking classes and seeing the sights.

Thanks and enjoy your trip. I am eager to get to Guatemala and experience that too.

Thanks and I am not sure I understand the question. Right now I am staying with a family and that was arranged through the school. So at the moment I do not need to worry about that.

Just out of curiosity, what was the cost of your Spanish immersion class? I wanted to do this on my upcoming ride as well and it would help me get an idea of the costs. Also, you are in Oaxaca, correct?

sweet. i spent 3 months in GTO last summer.
the dirt riding up in the surrounds mtns is fab.
stayed here because he has secure gated parking and i had a car w/ my DR behind in tow. http://www.vrbo.com/156044. no way we could have fit anywhere else. it was up on the panaromica and we only walked into town, but I did ride the tunnels around town all the time for fun.

didn't realize you left family behind.
my wife and daughter and I all did this together for a year in mexico.
best group family decision ever. everyone's view expanded.
we came back to make some $ and plan on doing it again.

have you tried any amazing mole yet?
all the new and delicious foods was one of the best of the whole experience.
life is too short to not try great food???

Here is the website of the school I am studying at. It has the prices. For my 5 hours a day, it is $275 (US) for the week or about 3,500 pesos. And ,yes, I am in Oaxaca.

Yeah, some time I will bring my family to some of these places. This was not the trip for it.

And while I am not afraid to try new interesting food, it is just lower on my list. I had some great grilled meat tonight and finally even tried the grasshoppers. Actually pretty tasty.

Today was a full one.

After another good breakfast, I had class with Luis.



After a couple of hours of class work, we walked to the HUGE mercado in the southern end of the city. Tons of fascinating stuff.



Including some piñatas.



But really they had just about everything. It was great to have Luis as a guide. Learned a lot about the food and the history of Oaxaca.

On the bike maintenance front, I managed to track down what looks like a decent motorcycle oil for the DR650.



Changed it yesterday at 28,976 miles. Changed the filter too. Had some nice help from Bud and Sandra next door. They are a very neat couple that have been living in Oaxaca for four years. Most recently they were from North Carolina, but Bud was from Illinois and Sandra from Michigan. They are BMW fanatics and up until very recently, Sandra was riding an F650 and Bud a K75. Bud rode an R50 around the world in 1967.

They let me borrow a bucket to change the oil. After I washed it up, they gave me a beer and we chatted for about an hour. I could have spent another three talking, but I was meeting up with some students from another language school to try a carne asada place.