Quit our jobs, sold our home, gone riding...

[lightcycle]

Originally Posted by Blader54

Maybe that's because you do not have a fixed goal, or timetable, so you can just take one day at a time?

Yes, that's it exactly. We're having so much fun interacting with people along the way and seeing them influence where we go and what we see!

[Blader54]

Originally Posted by lightcycle

Yes, that's it exactly. We're having so much fun interacting with people along the way and seeing them influence where we go and what we see!

Now THAT really IS a Dream Trip! I'm a little jealous but mega-inspired! Thanks tons, again....and again.

[drsogr]

I have enjoyed reading about your adventures since your departure. The mexican food looks amazing...happy trails. Keep excercising, keep eating....and keep taking great pictures!

[lightcycle]

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/67.html



From Tapalpa, we head eastwards further inland. We've been really blessed with sunny weather on this trip, normally it rains all throughout our previous trips. The ride takes us through a lot of farmer's fields and as we approach Uruapan, the geography changes to a tropical jungle, large leafy trees line the roads. We've crossed into our 7th state - Michoacan - supposed to be one of the most beautiful states in Mexico.


From desert cactus back to leafy trees


Spying lunch at the "food court" in Uruapan


Beautiful bass walking the streets looking for a gig


Downtown streets of Uruapan

Neda went hiking through El Parque Nacional de Uruapan, which is right inside the city. It boasts many white water rivers and waterfalls throughout its area, with rainbow trout swimming freely through its waters.


These kids would dive if you gave them a few pesos at El Parque Nacional de Uruapan


White water rivers in El Parque Nacional de Uruapan


Updating RideDOT.com in our very nice habitacion

We're staying a few days in the city in a great little casita, run by a Spanish couple who know the the area really well. They've given us some amazing recommendations for places to see and things to eat. Uruapan is the avocado capital of the world, and the fields we passed through on the way in were avocado farms!


Amazing guacamole!


Art gallery inside an old converted fabric factory

On Sunday, while we were coming back to our casita, we saw the housekeeper leave and we asked where she was going. She told us she was going to watch "los luchadores" in the town square. We thought "luchadores" had something to do with a lightshow or fireworks? From the Spanish word for light? When we went down to the square to see for ourselves, we found out "Luchadores" means wrestlers!!! OMG SO COOOL!!!


The town square is filled to capacity to watch the luchadores

So apparently, the WWF or WWE or whatever they call it in America, got its inspiration from Lucha Libres, a very popular Mexican sport founded in 1933. The wrestlers wear colourful masks, which would explain the popularity of all the masks being sold in the souvenir stores all over Mexico. Matches mostly consist of Battle Royales, tag teams or trios, such as the one we were watching today.


As with any wrestling match, there's a lot of this at the beginning...


...followed by a lot of that


This little girl in front of me wasn't very impressed
She was more interested in my camera. SO CUTE!

The crowd was chanting, "Tecnicos! Tecnicos! Tecnicos!", which I guess was one of the teams. So we got into the action, and joined in the chants as well. The locals standing around us thought that was hilarious, as it was obvious we had no clue who or what we were chanting for. Later when we got back to our casita, I looked up "Tecnicos", and it turns out that in any match, there are the good guys, "Tecnicos" and the bad guys, "Rudos". The Tecnicos play by the rules, have the better skills and moves, while the Rudos rely on breaking the rules to win.

While the cheering was strong for the Tecnicos, the crowd went absolutely crazy when the referees got into the action, getting a move put on them by one of the Rudos (or even a Tecnico!). Such a good time! We found out that these wrestling matches happen every other Sunday!


Somebody's gonna get hurt reel bad...


The greatest insult is to be unmasked in public by another wrestler

At this point I realized that we were watching a live action Saturday-morning superhero cartoon. So:

[motoged]

Loving the story and pics....

I will be in Uruapan next week....what is the name address of the place you are/were at there?

[kitesurfer]

i've read many rr's of mexico and all are different. i'm enjoying your experiences too. but no one ever mentions laundry. how is that done? back in the early 70's, i spent 3 months in Switzerland working. there were no laundrymats. I had to wash all my clothes by hand in the sink. please tell me there are ways to do it down there.

[lightcycle]

Originally Posted by motoged

I will be in Uruapan next week....what is the name address of the place you are/were at there?

Hi, we use TripAdvisor a lot when deciding where to stay and this place popped up as being quite nice:

http://www.casachikita.com/

It's a beautiful B&B about 2 minute walk away from the town square and it is a little bit expensive but we negotiated a discount by opting out of the breakfast. The owners were so nice that they made us breakfast one morning anyway! We originally wanted to stay for a couple of days, we ended up staying for 8 nights! There is also free parking across the street at a secured lot that is gated and locked at night.

Run by Aline and Salvador, she's an event planner and he's an artist (his works decorate the entire casa and in the habitacions). And they're both ridiculously good-looking as well... Tell them we said hi if you decide to stay there!

They have some great recommendations for food and restaurants in Uruapan. By the time we left, we were regulars at the Yucatan restaurant across the street from the casa. It's not a large menu, but we tried every single thing they offered and it's all great! My favorite were the Panuchos - 16 pesos each!

Originally Posted by kitesurfer

but no one ever mentions laundry. how is that done? back in the early 70's, i spent 3 months in Switzerland working. there were no laundrymats. I had to wash all my clothes by hand in the sink. please tell me there are ways to do it down there.

haha, the thing no one tells you is that clothing is so cheap here that it's cheaper to buy new clothes than to wash your old ones!

Just kidding! In the larger towns (where we usually ended up staying), there's always either a coin-op or full-service laundromat. The coin-ops are a bit grungy and the full-service ones are not that much more expensive and they do deliver it to where you are staying so we've gone the F/S route a few times in Mexico.

[Shibby!]

Originally Posted by kitesurfer

i've read many rr's of mexico and all are different. i'm enjoying your experiences too. but no one ever mentions laundry. how is that done? back in the early 70's, i spent 3 months in Switzerland working. there were no laundrymats. I had to wash all my clothes by hand in the sink. please tell me there are ways to do it down there.

I did plenty of sink washing on my trip, but when I was staying for a day or two I'd take to full service. Usually a few bucks had your laundry clean and folded and placed nicely in a bag. Being that I was on a tight budget the places I went didn't deliver to where I was staying, but it's a great opportunity to walk around the city/town some more. Always a different experience everytime I went out, even if it was the same walk every time.

I'm subscribed to this RR so I'm in it for the long term. Seems like you guys are having a great time! Interesting seeing Mexico from other people's view. Where I basically lived in my tent or cheap hostels, it's neat seeing the nicely prepared food and hotels. I was completely happy with my street taco's and arroz leche, but it's different reading this RR.

Not sure your direction / plan of attack, but many people recommend (myself included) Quanjuanto just NW of Mexico City.

Pelenque for ruins, and skipping most of the Yucatan.

[Patrick46]

Ooooooooooooo......fresh homemade guac......YES!!!!

Originally Posted by lightcycle

Amazing guacamole!

Have an awesome trip kids!!!

[DCrider]

Whew finally caught up! And fabulous photos for sure esp of the masked wrestler in the air. Was just curious, read that Neda is Croatian, the Nedas I know are Persian, any Persian in your ancestry Neda? Adios...

[Lycan1]

Your pictures get better all the time, you are a quick study with a great eye. The Wrestler in Blue looks like the "Koodo" guy.

Very much enjoying your ride report, and have from the start. It has give me even more of a push to plan my future trip in the same direction. Keep up the great work.

[lightcycle]

Originally Posted by DCrider

Was just curious, read that Neda is Croatian, the Nedas I know are Persian, any Persian in your ancestry Neda?

Neda says, "No, no Persian ancestry, but Croatian does have a lot of influences over history, like the Roman Empire, the time of the Austro-Hungarian rule and the Ottoman Empire - from where the Persian influences come from."

Neda is not an uncommon name in Croatia/Serbia, lots of famous Nedas from the area: the singer Neda Ukraden, the actress Neda Arneric...

[lightcycle]

Originally Posted by Lycan1

Your pictures get better all the time, you are a quick study with a great eye. The Wrestler in Blue looks like the "Koodo" guy.

LOL! I had to Google "Koodo":

[dryden_rider_54]

Ha ha his name is El Tabador but in the christmas commercial he over eats and calls himself El Flabador

Originally Posted by lightcycle

LOL! I had to Google "Koodo":

[TOTim]

Thanks for allowing me to be traveling with you via this great ride report.
Back here in Hogtown it's -10 C and snowing. The GS is locked away in the garage for
the long post Christmas stretch of a TO winter. Keep the adventure coming.