RTW the Jamie Z Way: Chile

Just tuning in. Jamie, thank you so much for this outstanding ride report. I know its a lot of work and it's really appreciated. Just what I needed on this gray, snowy, zero degree day while I'm stuck inside recovering from knee surgery. I've made a few trips through Mexico and the memories just keep flooding back. My thoughts on horchata the first time I tried it were exactly the same as yours. Ride safe

Good old Sunday morning coming down, Chris's version or Johnny's? Enjoying the report, thanks..

I'm a big fan of Johnny. I think you mean Kris.

But why not both?

I love them both, I couldn't pick myself.... You are correct (Kris), ride on....

Thanks for posting that video, I haven't seen it in years! My grandfather was a dead ringer for Johnny Cash. To this day it gives me chill's when I see his old videos and it takes me back to spending time with my grandfather. Funny how songs can do that.

15 febrero 2021

Got out today, but I didn’t get far.



When I woke, there was quite a chill in the air. I stayed in bed for a while covered up before I convinced myself to get dressed. I’ve never considered myself a coffee drinker, but for the last couple of days I’ve been heading down to a coffee shop a block from the hotel.



I bought a pastry along the way and had my breakfast in my room.

I planned to ride the loop jonz posted yesterday with a stop in Teotitlan.

On the way out of town, I rode past Supermotos, where Bill and I had gone to install the chain and sprockets on his bike in 2007. It’s where I met Daniela. The shop is still there, but it doesn’t look like they’re dealing in the exotic bikes anymore. I didn’t stop or go inside.

It’s not a long drive to Teotitlan, officially called Teotitlan del Valle, it’s known for the woven wool Zapotec textiles, and I wanted to stop in at one of the shops.

I passed through the small village of Macuilxóchitl de Artigas Carranza and stopped to photograph a couple of murals.





And some animals.



The town of Teotitlan was very quiet today. There were a few mototaxis buzzing around, and a couple people walking, but mostly it was empty. A few shops and restaurants were open.



I went to the Josefina Mdz (Menendez?) Artesanias y Tapetes shop, given its high marks on iOverlander. There are similar weaving shops all over town.



Inside, she gave a demonstration of turning the wool into yarn.





She demonstrated how they dye the yarn. The deep crimson color comes from an insect which lives on the prickly pear cactus and she had a piece of the plant there and took one of the live insects--in the larval stage, I believe--and put it in my hand. It basically looked like a grey piece of rice. And then she pressed her thumb into my palm, crushing the bug and releasing the dark red color in my hand. It seriously looked like some sort of magic trick.



The dyeing technique involves drying the insects and then pulverizing them into a powder using a curved stone.



She put some of the powder into a cup of water, and the water turned dark red. Then she took a lime wedge and squeezed it into the mixture, and the color turned orange. She did the same to my hand. And finally she added a sprinkle of lime, the mineral, into the mixture, and the liquid became pink. Again, she repeated this in my hand, and now my palm turned pink.

We went over to the looms to watch her parents working--and this wasn’t some pose-for-the-tourist scene. They were doing this when I walked in.



I spoke with the older man for a little bit. He asked me where I was from and I told him about the cold and snow in Colorado right now.

I walked around the workshop and admired all the rugs hanging on the walls. Josefina told me that if I were interested in anything, to ask about the price. But that was the extent of her sales pitch. No high pressure here at all, and I greatly appreciated that. Though I wasn’t planning to purchase anything, I do wish I had asked what these cost. As it is, I have no idea.



Before I left, I gave her a couple of bills from my wallet for her time.

I left to the north out of Teotitlan to continue the loop. The road turned gravel just outside of town.



And then I saw this sign.



I might be missing some subtlety, but I basically interpreted this to mean that the town of Benito Juarez, a few miles up this road, doesn’t currently have any tourist services.

The road makes several hairpin turns as it climbs higher and higher, and soon there were evergreen trees and the temperature was noticeably cooler.



There were signs in the Zapotec language placed along the road, but I couldn’t figure out what they were referring to.



When I arrived to the town of Benito Juarez, a chain stretching across the road stopped me. There was a truck parked and a man came over to talk to me. He was extremely kind and apologetic and told me the road was closed.



I made one effort to explain that I wasn’t planning to stop, I just wanted to ride through to the highway, but he told me he was sorry, but the road is closed to all visitors.

I told him I understood, thanked him, and we both lamented the strange times we’re in right now. I turned the bike around and headed back downhill.

With extra time on my hands, I checked my Google Map and saw that Yagul, a Zapotec archeological site was nearby. I headed that way. But first, we drink!

I stopped at a stand along the busy highway when I saw the large clear plastic barrels of juice. A young kid, maybe about 12, was running the stand. I asked what he had. It was some sort of coconut juice. I don’t like coconut. And fermented pineapple. The name is tepache. I don’t think I’ve ever had it.



Oh man, this stuff is excellent.

I continued on toward Yagul, but once again had to stop.



The sign says they’re closed until further notice.

But I did get this view when I turned back the way I came.



I set my GPS for Oaxaca. It wasn’t far away, but I was getting hungry, and the pictures posted above by DoNR and the memelas gave me an idea. I was going to see if I could find that same place.

Didn’t take long. I typed the name into Google Maps and it popped up. Apparently it’s still open. So after parking the bike and changing into my sandals, I started that way on foot.

I found the place… here’s where Bill and I double-parked in 2007.



From 2007:



Apparently they added another tree, but the stand wasn’t there. A little more reading and research revealed that the memela stand might only be open in the morning and closed in the afternoon. So I’m going to go back tomorrow around lunch time.

I walked for another hour or so around central Oaxaca.



Quite a few people were out, but as it got darker, things were closing up quickly and I found a stand serving tlayudas.

I’d ride one of these! I’ve been seeing them around every once in a while.



Now back in my room, I’m sitting typing out this ride report. My plan was/is to leave Oaxaca tomorrow, but I have no idea which direction to go.

Great report - I particularly enjoy the descriptions of local customs and culture. Thanks for your continued RR submissions. You are making the snow and ice a bit easier to bear.

No airbox or filter.. interesting build. I wonder how often he changes the oil?

If you get back past that shop, I would be interested in what the price is for one of those rugs. On the last couple days of our trip, I tried to find something similar from a shop but all I found were made in China labels.

If you have time, the road to the ocean from Oaxaca to Puerto Angel its simple amazing, take the route through San Jose del Pacifico, I recommend you to sleep there and enjoy some of the cabins they have, next day you can continue to Puerto Angel - Zipolite / Mazunte - Puerto Escondido

Awesome pics ad report JamieZ. I leave to Baja tomorrow from Phoenix for about two weeks, unless I'm having too much fun I may stay longer. Im heading all the way to Cabo, but my main interest is Puerto Lopez Mateo to watch the whales. Planning on camping as much as possible. Any advice or must stay camp sites you recommend? I've camped out from San Felipe to Bahia de Gonzaga before so I'm planning to go on the Pacific side. Any pointers would be appreciated. Traveling on my 1200 GS Adventure Beemer.

Thanks again for taking us along!

Took me 4-5 days to get here and glad I made it. Thanks for the effort Jamie! Travel safe.

Hey Jamie, Quick question for you. Have you ever wished that you had that additional 2 inches of ground clearance that the stage 2 kit would have given you?
Also have to second Charmin's suggestion for the Puerto Angel road and area.

Take a look at San Ignacio for whale watching as well.

16 febrero 2021

All things considered, the least fun day of the trip.

I went to bed last night not having any sort of plan for today. Wasn’t sure which direction I was going to go, or whether I was going to go at all. In fact, I still don’t know about tomorrow. I’m definitely planning to head out of Oaxaca, but I don’t know where I should go from here.

A few things sat on my list of items today, the first being to go back to see if the memela stand is there. Sure enough! They’re still popular.



I put in an order and watched them work.



While I waited, I asked one of the women working if she knew the woman in this picture of me from 2007:



It took her a second, but then she recognized her. She asked the other woman working to confirm. They both agreed. They knew her. She still works at the stand. I asked them if they knew when she’d be working next. Will she be here tomorrow? I didn’t quite understand the answer, but basically no, she won’t be here tomorrow.

I thought it would have been really cool to recreate that picture.

Anyway, my memela was finished. It was better than I remember. Actually I don’t remember, but this was one of the best things I’ve eaten in Mexico so far.



Next I aimed for Walmart to get some oil for my bike. Though it would probably be better to buy the oil at a shop, rather than Walmart, I felt pretty sure that Walmart would have what I needed and I didn’t know what kind of oil a shop might carry.

In fact, Walmart’s selection of oil was very limited, and all the oil was extremely viscous. What the heck is this?



I don’t want to turn this into an oil thread; I just wanted diesel engine oil, preferably synthetic. They didn’t have that. They did have synthetic motorcycle oil, so that’s what I got, even though it’s 20W-50. Whatever. It’s a Honda.

Yesterday I researched some motorcycle shops near the hotel. There’s one listed on Google that gets good reviews, so I went over there. I couldn’t find it. So I headed over to another place which was listed as working on big bikes. Harleys and such. When I got there, I couldn’t find it either. A guy across the street must have understood my confusion. He pointed at the right door. I knocked; a guy answered, but he told me the mechanic was not there and the shop is closed. Behind him I could see several big cruisers on lifts.

I was getting a little frustrated, so even though it’s a little farther away, I went back to Supermotos, a shop I’ve been to before, in 2007. The garage door was open and I talked to a guy there, told him I wanted to change my oil. He moved one of their mototaxis, or as they’re officially called, motocars to make room for my bike in the shop.

This should be quick. Drop the skid plate. Drain the oil. Put new oil in. Re-attach skid plate. Go.

Yeah… no. The first fastener I tried to remove on the skid plate stripped out. Here I lay on the floor beside my bike and recreate the scene.



The guy mechanic there heard me cursing and suggested I could drill out the bolt head. He went to get a drill and some drill bits. Ever try to drill through stainless steel with dull bits? Took me about ten minutes and multiple bits, but eventually the head popped off. Good thing I’m carrying an exact spare for this hard-to-find bolt.

I’m not saying a stripped bolt head is the fault of SW Motech, but I’m pretty sure every European-made thing on this bike has given me problems in one way or another.

The work went quick from there, though they didn’t have any shop rags. No shop towels, nothing. The woman at the counter pointed me to the sink to clean my hands.



After changing the oil I went to adjust the chain since I haven’t been able to loosen the rear axle nut with my Rally Raid tools; in fact I bent the spanner trying to loosen the nut. The mechanic found an appropriate-sized open-end wrench for my axle nut. I would have bet a large sum of money that he was going to use an adjustable wrench.

I tightened up the chain just a bit. Hopefully it won’t stretch too much more. It only has to last me the next three months or so.

I brought the helmet that I bought for Daniela because I thought maybe someone might want to buy it. But after all the trouble, me cursing, borrowing a bunch of the mechanic’s tools, I handed him the helmet and told him he could have it.

The store manager came down and we talked for a bit. I showed her the pictures I took in 2007, and she still knew the mechanic who helped Bill install his chain back then. She asked if I’d send a couple of the photos to her. And she wanted a picture of me in the shop. So I asked for one, too.



I rode back to the hotel and went out to find something to eat. I went to Tacos Roy, which seems to be well-known. The menu is in English and Spanish. Frankly, the tacos didn’t look great, so I didn’t take a picture. And they were below average in taste in my opinion. That’s not bad. Even below average tacos are pretty good. And they were cheap.

Took this pic of the vendors near the main square…



I’m not certain where I’ll be heading tomorrow. It’s going to be hard to pass up the ride down 175. The coast has some cold nights ahead!

Head to San Jose del Pacifico and unwind.
Sending you contact info by PM.

Thank you.

I refer to SW-Motech as SW-Mojunk. They're quick to market with goodies for new bikes, and they are typically lower priced, but their quality is sub-par. I bought my 2004 DL650 in its first year of production and they were first to market with bash plate, engine guards and centerstand so I bought them all. They were terrible. Within two years I had replaced all three and swore off that brand.

Jamie , a hint for future oil purchases AND useful info for the noobs reading along .
You will probably have better luck finding a particular oil grade if you go to a big auto parts store - like Auto Zone (of which there are about ten in Oaxaca city ) If you want the oil as approved for both diesel- and spark ignition-engines you might do better to look for truck service directed suppliers . Heck ,even Italika shops carry good oil for bikes . The owners manual will tell you which range of viscocity are recommended , there is leeway ,but there are also limits .
Wal Mart and the other department stores carry the lines of interest to the budgets of the lower income who usually own older cars with high odo-readings . Also the high viscocity can be directed for use in regions with consistently hot weather and may be out of place if the store is in a cool region .
The Mobil Oil example plastic bottles you show clearly say as much - "PARA MOTORES CON MAS DE 150 000 km "- , that is" for engines with more than 150 000 km."
The older cars are presumed to have worn their cylinders from age and poor oil choices and have a lot of blow by . There is the idea that running such high viscosity oil will act more like syrup and not escape as quickly while also adding extra cushion in worn bearings .