Alan's Blog
Day 18 - Colima - Morellia
Thursday, 10 January 2008
First thing in the morning, I was up to check the tracking on the Fedex shipment... and to my surprise... it was being returned to sender due to an error with documentation! Aaaaghga, don't you hate that?
Anyway, I popped off an email to Tom at Works and followed it up with a call as I was sitting on the bike ready to go. I decided to leave the details in their hands from there. The ride started out with a quick little excursion to Comala, a very traditional Mexican town outside Colima, which nearly everyone I spoke to suggested I go and visit.
As I drove into the town, it was sort of what I expected... and I didn't bother walking around and spending too much time over there. Maybe I missed something, maybe not. I will never know, but as far as I could see, it was similar to all the other 'traditional' Mexican towns I'd visited thus far. 
As I was driving towards Comala however, and also while driving through the town on it's cobblestone streets, I couldn't help but notice this beautiful Volcano... picture perfect, and complete with a plume of smoke coming out of it! I had to get there somehow, and started exploring the town left right and center for a road that would lead me towards it's general direction.
You start off with hot, dry bushland, and it very quickly leads into a wonderland of colours and smells with crisp, clean mountain air to boot! The road surface is close to perfect (as good as it gets for secondary roads), and because it had been so dry during winter time, there were no unexpected wet patches or streams crossing the road to be wary of! (only one small rockfall around a blind corner... but nothing serious or scary) [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjDhZk5_Qs4&rel=1] Volcano Fun Run Part 1
If anything I remember about this road it's the smells. It must be that the earth surrounding these volcanoes is so fertile and the air so clean that the plants that grow there really thrive! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FdFF0-o86E&rel=1] Volcano Fun Run Part 2 So all in all, it was a very worthwhile excursion. I had a look at Comala and I saw my first decent sized Volcano in Mexico. I kept going for a few more kilometres until the Volcano was on my back (the road didn't go straight towards it unluckilly) while heading towards San Antonio.
While thinking about turning around and heading back, along the way I spotted a little roadside shop selling beer, which is when I decided to turn around and finish off this little chapter while savouring a nice cold Corona with a magnificent view of the Volcano. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHNPJ1cWRyg&rel=1] Riding through Comala, back to Colima on the Cobblestone Streets Onto Guadalajara and beyond!
Like so many times before (not the same town, not the same destination... but the same problem)... I missed the exit that heads onto the Auto Pista to Guadalajara... and had to endure an extra 20 minutes + of hot and heavy city traffic in Colima, before I decided to head back to where I came from... and low and behold.. it was right in front of my eyes!
The road to Guadalajara was quite interesting as it goes through some beautiful canyons and even though I took the 'paid' Auto Pista road, it was mostly a single lane, non divided road climbing through the mountains all the way. Along the way to Guadalajara, I spotted a number of salt lakes alongside the main road and decided to have a little fun! It wasn't as hard as some of the lakes I've been on, so low speed manouvering was a bit like riding in sand, although at higher speeds the bike didn't sink in as much. 
Guadalajara was huge, and looked like a great city, although I didn't stop and take any photos... moslty because it was so busy... I wasn't in the mood... there was nothing 'that' special anyway and it was getting late in the afternoon and I wanted to be on the Auto Pista to Mexico City before sundown. I stopped for quite a while at a Pemex service station on the Auto Pista out of Gualajara and had a good chat to all the locals for about an hour!
From there, it was all the way to Morelia which is only about 300km from Mexico City, which would ensure that my next days ride was reasonably short! Because of the constant increase in altitiude from Colima, upon getting to Morelia, I found I would have to constantly nurse the lady not to die on me at traffic lights, particulararly if she was running momentarily lean for a few seconds.
For example, everytime I would be running say at 60km/h to a stand still, I couldn't suddlenly throttle off and pull the clutch in to gear down. I'd have to keep fanning the throttle, combined with obviously using the front brake! You get used to it after a while! Coupled with that, power had definitely taken a major dive... and my R80 was now feeling like a little 250cc scooter around town! I found that by pulling the erichner to half..it was managing an idle of 800rpm with the usual Generator light flickering away around that speed.
The place I decided to stay at was a real dump in Morelia next to the main road. They had 2 options, the deluxe room for $120 pesos and the standard room for $100 pesos. I asked what the diference was between the two, and they confirmed that the only difference is that the deluxe had a TV! I chose the standard... no time for TV! The rooms also had agua caliente... so with a warm shower and a bed I was happy! My thoughts were that, all I needed was to crash for the night. Just about the only thing I unpacked was my toothbrush!
So there I was, the pretty girl at the front counter seemed honest enough. Anyway, I locked the bike..took off my panniers and everything else that can be stolen and made a few return trips to dump my stuff outside the door of my room. Finally, I was in, everything was unpacked and a warm shower and sleep was awaiting me! (aaahhh, this was going to be sooooo good. I had sea sand in my ears, greasy sandy fingernails etc etc,you get the picture!)
I felt robbed when I entered. The first thing I checked was the shower... and there was no warm water... the sheets were really dirty... with blood stains on them and there were no towels or toilet paper! Hmmm. By this time, having unpacked everything and not even being in the mood to complain... I simply reset my expectations and said to myself... well, for $10 you got a roof over your head... that'll do for now. It was very cold in Morelia (it's as high in Altitude as Mexico City), and I didn't have a good nights rest at all.
Ontop of that, I was not entirely over my little cold I contracted, and this night definitely made things worse. My sleeping bag wasn't warm enough, so eventually I decided to wrap up in my space blanket around 2am... and then into the sleeping bag... which actually made me sweat! I would definitely recommend a space blanket to anyone going on a trip like this. I couldn't believe how effective it is! It's the same plastic/metallic composite they use on many space vehicles, including the original lunar module. It resembles tin foil, with a golden appearance but it's tougher and thinner!
Day Summary: Excellent day, my health is suffering a little becuase I'm not giving myself much time to get over the cold I had, this combined with the chilly night air is not recommended. It's manageable if you can have at least 6 hours of warm, cosy sleep... but if you push it all day, and then suffer at night it, combined with increasing your altitude from 0 - 500m ASL (Above Sea Level) to a constant 2000 - 3000m ASL ... then it's possible you're not going to keep ontop of your game!
Comments (43)
written by wholesale Printing Services, June 24, 2011
-
- +0
-
-
written by promotional Sports & Leisure Bags, June 24, 2011
-
- +0
-
-
written by yiwu ties, June 24, 2011
-
- +0
-
-
written by DC Hat, August 09, 2011
NBA Hats: The information you provide is quiet helpful, why I was not able to find it earlier. New York Yankees Hats, Anyways I’ve subscribed to your feeds, keep the good work up.
-
- +0
-
-
written by NFL Jerseys , August 27, 2011
-
- +0
-
-
written by Nike NFL Jerseys, September 16, 2011
-
- +0
-
-
written by NFL Wholesale Jerseys, September 21, 2011
nfl jersey wholesale
Two-time Pro Bowl defensive end Osi Umenyiora and first-round draft pick Prince Amukamara were inactive for the Giants along with WR Jerrel Jernigan, TE Travis Beckum, G Mitch Petrus, T James Brewer and RB Da'Rel Scott.
-
- +0
-
-
written by Wholesale Jerseys, September 29, 2011
Wholesale Jerseys http://www.world-onlineshopping.com
-
- +0
-
-
written by Herve Leger Dress, October 21, 2011
-
- +0
-
-
written by north face apex bionic jacket, November 04, 2011
-
- +0
-
-
written by Microsoft Outlook 2010, November 04, 2011
-
- +0
-
-
written by mens uggs, November 10, 2011
-
- +0
-
-
written by Louis Vuitton Bags, November 11, 2011
-
- +0
-
-
written by KIKI LIU, November 12, 2011
Cheap Christian Louboutin Pumps
Christian Louboutin Boots
Christian Louboutin Sandals
Christian Louboutin Wedges
moncler vest
moncler down jacket
moncler outlet online
Air Max 90
Cheap Air Max 90
Air Max 2011
-
- +0
-
-
written by Microsoft Office, November 18, 2011
-
- +0
-
-
written by Microsoft Office 2010, December 21, 2011
-
- +0
-
-
written by nflstorechina, December 23, 2011
Because of a sprained left leg ligament, Houston texans star andrei Johnson took over the team will not be in this week against Cincinnati tiger team games to come.Last week in Texas 17-10 beat the Atlanta falcons game, cheap air max 2012 Johnson in the third section, a catch injuries. Johnson cheap air max,
cheap air max shoes
-
- +0
-
-
written by coach factory outlet, February 07, 2012
-
- +0
-
-
written by louis vuitton uk, February 07, 2012
-
- +0
-
-
written by christian louboutin, February 07, 2012
-
- +0
-
-
written by coach outlet online, February 07, 2012
-
- +0
-
-
written by chanel uk, February 07, 2012
-
- +0
-
-
written by coach outlet, February 07, 2012
-
- +0
-
-
written by louis vuitton sale, February 08, 2012
-
- +0
-
-
written by coach factory outlet, February 08, 2012
-
- +0
-
-
written by christian louboutin uk, February 08, 2012
-
- +0
-
-
written by chanel uk, February 08, 2012
-
- +0
-
-
written by coach outlet store, February 08, 2012
-
- +0
-
-
written by coach outlet online, February 08, 2012
-
- +0
-
-
written by coach outlet online, February 08, 2012
-
- +0
-
-
written by louis vuitton uk, February 08, 2012
-
- +0
-
-
written by louboutin uk, February 08, 2012
-
- +0
-
-
written by coach bags, February 08, 2012
-
- +0
-
-
written by coach outlet, February 08, 2012
-
- +0
-
-
written by abercrombie milano, March 13, 2012
-
- +0
-
-
written by mulberry alexa, March 28, 2012
-
- +0
-
-
written by Microsoft Office, May 10, 2012
-
- +0
-
-
written by abercrombie fitch paris, May 18, 2012
-
- +0
-
-
written by coach factory outlet, May 19, 2012
-
- +0
-
-
written by louis vuitton sale, May 19, 2012
-
- +0
-
-
written by coach outlet online, May 19, 2012
-
- +0
-
-
written by coach outlet, May 19, 2012
-
- +0
-
-
Write comment
| < Previous | Next > |
|---|
Subscribe to the feed