Day 570
Lake Chapala
Well Mascota was just wonderful but we have a wedding to go to in April, so we now have a deadline to get to Medellin for our flights to Thailand. So, though Tom was still far from 100%, it was back on the roads for us. To leave the town we had to brave the cobblestone streets, fun but lots of pain for poor Tom!
Then we were out of the town, onto quiet back roads through endless fields of agave plants. They need a lot, it takes 7 plants to make 1 litre of tequila! We had a day of seemingly endless hills and dirt road which slowed us down. Tom spotted somewhere to wildcamp a few miles short of where we hoped to be, but time was running out and we soon set up camp away from the road. The following morning we realised just how lucky it was we had stopped. There was simply nowhere we could have stopped for another hour or so.
We were heading to our Warmshowers hosts for the night, Richard and Diana by Lake Chapala. Naturally though we had done most of the hills the route saved one big hill for the end. We could have stayed on flat tarmac, but it was a major road and not where we like to be. So off-road we went. Through a couple of tiny villages and then up for just short of 1,000 feet with no shade at the hottest time of day. I have a hate/love relationship with off-road hills, hate the thought of them, but ones like this are just awesome. Nicely graded, not too lumpy and stunning views, result!
We were soon relaxing at Richard and Diana’s. They kindly offered us a room for a couple of nights, use of the pool, a fabulous family home to relax in, and time for Tom’s ribs to heal a bit more, well it would be rude not too!
