I left the Casa Chihuahua around eight in the morning after getting last minute travel tips from the cool French owner. He gave me emails of other bikers who have done my same trip, names of other great hostels around Mexico, and, best of all, links to websites regarding the journey from Panama to Colombia.

After saying the goodbyes with the owner and another hosteller I set out to Durango. It's pretty much straight south. A table I read said it was a nine-hour bus journey, so I made it in six. The whole way I was on scenery overload. I saw all possible landscapes imaginable. I would have taken pictures, but it wouldn't have done any justice to the beauty and it really wasn't safe to pull off anywhere.

On a hundred mile stretch of straightaway road it seemed like I was playing paintball, with full gear and everything. On my mask and on my jacket the paintballs were breaking apart in all sorts of different sizes and colors. The grasshoppers and bees exploded spectacularly. A few of them even managed to stick their whole body, wings and all. At first it was amusing but after an hour of no gas stations to wipe my mask it became quite annoying to have wings flapping in the wind and green ooze seeping around to my peripheral vision. Automatic helmet windshield wipers for an invention.... Anybody?

It was around six when I made it to Durango and had trouble finding a hostel (I don't think there is one) so I settled for a cheapish motel. I walked around the city, ate at a local roadside restaurant, and went to a bar with a live band. Went to bed early because of the long drive.

Woke early in the morning again and headed to Mazatlan, which is a main port from the Baja. The drive from Durango to Mazatlan, so I've read, is supposed to be on the top 10 ranked roads for bikers to go on. No doubt it's dangerous, but it was just amazing. (Sorry mom, I didn't know it was dangerous before I went on it). There were so many twists and hairpin turns on the edge of massive cliffs (with no rails). It's the kind of road where if you look over the edge and see the clouds below you it gives you the giggles. It wasn't a far drive (only a couple hundred Kilometers) so I figured I'd get there in a few hours. Wrong was I. This went on for 5 hours.

In Mazatlan I got an oil change, which I needed very badly. When the oil came out it was like mud, definitely not good for the bike. The owner of the Hostel in Chihuhua gave me the name of the cheapest and best hotel in Mazatlan so I camped there for two nights. Mazatlan itself isn't that pretty and the main beach not that great but the water was very warm.  

From Mazatlan I went to San Blas, only about a 2.5-hour drive. San Blas is the place where I should have spent 2 nights, instead of Mazatlan. San Blas is so nice; the beaches are stunning with hardly anybody on them. It's a small town with an atmosphere a bit like Antigua, Guatemala. I wish I could have stayed longer but I have to keep moving to get to Buenos Aires.

I noticed that the threads of my tires are showing and I decided to see if it's possible to make it to Mexico City, an 11-hour drive - Definitely not possible. I ‘m now in Guadalajara, a very large city. I'm getting my oil changed again, new tires put on and other bike necessities. It's still at the shop, the guys were closing as I was pulling in and they actually gave me a lift to the hostel. At this hostel I ran into the Swiss girls from the hostel in Chihuahua, a nice little coincidence. I'll probably go out with them tonight. Tomorrow morning I'll get a taxi to the bike shop, pick it up and maybe give it a wash.

Also, I've named the bike Cricket.