Pandemia, Pobreza, Olvido, Y Muerte!!!

With my GPS set to avoid highways and major roads, we took of from Ajijic headed for Aguascalientes. The road followed the lake and turned rough somewhere past Mezcala. It was full of locals walking around, and being a small road I was constantly stuck behind other cars. It was a pretty sweet road, but I eventually turned around after a few more towns with the road getting smaller and smaller, leaving me unsure it would continue around the lake and I wanted to get to Augascalientes that day. Now looking at google maps I am sure I could have continued on, and regret turning back, but the maps.me app has led me down the wrong path before.

Churro and I instead headed towards Guadalajara, turning off just after the airport to continue North. Suddenly Churro starts to bog so I go to flip the gas petcock to reserve, which does nothing. Churros engine dies and we come to a halt, bummer I thought my gas problems were over. I stop on the shoulder with no way of getting off the highway due to the ditch on our side. This is not the place to stop, as the shoulder is used by vehicles regularly, but luckily we are on a long straight section so they can see us way ahead of time. Unfortunately I cant get the kickstand down due to the rear shock being bottomed out with my gear, as we are right on the ditch. I am pretty sure there is no way I am going to be able to get off the bike without dropping it here. I had discovered the shock is ok but weak, this problem is simply caused by the weight of the bags, and the large tank…..when full of gas Churro wants to tip over every time, and we had just filled up. I take a look down at the gas hoses without getting off the bike, and see the hose to the petcock had come out, including the elbow (Problem #8). I jam that sucker back in and fire up Churro, and ride off towards Augascalientes….I told you I was an amazing mechanic. This happens 1 more time a few days later, so while amazing, I am a lazy mechanic as well, as I should have secured it with a zip tie. Of course, being a lazy mechanic it still lacks the zip tie, as I jammed it in there the second time a few weeks later and rode off as well.

I found a cheap hotel in Augascalientes that had parking and was near the centro, it was nothing special but I have since forgotten the name so you are on your own anyway. The room did come with a sweet view though. Night had just fallen so after a quick shower I went out to check out the city. The centro is beautiful, with the main buildings setup with colored lights which made it look nice. It was only 7 but most places were closed, and while people were out, the number of people was much less than I would have expected in a city this size. I wasn’t sure if this was due to covid, or if the city was unsafe as I knew nothing of Augascalientes, though I didn’t get the feeling I was in any danger. I couldn’t really find food, so before heading back to the hotel I grabbed an enormous donut which had cream inside the ring….inside the ring!

The next morning was more of the same…..the city was empty, it felt like only 10% of shops and restaurants were open, and food while available, was difficult to find. I eventually settled on a pre made torta, which wasn’t great….I might as well have bought food at a gas station. I walk around the areas I hadn’t explored and eventually find a house selling handmade pretzels, so pop in for one of those. The 2 ladies are interested in why I am there being a gringo and all, and eventually I learn the city has been shut down for 2 weeks due to covid, yup that makes sense. Personally I think people should be able to risk getting covid over certain poverty, but here is another country that is forcing it’s citizens to close up shop, a blatant abuse of power. They tell me the city will open back up in a few days, but I myself am not convinced, so stuff some more pretzel in my mouth so as not to ruin their day.
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The plan had been to head up to Zacatecas, a city I had visited back in 2012. Due to Augascalientes being shut down I put a feeler out to some friends and they let me know that Zacatecas was the same, as the whole state had more or less been forced closed. I made the quick decision to try my luck in San Luis Potosi, another city from the 2012 trip, though this one had bored me a bit back then. On my way there I stopped in some random small town for some delicious tacos and a motorcycle guy stopped as I was taking off my gear. After we had talked for a few minutes I asked if I could take a picture of his jacket patch, since he was very proud of his motorcycle club. He was the/an “abuelo” or grandfather of the club…though I don’t know if that means he founded it, is in charge, or what. Normally I do not take or share pics of people, but this guy insisted we not only take a selfie but I put it on “face”, which is what everyone calls facebook down here. This guy was awesome, we had instantly bonded over the motorcycle connection, and if I were fluent I probably would have tried to talk my way into hanging out with him longer as I bet he has some great stories. But rather than join a Mexican biker gang, I continued on to San Luis Potosi.

Well, my apologies to San Luis Potosi, because it was fantastic….but then again anything open would have been great at this point. I admitted I was burnt out from travel my 1st time there, so had only stayed 1 night and moved on, as the city wasn’t all the different from others I had been in. It is sad that I need a vacation from my vacations at times, but sometimes you just need a break. I stayed here 2 or 3 nights as I had a little time to kill before heading into the desert, so made sure to get my hands on as much street food and treats as I could handle. Nothing happened here, but it was a great stop over in a pretty city, open and full people!
Pandemia, Pobreza, Olvido, Y Muerte!!!

From there I took the back way out so I could avoid the highway, sticking to a smaller back road which took me through some cool, though pretty empty towns. At one point I stopped for a photo for a cool rock outcropping, when a truck came up and told me an oversized vehicle carrying some machinery was coming, and asked that I get off the road…..an adventure, yes sir your wish is my command! I pulled off on top a nearby “road” which was really only a road for the locals, in reality it was barely a trail. Churro and I decided to have a facebook photoshoot since I love facebook so much, so drove towards the rock. After a few shots we tried getting even closer, but eventually the trail went around the rock and it appeared there was only a walking trail up the rock, and I wasn’t in the mood for walking this day.

From there we stopped in Pinos for lunch, one of Mexicos Publos Magicos. I was more interested in the back route than the town, but Pinos was ok. The problem I have with pueblos magicos is that the ones I have been to generally all seem to have restored buildings 1 or 2 blocks from the centro, and then past that the residents are left with their old crumbling homes….which gives me a feeling as if it is a bit fake. Those not lucky enough to live in the centro, or having jobs which cater to the tourists seem to get left behind. I have spoken with people and I get mixed opinions depending on who I talk to, plus each pueblo is probably setup differently as well, but these are my general observations on them, and match the opinion of some of my Mexican friends.

Pinos has an old church, and a bunch of vendors selling stuff, so after checking the church out I found some food and bought myself some Mexican tunes. I then headed up the mountain looking for an aerial view of the city. After a few roads which ended up being dead ends, I found a red cobblestone type road which hit the spot providing a nice aerial view of the city, before continuing on to the desert.
More pics of SLP