Down the Devil’s Backbone and along the coast

On our own now, Kristin and I made it from Chihuahua to Rodeo on our first day (just shy of Durango, where we had hoped to make it). Turns out Rodeo was the birthplace of Pancho Villa. Who knew? Anyway, we were excited to turn south-west from Durango, as we were about to enter the ‘El Espinazo del Diablo,´or the Devil´s Backbone. Our guide from the first week with Motodiscovery, Alfonso, told us this was another ride the company offered, so we expected it to be fun. The first hour and a half past Durango was relatively mild, a few turns threw pines, chilly, but nothing stunning. As we continued, though, it got twistier and steeper, and then, all of the sudden, there was a gap between the trees… and it looked as if you had reached the end of the world. Because we were cruising by quickly on motorcycles, it was hard to believe the glimpse was real. But then another gap would appear, and BAM… a stunning, gagged, lush canyon. You almost expected to see pteradactyls flying around, maybe a brontosaurus head poking out the trees. Eventually, we reached the classic photo op spot… a point where the ridge was barely wider than the two lane highway, and views to both sides. We stopped, took some pictures, chatted with a couple of Americans driving to Panama (one of whom owns a rafting company in Boquete).

That night, we made it to Mazatlan, tired and ready for a good night´s sleep. We strolled to find dinner, and ended up in the historic zone, at a quaint, beautiful square surrounded by nice restaurants. We had dinner, listening to a brass band play Beatle´s hits, songs from Grease. After dinner, we stopped in for a paleta-a homemade popsicle-and helped the owner of the store translate her menu to English.

Today, we rode from Mazatlan to Puerto Vallarta. The tolls between the two cities were unbelievable! I think we spent close to 50 US dollars! But, we did arrive in Vallarta with enough time to stroll down the lovely beachfront, taking in some great music and a gorgeous sunset. This town is definitely a tourist destination, but it still has Mexican character, and does not feel gawdy or awkward. Plus, we found a decent hotel for $28, which was also cool enough to allow us to roll our motorcycles through the lobby to the courtyard, so they wouldn´t be parked on the street overnight.

First week in Mexico!

Hello! Kristin and I are wrapping up our first week in Mexico, in which we are participating in a instruction-based tour with Motodiscovery. We met Sam, Rob, David, Bryan and the rest of the gang in El Paso, TX. We crossed into Mexico and worked our way south to Creel, which sits on the northern edge of Copper Canyon National Park. This canyon is INCREDIBLE. It is deeper than the Grand Canyon, and believe it or not, probably more rugged. We have been learning to ride our dual sport motorcycles, and just spent two days riding into the canyon. We are learning a tremendous amount, and definitely considering this region for future Alzar trips.

Probably the neatest thing we have done so far, though, is to drop off the large box of school supplies that we brought. We found a VERY rural school for indigenous peoples in the town of Quirare. Thanks to the Key Club at Boise High for gathering the majority of the supplies. The kids really needed the supplies, and appreciate them. We´ve got pictures and will be posting them on our website when we get back.

Tomorrow we head off on our own… just two Bierle´s and the road. We will probably spend another day or so in this region, before heading even further down south. Our helpful guide, Alfonzo, has helped us plan a fun, safe route that takes us along the Pacific Coast, south of Mexico City, and up to Veracruz, our last stop before heading to the States. We´ll try to post to the blog as often as possible, so stay tuned!