Day 4 - San Luis Potosi, MX to Guanajato, MX through Hidalgo, MX

 This would be the second shortest day of our trip (120 miles or 200 kms) as we wanted to arrive early in Guanajuato and enjoy the city.

We left at around 10am.

Our ride took us through the city of Hidalgo, MX where we were supposed to have lunch but unfortunately there was too much traffic and the police did not allow us to park the bike close to the main plaza so we decided to skip the stop there and go directly to Guanajuato and have lunch there.

The approach to Guanajuato from the north is amazing. The road (Ruta 110) is full of curves and the view of the city on the hills from afar is very nice. The main spectacles are the churches and the amazing colors of the houses.

Something I was not aware is that there is a maze of tunnels under the city called the Guanajuato tunnels which are a series of wide channels that extend under the city and help divert traffic away from the city centre. These tunnels were not primary constructed for traffic, but as a diversion for the Guanajuato River to prevent flooding to the early mining town. I was amazed how Bo with some help of a GPS that only worked now and then was able to work his way through this maze and take us to the hotel which was right in the center. We also had parking inside the hotel which we had to share with cars and we could only take the bikes out with two drivers moving the cars (more of that in tomorrow’s post).

Hotel Posada Santa Fe has a fantastic location and although a bit expensive by Mexican standards, I would recommend it just because of whee it is. Inaugurated in 1892, it offers a colonial type of experience in the historical centre. We were just in front of a garden and for the evening we had dinner in the outside patio where we were able to enjoy the mariachis and other street musicians that came around to show their art.

We had lunch at La Bohemia which has a view of the plaza from the first floor but we stayed downstairs. The food was good.

For $3, we took the funicular from the back of Teatro Juárez to the Monument to El Pípila on the mountains overlooking Guanajuato. It is a fast and entertaining ride straight up. The best part is watching the panoramic view of this beautiful city reveal itself. I would strongly recommend this if you are ever in this city. The views from the top and amazing and I specially liked looking down at the cathedral and the University next to it with its 83 steps which insures its students get an education and also a workout. The University was constructed during the 1940s from locally quarried granite. It has a gorgeous off-white color and a striking contrast to the red and yellow from the 16th century church adjacent.

We finished the day by taking a stroll through the city and enjoying mingling with the locals. 

I have travelled extensively in Mexico and I would agree with a lot of people that say that Guanajuato is Mexico’s most beautiful city.

Make Life A Ride !

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Day 3 - Saltillo, MX to San Luis Potosi, MX through Ruta 20

 I was specially excited about this day as we would be doing one of the best roads for motorcycle riding that we would encounter in our trip. This is the Ruta 20 that connects Arteaga, MX on the West to Santiago, MX on the East.

We left the hotel just after sunrise and our plan was to have breakfast in Santiago, MX.

Just as we were entering the most twisty section of the Ruta 20 were stopped by two policemen (one woman who was in charge and a man). She quickly told us we were not allowed to travel through the Ruta 20 because they had had a major fire and were not allowing anyone through but residents. That had a big impact in our great plans so we just huddled and started to see what other routes we would take to get back to San Luis Potosi. Unfortunately without being able to go east we would have to stay on the Highway 57 (so boring …). 

I then had an idea … while I was planning for this day, I contacted a number of people in the area and knew about the fire and even got to speak to a colonel in the Mexican police (all through contacts of Mexican motorcyclists) that told us that the road was NOT closed. So I went back to the police woman, dropped the name of the colonel and explained to her what he had told me and asked her if she knew him and that I would get him on the phone. To be honest, I do not know if this did it or if she just took it upon herself to be helpful to a handful of motorcyclists, the bottom line is that 10 minutes after we were stopped and were ready to turn around, she called me and told me that she had received authorization for us to get through. We were over the moon and even asked her if we could hug her with respect. She agreed and some of us did it.

Onto the bikes and onward we went and what a spectacular ride we did. The terrain is up and down, left and right and we were also presented with the devastation of the fire in part of the way.

As we were going down the mountain we saw a nice place to stop the bikes and found a house with two ladies that cooked us a fantastic breakfast … eggs, beans, bread, coffee, crepes etc, etc all for $20 for the 6 of us. Amazing !

Bo stayed behind and we went up ahead and he sent the drone up to film us as we went into a beautiful canyon.

Unfortunately towards the end of the road, the weather changed and we got rained upon and had to significantly slow down our pace to ensure we made it safely to Santiago, MX.

We have hundreds of photos to choose from and this will be a ride that will stay ingrained in my mind for a long time. Highly recommended !

After finishing the Ruta 20, we turned South towards Linares, MX and then turned back West towards Galeana, MX. This road (Ruta 58) was also very nice. Curves were a bit more wide than the Ruta 20 and we could go at faster speeds and make up the time we had lost in the rain.

We eventually met with Highway 57 and turned South again and went through Matehuala and arrived in San Luis Potosi still during daylight.

Unfortunately our hotel did not have parking so we had to park the bikes in another hotel and walk about a mile back to the hotel.

That evening we stayed in the Plaza de Armas (center of the city where the big cathedral is) and went to dinner in a nice steak house.

This is the second time we have stayed at Hotel San Francisco and we would recommend it as a very nice hotel in a great location and excellent prices.

Make Life A Ride !

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Day 2 - Del Rio, TX to Saltillo, MX through USA/MX Border Crossing Acuna, MX Piedras Negras, MX

 This would be our first day in Mexico and we would cross the border at Del Rio and Ciudad Acuna. We needed to do about 75 miles (120 kms) to Allende, MX where we would do the immigration and customs for the bikes.

Crossing into a Mexican city (Ciudad Acuna) from the USA is always an interesting experience because the colors and type of commercial establishments changes dramatically. I always enjoy seeing how countries so close by can be so different on each side of an imaginary line.

Riding in this part of Mexico was very calm as there was not much traffic.

We made it with no issues to Allende and all was going smooth until the young lady that was attending me realized that in the passport I had four names whereas in the motorcycle documents I only had three names (by the way these three names were all present in the four names in the passport). Based on this discrepancy, she tells me I am not allowed to get the motorcycle into Mexico. Fortunately she gives me an option and that is to go to the customs office Piedras Negras, MX which is 40 miles (60kms) one way to get a signature that authorizes her to give me the correct documents. 

So Bo and Dave go on ahead to the orphanage in Sabinas, MX as we had brought a whole lot of stuff for the kids and Greg, Colin, Paula and I make our way to Piedras Negras, MX. When I get to the customs office a young lady looks at the document and signs it in 30 seconds so we make our way back to Allende, MX get the documents squared away and go in search of Bo and Dave. They, in the meantime went to the orphanage but were not allowed to get in due to Covid so they delivered the packages and came to meet with us in a very nice restaurant on the north side of Sabinas, MX. We had a very nice lunch, our first in Mexican soil and continued on our way.

The rest of the day was pretty much spent on the Highway 57 making up miles fast but without much to see.

We stayed in a very nice and cozy hotel in Saltillo, MX … The hotel Colonial San Miguel. Boasting a terrace with a nice pool close by and the rooms opening up to the terrace. Bo was able to do a very nice session with the drone and as we were leaving to go for dinner we met a bride and a groom that we took pictures with and suggested an amazing restaurant for our dinner that evening. Los Compadres turned out to be a great restaurant where we shared a parrillada - plate with a variety of meats that are grilled. We even had a session of photos with Mexican hats and dulce de leche dessert. 

It was the perfect evening to start the bonding process between the six of us.

Make Life A Ride !

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Day 1 - Dallas, TX to Del Rio, TX

On this day we all left from our homes and made our way South. The plan was to meet at Brady, TX for lunch at around 11.30am.

The restaurant that we had chosen was called The Locker Sports Bar and Grill. They had just opened under new management and we were quite happy with the quality of food and service. The restaurant belongs to this young couple ... the husband is the cook and the wife is up front taking care of the customers. 

Shrimp was the main dish, served a number of different  ways and it was very fresh and tasty.

All together we made our way more South and everything was going ok until all of a sudden Dave slows down and stops on the side of the road. His back tire had hit something and had a big slice on it. We pulled the bike to the side of the road and Dave started calling around and finally found a tire that fitted his wheel. 

We took off his wheel and Greg, Paula and I made our way towards Del Rio (we were about one hour away) and Colin, Bo and Dave stayed with their bikes on the side of the road.

Greg stayed at T&T Cycles installing the new tire and I took Paula to the Best Western in Del Rio.

By the time I got back to T&T Cycles, the wheel was ready with the new tire and we must give 5 stars to the way we were treated by this motorcycle dealership. They were great !

We then made our way back to meet with the guys, put the wheel back and all together came to the hotel where we arrived just before sunset.

For the evening we went to have dinner at Don Marcelino, a Mexican restaurant which was fine.

We went to bed quite early as next morning we needed to be at breakfast at 6:30 and leave the hotel at around 7:00 as we had a long day ahead with a border crossing.

Make Life A Ride !

Click HERE for all the photos and videos of this Day