OK, you've heard us fawn on and on about how nice we think Mexico is. Now we have to pony up and tell you about some of the other stuff.

• The trash on the roads and even around the towns is abominable in places. ABOMINABLE. Unbelievable. I don't know what's wrong with Mexico and trash, but they need to get it straightened out. We have seen entire little villages strewn with plastic bags and bottles. One that I saw looked like a dump until I looked closer and realized there were houses. We rode along a canal the other day near the coast and found dumped plastic garbage bags everywhere for miles, with dogs digging into bags containing animal entrails and endless piles of plastic trash. There was even a dead pig rotting in the swampy water along the roadside gutter.

We've told you about the highways and our greatest risk in every country - the traffic. But many of you were most worried that we'd be abducted by drug-traffickers or thrown in prison by the "federales." And some have asked us why we weren't bringing a gun (Don't bring a gun to Mexico! You'll go straight to jail if it's discovered at a border crossing!).

In terms of our everyday experience, we have to tell you that Mexico seems to be the safest country we've traveled in on our trip so far. Our perceived level of risk both to person and property is lower than in either Canada or the United States. Nobody has bothered us or our stuff in any way.

Now we'll have to admit that we're not careless travelers and we keep our eyes on our things and don't leave our bikes unattended. We're experienced third-world travelers. And if somebody says an area is dangerous, we listen carefully and try to evaluate the risks. And we also have to admit that we aren't likely to be seen as good kidnapping subjects, since there's nobody to ask for a ransom. Most people here think our bikes are pretty cool, and pretty expensive by Mexican standards, but they don't seem to think we have all that much money (or we'd be going by car, right?) So maybe our risk level is lower because we're a small target. But I don't think so. I think Mexico is just a mighty calm, friendly place.

The other day I read the US State Department's advisory about Mexico. It could get you *really* scared!  read more here... lee mas aquí... »

Of course many of you asked us if we were crazy going south into Mexico (and beyond). Well, maybe. But we wanted to give you a report on the security and safety situation here now that we've nearly traversed the length of Mexico in more than four months of travel.

First of all, our biggest risk here is the same as the biggest risk has been from Canada on down. It's getting wiped out by traffic. We're out there on the side of the road every day and we're vulnerable. One sleepy driver can swerve to the right just a little bit and we're history. We know it happens, and so do you. We have two main strategies here. We try to find the less-traveled roads using the best maps and information we can come up with, and we use mirrors on our helmets.

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There we were sitting in the Zocalo (the main plaza) in the seaside town of Juchitan, Oaxaca, and we thought - we could record some of this for you. So we describe here what we saw and heard that night. We talk about the marimbas playing and how the "food court" works, and the rental-electric cars for the kids. It was a nice evening in the plaza.

10:12 minutes (9.34 MB)

Today is June 9, 2007. One year ago and 7600 miles ago we started out from Inuvik, in far, far northwestern Canada, on our journey to the bottom of South America. We didn't know whether we'd be successful in crossing that first 500 miles of dirt road in the tundra of the far north. And now here we are in the mountains at the very bottom of Mexico. We passed through Canada's Yukon, part of Alaska, British Columbia, the states of Washington, Oregon, and California, then went home to Denver to sell our house and get our affairs in order. In late January we set out again from Phoenix, Arizona, and have traversed the entire center of Mexico. What an incredible journey! But what will come next? We're hoping to do some volunteer work in Guatemala, and we may spend several months there, setting out again in the late fall.

We hope to get to the bottom of South America - Ushuaia, Patagonia, Argentina, in February of 2009.

There we were in the remote mountains south of Oaxaca, grinding up a big climb, and here comes Ludo, obviously a gringo, happily and easily running up the grade with a 20 pound backpack, making better time than we were. We stopped to chat, and it turned out that Ludo and Matthieu are running from Mexico City all the way to Patagonia! And they're planning only 10 months for the trip. They know that that's not enough time and they will be taking some buses on some sections, but they're making pretty fine time!  read more here... lee mas aquí... »

Well, it's early June, and we're (finally) in the south of Mexico, in the bottom of the southern state of Oaxaca (wah-HAH-kah). We've been in Mexico for almost four full months and have come about 2500 miles (4100 km). That's a lot slower than we expected - we thought we'd cover all of Mexico in about three months, and here we're still riding after four. But we've had an absolutely wonderful time, and we will miss Mexico dearly when we leave it. How are we going to live without all that incredible variety of outstanding food?

There are new pictures on the photos page - or you can go to this direct link..

We started our day unusually early, the alarm clock rang at five in the morning. We were facing steep climbs in the southern mountains of Mexico in the state of Oaxaca state of Mexico. The total elevation would be determined on how far we could ride which was determined by varying factors. The steep grades with our heavy loads would test our muscle endurance, the amount of time on a saddle would test our butts, the heat of the day in southern Mexico in May would bear down on our helmet-covered heads cooking us under the afternoon sun. Would we be hit by a late afternoon torrential rain, and if this happened would we be a place with cover? All these thoughts raddled around my brain as I mounted my bike and started the days adventure.

The early morning is a great time to ride because of the muted morning colors that fill the surrounding landscape, This morning was especially wonderful because the red-colored soil that stretched all around us was lit up doubly with the rising morning sun. A mist hung above the rich farm lands as we rode the quite river valley road. This moment of bliss was interrupted as the awakening sun heating the morning mist and us with it.

At 10 miles out we stopped for breakfast of quesadillas and sandwiches called tortas. As we waited for breakfast, I adjusted my seat for today’s ride. Yesterday's ride of 4500 feet climb stressed my soft tissue so an adjustment was called for.

We rode almost all day along a ridge line, deep valleys to the left and massive valleys to the right. We would climb 500 feet and descend 400 feet, and repeat this over and over. Climbing and descending. All and all we climbed over 3600 feet for the days total. I was in awe, how a road can be built along a ridge for 40 miles and have view on the left and right. It was an incredible bike ride with the beautiful vistas of tropical Oaxacan plants scattered throughout the expansive terracotta-colored landscape, but at the same time it is the dry season, and the land waits patiently for the rain to come in earnest.

As I rode the long miles, I kept myself entertained by looking around at the sights which are so foreign to me yet spike my curiosity. Who lives in the Adobe brick houses with tin roofs which stood on every distant hill top? What was life like for lone Mixtec Indian who worked hunched over his plot of land, and woman hunched over the concrete basins washing the endless piles of clothes, or preparing the days food? Why was the goats and mules making those awful sounds of protest? I let my mind wander for most of the time except when traffic approached or the road side DOG gave chase to me in which I focus on patterns of approach and the need for evasive action. Cars are mostly predictable, but not always. If I see a single car, it can go around me. If there are a bunch of big vehicles such as buses or large trucks, I avoid them and get off the road.