Self-Propelling Particle

The Oaxaca coast from Mazunte to the border with Chiapas was a hot and humid stretch. I put in a big day to rendez vous with Irish touring cyclist, @shellon2wheels, at a Warmshowers family (photo 1). It was a treat to finally have a yarn with another cycle tourer after so long in Mexico without seeing any. In the morning Michelle went west, and I went east to stay with Warmshowers host Rodrigo in Zanatepec. He's the local English teacher, and I had the opportunity to speak to three of his classes the next morning (photos 3-5), and met another touring cyclist there, Richard from Quebec (photo 6). Photos 7-10 are a few of the random cornfields I camped in along this section, plus the 'casa de ciclistas' above the bike shop in Tuxtla.
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Photo 2 @shellon2wheels
Photos 3-6 R.Razgado
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#sixcontinents #sixcontinentstraveller #adventurecycling #adventurebybike #bikeadventure #cycletouring #cyclingaroundtheworld #solotravel #wanderlust #worldbybike #worldtraveler #worldtrip #aventura #worldontwowheels #exploretheworld #roamtheplanet #alaskatoargentina #bikewander #biketouring #bicycletouring #bicycletrip #cycletour #cicloviajero #oaxaca #mexico #huatulco #zanatepec #warmshowers @ Oaxaca, Mexico

One of the biggest rewards of my journey has been a regular reminder to be grateful for what I have. On this fifth anniversary of leaving my home country, I find myself with this view nearby and this quiet place to work, generously provided by a friend of a friend. Last photo is with cyclists, John and Sebastian, who I bumped into in town. They showed me how to take it easy on a beach for an afternoon in good company. ¡Saludos y gracias, amigos!
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#mexico #oaxaca #mazunte #sunset #beachlife #sixcontinents #sixcontinentstraveller #adventurecycling #adventurebybike #bikeadventure #cyclingaroundtheworld #solotravel #wanderlust #worldbybike #worldtraveler #worldtrip #aventura #cicloturista #worldontwowheels #exploretheworld #roamtheplanet #alaskatoargentina #biketouring #bicycletouring #bicycletrip #cycletour @ Mazunte

Yesterday marked the fifth anniversary of leaving my home country on a bicycle journey around the world! 🙌 🎂 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Somehow, I always seem to find myself beside the sea on these anniversaries. Here's where I fetched up each 2nd February over the last five years. The dashed line is looking ahead to where I may find myself on the next two trip-birthdays.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I estimate that I'm now around 2/3 of the way through this epic adventure in terms of distance (58,000km down, around 30,000km ahead). I'm probably around 3/5 done in terms of duration (for ~22 months out of these five years I was stationary, either working or visiting family - i.e. not cycling - so this journey has been achieved in a little over three years on the bike, with several long breaks to recharge body, mind and bank balance). I hope I can stretch my remaining funds for another two and a bit years.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Looking ahead to my next two continents (S.America and Africa), I am both thrilled and daunted. That mixed emotion never seems to disappear! I will also admit that life on the road has recently started to feel more like a burden than ever before. Maybe because I've been living the dirtbag-vagabond life too long, maybe I've been in the same country too long. I expected it to be difficult, but had no clue what form the real difficulties would take. But! This trip has given me so much. So much. It has changed my outlook and life goals beyond recognition. I know how privileged I am to be able to pursue this dream. So pursue it I do!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Full route and all my overnight stops available on my website (scroll to bottom of that page): http://selfpropellingparticle.com/route-map/⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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#sixcontinents #sixcontinentstraveller #adventurecycling #adventurebybike #bikeadventure #cycletouring #cyclingaroundtheworld #solotravel #wanderlust #worldbybike #worldtraveler #worldtrip #aventura #worldontwowheels #exploretheworld #roamtheplanet #alaskatoargentina #tripanniversary #bikewander #biketouring #bicycletouring #bicycletrip #cycletour

San José del Pacifico. JM Turner would have bloody loved it here! Although his skies might have turned out rather more psychedelic if he'd stayed long - this place is famous for its magic mushroom harvest, although that's not my reason for visiting.
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After Hierve el Agua, I toiled for three days cross-country with my guts in full rebellion. Somehow I managed to drag myself up to the cusp of Oaxaca's Pacific crest range, where I found a cheap cabaña perched high on the hillside. For the last two days I've been reading and rehydrating in a deck chair with these views. Between half hourly runs to the loo, I've watched clouds boil up off the Pacific during the mornings and afternoons, culminating in sunsets like this.
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#mexico #oaxaca #cloudscape #clouds #sanjosedelpacifico #sixcontinents #sixcontinentstraveller #adventurecycling #adventurebybike #bikeadventure #cyclingaroundtheworld #solotravel #wanderlust #worldbybike #worldtraveler #worldtrip #aventura #cicloturista #worldontwowheels #exploretheworld #roamtheplanet #alaskatoargentina @ San José Del Pacífico, Oaxaca, Mexico

From Oaxaca City I made a detour over the mountain to Hierve el Agua (literally 'boil the water'), a small series of outcrops formed by calcium carbonate rich springs. At first light, the infinity pool of the amphitheatre is spectacular. The pools are manmade, fed by ancient channels carved from the spring to a dam, over which nature has overlaid its own accretions. The 'petrified waterfall' is really a cluster of gigantic stalactites.
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The pools were prime for a swim, and I had them to myself at dawn, bar a couple of disinterested local tourists wrapped up for Siberian winter. But frustratingly I was already succumbing to another bout of gasto-enteric misery and didn't feel at all like immersion. Nor like riding up the steep, dirt road over the mountain back to Xaaga and onwards to the coast. But needs must when the devil drives! On the plus side, the wildcamping in Puebla and Oaxaca has been uniformly excellent, bar a few scratches from the ubiquitous spiky yuccas.
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#mexico #oaxaca #hierveelagua #xaaga #sixcontinents #sixcontinentstraveller #adventurecycling #adventurebybike #bikeadventure #cyclingaroundtheworld #solotravel #wanderlust #worldbybike #worldtraveler #worldtrip #aventura #cicloturista #worldontwowheels #exploretheworld #roamtheplanet #alaskatoargentina @ Hierve el Agua