Days 100 Through 102: Almoloya de Juárez To Cuernavaca

Along with the amazing food of central Mexico comes the amazing mountains of central Mexico.  Between San Miguel de Allende and Cuernavaca stood over 500 kilometers and over 7500 meters of climbing, reaching an altitude of over 3800 meters on the Nevado de Toluca, a now-dormant volcano.

I've never handled altitude particularly well... I tend to lose my appetite above 3000 meters and I had a few major bouts of nausea summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro and getting over Dead Woman's Pass on the Inka Trail.  So when I lost my appetite and started having digestive problems, I chalked it up to the altitude.  However, over the next few days, I found myself unable to eat much at all and doubling over with sharp shooting pains.  The few times I did manage to put food and water in my stomach, it didn't seem worth it for all the stomach gurgling and cramping that immediately followed, so I ate just enough to not faint on the bike.

Notwithstanding all of this, I would do it again in a minute.  The dirt road that runs through the Nevado de Toluca national park is what chasing dirt is all about...

Cloudy skies give way to a beauuuutiful morning.

This friendly fruit vendor refused to accept any money for the fruit I tried to buy.

When we asked if there was somewhere to get breakfast nearby, his neighbor, Ruth, offered to make us breakfast accompanied by her amazing homemade tortillas.  She, too, refused to let us pay.  We sat a while to chat with her and her son about everything from bike touring (she has hosted other bike tourists before) to why Mexicans are migrating from the Catholic church to other forms of Christianity.

Her son is a talented graffiti artist... he gave us this piece as a parting gift.  So when his art becomes famous, I have proof that I knew him before he got big.

We found a nice dirt road alternative on the way to the Nevado de Toluca... which turned into a little town and then into something that looked like a pretty awesome singletrack.  We discovered that yes, that track did reunite with the road we wanted, but it would have been a rough climb (aka, lots of bike pushing).  Because my stomach was acting up so much, we decided not to take that route... next time.

The Nevado de Toluca off in the distance... we weren't sure we would get a better view because of the clouds so I snapped this picture just in case.

Photogenic flowers.

We made it to the Nevado de Toluca national park!  Here, a well-maintained dirt road takes you through the park and up to a tollbooth, parking lot, and posada where you can camp or sleep in a bunk.  We found out after the fact that it is about 3.5 km from this sign to this area.

Had we known we were so close, we would have stayed at the posada... instead, we jumped a fence to camp in the fog about 1 km short of the tollbooth.

The next morning, we woke up to cool clear skies and the sounds of dozens of cars passing below.  I peered out of my tent to see that every single car had mountain bikes mounted on racks.  Turns out that the Nevado de Toluca is a mountain biker's haven and that this particular weekend, cyclists were preparing for an upcoming mountain bike race.

Clear views of the Nevado de Toluca!

We were quickly adopted by Los BerrakosBike crew.

While I've read there is a fee for cars to park, the folks at the tollbooth did not charge us anything to come in by bike.  We made a beeline for a comedor which served up a delicious wild forest mushroom soup and some decent quesadillas with squash flower and huitlacoche (a yummy corn fungus).

We knew this was the season for the wild forest mushrooms because we saw dozens of folks on our climb selling bucketloads of mushrooms.  This soup was simple... super mushroomy and flavored with epazote.  No filler, nothing to distract from the pure mushroom flavor.

I was a little disappointed by my quesadilla de flor de calabaza y huitlacoche, mostly because the tortilla wasn't freshly made.  Yup, getting picky.  Of course, I was also feeling pretty cruddy from all my digestive issues, so maybe I'm being a bit harsh.

Heading down the backside of the park offers a different view of the Nevado de Toluca.

These cows don't realize how good they've got it.

After a glorious descent down from the Nevado de Toluca, we started winding our way towards Malinalco where Gonzalo's mother and brother would meet us to visit the archeological ruins and give us a lift into Cuernavaca where we would finally have a few rest days after seven straight days of cycling.

This part of Mexico state is very populated, which makes wild camping almost impossible.  We opted for a hotel in the town of Tenancingo so we could shower and get a good rest... this gem only cost 200 pesos.

The view approaching Malinalco, which is located in a stunning valley.

The grade on this road is so steep the pavement has ridges to assist cars in braking.

Gonzalo heads down this awesome descent.

Obligatory photo of the church in Malinalco.

While I don't get very excited a churches in Mexico in general, the artwork inside this one was done by Aztec slaves and is one-of-a-kind.

My favorite mural.

Ooh pretty!

Awww, proud mama with her two sons.

A few travel notes for cyclists:

• If I had to do this again, I would plan to stay at the posada at the tollbooth parking area and do some hiking and unloaded mountain biking.  Lonely Planet says that the food stalls are only open on the weekends and to bring your own water and food if you arrive during the week.  We were able to get both water and food since it was a Sunday.  There is a little town just before the dirt road turnoff for the park where you can stock up.  Even better, stop at the tiny store before the town to stock up... the young couple that runs the store makes some amazing enchiladas and the señorita is a climbing and rappelling enthusiast.

• Remember that museums and archeological sites in Mexico are closed on Mondays.  We were unable to see the ruins in Malinalco because we forgot it was a Monday... luckily the church was worth the visit!

• This area is also known for trout, we went to a lovely restaurant in Malinalco to feast on local trout and it was amazing.  This is saying a lot because this day was the worst for my stomach and I still ate my whole trout.