Dépêches de la route

Well, here we are at the start of another El Tour season. This is promising to be our best season yet (it gets better and better!)

We're on our second day of a 2 weeks tour from Puerto Vallarta to Lazaro Cardenas. We have a nice group of 4 who are really loving it so far.

Today we decided to veer a little from the itinerary and it paid off. We're in Tomatlan (Jalisco state), and lovely cobblestone street town. Well the cobblestones aren't so nice to ride on, but it's worth it. I think.

We got a good dose of mariachi today as we walked past the window of a bar today. There were a bunch of cowboys crowded into a little room, and an entire mariachi mostly crammed in there too. So full was the room that a couple of band members were spilling out into the next room. What a beautiful rich sound they have!

I really wanted to take a picture, but decided I wouldn't risk offending a bunch of drunken cowboys.

No matter how many times I cycle this route I still see and learn more wonderful things. The people in this area are very freindly and love to joke with you.

We left the ocean behind on Sunday leaving Puerto Vallarta, and climbed up along a river that has carved a deep gorge. At one point there's a spot where you can jump around the rocks and swim in different parts of the river and some pool. Stunningly beautiful and really refreshing.

Tomorrow we head back to the ocean, at Punta Perula, and if we're as lucky as the last time I was here, the BEST body surfing wave I can imagine.

While on tour, Joel and I like to take turns leading and taking up the rear. When we're in the back, we obviously need to ride slower than we're capable of, sometimes at a painfully leisurely pace.

Well. In machismo drenched Mexico, if you're on a bike, you're in a race. And of course if you're in the back, well, you're losing! It's fun to watch people in the back of passing pickup trucks cheering us on and trying to motivate us to "dig deep" and go for the gold.

Of course, we're touring, not racing, and while bike touring people treat you extra nice for some reason. People are already nice enough here, but when the hotel owner in Barra de Navidad asked us to help ourselves to the papayas in a bucket in the corner... well, I never thought it possible, but I had papaya breath for a couple of days. MMMmmm! Besides papayas, you can really tell that it's lime season, people are literally begging us to take them.

Yesterday Joel and I exlored a bit of the maze of houses, alley-ways and stairways that make up the side of a Rio-de-Janeiro-like hill (but much smaller) in Manzanillo. At the top there was a lookout where you could see the ocean, the mountains that we had just weaved our way through, the harbour, city and lagoons. We spent an active half hour taking in the view from every which direction while swatting sandflies on every which body part.

Tomorrow we head into the state of Michoacan, and the most spectacular coastline that I know. Heavily flora laiden foothills stab at the Pacific ocean, and our bike will carry us up and down the dizzy road that winds in and out and up and down. Awe inspiring views of the Pacific and dozens of beaches await us. I'm not sure though, is it beautiful simply because it is, or because we'll be so intoxicated by the effort that has brought us there?

One way or another, I can't wait.

Sorry it's been so long since I've sent out a group mail - the new tour that we're on definately warrants that we reintroduce the "killer" rating.

I have a lot of interesting things to write about, but I'll try to keep it short (ish).

From the end of the previous tour until now, nearing the end of the current tour, we've come full circle. On the last tour we were on the Pacific coast where if you did anything too enthusiastically you'd break into a profuse sweat (it's a little warm). During most of the current tour we've been between 2000m and 3000m - even in Mexico it's a little chilly up there. I know, no sympathy from anyone who is suffering winter right now, but there's no heating here!

We had a long (like 60km long!) climb from 1800m in Valle de Bravo to a cabin at 3700m on Volcán Nevado de Toluca (snowy volcano of Toluca) during our first overcast day of the tour. Overnight, the Volcán Nevado de Toluca (snowy volcano of Toluca) because Nevado (snowy). We cycled up to 4200m where the crater is (don't worry mom and dad, it's extinct) twice, once in the clouds and once in the sun. Both times were spectacular, and I enjoyed cycling in the snow - haven't done that for a while. It's true what they say, the air IS thin up there!

Back at the cabin - it must have gotten cold overnight because we woke up to a black and white world outside the frost covered windows. Just black shadows and white frost. And if there was ever a time that we could really REALLY use a toilet seat, this was it. Porcelain can get c-c-c-COLD!

There was a giant circular fireplace in the middle of the building that kept us from being miserably cold. Thank god for down sleeping bags too!

We started this tour in Morelia, capital of Michoacan. This has to be one of my favourite states. Morelia is a glorious colonial city, and since we arrived at about 5am on the bus, we had lots of time to cycle around and enjoy it before the traffic picked up and they let us into a hotel. As in many Mexican cities, Morelia boasts several museums and murals. One mural of interest depicted all of Mexico's "goods" and "evils". "Goods" to the right and "evils" to the left (of course). There were many polical figures, revolutionaries, etc, etc, some of whom I recognized, most I didn't. If you looked closely at the top left corner you could make out the subtle nuance of a Coca-Cola ad...

Outside the cabin was the gatekeeper for the Volcano reserve (which is a national park). Have you ever seen a one legged man chopping wood with an axe? Well, now I have. It's only a handicap if you let it be. I wish I could get a picture of that, but it didn't seem appropriate.

We're now out of the mountains, well sort of, we're practically at sea level, or at least that's what the sand flies will tell you. We're still surrounded by mountains, and we still have to tackle the coastal range to make it out to the Pacific.

On the way here, if you were't paying attention you could have had quite a scare when you suddenly glanced to the right and saw the 20m high stone head of ex-president Lázaro Cárdenas by the side of the road. He's famous for expropriating petrolium interests from US investers and companies. It's all national now - except for the huge contract industry of course. He's also famous because it's a large outdoor bathroom behind his giant head. I had taken a picture of this last year, but because there was an equally massive Coca-Cola sign beside it, it didn't really look that big. Now I have a picture of it with our bikes leaning against it. "Your bikes got crushed by WHAT?!?!..."

As always, while cycling in Mexico, or anywhere really, we're constantly confronted with the whims of dogs doing their jobs. I have my tactic for avoiding any problems - you just have to be more dog than the dog. Before the dog has a chance to chase - you can always see it in their eyes - YOU chase them. Well, this can results in some hilarity, but inevitably, the dog backs off a little confused. Joel has threatened to get me shots and a dog collar if I keep it up.

So, once again, I lied. Sorry. It was a long email afterall.

Dear tour participants, friends, tour participants who have become friends, people I'm trying to convince to come on a tour, loved ones, and people who I have confused for someone else...

Sorry I haven't written one of my famous groupmails in sooo long. That's about to change.

Greetings from Zihuatanejo, Mexico. I am about to embark on a new season of touring, which as always promises to be our best ever. This year I will be guiding tours with Alexandra along the Pacific coast in November and December, then with Joel in the Yucatan from January to March. I have also scheduled a couple of extra tours that Alexandra will guide with Ursula after she has come along to observe the tour with Joel and I... and there's one more, our super duper challenging mountains tour. I couldn't bear the thought of skipping this tour, so it's on in April after easter. Lots of tours!

Last season I was somewhat lazy about sending out my groupmails. We had a busy season and I didn't have much energy left over. I did however jot down many little observations, quirks and interesting details while on tour and travelling.

Alix and I arrived in Mexico city last October with the intentions of finding a place to live in Zihuatanejo. This we have done. While in the great capital, we realized how strangely it parallels the capital that was in the same place in pre-hispanic times, Tenochtitlan, the capital city of the Aztecs. Mexico city puts a great demand on the entire country's resources, much like Tenochtitlan demanded a tribute from all of the many peoples that lived in Mexico then. Of course many of those peoples still exist as do their cultures and languages. Currently it is estimated that there are around 62 living languages in Mexico, not including dialects and not including Spanish. When the Spanish first arrived this number was probably closer to 200, and while the strongest languages like Nahua (the language of the Aztecs) and Mayan are currently spoken by hundreds of thousands of people, the lesser languages only survive in some 60 to 100 people. Sadly, they also will die off soon. India is the only country in the world with more living languages. Some people who hold strong to their traditions don't even speak Spanish, and for many Spanish is only a second language. Despite this, Mexico has the largest Spanish speaking population in the entire world!

In Mexico, in places where it's cold enough to warrant having cold AND hot water, the taps are marked "C" and "F", Caliente and Frio, similar to the French. Well, unfortunately sometimes this is only wishfull thinking and sure, F stands for Frio, but often C stands for Cold, not Caliente...

Funny things that we saw in Mexico city: A bucket salesman distributing his wares by bike - if only I had a picture... three tall stacks of buckets hanging on in a very unlikely way to his rack. People do with what they have. A police car raced by, presumably to the scene of a disturbance as doughnuts aren't as common here in Mexico as in Canada. The back seat of this compact car "contained" no less than 5 police men. I say "contained" because the outer cop on each side was holding the door as closed as he could, which really wasn't closed at all. Another great picture missed.

It's the common understanding here in Mexico that intellectual property is a figment of wealthier nation's imaginations... hence the outragious movie and music black market. Also, the ownership of trade names is rarely respected, hence such brands as Dubacell or Duvvacell, Hellman's (notice the 2 L's) and of course Tommy Hilfinger and many, many more.

On to our final tour of last season. A tour so popular that I had to spilt the group into two, give one group to Joel to guide with Ursula and I guided the other starting a couple of days later with Alix. We started in Zihuatanejo and cycled mostly along the Pacific coast for almost 700km to Puerto Escondido. This is our "Mexico's South Coast" tour. We had a full group of 8 great people and shared many adventures with them.

After our second day of cycling, we checked into our hotel in the town of San Jeronimo, and then piled into a VW van to head to a beautiful sand bar that lies between a lagoon and the ocean. Of course there was a boat involved as well. After a tour of the lagoon, a wonderful seafood dinner and an amazing sunset over the Pacific, we took the boat back across the lagoon and waited for a van to get back to San Jeronimo. Well, it's not often that Mexican's will try to take advantage of people in a situation, but this was one of those times. Apparently the last van, or combie as they call them here, had already left. So the only solution was to take up our new "friend's" offer of a slightly more expensive (but still cheap) ride back in his combie that was in a bit of a state of disrepair. It took me a while to figure out what was going on, but it was obvious that driving this thing was a team effort. It turns out that the cable connecting the gas pedal to whatever it is that it has to be connected to to work properly, was broken. So the drive was a team effort of driver in the front steering, braking, changing gears and shouting out commands to one of the young school-girls in the back truck area who had the cable in her hand. Gear shifts were a little rough, but by the time we got to town, I must say they were one very impressively coordinated team.

While exploring a new route with Alexandra last June we learned once again that not all towns are created equal. For example, in some towns you're literally tripping over great places to eat, while in others you have to be a super slueth to find one. The latter was the case in Zacapu (pronounced sack-A-poo... no, really!) After much hungry wandering in a light drizzle and realizing that all the good eats had closed down early, we finally found the ultra hip Cafe Cuaro. I think we were lucky to even be allowed in dressed as we were in our ultra practical clothing. The food was good and the price was surprisingly very right.

Later, while cycling homewards along the coast of the state of Michoacan, we realized what it is that means civilization to us when we're riding in the heat. The coast of Michoacan is definately not civilized. In many ways that's good, miles and miles of pristine untouched beach and coastline. No phones, no banks, no internet, no choice but to take it easy. The only problem was, and this was the most uncivilized aspect of all... no ice-cream!!! Ice-cream has a funny way of become a staple food while bicycle touring in Mexico. Luckily there's great ice-cream (in most places) of all kinds.

It's interesting to be in Mexico for a while and then go back to Canada. You realize quite fast how important pop-culture is in the way that we relate to each other. While I'm in Mexico I get quite detached from that, and when I return to Canada, if you recite the latest catch-phrase from a recent movie I won't have a clue what you're talking about. Well, of course Mexico has its own pop-culture and because it's a slightly less TV-bound culture, it varies a great deal from town to town. For instance, in tiny Playa Ventura, there's a style of jeans that were all the rage last March. In the past it was common to see all kinds of Che Gueverra attire, t-shirts, jeans with his image bleached in. Never before had I ever seen these three images bleached into a pair of jeans before though. How do you think George, Bin and Saddam would get along in such close quarters?

I think they'd all feel much like the crazy bloated cow we saw (and smelled) as we screamed down a long descent (thank God we were moving so fast!) The cow was road-kill, but no body had bothered to move it. There it lay on the side of the road baking in the sun. The two veterinarians on tour with us assured us that it was normal for such a thing to bloat like that. It looked like someone had inflated this cow until it was on the verge of bursting. Luckily it didn't, at least not in our presence.

Until next time, may you always have good ice-cream nearby and may your cows never bloat.

Sounds like all I can think about is food? Close to it when I'm spending a lot of time on the bike.

Alexandra and I have been exploring to try and find a new tour route. We just left the state of Queretaro where we spent a little over a week and we are now in Guanajuato.

Queretaro was really quite a surprise to us. A good surprise that it. The state capitol, Queretaro is a gorgeous colonial city. Dozens of interesting churches featuring everything from Moorish influence to neo-classical design. The climate it warm during the day and cool at night, and (except when it rains) it is DRY. So dry it hurt to breath at first - being used to the humidity of the coast as we are. There are many pedestrian areas to explore and every type of delicious cuisine you could ask for.

We set out and cycled east, then north. We left the high plains and entered into high rolling desert, then misty pine clad mountains. One day we starting cycling amidst the pines, silently (because there was virtually no traffic!) we slipped through the fog that clung to the highest pass and then we started our long descent. By afternoon, we found ourselves in a high desert much like what most people think of when they think of Mexico. Joshua trees, nopales, something between a sonoran cactus and a pipe organ cactus, many, many types of cactus. There was one type that just looked like a big ball of thorns. They call it "asiento de suegra" or "mother-in-law's seat". What a ride it was! The next afternoon we were surrounded by fog and pine trees again.

It was challenging riding to say the least. And what does challenging cycling demand as a reward? Food. Good food and lots of it!

Early on we stumbled upon someone selling fresh black figs on the side of the road. I like figs, but Alix LOVES figs. She sang and danced (yes, while cycling) about them for the rest of the day.

Later that same day we visited a winery where we joined in with a tour and then bought a small bottle of dry red wine for later that night. I've heard many people say "I'll never drink again", maybe even some of you... but I've never heard anyone say it after only having about half a glass of wine the night before. Apparently it didn't help Alix recover from that long day of cycling. And the fact that we entered into the mountains the next day didn't help either.

Another culinary treat that we often find in Mexico, and particularly in this area is old-style, natural, home-made ice-cream. Need I say more? It really is the best stuff you can ever get. No freezer, no artificial anything, just 100% pure delicious!

My last story about food and Mexico actually has nothing to do with food at all. We've gotten into the habit of often wearing earplugs to sleep at night (thanks for those Kevin). Mexico is many things, but it's rarely quiet. Well, Alix's appetite always rages when we're in the mountains, she actually eats more than me sometimes! One night she was apparently so hungry that she started dreaming about eating jelly beans. See where this is going...? She awoke with an earplug in her mouth... wasn't quite the right texture so she woke up with a start. She's still laughing about it.

We're looking forward to continuing our explorations for about another week. Guanajuato is in the very centre of Mexico, and the state capitol, Guanajuato (not a very original name is it?), is reported to be the crowning glory of colonial mining cities in Mexico.

I intend to write more group mails this year, so I'll ease into it with a short note from beautiful Puerto Vallarta.

As far as resort towns go, I have to say that this is my favourite. Of course there are many charms and beautiful things to talk about, but then my email wouldn't be short.

I'll just mention a little store that I'm always very fascinated with. They sell such a strange combination of things. Not so bizarre as the "Gifts, Guns, Snack Bar" that Alix tells me there used to be near her cottage, but interesting nonetheless. In this little store I like so much, they sell bicycle parts. They sell music supplies (guitar strings, etc). They sell fishing supplies. What more do you need in life?

We are starting our first tour of the season on Sunday morning. This will be my 7th time cycling this scenic route down the coast. All along the way there are little memories of past tours and old friends. The first day of the tour always reminds me of my good friend Peter. "I'm not dead yet!" was his comment at the end of the first day. Well, I took it and made it into 2 days, so more people on the tour will be "...not dead yet!" after the first day. I hope. It's a good long climb to start a tour with, but well worth it.

Greetings from Puerto Escondido!

We have been having a fantastic tour so far in Oaxaca. We started in Oaxaca city and immediately felt like we had become a part of something very big.

There is a town tightly jammed into the mountains of Oaxaca called Santa Catarina Juquila. It is famous for a small figure of a virgin, La Virgen de Juquila, that is housed in the town's church, the sanctuary of the virgin of Utila. Throughout most of the year, people from all over Mexico make a pilgrimage to Juquila to pay thier respects to the virgin and in hopes of a small miracle. In return for the miracle, they promise to return every year for a certain number of years. The virgin's day is December 8th, so more and more pilgrims fill the roads leading up to that date. The closer we got, the more people we would see walking, cycling and sometimes using busses or cars to get to Juquila. It was like being a part of an informal group ride with thousands of other cyclists who were from all over.

The road to Juquila is torturous, you really have to work hard to get there. Just when you get close, the toughest most deceptive climbs come out of no where to test your metal. Then you have a long steep descent into town, but if you think that going downhill is easy, think again. It's very steep. As I slowly and carefully descended the steep bumpy road, one of the many mobile chapels mounted on the back of a pick-up truck passed me, then several dozen cyclists all wearing red shirts started to filter past. They were one of the many groups that do the ride together every year. While we were taking it "easy" because we were at the start of a tour, many of the pilgrims would go non-stop until they arrived, sometimes for several days.

Once in Juquila, many people go on their hands and knees for the last few hundred meters into the church. The whole experience was fascinating for us. Such camaraderie on the road, such devotion and faith, it was incredible.

We left Juquila yesterday for an equally challenging ride (mostly) down to Puerto Escondido on the Pacific coast. We are in quite a different reality now. Many foreign tourists, surfers, Italian food and lots of other decadence. Just this morning I even saw a hummer. In case anyone is interested, it was for sale. I guess the owner figures it's time to upgrade and buy a tank.

I hope that everyone is having a great holiday season. Alix and I are enjoying a well deserved rest between tours. We have been doing a fantastic job so far this year if I do say so myself.

See for yourselves if you feel like browsing through some pictures. New stuff is the "Views of the Pacific 2005" and "Pilgrimage in Oaxaca 2005", a VERY successful new tour.

Welcome to Belize! You just cross the border from Mexico and suddenly everyone speaks English. It's the official language - or at least that's what they say. More on language later. We cycled the length of Belize, covering almost all of its paved roads, and some unpaved, in about 2 weeks.

Belize is a tiny little, friendly, beautiful, diverse and very surprising country. It covers 22,966 sq km and has a population density of only 13 people/sq km. For comparison, Canada has: 3.6 (remember the great white north though), the USA: 33, Mexico: 56 and Australia: 3. The country is a forgotten logging camp and old pirate hideout, and it's mostly populated by the folks who were brought over as laborers, either in slavery or indentured, sometimes mixed (or creolized) with their British and Scottish masters. They include African, Indian, Chinese and many other smaller groups. The Garifuna have a strong presence in the south. They are the result of the intermixing of the wondering south American Arawak & Carib tribes, and escaped African slaves in the Caribbean. Then there are Rastafarians, Maya, Mestizos originally from Mexico & Guatemala, Arabs, Mennonites, southern USA civil war veterans, and many recent immigrants. All speak their own language as well as one or several others. All practice their own customs and traditions.

The official language is English, but almost everyone speaks Creole, which certainly has strong routes in English, but is considered a language in itself.

It's a simple country where the biggest "city" has a population of only 55,000. The entire country's population is: 287,730. Around the country you'll find place names like Go-to-hell Camp, Good Living Camp, Crooked Tree, Lucky Strike, Bread & Butter Caye, Wee Wee Caye, etc. In the southern town of Punta Gorda the streets, starting from the sea and going inland are Front, Main, Back, West, and Far West.

As in any country where they speak with a funny accent (Canada of course is the only country where they speak with no accent), they have trouble with my name. Basil becomes Belfore.

There are few paved roads in Belize, and on those roads are very few cars. There is a plethora of Wildlife sanctuaries, National parks, and reserves. You can explore Mayan ruins, caves and charming towns, enjoy world class diving on longest reef in this hemisphere amonst the hundreds of offshore Cayes, or hike pristine forests and mountains. Finally, if you are a birder, you must visit Belize.

Everyone is friendly and keen for a good chat to learn about you, to tell you about themselves and sometimes to try and bum a buck. For some reason people always asked if we were students, and when I got a flat (1st one in a looooong time) in the bad part of town in Belize city, someone asked if we were from Spain and cycling around the world.

Touring in Mexico it was very hard for me to learn to do the "up nod" for a passing "hello", so it was refreshing to be able to return to the Anglo "down nod" in Belize. Now that we're back in Mexico it's been a challenge to get back to the "up nod", but I think I finally got it. Let's not even talk about the Greek "down nod with a twist" (yes, sure) or "up nod" (no)...

To finish off I want to tell you about a restaurant in Belize city that we never went to. It's called "The Smoky Mermaid". They specialize in smoked fish, of course, but I just can't shake the image of an old, spent mermaid that has chain-smoked all her life and has a voice to match.

Well, we made it back to Mexico once again. So far so good.

I was afraid that the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) would rip open my bags and render my hours of careful packing into a random mess wrapped in duct tape... again... but they didn't. Oh, they looked inside, but this time it was someone who was smart enough to NOT take apart my intricately assembled collection of bike parts, clothes and food that we just can't do without (until it's finished). As lucky as I've always been with customs everywhere, I am not so lucky with the TSA. They love to open my bags. Maybe I'll leave them some chocolates next time.

No, this time the problem wasn't the TSA, this time it was United. In Chicago when we enquired with the security guy if he thought that our baggage was checked through, or if we needed to claim it and re-check it, he asked us which airline we flew in with. United we told him. Oh, you'll never see them again he said. We thought he was joking. He was only half joking. Not much to do but pray he said.

Well, two flights later, these on Mexicana, we arrived in Zihua, happy to feel the warm humid air as we got out of the plane. Not so happy when our luggage was nowhere to be found. And it was clouding over to rain too. Am I getting any sympathy? I didn't think so.

Well, in the end, losing our luggage was doing us a favour. And so was the rain. We got to clean up our apartment (the geckos always have a party while we're gone) in relative cool, and had our luggage (when it was found) delivered right to our door.

A week later we're setting off to meet our first "group". It's a small group (1 person!) but the rest of our tours are full, close to full, or filling up nicely, so I can't complain. So long as we get along with our one man group, this should be quite a relaxing and enjoyable tour. I just hope he's not too fast for us - we still have to melt off our "summer fat". We're also looking forward to meeting up with a couple of friends who will ride some of this first tour with us.

In Oaxaca city we stayed in room 12. In fact most of our group was in room 12. No, we didn't have 10 people all in one room, we don't rough it that much! It's just that for some strange reason most of Hotel Casa Arnel's rooms are room number 12... 12A, 12B, 12C, etc. Jim was in room 86, but we already knew he was different ;-)

Now we're in the Yucatan on our second tour here this year. It occurred to me last April when Alix and I were exploring in 46 degree celcius heat that it was "empathy" training for us. Now I can honestly empathize with our cyclists who suffer from the heat. A couple of weeks ago I got a new Brooks leather saddle. After several hundred kms this saddle will break in nicely, it'll be soft and comfy and fit my rear end perfectly. For now it's rock hard. More empathy training.

Yesterday we met a dog called Doggo. What more can one say?

Cockfighting. This is big business and sport in Mexico. On our last trip through Santa Elena in the Yucatan, we stopped in at Chac-Mool for breakfast before taking on the Puuc route of Mayan ruins. The owner, Miguel raises cockfighting roosters and he took us around to have a look and tell us about them. He had several dozen glorious, beautiful roosters. The adults were all in cages of their own. They have to be kept apart or they will fight amongst themselves. The champion roosters will have a hen in the cage with them. The exceptional champion roosters have several hens. When he is preparing to fight a rooster he rests him by taking the hen(s) away for a couple. This might seem bruital to many people, but then again so is the way that we raise our cattle and chickens for food. It's a big part of Mexican culture and when we've had a chance to attend a tournament, I will report back.

Alix and I are in the birth-place of vanilla. This is the region stretching between the coast and the foothills of central Veracruz state, Mexico.

It's not much to look at, but when you get to know it... wow! What a story!

It is an orchid that roots in the ground and needs something for support that it will winds itself up onto. It can be a stake in the ground or it could be an orange tree. After three years of growth, it is ready to start producing. Around this time of year; late March, it will start to flower and the flowering period continues into early May. Each flower blooms for a day, and this is when it must be artificially pollinated by hand for the plant to give us its fruit that we all know and love. The pollination is done artificially because of a lack of the natural pollinator, a kind of bee. I guess there just ain't enough bees to pollinate enough flowers to give us all the vanilla we want!

The next day, the flower drops off and the vanilla pod (it looks like a fat string bean) starts to grow. Here in Mexico, December 10th is the official start of vanilla harvest. This date has been set to help prevent the theft of this extremely valuable crop. But just growing and harvesting it does not give it much value, oh no, there is still much to be done.

The pods are scorched very briefly to kill the seeds and prevent them from sprouting. Then they are alternately dried and "sweated" over a period of time. Some processors use the sun and some use much faster ovens for drying. The process of drying them under the sun and sweating goes on until well into March. They have to be just the right dryness, and the sweating helps to develop the complex, sexy aroma that we all know and love. These pods can now be graded and stored, though they still have to be observed a couple of times over one more month to watch for mold growth or other defects. They can then be sold individually, by weight or further processed to make vanilla extract.

Mexican is both where vanilla was born (the Totonacs paid it as tribute to the Aztecs for whom it was principally a chocolate drink flavouring) AND where the best vanilla in the world comes from. Unfortunately, given the high price of vanilla there are also many impostors and much artificial vanilla is also sold, though this lacks the complexity of the real stuff.

Interesting facts: Vanilla is the only orchid to give an edible fruit. The secret to cultivating and processing vanilla properly are very closely guarded by those who know. Vanilla is the second most valuable crop by weight second only to saffron.

I already told you all about vanilla, now I want to tell you about that other beautiful thing, chocolate. It's almost an every day thing for us, but how many of us know where it comes from? Not many I think.

Chocolate, or cacao was first domesticated and used by the ancient Olmecs (1500-400BC) of the Tabasco state area of Mexico, and after I tell you about the process to go from tree to chocolate you'll be amazed that it was ever discovered! Beginning with the Olmecs, cacao became extremely important to the peoples of mesoamerica, most famously the Mayans and the Aztecs. It was made into a drink for the elite and upper classes, and it was also a form of currency. One hundred beans could buy a turkey hen or a hare/jackrabit. Three would buy a turkey egg or a newly picked avocado. One bean would buy a large tomato or a tamale. It is estimated that the Aztec emperor Motecuzoma (Montezuma) had in his cacao warehouse 960,000,000 cacao beans!

It is interesting to note that for about nine tenths of the long history of chocolate, it has been a drink and not a food.

First of all, the beautiful and delicate tree. The tree that cacao grows from needs high humidity, and many midges for its pollination. It grows in the lowlands or foothills of the tropics, often in the shade of larger trees. Throughout the year, the trees produce a small white flower that, strangely for us, grows in small clusters right out of the trunk of the tree. If a flower is lucky enough to be pollinated, it will transform over the span of 4 to 5 months, into a large pod, shaped a little like a football (the american kind). After about another month, it is ripe and ready to be picked. Inside the pod are 30 to 40 almond shaped beans covered with a juicy white pulp. The pulp itself can be eaten and is quite delicious, similar in taste to a leeche nut.

Now comes the long and amazing process... the pods are cut open and the pulp covered cacao beans are removed. These are allowed to ferment for anywhere from 1 to 6 days, depending on the variety. During fermentation, the bean briefly germinates, then dies from the high heat that develops, and some chemical changes happen inside, all of which help to develop the flavour (which is very unpleasant and astringent to begin with). Also, the pulp turns to liquid and drains away. After fermentation, comes drying. Traditionally this was done in the sun and it would take 1 to 2 weeks, but now it's often done with ovens or industrial dryers. After drying, the beans need to be roasted, further developing the flavour, and completely drying the outer skin of the bean. The beans are now crushed and the outer skin can be blown away (winnowing) leaving behind the inner part of the cacao bean, called the cacao nib. This varies in colour from brown to very dark brown depending on the variety of cacao.

The cacao nibs are further crushed and ground quite finely, traditionally in a stone "metate". In modern Mexico "chocolate" generally refers to a drink made from the resulting mass (with sugar added) melted and mixed with hot water or milk. In pre-hispanic times, this was generally drunk hot in the Mayan lowlands and cold in the Aztec highlands. It was drunk unsweetened (although they did have honey and other sweeteners) and mixed with many other ingredients, sometimes including various forms and preparations of corn, achiote (annatto seed), ceiba tree seeds, vanilla, chili powder, and many more things. Particular importance was given to the foam on top of the drink, which was raised by pouring it from one vessel to another from a height. Now we put marshmallows in our hot chocolate!

The Spanish at first didn't much care for chocolate, but soon they embraced it and a fair while after Columbus' first encounter with the cacao bean in 1502, it became an important part of Spanish culture in the early 17th century, and soon conquered the elite and rich of all of Europe. The pouring of chocolate from one vessel to another was replaced by the "molinillo" or chocolate beaters to raise that all important foam.

The industrialization of the 19th century brought about a big change to chocolate. Much cheaper tea and coffee became the drink of the masses, and chocolate became more about solid food and less about drink.

In 1828 Coenrad Johannes Van Houten, a chemist in The Netherlands, invented a process to press the fat out of cacao, resulting in cocoa powder (note the difference between cacao and cocoa) and cocoa or cacao butter. The cacao nib is about 50% fat, though this varies depending on the variety of cacao. Although it is likely that people have always eaten chocolate as well as drunk it, history claims that chocolate first became a solid food in 1847 when the great-grandson of the founder of Joseph Fry & Co. discovered a way to mix some of the cocoa butter back into the defatted cocoa powder and made the first chocolate bar. In 1879, Rodolphe Lindt in Switzerland invented "conching" which improves the texture of chocolate by further grinding it and breaking it down into particles smaller than the human tongue can detect, giving us that smooth, melt in your mouth chocolate that we all know.

But you know what? As much as I love a good chocolate bar, I am growing to love, perhaps even more so, Mexican hot chocolate made from whole cacao, and the many other cacao containing drinks that still exist in various parts of the country.

I don't know about you, but I think I'm going to go and enjoy some chocolate right now! Did you know that cacao is actually very good for you? The sugar that often comes with it on the other hand...

Here I sit with Alix atop the observatory at Calakmul. Calakmul is a glorious ancient Mayan city in the heartland of the Maya lands in southern Campeche state close to the Guatemala border. Calakmul is also a biosphere reserve.

We watched a small flock of oscillated turkeys pop their heads up, one after another, there were four of them. We snapped pictures like mad (they're like a cross between a wild turkey and a peacock) while they walked around us, presenting ever better poses to us as they checked us out. They don't look like they should be able to fly, but they finally spread their wings and flew off the side of the structure. So that's what had pooped on the top of the main pyramid.

We also saw a couple of flocks of parrots fly by and a toucan. Yesterday we watched a big squad of spider monkeys literally fly through the tree tops as they fed on fruit and wondered the forest around the ruins.

If not the highest, then they're two of the highest pyramids in the Yucatan, certainly higher than the much more famous (why? Because it's easy to get to from Cancun) Chichen Itza. If Chichen Itza is impressive then Calakmul is awe inspiring. From atop one of the main pyramids you can see a tremendous forest with the occasional range of hills and other pyramids punctuating its vastness.

But like any good journey, it's not the destination that makes it. The bike ride ranks as one of my favourites anywhere. I'll never single out just one ride as THE favourite, but this one is in the top three, for sure. Over 64km we only saw 6 cars, and it would have been far fewer if we'd just got busy with the business of getting there instead of taking the time to marvel at the beauty of the route. The entire distance was within the biosphere reserve, and though it was a mostly sunny day we saw little sun and didn't feel the heat much as the dense forest overhung above our heads for most of the hilly curvy ride.