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The Journals from the Road
March 9: The Mezcal Capital of the World & the Word of the President - Matatlan, Oaxaca We left the area after a dip in the pool to cool off and then back through the town of San Lorenzo via dirt roads and lots of dust. We stopped for some bananas and had about 10 each. As we were eating school got out so I entertained the crowd with the "elephant story". After leaving we got some great downhill runs (pura bajada) and made it back to the town of Mitla. At Mitla John suggested we get some juice. I didn't think I was that thirsty but agreed, none the less. Ater chugging three glases each we chuckled at how much we drank. Then a torta (sandwich) each and we were good for another few kms. We thought about wild camping but decided to push on to Matatlan, the world capital of Mezcal (an alcoholic drink made from a type of agave cactus). The mezcal business seems to be booming as the town just remodeled the central plaza and put down new roads in '98. We found our way to the plaza and I went up and sat down with some guys hanging out in front of the Palacio Municipal. After a friendly conversation of questions about our trip we introduced ourselves. I was sitting with the President of the town and his two deputies. The President said that we should put our tents up in the plaza right next to the 24 hour police station and that if anyone asked us, we had the word of the President to back us up. This word came in handy when one of police officers began asking us what we were doing. I started my reply with," Well, the President suggested..." and that seemed to handle it. In this town it seems like all the guys had bikes. It seems pretty usual that those hanging out in the center are the boys and mainly of the men of the town. The boys said that the girls were all watching TV but I'm guessing there is more to it than that. John and I had some good talks with Cornilius and others, from recent movies, to UFOs, to music, to Mexican politics. We put up our tent about 9 pm, when the place cleared out and, except for the 4 am sweeping crew, slept undisturbed. This morning, as I write, many have been peering in the tent and wondering when these travelers get out of bed. Well, that's it. I guess I had better get up! John's first words to me this morning were, "Do you have any more of that charcoal stuff?" So we'll see how it goes. Peace(Bike), |