MexiGo bike tour

Richard and Gilberto

After an exhausting flight and long drive, we eased into the first day with a relaxing 36km bike ride tour. Our tour guide Gilberto's love for his home town was undeniable, and he gave us a great introduction to life in Mexico.

Our first stop was at the market where his aunt's sold home grown produce,and we were treated to a snack tube of Mayan honey for an energy boost before the long bike ride.



Cenote Samula

We cycled for about 40 minutes and stopped at a 'cenote' for a swim. Cenotes are like caves full of water and are dotted all across the region. Most are open to the public, but we were fortunate as it was just us and the catfish swimming in Cenote Samula that morning.

Making tortillas

We continued further north where we stopped for some lunch with a Mayan family who literally lived in a wooden hut. They had about eight young children and could only ever afford to eat tortillas for breakfast, lunch and dinner made out of the corn their father harvested in the fields. But still had a telly so they could feed their addiction to spanish soap operas. We were invited to have a go at making our own tortillas to cook for our lunch. Noticing suddenly that this wasn't the cleanest mud hut I'd ever been in, I began to fear that Montezuma might get his revenge quite swiftly with us. Still, they were the best tortillas I've ever eaten and put Old El Paso to shame. We cycled on through the Mayan village, stopping off to meet other families on the way, taking them gifts of lentils and cookies.

We made our way back to Vallodolid town, stopping off at another cenote on the way, chatting to Gilberto and learning about Mayan traditions along the way. Gilberto told us he dreamed one day to see snow. Considering he was wearing a jumper while cycling in thirty degree heat, we told him to wrap up warm.

We got back to our hotel in time for a well deserved dip in the pool with a cerveza and wine.