Mezcal Journey Tour
March 15, 2026
We got to have a nice breakfast of tamales in our courtyard then we walked a bit over a mile to the Jalatlaco neighborhood where we met the tour van for our Mezcal Journey tour. We got there a bit early so we circled a block and found a bunch more nice murals.
The tour was almost full with us and seven other people. We had an interesting mix: a couple from Luxembourg, another from Scotland, from Puerto Rico, and a single guy from Texas. We drove about forty-five minutes east and a bit south of the city of Oaxaca to the town of Mitla. There we stopped at a field of cactus with some promising-looking construction that will eventually be a sort of up-scale Mezcal tasting room and maybe an area to make Mezcal.
Mezcal is sort of like Champagne - you can make fermented agave cactus drinks wherever, but it is only Mezcal if you make it in the state of Oaxaca or a few other states in Mexico. Also, there are hundreds of species of agave and Mezcal can be made from dozens of them. However, only the Espadín variety is easily cultivated, so most Mezcal is made from Espadín. Mezcal made from other varieties can be very expensive because those varieties have to be found in the wild and, while Espadín matures to harvest size in seven to ten years, many of the other varieties can take up to twenty years to mature.
At the field of Espadín we tasted our first Mezcal in what is either a traditional or touristy way: by having it poured down a long leaf of the Espadín into our mouths.
After our first drink we all got a chance to work with a machete to cut first the sharp leaf tips off the long leaves, then to cut the leaves. Drinking and machetes, safety third!
There were a couple of ‘wild’ varieties of agave growing near the field.
Then we went to the Discípulo Mezcaleria (also known as a palenque) to learn how the Mezcal is made. A few guys were clearing rocks from this pit after they had finished cooking a batch of agave hearts. The process is to put a bunch of firewood at the bottom of a big pit, then cover it with almost literally a ton of rocks. Then they light the fire and let it burn for a day or so to try to get the rocks up over a thousand degrees Celsius. When the rocks are super hot and the firewood underneath has mostly burned out, they lay down a protective layer of plant fiber left over from a previous batch, then the agave hearts, then cover it all with a tarp and a bunch of dirt. This way the agave is primarily cooked by the heat of the rocks, although some of the smoky flavor probably comes from residual firewood.
After being sealed in with the hot rocks for a day or so, the cover is removed and the agave hearts are crushed by a big rock wheel pulled by a horse or ox.
After being crushed, the agave ‘pulp’ is put into a vat with some water and left to ferment for several days.
Once it reaches the proper level of fermentation the liquid is drained from the vats and then goes through a distillation process twice or even three times. To be classified as ‘artisanal’ only simple (“moonshine style”) stills can be used. To be classified as ‘ancestral’ the still cannot be made of metal - typically a clay pot is used.
An artisanal still at Discípulo.
And later we visited Un Día a la Vez (“one day at a time”) Mezcaleria where they have what I think is an ancestral still, although the steam from the clay pot condenses onto a metal lid that is cooled with flowing water, so I’m not sure it is officially ‘ancestral’.
After learning about the plants and the process we tasted a lot of Mezcals. Many of the varieties are predictable, such as different types of agave, Mezcal aged in whiskey or other barrels, aged for longer times, etc. But many are very eclectic. In addition to the predictable stuff, we tried:
- Mezcal with the “worm” (actually the larva of a moth that can infest agave plante)
- Mezcal with a scorpion in the bottle (supposedly adds a muscle relaxation property)
- Mezcal where a raw turkey breast is suspended in the still for the second distillation - unexpectedly seems to add a fruity essence
- Mezcal aged in bottle with cannabis leaves
We also tried some “froo froo” Mezcal drinks with coconut, pineapple, or cream added.
Fortunately we went to the restaurant Doña Chica in the middle of the tour where we had a huge lunch.
An interesting day that left us ready to chill out for the evening in our little apartment.
Monte Albán
March 14, 2026
We had reservations for a tour to Monte Albán, a major archeological site, that started at 8:00am. We got up a bit early and just had some left-over pizza and pastries for breakfast and then headed to the tour office. We rode a bus with about thirty people across part of the city and then up a steep, winding road to the top of the large hill where Monte Albán is located.
It is unclear exactly how the name “Monte Albán” originated. According to our tour guide this site, which was a ceremonial gathering place as well as housing the elites of the Zapotec empire, should be named something along the lines of “city of jaguars”. It is an impressive site - the Zapotecs leveled the top of this substantial hill and constructed a huge plaza that could hold tens of thousands of people for ceremonies and events. The site was in use from around 500 BCE to 900 or 1000 CE, so it represents the center or a major center of one of the longest-standing empires. Because it had already been abandoned by the time Spanish Conquistadors arrived, they didn’t feel the need to build churches atop the pyramids and otherwise try to destroy it.
We walked around with the tour guide for a couple of hours, then had some time afterwards to wander as we wanted.
Our guide says this is one of a handful of the most important archeological sites in the Americas, another one of which is Machu Picchu which we have been fortunate to have also visited.
After the tour we stopped at a huge supermarket to pick up some stuff for our room, then we went to Vino & Vinyl and had a really tasty late lunch. You can add albums to the ‘playlist’ from their large selection.
We were pretty tired after that and hung out in our little apartment researching what to do on Sunday.
El Día de la Samaritana
March 13, 2026
Today is the fourth Friday of Lent (La Cuaresma), and a uniquely Oaxacan tradition is to celebrate El Día de la Samaritana. This tradition dates back to some time in the 1800’s when a couple of churches handed out water while preaching about the story where Jesus is crossing Samaria. In the story (as I, an atheist, understand it) the people of Samaria were not getting along with the Jews at the time. Jesus stopped near a the well of Jacob, thirsty from the journey, and a Samaritan woman ended up giving him some water despite their differences. Other churches in the area began copying this tradition and it has become a celebration of Oaxacan generosity based on religion but now open to all. Many restaurants and bars join the churches in handing out water-based drinks starting around noon on the fourth Friday of Lent. Many serve the drinks either from big clay pots or from coolers decorated to try to suggest a well.
We had our normal class in the morning, but at noon someone from the school brought some big coolers full of orchata and tuna (not the fish, which is atún, but a sweet fruit of a cactus) and we all got cups of orchata con tuna to drink. Then we did a little bit of class work before going with our instructors out in the streets with our cups to take part in the celebrations.
I had a substitute instructor for the afternoon today. During the class part she gave me a little printout of various Mexican slang words and expressions - very important stuff to know, carnalitos! Then she set out in search of a chilacayote (a type of squash) drink. We eventually found a gift shop serving it. The taste reminded me of rice milk, but my instructor said this was not a good example, and that they must not have made it correctly. We ended up not finishing those drinks but we found some peanut-flavored water that was very tasty, and later some jamaica (hibiscus) water. The streets were crowded, especially near the churches, and people were having a good time.
After the instructors left we wandered around a bit more with our cups. The event had mostly ended but we did find a restaurant that gave us some orchata with cantaloupe chunks in it that was really tasty. We were a bit tired so we chilled out in our little apartment for a while, then we went to the restaurant attached to the Boulenc bakery that we have been enjoying pastries from. We got some really tasty pizzas and now we have some leftovers as well.
Flight to Oaxaca
March 09, 2026
We slept fairly well and did not get any messages early in the morning about our flight being canceled. We ate another Best Western breakfast and saw on the news that TSA lines in various airports around the country were extremely long so we packed up quickly and got to the airport almost three hours ahead of our scheduled flight. Fortunately ABQ is a very sleepy airport and the line was longer than usual - we had to wait for five or six minutes to get through TSA.
Unfortunately there was some kind of issue with the airplane - United said there was a cleaning issue, and it arrived late. We departed a bit over half an hour late which made for a slightly stressful layover in Houston, but we made it.
We arrived in Oaxaca a bit before the sun went down. The hills had nice lighting as we approached for landing.
We got through immigration and customs without any issues and took a collectivo (taxi van that makes multiple stops) to the bed and breakfast associated with the language school and got settled in, then we walked around. Julie knew of a reliable street food vendor but wasn’t sure exactly which street they were on. Eventually we found it and got some quesadillas for dinner.
We stopped at a small grocery on the way back to the room. The room features a fridge, microwave, and electric kettle so we can make tea and coffee and keep some drinks cold.
Canceled Flight
March 08, 2026
We woke up to the news that United had canceled our flight from Albuquerque to Houston, which left us no way to get to Oaxaca. We are re-booked on the same flight tomorrow, but it was a long battle with United’s customer service to get even “Economy Plus” seats on the new flights despite our canceled flight being in Business. It seems like their rebooking algorithm should give you either the same class of seats you had on the canceled flight, or the best available seat in the re-booking if the same class is already full but, no, it just re-books you into the worst seat on the plane.
Anyway, after that we had a day in Albuquerque. Gustavo had some good suggestions but my wife was very tired. We ended up walking to a grocery store to pick up a couple things for the trip. On the way back we stopped at Differential Brewing where we had some decent but not amazing beer and a really nice pizza, but they played really loud and harsh punk rock music for all but the last few minutes we were there, then the playlist made a sudden transition to country.
We walked past a large and old cemetery where trees were already blooming.
We spent some time at the hotel trying to accomplish some stuff on our devices, then went for another walk in the evening, eventually ending up at 377 Brewery where the beer was better but the food less interesting.
Helmet Hair
Looking at Gustavo’s Flickr and I see that after almost two weeks of motorcycling every day, I wake up, take a shower, and already have “helmet hair” at breakfast.
Motorcycle Mexico 2026 Day 15
March 07, 2026
We got up early and had a huge breakfast at the Best Western.
We got on the road a few minutes after eight and headed north. It was cool, around 55 degrees, and slowly warmed to the low sixties. We took the toll roads to save some time. It slowly got windier the closer we got to Juarez. There is a lot of sagebrush and rocks, but also some agriculture, including a lot of pecan trees.
There was a military checkpoint where we had to stop and a guy went through our luggage. The sign looks like a computer translation of the Spanish equivalent.
We completed our temporary vehicle import permits and terminated our tourist permit and got exit stamps on our passports at a low-traffic customs station on the outskirts of Juarez. Then we skirted Juarez and headed back to the Santa Teresa border station where we entered Mexico. Unfortunately the line was really long. We spent two hours slowly creeping to the U.S. entry station.
From there it was less than an hour to Ross and Maryanne’s house. It took about an hour and a half to get the bikes loaded up and sort out what would stay in the truck and what Gustavo would fly home with. Then we drove a short distance to Gary and Shannon’s house to pick up a gas tank needing transport to Portland for our friend Tony. Catching up with them took a while - eventually said our farewells and found a place to eat dinner and got on the road to Albuquerque, where the motorcycle adventure part of this trip ends.
This trip was a really fun ride and adventure. We saw a lot of neat stuff, ate great food, and found excellent curvy roads, but we could wish for better pavement on many of the roads.
Motorcycle Mexico 2026 Day 14
March 06, 2026
We slept in a little and then walked down to the end of the block to have breakfast at Tío Molcas, a restaurant with its own hotel attached. The rooms at the Valles Inn Plus are much larger and newer - in general nicer and more spacious than most we have stayed in on this trip, but the bathroom has absolutely no towel racks or hooks. We had a nice breakfast at Tío Molcas - I tried their chilaquiles which were a different style, but still good.
We returned to the room without any hurry - the temperature was only in the forties. We packed up and left at ten when it got to fifty degrees. My tire was still holding air. We left Creel and, despite it feeling like Creel is high in the mountains at 7,700 feet we began climbing, eventually at least a thousand feet higher. While the roads curved around and over ridges, unfortunately the pavement quality was really bad for much of the ride out of the mountains.
We turned off at San Juanito to go to Basaseachi falls. On the road to the falls we could see the cabin where we stayed nineteen years earlier. The bad pavement we rode on today from the turnoff was just sixty-some miles of gravel road back then, and we spent most of the day going from Basaseachi to Creel, but with a few detours and side roads along the way.
We stopped at an Oxxo in La Junta after one thirty to get some cold drinks and a few snacks for lunch. By that time we were out of the mountains and on the plains, although the altitude is still 6,700 feet. The roads got straighter and there was a lot of agriculture in this area, most strikingly big apple orchards arrangements to cover the entire orchards with a net or mesh to keep birds out, and they also help ward off frost.
We arrived in Chihuahua a bit before five and checked in to the Best Western Plus. This is a very upscale Best Western, fancier than any Best Western I remember in the U.S. It is our most expensive hotel in Mexico of the trip on this final night in Mexico, a little over a hundred dollars (we have been between $50 and $60 in most places for a room with two beds). Still cheaper than the much less nice Ramada where we stayed in Las Cruces.
After unpacking lubricating the chains we made our way a few miles further to Gustavo’s sister-in-law’s house. She made us a very tasty dinner using hibiscus, chiles, and nuts with beans and tortillas. We talked for a while with her mother and aunt, and then went to run an errand for them again - a more than fair trade for the delicious dinner.
Motorcycle Mexico 2026 Day 13
March 05, 2026
We got on the road around nine after a buffet breakfast at the American Inn hotel. It was starting to warm up in Parral, but as soon as we got out of town and started heading up into the mountains it stayed pretty cool. It even felt pretty chilly above 7,500 feet.
We headed west from Parral first on MX 24, then on MX 23/25. The pavement on most of the roads we took today was in poor to terrible condition which was too bad because these roads are curvy and have fantastic views.
We did eventually find a construction crew doing some paving, and then we got about three miles of brand new pavement, but that was one percent of the distance we rode.
We got to Guachochi and rode down a short bit of badly eroded gravel road to the Cascada el Salto. There is a nice park there and we ate some bananas taken from the breakfast buffet, cookies, and granola bars for lunch.
We weren’t sure whether there would be a gas station before we turned off towards Divisadero so we decided to fill up on the way out of Guachochi. But this guy in the truck was using both sides of the pump, and filling a couple big barrels like that takes a fair amount of time.
I was especially happy in this photo at the Copper Canyon overlook in Divisadero because I just saw that Kristi Noem was going to lose her cabinet position.
After looking at the canyon for a while and walking through the mostly-closed vendor area, the train arrived while we were getting ready to leave. We headed back on MX 77 to Creel.
We saw a sign about a Tarahumara sewing center and went down a dirt road to see what they had. They have a lot of the traditional women’s outfits and some other crafts. I got a neat keychain.
We arrived at our hotel around five. After unpacking and lubricating the chains we walked up and down the main street in Creel before settling on The Lodge for dinner.
After dinner we spotted this armored vehicle at a hotel.
It belongs to the state investigative bureau. While we were checking it out Omar, one of the AEI guys, showed up and talked to us about it and let us look inside. It’s based on a Ford F350 chassis but it looked to me like the suspension had been beefed up. Omar seems like a nice guy and I hope he doesn’t end up needing all that armor.
We walked back to the plaza because I wanted to stop at Ice Creel, an ice cream shop with a fun name.
Motorcycle Mexico 2026 Day 12
March 04, 2026
We got up and had a nice breakfast at the hotel restaurant, then got on the road around nine. My tire was still holding air, so maybe the “fix a flat” stuff actually made its way to the right place.
It was a pretty straightforward day of riding north and west to Parral. We started on the main highways, 45 and then 49, but then we tried some different roads, taking Highway 33 from Nazas to 30 de Noviembre. It was warm most of the time and hot in some areas. There were some clouds once we got north of Cuencamé de Ceniceros and we got sprinkled on a few times which helped cool things down to the low eighties.
The more main highways in Mexico often have these shoulders that are almost a lane wide. There are no signs about this, but slower traffic typically either just drives on the shoulder, or moves over when they see you approaching in their mirrors. This way you can pass even with oncoming traffic. Even semis will do this - they just rely on oncoming traffic to move to the right since they typically have to be part way over the center line to pass.
We arrived in Parral at five and were very happy that the hotel room had an air conditioner.
After catching up on email and news for a while we walked a couple blocks to the Taco Factory. We had some very tasty tacos that came with every fixing you could think of.
