The journey to Tuxtla Gutierrez did not start well – we faced an over 50 km uphill ride. It obviously meant my constant complaining over the distance of 50 km. After yet another climb, I saw that Igor – who was well ahead of me – pulled over and put on his jacket. Hmm… wind? No! A downhill ride! Finally! Why going down always lasts shorter than going up?! 20 km before reaching our destination we faced terrible conditions. Strong opposing wind, sand in our eyes, litter flying everywhere, bumping on our bikes and on us. On top of it all, the omnipresent noise of horns – supposedly greeting us. Then one hour of wandering, unsure which way to go. Finally we reached the city centre. I had had enough! Besides, we had thought we had already got used to the local climate, so we only used 15 UVA sunscreen. Bad choice – we got sunburnt. Igor managed to find accommodation quite fast, so we had enough time to walk around the city and eat something before hitting the sack. The city itself was not exactly a tourist attraction, but its nightlife was. As we were tasting boiled corn cobs, we heard music. It was Santa Cecilia orchestra that had just arrived to give a concert in Tuxtla. Naturally, all the people in the square started dancing.

Next morning our decision was unanimous – we wanted to spend one more night there. Next to our hotel we found an internet café, so we could contact friends from Poland. Then we took a bus trip ca. 30 km outside of the city, intending to cross Sumidero Canyon. It is a giant ravine overlooking the Grijalva River, which cuts through steep limestone rock, in some places being no wider than a dozen meters. Our tour guide told us that the highest walls of the canyon reach up to 1300 m! One of characteristic landmarks is a massive natural dripstone resembling a Christmas tree. The canyon is home to many animal species. We saw vultures drying their wings on the river bank, motionless herons, and a multitude of pelicans. That two-hour cruise down the canyon made a lasting impression on us.

Next day I felt something was wrong with me – I was cold, I had a headache and a runny nose. Cycling was a torture. Igor also found it more difficult than usual to pull the bike trailer. We stopped to have a meal, swallow some pills, and off we went. Unfortunately, things would not get better, so we decided to give up cycling. We took a bus and headed for some beaches in order to rest for 2-3 days. Thus we found ourselves in Puerto Escondido. Prices were a bit steep, but eventually we found reasonable accommodation for reasonable money. The main beach was not for us – with fishing boats and a fishy smell. A hired boat took us to another beach. Igor took a dive, and finally smiled. Having eaten delicious shrimps, I smiled as well.

In the morning we said goodbye to the beach and took a few snapshots at sunrise. We set off for Playa de Huatulco, a typical holiday resort. Fortunately, is was off-season, so there were few tourists. We found accommodation just by a bus stop. We felt like packing the bikes up and finishing the cycling part of our tour around Mexico. Right after lunch we took a taxi and asked the driver to take us to Organo beach. The man dropped us off by some thickets, and told us to go straight ahead – the car could not go further. So we kept walking, wondering if he had not tricked us. However, after a few minutes we found ourselves on a deserted beach! All alone – unbelievable! The sand was burning our feet, so the only solution was to stay in water. We didn't need to think twice to hop in, and we decided to come back to the beach on the following day. Unfortunately, sea waters brought a plague of slightly stinging jellyfish overnight, making swimming not as delightful as on the previous day.

In the evening we packed the bicycles into bags to continue our journey by bus in the morning.