We hired a cab to lead us out of Zacatecas. The way out of the city to the main highway to Mexico City was less than obvious especially considering there are no signs. It was a bit of a cold ride in the morning – about 50 F (10 C). The cab driver was very fast and was changing lanes all the time. It was difficult to follow him but we made it to the main road after following him for 13 miles.
We rode the first couple of hours in a dense fog, following each other closely, with all lights and blinkers on. The fog gradually dissipated as we climbed out of valley to higher altitudes. After a brief stop at Pemex gas station, we fought our way through the industrial zone of San Luis Potosi, passing dozens of slow moving and fuming trucks. As we approached the capital city, the roads got better and better, although once again, we spent a fortune on tolls.
When we arrived to Mexico City, we were amazed how large the city was. Immediately, we were stopped by a policeman on a motorcycle. He stopped both of us and said that we were not supposed to be in a center lane (whatever that means). Vadim told him that there were no signs (No Senales). The cop asserted that there were signs and took Vadim’s license away and said that we can get it back in 21 days. The cop then said that we need to pay him $100 / each in order to get it back. We offered to go to the police station to take care of our traffic “violation.” He seemed very hesitant to go the station. Vadim has dealt with many similar situations in Moscow, Russia and told him that $200 is too much. The cop asked him how much we can pay him. Vadim offered $10 for both of us. The police gladly took the two crispy $5 bills and put it in his greedy pocket. He then curiously walked around our bikes and said that he really liked our bikes.
We got lost in a big city and caught a cab to get us to the hotel. After 20 minutes of following the cab driver, we finally got there and parked inside the hotel in one of the halls in the back. The city is so large that it is highly unlikely we would have found our hotel in a reasonable amount of time. The weather was hot 88 F (31 C) and the money spent on a cab was worth it.
In the evening, we took a walk in the historic district of Mexico City. The City is beautiful and very big. We stopped for a dinner at Tacuba Café, where we enjoyed a jar of tamarind-flavored juice, garlic soup with egg, tacos and “pambacitos”.
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Tacuba Cafe (Mexico City)
There are so many things to see in the Mexico City, which we plan to do after we drop off our bikes for a general inspection before we proceed down south on Sunday. One of the people who we got introduced to a few days ago, Juan Pablo, will come get us from the hotel on a motorcycle and take us to the dealership where he made an appointment for us. He has been extremely helpful. Many countries we will be crossing in the next several weeks / months do not have dealerships that can service our bikes; so, this is a perfect place to have the final checks.
Routes taken: Mexico 49, Mexico 57
Miles ridden: 380 miles ( 612 km)
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