The Perils of Iguana Soup

Current Location: Cuajinicuilapa, Guerrero, Mexico
Distance cycled to date: 7587km
Number of times vomited on the trip to date: 5 (Keenan - 5, Jeff - 0)
Number of times we´ve correctly pronounced the name of the city we are in: 0


On a typical day Keenan and I stop several times a day in various towns or pretty much anywhere that has a bench of some sort and some shade. With most of our meals consisting of sandwiches of some combination of peanut butter, jam, honey, and nutella, we like to take in the local cuisine whenever possible. Sampling the many tasty treats found among the street stands is a great way to satisfy that need for diversity. Market areas are the best place to find those quick and delicious snacks. With people calling out, and various liquids being poured and meat in different stages of progression from live chickens to meat frying on the grill it can be quite exciting. You don´t often have the chance to sample some iguana meat, or try that free cup of soup thrust in front of you, so you must seize those opportunities. Without hesitation we are both digging in, eating whatever we find that day.

Since our last blog post we continued on the road, riding again over 100km, both feeling quite good about everything. We found another great spot in the ditch - everything was going as planned. The following day we planned on reaching the state of Oaxaca, however as Keenan stated last blog "you can never get too cocky when you´re cycle touring." That morning we were lucky enought to be able to stop and sample some chicken stew sandwiches and that iguana soup. Even with our break early in the morning we made good time and were on pace for another 100km day.

However, that all changed around noon. Our lunch break of sandwiches didn´t work for Keenan and he hardly ate anything. Several trips to the bathroom later and a long break didn´t settle much. But we started to bike again, only to make it 5km further down the highway. We hit the edge of a small village when Keenan stopped, tipped his bike over and laid down in the ditch. With sweat pouring from his face he told me he wasn´t feeling good. It was obvious we weren´t going much further. We did make it about 100 yards to a basketball court with some concrete bleachers Keenan thought would be better. So we spent the rest of the afternoon there, Keenan alternating between sleep and throwing up and me listening to music trying my best to ignore the sounds he was making. Not a very fun way to spend your day - especially for Keenan. Being in no shape to move whatsoever, we ended up camping at the top of the bleachers. Being deserted all day long we thought it would be a quiet place to spend the night.

Until about 7:00 pm that would have been true, but soon the lights were on and the balls were bouncing. More and more kids began showing up and soon we became more fascinating than their game. We´ve never felt more like animals at the zoo. As we lay in our tent with the fly off, we could see the group of faces growing as more and more came to point and laugh at us. Keenan hardly seemed to notice in his state and even managed to sleep a bit as the show continued. It was extremely hard to focus on my book as they were literally a foot away, peering in. I tried a simple "hola" but they seemed to find it more fun to call to their friends, "gringos!" and widen the circle. This awkward scene lasted for quite some time, and they even returned to their game, only to return minutes later for another look. I´m not sure when they left for the last time, as I tried to simply put my head down and ignore them, but when I awoke next it was to the sound of what must have been a very angry donkey´s "heee-haaw" and the kids were gone. The farm animal noises continued throughout the night, but were a nice change to the curious, noisy children.

Today we left that village and made it 20km to a bigger place and found ourselves a cheap hotel to spend the night. Keenan is feeling somewhat better, after sleeping most of the day. Hopefully if everything goes to plan tomorrow we will leave and make our way into Oaxaca and further down Mexico. Maybe we´ll be more careful with our selection of tasty treats?