Monday 30th June 2025 Tonala to Santo Dominigo Zanatepec
Really good nights sleep last night, ready to take on the world, now can’t even finish my breakfast but I ate more than yesterday so must be a bit better, same strategy today is to drink loads, then drink some more, relatively easy day planned, if only we planned more often! I do think the planning malarkey is overrated, best just ride and see what happens, what can go wrong.

So with my body feeling 100% better than yesterday, we are off on another avid adventure, first thing though we need to find an ATM, running low on cash, no worries we have Shackleton aka Bingo with us the ace navigator, through the twisty turny streets of downtown Tonalá, yep we founds a bank but no ATM, see Shackleton did not have these sorts of tests, lets keep going, till the next town, I can sing for some money if we are desperate I said, Bingo gave me one of the looks, don’t be so silly – enough said.

Next town only about 15 mile away Arriaga, we can go through the town, instead of going around the outskirts, soon hit the dusty little town of Arriaga, with one bank, Shackleton sets his compass and off we go, through the market area, then down by the new railway line, Steve the editor will update us on this later [the line connecting Mexico with Guatemala was reconstructed in standard guage in 2019, with 300 new bridges], he is an avid trainspotter, the numbers not the drugs I may add. Then up this one way road, Bingo aka Shackleton stops and says it should be here, nothing looks like a bank! go back the way we came, then eagled eyed private Gringo spots the bank, that looks like a bank, sure enough we got the cash, let’s get going.

All good now we have to get out of the town back on to the highway, with superb navigational skills, soon back on the highway without backtracking a single bit, good stuff. Scenery is gradually changing, going from the lush green forests to open grassland with a few shrubs and trees, loads of little lizards darting about the edge of the road, and one massive bit of flexible pipe, that I thought was a snake, had a girly scream as I nearly run it over, another one of my day dreaming excursions, fair play Bingo was just behind even he thought it looked like a snake. Few notable bird spots:
Laughing Falcon (Herpetotheres cachinnans)
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis
Love the anglicised names, reckon the English translator guy had a good sense of humour, fair play to whomever it was. Taking it easy riding with the wind, most of the time, road not to busy, but not much of a hard shoulder, must say the drivers have been brilliant, love the little hoots and a wave out of the window, then a massive blow of the air horn when the Mack and Kenworth trucks go rolling by, least you know they have seen you!

We keep going, riding easy, then stop just outside San Pedro, have to stop here one of Snowdown CWRFC all time hero’s “Pedro” the Mexican scrum half Pete Stow RIP, great player and supporter, shame we did not have a beer, but still very early and we are athletes, when it suits us. Push on after that lovely bit of nostalgia, brings back loads of great memories donning the sacred red and blue, but that does not get you through the dusty roads of Mexico, so have to pedal a bit. Around 10 miles from Santo Domingo Zanatepec, are planned stop for the day, the road was being repaired, ended up with a four mile bit of “ripo” (unmade road), not had that in a long time, made the joints ache a little, and lungs filled with dusty air, all in the life of a touring cyclist.

Soon hit the little town, not a lot going on, but got booked into a rather grand looking hotel, sure it was back in the day, but will do us, great guy on the desk, did not have a clue, but was very pleasant, all booked, then over the road to eat, or as the case maybe, back over this side of the road to eat, very hospitable, welcomed us in with open arms, just a little bite to eat a few beers to round the afternoon off.