Intrepid Traveler Dispatch: Mexico by Motorcycle

In this Intrepid Traveler Dispatch, photographer Skip Hunt tells us about his motorcycle ride through Mexico.

At times, he says, parts of the country feel like a portal to another dimension—even without the benefit of mind-altering substances found to grow there (more on that later).

At the end of each entry is a link to a blog post Skip had written while he was still on the road. He concludes his dispatch with a slide show and a link to his book.

THE TRIP: Left Austin, Texas on a 2005 Suzuki DL650 in June of 2009 and traveled through Mexico through August. The journey began in the sacred desert region known as Huiricuta, to major cities, strange villages that induced strange deja-vu, mountains, jungle, peyote/mushroom rituals, coastline, and amazing winding roads all throughout the Sierra Madres. I blogged about it here.

WHO: Skip Hunt

WHEN: June through August in the Summer of 2009

WHY: I’ve been traveling off and on throughout Mexico for a couple decades now. Started doing it on a motorcycle in 2005. Each time I discover yet another layer of profound and surreal truth that’s just beneath Mexico’s gritty crust.

GETTING THERE WAS: On a motorcycle in the rainy season is not something I would recommend to anyone. Nor crossing Mexico City at 6pm on a Friday in the rain… on a motorcycle. However, the curves throughout the Sierra Madres will take your breath away… Just keep your eyes on the road though, never know when a bus will be passing going the opposite way on a blind curve.

I WAS REALLY SURPRISED WHEN: I experienced a very strange and persistent deja-vu feeling that lasted all 5 days I was in Tepoztlan. I’d never been there before, but after meeting a odd man named Ea Orgo-Maynez at the nearby town called Amatlan (believed to be the birthplace of Quetzalcoatl) who claimed the location was a “portal to another dimension”… I started having persistent deja-vu that didn’t go away until I left that place.

I REALIZED THAT I WOULD LOVE IT WHEN: A goat herder named Evuli on a burro didn’t think I was a crazed peyote-eating gringo making a giant peace sign in the desert, and instead helped me find good stones to add to the design.

THE BEST PLACE I STAYED WAS: a $1.5Mil home in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca. I’d traded taking photos of it for staying 5 nights there. Each room had it’s own AC and the infinity pool overlooked the ocean on the edge of a rocky bluff. Unfortunately, I got some strange flu that was much stronger than any “gripa” I’d ever got in Mexico… and spent a good part of those 5 days trying to sweat it out.

THE COOLEST ATTRACTION WAS: likely watching the full moon rise from the desert after a storm had passed by and I was about to begin my last dance with mescalito in the San Luis Potosi desert region called Huiricuta. Or, perhaps stumbling down to the beach after too much smoke and raicilla from my English friend JR in Puerto Vallarta.

IF I HAD TO DO IT AGAIN I WOULD HAVE: not crossed Mexico City at any time other than early Sunday morning. IF I ever do that again, I will definitely plan an entrance and exit ONLY on Sunday mornings early.

THE ONE PIECE OF ADVICE I HAVE ABOUT VISITING MEXICO IS: embrace the slow pace and appreciate the raw, surreal beauty of Mexico. And if you can’t find a reasonably-priced room in Guadalajara, the brothel I had to stay in was the cleanest and most reasonably-priced hotel I’ve ever stayed in.

I created a little slideshow of images with music from this trip here:

skip hunt :: vagabond :: mexico 2009 from Skip Hunt on Vimeo.

I also created a blurb.com book of this journey and the best images and writing here.