Greetings from the other side. We’re out here emerging like young tadpoles through the portal of the past few years. We’re back at it again with the ones and twos, to bring you the salty sweaty stories of bicycles, nature, love, and farts.
It’s almost been three years since our last escapade on the surly steeds. A lot has changed through this collective chafe session we’ve been through. A warm embrace to all of you here still with us, new and old, as well as an honorable howl of life for those who have passed. I’m sure there has been quite a bit of shifting for many of us.
As for the two Bobs, these past years have seen lots. We worked in the mountains and forests of California for two summer seasons as supervisors with our dear friend Agnes and their rad organization Eastern Sierra Conservation Corps.
Annina had a full blown knee reconstruction surgery and healed amazingly. We bought an old work van and with lots of help converted it (thanks again for all the help, Brian!) and jumped on the #vanlife bandwagon. All the while falling deeper in love.
After little thought and no planning we were magnetically pulled back to the life on two wheels. Here is an update of our adventures back on the bicycles.
After some sweet succulent times with family on both the coasts of the US, we boarded a plane on a reconnaissance mission to Peru. Years in the making, we reunited with our bicycles in the capital city of Lima. A friend connection in the city had been storing our bikes in a warehouse since we left them in 2020; the heat of the before times. Much appreciation to the homie Duncan for keeping the bikes safe through the time warp. The reunion was smooth and sweet. Just some loose screws to tighten and a couple pumps in the tires and we were back on the saddles.
As we sat down for our first lunch in the city, a breaking news story came on the television and all the staff and cooks left their duties behind & had huddled around the TV. The president Pedro Castillo was attempting a coup de etat by issuing a decree to dissolve congress and a strict curfew was issued. The political tidal waves of Peru have been in a tumultuous power struggle for the past few years, something we had glimpsed during our time there 2 years ago. Later that day Castillo was impeached, arrested, and the Vice President become the first female president of Peru. We stayed with a sweet family that hosts bicycle travelers just north of the city in Callao. We met another fellow cycle traveler from South Korea, Mingi! Our stay in Lima was brief, enough time to eat ceviche and meet up with the homie Omar whom Ernesto had met on a bike tour through the south about a decade ago.
And so the young weary “Bobs” packed up their goodies in boxes and were off for international airways. But nothing says stress ball and a half like being at an airport. Especially when you realize your flight has been changed to many hours earlier and you still have to go through the multifaceted layers of immigration and customs. Good times.
In a photo finish fashion, we make it onboard our flight to Cancun, sweaty with adrenaline coursing through our veins and cursing budget airlines.
We landed weary from lack of sleep and after reuniting with our bike boxes, we began the slow task of piecing them back together. We stayed with our good friend Morgan in Cancun who is a lifeguard at the local beaches. After a quick tune up and catching up on some sleep we decided on a little holiday loop.
Our 11 day journey would loop us back to Cancun in time to meet up with our family for the new year. We had our hearts set on making it to Rio Lagartos to witness the pink salt lakes and even pinker flamingos in the wild. After a late start and very sore butts adjusting to the saddles we made it to Leona Vicario where we were hosted by a really nice couple who let us camp in their yard. We stayed up late talking about Mayan folklore and duendes.
In the morning we biked to Kantunilkin, and stayed with the the homies at the bombero station after getting rained out in the town. We got up early to make it to a nearby cenote spot that was really sweet. Not too many people make it down the bumpy road, and we made it there just as they were opening the gates. It was a breathtaking experience to be swimming in this massive sinkhole with tree roots hanging over what felt like an infinite portal below. We had the cenote to our selves for most of the day and we hung out with the guys in charge for a while talking about the history of the place.
We made our way to the junction town of Colonia Yucatán after crossing state lines into the state of Yucatán; a town known in its heyday for massive lumber exports. We were hosted by the local comandancia and slept in a building next to a guy being held in the drunk tank for peeing in the public plaza. We ate some sweet sweet ice cream from the historic ice cream parlor and pedaled on to the sleepy beach town of El Cuyo. We camped on the beach on the outskirts of town in the not so secret lovers point.
In the morning we met a friendly Canadian expat who was also a cycling enthusiast. He invited us into his home for a dip in the pool and then accompanied us down the dusty road into the Bio Reserve of Rio Lagartos. We were surrounded by the shallow lagoons where the ocean turns into marsh land. After our friend turned back we started to see flamboyances of wild flamingoes in the setting sun. We found a shaded alcove amongst the trees to set up camp and watched the sunset reflect the pastel colors of the many birds in the horizon. Continuing down the path in the morning we got to see the park biologists release a crocodile back into the lagoon that had been caught in somebody’s yard in the nearby town. There was an abundance of clay mud in the area. We slathered the mud on our faces and rode with full facials the rest of the ride into town. After a hot sweaty day of riding we stopped at a local cafe where the owners were still constructing a hostal. The cafe-homies, as we’ll call them, let us camp in their unfurnished room. We had arranged to stay with a family in Valladolid for Christmas and were hosted by them for a few days before our return to Cancun. We talked a lot about music. Oliver, our host, plays percussion with a local tropical salsa group. He told us stories of how the Riviera Maya was first started and the messy land grabs that turned it into the tourist corridor it is today. It rained most of the time we were in Valladolid. The streets flooded.
Saying goodbye to Oliver and fam, we boarded a bus to Cancun in order to skip the sketchy highway road leading back to the city. After a night in Cancun we met up with our family for the celebration of the New Year. Anninas mom, Ernesto’s parents and sister all converged and we celebrated by going to spooky cave cenotes, fish laden lagoons, and tasty food spots in Tulum. We rung in the new year sharing stories, struggles, successes, all the while eating a delicious home cooked meal. It was nice to have the time to unwind, sink back into family time, and celebrate together.
After our goodbyes we were back on the road and stopped in Tulum to visit the homie Gaby who had been training for the apocalypse honing her fighting skills at a Muay Thai dojo.
We went to a skull shaped cenote and got to sit in on a community outreach boxing class in a small town outside of Tulum. We camped next to where the class was held in the local community park. In the morning we began our backroads journey of the interior of the state of Quintana Roo. For a little over a week we stayed off of the main highways, and visited many small Mayan towns. More often than not most peoples second language was Spanish and all we would hear in the streets was Mayan. We picked up a few phrases in Mayan which helped us get along with the throngs of kids that always surrounded us whenever we stopped in a town to set up camp. Some of the weeks Highlights: we stayed in a local community cenote by ourselves in the jungle, we got lost on little dirt trails and ended up in a Mayan farming plot, we were invited to a local pib celebration {Where they had prepared a meal overnight in a deep fire pit and were sharing it with the whole village}.
The grand finale after coming out of many little towns was celebrating Ernesto’s 32nd Birthday in the lagoon-side town of Bacalar. We’re currently camped out next to the lagoon, cleaning our clothes and preparing for the next leg of the journey toward the jungle of Campeche.
We haven’t planned much for next months journey, we’re letting it unfold organically. What will happen will surprise us as much as it will surprise y’all. Stay tuned for our next episode of the Bici Bobs.
Here’s our video montage for the month!
Super stoked to reach out to friends and family far and wide. We know it’s been a bit since we reached out to many of y’all so please let us know what’s been going on with you! What new wholesome machinations are underfoot in your zip code? Keep us in the loopty loop. Toot toot!
Hugs and kisses, farts and head-pats,
Ernesto & Annina
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