Today’s photos were all shot in and around Santa María Colotepec. When we are riding from our house to the center of Puerto Escondido, at some point there is a pink gateway on our right, with the name of this town written across the top. On our first visit, we noticed it, but never found the time to go explore the area. Naturally, it was high on our to-do list for our second visit.
The first time Shane and I rode the bike up there, we knew right away this was a good idea. Soon after the gateway, we came across a beautiful cemetery. The cemeteries I have come across so far in Mexico are much more ornate and involved than the ones back home. Almost all the plots consist of a concrete slab, and by my understanding, some of these concrete slabs are actually coffins. Many have little structures on top of them, with pictures, and candles, and covered spaces to leave treats.
Once, during our time in a different part of Mexico, Shane and I came across a cemetery that was right at the edge of the ocean. You could see that erosion was slowly clawing the cement coffins into the water, and some of them barely hung onto dry land at awkward angles, with lids that cracked or shifted open. I half expected to see a skeleton foot hanging out, but luckily I did not witness anything scary.
Anyway, back to Colotepec. The road there is one of my favourites in the area, sweepy and smooth, with views of the river and the jungle as well as fields on either side. As always, you have to watch out for those speed bumps. At one point we came across an unfinished bridge over the river, wide, and concrete, with no railings or barriers. That’s one thing that we love about Mexico, they trust you to not do things like fall off bridges.
The town itself was full of children playing, and they all waved and stared as we rode by. One enterprising teenager approached us, and sold us a jar of honey. We wandered around, totally falling in love with the super old church that was slowly being destroyed by the trees that grew out of it. We also visited the newer, freshly painted church. We finished off our visit with a dip in the river, which was clean and warm and shallow. Now this little town is one of our favourite places to stop by.
