Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
august 15
I had to change my route today, because recent floods had washed out
a bridge that I was due to run across. I had to detour about 30 kilo-
metres out of my way. We'd had no prior notice that the bridge had
ceased to exist. These things happen; I take them in my stride.
Mexico has been a pleasant surprise. Well-meaning people caring
only for my welfare have been constantly telling me, 'Watch out for
this . . . watch out for that,' but so far everything has gone smoothly;
the country is beautiful and so are the people. Carloads of families
have been stopping and giving me fresh fruit and bread, and asking
to have their photo taken with me. I always oblige. I know I have an
escort, and I wouldn't have been given one if there was no danger, but,
by and large, from what I've seen Mexico is safe.
I did a live cross with Karl Stefanovic on the
Today
show this
morning, and he asked me how my body is holding up. I told him and
all the viewers back home, 'I'd be lying if I said my body wasn't giving
me grief. My legs are sore; the knee I cracked in the Arctic remains
painful and I reckon I've chipped a bone, but I'll put up with the pain
until I finish the run. I'm still going strong. We've got the North Pole
done, Canada done, the United States done, and here we are in Mex-
ico. Bloody hell . . . sometimes I have to pinch myself.'
august 18
I'm standing by the Pacific Ocean on the west coast of Mexico, just
three days away from Guatemala.
The Sierra Madre mountains, which have taken three days to
cross, form a daunting range that guards the west coast. The sheer
beauty of the place took my mind off the gruelling run. The striking
terrain comprises 3000-metre-high mountains, much of which are cov-
ered in pine oak forests, and plunging canyons. Tribes of indigenous
people, who speak Uto-Aztecan languages, live there. I'm not sure if this
was the setting for the classic Humphrey Bogart movie
The Treasure
of the Sierra Madre
, because there are
ive
Sierra Madre ranges in Mexico:
the Sierra Madre Del Sur, which I traversed, the Sierra Madre Oriental, the
Sierra Madre de Oaxaca, the Sierra Madre Occidental and the Sierra
Madre de Chiapas. But I'm happy to believe I ran in Bogie's footsteps.
