After a break of nearly two months, we were finally back on the TransMexico Norte bikepacking route. We had spent much of the rainy season off our bikes, exploring Belize and Mexico City. But with a new, shorter deadline for cycling to the Guatemalan border, we had to get back on the road - even if it meant dealing with daily tropical downpours. Before long we had descended out of the high plains into lowland mountains shrouded in lush forests. Once again we discovered the pleasures of cycling through novel landscapes, and uncovering the hidden gems - like massive caves and offbeat museums - that other tourists rarely see.

From Guanajuato, the TransMexico Norte bikepacking route took us into the country’s central volcanic belt, passing between two majestic volcanos and through two of the country’s most popular tourist towns. Along the way, we cycled among the steep-sided foothills of towering cinder cones, as well as through fertile lowlands of sugar cane and agave. Ubiquitous, colorful murals proclaimed Mexico’s love for Monarch butterflies, which overwinter each year among the pines on the slopes of a few, high, volcanic peaks. Just as the rainy season began in earnest, we reached the city of Toluca, where we would take some time off our bikes to let the rains pass.