A police detachment of 20 men follows me out of Juchitan, but they quickly leave. For 2 days I struggle through the coastal plain with the extreme heat – 35 degrees and high humidity.
On the road I want to take from Arriaga, there are again safety problems and for safety reasons I decide to take the motorway despite the police escort and as there is only a toll station after 65 kilometres where I get something to eat and behind which I can sleep safely, this day becomes the longest so far.
When I get to Tuxtla Gutierrez, over 100 runners accompany me and the town welcomes us in a park with a marimba band. The run-in gets a bit out of hand. The runners keep touching my car and everyone wants a selfie, so I can no longer run at my rhythm.
Between Tuxtla Gutierrez and San Cristobal comes the royal stage. Tuxtla is at 450 metres, San Cristobal, 50 kilometres away, at 2000 metres. The road always leads along the slope, with a view over the valley, and while it is still hot at the bottom, further up we come into fog and it gets really fresh. The closer we get to San Cristobal, the more runners join us. A policeman from the escort, who used to run marathons, gets out of the car and runs 20 kilometres with us.
Exactly 1000 kilometres to Cancun.
