Fantastic breakfast in a small Chiapas restaurant.

Yesterday morning I stopped by a little roadside restaurant in southern Chiapas to have breakfast and that turned out to be a real treat. Both from a food perspective and a human perspective.

I started riding my bike this morning at around 10am. A little late considering the sweltering heat that we have at the moment in Chiapas. I like my late mornings when I don’t have to work. I decided to take breakfast along the highway, as I often find that these places serve great food. They mostly deal with business drivers and truck drivers who need a good feed. So these roadside places are often a good bet worldwide, when you need a good feed for a long day of cycling.

Mexican breakfasts are a cyclists best friend.

I saw a sign saying “Restaurante La Gloria” just outside the small town Villa Comaltitlan and headed in there. The place was very tidy for a small roadside restaurant and I liked the place from the start. A friendly lady served me and I ordered a nice big breakfast plate. Breakfast is for me the most important meal of the day. This is when I fill my body with energy for the day and its the only meal where I do not feel a little tired after eating. I am all fired up with energy after breakfast. Especially when it is Mexican breakfast. Mexican love to eat nutritious things for breakfast. Eggs, beans, meat and so on. A little like the english in a way, but Mexicans know how to use spices. So sorry England. Even if I like English breakfast a lot, it will never come even close to a Mexican breakfast.

Just as I finished breakfast, the owner came and sat at my table. He asked me if I wanted to sign a guest book that he had for the foreign visitors who came to his restaurant. We started talking and the guy surprised me by having a lot of knowledge about the world. He told me that he had studied quite a lot and was comfortable with English and Chinese language. The friendly fellow clearly enjoyed sorting out the world situation with a foreigner who could inspire him with some different views. He also told me some interesting things about the Chinese emigrants to Chiapas and was good at putting it into perspective. Our talk drifted over to how society is set up in the USA vs Mexico vs Europe. Bicycles, wind power and safety on Mexican roads were just some other things we talked about. Looking back at it, it’s quite surprising that I only spend an hour and a half there. But it sure was a pleasant hour and a half. Such a wonderful surprise to meet such intelligent and informed people when you are really just expecting a bit of scrambled eggs.

The wonderful couple at the restaurant.

When I left the place, my head was so full of things we had talked about that I forgot to pay for breakfast. I only realised it after having cycled about a kilometer down the road. I quickly raced back, cause i did not want them to think that i tried to run away from the bill. They just laughed when I returned and refused to take any payment. They were just happy to have me as their guest at their little restaurant. That was a very nice finish to a morning that had been very pleasant already. Mexican hospitality at its very finest. I hope I will be back to Restaurante La Gloria in Villa Comaltitlan.