Thanks to mclarjh's information from two years ago, I decided to go on an overnight trip to San Juan Bautista Valle Nacional and explore the surrounding area as well. As a solo female traveler, I encountered hospitable people and felt safe my whole trip. I even got a latte for free from a coffee shop barista ha. Throughout my trip, I asked if people regularly encountered American tourists. In San Mateo Yetla, it was obvious they did, whereas in Valle Nacional, I did not notice any other hotel guests while I was there.
The ADO station has several Cuenca Express buses running from Oaxaca City to Tuxtepec. You can buy tickets for Valle Nacional and you will be on a sprinter camioneta(15 person) van. Cost was about $150 pesos one way and buses leave five times a day, which you can check on the ADO website. The trip takes about 4 - 4.5 hours and it is extremely winding. I would recommend not eating too adventurous the day before you travel and brace yourself with the armrests.
When arriving I decided to stay at the Hotel Valle Real. The WiFi signal is open which makes the connection unreliable, but there is a/c, TV, and hot water. I was able to talk to the person at the desk about possibly touring the Rancho Grande coffee finca. You can easily find the coffee beans around town as Coffee Naay. After some discussion, she was able to get a taxi to come pick me up. I did see some truck camionetas around that drive to Rancho Grande, San Mateo Yetla, and surrounding communities, while the tuk-tuks drive to spots around Valle Nacional. By taxi, Rancho Grande takes about 20 minutes to drive from Valle Nacional and it smells of coffee right when you arrive. Some homes are drying coffee, others are roasting. My taxi driver and I drove up the main road and in one km we saw the farm with adobe houses. We asked one of the workers outside if he can show us the coffee farm. He agreed and we took him as a passenger and drive up another km to the coffee farm. The worker gave us an overview of the growing stages, types of roasts, and coffee rust. My driver spoke some English and was able to elaborate with any details I didn’t understand. The worker told us of the other family who roasts the coffee that’s grown, so we dropped him off and went to get coffee beans. For 1 kg of roasted coffee, it was 100 pesos. I enjoy roasting coffee at home, so I was able to ask for some green coffee beans, which were 50 pesos for about 3/4 a kg. It appears the whole town works together in the coffee growing process, as I saw several homes with beds of coffee drying in the sun. For 2 hours, the taxi driver wanted 200 pesos, which was a good deal for me.
The town itself is relatively small, even though some guidebooks and information online lists the population as 10,000 people. There is a grocery store with several produce storefronts nearby, two tortillerias with fresh tortillas all day for 12 pesos a kg, multiple comedors that specialize in Chinetec food and tacos, such as chicken, and two coffee shops. For Internet, have some change with you to pay for by the hour cybercafes. As a vegetarian, I resorted to eating fresh tortillas and takis, but some locals recommended Desgarennes located on the main strip. I noticed as I was leaving the town, a restaurant called Restaurante Nachillos on the main strip advertises vegetarian food. Before I called it the night, I was able to buy Dramamine for the ride home for 8 pesos a tablet.
The next morning, Hotel Valle Real offers breakfast at 7:30a. For 55 pesos I got muesli, yogurt, mango and cantaloupe, coffee, and toast. The desk clerk the day before told me I can go to San Mateo Yetla and pay for a guided hike without having to stay there. I walked to the cabanas, passing through Santa Fe y La Mar, about 7 km, until I saw a sign on the right near downtown San Mateo Yetla pointing towards the right. I got a couple of looks along the way, mostly because people take the truck camioneta there. When I arrived, the owner said I could get a guided hike for 300 pesos since I did not stay there...ahorita. Ahorita, it dawned on me, meant soon but not a definite time. I had some coffee and pan (15 pesos) and waited 45 minutes. The owner appeared a bit scattered, walking quickly all over the place. A guide arrived who was clearly suited for jungle hiking. He had a machete with him for making trails and a birding book. The guide seemed pretty experienced, as he kept mentioning to locals that he was saving up money to hike in Chiapas. We picked up a neighborhood kid to hike with us and started at the end of San Mateo Yetla/beginning of Santa Fe Y La Mar (the first community south of Valle Nacional). The hike was 6 km long but took 3.5 hours as we were traveling up and down the mountain. Throughout the trip, he pointed out birds and various plants and their uses. At one point he even made me a walking stick. The guided tour was 300 pesos but definitely worth it for the views of the mountains and adventure. I can’t imagine anyone doing the hike alone, as the trails get covered with foliage quickly. At one point, it appeared as though we were lost, but we were able to follow the river back. Some of the bird sounds he pointed out included a toucan and a motmot. We also saw an orange-crowned warbler and some other birds I cannot remember. I was able to take a camioneta back to Valle Nacional for 10 pesos and arrived just in time to take my Cuenca bus (not sprinter van) back to Oaxaca. Before I grabbed my bags at Hotel Valle Real, the front desk receptionist, a younger man in his 20s, commented how heavy my bag was. I told him it was filled with coffee beans, and he told me he also roasted coffee! I had just a minute to be able to see his coffee roaster located in the storefront next door to the hotel. At 2pm, I was able to buy a bus ticket for 196 pesos (no credit cards accepted) at the ADO bus station in Valle Nacional and jumped on the coach bus. This ride was definitely a slower ride but more comfortable for my stomach!
