The Return Trip Oct 1st to 7th 2012

  our hotel

We leave Cordoba about 7 am….traffic is moderate…..Pedro says go…lead the way…shortly I notice he is not in sight so I pull over thinking he will be along shortly…..doesn’t happen so I find my way back up one way streets hoping he hasn’t had an accident and worried that we will not find one another as this is a city of one way streets. Luck is with us and as I pull up to the hotel we meet….he has been circling in the opposite direction. Now we head out of town following a Police pickup loaded with Policia. Church in the Square the square decorated for xmas

Again we are on toll roads….did I say I hate toll roads almost as much as the topes….we do get one break….as we pull up to a toll, I note that their are several men dressed in grey pulling masks over their faces, a police cruiser with its lights flashing has followed us in but veers off to the left and stops. A girl in a BMW is in our lane but in front of us…..the men in grey start yelling and kick barriers across the other open lanes…the BMW reverses…she must be scared…..though the yelling is in Spanish I get the message is go…..no pay….must be a protest so I go to the right of the BMW just as she realizes its ok to go and all 3 of us zoom past the toll lady and into waiting police cruisers with the officers just standing outside starring at the commotion, we all speed away not daring to slow down and make our escape unscathed and best of all a freebie…….. Regular transportation…even in cities

Its getting late and we haven’t seen many motels….stop at an industrial area which is very modern with young employees getting off buses and heading to one of many factories…..this area is quite a contrast to some of the other places we have been…..along the road we saw maintenance people cleaning along the hwy…no litter…what a change. We stop at the gatehouse …again nada espanol…..but we get the drift that we can find a place to sleep and eat up the road…..Another Love Motel…after dinner Pedro negotiates a price 400 peso….my turn for the ceramic floor….he is not sharing the King Size bed…. Cotton

Up early and on the road in fair weather……we ride a long day and well into the evening as we are unable to get modest accommodation. At 11 pm we find ourselves in the town we stayed in when we first entered Mexico…..so we make our way to The Durago Hotel with the help of a young biker, as we find that we are lost again……..

It’s only a half day drive to the border but 1st we have to check out of the country about 20 miles before Eagles Pass. The army is waiting and give us a once over then we go to customs and the aduana office to get our bikes checked out and some of our 479.00 us dollars back….thanks to a young lady from Portugal who translates for us, we are through this procedure in an hour…….then into the next town to exchange our pesos for the us greenback.

It’s a long wait at the Texas border…..a nice couple in the opposite lane notes how hot we are sitting there in our biker gear and motions for us to move into their lane as it is moving 4 times faster than ours…we are most great full…..while being searched by the Mexican soldiers….Pedro motions that his ak 47 looks heavy…suddenly the soldier hands him the weapon and Pedro…..mucho grande…while the soldiers laugh and startled onlookers watch.

We are free and back in America and can converse……..our 1st night is spent on the out skirt of San Antonio. In the dark of the early morning as I head unto the expressway my bike seems wobbly. I pull back into the motel to discover a 3 inch nail imbedded in the rear tire…….out comes the repair stuff….pull nail…rasp hole …stick in plug with glue….have small electric pump…..meanwhile Pedro has the motel manager searching for repair shops….he is such a worrier. I’m no mechanic but a tubless tire come on……Texas to Gravenhurst…I”m here….no further flat.

Somewhere around San Marcus I spot a Suzuki Dealer and pull off the expressway…..my oil was last changed at 6500k in N Carolina….I have over 14000k now….they book me in right away and we are soon back on the road…..as we head north we are initially releived at the cooler temps but that soon changes and we are now in winter gear and anxious to get home fearing ice or snow. The last night we are 120 miles south of Toledo on 75…..I am on the road alone as Pedro has decided its to cold and he will take a couple days……I want to be home by this afternoon as my son is home for the week end and its Thanksgiving. So averaging 120k…..I make it home at 3:15 pm….not bad considering the traffic, rain and high winds I encounter between Woodstock and Toronto.  My bike yet to be washed along with its damaged mate.             

Special Thanks

The Rodriques Family-Veracruz

Many others who I failed to get their names but translated for us in time of need.

Love Mexico

San Cristobel to Cordoba-Sept 30 12

 

What a great ride this am through the mountainous terrain i . Weather was sunny and with the cool mountain air the riding was superb. Looks like some kind of plum…..this vineyard is on about a 65 degree slope and is typical of the corn fields etc. Also noticed men spraying the ground with AGENT ORANGE. These areas where void of grass etc.

 I used the go pro from here but I haven’t figured how to load it to the blog.

Once we reach the valley floor, we went through a large city called Tuxtla Gutierrez with the intent of picking up part of the Pacific coast 200 hwy but Pedro said we were going the wrong way and diverted us to 145 hwy which in hindsight looking at the map shouldn’t have been as it was not on our Mexican Map and this was a toll hwy at least 4 years old.Two hours later we realize we are going in the wrong direction as the few signs that appear have the names of places we visited or passed on the East Coast……to late to back trac so we continue on and pick up 180 D west towards Mexico. By 7pm we are in a heavy downpour and forced to pull over for a 1/2 hour. Tonight we are in Cordoba another vibrant city……..O…in the 6 hours this afternoon we spent over $ 1000.00 pesos in tolls and that sucks……

Palenque to San Cristobel –Part 2 Sept 29 12

 

The ride from Palenque was fun and somewhat hazardous….narrow pavement through the mountains and its many valleys with the occasional washout. Though the damaged areas may be under repair there is often no warning of the approaching danger; unless you count small rocks placed around the perimeter of the area..loll. Today we rounded a corner at about 40 and met a semi completely in our lane….just happened to be an open gravel area off to my left which I hit at speed missing the truck by no more than a foot, Of coarse the thought was what the……..then I noticed he had no choice, the road was gone on his side to the valley below………slow down and expect the unexpected,,,,,,but a few miles later with the nerves settled we are pushing our riding abilities to new sensations. Mexico, please get rid of the TOPES.

After climbing the 100 steps..this was still above me In

woops ….too fast on a turn

In San Chris for the evening…need fuel no money , got to find an ATM….located one next to the motel Pedro booked us in with the help of Check backpacker who spoke multiple languages…she has been in the city for 2 weeks and we learn that it is a vibrant city of 86,000 and founded in the 1500 hundreds….that old eh. Tim’s anyone…this street was lined with upscale coffee shops and boutiques

Palenque to San Christobel Mx Sept 29 –12 Part 0ne

 

At the ruins early….took a bus taxi from the hotel and spent the morning wandering about the ruins including a climb up one of them…approx 100 steps 9 inches each….steep

Still uncovering   Fresh water which they channelled through the complex. The complete system was covered as you can see at the top of the pics. The mayans used a arch system. taken from the temple the main temple..climbed..you can likely zoom in and see the girl still at the bottom moi on the edge

Chetumel pics

Lunch Stop

Chechen Itza to Chetumel-Sept 27-12

 

Early start and made good time using main 180 hwy…fewer topes…covered some pavement. Pedro negotiated a good price on his motel getting her down from 450 to 350……after saying goodbye I hit the road late and ended up driving in the dark and an evening shower, prior to getting to Becan, I was stopped 3 times and searched …twice by the army and once by the police. The 1st time only 10 ft apart…go figure.

All and all it was a good day, we stopped at Tulum Ruins where Pedro was able to get in for free and grab a few pics of the beach and opening in the cliffs. This was the site of the 1st Spanish invasion of the maya and only defeat that the Spaniards suffered.

Pedro and I had decided to continue north in slightly different directions but early this morning I got an email and we regrouped and adjusted our schedules as it is easier, more enjoyable and safer sharing the experience not to mention cheaper.   

Chechen Itza-Sept 26 12

 

 

Non Riding Day…….up at 8 am gathering our dirty laundry, my damp cloths have been in a dry sack  for a few days and the smell was enough to knock you out…LOL Landeria 1KG 60 pesos

Then we hired a taxi to take us to the Chechen Ruins…30 pesos. We had to purchase 2 tickets totalling 157 pesos each to gain entry. Unfortunately for me I found this site much lss spectacular than Tijan near Papantla. The commercialism is both inside and outside the grounds. 1st view ahead of the crowd  the main temple another angle pillars that extend for hundreds of feet and would have had a peaked thatch roof, possibly a second story and likely was a market area….main square alter 1 side of  the ball court in which the winners would lose their head, considered an honour…..should add this clause to the new NHL contract…….would free up some cash on the cap, Mr Bettman venders and more venders……….. this is a well that is at least 150 feet in diameter and about 70 feet deep with 20 feet of water and is at the end of a built up road in the previous pic which is 1/4 mile long.