BC to Panama on a KLR

[Mollygrubber]

Really enjoy reading your reports, Pat. Thanks for taking the time to do this as I'm sure you're not into it some nights...

Hope the rest of your journey is safe...

Peter

 

[Lonewolf]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Day 46[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I'm up and about early happy to know that Chris @ Dual-star.com is working on getting me a new set of brake pads and old brake rotor shipped down to meet me in Mexico. This mornings plan is to head north to the town of Flores, but not before stopping to see the Castle of San Felipe on the outskirts of town.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]A quick drive see's me to a small gate at the end of a road which I wouldn't have expected to be the entrance to the park. I pay the small entry fee and walk in leaving my jacket and helmet with the guards at the ticket booth.[/FONT]

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[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The first views of the castle fit perfectly with the images in my mind when I think about Caribbean castles and pirates. Its a small structure speckled with canons and ringed by palm trees and calm waters of the river.[/FONT]

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[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Not more than maybe 3500 square feet of usable interior space inside the high castle walls this anti-piracy outpost was not huge by any means but at one of the narrower points on the river and bustling with cannons it was effective.[/FONT]

Time has taken its toll...

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]An hour of wondering around the castle in the early morning heat has me drenched with sweat. Did I mention already that Canadians aren't built for this kind of a climate?! Having seen the castle it was time to head for Flores.[/FONT]

Wouldnt want to be on the recieving end of this setup...

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The ride takes about two hours and compared some of the other roads I've ridden in Guatemala this one s nothing special. The landscape changes from rolling hills to flat farmland and back again before I find myself in Flores.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Flores is a tourist hub of a town, its located on a small island in the middle of a lake and connected to shore with a small bridge. It takes maybe 5 minutes to circle the island on the one main street during which you can see that the entire island is made up of Hotels, Hostels, travel agencies and restaurants.[/FONT]

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[/FONT]The bridge...

Nicely decorated street...

Spent a bit of time relaxing on the rooftop here...

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I find a great little hostel across the road from the lake and check in before immediately heading out for a swim off the dock. Everyone is hanging out on the docks, I meet 2 Canadian couples and a group from Europe who have all been hanging out in town for 4 or 5 days now. Im not sure I could stay that long even if it is a nice spot.[/FONT]

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[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Dinner and an internet cafe are the next priorities, I find both just a short walk from the hostel. A few deliciously refreshing (and super cheap) Mojito's and a bowl of spaghetti hit the spot as I sit on a little patio overlooking the lake and the sunset...
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Mmmmm Mojito!

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The sun sets on another day in Central America
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[Lonewolf]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Day 47[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Knowing that if I buy my ticket for the Tik'al ruins after 3pm it will be good for this afternoon as well as tomorrow, I have a lazy morning. I wander around town again and spend a little time at the internet cafe before taking a swim and then a quick nap all prior to check out time at 1pm.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]After packing up the bike I head out of town only to have the extra taillight I had mounted prior to my departure, fall off... I pull into a parking spot beside the lake and size up the situation, the mounts i had made were fine, however, the plastic of the old taillight had obviously become brittle over the years and had let go. I could remove it all together but the stock KLR light is so dim I'm always worried about other drivers seeing it. Instead I break out the JB weld and decide I'll just glue the damn thing on.[/FONT]

JB Weld to the rescue!

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Waiting for the JB weld to set up completely a nice mid morning thunderstorm moves in and manages to soak me in the 15 seconds it takesme to run back to the bike and don my jacket. I take shelter under a tree and wait for the rain to let up.[/FONT]

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[/FONT]RAIN!

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Fifteen minutes pass and the rain is still coming down HARD. Without so much as a break in the clouds all the way to the horizon I figure “Hey, its only rain...” and jump on the bike. 15 minutes out of town and thoroughly soaked from forgetting to close all the vents on my gear the rain stops and the sun comes out. Its a quick 70KM ride to Tikal Park but I'm nice and dry when I arrive.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]With an hour to kill before the ticket changeover, the enormous black thunderclouds hanging in the distance promising more later and the only covered camping spots already taken I buck up and get a hotel room for the evening. It costs much less than I figured I would have to pay. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The Jaguar Inn is a nice spot with friendly staff, great food and cold beer. I get settled in and have a nice cold shower before heading out to buy my ticket and explore the ruins. The late afternoon and early mornings are the best times to see the ruins as most of the people haven't arrived yet or have already gone home. I count 6 other people in the park this afternoon on my walk around.[/FONT]

The walk in to the ruins...

Your first glimpse, impressive, even if it is the back side of the temple...

The front of the Temple...

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The ruins are absolutely amazing! Climbing to the tops of the temples rewards you with amazing views and a sense of what life may have been like for the ancient Mayan kings. I'm told to see everything that has been excavated on site you have to walk at least 10KM's yet it feels like I end up doing double that amount.[/FONT]

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Going up...

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A nice view...

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[/FONT]Yours truly relaxing...

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]At one point I thought the rain had started again but another visitor was making a fus about a money up over my head. As I stepped away to get a better view the “rain” stopped and I got a good look at a young spider monkey who continued urinating all over the tree I was just standing under.[/FONT]

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Some wierd animal...

Pretty freaking cool! Who's that handsome man?

More Ruins

Chillin...


[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]A four hour wonder in the park has the sun setting and me feeling a little hungry. I head back to the hotel and find myself a nice cold beer and some amazing steak stir fry while chatting to the other travellers and making a few notes in my journal.[/FONT]

Mmmm Food...

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I fall asleep in the hammock outside my room listening to some music and watching the lightning bugs as they fly past dancing over my head.[/FONT]

 

[Lonewolf]

Day 48

After chatting with Lauren and Mikheala last night during dinner I didn't expect to be the only one up and ready to hit the ruins at 6am when the park opened, but I was... With a piping hot cup of coffee from the yet to open restaurant I'm head to the park.

The damp earthy smells and vibrant jungle sounds engulf me on the 45 minute walk out to temple IV, the highest temple in Tik'al and furthest temple from the entry gate. I figured I would get some quality relaxing time on top of the temple without any other visitors to ruin it for me this early in the morning.

What a great spot to hang out and just take everything in...

The highest point in the park makes for an amazing view over top of the jungle canopy below. Wisps of mist still cling to the other temples jutting through the endless sea of green and the sound of birdsong mixed with howler monkeys off in the distance completes this perfect picture. I relax here for an hour just taking it all in before I head down the steep staircase and tour some of the smaller structures I hadn't found yesterday.

Stop staring at my ass...

Temple V again, I hadnt noticed the rounded corners on the terraces yesterday...

One of the ball courts...

I check out of the hotel room at 1pm and make the short drive to the Belizian border. The crossing here is the easiest yet, but its weird to be speaking to people in English again. With a check of all my luggage, a quick fumigation of the motorcycle and a stop for mandatory insurance I'm on my way again.

The river that seperates Guatemala and Belize...

Couple quick stamps here and I'm told to go find the red roofed house down the road for insurance.

Belize is instantly a nicer looking country. The people here seem to care about the appearance of their possessions, houses are kept in good repair, lawns neatly trimmed and the people are all very very friendly even if you cant understand the words that are coming out of their mouths.

Rolling on down the road...

Its getting late but I want to find a beach. I head for the town of Dangriga where my travel guide points me towards Val's Hostel. Its not much to look at but being just across the street from the ocean and the having a wonderful owner to deal with makes it all worthwhile. I pay $18bz for a bed in the dorms (about $9usd) where I meet a young couple from mexico and two twenty something Australian girls from Whistler, BC, Canada (not far from home) we all decide to go find somewhere to eat and over dinner share our travel stories and must visit places.

Val's Place, Doesnt look like much, but it works...

The town itself really isn't much to look at, neither is the beach. The market was vibrant and lively and the Riverside Restaurant was tasty for a good price. After dinner a quick walk through the market on our way back to the hostel has people trying to sell us all manor of useless junk.

The neighborhood...

River that runs through the center of town...

Trying to settle down and get some rest is tough when your in a room full of very confidant women strutting around in their skivvies, telling stories and laughing about the days events, eventually they get tired and with nothing blocking our view to the ocean from our beds we lay there listening to the waves break and allowing the constant sea breeze to cool us as we drift off to dreamland...

 

[Mollygrubber]

"...in a room full of very confidant women strutting around in their skivvies..."

LOL - what, no pics?!?

You're killing us, Pat!

 

[blocker]

Great trip reporting. Very nostelgic. My first adventure ride to Mexico in 1970, was the same route that you took down the coast.
Thanks for putting all the effort in to write a great report.
blocker

 

[fester]

I kinda jumped in the middel and started reading, I may have to start at the start again, awesome photos and reports.
I have not done a long distance trip yet but it is my dream to and yours looks amazing!!

 

[Lonewolf]

"...in a room full of very confidant women strutting around in their skivvies..."

LOL - what, no pics?!?

You're killing us, Pat!

Dont you think that might have come across a little bit creapy?! hahah I have all the pics I need in my mind

 

[Lonewolf]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Day 49[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The young Mexican couple is up and out early, off to catch a bus home. I toss and turn not wanting to be the guy that gets up before everyone else and wakes them up. After an hour the Aussies wake up and immediately start packing, they are off to Tobacco cay today for a few days of fun in the sun.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The bike gets loaded and I head out of town, backtracking towards the border some in order to skip the under construction, gravel road to Belize city. I stop in at Blue Hole national park for a morning swim and to check out the caves.[/FONT]

The trail down to the "Hole"

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]While the cenote (sinkhole) is small the water is crystal clear and refreshingly cool as it flows up from the deep underground aquifer and out into the limestone caves. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The mosquitoes are thick and I strip down as quickly as possible while running for the water. Plunging into the small swimming hole my breath is taken away from me, the cold water makes me gasp and has me headed back to shore until I get acclimatized.[/FONT]

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[/FONT]Brrrrr, but ohh so refreshing!

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Once your comfortably numb in the cool water and the mosquitoes leave you along you can just enjoy the beauty of it all... A nice refreshing swimming hole in the middle of the jungle all to myself with the birds above singing for me, there are worse places to be...[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Done with swimming and not having a good enough flashlight to get too far into the caves I dry off,change back into riding gear and re-load the bike. It would take about an hour and a half to get to Belize city.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Belize city, formerly the Capitol of the country, prior to being nearly wiped off the map during a hurricane years ago should be a nice spot... It should have some history, some cool spots to hang out and some decent places to stay... Maybe I just saw the wrong parts of town, but I really didn't like the feel of Belize City so I continued on...[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Outside of Belize city I stop for some refreshments and chat to some locals at the store, they cant believe I rode my bike down from Canada and once I convince them that it's true they all seem like my best friends. They are glad I chose not to stick around Belize city, apparently it can get to be a really ugly place in the evenings.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Belize really is a tiny country... Not two hours after leaving Belize city I find myself in Corazal town, the last real city before the Mexican border. Its late in the afternoon and crossing to Mexico tonight doesn't sound like a great idea so i find a nice and relatively cheap ($20USD) oceanfront hotel on the outskirts of town.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]After a quick swim in the windblown blue surf I take a walk to check out the town, again is really not much to look at but the people are friendly and the beaches/ocean are gorgeous. I find the market and grab some fresh fruit before hitting the hotel for a quick afternoon nap.[/FONT]

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[/FONT]Could do worse than this! Nice view right onto the beach for $20 a night!

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Dinner is local Chinese food as It came highly recommended by everyone I talked to. A plate of chicken fried rice is enough to feed a full family (why haven't I learned by now?!) but it is delicious.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]With no nightlife to speak of and the entire town shutdown by 9pm I head back to the Hotel where I crash watching TV and working on ride reports when the internet decided to work for me.[/FONT] I wish I wasnt facing a deadline, I would have liked to have spent a couple days out on the cays, but I guess I need something to do the next time I come through!

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Back to Mexico tomorrow!![/FONT]

 

[Lonewolf]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Day 50[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The package containing brake parts for the KLR had arrived and despite my best efforts to have it held at the local DHL facility for me to pickup had been delivered to an unaware hotel in the Cancun area (I needed an address for Mex customs).[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The phone number I had for the hotel and everything I could find on the Internet for it didn't connect through, so I was planning to leave early this morning to make it to Cancun and pickup the package before they sent it back. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Packed up I head down to load the bike only to find a flat tire. I must have hit something late in the day yesterday and it had taken all night to deflate. There are still a few pounds of air in it, but its definitely leaking.[/FONT]

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[/FONT]Not a nice way to start the morning...

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I put the bike up on my pelican cases and proceed to strip off the rear wheel in the parking lot of the hotel. During this procedure I manage to acquire quite the audience, two older gentlemen who were walking past stopped to watch and the lady that ran the hotel came out from the office to witness the event. [/FONT]

Pelican case to the rescue!

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I had a hard time finding the leak, it took a trip back up to the room to use the shower and bar of soap before I spotted some tiny bubbles escaping from the tube. Its the smallest puncture I've ever seen, but I'm glad its easily patchable as I haven't found a replacement for my dry rotted spare tube yet. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]With a patch applied and the tube holding air I toss the wheel back together and put it all back on the bike. My audience applauds and then disperses and I left to load the bike. I decide I should give the chain a quick clean as well as the lube I had planned on during which I find that the chain has spit the retainer clip on the master link in the past day or two. Luckily I have a spare master link and I steal it's clip to replace the missing one. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Bike issues taken care of I head out of town and a quick twenty minute ride has me at the Mexican border. Getting out of Belize was a snap, pay the $18usd exit fee and get yourself and the bike stamped out of the country, on the Mexican side I'm waved through so quickly that I miss the immigration station and have to backtrack to get stamped into Mexico.[/FONT]

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[/FONT]You say goodbye and I say hello...

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]This crossing was the quickest yet in part due to the fact that I left my Mexican vehicle import permit open rather than turning it in like your supposed to when you leave the country. I was also a very sneaky guy and cut the immigration line by entering through the exit door, filling in my form and walking to the first window I found, bypassing the 100 person lineup outside.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Riding from the border to Cancun is a real test of your patience, the road is flat and straight, not well suited for a KLR that doesn't like to go more than 100KM/h. I pass by all the resorts of the Mayan Rivera, the Tulum ruins and Xel-ha park with intentions to return once i had sorted the brake issue and made sure my package didn't end up back in the states.[/FONT]

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[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Delicious lunch here...
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[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Cancun central is actually a nice place for such a big city, with the help of a taxi driver and his map I find the Hostel i had been looking for. Turns out that it is a Japanese only guesthouse, but they give me my package and with a little sweat talking they agree to let me stay the night.[/FONT]

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[/FONT]Conviniant 5 gallon bike stand...

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I get to work changing the rotor and brake pads on the side of the street, I figured i may have had issues removing the bolts as I had loaded them up with lock-tight having not planning on removing them during this trip. The bolts came loose without issue and withing 15 minutes I had working front brakes again! What a great feeling to grab that lever and have something happen.[/FONT]
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[/FONT]All fixed!

Bigger is better...

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I explore downtown (AKA not the hotel zone) Cancun and make an evening of sampling taco's from all the different street stands I came across. Nice to be back to some tasty food again![/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Back at the Hostel, I manage to wash some clothes that have been badly needing done and get online to do some banking and ride report updates. Its an early night for me, I plan on backtracking in the morning to see the Tulum ruins and Xel-Ha nature park.[/FONT]

 

[fester]

I just had a bit of free time at work and started at the begining. Great trip and stories. Thanks for continuing to post!!

 

[caribooster]

Pat,

Glad to see you have a front brake again. I don't need my back brake but I would find it very odd to ride without a front one. Happy travels.
Brad.

 

[Lonewolf]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Day 51[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]This morning is an early one, I'm up getting some caffeine in me before anyone else in the hostal is stirring. A quick internet session gets an update posted and a little banking done before I load the bike and backtrack to Playa Del Carmen.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]On the way out of town I decide to go through the hotel zone and past all of the huge Cancun mega resorts that I could only dream of being able to afford a week at. The strip is quiet as all the tourists sleep of their 'all inclusive' hangovers and the only traffic is that of the trucks delivering their loads.[/FONT]

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Quiet roads...

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Cancun Hotel Zone

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[/FONT]Mega Resorts

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The road to Playa Del Carmen is straight and fast, the KLR strains under the punishment of my right hand but never skips a beat. One hundred kilometres down and I start seeing the signs for Xel-Ha. I've heard great things from everyone who has visited and I'm told its worth the price of admission, so it must be worth a look.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Admission is $1000 peso's so this place had better be spectacular! All in all the price is more reasonable if your planning to make a full day of it as it is an all inclusive ticket, food, drinks, snorkel equipment etc. With my swim gear and sandals in hand I march into the park in full motorcycle gear getting some strange looks from the swimsuit clad masses.[/FONT]

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[/FONT]One of the first sights you see when entering the park...

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]After finding a locker and getting changed I grab some snorkel gear and head straight for the inlet. Xel-Ha is a very interesting place, the inlet is fed by an underground river and the chemical composure of the water here prevents the salt and fresh water from mixing right away creating a mirage like layer underwater. The snorkeling in the inlet is amazing, all sorts of fish, eels, sting rays and even a few manatee's.
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[/FONT]Gorgeous clear water...

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I have pictures on a disposable underwater camera, Maybe I'll update this post once I get those developed...[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I spend a few hours floating around engulfed in a unique underwater world before I find myself back near the the 'resort' area of the inlet and decide that lunch and a nice cold drink sounded like a great plan. A buffet lunch packed full of fruit and fresh salads plus a cold Pina colada hit the spot well. [/FONT]

Mmmm Buffet...

Hammocks and Pina Coloda's, how can you go wrong?

Mmmmmanatee

Currious big guy...

Go take a flying leap!

Caution: Slippery when your not paying attention to where you're walking...

Well hey there lil' guy...

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I grab a refill on my drink and go for a walk through the jungle trails past all sorts of secluded sunning spots, shady restful hammocks and a couple cliff's where people are jumping off. After walking off my food and beverages I collect my gear from the locker and change back into the suffocatingly warm motorcycle gear.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]A fifteen minute ride down the road has me pulling into the Tulum ruins site. I find parking in the shade under a tree, pay the man and make the two or three KM walk down the road to the ruins. [/FONT]

Welcome to Tulum, the entrance through the wall that ring's the city.

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]While Tulum is not nearly as large as Tikal or as well preserved as Chichen Itza the setting makes it well worth the visit, set on some breathtaking seaside bluff's overlooking crystal clear water and powdery white sand beaches these Mayans knew how to live![/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I'll let the pictures do the talking here...[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]After my visit to Tulum I head inland towards the Chitchen Itza ruins. A couple hours on the bike has me just outside the ruins looking for a place to stay for the night. I find one spot just outside the park, its a little spendy at $40usd but that's okay, I'm feeling wiped out from the day's activities and it will let me good a good jump on the crowds in the morning...[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I eat dinner poolside and check in on life back home with the laptop while I have a decent internet connection... [/FONT]

 

[zeddy]

Thanks for posting the pictures, they look amazing!
Looks like the trip of a lifetime!

 

[Mollygrubber]

Nice... the Eco Park near Xcaret is a pretty cool spot too, it's huge and will eat up a good part of a day. The swimming through the underground cenote's is pretty cool - lost my wedding ring in there, you can have it if you can find it!

 

[Lonewolf]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Day 52[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]A bowl of fruit from the hotel restaurant starts my day off right, its amazing how much better the fruit here tastes than at home. I guess all the extra time to ripen on the trees before being picked for consumption allows all the extra goodness to build up inside them.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]After breakfast I head ten minutes down the road and into Chitchen Itza. Even at 8am the place is bustling, tour buses have already arrived and the locals are out in force peddling their wares.[/FONT]

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[/FONT]Welcome...

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I pay the entrance fee (around $100 paso's if I rem[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]ember correctly) and the sight that unfolds in front of me as I make my way down the path is mind blowing. The [/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Temple of Kukulkan [/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]also known as El Castillo (the castle) dominates the central plaza and is a remarkably restored piece of Mayan history.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Interesting fact: The temple is aligned precisely so that twice a year on the Spring and Autumn equinox's the stairways and stepped design of the temple create the shadow of a serpents body which slithers down the north staircase to meet the serpents head carved at the bottom. Apparently thousands of people pack the park on these two annual occasions waiting for the shadows to appear.[/FONT]

Wow...

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El Castillo...

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[/FONT]The serpent's head...

Excavation showing a previous generation temple on top of which El Castillo was built...

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Next I come across the Temple of 1000 Warriors, an small stepped pyramid flanked by hundreds (perhaps a thousand as the name suggests) of stone columns with a unique depiction of a life-sized warrior carved into each.[/FONT]

Temple of 1000 Warriors

Mayan Tic Tac Toe anyone?

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I continue my tour and on the way out the the Sacrificial Cenote my camera decides to quit on me. I'm not sure what happened, It just died, lens out and everything... I hoped at the time that maybe it was just a dead battery I had missed or something but charging it at the cafe later proves me wrong. Only two months old I shouldn't be having issues, It is under warranty and will be getting fixed but what a place to die on me...[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]In a bad mood I finish seeing the park missing out on some great photo opportunities in the process and make my way back to the bike. My plan is to head back to the gulf coast. Im told that both Meridia and Campeche are nice spots. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]A little while on the bike puts be in Meridia but it doesn't feel like a spot to stop for the night so I continue on the Campeche. The landscape is flat and fairly drab until you get near the coast where everything gets much more lush.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Campeche is a city caught in transition, on one side the Spanish colonial central district is gorgeous and well kept, on the other, everything outside the old walls of the city center is typical Mexican ugly concrete block construction and when mixed with the ever encroaching mega-store's (ala Walmart, Sams Club etc...) it just doesn't feel the same.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I find a great little hostel right in the center of the old town. The bilingual staff are great and after hearing my story give me a cut rate and allow me to park my bike right in the hostel... rock star treatment for sure![/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I take a walk around town (no pictures...) and find some dinner before crashing for the night hopefully to awake in a better mood tomorrow morning.[/FONT]

 

[Lonewolf]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Day 53[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I wake up this morning with it set in my head that I don't want to continue this trip without the ability to take pictures so after loading the bike I ask directions to the Walmart and do my best to find a half decent camera without paying through the nose for it.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I end up finding a Nikon Coolpix S2300, a very small, very feature sparse 12Mpixel, 3x zoom point and shoot. It seems like a decent deal and at the very least will let me take some basic pictures on my way home.[/FONT]

The church in Campeche

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I make for Coatzacoalcos about 500KM to my west. The ride is nothing special except when the road parallels the ocean. There are some cool little villages and some great bridges over the rivers and a lot of fast straight road.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Coatzacoalcos is a port city and the outskirts are loaded with miles upon miles of Pemex Refinery's and related facilities. Its not what I had envisioned from the pictures and maps I had seen. I guess that when the guidebook you have doesn't mention anything about a certain town you can feel free the skip it.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I find a small hotel about a block off the beach, the price is a little more than I think it should be but the owner isn't budging and the other options I've seen are less than savoury. I grab some food at the closest place to the hotel which turns out to be a Subway before taking a walk along the boardwalk and exercising the new camera.[/FONT]

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Thats a big flag...

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Some cool buildings along the waterfront...
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[Lonewolf]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Day 54[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I leave Coatzacoalcos late this morning after sleeping in and taking advantage of the complimentary breakfast from the hotel. I'm headed towards Veracruz today and while the map may show it as only 250Km away it ends up taking over nearly 4 hours because of all the small towns (and thus Topes or speedbumps) the free road passes through.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Unlike the pacific coast of Mexico the Caribbean is quite flat which makes the ride much less interesting. I pass through miles of coastal flatland's only making an elevation gain when riding a bridge over one of the many rivers.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Veracruz is a nice enough spot for a big town. It has some gorgeous parks and some nice looking restaurants and hotels but before long I'm itching to get out into the country, back into the real Mexico... I stop at a motorcycle shop I see on the way out of town and grab some oil, planning to do an oil change this evening somewhere.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]After looking at the map and reading up a bit in my guide book I decide I'll head another 150KM up the coast to a favourite Mexican vacation spot called “Coasta Esmerelda” or the emerald coast where apparently I'll be able to find, good food and cheap hotels or camping but not much else... Perfect![/FONT]

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[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I find myself a highly recommended resort that offers camping as well. $80 pasos gets me a nice spot in the palm grove beside the hotel with hookups, a shower/washroom facility, Wifi in the lobby and use of any of three swimming pools.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I set up the tent and set to work changing the oil in the bike. I ask about a pan or bucket of some sort in the lobby but yet again was told to just dump it on the ground... I dig a trench in the sand and let loose. I feel like an exec at BP petroleum as the last drops dribble out and I kick sand over top of the pool... Spill? What Spill? Its not that bad...[/FONT]

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I know what your thinking... Suzuki Oil in a KLR?! Blasphemy!

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[/FONT]What spill?! Deja vu??

There are worse spots...

The closest of the three pools...

The beach...
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[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]After some mediocre food from the on site restaurant and a little time on the internet in the lobby I retire for the evening. When I get back to the tent I notice the lightning flashing in the distance and after a quick trip to the washroom decide to move inside. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I'm the only one here aside from three or four staff members and one heavily armed security guard, who's going to care if I set my tent up in the huge lobby area of the men's washroom. With a little twisting and flexing I manage to get the tent inside without having to take it down, only moments later the sky opens and the nightly thunderstorm's I thought I had left behind return. Yes, I'm camping in a washroom, on the plus side the midnight walk wont be far...[/FONT]

Mexico City tomorow!

 

[Mollygrubber]

oooooohhh... Mexico City... have a care, I hear it's pretty ridiculous...

 

[miller]

that Suzuki oil should give you a few more ponies for sure...

Thanks for the great ride report!