04/07 Well if I thought yesterday was tough today was like riding a 600 lb bike uphill in a giant sauna. I left at 10am this morning and after riding for almost 8 hours I made it here. My actual riding time was just under 5 hours. So for 3 hours I was sitting under any tree I could find to try to and cool off. If it wasn’t for the trees I would have never made it. Oh and the hills. The climb out of the cascades wasn’t a surprise so when I got to the top I chugged down some cold water from the store and kept going. The 2nd big hill at mile 20 almost killed me. Traffic didn’t help either because at least once every 20 seconds a car/truck would come along which kept me from switchbacking up the steep parts. I’ve never pushed my bike up a hill but I can’t imagine that being any easier.

Not sure if what I’m in yet is rain forest but it seems like it to me. On one of my many siestas I got to see lots of colorful little birds flying around. Not too many pictures today. I had to save my energy. Ran into 4 more “vine-across-the-road” stops staffed by one or more young girls. The first 2 were within 200 yards of each other and I was going downhill (fast) and didn’t feel like stopping. So I kept pedaling and they dropped the vine when they saw I wasn’t going to stop. It wasn’t long after that that I started feeling like a world-class jerk. They lowered the vine so its not like they were going to kill me for not donating a little and we’re not talking about a lot of money. I’m not a fan of their methods but if I were in their shoes I’d probably do the same. So at the next one I stopped and gave up a few pesos. The last one I rode right by because they didn’t hear me coming until it was too late. I turned around and gave them some pesos too.

Palenque is my home for the next 2 nights. Found a place with internet and hot showers (not that I needed it) for US $16 night (Hotel Shalom). Tomorrow I’ll go check out the ruins. I only saw a little of the town so far but it seems a bit rough. The buildings/sidewalks are in general disrepair and the streets are a it of a mess. Kind of surprising for being so close to one of the biggest archeological sites in Mexico.

Feeling a little better. My nose has finally stopped running and the cough isn’t nearly as bad.

GPX Track

Took a stroll around town after class. One of the places I went into was El Refugio. When it was built in 1865 it was one of the largest buildings in the world. Now it’s a cultural center and museum. The museum was free and it was pretty remarkable. The first thing that struck me was just how many items were just sitting on display tables unprotected by glass barriers. Some of the things looked very fragile. It was work from all over Mexico and a lot of it was extremely vibrant and detailed. I would have liked to have taken some pics but they had lots of signs saying no photography.

Finally got around to ordering this gadget from eBay that another touring rider introduced me to. It’s call an immersion heater and all you do with it is plug into the wall, drop it in your water-filled cup and wait for it to boil. It’ll save me a lot of aggravation in the mornings where normally I’d be struggling to find a place to get coffee and some food. Now I can make my own right in the motel room. Should help save some cash too.

Tomorrow I’m taking a trip out of town to a place called Los Guachimontones. It’s a pre-Columbian archaeological site near the town of Teuchitlan. There are some pyramids along with some other building complexes. Should be fun. It’s through the school so I’ll even have a guide.

Weather in Guadalajara when posted:

Temperature: 14 °C, Humidity: 62%, Wind Speed: 5km/hr, Cloud Cover: few clouds