PowerCycle » Church

Isla de Janitzio, Mexico

scott — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 23:27:47 +0000

At the suggestion of one of my oldest web site visitors I stayed in town an extra day to visit the Isla de Janitzio (thanks Ben). Boats leave regularly so I went and bought a ticket for 40 pesos round-trip and hopped on board. It was well worth the trip.

After a short ride on the murky lake the boat docked at a pier chock full of vendors. In fact the (steep) roads leading up to the 130 foot statue of José María Morelos were lined with shops selling just about everything. I was kind of surprised to see just how self-contained the island was. There was a school, an outdoor arena, a church and even a graveyard. One set of power lines brought in juice from the longest unsupported strand of power line I’ve ever seen. Garbage appears to be removed from the island using little barges that stink like you wouldn’t believe.

Up at the statue 6 pesos lets you inside the park area. The inside of the statue was amazing. Huge murals line the wall showing the life of Morelos (he was a revolutionary rebel leader who led the Mexican War of Independence movement). The winding staircase takes you up right into the giant raised fist here you can look out over the town of Janitzio and the surrounding lake.

Acaponeta, NA to Rosamorada, NA

scott — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 06:26:55 +0000

12/28 I knew this would happen sooner or later but my Spanglishareds is failing me. That’s Spanish-English-Charades which is what I’ve been using to communicate with people here. The further south I go the more people have no idea what I’m saying. It’s getting to be very frustrating and of course it’s my fault for not learning Spanish before I got here. I’ll have to check my Visa and see how long I had left because I may stop for a couple weeks and take a Spanish Immersion course. Guadalajara probably has something so I’ll check next time I get Internet access.

The seat change made a big difference. My miles were low for the day but even if I’d ridden longer I think the discomfort would have been tolerable. The skinnier seat is the way to go it looks like.

The highway is still horrible for riding on. Further north it wasn’t as bad because there wasn’t drop if you did run off the road. All day today I had to ride with a shoulder drop and fairly busy traffic (car/truck passes at least every 20 seconds). The toll road, with its wide shoulder, would be nice but I don’t think the scenery would be nearly as good. It also skips a lot of the little towns that I like riding through.

Rosamorada is another town that only has one main road leading from the highway down into the town center. Navigating in smaller towns like this is so easy because the tallest building is always the church and it always sits next to the town square which is where all the stores and most of the motels are. The motel I found was only US $7.75. No hot water but the room is much bigger than the place last night. This place doesn’t have a toilet seat either. I might have to start packing my own.

You get tell not a lot of Americans visit this place because the entire time I was walking around people stared like I was from another planet. A few people tried to ask me things but I have no idea what they were saying. Sucks for both of us because I always have a bunch of questions from things I’ve seen during the day and there’s no one to ask.

In one of he outdoor bars I dropped in for a beer. The bartender and 2 customers were up at the counter (guy and girl). The guy kept trying to pimp out the girl to me which made for an uncomfortable drink because he kept using the p word to describe her and the group at the far table probably heard him (a kid was sitting at the table too). Needless to say I didn’t hang around.

I was going to have PB&J for dinner but this guy set up a hot dog stand right below my window and boy does it smell good.

GPX Track

Mazatlan, SI Hanging Out

scott — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:45:53 +0000

There are now 5 touring riders staying in the hotel here. Byron didn’t leave this morning and might end up staying through Christmas. Tom and Haley, who I met a couple weeks ago in Santa Rosalia in Baja, are here now. James is also here. I ran into him at the town square but he’d already met Bryon who told him about this place.

While wandering around this morning I passed by a dentist office. Figuring it was a good time for a cleaning I walked in prepared to be told it would take a couple weeks and cost way more than I’d want to pay (no insurance). My appointment is tomorrow afternoon and it’ll cost just under US $40. Holy crap. I’m going to learn the phrase “no extractions!” just so there are no misunderstandings.

Went over and exchanged my bike seat for one that fits the brackets I have. I tried it on but I’m not sure I’m going to like it. I’ll keep the Brooks just in case.

Now if I could just track down a supermarket I’d be all set.

Just read this interesting bit about Mazatlan while trying to find the name of the church I saw this morning:

The city of Mazatlan then got the dubious distinction of being the 2nd city in the world after Tripoli, Libya of being one of the first to suffer aerial bombardment. During the revolution of 1910-17 General Venustiano Carranza (later president) intent on taking the city of Mazatlan, ordered a bi-plane to drop a crude bomb of nails and dynamite wrapped in leather to the target of Neveria Hill adjacent to the down town area of Mazatlan. Well the bomb was crude and the art of bombing was cruder. The bomb landed not on target but on the city streets of Mazatlan and in the process killed two citizens and wounded several others.