06/11 Long day but got some easy miles in. The only bad thing was a flat tire followed 2 minutes later by another one. The hole from the first incident was on the inside of the tube which is a strange place to get a puncture. The inside of the rim was perfect so I have no idea how that could have happened. The second flat was also on the rear tire. This one had me dropping a couple expletives. Of course it had to happen far from any trees so the sun had me nice and toasty. Looks like a nice hunk of glass caused this one.

Nothing in the way of scenery other than rain forest. For wildlife I saw the wickedest-looking grasshoppers. They were jet black with red markings around their eyes. They were funny because they walked in perfect synchronization with each other.

When I arrived in town the first stop was an ice cream place. Yum. Nothing like a triple scoop on a hot day. I thought the “grungyness” of the town would improve as I got in the central area but it didn’t. It seems perfectly safe; it’s just that everything looks beat up. The motels are also horribly over-priced. I managed to track down a place with AC and internet for $400 pesos. It’s only a $250 peso room though.

Belize is only 2 days away and I’m really looking forward to it.

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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