06/03 Took a bus over to Uxmal today. That turned out to be a bit complicated because the motel is on the edge of town so there’s no bus stop or taxi station. I walked into town and finally found a taxi but it was a van and I got the impression that he didn’t want to drive out to the ruins with just me as a passenger. So I headed back to the motel, found out when the next bus would be driving by and flagged it down from the side of the road.

The entry fee to get into the ruins was a bit steep. It was something like $140 pesos which is way more than any other site I’ve visited. It was deathly hot and the tourists, most of which were foreigners, shuffled from one shady spot to the next. I did meet 3 American teachers and we chatted for a bit. They said I should come back for fireworks tonight but I’ll skip that–it was hard enough getting there the first time.

There were lots of cool non-building things to see here. In most of the cave-like rooms accessible to the outside, dozens of tiny birds would fly around like crazy whenever someone walked in. I just stood there kind of like Batman while they flew around my head. Also saw lots of iguanas wandering around. Up in the rafters in one building were 3 birds with the neatest tail feathers (pic below).

Sleep was next to impossible last night so I’m going to be really tired come tomorrow. It’s just way too hot and the ceiling fan is worthless. The wind also died down so there’s not even a breeze.

03/23 Took off this morning with Pete riding in front to block the wind for me. Actually the wind wasn’t too bad but it was very hot. We rode on the toll road which worked out perfectly. This is the 1st time since riding with the German girl back in Florida that I rode with someone else for the entire day. Having some company was a nice change. It is a little harder to see things in front of you I found out. Toward the end of the day Pete had us on this epic detour (:)) down a road that’s seen better days. I ended up running into a pothole that caused my front pannier to pop off. Something on it snagged my rear tire on the way by and sheared the value stem right off. Kind of remarkable if you look at the odds of that happening. Of course the air inside went with it so we were delayed a bit while I popped a new tube in.

Nothing much in the way of scenery. The mountains were OK but I like trees on them and these are pretty bare. Tomorrow will be different. There are boat tours that run you up the Rio Grijalva, Mexico’s 2nd largest river so you can see the Canon del Sumidero. It’s an 18 mile long fault with canyon walls that reach heights up to 3,280 feet. The tour is about 6 hours so we’ll hang out here for another night.

US $7.94 for the el cheapo room at the motel we’re staying at. It’s the worst room I’ve ever stayed in though. Funny how that happens. I guess I can just say the worst thing about it to put things in perspective. There’s a used condom on the floor by the bathroom. The strange part is the fact that there were no curtains on the front window and it faces right out into the street. I hope I wasn’t expected to put on some kind of performance tonight because I’m too tired. I’m definitely using my sleeping bag tonight. Pete’s in the next room so I can yell over if any bugs try to devour me–one section of the adjoining wall doesn’t quite make it up to the ceiling. I’d change motels but the timing of the tour kind of screws things up a little. It’s the Hotel Posada de Sonia if anyone wants to visit.

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03/17 The big hill ended up being bigger than I thought. The weather was favorable which helped. Cloudy with a nice cool breeze makes for good climbing weather. The ride back down was fun but the scenery wasn’t quite as nice as it was for the last couple days. Had 2 dogs run after me but a dirty look scared them off. I think my dog Dazzer is broken. I don’t even try to use it any more.

Tomorrow might be a short day because the Pacific Ocean is just a quick 30 miles away and I might not get to see it again for a long time. The city of Salina Cruz is a little out of the way but there might be a side road that gets me back onto the highway without having to ride back up the same way.

Saw K/M having lunch at the side of the road which was nice because they left an hour before I did so I didn’t think I’d see them all day. We met up again in town and looked for a place to stay. There’s a motel but we wanted to see if camping at the police station was possible. It was but the places available to pitch the tent were kind of exposed for my taste and the wind is brutal so I rode over to the motel and got a room. K/M were going to stay but the wind drove them over here too. It was so strong I saw it blow the tin roof off a shack. We had to ride into it for a little but luckily we were in town before it got too bad. There’s a big lake at the edge of town and I rode over to check it out but it doesn’t look like any of the land along it is developed. My dreams of staying in a lakeside cabin in Mexico might have to wait.

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03/09 2 new tires are on the way. I emailed every US distributor in California listed on Schwalbe’s web site and most wrote back pretty fast. No one had the model that Schwalbe recommended though: the Marathon Plus Tour. Schwalbe did offer to send me the tires but shipping would have cost $100. I settled on the same model I have on the rear wheel now, the Marathon Plus. Rivendell Bicycle Works is sending them and I should have them Friday; maybe Monday. Shipping was $40.

I’m having them shipped to a bike shop that I found online. It was my first stop where I got here. The owner speaks English/Spanish but had no motivation whatsoever to help me order the tires. I’ll name names after I pick them up from his store. Bike shop people are either really nice or really dickish. There doesn’t seem to be a middleground.

I cheated and jumped on the toll road today. My GPS showed all kinds of tight, winding turns on the free road and that’s not good sign with all the hills. My legs were starting to feel it and another day of heavy climbing would have hurt. There were some long climbs on the toll road but these roads were designed to nearly identical standards as the US Interstate Highways System so cutouts were made to avoid really steep grades. There are also bridges. There are virtually none on the free roads. If a valley is in the way you are going down it and then right back up.

My friends Marten and Karin are a couple days behind me but we talked tonight and I should have some company for the weekend.

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03/07 Today was all about the animals. In the courtyard of the motel I stayed in last night there were about a dozen birds of various types in cages and just walking around. One of the birds would make this God-awful screeching noise every 20 minutes. Luckily it went to bed about the time I did. In the morning I walked by a huge peacock sitting on top of a swing set. It was pretty cool looking and seemed pleased with itself for getting up there. I guess they can fly but only for short distances. News to me (thanks Wiki).

Next up were 3 dogs that decided to chase after me. I got to bust out my new bamboo stick but it was just for show. They act tough until you stop and give them a piece of your mind. The Dazzer failed on all three and I just changed the battery too. There was a guy standing in a house off the road and I thought the dogs might have been his but its hard to tell who owns what dogs in Mexico. Personally I think all sales of dogs (as pets) should be banned and existing pet owners should have to get their dogs registered (with tags). If someone wants a dog and can demonstrate that they can actually take care of it then they can adopt one. I’m not sure if the police do anything here but enforce drug laws but maybe they could ticket people for keeping dogs in abusive situations (maybe enforce traffic regulations too)?

Anyway, the situation is way out of control and a lot of the “domestic” dogs are kept in horrible living conditions (like on the roof of someone’s house with no shade or chained up to a tree). You never see anyone walking their pet dog around the cities (OK technically I saw this once but I think it was a gringo). Every dog I’ve seen is some combination of the following or dead: underfed, pregnant, overly aggressive, chained up outside, barking incessantly (aka ignored) or running around the streets. If there’s a secret underground society of people that take care of their dogs I’d love to hear about it.

Then there was the donkey (burro). It was standing at the side of the road when I rode up. It was scared of me and tried to walk away but some jackass had tied its 2 front legs together so it couldn’t even hobble 2 inches. I was so pissed off when I saw that. I rode by it at first but then turned around to take a picture. There wasn’t a house nearby so I don’t know who it belonged to. It’s very common to see donkeys tied up to trees/fences so they can graze in a small area but I’ve never seen one with its front legs tied together. I’m sure it loves it when an 18-wheeler blasts by within a few feet. Keep in mind this was in the middle of the day, it’s in the 90’s and there’s zero shade. There’s no water nearby either. 1/4 mile up the road I saw another one with a freaking ribbon tied around its front legs so it couldn’t move. Must be a local thing.

In Huajuapan I was riding down the street minding my own business when I happened to look over and saw a bull about 10 feet away and closing fast. It was being led up a side street by a bunch of guys holding ropes. I booked it over to the other side of the street and watched. The bull was not very happy and I suspect its future is bleak. Behind the bull there was a mini-parade with people in costumes dancing and music playing.

On the bright side there were no issues with teenage girls today.

The terrain is getting more desert-like the further south I go which is almost the opposite of what I expected. There’s not sand but cacti are very common and the only green spots are near rivers. It’s very hilly and I’ve been getting up earlier and earlier to get the miles in before the afternoon heat kicks up. Even just riding 40 miles with these hills is tough. Tomorrow I’m going to get up at 6am and try to be on the road by 7am.

PS: Government people and the police…I’ve been ragging on you a fair bit lately… please don’t run me over. I know Mexico has some big fish to fry but there are some easy wins here.

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