April 28, 2013
We ate breakfast at a small outdoor (everything is outdoor around here) restaurant, and headed up to the ruins. As before we took the collectivo up the hill to the entrance. After spending hours wandering and climbing all over the pyramids and other buildings, Don and I took a trail through the Jungle out to the road. This trail passes by other ruins that have not been cleared off yet, beautiful streams, pools and waterfalls, and finally over a suspension foot bridge before coming out at the road near the museum. After wandering through the museum, we walked back to the cabana while stopping for lunch along the way. Tomorrow we will depart Palenque and head north once again.
April 27, 2013
We left Pako's, not expecting to reach Palenque today but we made good time and rolled into Palenque at about 5:00 this afternoon. We found our way to the cabana's where we have stayed before and got checked in. These cabana's are in the jungle and right at the entrance to the park where the famous Mayan ruins are. We ate at out favorite outdoor restaurant in the jungle.
April 26, 2012
Today the three of us took a bus out to the Chitchen Itza Mayan ruins. These are quite beautiful and very famous but I found them to pale in comparison to Palenque which I have been to before and will be back to in a few days. When we returned to Pako's house, I took my bike out for a test ride to see if it was going to run alright for Don and I to continue on our trip. It appears to be running just perfectly. Another good and busy day spent with a couple good friends.
April 25, 2013
The three of us took a taxi out to the site of a beautiful cenote (underground river) to go swimming. It was absolutely gorgeous! An experience few people ever enjoy. I discovered that the best way to enter the water is to swing out on a rope until you are way out in the middle and then just let go. You drop a long way before hitting the water. What a rush!!! No need to worry about hitting the bottom since this one is 180 feet deep. Incredibly beautiful and something out of a fantasy. When we got back to town we started walking the town to see if we could find a battery for my bike. The Yamaha shop did not have one. The motorcycle repair shop did not have one. It's looking like I would become a resident of Valladolid at this rate. Finally out of desparation we stopped at what looked to be a combination auto parts shop and a bicycle shop. Of all the places, they had the exact battery that I needed up on a shelf. It had been there for a while based on the dust on top of the box, but it was perfect! We took it home and installed it in the bike and put it on a charger for the night. A really fun day.
April 24, 2013
A long day to Valladolid. We decided to take some toll roads to make up some time as our friend, Pako, was waiting for us to arrive at his house. About 15 miles from our destination we stopped just before a toll both to get our money out. When I went t start my bike, it was completely dead. Not even enough power to run the GPS or the dash lights. Stone cold dead! So, I took all my luggage off so I could remove the seat and check the fuses. All the fuses were in good shape. I must be a complete battery failure of an electronic problem. I dug out my jumper cables and Don removed all his luggage and seat so we could access his battery terminals. We jumpered the bikes and mine started. Good! Now we replaced our seats and reinstalled all our luggage with my bike running. Just as we were ready to pull out and finish our day of riding, I put my bike in gear. Since I still had my side stand down, the engine instantly died due to the stand safety switch. Oh C#$%!!!!. Then we proceeded to remove all our luggage and remove our seats again so I could jumper the batteries again. Don was not smiling too well at that point. Finally, I got moving and while heading down the road all the way to Pako's, the engine check light kept coming on and both the tachometer and the speedometer continuously swong from zero to full indication and back again. I wondered if it was a complete battery failure of something more sinister in the bikes electronics. In any case we arrived at Pako's and parked the bikes. We made it!
April 23, 2013
A long but fun day of riding. Did another very twisty route out of Oaxaca. The first 100 miles were just fabulous motorcycle riding roads. We left Oaxaca where it is relatively dry and ended up at mid-day in rain forest and jungle conditions. Now at the end of the day we are on the gulf coast in the town of Frontera. Tomorrow we will cross Isla del Carmen, pass through Campeche and Merida and end up in Valladolid at our friends house.
April 22,2013
A nice day just exploring Oaxaca. Did a lot of walking and no riding. Stayed in the vicinity of the town square. Our bikes are safe after riding into the hotel, across marble floors and up to the walkway where they quietly sit awaiting our departure tomorrow.
April 21, 2013
A shorter day of riding today. Rode up to Puebla and then down to Oaxaca where we will spend two nights. The riding was faster and more in the open in this part of Mexico. The past few days of riding were more in lush green and overgrowth, almost bordering on rain forest or jungle. There were even times when we were riding in a tunnel formed by the trees that overgrew the roads and left just a passageway through, and the flowering trees were beautiful with white, pink and purple flowers. This day was drier and more scrub brush than trees but very interesting. We will explore Oaxaca all day tomorrow.
April 20, 2013
A day relaxing in Taxco. That is if you consider climbing vertical hills to get anywhere as relaxing. A fun colonial town to explore. Lots going on. The town is definitely built on a big hill so every place you want to go means climbing up steep hills. A very picturesque town.
April 19, 2013
Wow! That's all I can say about today! A very long day of incredible twisty roads. The day went like this -- left, right, left, right, oops - three cows in the road, right, left, right, wow- almost got my chicken for lunch - wonder why it was crossing the road?, left, right, left, right, a whole herd of goats in the road, left, right, left, three burro's this time, right, left, right, two dogs, right, left, right, two burro's, left, right, left, right, two cows and a burro, right, left, right, hmmmm - why are we being stopped by these guys wearing dirty t-shirts and plain pants and holding guns?, right, left, right, that was close, right, left, another herd of goats, etc., etc.
We finally made it to Taxco. We will rest here for a day, then head to Oaxaca next.
April 18, 2013
What a long day! Got a slow start out of Sayulita. Only made 100 miles by noon today. Very twisty roads with many, many small villages to pass through. It finally picked up in the afternoon but was still a long ride. Started looking for a place to stay at about 5:30 but never found a place to stay until 7:30. Ended up in a small village that I don't even think has a name and has no restaurants. We did find some food at a outdoor barbecue that looks more like someone's front yard but they served us anyway. Just another day in Mexico. :-)
April 17, 2013
After an 18 hour ferry ride, we left Mazatlan and headed south. We made it to Sayulita, in Nayarit state. Probably will not make Taxco tomorrow but we will give it a try. Great roads today since we avoided the toll road and anything that resembled a major highway. Lots of back roads and small towns and villages along the way.
April16, 2013
Had a great time in Cabo. Did more than the usual walking so the legs are tired. Hiked over the rocks to Land's End and waited for low tide to walk the beach back to town. Leaving early this morning and heading to La Paz to meet up with the ferry to Mazatlan.
April 12, 2013
Great day. Rode from Loreto to La Paz and picked up our vehicle permits for mainland Mexico and booked our passage from La Paz to Mazatlan for next Tuesday. Now we are in Cabo San Lucas until Tuesday. Time to relax.
April 11, 2013
Another good day. Rode to Loreto today. Great weather, good roads and little traffic. Went walking after arriving at Loreto and had a chicken dinner and ice cream for desert. Now to catch up on my email and get another good nights rest. Have a busy day planned for tomorrow. Later ...
April 10, 2013
First day out on this trip. Don Simone rode from Reno (his home) to my house yesterday and now we are on our way. The day went as normal. I hate the heavy traffic between Ensenada and San Quintin but at least that is behind us now. Stopped for the night in El Rosario. Had dinner at Mama Espinosa's. Time for a good night's sleep ... zzzzzzz
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