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.