Explore Planet Earth

Hard an all as it was I managed to drag myself away from the deserted beach and back to a town called San Cristobal a journey of 400km. There were seven of us riding the twists and turns through the mountains today. It Was good to have some company for a change , I didn’t have to pay so much attention to the where I was going. The ride was nice and very enjoyable. We found a hotel for about 10$ a night which was fine and went exploring the city. It was defiantly one of the nicest places in Mexico. We had a nice dinner and called it a day. I’ve changed my plans again, I’m now heading to the city of Guatemala instead of Cancun because I really need my final drive seal replaced. It’s still leaking oil and Guatemala’s a bit closer.

The next day 4 of us headed to Palenque a trip of 240km through the mountains, it took about 5 hours the roads are so bad. We had a narrow miss with a flying car about 50 km from our destination. I was just riding along and day dreaming when a car suddenly appeared sideways upside down and in the air heading straight for us. It landed on its roof and skidded to a halt no more then 10 meters from us. I quickly jumped from the bike and ran to the car expecting to find at least one badly injured person inside. I tried to pull the drivers door open but it was completely wedged in , I ended up ripping the outside skin completely off the door. Luckily Wade was able to get the passenger door open and the occupants were able to crawl out. Suddenly the car started up again in the middle of all this. It car was a complete right off but the occupants were surprisingly alright except for a few minor cuts and bruises. Soon there were cars and people everywhere so we decided to take off before I got blamed for ripping the car door in half. Mexico.

We were soon at the ruins of palenque, the ancient pyramids of the Maya, we took a guided tour and discovered it’s a fascinating place. Some strange and gruesome stuff happened there. For more info check out Wikipedia. I could be talking about it all night. Oh and for those of you worried about the end of the world on the 21/12/12 you have nothing to fear according to our guide. That date has well and truly passed already, the calendars are all out for some time.

I’m leaving Mexico in the morning heading into Guatemala and I’m really looking forward to it. Mexico’s been good enough I guess but I certainly wont be back. It’s a huge Country with lots of different climates and vegetation, the place itself is fine except for the rubbish everywhere. It’s the people who make the place if you ask me and it’s a pity but most Mexicans are not very welcoming, you hear horror stories everywhere which I’m not going to get into, they all tell you these stories and finish by saying but it doesn’t affect tourists. Why tell us then? its like they want you to be afraid for no reason. The kids are fine so maybe in twenty years it might be a friendly place.
For me Mexico has too many speed bumps and not enough laughter.

I got another bee sting today, luckily not on the nipple this time.

I left Oaxaca for somewhere north but changed my mind at a traffic light and went south in to the mountains instead. It was the twistiest road I’d ever ridden. In fact it was too twisty, that’s something I thought I’d never say but most of that road was a killer, there was a turn every 15 meters for 120km. When I reached the first summit the clouds rolled in and the rain came on heavy. It was still warm so I left my rain gear in my panniers and kept riding. Within ten minutes the rain was so heavy I was soaked through, next came the landslides, rocks at first, soon followed by rocks and soil, a little further the trees started to come with. The rain was washing everything downhill. there was nothing I could do except press on and hope the road didn’t slide out from underneath me. I then had a near miss with a boulder that rolled out in front of me as I took a corner. I was actually getting a little concerned for my life. There was nowhere safe for the next 80km but finally the road yielded and took me down, introducing me to the tropics at the same time.
I made my way back up north along the coast to the beach town of Puerto Escondido. I was beginning to think I was the only gringo in Mexico until I discovered this whole town full of surfers from all over the world. It’s home to a wave called the Mexican pipeline which is actually a little impressive. While strolling about town I noticed two similar bikes to mine parked in a secure compound. I easily gained access as the security gaurd watched on. Mexico.
There was a web address on the bikes which I looked up over a beer. I soon made contact with the owners who were just across the street in a different bar. They’re two Ozzy guys, the bergaliaboys.com ,Wade and Phillip ( and Philips girlfriend Ericka who’s along for a bit of the trip ) who are on a trip from the Arctic circle to the Antarctic circle. They’re actually planning on riding in Antarctica some how.
The next morning we all headed off to find a nice quiet remote beach, hopefully containing a bar or restaurant. About 180km later we randomly selected and turned down a dirt track towards the sea. We came across some shacks but not much else. Just then Wade spotted a BMW bike and its owners lying in a hammock. They turned out to be an English couple that the guys had me before and that I’d already been in contact with through horizons unlimited a motorbike adventure travel site. There were no bars or restaurants but the woman who owned the shack the English couple were staying in agreed to make us some food and we managed to secure a cabana to sleep in. While unpacking another 3 people on bikes arrived. How we all found this place and at the same time is a mystery. Now there were nine people all heading from Alaska to Argentina on this remote beach somewhere in Mexico. The women of the shacks agreed to feed us all as long as we paid , they even went to town for supply’s, and beer. We all had dinner while swapping stories and decided to stay another day. We all shared the little rooms of our Cabana between us. I had a greats night sleep in a hammock on the porch . We spent the next day doing sod all, eating and swimming. Some of the guys went fishing and caught a tuna of some sorts which we had for dinner. It was great to finally have a few days on a nice beach.

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I had a breakfast and morning jog ( I mean stroll) around Morelia before hitting the road to the Pyramids of Teotihuacan. It was only about 330km away so I decided to make it more interesting and head through the mountains. It was raining on and off all day and the temperature got down to 18 degrees. I had to put the lining back inside my jacket and dig my rain gear out from the bottom of my panniers. Some day I’ll get the packing right. Going through the mountains was a slow tedious process. My GPS doesn’t work any more but I did manage to buy a map off a street vender someplace, although to be honest it looks like it was drawn by a 3 year old and it’s completely useless. It was back to the map on the inside cover of the lonely planet guide to Mexico. it’s about the only thing useful in that book.
Every time I came to a small town which was about every half hour I’d spend 20 min driving about trying to find my way out. Some of these towns are nice but some really aren’t, some are filled with army and police as well and they look like there going to break into all out war any minute. They also have speed ramps everywhere. From what I can tell the average speed people drive here is about 140km, the speed limit is 110 but no one cares, even the cops. They only pull over the expensive cars and then stand over the driver with there hand’s out. You see it everywhere. I’m sure the speed ramps are the only way to slow people down but there ridiculous. I don’t even see them half the time till it’s too late and by then I’m almost over the handlebars.
I decided to get down out of the mountains and back on the main roads because I was getting sick of being lost, honestly I must have been completely lost about 4 times the rest of the time I was half lost. I even ended up in a farmyard surrounded by donkeys. It’s pointless asking for directions, everyone just blabbers on in Spanish, pointing this way and that way. I just sit there staring them in the face smiling like an idiot not knowing what the hell there on about trying to remember the hand jesters.
The only problem with taking the main roads was they were all heading to and through Mexico city, the most populous city on earth and I certainly didn’t want to end up lost in a city of 33 million people.
Teotihuacan is about 50km to the north of Mexico city so that meant I had to go in to the city find a ring road and get out without taking one wrong turn. Somehow I missed my turn, maybe its because all the signs numbers have worn off or there are sweet FA signs in the first place. Anyway I took the next exit and prepared myself for a couple of hours in Mexico traffic. Well what do ya know, this was the correct road after all, I was back on the motorway ( after paying the ridiculous toll fees, about $1 for every 10km ) and heading north to the Pyramids which I then found easily enough. Unfortunately they were closed when I got there so I got a hotel and had some dinner. I gave the bike a good check over afterwards, I’m missing a spoke in the rear wheel, need a new rear tyre and have oil leaking from the rear hub. There’s not much I can do about it until I get to a BMW garage and the nearest ones 4 days away in Cancun. I wasn’t planning on going there but now have no choice but on the upside I’m now going to go through Belize as well.

Alarmed awake at 7am I hopped out of bed straight into 4 inches of water, WTF I though as I opened the curtains. The whole room, hallway and bathroom was flooded . The hotel has water features throughout but this was too much. I heard a noise in the middle of the night that just sounded to me like one of the fountains outside so I just ignored it. Well I was half right, it was a fountain alright but not outside, it was in my bathroom. The plumbing for the sink had come loose and there was water fountaining all over the place. Luckily enough when it reached a certain depth it was able to access the shower and flow down the drain. It was a good thing most of my stuff was off the floor, what was there was soaked. I got dressed and went to inform management, I waited at reception for a good minute before searching the hotel for any staff. Even the security guy that was suppose to be looking after my bike was gone. To hell with it I thought I’m here to see the pyramids and off I went.
I must say they’re pretty big for sure but I thought they would be a lot bigger. One of them, pyramid le Sol is the 3rd largest on earth surpassed only by Cheops and the pyramid of Cholula in Egypt. It was built around 100 AD. They had 4 alters at each corner where they used to sacrifice children and it used be painted a bright red with a temple on top. All I could picture while walking around was the scene from apocalypto where the high priest was lopping off peoples heads at the top and tossing them down the steps for freaks with straw woven net’s to catch at the bottom. The whole place reeks of death. Happy days I’d say.
When I got back to my room there was water starting to come out from underneath the door and still no one had noticed. I got changed standing on the bed, packed my bags and left informing the receptionist on the way out. She wasn’t really too concerned, it must happen a lot I guess. Mexico.
I was headed to the city of Oaxaca about 500km away. It was nice and cool to begin with but as I reached the mountains about 200km into the journey the road and temperature rose sharply and quickly, soon enough I was back in to the blistering heat. The scenery changed dramatically as the road climbed its way through to Oaxaca, It’s now almost tropical. I reached Oaxaca about 5pm, got myself a room in a fantastic hostel and went exploring the city. It’s easily the nicest place in Mexico that I’ve come across,( that wouldn’t be hard though ) there are live bands playing salsa music in the streets and people dancing everywhere. I even had some mariachi’s play for me as I was eating dinner at the side of the square, all very romantic indeed.

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I left Cabo San Lucas at the crack of dawn around 11am without much of an literary. All I had to do was get to La Paz. It was only a short ride of 150km and all that had to be done once there was obtain a temporary import permit for the bike for mainland Mexico. I decided to take the new road back because I came down on highway one. It sure was a new road, in fact some of it’s so new that it still resembles the field’s surrounding it. It was good fun to ride though, the beauty of the GS ( my bike ) is that you can change the suspension, lowering or raising, hardening or softening, with the touch of a button. It makes easy work of most terrain. After a few hours of scrambling around in the 40 deg heat I felt like I was going to pass out so I headed for a surf spot along the coast hoping for a restaurant. Well there was a restaurant there once a upon a time. It looked like some storm came and took care of it though. I was honestly beginning to melt, there was no shelter from the searing sun anywhere, all you had out there were millions of useless cacti. There is absolutely no shelter from them ,they are one useless plant unless you like tequila and honestly who the hell likes tequila?
I had no option but make tracks for La Paz and get a room so as I could get the hell out of the ridiculous heat. On route I took a detour to the ferry terminal to sort out the boat ticket for tomorrow ( boats only go every second day ) and clear customs. Clearing customs couldn’t have been easier, there was a very helpful senorita there that spoke the English very well. When I was done I got chatting with one of the custom’s guys about bikes and such. When I told him where I was headed he informed my that there was a truck carrier heading to Mazatlan today. I went to the office to inquire and they said if I can clear customs, get the bike weighed, pay the ridiculous fee and be on the boat in 20 min I’m very welcome. Having just chatted with the customs guy this was a breeze, getting the bike weighed was a hysterical affaire but I managed and was on the boat in less then the allocated time.
I strapped the bike down myself after all the trucks were parked and went to have a look around. I had absolutely no idea if there was food or water on board ( I had none) or how long this trip was going to take. No one on board could speak the English and my Spanish is mainly reserved for greetings only. Oh well I guessed I’d find out sooner or later. The seasoned pro’s had all claimed their spots under the lifeboats in the shade, there was surprisingly very little shade on board for such a large vessel. The rest of us just wandered from side to side as the boat changed direction clinging to walls for whatever protection we could get. Now my GPS is complete crap, it only works when it’s got a phone reception and even then it keeps going on an off. It never works when I need it so I figured now that I’m on a boat and wont be needing it, it will surely be working. Walla it was, so I calculated the ships path and figured out where the shade would be when we were on course, I then gathered my belongings and set up camp. It worked a treat.

About an hour later I noticed everyone else missing, I finally tracked them all to the galley. It was feeding time at the zoo. 40-50 truckers stuffing their faces like they’d never eaten before. I dutifully joined in. I was soon approached by an English-speaking guy and a list of questions. They all wanted to know who I was and what I was doing ect. After they were informed the usual stories came out, the fact that everywhere is dangerous and I shouldn’t go here or there and I defiantly shouldn’t go to Guatemala, “you’ll surely get killed there I heard”.I’m sick of these stories so now I just excuse my self and wander off. I don’t care if everywhere is dangerous, I’m still going. Half of them guys on the boat looked like they’d rob you and throw you overboard in a heart beat too if they thought they’d get away with it. After dinner I retired to my piece of rusting green floor and settled in for the night. I read till the light was no more than relaxed in a warm gentle breeze to the sound of the waves breaking off the bow whilst lying beneath the stars. It was good to have someone else drive for a while.

I awakened from a great nights sleep to the sound of the fog horn to find I hadn’t been robed or killed. We were actually approaching the dock too, a hole 4 hours earlier than scheduled. I had missed breakfast completely but I didn’t care. I just wanted to ride. I had to head down and unstrap my bike because it was blocking everyone else from leaving. As soon as the door opened I was off, off as far as the nearest restaurant. I fueled my gut filled the bike with oil and gas and headed off south into the unknown. All I knew is I felt like riding an that’s what I was gonna do. Mainland Mexico is nothing like Baja, green vegetation and trees are everywhere instated of cacti and dirt. It resembles Europe in places. Also I found out that if I stay away from the coast it’s not so warm so I’ve change my route accordingly. I ended up 800km away from the port of Mazatlan where I started this morning in a town called Morellia. It was one of the Spanish settlers first cities  and it’s real nice. Apparently the police and the drug cartels have been fighting over the place for the last 5 years. I’ve been told it doesn’t affect tourists though, not since one of the drug lords muppets threw hand grenades into the crowd at a festival in 2009 anyway’s. 

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Where was I, right I left Guerrero Negro early enough after breakfast beach bound. I’ve been to a few beaches in Mexico already but they’ve all been pretty crap. It was off to Loreto with me a short ride of 400km. To be honest with you I can’t remember anything about the ride, mostly uneventful and hot, dam hot. I do remember a nice roadside lunch somewhere though. I’ve been riding in temperatures of up to 40.5 degrees Celsius.

I found a nice hotel along the beach and parked up for two nights. I had the whole place to myself practically. There were only two other rooms occupied from what I could figure out. One was by an old American couple, well when I say old , she was he wasn’t, he was defiantly just hanging round waiting for her to cark it so he could live the high life for free, creepy the wrong way round. Although she most likely got rich doing the same thing. Ah touche.

While talking to a waitress I asked her was the season over. She informed me that the hotel’s here are always quiet on weekends and packed during the week. I think Mexicans couldn’t be bothered going on holiday’s on weekends, weekends are for relaxing. They take holidays during the week when they should be at work. Smart people. There is a whole range of activities that you can partake in in loreto. I partook in none. I spent two days stuffing my face poolside and now I feel all the better from it.

I left Loreto at 10am in the blistering heat. It was already 38 degrees at that time. I kept checking my heated grips to make sure they were off, they may as well have been on though, they couldn’t have gotten any hotter. I’ve begun filling my camel back the night before I leave and freezing it so I’ll have cold drinking water for a while, it was completely melted and warm in an hour today, new record.

I stopped for lunch at a little shack on the side of a road some place. These stops are great. Communication is comical, but some how I get food. I’ll eat pretty much anything so I leave it up to them to give me whatever they want. It’s working out fine now. At first I was just asking for anything without cheese, ( myself and cheese have an agreement, I dont eat it and it dosen’t make me sick ) but I had to abandon that request totally. Asking for food without cheese here is like asking someone to make an air-fix model without glue or do a jigsaw puzzle with one piece. Now I just eat it and hope it stays in. I also figured out they sell ice in most convenience stores so I’ve begun filling my pockets with it when I stop for drinks, works a treat at keeping me cool but  it leaves some strange wet patches around the crotch area. I get some strange looks but what do I care I’m a dirty biker.

The road today went mostly through mountains with lots of dangerous twisties. The only problem is the twisties are covered in gravel and nice and slippery. In fact I saw a truck trying hard to pull one of it’s comrades back roadside from over a edge. It was never going to happen, a 15 tonne truck will not pull a twenty tonne truck upright form a ditch no matter what you do with it. I watched them try anyway’s until the heat got to me. About an hour later another tow truck passed me heading in the opposite direction, they must have called for backup. I also saw a gathering of vulture tearing apart a dead cow. A real smelly dead cow.

I’m now in a place called Cabo San Lucas on the tip of the Baja peninsular. I got some work to do on the bike tomorrow so I’m staying here for two night’s before heading back to La Paz and catching the ferry to the mainland.

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What a day! I spent the first half trying to get my Phone to work so I’d have GPS and a map. I was assured it would be working by 3pm so I took off blindfolded with high expectations, 3 pm came and went and I still have no phone working, Ah well, such is life.

The first 300km today had me questioning my route, the road went through town after town of should I say shit hole after shit hole for about 5 hours.These towns are all destroyed, I wonder was Mexico more prosperous 20 years ago than it is today. There’s abandoned buildings everywhere destroyed in graffiti with all there windows smashed through. Rubbish lines the streets and the dust is thick in the air.

Finally, hours later the road started to climb and the towns got scarcer, in fact the got so scarce I almost ran out of fuel. Once in the mountains you can see the real beauty of Mexico, The mountains are covered in cacti an boulders and the roads aren’t too bad. it’s real peaceful and quiet and there’s no one around for miles. Every now and then the road

just disappear’s for a while to keep you entertained and your holding on for dear life.

Almost out of fuel and I spyed some barrels on the side of the road, If I learned anything form my last trip’s, it’s that barrels on the side of the road equals fuel. As I was being fueled up a guy came walking over to me with a spindle over his shoulder. He was a scruffy fellow unshaven for quiet some time and a little hungry looking. In an American accent he asked me for 1 peso. Now 1 peso where I come from isn’t even money I think its about .004 cent. I asked him what he could get for this and we got chatting.
It turns out he owns the island of Malaki in Hawaii, fascinating guy, he used to write songs for the beetles and Elvis ( who he’s still friends with ) He traveled Ireland with Marilyn Monroe and while there he won the sweep stakes. While he was telling me about how he invented roller skates the thought accured to me that this guy can speak Spanish so I offered to buy him lunch. He was able to translate the menu for me and order as well. We both feasted on shredded pork with rice and beans. It was fantastic and so was the entertainment. He left the sweep stakes money in a bank in Ireland but cant remember which one. I asked him how he got to where we were to which he replied ” walked” I asked him where he was going and he pointed south and said Los Angeles. I told him LA was north and he said it didn’t matter. He also invented the hula hoop.

As I was riding out of town I started thinking how dose some one end up out here in the middle of the Mexican mountains without a notion of where their going or a care in the world. Then I got to thinking about my new friend and wondering where he would sleep tonight.

I ended up riding until 10pm through the mountains in the dark, I got harassed and searched by the military for no other reason then their nosy bastards but finally made it to a hotel someplace. Hope fully tomorrow I’ll find a Nice Beach.. I’ve slept in a different bed 29 out of the last 33 nights, I think I need a rest.

Happy birthday Mum, Love you.

I thought I’d better do some research on Mexico seeming I was about to enter so I headed off to a book store and got myself a copy of the lonely planet. While sitting outside having a coffee researching my next destination I got chatting with an old timer from the area. He told me about this very small, hassle free border crossing through the mountains. That’s all I needed, research over. I was off. What do ya know, old people have a use after all. Maybe we should study them to see what else we can gain from them.

About 2 hours later there it was, I couldn’t believe it no crowds, no cue’s, no hassle. I was through in 30 seconds then realised I never got my Carnet ( passport for bike) stamped out so I had to return to the US and sort it out. The whole thing took about an hour because they don’t get many foreigners through this way and the Carnet was new to them.
I was escorted to the border by my new friend and the next thing I know I’m in Mexico and quite unprepared.

I did have half a tank of fuel, 2 litres of water and a half eaten sandwich. I didn’t have a map, working gps, working phone and or any grasp of Spanish whatsoever. I also had nowhere to be and nothing to do so what could be wrong. All I wanted was to get to a beach on the south west coast. It was now 4pm and the sun was where I wanted to be so I took off through the chaotic traffic in the 34 deg heat in its direction. Luckily enough there was a road heading that way too. So right now I’m on the beach in Ensenada, Baja, Mexico and It’s their independence day so I’d better go and have a beer.