We have yet to "follow the rules" for any part of this trip, so why start now.
Victor and his family saw us pedaling by his bike shop. He insisted we drive to the pyramid sites near his hometown. We enjoyed some "family time" with this clan. The thoughtfulness in seeing strangers pedaling down the street, making an effort to befriend, and create a whole afternoon just for us felt so gracious. We have grown from your genuine kindness Victor. THANKS!
Back to the heat. We rolled out of the mountains (approximately 8000 to 9000 feet) and dropped 4000 feet over the next few miles. We are currently back at sea level and in the hot and humid rain forest.
Our second warm shower stop (international biking community). Juan and his family were fantastic hosts. We had a few additional days with him as Christie was recovering. Loved playing Jenga with the girls and the wonderful food out of the family Restaurant.
A view from the top. Many of the cheap hotels ($8-$10 per night) are in the center of town. This has become one of our favorite pic-nic locations....on top of the roof (where most of the laundry is washed and dried). This doubles as an excellent location to send SPOT signals from.
Company. This local semi-pro cyclist rolled with us for a few miles on the highway.
The waves, thumbs-up, and honks continue as we roll. These guys stopped roadside and waved us over to stop, took our picture and we took theirs. Fun times.
The exact quote from Eric as we passed...."I know how that guy feels." (What a stinker.) This town was filled with taxi bikes taking people here and there.
Fun to help these girls with their English homework while they waited for the bus.
Climbing the AD 600 Mayan ruins of Palanque. Quite spectacular against the rain forest and howler monkeys.
This could have been home if we were 2000 years younger.
Instead, this cabana is home for tonight. Eric is always working to keep JoJo in tip top condition. Pretty beautiful setting with the stream out the front door and rain forest all around. This is the first place we have found other travelers like ourselves. Met 2 guys from the US, bought a bus, converted it to a camper, and started driving south until the bus broke down in Mexico, so they flew to Colombia and traveled around for a month, now back in Mexico to get their bus. 2 Australia girls have traveled through Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador, and now in Mexico. Interesting to share stories.So here we sit a day away from the Guatemalan border. We have spent more time and covered more miles in Mexico than the US. This part of the ride was filled with more unexpected than expected. Our surprises:
- Scenery and landscape is much more diverse and beautiful than we expected,
- We have felt extremely safe. The majority of people we talked to in the states were extremely scared of travelling through Mexico......our experience, fantastic!
- More temperature extremes. Elevation will play a huge role in the rest of our journey. The curse of being flatlander Minnesotans.
- People, people everywhere. Part of this is our route choice, but we have been surprised by the number of and size of the cities.
- Bike problems. After rolling fairly pain free through the states, the bike has been a little more of a challenge than we were hoping. Looking forward to a Christmas overhaul.
- Families. We knew of strong family connections, but experiencing it firsthand is fantastic.
- People. The highlight of our trip continues to be people. There are good and bad people everywhere. Our contacts have been extremely positive and we are blessed to have such wonderful encounters.
So as we roll into another country we send out Happy Thanksgiving greetings to you. Please pass the pumpkin pie.
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