Thursday, March 27, 2014

Campeche, Chichen Itza, Coba, Tulum, Akumal

Wow I've been slacking a bit, sorry for the long delay... the truth is I'm a little tired, pooped. Yesterday I really had a tough time getting moving, slept in took a nap after breakfast and then talked myself into going to the ruins in Tulum and it turned into a great afternoon/evening. It's funny how things go sometimes. I'm on the very east coast of the Yucatan peninsula in Akumal, Quintana Roo and enjoying a nice breeze off the ocean. I'm going snorkeling tomorrow and the promise from the guides is that we will swim with sea turtles... OK cool. Here's another great chance to put Mike Bell's gopro camera to good use!

Ok the last 7ish days follow... Enjoy.

March 20th, Campeche: a long day in the saddle left no time for being a tourist but I drove along the Gulf coast all day today and it was really pretty. I’m getting some tendinitis in my left hand from pulling the clutch lever all day long… Topes.


March 21st, Visiting Campeche: my hands are a little swollen and my 2nd & 3rd fingers on my left hand are stiff; time for a day off the bike. I walked (no moto) around the historical center of Campeche today; it had a high fortified wall all around it to protect from raiding pirates during Spanish colonial times. There was a lot of reconstruction happening to preserve and rebuild the original city center and it’s apparent that the city is proud of its heritage. I met Jorge today; he just started talking to the gringo J. He lived in Texas for a long while and now lives here in Campeche with his son and girlfriend. He took time out of his day to walk around with me and we had a really nice time talking about life. He even sat down and shared a meal with me. I keep being reminded that it’s our relationships and our experiences that make our lives rich. Thanks Jorge; Mucho Gusto! One of the things I like best about this trip is all the nice folks I meet and one of the things I like least is continually saying good bye to them. But I keep making new friends and even if we only get to share a few hours they are truly making the trip precious.

the local fish market

the cathedral on the main square in the historical city center

the historical fortified city center was beautifully restored, lots of shops and restaurants and sculptures in the streets that were for pedestrians only


Jorge and I walked around the town for a while and along the top of one of the restored walls of Campeche then grabbed a bite to eat. 

in some places all that is restored is the facade so it was interesting to peek behind from the top of the wall.

March 22nd to Chichen Itza: 170ish miles today went by really quickly. It was almost entirely 4 lane divided highway, flat and straight and not much to look at but I arrived at the hotel early afternoon and got the last room J lucky because it’s a busy weekend due to the equinox. Very few topes today too, so my clutch hand got another “rest day”; It’s feeling much better today J. Plan is to get up early see the archeological site and be finished as the tour buses begin to arrive around lunch time.

Sunday March 23rd Visiting Chichen Itza and on to Coba: the plan worked perfectly! I had the whole place to myself for the first 90 minutes. The vendors weren’t even set up yet but by the time I left the crowds were building fast and I had seen the whole site by 11:AM. I got a lime sorbet (helado limon) and then returned to the Hotel in time for checkout J got the bike loaded and drove 90min to Coba. Found a nice little family run hotel ½ a kilometer from the "zona archeolgica" and will visit in the morning, same plan different site… I had a nice dinner of grilled fish fajitas and a cold cervesa. Gracias Ricardo! Then sat on the restaurant balcony and did file management, set up my next GPS route, found a cheap hotel in Tulum and listened to the preacher across the street give his sermon, Baptist? Assembly of God? He was VERY enthusiastic and there was lots of music.

the ball court, ancient Aztec basketball

the feathered serpent was an important deity


note the severed head in the warriors hand


for the ASU fans, los diablos del sol

the "observatory". there were little windows that would align to Venus at certain times

there were lots of iguanas, I may have taken more photos of the lizards than the ruins



Itza-selfie

March 24th Visiting Coba and on to the coast, Tulum and Akumal: woke up this morning and at breakfast I met two women from Belgium who were also on their way to the Coba archaeological site, Ines and Natalia. We all went together and for the 1st 1 ½ hours had the place to ourselves. I liked Coba because it was a much more intimate experience, you got to climb some of the pyramids and you were much closer and the feeling of being in the jungle was very “Indiana Jones”. We were there from 8 to 11 then returned to the little hotel to pack. We had a light lunch and then said see you later with plans to meet at the Zebra hotel in Tulum. It took me a little while to find a hotel in Tulum because the hotel I intended to stay at was booked. But I found a comfortable and inexpensive hotel quickly and then made my way to the beach. Natalia, Ines & I had only another hour to visit and have a margarita then parted companies. They were starting their little road-trip to Chichen Itza and other Yucatan cities. Once again it was really nice to make some new friends and it made the visit to Coba a lot of fun. 


Me and Ines among the roots of a massive Banyan Tree named Ramon. The Banyan is a type of Fig tree that sends roots down from it's branches

Taking photos from the top of a smaller pyramid. It was so cool to be able to climb around these ancient structures in the jungle

there were two ball courts (Juegos de Pelota) at Coba

Ines & Natalia

Ixmoja pyramid, the largest at Coba

Natalia

Ines
We were 1/2 way up Ixmoja and taking a little break. We were definitely feeling the heat and humidity of the jungle but also enjoying the view.


March 25th Tulum ruins and world travelers: Today I was tired and slept in a bit, got a little bite to eat and decided to go to the Tulum Ruins. This is a relatively small but important Mayan complex and is so beautiful because it sits on a bluff and cliff overlooking the white sandy beach. I took a bunch of photos of the ruins and the iguanas and headed back to town and my hotel. On the way, I saw a couple on a big BMW GS and then 200 yards later saw 3 more “adventure” motos at a little beachside campground so I stopped to say hello. They are an Australian family Mom, Dad & 18 yr old son each on their own bikes www.earth-roamers.blogspot.com. They shipped their bikes from Australia to New Zealand to BC, then rode to Alaska, then turned south. They have been traveling for 18 months! The other couple on the BMW turned around and joined us. They were Indian but their home was in Houston Texas; they had been traveling for 3 years, all over the world, and were almost home! We had a spontaneous “horizons unlimited” meet www.horizonsunlimited.com on this tiny beach campsite in Tulum Mexico! It was Amazing to listen to the stories of these seasoned travelers and to hear how well traveling through Central America had gone for Nick and Kanchan http://www.rideoverland.com/. In the evening I bumped into Nestor and Maria from Greece; they’re staying at the same Hotel and we decided to have dinner together. It was another great experience and I really enjoyed the conversations we had about motorcycles (of course) and cultural differences and similarities. They were a vibrant couple and were really fun to spend some hours with. What an incredibly diverse/international city Tulum has turned out to be. And the beaches… They are SO beautiful!

Tulum Ruins:



Many Many Iguanas

and a Coatimundi

Jeanette, Kanchan & Mike

Dad & Nick


Nestor & Maria from Greece. They have a Hammock business and they were here in Mexico doing product research www.lacasadehamacas.gr

Wed & Thurs March 26 & 27th Akumal: It was a very short ride from Tulum north to Akumal. Akumal is renowned for its amazing snorkeling… It remains to be seen because the winds are up and the currents are strong so my planned guided snorkeling with the sea turtles adventure was cancelled this morning. I’ll try again tomorrow. It’s OK; I had a nice relaxing day walked along the beach and had a beer J


Half Moon Bay, Akumal


Friday, march 28th Akumal to Bacalar: I finally got in my snorkeling. I never did get to snorkel in Akumal bay, instead I walked 2 minutes down from my hotel and snorkeled in Yul Ha bay/cove. It’s a fresh water inlet into the ocean that is very protected from the ocean currents and winds, so even though conditions were poor in Akumal bay they were really quite good here. But, there were a lot of people because the conditions everywhere else were poor. I still had a lot of fun and got the hang of snorkeling… it’s not hard… and tried to use the go-pro in the water. (I shot some video clips and I think they turned out OK but I probably wont try to post them until I return. My little netbook just can't handle video processing) After, I got cleaned up and packed and hit the road. Just 2 hours south to Bacalar. Bacalar is interesting because it’s on a long narrow fresh water lake that is fed by underground rivers. The water is a beautiful turquoise blue. Bacalar is also very close to the border with Belize...

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