I‘d agreed to meet one of the guys from that I’d met on the ADVrider formum in Palenque for “the end of the world” on December 21. It was early December when we concocted this plan – plenty of time to get down there I thought. But spent more time than expected around Copper Canyon, then a couple of days in Durango, so that by the time I left there I had 6 days to get to Palenque, close to the border with Guatemala. As far as I could tell, it was about 1200 miles from Durango. I say “as far as I could tell” because I was having to adjust my route all the way down – it wasn’t simply a matter of following the one the GPS picked. 1200 miles in 6 days sounds pretty easy, but not in Mexico…
For a start, I wanted to avoid the Cuotas – the toll roads. They are fast but expensive. I did one section between Mazatlan and San Blas, it cost me the equivalent of $13 for 60 miles. That’s a tank full of gas, or a nights accommodation. Can’t afford to do that too often! So I’m working my way south using only the “libre” roads. These are mostly scenic and twisty and lovely, interrupted by the occasional small village, which as always comes with a collection of topes (speedbumps). More on them later.
I had to decide whether to cut across south of Mexico City, or north of it. Whatever happened, I wanted to stay well clear of the city itself. I chose south, but not south enough! Ss I got closer to Mexico City the villages got bigger and closer together, and towns larger and more chaotic. This presented a plethora of opportunities for getting lost or stuck in traffic – and I took most of them!
But first, the Love Hotel experience. At the end of a long day’s ride from Tequila I miscalculated my evening stop, and ended up riding after sunset for the first time in Mexico (see SECURITY ISSUES later…). I stopped at the next hotel I came to, which was a “love hotel”. These places rent rooms on a 4-hourly basis, generally people bring their sweetheats/mistresses here for a bonking session. They are set up so that you can drive in, park the car and pull the curtain, and access the room from within the garage. Nobody need ever know you (or your car) were there. They will rent by the night as well and this is handy for travellers – they are usually on the outskirts of town so no fighting traffic or looking around for a hotel in the middle of town. Downside is there is not much in the way of facilities or restaurants around, but I didn’t care at that point, just wanted a bed (even if a well-used one!). Main thing was, good parking for the bike!
The next day I skirted around Guadalajara – I lost a good two hours there, it was market day in the villages on the outskirts of town – and headed to Cuitzeo, a pretty town by a lake. There seems to be some town ordinance that requires all the homes and business to have the same paint scheme and lettering – white paint with brown trim, business names in black but with the first letter in brown. Kinda nice change from most places where businesses do whatever they can to get your attention, and it just ends up being really ugly.
The hotel was hard to find (damn this lack of signage!) but was excellent, and excellent value at $14. Just a short walk from the plaza with lots of good food and stuff happening.
I noticed a “Ron Paul for President” sign on the front gate, and thought to myself “don’t those wackos know we’re in Mexico?” Turns out the owner was an American and a Ron Paul supporter. He bought me a BIG bottle of beer (included in the price of the room, I assume) and lively discussion ensued.
On the way there I met a “one-percenter” at a fuel stop… Nicest guy you’ve ever met! He’s a member of the “Renegados” and within 5 mins of meeting him he’d given me the low-down on the bike clubs in Mexico “all are friendly except maybe Santa Morte”. Easy to identify them, they have a skull and skeleton on their colors. Next thing, he gave me a list of names and phone numbers of club members in just about every state. “Just call if you have a problem, they will help you or find someone that can.” A nice safety net for the solo moto traveller in Mexico eh?