Since the experiences, and therefore the content has been limited, I waited a few days for this next update. Most of the stops were one-nighters off the highway, and since we are far outside the typical tourist areas for foreigners, we learned that these hotels were popular destinations for Mexican vacationers. This area appears to be traveled so little by foreigners, that people were constantly staring at us like we had horns growing out of our heads. Surprised to see white people, and many amazed at the size of our motorcycles (the largest bikes here topping around 300cc vs. our 650cc) we have spent the last week in a constant state of awkwardness as people stared and/or gave us a thumbs up. I will say that overall the interactions have been extremely positive, even though Mike and I have to tip-toe through our broken Spanish.

Also, if by chance you plan to make a trip along the coastal route of Mexico, it is all tolls. Everywhere. Since stopping the bikes and digging into our pockets for pesos with gloves on was such as hassle, we resorted to using metal clips (that we primarily used as clothespins) to secure cash to our windscreens, which we could then dispense at toll booths in a Nascar-like fashion. Roll in hot, one person pays for both bikes, tug the pesos out and hand to the toll guy, “dos motos!”, they let the first bike go, then second, and off we went. All the toll booths also have a guard on post with an M16. Not sure why, would they really gun someone down for skipping on a 12 peso toll? Maybe.

CASITAS

Our next stop was in Casitas, a small town in Veracruz Mexico. This was our first coastal stop, a decent sized hotel filled with locals outside grilling and swimming while Mike and I hid from the oppressive sun like lizards in the desert. Through this second half of Mexico we have been seeing temps over 103 F, and I have no interest in coming out to play when it is that hot. While riding the wind keeps us cool enough, but the instant we stop all our clothes are soaked in sweat.

ALVARADO

The next day we started off to Alvarado. Since we have given ourselves a large window of time to complete this trip, we have committed to not rushing. Leave late, arrive early to reduce stress on a trip like this. We experienced a few interesting things in Alvarado. A peacock roaming the streets freely, a literal game of cat and mouse to find beer. We must have asked 6 different stores for beer, who each said, “farther up the street!”, until finally we arrived at a house whose owners sold beer out of the garage. One of the owner’s daughters (probably in her late 30’s) had a few too many barley pops and could not shift her attention from Mikes biceps (Mike has a larger build than the average local in Mexico). While laughing and popping the cap off another beer on the edge of a table, she challenged Mike to a boxing match, to which he politely declined. After that she resorted to comparing her forearm muscle to both mine and Mikes, sadly, mine being the smallest.

While walking the streets, we noticed ungulate-sized piles of shit lining the streets, and certainly the local stray pups could not be producing these, since they were clearly malnourished. Walking back to the hotel the next morning we encountered the culprits, a tiny group of cattle who have free reign of the city. This isn’t the first time I have encountered cattle walking through a town, but definitely the first time in an area as developed as this. While at this hotel, which was a house converted to hotel rooms owned by a local, we paid for laundry service. While walking to town later that day, we came across a clothesline on the side of the main street and Mike said “Hey look, someone has the same underwear as you!”, to which I replied, “someone has the same knee-high riding socks as you!”. At that instant we realized it was in fact our laundry, hung to dry right along the main street to town.

CARDENAS

Next stop on the route was Cardenas. On the way we encountered our first bout of rain and were completely drenched. Yes, we packed rain gear, but since it was a small storm, we decided to ride through without rain gear and let ourselves air dry on the second leg of the ride. I had to resort to using the hotel supplied hair dryer to dry my boots, since I decided to ride through a deep puddle like an idiot.  The hotel was nice, and we decided to pay to have our laundry done, since they advertised the service in the room. Oddly, it cost more than laundry service in Texas, but we paid with a smile to get out of our chores for the day. We found a local motorcycle dealer and purchased a set of mesh gloves each. In the event we get caught in the rain again, mesh gloves will dry out a lot faster than goatskin. Nobody likes to ride with dish-pan hands.

Note the photo added of the armed guard at KFC. Yes, KFC here was protected by an armed guard with a 12 gauge street sweeper. Must be some damn good chicken (I was not paid to say this, I HATE KFC).

ECARCEGA

This was the first section of the trip that offered terrain that our dual sport motorcycles were well suited for. The first 2 hours of this day was filled with dirt roads, washboard, potholes, and what seemed like a hundred speedbumps through small towns. Never shifting past 2nd gear for these two hours, we tackled unreasonably tall and unmarked speedbumps, weaved around rim-bending potholes, and of course negotiated constant overtakings by local taxi drivers. Pro-tip, once you are south of the border, many drivers, but ESPECIALLY taxi drivers, love to pass anything in front of them, whether approaching a hill or a blind turn. It just so happens that this stretch of the ride was nothing BUT hills and twisty, pothole filled bliss through the forest. By the end of the day, we saw a local wrecker with two destroyed vehicles on the back. Some people never learn. The rest of the day was a straight shot, with no more excitement (gladly).

CHETUMAL

We rode to the Belize border on April 30th. It is clearly the mating season for a specific species of blue butterfly. We rode through literal clouds of these things, and by the end of the day were completely covered in bug guts. Our sunglasses, face shields, and bikes were covered in them. A quick and strange fact, it appears these butterflies pair with a specific mate, as I noticed on dozens of occasions butterflies fluttering around another dead butterfly laying in the road, and that many of the butterflies were flying in pairs.

There was a local fair going on that night, with plenty of food trucks and typical pop-up tents selling cheap jewelry and other random junk (same as anywhere). I had a few good tacos as we walked around for some casual sightseeing.

Today is Sunday, May 1st, and most everything is closed. That said, we again must do laundry ourselves. With no tub and a tiny sink, we emptied and thoroughly cleaned the waste bins in our hotel room. After adding scolding hot shower water and detergent, we soaked the clothes in the bins and agitated them with empty beer bottles, since it was too hot for our skin. After a few rinse cycles (squeezing the water out with the bins pressed against the shower wall), we were all set to hang the clothes on our balcony.