Before I update my exciting adventures, I wanted to update a few things I forgot to mention on previous installments.
First, back in January when I drove from Texas to Cancun, I set a little goal for myself, which I was able to achieve. During my three days of driving through Mexico, I did not once set foot in a bathroom. Using only nature's natural toilets, I was able to delay my re-introduction to the world of really dirty toilets. I am kind of proud of this achievement.
Second, just to show you what kind of luck I have. I drove from Palenque all the way to Felipe Carrillo Puerto without once stopping for gas. In F.P.C. the gas gauge read below empty so I went to the gas station. The truck in front of me took over 1000 liters and by the time I got to the pump, there was only 22 liters left, enough for about 100 kilometers. As luck would have it, that is exactly how far the next gas station was.
Now for the update.
After leaving the island of Flores, we went back up to Tikal to spend the night near the ruins. We ate a nice little dinner and I got food poisoning. It took me a few hours to turn my sweet chicken dinner into liquid and get it all out both ends. After that I had a good night sleep and headed into the ruins the next morning. The ruins at Tikal are very impressive and I spent many hours wandering around the jungle and climbing pyramids.
The next day we went back to Belize and met David. David is a pretty cool Rastafarian guy who speaks almost every language of the 200,000 Belizians. He speaks Spanish, English, Creole, Garrafunga, and Mayan. All he needs to learn is the Swiss German of the Menonites and some Chinese and he will be able to speak to almost every person that the British saw fit to bring to their former colony.
David took us on a canoe trip through the tallest cave in Central and South America. We paddled through the darkness and looked at the formations, spiders, fish and Mayan ruins for a few hours. It was a most amazing voyage.
The next day a few of us went on a nice little horse ride through the orange groves and country side. We stopped for a swim in a river and the little fish nibbled on our legs. That night we went out for Sri Lankan food. The next day we took a canoe trip down the Macal River. We spent the whole day looking at birds and iguanas. We, well me and Pierre, jumped off every big cliff we could find. David was our guide again and explained to me how to grow dreadlocks.
The following morning we packed up and went to the Belize Zoo. After melting in the hot sun and looking at the animals we headed up to Corazol. We set up camp and I took a few people into town. The town was not very interesting, so I parked my van with the other taxis and spent forty minutes learning how to become a Belzian taxi driver. The guys were very nice, after I bought a round of Jonny Cakes from a little girl. We ate our johnny cakes and they explained to me how to get a taxi license and how much to charge for various distances. I learned that a big part of their work day involves standing in the park next to the taxis and making jokes. Big Head Man, China Man, President Bill Clinton, and Roxanne were very kind to this budding taxi driver and we had a lot of fun.
Then it was back into Mexico. We headed up the coast and camped at a nice beach called Xpu-Ha 7. After a couple of days of beach activities and a night out on the town, we headed up to Cancun and said goodbye.
While on the coast, I was able to track down Stan and Joan and their daughters, Katya and Liana. Stan and Joan have known me for as long as I can remember and it was nice to see them again. They were down here for vacation and were staying on a nearby beach. Katya, now 17, is one of the few people that I can say to "I remember when you were this big" and hold my hand a foot off the ground.
Then the trip ended and I had five days to get to Mexico City and plan my next trip. On Saturday morning, Beth, another tour leader, joined me and we headed west. First we got propane, then we checked out a cenote near Chichen Itza. The cenote is underground and good for swimming. I am going to bring my current group there tonight.
Then we drove on. I took the coastal road along the Gulf of Mexico, because I had never been there. Just after sunset we came to a long bridge. I drove across and wondered why, for the first time anywhere in Mexico, everybody was following the speed limit. The speed limit was a ridiculously low 30 kph. I was getting annoyed with the car ahead of me. I saw a car coming up from behind and decided that if he passed, so would I.
The car came up quickly, passed me, and then turned on his flashing lights. He pulled me and the car ahead of me over. The policemen quickly dispatched the Mexican car ahead of me and then came to talk to me. They explained that I had been travelling at 40 kph and was now going to receive a speeding ticket.
Luckily for me the cop was incredibly helpful. He realized that in order to pay the 1000 peso fine I would have to backtrack three hours and wait two days until the fines office opened on Monday. He went on to explain to me, that if I did not require a receipt, I could pay only 500 pesos on the spot and no points would be attached to my license and no time would be lost. I explained that 500 pesos was a lot of money to me. Apparently, I was convincing. He soon lowered the fine to 300 pesos.
Then I told him that I could pay 200 pesos and drive at 10 kph. His partner laughed as he told me 250 pesos and 30 kph, no more and no less. I paid the 250 pesos, thanked him, and continued on my way, elated over my first Mexican speeding ticket, even though I had no receipt to prove it.
A few hours later Beth and I found a hotel in Ciudad del Carmen. It was the Saturday night before the beginning of Lent and Carnival was in full swing. We watched the parade of floats and wandered around the town in fiesta.
Sunday, we drove to Cholula and on Monday we explored Cholula and Puebla a little bit. I drove up a really bad dirt road to see if I could climb the 5500 meter volcano. Popo was active and the lodge was closed, so we drove on to Taxco.
The road to Taxco goes down a very steep hill. Taxco goes up a very steep hill. It was very disorientating to drive down a mountain towards a city that streched up the facing mountain. We spent the night and explored the former silver mining city the next day. It was parade day and all the school children were marching around the city like little soldiers with drums and flags.
Then we headed into Mexico City. I spent Wednesday planning my next trip and making reservations. I also saw a couple of 16 peso movies. At 8 pesos to the dollar I watched Alien - The Resurrection and Titanic. I also ate lots of food off of the street stalls. The street stalls are amazing. The food was completely different that the food of six months ago, but it was still incredibly delicious and cheap.
Then my new trip started. We went to Palenque, had a tour, went to Uxmal, wandered the ruins, and we are now in Merida. This trip is going well and we have many exciting things planned for the next few weeks.
I now have a large line of people waiting to use the single computer here so I must go. Bye.
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