Day06-Got Gas??, Sat, Dec 4, 2010

We were apprehensive after yesterday’s Tampico police shake-downs.  Is it going to be this way all the way through Mexico??

Start & Stop:  Vega de Alatorre, Veracruz to Palenque, Mexico

Ride time:  7:11: AM through 5:30 PM Mexico

Day’s mileage: 463 miles (745 km)

Toll Roads: 600 pesos ($50 USD each!)

Weather:  Mexico blue skies and some humidity!

Lodging:

Fuel:

Money Exchange: $1 USD = 11.96 Mexican Peso

Dean: I ran out of gas today!  11.5 gal was not enough!!!  I was pissed that I made this dumb mistake!!.  Lisa saved my butt!!!   We had a good day!

I’m running 400 miles per 11.5 gal tank.  Not very good gas milage.  I have a Power Commander III (PCIII) to get rid of the low speed jerks in the throttle control but Avery Innis, our Suzuki expert, says to scrap the PCIII and do a Yosh Box re-set.  Well, maybe when we get back.  When we entered the toll road, there was a Pemex gas station.  I had 2 bars showing.  Then there was not another gas station for 100 miles!  When I ran out of gas, Lisa still had 3 bars showing.  We syphoned ~1/2 gal and I was able to made it to the next Pemex gas station.

Retrospect:  We are running to way too hard!  The last 3-days have had us stopping at 5PM.  We planned on stopping at 3 PM every day.  We are not enjoying this!  Pelenque is a 2-day stop.  We will reorganize to fit our pace.

Lisa: Don’t pay attention to Dean as he is way to tightly wrapped.

Today was such a nice change from yesterday.  We were clutch out at 7:15 and seemed to hit it just right.  Early Saturday morning found us pretty much alone on the really cool road running parallel to the shore.  How sweet is that?

Cool, comfortable temps, nice road, few cars, ocean views.  Gimme more of that!  Dean and I commented that it was not unlike riding on the Big Island, Hawaii – very tropical, only missing the wonderful smell of Hawaiian flowers.

After our Tampico Experience, we determined that we would skirt the larger cities and hope to avoid a repeat of Dean and Lisa Go-To-Jail.  It worked like a charm.  We took a small road to the west of Veracruz which connected us to an awesome toll road toward Cordoba and then south.  It was smooth sailing notwithstanding the exit Dean missed, causing us to (yes) make a u-turn in the westbound lanes of the road back toward the exit.  Only in Mexico amigos.

Dean: I have no idea how travelers can do a road trip like this without a GPS.  We are both using the free OSM World Routable maps.  I downloaded mine in two files: 1) US, Mexico & Central America and 2) South America.  The GPS is correct in 70% of the time.  So paper maps and knowing the next major town is very important in heading in the right direction.  In most cases using the GPS we can tell in a mile or two if we are off-route.  In the course of a day we may make dozens of route corrections (U-turns).

Lisa: We’ve got a pretty good routine going with these toll roads now and it works quite nicely for us.  We pull up to the toll booth side by side, me on the left and Dean on the right.  I tell the collector that I am paying for both of us  (para dos) and they send Dean ahead.  From the small front pouch on my tank bag, I get pesos for the toll and then put the change and the receipt back in the pocket before going on.  I often ask directions and have gotten good info.  Everyone is quite patient with us even when it was a 300 peso toll and I had to get off the bike, open my saddlebag and get out enough pesos.  I glanced up and the driver and passenger in the semi RIGHT behind me were laughing.  I waved and shrugged and all was well.  Most everyone today was so good humored – so much appreciated.

All was going just perfectly (an omen of bad things to come in the world of Dean and Lisa) when he asked me how much gas I had … yeah, this doesn’t bode well.  Long story short, he ran out of gas, we stopped, Dean had a hissy fit on the side of the road, Dean calmed down and we siphoned gas, we got to the next gas station, Dean’s ego somewhat the worse for wear.  But all this faded into the background as we repacked the bikes and Ernesto approached us, asking if we spoke Spanish. When I laughed and said no, he broke into a huge smile and shook our hands.  ”OH so nice to meet you”, he said. Then he and his friend took multiple photos with us and share all kinds of stories till we parted ways.  It was one of those moments that makes travel special and it gave us a new bounce in our step.

We headed toward Palenque, hit another military stop – yawn – and then worked to find a place to stay.

Dean: There was one soldier taking my info and 15 around Lisa.  My soldier and I was giving each other stink eye as he documented my info.  Behind me was a party with 15 solders being totality entertained by Lisa!!!

Lisa: Taking some good advice from friends we went toward the city center and it was a good call.  Cliff’s Notes: we found a decent hotel, just off the plaza, then walked over to get something to eat.  Words can’t adequately describe the wonderfulness we found: hundreds of locals mingling, selling homemade food, dancing, selling their wares, kids playing – we were enthralled (and stuck out like sore thumbs).  It was simply delightful and honestly, it’s a small part of why I made this trip.  At one point, Dean walked away to buy a homemade tamale and I sat on the stairs and just watched life go on around me.  Amazingly cool.

So tomorrow we are having a down day, getting caught up and visiting the ruins at Palenque. Should be a nice respite.

Dean: Cultural observation:  After 2 days in Mexico, one of the most important items to carry with you at all times is … not a gun, not a big wad of dinero, not a book of Spanish phrases, not a multi-tool pocket knife, but … T.P.!  Yes — toilet paper.  Most public toilets do not have TP!  AND never, never, never flush TP down the toilet.  You toss it into a trash-can next to the toilet.  If you do flush T.P. in the toilet, be prepared for a massive overflow!!

Palenque is a cool town!

Tomorrow, we see the sites of Palenque!