Our life on the mainland of Mexico is quite different from our days in Baja so here’s our new life.
***
September 2nd, 2011 – Started in Arriaga
5:50am – Kevin gets up and goes to the washroom.
6:00am – Trevor gets up and uses the laptop that was left on overnight. Kevin prepares his breakfast (corn flakes, oats and milk) and turns on the TV to watch Married With Children (his old favorite).
6:07am – Trevor goes to the washroom.
6:11am – Trevor returns, prepares his breakfast, and uploads the news podcasts he downloaded overnight to his MP3 player.
6:23am – Kevin prepares his 2nd bowl of cereal.
6:27am – Kevin uses Trevor’s laptop to Tweet and check his e-mail.
6:30am – Trevor changes the channel to CNN.
6:33am – Trevor goes to the washroom again.
6:38am – Trevor returns and changes the channel (same crappy CNN interview that was on last night is being rerun).
6:43am – Trevor settles on a Mexican news channel talking about some shooting. Trevor makes his 2nd bowl of cereal.
6:51am – Kevin goes to the washroom again.
6:53am – Kevin returns from the washroom and continues using the laptop.
6:57am – Trevor finishes his 2nd bowl of cereal.
6:59am – Trevor unplugs GPS and MP3 player which were charging overnight.
7:02am – Trevor tops up his rear tire.
7:06am – Kevin prepares his 3rd cereal and changes the channel to CNN (covering Libya).
7:08am – Trevor packs away the Tabasco sauce he used last night for dinner and goes to the washroom for a 3rd time.
7:15am – Trevor returns to have watermelon that Kevin’s already started.
7:23am – Throw away ¾ of the watermelon as we are too full to eat it. Trevor also passes on his third bowl of cereal. Trevor washes his bowl.
7:26am – We both pack our stuff away.
7:30am – Trevor has his remaining milk from breakfast and the apple juice he didn’t finish the night before.
7:32am – Trevor makes one last attempt at updating the blog map. Only successfully uploads 2 tracks (28th and 29th of August).
7:34am – Kevin goes to the washroom for a 3rd time and Trevor packs away the laptop.
7:38am – We head outside.
7:40am (0.00km) – Trevor turns on the GPS and starts listening to the podcasts on his MP3 player.
7:43am – We start cycling.
8:02am (5.26km) – We stop at a gas station (Pemex) so Trevor can go to the washroom for a 4th time.
8:05am – Kevin takes 2 photos.
8:06am – Kevin applies sunscreen.
8:07am – Trevor returns.
8:11am – We start cycling again.
9:35am (36.50km) – Stopped at a military checkpoint. Asked where we’re headed and about the GoPro camera on Kevin’s bike before being waved on.
9:39am (36.90km) – Stop for a drink of water.
9:44am – We start cycling again.
9:51am (38.76km) – Kevin stops to take photos of an iguana he’s spied on the road. It runs off before he can take a photo though. Instead he takes photos of the landscape. Trevor listens to a dog endlessly bark from across the road.
9:54am – Kevin takes a sip of water.
9:55am – We start cycling again.
10:37am (53.57km) – Kevin stops to get rid of a bug in his shirt. Both of us take a sip of water. Trevor puts on some sunscreen.
10:41am – We start cycling again.
11:14am (64.74am) – Stop for a water break.
11:18am – We start cycling again.
1:07pm (102.5km) – We stop at a market for food.
1:15pm – Kevin returns with a 3.78L jug of orange juice, 4 pastries and cereal for tomorrow. Total cost is 48 pesos.
1:26pm – We start cycling again. A guy wasn’t pleased that we parked our bikes on the sidewalk partially blocking pedestrians. Essentially we got kicked out.
1:34pm (104.2km) – We stop to drink more orange juice. Trevor also eats two buns he saved from the day before.
1:42pm – A guy named Rosario comes to talk with us in English. He’s a Jehovah’s Witness and tells us he’s been all over central and eastern USA.
1:45pm – Rosario leaves and Kevin says he thought the guy was going to give us a pamphlet from the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
1:46pm – Rosario, now in his car, drives by and hands us a pamphlet.
1:54pm – We start cycling again.
2:24pm (114.0km) – Two guys on a motorbike cruise beside us and talk with Kevin about where we’re going and that the guy has been to the USA.
3:25pm (137.7km) – We stop for a drink of orange juice.
3:35pm – We start cycling again.
3:39pm (138.1km) – Trevor has a flat rear tire and just pumps it back up.
3:41pm – Kevin, doubling back after realising Trevor wasn’t following, returns to Trevor.
3:43pm – We start cycling again.
4:08pm (147.2km) – We stop at OXXO.
4:18pm – Kevin comes out with 1L of milk for himself, 2L of fruity pop for Trevor, and condiments for dinner (toppings for the tortillas). Total cost is 20.10 pesos.
4:30pm – We start cycling again.
5:42pm (176.6km) – We stop to decide where to go. Trevor takes a leak on the side of the road.
5:47pm – Trevor has a sip of pop.
5:49pm – Trevor pumps up his rear tire again.
5:52pm – We start cycling again.
6:16pm (185.0km) – Kevin stops for a leak on the side of the road.
6:17pm – We start cycling again.
6:38pm (191.5km) – We stop at Hotel Lisboa to check the price.
6:43pm – The top floor is 170 pesos but the bikes aren’t allowed up there. The bottom floor is 230 pesos and the bikes are allowed there. Kevin’s not pleased and continues to haggle.
6:47pm – Kevin gives up (the owner was getting annoyed) and gets directed to another hotel.
6:51pm (192.0km) – We find Hotel Narcia.
6:53pm – The hotel is 236 pesos but is closer to the markets so we choose to stay at Hotel Narcia.
7:00pm – Kevin argues that he should have the bed directly under the fan (because, having lived in Singapore, he can’t handle the heat at night like Trevor can—go figure). However, Trevor’s already parked his bike beside that bed and doesn’t want to bother moving his bike. We move our bikes and Kevin takes the bed directly under the fan.
7:04pm – Kevin goes shopping for dinner.
7:06pm – Trevor unpacks bike to patch the tube.
7:16pm – Trevor unpacks his laptop and charges the GPS and MP3 player. Downloads the day’s GPS track.
7:17pm – Trevor starts fixing the flat.
7:38pm – Trevor can’t find a leak in the tube so he puts everything back. Decides to see what happens in the morning. Kevin returns with dinner. Total cost is 75 pesos.
7:45pm – Kevin has a shower.
7:48pm – Trevor starts writing this post.
7:53pm – Kevin finishes his shower.
7:57pm – Trevor has a shower. Kevin unpacks dinner and starts making his tortillas.
8:07pm – Trevor finishes his shower and comes out to find that his rear tire is flat. Why couldn’t that happen before the shower? He’ll eat first and fix it later.
8:10pm – Trevor starts making his tortillas.
9:00pm – Trevor finishes eating and starts unpacking his bicycle to fix the flat.
9:16pm – Kevin finishes eating his tortillas. Both start watching a September 11th show which interviewed George W. Bush.
9:29pm – Trevor finishes fixing the flat (probably due to a shard of metal left over from when he modded the rim to fit a Schrader valve).
9:32pm – Kevin starts making a bowl of cereal (bran flakes, oats, milk) for himself and another for Trevor. Trevor resumes writing this post.
9:43pm – Trevor starts eating his bowl of cereal and Kevin makes himself a second bowl of cereal (chocolate flakes, oats, milk).
9:52pm – Trevor finishes his first bowl and Kevin finishes his second.
9:56pm – Kevin prepares Trevor’s second bowl of cereal.
10:00pm – Kevin changes the channel and settles on 50 First Dates.
10:01pm – Kevin washes his dishes in the sink and watches TV.
10:11pm – Trevor finishes his second bowl and washes his dishes in the sink. Finds he’s still got a flat rear tire. Trevor’s not happy and just lays down on the bed in frustration.
10:15pm – Trevor continues writing this post.
10:55pm – Kevin brushes his teeth and goes to the washroom
11:00pm – Kevin returns and continues watching TV.
11:09pm – Trevor finishes writing this post and starts working on fixing the flat tire once again.
11:16pm – Kevin turns off the TV and goes to sleep.
11:42pm – Trevor finishes fixing the flat tire (decided to replace tube as the hole was near the valve and the patch was leaking).
11:43pm – Trevor brushes his teeth.
11:50pm – Trevor packs away laptop and goes to sleep.
***
For all but three or four days on the mainland we’ve stayed at hotels. It tends to pour overnight and most land is either private or overgrown with vegetation so camping is just too much trouble. Also we have started having large breakfasts and doing longer legs before stopping again for a food break.
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