After a delightful visit to Palenque and the fabulous ruins, I got up early knowing the ride to Catazajá was going to be a hot one. I love that Palenque has cycle paths and got to take another one to get out of town. Luckily, the ride was flat and wasn't very long because the temperature rose fast. There was a long section with road construction which took away my shoulder but traffic didn't seem to mind me being in the road and all the drivers were very patient. It appears this road is getting widened which will be nice when it is finished. By the time I arrived in Catazajá the temperature was over 100 degrees. On the map, this town looks fantastic. It is on the Rio Trapiche which feeds into the Catajazá Lagoon. If this town was in Europe, it would be a total tourist trap. Catazajá is not a tourist trap. It is small, old, poor and tired. I rode to the plaza where there is a beautiful and interesting looking church hoping to find a good hotel. There is typically a nicer hotel near the plaza in most towns. A group of guys sitting in the shade of a cart selling drinks called me over. They gave me a cold agua mineral and a lay of the land. I pointed to Hotel Clio a block away and they gave me the name of another hotel which they assured me was the best in town. They said Hotel Clio wasn't very clean and the people who own it are grumpy. We chatted about many things but mostly how corrupt the government in Catazajá is. For sure, the best looking building was for government services. These guys were very entertaining but didn't have many nice things to say about the people running the town. They also said the only thing to do in town was take a boat ride on the lagoon. It was so hot I would have to wait until sunset before even considering that. After awhile I got up to find Hotel San Jose on their recommendation. I thanked them for the cold water, conversation and found my way back into the little town. Hotel San Jose didn't look any better than Hotel Clio. This one was also tired but there was a big space inside to park Myrtle. I checked into a room with a fan, no toilet seat and no hot water for $12. I think the water for the shower came from one of those black, very large water containers that you see on most rooftops here in Mexico. It was so hot today that the water in the shower was actually quite warm. The ceiling in the room was very high and there was a ceiling fan but the fan was so high up that it didn't provide much relief. Holy moly, it was so hot I took 2 showers in the afternoon. The hotel did have surprisingly good wifi. I probably could have done Gary's YouTube show from here yesterday with no problem. I spent the afternoon uploading photos before heading out to a nice restaurant on the the lagoon for dinner.
Walk through room at Hotel San Jose
Red wrapped cheese
Gringas, like a taco but with more stuff in it
I slept well and, again, headed out early expecting another hot ride. This ride would be my longest of tour at 44 miles. I was on the road before day break stopping at the junction back to Palenque for coffee and tacos. My breakfast cost less than $2. Today's ride would be on a 2 lane highway. Luckily, there was also a good shoulder used by slower moving traffic such as scooters, food trikes and beat-up cars and trucks. As I rode, I could see a colorful sunrise behind me. Having the sunrise in front of me would have been much more dangerous as I'm not sure drivers could have seen me with the sun in their eyes. At one point someone burned their trash right next to the highway. I think they were burning a tire because the smoke was thick and black. I had no choice but to ride through it. It was so gross. I was sweating a lot which was like glue for the soot. There were soot smudges all over my legs and probably on my face as well. I could taste the soot hours later. I see people burning trash all over the world. Even though most countries have laws against burning trash, the people continue to do it and this is a big environmental problem.
What's playing!
As I was riding, I realized that I didn't really know anything about the area I was riding through. When I started my tour I kind of knew what to expect up to Palenque and then I had no idea what I would find. Often, it's ok that I don't know much about an area but today, I didn't like it and felt that it was important for me to learn more. I have a feeling there is a lot of history here and many things to see. If I don't want to miss cool stuff I should probably be doing some research. Maybe in the next town someone can help me plan better.
Flying in Macuspana
I crossed from the state of Chiapis to Tabasco arriving in Macuspana in the early afternoon. This town is bigger than Catajazá but equally as gritty, dirty and tired. At first, the town gave me a feeling that it is rough and, perhaps, not very safe. But then I started seeing the trici taxis. Pedal powered tricycle taxis. These taxis are everywhere. I bet there are hundreds of them. The taxi drivers were all hootin' and hollerin' excitedly and seemed to see me as a kindred spirit. I loved it. I found what may be the only hotel in Macuspana, Hotel Claudia. Like the last hotel, they had a large space inside a gate to park cars. There was plenty of room for Myrtle. I got checked into a huge room with 3 beds, a toilet with a seat, ac and hot water in the shower for $18. They also had so-so wifi. One really odd thing about the hotel was they locked the front entrance all the time. Whenever I wanted to leave or come back I had to ring a bell so they could unlock it. The door was actually a gate that was padlocked and I wondered if there was another exit in case of a fire. The hotel really had a quirky feel to it and I was about to find out just how quirky.
River bridge into Macuspana
I found a pitcher for water in the room and remembered seeing one of those 20 gallon bottles with cold filtered water by the reception desk. Cold water sounded great after such a long, hot ride. I went downstairs and filled the pitcher and the owner's wife stopped me saying I couldn't have the water, that the water wasn't for me. She was a little late because I had already filled the pitcher. I stopped and simply stared at her not really sure what to do. Then her older daughter approached and in a very soothing voice told her mom everything was ok. Her mom was not ok. She started questioning if I paid and her daughter said I had. Then she questioned if I paid enough. Her daughter was very patient and trying gracefully to defuse the situation but, at that moment, I was feeling not very welcome. I took my pitcher of water and went back up to my room.
Later in the day, the daughter approached me with lots of information pamphlets about the area. This was perfect and exactly what I needed. She gave me so much information. Then she took me up to the roof to point out where everything worth seeing in the town is. She made me feel so much better I decided to stay another day to find out more about the trici taxis. I also have the feeling it's possible her mom may be in the beginning stages of dementia or alzhiemers.
Lagoon in Macuspana
Religious lotions?
The next morning, her dad, the owner of the hotel approached me. At first I thought he wanted to talk to me about religion but he wanted to tell me about this radio show he does every Sunday on health. He also gave me a book he has written about health. It is a very small book that has strong religious over tones but it mostly talks about how to improve health through diet which I completely agree with. The book also seemed to be written in Spanish that is basic enough I might actually be able to read it. Although my Spanish is still quite limited, I enjoyed my conversation with the owner.
Religious oils
I spent a few hours wondering through town, walking around a big lagoon and then taking pictures of the trici taxis. Macuspana is not a tourist town. Everywhere I went people were staring at me. Everyone was nice but I don't think they see many older, blonde white gringas visiting. I got far enough from the hotel that taking a trici taxi back made sense. The taxis only cost $.80 and I think they will take you anywhere. The 1st ride I took, the driver didn't understand where I wanted to go and dropped me at the big store that is the Mexican version of Walmart, Chedraui. No problem. This meant I got to take another trici taxi and there were probably 25 trici taxis waiting for passengers. I love the trici taxis. Everyone uses these taxis and I also loved how chatty everyone is with people on the street and their driver. These taxis really give the town an interesting and special ambiance. I also got to see more of the town this way. As my driver, Juan, cycled through town, I took lots of photos and videos.
Trici Taxis
The Trike Taxis of Macuspana
Juan, my taxi driver
Considering my trepidation when I first arrived, I ended up having a great time in this town. But 2 nights was enough and I was ready to hit the road.
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