August 5, 1997
Uxmal (actually Santa Elena), Mexico
R80G/S 26370
R100GS 18017

Got up at 6:45am to send some e-mail and logs.  I now believe early
morning is the best time to connect since my ISP's e-mail server seems
to give quick response.  Also phone rates are cheapest before 8:00am.
Anyway, no problem.  I was able to connect, receive one small letter
and then send off my 35k log within 2 minutes of phone connect time.

We ate hot cross buns this morning that we bought at the bakery last
night.  I call them hot cross buns because that's what they taste like,
even though they're obviously not hot, and they don't have a cross.
I've found these to be the most edible of mexican bakery products aside
from the bread.  We have spent so much money on Mexican pastries hoping
that we would find something we like.  It all looks wonderful, and I'm
constantly fooled.  I just haven't developed a taste for this stuff.
Much of it looks similar to what one might find in the states, but
that's as close as it gets.  Occasionally we can find some pound cake,
and if it's not dried out from sitting sliced in the open air for days,
it can be pretty good.

The way bakeries work in Mexico, is you pick up a pizza pan and tongs
from the pile by the register and pick out the items that you want.
Caveat emptor... bakery items sit out until they are sold and can be
several days old.  The custard filled pastries, the ham and
cheese croissants, and the baked wrapped bread sticks are not refrigerated
and may sit out for days.

We drove to the ruin of Uxmal in the Puuc hills of the Yucatan.  Along
the way we pass through two military checkpoints both of which searched
the bikes.  They were 5 minutes apart from each other, one on each side
of the Campeche/Yucatan state border, however they both appeared to be
from the same military group since they wore identical uniforms and
patches.  I saw a truck load of Mexicans pass on through with out a
search.  I sometimes wonder if the reason we are searched all the time
might have anything to do with the fact that we're Americans and
the US applies so much pressure on the Mexican government to curb
drug trafficking to the U.S.

We arrived at the ruins of Uxmal which is one of many ruins in the Puk
area.  Just outside, they've built up some nice hotels and restaurants.
We stopped in one restaurants and thought we might get something to eat.
After waiting ten minutes at a table to be recognized by one of the
staff that was busy clearing tables all around us except ours, I got up
and picked up a menu.  The prices were adjusted for this being one of
only a few restaurants in this touristy area.  We decided to pass on the
food.

We picked up a bottle of cold water for more than we've paid anywhere
else in Mexico at a Souvenir stand, and then went to see the ruins.
They done a nice job of restoring these ruins, and have a good size crew
still working on parts.  Temple of the Magician is the one pyramid that
most people see when they see post cards of Uxmal.  It's a steep
pyramid that is climbable, however they've laid out a chain for people
to grip should they choose to use as a sort of safety rope.

The rain god (also known as "the big nose god") is common at this sight
and is pictured on all of the ruins many times.  The land is so dry
around here I'm sure they were often in short supply of rain water.

There are more foreign tourists here than at any other ruins we have
been to.  This may account for the increase in prices. There were
tourists from all over even including some French speaking Africans
which seems rare.  We saw two Japanese girls climbing the ruins wearing
gloves.  Weather they were to protect their hands from scrapes or germs
I have no idea, but it reminded me of the new ATM's in Japan that hand
out sterile money and are self cleaning between clients.  I hear they
are popular among young women who prefer not to touch money that old
men have handled.

After climbing the ruins we were really hot, and hungry.  One of the
restaurants had their door open advertising their nice cold air
conditioned air.  Given that it was in the mid 90s with mid 90s humidity
and the we were parched and hungry, we went right in.  Instantly we
downed a liter of ice cold water and ordered a second.  We had a nice
lunch, plenty of liquids, and then backtracked to Santa Elana where
we had seen a camp ground.

This campground was run by a French woman and her Mexican husband who
had been living there for the past 11 years.  We rented cabin for 75
pesos ($9.50), just as the cold front came in and it looked like it was
going to rain.  The cabin had few insects in it since I'm sure all of
the roaming spiders inside took care of that.   However there was no
trace of the scorpion I squished by morning. Something had carried off
every bit of the carcass.   We had a good nights sleep well tucked under
our mosquito net which keeps out all sorts of creepy crawlies.  We made
sure to zip up all our bags, and suspend our boots by their laces so as
to prevent any surprizes in the morning.  The next morning I was in the
middle of putting on my jacket as I watched Sharon shake out hers and a
big spider fell out.  Instantly I threw off my jacket realizing I forgot
to check mine.  I got lucky.


August 6, 1997
R80G/S 26539
R100GS 18186
Chichen Itza, Mexico

We took the back roads to Chichen Itza bypassing Merida and saving us
about 80km.  The back roads took us through little towns where it was
common to see straw thatched roof palapas (huts).  Some had stick walls
that were filled in with mud and dirt floors. Others had cement walls
with poured cement floors.  Through some of the doorways, I could see
that hammocks are popular around here.  In many of the villages, all the
women and girls wore white dresses with the neck  line embroidered with
colorful stitching.  We drove by one monument along the side of the road
that had five crosses each with a tiny version of these dresses around
it.

We stopped for some lunch in the town of Chichen Itza.  We met a
Bavarian in the parking lot who liked our Bavarian Motor Works
motorcycles. He invited us to his table since we were the only ones in
the restaurant, and he was alone.  He had rented a little geo jeep
(suzuki sidekick) and was headed from Cancun to Merida.  He didn't have
enough gas, and the only gas station in town had run out, and so told
him to stop back in an hour.  He had taken the toll road from Cancun to
Chichen Itza which probably save an hour off the four hour drive,
however it cost him 125 pesos ($15.50).  With our two bikes that would
mean $31.  We decided to take the free road tomorrow.

Chichen Itza, is the big ruins of the Yucatan, and is done up nicely for
tourism.  There are quite a few tour buses rolling through here.  The
ruins are spread out over a large area.  The main pyramids are nicely
restored, and everybody climbs the steep steps.  Different from the
other ruins we've visited, there are several long courtyards with many
pillars that no longer have a roof to support.  The ball court is huge
and looks like it's a different game from those played up North.  On
each side of the ball court high up is a stone donut which looks like
they might have been used for a Mayan basketball hoop :-)

Souvenir peddlers in the town seem more friendly here...  While walking
back from by beer run to the hotel with my quart size beers, several
peddlers offered to trade their stone statues for a cold beer.  It's hot
here...  Kids here try to get people to stop and talk by offering wood
carvings for a peso.

August 7
R80G/S 26636
R100GS 18279
Cancun, Mexico

We filled up with gas and were off.  Along the way, Sharon's bike (the
R100GS)  was behaving as though it was fuel starved again, but only at
high speeds.  Flipping to reserve or from reserve to normal would give
some temporary relief.  Obviously we have some crap in the gas tank that
is clogging the fuel petcock screens inside the tank.  Since we just
filled up the tank and this was not debilitating, we decided to ride it
out.  We stopped at a gas station to rehydrate ourselves with cold water
and salted peanuts.  There Sharon met a guy who attempted to make
conversation.  Spanish was his second language of which he spoke a
little better than us.  He asked us if we spoke Mayan, his mother
tongue, which was the first time we'd ever been asked that.

When we left the gas station, I noticed the rod holding my left front turn
signal had broken, and it was now dangling by the wires.  I have no idea
how this happened.  I suspect it was bent/damaged long ago, and that
vibrations of riding finally fatigued the weakened metal.  The left
pannier on the R80GS (Al Jesse), needs some attention.  Ever since the
bike fell over on it's kick stand, that pannier mounts need adjustment.
Currently the latch nut is so far out that it doesn't provide a firm
mount point and wobbles.  I was able to pick up an adjustable wrench in
Campeche since I'm only carrying metric and this Jesse bolt is standard
5/8".  A bolt holding the left side of my faring vibrated loose that
I keep forgetting to replace until I'm riding again.  Sharon's right rear
turn signal has become loose and needs to be glued.  All of these things
have happened in the last week.  Since they are minor I've been hoping
to hold off until we find a nice place to work on them... maybe in
Cancun.

We arrived in Cancun, and I was surprised to see how big the town really
is.  We had been told Cancun would be expensive, but now arriving at
high tourist season, I was surprised to see how much.  We decided if
we're going to do Cancun, we have to stay on the beach strip...  The
cheapest hotel we could find was $68 per night, and we could only stay
for one night since all the rooms had been reserved for tomorrow.
After travelling for six weeks in Mexico, Cancun was culture shock.  All
prices are marked in US dollars, and sometimes in both dollars and pesos.
The vending machine at our hotel only takes quarters.  Prices of food
at restaurants are in dollars and are the same prices I would expect to
pay in the states.  All locals that I've encountered in Cancun today
speak English.  This isn't Mexico, it's Miami beach.  It's very nice
though.

While looking for some dinner we came across the Plaza Caracol mall.
The mall is loaded with all sorts of cool stuff not seen any where else
in Mexico.  We checked a few restaurants, and found one that served
lobster,  The cost however was $35 for a 2 lb caribbean (no claws)
lobster.  We ended up eating at the Iguana Wana restaurant, and had
intended to eat all of the dangerous stuff we've been avoiding in
Mexico like lettuce.  We had two yard long beers served in yard glasses
accompanied with a shot of excellent tequila, chips and salsa made from
tomato, onion and cilantro.  For an appetizer we had a pile of mushrooms
fried in olive oil and garlic.  The main course was grouper in a veracruz
style sauce wrapped in a banana leaf with a side of delicious fried
plantains.  Also we had ordered a plate of perfectly cooked very fresh
large shrimps cooked in butter, olive oil and grilled leeks.  For desert
we had flan napolitan, and some apple tart cake.  Delicious, and also
the most expensive meal we had yet in Mexico at $37.  However, I would
have expected to pay the same in the US.

We signed up for scuba diving and snorkeling.

August 8, 1997
Cancun, Mexico

At 8:30 we were scheduled to have a nice free breakfast at the Cancun
Palace.  We were told it would take 2 hours, and they would show us
their new moon palace hotel that they were about to open.  In addition,
they were going to throw in some $25 gift of tequila, coffee liquor,
T-shirts, blanket, bag, and two hats.  Well we had a wonderful buffet
breakfast that topped most of the ones we've had in Mexico.  I declined
on the mimosas since I had scheduled to scuba dive at 1:00pm.  We ended
up sitting through sales talk about vacation time share, and never
actually even saw the new resort.  It was the first time sitting through
a time share spiel for me, so I took it in as educational. We finally
got out of there 3 hours later.

This is high season in Cancun and a difficult time to find a place to
stay.  Unlike almost all the hotels we've stayed at in Mexico, all of
these hotels take reservations, and at this time of the year are fully
booked.  The hotel we stayed in last night could only accommodate us for
one night.  The hotels on the cancun strip book for $70-$350 per night
during high season.  Through my educational vacation time share "class",
I learned that the hotel rooms around here are bulk sold in week long
blocks at the cost of $300 per week for 3 star hotel, $400 per week for
4 star, $500 per week for a 5 star... I called Mom up and asked her to
check through Apple vacations for a bulk rate hotels prices.  The only
ones they came up with that had space were in the $100-$120 range.  We
took a cab into town and found a place more in line with our budget at
$22 per night called Hotel Tankah.  It's a clean place with a/c and
secure parking which is all we need.

At 1:00, my boat departed for a two tank dive.  The outfitter's name is
Aqua World which looks to be one of the largest dive shops in Cancun.
Sharon doesn't like to scuba dive, so she signed up to do some
snorkeling, and was taken on another boat.  My boat had about thirty
divers on it, and we were taken out to Mxxxxx near the Isles de Mujeres.
We were briefed by our dive master, and I was pleasantly surprised to
hear how concerned they are about protecting their coral.  They don't
allow sun tan lotion on, and encourage people to use the showers if they
have already applied it since the oils will affect the coral.  Also,
gloves and diving knives are illegal to dive with in this area so as to
prevent people from messing with the coral.  We were split into groups
of 4-5 people who were then led by a dive master.  My dive master, Norma
from Colombia, led us down to a depth of 35 feet with a bottom time of
only 35 minutes.  Even conservative PADI tables allow up to 190 minutes
at this depth, and past experience is that my air will hold out to more
than  an hour at this depth.  Norma told me that the bottom time was
chosen such that we would make it back to the dock on schedule.  This
was the strangest dive experience I've ever had.   Three of the other
four divers had only just learned how to dive and didn't quite have
buoyancy control down.  While I hung out near the bottom and along the
coral with Norma,  the other divers hovered about 5-15 feet above.
Occasionally they would get to far up, and not recompensate their BCD
which would then send them to the top as they struggled to stay down.
Norma would go up and fetch them.  One of the divers who initially had
seemed more experienced , 20 minutes through the dive, he went to the
surface, and left the group to be picked up by the boat.  Later Norma
asked him why he did this to which he said he felt like he was finished
with the dive.  Usually when this happens the entire dive is aborted for
safety reasons.   We saw schools of fish, parrot fish, sergeant majors,
and angels.  Norma handed me a spiny star fish which attempted to
slither off my hand. and poked at "christmas trees" which are little
colorful cone like ferns that quickly withdraw when touched.  Areas of
coral are spread out between strips of sand.  I was surprised to see so
little old growth coral.  While it's been well preserved, what I saw was
not as impressive as Southern Thailand, or the Florida keys or even
Bali, which even though damaged had quite a bit more sea life.  I'm told
by the locals that this barrier reef is the second largest in the world
(second to Australia).  Everyone seems to say that Cozumel is better
which I'll have to check out.

As we ascended to the top, Norma stops at a depth of 15 feet for 2
minutes which is usual practice when deep diving so as to release
absorbed nitrogen .  However even conservative PADI recommends this only
when diving at 60 feet or more.  We ascend to the top, and as is my
usual practice when scuba diving in salt water, I fed the fish my
breakfast.  The taste of salt water in my mouth is something my body
convulses at, which makes me an excellent dive buddy if one wants to see
fish.  I was doing well keeping the salt induced nausea to a minimum,
however the expanding gasses in my stomach as we ascended did me in.
The fish loved it, and instantly there were more fish swarming us and
jumping around than we had seen the entire 35 minutes.  No one but
myself and the fish knew why there were so many fish all of a sudden...

That did me in for the rest of the day.  Not being able to suppress the
nausea, I opted not to take the second tank dive which I surmised from
those who went was slightly better.  I spent the next 2.5 hours staring
at the unmoving land wishing I was there.

I met Sharon at the dock who instantly gave me a hug, which meant she had
a bad experience.  Over the next day, she proceeded to tell me about her
trip which sounded pretty bad.  It sounds like her trip was more
oriented towards people who had never snorkeled before and could barely
swim.  Had she said she was a "mermaid", she might have been stuck in
another group that actually saw something more than sand and seaweed.
As it was, it was not possible for her to switch midway.

We had no idea how to get to the Tankah hotel, so we hired a taxi which
Sharon took to the hotel while I followed on the R80G/S with
the GPS mapping the way. We were both feeling exhausted and I was still a
bit queasy so we rested and had a late dinner.


Note: Police in cancun only wear pistols.... no semi automatic weapons,
shotguns, rifles, helmets or bullet proof vests unlike the rest of Mexico.

Note 2:  Oranges grown in the Yucatan are awful.  They only get sour
yellow/green looking oranges around here.  Haven't seen a good tomato
since we left Chiapas either.


August 9,  1997

We didn't have a place to stay since our hotel only had room for us for
the one night.  We spent the morning searching for hotels.  Of the ones
that had secure parking, they were all booked, and said try back in the
afternoon.  The third time I tried our hotel Tankah, the two desk clerks
asked their manager who did a second count on the reservations, and then
agreed to let us stay.  I gave them the large glass bottle of coffee
liquor which we had gotten from the vacation time share deal.  It was
too big for us to carry, and they got a big kick out of it.

I was told that there was a Sam's club and an Ace hardware in Cancun,
both of which I wanted to visit and stock up on some things.  We took a
taxi to the Sam's club.  It was amazing.  It was like being teleported
back to the United States except most of the signs were in Spanish.
It was shocking to see meat refrigerated, vacuum packed, and or frozen,
with the meat clerks wearing gloves hats and smocks. Usually meat is
sold outdoors in open air markets in the mid ninety degree heat by not
so clean looking butchers that handle all of the meat with their bare
hands.  The pastries in Sam's were kept behind a refrigerated glass
cabinet rather than in the open air heat subject to flies.  They also
looked fresh!

The construction style and quality of the building is as the same in the
US, and obviously not Mexican which would imply careful supervision
of construction assuming they used a Mexican labor force to build it.

Most of the consumers at Sam's appear to be shop owners that appear to
be buying things in bulk to resell at their stores or well to do upper
income people.  I think it was smart to start with a Sam's store rather
than the Wall Mart which is scheduled to be complete soon.  Rather than
competing with shop owners, the shop owners come to rely on Sam's
excellent selection and good prices for wholesale shopping.  A further
benefit is that they get some exposure to better food hygiene standards.

In contrast to Sam's which was quite full of customers,  Ace Hardware
had more employees than customers.  This is the largest Ace Hardware
I've seen, and one that I sure would guess is losing money.  While they
are well stocked, their prices could use a reality check.  Since every
Mexican seems to be a do-it-yourself type, There are many hardware
stores in every Mexican town that offer not as many products, but at
much more reasonable prices.   Where Ace could do well is in making
available products that are not commonly found in Mexico, or are of
better quality for reasonable prices.  This well stocked store had
products easily found else where.  They sell Ace brand batteries next to
the name brand Duracells except at 30% higher cost which are just going
to get crusty.  This Ace hardware sells US$1,000 coffee tables, and
US$1,200 dressers which at these prices, few might buy in the States.
The three things I came for, nuts, bolts and oil, they don't carry.

I did end up picking up an electrical surge protector which I plan to
use in future countries.  So far the power has been pretty stable, and I
haven't needed it.

The left front turn signal broke a couple days ago.  It's held on by the
front left suspension bolt which requires approximately a 37mm wrench.
Fortunately, I still had the 12" adjustable from the set of four that I
bought in Campeche.  I was planning to ditch this one since I thought it
was too big for my needs.  It just earned it's passage.

Fortunately, the turn signal pole is made of steel which means I can
take it to a welder.  The metal is thin which means I'll need to find
someone with a TIG welder, or an itty bitty steel electrode.  The crack in
the metal has some old looking dust which makes me suspect that this
crack has been forming for a while.  It looks like the turn signal
touches the extra large Acerbis gas tank just a little before the turn
wheel turn stop engages.  This may be the reason why it just seemed to
have fallen off during a stop.  The welding shop I found earlier today
was closed since it was after 5:00pm on a Saturday.  I searched for
about a half hour for another that might be open with no luck.
Unfortunately, they don't open until Monday morning.

We went on a search for a restaurant, and found a whole bunch of
competitive ones just three blocks away.  They have people out front who
speak English and are very friendly soliciting eating at their
restaurant.  As a further enticement, huge steaks, fish and lobster are
put out on display.  We found that if we look at the menu and then walk
away, Almost always, the maitradee will hand us a ticket for free drinks,
or a 10% discount.  We've started to use this trick at restaurants we
know we want to eat at.

At La Parilla, I ordered the special soup of Dona Carmen which was a red
soup with beans, lots of cheese, and chicken, while Sharon had her
favorite Aztec soup.  We both ordered Pastor which we were first
introduced to in San Cristobol.  For Pastor, they use a special grill
similar to what greek restaurants cooks gyros on in the states.  On the
rotisserie is a half pineapple, and an orange spiced pork which is then
carved off like one carves a gyros.  This is served on a fresh tortilla,
with onion and lots of cilantro. Delicious!  With our free drink
tickets, we ordered margaritas.  They were strong but came in tiny
glasses.  Looking around I could see people with huge schooners.  I
decided I wanted one of these.  In the menu I saw they had large and
x-large margaritas.  Thinking that it must be an extra large margarita
that I'm seeing I ordered one of those, while Sharon just ordered a
large.  They brought out Sharon's drink which was in the large schooner
that I had intended.  My extra large margarita came in a yard
glass complete with yard glass holder.   By the end of the night I had
to hold back on finishing my Margarita to save from being ill from too
much alcohol.  Sharon had a good time too...

Back at the hotel, we have terrible lighting.  The only light bulbs are
in the entry way and in the bathroom and sink area.  I rigged up a
string that we normally use for a clothes line or hanging a mosquito net
between two windows at opposite ends of the room.  From it hangs our
extension cord and our plug in bulb socket where we moved a light bulb
to.   Now we can read while in bed.


August 10th, 1997

The left pannier on the R80G/S is barely on there.  The bike had fallen
over the kick stand on our last day in Ocosingo, and no longer latched
well.  I had extended the latch nut to the point where it was wobbly
since it was so far out.  This morning, I attempted to readjust the
entire Jesse luggage frame so that it would fit better.  I was able to
get so that it will latch firmly if I pull on the rear mud flap luggage
frame.  It should be fine if I don't take this off too often.

While I worked on the bike a curious lurker watched.  I started up
conversation with him.  He was Orlando of Campeche who had arrived here
with a tour group two days ago.  Orlando walked around with a walkman
and headphones, but with his Michael Jackson music turned off.   I
talked with Orlando for a while.  He asked the typical questions about
the bike that we always get.  How big is the engine, how many
cylinders, and how much does it cost?  When people ask how much it
costs, I usually tell them the R80G/S cost $2,000 which everyone seems
to accept I guess because it doesn't look new, looks highly customized,
and is covered in dirt.  New expensive things worth stealing, people
keep clean.  In actuality, I bought it 2 years ago for $2,400, but have now
invested over $6,000 into it.   The R100GS I bought 3 years ago for
$4,300, but now have over $8,000 in it.

While I was working on the bike, Sharon was getting a little antsy to do
the beach thing which is a must if you're in Cancun.  We took a bus to
the Caracol plaza, and it hit the beach.  By Mexican law all beaches are
are public property.  I guess it's sort of an extension of the Ramblers
law that also applies to passage across someone's property.   This means
it is possible to walk/swim/hangout along the entire stretch of beaches
regardless of whether it's at the Ritz Carlton, or the exclusive yet
kind of dumpy looking Club Med here.  The beaches are beautiful.  The
sand is the whitest I've seen, and kind of strange.  They call it air
conditioned sand since it doesn't get hot to the touch.  Even with the
harsh hot sun, it still feels cool to the touch on my bare feet.  It's
very fine and light weight.  I'm told that it is not composed of silica,
but rather or microscopic plankton fossils called disco-astor (a tiny
star shaped creature).  There must have been a lot of them....

We would swim for a little while, and then walk further down the beach
until we got hot, and then hop in again.  We probably did this about ten
times.  We stopped at one of the resorts and had some pizza and beer.
In addition to swimming and hanging out, people rented wave runners, rode
the banana boats, and or the parachutes that were pulled by boat.  Not
to many people were tanning themselves since the sun is a bit harsh at
this latitude.  Most of the palapas that provided shade on the beach
(thatched roof huts) were full.  Despite massive quantities of Sun
block, we got our fill of vitamin D for the month.

Down at the Westin Regina, we took a break under their thatched roof bar
and ordered a large strawberry colada which came in a giant schooner.
Beautiful view of the Caribbean blue....


August 11, 1997
Cancun, Mexico

I spent the day working on the bikes.  In the morning, I gave the
R100G/S it's 4k mile valve adjustment.  retorqued the heads, cleaned and
regapped the spark plugs.  Reading the plugs, it looks like it  was
burning rich, but recently is burning normal.  This would coincide with
our mountain driving, and recent drive near sea level.

I drove to the welder with my broken turn signal in hand.  A foreman
hands me off to a welder who works on the turn signal. They don't have a
TIG welder, but do have a tiny electrode stick welder.   Rather than
wearing welding goggles or mask, the welder wore a clear plexiglass face
shield which kept the sparks off his face.  I can't imagine being able
to see what I'm welding with the light so bright not to mention burning
one's retina, or the potential cataracts from so much UV.  He was a
skilled welder, which leads to believe that one's retinas aren't as
sensitive as I would have thought.  I'll still error or caution though.
I went in to the a/c foreman's office, where a young guy looks at the
work and says "30 pesos... Is that Aluminum?"  After I tell him three
times that it is not aluminum and question the price, he asks someone
else, who says no, it's not aluminum.  Obviously this must be the owners
kid.  I can't imagine running a welding shop and not being able to tell
the difference.  He then asks for 25 pesos ($3.12). More grateful than
ready to bargain for pennies, I accept since it's way cheaper than any
other option.  Two weeks ago, I paid 10 pesos for about the same amount
of work.  In the States, I'd expect to pay a lot more.

I went in search of oil to do an oil change.  Oil is expensive!  Up until
today, I've been using Mobil 1 synthetic oil in the bikes.  The going
price around here is 73 pesos per quart ($9.12).  At that price, the
benefits of synthetic are seriously questioned.  No wonder why Mobil 1
is so hard to find.  This seems odd since I've seen Mobil 1
advertisements in just about every city we've been to.   Dinosaur oil is
easy to find everywhere.  I bought some Castrol 20W50 from an oil change
place that agreed to let me change my oil there.  The castrol sold for
23 pesos ($2.88) per quart.  I picked up some Chevron 85W90 transmission
oil at a little Suzuki shop for 26 pesos per quart.
The last couple days I've been searching for fork oil 5W or 10W, and
haven't had any luck.  My left front fork leaked a little, and I wanted
to carry some spare.  Since this has become such a difficult thing to
find, and something I may need on the rougher roads ahead, I feel more
of a need to find and carry some.

Since I happened to have 2 quarts of Mobil 1 that I can no longer use, I
traded it for 4 quarts of castrol.  It was a good deal for both of us.
My cost was $8 and got what would cost me $11.50, his sale cost was
$11.50, and got what would sell for $18.24.


I'm embarrassed to admit, that we actually went out searching for a
McDonald's.  Having spent a lot of money recently and only eating Mexican
food, (except maybe 3 pizzas) over the past two months the golden arches
got to us and we were ready some cheese burgers and fries.  It was
raining, and I hadn't had time to refill the bikes with oil, so we took
a cab to McDonald's on the Cancun beach strip at Caracol Plaza.  This
McDonald's has a souvenir shop up front where one can buy McDonald's
clothing, pins, magnets, etc. Inside, even at 9:30pm, it was full of
people.  The lines for ordering food were long.  It appeared that the
two Mexicans in front of us where visiting for the first time.  While
foreigners experienced with how fast food restaurants work no what they
want to order before they get to the counter.  New locals experiencing
the cuisine for the first time decide while placing their order.  The
cashier would attempt to optimize time by getting one item at a time
while the client decided on other things to order.  Prices at this
McDonald's were about twice what I would expect to pay in the States.
As with many places in Cancun, Western music is the only kind played.

Another reason for coming down to the beach was to get an e-mail fix.
We thought we might have a better chance of finding a TelMex public
phone next to an outlet.  We found two at the mall.  On one, the
receiver sounded terrible.  The other one was next to a water bottle
fountain, which we set the computer up on.  While attempting to do a
download, two security guards suspicious of my activities came up and
watched.  I explained that I was talking to my parents through the
computer.  The smarter and less suspicious of the two understood, and
explained to the other that it was ok, and that we weren't stealing
phone credits, dismantling the phone, or whatever the first guard might
have thought.  Unfortunately, the three times I tried did not succeed.
The most we got was a partial download of our e-mail.