(1) New York to Texas 
with Frank Butler
Mexico is proving to be a real adventure...I am travelling with Lloyd Young for a few days...just as well, as he is a local who lives on the border and knows the ropes, after all these border crossings they were not going to let the bike into Mexico because they had not put the chassis number on one of the papers.
Then, you have to pay a tax of $29,50 for temporary import, but you must pay it with a credit card in the exact same name as in the documents, but my card was blocked for Mexico so I had to pay a $300 deposit to be collected again on departure.
We were heading for Galeana, a little town up in the hills where there was good dual sport riding. It was about four hours away and because of the altitude it was much cooler up there. We had just stopped for petrol in a town called China and were headed on our way, when Beem just stopped dead after going over some rough road. That will teach me for raving to Lloyd about the reliability of this incredible little bike. Logic dictated that it probably had something to do with the last fuel stop...or so I thought. We stripped the bike down and replaced the fuel filter but still no fuel was flowing and we had no multi-tester and I was hot and bothered after spending three hours at the side of the road in the baking sun. So we thought it better to put it all back together and get somewhere that we could at least have some home comforts while we figured this out.
As luck would have it a tow-truck came past at that exact moment, and we waved it down..It would take the bike to Montemorelos for $40.00, which was the first good deal that I had had that day. We arrived in town at 9:00 pm.
It had not really been a great day, so we went and found something to eat, had a couple of beers and went to our beds.
Next morning Lloyd was up early and out and about looking for a multi-tester. Did I mention that he speaks fluent Spanish...that alone makes him worth his weight in gold. Eventually we found Jose and his line tester and a piece of wire and after hours of checking relays and fuses we eventually worked out that there was a break somewhere in the red wire on the fuel pump inside the petrol tank itself. Jose soldered in a new wire, and the bike was running like its old self. I had been certain that we were in for a costly trip to the BMW dealer in Monterey, but a piece of wire and eighty bucks did the job...we were on the road again.
We left for Galeana the very next morning. I just had time before we l;eft the hotel to sell my GPS to a guy from Houston, before we left the hotel. I got a hundred bucks back, which I was quite happy with, so all in all it worked out all right.
We got to Galeana just after lunch-time and spent the day sitting around enjoying the cooler climate and watching life in the Plaza. The next morning Lloyd went back up to Brownsville, and tomorrow I head South alone.
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July 14th, Papantia, Veracruz State
I heard it said that there is no God in Mexico...so why does he need all these little houses ?
Mexico is actually hard to get around once you stray from the Autopista (motorway). There seems to have been very little planning on a national level and all the roads seem to be the original tracks used by foot traffic...just made bigger, you basically have to bounce from one town to the next in a series of 'connect the dots' just to get from one end of a State to the other, it's really good fun.
After Lloyd returned to the U.S I hung out with the Erics, a couple of fine young Texans who were down in Galina, riding their KLR's around the back roads, mostly in search of beer it seems.As luck would have it there were both State and Local elections on when we were there, and the people who make such decisions had decided to put on a liquor ban, so the Erics would search out obscure drinking dens on their travels, and buy beer under the counter which they would bring back to the hotel, and we would drink it likewise under the counter.
And then we would go and have great cheap Tacos at the street stand, and go back to the Plaza to see who was winning the elections. It's a really big deal down here, people are up until the weee small hours to support their man. It's nice to see and be involved in. Our hotel's man won, so we went to bed happy customers. Next day I left for the town of Dr Arroyo.
This may have been one of the nicest rides that I had done in my seven years on the road, it was a twisty one hundred kilometres of stunning views and mountain vistas. I decided to take all the back roads that I could, and I did until I ended up in a little town called Papantla, just south of Poza Rico in the state of Veracruz.
I was just looking for a cheap hotel when I saw a huge indian statue at the side of the road with arms held wide in welcome. I said to myself, there's a clue so I followed the signs into town. I liked the place straightaway, it was clean and friendly and had bags of character. I found a little hotel and set out to explore, mostly for food I must admit. I saw a picture of men hanging from a pole. They were Totonacs, that's the name of the indigenous Indians in this area. They are very playful and really short, a bit above your elbow in many cases. But tough. I asked when the pole flying happens, sure that I had just missed the event by a few weeks the answer was in fact tomorrow and every day after, it happens all the time...so I decided to stay for a few days, have a look around, take a rest, and get to know a few folk...
On a Spanish web-site, Bizkaia, I found some info on the Papantia Flyers:
The Papantla Flyers are one of the pre-Hispanic traditions that have remained unchanged to modern times. They take part in a ceremony asking the Sun God for fertility and bountiful crops. The ritual consist of a group of dancers (the four flyers represent the four natural elements: earth, air, fire and water) who descend from the top of a trunk especially cut for this purpose, tied upside down from their waists and turning slowly around it.When I saw them I thought they were amazing.
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And then I went to take a look at the ancient city of Tajin, over a thousand years old.
It fell into ruin hundreds of years ago, and for a long time was buried under the jungle.
Now it is known to have been one of the great cities of Mexico before the Spaniards came.
Wikipedia writes:
Tajín means 'city or place of thunder' in the Totonac language, and is believed to have been one of the names for the Totonac god of thunder, lightning and rain...
Construction of ceremonial buildings began about the 1st century and peaked in the 'Late Classic era', roughly 600-900 AD... Construction continued to about the start of the 13th century, at which time, according to tradition, the city was conquered and burned by Chichimec invaders.
The site's most famous building is the Pyramid of the Niches. The step pyramid of 6 terraces is some 60 feet high. While only medium as Mesoamerican pyramids go, the ornamented architecture creates a striking and visually pleasing effect. The terraces are of well cut stone forming a series of 365 niches. A staircase rises up the pyramid's east side. Originally the pyramid was topped by a temple, but little remains of this.
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Xobela, Guatemala, July 31st
I wasn't sorry when I saw the border post at Chitamal, Mexico had been plain hard work. It had been hotter than hell since leaving the hills and the scenery was at best so-so.....and the place is massive. If it had not been for a chance to visit the Mayan ruins, the whole place would have been something of a disappointment. So arriving at the border was actually a relief..
At the border post itself, I ran into an old friend...or at least that's what it seemed like. "Amigo, My Friend, let me help you, you have come far, I will help you". Normaly I would have told him to f--- off, but right then I just didn't care, so I played along as the dumb Gringo...at least I think I was playing along. He told me where to go and what to do, something I like to think I could have worked out for myself, but like I said I just couldn't be bothered explaining this to him so I went where I was told, paid the small amounts I was told to pay...got receipts, and said Gracias a lot. I took my paperwork to the customs, fully expecting them to start some old story about this is not correct or you must get a stamp from this office or that, but they simply gave me back my US $300.00 and sent me on my way...happy days.
When this was completed, my old friend was waiting like the loyal and trusted companion that he was. and we crossed into Belize like a couple of Gay Troubadours (should that be Happy Troubadours). Anyway the first stop was for Belize auto Insurance, which at $30.00 for the month proved to be a hundred dollars cheaper that the same cover for Mexico...what a racket ?
Then I had to say goodbye to my dear friend as he could see no possible way to get any further commissions. so with a tear in both our eyes...he because I only gave him a dollar and me cause I couldn't stop laughing about his grandmothers hip replacement...we said "Adios".
Belize
Belize was a breath of fresh air...literally, the wind was coming of the Caribbean Sea and it was fresh....ahhh. I changed some money with yet another friend and went to customs and immigration . "How long ya staying ?" he says with a smile. I say "a month", he says "you can extend if you want to when you get to Belize City"...
I said that I would bear that in mind. I went to the customs man who had an even bigger smile and asked about the bike. He said that I could have five days transit straight away or I could have it for a month but that was more hassle. I asked what kind of hassle, he said that he would have to fill in a form, that kind of Hassle...I asked him to do his best with the form...it took about half an hour in between searching bags and answering the phone. It was as simple as that...Laid back
By the time it was all completed it was nearly lunch-time so I started looking for something to eat. I was riding through the little town of Corozal looking for a likely spot when I looked down a street and saw the emerald green Caribbean for the first time...I was In Love.
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First impressions are funny things, mostly because they often turn out to be wrong. What at first sight may appear to be laid back might just be a cover for not caring, and what appears as sleepy may well translate to being lazy. Two weeks after arriving I was leaving Belize with rather confussed emotions. I had enjoyed my time there but was not sorry to leave . I felt that the country had no future and was only still there out of stubborness. It was full of British and American expats who were only there 'cause it's cheap and the weather is good. The locals are all worried about security and think the place is being run by gangs who are in turn controlled by drug money...the future is not bright....leaving was as easy as entering...laid back or just didn't care ?
July 31st 2009
