Another flat ride along the Gulf of Mexico shoreline. A tailwind sped us along, but a few flats slowed us down. We crossed a 3km long bridge, and have another of the same to ride in the morning. Ciudad Del Carmen is quite a large town thats not in my guidebook, and it took us quite a bit of time to find a suitable hotel. Whats a suitable hotel? 1: In a downtown, market/tourist district. 2: Reasonably priced. 3: Clean!
Tonight's job for me will be tube patching, to keep us well-stocked with ridable replacement tubes. But a fun night it already hasn't been, as I've been the first of us to pay the "extra" visits to the bathroom - on my knees and otherwise. Fruit for dinner for me, I'm afraid. Its not a 24-hour debilitating episode, I think (and hope), so I should be ready to ride in the morning. At least the TV in the hotel has a few English language stations, so I'll be somewhat entertained as I patch and rotate tubes around.
From Dad for today:
We started from Sabancuy before 6 / still dark but we want to beat the heat of the afternoon. All day will be water on the left and water on the right. First is the causeway out of Sabancuy / over 1 km. Then the main road headed west with the Gulf on the right and the bay on the left although blocked from view by some higher ground. With a slight tailwind we make excellent time. Our first stop is at the halfway point where we experiment at a roadside eatery and order our first ever panuchos. Like a small and very hot panzerotto. Then we cross a 3 Km bridge to an island. Here Dad gets another flat tire. Graham repairs it but it still has a slow leak. For the next 30 k it is a race to go as far as possible before Graham has to pump it up again. The land is very low all along this stretch of the Gulf . It is dense brush or swamp and a few clearings. There is no agriculture to speak off. We see lots of pelicans along the shore. We could not find our usual $20/30 hotel (Dad paid $15 in Sabancuy) in Ciudad del Carmen and had to take a classier place for $48. Graham was the first to pay the price for buying food from street vendors. Some popcorn he bought stayed a short while in his stomach before being violently rejected.
Gulf of Mexico shoreline with oil platform (or spaceship?) in the distance
1 comment:
Graham - sorry to hear about the flat issues, takes me back to another ride many years ago...
I am definately beginning to regret not caving into your suggestion to join you - I cleared 10 cm of snow yesterday (stupid drifting) and it is -9 with a windchill of -16 today. It is going to snow more and get even colder later this week. I am still running and riding the trainer (imaging the Mexican counrtyside), but definately not the same.
Mike
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