Day 2 Merida to Uxmal

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Yucatan Bicycle Tour

Day 2 Merida to Uxmal

Bicycle taxi in Uman

We left the hotel in Merida about 6:30 a.m. Leaving early turned out to be a very smart move. After dealing with some congestion in downtown Merida, we had an easy, flat ride to Uman. We had breakfast in a tiny little restaurant on the main plaza.

Uman was representative of a typical Yucatan non-tourist town. Bicycles are an important form of transportation. We saw lots of bicycle taxis. These cabs are tricycles with two wheels in front. The driver sits in back. These cabs are not for tourists. They are for the locals. At the supermarket next to our restaurant, we saw an attendant checking and guarding bicycles for the customers. It was really nice to ride out of a major city during rush hour without being honked at or yelled at. In fact, the drivers gave us plenty of room and many waved at as they passed.

The sky was overcast all day making for a very comfortable ride.

Our guide demonstrated how to twist henequen fibers into rope.

Continuing on another 10 miles, we stopped in the town of Yaxcopoil to visit an old henequen plantation. Henequen, also called sisal, is a type of cactus. Its fibers were used to make rope in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Sisal production reached it's peak around World War I. The advent of synthetic fibers ruined the market for sisal. The great henequen boom went bust. An older man of perhaps 60 or 70 years showed us around the plantation. He didn't speak any English and my Spanish is limited. However he was patient with us and demonstrated what we couldn't understand. I translated what I could to Paul. We tipped him 10 pesos each. There were lots of interesting things to see. The place didn't look like much from the road. But, I am so glad we stopped.

More Plantation Photos

Road
The long flat road to Uxmal. Note the Puuc hills on the horizon.

There was a school next to the plantation that was letting out as we left. The children were very curious and we spent a couple of minutes talking to them in Spanish. Like the kid in Cancun yesterday, they were fascinated with our bikes. The kids are very cute.

The next 20 miles were a flat and desolate. We had a nice tailwind that helped the miles fly by.

We stopped for lunch in Muna at a very interesting restaurant. The dining area was a screened, thatch roofed building. Outside the dining room, were cages containing several different birds.

Pyramide del Adivino, Uxmal
(Pyramid of the Magician)

Continuing on another 8 miles, we got cheap lodging at a place called Rancho Uxmal. The place is dump. The swimming pool is nothing but an algae infested breeding area for mosquitoes. There is no toilet seat, hot water or shower curtain in our bathroom. However, the room is clean and the screens are intact. All the other hotels in area are very expensive.

After grabbing a quick beer. We stashed our panniers and rode about two miles to the Mayan ruins at Uxmal. We didn't have time to see everything. But, the soft light at the end of the day was great for photography. I got lots of interesting pictures. We decided not to stay for the nightly light show. We rode back to the hotel in the dark using our lights.

More Uxmal Photos

Continue to Day 3