 |
Yucatan Bicycle Tour
Day 6 Motul to Izamal
Paul takes a break in the shade.
|
We hit the road at 6:30 a.m. The heat started early. Paul had some problems with it. But, it was not nearly as bad as yesterday.
We stopped at a couple of small towns and got cokes and Gatorade. Paul managed to eat some cookies.
We traveled past henequen fields that offered very little shade. By the time we got to Izamal at
10:30 a.m., it was very hot.
We made a beeline for the market across the town square. An English speaking cop stopped us
for riding our bikes across the square. We apologized. He told us he had to write us a ticket.
At this point I was anticipating a shakedown. As I was pondering the size of the bribe he might demand, he suddenly asked
us about our plans in Izamal. We told him were looking for a hotel. He told us all about the hotels
in town and wrote down the names and addresses for us. He offered to take us to the hotel. Then,
noted in his pad, that he stopped two Americans for riding bicycles in the plaza. That was our
"ticket". Next, he got his bicycle. He started to swing his leg over bike, then
caught himself and said, "I must set a good example". The three of us walked our
bikes across the plaza and rode to a very nice hotel with air conditioning.
Convento de San Antonio
de Padua, Izamal
|
At the hotel, he introduced us to the owners and translated. He showed us each of the three
rooms. We selected a room with two double beds. The others had one double and one single
bed. Our new friend said, "Oh, you want to bring back some muchachas". I replied,
"¡No, no, mi esposa no legusta!" (My wife wouldn't like it). Everyone in the
room got a good laugh out of that one. One of the owners, a woman, scolded our friend, telling him he
was terrible for suggesting such a thing.
Our friend gave us lots of advice on what to do and see in town. We asked him if we could
give him anything for being so helpful. He said we didn't have to but we could if we
wanted to. So, we gave him a nominal tip. We ran into him several times this afternoon
and he was very helpful and gave us some brochures about the city.
Paul rested in the air-conditioned room while I explored the city. Izamal is a colonial
city built on top of an ancient Mayan city. Izamal is also known as "The Yellow City"
because all the buildings are painted yellow. There is a huge convent here. I climbed up two
Mayan pyramids.
More Izamal Photos
|
Horse and cart in Izamal.
|
The nicest toilet in Mexico.
|
For 280 pesos ($28 US), the room is quite nice. In addition to the A/C, we have cable TV.
Right now we're watching the Denver Broncos and the Oakland Raiders on Monday Night
Football. The commentary is in Spanish.
Best of all, we've found the nicest toilet in Mexico, with a padded seat and hand
crocheted covers on the lid and tank cover.
The rest did Paul a lot of good. He managed to eat some food tonight. Tomorrow, we have a
45-mile ride to Chitzen Itza. I hope we get some shade.
|
Continue to Day 7
Yucatan Bike Tour Contents
Untitled
|
 |
Introduction
Day 6 Motul to Izamal
