We have been back from the last trip for just over a month now, so obviously it is time to think about getting pedaling again!  We do love our home, and certainly we have lots of chores and activities here.  But quickly after stopping cycling we begin to miss the feeling of increased fitness that comes from pedaling all day. And of course we miss the other touring attractions - good food, new sights and experiences,  the excitement of wondering where (or if) you will sleep the next night,  and so on.   So we often find ourselves looking for the place to recapture all the fun.  But at this time of year,  it is not quite so easy.  We always want a place with good cycling infrastructure but now we also need warm enough temperatures.

Germany is the country with the best infrastructure, so how about temperature? Did you know that Wikipedia will give monthly average temperature data for most cities? Frankfurt in December? They have an average low of -.1°C and an average high of  4.9°C.  That's not so bad actually, though we would need to wear our ski gloves for warmth. Actually today it was also snowing - so maybe instead of pretending we could cycle,  we should be buying skis.

No, no, better find another country.  Thailand? Hawaii? Texas? Southern Spain? We have thought of lots of them, and even been to some. But somehow none of these sun spots are perfect for us  for cycling, and some are outright nasty.

We sort of spun the bottle this time, and came up with Yucatan, Mexico.  

We have been to the Yucatan before, riding the "chicken bus" between Cancun, which has lots of cheap flights, and Caye Caulker, Belize, where our daughter Joni lives. The bus travels on the coastal highway 307, which we have seen is level, dusty, but with a paved shoulder.

Yucatan has a little more than a level dusty road, though maybe even that would be enough for us. We bought a travel guide called "Top Ten", which actually exists for over 200 other countries, regions, or cities.  The guides do not just give you the top ten things about the place, but rather top ten lists in categories like restaurants, sports, and night spots.  But the clue is that the list of lists for Yucatan includes some unique things, not just the likes of restaurants. Some of these are: colonial towns, beaches, diving reefs, wildlife reserves, eco-parks, and finally, Mayan sites.

Of these, the Mayan sites are really the most unique. The Maya civilization developed in an area that encompasses southeastern Mexico, all of Guatemala and Belize, and the western portions of Honduras and El Salvador 

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The Maya started out around 2000 BC and by 750-500 BC already had large public buildings. They really got going by 250 a.d. and had cities all over the region. By the 9th century, conflict among cities was already causing a decline of the civilization.  Then by the 16th century the invading Spanish finished them off. However they left cities that were claimed by the jungle and later in many famous cases, discovered and excavated.   Of these, Chichen Itza, Tulum, and Coba are the main ones we hope to see, on Grampies' Road to Ruins!

Coming up: Gearing Up to Head on Down