January 27, 2023
Day 28: Valladolid to Coba
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
The road from Valladolid through Coba and on to Tullum is pretty much a straight shot. It's broad and mostly smooth and has a wide shoulder. But for us there are two drawbacks. We are not the only ones that have noticed this wide direct road, and consequently it hosts lots of traffic. That makes it noisy ride, and not much of a natural experience. The second drawback is with the shoulder. At first it may be rather too wide, encouraging encroachment by drivers. But later, toward Coba, the jungle has gotten into the act, and encroaches from the side. If you ride too close, the jungle may try to grab you with thorny vines and bushes, or put your eye out with protruding branches. And if you ride far out, you are prey to thundering traffic. t's not really all that bad, but we arrived in Coba after just 60 km having had enough.
Next time we will try to scope out a more backroads route. But if that is too long, we'll be back fighting the jungle or the cars.
Despite having to concentrate on the road, Dodie still had enough processing power to score another Motmot. Our shot is again not great, but it seems quite clearly to be a Turquoise- browed Motmot. The other possibility is the Blue-crowned Motmot, but we think not.
Our other big nature score was in the termite department. There was one tree with about six nests in it, and later we found some bigger nest in other trees.
The forecast rain did not really come, but three times on the road we responded to sprinkles by putting on and then taking off our raincoats. The final time was just before Coba, and this time it go serious about it. Too late to get us, though, as we rolled into the Lol-Ha hotel just in time. Without hesitation we brought the bikes along to "our" room, in the sort of basement area which we assume real tourists would avoid. But we like it, with its covered area beyond our door, where the bikes can stay. Or, we can bring them in the room - the staff is accommodating and not inclined to give us a hassle. This even applied today, with the bike tires wet.
I asked our host, Freddie, about why two Fridays ago, the hotel and restaurant seemed abandoned, as we looked for supper. He revealed that they close Friday evenings around 5. Seeing my disappointment, he offered to stay open for us, if we would be looking for food. I grabbed the menu and told him what our choices would be, and could he make them for six o'clock? The thing about six o'clock is that we have just crossed a time zone, and six to Freddie is still five to us. Sure, no problem! We really like the Lol-Ha.
The rain that started as we arrived is still coming down, a couple of hours later. The rain here has a different character from rain back home. Of course, it is warm, meaning that it is not trying to kill you. At home, with winter rain, and some summer too, hypothermia is a real possibility unless you are protected. And here the rain also seems sort of casual. It's like the cosmic gardener is emptying a watering can. It's totally drenching, though as I say, warm and not threatening. I imagine hurricane season is entirely another matter!
A rainy afternoon is always ideal for a nap. So that's where we are headed now. We had thought about riding out beyond the three cenotes, but nah. We need to rest up, anyway, because we have a date after tomorrow(which will be Tulum) with the rather brutal highway 307 into Playa del Carmen. We will stay there two days, playing tourist. A tough proposition.
Today's ride: 61 km (38 miles)
Total: 1,287 km (799 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 8 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 1 |