We left SM in high spirits after recharging our bodies and souls. The road took us through large rolling hills punctuated occasionally with steep peaks and dramatic drop offs. For one of the few times I was able to relax and let my mind float from topic to topic. This is one of the things I love about riding. Before long I was grinning from ear to ear happy to be on the road. I thought of my wife, Sandi and my daughter, Britton and wished I could share the moment with them.
One of the comments left from my last post asked about cultures. Of course there are cultural differences but not so much that I can speak about here. There is the language but mostly people trying to eke out a living and the rich European descendant minority. In up coming posts I´ll speak more of the cultural differences as we head into Mayan country.
After several hours into the ride the traffic became thicker and it was obvious we were nearing one of the largest cities on Earth. Our intention was to head towards the Aztec ruins at Teotiuacan. Unfortunately for us we didn´t see any signs and ended in the middle of Mexico City (DF). Now, it´s almost impossible to imagine rush hour traffic in a city of 30 million people. The deeper we got in the more nervous we got. Out of desperation we pulled off the main road to try to get directions. Alfred approached two policeman who tried to give us directions but who finally gave up and told us to follow them. So with lights and sirens blaring the two gringos were given police escort North out of DF! As exciting it seems we really didn´t get far. With so many cars on the road there was no place for them to move. By now we were exhausted, hot and filthy. Forty five minutes later the policeman pulled over to let us know that was the end of the ride. He also ¨requested¨400 pesos for ¨gas¨. Alfred negotiated him down to 200 pesos. Now this might sound like a terrible bribe to most of us. Let me assure you, it was money well spent. We probably would still be there if it weren´t for the police guiding us out of that horrible trap.
Our day of riding in the big city wasn´t over. We still didn´t know where the road to the ruins was. Daylight was fading and we needed to find a hotel fast. With the help of some locals we were able to find a very nice hotel, way above our standards but again it was money well spent.
We treated ourselves to nice meal at an Italian restaurant and called it a night.
Next blog we´ll be on our way to the ruins. Stay tuned.
3 comments:
Was it good Italian food like we had in Tulum? Britt recently said that was the best "Italian" she has ever had. I might have to agree!
Here is a question for you. Besides that little bribe to Senior Policeman, what has been the best deal you've wrangled while on your trip?
At least the police ask for a bribe directly...it does save the hemming and hawing, and there is that language barrier.
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