In my last post, I had not yet loaded one of the most important pictures of my ride to Palanque, Mexico. Let me introduce you to Alejandro. He led me through a very busy town, on his Yamaha, to a safe and secure hotel. Had it not been for him, I may have had to sleep on the bike... (Thanks Alejandro and I told you I would get you on the Internet)!
The ride from Palaneque was filled with good drama. I spent some time with this Mexican soldier at one of the checkpoints...
He sure liked the Harley. He was much kinder to me than he needed to be. As I understood him, he just so happened to have worked in Denver, CO for a period of time but wanted to be close to his family so moved back to Mexico and joined the Military. He is a good man.
Chiapas, Mexico is the poorest state in all of Mexico but so very rich in spirit. The road from Palaneque to San Crisobal de las Casas was a five hour ride covering about 150 miles, filled with switchbacks through the mountains and jungle.
This shot was taken on one of the very few shoulders, on the best section of this road. The HOG took a beating and was wishing for a beefier suspension but it came through okay.
The ride was spectacular. Again, I think the pictures speak for themselves. I really wish I could have taken some pictures of the people living in these mountain communities but they absolutely do NOT appreciate it. They believe pictures steal their spirit. Given their spirit is so beautiful, and about all they have, (which if you ask them, is plenty), I respected their wishes.
The following shot is of a small village called Ocosingo, about 1/2 way to San Cristobal. The people were way kool. I stopped and had some street food, (excellent pollo), and had about 20 children milling around with the biggest smiles on their faces, all interested in where I was from and where I was going.
I will be sharing much more on San Cristobal soon. At this point, I may never leave here. It's an incredible city with an incredible story... some of which centered around this movement...
which erupted here in 1994 and is still quite active. In fact I am sticking around another three weeks or so to take part in their festival the first week of January.
Peace.
WOW , NICE PICS BROTHER. SUCH BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY SIDE.WAS NICE TO KNOW U GOT THE HOOK UP, FOR THAT DUDE TO ESCORT U TO A SAFE PLACE TO LAY YOUR HEAD..I HOPE U GOT AM EXTRA AIR FILTER ELEMENT FOR THAT SCOOTER, IF U ARE IN DUSTY CONDITIONS. I RAN INTO PROBLEMS IN NEVADA WITH MY SCOOTER YRS AGO. IT STARTED TO DIE OUT AT AN IDEL AND TO FIND OUT THE DUSTY CONDITIONS RESRTICYED THE AIR FLOW. THUMBS UP BRO , TAKE CARE
ReplyDeletejkjkjk
ReplyDeleteJohn!!
ReplyDeleteThese pics are soooo great -- I can't believe how vivid the colors are. Get someone to take some more pics of you, o.k.?
How is your spanish doing? Are you learning a lot? Please be safe. I haven't received any GPS info. What's going on with that? It would be nice to know exactly where you are.
I've heard of the Amish not wanting their pics taken for fear of "diminishing" their spirit. Could it be these are Amish Mexicans? :)
Thanks for the compliments on the pic's. It's really ez to shoot purty pictures here, every turn of the head is filled with intense colors and spectacular scenery.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip too on the air filter. I am going to wash it out before I leave San Cristobal and cross over into Guat. Guatemala City is about three hundred miles away and they have an HD dealer there so will be taking it in and having them change the oil and give it a good look over. Think I will base myself in Antigua as Guat. City is close by...
Amish Mexicans?? Ha! The Spanish is coming along. I just finished up four days of classes and will post a picture of my new friends soon. Todos los dias es muy bueno aqui! Yo estudio la escuela de MayaSol. No hablo bueno ahora pero yo conozco muy mas.
Hasta Luego!