Cd. del Carmen and into the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve

Cd. del Carmen was hard to leave and i got out around one o'clock for an afternoon of riding to a R.V. campground in Isla Aguada. A local cyclist rode with me into Isla Aguada - racing roadies are the same everywhere and i got to hear about bike races and racers . . . After making dinner i strolled the campground as the sun set. I was drawn to the wafting cigarette smoke that is the start of many a good conversation. A woman was smoking a cigarette outside of her trailer and I asked where she was from? Mexico. que raro. Mexicans don't typically use trailers. It was her sister's trailer and they were vacationing together. I spent the evening sitting outside chatting about politics, travel, eating rice pudding, and enjoying the company of two charmingly intellectual sisters. Conversation got a little loud discussing Chavez, Morales, Fidel (she met Fidel!), and agreeing that all Mexican presidents were pretty much the same. Spanish conversation is easier for me with people of similar educational backgrounds and when I am not exhausted – uh, duh. I had been frustrated with my inability to communicate with some people and i realized it is not just me. One of the sisters had a house in Pico de Oro and i mentioned not understanding the construction workers from Villahermosa. The guy in charge sounded like he had a mouth full of marbles. I didn't even recognize it as Spanish! She immediately confirmed that she had the exact same problem! Some accents are incomprehensible for other Mexicans - depending on class, education, and regional variation.

The next morning my early departure was pleasantly thwarted by a couple from the Midwest who bought me breakfast. Both former school teachers who had lived abroad and had second careers with the federal government - it was nice to have good conversation in English.
I rode out along the coast for about 40km then it was good bye Gulf after several thousand miles since Mobile, Alabama. I headed across the Yucatan Peninsula towards Escarcega. A long hot day in the high 90's for 130km, no shade, steady winds. My head was ready to split open from dehydration as i pulled into dusty Escarcega that evening. I spent the next day waiting for the heat to break like everyone else in Escarcega and rehydrating.

The combination of rolling terrain and a tail wind enabled me to average better than 25kph for over 100km making for a nice day of riding. I stopped around 11:30am at a restaurant by a lake for a seafood cocktelle (what else) and conversation with a four guys already drunk who were insistent about buying me beer . . . whats a poor boy to do? I managed to get out of there relatively sober. I arrived in Conhaus outside of the Calakmul biosphere reserve by mid afternoon and stocked up with 6+ liters of water because I was unsure what I would find inside the reserve. Turns out there is a campground just outside of the reserve set in the middle of the selva (jungle). Campamento Yaax'che ecoturismocalakmul.com

I have little to no experience in jungle type settings so everything was new to me – like the big scorpion under my mosquito net with me. I tried to herd it out of the net but scorpions are not all that amenable to herding so it got squashed. I always check my shoes now. While I was making dinner I heard a guttural roar like a dinosaur out of Jurassic Park. I was camped with a troop of howler monkeys! At first I thought, “wow! how cool is that?!,” then I started to wonder, “how long does this go on for?,” and, “I hope they are not nocturnal”. They are not, just early risers.

The next morning I rode 55km into the reserve on a winding narrow road towards the ruins of Calakmul. The road was pretty much deserted as I rode my bike into the largest swath of old growth tropical forest in North America. There was near continuous rustling of turkeys beside the road, endless birds, spider monkeys, and I nearly ran over a 7 foot long long snake.

I swerved around its head then stopped to pester it. Finally, a taxi came along bringing people into the ruins and stopped in front of the snake. While I could not get much reaction from the snake besides an annoyed tail wag, the snake literally leaped up, spun in the air, and darted into the bushes in one instantaneous motion . . . something to remember next time I tease a snake.

The ruins of Calakmul are extensive, it had been a regional power center for nearly 600 years with a population of 200,000 people in the year 800. Incredible to imagine the huge plazas thronging with people that are now dominated by wild turkeys and spider monkeys. Vegetation swallows everything, un-excavated ruins look like mounds and steep hills, tree roots split tombs, stellas extolling the reign of rulers and accounting bloody conquests erode to near illegibility, the once extensive road network of a busy trading empire buried under leaf litter. A gentle reminder that this too shall pass. I spent a quiet couple hours wandering the steep sided ruins before repeating my ride back to the campground.

I was tired but looking forward to a pleasant rolling late afternoon ride. Within 20 km or so of the ruins I was cruising along at a good clip when I heard a loud crash beside me in the woods. Too loud to be another turkey and moving towards me, not away . . . out of the corner of my eye I saw a tawny flash – mountain lion! Or rather puma! The animal landed in the road immediately behind me not four feet away. I slowed and stopped after putting a little distance between us. The puma was standing in the road looking at me twitching tail up. I have to get a photo of this! I began approaching and fumbling for my camera. Then the puma started towards me . . . hmmmm? I outweigh the puma but it is still a 100 pound cat with no fear of me. We had no more than a 3 to 5 second distance between us if so inclined . . . and what the hell was it doing jumping out at me anyhow? did it just miss? Sorry, no puma photo - I decided to pedal . . . kinda fast. Initially, I felt like the encounter was sort of anticlimactic but that's alright. Between the puma and the snake I was a minor celebrity at the campground.

The next morning I woke to a tent city of fifty people who had arrived in the night. I hung in my hammock and drank coffee then packed while the ruckus cleared out for the ruins. Then I had a leisurely breakfast with a father and son from Guadalajara discussing our visit to the area, history, politics and travel before heading out for a brief but miserable grind into a hot headwind to Xpuzil. I am stocking up before going back into the selva towards my next stop - Belize!