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Raul's vacation is over, and he heads back to work. Another friend, Chris who is an American telephone technician living in Cancun has some business to take care of down south, so I decide to hitch a ride. I wake around 6am and start mapping the area around Walmart on the bike. At about 9am I ride to Chris's house, but it will be a couple of hours before we can depart.
NO BIG DEAL? Then you don't know me very well : )
While most people figure they have seven days in Cancun; I break my time down into hours. To be exact I will have a total of 153 hours in Cancun. Subtract the fact that I'll lose about 5 hours to sleep each night and I'm down to about 120 hours. I'll also need at least a couple of showers (just kidding) and a couple of meals...so every hour counts.
I consider taking a bus south, but decide to drop off some film, eat breakfast, and map another area of downtown. It's 11am before we actually hit the road. I leave my bike at Chris's house.
First stop is Punta Bete. A narrow, bumpy, dirt road heads toward the ocean.Chris bounces his way along at speeds exceeding what we should be traveling. I think we both saw the giant boulder in the road at about the same time. Although, we were much to late to stop. The locals must have thought we were filming an episode of "Dukes of Hazard" after this little stunt. The exhaust is quite a bit louder now that we've smashed the undercarriage.
We meet interesting people, map the small area of thatched roof huts, grab a couple of drinks, and head off for Playa del Carmen. Where Chris has a meeting.
I set out on foot to find a new mall in Playacar. Chris will pick me up at the mall in about a half-hour. "Not Plaza Antiqua. The new mall in Playacar!" I yell as I walk off. After about 2 hours, I run back to Playa del Carmen, where I find Chris patiently waiting AT PLAZA ANTIGUA! We got our wires crossed!
Frustrated, hot, tired, and WAY behind schedule, what I'd really like to do is just catch the next flight home--but it gets better as we make our way to Puerto Aventuras.
Chris tears down the highway passing every car and bus on the road. At this speed, our exhaust hollers, as Chris proclaims "I wanted to be a Winston Cup driver"...as if I hadn't already figured that out!
I map Puerto Aventuras, and finish in a rainstorm. Chris and I wait it out while enjoying dinner at Richard's Steak House in Puerto Aventuras, where you can watch the Dolphin Discovery show while you dine. Richard, the owner, joins us and proves to be quite a storyteller.
We finally depart long after dark. Chris is going a little fast, OK real fast, when we pass a police car. It's the federal police. They aren't looking for speeders, but they pull us over and quickly search the car for drugs or weapons. They are extremely courteous, with perfect English. Everything's OK, and we're on our way.
Back at Chris's, I load my stuff on the bike, and depart for Xavier's house. Just as I depart the sky opens up in a torrential downpour. It's a miserable fifteen minute ride to Xavier's house, and ends with me tipping my bike and losing half of my gear in the street.
Seems like the perfect ending for this day!