Vera Cruz

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April 6, Monday

About 2:30 am the wind came up something fierce out of the northeast. Little showers blew through, and I had to get up to zip up a few things, and tighten up some lines. The wind got stronger, to the point of blowing stakes out of the sand. By about 6:30 I'd been up several times, and finally got the extra line out of my bag and tied the appropriate tent poles to trees. This at least kept the tent from bending into a pretzel, and also from blowing away completely. Big Agnes is pretty sturdy, but this was a 35 to 40 knot wind, and she was staked down in sand. I did notice several of the other tents were completely down, probably due to broken fiberglass poles, and some had been relocated next to concrete pillars. We finally started packing at 8:00, with Oscars help, and had some coffee - Nescafe again, and a marvelous fruit plate. at 9:20 the wind suddenly quieted for 5 minutes, then came right back again, this time 180 degrees different. Very strange. Waving goodbye to all the "family" at Hotel Coral, we headed south on 180 again, this time aiming for Catemaco, a town on a beautiful lake, southeast of Vera Cruz. About 6 kilometers down the road, we entered Costa Esmarelda, and I saw "The Italian Coffee Shop". Quick turn into the parking lot, and low and behold actual Latte's and Americanos! We hung out for two hours, connected to the internet, then finally got moving again. Strong winds made for interesting riding along the coastline, and as we approached Vera Cruz, I stopped in a Pemex station to ask about where the BMW dealer was located as Deb had lost a glove and wanted to get a new pair. Confusing directions were given, but we headed off with high hopes. 5 cycle shops later, and several stops for more directions, and we found the Vesca BMW Mini dealer. Here in Mexico, as in Germany ( and maybe everywhere but USA ? ) the BMW car dealer is also the motorcycle dealer. The salesman had no gloves that would work for Deb ( he only had two pairs in stock ! ) but he called his friend Rafael, who drove over to meet us so he could lead us to his own shop in downtown Vera Cruz. Good thing he did, because I don't think we could had any chance of following those directions. He also called his girlfriend to meet us there, so she could translate for us. Carmen and her friend Chica (?) met us there, and Deb quickly found a nice pair of Icon gloves. I suggested to Deb that we just find a place here in Vera Cruz to stay tonight, and when Carmen heard that, she called around to find us a good hotel, led us to the Hotel Colonial, helped us get the room, and waited for us to freshen up so we could all go have a real coffee together. They are a great trio and we all had a good time chatting. Rafael is originally from Spain but has lived here for 15 years. We said goodnight after setting up a breakfast date with them, then Deb and I walked around the plaza, had some supper, said "no gracias" about a million times to all the kids and adults selling everything from peanuts to hammocks to pirated videos, and then headed up to our room for bed. So we didn't make it to Catemaco today... as Deb said, "everytime we end up doing something unplanned, it seems to work out great".

April 7, Tuesday

We met Rafa and Carmen in the Hotel garage, and they led us to a great place for breakfast. Riding through Vera Cruz following an experienced city motorcyclist is quite an experience. Apparently most of the traffic laws do not apply. We lane-split, we went the wrong way down one-way streets, we passed on double lines, we made u-turns, and we passed on both left and right sides, in curves and on the straightaways. I think Deb just shut her eyes. After breakfast, we went on a riding tour of Vera Cruz, a beautiful seaport, and the largest in Mexico. We visited the fort of San Juan de Ullua, which is built over the site of a Totonacan temple. This fort was used at first for the main trading area, with special rooms to secure all the trade goods, then eventually became a particularly nasty jail, and has now become a tourist attraction. The walls are built out of blocks of coral. Many of the rooms have little salt stalactites growing from the ceiling. We took the tour "en espanol" and Carmen translated the good stuff after the guide stopped speaking. After splitting up and going back to the hotel, we met later that evening for supper and coffee along with several other BMW motorists. We met the owner of a very successful restaurant, La Parroquia, who goes to British Columbia, very close to Deb's home, to get current on his helicopter hours. He gave us his number, and told us that if we had any trouble at all in Mexico, to call him, and he would help us out. It's very nice to have a little local "insurance" in hand. A great evening with like minded folks, even if we couldn't communicate as well as we'd have liked, and back to the Hotel Colonial.

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Photos

Hotel Colonial
On the plaza Vera Cruz

Rafael and Carmen
The arches of San Juan de Ullua

Rafa and Carmen
View across the bay of Vera Cruz