Acapulco traffic and hot

Day 9 January 23, 2012  Caleta de Campos to San Marcos, Guerrero

Miles ridden: 302
Gas $320
Meals: Breakfast was eggs, beans, chips and salsa and tortillas for $95; Dinner was a hamburger and hotdog and 2  coca colas for $61
Lodging:  Hotel Castillo $200 bare bones accommodations, no toilet seat, no air conditioning but they have wi-fi that works better at  the little diner next door than in our hot, sweltering room!

Today was hot, smoking hot!  We took the free road through Acapulco which may not have been the best decision of the trip.  It was about 4pm and traffic was heavy and slow.  White and blue VW bug taxis were everywhere. As Carl says “you cannot throw a dead cat without hitting a VW” They must come to Acapulco to die!  There were thousands of them and they go wherever they fit.  The road will be 2 lanes and suddenly turn into 4 lanes in 5 directions.  The bikes got hot going through the slow traffic but heck so were we!

The motorcycles are holding up good.  We have been oiling the chains about every 300 miles, finally used up the spray can of chain lube and now using 90 weight gear lube straight out of a Hershey’s syrup bottle.  The bikes are running strong, and we are enjoying the get up and go they have with the 685 kit and the 22 cent mod to the carburetor.  The CB’s worked good today but most other days Carl says I come in too crackly to understand.  Hmmm, Mark did your put in the deluxe model on Carl’s bike?  I can always hear him but he cannot understand me.  The GPS’ have been a real trip saver, both the maps and the music.  The maps do not always have the hotels and gas right but pretty close.  San Marcos is a good size town and it listed no hotels and there are at least 2 here.  The Ricor rear shocks and the Intimidators in the front have been helpful going over the topes (speed bumps). You can sail over them at about 40 MPH without going flying. The suspension is just soaking them up and not jarring at all, which is nice when a tope sneaks up on you because it is not marked.

Carl’s helpful hints:

1.      Carry a small LED pen light in your shirt pocket.  You will use it every day!

2.      If you offer constructive criticism about your wife’s riding, your fallback position should always be “you’re good, I’m bad; you’re right, I’m wrong”.

3.      When Garmin says there is a gas station down the road, make sure that there are at least 3 listed in the area.  Mr Garmin does not always have it right.  One gas station did not exist in the middle of a bridge and the other one was closed up, as in out of business.  There is no pay at the pump with a credit card.

4.      To all my northern friends, the heat down here is horrible; it must be at least 80 degrees, blue skies and sunshine with a nice gentle breeze blowing for most of the day! Why oh why, did I let Jonnie talk me into leaving the wonderful cool climate of Wyoming! This is spousal abuse at its worst.   

5.      Definitely get the Garmin maps for Mexico.  Compared to the last two trips, it has taken away a lot of the stress for navigating through Mexico, especially the cities.

We have about 2 days left in Mexico, should cross the border into Guatemala on January 26, 2012.  We will stay about 50 miles from the border so we can get across in the morning and down the road a ways.