Southern Mexico – part 2

Visited: October 1996

Duration of visit: 33 days

Capital city: Ciudad de Mexico

Population: 123 million (2016)

Estimated reading time: 18 minutes

• Exploring Mexico on a motorbike gave me a close perspective to places that I could never visit otherwise.
• Aztecs, Mayas, Toltecs and other ancient civilizations that left remains in the form of archaeological sites with fascinating history: Chichen Itza, Oaxaca, Palenque, Cobá and Tula.
• Yucatan peninsula – a perfect mix of exotic beaches, great infrastructure and historic landmarks.
• Savoring Mexican food and drinks; corn, chili and tequila.
• Relaxing and soaking up the sun on the idyllic beaches of Tulum.

Mexico was part of my American Big Tour, which started in New York and finished in Buenos Aires 15 months later.

In this article I describe the second part of my Mexican adventure in 1996: a perfect example of astronomical correlation in El Tajin, Olmec colossal heads, Chichen Itza – a sacred city of pyramids and temples, Tulum – the perfection of the Mexican Caribbean, Palenque and the Lacandon Indians, in search of a mechanic after a motorbike’s breakdown.

More articles about my Mexican adventures are available here:

The last day before leaving Mexico DF towards the Yucatan Peninsula was intentionally planned as a rest day. In fact, I wasn’t capable of doing anything else at all; headache, abdominal pain, malaise and lack of appetite reduced my daily routine to swap between dormitory and toilet. Probably the cause was a mix of circumstances: spicy diet from local markets, air pollution and high altitude at 2,240 meters above sea level; or the powerful energy gathered by the Aztec gods in archeological sites.

The next day, I rearranged some of my belongings on the motorcycle and left the rest at the hotel.

While arriving in the largest city on the American continent was a formidable task, navigating a motorcycle on the way out presented an even greater challenge.

Three or four lanes, traffic lights every few kilometers, aggressive trucks overtaking me, potholes, honking … and an extra person in the back seat.

Our trip to the suburbs lasted two hours, and we had only just started to face the challenging road conditions. As the afternoon drew to a close, rain began to fall, which hindered our progress and required me to make an early stop.

El Tajin was a city dedicated to the worship of the rain and thunder god, serving as the cultural and religious metropolis for the Totonac people, while also being influenced by other pre-Columbian tribes.

The Pyramid of the Niches exemplifies the distinctive architectural features present in the expansive complex of temples, ball game courts, and plazas.

This beautifully restored building, which showcases a delightful interplay between horizontal and vertical elements, features 365 niches spread over seven stories. This design choice reflects the number of days in the solar calendar, emphasizing the building’s astronomical and symbolic significance.

Another important structures in the archeological site are ball courts, which were used for Mesoamerican ball game, called pok-ta-pok.

Players, dressed in special costumes, tried to hit a rubber ball through two stone rings, located high on the side walls. The whole torso and hips were allowed to be used, but without arms, legs and head. The ball was allowed to be passed between players in each team by propulsion, but it was not permitted to touch the ground. Sometimes the game was continuously played for 5 hours and the result was still scoreless draw.

The game had not only a sport purpose, but also an important role in a ceremonial process.

It is not exactly known which team was awarded the main prize, but it is proven that the reward was incomprehensible to the present day: the entire team was sacrificed to the gods.

Certainly, the practice of offering sacrifices to the gods was considered a distinguished privilege in those times.

In addition to the archeological zone, I also had a chance to observe Danza de los Voladores – Dance of the Flyers. Four voladores – male Indian performers, are tied with a rope around their legs and hang from a 30 meters high pillar. Four dancers launch themselves tied with ropes around the ankles. They slowly rotate with open arms around the support column and slowly descend towards the ground. A fifth person remains on top of the pole, dancing and playing a flute and a drum.

The ritual is performed only in remote villages these days, but according to the myth it was created to request the gods to end a severe drought. I consider the greatest hero to be a flute player who, elevated on a pillar, engaged in a mesmerizing performance of dance and music, without any form of safety or restraint.

A stop at Gulf of Mexico in the beginning of October, was perfect to enjoy high waves in the warm sea, that transformed me into a playful child for a few moments. A modest, unnamed village serves as a significant weekend retreat for local tourists while also being a robust agricultural community.

While swimming, a tractor with tillage tools drove by on an isolated sandy beach. It was obvious that the closest way from fields to farmers homes was via the beach. In the meantime, the workers were also jumping into the sea, refreshing after hard work and looking for conversation with a gringo in town.

A short drive to the nearby city of Xalapa was dedicated to appreciate the enormous Olmec colossal heads exhibited in the Museo de Antropología de Xalapa. Measuring from 1.5 to 3.4 meters and weighting between 6 and 50 tons. They represent human heads of mature individuals with fleshy cheeks, flat nose and slightly-crossed eyes.

The heads were sculpted from basalt boulders during Olmec civilization, dating from 900 BC. They probably symbolize powerful male leaders and were transported around for ritual purposes. Considering the technology available at that time, it must have been a very demanding activity for which the strongest men showed their abilities.

When it was time to continue the trip, it started to rain. Although operating a motorbike in the rain is generally neither easy nor enjoyable, it did not affect us in any way. 800 kilometers in two days was a tough challenge. The journey extended significantly beyond the initial schedule due to adverse weather conditions, including rain, as well as the presence of cracks, potholes, dangerous sections, and frequent detours. This led to fatigue and discomfort in the buttocks as notable side effects.

I eagerly anticipated the moment in the evening when I could remove the damp rags from my body, take a refreshing shower, and rest in a simple bed at roadside motels.

Even the most adventurous journeys can become tiring. During challenging moments, I often recalled the majestic pyramids on the Yucatan Peninsula, the sandy beaches, and the exotic landscapes that awaited me in the days to come.

The next morning, a particularly disturbing event happened.

I found out that at night someone flipped over my motorbike, which was parked in the hotel parking lot. The right turn signal was broken. Half asleep, I literally erupted and in the next half an hour all Mexicans around me had an opportunity to learn Slovenian curses and test the saying: Don’t approach a lion while he sleeps.

The hotel manager had no chances in negotiating with me. She had to pay me 20.00US$ and apologize for all inconveniences. Later I managed to glue the turn signal together and the bulb worked flawlessly until I sold the motorbike.

While in Campeche, we found ourselves in the most poorly maintained hotel of the expedition, which included a decaying ceiling, a bed that creaked incessantly, a bathroom with glass doors, a toilet base that was not securely fixed, and a washbasin that harked back to the Mayan era. I was too tired to search for other options; my travelling buddy comforted herself with inexpensive shoes and blouses on a street market.

In the following days, a number of archeological sites were finally appearing on the horizon, the main reason of travelling thousand kilometers from the US border across northern and central Mexico. The Mesoamerican cities of Edzna, Kabah, Uxmal and Tulum are a paradise for every Mayan civilization lover, while Chichen Itza is the marvel of Mayans culture, extremely well preserved up to these days and recently also massively visited.

Chichen Itza is one of the most important and best-preserved Mayan sites in Mesoamerica.

The first inhabitants settled in the area around 2,000 BC. By the year 700 AD they had built various temples, pyramids, an observatory, the largest pok-ta-pok playground, acquired knowledge about star movement, constructed a specialized well for donations to their divine figures, and elevated their mathematics and architectural practices to a commendable level, all without the knowledge of the wheel.

The principal building in the city, and perhaps the most famous Pre-Columbian structure of Central America, is the central pyramid, which today bears the Spanish name El Castillo.

The pyramid is an excellent proof of Mayan obsession with a precise calculation of time and astronomy.

91 steps lead to the top on each side of the pyramid which, together with the upper platform, represents 365 days of the year (4 stairs x 91 steps + 1 platform). The 52 flat panels on each side represent the number of years in one cycle of the Mayan calendar; there are 18 terraces on each side (9 levels divided into two sections by stairs), the number of months in the Mayan year.

Twice a year, around the Spring and Autumn equinoxes, in the late afternoon, for five minutes the sun’s rays fall on the main pyramid at such angle that the shadow reflects in a perfect zigzag body form of a snake which connects with the stone head at the bottom of the pyramid.

The northwest corner of the pyramid casts a series of triangular shadows against the western balustrade on the north side that evokes the appearance of a serpent wriggling down the staircase: representation of the feathered-serpent deity, Kukulcán.

According to recent researches, this is more of a legend, since the period of this specific shadow occurs during the longer period of time.

Beside the magical relationship with Mayan calendar, perfectly restored pyramid and many other structures around, I didn’t enjoy it as much as Teotihuacan. There were so many tourists around Chichen Itza, that it was not easy to find a quiet space to enjoy the special energy of the place.

I also climbed the inner stairs inside the pyramid under the platform to a small room, where the statues of red jaguar and green Chacmool were exhibited in a tiny chamber. Humid hot and mysterious.

Just imagine how this place was when a ceremony was taking place at the top of the pyramid, pok-ta-pok game played at 160-meters long central ball court and astronomers were observing the space at modern observatory.

What happened to the skulls that are represented as Tzampantli or how the lake was when people and gold were thrown into it to satisfy the desires of the insatiable gods?

My next stop was not Cancun even though it is only an hour drive away from Chichen Itza. I skipped this skinny shaped barrier island offering beaches, numerous resorts and nightlife, mainly aimed at all-inclusive tourists, families on vacation or couples on their honeymoon. I am not attracted by artificially built cities with lack of local pristine charm.

My preferred destination was Tulum.

Tulum is a picturesque town distinguished by its turquoise ocean, fine white sandy beaches, and Mayan heritage along the shore.

I perceive it as a real paradise for a quick vacation after exploring Mexico by motorcycle, commencing in El Paso and concluding at the extreme eastern boundary of the Yucatan Peninsula.

We arrived to Tulum at night, without a plan of where to sleep. Driving around on a motorbike to find a proper accommodation was a nightmare. Either too expensive, dirty, remote, small or full. It was getting late, I was hungry, my friend was not in good mood.

Finally, we found a small cabaña, not far from the beach, that offered a small room with tiny bed, solid ground and a funny decorated bathroom with two mirrors. The location a few steps from the beach was a bonus that I highly appreciated the next morning.

Tulum ruins are marginal comparing to Chichen Itza, Uxmal, Palenque or other important Mayan sites in Yucatan peninsula.

What is unique, is the combination of ruins, beach and the Caribbean Sea.

The most prominent among the remaining structures – el Castillo, which is perched on the edge of a 12-metre limestone cliff, overlooks the perfectly turquoise blue Caribbean Sea that boast bellow.

Palm trees are scattered on the magnificent pearly white sand on one of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean. A perfect excuse to stay, relax, enjoy and do nothing. Simple food, laying in a hammock, swimming, chatting with locals and bar-hooping at night were the main activities.

No complains.

The next stop on my cultural trip of Mesoamerican cultural sights was Palenque, one of the most important archeological centers in Mexico.

Palenque was a grand Mayan stronghold between 226 BC and 799 AD. It was smaller than Tikal, Chichen Itza, or Copán, but it still contains some of the finest architecture, sculpture, roof comb and bas-relief carvings that the Mayas produced.

The first view of the largest pyramid and the neighboring buildings with a real virgin forest in the background is fantastic. The stairs leading to the top of a structure called The Palace, are very steep, so I wonder how the little Mayans climbed them. The Palace was used by the Mayan aristocracy for bureaucratic functions, entertainment, and ritualistic ceremonies.

Its most unusual and recognizable feature is the four-story tower known as The Observation Tower. There is an aqueduct on the eastern side of the walls, which would have supplied water to baths and saunas inside.

The most famous ruler of Palenque was Pakal the Great, whose tomb has been found and excavated in the Temple of the Inscriptions, the central pyramid.

Pakal the Great‘s tomb is recognized as the first burial chamber uncovered at the foot of a pyramid in the region of Central America.

This refuted the theory that the pyramids were used only for ceremonial purposes. From the tomb at the bottom, to the top of the pyramid, a serpent carved into the wall leads to the ruler’s contact with the present.

The tomb itself is remarkable for its large carved sarcophagus, the rich ornaments accompanying Pakal, and for the stucco sculpture decorating the walls. The second longest glyphic text known from the Maya world (after Hieroglyphic Stairway at Copan) records approximately 180 years of the city’s history.

Most of the 620 hieroglyphs are perfectly preserved, and their meanings have been successfully deciphered.

Very few direct descendants of the Mayans are still alive today. Modern Lacandon Indians live in small, remote farming communities in jungles of Chiapas province.

Their main weapon is a bow with different types of arrows that are used to hunt animals. They live a relatively simple life, use one-piece canoes to transport on the rivers. They dress in completely white clothes, are very small and practice non-Christian polytheistic religion, honor a variety of their own gods and goddesses, similar to the practices of the Mayas.

I bought bows, arrows and arrowheads made from flint, exhibited along the road. I couldn’t communicate with them in Spanish. They are one of the most isolated and culturally conservative of Mexico’s native peoples, with limited contact to the outside world. The Lacandon Indians believe that the Maya sites are places where their gods once dwelled before moving to new domains they constructed in the sky and below the earth.

We left Palenque at dawn, making our way to Oaxaca, the last stop before heading back to Mexico City. The rain resumed, it started to rain again, the road was curvy. I had to stop early in the afternoon to spend the night at the only hotel in a small village. The room was full of flying insects, and the largest of them frightened my friend. I was too tired to be bothered.

The subsequent morning, we continued our journey toward Oaxaca.

The deteriorating road conditions restricted my speed to a maximum of 35 kilometers per hour.

At the police checkpoint, a tall and corpulent official approached me. After completing the required formalities, I took the opportunity to ask her about the road conditions that awaited us.

“The next 400 km is as bad as it has been so far,” she answered cold-blooded.

I was desperate, hoping that she was wrong, because there was no way that I would continue at turtle speed for another two days, damaging the motorbike and hurting the passengers. I proceeded for several more kilometers before abruptly halting by the roadside, frustrated by a surge of anger.

“I cannot drive the whole day on such a shitty road!”

My friend Teja looked at me in amazement and laughed, as I knocked down a roadside sign and got upset:

“It is enough my friend! Forget about Oaxaca, let’s go straight to Mexico DF!”

I turned the motorbike around and continued driving for about half an hour, until I spotted people mowing the grass with machetes along the road. I wanted to take a photo of them, so I stopped at the side of the road.

What a mistake!

I lost the ground under my feet.

We rolled over in the grass and the motorbike fell next to us. We quickly picked up the heavy bike and placed it on the kickstand support.

The roadside workers looked at us as if we were aliens or circus entertainment for them. They didn’t have a clue what we were doing. Teja started laughing like a child once more.

Nevertheless, her happiness was short-lived, as the engine refused to start. After 10 minutes, I managed to turn the engine on, but only to ride a few hundred meters, before the motorbike stayed out of breath. Somehow, I pushed it to the first village and stopped at a very basic mechanical workshop.

The local mechanic, didn’t seem to be an expert. It took him an eternity to unscrew the spark plug, clean and return it to its original position; but the engine did not start.

“I cannot help you. I am not an expert for motorbikes, but I can take you to one.”

He tied me up to an ancient jeep and there we were. The main attraction in town; I was pulled to the only motorbike mechanic in town.

When I saw Daniel, the motorbike expert, I immediately lost the last piece of hope that my motorbike would be in running condition again in the near future. He had probably ever seen such an engine in his life, let alone to repair it.

Communication wasn’t easy and it was getting dark. Finally, the bike was parked into his workshop, which was actually a living room of his house, equipped with a handful of Allen keys, screwdrivers, hand tools and a pump.

I wouldn’t bet a dollar that night on Daniel’s ability to repair the bike. Much less until the next morning, as he promised. After checking into a hotel, I decided we would continue our trip to Mexico DF the next day by bus and I would eventually come back for the motorbike later.

The next morning, I melancholically walked towards Daniel’s mechanical workshop. From the top of the hill I heard a familiar engine noise. The closer I got, the more convinced I was that the noise was coming out of my Suzuki.

Truly, I couldn’t believe my eyes: the engine was running again.

I happily paid 10.00US$ in Mexican pesos and added three bucks to weld the baggage holder. I returned to the hotel, woke up my friend and announced the happy news. In less than an hour we were back on the road: destination Mexico DF.

650 kilometers didn’t seem to be far anymore.

The next few days after my buddy went home, were lonely, but I met some interesting Mexicans with whom time passed quickly. For another fourteen days, I stayed in the capital Mexico DF, arranged some bureaucratic formalities and decided to return to Los Angeles, California, where I would sell the motorbike and continue travelling by bus.

There were several reasons for this decision: financial restrictions, it would be almost impossible to cross some Central American countries on a motorbike, engine issues, etc.

The four-day drive from Mexico DF to Los Angeles was a special experience. In a simple world: a torture for both; the motorbike and me.

I was sitting on the bike all day, pushing the throttle to its limits and hoping nothing would go wrong. 3,400 kilometers in total or 850 kilometers a day was a big bite.

I stopped only to sleep, eat, drink, visit the toilet, pay the toll, and show documents at checkpoints.

On the third day, the chain started to fell from the gear, because it was stretched out. I was scared at the beginning, but then I realized I can manually return it to the original position. Literally, one kilometer before arriving to my final destination in Los Angeles, the chain fell off the gear for the last time and it got stuck. I happily pushed the motorbike towards the house of old acquaintances and just couldn’t believe how lucky I was.

I keep asking myself to theses days of what might have happened had I been involved in such an incident during rush hour on the highway or in a desolate region of Mexico.