On May 24, I crossed the border into Chiapas State and camped at the side of the road. The next day, the heat and hills continued until lunch time when I came into an open valley. I sat under a tree for lunch and watched numerous convoys of army vehicles transporting soldiers. I hoped they were not being brought in to quash another rebellion!

         I stopped in Lazaro Cardenas to buy water and food and while resting there, a soccer team piled out of the back of a truck to see my bike. I spent a fair amount of time there explaining everything to them. I headed off down the road and later in the day, I arrived at a camp ground, the first I had seen in Mexico. I pulled in and found it had two swimming pools, a restaurant and a play ground for the children, all set up in a mango grove. There were also papaya, coconut and banana trees. Some chickens, a horse and a donkey were all wandering around free. I paid 40 pesos for a site and joined a family in the pool to cool off. I had supper in the restaurant and then had a beer with the owner. As I was leaving to set up my tent, he gave me a large papaya for breakfast. I set the tent up under a mango tree and crashed for the night. I was the only one in the campground!

         On May 26, I reluctantly left the campground and carried on over the mountains in the extreme heat. At one point, I became very dizzy and, at the same time, I got another flat tire. I finally reached a Pemex station just outside of Ocozocoautla and stopped there for the night. The next day after a steep climb, it was downhill into Tuxtla. I found a cheap hotel for 80 pesos and decided to stay there for two days of rest. The room I was in seemed to be surrounded by other rooms. A window looked out into a hallway and a janitors closet. There was no TV and a noisy fan created the only air circulation. The toilet seat was missing as they were in most hotels I stayed at in Mexico. I figured there must be a black market for toilet seats.

         I had prepared myself psychologically for the 2000 meter climb to San Cristobal so on May 30 I set out. I stocked up on food and water in Chiapa de Corzo and then started the climb from hell. The traffic increased as trucks, buses, and mostly Volkswagen Beatles and Chevy Suburbans zigzagged up to the summit. At about 1200 meters, I found an abandoned building and set up camp for the night. I had run out of water again so I was very happy to come across a couple of roadside booths the next morning where I was able to buy water.

         At 2000 meters, I reached Navebchauc and was discouraged to find that I still had a way to go before reaching San Cristobal. A reporter from Tuxtla waved me down. He wanted to take some pictures and write a story in the paper about my trip. I continued to climb before coming to a long downhill into Nachij. I stopped for a rest and the usual crowd gathered around. I started to see a lot of natives in their traditional dress walking down the highway, many bare foot, carrying loads of wood on their head. However, every time I approached any woman on the road, they would run and hide in the woods. I finally reached San Cristobal on May 31 after riding for ten hours. I found a cheap hotel and just got settled in when it started to rain and it became very cold. I was the only customer in the hotel. I spent the next four days wandering around the downtown area of San Cristobal, resting and stocking up on supplies. In the city square, I found the natives selling their creations while others were selling meat, flowers, toys, watches, and T-shirts with images of Marcos, the leader of the Zapatista insurrections.

         I was feeling rested so, on June 5, I started out again. On the edge of town, I had the choice of heading to Guatemala or going left to the Yucatan. I chose the Yucatan. As I passed a military base, I could see the recruits training. After I passed through Hustlan, I started to feel dizzy and nauseated. I found a spot at the side of the road to lie down just as I started to develop a fever followed by uncontrollable shivering. I spent the afternoon there and, with great difficulty, I set up my tent and crawled in just as it started to rain. In the morning, I awoke to find three men standing outside my tent. I explained that I was sick and they directed me to a clinic back in town. I struggled back to the town and found the clinic. After about a 20 minute wait, a doctor examined me and gave me some pills at no charge. I then started the search for a hotel and arrived at a building under construction. When I asked if they had a room, they looked at me as if I was on drugs but then clued in and took me to what looked like a storage area. I was too sick to object. During the night, I could hear the mice scurrying around trying to get into the bags of corn stored in the room.

         I was still not feeling that well the next day but I didn't want to spend another night with the mice. I started out a little shaky at first but I slowly got back into the grove. After climbing all morning, I finally came to a downhill section which took me into an incredibly green valley and I could see Ocosingo in the valley below. I raced downhill into town trying to beat a massive wall of rain making its way down the other side. I just managed to get the bike under a shelter and get checked in when the skies opened up.

         On June 8, I started the climb out of town into what looked like a jungle. The vegetation grew right up to the side of the road making it feel like you were going through a tunnel. After climbing all day, I pulled off the road into a field just as the rain started to pour down. The field started to fill up with water as the drainage ditch from the road emptied into the field. After the rain subsided, I managed to find an area that wasn't under water and set up for the night. A group of people soon arrived and suggested that I might be safer to camp at a school in the little town that I had just passed through. I packed everything up and returned to the school. In the morning, I awoke to find some kids standing outside the tent watching me sleep. I got up and they were determined to help me pack my stuff.

         As I continued on my journey, the roads became worse and the living conditions of the natives became more primitive. I stood out like a bad rash! I stopped in a farmer's field again to camp when a group of teenagers approached. I thought they were looking at my bike but, before I knew it, they made off with a bottle of water from my bag. While I was making dinner, I accidentally spilled my last bit of water. Fortunately, the next day I found a restaurant about a kilometer down the road, had breakfast and stocked up on water. The endless climb through the mountains continued. There always seemed to be people standing at the side of the road, some just watching the traffic go by and others were selling crafts, mangos or corn. Just when I thought I could not face seeing another mountain, I reached what seemed like the top and finally I could see the Yucatan Peninsula stretching out in all its glorious flatness. I was finally out of the mountains. I sailed down the hill and reached the town of Palenque where I had to stop at a military check point and show my passport.

         I checked into the Youth Hostel and paid for four nights and again, I was the only one there. My first day would be spent doing the laundry. The Youth Hostel had advertised that it had laundry facilities but that turned out to be a wash basin and a cloths line! There was a kitchen where I could prepare my meals but I had to compete with the owners who also used the kitchen. I spent my days there cleaning the bike and getting some repairs done. I decided that my hiking shoes were getting too hot and heavy so I bought a pair of sandals. As well, I needed a new watch with an alarm as I planned on getting started earlier in the day to beat the heat. The next day, I quickly made it to the border of Tabasco. I calculated that it was about 500 kilometers to Belize and if it stayed flat, I would make it there in five days.

Mexico - Tabasco, Campeche, & Quintana Roo