Day 7: Tulum to Coba

December 1, 2021

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Well, it sort of pays to be a squeaky gringo because we found our prison gate unlocked in the morning. It meant that by 7 a.m. we could roll out of Tulum in the early morning cool. Highway 307 was slightly calmer too, but not much. Our "favourite" intersection, the one with the road to Coba was still there too, and still clogged with noise and traffic. However our burrito/BBQ guys were already fired up, which is a plus for anyone after a breakfast burrito. We took the turn for Coba, meaning that we never did actually enter Tulum on this trip. We know that it looks much like what is around Coba intersection, anyway.

We noticed again the number of spots offering Covid testing. We took this shot because it illustrates how Covid has taken over as a main signage topic. The sign otherwise must have advertised handicrafts, or tents, or tours, or something. But big signs aside, you can even see in the above photo a Covid lab. It creeps into shots because it is everywhere.

The beginning of the Coba road is quite rough, with a lot of noisy traffic and a not totally smooth shoulder. It's ok, though. One thing of note, one you simply can not miss or ignore, is the amount of trash ("basura") thrown by the roadside. You can find it spread nicely out, like this:

Or you can find it concentrated, like this:

In either case the content is 90% plastic and aluminum drink containers and plastic film bags. It's a puzzle, because I would guess even a 5 peso deposit would result in this all being vacuumed up by poor people in short order. And if manufacturing facilities exist to make all this stuff, then surely it could be geared up to recycle it. If anyone knows why this problem persists, let us know!

Continuing with the heaven and hell dichotomy that is so often seen here, the roadside also offered us scenes of beauty. For example, how about this landscaping in front of one property:

And here are some other beautiful plants:

And a bird that we hope we have not included before!

Half way along the way to Coba can be found the small town Macario Gomez. This is distinguished by the large number of craft vendors. The crafts include macrame, wooden furniture, and unique structures small and large made from some sort of cane. There are also sellers of the traditional brightly coloured pottery.

Dodie is generally on the look out for interesting things, while I tend to just put my head down and pedal. So here are three things she spotted up high. The first is clearly an epiphyte, but what are the other two?

At my sight level, I do see some things - usually road signs. I thought this one could be taken as some sort of random life advice:

But upon seeing the next one, I wonder if the highways department is running some sort of psychological or self improvement program.

We arrived at Coba quite speedily, and were pleased to confirm that our hotel was the one next to where we had stayed on a previous visit, the one with the good restaurant. Coba in fact is a hot bed of good Mayan restaurants. It is literally a Poc Chuc and Cochinita Pibil capital. Here is the relevant bit from our hotel's menu:

We like the helpful English translations. So it's good to know that the translation of Poc Chuc is Chuc Poc!

We find our room in this hotel to be really super. It's on the ground floor, so we can roll our bikes on in, and it has tons of space. With a quiet A/C, hot shower, and desk it is just as comfortable as being home. And home does not have a super restaurant upstairs!

We have arrived at our favourite hotel and restaurant

One less than ideal feature of our room is that electrical outlets are ungrounded. For the TV, which is definitely a three prong affair, they are using this adapter gizmo. In Canada this piece would be totally illegal. I tried explaining why to Dodie, but she didn't get it. Good thing all DIY wiring at our place is done by me! But right now, it's just this that we really want (more of), to be able to plug in our stuff. I asked at the grocery and was directed to the ferretaria, giving us a pleasant expedition to the place just down the road.

We were able to buy two adapters, really cheap, and I noticed that they are made in Mexico, by a company called Voltech. There is another Voltech "thing" right in our shower. This one I am not touching, and I have no idea what it is. These Voltech folks really are a piece of work!

Our little electrical adventure was not quite over, because the two prong outlets were not only two prong but very worn. So our new adapters did not really want to stay stuck in. Dodie had the answer in using one of her trekking poles as a prop. I kind of reminded my of mountaineers using ice axes. What you don't see is that the pole is resting on a pile of Yucatan guide books!

Like mountaineers, innovative use of our equipment.

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Because we had arrived so early, we were able top take off through the town on our unloaded bikes. In fact as you see from the track, we took off through, and out of town! It was good, because we got to see Lake Coba, and some additional plants, birds, people, restaurants, cenotes, churches, and even a gator. Oh my. But first, a sandwich from the little grocery. It was great, but included a giant fiery jalpeno:

By the grocery stood what we take to be a cana lily. We have a couple at home, now totally dead for the winter. But look at this one, so beautiful.

Here is a Frida hanging, on sale by the roadside. Not sure about those two little monkey guys.

The hardware - all the dicey electrical bits you could want.

Dresses like this are readily available, and worn everyday.

We headed out past these cenotes just for fun, but not to go in - too wet! They are economical though, at just 100 pesos each.

And finally this gator. It was not spotted by Dodie, but by a young couple on a scooter - good eyes!

I will post this now, but we are about to head out to try our first Poc Chuc of the trip. Tune back in for the analysis!

Three hours later....

Dodie had fallen deeply asleep while I wrote the first part of the blog, and when I tried to wake her she said "I'm too tired to eat" and fell back asleep. But eventually she did rouse and later agreed that food was actually the ticket.

We walked up to the restaurant, which had only one other couple. We think must have been poor here these last years. I ordered - Poc Chuc, and Dodie, salbutes pibil, plus lemonade and watermelon juice. The juices came out first, and of course were made directly from the fresh fruits. This is a family run place, and we think abuela was called from downstairs to help with our order. Meanwhile the little daughter of perhaps 7 shyly circulated about our table. Dodie was reading a past Grampies blog on the phone, and the moving colours are always a kid attractant, we find. Finally the little girl placed a plastic container with some little cards on our table. Although we could not effectively communicate, Dodie found you could play "Concentration" with the cards, and taught the little girl. So the two of them had an entertaining time as we waited for the food.

Our dishes came, and initially I was not blown away by the Poc Chuc. The quantities on the plate seemed a little small, and the refried beans and pickled onions were missing. When I tried to cut the chicken with the knife provided, nothing happened, and the table wobbled - drawing hard words from the other side. This initial assessment was not really fair, because the flavours were good, and actually the quantities were as much as I could eat anyway. The chicken could easily be eaten with teeth. It was not tough, really, but more like a real chicken than a coddled factory bird.

Dodie's salbutes were "very good", she says.

Acceptable Poc Chuc, but we will surely find more impressive ones.

Our next step was to wander over to the little grocery, to see what we might get tomorrow for breakfast, and for supplies the road where we know supplies will be scarce. One perennial thing we check is the hot chocolate powder, though this time we have no way to boil water, so it's a fruitless effort. I kind of like the pretty nun one, but Dodie is an Abuelita fan. She has stuck with the brand though it was long ago bought out by Nestle.

A big attraction of this grocery is a small refrigerator, allowing them to carry some chocolate. I chose two for dessert, while Dodie wisely scored some peanuts for tomorrow. Of these, I think Bubu Lubu is really good, while CarlosV is just plain chocolate.

Today's ride: 66 km (41 miles)
Total: 226 km (140 miles)

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Ellen LeeHi Grampies! Looks like a nice trip so far eh?! So how do you like your electrified BF’s? What kind of mileage are you getting from the LiGo’s? Are 6 batteries enough?
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2 years ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Ellen LeeThe bikes are working really well. One good thing is that we have been able to bring them into the room each time and to find a close enough plug so the battery bags do not have to be pulled off.

Because it is so flat here, we have been riding only in level 1, or even turned off. As a result the batteries have never gone much below 90% on a day. That gives a huge, but misleading, range. We need to find some hills!
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2 years ago