Road trip along the Gulf of Mexico

Oh the things you will see. 

We drove from Puerto Morelos to Merida, to Campeche, across east to Chetumal, and back over to Puerto Morelos on the first 5 day road trip. We visited ancient sites along the way, Uxmal then Edzna then Becan and lake Bacalar was amazing before heading home. The next day was Coba. It was one place after another, which is why it took me so long to write about it. Plus the next week was another road trip back to Merida and Campeche, adding in a drive-by of Progreso. Going back almost 2 weeks later to Merida was more fun than the last time because in mid May there is this one tree that blooms brilliant red and it's all over. The first time I didn't realize how big Merida was, it was just a pit stop. This time I had the odd joy of going to a Vietnamese restaurant in Mexico so that I could have some Pho for lunch. 
(But my heart belongs to Campeche) Except for the part where of all our travels it wasn't until the last trip to Campeche that we were finally pulled over by the Mexican police. They have checkpoints all over on the main highway, and every single time they have waved us through, everyone has to slow down, and they pull over anyone they want. So here's how it works. The guy didn't speak English (supposedly). I don't speak Spanish (as far as he is concerned). He shows a peso amount on his phone, he says we have been speeding in the checkpoint area. We say ok, we will pay the ticket. He says we can pay it on Monday morning in Campeche. He's holding onto Ron's license as he says this. Is he going to try and keep it?? We try to say we have to return the car before then, back where we came from. It degenerates into a staring contest. We won! He finally gave back the license and said: get out of here. Vamanos. And on our way back in the same place with the same people they try it again. This time I'm doing a video chat with my Mom through Facebook when we are pulled over. There is an officer on my side and he tells me to stop the video. Then without saying much more they tell us we can go. Hmmmm. My best advice is if you ever get stopped just go straight to the staring contest and wait it out. Practice your poker face ahead of time. We were not defiant, we didn't argue, we just waited them for them to explain how it was all supposed to work for them receiving payment. They couldn't. That is where our story ended. 


This is what it looks like for miles and miles, on one road.

This is what some of the streets look like, for some reason the falling-down-chaos appeals to me. I didn't take this picture because it looked "so terrible". I took this picture because life can be like this sidewalk. Started off with good intentions, and beautifully perfect, then time takes its toll. And guess what? It's still a street/sidewalk. It still serves its purpose. It can still be appreciated for it's function. It just needs some TLC.
A make-over would be fun.

This street isn't very wide, and it isn't very quiet. And this guy pulls up his wheelbarrow in front of a construction site and takes a nap in it. I find that amazing. People adapt. He isn't very tall, and he had a jacket or blanket under him, with a flat board across the handles for his legs.

Over-loaded vehicles take a second to process, my brain just can't quite justify what it's looking at.

This is not uncommon. These guys are looking at a beautiful beach as the truck is going down the highway. I don't know how people do it, riding in the heat. Most people usually stand when they ride in the back. It's a strange site.

That's a bunch of zip ties showing underneath the bumper. 

I don't even know how to describe how wrong this is. Ron thought it was hilarious.

A quiet street on a Sunday morning in the first rays of the day in Campeche. I love it!

Moving pictures around is a pain without a mouse, so here's the picture of the beach those guys were looking at from the back of the truck. So gorgeous. We pulled over to admire it. I thought it was a white sand beach, but it's barely sand, it's mostly chunks of sea shells. Yes, that's a lot of shells. It was fantastic for a person like me who adores the design and beauty of shells. There were a lot of old conch shells waiting to be broken down further. I would have stayed there all day if it wasn't so hot. Probably 10 degrees hotter than the beach over here. This was the Gulf of Mexico right before a town called Champoton. I wish I could dive here, I can only imagine what's in the water. 

Red, orange, yellow. These splashes of color were everywhere the second time we went. What a difference 2 weeks makes.

Do you see the color of the water here? It's a lot like the color by Champoton, except this is Chetumal on the Caribbean side. It's actually very strange to see a huge body of water such a pale faded minty green. Like when I was little and thought the ocean wasn't interesting enough, and if I was in charge, well I'd make it a soothing green.

It's my estimate that this picture has Belize in the background, we were right on the border in this part of Mexico. 

Most old architecture is off the main road and it's own destination, but not all of it. This whole peninsula is swarmed with these old relics, the last 2 pictures are from the window of the car as we drove by on the highway. Just sitting there. Sometimes it feels a bit like being in a time machine, even though I'm pretty sure it's a Volkswagen Gol rental car.

 I am used to seeing the signs that say deer crossing. Cattle crossing. Even monkeys crossing. This one is for jaguars, as far as I can tell. I keep waiting to see one, but sadly I have not.