travellingbennetts

Rewind to late 2024 – Flights booked to the USA for our 5 month “Lower 48 Mate” adventure starting May 2025 – check. Itinerary in preliminary planning phase, taking into account optimal weather conditions for the Lower 48 states, – check.

Hmmm, we have two weeks at the end of the trip – what to do? I was keen on Mexico, but we were less keen on taking our bikes there and rushing back to the shipping agent in LA. A cruise was proposed but Duncan still has nightmares about our Antarctic cruise in 2015, no chance.

How about hiring bikes in Mexico then? Some online research showed a one-week Yucatan Peninsula ride on Harleys, hang on that sounds like fun!  Mentioning this to our son Tim fired up his interest as well, and he was in with fiancé Loren as his pillion. So we booked with C & M Motorcycle Tours and locked it in. Curt (the C in C & M) generously offered a 20% discount for both of us as we were bringing a friend.

The anticipation of the trip was put on the backburner during the 141 days riding in the USA.  We did have a very welcome mid-trip family catch up with my sister Kim and brother-in-law Gino who flew in to join us for two fun weeks including Yosemite, Vegas, Grand Canyon and Zion NP in Utah where we farewelled them.

During the final couple of weeks of the trip I was very keen to see our son Tim and adventure with him and Loren in Mexico.  Then the niggly thoughts started creeping in – how would the road conditions be, I hadn’t ridden a Harley any great distance – would my back survive? What on earth were we going to wear – most of our riding stuff would be in the panniers of our bikes? Would we have a big group with interesting personalities to deal with?  It was all in the lap of the gods!

The day of the bikes return to the shipping agent came and we were bike-less, but not for long.  Harleys and the lure of Mexico beckoned! We had allowed a couple of days before flying to Cancun for contingencies and then we planned a full day in Cancun before the ride commenced. Son Tim and his fiancé Loren were also due to fly in the same evening as us, perfecto!

The thought of flying through LAX again was a tad daunting, but we had an early flight so got there just as the Alaska Airlines (the only airlines flying direct LAX/Cancun) desk opened for check-in. A smooth process and into the lounge for breakfast and a mimosa to kick off the trip.

I was half expecting delays due to the US government shut-down that was happening, but our flight was on time and after a relaxing 4½ hour flight we landed in Mexico – our first visit. Well nearly, Duncan had accidentally walked over the bridge from El Paso in Texas into Mexico in 1988, but that didn’t really count because as soon as he realised where he was he turned straight around and went back to the US.

Cancun does host a lot of foreign tourists and the airport was set up for this, being modern and well designed.

Our first challenge came as we exited the terminal and waited expectantly for our transfer to the nearby hotel.  We waited, and waited, and walked up and down trying to find someone holding a board with our names on it.  Trying to call Curt or the hotel didn’t work as our phones were not connecting to local networks for some reason.  After about 45 mins we gave in and signed up for a private taxi to the hotel, the humidity was stifling and it looked as if an afternoon storm was on the way. The princely sum of $65 USD later for a less than 6 kilometre ride in a taxi and we arrived in a rather negative mood at the hotel.

Not an ideal start, and thoughts of “wow this entire thing might be a scam”, and we are now stranded in Cancun did surface briefly.

Poor Tim & Loren were having their own dramas and hadn’t even left Sydney yet.  Their Qantas flight to Dallas had been cancelled and they were booked for the following day.  Not a problem as he had also planned to get in a day early for the ride – always a good to plan for the worst-case scenarios.

Checking out the bikes in the hotel basement parking lot

The following day, Friday 16 October we got excited at the extensive hotel breakfast buffet before doing a repack to decide what items could be left at the Cancun hotel and what would travel with us in the support vehicle over the coming 7 days.  We were a small bag short for this exercise – luckily a large outlet mall was just across from our hotel.  We were able to change some USD into Pesos as well as make the required purchases before having lunch in the food court. An afternoon swim and we awaited news of Tim & Loren’s hopefully imminent arrival.

After a rather confusing double confirmation of their airport pick up – we didn’t want them stranded like us – we welcomed them into our embrace at about 9:00pm.  They had a delay in Houston to cope with as well and had only just made the connection to Cancun.  Were they ready for a calming Margarita?  Hell yeah was the response!

After a long catch up with these treasures we hit the sack and were pleased to hear from Curt that tomorrow only entailed the welcome dinner so the recent arrivals could have a decent sleep-in to overcome the jetlag.

The following day – official tour day 1 – we revisited the outlet mall for a Wing Stop lunch.  Apparently this is a popular Tik Tok dining establishment, the wings were pretty good and paired with margaritas and beers set us up for a relaxing swim and nap for the afternoon.

The welcome dinner introduced the C & M team, Curt who would drive the support vehicle, Ride Leader Manny (the M in C & M) and Ricardo, the Sweep Rider.  There was supposed to be another couple on the ride, but they had to pull out due to an injury to the rider (in a non-riding incident apparently). So it was just the 4 of us and the 3 C & M staff for the week, what a treat, our own personal tour! We immediately warmed to the crew who were fun and patient with our toddler-level Spanish language skills. Their English was perfect though so all we had to teach them were some Aussie phrases.

Sunday 19 October was sunny and very humidly warm and we had a not too early start for our first day of riding.  It would be a short ride day of 75km but with a sightseeing treat of a cave excursion to look forward to.

We were introduced to our Harley’s, a Softail model for me (which has air suspension, making it a smooth ride) and a Road King for Duncan and Tim.  Loren was pleased with her pillion perch and pronounced it to be very comfy. We did a short assessment ride under Curt’s and Manny’s watchful eyes circling the round-about outside the hotel and he proclaimed us competent to continue – phew!

As it was a Sunday the traffic wasn’t as bad as expected and the road quality was very good. Mid-morning brought us to the Rio Secreto cave system, vast underground limestone caverns which we would be walking and swimming through.  The bikes (except mine) had lots of pannier space, which was useful as today and on many days of the trip we would have to strip out of the motorcycle gear and into the swimmers and back again. Duncan gave me one of his panniers so no problems. I was a bit hesitant as was Loren about caves due to a small level of claustrophobia, we need not have worried, the cave roof was high and the amazing clear water and spectacular formations made it an absolutely unique and enjoyable experience.

After a well-deserved lunch we got back on the Harleys for the short ride to our overnight accommodation of Coco Beach Resort at Playa Del Carmen.  This resort was all inclusive food and drinks, so margaritas flowed and a superb buffet dinner celebrated our first day of riding!

The following day was slightly rainy and we delayed our departure until after 10:00am when it had eased off somewhat.  A rather long ride of 2 hours to our next sightseeing appointment – a cenote.  Cenote Saamal is a vast sinkhole with a spectacular waterfall and turquoise water begging to be dived into from the platform after our long hot ride.

A young staff member was on the platform making sure we didn’t do a bombie on top of someone, but whatever was happening on his phone was far more important than preventing spinal injuries and drownings, so we checked all was clear ourselves. We jumped in and cooled down, then out for another buffet lunch with all the Mexican specialities. We reluctantly got dressed, struggling to pull on sweaty riding gear over the wet skin , then onto the Harleys to finish out the day in the colonial city of Valladolid.

One aspect of this tour was the very appreciated step by Curt of taking our bags to our rooms so when we arrived we could just get into relaxing.  Laundry was calling for all of us by this stage, so we trekked up the street a way to a Lavanderia for a full washing/drying service for a few pesos a bag.  A welcome pleasure after the USA laundry experiences! After a pizza dinner (there are only so many tacos you can eat in a day!) we called it a night.

Day 4 of the tour had us leaving around 9 am for an excursion to the famous Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza (or Chicken Pizza as we Aussies had christened it). Our guide was very knowledgeable and kind to us, keeping to the shade in the oppressive heat.  The ruins were just amazing and the stories of the vast Mayan city from around 600 AD were informative and engaging.

The only bike incident of the trip occurred on the way into Chicken Pizza when Manny missed the turn-off so a U-turn was necessary in a little town to get back to the parking location.  Duncan looked behind, all clear, but then became fixated on a slow-moving car coming from up ahead, not realising a fast-moving minivan was now coming from behind. After the slow-moving car went past, off he went, and nearly crashed into the side of the swerving minivan, luckily braking before he hit it, but angled into the turn when he stopped.  A slow drop, his first ever of a hire bike, and a rider collapse onto the road. No damage to bike, they have good protection, so only to pride fortunately. The experience did show how heavy Harleys are though, no way he was picking it up by himself even with the awesome superpower of embarrassment strength.

A stifling ride to Merida rounded out the 169km day and while the historic Gran Hotel was lovely, there was no pool.  Aircon had to suffice until we had cooled down enough to go out for a pre-dinner drink in the colonial town square and then head to a German Bierhaus of all things for dinner.

Day 5 was a beach day, and a short ride north to Progresso on the Gulf of Mexico had us setting up under an umbrella on the beach with table service and the entertainment of beach vendors selling all manner of interesting wares including annoying wooden musical instruments that they loved to demonstrate.  A swim in the gulf, a delicious fresh fish lunch and a walk around the touristy town and it was back onto the bikes to round out the 76km day to another all-inclusive resort – The Reef Resort just out of town.

The pool was refreshing and the margaritas cold – that is all I can recall of this fun evening. Tim & Loren partied longer than us and were very late starters for breakfast the following morning.

Day 6 ride was a short 150km, but it did seem like a longer day in the saddle than that – what’s happening to our riding stamina!! A welcome long lunch at a roadside restaurant with the locals was a chance to recharge, and then it was onto Rio Lagartos (Crocodile River).

Needing to find an ATM for more pesos, a walk around town only provided an ATM that had been disconnected from the power.  There was apparently another one out of town but rumours were that wasn’t working either, so the hotel changed some USD for us and we were out of strife.

A stunning sunset over the river from the rooftop bar at the hotel was admired while waiting for our meals to be walked up the 4 stories to our perch on the rooftop.  Inevitably something would be forgotten, and the poor waitress would trudge back down to the kitchen again.  She certainly got in her allocated steps that evening.

Day 7 and our final riding day started with a boat ride to see crocodiles and flamingos at the nearby biosphere reserve on the lake.  We also got to plaster ourselves with the clay that has “magical” skin improving properties.  Then it was back into the boat and to the estuary where we paddled in to remove the now dried clay from ourselves. 

A 266km mostly highway ride back to Cancun rounded out our final day, and the trip.  We got to do some decent highway speeds on the Harleys which cooled us down in the afternoon humidity. The boys had highway pegs on their bikes so looked like they were relaxing on a La-Z-Boy at 130kmh.

Back at the Avani Hotel in Cancun we farewelled the bikes and prepared for our final dinner with the crew. A fun night with the presentation of our riding shirts and reflecting on a top week seeing unique sights while cruising the Yucatan on Harleys. A fitting end to an epic 5-month trip with the bonus of enjoying family bike time with Tim & Loren.

All my pre-conceived notions of riding in Mexico were unfounded.  The roads were mostly great quality, although all smaller towns have lots of speed bumps, “topes”, which can catch you unawares as not all are marked.  We found other road users courteous and patient with obviously foreign riders. The local people we met were friendly and willing to humour us with our bad Spanish pronunciation. Food is of course wonderful in Mexico, and the natural and historic scenery just spectacular on the Yucatan.

I will definitely revisit Mexico on 2 wheels, although maybe later in the season when the humidity has fallen away. C & M Tours run a coastal tour to Belize which sounds fun, hmmm when will this fit into the busy schedule?