Biking West 2015 ‐ Parades

2015-11-20

tl;dr: I found some parades, and I got lost in Minatitlan.

Every town I biked through before noon had parades going on. I don't know why, but based on the number of little kids with guns and ammunition, I suspect it is part of Revolution Day celebrations.

I took another chance at a restaurant. I pointed to something on the menu that I assumes was barbeque beef. Based on the resulting exchange, my best guess is the restaurant wasn't serving that today. I ended up with chicken. I still haven't figured out how to ask for the check. It's like they want you to never leave.

After a morning spent on relatively peaceful roads I am back on highways. Fortunately they have a wide shoulder, except when overgrown by grass.

I reached Minatitlan just before dark, and I planed to check into a hotel at the edge of town. This ended up being an "Auto Hotel". I don't think I know what auto means, because this hotel charges in five-hour blocks. So I decided to bike downtown (Centro) where there was a cluster of hotels, but I soon realized that the celibrations from earlier were not over, and these hotels were likely to be full. So I decided to head toward another cluster of hotels. That's when my phone battery died. I thought I had enough of a direction to make it. I was wrong. This city is like a giant maze. I'm surprised there aren't minotaurs roaming around eating people. It is also as flat as a skateboard park. After biking in circles in the dark for an hour I came across an internet cafe. I plugged in my phone long enough to get directions.

When I reached the Hotel Madrid, which is a decent enough hotel, I was directed to leave my bicycle in the parking lot. I didn't even debate them: No, I will just cancel my room. Anyway, the words "no" and "cancel" came across. They relented and allowed me to carry my bicycle up the stairs to my room.