Day 15: Two weeks on the road now. It was a really productive day for me. I went to the climbing store and got the special Vertigo carabiner for my harness. It's a one handed autolocker, and I'll use it for my safety tether.

Then I went over to the muffler shop and they took the muffler off the bike and welded it very well. The muffler has two mounts, and unknown to me, the 2nd mount was completely ripped off! They welded that back on, along with the first mount that was tearing a hole in the exhaust. I’m soo happy that is fixed – they did a great job, and afterward we pressure washed the bike. Total cost was 100 pesos. I was so relieved (the first shop I went to told me it couldn't be done because the metal is too thin), and plus when they first gave me the quote it was for only one mount, not two, and with pressure washing the bike, I gave the guy 200 pesos total (which is still only $16).

After that, I found my way to Walmart and got a replacement duffle bag (for the one that fell off my bike and was stolen in the 5 minutes it took me to get back to where it happened), so I can carry my stuff to the canyon tomorrow morning. I'll be descending Matacanes, the most beautiful known canyon in all of North America.

I've noticed that things are pretty expensive here. Everything in Walmart was about 50% more than in the US, especially electronics. Maybe the import fees?

Oh, also I heard back from my aunt today, and she’d be happy to see me, so I'll swing by Mexico City on my way south.

I need to meet the group for the canyon at 5 am, so I’ll leave here at around 4 am. Time to go to bed!