Day 29: Well, it's time to leave Mexico City! On my way out of town I went over to a BMW dealer and bought a replacement rear sprocket for the bike. This trip is going to be much longer than I thought when I left home, since the idea to go to Guatemala came to me after I'd left (!), and though I don't need it now, I'll need it later down the road. We also topped off oil, coolant, and tire pressure.

And on a positive note, I managed to get out of Mexico City without paying a fine to the corrupt cops which apparently are everywhere. I ran into two other American motorcyclists who had to pay $200. Everyone from Hans to Mauricio at the hostel had warned me about the cops there, so I was glad for that.

I headed to the ruins of Teotihuacan on the outskirts of Mexico City. I find these ruins fascinating -- they were built by not by the Maya, but by people long before the Maya that almost nothing is known about. The Mayans stumbled across their abandoned city centuries later and thought the Gods had built it and left it for them there, so they moved right in. It was a bit hot there though -- not many trees around.

I'm headed to more ruins tomorrow, those of El Tajin, near the coast. I rode down out of the mountains, on another beautiful ride. It started to drizzle a bit the last hour before sunset. It was the first bit of rain I've had to ride through since the day I crossed into Mexico.

At dinner, at a roadside cafe next to a bus stop somewhere in the mountains, a dog came up to me begging. I saw that she was breastfeeding and had pups somewhere. The owner shoed her away with a broom, and I saw that she had a hideous wound on her neck, all the skin was torn away and it was just red, raw. I felt so bad for the dog I grabbed the rest of my uneaten tortillas after dinner and caught up with the thing down the street, and gave them to her. Life sure can be hard here.

Upon reaching Poza Rica, the town near the El Tajin ruins, I only found two hotels -- the first was $100 per night, and the second was $60 per night. These are both WELL beyond my budget, especially from paying $12 the last 3 nights at the hostel. So I went with option 3 -- a sex motel. It was $30 for 12 hours, was clean and nice, had my own garage to pull the bike into, and also a huge mirror above me on the bed. I've never slept like that before! And blessed A/C. It's hot and sticky now that I'm down in the jungle...