#keepcalmandpaddleon

Day: 1 (March 12) Route: Cancun to Playa del Carmen Distance: 66 km + 20 km detour as I went too far Time: 3:09 h + 1:29 h After spending a day on the beach in Cancun I finally started biking! I went to bed early (Hostel Ka'Beh - something for people that want to party with the springbreakers, but not pay for the hotels on the hotel strip) to be fit the next day, yet my plan was crossed by two drunk Americans who came into the dorm at 3am and talked about their amazing performance at Beer Pong. Nonetheless, I woke up early to leave Cancun before the traffic gets really bad and the temperature to high. It's quite an adventure to cycle on the city motorway that turns into the Carretera Federal 307. The mostly American sized cars and lorries do not seem to care much about the little cyclist to their right. After leaving the city I realized how different it is to cycle on a bike that is loaded with a lot of weight (17kg bike + ~20 kg load), but I got used to it quickly. Once it's moving its moving ... So please no mountains and red lights! The road is pretty boring and there is not much too see other than countless shops selling paint, gas stations, and when coming closer to Playa del Carmen one large hotel after the other. It's really weird to see that every piece of land seems to be owned by somebody and everybody protects the land with big fences. After roughly 3 hours I made it to Playa DSL Carmen, my first destination. I found a nice spot at the beach to relax a bit before I entered the town to have a delicious lunch (a massive Ceviche at Cocteleria El Pirata, Avenida 40). Then I drove off to the camping ground. Unfortunately, the site is before entering the city but disregarding this important detail I left the city and only found out when I stumbled into one of the many amusement parks in the jungle. The way back was really painful, but the amazing beach where I slept totally made up for that. In between the large hotels there is a small agglomeration of family run hotels and restaurants (Cocos Cabañas can be found on Google maps). I camped right in front of the ocean on the land of the restaurant Los Piños. The owner died and now it is no longer a real restaurant. The sons (all of them are heavily obese) seem to give in as many of the original Mayan land owners in the area, and the beautiful piece of land to the next large hotel. A Canadian couple I met (they go to that area for almost 20 years), told me that this probably the last "natural" and accessible part of the beach. The guy loved that I am traveling by bike! Well, then I practiced how to put up my super light tent (1,7 kg for a 2 person tent) and went to sleep with the sound of the waves in my ears. Day: 2 (March 13) Route: Playa del Carmen to Tolum Distance: 76,8 km Time: 4:17 h Wow, waking up at the beach and enjoying the sun rise is amazing! I quickly packed my stuff and had amazing breakfast in Playa (Nativos, a healthy food place on Avenida 30 con Constituyentes). Filled with lots of fruits I left the city with a lot energy. I passed by the giant amusement parks I saw the day before (basically big areas in the jungle with activities like quad riding, diving, snorkeling). As on the previous day, everything next to the Carretera Federal 307 is private property. So I was kind of forced to stay on that motorway until I reached Tolum. In Tolum I stayed at Punta Roca, a Hippiish camping Ground run by Max close to the maya ruins (on Google maps it's next To Playa Palmeras). There I met Jeff, a Canadian who already biked from Mexico to Panama once! I got a lot of useful advice. After grilling a giant steak (I told the guy I want meat for one person and he gave me a 400 gram piece) i chatted a bit with a Mexican tour guide living on the camping ground and some other travelers. Most of them are staying there for a couple of days or even weeks, which I can totally understand... A beautiful and peaceful place! Day: 3 (March 14) Route: Tolum to Felipe Carrillo Puerto Distance: 102,7 km Time: 4:35 h In the morning a visited the ruins in Tolum. Like a typical german I thought I could have them for myself if I would arrive very early. Well, no. Together with me, one guided group after the other poured into the ruin area. Challenge of the day: take a picture without a tourist on it. Back on the bike. Roughly 45 km away from Tolum I finally met another cyclist (Dominik  from east Germany). He is on his way back to the airport in Cancun, after a 10000 km and 6 months (average 70-80 km per day). The carpenter works for half the year in Switzerland and earns enough to travel for several months every year. He travelled with very little weight as you can see on the picture. His main conclusion was that the common perception that the Mexicans are all Criminals is simply wrong. Even in the drug zones he was treated well! He told me that there are 2 other cyclist going In my direction - let's see if I catch them! From now on there are no hotels anymore but many Ranchos. There is very little traffic and the roads are still ok. Nonetheless, I really had to fight to finish the first 100 km etape. Puerto is not touristic at all... There are no hostels or camping grounds. So I decided to stay in a hotel for a night before I wont see any real cities for about a week. On the way to the market I met a nice Mayan law student, who explained to me that there is a really good system to educate the Mayans living in remote communities. He is so grateful that he decided to become a teacher himself!

is the blog of a collegiate coxswain for Williams College, MA.  Being from New York, she also trains with the New York Athletic Club during the summer.

So there we go, I posted it again.