March 10-14, 2004

We arrive in Lazaro Cardenas on Good Friday and guided by imprecise directions from several separate sources we find ourselves checking out a sex motel (the cheapest thing around). We haggle until the deal is good and scoot inside the phallic “lighthouse” hotel. We spend the next day working on articles and doing errands. Of special significance are the paletas (Popsicles) of which we partake with much frequency.
Our hours in the hotel of infidelity come to an end at 6am. A bench at the Navy marina guardpost serves as a breakfast site and we chow a whole pineapple in the midst of ridiculous early morning laughter and monkey antics. We float through the serene empty city as it awakes with the first rays of sun. The ride continues until Casey spots a coconut tree. It’s time for breakfast number two. We drink the juice and then eat granola out of our coconut bowls. We ride a full 95kms and arrive in the evening at a beautiful Ixtapa beach with big gentle waves. We fumble through dinner as best we can.

The next day we sweat past several tiny villages and stop for chicken noodle soup under a tree. Johanne confesses her doubts to whether she feels like continuing with the trip. The voyage involves too few things that are absolutely necessary, namely: walks in the forest, stability of any sort such as stopping and enjoying more frequently and biking less, and friends.