Catemaco to Villahermosa

Sun 4th September

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Breakfast this morning was taken at a restaurant on the lakeside at Catemaco. The sun was shining and the view idyllic.

View of Laguna de Catemaco from our breakfast table.

We had about 200 miles to travel again today. The first 50 miles or so went through all the towns and villages and had lots of those dreaded topes...........

.......and some places where the road just disappeared.

Me going over one of the infamous topes. They vary considerably in size and height and are often difficult to see. Frequently they are not even signed.

A few minutes later Bob didn't spot one until too late and parted company with his bike again. He has a few more bruises, sprains and grazes to add to the collection but otherwise is fine. His dragging jeans are shredded at the knees but the kevlar remained in tact, so they work and his helmet's visor now has that frosted look. His bike suffered a little more and we spent the next couple of hours straightening out bent crash bars, twisted forks and fork brace. The front rack protected the headlamp assembly but was bent beyond repair so it was removed and discarded.

Typical isn't it. A couple of miles after we set off again we went onto the equivalent of our motorways for the rest of today's ride and no more topes. We arrived at Villahermosa about 7.30pm and by the time we sorted out a hotel and had something to eat it was time for bed. Not sure what Villahermosa has to offer but we won't be seeing much of it as we need to get some more miles under our belts tomorrow.