October 16th... "Well its day 15 or 16 and here is my schedule so far. Rain, rain almost every day, but most of it has been at night. The first day I crossed the border it came down, the worst in 7 years. I was riding in 20 inches of water and the bike was doing well until a 3 ft. wave from a truck hit me. Needless to say the bike died and I had to spend the night. I took my boots off and turned them upside down to empty out half a gallon of water. Cleaned the plugs and dried out the air filter and was ready to go. The next day I stopped in Victoria for lunch then stayed the night in Cuidad Mante. Continued on to Tampico, helmetless and was stopped by the federales and had to bribe him with 170 pesos, then went into the bustling city and had a corona for 7 pesos. On to Tuxpan, then a little town calle Tecolutla for a two day stay by the beach. Saw the ruines of el Tajin, a Toltonac civilzation. the last couple of days I stayed in another beach town called Chachalacas checked out the ruines of Zempeola plus some hot springs. Unfortunately it had just rained so the dirt road was a mud road. The bike fully loaded did not hold up... wipe out. Luckly a couple of campesinos came by in a pick-up and helped me get it up. I was a bit muddy and the bike was alright. Tonight I will be staying in Tlacoltanpan and we will see about tommorow."

Just before arriving in the high mountain town of Oaxaca, Jim saw a helpless, lonely, 4 week old puppy abandoned next to a roadside shop. He was told that 10 minites prior the dog had been abandoned by it's owners. The shop keep was unable to take the pup and Jim just couldn't leave him, so he tucked the pup in his jacket and made for the nearest vet. It's been several days now and the pup seems to be pretty comfy cruising in the tank bag.

October 21st... "I've seen the Pacific and it looks great. Puerto Escondido, is not so escondido.They're starting to develop this place pretty quickly but it is still pretty laid back. I'm staying at Solemon hostel for 50 pesos and the place is pretty empty so I have a room all to myself...I'm just gonna hang out at the beach now, it was another rough ride today. These mountain roads are pretty treacherous."

It's been over a week now and Jim still hasn't left. With this unexpected paradise pit stop he will certainly have to modify his itinerary. With this kind of splender though, you can hardly blame him. In his first week there he coincidently ran into a long time regular of Asylum, Alejandra who was in town shooting a special for National Geographic. He met up with her and her film crew later that day at "one of the most beautiful beaches, small, secluded and some pretty good snorkleing."

October 23..."When I showed up, they were enjoying their first day off with a cooler of beers and some pollito. I set up my hammock and joined them. After an hour or so the beer was gone but no problem since there was a couple of vendors under their palapas ready to sell you a cold one. Then I took Angelito into the water and realized his eyes are the same color as the water. When I came out the crew had switched from coronas to coco locos, fresh coconuts filled with margaritas, mine was the largest coconut I'd ever seen. This thing was so huge you had to use both hands to pick it up. After the munchies kicked in we ordered up some oysters from a local sitting on some rocks by the ocean. He cracked open the live oysters and served them ulp with limes and hot sauce, que rico! After a cool shower I met up with the crew and had a great dinnner, margaritas and polished it all off with some local mezcal. What a day, these guys treated me to the best ime I 've had yet...have a shot of Monte Alban(mezcal) for me..."

October 25th..."well I haven't left yet and tomorrow Kenneth, from DC, invited me to stay in his house on 7 acres, overlooking the ocean so we can enjoy the finest that Mexico has to offer."

October 28th..."this guy Kenny, from DC, turned out to be a real nice guy. He's got this house next to the light house over Puerto Escondido, that he's watching for anohter DC lawyer. Mango's, bananas, limes, coconuts, oranges, grapefriut trees and some corn surround the property.. I could live off the land easy here. The first day I got here I could see a bit of the ocean but the place was overgrown, unkept for a couple of years. Within an hour I started hacking away with a machete and had a cleared a good section around this big old tree. Wow! That's more like it. Yesterday I picked up some pruning sheers, gloves, a sharpening stone and a lock for the large wooden gate, which he paid me for cuz he felt bad that I was doing all this work for free. Hell, he's letting me stay on this huge property with best view in Esconcdido for free. So the rest of the day I pruned back all the bushes and planted a palm tree that I split off the larger one. It has a few more babies, so today I'll plant a couple more."

November 3rd..."just another lazy day, up until last night the neighbors were playing their music and shooitng off their polbora(fireworks). Last night was different, the day of the dead had arrived...no fireworks, no music. It was eerie how quiet it was, until the winds started blowing. I went out to sit under the tree and watch the storm roll in. About half an hour past and the winds were so strong it was blowing limbs off the trees, even blew ceramic off the wall and knocked over a vase...the dead had arrived. I finally had to come in, but Angelito was loving it and preferred to stay out. By the time it was over, the place was a mess, time to clean up. Tonight I move into the guest room, now that the brits have left. I slept on the hammock for the last week and woke up to see the sun rise over the bay every morning."

November 20..."I am leaving today! I'll be heading out around mid day with some girls that I've met. they want to go about two hours south from Puerto to do a little camping. I figured if I don't leave now I never will. I'll start sending pictures on a regular basis, but I can only send 3 at a time. The first few days in Puerto I stayed at the Shalom hostal as you recall, about three or four weeks ago. The first picture is of Mariana and Kigel, so you can see it was hard to leave there. There is actually a place called Puerto Angelito in Puerto Escondido. This was taken about 4 weeks ago, so he's doubled in size. The last picture was taken off of Zipolite beach, which is where the best surfing is at. I believe the surfing contest is this weekend, but I'll have to miss it. hope everything is well..."

November 23..."Well, it took a while but I'm now in Chiapas, in a town called Citalapa. I'll be leaving shortly for San Cristobal de las Casas in a bit and from there it's just a few days to Merida. Mom keeps worrying about getting angelito on the ferry....maybe you can drop her a line and tell her to stop worrying. One thing I didn't take off the other bike was the chain and this one has just about had it. Yesterday I stayed at this beach called "Bajo de la Cruz" and it was very isolated with a fresh water lagoon so you can rinse off after a swim in the ocean. No electricity or running water, but we made do. I was there with my friend Julia from Canada, Cynthia from Colombia, Felipe from from France and a gringo. The road was dirt with a lot of run offs from the rainy season, definitely the worst so far. I went down once, but no harm to the bike and a few scrapes and bruises. Well, from now on I have to stick to paved roads cuz I don't think this chain can hold up much more, there are cracks in a least four of the links, so wish me luck..."

November 28..."I am now in Merida. Today I will be going to the U.S. Consulate to report my stolen passport, find another place to stay, since we are being kicked out of this hostal and find out how I can get Angelito on the boat. Should be a productive day. The ferry leaves Sunday at midnight so I have time to check out another ruin or two. Hope you all have a good Thanksgiving and hold down the fort, re-enforcments are on the way, so plan your two months bro, cause I want to get back here as soon as possible....Jimmy"

"Today is Sunday and I'll be leaving this evening on the ferry for Tampa. Merida has been nice but as with all major cities there is a lot of traffic and the cars and busses don't respect motorbikes. Luckily my D.C. riding experience kicks in and you just stay aware and try to get to the front of the pack so when the light turns green you leave them in the dust. A lot of ruins in Yucatan, I would need a month to see them all. Yesterday I went to see Uxmal, one of the bigger Mayan cities. For an ancient civilization, they built an incredible city with aqueduct systems and some very unique pyramids. Next year I hope to come back the same way, via the ferry, and go down the coast to do some diving. The ferry runs till mid April, then goes back to Nova Scotia for the summer. Prices seem pretty good, about $100 one-way for me and $125 for the bike. Well time to pack and say good by to Mexico, or at least asta luego, cause I will be back.

See you soon,

Jimmy"