Even 6 months can be over so quickly - coming monday I'll be back to work...

You won't be surprised to read that I thoroughly enjoyed every single minute of this extensive motorcycle tour. During these 6 months I covered some 35000 km (on my '99 BMW F650), of which some 27000 in South America. I crossed Argentina (almost entirely), Bolivia, Brasil, Chile (entirely), Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay.

There's a small island at the northern tip of the Yucatan peninsula and it's called Holbox. It's rather off the beaten track, i.e. less touristy and you get there by a one-hour ride on a kind of waterbus from the mainland. It makes most sense to leave the bike on a guarded parking lot on the mainland - and this is what I did.

Cozumel is Mexicos only significant caribbean island, it's famous for snorkeling and diving - and it's a nice, calm and not too expensive place to stay. After El-Arenal-like Playa del Carmen, Cozumel was quite a positive surprise - although of course also here you have the inevitable hords of cruise ship passengers and hence hundreds of tourist-trash-shops, all selling the same useless junk - with bored mexicans sitting in front, shouting at you "amigo, come in!!". I wonder when they will learn that this is putting people off rather than attracting them.

The Caribean is really paradisiac, but of course quite touristy (and with the corresponding price structure). I was tempted to stay on the beach all day and swim, enjoy the sun and the beach bar - but in the end I actually could not do it since I would be bored quickly - and I wanted to see as much as I could before returning home. So I did a subterranean snorkeling tour through a few of Yucatan's thousands "Cenotes" (natural ponds), which turned out to be amazingly beautiful stalactite caves.

Having safely returned by night bus from Mexico City to Palenque, I was very happy to realize that my bike was still in the courtyard of the little hotel, where I had left it. Even my left luggage was complete and untouched. Well actually I did not expect anything else - I have great faith in the people of Chiapas! :-)