Long Straights, Fewer Topes, and a New'ish Mexican Town
36 days. Who’d have thunk it? 36 days and nights and a lot of miles n smiles. I haven’t counted in a while, but it’s quite a few.

Today’s ride was really different from what I have been riding the last few days . Leaving Palenque, there were no twisties—just road. Straight. Bizarre, honestly. I actually had the bike up to speed for real, ok even beyond a bit. I thought, “Oh my God, I haven’t done this for so long.” I’ve been twisting and turning for weeks. The road ranged from decent to okay to just missing altogether in some spots. Some stretches were basically pothole fields—almost gravel. I even saw locals filling potholes with this red muck in one section. This was highways 10 and 203 I took the back wasy to connect to 186. And 186 is better, still some rough sections and potholes, but long and straight and faster. Oh, and lots of truck traffic or just traffic period. Was not used to that, or at speed anyways.

The country along 10 and 203? Honestly, it felt like high country ranchland in the USA or Canada. Big green fields, cattle, ranches. Just flat and wide open. I guess the Yucatán Peninsula really is just that—flat. And with fewer towns, there were way fewer topes, which felt like a bit of a treat. It was actually kind of nice to just cruise for a while.

Rolling into Escárcega
I rolled into Escárcega around 1:30 or 2 p.m. It’s a newer town, only about 120 years old, which makes it brand new by Mexican standards. It kind of reminded me of the west in Canada or the USA also, where a 60-year-old building gets a heritage plaque.
Escárcega’s an industrial hub, built on rail and trucking. It’s a workaday town, no doubt. But it’s got everything. I found a hotel—pretty sure it was called YAAKUNA, decent room, secure parking, AC, all the essentials. Cost :500 pesos. Can’t complain. It’s only three blocks from Centro.

Exploring Town
After settling in and cleaning up, I wandered into town. Like most Mexican towns, lots of people out and about, lots of little shops. I found the public market, but honestly, it wasn’t much. Big space, but most of the stalls were closed up. I was there around 3 or 3:30, which shouldn’t have been too late in the day. Maybe it’s more of a weekend thing, or earlier in the morning. Hard to say. It felt like maybe the market’s best days were behind it.
What stood out more was this pedestrian strip—like a small paseo—no cars or motos, just foot traffic. It runs about three blocks, connecting a park to a plaza. Shops line it, though again, a lot were closed. Still, as the evening wore on, more people came out, more shops opened up, and it felt more lively.

The Mayan Train
You can’t miss the massive overhead rail line running through town. That’s the Mayan Train—Tren Maya—a government mega-project aiming to boost tourism and jobs in the Yucatán and southern Mexico. It’s been controversial, with lots of pushback from environmental groups and Indigenous communities, and from what I can tell, it’s not fully operational yet.
Some parts are running though. I guess the line from here to Palenque is active. They say it takes about two and a half hours with a couple stops. But it’s far from running at full capacity. Seems like a lot of money spent on something that’s still trying to figure itself out. But hey, every country has its big projects that take forever and cost more than planned. Canada, the U.S.—we’re no strangers to that.
I swung by the station—new, fancy, but totally empty. Just a security guard. No passengers, no movement. Felt kind of surreal. Across the street, though, was a big, rough soccer field with some crazy bleachers, that kept some welders busy for a few days.!!

Three-Wheelers and Small Town Vibes
Here, the three-wheeled moto and pedal carts are the workhorses. Some have the cargo or passenger part in front, some in back. No tuk-tuks here—these are DIY, hand-built rigs for the most part. And there are taxis too, lots of them, but it’s those carts that really move stuff around.
The plaza itself was quiet. No big fancy churches either—makes sense, since this isn’t a colonial town. The pioneers were long gone by the time this place was built. It’s not bad here, just not old Mexico. A different kind of Mexican town. Still real, just not ancient.

Calling It a Night
So that was the day. A good ride, a straight road, and a town built on work, not history. We’re working our way toward the Caribbean now.
Did I mention it was 35c / 95f and humid, ok if you are moving. Not so much if you are not..!!

Like the prairies:

Good roads ,Bad roads. :


Public Market :









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