Big Roads, Big Trucks, and a Bit of a Letdown
Left Escárcega early this morning and made my way to Chetumal. And yes, pretty much straight roads again the whole way. Big highway, wide shoulders, decent pavement overall, but not particularly exciting. There was a fair bit of traffic and a lot of construction. I’d say around 30% of the ride was torn up or being worked on. Some of it you couldn’t even figure out what they were doing. Some of it seemed kind of pointless, but I’m sure someone has a plan.
And the military presence? Heavy. Not patrolling, but big army trucks—convoys hauling gear, and some even helping with the construction. There’s gotta be a big base somewhere nearby. They were everywhere.
So yeah, kind of a cruise. Nothing challenging, just time in the saddle. Lost an hour due to a time zone shift when I hit Chetumal.
Chetumal: Not What I Imagined
Now, about Chetumal. This was supposed to be a bit of a milestone. Even though Zihuatanejo was the fun, symbolic first stage destination, Chetumal was the real geographical turnaround point. The Caribbean coast. The edge. I always knew I’d end up here before heading north up the coast toward Cancún.
And I’m not sure what I was expecting—but it wasn’t this.
Chetumal is just really different. It’s flat, like most of the peninsula, and the streets are wide, blacktop, and laid out almost like a grid. No cobblestone, no brick, none of the usual charm. It felt… like the USA or Canada. Honestly, parts of it really reminded me of a smaller U.S. or Canadian city. And maybe that was part of the problem.
I’d planned to treat myself to a seafront room on the Malecón. First hotel didn’t seem to exist anymore, but the next one had a great corner room with a wraparound view on the third floor. Room wasn’t quite ready, so I sat down at the restaurant and had a simple Milanesa de Pollo. And it was… fine. Not bad, just very “prepared.” Like something you’d get in a chain restaurant back home. The sauce was decent, but the vibe was off. Wait staff felt less friendly than what I’ve gotten used to all across Mexico. Prices were definitely more touristy.
Exploring the City
Once I was settled in, I cleaned up and hit the Malecón. The weather didn’t help—overcast, windy, and the sea was rough and a bit dirty. So no turquoise Caribbean postcard view today. Still, I walked a good stretch of it. The Malecón itself is long and clean, but again—felt kind of impersonal. Government buildings lined a big stretch of it, and what I thought were vendor tents turned out to be protest camps. Dozens of them. Some kind of civil worker or education protest from what I could tell, with banners, folding chairs, and signs everywhere.
There are a lot of statues here. Every few hundred feet, another monument to someone or something—some impressive, some not so much. There’s even a huge structure out over the water that looks like maybe a lighthouse or something marine-related. Nope—Googled it, and it serves no real purpose. I think it’s called the Mega Escultura. It might house tourism offices underneath, but otherwise? Just kind of… there. And the waterfront was a lot of nightclubs and restaurants that looked pretty uptown, not very Mexican
As I made my way back through central, I kept trying to figure out why it all felt so off. And here’s some thoughts. In the smaller towns across Mexico, the markets and street vendors feel personal. You’re buying from someone who owns that spot, who lives off what they sell. You feel a connection. Here, it’s mostly storefronts—big, clean, organized places, staffed by employees. There’s just not the same soul in it. The streets are all like that, because they are wide and far apart that sense of closesness and community are lost. I did not see many streets that two cars could not comfortably pass with cars parked on either side, unless it was a one way and they were also wide with parking on both sides.
In “real” Mexico, the vendors are shoulder to shoulder, or their store and wares literally spill out onto the sidewalk. Here? There’s nothing really on the sidewalk. Because who would put it all out and bring it in every day? Employees??
Chetumal isn’t bad. It’s just… not what I thought it would be. For the most part on this trip I have just let myself be amazed and taken it all in, no thoughts on how "it would be" and possibly that was my mistake here. Or maybe I caught it on a rough day. Maybe the sea is bluer when the wind isn’t blowing. Maybe the smiles come easier on another day. But after so much warmth and character in the towns I’ve passed through, this place felt kind of sterile. A little Western. A little… forgettable.
Calling It a Night
So that was Day 37. A long straight ride, a new town, and a reminder that expectations can be tricky. You never really know what you’re gonna get. I might hang around a little tomorrow, or I might push north. But I'm moving forward much more open minded on what is ahead.
And that's why it's called .. AllPartOfTheAdventure
ps: Back in Escárcega, someone mentioned they thought they’d heard Andy and Red were heading toward Chetumal. After today, I can’t imagine they’d be here. Maybe I just didn’t find the right part of town. Or maybe they worked there way up the coast to somewhere smaller.
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