April 05, 2003
Wi-Fi in the Jungle

For the last month or so, travelers to Palenque who stay at Panchan have been able to check email without going into town, thanks to Chato's new cybercafe. Air-conditioned, overlooking the jungle on one side and a meadow on the other, open from 8am to 11pm every day.

I finally took the time to set up a wireless access point, the Linksys WAP11, and today for the first time I am surfing and posting wirelessly. Without an external antenna, the range is limited, especially with all the foliage in the way. The WAP11 can act as a bridge, so with the addition of more APs, we can extend the range.

But I am able to sit in the restaurant (Don Mucho's) and do my work, 200 feet or so from the AP. Until I can do that in my room at the far end of the compound, the cool cybercafe is still the preferred place, at least in the mid-day heat.

Today a bubble in the jungle, tomorrow a cloud in the city.

Posted by Dave at April 05, 2003 01:44 PM