Well, I actuall was carrying my tank bag with me. It was stuffed into my helmet which I had put down beside me on the counter at Aduana while filling out forms. I had no room to lock it up in my cases.

I'd be more than happy to answer any questions if you have specific things you want to know about.

Suffice it to say, the countries are all great in their own way and the people I've met were nothing but helpful and hospitable. Even the chicken bus driver in Nicaragua who ran me off the road didn't mean it in a personal way

The best advice I can give is learn some Spanish, smile a lot, have LOTS of patience, leave your North American expectations at home and go with the flow, expect travel distances to take 1 1/2 times to twice as long as back home, border procedures always involve checking out of the country you're in (both immigration and customs) and then going through the next country's immigration and customs. Three countries require liability insurance, which is sold at the border ...Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. If you're coming back through a country again, ask to be allowed to hang on to your vehicle import permit, and in the case of Mexico your tourist visa. Be aware that just because something worked a certain way for me, or others, doesn't mean that it's going to work the same way for you. I get the impression that there is a lot of ignorance and lack of training at some of the borders and everyone seems to have had a different experience. I didn't use any helpers at all and did fine. Others have used them but do search the forums for some cautionary notes and horror stories with helpers. Anything more specific, contact me or ask in the forums.