Hola Astockjoc,

Glad you are on you way. And let us keep in touch and meet up when we get close. I will not leave Oaxaca until next week. I am awaiting a tire and a package from home.

Life is GOOD!

Ride Safe,

Johnny

Lucky Sod!
 

If you get the chance spend time in San Cristobal De Las Casas in the Chiapas. Very underrated in my opinion, with a great nightlife.

Stay upright!

Well, i wanted to visit San Cristobal before entering Guatemala, however, i ran out of time. I had to start Epspanol classes in Quezaltenango on July 22. I had some great experiences in Mexico. Road mostly through the mountains and, as you know, it is beautiful. My favorite places were the mountain town of Xilitla and Oaxaca. The people treated me like family. And, both places amoung others are cool for different reasons. Most people from the states have no idea how beautiful Mexico is. Oh well, their loss. I'll be back for more. Now it's time to try to learn Spanish so i can absorb more of these cultures. And, Quezaltenango, Guatemala is very cool too. I'll be here for probably several weeks and onward south for more.

Thanks to all on Horizons who have given me valuable bits of information to give me confidence to do this by moto.

Great stuff, we feel the same way, Xela is a great place and we loved it.

Get hold of what car" (Juan) on adv as he hangs there, take a trip to Tajulmulco Volcan, awesome place.

Oh please keep us posted on your daily happenings!! Love reading your tales. My 16 year old son and I just got back from about a month in Ecuador. We were in Guate about 8 years ago - he was a little kid back then - we both love Guate. Have fun!!!
What school are you going to? How is it? My wife studied at ICA about 20 years ago while I volunteered as a nurse in Nebaj.

Hey BMWGlenn,

Thanks for your comments. I choose Xela for school because it seemed less Americanized. Less chance to sit around speaking English. My school is Casa Xelaju. It is located in Zona 1. Close to the central Parque. Julio Bartes started it 25 years ago and has a fairly large and wonderful complex with the school and apartments overlooking the city. Cool place. The school does lots of social work in the area and donates part of the tuition to projects in the area.

Las Posas (the pools) Xilita is very cool. Visit this website for details www.xilitla.org

I stayed at the Posada Casa James, up the hill from Las Posas. The rate is higher that you might pay in Xilita hostel, but I decided to splurge. The owners are the most gentle people ever. While I was a guest there were problems with the Internet service and the owners let me use their cell phone to send an email.

Speaking of rain...I have a Nolan helmet with a piece "pinlock" anti-fog plastic. The pinlock is a second layer of plastic that snaps in behind the helmet face plate. I left without the pinlock and regretted it every time it rained. When my wife visited me in Buenos Aires she brought on down and I was happy as a clam everything it rained. Not sure if pinlock is used by other helmet makers, but highly suggest getting this feature.

On the road again
 

After two months in Xela (Quetzaltenango), Guatemala leaning a little Spanish, i am finally on the road again. If you ever visit Guatemala, don't miss Xela. It is very cool and there is much to see in the area within an hour of the city. Now, i have made my way to El Salvador and plan to enter Honduras in the next few days. The total fees to enter El Salvador were five dollars. The lowest fees in all Central America. Guess they are trying to promote tourism. The ride along the coast CA2 is easy and very beautiful. Lots of great ocean views and cool little towns.

Well, having crossed several borders in the past week i can safely say that Honduras boarder was the worst, most expensive and the most confusing. However, El Salvador was a pleasant surprise. The total fees for bike and migration were $5.00 US and no problems. The Pacific coast of El Salvador along CA2 is really beautiful and a nice ride. I am now at my near term destination (a few months) Costa Rica. Also, for those of you going to Central America for the first time, i urge you to buy Sjoerd Bakker's books on hotels and much other valuable information. When you pull into any fair sized Central American city in the middle of the afternoon or later, it can be very confusing not to mention the heat, being tired after a long ride and security of your bike and luggage. Most of the suggestions in Sjoerd's book are very good, inexpensive and all have had very secure parking for the bike.

COOL!!! you´ll love Guatemala! just try to avoid to ride at nights in the little villages and in red zones and you will be just fine. And if you need anything in your time in Guatemala you can contact me. Be safe and have fun!!!

Hola Astockjoc,

If you come to Nicaragua I recommend you to visit León as well.

I can offer you as well a cheap and safe accommodation in the case you need one and a lot of information for your trip.

Here you can see where we are:

Where we are - Bike-Nicaragua, geführte Motorradtouren, guided Motorbike-tours

Good journey

saludos Jürgen

Hi majo. We are going to be soon in Guatemala. I might drop you a line for some questions ! Cheers, Ian. Myroadisyourroad.tumblr.com