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No Jobs, No Responsibilities, No Better Time then Now
No Jobs, No Responsibilities, No Better Time
Nearly three years ago I had a dream, conjured up in the midst of a summer tryst in South America, backpacking during a year off from school. https://i.imgur.com/8GaGEGZ.jpg I will ride my motorcycle around the world. Alone? Maybe. With friends? Perhaps. With a significant other? Possibly. Either way, it was pivotal. That moment was the beginning of a mental journey draped over the cutting board of the past three years, mixed with a college education, hammered into shape by a strong determination, and cooked into a possibility by the efforts of unexpected employment. My university graduation took place on June 12th, 2010. It was a nice warm, sunny Saturday afternoon in Bellingham Washington. I now had a degree in International Business, with a Spanish minor equivalent. Congratulations Alex. Round One Complete. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...Graduation.jpg Work started two days later, Monday June 14, 2010. Location: Juneau Alaska. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...uatitsbest.jpg In the past seven days, I had taken and passed 4 university level final exams, written 12 pages between two papers, received 40hrs of instruction on how to drive a commercial vehicle, taken and passed my Commercial Drivers license examination, moved all of my personal belongings from my college apartment back into old room at my parents house, moved 3 motorcycles home, packed for work, and flew away to Juneau, Alaska. Unknowingly I was to remain there for 6 months. Working 6 days and often over 50+ hours a week, I made my home in an Extended Stay hotel. All expenses minus personal food and my cell phone were provided. I had less than $300/mo in personal expenses. My income was magnitudes greater. What did I do? I saved every cent earned. Why? I was riding around the world on my motorcycle. When? Yet to be determined. I worked as an emergency services contractor for the local Home Depot. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/JuneauHD.jpg You might ask… YOU DID WHAT? I delivered appliances. That's right. I graduated from a 4 yr university, and was employed delivering appliances and material for Home Depot, and I liked it. They paid the best, and I wasn't in it for the long term. Saving money was the goal. Best decision yet. But even better yet. I can bring my own assistant. Meet Kristi! Kristi. She’s my favorite. She knows all about my goal, and even listens when I tell her all about them, two, three, four times in a row. Better yet, she knows her goals as well. School first. She works with me in the summers and continues her schooling otherwise. Her planned graduation date is the summer of 2012. She wants to come. Maybe we leave then? Awesome, I’d like her to come. She’s capable, adventurous, fun loving, and spirited. Can she ride a bike? Not yet. Would she be willing to learn? Of course she would. Did I like her enough to have her along the whole way? Well, we’ve been together for 3 years. I like her a lot. Meet Kristi! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...KristiandI.jpg I liked my job. I worked for a good man who paid me well. I told my friend. He got a job and liked it too. He was paid well. He liked my idea too. Third piece of the pie? It so happens that I’ve known Tom for 16 years. Long enough to know he could handle it. Around the world? So what, big deal. Hence, Tom came to work with me and learned to drive big trucks. We’re fellow Eagle Scouts. Tom studied International Business as well. Tom speaks Spanish too. Ball is rolling now. Are we getting somewhere? Meet Tom! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...dIinJuneau.jpg We worked and we saved, and we worked and we saved, and we studied. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...rsKidEllie.jpg We were making headway. We set goals. We’d start the summer of 2012. We’d ride around the world. We’d spend 25 months doing it. We’d hit 6 continents, see 70+ countries, ride 60k+ Miles, and ride…. What kind of motorcycles? See the link to the decision making process here. Yamaha WR250R vs Honda XR650L vs Suzuki DR650 - ADVrider Decision made, Dr650’s the steed of choice. Awesome, Let’s buy some. Done. Bikes purchased. Congratulations, Alex, Kristi and Tom. Round Two Complete. Tom’s Motorcycle http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...2008DR6501.jpg My Motorcycle http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...ime/Dr6501.jpg Kristi’s Motorcycle http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...Dr650Bike1.jpg Yay! Motorcycles are bought! Let’s ride the hell out of them in the mean time! And so we did. Even in the snow. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...ofthemotos.jpg Until… We got LAID OFF! What did you say!?!? We got laid off. We worked as independent contractors, for a contractor who supplied emergency services to a company that delivers for 70% of all of the Home Depots in the United States and Canada. Someone quits, can’t be replaced locally, we fill the job temporarily, they find a new guy, and we train the new guy, than we leave. Our employer charges a lot. The company we contract too doesn’t like it. My employer doesn’t like them. So he stops contracting to them. So 15 guys like me lose their jobs. Tom and I now have no jobs…. Well what now you ask? Plan B. This sucks. Not everyone can be happy. But circumstances exist, opportunities have arisen, decisions must be made. And made they were. Tom and I will leave early, and go until we have to stop! How much earlier? 14 months earlier. How long will we last? We saved about 50% of our goal. Half way sounds good! Congratulations Alex and Tom. Round 3 Complete. (No more job!) What about Kristi? School is important. She will continue her schooling and visit us during her school breaks. She’s bummed, but understanding. She’s wistful to join, but determined to ace school. Now’s not the right time for her. However, it IS the right time for us. Time to modify motorcycles! Tom’s Motorcycle! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...2008DR6501.jpg My Motorcycle! (sans top pelican case, since added) http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...keModified.jpg Modifications are now complete. Elapsed time is around 9.5 months from date of completion of round one. We leave 27 hours. Saturday morning, April 2nd, 2011. It will be Tom’s birthday. He’ll be 24. I am 24. We’re young, but we’re prepared. We’re Eagle Scouts, remember? Our new goal is to travel for 9+ months. Destination is “South”. We hope the generic hope, to reach Ushuaia. Will we? Yes we will. When? We don’t know. Why you ask? Because. It doesn’t matter where we go, just as long as we go. And go we will. Like the wind. Stay tuned brothers and sisters, Round 4 is just beyond the horizon!!! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...laskaVista.jpg |
Have a good one
Me like. Nice post, safe journey.
Waving hankey. Peter, in Oslo |
You lucky sod!!!
Godd luck and watch out for the tin boxes. |
Awesome. Best of luck on the journey and post plenty so we can follow along.
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Day one! On the Road!
Ahoy! Day one is underway, and we have reached Eugene Oregon! We are staying at Tom’s Dad’s friend Tom’s house. That’s right, there are two Tom’s today. We left this morning from my parent’s house at 7:10. Tom was nice enough to wait on me. I was running late. Why? Because I stayed up until 3am packing, and taking care of business. Did we cover all the bases? Most likely. We’ll see how it goes! If you can fix it, don’t worry. If you can’t fix it. Don’t worry.
Taking off! We’re on our way! Tom is in Orange. I am Dark Green. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...ffondayone.jpg Onward! Time to get fuel. Haha. We were already low on fuel, and Tom had to pull over on the side of the highway in the first 10 miles. Why? His bike sputtered out and he couldn’t switch to reserve fast enough. Luckily, we’re both have a Sena SMH10 Bluetooth communication devices. They are good for nearly 1000 yards, and work great. They are also the most weatherproof that we could find. We got a complete dual pack for a great deal from Rocket Moto in the vendor section. Check them out! Tom simply let me know he was on the side of the highway. I pulled over, and he caught up, and we rolled along. Awesome. First fuel stop, http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...stFuelStop.jpg Daaaaaaaaaaaaaamn it. The first 180 miles was nothing but rain. The headsets held up well, and are still in great shape. We’re wearing Rev’it Cayenne Pro Jacket’s and pants. They zip together, and are WATERPROOF. AWESOME. Tom’s wearing a pair of leather, waterproof work boots, and I have a pair of Alpinestar Web Goretex Boots. We’re getting along pretty well. First pit stop, damn rain was so dense it was like driving through fog at times. Pretty gnarly. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...rstpitstop.jpg Being able to talk to each other is great. We can make plans on the fly, stop for fuel at good any time. We’ll around 11:30 we were getting hungry, and we needed fuel. Vancouver, Washington was a good spot. We made it 180 miles before Tom ran to his reserve while on the fly, and we averaged 42mpg at 65-70mph the whole way, fully loaded. Not bad in our opinions. Time for food, http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a.../Timetoeat.jpg Well, after food, we made plans to stop in Eugene for the day. 300 miles in total. It’s been good so far. We’ll Tom’s Dad’s friend Tom brew beer for a hobby. So we had some beer! Time for Beer, http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a.../TheFridge.jpg Meet Tom and Tom, http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a.../TomandTom.jpg Tom’s gnarly ‘Stasche http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...narlystash.jpg Time for Food! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...0Time/Food.jpg It’s been a good day one for us. We’re enjoying our time on the road despite the crappy weather; we’re having a great time! Chalk 1 up for day one! Awesome! Tomorrow we’d like to ride about 5 hours. That would put us in Redding California. Can you hear that C THRU U? We’d love to take you up on that offer for a place to crash. Onward! --Alex |
Terrific couple of opening posts!
Maybe you should find someone back home to act as agent, get you hooked up with a publisher, there must be possibilities there. Btw, unless I missed it, you never introduced us to the little lad teaching you on the computer....... :smile2: Have a great journey. |
A great start, keep it coming! :)
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Day 2 and 3
Well, we’re back on the road again! Day 2 started out well, and we were on the road by 10am. Not as early as some people like to embark, but early enough for us. Our riding style is relaxed. And we stop whenever we feel like it. Everything is a fluid as possible. Room for reasonable reasoning as I like to call it. We rode from Eugene Oregon, to Phillipsville California. It was some good riding, and the sun was out nearly the entire day. We even broke out the summer weight riding gloves for part of the ride. Our goal was to ride the 101 for as long as we saw fit. Other people had their own agenda. Due to the rock slide over 101 just north of a town called Garberville, we came to a halt around 8:30pm. It was a good time to take a break anyway. We chatted it up with the road crew worker who was directing wayward travelers such as ourselves. He was paid double time on Sunday’s and was all sorts of happy about it.
Leaving Tom’s in Eugene http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...20Time/Tpm.jpg On the way there we stopped at the Bigfoot Cavern. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...footCavern.jpg And had a couple of burgers. We ride some awesome road through Hwy 101 http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...Riding1013.jpg We’ll Tom picked up a flat tire around the same time. We noticed it was running flat just as we pulled over for a break. The fixing of the flat tire took about 25 minutes (we’re still getting used to it) and it has held up over the past 300 miles just fine. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...msFlattire.jpg And right after we fixed his flat tire, we found a great place to camp (thanks to the sober guy at the bar that gave us directions, and thanks to our LED offroad lights, purchased from advmonster.com) http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...tingupCamp.jpg We slept for about 8 hours, and then it was time to break camp. No tents this time around, and it was about 40degrees that night. Not bad for just some sleeping pads and sleeping bags. It was a good time. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...eakingCamp.jpg Day 3 We crossed the newly fixed landslide slide area, and rode the 101 all the way to San Fran. About 243 miles. Nothing to intense. We saw lots of big ass redwood trees, and no less than a few hundred curvy roads. The weather approached 75 degrees as we grew closer to San Francisco, and the layers started coming off. We stopped at a few “vista points” http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...taPoint101.jpg And took a picture of my bike, http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...ime/Myride.jpg Stopped at a Denny’s for some food, cause we didn’t eat breakfast http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...ime/Dennys.jpg Rode some more awesome highway 101 tracks, http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...riding1012.jpg … And rode to meet, Brady “Bones” Flynn in San Fran at his apartment. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...radysPlace.jpg On the way there we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/GGBridge.jpg Then we hung out with Brady. Meet Brady! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a.../MeetBrady.jpg Tom and Brady went to Gonzaga University together. Brady’s apartment has a bitchin view. Brady “Bones’” view http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...BradysView.jpg Then we went to some bars and had some food. I had a blue cheese burger and it was delicious. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...dHARRYSBAR.jpg Now, we’re hitting the sack. Sleeping on Brady’s couches and enjoying being off the ground. We had a good couple of days. It turns out that Tom didn’t bring his bike registration or title with him, so we’re having his Parents mail it ahead to a Post Office in San Diego. Of course he needs these items to get into Mexico, and though I have mine with me, we failed to communicate the necessity before we left a few days ago. The documents will be waiting for us this Wednesday afternoon. A minor ordeal, but an important one for sure. I went to the REI today here in San Fran to buy some compression sacks, and a couple of stuff sacks for the trip. I ended up with a 15* bag to replace my ghetto 32 degree bag, and the before mentioned stuff save. Today has been a good day! Tomorrow we plan to make it to Los Angeles. Hopefully we do’! --Alex |
Day 4!
Ahhh, we went to bed late last night. Tom straight up passed out. He looked like this when he went to bed
http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3005.jpg And some during the night he underwent a metamorphosis. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3006.jpg We woke up at about 9am this morning. No rush for anyone around. Yes, we planned to reached L.A. today, but so what. 432 miles down Highway 101… 8 hours. Easy. I wanted to make sure I fit into my new sleeping bag fit. Did I mention? I’m 6’6”. I Fit! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3007.jpg And Tom had to catch up on the local entertainment and news. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3010.jpg (Victoria’s Secret) We had to take a jaunt up the staircase to the Roof again. It’s a nice view. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3012.jpg Notice Brady’s computer engineer/programmer roommate, working from home on the deck. Aged 24 like the rest of us. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3013.jpg Get a parting photo. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3015.jpg Back down the stairs! Watch your head! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3016.jpg We left Tom’s friend Brady’s apartment in San Francisco this morning at around 10:45 and headed straight for the R.E.I. to exchange a waterproof stuff sack that I bought, for a bigger one. Tom bought 15 feet of bungee cord. For miscellaneous tie downs. We didn’t leave the R.E.I until Noon. Shit. We proceeded to haul ass for 60-70 miles at a go. 65+Mph all the time. Until we realized that we hadn’t eaten much of anything since the night before. Time for food. Tom had Beef Curry, I had a Beef Rice Bowl. We didn’t realize until we entered, but we chose to stop for food at a Japanese Grocery Mart. We were two of less than 10 Caucasian people of 400+ Japanese. It was like we stepped into Japan! The food was good too! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3017.jpg Alright, then we hauled some more ass. 77 miles this time around. We have a habit of just telling the other person (via the Bluetooth headsets) that we want to pull over. So we pull over anywhere , http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3019.jpg preferably at a place with grass, so we can just http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3018.jpg After our last jaunt through the sunny valleys of the coastal California highway 101, we were getting pretty tired already. We slept poorly, and had already ridden 140 miles. Soon enough, it started to get colder as well. We left San Fran and it was 70*. Tom removed his waterproof and thermal pant and jacket liners. I removed my thermal ones. We were glad we had when the temps reached the low 80’s. But, of course with the cloudless sunshine comes the cold clear nights. Sooner than later the temps dropped back to 60 degrees, and with just our jacket armor on, we had to toss on some warmer clothing underneath. Toms chose his long johns! I chose a micropuff down jacket. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3020.jpg We stopped more than once. Riding into headwinds, on single cylinder thumpers, at 65+ miles an hour, for hours at a time, is tireing to say the least. It sucks. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3021.jpg But! We arrived in Glendale (L.A.) three hours ago, and promptly met up Charlie, the Australian, riding a 2010 Yamaha Tenere 660. We’ve been in contact with him over the past week or so, and planned to meet up when we arrived here. No pictures of that yet, you’ll have to wait. We’re tired as hell. 432 widing slow miles. About 9 hours of riding. The last 2 hours were in the pitch black. It was rough going the last 120 miles or so. But we’re safe and sound at a RodeWay Inn. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3022.jpg We’re heading to San Diego tomorrow, and will stay there tomorrow night with a friend from High School.. Thursday will mark entry into Mexican territory. It should be good! More to come! |
What a great read.....
I'll be here tomorrow, Coffee in hand, same time, for the next installment bier |
Enjoy
Read your story and wish you a safe ride.Enjoy.
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Day 5! Currently in San Diego
Ahhhhh, Day 5. Yesterday was too many miles. We woke up LATE.
http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3023.jpg We didn’t get on the road till about 3pm. But in the mean time, meet Charlie, the Australian! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3026.jpg Charlie has been in the States for 3 months. He was only here for 5 days before he had a nice run in with a pickup truck. Luckily he was carrying full coverage insurance and it covered him completely. He’s staying with a family friend named Bill. A self proclaimed semi retired management company owner. Only bothers managing his personal properties now. He was an awesome guy! He fed us cheese and crackers with apples and beer the night we met him, and bagels with cream cheese with coffee the next day. Meet Bill. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3027.jpg Charlie, Tom, and I spent the morning sorting through our belongings, trying to repack, reorganize, and better sort our shit. It worked… For the most part. I still feel like I have too much stuff. Charlie is overloaded, and Tom is on the fence. This process will continue for the next many months to come. Things will come and go. We already know this. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3024.jpg Well. After that, Tom realized that he left his fuel petcock on, and his float bowls stuck. It flooded his bike. This of course is hindsight. What we did to fix the problem consisted of, removing the side covers, seat, gas tank and finally the carburetor. Then we took off the carb float bowl cover. This was a process in itself as the screws were stuck, and after beating the hell out of them, they had to be replaced with some spares. Yes we had some spares. We’re prepared. Eagle Scout style. Then we found out nothing was gummed up in his carb. Damnit. It ran well after that, all the way to San Diego, our destination for the day, and where we currently are now. We met up with Chad, a high school friend of Tom and myself. He’s an Electrical Engineer and has an apartment near San Diego State University. Awesome. Soon after arriving, we headed to a local spot for some beers. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3034.jpg Meet Chad. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3036.jpg See his apartment and all of our things laid out. When we arrived. He cooked us food! We had burritos. A place to sleep and free food. Thanks Chad! You're part of the Adventure. (Don't forget about Tom's dad's friend Tom either. He did the same!) http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3028.jpg http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3029.jpg Finally, we found a nice place to sleep. I got dibs on the couch. Saweeeet. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3037.jpg The traffic on the way here was the only challenging bit of the day (besides Tom’s temperamental bike.) Having the Bluetooth com units was nice when Charlie unleashed his Aussie prowess and rode a few shoulders, and passed a few cars via lane splitting during traffic jams. I was plenty willing to keep up. Tom on the other hand is wider, and less experienced, and thus unwilling (rightfully so). It didn’t matter that I couldn’t see him, I just had to ask him where he was. Problem solved. We plan to cross to Mexico tomorrow, and make it to Ensenada, Baja California. We need to pick up a package for Tom at the post office (bike registration and title), grab some spare spark plugs at a shop, and be on our way. We can’t wait to find a cheap place to hang out for a while to enjoy our time at a slower pace. Mexican time. YES! --Alex |
Day 6 and 7
Ahoy! Dia seis y siete están aqu
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Day 6 and 7! Weee
Ahoy! Dia seis y siete están aqu�*. Estamos en Ensenada, y entonces necesito escribir y conversa en espanol! Jajaja. (Hey! Days five and six are here. We are in Ensenada, y so, I need to write and converse in Spanish! Haha)
Just kidding! So far so good. We crossed the Mexican border yesterday at Tijuana. It was pretty straight forward…. Not. He is DAY SIX We woke up pretty early in comparison to the days before, and were out of Chad’s apartment at about 10am with a few goals in mind. First, let’s get the hell out of the parking lot. That took a while… http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3038.jpg Second. Get Tom’s bike title and registration from one of the 4 major San Diego post offices. THAT took a while. We went the one that said they had his mail, 18 miles away. They didn’t. 22 miles back the way we came, and we were at the one that DID have it. Success! Third. Buy some spare sparks plugs for our bikes because the lame ebay vendor that sold me 10 sent them to late to arrive before we left Seattle. Dammit. Well, we just never got that taken care off. Fourth. Put my cell phone on standby. Easy. 5 minutes and I was done. Fifth. We’re hungry. We need to buy some food. But we’re in a hurry. Ugh. Lame AM/PM food to the rescue. It did the trick. Sixth. Cross the Mexican border, FINALLY. Haha. That was a joke. We just drove through. Oops. Mr. Australian needs a passport stamp. We’re in Mexico. Turn around. Drive back to America. Drive right in. Easy. Turn around. Drive back, get in the Declaration line, park our bikes, Tom stuck around, and we searched for stamps. Not only does he need a stamp, Tom and I needed a tourist visa as we plan to be in Mexico for more than just a few days. Soooo, we walked back into Mexico via the border agents advice. Why? We wanted to import our vehicles. We cross. It didn’t work. No we need to wait in line to get back to the States again?! What? Hell no. So we talked a border agent. He says, “Ahhhh Mayne, just walk back unda that bridg dare, back the way you come. Justa keep goin when yous see thata sign dat sayes no entry. Ifa soldier getsa mad, just tellem you needa stampa en your pasaporte. Yous a tourist. Tell hima youra tourist. No problem. You justa walk back in dataway.” So, we did just that. We walked back into the United States of America, like we owned the place. An American and an Australian. And not one single person even noticed. Nothing happened whatsoever. We just simply walked right in. What a joke. Finallly we all three ended up with a tourist visa, and we decided not to import our motorcycles as of yet as it isn’t required in Baja. It’ll be a necessity when we take the ferry from La Paz, Baja to the mainland of Mexico. That can WAIT. And so, we were in MEXICO BABY!!!! Sweet. Next stop is Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico to meet numero cuatro of our newly formed posse of motorcycle adventurers; Sara, of New Mexico, formerly Colorado, riding a 2005 Yamaha XT225. We hauled ass after we crossed into Tijuana Mexico. We didn’t really want to be around that area for long. Too many people with too much interference in our lifestyle. More relaxed please. So, we jumped on Highway 1 to Ensenada on the Toll Road. 81 pesos later each ($6.90), and 100 kilometers (60 miles) we were in Ensenada at the Motel America. Cheap when split 4 ways. $8.50 each. Check it out! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3043.jpg Check out our Motorcycles, AGAIN! Add the XT225 to the group and all of a sudden our bikes are massive. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3042.jpg And the room. Is it small? Yes. Do we care? No. Are two of us sleeping on the floor? Um, yea. So what. We rotate it. Right on. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3046.jpg Well, first step first. Chat with our new friend. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3041.jpg Oh right. Meet Sarah! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3045.jpg Next, time for some food. No pictures for this one as I spazzed and left the camera in my tank bag in the motel room. We had asado (grilled beef) tacos with guacamole and cilantro on our choice of corn (maize) or flour (harina) tortillas. They were 14 pesos each ($1.20) and I ate 5. They were so good. Tom had 3. Charlie had 3. Sarah had 1. We ate 11. It was awesome. After stuffing face, we headed back. It was time to finish. And now it’s time for bed! Tom caught the floor that night. Both he and Charlie volunteered. Good men. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3047.jpg And so ends day five. 1500+ miles into our journey already. Now, we’re slowing the hell down. And so begins day SEVEN! Up and awake at 9am, I decided I wanted to go to the grocery store for some breakfast. On the way there I swung by the Marina. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3049.jpg The boats were either fishing boats or personal vessels. Probably some tourist operations in there as well. I don’t really know. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3050.jpg Back from the grocery store we started cooking. On the menu this morning, eggs with a diced red pepper, seasoned with local (or so we think) chorizo sausage, and cooked in a camping fry pan with some olive oil. Scrambled and tossed into a flour tortilla, and we’re eating breakfast burritos. Bitchin. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3051.jpg Off for a jaunt around town, and we stopped at the local wifi joint/coffee shop. Sarah has discovered the wifi password (1234567890) and we had something to drink. Tea for Sarah. Coffee for Charlie and Tom. A coca for me (coke). Happy as clams we all were. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...IMG_3052-1.jpg For those of you interested in an updated ‘stache photo. See Tom’s scruffy cheeks and progressive ‘stache. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3053.jpg It’s progressing nicely. We’re all happy for him….. Cruising the streets today was good, and we saw some local stuff. Nothing too exciting. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3054.jpg Bird of Paradise Flower. First I have ever seen in person. My first thought was. Damn, that looks like a bird. And was future educated by Sarah as to its name. Well. That made sense. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3055.jpg Check out the Dog. He was king of the block. Don’t F with him. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3056.jpg Nothing too much more exciting happened today. PSYCHE! We went off road! And all the photos are on Tom’s camera, because I spazzed out again and didn’t snag my camera on the way out the door. Suffice it to say. We hit some gravel trails. Sarah saw her first real offroad experience. I rode her bike down some gnarly hill of a trail for her, Charlie realized the full weight of his bike, Tom’s panniers got in his way, and I hit 65mph on some dirt. Saweeeeet. Let’s get lunch. Sweet. More tacos. Same stand, different location. Great asado tacos. Reminder, don’t eat the damned roasted jalapeno. Not hot, by Mexican standard, is HOT AS HELL. No I can’t eat spicy food. Yes, it f’s me up. Lesson learned. Damn that sucked. Lets go back to the hotel. No photos here either. Let’s go to the beach! Sweet. Sarah opted out, so Tom, Charlie and I rode down the coastal waterfront road looking for access to the beach, on our moto’s. Hell yes. We found it. And Charlie and I hauled ass on the beach. 60mph? Yes please. We rode to the end, and we rode back. And we rode down again, to where Tom finally was. He doesn’t like the sand. He wasn’t happy going fast enough to glide over it. AND his panniers were fully loaded. Not so much fun. So he took off, finding a road re-entry point at a different spot. Charlie and I kept messing around, riding the beach. What an experience. It’s normal to do this here, so no one cared, and politely moved out of the way when they heard us coming. Thanks everyone! After Charlie and I were done, we headed back to the hotel. Wait? Where’s Tom? Well, he’ll be ok. Let’s drink a beer. Beer’s finished. Where’s Tom? Should we go back? Maybe his supposed re-entry point didn’t re-enter very well. Is he bogged down? Stuck? In need? Ok, I’ll go back. PSYCHE! Tom arrives! Did he get stuck? Yes. Bogged down? Yes. F’ed re-entry point? Yes. He hat-tricked the beach. Dammit. No more sand in his near future. Eh… We’ll see about that. Hopefully not! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3062.jpg He was tired, and hot, and sweaty. Hahaha. And soon, he was back up to par! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3063.jpg And we then headed back to the coffee shop. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3064.jpg And here we are. Wired in, updating our respective sites. Enjoying our time. Eating some fries, drinking a coke, having a good time. Not going anywhere soon, we plan to spend tomorrow here as well, and continue on south in two days time. Expect to see photos of the off road and beach in the near future. For now, it’s Taco time! Until next time, I hope you enjoyed! --Alex |
A little dirt, sand, and sun.
Ahah! Off road! Awesome.
http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0583.jpg Under the advice of the local tourism agent, we headed out Avenida Ruiz, all the way to the end. We ended up on a local hill top. It was awesome. Check it out! We got to see some of the local government housing. It was quite the site. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0584.jpg They all are about the same size and shape. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0585.jpg Just on the other side of the hill, Tom spotted some horses as well. Tom’s hilltop. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...DSCF0586-1.jpg The horses. A mare and her colt? http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0587.jpg And then thought he’d like to pet one. So he did. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0588.jpg We also noticed a wacky rock. El stone de hairy ass. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0591.jpg View from the rock was good too. If not full of mini homes. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0592.jpg It was soon time to eat. So we found our favorite taco stand. Ahhhh, taco stand. Yumm! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0594.jpg Then we hit the beach. On our moto’s. It was awesome. Great weather for while as well. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0595.jpg Sarah headed back to the hotel, Tom stuck around for a while, and then headed back. He doesn’t like the sand. Charlie and I just hauled ass. It was great. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0597.jpg Charlie began to ponder if it gets better than this. I assured him that it does. It will. And we’re on the right path. He agreed of course. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0596.jpg We leave Ensenada tomorrow morning, headed for midland Baja Mexico. Our first destination is a park of some sort. Should be good to camp in. The day after we’ll head to La Bahia de Los Angeles. If we’re lucky, we’ll see some whales. We’ve all seen whales before, but this should be good anyway. We looked at the map of Baja Mexico that Sarah brought along with her. It’s a damn big place. It gave us a good dose of reality. We’re 60 miles south of the US border. Soon enough, we’ll be much further south, with MUCH more to go. We can wait. As a notable side note. Tom is keeping tabs on our vacation in his own blog on blogspot. His writing is not to be missed, and covers much of the detail that I might not add on my posts. His photos are generally complimentary to my own, if not the same. You’ll likely enjoy it just as much as this ride report as well. Here is a linky. The Tom Report Until next time. Onward! --Alex |
Other notable things.
Day 8
The grocery store we buy some food at. Along with beers. And even tequila. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3074.jpg The fish market. We’ll save cooking some fish for later. It’ll never be too far away. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3070.jpg After we hit the beach, we had our bikes washed for 40pesos at the local car wash. It was less than $4.00. The value in the states? At least $20. These guys spent 20 minutes on each bike. It was seriously long enough to get us to tell them that it was good enough, and in fact, cleaner then when we bought them. It was totally awesome. The bikes are shiny! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3069.jpg They were cleaning under the fenders, around the spokes, the wheels, the hubs/spokes, the side covers, the windshields, the mirrors, the tire sidewalls. Everything. The Jefe (boss man) stood alongside the others and pointed at dirt. They obeyed. It disappeared. Muchas Gracias amigos. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3068.jpg Ciao for now. Next update sometime next week! --Alex |
Love potion number nine my ass...
Ugh, Day 9!
Dia Nueve. You F’ed me hard Number 9. Love potion number nine my ass. F’ed Hard. Hard enough to nearly rip my right pelican case pannier from its mount. Hard enough to crack my pannier mount. Hard enough to grind an edge off my pelican case. Son of a bitch. And to think that Tom and I wondered how our gear would hold up in case we laid down our bikes. Well. Today, day nine. DAY NINE! Day nine gives us an answer. Here goes day nine. Oh sunny Ensenada. We shall leave you today. Where are we going? South. To somewhere below where we are now. On the map we see, La Bahia de Las Angeles. Let’s go half way there. Sounds good. Well, that’s about Rosario. Sweet. Onward! Sarah on the fly. I was chasing her (at 55mph) so she was the photo subject at the time. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3087.jpg I buzzed ahead of everyone and snagged a couple photo’s as they rolled on by. First Tom, and then Sarah again. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3089.jpg http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3091.jpg Time for some good. Hambureguesas and papas for 40 pesos. Add a coca, 12 pesos. Less than 5 bucks. Can’t beat this shit. Gets cheaper as we head further south into Mexico. Awesome. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3094.jpg Ahhhh, what’s that I hear? A bit of Mexican advertisement? Bet your ass it is. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3095.jpg Ahhh, the roads were good, and the traffic was light. But what is that I see? A road alongside the road? Yes it is! Let’s ride it! How fast? Fassssst enough. Charlie took his turn. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3097.jpg Getting down to the road was an exercise in caution. Gotta make sure you leave the road correctly, and hit the gravel / hard pack dirt at the right speed/angle. That was the easy part. The hard part? Going slow. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3099.jpg Why should we go slow you ask? Ahhhhh. Because things like this jump up to bite you in the ASS!!! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3107.jpg Gnarly ruts. COMBINED WITH MUD! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3108.jpg And ending with MORE RUTS! DAMMIT! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3109.jpg SON OF A BITCH!!! Oh by the way. Half of those ruts and smear marks? Those were my tires. And my ASS. And my pelican case. Yea. You heard me. Kiss my ass dirt! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3104.jpg My bike was loving this shit. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3105.jpg And my bike (Klous) kicked that muds ass. NOT the other way around. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3102.jpg Me? I got dirty THROUGH my helmet. Hell yes. Love this! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3110.jpg However, my pelican case didn’t enjoy the tryst we had with the dirt. In fact, it hated it. Damn dirt bent the hell out of my luggage rack. And cracked it in two places. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3111.jpg And the other side of the damage. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3112.jpg And what it SHOULD look like. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3114.jpg Other side. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3115.jpg The next gas station was literally across the street from the crash site. Best part, and the part I didn’t photograph was the little boy that ran across the street and unabashedly starting hawking his wares. A cooler full of tamales. I didn’t buy any buy Sarah did. He got some gum off of Charlie and Tom, and laughed when they took a picture of my dirty pants. He was a goofy little kid, probably about 7 years old. Loving life when we 4 gringos slid into town. Pun intended. Damn kids do the darndest things. Well, after that, I rode slow(er) as the bottom of my right side pelican case mount is now nonexistent, and my rack is bent to all hell. And we rode to Rosario, which apparently is the last gas before we are able to ride to La Bahia de Los Angeles. So we stopped for the night. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3118.jpg Ugh. My shit is all wacked out now. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3116.jpg But it doesn’t matter, because it won’t cost much to fix the problem, and it won’t be hard either. But dammit. It’s a pain in the rear for sure. Soooo. How did it happen? I’ll start at the beginning. I was hauling along the road, cruising safely at about 60-65 mph. Not an issue. Well that road along the side of the road looked fun. So I wanted to ride on it. It was great fun for the first mile or so. But it was a bit gnarly too. So I got back on the road. Well. Charlie thought it was a good idea too. So he hopped on the road too. You saw the photos above. Well, I thought I’d better get back on that dirt. And so I did. And shortly thereafter, I was moving along at a good clip. Until I saw the mud, and it was too late. I didn’t slow down. I simply chose what I thought would be the best route. And I think it was. I was going about 60mph, if not a bit faster. And suddenly I was sliding along quite nicely on my right side. My front tire hit the ruts, but my back tire slid up above it. I went down fast, low siding it. Getting very dirty along the way. Grinding an edge into my pelican case. Letting my Rev’it Sand pants take the abrasion out of my ass. My Pelican case saved my bike. No damage to the bike whatsoever. I slid about 250 feet before I hit a very small stump at about 5mph. The damn stump is what did the damage to my pannier rack. I had slid free and clear for quite a while, and it wasn’t until the stump that anything major happened. I hit the stump, and was knocked loose from my bike. I had been riding it out the entire time until I hit the stump. The bike went down, and I slid perpendicular to the road. About ¾ of the way into it, I began to spin clockwise until my bike had spun 180 degrees, at which point the stump inserted itself into the equation, and I let go/was removed from my bike. My head hit the ground in a very MINOR way, and I was instantly up to lift my bike off the ground. The bike started and ran well. Nothing besides the pannier mount was bent. My helmet, jacket, pants, gloves, and boots were intact. I was fine. Even now, even 6 hours later, I am not even sore. Excellent. Tom and I had discussed who would be first. I was first. Success. Mom and Dad. I’m not coming home soon. The bike still runs. I am physically well. The bike needs little fixing. Don’t be scared/worried. It was fun. Enjoy it with me! That’s why we ride ATGATT (All The Gear, All The Time). Charlie was the only person to witness the slide, and had just turned off his helmet cam. What a shame. He admitted later that he was worried that his day was about to get a bit more intense then he had planned it to be. However, I had other plans. Back on the road! A quote from Charlie, “I reckon that’ll be the best Stack of the entire trip! Stacking it up at 60mph hardly ever ends in a result like that. Well done! I thought for sure it’d be worse than that!” Woohoo!!! --Alex |
Off the road again. This time not on purpose.
Mom and Dad, check your email.
I went off the road again yesterday. And I honestly can't tell you why. Because I don't know. It happened around a curve in the road, less then 6 miles from our departure date yesterday, just south of Rosario, Baja California Mexico. I don't think I was going too fast, but I can't remember. I went off the road at an angle, and missed the curve entirely. I was probably going 50mph. Maybe a little faster, but most likely not slower. I was riding last in line, but Sarah happened to be in front of me and by chance, saw it in her rear view mirror. She turned around to help me. Also by chance, Charlie's right hand mirror broke off just down the road. An American guy had just driven past Sarah, who waved him down, and he took off to catch Charlie and Tom who'd had luckily stopped at the side of the road to find Charlie's mirror. Tom and Charlie came back to meet up with Sarah and I. Tom then went to get a truck for my bike. Tom asked the closest people he could find for help and found the local volunteer medics. No shit. They pulled out stethescopes, a neck brace, and ace bandages right there on the spot. My front wheel is f'ed, as is my rear wheel. My frame is slightly bent, but not too bad, and my forks are bent backwards just a little as well. I was wearing all of my gear. Helmet, Jacket, Pants, Boots and Gloves. The pants were zipped into my jacket to prevent them from separating in a crash. THe zipper held up perfectly. The truck took my bike an hour north to a town called San Cuintin where I am now. I was loaded onto a stretcher ( I was dazed but coherent the entire time) The stretcher and I were placed in a truck, and driven north, met by an ambulance, and I was then switched over and taken to the hospital. I had x-rays of my chest and right arm, and hips. Nothing in my body is damaged/broken. Only bruised. I had an ultrasound taken of my guts. Nothing wrong with them, no bleeding other then in the skin where my bruises were. Literally, I am perfectly fine. And apparently, I speak fluent spanish when I am dazed and semi-concious. Hahaha. Tom and I bought insurance the day after we entered Mexico. My deductible is $500. I didn't need my deductible. The ambulance ride was $200. The hospital bill, for a night in the hospital (I left this afternoon), x-rays, an ultra sound, a Saline/Pain medication/Anti-inflamatory IV drip, and two meals was $290. To get my bike to the motorcycle shop where it is now was $250. My insurance covers only my health, and not the bike. So I won't be making a claim. My insurance company was contacted by Tom, very soon thereafter, and everything is ok. They contacted me via email, and because my cost of health care was below my deductible, everything is fine. No problems there. I am buying new/used wheels from the motorcycle shop, they are going to straighten my forks, front axel, and frame, and I will be on the road again the day after tomorrow or the next day. Maybe more. The cost of brand new equipment from the States would exceed $1500. I will spend MUCH less this way. Tom and Charlie and Sarah rode back to the hotel that we stayed at the day before last, and are headed south to Guerrero Negro in the morning. I will be traveling solo until I catch up with them. Don't worry, I won't haul ass. Just slow and steady. All is well for now. Pictures to come tomorrow! --Alex |
An update
Since the last time you heard from me, I had just cracked my right side pannier frame. It wasn’t bad, and I soon had it fixed the next day. It was easy, fast, and cost me $25. Not bad for over an hour’s worth of work. Check out the patch job.
http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3160.jpg And the other side http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3158.jpg Charlie said, “I reckon that will be the best stack of the entire trip.” I say, “FALSE!!!” Well, as I just said. I had my pannier frame fixed the next day. It was a nice job, and we were able to leave that afternoon around 1pm. It was a nice easy day. Not too far to go, the direction of course, South. Well, that was the way of things for the first couple of hours. And as we moved along, we saw a few things. Like cacti, and large rocks, and lots of sand. Check out the sand. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3122.jpg And check out the Cacti. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3127.jpg And rocks and cacti at the same time. Remember the rocks… http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3131.jpg We stopped at a boulder field to take a few photos. Here we are in front of a big ass cactus. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3157.jpg Shortly thereafter, as we’d been on the road for about 70 miles, it was time to get gas, because we didn’t know when the next gas station would be. There were to be no “REAL” gas stations from Rosario, south to Guerrero Negro. About 220 miles. Tom and I can’t make it that far comfortably on one tank of gas. Sarah definitely can, and Charlie would be pushing it. Tom and I get about 42 mph when we ride at 65 mph, a little more when we go slower. We have 5 gallon tanks. Charlie’s fuel economy is near the same but with a 6 gallon tank. Sarah has a 4 gallon tank and can ride nearly 280+ miles. Chalk one up for the XT225. Better gas mileage for sure. We bought gas out of 5 gallon gas cans, and it was quite the experience, and sure to be repeated. Then we stopped for some food and ate some tacos. Lots of tacos here in Baja, and they are damn good. We eat them all the time, and I’ve eaten a taco or five every day since I’ve been south of the border. Well that was about the time that everything went SOUTH. It was 6 miles after our gas stop (I checked my odometer because I don’t actually remember), that I left the road. This time unintentionally, and for a reason that I can’t remember. The only thing I can remember just before the crash is “I’m not going to make this corner.” At which point I grabbed the clutch, dropped a gear, and slammed the throttle. Why? Because we were just south of that boulder field I mentioned, and the side of the road… Why, it was full of motorcycle size rocks. And there was one of them directly in front of me. And I didn’t want to hit it head on. I got the front wheel off the ground, and that is the last thing I remember untilllllll… I woke up on the ground. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3161.jpg And then a nice young lady gave me a neck brace. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3164.jpg But, I was ok. If only bruised a bit. It hurt to lie down, and to sit up. I hurt, my ribs hurt, the right side of my butt hurt, and my elbow hurt. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3165.jpg Then they loaded me up! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3166.jpg And herded me into a pig truck. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3167.jpg I was hauled off to the hospital, where they gave me an x-ray, and an ultra sound, and an IV full of saline solution, anti inflammatory, and a minor pain killer. Then they put me to bed. Tom would come to see me in the morning. After a look at my helmet, it would seem that I took a little wack to the head, but I’m not sure. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3171.jpg My doctor, even though I was still a little out of it, tried to show me an x-ray of my chest and tell me that I had a tumor, that hung from a necklace and was perfectly round…. My Saint Christopher pendant given to me by my Mom before I left. The lovely bed that I slept in and was woken up in every 4 hours to be given a new IV bag. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3173.jpg I’m feeling better now after a good night’s sleep, in a bed that wasn’t long enough for my 6’6” frame. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3175.jpg Apparently my hand took a good wack too, as my ring was squished into an oval, instead of a circle. I still can’t take it off, and I’ve already tried to form it back into a circle with a pair of vice grips. I’ll have to try again soon. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3176.jpg About noon the day after I spent the night in the hospital, I caught a ride to San Quintin, where Tom had had my bike transported at the advice of the owner of the hotel we stayed at in Rosario. Her name was Donna Betty. After we arrived at my new home for the night, The Three Kings hotel, I hoped on the back of Tom’s bike, and Sarah on the back of Charlie’s and we headed to El Cliente. The home of some awesome fish and shrimp tacos. And yes, it’s some sort of whale skeleton hanging over the top of the restaurant sign. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3184.jpg We ordered some fish and shrimp tacos, and had 2 of each of them each, along with 4 coke’s, for 200 pesos. Less than 18 dollars, and I covered the tab. The least I could do for the guys that took care of my affairs when I didn’t know what the hell was going on. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3179.jpg The tacos were freaking awesome by the way. Ahhh, I get to see my bike finally. My wheels are F’ED!!! First the front wheel. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3186.jpg And my rear wheel http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3185.jpg And the place that promised that they could fix my motorcycle. Tato’s Motorcycles. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3188.jpg I was inclined to believe the man, Tato, when he told me he could fix it. He had quite the pileup of motorcycles in the back. Hopefully a 21” and 17” wheel? Success!!! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3200.jpg Watching the whole episode were the boys of the shop, who could all ride wheelies. On anything. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3199.jpg The kids around the shop liked to throw rocks at the hornet’s nest. Literally. I only got stung once. And it was because I couldn’t run as fast as the rest of them after my minor accident slowed me down. Dammit. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3202.jpg And witness the Mexican version of Captain America. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3204.jpg And the 1970’s era BMW R75/? Tato bought it off the road cleaning crew who had received it for free when a German guy touring baja 7 months ago flew off the road just like me. The German guy however, broke his leg, and both arms, and a few ribs, and a collarbone. He gave his bike away and flew home. Tato bought it for $700 off the road crew, and it was on the road soon after. He can’t obtain an original title for it, but he can get one in Mexico. Good for him! Too bad for the German guy. Ugh. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3192.jpg Meet the nice 3 legged dog that got hit by a car. She was very friendly. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3193.jpg And of course, Tato, the mechanic, owner, and business man. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3195.jpg And, my bruises. A bit of swelling in my right arm, and a bit in my rear lower right back. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3211.jpg And more in my front right hip. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3214.jpg And now, I’m waiting in my hotel room. I should have my bike on the road in the next few days, and I’ll be able to catch up to Tom and Sarah and Charlie. Sore, yes, tired, of course, and bruised, but ok. Much better than my motorcycle, that’s for sure. See you from the road soon! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3205.jpg --Alex |
And why I flew off the road.
Often times, it takes time to remember things. Here is what I now know happened.
I hadn't drunk any alcohol for the past 20 hours, and before that, 2 beers. I wasn't going too fast. My motorcycle's rear tire slid out on sand in the road. The slip of the motorcycle took me wide in the corner. I realized instantly that I would not make the turn. So I straightened the motorcycle. And I saw the terrain in front of me. Lots of big car sized boulders. Remember the rocks...No bueno. I dropped a gear, and smashed the throttle, leaned back, raised the front wheel of the bike off the ground, cleared the first large rock and let go of the bike. I aimed for clear "soft" ground and found it well. I cleared the next rock before landing on the ground. My bike did not. My bike was the least of my worries. It will be ok eventually. I AM OK. I was coherent, and not tired. I was not in a hurry, and wasn't going too fast. I was paying attention. Both eyes on the road. It saved me from what could have been a worse incident. Instead, it was relatively minor. Considering I rode off the road. Until next time. Next photos will be of a fixed bike. If I'm lucky, in about 2-3 weeks! --Alex |
Days 11-15.
We're all back together again and in Loreto, Baja California Sur. It's a decent place, full of retired white folk, few travelers, and not much else. We head to La Paz tomorrow, April 18th. Onward!
Ahhh, San Quintin, oh how I don't miss you. I spent $28/night for a decent/clean room with Hot water and 80+ tv channels (mostly in Spanish) Here was my home for 4 days. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3224.jpg And where I ate my food. Closest place, no long walking involved. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3225.jpg So, remember those damn kids, throwing rocks at the bees? Well, Tato, the motorcycle mechanic claims ownership of the bees. And collects the honey as well!! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3228.jpg And all the kids, along with Tato, picked up previously powerwashed bees (still alive), and purposefully place the hornets stinger into the backs of their hands. As many as 10 in a row. All in the name of bee sting immunity, and easier/less painful honey snatching. JESOOS CHRISTO. All of their hands are swollen. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3230.jpg On a side note. Doctor visit X-Rays. All is well minus serious, non painful bruising, and minor swelling. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3234.jpg 4 days, and my bike was fixed!!! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3235.jpg Oh, right, my permanently guaranteed for life pelican case is f'ed.... http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3239.jpg Tato and the guys that fixed my bike. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3241.jpg It's back on the road for me! Awesome. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3242.jpg Ride till dusk. Pull over, Sleep. Easy, http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3243.jpg Nice sunset over Baja, Mexico. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3254.jpg Pull out emergency stash of Tuna, and eat with Pepsi. Lay out sleeping pad. Dinner. Bed. Booyah. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3250.jpg Wake up with the sun rise, and realize you can get 5.5 hours riding in before the others will even think of riding? Priceless. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3253.jpg Haul ass all day and finally arrive in Loreto. Smell the garbage dump just outside of town first, notice the hundred+ vultures second, see the dump at last. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3256.jpg As you guys all know, were in Loreto. The town is nice enough. But were on our way south tomorrow morning, Monday the 18th of April. Last minute things are past, Charlie patched his thorn studded front tire, and we're ready to roll. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3257.jpg Onward everyone! --Alex |
Terrific story! Keep it coming! And good luck keeping it upright.:mchappy:
|
Great story,
Keep us infomed. When you eventually get to Australia, and if you decide to visit Melbourne. Send me an Email and we can organise something shaun stephenson at iinetdotnetdotau ( all one word ) |
The Days of Alliteration. Loreto to La Paz to La Ventana
Days 16-19
The last destination showed Charlie patching his front tire tube. Since then we have ridden from Loreto, arrived in La Paz, and continued on to La Ventana, a wind swept beach 47km south of La Paz. Our new location is 330 pesos between 4 of us, and we brought a bicycling amigo (from San Fran, riding to Arg) we met while in La Paz. He hope don the back of Charlie’s bike, Sarah and Tom carried his minimal gear, and we’re all hanging out on the beach right now. As we left Loreto, all was well with the world. The sun was shining, we were all overheating, and there was roughly 240 miles of Baja roads between us and La Paz. We all cruised along quite nicely, enjoying the oven like desert, and cursing the heat. I rode behind with Sarah as Tom surged ahead with Charlie. We made it 30 miles down the road before…. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3258.jpg Tom was lucky enough to have his clutch cable break off just before the clutch lever, rendering it useless, and stranding him on a desolate but convenient road side turn out. Since my crash, my Sena SMH10 bluetooth comm setup has been out of commission, it’s mouting tab is broken. I’ll fix it soon, but currently we rely on hand signals. It’s been good. As Sarah and I rode by, Tom gave me the, “I NEED YOU” hand singnal, which consisted of a semi frantic direct finger point in my direction, and another at his bike. He said with no words, “I need my mechanic, NOW.” Sarah and I stopped, and between the three of us, sent Sarah ahead to meet up with Charlie while I stuck it out with Tom. Easy. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3259.jpg Our solution didn’t present itself instantly, but was decided upon and implemented inside of an hour. We carry a 6’ length of steel wire braided cable and some cable stops, and presto, we make it work. Mostly. Here it is. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3262.jpg And the other side. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3261.jpg Tom made it 210 more miles to La Paz on the same repair, and we had a clutch cable made for him the day after we arrive. No problemo. We changed our oil in La Paz. 2800 miles showed on the odometer for Tom and I. A little less for Sarah, and even less for Charlie. Oil was 40 pesos for a quart of 20w50, and Tom and I bought 5 quarts between us. 20w50 should serve us well until our next oil change 3000ish miles from now. We found our way to the Pension California when we arrived in La Paz. The owner was care free, easy going, and let us park our motorcycles inside the inner court yard, and the day we left, he even let us change our oil as mentioned above, and volunteered to take our used oil and recycle it. Most excellent. 4 queen sized beds and a pr�*vate bathroom to share between us was 400 pesos for the group. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3263.jpg Then it was people meeting time. This week is Semana Santa (Saint Week) and it is the local holiday week for all of Mexico. It also serves as Spring Break for most, if nota ll schools. La Paz serves as a holiday destination for these students and holiday travelers. So, here are all the foreign Exchange students who also found a home in Pension California. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3265.jpg These kids all started early in the night, and finished early in the morning. They were going crazy. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3266.jpg But I was hungry too, so I showed them the best damn burrito stand in all of La Paz, and quite possibly in all of Baja California. Meet the “Burro” man! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3274.jpg Mid report interuption for ass bruising update http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3275.jpg Well, La Paz was fun, and we met some cool people, and we saw the streets, and we bought some oil at the Wal Mart, and changed our oil, and ate some burritos. BUT the beach of La Ventana, 47km south, was calling out our names. So after 3 nights spent at the Pension California we headed out of La Paz, destination La Ventana. We had a tag-a-long as well. A 32 year old ex landscaping guru from San Diego who is riding his bicycle from San Francisco to Argentina. He stashed some things at the hostel in La Paz, and we packed his other things on our bikes, tossed him on Charlies bike, and headed south. Meet Eric! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3276.jpg Well La Ventana was easy to find, and white english speaking people are in abundance. This place is meant to be one of the best places in the world to Kite Surf. Soooo, hundreds of gringos flock here for 3-6 months a year and do just that. A local business owner (kite surfing fiend) rented us the room in the back of his business for 330pesos/night. A King sized bed that Tom and I split, a single bed that Charlie sleeps on, a huge couch that Sarah claims, and a mattress on the floor that Eric calls home. Can’t beat the price. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3277.jpg We parked our bikes in his old retrofitted shrimp factory of a home, and called it a day. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3279.jpg Did I mention we now live on a beach front property? http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3326.jpg Well, we were getting hungry by then, so we crossed the street to the local restaurant, andCharlie met the infamous Chaz! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3282.jpg He invited us to his home away from home. A toy hauling tráiler parked behind his friends magnificent home, ½ a mile from where we were staying. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3281.jpg He offered us Margaritas, and cranked up his 10’ 1080P High definition projector, and we played Grand Tourismo 5 in technicolor with polk monitors blasting hi-rev sounds all night long. It was intense! Fort he record. I beat Tom in a 4 lap, 12 minute Snow Cross/Rally Race by 2/100ths of a second. He’ll be glad that you know. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3288.jpg It was a good time for everyone, and Chaz was quite the host. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3299.jpg After all was said and done, we walked back to our beds, and promptly fell asleep at 1am. The moon over the bay looked like this after all of our technicolor racing. It was a good day! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3315.jpg |
Chaz Michael Michaels!
Day 20.
Chaz Michael Michaels! After the night before, having been introduced to Chaz, he offered to take us all to a resort called Bahia de los Suenos (Bay of Dreams) to have a look around, and to see some things that aren’t part of our normal daily life. Well, the night before, all of us thought that would be cool, and told him so. Well, the next day at 1pm when Chaz showed up in his 2011 Toyota Tundra pickup truck to take us all to this place, only Tom and I were around to go. Charlie was swimming somewhere down the beach, and Eric and Sarah were on a walk. Chaz left and came back 30 minutes later, but we still couldn’t find the others, and thus Tom and I witnessed the splendor of this resort first hand and had a private tour of the place from one of Chaz’s numerous contacts within the La Ventana area. We arrived to Valet parking and hopped into a 6 seat golf cart for a cruise into the resort. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3332.jpg These kinds of places are foreign to Tom and I, but Chaz new the deal. Keep on talking, enjoy the ride, and let everyone else do their Job. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3333.jpg Well, let’s have a seat at the poolside table, and enjoy some free cocktails courtesy of Chaz’s friend the waiter. Sounds nice, thank you. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3335.jpg Let’s take a dip in the pool. Sounds nice, thank you. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3338.jpg What’s that Chaz? We should check out the beach while you hang out with a prospective lady friend? Yes, we’ll do that. Sounds nice, thank you. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3339.jpg After swimming, let’s hop back in the swimming pool to rinse off. Sounds nice, thank you. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3341.jpg Oh hey Chaz. You’re back, what’s that you say? Private tour? Sounds nice, thank you. Private golf course, all 18 holes. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3344.jpg Wedding Chapel for those so inclined. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3346.jpg Horse corral for one show a year. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3347.jpg Private guest house for the ultra posh lifestyle. Circular bricked domed ceiling. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3353.jpg Infinity pool for fun. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3351.jpg Posh dining area. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...IMG_3355-1.jpg Exit onto the Veranda. This place was unbelievable. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3360.jpg Ahhhh, back to the beach. Time to relax again. Hammock time. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3359.jpg http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3358.jpg Back to the main resort restaurant for dinner. Tortilla Soup please. Thank you. The main place had a huge 3 level train set all the way around the circumference of the entire upper floor. It was pretty incredible, and according to the waiter took 2 years to complete at the tune of over $1million. The intricacy of the ordeal was outrageous. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3363.jpg The trains themselves . http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3361.jpg We arrived at the resort at nearly 2pm, and didn’t leave until about 9:30. It was a great time to be had. Chaz was a great host, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks Chaz! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3365.jpg We spent a couple more hours shooting the shit with the locals while listening to their rampant music, blasting their music from vehicle subwoofers, all four doors open. The moon rise was incredible. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3369.jpg |
Days 21-26, La Ventana to La Paz to Topolobampo to Mazatlan, chasing Aussies!
Last you heard, we were hanging out with Chaz in La Ventana, in the past week or so, we’ve enjoyed a relaxed but progressive lifestyle. We’re inherently on Mexico time.
I had mentioned before that we all changed our oil when we first left La Paz for La Ventana. Well, I couldn’t get my damn oil drain plug out, and henceforth never changed my oil until the third day that we were in La Ventana. You see, the 17mm socket slipped when I was wrenching on it, and stripped the bolt. It really turned into quite the job. First I had to take off my bash plate. Then I walked 3 blocks to the local Ferreteria (hardware store) and bought a cheap $3.00 file, walked back the hostel and proceeded to get my groove on and file the hell out of my sump plug. 30 minutes later, my 17mm sump plug bolt no longer fit a socket and instead fit a 16mm wrench. Well that didn’t work very well, so Charlie and I teamed up, found a hammer, smacked the hell out of the sump plug a bit to loosen things up, and took a 8” pair of Vise Grips to it. That worked quite well. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3374.jpg But, we had to find a drain bucket. On the side of the road was a grimy, greasy, gummed up 5 gallon bucket. That’ll do the trick. Cut the top 2/3 off, and we’re good to go. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3375.jpg Well, we still had to file the plug down to a decent size, so I held the plug in the vise grips, and Charlie tore into it like he had a job to do. We used Tom’s rear rack as a work bench, and we were down in no time at all. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3377.jpg The result? A 5/8th nut that fit extremely well into my spark plug socket. Great success! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3378.jpg Later that morning, the daughter of the owner of the building we were staying in, named Vivian, clued us in on the local Scallop population, and told us how we should go about hunting/harvesting Scallops. She even had a couple of pairs of masks/snorkels for us to borrow. Sarah and Eric had the first go of it, and an hour later came back with a gigantic scallop. But, alas, just the one. Scallops are quite tasty, but even the biggest ones don’t yield much meat. So Tom and I had the second go at it. Now, some of you must know this already, but harvesting scallops isn’t the easiest thing to do. Step One, Find the Scallop: The ones we were hunting made their home in about 6-8 feet of water. But of course the first 3 feet are a bit murky so you have to swim down, have a good look around, see if you can find one, and then mostly likely come back up for some air. Step Two, secure the Scallop: This requires you to swim down and slide a barbed hook into the scallop, perpendicular to the opening of its shell. Once that is done, the barbed hook is turn perpendicular to the shell to secure it like an anchor. Step Three, pull the damn Scallop from the Sea Floor: Now the barbed hook (called a Devil’s Tail) is secure in the Scallop (the scallop doesn’t like the intrusion and closed up on the hook when it’s inserted). All you have to do now is pull the scallop out of its home. This often requires planting your feet on the sea floor, grabbing said hook with both hands, and slowly but with continual pressure, pulling the scallop out of the ground. Step Four, Use Charlie’s mesh laundry bag as a holding cell: Tie the bag to a gallon jug full of air, and the bag won’t sink. Put your scallops in the bag and tow along with you. Apparently we found the farm, because an hour and a half later, we returned with…. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3383.jpg Tom and I felt like heroes when we arrived back at the room. To get an idea of the size of some of the Scallops, the biggest one is closest to me (Alex) with a beer bottle next to it. It was close to 10-11 inches long and about 7-8 inches across the top. Awesome. ………… Well later that night, we had a smashing good time down the road a bit with a bunch of other white people, and had a barbeque complete with 3kilos of beef, the scallops Tom and I harvested, a bunch of grilled onions, chorizo, and beer. I was delegated the duty of beer hauler, and the cooler (borrowed from the hostel owner) went on my top rack, full of 30 beers. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3385.jpg It wasn’t long thereafter before Sarah seasoned the meet, slapped the first of it on the grill, and I manned my station cooking meat for the rest of the afternoon, thereby ensuring myself the nicest pieces of meat (It was all good). http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3386.jpg That was our last night in La Ventana, and before we knew it, the next day we were heading back to La Paz with the intent to catch the ferry the next day to Topolobampo. We got arrived back at our familiar Pension California, and was put straight back into the same room we had 4 nights before. We went straight to the ferry ticket office and bought ourselves some ferry tickets to Topolobampo. The price tag for bike and passenger? 1600 pesos. $136.50 for a 6 hour ferry ride. Meal included. It was another $100 to take the ferry to Mazatlan instead (250 miles south of Topolobampo), and the next ferry would have been May 5th. We quickly decided against that. Here come the Australians. Eddy and Lizzy, backpacking for a year, “Around the World”, USA down to Brazil, flight to Europe, flight to Asia, and home again to Oz. They running the same schedule as ours, and being that the ferry was 27 km away, Charlie and I offered to take them to the ferry terminal in the morning with all their shit. They were happy for the opportunity, and that’s just what we did the next morning. After dropping them off, Charlie and I headed back to the hostel, loaded up all our gear with Tom and Sarah ready to go, and headed off to the ferry terminal ourselves to catch the boat. We made it on schedule, and drove directly onto the 6 level, 300 foot long ferry. Charlie had the bright idea to buy some rope at the hardware store to use to tie down the bikes. It was a good idea, and Tom and I had followed suit. Sarah already had some rope. We tied down our bikes, and Sarah and Charlie promptly found the Aussies on the boat. Charlie booked a cabin on the boat and we all chucked out stuff in there for the 6 hour ride over. Meet the gang! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3389.jpg The ferry was just like any other big ass ferry, complete with life rafts etc. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3390.jpg As the sun set over the horizon near the end of our journey, we had quite the view across the Sea of Cortez. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3395.jpg But, though the sun was setting on the horizon, everyone else was having a grand ‘ole time in the bar! Charlie had his groove on. Well done Charlie. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3398.jpg Before it got too Crazy, we made plans with Eddy and Lizzy to stay at the Hotel Marina in Topolobampo when we arrived. It turned out to be a good success, and everyone found their way there. Secure motorcycle parking inside the courtyard was nice, and we had hot showers, and cheap REALLY GOOD tacos around the corner. Our motorcycle posse is still going strong. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3399.jpg After growing up with Tom for 16 year, camping in the boy scouts sharing tents, living and working together for 2 months last winter in Juneau Alaska, a queen sized bed does the trick and saves us money. Ed and Liz shared the other. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3400.jpg Alright. Well here comes the exciting part! Ed and Liz caught the bus to Mazatlan the next morning. We’d likely see them there within the next few days. No problem. Tom, Sarah, Charlie and I were headed for Culiacan. Why only halfway to Mazatlan? Tom met a girl on the boat…. Well, the road from Topolobampo to Culiacan is full of toll roads, about 19-25 pesos each. The benefits: less traffic, a more direct line, faster speed limits, less time in the 90 degree sun. The first toll road was unannounced, but the second one was clear. Charlie and I had been blazing the trail at about 60-65 mph. Tom hung back with 55mph Sarah, no problem. Until of course, Charlie and I took the second toll road. We stopped just after the entrance to the toll road and got ready to sit down for some Tacos when Tom arrived. Alone. Why you ask? Well, Tom had been behind Sarah, and when Sarah came to the intersection of the Toll/Free road she waited for Tom. When she saw Tom, she took the free road assuming Tom would follow. Tom didn’t follow, and was soon on the other side of the toll counter, parked next to us….. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3402.jpg Well, we know where she went at least, and she knows where Tom went.… Eat a taco. Wait for her. Eat another Taco. Wait for her. “She knows where you went, right Tom?” “Right.” Eat a third Taco. Wait a little longer. Make the correct decision that she must have kept going down the free road and didn’t turn around to find us. Ergo all ye’ men of the internet, we didn’t lose the girl this time. She was somewhere on the other side…. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3403.jpg Well, the original plan was to stop in Culiacan to find Tom’s “friend”, but the place sucked. So we kept going. Mazatlan here we come. Onward. 230km later we were at the outskirts of Mazatlan. Why the hell are all these motorcycles coming from? They are everywhere! What’s that you said Charlie? Flat tire?! Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3404.jpg It turns out that one of the thorns that had given him a flat tire in Loreto had bad been lodged in his tire, and eventually 750 or so miles later had flattened his front tire again. So while he tore into that with Tom helping, I took off into the city to find a place to stay. Unsuccessful, I returned to find Charlie and Tom nearly ready to go. Woah! What’s that I see? That’s a sweet chopper/VW/trike! Awesome. Wave at the guy. Cool. What’s that other bike behind him that I see in the middle of the dusky 8 o’clock night? A small Yamaha XT225 with a girl on the back, wearing a day glow yellow jacket? Really? Well isn’t she a lucky girl. “HEY! SARAH!” Yea, you heard it right, Charlie got a flat tire, pulled over between a small shop and a house and Sarah just happened to roll on by while I was staring at something else. Reunited once again! Next, we found a place for good, got free wifi, checked our facebook, found Ed and Liz, got them the next morning (today, April 28th), brought them back to our sweet 2 bedroom 5 bed apartment for 800 pesos/night ($11.37 after split 6 ways), and now we’re getting ready for the weekend. Oh yeah, I nearly forgot. Apparently this weekend is the culmination of Semana de los Motos. Or in English, Motorcycle week. Tomorrow or the next day on Friday/Saturday afternoon, a massive parade of motorcycles 10,000-20,000 strong, will fill the Malecon (boardwalk) and cruise through New Mazatlan to Old Mazatlan, and probably back again. We expect many drunken motorcyclists riding anything from a Harleys baggers to BMW R1000SS’s, VW trike’s to Yamaha R1’s. Nearly every motorcycle rider has a passenger, no matter if it’s a girl or guy, sister or brother, girlfriend or random friend. T-shirts, shorts, sandals and no helmet is the norm. Will we be in this parade? YES. Will we wear shoes instead of Sandals? Most likely. Will we wear Helmets? Probably! Will we be drunk? I won’t be. Is it going to be fun. Without a doubt! More photos to come! Onward! --Alex |
4 week Re-Cap
Hello everyone!
April 29th marks the end of our 4th week on the road. Having covered nearly 3500 miles, staying nearly within our budget, escaping near adventure ending accidents, all while having a great time; we feel great about our adventure so far. A recap of the last 4 weeks follows below; for those of you just now joining the adventure, or lost in the events thus far, I hope this serves as a welcome addition to the ride report. Enjoy at will J Week One: We left the Seattle area on Tom’s 24th birthday, April 2nd, 2011 riding our 2007 and 2008 Dr650’s and made it to Eugene, Oregon on Day 1 where we stayed with Tom’s dad’s friend, Tom. Day 2 brought us to Northern California where we camped just north of Big Sur on Highway 101. Highway 101 brought us south on Day three to San Francisco to meet up with Tom’s college friend Brady. On Day 4 we made it to L.A where we were introduced to Charlie the Australian, riding a 2010 Yamaha Tenere. Day 5 landed us in San Diego, couch surfing at our mutual high school friend, Chad’s apartment. Day 6 marked an uneventful crossing of the Mexican border, stopping in Ensenada where we met Sarah, the Colorado native riding a 2005 Yamaha XT225. The end of the week was spent resting in the same place. Week Two: Day 8 was the beach in Ensenada. Day 9 brought out the big guns and landed me on my ass sliding through the mud on our way south to Rosario. Day 10 was worse, and I survived a serious crash. My motorcycle was bent out of shape but fixable, wheels bent, spokes broken, forks bent, luggage case broken. I was bruised but well and truly alive, and not bent or broken. Tom, Charlie and Sarah forged ahead while I fixed my bike. Day 11, 12, 13 and 14 were spent in San Quintin, north of where I crashed, where Tato the motorcycle mechanic fixed my motorcycle to the tune of $900. Cheap by comparable standards, and the bike was nearly back up to par. End of week 2, but back on the road. Week Three: Day 15 turned me back on the road headed south again where I camped on the side of the road north of Guerrero Negro. Day 16 brought me back in the group when I found Tom and Charlie on the side of the road in Loreto. Sarah had been lost but was found that night. Once again we were a group of 4. Day 17 was spent in Loreto again, enjoying an easy day. Day 18 took the 4 of us south to La Paz at the beginning of Mexico’s holy week, Semana Santa. We stayed through Day 19 and had a good time at the Pension California where we changed our oil having covered 2800+ miles thus far. We also met Eric, a bicyclist from San Fran who is riding to Argentina over the course of a year. Day 20 took all 5 (Eric on Charlie’s bike) of us an hour south to La Ventana, a world renown hotspot for Kite borders and wind surfers, where the wind wasn’t blowing to Tom’s disgust. We stayed through Day 23, and met many wonderful people. Chaz, an American traveler, Dan the owner of Playa Central where we stayed top the list and many others as well. This carries us part way into week 4. Week 4: After our days in La ventana, Day 24 took us back north to La Paz in preparation for taking the ferry from La Paz, Baja California to Topolobambo, on the Mainland of Mexico. On this day we also met Eddy and Lizzy, two Australian backpackers travelling around the world for a year. Day 25 had 6 of us (Eddy, Lizzy, Tom, Sarah, Charlie and I) on the ferry across the Sea of Cortez where we spent the night in Topolobampo, mainland Mexico had been realized. Day 26 landed us in Mazatlan. After a slight mishap, where Sarah was lost again, we reunited and found ourselves smack dab in the middle of Semana de los Motos; or Motorcycle Week. A festival of 10-15,000 motorcycles from all over the world. Day 27 was spent finding Eddy and Lizzy who bussed down from Topolobampo, and was finalized with a fiesta at Joes Oyster bar. Day 28, today April 29th, marks the end of Week 4 on the road. Finale: Nothing negative can be found in this trip. Everything has been wonderful. Many learning experiences, ample eventful nights, wonderful, generous people, excellent travelling companions, and mile churning days were in abundance. It has been fantastic through and through and I am very happy to be on the road, traveling via motorcycle, living a dream and experiencing life first hand. Thanks to all who have been following along on Advrider and the Hubb, and to those of you at home supporting me along the way. My Dad and Mom, Gary and Louise couldn’t have done a better job, my Girlfriend Kristi is top notch and kicking ass in school while I travel, my prego on round two Sister Lorraine always has my back, and all my friends at home are awesome. Month number one has come and gone, 2-9 are yet to come. ONWARD! --Alex |
Round Two, “The Month of May in Mainland Mexico.”
Today will be the last day in Mazatlan for the four of us. Charlie, Sarah, Tom and I will be leaving tomorrow morning to head deeper into Mainland Mexico. It’s been nearly a month of traveling together thus far, and new plans are on the horizon. Charlie and Sarah are heading off on a path of their own, most likely headed to Durango to ride the famous Dragon’s Tail. Tom and I will probably be headed the same direction, but with different plans in mind. Cheap accommodation, camping at will, tasty tacos, and days/nights spent in the wilderness should all come into play. We’re about to turn this party into a major fiesta.
Having started this trip together, Tom and I share a loyalty to each other. We enjoy spending time with Charlie and Sarah, but that is where our connection ends. We are all traveling together, yet separate, with different agendas, budgets, and goals. Charlie is keen to see the mountains as is Sarah, Tom and I will travel to Tom’s college stomping grounds in Cuernavaca, and everyone will get a taste of what they set off to do originally. Our current traveling partners, the backpackers Eddy and Lizzy, are heading off on bus tonight, destination Guadalajara with Mexico City in the days following. They’ll be found again no doubt, as they travel the same parallel routes as we do. Facebook is the standard means of communication, and we all stay connected somehow, someway. Both Tom’s and my Dr650’s are still kicking ass and taking names. It’s quite the experience, considering when we bought these particular motorcycles, both were bought from out of state, one off Craigslist and one off Advrider’s flea market, we’d never ridden a Dr650 before, didn’t see the bikes in person pre-purchase as they were delivered to us, and didn’t know much else about them except for their wide acceptance as a great dual sport touring bike. We’re more than happy with our decision, and are pleased to announce that their rugged construction, durability, reliable motors, and cheap maintenance have helped us keep strong, and moving over the past month and 3500+ miles. Of course the true test of time will be the next 8 months and 20,000+ miles to come. As a side note, since my crash, my Trail Tech Vapor computer has not been functioning as planned. The speedometer is no longer working, nor is the odometer keeping track of miles. This is due to a misplaced magnet that I later found on my busted rim. I’ve yet to take off the front wheel to replace the magnet as the tachometer works well, and a constant speed of 60’ish mph reads 4500rpm’s in 5th gear. I’ll put it back in place sooner than later, as knowing my miles driven since last fuel up can be essential at times, and keeping track of oil changes is made easier. All in all, Mazatlan has proven to be a nice rest stop before the beginning of what Tom and I feel will be the real adventure. Mainland Mexico, varying terrain, local food stands, wild camping, and everything else in between will be on our menus, and we plan to feast from every item in turn until we are stuffed to the gills. Adventure calls out our names and we feel the urge to escape the cities, meet new people, and find the hotspots and hidden gems. We can’t wait for Round Two, “The Month of May in Mainland Mexico.” |
Motorcyle Week!
Way too many motorcycles (is there such a thing?), many, many, many people drinking and riding, lots of crazy music, shitty traffic, lane splitting, illegal U-turns galore, cheap food and beer, crazy men and women cat calling each other and riding with sandals, shorts, and a t-shirt ruled the weekend.
There is too much to say, so I’ll let the photos tell the story. 15k+ motorcycles in miles long parade. Stunt riders, choppers, trikes, sidecars, ONE Yamaha Tenere 660, and numerous sport bikes were the name of the game. Here we go! A couple of awesome Choppers #1 http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0694.jpg #2 http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3418.jpg A VW powered trike. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3415.jpg Custom Paint Job http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3419.jpg Lunch break for Tom and Charlie http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3417.jpg While this guy flew around checking it out from the sky. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3422.jpg Parade time! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0720.jpg We saw Jim on his R1200GSA http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0705.jpg The crowds gathered to cheer us on http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0699.jpg And watched from their balconies http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0703.jpg And this guy brought his dog! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0709.jpg Meet Gary and Marilynn Smith. Riding a custom made Ural 750 sidecar unit, two wheel drive, 4 speed with Reverse. He’s been from Dead Horse to Ushuaia and back. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0716.jpg This girl paused the show for a quick bump and grind on her busted up bike. The Polaris vehicle behind her was bumping the tunes. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0722.jpg And finally, this guy brought the whole family! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0725.jpg Tom ran out of gas mid parade and nearly had heat exhaustion. Only he, I and maybe 3 other people of the entire 15k wore helmets. We may have been the only ones wearing pants, and we were sure as hell the only ones wearing boots. Did I mention the gloves? Or that it was 90 degrees? Hahah. It was a goodtime for all! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0707.jpg Onward! --Alex |
Meet Jim and Cindy!
Saturday night, April 30th marked a turning point for Tom, Charlie, Sarah and I. We’d be parting ways the next morning. Tom and I had nothing planned. Charlie and Sarah were heading west. The Devil’s backbone was on their horizon. Where we’d all end up was uncertain. We just knew we we’re all prepared to take care of ourselves, and it was time to meet new people. So, that night, the other Aussies hit the road south, headed for Guadalajara and Mexico, City. They are moving pretty fast. Not quite sure we’ll catch up with them until maybe South America.
http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3430.jpg And the next morning, Sunday May 1st, Charlie, Tom, Sarah and I had a pleasant if not slightly nostalgic group photo to signify 3 weeks together. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3433.jpg That, my friends, is where things go awry! Jim, (Going South) met us first in the event area for Moto Week, and then again the next day during the Parade. I rode the entire parade route with him, and afterwards before parting ways he told us it was a shame that we were moving on so early, and that if we needed any help in Mazatlan to give him a shout. Well Tom and I liked Jim’s easy going nature, the relative calmness after the storm that was Moto Week, and the idea of taking care of random business over the next two or three days. So, we used our local shout out, and presto! Jim arrived at our doorstep the next morning! Meet Jim and his wonderful wife Cindy! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3442.jpg Jim and Cindy offered us a place to stay, and Jim offered to show us around town. We accepted, as any place is a good place for us, made even better with good company. And good company we had! Jim is a veteran Alaska fisherman, while Cindy is a restaurant manager. Both are Ballard, Washington residents (part of the year) and took care of business early with 5 kids. When Tom and I rolled into town, they had 2 more! Here is a view from the beach front condo Tom and I stayed in for the last two days. We’d be staying longer, but we have plans to move south west to Cuernavaca. More people call our names. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3440.jpg Tom apologizes to all of the ladies for shaving his ‘stache, but it was time! Here in Mazatlan, especially in a beach front condo, there is little need to wear much else then board shorts and sandals. That was our basic attire for the past 48 hours. We never left the compound, as we had bought food in the first 120 minutes. Steak, tortillas, apples, bread, corn, beans, ‘yoghurt’, beer, tequila, and limes all came into play. The sun was hot, the water was warm, the beer was cold, the people were good, and the past 48 hours have been some of the best that we’ve had all trip long. Meeting Jim was a boon for Tom and I, and are grateful as can be for the opportunity to have met such great people and to have had the opportunity to spend time with them as well! As soon as we had seen the beach, ogled the scenery, body surfed the waves, and met the local expats, Jim took us up to the 7th floor to show us his place for 10 minutes. Ha. HAHAH! 10 minutes turned into 3 hours, and the fiesta began! Tom had much to talk about, and his suave manner really pulled in the attention. You tell it how it is Tom. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3450.jpg Only Tom sat on that couch all night. He really liked that couch. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3448.jpg Yea Tom, I see you over there. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3446.jpg Oh, no… Where did that come from! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3444.jpg The bottle was full. The other bottle was not. Cindy didn’t help us. Jim, Tom and I make up 19’, and over 700lbs of man. But…. The Tequila (pronounced Tu-kill-yah) won. Cindy made us some delicious cheese, tomato, and jalapeno tortilla wraps. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3452.jpg But Tom mistook the habanero picante sauce for the jalapeno picante sauce. It looked like gravy on his plate. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3457.jpg Oh my god. OH MY GOOD! My mouth! I need Water! I need WATER! Please. Please! Please!!!Give me water! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3454.jpg And hence forth, Tom drank much water, and showered his face with the help of a cup, thoroughly washing his entire head. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3455.jpg That’s when we heard that Osama Bin Laden had been brought to justice. Tom is very patriotic, and most definitely drunk. As was I. Tom demanded high-fives from Jim and I. He damned shots. He was obliged dutifully. And then, with much ado we began our migration from the 7th floor to the 2nd, and Tom proceeded to tell me that he most definitely was not going on a ride tomorrow. He couldn’t possibly. How could he? It would be impossible. Not possible. “Alex. No puedo montar manana. Esta imposible.” Yes Tom, you speak wonderful Spanish when you are drunk. Yes Tom, I realize we can’t go for a ride tomorrow. Ok Tom, here is your water. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3465.jpg Oh, you need to sit up? Ok. Do it here Tom. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3462.jpg Oh, you’re tired Tom. Ok. Oh. Yes. That’ll do for now. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3461.jpg What you have just witnessed. Was a giant success!!! That was yesterday. Today we spent the day lounging, planning our next few days en route to Cuernavaca to find Tom’s long lost friend “Cyntia”, and swimming in the ocean while eating the rest of the food we had bought. We’re heading out tomorrow. It should be great! Thanks to Jim and Cindy for their gracious hospitality, welcome companionship, and excellent tequila! It’s been a highlight of our trip! --Alex |
Keep it coming bier
|
Im liking this threat alot. The daily updates keep commin' and I keep reading them. Looks like quite an adventure, and now Aus is approaching winter the sun deffinatly seems tempting.
Onwards good sir. |
Days 32-34, Mazatlan to Durango to Lagos de Merenos to Toluca
The last few days have been quite fast, but good! Tom and I are on a roll, heading south to Cuernavaca. Here are the last three days in a nutshell.
We left our gracious hosts, Jim and Cindy in Mazatlan on Tuesday morning. Jim led us out of town on his R1200GSA, and Tom and I were on our own, headed to or past Durango via Highway 40, aka the Devil’s Backbone. A quote from the internet, ‘When the three-year project is done in 2012 it will create a 45-mile stretch of modern road between the Pacific Coast city of Mazatlan and the interior city of Durango. About 11 miles will be underground and with a total 95 bridges and tunnels” The tallest bridge is meant to be taller than the Empire State Building. That should be pretty good! As it is now, the road is really quite intense, with way to many Semi’s traversing the mountains, and speed demons in cars that hate being slowed by anyone. The curves in the roads are so intense that the semi drivers MUST cut into the opposing lane when taking many corners, and often times into blind corners. Ergo, as a motorcyclists it is very important to stay to the outside of your own lane during corners, as you never know what is coming around the next corner. Or course, this can mean hovering near a very near a cliffs edge, 1-2 feet from a guardrail, or riding a line isn’t preferred. None of which is much fun. Only one time was there a close call for Tom or me. I came around a blind corner to find myself head on with a newer model Chevy Pickup traveling at high speed. The road formed and “S” and the driver had cut through the inner lane to drive straight through the curves, putting him DIRECTLY in my line of fire. Fortunately I was already far to the outside of my own lane. The driver slammed on his brakes (rear tires locked momentarily) and careened back into his lane. Had he NOT, it would have been a VERY close call. Fortunately, all is well, and there were no more close calls after that. When we reached what we will refer to as the ‘Top’ of the backbone we stopped for some gorditas and a coke. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3470.jpg There happened to be another bike there, and henceforth we met Sergio E. Aviles, riding a newer model R1200GS. Sergio turned out to be the author, editor, photographer, owner, be all end all, etc of a travel magazine called “Coahuila”. HOME http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3471.jpg He spoke great English, and was very informative about many different areas surround us, and inside Mexico as a whole. He was even kind enough to take our photo for us. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3473.jpg And here is the proclamation from the Mexican government. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3468.jpg And another photo I took of the scenery. We topped 7,000 feet at our highest, and had a great time. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3469.jpg Well, Sergio, Tom and I all left the food stand together, as it is safer to travel together and he was alone heading to Durango. Just as the three of us came into Durango, I ran out of gas. DAMN. The altitude burned a bit more gas than expected, and the last 50 miles were sans gas stations. Tom pulled out one of our emergency 1lt bottles, dumped it in my tank, and we were off. Well, I was off, and promptly lost Tom! Alas, we took an exit and took different roads. Shit. Well, problem solved. Tom followed Sergio to his hotel, got on the internet, left me a message, I checked the internet, got his message, and found him. AND! Charlie and Sarah were still in town, with plans to stay longer. Well, we stayed in the same cheap hotel, grabbed some food, passed out and woke up early! On the road again, yesterday, we rode from Durango to a town called Lagos de Mereno. On the way, we stopped for some chicken. It was Awesome! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3477.jpg We could keep a watch on our bikes, and enjoyed the awesome food, inside, away from the 90degree heat. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3475.jpg Later down the road, we stopped for tacos and we met this guy. With no name to go by, here is his photo. He spoke well about the rest of Mexico, Central and South America, and was fun to talk to. He didn’t like the way of life in the United States though, as it was too busy for him, and was proud of us for experiencing the world while we had a chance. You can always earn money later, and work for the rest of your life. Before we left, he suggested a cheap hotel down the road, and sooner than later, we headed off to find “La Reloj.” http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3481.jpg So, in our search for the hotel, Tom was lucky enough to get a FLAT TIRE! Dammit! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3484.jpg Please keep in mind that this happened right before dusk at 6:45pm. Luckily we were right in front of a rural store, and were able to buy some cokes, some food, and other stuff as we fixed his tire. Check out the wonderful Trail Stand in use, sold by Steve in the Vendors section on Advrider. Trail Stand - Enduro and Dual Sport Portable Jack Stand - ADVrider First, set the stand. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3482.jpg Then, remove the tire. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3483.jpg Remove the STAPLE! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3486.jpg Then proceed to give it the middle finger. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3485.jpg Why do we give it the middle finger? Because after we patched the tube, and put it back in the tire, it was flat again. F&#%. What happened? We missed a VERY small hole. Remove tire, patch tube, reinsert, put back on bike. Flat again. F&@#!!! Pinch flat. Remove wheel again, buy a coke and candy at the store, send Alex to the hotel (after asking directions again), book room, come back, fix tire finally. Success! 2.5 hours in total. DAMMIT. Tom enjoyed his time….HAHAHA. We’re both in it for the long term, so a flat for either of us is the same as if we experienced it ourselves. So after a team effort, Tom was quite ready for bed. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3487.jpg And here is our cheap accommodation. We regularly share a bed. Cheaper. More money for food this way. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3488.jpg Now that was yesterday. Today, we rode from Lagos de Merenos to Toluca. It was uneventful, but the scenery was good. We got lost in one city and drove around its entirety for an hour (on accident) we took some toll roads, and hauled major ass. A photo from the road. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3490.jpg Approaching 5pm, we encountered some rain! The first rain since Washington! It was actually pretty refreshing. We stopped to put on our waterproof jacket liners, but decided against the pants. WRONG decision. 30 minutes later it was a torrential downpour, we were soaked from the waist down, and were riding through a thunderstorm. It was insane. We couldn’t see for shit, and every truck on the road was kicking up a spray and slamming through puddles, washing our bikes in the washout. It was outrageous. We had to ride about 40 minutes in the worst weather thus far until we made it to Toluca, where at first site we found a hotel for 250 pesos, which included a garage beneath every room, http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3496.jpg A huge king sized bed, with a tv (that we don’t watch) http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3497.jpg And a shower that nearly drowned me with its 10gpm water flow. It was saweet. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3498.jpg Well. It would turn out that the place we are staying at “Hotel Salou” is rather more of a meeting place, or rendezvous area for people and their “dates”. The ashtray had a condom in it, there is a menu for sex items like condoms, lube and toys, and the T.V. is full of porn channels. Tom and I have since turned off the t.v. , bought some food, ate it, and are now surfing the web. Tom will probably save the condom for future use, and we are now posting on our blogs. ENJOY! Tomorrow is Cuernavaca and our home for the next 7-10 days! Onward! --Alex |
Cuernavaca, March 6th-8th Days 35-37
Ahoy! We have arrived in Cuernavaca and have been here since Friday afternoon. It’s been great so far, and we’ve had a great time being shown around for the weekend by Tom’s friend Cyntia.
Here is where we left off! We left Toluca early enough in the morning to get lost a few times, find the wrong road more than once, and then arrive in Cuernavaca at 1pm in the afternoon to meet with Tom’s friend from his college days, named Cintia. Meet Cintia! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3500.jpg On the way to Cuernavaca, Tom and I road through a national forest called “Lagunas de Zampoala”, 75% of the way through the national forest we were stopped for road construction. The entire road thus far had been winding, sinuous roads, dropping and climbing over forested hills, and dipping into hidden valleys that only suddenly appeared when we rode into them. As we came to a stop, we instantly began jabbering and blabbering about the BEST road we have ever ridden in our entire lives. It really was that good. Yes we are young, and have much to see/ride yet, but damn, it was awesome. We are going back next Friday or earlier to ride it again. It was that awesome. Even better, it reminded us of home, as it was a lush densely packed forest of deciduous and coniferous trees alike. It even smelled like my back yard. Awesome. (We were born and raised in Washington, aptly named The Evergreen State). After we arrived in Cuernavaca, Cintia drove us to a family friends house, in a private, gated community, and we hashed out a price for 10 days, for one of his little rental houses (casita). The price we paid was commensurate for value, but over priced in consideration of cheap hostels or other things. However, we’ve got two beds, a kitchen too cook in, complete with a mini fridge, and a bathroom. When we’re lucky, we can even catch an internet signal inside the casita without having to go outside. We are paying 400pesos/night. Just under $40. Haha. We’re cheap bastards though, and talked him down from 500. We’re happy. Plus, we can leave our bikes in front of our rental unit, not worry about them, leave and come back to a clean place, and leave all of our crap everywhere without caring. Also the next 7 we are here will allow us to buy some things (rear innertube, new pelican case, etc) from the nearby Mexico City, and see many surrounding areas as well. Check out Tom, cleaning his clothes in the sink. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3530.jpg We even have a dining table, and we use it twice a day for breakfast and dinner. Cheap! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3502.jpg The same day we arrived, and after we unpacked everything for our mini extended stay, Cintia drove us around the city and took us to a grocery store to load up on food. Soon after we had made it back to our new home, we unloaded the groceries, got dressed in some decent clothes (I have none) and Cintia took us out to the local hotspot , and we found ourselves at a Latin Salsa bar called Los Arcos. It was there that we learned what Salsa dancing really was, and it was awesome. Cintia coerced her friends into giving us dance lessons over the course of a song, and while I had no time to pay attention to anything other than my feet, I’m pretty sure Tom was having a good time too. Of course, it doesn’t help when we’re 6’2 and 6’6” and our dance instructors were 5’2” and 5’4” and half our weight. It was pretty funny to say the least. We left Los Arcos, and headed to Carlos and Charlies for round two, and didn’t go to bed until 2am, watching the Latin men and women dance, and giving it our best shots trying to learn and not crushing their feet with ours. Ok… Time to wake up! It’s Saturday morning! We’re going to EL ROLLO! What is that you ask? Only the biggest water park in all of Latin America, with rides that hardly imaginable in the US, and more then illegal in most other countries! Needless to say, we had a freaking blast. On the way there we saw a giant billboard for the park, which happened to have Cintia’s sister plastered on the front. Meet Graciela. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3506.jpg The main attraction for Tom and I was the Rio (river). Basically, a major wave jet pump thingamajig pumps water in vast quantities over a raised lip, behind which are about 40-50 people, eagerly anticipating the ever increasing water flow. The water flow and pressure soon becomes too much and begins to sweep everyone and anyone, without discrimination, into the Rio (river), blasting us all down the drain pipe and into lazy river (that ISN’T lazy at ALL). As everyone is blasted down the river, arms and legs flailing, the strongest of the bunch still remains in the onslaught waiting for the final purge of water that is impossible to resist when it comes. And here in Mexico, when it rains, it pours, and the river flows like never before, and we’re all washed away, down into the river, only to swim out, run back, and return for rounds 2,3,4-50 etc. Awesome! The biggest water tube drop ride had a LOOP in it. Alas neither Tom nor I could haul ass down it as I had metal grommets in our bathing suits, and he had a zippered pocket. Thanks guys, you’ll drown me in the wave pool, but won’t let me possible scratch myself with a grommet? Awesome. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0744.jpg After Tom and I were had taken a considerable ass whooping from the “go drown in a crazy river” ride, I found out that there was a 5 meter diving platform that had a 4.5 meter deep pool underneath it. Sweet. So, I climbed to the top… http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0734.jpg Then I did a backflip, and had an audience of little kids from age 10-15. It was pretty fun. All I have is a 14mb video though, so you’ll have to use your imagination. It looked kinda like this though…. (Yes that really is me) http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/backflip.jpg We snagged a group photo, http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0737.jpg And grabbed a photo behind the waterfall of Tom http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0742.jpg And Cintia http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0743.jpg The night after the water park, we pretty much just cooked some food and fell asleep. Not enough energy to do much else. Except it was just tooo damn hot in our little casita, with no air conditioning, and no screen on the window. We couldn’t open the window for fear of the mosquitoes. Well, we thought the window was closed. Apparently it was not, as midway through the night, I looked like this… http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3501.jpg It was a “mosqo” feeding frenzy and we were right in the middle of it, and it sucked. But we survived, and the next day, Sunday, we we’re out and about again. Cintia picked us up in her car (2007 VW Jetta) and we headed out to a nearby puebla/town to check out a rather mildly sized archeological site. Her sister, Gabriela, was dancing in a traditional tribute ceremony that was taking place under the largest pyramid there. So, we had a good look, and got burned in the 90 degree heat while trying to find shade as we drank gallons of water. It was pretty intense. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3519.jpg All of the dancers were ornately dressed in traditional clothing, and it was quite the sight to behold, even if we were overheating. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3510.jpg After the dancing was finished, we met this guy, who we will politely refer to as Wolverine, as he was the epitome of a traditional Mayan warrior/dancer. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3522.jpg Cintia insisted on a photo of her sister and her between the “twin towers” as we were so honorable named by a man we met the first night we were out dancing. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3524.jpg Then, I took the best photo I have taken this entire trip. Meet Cintia’s sister, Graciela. The happily married, 25 year old, with a 2.5 year old child. For all you single guys out there, GOOD LUCK! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3525.jpg After the dancing, we headed off to Cintia’s house to meet up with others from the dancing, and were greeted by her Dad with some Mezcla, a traditional drink made solely from Cacti. Enjoy! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3527.jpg Nothing much came from the drink, though along with it we were prompted to try 3 different kinds of fruit that neither of us had ever encountered in our lives. They were called Mame, Chico, and something else I can’t remember. They were all pretty good, but not as appetizing to us as they are to the accustomed pallet. However, it was a great experience. After all the dance watching, sun burning, fruit eating, Mezcla drinking activity, we headed back to our casita for the night to eat our staple foods, potatoes, onions, some kind of meat (chorizo last night), and drink gallons of water. The past three days have been some of the busiest days of trip thus far, but have also been some of the most eventful. In the next 7 days, Tom and I are going to buy a new rear tube, get my pelican case replaced, check out valves, buy new rear tires (Tom’s can wait, but I left home on a used set of Mefo Explorers, my rear tire is nearly toast, but my front is holding out strong), and due routine maintenance on the bikes. We’ve also got to get back into the mountains, to Lagunas de Zampoala. We’ve got an adventure ahead of us yet! Now, Tom and I have been traveling separately from Charlie and Sarah these past few days, but Tom and I received an update today from Sarah via Skype, so I thought I’d clue you all in. After we left Durango, about five days ago, Charlie and Sarah went for a cruise into the mountains and stayed overnight with some friends that they had met from town the night or so before. They then returned to Durango. Sarah conquered her first dirt road experience handily, and Charlie ate it for breakfast with his 660 Tenere. The next day or so, they left together, headed for the coast. No normal roads this time however, as they took the advice of a fellow they met, and prepared with maps, took off into the mountains for a 500km ride through semi paved roads through the Sierra Madre Mountains. Sarah was the first to give it toss in some excitement. As she told Tom and I over skype, here is what happened (keep in mind I wasn’t there). Sarah was happily cruising along at about 30mph, on a dirt road when her front tire decided to dive into a good sized pothole full of finely ground dirt/dust. It promptly shoved both the bike and her to the right side (still rubber side down at this point). Of course, directly after the first pothole was a second one which promptly slammed her bike to the left side, laying it down in the dirt at about 30mph while Sarah kept going in a straight line, quickly finding herself on the ground, shoulder first. From what she says, her shoulder (not sure which one) hurts pretty good but is going to be ok, and Burro (her bike) is doing better than her with no notable damage. Charlie had his turn the following day. This time however, he was going twice as fast, and on pavement. Sound familiar? It would though, that that day Charlie was just one unlucky son of a bitch. From what I understand, his front tire tube valve blew out, instantly deflating his tire and throwing him into a mondo tank slapper. Rather than bucking him off as could have happened, he got lucky and the bike went into a slide on a stretch of straight road. Apparently, Charlie held on for quite some time, but landed hard on one side, also damaging his shoulder (though not as bad as Sarah’s, I think), and hurting his right hand and wrist enough to make a handshake painful. El Dorado (Charlie’s bike) only came out slightly worse for the wear. His handle bar is bent to shit, and his tank nearly ground through the plastic, though it still holds fuel, and can be patched over for security. Both Sarah and Charlie were wearing full gear. Sarah has mid length riding boots, Kevlar lined jeans (non padded), a First Gear mesh jacket and a Sparks helmet, and summer weight riding gloves. Charlie has Mid length boots, padded and armored riding pants and a jacket, a local brand of helmet (his Shoei Hornet DS was stolen nearly 4 weeks ago), and summer gloves. ATGATT baby! It would seem, that about 6 weeks ago, Charlie had a new tube put into his front tire while still in L.A. However, during his first front flat tire, he realized that the tire wasn’t heavy duty (he asked/paid for one) and the valve stem was slightly rusted (old tube maybe?). Now, over a month and 4000 miles later, his valve stem blew out….. Hmmmm… As it is now, everyone is up and running. Charlie and Sarah are on the coast, and Tom and I are happily hanging out in Cuernavaca. It’s been a good few days, and more are to come! Onward!!! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3532.jpg --Alex |
Really enjoying the updates fellas!
Making me very very jealous to say the least. Keep it up! All the best from across the pond :) |
Really enjoying reading this thread as its so current!
Good to be getting the regular updates, looking forward to the next one :mchappy: |
May 9th-12th, Days 38-41
Ahhhh, Monday. Lots of people hate Mondays, but this Monday was a good day. And we did absolutely NOTHING at all. Monday was a day of rest, and stuffing face with the remainder of our food, and not a whole lot of much else. I only left the “casita” for a brief moment to run down to the Oxxo, buy some tortillas and eggs, and some other things, and that was it. Tom never left. We had no urge. And that was Monday.
Tuesday had a bit more in store for us. We were going to Mexico City, to find me a Pelican Case dealer, who would hopefully warranty my destroyed pelican case, or sell me a new one. We planned ahead, I studied the maps, and we were going to successfully navigate the largest city by area in the world. All the signs for Mexico City (also referred to as Distrito Federal, or D.F. “day-effay”) simply say, “Mexico”. And sure enough, though we were weaving in and out of traffic, reading street signs, and relying on my hand written map, we found our way to our destination! Success. Almost. We were trying to find a store called “Submergibles y Acesorios,” and we found the right street, and turned off the right highway, after taking the right exit off the right freeway, from the right direction. BUT, the store did not exist. We even found a motorcycle shop on the way, and asked them about a place that sold Pelican Cases. We gave them a name. They had never heard of them, they didn’t even know what a Pelican Case was. Everybody that we asked thought that they were original equipment and wanted to send us to a Suzuki dealer. No, sorry, that’s not what we’re looking for. So, we tried to find it again, and on the way, met a city resident riding a Honda Bro dual sport. Oh, I’ll take you there he said. I know a place. And so we followed him, by first doing an illegal u-turn, and then riding against a one way highway, on a shoulder, switching between the sidewalk, and any other space available. Ha. We had to. We were following the local. And where did he take us? Right back the first motorcycle shop that we had visited. Then he told me there was a store, that DEFNIITELY sold the boxes. Well, we’re here now, may as well try, and fail. Damn it. What did we succeed in doing? Eating the best chorizo tacos as of yet, and finding a new rear tube that wasn’t being sold for an extortionate price. We’ll take it. What did Wednesday have in store for us you ask? Not a lot. We’re tired. Maybe it’s because we’re living at around 6,000 feet. Maybe it’s the everyday 90+ degree heat. Maybe, it’s the sweatbox of a casita that we’re sleeping in, sweating all night until the morning. Who knows. But we did get off our asses and do a few things. First thing I did that morning was check out my exhaust pipe. Tom had realized one day that my exhaust pipe was leaking at the point where it connects to the frame near the mid pipe. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...IMG_3540-1.jpg During the first week of our travels, Tom’s and my motorcycle had been burning nearly exactly the same amount of fuel. Within 3/10 of a liter. After my crash, however, there was a slight difference in my motorcycle, and though with no discernable amount of power loss, I was burning more fuel. I chalked it up to the increased altitude that we were soon after dealing with, and an incorrect fuel mixture. I was wrong. Furthermore, at altitude my bike was bucking slightly under slight acceleration, and prolonged open throttle. So, I detached the pipe and cleaned it in the sink, http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...IMG_3539-1.jpg Then I borrowed Tom’s motorcycle, strapped my muffler to the top of one of his panniers, http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3541.jpg And took off in the search of a welder. Which I found quite easily right down the road. Well, the shop I found was for transmissions, but he had a huge mig welder in the corner of the open shop bay door. I pulled in, asked him how much it would cost to weld it (80 pesos), agreed to the price and took off in the name of returning with my wallet that I had forgotten. Skip forward 10 minutes, and I return to within 50 feet of the shop, just to have Tom’s clutch cable (a non OEM replacement, after his original one broke) snap at the lever. DAMN. So I paid the man, strapped the repaired muffler to his pannier, http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3542.jpg And proceeded to open Tom’s other pannier, reach in, grab his tool bag, find the SECOND replacement cable we had bought and stashed for this reason, and in 15 minutes, I was finished replacing his broken clutch cable. (Thankfully it didn’t happen on the fly in Mexico City the day before!) Best success of the week! I returned, reattached my newly repaired muffler, adjusted my fuel mixture screw, started up the bike, and pleasantly found my bike to be running like it did when I left. Prompt throttle response, no more starvation at altitude, no problems with anything at all. Success!!! This all happened before midday, and when I returned, Tom had other things on his mind. So, he looked up a local Suzuki Motorcycle dealership, and we made our way there to get some things, and order some others. Tom needed an OEM clutch cable, we needed spare spark plugs, and I need a new rear tire. Well we found the first two, but the last thing (the tire) was outrageously priced, and can wait (I’m not paying $220USD of a Bridgestone Trail Wing. Not going to happen. So we bought the stuff ($75 for Tom’s new clutch cable that he will have to go pick up tomorrow or Saturday), went grocery shopping, and then headed back to the casita. Day over. Today! Thursday, has been an easy day. Plans? Check our valves, lube our chains, clean our air filters (K&N), and head to the Centro tonight. First thing first, check ADVrider for advice on checking the valves. Read many pages, then proceed. Second step: Check the valves . http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3543.jpg Valves were within the specs. Awesome. We had no reason to believe otherwise, but it’s nice to know things are going as planned. We spent another hour or so, cleaning our air filters (in the sink with soap and water), lubing our chains, and for me, replacing my front sprocket, not out of necessity, but in exchange for a 15 tooth front sprocket rather than a 14 tooth front. We’ve been running a LOT of highway miles, and a 15 tooth will be more efficient. I have a second DR650 at home with a 15 tooth front sprocket on it, and really liked the performance. If we run into some tough stuff, I still have my original 14tooth and a replacement new one for future use. No problem. And now. We head for the town centro! But alas, we didn’t do a whole hell of a lot. We parked on in the round-about, http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0757.jpg And walked around a bit through the markets. Well that was entertaining. At least we saw this apron… http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0758.jpg Then we got a call from Cintia. “You guys want to go to a movie?” Um, yea sure. When? “Like 8:30-9pm. I’m coming now” Ok. Sounds good. So we went to the theater, paid less than $6 for a movie ticket, and saw “Fast 5,” the latest in line of The Fast and The Furious Movies. It was all in English, and we loved it. Combine that with lots of fast cars, guns, and a hot chick on a motorcycle, and we were set. Today, Friday, Tom's old college Spanish professor, Luis, arrives from Washington State with a gaggle of giggling college students eager to learn Spanish in a foreign country. We're going to go say hello, it should be a good time! --Alex |
May 13th-18th Days 42-47
Ahoy!!!
The last time you heard from me, Tom and I were sitting in a movie theater, watching Fast 5, enjoying the English language at its best! Since then, we have had a very eventful (at least by our standards) past 6 days, and have been as productive as we have ever been. We are still in Cuernavaca, and have been here since Friday, May 6th. We are most definitely leaving this city tomorrow, which will mark the end of our second week here in Cuernavaca. With some rest days in the middle of action packed days, these two weeks have been awesome, and we’re glad that we stayed as long as we have. As for now though, we are itching to get south, and have Guatemala/Honduras on our minds. Here is where we left off! The day after the movie, Friday, had us waking up late, and mulling around, but eventually, as the evening came one, it had us headed towards the Centro, with plans to meet Cintia and her friends at Los Arcos, the favorite hotspot for cheap beer, live music, and salsa dancing. (They sell mini beers here, 225ml, as compared to a standard 325/355mm. 4 of them for 30pesos. 900mm for less than $3.) Well, believe it or not, Tom and I were on time and arrived at 9pm, just to find that the tables were completely full, and without a reservation, we wouldn’t be entering the seating area. Not to mention, we didn’t see Cintia or her friends anywhere. Well, we might as well sit and wait right? Right. So we sat, and we waited. And while we waited, we met some nice young people. Well, rather, two distinctly tall, light haired, fair skinned white boys drew some attention from the local student population who, while we sat and waited, unabashedly walked directly in front of us and simply took a picture. When the first picture didn’t turn out, of course, they took a second. Well, that wasn’t good enough. So they asked us for a photo, and we obliged. Simply put one giant on either side of the local 5’4” student, and “SNAP” photo taken. Next! And another please! No problem. What else do we have to do while waiting? So, while we’re being stared at I thought it would be prudent to scan the crowd for some friendly faces. The seating area to Los Arcos is under cover, but outdoors. So a stroll around the perimeter lends itself well to people watching. So I watched some people a few times, and after my third or so pass, on my way back to my retaining wall bench seat next to Tom, a girl and a guy came out of the bar, bee lining it to Tom. “Would you like to come in and sit at our table?” they asked. Tom and I debated. It was 9:30, the other people were 30 minutes late. We’re on vacation. We don’t need to wait. “Well, yes, that sounds great. Thank you very much. I’m Tom, this is Alex.” And so the beginning of our next 5 days was started! We met Eva, and Pamela, and Sandra, and Olympia, and Linda, and Daniel, and another 2 guys, and 3 more girls, and another guy after that. And then Cintia showed up. And then her friends showed up. But they were late to the party. We had new friends now. And they were cool. And so it began! That night ended at a separate smaller bar, with less intense music, where we could chat, and talk, and have a great time, and make plans to see people at different times, and invite Daniel, and his sister Olympia, and there friend Pamela back to our Casita. They obliged, and 15 minutes later, we were there! Well, Tom and I were all there, so was Daniel, Pamela was on track, but Olympia. Well, Olympia was tired… http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3545.jpg Hahaha. Tom and I pulled out our sleeping pads, and pillows and made our beds on the floor and our friends slept the night away on our beds. It was great fun, and the next day, Saturday, was born. Saturday got to an early start. We had people to me et! Tom’s university, Gonzaga, was rolling into town with 7 study abroad students eager to see the sights! We intended to intercept them at their school here in Cuernavaca, called University International, or UNINTER. We we’re wildly successful, found them at their school at about 12pm, instantly had new cronies, and made plans to meet up with them again at 5pm at the Cathedral. Somehow, we got a hold of Daniel from the night before, and he told his sister Olympia, and pretty soon, we were a famous group of white people, roaming the streets, Tom and I in the lead, showing these kids (minus our two local friends) what they needed to see within the direct vicinity of the center. Then, we showed them the two for one bars. Two beers, for the price of one of course. Until, between the 10 of us, we ordered 12 beers and 24 showed up. Shit. Two for one…. And then… We were back at Los Arcos!! And then the students left us, they had an early morning excursion planned for the next day, and WE didn’t. So we went to bed too. Excellent. Now, Sunday, had more in store for us. It turns out that both Daniel, and his sister Olympia really like motorcycles, and of course, Tom and I both have a motorcycle. So we should probably take them somewhere on our motorcycles. The town of choice you ask? Tepotzotlan. Home of a mountain with a pyramid. Sweeeet. So, we met Daniel and Olympia near the center of town, they hopped on the back of our bike. Olympia with Tom, Daniel on mine, and we took off. 30 minutes later, we were parked, and our way on a HOT Sunday afternoon, looking down the main street of Tepotzotlan. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3551.jpg The walk through town was nice and easy. Lot of little vendors, and food stalls, and trinkets, and flat easy pavement. Until of course, we reached the base of the mountain. And we started climbing. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3553.jpg Of course, we like exercise, and the climb is totally worth it. But damn, it was 90+ degrees, and closing in on 90% humidity. We we’re sweating, and that was all there was too it. A little higher up, and we get to take a break. Meet Daniel and Olympia! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3556.jpg Daniel is 18, Olympia is 22. Daniel speaks Spanish, English, French, German, and Portuguese. Olympia speaks Spanish, English, French, and German. Daniel is an English teacher at a local school, and Olympia is a lab assistant at another one. Well educated people, which we were glad to have met! Even at 7,000 ft, Graffiti reigns king. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3557.jpg And of course, this is where we started, way down there in the city. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3560.jpg Face shot of yours truly. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3565.jpg And for just for kicks, an awesome, multi colored Mexican bug. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3566.jpg After the hike, we were all tired, and hungry, and still sweating. So we found a cheap place to eat and settled in. The food was good, we were all happy, and there wasn’t much to complain about. Except, having not exercised in about 5 months, my legs were tired from the climbing. I’m getting soft! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3568.jpg After lunch, we made our way to the Sunday street market/vendors row. Tom and I don’t have room for much on our bikes, and we don’t have need for more crap either, but we enjoy having a look around. It’s part of what this is all about. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3569.jpg After looking around, we had a lay in the grass in the courtyard of the Cathedral. Here’s a shot from the grass. I couldn’t get the whole thing in. Neat little (by local comparison) church. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3570.jpg And so ended our day in Tepotzotlan! We took Daniel and Olympia back to where we picked them up, and headed back to our Casita. Tom and I had paid 10 days in advance for our lodging, and Sunday night was the last day. We liked our little sweat lodge, but it was too damn hot, had too many mosquitoes, and was overpriced.We would be moving out the next day. So we got to our packing when, Cintia and her friends arrived to say goodbye to us. They thought we were leaving town. And originally, we had planned to do just that. But we had some things to catch up on, and well, we weren’t leaving just yet. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3573.jpg You might wonder why half of the photos of Tom and I and other people involve at least one of us without a shirt. Well, it’s averages well above 85 degrees here during the day, and our little Casita had us swimming in our own sweat. So, enjoy. The next morning, Monday the 16th, had us packed and ready to go. We were moving, and at the advice of Daniel, our new local friend, had a place in mind that would be SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3574.jpg Priced at 43 pesos each per night rather than 200, tom and I would each have our own room. Ha. Saving $15 a night, upgrading to single rooms, and only giving up a kitchen… Easy decision. Meet Sergio! The son of the owner’s wife! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3575.jpg What you see of the room is basically what we have. A bed, desk, and private bathroom. Perfect! The rest of Monday was put to use doing useful things. Having moved, we didn’t really know what part of the city we were in. Well, we had a good idea, but we threw Daniel on the back of my bike and used him like a personal tour guide. He was more than happy to come along, as his days are free with no job, and no school to tie him down. First stop was Potenza Motors, the local Suzuki dealership that had Tom’s clutch cable. Having ordered it sometime last week, Tom was waiting for it to arrive, and arrive it did. For the first time in about 30 days, Tom finally had a legitimate OEM Suzuki clutch cable. Never mind that it cost nearly $70… http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3576.jpg I had other plans. I needed a box to replace my top case, as I had plans to replace my destroyed right side pannier with my current top case. Having failed to find a pelican case dealer, I decided instead to move my pelican top case to the right pannier location, and buy a new BIGGER box for the top. And here you have it! My new fiberglass, 40cm x 40cm x 35cm top case. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3577.jpg Soon thereafter, it was back to our new location to work on our bikes. Did I mention it has a garage that they are letting us use? http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3578.jpg Tom set about replacing his clutch cable alone. What better time to practice motorcycle mechanics then when you have no other choice. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3580.jpg I went about drilling some holes in the bottom of my new fiberglass top case. Utilizing the tools at hand. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3581.jpg I’m pretty damn satisfied with the job done. Buck knife, and flat head screw driver where the tools of my trade that day. The bottom of the fiberglass box has a ½” piece of fiberboard running between the layers of fiberglass to give it strength and rigidity. I was happy to learn this, as it means it will be more durable in the long run, but it doesn’t mean it was any easier to drill! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3582.jpg I removed the rails from my top case quick release set up, and set about installing them on the bottom of my new top case. Well, the top case has a thicker bottom then the top case, and that means I need new bolts, and with new bolts, probably new buts, and because I’m so lucky, the Ferreteria across the street (hardware store) will only have them in 11mm, the one wrench/socket I didn’t bring. So I‘ll have to use an adjustable wrench, because my cheap ass won’t spend $5.50usd on a 11mm socket. Oh, and because the new bolts are longer, and the heads are larger, they’ll have to be inserted into the box/rails from the other direction, requiring washers, and, and, and, and…. Here is the finished product. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3591.jpg That was a multi-day effort. And brings us to Tuesday! And with Tuesday, come new tires!!! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3584.jpg We snagged out personal city tour guide, Daniel, and went in search of new Llantas (tires). And eventually, after visiting two Yamaha dealers, and a hole in the wall, the hole in the wall had two tires that we could use, two Pirelli MT60 dual sport tires. The tires were priced nearly at US prices, and we paid $150 each for the rear tire. We didn’t want to, and would have preferred much cheaper tires, because we’re cheap, but it didn’t work out that way. What we now have are two tires, in two different sizes. One is a 130/80/17, and the other is a 140/80/17. I am currently running a 130/80/17 Mefo Explorer as my rear tire, and it is pretty much toast. There is about 1mm or less of remaining tread in the center of the tire. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3586.jpg Tom has a 4.6/17 Chinese made Shinko tire that still has some (not much) life left. He’s probably got about 2.5-3.5 mm of tread left http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3585.jpg Tom’s tires were brand new when we left. Mine were used. I’m only slightly hesitant about the fact that we bought a 140/80/17 tire, but I’m pretty confident that it will fit, even if it is a BITCH to put on. That will come later. The only thing I really have any concern about is the life of our new, expensive, rear tires. Most report a life span of about 3k-3.5k miles. What we really wanted was 5k+. That likely won’t happen. So, somewhere south of here (likely Panama City) we’ll be buying new tires. I’ll probably go big and buy some Mefo Explorers if I can find them, and hopefully not worry about them until we reach Buenos Aires. Of course, all of that can wait until then. After buying tires, it was sushi time. I have no photos of the sushi, but it was AWESOME. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday is 2 for 1 day at the local Sushi place in the Gallerias (mall). So Daniel, Olympia, Pamela, Susie, Sandra, her friend, Tom and I, all sat down and packed away Sushi for basically free. We all ate as much as we wanted, had a drink of some sort, and still didn’t pay more than $9 each. I haven’t been as satisfied with a meal thus far. And being that everyone ordered 2 plates, and it was 3 guys and 5 girls, there were plenty of leftovers from the girls’ plates that I simply couldn’t let go to waste. And so I consumed large, obsessive quantities of raw fish, white rice, and various dipping sauces. It was lovely. After sushi time, it was time for relaxation. Everyone went home except Daniel and Olympia who came back to our new establishment. Tom and Olympia hung out while Daniel and I played cards. I taught him War. And he whooped my ass. Then I taught him cribbage. And I won. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3589.jpg Now, it is Wednesday, the 18th, and I have spent the morning typing away. Soon, I will have lunch for 20 pesos. Later, a new rear tire will go on my bike, my right side pannier case will be properly installed, and the newest edition to my ride report will go online. Tom and I will go out for drinks with his old university Spanish teacher, than we will pack all of our things, and get ready to ride out of here tomorrow. Cuernavaca has been good, but we have the itch now. Likely, we’ll head east to Veracruz, and head along the Caribbean coastline to the Yucatan Peninsula, headed south invariably until Guatemala or Belize gets in our way. We’ve got miles to churn, and we’re getting pretty excited about it! Until next time! Thanks for following along so far, being patient when we are busy, and for keeping us in check! Onward! --Alex |
Hello everyone!
We arrived in Oaxaca the day before yesterday, stayed two nights, and let this morning. Now were hanging out in an internet cafe.
Updates to come in the next couple of days. Everything is kicking ass, and we´ve had a great couple of days of riding. The roads hae been excellent, and the terrain even better. I hope to be able to upload a few photos by mid week, and write the next ride report chapter as well. I hope all is well on the home front! -Alex |
May 19th-23rd, Days 48-52
Hello everyone!
We’re on the attack now, and chewing through some miles since leaving Cuernavaca on Friday afternoon. That’s right. Last thing I said was, “We’re out of here Thursday!” Well that didn’t happen. Wednesday night had me trying to replace my used, beaten and battered rear tire with a brand new one bought the day before in town. Well that went poorly. Very poorly. Tom had a date with his old Gonzaga University Spanish professor at Los Arcos at around 9m, and I intended to go with him. That didn’t happen either. Instead, I tore the shit out of my rear inner tube, (which was brand new beforehand) pinched it several times, patched it just as many, and wasn’t successful the entire night. But, just as Tom was about to go gallivanting around, our new local friends Olympia and Daniel came by to see what was up. Tom was on his way out, but Daniel and Olympia stuck around to keep me company as I tore into my tire. And F’ed it up multiple times in a row, and stressed and even possibly tore the muscles in my right rib cage that have been sore ever since my accident over 40 days ago. Well done Alex. Here I am, checking for some flats as Olympia stands watch and Daniel took some photos. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3601.jpg How kind of them to laugh with me as I failed repeatedly. Daniel was a giant help as well though, and held tire irons, and jumped on my tire for me. It was great. Then Olympia wanted a parting shot of the motorcycle along with me. To reduce the chance of me greasing up all of my clothes at some point or another, I work on my bike in my bathing suit. Hence the photo. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3598.jpg After the 6th or 7th attempt at installing a tube that stayed full of air, I gave up for the night, left a note on Tom’s rooms door telling him we wouldn’t be leaving early in the morning, and went to bed, after taking a shower. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3604.jpg Before going to bed, I said goodbye to our friends. Here they are for the last time, brother and sister. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3606.jpg Daniel and I, http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3607.jpg Olympia and I, http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3605.jpg They left, and I went to bed. Then Tom blew into the room! “Wake up man!” said Tom. “Yea? What’s up dude?” Said Alex. “Dude. We’re not leaving tomorrow.” said Tom. “Yea man, I know that. I left you a note saying that. You see my note? No? OK. What’s up?” And that is how I found out that Tom got stood up by his old G.U. Professor, and met Oscar, the retired veterinarian that used to work on Pigs, who switched to Cats and Dogs, works from home, rides a 2007 R1200RT, and wanted us to meet the president of the Cuernavaca chapter BMW Club. Hmm… Yes, that sounds like a good plan. And so we did, the next morning at 9am in front of his gated community. He was 25 minutes late. We didn’t care. I rode there, 2 up on Tom’s bike because my tire was still trashed. I hopped in Oscars car, and Tom followed along. I told him I had a flat tire, he went back to our place, I picked up my tire, and we dropped it off at a Llanteria, (tire shop). They fix all of the BMW clubs tires, don’t worry, it’ll be fixed when you get back. AWESOME. Then we met the club, and they told us, SCREW Veracruz, go to Oaxaca, the roads better ,the city is better, and everything else is better. Go there. Well there you go again. Change of plans anyone? Normal. So he dropped us off at the Llanteria, and we said our goodbyes, he was a nice guy, friendly, and a fellow biker. Thanks for everything Oscar. Back at the Llanteria, they told me both of my rear tubes were F’ed. Buy a new one, they will only fail sooner than later. Really? Dammit. Just put my tube in, I’ll deal with it later. They didn’t, and so, I did myself, later that day. On our way home, Eva said hi. We had met her days before, and we happened to pass her on the street. She likes motorcycles, so Tom gave her a ride back to our place as I walked the short few blocks. Tom took the long way. When they arrived, I snagged a photo. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3595.jpg Eva liked Tom’s Indiana Jones hat, but he wouldn’t give it up. Good man! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3593.jpg Finally, we ended our day, my tube made its way back into my new tire, and we were ready to go. We stopped at an Oxxo on the way out, and bought some gas as well. (Only to find that about 2 gallons of gas evaporated from my tank over the past 10 days, DAMMIT.) http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3608.jpg Then, we headed straight for Oaxaca. And it was incredible. For the first 40 miles. Until my rear tire went flat. Dammit! (It was a legitimate new flat though, complete with a new whole). I pulled the tube, inserted a brand new one that Tom had with him, and we were out of there soon after. The temp was climbing, and 90+ degree temps were on the horizon. And then it was incredible again. We rode 280 miles of stunning roads, up and down mountains, through vegetated forests, and across rambling valleys. We cruised through some of the best roads we had seen yet, all the way to Oaxaca, (Wha-Haw-kuh) where the heavens opened up and proceeded to pour a deluge of rain on us like none we had seen yet. I had a hostel in mind, named Pochon. Tom couldn’t have cared much less. He got sick last time it rained like this, and I knew he didn’t want to get sick again. I told him to sit in a bar. I’d find the hostel. It took me 30 more minutes, we were both soaked to the bone, but I found it. And it was good. And we even parked our bikes inside. Sweet deal. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3610.jpg We lived on the top floor for a couple of nights. Mosquito free, and cool enough that we weren’t sweating all night. It was the best sleep we have had in the past 2 weeks. Easily. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3609.jpg We didn’t stick around very long, but the next day we made some use out of our dual sports, and hit the first dirt roads that we’ve seen yet. We chatted about at the breakfast table, and heard about Hierva el Agua. Fresh water springs that come out of the mountain. You can swim in them, and it’s 90+ degrees outside. Game on! What’s that? Tom the actor from England, and Cici the fashion designer from China want to come? Awesome. Tom has dibs on all female passengers. And of course, being the faithful wingman, I gave Tom (the actor) a ride. And we were off. The first 20 miles were paved highway, until we reached Mitla, then we followed the signs, right up a mountain, up a dirt road, down the other side, and into a gated compound that we paid 20 pesos to enter. Easy. Tom (the actor) paid my fee, and Sisi bought us beers at the first shed that we saw. Excellent. And this is where we were/what it looked like. Say hello Sisi! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMAG0063.jpg Then, we went to bed, woke up, ate the free hostel breakfast, and got the hell out of there. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3612.jpg This is what the roads looked like as we headed south. Even with 250+ miles on the radar, we didn’t mind the 40-50mph pace as we cruised through the mountains on our way South/West. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3613.jpg Tom had a pose by the road sign, overlooking the mountains. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3617.jpg Then I had my turn. Say cheese! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3618.jpg I forgot to mention, a few days before, I mounted a camera mount to my left handle bar to snag some photos on the fly. Here’s a good one of Tom. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0783.jpg And another. I mounted Tom’s camera, as his is waterproof and dust proof. It wasn’t exactly straight. So I took pictures on left hand turns to even it out. Here we go uphill! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0785.jpg We stopped at an Oxxo, and saw the local bus. A Nissan King cab with seats in the back of the truck bed. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF0786.jpg It was hot, and over 95 degrees by this time. It was just about noon, and we didn’t feel like riding much further. Call us whiners, wimps, or whatever, but we have all the time in the world. So we stopped at the next town 15 miles away, and a 150 miles from where we started that morning. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3622.jpg Courtyard parking and room with air conditioning for 200 pesos. Deal. Now let’s find some internet, check our bills ( I only have one, a $10/mo cell phone bill for holding my phone on standby), check out bank accounts… We’re still doing ok (on budget as planned) and face book stalk all of our friends. Say hello to hotel parrot! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3621.jpg He had a home in a cage, but spent the days in the trees. He was one year old. Tom took a fancy to him. His parents have a bird (Kermit) that is 25 yr/old. He’ll likely inherit him! Now we’re at today, Monday April 23rd, and we’re currently in Tuxtla Gutierrez, chillaxing in a room with two beds and a high powered ceiling fan. We stopped early again today, after battling 95+ degree temps, and a gut cramp that has me feeling like hell. Those 8 mini gorditas I ate last night for 20 pesos must have kicked in. Or maybe it’s the lettuce I’ve had in a few meals recently. Dammit. On the way here, we posed again, http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3629.jpg Damn we’re good looking guys. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3627.jpg And a close up of yours truly, for the parental units at home. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3626.jpg After arriving, I sat on my ass for a few hours then made my way around the block to buy a couple of new rear tubes. One for Tom to replace the one he had given me two days ago, and another for myself. Then I found a 3 prong to 2 prong outlet adapter so I can charge my computer everywhere we go as many outlets have no ground plug. Then, I drank lots of water. Ate some food, went to the bathroom way to many times (damn stomach bug) and called my girlfriend who’s face I haven’t seen in 10 days. Skype does wonders. As for now, we plan to get up early (maybe) and get the hell out of dodge, headed north to Ciudad del Carmen, on the Caribbean. 432 kilometeres, (270ish miles) and a reported 5.5 hours. Let’s see if we can make it!!! Onward!! --Alex |
Well done gentlemen. Thanks for sharing your wonderful trip. Please keep the reports coming.
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A great read. Looking forward to the next instalment!
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Word of the day, Plecostomus
It’s been a few days, but the last time you heard from me, I was in Tuxtla Gutierrez, headed northeast to Ciudad del Carmen.
And here we go again! We got out of town pretty early in the morning, (by our standards, so like 7:30am or something like that) and were on the road shortly thereafter, with not much on our plates for the day besides riding a long ass ways, we hit the road straight away. Fast forward an hour or so, we’re riding through up into the mountains, crossing over a plateau, and thankfully blessing the cooler temps at several thousand feet elevation. Only 80 degrees? Wow, this is so nice. Let’s take a break over there! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3648.jpg Up in the mountains, yet still diving deeper into the tropics, the scenery is diverse. Rolling hill sides, coniferous and deciduous trees, vines, tall grasses, and the views like you see above dominated the landscape. The beginning of our daily journey started on roads like this one, http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3649.jpg But as we rolled on, we began to drop in altitude as well, and as we sank deeper into the Yucatan peninsula, the temps kept soaring, soon we were riding through 102 degree temps, but doing ok. And sooner than later, we hit the coast! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3654.jpg We paid a significant toll of $65 pesos, and were soon thereafter rolling over a 3 mile bridge, skimming the water, headed into Ciudad del Carmen. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3655.jpg Ciudad del Carmen didn’t hold much in store for us that night, though we found a cheapish hotel with room to park our bikes off the street, air conditioning, and a quiet atmosphere, soon after chugging some water and finding some food, we went to bed. We were headed to Chetumal the next day. If you picture the Yucatan peninsula like a rectangle, laid on its longer side, and tilted to the left (upward) at 45 degrees, you have a general idea of what the Yucatan kind of looks like. Ciudad del Carmen is on the upper long side, and about 2/3 of the way down. We intended to head across this convoluted triangle, and hit the opposite coast in one day. And we did. But not before… http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3666.jpg Tom was plagued by a flat tire. The leak must have been very small, as it got flatter on the ride out of town. We pulled over at a disused bus stop, got into the shad a bit, pulled out the equipment and took care of business. Carefully calculated steps and 40 minutes later we had an epic 1st round victory. I took photos as Tom worked. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3668.jpg And grunted, and sweated and even maybe swore. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3667.jpg But in the end, we had 4 hands on that damn tire, three tire irons at works, and dust, grime, and grease everywhere. No pinch flats for us please. That night placed us in Chetumal, a border city close to Belize, it doesn’t have much for the adventure seeking, motorcycle riding, people seeking guys that we are. So, after staying at a nice hostal, meeting a couple of Kiwis, and drinking a beer and eating some food, we hit the road the next morning after breakfast for the 3 hour, flat as a pancake, hot as hell ride north to Tulum. We were advised to get to Tulum and stay at the Weary Traveler Hostal by our Aussie “mates” Eddy and Lizzy. We weren’t to be disappointed. Walk in, pay the lady, find your room, and meet one of the other 40-60 travelers sitting down for beers. Excellent. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3671.jpg Get a closer view of the people, eat 7 peso tacos next door, drink 3 liters (3/4 gallon) of water, and go to bed in your air conditioned room sometime in the early morning. Thank you ma’am, may I have another? http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3672.jpg Yes you may both have another, and another, and another. We’ve been here 3 night and tonight will be our fourth. We’ve spent time with some neighbor Seattlites named Zach and Amber, the French girl Alin (Al-een) the German guys, Christian, Phillip, and Dominique, the Coloradans two up on a Suzuki V-Strom named Ty and Jill, a couple French Canadians, Justine and Florlande (Flo), and too many more to count. We went snorkeling out the beach near a shallow reef and saw some turtles (ooooooh, aaaaaaah) http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...Yucatan021.jpg Tom’s got a handy little point and shoot camera. It’s not top of the line, but it’s packs a wallop at 10mega pixels, and the damn thing is waterproof. I snag photos on the run with my Canon G11, but when we hit the beach, cruise the town, or just ram around doing things, his camera is pretty damn useful. Plus, we can put it on a handle bar mount and it’s enclosed lens won’t get wind blasted. I wish I had one. The palm trees were swaying in the breeze, and we were enjoying the water. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...Yucatan024.jpg Zach, Amber, Alin, and I posed for a shot. Please ignore my now classic Mexican hair style. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...Yucatan050.jpg Tom on the beach. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF2002.jpg The next day had us changing out oil, and doing a whole lot of nothing else for most of the day. We got a five liter jug of oil, split it between our bikes, changed the filters and the oil at about the 6,000 mile marker, and were grateful for the use of the motor supply stores side yard/bucket for our oil changing place of choice. Minus the 95+ degree temps of course. My sump plug is still a hassle after grinding it down to a 5/8ths socket, but it worked again. That night brought us into a Brazillian Bikini party down the short strip of a main street, at a bar called 317. It was NOT a bikini party, but the 4 girls that wore bikinis under their skirts or dresses got free drinks that night. They just had to take off all their clothes each time. And every yelled the obligatory cheer. So our French Canadian friends, and a couple German girls had free booze as we tossed darts, ate extremely spicy French fries, played some pool on a slanted table, and stayed up until the weary hours of the morning talking about everything and anything besides religion and politics. The next day, TODAY, May 29, 2011 found us snorkeling again, but this time in the Cenote’s of Dos Ojos. “A cenote is a sinkhole with exposed rocky edges containing groundwater” and these particular ones were formed 5 million years ago when meteors struck the earth, the biggest of which created the Yucatan Peninsula itself. And they are AWESOME. Check out the mangrove trees hovering around the entrance. Meet Phillip from Germany, he says hello. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF2005.jpg 5 of us went. Tom and I, and the three Germans, Chris, Phillip, and Dominick. We snagged a better deal on the entrance fee and talked them down from 400 pesos to 300 pesos each. Snorkel gear included, transportation in and out, and a guide to tell us things that we could tell for ourselves. The pictures we worth the money, and swimming in a cave with 3 German guys was fun as hell. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF2037.jpg From left to right, Tom, Chris, Dominick, Alex, and Phillip http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF2011.jpg The cave hung down to near the water level, and at times we were watching our heads as we surfaced from dives. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF2008.jpg Looking out from the depths, we were glad we paid the money to get in and see some good stuff. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF2031.jpg Where else to you get to see these kinds of things right? Small fish were everywhere, think 1”-4” and we saw a Plecostomus as well (think Aquarium wall cleaning fish). This is the kind of stuff we were doing. Relaxing near a pool. What’s up Chris. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF2033.jpg Tom and I are like fish in the water. 6 meters (20 feet) under water? Cake walk. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF2048.jpg These guys were scuba’ing, so I followed along for a little while. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF2053.jpg And Tom took off the other way. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/DSCF2054.jpg Today was the best day I’ve had here in Tulum, and the most fun that I’ve had in a while. I know Tom had been enjoying his time here as well. Half of the time we’re hanging out with the same people, the other half of the time, we invite the other person, but just relax on our own. After nearly 1200 miles in only 6 days of riding we needed this break, and it was all we could have asked for. We’re recharged now however, and tomorrow we will be in Belize. We’ve been nearly 55 days in Mexico, and from what we know, it’s one of the most expensive countries on our way south. We’re not burning holes in our pockets, but we’re not being budget friendly either. It’s time to move on! Onward! --Alex |
Fabulous trip report and fantastic that you are on no agenda and just take the days as they come at you - Just keep the reports coming !
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Hello from Hopkins, Belize!
Today is a good day, an easy day, and a relaxing day after yesterday, which was anything but. Last time you heard from us, we were in Tulum, getting ready for our last night before heading south towards Belize.
That night, Sunday night, started off with a Belly dancer showing her skills inside the hostel compound, and everyone was buying lots of beer (except me, seriously). Eventually it ended, and people were getting restless. We’ll that won’t do. Where is the next party going to be!? http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3674.jpg I made a logical comment. Guys, we’re probably out of luck at 11pm on a Sunday night. Hmmm…. Everyone ponders that thought, except one person. Justine. The French Canadian bombshell that didn’t stop dancing all night until Pipo (Phillip) the German, made her slow down (elsewhere). She would have none of that. I’ll be back! She proclaimed, and took off out of the hostel to find an open bar. And return she did, with the next place in mind. Across the street, find the red light emerging from the door way. That is the place. Let’s go! So go we did. And what did we find? A private birthday party, with a live band, and a bartender, and a dance floor. Oh. Shit. Here. We. Go. Again. And so they danced, and I danced, and everyone danced, and the band played, and the music blasted, and the keyboarder rocked solo’s while the bassist ripped a beat and the guitarist shredded chords, and the vocalist lost his voice. And we danced some more. And Phillip, Chris, and Dominick (Germans), Adam, Flo, Justine, (Canadians) Eddy and Alin (French) and enough Australians, Brits, and Europeans to fill the house, had a wonderful night and returned to the hostel for bed. A view from my room. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3673.jpg And the hostel cat that got fat from being overfed. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3676.jpg The next day was rather slow paced. We rode the 2.5 hours back south to Chetumal, and stayed at the same place we had when we were there 5 nights before. We ate some food, hung out, and did a whole lot of nothing in mild preparation for the next day on the road, and our border crossing into Belize. And that my friends, is where we stopped having fun for a little while. The next day was the Belizean border crossing just south of Chetumal, where we knew they would attempt to rip us off for $262 pesos for the Mexican exit fee. First thing first, we bought the mandatory insurance required for Belize. And that’s where we met Edward. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3687.jpg He is one of those guys you hear about, that sits at a border, and gets paid by tourists to do a hell of a lot of nothing valuable. And we paid him, though it was the equivalent of about $5usd. What did he do for us? He spoke English (all of Belize does), and facilitated (by talking about random shit) our cheap Belizean insurance, and got our tire fumigation taken care of without fumigating our tires. A week of insurance costs 29 Belizean dollars, which are pegged at 2 to 1. So it was $14.50. We’ll be out of Belize before the week’s end anyhow. Then we stopped at Mexican immigration, and that’s where the hassle started, and we got ripped off. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3685.jpg Ever hear of paying for your tourist entry visa, and then paying to another fee for leaving the same country? Well that’s what this particularly ****ed (excuse my language please) border crossing made us do. And it went pretty deep as well. We arrived to have (what we later learned was) a Belizean guy tell us we needed pay $20 each for exit tax. (They use a Belizean as he speaks good English) We instantly told him that we weren’t going to pay him for this bullshit. We’re not fools, and we're not putting money in someone else’s pocket. None of our friends that have crossed into Mexico by bike ever paid to leave. No way are we giving you any damn money. We paid our tourist visa, NO we don’t have a damn receipt, and this STAMP in my passport is my damn RECIEPT. Let me talk to the bank. Guy at the bank, we know this is bullshit, we’re not paying this. Ok, go talk to the guys at immigration. Yea, ok. I know what you just said. You just said I’m right. No. No. Don’t bother telling me different. I know how you feel. You’re caught in the middle. I know what’s up. Don’t worry, I’ll go talk to those immigration punks. So back we go. Hey, those guys at the bank don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. I’m not paying for this shit. Neither is he. Who else wants to tell me I have to? Go talk to your immigration manager? Yeah, I’ll do that. Tom, you’ll stay with these bikes? Yeah, go give them hell, ****ers. Hola, como estas? Porque tenemos que pagar para salir de esta pais cuando pagamos para entrar? No, no tenemos un receta, tenemos una estampa en nuestro pasaportes. (Hi, how are you? Why do we have to pay to leave this country when we paid to enter? No we don’t have a receipt; we have a stamp in our passport) Look at all of these copies, you see these receipts, these are from people who paid their fees. You see this? You have to pay this as well. Yea, I see this. All of those people are idiots. They shouldn’t have paid them, because they got ripped off. Just like you are going to rip me off. Yeah I know. You’re not going to let us leave until we pay this. You’ll stand in our way, you’ve already done this. You guys are fake, and false as hell. And corrupt on top of this. This is bull shit. So, we went back, and they wouldn’t let us cancel our bike import papers unless we paid the leaving tax. A bunch of bullshit. How do we know this is bull shit? They won’t screw you on this tax leaving Mexico when you go back into the states. They won’t charge you this tax if you’re not at this particular border. They didn’t charge others that had been in front of us on the way south. AND Ty and Jill didn’t pay the fee two days before. (They had 2 bus loads of people behind them, and they wouldn’t get out of line, held everyone up for 5 minutes, and they border immigration let them pass.) So we paid their bullshit $262 peso ($23) fee, and that was that. ****ERS. Then we drove right by the fumigation place (the waved us by, cause our paid assistant had paid them off) and drove up to the border guards. Go get your stuff stamped right over there. Yea ok. 5 minutes later, passports stamped for a month, and we were good to go. Did I mention, the national language of Belize is English? They use miles per hour, and the people aren’t looking to get more out of you just cause your White/American. Don’t get me wrong. We really enjoyed Mexico. We never had any problems with any of the people. Yea, we did an illegal U-turn at a red light when we were in La Paz, and yea we paid them 500pesos as a “fee” but that was it. 2 military check points asking us to open our bags, a few more just giving us the standard questions, and that was all. Normal shit. Thanks Mexico we loved you. Then, THREE GUYS gives us a sour taste on the way out. So to those guys we say, “**** YOU, ” you don’t represent Mexico, and you should be dismissed, as you are a disgrace. Thanks for the warm welcome Belize, we’ll enjoy our stay. And so far we have. We rode straight to Hopkins, Belize in search of friends we met in Tulum. Ty and Jill, riding two up on a Suzuki V-Strom 1000. They were staying there, and we wanted to find some friendly people. Check out Tom on the beach. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3690.jpg Hey Tom, what’s up. Nothing. Cool. Check out that buggered canoe. Yeah, it’s pretty buggered man. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3693.jpg Where are we staying? Ah, we found Ty and Jill, and they had some friends they met, and were in a Cabana. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3691.jpg We found a cheaper version to split that night, and the next night (tonight) we’ve joined them as their friends had left. It’s kick ass. We’re into it $12.50 a night each, and we don’t mind. There are cheaper options, but we didn’t need them. Belize is cheaper then Mexico. Awesome. Our Cabana has 3 beds, 2 queens, (Ty and Jill are in one, and I’m in another) and a Twin that Tom snagged. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3692.jpg A little view of the inside. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3689.jpg And the view out the front door. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3688.jpg This is shit that people dream about. I told Tom that this morning. De acuerdo (I agree) he said. We’re living it man. Yea man. We are. It’s sunk in. We’re on a roll. Let’s not stop. Not yet at least. Onward friends. We’re on a roll. --Alex |
Man, you seem overly bitter about the fee you had to pay at the border. I mean, I understand how it's like, believe me, but hey, this is how things work in many places around the world, and it's probably going to happen to you again.
I know it sucks when you travel and you feel that people are looking to get more out of you just because you are white, but if you were in their pants, I bet that you'd do exactly the same thing. Do you think North Americans don't try to get more out of the tourists visiting their country? Believe me they do, albeit in a less "overt" manner perhaps. Immigration officers in the "developed" world don't need to do that because they earn anywhere around $70,000 a year, but not everyone is as lucky. That being said, I'm not excusing their actions or anything, but I'm just saying you gotta keep a cool head when dealing with this kind of situation, or else matters will only get worse. Anger doesn't resolve anything, most especially when you keep the American kind of attitude expecting everything to be going according to your plan and to your standards. I don't know if you did become as angry during your border crossing as what you expressed in your post, but I can tell you this is not the right way to act in this kind of situation! Anyhow, I must say that part of what I learned while traveling is that we, white people from North America and Europe, are pretty damn well-off compared to most, and that yes, we do have money. You can't blame people for trying to get a bit out of you. The trick is to stay polite and calm, and never think yourself superior or "better" because of your financial and/or educational background. Anyway, just wanted to throw in my two cents. I enjoy reading your story, keep it up. Sam |
Thanks for your post Sam.
And thanks for reading our report. We enjoy all the support we've received so far.
Yea we got angry, but most of our anger was after the fact that we paid a bogus 262 peso fee. We know that we are well off in comparison. Our bikes weren't cheap, and we can afford to ride 20k+ miles to Argentina, and stay in hostels/hotels the entire way. It just so happens that this is a common border crossing fraud that happens at this particular border crossing and we went in angry from the start. We weren't happy. We never got crazy with the border immigration, or started any fights, we just kept feigning ignorance, and asking why we had to pay for something twice. In the end, we paid their fee, and wrote it off as a cost occurred over the past 58 days. Angry after the fact? Sure, we were. But yea, you're completely right. They are looking out for themselves, and yes, we'd likely do the same. We hope to meet you on the road some day. Keep it real! --Alex |
BELIZE, THE JUNGLE, CAROCAL, GUATEMALA, AND TIKAL! June 2nd-June 7th Days 62-67
We we’re last in Hopkins Belize when the photos were fluent, and the sun was shining. Then it was overcast, humid, and the jungle vines obscured our view. Next, we were on a Guatemalan island, lakeside, enjoying the cooler temps, site seeing, and swimming. And now, were in the mountains, at a hostel, enjoying views. Stay tuned. (Warning, photo barrage coming)
We spent two nights in Hopkins, Belize with Jill and Ty and thoroughly enjoyed the relaxed pace. Meet Jill and Ty (if you haven’t already) http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3699.jpg The next day, Thursday June 2nd, we crossed the country of Belize and landed just east of San Ignacio, 15 miles from the Guatemalan border. That day, we began our three day romp in the Belizean jungle, and loved every minute of it. On the way there we crossed over a mild hill/mountain range and cruised through some pretty dense jungle. It was true jungle this time, unlike the mix that we had seen in Mexico. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3707.jpg In was a short 100 miles or so we were off the beaten track, following a gravel/sand/dirt road into the jungle, trying to find Barton Creek Outpost. Not far down the road (5 miles or so) we saw the sign. Take a left at the sign, 4 miles later, cross a river. SHIT. Better do it right where that Mennonite family crossed with their horse and carriage! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3710.jpg Safely on the other side, we shall continue. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3711.jpg See the sign, follow the sight of a boy in the distance, and arrive safe and sound at Barton Creek Outpost. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3717.jpg Awe, how nice, a river, shall we go for a swim. Most excellent. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3713.jpg And camp for free!? Yes, we’ll go ahead and do just that. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3714.jpg Time to meet the family. Jacky and Jim ran the show. They had three children, 12, 10, and 4. Caitlyn, Logan, and Cyan. Logan was a modern day, jungle bred Tarzan and he impressed us all. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3715.jpg Caitlyn and Cyan were a bit more mild tempered, and showed us their horses. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3720.jpg Hammocks surrounded a small grove of palm trees, and offered anyone a nice respite from the Jungle heat. A quick dip in the stream and a lay in the hammocks answered any problems with ease. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3712.jpg The rest of that day passed with just a little bit of horseplay, a bit of reading from the book exchange, relaxing in hammocks, and doing a whole lot of nothing much. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3719.jpg I found a crab though, and Logan snagged it pretty quick. Cyan wanted a photo. And this was the result. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3721.jpg Sleeping in my tent for the first time since I bought it over 4 months ago was nice. It had never even been opened. Excellent. Brand new, now dirty tent. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3722.jpg The next day, we woke up hungry, and it was time for a wonderful home cooked meal from our fantastic host Jackie. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3718.jpg That set the pace for the day, and we were nearly nonstop until dinner. We took off on the bikes and headed into the wilderness, all on terrible roads and it was AWESOME. We went to two different locations. One was called Rio On, and was a mild river that cascaded over several different layers of rock ledges, creating pools on various levels over an altitude of a couple of hundred feet. We went for a swim and cooled off. The second location was Big Rock, and was even better. It consisted of a 50 foot waterfall over a very large rock formation that dug deeply into the base of the cliff creating a very deep chasm (couldn’t get to the bottom with a dive mask) with rock faces on 3 sides. Perfect for jumping off of. A 40 foot dive? No problem. 30 foot back flip? Even better! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...onCreek059.jpg Afterwards, it was back to the Outpost via the Junction for beers and Coca-Cola, then a swing in a hammock, a read of the books, and go to bed early. It was a good day. The next morning, Jill and Ty left for Flores, Guatemala to go and see Tikal and other things. Tom and I were enjoying the jungle lifestyle and decided to stay for another night. We got some good advice from our host parents Jim and Jacky, and took off in the late morning headed for a destination called Coracol. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3724.jpg Coracol was 40 miles away, through the jungle on crap roads, at 90 degree 100% humidity. However, full gear is the name of the game as no one wants to bite it off road and be unprotected. Coracol is the largest Mayan ruins site in the country of Belize, and when fully uncovered it will be larger the Tikal. Being that is it so far into the jungle, with such terrible road conditions, people often pay $75us or more for a tour to the ruins. Tom and I rode our bikes there for the grand total of $8us in fuel. (Gas is $6usd/gal) Get ready for photo barrage! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3725.jpg When we arrived, a tour group was leaving. Then, we were the only two foreign people in the entire park and archeological area. It was pretty cool. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3727.jpg So we climbed up some ruins, and took a look around. Hey Mom and Dad and Kristi, look at me! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3730.jpg Tom is a modern day Indiana Jones and feels strong urges to climb every tower, look around every corner, and duck into openings for a quick look. He LOVES THIS SHIT. I can’t blame him, it’s pretty awesome. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3731.jpg Check out ancient art! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3735.jpg Hello everyone! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3738.jpg Coracol’s main structure that we saw was enormous. The photos to follow don’t do it justice as you can’t see the top two levels. Either way here is the best way I can give you a representation of the size. Check out Tom in the upper left corner. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3739.jpg You can see him a bit better if I zoom in. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3740.jpg And here he is again. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3741.jpg The structure was truly massive. Then, there were the birds! They sound like synthesized, electric organ pipes with a bass riff tossed in to keep it interesting. The live in hanging nests that they build one straw at a time. The sight and sound is incredible. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3746.jpg The staircases leading to nowhere in particular were all over the place. They were part of the trail, but they must have been something more utilitarian when they were first built. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3749.jpg Then there were the trees. OK. We’re in the jungle, and I know it, and the trees where I live are even larger, but these are new trees, and Big Ceiba is big! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3755.jpg When we got back to the park entrance, everyone else was gone. We were the only ones. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3756.jpg That’s when I realized that the top mounting tab for my left pannier case was cracking off the frame of my bike. And I lost my bolt. (I have an extra) Granted, it’s the flimsy tab that holds on my empty tool tube, but it needed to be addressed. |
story continued...
http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3757.jpg
So I used a piece of webbing to tightly hold the pannier to the frame, swapped my tools from that case to the other, and Tom and I rode back to our jungle abode. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3758.jpg When I got back, the J-B weld came out in force! I applied and re-applied. And it’s held through 275 miles thus far (40 of which were hard off road). http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3759.jpg I am proud of my bodge job. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3761.jpg The day after, Tom and I rode out of the Belizean Jungle, aimed for the Guatemalan border, in search of Ty and Jill in Flores. Without much ado, and with normal border crossing fees, we were in a new country. Guatemala had two new temporary residents. Having spent the first 2 months in Mexico, it was a culture shock/relief to ride into Belize. From Spanish to English, from market places to mini grocery stores, from short tanned amigos, to tall dark skinned “brahs”, from street side advertisements to billboards; all of it tossed us for a loop. And now, 5 days later were reversing out polarity, resuming our Spanish language abilities, and preparing ourselves for anything new. The excitement for me is palpable. I enjoy being somewhere new. “Well, damn Tom, we’re in Guatemala. How about that eh?” That night we found ourselves circling the island of Flores, searching for a hostel of some sort. Nearly instantly we found the V-Strom 1000 that Ty and Jill are riding. How much is a room please? 100 quetzales (ket-zal-ehs). $12.75usd for a double room with a fan and private bathroom. Yeah. We’ll take it. So the night passed easily, and we had reason to believe our old friend and traveling partner, Charlie, would arrive that night, hauling ass on his way to meet his friend in Costa Rica. Charlie is traveling with a Swedish/American named Patrick who rides a Dr400. And later we would learn that Sarah was tagging along as well. We were about to be reunited in style! The next day, Ty, Jill, Tom and I, took off for the ruins of Tikal. It was awesome. We had an interesting experience upon entrance, and achieved a student price via a shady guide who walked down a trail around the entrance and paid off two park guards. “Can we have a ticket please?” “Ah… No. With student price you no get ticket. I your ticket.” “Ahhhh. Ok. Well, it’s too late now, now isn’t it!?” http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3762.jpg On the way in, we saw some GNARLY grasshoppers. Ever see one of these? We hadn’t. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3763.jpg “Hey Tom. Check out that hole.” “Oh DAMN” says Tom. “I f’n WANT to pasar that shit!” (Remember, Tom is a modern day Indiana Jones) http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3764.jpg Local wild foxes roam the ruins and call the mini burrows their homes. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3767.jpg And some of the larger constructions of the pre-Hispanic era. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3770.jpg These little guys owned the trails, and chased you for food. A local guide warned me not to get to close, as they will scratch you and fight for your food. I happened to be holding a bag of bread and peanut butter. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3777.jpg Looking across the Grand Plaza was an impressive view http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3782.jpg The tallest structure, Templo IV, stands 75 meters above the jungle floor. When you arrive at the top, the “junglescape” changes and the view looks out over the horizon with other structures poking through the jungle canopy. Ty and Jill were just as happy as I was to be there. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3788.jpg With so many photos of other people, Ty (or was it Jill) took a photo of me for the record books. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3790.jpg On our way back to the entrance having seen much of what was to be offered, we saw this patriotic bug in its full glory. Red, white, and a brilliant blue. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3791.jpg The plants grow in weird (awesome) shapes and sizes as well. A normal green tree will sprout a bright orange bud, no doubt attracting the necessary bugs or birds for pollination. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3792.jpg Then the monkeys came out to play! We heard quite a few howler monkeys, but mostly saw spider monkeys. They were swinging from the trees and having a great time. I snagged this opportune photo as I tracked the second in line crossing from tree to tree. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3794.jpg On the way out, we passed another large ruin. I didn’t read the map, and couldn’t be bothered to read the signs that were on the other side of the courtyard, but I think it served as a recreational area, religious ceremony location, and something else equally important. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3797.jpg After the ruins, we took off to return to Flores. On the way out of the park (18km’s) a guy on a bike came up from behind and flagged me down. Who else could it be but Charlie, the Australian! He found us! Most excellent! We spent the rest of that night reuniting with our old friends, and making more. Sarah was there, Charlie was there, a new friend Patrick was there, Ty, Jill, Tom, myself, and two girls from New Zealand named Anna and Kim. Well, that was a recipe for disaster (of the good kind) and by the end of the night, we were all very tired, and it was time for bed. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3798.jpg Our view from the hostel was nice, and overlooked the lake. Swimming from the local dock was nice, and the water was nice and warm. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3799.jpg The next morning, with an urge to get on the road, Tom and I, along with Jill and Ty, and Patrick and Charlie took off. Sarah stayed behind. Turns out she wanted to see El Mirador and spend some more time in town. Our goal was Lake Atitlan. On the way we’d see Lanquin, and then head west to Atitlan. Well that didn’t take place. But we did start off well. Patrick rides a Dr400, Tom and I are on Dr650’s, Charlie rides a Tenere 660, and Ty and Jill are on a v-Strom 1000. 4 Suzuki’s, one Yamaha. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3801.jpg Half way through we ran into a river crossing with a ferry that cost 5 quetzales. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3803.jpg No problem. The river wasn’t very wide, but the ferry was sturdy, and we had no issues. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3804.jpg Soon thereafter, we were on great roads that soon turned into not so great roads and had us all on our toes. Especially Ty and Jill. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3806.jpg We took a break from the road and waited for Tom, Ty and Jill who were taking it easy. Patrick’s Dr400 shined on the dirt. His bike is geared down for off road, and thus he really enjoyed the dirt. Cruising at 55-60mph isn’t much fun. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3807.jpg Then we hit a rock slide. Well, it was a man made rock slide, in preparation for making the road wider, but we arrived 30 minutes after they began their construction, and had to wait until they cleared the blast debris from the road. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3809.jpg So, we whipped a U-turn (a little difficult for the bigger bikes) and road ten minutes back to the previous town where there were warm beers for those inclined, and an internet café for anyone else. That is where we met every local 6-12 year old child in the city’s population. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3810.jpg This particular photo is quite the display of their enthusiastic embrace of their foreign visitors. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3811.jpg After the rock slide/construction was cleared away, we took off down the road. One of us generally stays behind the behemoth V-Strom 1000 just in case it goes down. As the road wound down the mountain, the rain began, and we all were soaked. BUT, no one laid their bikes down. At the base of the mountains we found our destination for the night in Lanquin. Zephyr lodge is a bustling hostel on top of a hill overlooking a valley and surrounded by tropical scenery. A camp spot goes for 15q (2 dollars) a night (pays for electricity and water) and a dorm goes for 35q (less than $5). When we arrived there were no beds left, and Tom, Jill, Ty and I camped in our tents. Patrick and Charlie slept on a camp matt on the floor. The view in the morning is quite nice. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3815.jpg And the party goes all night long. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3813.jpg That was last night. And nobody went to bed early. There is no last call, and everyone staying at the hostel has to turn over there passport for the duration of their stay. Why? You ask. Because every purchase is made on your personal tab. Beer, cigarettes, food, tours, etc. If you want your passport back, you pay your tab. If you don’t have enough money, then when you leave, the transport driver takes you to an ATM, and you pay HIM for your passport. Charlie rang up a MASSIVE five hundred quetzale tab for the night (roughly $70) and everyone else besides me was drunk. We woke up late this morning and went for a swim in the river, had a bite to eat, and now were relaxing in lawn chairs, hammocks, benches, or chairs. The last week that we have been on the road has been one of the most eventful thus far. Ty and Jill left this morning headed for Guatemala City. They have to return to the states to take care of some unexpected family business. Patrick and Charlie will leave tomorrow morning as they have planned dates further south and must be on their way. Tom and I will stay for at least another night and then head towards Lake Atitlan. Sorry it’s been so long since the last update, but it’s been too good to take a break from! Thanks again for following along! --Alex |
Wow more great photos and reports, keep em coming and don't apologize for the delay in reporting ! Just have fun and send em when you are up to it.
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What does success look like in real time?
Would you like a ride to Semuc Champey? We can jump off a bridge, and you can get a tan. Sounds good. Yes please!
http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a..._7324394_n.jpg I break the ice, Tom cleans it up. We finally left our home in the mountains of Guatemala; Zephyr Logde in Lanquin, Guatemala. We stayed 7 nights and left this morning. Now were an hour from Lake Atitlan in Western Guatemala. We´re in Tecpan, and are taking it easy at a nice hotel with a couple of beds, free wifi, and a private bathroom. The bikes are locked in a gargage, and we have nothing else but food to worry about until tomorrow morning. More to come in the near future! --Alex |
Good work boys, keep enjoying yourselves and entertaining us!:thumbup1:
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We’re back on the road!!!
After 7 nights of intense Guatemalan mountain hostel atmosphere, Tom and I got off of our asses and got on the road once again. We covered 200ish miles towards Lake Atitlan, and came an hour short of our destination of San Pedro, Guatemala.
Currently Tom is sleeping and I, having slept 9 hours, have awoken to the noise of local construction to fill everyone in on our antics for the past week. The previous post was a teaser. We’ve done a lot more then go for motorcycle rides in the area. Well… Not a whole lot more, but we did do SOME stuff. Our famous last words, “We’ll be leaving in a day or two.” Yea. RIGHT. A day turns into two, which turns into 4, and we end up leaving on the morning of the 8th day. We got burned out. I lost my voice from talking too much (hmm… weird…) and Tom was hung over no less than three times (half as much as everyone else) Every morning we would awake to an 85 degree day, with nothing planned, and no urge to plan anything else. A hammock sounds nice. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3841.jpg Jill and Ty left the day they planned. Charlie and Patrick stayed a day later than planned. Tom and I stayed 5 more days than planned. Patrick and Charlie were on the same page as us mentally, though had plans for the future and thus left earlier. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3818.jpg Over the next five days, we did manage to get a few things done. We went tubing down the river http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...21_57195_n.jpg (twice) http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3817.jpg We even made it out for a local tour of Samuc Champey, a quechi (local native language) name that translates to large holes with water. The tour consisted of several key factors. #1, It begins 9 kilometers away, over some very mountainous terrain of which your meant to arrive by 4wd truck driving over treacherous roads. #2 Many other people from the hostel want to take the same tour. Exchange 4wd truck for 4dr, 4wd, dual axle hauling rig, and slam 28 people into the body and the bed. Throw up some guard rails so you don’t fall out, and toss your guide on the roof. Done. #3 Ride for 30 minutes to the entrance while bouncing around amidst twenty plus other sweating people in every increasing temps at ever increasing speeds. #4 Arrive, drop off any belongings in locker area, and proceed to rope swing. Watch people land poorly and receive bruises of all sizes. Impress the folks with a back flip. #5 Go deep into a cave system, holding candles as your only light source, reach the end, jump off cave walls into 6 feet of water, and watch a kid tear his pants from nearly hitting the wall on the way down. #6 Go back to the bridge at the entrance. Jump of it several times. Gather audience. Do back flip. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_0701.jpg Then proceed to the water holes and lagoons of Samuc Champey. Hike up and down and around to get there. Stub your toes, and arrive in the water. See the prohibited 50 foot waterfall that no one is allowed to jump off anymore. Convince the guide not to worry. Check the depth of the water. Climb back up. And then jump off with Juice, the Dutch guy who isn’t afraid. Land well. Climb up, and boast. Once back at the hostel (following another ridiculous but entertaining truck ride) sit down, and watch the party unfold. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3821.jpg It begins slowly, but in the next thirty minutes, it is happy hour, and drinks are cheap from 6-8pm. After which the drunken people will buy full priced drinks until they go to bed at 1, 2, or 3am in the morning. Tom held the beer bong for Deiter, the local Guatemalan resident and hostel worker. Dieter was the champ. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3825.jpg Shortly thereafter, witness the hostel owner, most likely drunk among other things, laying on the floor with an opportunistic British girl. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3827.jpg Turn around in time to capture the owner dancing with his dog, who, believe it or not, was complacent the entire time, and was begging for more fun afterwards. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3829.jpg And finally, catch a photo of him sleeping. The British girl wanted in on it too. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3834.jpg The next day, it was time to catch up with Loancy, the Costa Rican Jeweler who left home (for traveling) about 5 weeks ago with 180USD. He sets up his table, http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3819.jpg and sells randomly to the hostelers. I employed him to make me a new chain for my Saint Christopher pendant that my mom gave me before I left. He did a good job. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3820.jpg All of the days have blurred into one image over the past week but it has been excellent nonetheless. One memory involved a rather old woman selling fried Taco shells with potato inside. Each one was 2q, or 25cents. I bought 4. This woman was incredibly small and stood well under 5 feet. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3837.jpg The hostel had pets as well. Two cats with a litter of 6 or so kittens, and three dogs, with a litter of 5 or 6 puppies. Lots of animals running around. Apparently, the orange cat liked tomatoes, as I sat and watched it eat one for 10 minutes. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3836.jpg Somewhere in the midst of our stay, we came to the conclusion that we didn’t have enough cash on hand to pay our tabs when we left, whenever that might be. We didn’t have outrageous tabs, we just had no money. No money meant a day trip into Coban to hit an ATM. It didn’t make sense to both go, so I took Juice, a 6’2 Dutch guy, two up to Coban for his first motorcycle ride EVER. He thoroughly enjoyed it, and when we returned 5 hours later, Tom and I had enough money to pay our bill regardless of the outcome. And the day we left felt the pain. Well I didn’t, because I don’t drink much and having only purchased 2 beers the entire time (I Like food more) my weekly tab including all lodging and the tours was just short of $1350 quetzals, or $173usd. A nice daily average of under $25usd a day. Tom paid the nice lady at the bar (Aurelie) a handsome sum of $2300q, or $42/day. Still on budget!!! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3840.jpg Then, it was time to leave. And we did, to great ado, having been there for 7 days, making friends with everyone, telling many a story, and enjoying life. With a hug from half the staff, handshakes from the other half, high fives and back slaps, we were on our way. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3844.jpg ONWARD!!! --Alex |
And we’re off.
After 7 days in the middle of the Guatemalan Highlands at Zephyr Lodge; we left, on a mad tear, aiming for Lake Atitlan. Haha. Yea, right. Instead we made it within 100km (60miles, or roughly 1 ½ hours, or so we thought) of the lake and stayed in a cheap but really nice hotel in Tecpan. Nothing happened that day that was notable, and thus no photos were taken. More accurately, we didn’t stop riding the whole time. The next day, we began our 100km journey from Tecpan to San Pedro. This should take an hour or so huh Tom. Yea, I’d say so. A measly 4 hours later we arrived. But not before we left Tecpan on a 10 mile road a local farmer said would take us out to the city/highway of Patzun. It was a road, and it existed in dirt form. And so we took us over 35 minutes, but that included throwing on our waterproof jacket/pant liners. Next to tackle a rather impressive mountain range, very steep, significantly high, and not too wide at the base. Switchbacks anyone? http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...1/IMG_3848.jpg And the view of the clouds from there. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...1/IMG_3849.jpg On the way back down to the valley below, we came across a washed out bridge. Being just the very beginning of the wet season, the river was quite low, and the local Guatemalan construction crew had cleared a path to the best fordable location in the river, and so we crossed, engine cases steaming, exhaust pipes burning. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...1/IMG_3846.jpg With much ado and 4 hours in total, we had ridden 57 miles and arrived in the town of San Pedro, Lago de Atitlan, Guatemala. With hardly a view of the lake due to all of the clouds, we dragged ourselves into town. Nearly immediately we ran into local Zephyr Lodger’s and asked for recommendations on what hostel would have space for our bikes to park in. The result? http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...1/IMG_3851.jpg The parking space was a nicely groomed raised flower bed. Notice Sarah’s bike. She arrived 2 days after we did. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...1/IMG_3864.jpg Again, we met more fellow travelers, this time, from as far back as Tulum. Meat Suzy, who jumped for joy in our dorm. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...1/IMG_3863.jpg It turns out that San Pedro happens to be the place everyone enjoys an endless party lifestyle. Immediately it began clear. Bars close at 11pm, but our hostel serves beer at store prices until the wee hours of the night. Well the hostel crowd is just a drunken crowd, so Tom and I took off to the Buddha Bar with Anna and Kim, some kiwis that we met in Flores. The party was slow to start, but…. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...1/IMG_3855.jpg Picked up speed rather quickly when new people arrived, http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...1/IMG_3856.jpg Soon thereafter, we swaggered on over to another friendly bar whose name has since been forgotten. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...1/IMG_3858.jpg And again, there, the party picked up steam. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...1/IMG_3859.jpg That was the way of things for a while until the 11pm nightly bar curfew, and thus we headed back to the hostel. Plans? Yes, let’s eat breakfast tomorrow at 9:30am, and then go horse riding. Damn, the first solid plans in 75 days? Wake up early and on time? The things I do for you Tom. The girls were bright and chipper the next morning, and posed kindly with Tom. Meet Anna (blonde) and Kim (brunette) http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...1/IMG_3861.jpg They came bearing gifts, and Tom received a basically brand spanking new, Kathmandu fanny pack courtesy of Kim as she never used it. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...1/IMG_3860.jpg Tom made the call on the fanny pack. I can’t rock it as well as he does. After breakfast we sought the horse people, and were soon scheduled for a 2hr, 60quetzal ($7.50) horse ride up and down the mountain side, to happen at 12:30. So we returned, and to our dismay found all of the horses to be under weight, over worked, and under powered. And yet at this point we were too far back to back out. And so we paid the man and mounted our steeds. Tom’s wonderful horse ended up kicking mine and another. Mine was backed into by another horse that reared, and consequently fell down. Another rider’s horse fell down and couldn’t get up until he dismounted and re-mounted. And yet, they carried us for 2 hours over cobble stones, grass, mud, rocks, trails, and roads. And when we finished, they all appeared exercised if not overly tired. Tom manned up two days later and bought 30 carrots for $2usd, and went back and fed each horse a couple of carrots. Then we hung out at the hostel, played pool, played guitar, hung out with Gilad (from Isreal), Anna and Kim,(Kiwi) Suzy, Peter,(Canada) Venny, and Lucy (British). It was awesome, and we all went to bed around 2am as word of a major all night party was being flung around. Would it be truth or solely rumor? And it was truth. Plans were made, seeded, watered, and gathered, ground, consumed and expelled. And thus, at 11pm we got on a boat, along with 25 other people, amongst whom, some were fellow hostel friends. And we crossed a portion of the lake, and arrived amongst throngs of other people, who apparently had been there for a while, waiting for a generator, that didn’t work, and whose gas was siphoned into another generator that did work. Then the music started, and we realized that we had 5 hours until the first boat would start taking people back across the lake to San Pedro, and our hostel homes. And so we danced, a LOT. And Skylar and Kristine arrived, and Gilad was there, and Gilad and I had an impromptu dance off which he handily won. And then Taylor arrived, and Tom danced with her. And Kristine and Skylar danced together. And we partied until 5am, and took the first boat back to civilization, and slept until 2pm. When we awoke, we made plans to leave the next day. Too much partying going on. Tom must stop and recuperate. I must sleep more. And so the next day, we left amidst sunshine. Two similar photos, with the latter having a better looking guy in it. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...1/IMG_3867.jpg And http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...1/IMG_3866.jpg As we left we made plans to get past Guatemala City , and we did, just barely, after getting lost more than once. Now were in a roadside hotel and plan on sleeping well until tomorrow morning when we head to the Guatemala/Honduras border crossing near Copan Ruins. Apparently Kim and Anna will be there tomorrow morning as well. Until next time! --Alex |
With San Pedro de Atitlan, Guatemala in our rear view mirrors, Tom and I headed for Copan Ruinas, Honduras.
We made it about half way. We stopped short along the way after getting mixed up in the maze that is Guatemala City. We stayed the night at a road side hotel, and left early enough the next morning. That’s when things got interesting. Well, a bit more interesting then they had been the previous few days of riding. I took a few good looks at the map, and read a few names, and then we took off. And I promptly took us in a direction that was serviceable, but NOT the most ideal. Well, we’re on an adventure right? Let’s keep going this way yea? Ok… And so we went, and thus we ended up riding up and down over some mountains on dirt roads, http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3868.jpg and coming out on a highway very close to the El Salvador/Guatemala border. With only a slight clue of where we were, http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3871.jpg we stopped to ask for directions and a shop owner turned us around, pointed us in the right direction, and we were off. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3869.jpg From there to the Copan Ruinas, Honduran/Guatemalan border, we were 40 minutes away. At the border, we had little hassle, spent about 1.5 hours doing it all, then proceeded in normal afternoon torrential down pour, the next 20 kilometers to Copan. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3874.jpg Then we arrived, and found in short order, our Kiwi friends, Anna and Kim. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3875.jpg We went out for dinner, found some good pizza, and subsequently crashed in our respective rooms. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3873.jpg The next day was an easy choice. Stay in Copan, Honduras and check out the Copan Ruins, or continue east to the Caribbean coast, and potentially learn to SCUBA dive on Roatan. Having seen many ruins we took off the next morning and made it to La Ceiba, on the coast of the Caribbean, and the port town to the Bay Islands. This guy was in too much of a hurry. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3885.jpg Anna and Kim were hours ahead of us, and that day took the afternoon ferry to Roatan. Tom and I arrived just a bit later and spent the night in La Ceiba, a pretty desolate town at night that seems to be a slightly less than desirable place to stay for any length of time. Now. The girls are already on the island, with the plan to take a scuba diving course over the next 4-5 days. That sounded great to me. I haven’t ever been scuba diving, so I might as well give it a go. Not to mention, the Bay Islands of Honduras are one of the cheapest places on the planet to do so. So, I went to the ferry dock, paid a substantial amount of money, put my bike on a large boat, and hopped on. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3886.jpg Tom, had other plans. He likes to windsurf, and having spent a summer in Hood River, Oregon as a windsurf instructor, had his eyes on a wind sports outfit in Trujillo about 2 hours down the coast from La Ceiba. And thus for the first time in planned time in 80 days (not including when I crashed on day 10) we split paths. I went to Roatan to scuba dive, and Tom went to Trujillo to find wind surfing. The boat out to the island took 1hr 40mins, and everyone was barfing. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3887.jpg I used to work on a boat like this, no problem. Walk around, hangout outside, go inside, have a kid barf on my shoes, and subsequently spend the next 3 minutes hanging over a rail next to my motorcycle. I was doing fine. UNTIL that kid barfed on me. Damn it. Off the boat on the island, and take a 20 minute ride to the West end of the island. Find the same place the girls are staying at (cheap) http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3892.jpg Find a room, http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3896.jpg Park my bike, and set out on foot. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3899.jpg The next few days all smash together. I met up with Kim and Anna the same day I arrived, and we started an Open Water Dive course the next day. They had already chosen an outfit called Reef Gliders, and as all of the prices on the island are pretty competitive, I signed up along with them. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3900.jpg The cheapest food stand on the island sells Baleadas for 30 Lempiras. At 19 Lmps to the $1, they are about $1.50 each. Soft fried taco shells with beans, cheese, and meat inside. I eat about 3-4 a day. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3901.jpg Over the next few days, we were in the water a lot. A little bit of class room time, and a lot of time underwater. Over 4 days, we were underwater for about 7-8 hours, and we all enjoyed it thoroughly. Fishes are everywhere, the reefs are incredible, and we were swimming along from 30-55 feet most of the time. It was great, and I’m glad I did it! After the course every day, (4 days in a row), we often found food, had beers, went for a swim at the beach, laid in the sun, hung out, or did anything else that caught our fancy. Often times, it just meant watching the sunsets. The sunsets here are pretty good. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3904.jpg When we’re not swimming, we’re hanging out with friends near the water. Check out Anna and our Dutch friend Casimir. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3905.jpg Pretty soon, Roberto (Dutch) and Kim joined them. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3908.jpg The beach front bar “Sun Downers” stays pretty busy throughout the week. They have a good thing going. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3913.jpg And as the sun sets finally, people continue the festivities at the bar, or elsewhere. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3914.jpg For us, it is our Gecko infested cabins. We like the geckos though, as they eat the bugs. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3918.jpg Roberto and Kim had a hammock, http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3920.jpg Anna and Casimir found the other, (they’re mesmerized by the geckos) http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3921.jpg And that night it was my turn to cook dinner. As it is now, we’re heading out soon, and will be on the mainland tomorrow morning. I’ll meet up with Tom at a pre-determined location, and we’ll be on our way south that same afternoon. Nicaragua is on the Horizon, and for the first time in the last three months, we have something planned more than a few days in advance. We have reserved a spot on the German sailing vessel, The Stahlratte, to facilitate our crossing from Panama to Colombia. We depart July 28th from Panama, and arrive in Colombia 5 days later. The price tag isn’t cheap ($820usd including our bikes), but we planned ahead for it. Charlie the Australian and his friend Andy are also planning to be on the same journey, so it should be a great time all around. So far so good! From what I hear, Tom had a good time on the mainland as well. He found now wind in Trujillo, and thus his windsurfing plans were thwarted, but of course he met other people (some Canadians) and had a good time. We join forces in the morning and once again we’ll hit the road. Rubber side down. Thanks for all the compliments and encouragement. It means a lot. We’re thoroughly enjoying our trip thus far and have high hopes for the next 6 months! --Alex |
Ometepe Island, in the middle of Lake Nicaragua
Hola Amigos y Parientes,
We are currently on Ometepe Island, in the middle of Lake Nicaragua, the 19th largest lake in the world, here in the middle of Nicaragua. It’s been a quick paced 7 or 8 days, and all sorts of energetic things have been going on. As we left off, I was still on Roatan Island in Honduras where I earned my PADI open water diving certificate with the Kiwi girls, Kim and Anna, and the next day I was headed back to the mainland to find Tom in La Ceiba to continue south and leave Honduras for Nicaragua. As I left Roatan, I snagged a final glimpse of one of the establishments that provided me with at least 25% of my caloric intake. The ice cream stand… http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3926.jpg Shortly thereafter, I had ridden 20 minutes, arrived at the ferry terminal, loaded my bike, and was on my way to the mainland, in search of Tom. We met within 45 minutes of my arrival at our planned 10am meeting spot, in which I spent the downtime surfing the web from a Wendy’s wifi link while eating a chocolate Frosty. Tom and I hopped on our bikes and took off, with our destination of Tegucigalpa on the horizon, somewhere southwest. On the way we passed a massive lake, took a break, and ate some fish at a road/lakeside restaurant. Tom looks pensive, (“What did we just order man? I don’t know, I didn’t understand shit of what she just said. Yea, me neither…”) Oh, is that what we ordered? Right on, at least we thought there was some fish coming. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3934.jpg Here’s a closer look at our lunch. Thanks Mr. Fish, that was tasty. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3935.jpg Back on the road, we took tore off, headed south. We ended up just south of Tegucigalpa, the capital city of Honduras. We road into and out of the city non-stop, and landed on its southern edge in yet another infamous Auto Hotel. This one was just like all the rest in that it had a garage, a big bed, cable tv, a big bathroom, and room service, which served us our large dominoes pizza and a two liter of pepsi. Awesome. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3936.jpg It didn’t take long before we passed out, woke up, and were on our way South again. This time we hit the internet café, made copious copies of all of our paperwork (10 copies of each for less than 45cents in total) and headed towards the Nicaraguan border. We were there in no time at all, paid our dues, bought insurance, dealt with pushy money changers, and obtained all necessary paperwork and stamps, and took took off. As the border took a while, we eventually stopped in Esteli, Nicaragua, a short hop skip and a jump to Granada, our planned “hang out” spot for the following few days. On the way there however, as is customary, we were passing multitudes of semi drivers, school busses packed with travelers and locals, slow pickup trucks, mini motorcycles, and whatever else was going slower than us. Please also keep in mind that this is a normal, completely acceptable, and widely practiced method of driving in this country. Sooo, On the way up a 2km hill I passed a sluggish, overloaded semi truck tht was probably rolling along at the goodly clip of 25 miles an hour. I was going 60+. Tom, being that he was maintaining a safe and adequate distance from me didn’t have the time or space to pass the semi in the provided passing zone on the hill… So instead, Tom did what EVERY other normal person driving here in Nicaragua does. Tom passed the semi on the inside of the upcoming curve all while maintaining a completely free line of sight that extended for well over half a mile. Having passed the semi on the hill, inside the passing zone, I was within the law of the local land. Tom however passed “illegally” and it just so happened that the local traffic police were waiting on the other side. I was politely asked to stop, they asked me where I was going, and bid me a farewell. Tom however, as a result of his being caught passing the semi truck on the inside of a turn in a no passing zone all while being white and foreign, paid a 400 Cordoba fee, straight to the hand of one of the police officers, and for the polite sum of $17.85 we were on our way again while Tom suffered the first speeding ticket of the last 8,300+ miles. It would please you to know that we watched a local Nicaraguan get stopped for the exact same offense within 5 minutes of us. He however, would pay his fine at the bank, and not to the officers. (We didn’t want to go to the bank). It just so happens as well, that the fine for driving inebriated is a minimal $1400 Cordobas, or a measly $62.5 USD. Esteli, as our stopping point of the day had a nice $7.60 double room with a bitchin’ overpowered ceiling fan waiting for us upon arrival. We had our own beds, and shared a magnificently shrouded bathroom. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3945.jpg We wasted no time, and took off. Granada was our destination. On the way there, we took one break, and then kept going. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3948.jpg Soon thereafter we were in Granada, on the lake side of Lake Nicaragua, the 19th largest lake in the world. We found the town center, sat down in one of the corners of the square, had some food, and took off in search of the Bearded Monkey Hostel, which had been recommended to us prior. In lieu of a good time, instead, we ran into... http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3952.jpg Damn, we can’t get away from them. Anna and Kim are on the tourist circuit, as are we. Our times and dates collide consistently. However, our pace of life is distinctly different. I think we’ve done as much shit in the last 4 days then we have in any other week of this trip. And it goes like this. Number 1, check out all the cool stuff in and around Granada, and start with Lagunas de Apoyo. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3949.jpg Check out the water, and grab a group photo. The girls love Tom. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3950.jpg Number 2, Party it up on the dance floor in the town that night, wake up tired, and head out for the “Tree House” hostel after a quick lunch. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3953.jpg A view of the streets of Granada. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3954.jpg Number 3, arrive at the Tree House, a hostel in the Jungle halfway up a forested hillside, employed by 100% hippied out guys and girls, and spend the night there. Check out the makings of a mad man with an idea. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3970.jpg And our dorm room home in the jungle. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3955.jpg Everything is made from the local wood, and therefore everything is made of jungle hardwood that would otherwise be quite expensive at home. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3956.jpg Grab a hammock and hang out with the howler monkey. Ignore their wild calls and let them lull you to sleep. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3958.jpg Meet some local hippies, dreads and all. Don’t mind the normal appearance of Mark the Irish guy; he’s unfamiliar with the lifestyle associated with Dreads. (Far left) Also notice your first introduction to the house dog. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3962.jpg Have a swing in the Hammock. Kim loves Hammocks. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_3996.jpg Head upstairs for some dinner. Mexican taco salad, minus the ground beef because the House pet dog climbed up on the table and ate all of it. I wonder why… her owner is a vegetarian hippy that likely doesn’t feed her meat. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4009.jpg Shortly after eating the meat, the dog went into a short lived food coma. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4012.jpg But soon after laying down, it hopped back up again. Is it hungry? Again?! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4013.jpg Nah, it’s just looking around. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4014.jpg And in short order she’s playing around! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4016.jpg Without missing a beat, the dog switches sides, and starts molesting Rae! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4017.jpg But that proved to be too much excitement for the dog, and in seconds it had lied down, and without much effort, relieved herself of half of her previously consumed ground beef. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4018.jpg But….. damn, being the persistent dog that she is. She couldn’t leave it there. So she ate it twice. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4019.jpg She played some more and got excited again…. And went for round 2. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4021.jpg But wouldn’t rest, and ate her meal a third time. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4023.jpg This happened a third time, but without documentation. And so instead, I proceeded to find myself a hammock which didn’t suit me so well. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4025.jpg While the others we’re being a bit more active. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4030.jpg Meet Mark and Donal, from Ireland, on a 6 weeks summer vacation from University. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4034.jpg Stay tuned for round 2 in T minus 3 minutes.... |
story continued...
Damnit, more animals. This cat ate bugs. And was prolific.
http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4035.jpg But it wouldn’t eat this one! (The size of the inside of the palm of my hand, or about 3” across) http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4040.jpg Finally, at bed time, after copious cheap beers, we hit the sacks in our too short for me dorm beds, and slept in the jungle, to be awoken by the heat of the sun the next day. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4042.jpg And then perform the ritualistic hike up the hill for breakfast in the main lodge area. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4043.jpg This guy came for a visit and sat still just long enough for a photo. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4044.jpg And the local lady bug, 20 times the size of the ones I’m used to. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4046.jpg Number 4: After one night in the Tree House, we were ready to go. Too many hippies, empty beer cans, and residual fumes were emanating from the jungle. It was time to find the ocean. Which we did, in San Juan del Sur, Playa Matilda. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4065.jpg A dorm bed at Matilda’s cost $8usd, and the local cuisine was excellent. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4048.jpg As the sun set, ,we began our festivities. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4047.jpg The Irish guys from the Tree House came, an Austrian was already there, a local Nicaraguan, and Anna, Kim, Tom and I. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4050.jpg It didn’t take long before we went to bed. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4060.jpg The next day we walked along the beach to Playa Madera, and found the local surf spot. Having not seen the Pacific Ocean since Mazatlan, we hopped in and went for a swim. Kim rented a board for the day, took a lesson, stood up a couple times, passed off the board to Tom and Anna, and I read the rest of the book that I picked up in the jungle at the Tree House. “Around the World in 80 Days” great book. After a long day on the beach, much of which I spent in a reclining beach chair in the shade, it was time to make the hike back to the other side of the beach to our dorms and hit the sack. We woke to the crashing waves, http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4068.jpg And in no time at all we headed south to San Jorge, back onto the coast of Lake Nicaragua. Destination, Ometepe Island. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4069.jpg Number 5, the ferry to the island takes about one hour, and we arrived early to the next departure date. Luckily there were a couple monkey’s in a tree who were quite pleasant. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4072.jpg In no time at all, our ferry arrived, and I prepared to load the bike…. It was going to be interesting. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4075.jpg Maybe I should push it onto the deck… Don’t ride it man, this ramp isn’t too strong. How inspiring. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4077.jpg However, with little ado, our bikes were loaded, and we were on our way to being burnt in the midday sun while crossing the water. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4078.jpg For the return voyage, we determined we’d take the Ferry Che Guevara. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4080.jpg Ometepe is made of 2 volcanoes that rose from the middle of the lake several thousand years ago. One cone “Concepcion” rises just over 5500 feet from the lake’s surface. The second, “Madera” rises just under 4500 feet. Both are impressive sights. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4081.jpg Number 6, island life. On the island, there are many things to do. Rent a bike and ride around the island (we did that today on our own bikes). Climb one of the two volcanoes (eh, if we can muster the energy, otherwise, nah). Or go to Agua de Ojo (that sounds nice). http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4082.jpg And so we spent the night on the island, having relaxed the afternoon away without much else going on. Anna and Kim made it to the island on the same boat we did and we all sat around doing our own thing that night. Now today, July 7, 2011, we went to Agua de Ojos, the natural freshwater spring that generates 5,500gl (21,230 liters) of fresh water every day that consequently drains into Lake Nicaragua. The water was cool and refreshing, crystal clear, and the weather was great. After the fresh water springs, we headed back to the hostel. Kim and Anna have it in their minds to do some diving in the Nicaraguan Caribbean. This afternoon they took off on the earliest boat to the mainland and are flying to Little Corn Island tomorrow. Tom and I will relax and do nothing tomorrow. The next day, we’ll make it to the main land, and if inspired, drop south into Costa Rica. Rumor has it that Charlie the Australian and his mate Andy have recently returned from their jaunt to Cuba, and are on the prowl. We plan to find them and help them raise hell. It should be good! Number 7, Relax, do nothing, enjoy the island life, eat well, and sleep well. Until next time! Onward. --Alex |
Great trip report and great trip as it appears you guys are having the times of your lives !! Which of course is the whole idea of the trip huh !!
Keep it up as it is great reading. Steve |
Awesome!
The last time you “SAW” us, we were still on an island, and we thought we’d leave the next day or so. Well, we didn’t. Why? Because we saw some friends of ours walking down the street while we were eating dinner the night before we thought we were going to leave. No plans are the best plans.
Their names are Mara and Chilanka (She-Lane-Ka), they are from Holland, and we had promised them a motorcycle ride in Granada, Nicaragua. Well, we left earlier than planned and didn’t see them before we left. They held us to our promise, and so we stayed the night and actually did something the next day, and rode around the island with some passengers. Neither had ever ridden a motorcycle. Don’t worry babe, (Kristi) the one with the boyfriend got on my bike. The first stop on the ride. Back to Agua de Ojos. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4085.jpg Tom and the girls spent a few minutes checking out the menu while I swam. Then, they sun bathed in the Nicaraguan Sol. Meet Chilanka on the left, Mara on the right. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4086.jpg We were all having a good time, and soon the party grew by 5 more Dutchies that the girls had met before and before we knew it, we’d been there 2 hours. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4090.jpg Then, we took off. Our goal? Ride around Madera Volcano. Apparently this is not an easy adventure, and though it is only about 30 miles of road, it’s a 3 hour adventure. I’ll be damned if we weren’t out riding for nearly that long at least. Not only did we see the most intense off road that we’ve seen yet, we also had passengers that had never been on bikes before. They held their own though, and didn’t freak out when the going got tough. We didn’t think twice in telling them to get off when we hit the gnarly stuff, and they obliged kindly. Best shot of the day? An epic shot of Tom doing what we do best. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...IMG_4091-1.jpg My bike? It got dirty, and Chilanka, got her “facebook” shot. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4094.jpg Soon after that, we came out near the end of the road, 2.5 hours later, and found ourselves at a little shop where we bought some snacks. While we munched our food, these little guys did the same. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4095.jpg It got physical, but they each held their own. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4096.jpg It wasn’t long after that Tom and I landed back on our feet in our hotel room, exhausted, and ready to do nothing again. The girls had different ideas, and headed off to find the Dutch guys to party that night. We left them to their business, and haven’t seen them since. They’ll be ok. The next morning we hopped on a boat and headed back to mainland Nicaragua. On the boat we met a Czech guy that lives in Chile and was riding a Honda CG125 from Chile to the US. He’d already covered 18k miles, and was about to 5-6 more. He’d only ever changed the oil, replaced the rear tire once, and was still on the original front tire. Managing to get 80mpg more or less, he never skipped a beat. His name was Andres, he was cool guy. When we hit the mainland, we stopped for some food, bought some gas, and hit the road headed for the Costa Rica/Nicaragua border. We found it in short order and with the help of a local border crossing Sherpa, we paid about $20 each, made it out of Nicarauga and into Costa Rica, all exit/entry/insurance fees paid. Success. Greatfully, I kept seeing a local Costa Rican woman behind me at every step of the procedure when I had to get a stamp or pay a fee, confirming I wasn’t getting screwed. Now, in Costa rica, we’re back with the boys! We found Charlie and along with him, his friend Andy. Charlie and Andy have been in the country for about a month, waiting for Andy’s bike to arrive via sea freight. Well, it was 30 days late, but it arrived yesterday! Andy and I spent a 9 hours chasing it down, along with local freight agents, but we found his bike! It was always in the same place, but I’ll be liar if 9-10 pages weren’t stamped at nine-ten different locations, which Andy had to be at personally, and his Passport/License came out about every time. It was a hassle, and it was a pain in the ass. But in the end, Andy had his bike, and the two of us rode two up back to the hotel that we’ve been staying at. The pictures have been lacking lately, but now we are 4. A complete package of: 2 Americans, 2 Australians, 2 Dr650’s, 2 Tenere 660’s, and more than a few more miles to cover. More stories to come, but suffice it to say, we’re having a grand old time, and kicking ass and taking names! --Alex |
Hey Alex
If you guys are in or near San Jose, just about ten minutes from the airport is a hotel called the Orchideas. The owners are from Ohio and are great people and the hotel is cool with a great bar Steve |
The Hamilton Inn & Suites, J.R. Ribs, motorcycles and more
One, Mr. Andrew Dalton, did not receive an efficient enough description when first introduced. Therefore let me please start from the beginning.
As we crossed into Costa Rica, we had no idea where to find Charlie, or his friend who we’d had yet to have met; a so called Andy Dalton. Well, we sat down for some milkshakes at Denny’s near the San Jose International Airport, whipped out our wireless devices, and in no time at all, Tom was chatting with our previously facebook befriended friend, Andy Dalton. The conversation went kind of like this, Tom, “Hey man, where are you?”……. Andy, “Hey, we’re in the center of Alujuela, Hotel Los Vocanos” ….. Tom, “Ok.” …… Andy, “Lets meet at the McDonalds near the town center at 1pm.” ….. Tom, “Ok.” So Tom and I left our air conditioned Denny’s dinning booths with plenty of time to spare, and headed to the McDonalds previous mentioned. Well, we were an hour early so we again pulled out our wifi toys, and surfed the wifi offered by McD’s. Charlie and Andy never showed up and were 20 minutes late. Or as they would have you know, we never made it to the appropriate McDonalds and thus left them waiting for 20 minutes. So, we wifi’ed them again, found there location, and we took off to meet them. And meet them we did, with one bike between them, which had a disassembled rear end, staying at a nice hotel with their shit spread everywhere. Turns out it was a lot of Charlie’s shit, though Andy did bring a Baby Taylor guitar. And now for the good stuff. Charlie and Andy were headed to the Hamilton Inn & Suites near the airport where we just were. Andy was footing the bill do to some bankrolled credits at different companies. Andy offered to book us a room at the Hotel, an easy 900% over our budget, offer. We couldn’t refuse, as he didn’t let us, and that afternoon we were booked into the nicest room/bed I had slept on since I spent the night with Kristi at the Tulalip Inn for my friends’ wedding. Mr. Andy Dalton was just getting started. Over beers and popcorn Andy informed us that we would all be going to Jr. Ribs, a Texan bar and grill style restaurant located somewhere close in San Jose, and that his previously mentioned credits pile up was paying for it. And no matter what we saw on the menu, we were to order it if we wanted it. Whaaaaa??? And so the four of us went, and the four of us ate, and ate, and ate. And we ate 3 full racks of ribs, which each came complete with three side dishes, along with a 2 huge steaks, which also had 3 side dishes each, a platter of cheesy fries, and $50 dollars worth of scotch, lemonade and coke. And the bill totaled $217, and Andy paid it! (His piled up credits did) And then we went to bed and passed out in rapid succession, only to awake to; Complimentary breakfast!!! With sausage and eggs, and bagels, and fruit, and fresh juice, and waffles, and rice with beans, and coffee, and tea, and cereal, and yogurt, and more! Tom and I gorged in the morning, and again before it closed at 10am. Mr. Andrew Dalton is a stand up son-of-a-bitch (a polite affectionate term in Aussie speak) and we're glad to have him around! That morning Andy and I took off to locate, and acquire his motorcycle from the Freight Agent comspany that he was dealing with. I went along for the adventure, as well, being as being able to speak Spanish I thought I’d get out for the day. Well, instead we met with Jose (speaks GREAT English) and Jaime (who speaks little) and we had nothing to do but wait as they took care of business. Jose hung out with us as we shot the shit about motorcycles, travel, women, and everything else (is there much else?) while Jaime (Hi-May) aced the import process and drove us between buildings, offices, warehouses etc until after 7-8 hours of moving around, breakfast and lunch paid for by Jose/Jaime, we had a bike! Success!!! First step, re-attach the handlebars, windscreen, front fender, hand guards, and attach the panniers and bags. Second step, throw four hundred pounds of man on the bike and head for the gas station. Fill it to the top and spend nearly $30 at $6/gallon. Fix the tire pressure to 32psi in the front and rear, up from 18 and 20. :/ Third step, ride 2 up back to the Hotel and smoke a celebratory cigar with Andy. SUCCESS. Well that was the beginning of Charlie’s demise however, as he got some sort of stomach bug that rendered him useless for about 36 hours. All night, and the next day he was out of commission, a trip to the pharmacy, antibiotics purchased, and back to the hotel room where Charlie’s room smells like sickness. Give him the antibiotics, and go to Andy’s room where the air is still clean. We spent 3 nights at the Hampton Inn & Suites, and every morning we stuffed face with the free continental breakfasts. Damn they were good. Tom and I also cleaned our entire motorcycles in that time. Our bikes haven’t had a good wash since we left Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico when we took a cruise on the beach. It was time. We cleaned the chains in Kerosene and Commercial grade degreaser. Then we lubed them with chain lubrication and chain wax. The chains were slacking a bit (regrettably more then I should have allowed, as they weren’t given much thought) and we rightfully adjusted them to a better position. We lubed our rear axles, cleaned the sprockets, (I replaced my brake pads) and I replaced my rear main bearing seal as the little tiny spring in it had fallen out and been munched for some reason. After 3 days of lazing around, picking up Andy’s bike, and doing the minor maintenances on our bikes, we were ready to hit the road (after the continental breakfast face stuffing) and so we did, and it nearly instantly turned from a humid stuffy day into a pissing downpour, and so we put in our waterproof liners and hit the road. And soon we were in the mountains, and for the first time this trip Tom and I crossed above 10,000ft elevation, the temperature dropped to 53* F, and we were all soaked and pretty cold. A quick stop for a coffee/hot chocolate and we tossed our thermal liners in our coats, pulled out our “waterproof insulated” gloves, and hit the road again, up and over the mountains, and down to the coast. The road was the most treacherous that we’ve seen yet. The clouds, extremely dense fog, extremely wet conditions necessitated 25mph riding, and extreme concentration. Chalk it up to Andy’s first day on his bike in over 80 days, his first real adventure riding, and his gusto, and he did well! We all stayed together, and found ourselves in Playa Dominical that night. It was quite the ride! Playa Dominical had its moments but the next day we were on the road again. Headed for the Panamanian border, it took no more than 15 minutes before Andy and I were riding together, and Tom and Charlie were a bit ahead. Then, we lost them. It should be noted that I misheard Charlie when he said he was stopping at the first gas station that he saw. I heard, “I’m stopping at a gas station ahead,” ergo, Andy and I blew right by Tom and Charlie where they had stopped at the first gas station. It happened that Andy’s sunglasses fell off his bike while on the road and I stopped to pick them up for him. That gave Tom and Charlie just enough time to get out of site, and for us to blow right by them as they watched. Well then. Andy and I stuck to the plan, and hit the same border crossing that Charlie and Tom were meant to go to. We though, having not seen them along the way that they were ahead of us. Obviously we were mistaken. Charlie had the Map, and he also had the GPS. We just knew we were headed South, wanted to cross a certain border crossing into Panama, and we new “San Vito” was somewhere in the mix of it all. These are normal conditions for Tom and I, no worries on my part. Well, Andy is only 2 days in and now found himself, map-less, GPS-less, and with basically no Spanish, and understandably a bit antsy. I reaffirm that this is absolutely no problem, and we can stop and ask for directions. Tom and Charlie will be on the same path, or doing something else. No need to worry about them, and they are most definitely not worrying about us. Well, an hour and a bit or so later we found Tom and Charlie at the same border crossing we arrived at. So problem solved, and we’re all still soaking wet. Our exit of Costa Rica and entry into Panama costs us a whopping $16. $15 for a month of insurance, and $1 for quarantining our bikes, (they sprayed our wheels with a tank of fluid….) About 5 minutes later, we were stopped, facing a road of nothing but mud and the terrible feeling that if we continued much further we were all going to crash, or as the Aussies call it “Stack It” Well none of us stacked the bikes, but we turned around, asked for directions again, and took off down a different road. 45 minutes later we arrived in Volcan where we are now. Hanging out, looking for a Lavanderia to wash and dry our completely soaked riding gear, and just relaxing from the crappy cold riding weather that has beaten us down for the past 2 days. Panama at first glance is a hand and fist above Costa Rica in regards to scenery, price tags, standard of living, and the overall “feeling in the air”. The roads are nicer, the food is better, the hostels cheaper, and the beer nicer. We’re happy to be out of Costa Rica and in Panama. It’s been a good day doing nothing, though, of course we’re always on the move regardless of where we are. The next step is to head to Bocas del Toro on the Caribbean, and in no time at all we’ll be on the Stahlratte crossing over to Colombia through the San Blas Islands. Onward! --Alex |
Question of a sort.
Today, through the constant rain, we bought front and rear wheel bearings for our bikes. We replaced Tom's rear bearings and my front bearings. We replaced Tom's front sprocket, and re-lubed his chain as it was squeaking a bit. It's due for replacement soon. I'll change mine soon as well.
We weren't able to find new seals for our bearings, but the old ones will be serviceable until we can locate replacements for them. Until then, we're doing well with them. My front tire has been giving me quite the wobble/shimmy type of bullshit in slow speed corners, at/or under 30mph. Any speed above 30mph and no problems exist. I have experienced this problem off and on since about the 4000th mile of the trip, and having ridden nearly 5k more miles since, it never really presented a problem. Now, entering more mountainous terrain, with wet conditions, slow speed corners, and a progressively worse tire condition, it has begun to bother me. The handle bar visibly shakes in both left and right hand corners at speeds under 30mph. If I release one hand, the problem exasperates itself and is uncomfortably annoying. Since having replaced my front wheel bearings, I have yet to test ride the bike as it has grown dark and the incessant rain has yet to let up. Tomorrow will be the first test. Furthermore I have noticed an uneven wear pattern on my front tire, inconsistent with any other front tire on the 4-5 motorcycles that I have been traveling with. Charlie, Tom, Patrick, Andy, and the motorcycle mechanic that facilitated the removal and insertion of my wheel bearings have noticed the same uneven pattern that exists. It was the motorcycle mechanics agreement with my suspicion that leads me to believe that my wobble exists due to the weird wear pattern. I will know tomorrow if the wheel bearings were the issue or not. Provided the problem isn't solved by the new wheel bearings, I am soon to have a new tire put on within the next few hundred miles. If that is the solution, the question still remains why the uneven tire wear has happened. I am running a Mefo Explorer front tire as of right now, and am thinking about changing to a MT90 front, or keep the same Mefo as the lifespan is incredible, and it has lasted at least 9,000 miles plus an addition 2-4k miles that it had on it before I left. OR. My tire is out of alignment. Keep in mind that the wheels and spokes are not the originals as on Tom's bike, and are second hand wheels and spokes that were put on in Baja, Mexico following my crash. Should the spokes be out of tune, or the wheel unbalanced, that could be the cause of my issue as well. It remains to be seen. Any suggestions otherwise? --Alex |
What can I say guys, what a fantastic journey your having and I have enjoyed every minute of reading this thread. Feels like I have done the journey with you. I am planning on doing my trip in 2014 with a friend of mine. Coming from England. Canada to Buenos Aires. I hope it is as good as yours is going.
Keep the updates coming. look forward to reading the next update. I'm not a mechanic but sounds like something isn't alligned properly. Or the person that owned that wheel and tyre before you just liked going round roundabouts:biggrin3::biggrin3: Could you ask Charlie and Andy how they have got on with there bikes as we're doing it on xt660z tenere's too. Safe riding all, Pete |
Xt660's and How the Aussies like them.
Pete,
Charlie has had a good time on his Tenere XT660z, and has not had a single mechanical issue on the way down. His only mods prior to leaving AUS were to lower the bike (via lowering link and dropping front forks) to fit his inseam a bit better, bar risers, heated grips, hand guards, and that was pretty much it. Standard stuff really. Now, Charlies bike (he modified it in the States after a minor accident) has a KTM front end, single massive disc brake on the front, 2 into 1 exhaust pipe, and Excel rims. Andy's bike is still pretty much stock. Other then heated grips and hand guards, it doesn't have much else on it. Charlie uses Andy Strap's soft bags on the sides, and a pelican 1600 case on the Top. As well as a duffel on the passenger seat for extra shit. Andy uses Steel Pony soft bags on the sides, and a large duffel across the top, along with Steel Pony tank panniers. Both of their bikes have the nice advantage of being fuel injected with a good tank size of 22(?) liters. There bikes range outlasts our Dr650's. They also achieve better fuel economy and get about 45-50 miles per US gallon. Our DR's are lucky to get 42-43 on a good day. Their bikes are heavier, but you don't plan to drop your bikes often. They don't have any complaints on their bikes, and from the sounds of it, they really are happy with them. However, there is always a general consensus amongst the traveling bikers. Bring less SHIT, a lighter bike, a comfier seat, and a bigger gas tank. If you bring less shit, you'll be right in the middle of the pack. I think you'll like your Xt660z's --Alex |
Out of Costa Rica and into Panama. First we were 4, and now we’re 5.
July 14th-21st. Days 104-111.
It took us a little while but we finally left the air conditioned comfort of the nicest hotel that we’ve stayed at thus far. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4100.jpg And by the end of that day, having ridden through the rain, we were where we were going to stay that night. All of our things ended up sprawled around the room, in a vain attempt to dry them out. Useless really, but we tried. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4102.jpg The next day was the same story, rain followed rain, and soon thereafter we landed ourselves on the Panamanian border. $16 dollars and about 2.5 hours later we landed in Volcan, Panama. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4105.jpg Arriving around 6pm we tried to find a lavanderia to dry our soaking wet clothes. They were all closed, and without much ado we found a cheap place to eat, and hit the sack. The next day, awake and somber with the dreary overcast skies clouding over our enthusiasm, we hung around. Apparently Patrick was right behind us. You haven’t heard much about Patrick, but he’s a cool dude. We first met him at the Zephyr Lodge in Lanquin, Guatemala when he arrived with Charlie having traveled with him for a few weeks already. Patrick has ridden from San Francisco and is cruising on a Dr400. Please meet Patrick, who will be joining us on our way south to Panama City! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4104.jpg We all stayed a second night in Volcan, but not before Tom and I performed quite a bit of maintenance on our bikes. We replaced his rear wheel bearings, and my front. All under the pleasant overhang of the hostel parking area. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4106.jpg For all of you guys/gals who are about to take a trip, or are planning a trip, or are in the middle of a trip and don’t have a centerstand, I can HIGHLY recommend the Trail Stand offered for sale in the Vendors section of ADVrider. We’ve used it many times without fault and consider it a very useful, if not essential to our tool kit. Especially when removing wheels. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4107.jpg Here we are at a local motorcycle shop. Having never removed/replaced bearing, we let a “pro” show us how it was done. We paid him $8 for the removal and replacement of 5 bearings in 2 wheels. Tom wasn’t too stoked to be working on the bearings of his bike wheel. His chain had been squeaking lately, and his sprocket was pretty f’ed. It was replaced, and so was his rear bearings, and soon after we were set to go. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4108.jpg The five of us put up with each other and had 2 rooms to ourselves with 7 beds to split between the five of us. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4109.jpg The next morning, in our latent rush to get on the road, we lined up our bikes, and loaded them. AND believe it or not, the sun was shining (more or less) and we were motivated to see some of the Panamanian countryside. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4110.jpg Of course, before we could leave we had a chat with this guy, who liked motorcycles, and knew a guy with one, who he called, to lead us out of town. I had been carrying a Semana de Los Motos hat ever since Mazatlan and this guy was the lucky recipient. Not only was he wearing a similar style hat (the clue that he’d wear it), I didn’t want to carry it around anymore, and can’t afford to send it to my Grandpa. This guy will enjoy it for sure. He was pleased to accept it at least! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4111.jpg In no time at all, his friend arrived on a Yamaha XT250 and we headed out of town. At the edge of town, we found two new friends, riding a 2009 Dr650 and a 2005(?) BMW F650 Dakar. They offered to take us the rest of the way, and soon enough we ended up at the home and shop of Paul along with his friend George. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4112.jpg We had a look around and checked out his shop. He had a cool place. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4113.jpg Anyone see one of these before? A easily tuned jet for altitude compensation. Intelajet. Paul swears by them and has had one on each of his bikes since he encountered them a few years ago. I’d be interested to hear any opinions on them. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4115.jpg After looking around, we jumped at the chance to utilized Paul’s self offered shop and do some more general maintenance on our bikes. Tom and I installed fuel filters that Paul had on hand, I found the cause of my failed running lights (the dimmer unit failed) I re-wired my heated grips, and tuned up my rear suspension. All the while we admired his shop which housed his other bike (Dr400) and a couple of his other toys, his two Ultra lights. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4119.jpg Patrick also dealt with his suspension which had been a bit spongy lately. All was well afterward. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4120.jpg Charlie and George shot the shit for a while after Charlie installed some Rox Risers on his Tenere. His bars had had a nasty vibration at certain revs for quite some time, and it just so happened, that Paul had some in his shop and with slight modification, Charlie’s bike became the new recipient. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4121.jpg Somewhere in the middle of the shop day, Tom and Andy took off towards Boquette, our destination for that night. It wasn’t far, but it was far enough. While they were riding, Charlie, Patrick, Paul, George, and I went off for some lunch. The five of us ate Chicken, Rice, and Potato salad for the generous sum of $12. Excellent. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4123.jpg After lunch, we finished out preparations, and took off to find Andy and Tom. We found them pretty quickly and had an easy night in Boquette, a touristy town full of Retired expats from the USA and other countries. That night we had a look around, but not much else happened. In the morning, we had another guy lined up to show us out of town who Andy and Tom had met before we arrived; an English guy tearing up the streets of Boquette on a Yamaha WR450F that had been supermoto’ed. We also happened to find a local Panamanian post office that was able to ship some of our things home. Andy needed to offload some things to Australia, and I intended to send some things back to my parents house north of Seattle. In the end, Andy send 5.8 kilos home, and I shipped off 9.8 (21.5lbs). I sent my tent, my stove, my pan, a couple of trinkets, a pair of pants that were too big, a backpack, and other small miscellaneous things. All of which I had not used more than twice in over 100 days. Their departure was welcomed. It cost me $79, and I never looked back. I now have a free passenger seat for when Kristi arrives, AND provided she doesn’t bring too many things, we’ll easily be able to accommodate her small backpack and travel together. That in itself was my main concern, and has been worrying me slightly for the past month or so. Now, I’m not too bothered, and rather excited to have her join me a month from tomorrow. I just have to decide where to fly her into, and where to fly her home from. It’s up in the air. Into Bogota, out of Cusco? Into Quito, out of Cusco? Or into Lima and out of Cusco. I’m thinking either the first or the third option. But I’m not sure yet! On the way out of Boquette, the Panamanian roads were again nice to us, and the sun shone as well. We had an easy ride out to Almigrante, the port town that would be our passage to the island of Bocas del Toro. On the way, we had some nice scenery and came across this dammed lake quite unexpectedly. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4124.jpg I stopped to snap a photo, and then waited for Tom to catch up, and catch up he did as he tore through this corner. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4125.jpg Upon arrival in Almigrante, we soon realized that the next ferry that would be able to carry our motorcycles to the island didn’t leave until 8am the next day. A quick decision was made, and we quickly had our motorcycles parked behind a sturdy guard dog protected gate, and all of our unnecessary things locked inside a car. We ditched the bikes, and piled into the next available “lancha” out to the island which run every 30 minutes. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4126.jpg The boat moved at a good clip and within 30 minutes we arrived on the island. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4135.jpg I like being on the water and had a good time. Hey Mom and Dad! Hi Lorraine and Brandon, Ellie and Spencer! Hi Kristi! Hi Debbi and Kevin! Hello everyone else! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4140.jpg Patrick was “chillaxin” and also enjoying the boat ride. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4141.jpg Andy says “Whats up?” http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4142.jpg As soon as we landed on the island we were propositioned by as many people as there are hostels and hotels on the island. Ruben, the most relaxed stood out from the rest and inside of 5 minutes we were on our way to his hostel called Cayena Backpackers. $10/pp and we each had a bed in an air conditioned dorm room with a private bath. Excellent. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4143.jpg We passed up the offer for this place, Mondo Taitu, as it was too crazy for us. Happy hour anyone? http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4145.jpg The next few days consisted of some swimming at the beaches, hanging out with the locals, meeting up with many previous friends, and going out at night to various bars and hangout spots, namely the Iguana Bar, and Aqua Lounge. Pictures will come in the near future, but suffice it to say, it was a GOOD time. A local buffet style place, open from 6am-11pm fed me for the handsome sum of $4 a meal, and never disappointed me. If only I could buy protein and carbohydrates like this as often as I desired. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4148.jpg The day after we arrived, Patrick, Charlie and Andy moved out of our hostel and into this hotel. At an unaffordable cost for Tom and I (poor bastards that we are), we placated ourselves by hanging out in the rooms. Charlie had a waterfront view, and thus his balcony served as a hangout. Beers were abundant for those who desired, cigarettes for anyone else, and food was only 3 minutes away. Easy money. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4149.jpg While we have been here, Anna and Kim (Kiwi) have shown up with Roberto in tow. Mara and Chilanka (Dutch) have been showing face, and Andy, Charlie, Patrick, Tom and I have been having a blast. Every spare moment I have (not too many unless we plan them) I remind myself that it’s nice to do absolutely nothing. And better yet, it’s nice to do absolutely nothing in Panama. In the Caribbean. With friends. Riding motorcycles. Meeting people. And living the dream. http://d26ya5yqg8yyvs.cloudfront.net/friday.gif --Alex |
Toms bike has a hiccup
Upon arrival to the mainland from Bocas Del Toro, we went to recollect our motorcycles and our gear. Pretty soon thereafter it was found that Tom had a bit of an issue with his motorcycle. Mainly, it wouldn’t start. Not at all. Not only was it just that, but it didn’t even SOUND like it wanted to start. No hesitant chugging, no belied belch of smoke from the exhaust, NOTHING.
We checked for fuel. Yes. We checked his air box. Yes. We checked for spark. NO. Not even an ounce of a shock. Well that sucks. Let’s check your ignition coil. How? Lets attach mine. Ok let’s do that. And so we did. And his bike didn’t start. Did I mention that it is no raining heavily and we’re all soaked now? Ask that nice women who runs this parking lot for an umbrella. Success. Umbrella activated. Slightly less level of wetness achieved. Well what now man? You have to be in Colon, Panama by the 26th of this month to catch that big ass Steel Rat boat across the Darien Gap so we can tear it up in Colombia. Oh right. Dammmmnnn… Truck? Where? Panama City? Eh… David? Better idea. Let’s go there. And so we went. Within 30 minutes of asking if anyone knew someone that might know a guy that had a truck that somebody else could drive that could carry a motorcycle and make it to David, today, we had our man. The guy with the “thumbs up” got a 5 dollar tip from Tom for helping us fanatically until we departed. He also asked me to get him a Balboa (beer) from the mini super when I went. I didn’t. I gave him 50cents to buy his own. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4159.jpg We had to take the front wheel off the bike to get it into the back of the shorty pickup, and Tom wasn’t able to ride in the truck because “he didn’t have room for him with all his work stuff”. So with a final smile from the Dude that was helping us help the guy who was driving the truck that was carrying Tom’s bike to David; we loaded a bag of Tom’s shit onto my bike. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4161.jpg Tom was decidedly unhappy about having to arrange to get his Motorcycle trucked to David. Dammit. We hope it’s worth it. I’ll be pissed if it’s an easy fix… http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4162.jpg Well. We asked Mr. Truck Drive Man if he knew a Suzuki mechanic in David. Oh yea, I know the Suzuki Mechanic. I’ll take your bike directly there. No problems. Ok. Let’s go. And go we did. And Tom and I rode two up on my trusty steed for 110 miles through the mountainous terrain until we reached David. All while following the truck at a gradual speed of 30-50 mph. I achieved a whopping 37mpg. I’ll have to keep that in mind when Kristi arrives. Go slow. And then, we were there. And do you think we found a Suzuki Mechanic? Haha. No, of course not. We were delivered to Mr. Truck Driver’s friends family mechanic shop in the middle of an urban area. Oh well. We knew we’d end up somewhere like this. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4163.jpg So the guy poked and he prodded, and Tom whipped of his side panels, and his seat, and his gas tank, and the guy pulled out his multi meter and he poked and he prodded some more. He pulled of the connecting plugs to Tom’s bikes computer, and he stabbed at them with his multi meter prongs, until. “EHHHHH…. Si, eso, eso esta la problema. Tu capacitor esta chingada.” (Ehhhhh… Yes, this, this is the problem. Your (stator) is f’ed) http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4165.jpg So he pulled out the Stator. But before that, like a prudent mechanic would, he pulled Toms entire computer of his bike, plugged it into mine, and I fired my bike up, proving Tom’s bike computer was in working shape. Then he pulled out his multi meter and stabbed the same contact points on my bike computer plugs. The multi meter read 290. Tom’s? It read 1865. Too much resistance coming out of his Stator. DAMN IT. Stators are NOT cheap. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4166.jpg And so the man checked Tom’s stator, and within a few minutes determined that Tom’s stator pickup was the culprit. “I’m going to cut it off,” He said. Well, no, he didn’t really say that. He said nothing at all. He just chopped the piece off Tom’s $300 stator. Just. Like. This. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4167.jpg Ugh… We’re feeling pretty confident in this guy by now, and we’re hoping he knows what the hell he is doing, and all the while I’m telling Tom everything I know about motorcycles to try to explain to him why that LITTLE part is his problem, and he’s understanding the concepts, but damn it, that mechanic just chopped it off…. Well, in the mean time we had a look around while this guy is working. There was music blasting, and soon we realized that it was coming from the surround sound speakers on the shop owners cousins Honda Goldwing 1500. And that Suzuki Fireblade (CBR1000RR) over there inspires some confidence in bike bikes. Oh, and this Xr650r, over bored to 750cc’s is pretty cool…. Too bad someone hit a car on it. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4169.jpg Well. Obviously our mechanic friend didn’t have a new Dr650 Stator pickup in his pocket, nor did he have access to one. NOR does the Stator Pickup come separate from the Stator itself, and used Stators complete with their pickups run $220 on ebay. SHIT. He ALREADY chopped it off… Well. We’re in Central America. Who cares. Let’s BUILD ONE. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4170.jpg And so he went about his business, rummaged through some parts (parts that looks obsolete, overused, and damaged) and pulled out what we would soon find out would be either our saving grace, or a definitive slap in the face. AND, it even looked good. Problem was, it didn’t have the same mounting bracket. No problem, he’ll put the OEM bracket on it. Meanwhile, this other guy is bondo’ing a car, and someone else is changing its oil. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4171.jpg They have a good set up going on. Soon, Tom’s new stator pickup was taking shape. And it looked good… Well. Let’s be honest. What the hell do we know about good? A Baja mechanic took my bike from totaled to road worthy in 4 days. This guy diagnosed Tom’s problem and built Tom a new stator pickup in less than 2 hours. Our standards are sliding down a scale from, “Please sir, I’ll take the new one,” too “Please sir, give me the cheapest shit that will serve its purpose, and I’ll be on my way.” http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4173.jpg In no time at all, he had the newly made used stator pickup soldered, heat shrunk, and zip tied back into the OEM location. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4174.jpg Multi meter at the ready, our friend stabbed some contacts and the reading was as shown. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4175.jpg Have I mentioned that this guy took off half the screws and plugged in connectors with his trusty Swiss army knife? Well. He did. Before he remounted the stator pickup definitely, he painted the contact on the pickup, http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4176.jpg Notice that beer? It’s his 5th one that we’ve seen him drink. He’s becoming more carefree as the beers come. Hopefully he’s finished soon! Hahahahah!!!!! He removed the left case center plug for access to the crank shaft, and within a few moments felt a mild resistance when turning the crank. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4177.jpg Stator pickup is touching the magneto… Well that’s no good. We can’t have that. Where’s my damn drill?! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4178.jpg Meanwhile, the mechanics daughter is tearing up the neighbor’s yard on a beaten down Honda Xr100, and she loves it. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4180.jpg Did I mention that in the middle of this adventure that the shop attendant filled up a beer crate with empties and returned with 24 more, and that Tom and I were the recipients of no less than 2 beers each, and that our mechanic friend had no less than 6 or 8 in 3 hours? Well, if I didn’t mention that, I should have. WAIT? What is that sound?!?!?! All of a sudden, the stator fit well, and the left cover was put in place and screwed on, and the oil was replaced with Mobile 20w-50, and the mechanic stepped back, took a look, and VROOOOOOM. Fired up Tom’s BIKE. SUCCESS!!! (You can’t tell… But it’s running…) http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4181.jpg FAMILY PHOTO TIME! We’ve been there for 3 hours. And we’re now part of the family. Yessssssss. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4184.jpg The man directly behind me is fist pumping his success. That is our mechanic friend, and he is awesome. It was just that day that I mentioned to Tom, as a result of our inconveniences, that we’ve noticed that no matter where we have been in Mexico and Central America, no matter what it is you need, you can find someone INSTANTLY that will help you do ANYTHING, IMMEDIATELY. It was within 30 minutes that Tom found the man that drove the truck that carried his motorcycle to David. And it was the man that drove the truck that found us our mechanic friend. And that mechanic stopped everything he was doing, quit working on other shit for the day, and fixed Tom’s bike all while drinking beer and fabricating a serviceable stator pickup. We love Central America. And we LOVE PANAMA. Tom’s bike now runs like it always did, and we made it to Panama City the next day (yesterday). We found Charlie, Patrick and Andy whom rode ahead of us the day Tom’s bike took a nap. Additionally we found Ty and Jill! They hauled ass south from Guatemala over the past 2 weeks, and they met with Charlie, Patrick and Andy yesterday. Now we’re all at the Panama Passage Hostel. There are 7 of us on 6 motorcycles and we look awesome. Have I mentioned? WE LOVE PANAMA!! --Alex |
Panama City. La fin de la continenta de Norte Americana. (The End of the Continent of
Panama City. La fin de la continenta de Norte Americana. (The End of the Continent of North America)
We have made it! We have ridden our motorcycles from the Northwest corner of the mainland United States to the bottom of North America. And now, we’re sailing across the San Blas Islands to Cartegena, Colombia. We’re onboard the Stahlratte, and it is AWESOME. There are 20 people on this boat, and only 1 of them is over the age of 32, and she’s just as cool as the rest of us, and we’re all pretty damn cool. Before we got on the boat though, we (Tom, Charlie, Andy, Patrick, Ty, Jill, Anna and I) spent the last three days in Panama City, in a cheap hotel, ramming around town looking for motorcycle parts while trying to make sure we saw enough stuff to satisfy ourselves. Most of what we saw consisted of the Panama Canal, the back of taxi drivers’ heads, and the bottom of beer cans. But nevertheless we were enjoying ourselves spectacularly. Our first day in Panama City landed us at the “Panama Passage Hostel” which is meant to be specifically for overland travels in cars or on motorcycles. When we arrived as a group of 6 motorcycles with 7 people, we were the most motorcycles that had been there at one time. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4186.jpg For some reason or another, all of us besides Patrick decided to leave the next morning and head into the city to find a hotel where we could easily leave from to find motorcycle parts. Patrick opted to stay as he planned to store his motorcycle there for a month while he visits family in Europe. For Patrick, his motorcycle trip is over, for the rest of us, it has just begun. In the middle of all of this, my foot has been giving me a bit of a problem and had been giving me a bit of pain. I cut myself in the water in Bocas del Toro and for some reason or another it ended up getting an infection. It looked like this. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4187.jpg Now, three days later, it looks just fine. During our three days and nights in Panama City we went on the search for motorcycle parts. Specifically, we were looking for a new rear sprocket, front sprocket, chain, front and rear tires. Both of our chains (Tom’s and mine) are shot, and we need new ones. In the long run all that we purchased was a new front tire for me (solved my wobbling issues), some chain lube, and a couple of cheap spare helmets for future passengers. We’ll be spending a few days in Cartegena when we arrive in Colombia, and it is there that we plan to make certain and find ourselves new chains and rear tires along with sprockets. Besides that, we did a whole lot of nothing, EXCEPT the last night we all went out. Some of us came back early in preparation for leaving the next morning to meet the boat in Carti (myself included). Some others (Ty, Jill, and Charlie) decided to stay out a bit later and they inevitably had a fantastic time. Ok. I should mention that I am interpreting all of this, but you can see for yourselves. I first heard them come back to the hotel at 1:35 in the morning. They were very happy, and all of them were soaking wet. There happened to be a pool at the last bar that we were at, and they all hopped in with their clothes on. No problem. Charlie specifically thought it would be cool to hop in the pool and throw all of his money in the water around him so he could be surrounded by money in a roof top swimming pool. That is exactly what he did. I found him while he was drying the money out…. He was happy with himself. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4190.jpg There was quite a bit of money. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4191.jpg And that is how some of us spent their last night in Panama City. It was quite an effort by Ty, Jill and Charlie, but the best was yet to come. Here, my friends, is the Money Shot. Pun intended. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4189.jpg The next morning started off a bit slower then intended, which was slightly intended in the first place, as we never intend to get on the road as early as initially intended. So maybe it was intended. Tom bought a spare helmet for his bike for the next 6 months. Anna would be slated for the first use of the helmet. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4193.jpg Anna is getting on the boat and going to Cartegena with all of us bikers at the same time. So, we moved some shit around, tossed her on the back of Tom’s bike and took off. Along with Anna we also encountered the same Dutch girls that we first met in Nicaragua, and then again in Bocas del Toro. They ended up with helmets and all 10 of us hopped on 6 motorcycles and took off for the Panama Canal. For after all, you can’t NOT go to the Panama Canal when you are in Panama City; that would be a joke! And so we went to the Panama Canal. These photos are for you Dad! We first arrived at the Panama Canal and parked the bikes. Here is a shot of the visitor center. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4195.jpg Once inside the visitors center there is a museum to check out, a documentary video to check out, and an observation tower to see the locks from. We were all in a rush, as we left the hotel later than initially planned, and needed to meet our boat at around 1pm. In our rush, we didn’t have time for the video or the museum, but we made sure to make our way to the observation deck to get a good view of the locks. No boats were passing through while we were there, but you got a good idea of how the system worked. In the morning, the boats come in from the Pacific and exit out into the Atlantic. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4196.jpg In the afternoon, the reverse happens and boats enter the Canal from the Atlantic and exit into the Pacific. It’s quite the enterprise when viewed in person. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4200.jpg Look Dad, I even took a shower, wore a clean shirt, clean pants, and combed my hair! (I have more than just this one) http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4201.jpg Next up was a group shot of all the guys that have ridden their motorcycles all the way here. Only Andy did not ride from the United States. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4211.jpg We snagged a photo of Tom and Anna as well. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4214.jpg Tom and I got the necessary shot of the two of us. Tom didn’t comb his hair… http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4215.jpg The Dutch girls got in on the photo shoot as well. Though there is more of that to come. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4218.jpg Another self portrait http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4221.jpg Kim and Roberto showed up at the Canal just a short while after the rest of us, and I was able to snag this parting shot. Kim isn’t coming along on the boat ride, and instead opted to stick close to Roberto until his scheduled flight home on Aug 5th. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4229.jpg When we got back out to the parking lot, we met another guy on a motorcycle from Argentina. He rode a Honda Transalp. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4231.jpg A group shot of the Ten of us that rode to the Panama Canal. This also served as our time to say our goodbyes to anyone not heading south from Panama to Colombia, namely Patrick. Damn it. Patrick is a cool dude. I know you’re reading this Patrick. You’re cool. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4234.jpg Then came the obligatory bike and bikini shot. The Dutchie’s (as they have been known) bought helmets at the mall in preparation for a motorcycle ride. I agreed to buy one of them, $30, (I’ve been meaning to buy one for a while now) if they would hop on my motorcycle in their bikinis. For all of you guys at home, not currently on motorcycles traveling, these photos are for you. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4237.jpg The lighting wasn’t that great, and the photo shoot location a bit rushed, but these will have to suffice. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4238.jpg Someone suggested a pose, this was as good as it got. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4239.jpg And there you have it, girls on bikes! You’re welcome guys. (Send me a private message & you’ll receive the other photos…..) … … … It wasn’t too long before we left the Canal and headed out on the wrong road headed for Carti, the location where we would find the Stahlratte waiting in the harbor to winch our bikes onto the boat. Well we eventually found our way onto the right road and in less time than expected we found our way to the boat dock, and spied this about 100 meters away. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4242.jpg It wasn’t long before a dinghy was dispatched and started taking people out to the boat. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4240.jpg Ludwig the Captain arrived and there began the start of our crazy boat hysterics. We were in for a good time. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4243.jpg In no time at all, we were all on the boat, and headed out to anchor. We don’t even know what to expect. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4245.jpg And there began our Trans Caribbean sailboat ride. What happened DURING is yet to come. Stay tuned. If you’re lucky it’ll be up in a couple days. --Alex |
Thumb Cartegena Colombia! Adios America Central, Bienvenidos a Suramerica.
So we left Panama, and got on board a 100+ foot steel sailboat, headed for the open seas to cross with our motorcycles to Colombia. Awesome.
Look at me everyone! I’m on a boat! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4250.jpg What’s up Tom? You’re on a boat too? Awesome. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4258.jpg The boat is basically three levels. The bottom deck which serves as the main sleeping quarters, the main deck which serves as a hang out spot, swimming platform, and napping area, and the top deck which held the main table where our meals were served. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4259.jpg The crow’s nest served as the highest point on the boat. I dutifully climbed it to take a look. Capitan Ludwig says it is 20 meters. That sounds about right. So. I jumped. Andy has the video as proof. That comes later. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4264.jpg Our first night on the boat served as a good welcoming to the yachting lifestyle and we all slept well on board the boat. The second day served as a day to pick up the rest of the passengers that would be sharing the voyage to Colombia. There were quite a few of them. We were 25 in total including 4 crew members, from 10 different countries. Sweden, Denmark, Austria, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, USA, France, Spain, and Colombia. After we collected all of the passengers, it was on to the next spot where we hung out for the day, snorkeled, swam, drank beer, rum, rum+coke, rum+tang, and rumpunch. Lots of rum. Oh, and we smoked some of Andy’s cigars. Thanks Andy! You guys remember Jill right? You’ll see Ty again later. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4265.jpg I found the Hat and Sunglasses on the boat. I was able to negotiate keeping the hat, but not the sunglasses. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4269.jpg Anna and Tom were relaxing as well. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4279.jpg Anna smokes a mean cigar. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4284.jpg All the while, the pelicans are scoping out the scene, looking for more fish to snag. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4285.jpg It wasn’t long before most of the men were shirtless, and most of the women were in bathing suit tops. It was hot on the top deck. Ty followed suit of Capitan Ludwig and whipped out his man speedo http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4289.jpg The Capitan was already ahead of him. Meet his daily attire. No matter where he was, he wore the same bottoms. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4291.jpg We had a barbeque dinner on a small island beach that night, and everyone went to bed mostly drunk, it was a good thing that we didn’t have to move very far the next day. Lots of people were hung over. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4297.jpg It was a hot day the next day as well. Ludwig was in good form. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4300.jpg The rest of that day consisted of a whole lot of hanging around. A party was brewing, and the storm (drunken passengers) was on the horizon. What would happen? Well, beers would be drunk, but nothing happened until after our excellent dinner of Lobster! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4301.jpg It started off mildly, and Anna wasn’t full of enough liquid courage to dance yet, though she did get on the table. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4306.jpg Everyone was only slightly off kilter at this point, and Anna was a bit early. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4307.jpg THEN! All of a sudden, we had two men on the table, and the Aussie, and the American led the show! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4309.jpg When Charlie stepped down, Ty took over the reins. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4311.jpg Well Charlie hadn’t had enough yet damn it and he was determined for more. So he stripper danced the table while Ty got caught in the pole. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4314.jpg Have you had a look at Tom in that photo above? He’s LOVING IT! What next!? Charlie! Charlie! You fiend! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4315.jpg You might ask yourself what is going on. Needless to say, it is confusing. However, I will explain. Charlie is simply the precursor, and is getting the party started. Why aren’t the ladies on the table? Well. Charlie made that happen. But not until he showed them PERSONALLY what he wanted to see. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4316.jpg That’s right Charissa, work that pole. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4318.jpg HARDER!!! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4319.jpg Can we please, PLEASE have a round of Applause for Charlie, the amazing Australian who effectively pulled not one, nor two, but SEVEN women onto the table? Well done Charlie! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4335.jpg Keep in mind, he’s still showing them what he wants to see. But he, nor anyone else for that matter, was so lucky. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4335.jpg As time progressed, things became a bit more toned down, and Andy entered the scenes with a new cigar. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4339.jpg But Floyd (shirtless in center) picked up the pace again and a conga line ensued. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4346.jpg The most relaxed of us all took it easy that night. (Good thing too as the next day and a half called for 30 hours of nonstop sailing…) Meet Martin and Line (Lee-Neh) http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4347.jpg ........ story to be continued. |
story continued...
Every night onboard the boat we witnessed lightning storms in the distance. It only took about 20 minutes, but I finally snagged this shot.
http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4373.jpg Oh shit! 20 minutes of spazzing out and snagging lightning photos took my eye of the game! What is going on over there? http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4412.jpg Charlie!? Did you make that happen? I think you did. I am sure you did. Well done Charlie. Hat’s off. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4408.jpg Well…. Damn… That was a way to end the night. Time for bed. What time is it anyway? 3 am? Shit. We’re sailing tomorrow? Shit. Fast forward 10 hours, and at 1pm you witness Charlie sleeping off his famous night. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4414.jpg The sails were up, and the boat was moving along at about 8 knots. We were sailing ahead of schedule. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4415.jpg We had bright blue skies and fantastic weather. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4416.jpg Donato, the Spanish, non-English speaking crew member liked to hang out wherever he felt comfortable. It was his turn for watch duty, and he dutifully kept watch. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4417.jpg It was soon thereafter that we sighted land. Colombia loomed in the distance. Colombia…. Here. We. Come. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4420.jpg Georgie Boy was still tired from the night before. He had a wild night as well. George is a British guy ridding a 2008 BMW R1200GS. He bought his bike in Mexico and has spent the last 8 months in Central America. Charlie met him on his way down, and henceforth he’s part of the group if he wants to be. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4421.jpg A new culture, country, and continent awaits us. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4422.jpg The skyline is quite a bit different then what we are used to by now. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4423.jpg As a reminder for us, I snagged this photo. Every line marks a beer purchase, and every rum notation marks a bottle of Rum. I drank Charlie’s Rum, and bought the coke. Thanks Charlie! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4425.jpg Our last breakfast together! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4432.jpg And the first beer in Colombian territory!!! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4433.jpg Why are you so happy Ludwig? Is it because 21 passengers just paid for themselves along with 6 motorcycles and that bag you have has over $11,000 dollars in it? http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4436.jpg OR is it because you are about to see how many ladies you can purchase? http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4437.jpg That’s Ludwig saying, “Ya Man,”. And this is Janina (Ya-Nina) saying she might have a price!!! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4438.jpg Holy Crap. We’ve just had the best 5 days of our journey thus far. Can you believe that we have 6 more months of this Debauchery!!! --Alex |
Your thread is now the second most viewed ride tale on the hubb!
I cant wait for the next chapter :thumbup1: |
Hey guys and gals
Thanks for the post dirtypot, I look forward to posting my next chapter as well, it's going to be a very intense one. Stay tuned!
--Alex |
Hey guys, I've just spent the last few hours reading this entire thread! Keep up the good work, look forward to reading future reports. And most important of all, keep it shiny side up!
|
Son of a Bitch, Round Two.
Hello everyone. Here follows an account of my motorcycle accident that occurred yesterday, August 3rd, 2011. Please read, and if available, offer suggestions or advice. Thanks in advance.
Yesterday Tom and I left Cartegena, Colombia, at around 12pm. We made it about 80 miles north to a city called Barranquilla Right about that the entrance to the city there was a lot of traffic. We needed food, and we needed gas as well, and I saw an opening in the left oncoming traffic lane, (A big opening) SO, I looked behind me, looked ahead of me again, and then took the left turn. Tom was behind me, and behind him, out of NOWHERE came a BIGASS box van/cargo vehicle. (Think 20 tons) Apparently he was moving too fast to slow down for Tom and me, and instead, he saw an opening in the left lane (oncoming traffic) to pass us (on a double yellow line). Well instead of passing us, he just straight up clobbered me while I was crossing the left lane heading to the gas station. I only saw him at the last second and had the time enough to punch the throttle wide open. He hit my motorcycle behind my where me body sits, and impacted squarely on my left pannier case, destroying the pannier rack (the pelican case is alive, and fully protected the motorcycle). My rear end slid out to my right, then the rest of my motorcycle caught up to me, and I went down on my left side and started sliding. While sliding I hit a 17 year old pedestrian who later ended up with 3 stitches in his wrist but nothing more. He walked away from the accident. I too walked away, straight into an ambulance to the hospital. Vehicle insurance is compulsory here in Colombia, and Tom and I bought our insurance on Tuesday the 2nd. The insurance took effect at 12:00am on Wednesday. The accident occurred around 3pm. The motorcycle insurance covers my health. I am hoping that the truck drivers insurance will cover my motorcycle. (I know he has insurance as he presented it to the police at the same time) I was completely fine, EXCEPT My motorcycle landed very hard on my left leg and pinched/compressed it between the pavement, and fractured my left fibula just above my ankle. I was taken to the hospital where x-rays were taken, and I was shown the diagnosis describing my fracture. I had two options. Option Number 1: Either a cast for 6 weeks, resulting in immobilization of my ankle and foot, resulting in the necessity of physical therapy after my ankle bones and muscles atrophied for a month and a half. OR Option Number 2: Receive a small’ish incision under which would be placed a plate with screws to correct the break in my leg and help me heal in 3 weeks. I would maintain mobilization, and it would further reduce the need for physical therapy. That was yesterday. This morning (August 4th, 2011) I received a healthy leg swabbing, and an injection into my back between my vertebrae (Similar to an Epidural I believe) which numbed me from just above the waist, all the way to my toes. When I could feel no pain nor move my legs, I had a 5inch or so incision cut into the left side of my left leg just above my ankle. Soon thereafter, a plate was inserted, and connected via 8 (EIGHT, f’ing) screws to my fibula, securely supporting the break. I was then stitched back together with 11 stitches, x-rayed again to confirm success, and then dismissed with Tom to go to the hotel room that he secured. Like I said, Tom and I bought obligatory motorcycle insurance on Tuesday August 3rd , yesterday. The accident happened 32 hours later. Today, I left the hospital not having paid a dime. Also, before my treatment, the police officer told me straight to my face, regardless of my insurance, that Colombia has a common health insurance policy and that no matter what, that I shouldn’t pay a cent. It didn’t come to that however, and gratefully my insurance wasn’t a problem. The last thing to see is how much I can get from the truck drivers insurance to help me replace side case racks, side cases, and top case. Currently the police are hashing it out, confirming damage inquiries with the insurance adjuster of the at fault party. The police officers (there are 3 (?) of them, 2 in their late 20’s/early 30’s, and one who’s 40’ish) took Tom’s account of the story, and my account, and stood nodding as I recounted my story, confirming after that what I said must be the truth, and that the truck driver was being less than honest. (The truck driver claimed to be next to Tom when I turned left. Tom HEARTILY denied that) An account of the accident, please keep in mind the rules of the road are not necessarily the same here in Colombia as they might be where you live. I am not an expert either. We believe that the truck driver never slowed down when he came up behind Tom and I. (I lead in front of Tom). As there was ample space on our left side (against oncoming traffic, though a double yellow line) we believe that the truck driver saw that as opportunity to maintain velocity and also pass us as well. Unfortunately for me, he never left his lane (the one we three we traveling in) until the precise moment that I made a left hand turn into the available gas station lot. As there was ample free space and no oncoming traffic, I used the opportunity to slow down in the opposing lane of traffic before entering the slightly dipped entrance to the gas station. Before taking my left turn, I looked ahead against traffic, behind me, and again ahead against traffic. Then I made my move. I first saw the upcoming, fast moving truck when I was nearly perpendicular to the road at a 90* angle. Upon seeing the truck, I accelerated quickly and was able to move my position forward slightly. The truck then impacted me and the rest is history as written above. I would like to think that there was something that could have happened differently. Of course, I could have waited to turn left, but I saw amply room. I could have not slowed down, but I didn’t want to enter a closed gas station lot at 25mph. I could have looked one last time, but the truck wasn’t coming until I turned. I asked Tom, who was directly behind me less than 20 ft in the opposite lane position what happened from his point of view. I was leading in dense traffic in the left hand lane position. Tom was behind me in the right hand lane position. He told me. “I saw you make a turn for the gas station, and just as I went to follow you a truck appeared to my left, moving rapidly. The truck obscured my view, and I only heard the sound of the crash. But, that truck must have been moving very rapidly in comparison to the rest of traffic or it would never have been able to accelerate into you as fast as it did, nor would it have appeared in my field of vision as quickly.” It was Tom’s observation that the truck must have been moving rapidly in consideration of an attempt to pass us. It was then that I turned and was clobbered. Having written all of this, please know that I am fine. Yes I have a plate and screws in my leg, but I am alive and well, and have no plans on stopping my journey. My pannier racks are toast, and top case a write off, but my motorcycle is just as it was and is in ride-able condition as proved by the police officer that loved every minute of his ride to the police station on a bike with 450cc’s more than his standard issue DR200. Yes my girlfriend arrives in Bogota in 17 days. I hope to be there then, and continue traveling south with her to Peru. If anything I’ll be able to have her bring me down some new equipment to replace my battered stuff. So, in hindsight, can anyone offer me legitimate advice when dealing with Colombian insurance agents, police men or other officials? My health has been taken care of, and that is not the issue now. I would like to see if I can get any sort of settlement to at least help cover some of the cost of replacing my motorcycle luggage as every cent helps, and I believe firmly that the accident was not my fault. Also, if anyone has some decent suggestions on how to go about it, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Also, I’m thinking about replacement panniers for Kristi to bring down. What’s on the menu? Forever onward! http://d26ya5yqg8yyvs.cloudfront.net/friday.gif http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4472.jpg --Alex |
Nice one
nice blog, good photos... noticed a lot of hot girls in there for good measure.. i like.
Seán Honda Vs The World | Alaska to Argentina |
Lucky bugger!
Lucky in the sense it could have been a lot, lot worse - any news of if the other driver's insurance is going to cover your damage costs? 3 weeks out of action? Does this mean we'll be getting less photos of all these lovely ladies you meet on your travels?? Hope you heal quick - keep us updated!! bier |
Damn! Bad luck followed instantly by good. Close call and I'm glad you're both fine.
No advice for you I'm afraid - never had a crash while abroad. Good luck though, and I suspect things will be fine if the Police are backing your version of events. |
Well, to catch up everyone! We’re in Barranquilla! And I have a broken leg! And here is how it all happened!
We arrived in the Cartagena, Colombia port on Saturday, July 30th. And that night was spent finding a hostel, and going to bed. It was well deserved. There were about 20 passengers that got off the boat, and we all stayed in one of 4 different hostels. It would prove to be a good group. The next day, Sunday the 31st, was spent lazing about the city. I had spoken with Tom and we were dead set on getting parts for our motorcycles, but being as it was a Sunday, we put very little effort into it. Chains, sprockets, and tires can wait till Monday. And they did. Sunday night was a good night and we all had a good time. Nothing special in comparison to the boat ride, but we can’t keep that kind of behavior going all the time! Monday would prove to be our biggest day. Our motorcycles had been onboard the Stahlratte ever since we pulled into port. The immigration/customs office doesn’t operate past mid day on Saturday, or at all on Sunday from what we were told, and thus we had to wait until Monday to take them off the boat to import them. We arrived at the dock at 8:30 and within minutes the Stahlratte was winching bikes off the boat, into their small hard bottomed dinghy, and cruising them across the bay, headed to the docks edge. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4449.jpg It didn’t take long for the dinghy to arrive. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4450.jpg And when it did, we sucked that little boat up against the dock… http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4451.jpg And as many as 6 of us would grab as much bike as we could, and then, physically haul the bikes onto dry land. It was quite the effort and display of man power. Here you can see Charlie’s bike being offended by the crowd favorite, Floyd, our French crew member! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4452.jpg Andy’s bike would not be forgotten. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4453.jpg And George preferred to do the honors himself! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4455.jpg Well, after the bikes were on shore, there was little more to do then import them over at the customs shack. Ha… Right… Cartagena is a large port for transportation and we weren’t the only ones with this in mind. So Manfred, the German shipping agent and friend of Ludwig was there to help up out. Soon, we learned that the systems were down, the inspection agent needed to be called, we would have to wait until after our bikes were inspected to leave, but of course we’d have to come back around 4-5pm when the “system” had time to get us in the “system”. Well, that’s fine. So… We waited, and waited, and waited a little more. Like normal. I’m used to it. Most of the time. This time we waited a LOT. BUT. Hell, we’re on a new continent, I can handle waiting a bit longer if this is what it takes to get to South America. I’m game. And thus our motorcycles were inspected, and found to have mismatched papers/vin numbers, which would need to be changed. Awesome. Oh well, see you back at 4:30 then Manfred? Ok. And so Tom and I took off in search of parts. Front and rear tire, front and rear sprocket, and chain for Tom. Rear tire and chain for Alex. We can do this. Easy. Did I mention that the Colombian police force uses the DR650 and one of its clones as one of their preferred methods of transportation? http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4460.jpg Check out the Suzuki Freeway, or at least that is what we think they keep calling it. It is the sport touring version of the venerable Dr650 and the cop bike of choice. The motor is the same. Exactly the same according to the mechanic. The difference? The oil cooler is a bit larger. The gas tank is standard at nearly 5 gallons. The instrument cluster is electronic, the fairings of course are different, and MOST notably, it has two carburetors for the single piston! I want one! Well, we found our parts for the motorcycle. Tom bought a Pirelli MT70 front and MT90 rear tire, as well as an OEM front and rear sprocket/chain set for his bike. He’s paying a hefty price, but it comes with the knowledge that the stuff is legit. No one wants a CRAPPY chain on their bike. Like what I have! I bought a DID chain for $35, along with a front and rear Pirelli MT90 tires. Kristi doesn’t know it yet, but she’s bringing down a stock DR650 chain that has only 4k miles on it. That will replace my ghetto chain, along with new sprockets sometime in the future. Tom and I then made plans to have our bikes serviced at the dealership, as well as have all of our parts installed professionally. The biggest hassle would be Tom’s chain as the OEM chain has no master link. Letting the mechanic pull the swing arm to install the chain sounded like an easier option for Tom. Plus, they’re not going to pinch our tubes when they install our tires. The service was cheap and we willingly paid it. I would end up paying $45 for a preventive maintenance program with my rear tire and chain installed. Tom ended up paying $65 for the same maintenance but with both tires, both sprockets, and OEM chain installed. We were pleased. By the time we arrived at the Suzuki dealership and found the parts, and put them aside, it was time to go back to the customs office to see about collecting our motorcycles. Wait a bit here, wait a bit there, wait a bit more over here, and presto. We now have bikes, with no insurance (which is required by law) and we can’t buy it until the next morning because the insurance offices are all closed. Oh well. So we took the bikes back to our hostels, parked them up good, and went for a night on the town. Monday night did well, but had no photos to show for it! The next morning, Tom and I took off in search of insurance. An hour and $45 later, we had 4 months of insurance (the smallest amount sold) in our pockets and motorcycles to deliver to the Suzuki mechanic. The day before, the mechanic had said that if we delivered the bikes first thing in the morning, he would have them done by 3pm that same day. When we arrived, he changed that estimate to 11am the next morning. Whatever, sounds fine. We saw it coming anyway. We then left the Suzuki Dealership , and our bikes looked like this. We would pick them up after the installation of our parts and pieces, as well as a general maintenance. Awesome. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4463.jpg Well here our story unfolds a bit. We’ve been traveling with Charlie, Andy, Jill and Ty, as well as Anna for the past 8 days or so, and now, we’re planning on parting ways. Well, we didn’t plan it initially, but that’s what happened. The other guys wanted to get out of Cartagena and into the cooler temps of the mountains nearby. That sounded great to Tom and I, and we were planning it, UNTIL we found a Suzuki dealership with a qualified mechanic, all the parts we needed, and the time to put them on for us. We would just have to wait a day longer. And so we did. Charlie, Andy, Ty and Jill took off from Cartagena on Tuesday afternoon, the same day we dropped our motorcycles off for service. The next day we collected out bikes. And we were excited to have them back. And we were happy to ride them away from the dealership. Though we were not happy to find that they had siphoned half our gas tanks (we delivered them with 3 miles on the tank). We looked at the man, and he looked at us back. He was a good mechanic, sure, but he was a *****. We left without parting words. That was the beginning. Back to the hostel, load our crap, check things twice, and get out of town. Then, get lost getting out of town. Talk to Tom, look at the map, make decisions, keep going. We’re in a new land, and a new continent. The scale of things here in South America is simply much larger. Distances on maps are no longer expressed in 5-10 minutes, but 45min-1hr. They don’t read 5km, they read 50km. We’ll have to pay attention to that. And so we found ourselves heading out of town, northward it would seem, headed to an intersection 80 miles away that would lead us east and into the mountains. Or so we thought. Our day had a little more in store for us then planned…. As you know, I would get clobbered, creamed, and slightly broken by a passing truck, and shortly thereafter would pose for this photo. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...rtagena012.jpg I was walking/hopping at that point. That would be the best I moved for a few days. I hopped in and went for a ride. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4464.jpg Damn. This wasn’t planned. Shortly, I was sitting in a hospital, all my crap everywhere. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4469.jpg With a leg/foot/ankle that I had earlier told Tom, “I think is broken”. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4471.jpg Soon, a lady was taking blood samples. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4478.jpg And Tom arrived, having taken care of my motorcycle for me. It still ran too. The police chief had been tossing mini wheelies on it all the way to the police station with Tom in tow. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4474.jpg Then the police gave me a breathalyzer test to make sure I hadn’t been drinking. I rang up a clear .000, of course. Though it amused me that it was already 3 hours past the accident! Haha. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4482.jpg Soon, the ladies, all mid 20’s (nurses?) were gathered around. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4483.jpg The comments then began, and rang loud and clear. Holy crap he’s tall. He’s like 2 meters. Where is he from? Does he understand Spanish? What happened? Wow. Hmm.. Bzzz, buzz, hmmmm,haaa. Well that is what was audible part at least. The giggles, laughter and girly antics soon followed from behind a curtain. I must have looked really white to them, or just so different that they couldn’t possibly fathom that I understand Spanish. For I am sure they wouldn’t have said what follows if they thought I would understand, and thus it was very funny to hear them say from behind the curtain, quite loudly, the following: Girl number one, “He doesn’t even fit in the bed. Did you see the size of him?” Girls one through six, “Hehehe, giggle giggle giggle, hehehehehehe!” Random girl, “Can you imagine the size of him? He probably doesn’t fit anywhere else!” Girls one through six, and at least 5 other patients, “Giggle giggle, laugh, gag, choke, gasp, etc.” Alex from behind the curtain, “La cosa que es mejor es que puedo hablar espanol.” (Or, “The thing that is better, is that I can speak Spanish”.) Well, that was a funny site to behold, as I witnessed dust trails erupt from the ground as 6 pairs of feet took off into the distance like the Roadrunner from cartoons. Damn, I must have embarrassed them! Well, while I was there in the hospital, receiving x-rays, and talking with other people, and telling them what happened, I met 4 other motorcycle crash victims. One hit a taxi, his leg looked like it could turn out like mine. Another hit a car, and fractured his arm. A third fractured his arm as well. And the 4th, well, he took a lane splitting too close and tagged a mirror, and he wasn’t wearing gloves. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4487.jpg Finally, they took me to a room to spend the night. At this point though, I hadn’t eaten or drank any water since 9am. I was damn hungry and thirsty, and it was about 9pm already. The hospital doesn’t have a cafeteria, so people set up shop nearby and sell food. When the doctor asked me if he could do anything for me before he let me sleep, I told him I needed 2 meals, a coke, and 1 liter of water. He thought hard, and told me not to worry. An orderly arrived, inside of 20 minutes with my food, I gave her money, and she came back with a fruity bubbly drink that was AWESOME, and 2 bottles of water. SUCCESS. Steak, fries, soda, and water. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4488.jpg I was a happy son of a gun right about then. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4489.jpg I even had a T.V. to watch while stuffing face! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4494.jpg And my leg was in a cast for protection for the night. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4492.jpg And then… I went to bed, and at 4am was woken up to take a shower. And then went to bed again. And then at 6am was woken up. This time, for SURGERY! Ahah! This would be the first time in my life going under the knife like this. Only the third time I’d ever had stitches. The first break of any bone, and surely the most dramatic experience in the hospital yet. Except that I was doing wheelies in the wheel chair, and spinning 360’s in the hallway! Soon after taking off all my clothes and putting on a one size fits all gown that barely made it to my knees, I was escorted to the operating room. I was consulted by a technician or nurse or doctor (not sure of his title) and was recounted my history of events and told what I could expect to happen. I would receive a shot in my back to numb me from the waist down. I would then have an incision, a plate, some screws, some stitches, and then I would be finished. Ok? Yea. Um. Ok. And so it began, and I watched it all from the reflection of the mounting bracket of the swiveling ceiling light that lit up the whole operation. I didn’t “feel” the pain of the first incision, but I saw the knife move. I didn’t “feel” the scraping of the tool used to definitively separate my skin/muscle tissue from the bone, but I felt the vibration. I didn’t “feel” the cauterization of the heating element that sealed off my bleeding vessels, but I smelled it. And I couldn’t “feel” the holes being drilled through the plaque and into my fibula, but I could hear the drill. The screws gave me no pain, and I felt none of the 8, but each insistent torque of the hand held screwdriver gave away their purpose. And finally, I felt not a single stictch, but all 11 of them pulled snuggly as they were tied. The doctor stood up, and pronounced affectionately that I was done! 8 screws and 11 stitches, my son, you’ll be good in no time! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4490.jpg Salud! --Alex |
Leg Aftermath
And for those who have been waiting. My foot makes it appearance!
So, after 2 full days in the same bandaging, I decided to hit the pharmacy, buy some sterile gauze and wrapping. It was a hassle getting there, but we arrived (Tom, my faithful wheelchair pusher came with) and I also ordered myself some Muletas. (Crutches, cause I’m gonna need them). Apparently crutches that support 6’6”ers aren’t readily available. However, I paid for some, and I can pick them up on Monday. Awesome. Back then we went to the hotel, on the way, swinging buy a DODGY section of town in search of earbud headphones. I suppose we should have told the taxi driver that we didn’t need want just any pair. (Tom likes his music and the $1.50 set he ended up with aren’t going to cut it). Back at the hotel we didn’t do a lot of much until I got off my ass, stopped surfing the web (great Wifi in the room) and whipped out the goods I had bought earlier. I laid them out in preparation, and then started removing my old bandages. They looked like this… Ugh. Leakage. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4501.jpg A little deeper and it didn’t look so gnarly. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4503.jpg I do have some decent bruising though. Niiiiiice. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4506.jpg Hmmm. The incision is longer then I remember. I didn’t get a look at it before though… http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4508.jpg Fully removing the gauze caused a bit of pain for sure… Like peeling a scab. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4509.jpg Ahhhh, the full frontal! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4510.jpg A little closer. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4514.jpg Next to a pack of Cigarettes for size comparison. I’m guessing about 5 inches? 12.5cm? http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4517.jpg And, after application of some Neosporin, brand new sterile cotton, and a clean new wrap, it went in a clean sock. Presto. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4519.jpg I was well pleased with how well the stitching appeared in comparison to the incision. When the doctor told me I had only received 11 stitches, I was worried that there might be some gaps between the stitches that were significant enough to promote a less than satisfactory healing process. I was happy to see that I worried in vain. Hopefully the bone heals well! --Alex |
Gnarly!
Make sure you do as much physio as you can. I didn't when I had a bad accident, also involving my ankle. Now ten years later Im paying the price. doh Hope the rest of the continent goes smoother! Chris |
Just read this entire thread from start to finish. Firstly, get well soon, I hope you heal solidly and as painlessly as possible.
Secondly, thanks for taking the time to post such a great series of reports so that we can follow along with your journey. It's great inspiration for one I hope to take off on some day not too far away. Stay safe, Justin. |
And so I wait... (Like I have much else to do!)
Firstly:
Dirtypot: I didn´t break my ankle, just my fibula. All will be well! I too hope I don´t any more issues like this later in the continent! mr_magicfingers: Thanks for commenting! Get on the road. The time is now! ... ... ... Today, Tom took the highroad and beat feet to Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast. After 5 nights in this hotel room, he was ready to get the hell out of town. The internet in our room has been down, and that means no downloading of films, new music, or just plain old web surfing. He made it long enough. I´ll see him upon his return on Saturday or sooner. He´ll be in touch. The police have been on and off since the accident. Call me at this time and this day said Juan Pablo (the police man). I called him yesterday at noon. He told me he would come later, around 4. He never came. Tom was being patient. He wants to help me get my bike, as I am currently crippled. But it was taking too long for me to even bother asking him to wait. And so Tom packed his things, and on his way out the door, Juan Pablo and company came waltzing in. In muttered, nearly unintelligible spanish I heard the following. Your bike is with the traffic case lawyer. He´s going to meet you here at the hotel at 1pm (30 minutes ago). I (Jaun Pablo) can´t do anything besides wait for him. He´ll talk to you about your bike. You´re probably going to have to wait 2 or 3 more days (I plan on 5... 6...?) It is all up to the traffic case lawyer man. Well Tom was there, and he heard the same thing. I told him to get the hell out of here, I´d see him in 4-5 days. If he was lucky, my bike would be with me when he got back. We fist bumped and he left. The cops gave me their handshakes, and left. I got on the computer for the 100th hour since I arrived. And here I sit. And wait. Photos of my leg to come. Second bandage cleaning is in order. --Alex |
Wow... that photo of the guy who had no gloves.... :eek3:
I've had a couple of funny looks from folks lately because the weather is warm and yet I insist on gloves, boots, fullface and heavy vented jacket. That photo is why. Maybe gloves might not have given him full protection, but the damage would almost certainly be less than that. Yuck! |
Gloves, and don´t forget the pants
The right butt cheeck of my Rev´it Sand riding pants is torn up a bit. That is all. With normal jeans on I would have ripped them apart after 30ft of sliding.
The guy should have been wearing gloves, AND, should´ve looked twice and not lane split. Good on you for wearing your gear. --Alex |
Anything we can do to ease the boredom?
|
Easing boredom
Hmmm... Easy ways to ease the boredom. I think that I could be out of luck.
Unless you can find a nice set of panniers that I can bolt on to Happy Trail racks. Then send them to my parents address just north of Seattle, Wa to be picked up and delivered by my gf. For free... Hahahahahaha. All by August 20th, 2011. ............. --Alex |
Waiting here is easy. If you´re broken.
Damn. It is very fortunate that I am broken, or I´d have a hell of a hard time waiting for these folks to get on the move around here.
Nothing like waiting two days for your traffic case lawyer guy to show up after he said he´d return in an hour. Well, he arrived today and I was summoned to the lobby by the hotel bellhop. I left my airconditioned haven and stepped into the 90 degree sweat house that is the hotel. I met the Lawyer man (Edwin) in the lobby. He told me he was really busy, night and day, night and day. I told him it didn´t matter. Beause, well, it doesn´t. And so we took off with my paperwork (Passport, Licence, Title, Registration, and Insurance, all orgininal btw) and grabbed a taxi to the court house. I paid the 5mil (5,000 pesos) fare, and we hopped out. We walked inside, paid our visit to a man, got 10+ stamps on 6+ pages of paperwork, and left. Back to the hotel we went. When there, he told me he would see me in 2 hours. I needed to be ready with all of my paperwork again. OK. No problem. He´s 20 minutes late. I sit in the sweathouse. Normal. Then, he arrives. And he leaves, with a promise to be back in 1-2 hours. He took with him my Passport, Licence, Title, Registration, and Insurance documents. ALL ORIGINAL. I´m not worried. This guy has been doing his job, slowly, but surely. I also paid him 2/3rds of our agreed price for his services. In total I will pay him 300k pesos. Or. $170. He received 2/3 of it today, along with my documents. He´ll be back. I just don´t know when. Have I mentioned anytime on here that I am also a Canadian citizen? Thanks to my Mom, I also carry a Canadian Passport. Oh, and I have a second license. So, in the event that my stuff never comes back, and my bike disappears... I´ll be ok... Hahahaha. We´ll see how long it takes for him to come back this time! --Alex |
Lawyer man called
And left a message. Everything is on track. Don't worry, I still have your paperwork, it is safe with me.
Then, Mister Laywer Man (His name is Edwin, but I like the title better) showed up to tell me the same thing, as he was afraid that I hadn't gotten his message and that I would be freaking out. Well. I haven't freaked out yet, so why bother now. I told him not to worry, I wasn't worried and that I would see him in the morning. I asked him what time he would arrive. He told me he never knows his daily schedule, as it's part of his job. He's always running from accident to accident. BUT, he'll arrive tomorrow in the morning, Manana en la manana. I told him I would be here waiting. Seems like we will go to get my bike from the lot tomorrow. EXCELLENT. Today, online, I bought myself rear Happy Trail pannier racks, and after much deliberation, panniers as well. Further more, my fiberglass top case is "chinga'd" (F'ed), and so, I bought a Happy Trails Top case as well. Damn. That hurt the cash stash. It had to be done though. My current racks are completely bent, molded, smashed, cracked, torn and unusable. My pelican cases are beat to shit, and still after 10 days, molded to my bent racks, and likely cracked. And my top case got launched 50 ft and slid across pavement, ripping out my trailer hitch pin lock on the bottom, creating a 3" diameter hole and cracking the seam on one side, and gouging another hole on the other. So, Kristi has the pleasure of not only flying thousands of miles to see her half disabled boyfriend that left her for an epic motorcycle ride 4.75 months ago, but also no gets to tote 3 aluminum boxes down here with her. In exchange, I bought her flight, am paying for the traveling we'll do together, and promise to be nice. I call it an even trade. http://d26ya5yqg8yyvs.cloudfront.net/deal.gif Yea right. Damn. I got something good going on here! Thanks babe! Well, right before the lawyer man arrived, I went downstairs to the restaurant that has been feeding me at least 2 of my three meals a day for the past 9 days. They serve a variety of meals, but I eat the same one every time. It's good. It's cheap. And I'm not one to mess with a good, simple, easy thing. It's called Carne Asada on the menu. The meat is always the same. The rice changes colors from white to brown to yellow. The side dish is either potatoes of some variety, noodles of some variety, or vegetable of some variety. Toss in a bowl of soup at lunch time, and a nice slab of grilled beef, and I am a happy camper. Oh. Don't forget the bagged fruit drink of the day. Mango, Papaya, Guava, Orange. Whatever they got, I get. Oh. And it costs 6,500 pesos. Or. $3.65. They close at 7pm though, and I always get hungry after that. SO, rather then walk across the street to the Chinese/Colombian restaurant, and dodge 6 lanes of traffic on Crutches. I order one for the table, and one to go. EASY. 3 hours or so later, or whenever I feel like it. I open the Styrofoam box, and dig in for round two of the same meal. I love it. This kind of stuff makes me happy. I could not care less that I eat this meal three times a day. It's GOOD. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4565.jpg Be sure to notice the bag of water underneath my bag of juice. The bags of water are 350ml. Or 16 ounces or so. They are 3 for less then $1. I buy them 4 at a time from the lobby. A five liter bag on the other hand is $2.50 at the corner store. The two liter of coke runs less then $1.50 at the corner store. Or $2.5 in the hotel lobby. I don't want, care, or need to bust my ass on crutches to find the deals, so I stay in my home. The Caribbean Gold Hotel. Trying to fix this guy. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4528.jpg Motorcycle photos tomorrow! --Alex |
Tired of no wifi in my room...
It's hot as a witches tit in a brass bra down here and for the past three days I have been wifi-less in my room. It is an instant sweat fest if I leave the room, and the hotel lobby computers register a nice and toasty 85 degrees, with the fans blasting.
SO. I solved my problem. I spent about and hour and 45 minutes disassembling the wireless routers on floors 2 and 3 of this hotel so I could fix my wifi signal. All in the name of getting internet access in my air conditioned room. For the past 3 days I haven't had wifi and have been using the lobby computers. Sweating my ass off. The 3rd floor router is f''ed, I get a great signal, connect, but can't access the web. The second floor router however, is good. But the second floor routers antenna was broken, and hanging off, pointed straight down. So I whipped out my leather man, hopped my crutched ass down the hall, and unscrewed the cover (on hallway surveillance camera) and reset both routers. Then I disassembled the antenna on the floor 2 router, re-assembled it appropriately, super glued it, re-attached it to its base where it had snapped off, and pointed it at an angle directly towards my room and VIOLA mofo's, Alex is in 70 degree heaven ON THE DAMN internet. Thank you very much. I'm a proud cripple. --Alex |
And the game today? Wait more. Oh... OK.
Well. Mr. Lawyer Man came back a couple of days ago (Friday) and told me that we had a couple of problems. Oh we do? Oh... Ok. Well lets hear it. Mr. Lawyer Man: "Your motorcycle is not registered here in Colombia." Me: "Yes, I know that. Of course it is not. Its registered in Alaska" Mr. Lawyer Man: "Well they don't want you to take a vehicle that has been in an accident, outside the country." Me: "Why not? I need to be in Bogota on the 22nd. I need to leave this place." Mr. Lawyer Man: "They don't want you to come back later with grievances." Me: "Ok. Fine. I won't come back. How do we tell them that?" Mr. Lawyer Man: "We'll now we have two options" Me: "Ok. Well. I'm listening." First: We can find a Judicial Policia (Judicial Police Officer), and have him come over, of course you will have to pay him, and have him declare that you have the right to leave. I don't know when he will be available, and I don't know how much he costs. Second: You and the driver of the truck can sign a document that neither of you will try to recover damages from one another, and sign off any right to follow up on the accident with any further issues. You each take responsibility for your own actions. Me: "Well... Ok. What do you think about option two? Do you think there will be a problem getting the other drivers signature? Let's try option two." Mr. Lawyer Man: "I think that will work fine." Well. That was Friday. Saturday and Sunday the parking lot where my motorcycle is closed. Monday is a national holiday. So, I have to wait until Tuesday at the earliest. It would seem that I could possibly get the bike on Tuesday. If I get it on Wednesday, I'll consider myself lucky. And that was Friday. Tom returned on Saturday afternoon, and we've been eating, sleeping, and playing pool down the street with another guy that is at the hotel. (Nicolas, also 24yrs/old.) That was Saturday, and today, Sunday. Tomorrow we'll do more of the same. Tuesday if we're lucky. I'll get my motorcycle! Wooooo.... How. Exciting... Onward? --Alex |
This sounds like an absolutely amazing journey. I am very jealous, I can't wait to get out on the road again myself.
|
Ok now.. Here is the SCHPEAL.
And the game today? Wait more. Oh... OK.
Well. Mr. Lawyer Man came back a couple of days ago (Friday) and told me that we had a couple of problems. Oh we do? Oh... Ok. Well lets hear it. Mr. Lawyer Man: "Your motorcycle is not registered here in Colombia." Me: "Yes, I know that. Of course it is not. Its registered in Alaska" Mr. Lawyer Man: "Well they don't want you to take a vehicle that has been in an accident, outside the country." Me: "Why not? I need to be in Bogota on the 22nd. I need to leave this place." Mr. Lawyer Man: "They don't want you to come back later with grievances." Me: "Ok. Fine. I won't come back. How do we tell them that?" Mr. Lawyer Man: "We'll now we have two options" Me: "Ok. Well. I'm listening." First: We can find a Judicial Policia (Judicial Police Officer), and have him come over, of course you will have to pay him, and have him declare that you have the right to leave. I don't know when he will be available, and I don't know how much he costs. Second: You and the driver of the truck can sign a document that neither of you will try to recover damages from one another, and sign off any right to follow up on the accident with any further issues. You each take responsibility for your own actions. Me: "Well... Ok. What do you think about option two? Do you think there will be a problem getting the other drivers signature? Let's try option two." Mr. Lawyer Man: "I think that will work fine." Well. That was Friday. Saturday and Sunday the parking lot where my motorcycle is closed. Monday is a national holiday. So, I have to wait until Tuesday at the earliest. It would seem that I could possibly get the bike on Tuesday. If I get it on Wednesday, I'll consider myself lucky. And that was Friday. Tom returned on Saturday afternoon, and we've been eating, sleeping, and playing pool down the street with another guy that is at the hotel. (Nicolas, also 24yrs/old.) That was Saturday, and today, Sunday. And Now it's Monday. Tuesday if we're lucky. I'll get my motorcycle! Wooooo.... How. Exciting... Onward? --Alex |
And the SCHPEAL continued..
I got a few emails, and messages, and responses on the ride report. They want to know why I'm having problems getting my bike back.
So, let me enlighten you to a bit of the behind the scenes action. People seem to be worried that I might be getting pulled for a loop by the local Colombians. My motorcycle I got an email from a friend of mine. He thought it would be a good idea to get in touch with the Horizons Unlimited Community inside Colombia. I told him that that sounded like a great Idea. (I post this exact same ride report on Horizons Unlimited (HU) as well. Currently the second most viewed RR "ever" over there! Aaaaaawesome.) So, in less then an hour, my friend sent out a request for some help. The way it works over there, is that you can add your location to your profile, and incorporate yourself into an HU Community, such as Snohomish County (my community at home) Less then an hour after that, I received a response from a HU member in Cartegena. He asked what my situation was. I responded. He told me what he could do. I accepted. I gave the name, mobile number, and office number of my lawyer to the man. He told me he was going to cut to the chase, and figure out my dilemma. He also made it clear that he suspected some fishy stuff was going on, demonstrated a knowledge of the situation, and told me he'd help. I thanked him appropriately. Then I got another email from my first friend. Some other top dogs, big wigs, and important people, are interested to see that I come out in one piece and don't get tossed in the ringer. Things will be ok. So I'll share a poem I wrote a while ok. Why We Ride "Where we are, we hardly know; For all purposes, our map doesn't show; Any more then North, East, South or West; As for us, that may well be the best; We don't mind where the path may go; For us, the path simply flows; On, around, across and down; We simply keep two wheels on the ground; While we travel this tiny world; We see it through a hazy swirl; As the landscapes fly on by; We ask ourselves the simple question, Why?; The answer lays ahead of us; And so we ride on, for we must; Until the day comes when we are done; For then we may know what is to come; When the trip reaches its entirety, we will have been changed entirely." ONWARD!!! --Alex |
Pistol whipped and pissed off!
August 16, 2011
Our night has had a turn of events. Tom was literally held at gun point in our hotel lobby, by three individuals, (two men, one woman), and robbed. Here are the events as they transpired: Tom went to get some water and snack goods in the lobby. He went downstairs with what is basically a $5 bill in his hand. He asked the bellhop guy if he could buy some water (350ml water in a bag). Bellhop guy said they were out of water. Tom could see the water, weird, but ignored it. Tom then just asked for some of the chocolate bars that they have. That was when a man, whom Tom had noticed talking to the bellhop, approached him from behind and with a hand on his back, and a pistol to his gut, told him to come with him as he lead him to the door. Tom instantly said no, and tried to turn around, shoving the guy’s hands away. The guy then got physical and another guy joined in, and they passed the gun to a woman. All the while Tom is looking at the bell hop that is doing nothing. Soon, Tom was knocked down, and the men started throwing kicks and punches, and somewhere in between Tom got Pistol Whipped. Tom was now in fight mode, and was not otherwise injured. Bellhop guy meanwhile was scared out of his mind. Tom didn't budge, and then, in the midst of this outrageous occurrence, manhandled his way to the hand railing of the stairs he had just come down, away from the front door, and started raising HOLY HELL. I heard him yelling from the 3rd floor, but people yell all the time, so I didn't do shit. I didn't even get out off my ass. Why would I? So, Tom just tore his way up the stairs trying to run away, and the other three, discouraged and obviously not prepared to shoot, ran out the door as he was SCREAMING at the top of his lungs. He then ran up the stair and burst in the room with blood on his chest, right arm and neck, missing his shirt because it was ripped off him, and declared to me in no uncertain terms that he was just held up and robbed by gun point. The blood was coming from his head where he was hit with the butt of the revolver. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4581.jpg At this point, I have Tom sitting down, and I'm looking at his head. We are not hurt badly, nor discouraged. Just angry and pissed off at this point. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4582.jpg Just a little blood. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4583.jpg We’re now wondering what the hell happened. WHEN: We heard more yelling from the room. Tom hears these words, “Van para Argentina”. (They are going to Argentina). We get apprehensive. It turns out it is the police who were running throughout the hotel, in force (I saw at least 6, all uniformed the same). However, to find out it’s the police, I have to open our door. I do so with Tom’s power assisted knife in my hand, wide open, with serrations gleaming. Then I see the police, and stash the knife. I notified them that Tom is ok. The bellhop was with the police, VERY visibly shaken, and when he saw Tom, he started to cry, VERY visibly relieved. They hugged, it was good. The police told us to close and lock our doors. All of the hotel staff (three men including the bellhop) were very distraught. We closed and locked our door. Tom begins to relax. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4584.jpg And so we sat. And wide awake, decided to watch an episode of "Making the Cut" on my comp. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4586.jpg Then we went to bed (3am). And that, my good people, was last night.http://d26ya5yqg8yyvs.cloudfront.net/deal.gif Onward!!!!! --Alex P.s. On the bright side, the call out to the HU community garnered a man that lit a fire under the ass of my traffic lawyer. We got things signed, copied, printed, stamped, and signed again. I should get my bike tomorrow morning. |
Whoop whoop! You two really are living the dream huh?
Nice to have some scary tales to tell the Grandkids. Just keep getting lucky please, I'm enjoying the story! :) |
Bike...
Well, obviously I didn't get my bike yesterday. And I was hoping to get it today. And I didn't. BUT.
Well today was a good day.... I learned that I will get my bike Tomorrow. (I HOPE) As it turns out, at least from my point of view, my traffic lawyer man wasn't being a slow pain in the ass. He was really just going with the crappy flow of bullshit that slides downhill in the district attorneys office. Today I met a man, from the US, originally from Puerto Rico, living part time in Barranquilla. He spoke better English then some of my American friends. He told me, last year when he was involved in an accident, it took HIM 2.5 weeks to get his own car back. And that is with perfect spanish. So... Also, I over heard my traffic lawyer man bitching with other lawyers about how much corruption there is in the Barranquilla traffic office as compared to the Cartegena, Medellin, Bogota, and Cali offices. They all agreed and said they hated this shit. So. I got my stuff signed. I can pick my motorcycle up tomorrow. I'm ready. Kristi arrives in Bogota on the 22nd. Monday at 8pm'ish. I want to be there by Sunday. Here's hoping that the next 1050km (650 miles) isn't too rough on me. --Alex |
Brilliant, its great to follow your adventures.. hope you get you bike
Ride safe Geordie aka Will |
And, we’re on the road.
On Thursday August 18th, at 12pm, we got the hell out of Barranquilla, and hit the road for Bogota. Bogota on the map doesn’t seem too far away. But, if you look close, and read it carefully, it’s easy to see that we had 640’ish miles to go before we would reach the capital city of Colombia. Well, we have 4 days to do it, and from what we’ve heard, we’ll need nearly all of it.
Here is a parting shot from where Tom got beat up and survived his pistol whipping. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4591.jpg Thursday went well, and around 6pm we had ridden 175 miles. The temperature hovered around 94 degrees, and maxed out at 98 (37c). We spent much of our time on the road, hovering around 40mph, dealing with semi trucks passing busses, and impatient cars passing mini motos. (The 125cc variety). On the way we cruised through farm land and forests, but it never cooled down. A shot from the road. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4593.jpg It was easy to see that Tom was happy to have left behind his bad thoughts (being mugged didn’t help) and I was glad to give him the lead. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4594.jpg Charlie, Andy, Ty and Jill had all agreed, Bogota might look close on the map, and it may only be 650miles, but it’ll be the longest road you’ve ridden yet. We we’re beginning to see why. Just as it started to rain, we found ourselves getting a little bit hungry, so we stopped, and across the street was the hotel/hospedaje, that would be our home for the night. I parked my spectacle of a motorcycle and we had some food. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4595.jpg The room we slept in had two queen sized beds, a bathroom and a TV. The price? 30mil Pesos. (30,000 pesos) or, $16.85 for the both of us. Considering that we were sharing 55mil in our Hotel in Barranquilla, we we’re happier then could be. That night, the clouds opened up, and the rain came down like we haven’t seen in months. There was so much lightening that we could walk across the street later that evening to the restaurant without our flashlights. We had the same meal, and went back to watch some episodes of Human Planet on my computer, courtesy of the earned wifi in Barranquilla. The next day Friday the 18th, we left the hotel at a bright and early 10am. We were tired as hell, and neither of us slept particularly well. But we hit the road as the temp hit 85, and were blazing out trail down the highway when suddenly only 20miles in; my motor began to cut out, and without much ado, simply shut down. WHAT THE HELL. Of course, I am behind Tom, and while wearing our earplugs, even honking my horn a dozen times will do nothing. I honked anyway, and he kept going as I pulled to the side of the road. SHIT. As I pulled over, I couldn’t decide what my problem was. Why had my bike shut down? Was I experiencing a busted stator pickup like Tom had in Panama? Did I have a short somewhere? Was I out of fuel? Did I have spark? Was my air filter blocked? What the HELL happened. As I sat there, trying to start my motorcycle again, I kept wondering what I was dealing with. Well, in less than 5 minutes, Tom had turned around and came back to find me, on the side of the road with a dead bike, with Bogota 445 long and twisty mountainous miles ahead of us. And so we started. I took off my top case off my crutches, tank bag, panniers, side covers, seat and gas tank. Normally, it wouldn’t be necessary to remove the panniers to remove the side covers. However, after my latest meeting with a truck, my pannier frames are so compressed that removing the side covers necessitates removing the panniers, and also loosening a pannier frame bolt. What a pain in the ass. Check out my right side pannier frame. It’s trashed. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4596.jpg And if that doesn’t work, another view, http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4597.jpg I kindly asked Tom to take some pictures, and he obliged. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4600.jpg Well. Lets first check fuel. Yes. I have fuel. I had filled up that morning, and only had 20 miles on the tank. Ok, fuel is good. Let’s check the spark and spark plugs. (Requires removal of tank, which requires removal of seat, which requires removal of side covers, which now requires removal of panniers and pannier frames) OK. Bust out the tool kit, and get to work. Check the spark plugs. Ugh. They look like hell. How many miles are on these things? 18.5k? Damn. Check for spark. I have spark, but it looks weak. Well, now is as good a time as any to change them, glad I bought those spares 6k miles ago in Cuernavaca, Mexico when I bought that Pirelli MT60. Only, where did I put them? Not long after looking, I found them, installed them, and with the little gas left in the carb, instantly fired up the bike. Tom let out a whoop, and I visibly smiled. Damn. I’m glad it was that easy! Ha. Haha. HAHA. HAHAHAHAHAHAH! If ONLY. Not 10 minutes later when Tom and I had my bike fully assembled, I turned the key, and hit the starter. Chug, chug, chug, chug. Nothing. WHAT?! I have fuel, I have air, and I JUST had spark. Damn. Round two, here we come. This time Tom whipped out his tools, and we double teamed the bike. Minutes later I was checking the spark again. No spark! Why!? What happened? We spent a few minutes staring at it, and we couldn’t figure it out. Damn…. We’ve been here for nearly 1hr45min. This sucks. It continued sucking for about 2 more minutes when a fellow motorcyclist pulled up and began asking questions. We told him what had happened, and he told us that where we were was not a particularly good place to be. The drug traffickers grow their stuff up there in those hills he said, as he pointed to the mountains. I’ll call the police and let them know that you’re here, ok? Yea. Ok. Thanks… Now, it’s sucking just a little more than it did 2 minutes prior. Well, two minutes later a man in a flat bed cargo truck stopped on our side of the road, and with no hesitation, backed his truck to within 25 feet of our motorcycles. Tom and I looked at each other, a little wary. Soon, the man walked over, and who was he? No other then the same man we had met the night before at our hotel. He had been checking out our motorcycles, and we chatted for 5 minutes or so before going to eat. And here he was again. I always knew it didn’t hurt to make friends! This guys’ name is Wilson, and I have no photos of him. He is a driver for a local industrial mechanic company, and he does whatever they need him to. At this time, he was returning from Barranquilla to Baccuramanga, after having delivered a 2 ton transmission for a machine. His truck was empty, he had space in his cab, his fuel was paid for by his company, his schedule was flexible, and he was offering to take my bike to Aquas Chicas where there are tons of motorcycle shops, where they could certainly fix my problem. Wow. Thanks Wilson! That sounds great! And so the three of us loaded my bike into his truck, tied it up, and took off. Tom had the pleasure of following the truck at a grand max speed of what MIGHT have been 50mph the entire time. Rest assured, he achieved fantastic gas mileage. On the way I bought Wilson a coke from street vendor, and after a gas stop we arrived at our destination. Wilson stopped, asked for directions, and 5 minutes later we were pulled up in front of a Suzuki Dealership. Hot Damn! Unloaded, and problem explained, Tom set off in search of food. I had previously offered to buy Wilson lunch, and after much protesting, he followed Tom for his meal. I sat with a bunch of very interested Colombians as we diagnosed my bike. At least there was a police DR650 in the shop at the same time. So they had SEEN my bike before, which is always excellent news. In less than 5 minutes, I was looking the fool as my motorcycle was fired up, and my spirits were lifted. I had experienced a two stage problem. First, my spark plugs had finally crapped out, and I pulled over to the side of the road. After dismantling my motorcycle, I had replaced the plugs and the bike started. Excellent. Then. I put the gas tank back on. And in doing so, disconnected a plug on the wiring harness connected to my coil. When everything was connected, I had no spark (My ignition coil was disconnected). That’s when Wilson showed up and offered his help. And that was the beginning of my lameness. The mechanics showed me the disconnected plug. It has a weak clip, that is easily popped loose when pulled on. It had been popped loose when I hit it with my gas tank. DAMN. Some Gorilla Tape later, and I had a fully connected Ignition coil plug, a running bike, and $15 less dollars (shop charge). I hurriedly ate some food that Tom had pre-ordered for me, and we hit the road again after profusely thanking Wilson, shaking his hand, and revving our engines for the shop crew. That night we made our way until the sun started to set behind the mountains, and we had claimed 140 miles. Damn…. We’re not getting very far now are we. That night was spent at a truck stop hotel with secure parking, an attached restaurant, and cheap rates. Another day on the road. Saturday August 20, 2011. 140 more miles. Outrageous truck drivers, fearless bus drivers, and 125cc motorcycles traveling 2 up, hitting corners in the rain faster than I’ve ever dared. Along the way, we stopped for a few photos at appropriate spots. Here is Tom. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4604.jpg And here is me. Hi Mom and Dad! http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4606.jpg About 30 miles, and an hour later, steadily climbing up the mountains from the valley floor, we pulled over at another view point. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4607.jpg To snag these kinds of photos http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4608.jpg Whats up Tom? http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4610.jpg Not a lot Alex. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4612.jpg How about you? My? All is good man. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4613.jpg Well, that was cool. And so we hit the road again. About another hour later, and 30 more miles down the road we found ourselves in San Gil. Ty and Jill had enjoyed their time here, and though we didn’t have time to stop, we found ourselves at an AWESOME outdoor beef grill restaurant, and had some of the best meat that we have had in our entire adventure thus far. It was, AWESOME. As the motorcycle sped by out on the road, we sat and watched our meat roast on the spits over the open fire. One older guy kept watch on all of the meat as a couple younger ones did all the running to and fro with the cooked meat. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4615.jpg After about 15 minutes, our food was served; a platter of meat with a few small potatoes. More than enough to fill us up, we thoroughly enjoyed the meal. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4616.jpg Wilson, the truck driver had told us that as we continue to get closer to the center of Colombia, and leave the coast behind, the food gets better and better. He claimed that the Costenas (Coas-tain-yas), as residents of the coastal region are known, don’t have as good of food as the Chocanas (Cho-Kan-yas), as residents of the inland region are known. He then went on to mention that the more beautiful women are found inward from the coast and specifically Medellin. Those one he called, Paisenas (Pie-sain-nas). With that, he took his thumb and first two fingers, pressed them to his lips and life a French chef claiming his meal complete, kissed his fingers, tossed them into the air, and made this sound, “Wheeeeeesh”. Signifying, woooooaaaaaah. Or yeeeessssss. Or, delicious. However you would like to describe your women. I prefer Kristi. Well. Wilson was right, and our meal was freaking awesome, and between the two of us, less than $10. So we took off, and hit the road again. Our goal for the day was to get more than half way to Bogota, and in time, we would realize our goal. We found ourselves buying gas just as it started to piss rain. When it rains out here in the middle of the mountains, at altitude, in the tropics; it simply pours. Tom tossed on his newly acquired waterproof over pants and jacket (purchased in Panama), and I put on my inner liner. When you think of what Tom must look like, imagine neon yellow rain gear. That’s him. He loves it. I think I need some soon. It’s one thing to be waterproof from the inside out. It’s another thing to be completely waterproof from the outside in. When I arrive sopping wet on the outside, Tom will arrive, shirk his outer liner, and be dry on the inside, all while continuing to wear his protective gear. We’ve seen hundreds and hundreds of locals on the side of the road throwing on their rain gear ever since Mexico. Tom took the clue. I’m next in line. Not more than 10 minutes later, the heavens opened, and we were engulfed in walls of water. With not much of an option for a hotel, we just kept going. The storm soon subsided into a manageable deluge, and we continued on. Minutes later the rain stopped falling in sheets, started falling in drops, slowed down even more, and off on the side of the highway we spied a restaurant/hotel/gas station combo, pulled over, and called it a day at 3pm. 7hrs on the road is good enough. Our room, shared with two beds is 20mil ($11.36), our meals were the same combined. We don’t even need air conditioning because it’ll be less than 60 degrees tonight. We’re finally back in our element, and we’re happier than shit. A little rain? 70 degrees and below? Cheap lodging, food, and gas stations everywhere? We’ll take it. Now we’re watching the semi finals of the Copa Mundial. The Fifa U-20( under 20 yr/old) World Soccer Cup. Mexico just whooped Frances ass 3-1. http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4617.jpg More to come soon! Kristi arrives tomorrow! Hot shit! Onward!!!!!!!!!!!!!! --Alex |
great report alex... loving it.
that valley in the photo i believe is the chicamocha canyon.. between bucaramanga and san gil, right? great place.. had the pleasure of rafting that river a few years back.. incredible. all the best for your travels and keep the reports coming |
Thanks everyone!
dave ett: Scary stories indeed! Nothing too intense so far though. We'll keep getting lucky! Don't worry. We're gonna make it!
geordie_e: Thanks for the compliment and thanks for following along! nicodeemus:You would likely know the name of the canyon better then me! It was between Bucaramanga and San Gil. You are probably right. Well done! Rafting that river sounds pretty damn awesome. The reports are coming. Soon. Twist in the plot to come. |
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