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TX to South America 2up on ninja 250
As soon as I accidently stumbled across the website advrider.com I knew that was exactly what I wanted to do, though I didn't know when in my life I would be able to. I graduated from college and I knew it was the best time in my life for a motorcycle trip. I scraped up enough money to take the MSF course and buy a 2002 ninja 250. I chose the ex250 because they are cheap (mine was $1500), reliable, good mpg, standard seating position and capable of highway travel (a must in TX). About the same time I met my beautiful girlfriend Michelle. She is more adventurous than me, speaks Spanish fluently and is incredibly outgoing. Perfect traveling companion. One day she jokingly said we should visit her friend in Ecuador, and the trip was born.
Here is the bike in touring mode. Mods are loud exhaust (previous owner), highway gearing, luggage rack and relocated rear signals (to fit bigger bags). Other than that, completely stock. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/img_0671.jpg Bike gear includes: Cargo Converti tankbag I got off ebay for $20usd (28L) Nelson Riggs Sphere saddlebags ebay for $60 (45L each!) Tailbag that came with the rack (10L) Camping stuff: REI 2 person tent $50 used 2 30/40deg lightweight sleeping bags from REI outlet $110 REI outlet sleeping pad $12 2 1.5L nalgene bottles $13 Electronics: Spot tracker 1 $40 used + $100 service plan Ipod touch 8gig for a mini laptop $80 used Quad band Samsung A707 phone $25 used Michelle's digital camera This is a minimalist trip. We have scraped together a bit of money and we want it to last for as long as possible. |
*I apologize for my lack of punctuation, I am using a Mexican laptop and cannot figure out the keyboard
Trip begins 12/4/10. We head from Austin, TX to Fabens, TX. Fabens is a little town outside of El Paso, TX. Michelle's family lives there. We camp in Iraan, TX, at a rest stop. Next day we continue to Fabens. We spend a week with her parents. Her mother is from Mexico, and is the most hospitable woman I have ever met. She doesn't speak English, which was a good primer for the trip. I played scrabble in Spanish, watched movies in Spanish. Every day, three times a day, she makes enormous amounts of the most amazing Mexican food I've ever had. Menudo, barbacoa, enchilladas, tamales. I probably gained 10 pounds in a week. She would not take no for an answer. She is a very religious Apostolic Christian, and I attended a service. Very loud, very energetic. Very Souther-Baptist revival feel. The preacher prayed for us on our trip. We exchanged money in El Paso. $12.5 pesos to $1USD. Better than we were expecting. We planned to cross into Juarez on 12/9/10. We were escorted into Juarez by Michelle's mother and her friend - Nubia, who both knew Juarez very well and knew all the procedures for cross the boarder. Everything went smoothly until I realized I had accidently brought my birth certificate instead of the motorcycle title! I called my family back in Austin and arranged to have it rushed mailed to me. Back to the US for a few more days... But first, we had to run errands with Nubia. We can store the bike at her mother-in-law's. Her mother in law is startled to see her daughter followed by a motorcycle rider. Apparently "encapuchados" are balaclava-wearing motorcycle police, who are not trusted. None of the gun-wearing authorities are. I was told multiple times "do not trust the police/soldiers/military". I heard many stories from people who lived in El Paso or Juarez. The mother-in-law's son was killed a few months before. He was a mechanic and he was shot to death and the shop was burned to the ground. They think his boss wasn't paying the dues on time to the cartels. The shop was close to her house, she heard the shots... Very sad. After we ran the errands we followed Nubia around the city to smaller crossing. We ended up riding about 70 miles in the Juarez area.Aside from the roaming police trucks with heavy machine guns mounted on them, there was no indication of anything amiss in the city. I never felt even remotely threatened. Crossing back into the US was easy. No pictures of anything for this section though. |
While we waited for the title to the bike to arrive, we went to have dinner at Nubia's. My first time having liver. It was... interesting.
12/12/10 Got the motorcycle title and prepared to go into Mexico, again with the escort of Michelle's mother and Nubia. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_0689.jpg Here is Michelle staging in the Walmart parking lot on the border. It only takes a moment to enter Mexico, but the line to enter the US was huge! It was so huge that apparently our escort didn't get back into the US until we got to Chihuahua, Chihuahua (4 hours away)! I was squeezing through the stopped cars to make my left when I realized that there was a line of cars going the wrong way on the far shoulder The line was disrupting people's ability to make a left out of one sidestreet, so they had just invented their own lane. This is normal in Mexico. I actually really enjoy riding here. It's enjoyable to cut free-form through the traffic and around the potholes and speedbumps. We travelled Ruta 45 all the way to Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico. Michelle has family there who we would stay with for another few days. Ruta 45 was boring as any West TX highway. Long, straight, forever. The toll was 65 pesos. We jumped off the toll just before Chihuahua and took the free road. It was twisty and very fun, even with my heavily laden bike. We took a small dirt road to where we would stay. Small house with a gated courtyard, just like most. It houses Michelle's grandmother, aunt, uncle, and two cousins. All very friendly and hospitable. The house: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_0786.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_0787.jpg The courtyard: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_0793.jpg While we are in Chihuahua, we go to el Centro mercado: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0709Medium.jpg The Cathedral: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0704Medium.jpg Me, the fountain and Michelle's young cousin. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_0691.jpg View from the tower in the center of town: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0716Medium.jpg We go to a Dulceria to search for "Bocadin", these little chocolate bars. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0724Medium.jpg Michelle LOVES these things. While there, we see these insane bags of Cheeto-like things that are literally the size of a small person. The cost for one of these bags is about $7 USD. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0723Medium.jpg Chihuahua is situated in a valley and is surrounded by small mountains. We see this one and decide to climb it before we leave. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...10/Chih010.jpg |
12-14-10
I wake up at 7:45AM, and since nobody else has awoken I start reading to pass the time (F. Scott Fitzgerald's Tender is The Night, quite a contrast). I notice there is incredibly loud music playing outside by 8am. There is a big street market setting up outside, happens every Tuesday. The vendor playing the music is one of several stands selling pirated music and CDs (5 pesos for 3). Karen tells us that the cartels control the piracy in this area. Anybody who wants to sell those discs must pay dues to the cartel and sell their drugs in the same stands. I kick myself for spending a ridiculous $7USD on a 24mm socket at an Autozone on the border. There are a dozen vendors selling used tools within the first few blocks. Next day me, Michelle and Karen (her cousin) hike up the mountain. The route we take is very steep and difficult, but we make it to the top in good time. The view is great, we eat sandwhiches and fruit at the top. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...10/Chih025.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...10/Chih018.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...10/Chih023.jpg Local kids also come up here to graffiti their love onto the boulders. Karen found a secret admirer. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...10/Chih015.jpg (Translated: Karen, you are the woman of my life. I love you. J.L 4E) After spending all day in the sun Karen wanted a "clamato". This is a drink made up of tomato juice, chile powder, salsa, spices and cerveza. I had a canned version of this in the US, which I found revolting at the time. But here, in Mexico, after a hot day hiking, it was delicious. It was also somewhat surreal to have an open alcoholic beverage in a moving car. In the US this is highly illegal. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...10/Chih040.jpg Tomorrow we leave for... Jimenez maybe. We're not sure where we'll end up. |
12/16/10
We begin our trip from Chihuahua down to Mazatlan, via Parral and Durango. Free roads all the way. No problems. It became more hilly and the roads became more curvy. Much preferred. Lots of this: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_0794.jpg We had a late start from Chihuahua, so we hit Parral right as it was getting dark. There were a couple of motels along the route that were catered towards lovers (read: prostitution) that charged for a few hours at a time. We decided that we'd see what the hotels in town looked like. We went to the center and found one that looked decent. Pulled into a grocery store parking lot and Michelle went to inquire about the price. It was closed, but two men came out of the grocery store to talk with us. Salvador and Raul. Apparently, we had been following each other since Juarez. They stayed in Chihuahua the same amount of time we did, left about when we did. Used the exactly same route. He said we passed each other many times. Salvador managed that grocery store and was in Juarez to buy product. Pretty incredible that we should end up in his parking lot. He invited us to buy our dinner in his grocery and cook it on the store's stove. We bought the ingredients for Sopa with vegetables, about $1.60usd. Another employee named Luardez cooked and made us coffee while we chatted with them. Three people were killed that day, another the day before. Salvador told us the drug cartels battle each other but don't care if civilians get in the way. He has family in Oaxaca. In his mother's village there is an annual feast that one of the village members hosts the entire event. When his mother hosted, she killed and prepared 670 chickens and used 400 kilos of tortillas. Our hosts: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_0808.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_0809.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_0812.jpg Unfortunately El Camino will be closing soon, I'm guessing because of the Walmart that popped up a few blocks away. Very sad for the employees, many of which have worked there for decades. Salvador said the hotels in town were overpriced and recommended Motel Las Palomas. Very clean, with a secure tiled garage. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_0813.jpg Salvador insisted we come back for sweet bread in the morning. Of course we obliged, and enjoyed a whole bag of pastry for only 7 pesos. We bought some food for the road and we were off. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_0840.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_0935.jpg We camped outside of Durango. Did a bit of offroading through the thorn thickets to find the appropriate location. The little ninja handled it easily. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_0904.jpg Sidenote: Asking directions in Mexico is... interesting. When we asked people how long it takes to get from Parral to Durango, we recieved answers from 3.5 to 8 hours. We asked how long it takes to get from Durango to Mazatlan we recieved answers from 2.5 hours to 8 hours. We were told 7 hours from Tepic to Guadalajara (actual 4, with traffic). Taking the average of all of your responses is usually pretty accurate, at least for us. Signs saying how many kilometers to go are also routinely wrong. Anywhere from 5-60% off. Also, if people advised against a certain road, I generally found it to be highly enjoyable. Take information with a grain of salt. 12/18/10 We awoke early and began the trip to Mazatlan. We had been advised to avoid the Mexico 40 libre, which goes through the mountains. They called it "The Devils Ribcage". With a name like that, there's no way we were missing it. The road was incredible. Took about 5 hours to go from Durango to Mazatlan, and it was all tight, twisty mountain road. The views were incredible. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1010.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_0984.jpg Guardrails for safety: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1079.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1089.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_0987.jpg El Salto, halfway point: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_0960.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1058.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_0980.jpg It was exhausting, but very memorable. Best road I've ever been on. We made it Mazatlan just as it got dark, and we navigated through the city looking for a hotel. We had been riding since 8am, but it was still fun to cut through the traffic. Michelle was having a great time too. It's fun to ride around a foreign city with no idea where you're going. After checking half a dozen, we found one that was affordable. About $15usd a night. We could park the bike in the hallway or in the room. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1202.jpg 12/19/10 http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1136.jpg We spent a few days in Mazatlan. Definitely a bit more touristy, and the prices reflected it near the beach. In the markets and near the ports, prices were very good. Breakfast plates could be had for $1.30usd, tortas for $1.60usd. Very delicious. Seafood was also plentiful, and fresh. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1172.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1105.jpg Motorcycles routinely park on the sidewalk in Mexico. Very convenient. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1103.jpg We took the hike up to the highest natural lighthouse in the world. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1152.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1150.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1164.jpg Took a boat to La Isla De La Pierda. Wonderful eternal beaches, although looking at it on google maps, apparently it's not an island. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1178.jpg It is populated by a good population of retirees, so prices are in line with american prices. I recommend eating in Mazatlan. The Devil's ribcage also wore out what was left of my rear tire. It was impossible to find a 130/80/16 tire in Mazatlan, so I got a slightly taller 90/130/16. A brand called "Duro", which according to everyone I talked to, is a pretty well regarded china tire. $100 for the tire and installation, which was steep, but apparently just the cost of things in Mazatlan. I talked to a fellow biker on a sweet little Yamaha 125 and he said the price was fair. The guy replacing my tire said they don't do balancing in Mazatlan on motorcycle tires anywhere. The wheel weight on my wheel also got knocked off during installation, but I haven't noticed any vibration so it's all good. The taller rear tire plus my 15-44 gearing make for very leisurely highway cruising. 80mph is now 8,000 rpm, compared to the stock 10,000 rpm. Since I generally don't rocket from stoplight to stoplight, I'm pleased with it. MPG is also stellar, haven't hit reserve yet. Somewhere north of 55mpg fully loaded with passenger and luggage, even through the mountains. When I was in the mountains, there was a hesitation between 8-9000 RPM, which was disconcerting, so I kept it below that. It went away when I got to the coast, so I'm assuming it was just the altitude. After a few days, it was time leave for Guadalajara |
Great trip!
I hope you are coming to Ecuador to visit your friend. If you do so make sure you come to visit the Amazone. I would like to give you guys a free room or camping spot here in my cabana to make you feel welkom in south america. (just sent me a message when you are here) Good travels. |
The friend we were going to visit in Ecuador is actually here in Guadalajara now, so we'll be seeing her soon enough. Thanks for your kind offer, I will certainly let you know when we hit Ecuador.
Having some problems with the digital camera right now, so the next update will be a little late. We're spending Christmas here in Guadalajara. ¡Feliz Navidad! |
Baby Ninja
Well done on such a small cc bike, bit diff from my 1400 nitrous nina,
Steve |
So your friend Salvador sent you to a comfy love hotel (i.e., motel) in Parral, following which you stumbled unknowingly onto one of the world's premier motorcycling roads, Espina del diablo. That's hilarious. You're the perfect contrast to all those posting here and elsewhere who believe that the essential ingredient for any journey is endless research and parsing of possibilities long before any departure.
Keep it up! Mark |
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12/21/10 To Guadalajara¨
We check out of our Mazatlan hotel and look for breakfast. Above all the street level vendors in the central market there are second story restaurants. Very cheap, 15 pesos for breakfast, which was delicious and filling. Definitely a good find if you're on a budget. Too bad we didn't find it earlier. Also had "cafe con leche", which is coffee made without any water, just coffee and milk. Very tasty. We also sent postcards to the folks back home, which was a little time consuming, so we got a late start. We camped near Tepic, off a little farm road. Very noisy with the trucks engine braking down that area, we didn't sleep well. The farm workers started going down the road when we were packing up. They were confused and-or amused by the spectacle.
We stopped in Tepic to eat our breakfast of fruit, bread and butter we had bought the night before. There was a great little park not too far into town, very picturesque. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1204.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1210.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1212.jpg We were now on the "Ruta De Tequila" according to the highway signs. Tequila is made from the blue agave plant, looks like a blue cactus, and there were enormous fields covering the hills and along the highway. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1226.jpg Also a weird field of black rocks. Didn't look like the other brush-fire fields we'd seen. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1218.jpg Very hilly, simple but beautiful. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1230.jpg We ate in Tequila, famous for it's many tequila factories. We were going to take the tour, but our waitress said it was 250pesos per person, which was out of our budget, so we skipped it. We did buy a very overpriced bottle for our friend we were meeting in the next week. It was 160 pesos, which is similar to the price in the US. I didn't realize that tequila is only a fraction of the price here in Mexico. A few weeks later I would be shocked to see 750ml bottles of apparently decent tequila going for around $3.20USD. Just before Tequila, the camera took a soft little tumble into the sand. So no pictures of Tequila, but I did get it going again on the last day we were in Guadalajara, so I could take some pictures. We get to Guadalajara just in time for rush hour. We had no idea where we were going, no idea where any hotels were, no idea how crazy Guadalajara traffic was. I liked it. Motorcycles cut through traffic, pop onto sidewalks, go the wrong way down one-ways. I was burdened with extra wide saddlebags, so I wasn't as nimble as other bikes, but we got around. After over an hour of riding around cluelessly we randomly found a couple of hotels on a strip that were actually decently priced. We chose "Hotel Astur", About $20usd per night, but it was clean and we could park the bike in our room. Little did we know, but we were actually in the Historical District, right in the middle of the city, walking distance to the Libertad market, several museums, tons of shopping, and countless cathedrals and plazas. Very lucky, we were so tired we would have taken anything. Our faces were a blackened from all the soot in the air. (If you're going to Guadalajara: Calle Independcia Sur was the road with Hotel Astur, we found less expensive hotels around the block on Juarez) We only had 97 pesos left, and the money changers were closed. We ate dinner in La Libertad market. Tortas, potato chips with salsa, a coke, and cerveza for the both of us = 96 pesos ($8usd). Gotta love it. Next day we change money again, not so good this time, as expected. We get 11.70 pesos to the dollar (compared to 12.5 in El Paso, TX). We spend the day walking around and updating the blogs at a ciber. We both love Mexican food but decide to do something different, and get pizza slices on the street While we're waiting in line there is an attempted kidnapping. A man grabs a 6yo boy who is eating pizza with his mom and brothers, the kid freaks out and gets free, runs to his mother, who is panicking now as well. She rushes all of her children into the pizza shop doorway. Everyone around was pointing at the man. I had no idea what was going on at that point, but Michelle says she saw the man kick the boy as he struggled free and that he walked right around us, as if he was still intent on nabbing the kid. He split, and the police were called. I doubt they caught the guy, he easily vanished into the crowd. Michelle's older brother was almost kidnapped in Guadalajara when he was a baby. Luckily there was a policeman around the corner and kidnapper ditched him to not get caught. We spent the rest of the day getting lost walking around Guadalajara. We went to the market, which was very cool. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1280.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1281.jpg Chille rellenos, with canzome and the most delicious tortillas I've ever had, $2us. Lots of plazas, cathedrals. Very beautiful part of the city. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1264.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1269.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1270.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1268.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1271.jpg Next day we went to the Museum of Contemporary Art. It was the day before Christmas, so we didn't expect anything to be open. We were surprised to find it would be open for another 2 hours. (Bring your school ID, half off for students, 70 pesos regularly). Incredible building, and the work housed inside was fantastic. The first chamber (old Cathedral) is covered by 57 murals by Jose Clemente Orozco. Probably my favorite of what we saw. The main dome has a huge painting entitled "El Hombe De Fuego", which is breathtaking. http://0.tqn.com/d/gomexico/1/0/2/G/...banas_dome.JPG (not my photo) We saw as much as we could before they closed. Museum from the outside, later that day. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1276.jpg Guadalajara definitely has a "big city" feel. Different than any of the other places we've been to in Mexico. Feels more modern, or perhaps more Americanized. Wonderful to visit though, perhaps my favorite part of Mexico yet. |
12/25/10 Union Del Tula
Michelle's best friend is Karla Luna. Karla's family is from a little town called Union Del Tula, about 2 hours Southwest of Guadalajara. This year they were having a huge family reunion, first in 25 years, and we were invited to stop by for the tail end of the festivities. We packed our bags and left early, only taking an hour to find our way out of Guadalajara (good luck finding street signs in Mexico).
We ate Tacos Dorados on our way. Note: Tacos Dorados are fried tacos. Sometimes they have toothpicks still in them from when they were held together for frying. I didn't realize this initially, and I'm probably still digesting one or two. We find Karla at the Cathedral with her family. It wasn't difficult to find the Cathedral, it's the tallest building, and there is only one for the whole town.There are a good 80 to 100 family members at the church. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1290.jpg Those are all part of the Luna family. They are celebrating her cousin Alex's first communion. Karla and Alex: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1291.jpg The Cathedral interior: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1292.jpg We head to Karla's grandmother's house to change into clean clothes for the upcoming fiesta. It's a beautiful, clean, bright house with incredible hand-painted tiles, each one a little bit different. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1318.jpg During my time here I wear borrowed "Cubavera" shirts, very comfortable and fashionable here. We head to Alex's communion fiesta. The hosts all sit at one table, the youth at another huge table, and the adults at their own tables. Everything is fully catered, with free cervezas, plates of tacos and cucumber with chile and lime for appetizers, birrea (beef dish local to the area) with rice, beans and tortillas for entre. We are treated to a VERY LOUD brass band. Everything is very loud here. The party is huge. Dancing, moonwalk for the kids, drinking, eating. We jump out for a minute with Karla to see her family's villa. This is a little ranch house outside of town, with a room for each of the 8 sub-families that make up the Luna family. It is built on an old 19th century hacidenda, and there are remenants everywhere. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1295.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1297.jpg "Villa Luna" http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1306.jpg Inside, the villa is beautiful. Lovely little gated courtyard. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1300.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1304.jpg Behind the villa there is a huge stable holding a good 20 prized dancing horses, worth up to $50,000usd each. Two of Karla's uncles ride and train them. Too dark for pictures. We return to the communion party and eat churros rellenos. Later that night, we hit the town with the rest of the youth. At the first bar I learn that the moon (la luna) is the women's restroom, the sun (el sol) is the men's bathroom. My bad. The next bar could easily been any bar in the US, minus the occasional accordion over the speakers. We danced, drank and had fun till closing time. Karla's little sister also showed up, who is 16yo but looks no more than 14. Carding isn't enforced like it is in the states. Next day we wake up late and head to grandma's house for breakfast. Menudo (tripe soup), southern style with no hominy). Delicious. We come back and wash clothes. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1316.jpg ... and hitch a ride to another party. This time at Villa Luna, with mariachis. We go in the back of an uncle's truck. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1325.jpg (Union de Tula is named for Union de T.V.L.A, the initials of the four founders) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1322.jpg This party is great as well. Again, fully catered. This time with sheep and chicken cooked over an open flame. Delicious. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1330.jpg We are also treated to a horse dancing performance. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1336.jpg Karla's uncle brings a horse into the courtyard and it trots around in step for a few songs. The whole family crowds around and takes pictures. Afterwards parents line up to have their children's pictures taken with the horse and rider. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1339.jpg Horsemanship is a big deal here. The next day we saw a young woman arrive at the Cathedral for her quincera in a flamboyant blue dress on a huge black horse. After the ceremony she rode away and her father danced along side with another horse. That night we went to the plaza. We drank "calientitos", a delicious hot drink of boiled fruit, and ate Mexican hotdogs (wrapped in bacon, with chile and katsup). We also observed the tradition of "la vuelta" (turn). The plaza is a big square. Various food vendors lining the edges, with trees and a big gazebo in the middle. Young single women walk clockwise around the square, young single men walk counterclockwise slightly outside them. If a man fancies a woman, he'll stop and ask her if she wants to walk around with him. Couples walk counterclockwise with the men. This is how courtship happens in Union De Tula. Karla's pa*rents met this way decades ago, and still walk around the plaza to this day. Young and old participate. I found it very charming. 1349 The next morning Karla left back to the US to return to her work as a nutritionist. We spent one more day with her family. We went to the Cathedral and were blessed by the priest, who rubbed oil on our open palms. Karla's dad spent the afternoon chatting with various people in the plaza. He is very outgoing and has many friends here. We at posole (menudo made with pork instead of beef) and retired for the night. Union Del Tula is the opposite of Guadalajara. Though I love Guadalajara, you can't deny it's filthy, with massive amounts of poverty plainly visible and a somewhat lawless feel. Union Del Tula feels like a very small town, though apparently it has 28,000 residents. For the first time I was instructed not to park my motorcycle on the sidewalk. There were people sweeping the streets and the main center. It was very clean, very traditional. People take pride in their city and their traditions. I never felt ill at ease here, never suspected I was being ripped off because I was a tourist. Many thanks to the Luna family for allowing us the opportunity to participate in their reunion festivities. It's one thing to view a culture from the outside, as an observer. It's quite another to be able to participate and be immersed in the culture. It was an incredible experience, both in Union De Tula with the Luna family, and in Chihuahua with Michelle's family. Living within the culture was a fascinating experience, and I will never forget the hospitality I was shown. |
12/28/10 The Coast - Manzanillo, Playa Tunel
Eduardo (Karla's father) insisted we accept his gift of a Mexico atlas. Up until that point, we were relying on a compass and a tattered 4-page map of mexico we printed off the internet.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1345.jpg Hadn't had any problems with our current method, but we graciously accepted the atlas anyway. We tool the Luna family advice and went east to Colima via the back roads, then down to Tecoman. It was twisty, but covered with potholes. Very fun anyway. We got confused and accidently went 40km North to Manzanillo before we stopped. Manzanillo is a tourist town, and since it was the holidays everything was very expensive. We found nothing less than 400pesos. I didn't like it here. We camped on the beach for free. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1376.jpg Next day we headed South along Mexico 200 towards Acapulco. Twisty highway that goes along the mountainous coastline. My new favorite of the trip. The scenery expansive, picturesque beaches. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1396.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1424.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1427.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1450.jpg The motorcycle limited our camping options, since we couldn't just leave it on the side of the road overnight. We eventually found Playa Tunel, which was an incredibly picturesque little cove with a road going down. It was 50 pesos per person, per night to camp there, but the view was worth it. We had our own isolated, private stretch of beach, and a short swim north there was a few little beach-side restaurants. Perfect. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1455.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1457.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1464.jpg I was feeling a little ill the next day, so we decided to stay another day. I laid in the shade all day and recuperated. I felt better. Next day we went exploring. You can see there is a cave going through the cliff into the open ocean. Michelle grew up in landlocked El Paso, and has never learned to swim until this summer. She bravely swam into the cave with me and hung around for a few minutes before turning back. In the cave there are crabs and sea urchins all along the walls. The ceiling is a good 10 feet above you and the waves crash all around. Surreal. Later I swam all the way through via a different route and into the open ocean. The waves are very strong and threaten to dash you into the rocks. The cliffs are lined with more caves and I explore a few more before I lose my nerve and come back to the cove. Michelle and I are both stung by a jellyfish at one point. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1461.jpg We climb along the rocks to get dinner. We play cards with some teens while we wait. My Spanish is good enough for that at least. For are joined for dinner by a domesticated parrot and kitten who belong to the hotel kids. My Caldo de Pescado is served with the fish tail still sticking out of it. Fantastic. We buy some bottled water for the night and head out. By this time it's dark, and we've got a wallet, cell phone and leftovers, so swimming home around isn't an option. We have to climb around the rocks separating the beaches blind. Amazingly, we only lose one water bottle in the process, and neither of us gets soaked or steps on a sea urchin. Tomorrow we leave for Zihuatenejo http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1458.jpg |
Sweet ride
Cool ride man, im going down myself with a friend, checking out Yucatan at the moment. Maybe ill see you out in the road. Keep it up, great report. Stay safe.
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Hi From The Uk
Jordan, Michelle and the little Nija are looking like you are having so much fun. Well done guys, stay safe, keep the knee down and the Nija upright. I bet you when you get back home the first job will be to rebuild the 250? Keep in touch folks, all our love and best wishes from the UK. Steve, Karen, Steph and Chris. Watching your every move.... PS: The GT750M from 1975 is now near complete, pics soon.
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12/31/10 Zihuatenejo to Oaxaca
We got into Zihuatenejo and immediately began searching for an ATM to pull out some more money. We had only a few pesos left at that point. We found a Santender and pulled out money, which cost $30 pesos from that bank and then $1 from my bank. About $3.50 to pull out cash. Meh. However, the rate was good, I calculated 12.25 pesos to the dollar. We would find that Santender banks always had the best rates by a good margin. I guess because they are a sister bank to Bank of America.
I did an illegal U-Turn (was going to make a left into a one way, then noticed and corrected myself). Traffic cop told me I could get a big ticket, then laughed and said I didn't know better, waved me on my way. We had good luck with the autorities in Mexico. Only a few times were we actually stopped at the military checkpoints, only twice were we actually asked to open our bags for a quick peek. Michelle always answered their questions with her usual inate friendliness and we'd be chatting like amigos in a few seconds. We searched around to find a decently priced hotel room, it was clear that Zihuatenejo was going to be very expensive, a little touristy nowadays and new years eve. Hotels near the centro were going for $50+usd, near the beach would be even more. Eventually we found Hotel Krystal, for $350 pesos, shared bath. We thought it might be the best we could get, so we took it. DO NOT RECOMMEND. The whole place smelled of rotting food, not a very clean family ran it. Bathrooms, rooms and towells were dirty. My standards are very low, but this would have been a stretch for $100 pesos. It's funny that the most we spent on a hotel room was also the worst. The next day we found another hotel called Hotel Washington, just a little bit off the main highway. Clean, $100 pesos cheaper, big room with two beds and private bathroom. Didn't smell of rotting food. Recommended. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1469.jpg I wish I had stories about a crazy new years eve celebration. Unfortunately, me and Michelle were both feeling pretty poorly. I went to the Farmacia Similares. The big pharmacies here (Similares y Ahoro) have a room next door which houses a doctor which will give you a basic checkup for little or free and perscribe you what you need. I was perscribed some antibiotics for my fever and throat infection. We both wanted to go to sleep early, but all around Zihuatenejo there were gun-shot like fireworks, starting at 8pm, including on the roof of our hotel. Michelle fell asleep and I watched shitty American movies in spanish. Michelle also got a stomach flu at some point. Strange I didn't, because me and her had literally been splitting single plates of food the past few days. We stayed three days in Zihuatenejo, but didn't see anything outside of the few blocks of our hotel because of our illnesses. We headed South for Acapulco, knowing we couldn´t afford to spend any time there, but wanting to see it anyway. We got there around 3pm but it took an hour to get through. Probably the worst traffic of the trip so far. Tons and tons of little VW Bug taxis in gridlock. We were sweating like crazy. There were huge hotels everywhere, just like we expected, and totally different than anyplace we'd been so far. Acapulco beach: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1481.jpg The bay: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1498.jpg Eventually we found our way out of Acapulco and went to a little town called San Marcos, about 50 kilometers away. Got a little hotel with WiFi on the main road, $200 pesos. It was pretty much open to the elements along the top of the walls, the only climate control was a fan. We were now in a climate where enclosing the walls was not necessary. We continued heading down Mexico 200 to our next stop, Oaxaca. We camped in a lime Orchard near Rio Grande. Simply asked some folks working on their house if we could throw our tent back there. It looked like it would rain soon, it was dark and there was lightning. The woman laughed and said it wasn't going to rain. It didn't. The Orchard http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1520.jpg The bike after 3000 miles of Mexico http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1517.jpg Next day we woke early, expecting a quick dash to Oaxaca. Not exactly. Started off well enough, nice wide road, only the occasional donkey in the road. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1505.jpg Sometimes a lane was missing because it slid off the mountain, but no road is perfect. Soon we were in the Sierra Madres Del Sur though, and it turned into a dirt road through the mountains. A little hairy, but very fun. My first time riding dirt roads for more than a few KMs. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1554.jpg Eventually we hit a long line of cars. We went to the front to see what was going on. Apparently the road was closed for construction. We waited about 40 minutes for the tractors to finish clearing the road. We chatted with folks about the road ahead and our trip. After we were cleared to pass, we went a few more KMs and hit a donkey fight in the middle of the road. It was hilarious. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1579.jpg We hit Juquila, a little town at a fork in the roads. It's built onto the side of the mountains. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1590.jpg Here, we had trouble. The roads were all very steep and highway went right through the center of town. You might remember I had put modestly lower gearing sprockets on my bike back in Texas for the highway, and then a slightly oversized rear tire in Mazatlan because I couldn't find the original size. The result was ambitiously low gearing. No problem for most of Mexico, but big trouble here. When traffic stopped on a hill, I was unable to get going again. I was reving the engine, working the clutch, but she wasn't moving with her huge load. I stalled and the bike started going backwards. I grabbed the front brake, but the front tire had no traction and I was still sliding backwards towards the traffic behind me. I picked up my foot and did the rear brake too, finally stopping the bike just in time. Michelle jumped off and I nursed the bike up, full throttle but barely moving. Michelle ran up and jumped back on. I'm sure it was quite a spectacle. Two fully geared Americanos on their yellow motorcycle unable to go up the hill. The traffic: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1585.jpg This happened again, and Michelle had the presence of mind to take a picture of me nursing the bike up the steep hill, using both legs to keep the bike alive. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1589.jpg I think stock gearing would have had no trouble, even slightly lowered gearing would have been fine. But be careful if you've got a torqueless bike and low gearing. We ended up doing a loop of the city before we found the road out. Very confusing. We continued through a very rough, potholed road. Kids were on the sides of the road filling potholes with dirt and asking for donations. People would throw pesos out the window for them or they would run next to the car windows with open hands http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1604.jpg Bizarre scene. View from the road to Oaxaca. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1622.jpg Beautiful. Once we get out of the mountains it's straight as an arrow and we get to Oaxaca before dark. |
1/5/11 Oaxaca, Tapachula (Guatemala border)
We got to Oaxaca and headed for el centro. Oaxaca's historical district is the nicest we saw in Mexico. It's like a little slice of Europe. The road is cobblestone, the buildings are clean, old and colonial. Michelle wants to move here.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1666.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1667.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1692.jpg There are tons of little trendy coffee shops everywhere. New cars, new BMW motorcycles, art galleries. Definitely a more affluent part of Mexico. Most hotels in the historical center were very expensive. Eventually we found Hostel Mayflower, which had dorm accomadations for about $11usd per person. Free purified water, a kitchen we could use and free Wifi sealed the deal. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1853.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1856.jpg We meet other travellers and generally enjoy our time here. We go to the grocery store and eat mostly home-made meals (a la chez Jordan) to save pennies while we're here. We go around the corner to Farmacia Ahorro (free doctor´s visit!) and get Michelle a few perscriptions for the stomach thing she picked up in Zihuatenejo that was still bothering her. We spent three days running around seeing the sites. All the museums are within walking distance from our Hostel. Museum of Oaxacan Textiles http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1707.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1713.jpg Michelle was in heaven here. Her degree is in Textiles and Apparel Design.There was a small library upstairs with textile books. We spent a good amount of time here. Museum of Oaxacan artists. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1695.jpg Museum of Contemporary art. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1702.jpg Monte Alban, huge Zapatec ruin minutes outside Oaxaca. Took 2.5 hours to walk around. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1784.jpg Major tourist sunburn. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1801.jpg Tried the local fair. Mole, Oaxaca cheese (delicious!), fried crickets. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1685.jpg Michelle was not hungry for some reason. I thought they were too salty. Michelle in fabric heaven: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1847.jpg One of many busy plazas: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1687.jpg Pochote theater. Ever night at 7pm there's a free movie or set of short films. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1749.jpg Don´t see a theater? Yea, we walked past it twice before we found it. Go through a little door under the arch and enter a courtyard. See another little lit door and you're there. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1742.jpg That night they were playing a set of films by Chiapas film-makers interpreting poems. Very indy, very cool. That's something we would expect to find back in Austin, TX, not Mexico. I could live here. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...IMG_1851-1.jpg "Italika" is the most popular motorcycle brand. They are the most common, and I just had to check out the showroom. A brand new 150CC FT150 motorcycle, $1200usd. 125cc's are $1000usd. Website: Untitled Page click "Venta de Refracciones" to see the lineup. Very cool. While doing my routine maintence and bike check, I notice the nastier topes (speedbumps) have done a number to my centerstand. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1759.jpg There's a little metal piece sticking out of the exhaust which is supposed to keep the centerstand from coming up too high when it's in a resting position. Bottoming out multiple times on the centerstand have bent this bracket way up and now the centerstand is rubbing on the chain! I bend the bracket back in place and vow to keep an eye on it. We leave Oaxaca for the Mexico/Guatemala border. Although we heard interior Chiapas is very nice (and cheap!), we're anxious to not spend more money in Mexico when there is so much more to see. Maybe next trip... We head out of Oaxaca to Tehuantepec. Roads are twisty but fast. We make great time. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1879.jpg We also stop at Matatlan, a town famous for Mezcla, the alcohol of the indigenous made from fermented corn. I buy a small bottle for $18 pesos (no typo). As our Hostel friend Shawneee put it, it's a very smokey taste. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1859.jpg Apparently every little town in Oaxaca has it's own unique Mezcla factory. They fill gallon gasoline jugs every week and take it to the big cities. Middlemen buy the jugs for a few pesos and fill fancy bottles which they sell to bars and the US for 50x the price. Unfortunately we're both recuperating so we haven't had a chance to enjoy our cheap bottle. It starts to get dark and we're unable to find a suitable camping spot. All along the highways is fenced. While we desperately search I have a moment of sheer stupidity and nearly cause a wreck with another motorcyclist. He turns around and urges me to be more careful. He is right, A few minutes later my headlight goes out. It's dark, we're never supposed to ride at night, and now this. I go a few more miles with the brights blazing, much to the annoyance of the other drivers. Just as we hit the next town my brights go out as well. We pull into the first hotel we see. Very nice rooms with hammocks outside at $250 pesos. Not bad, but he says he'll charge us 50 pesos to camp in the back so we opt for that. We camp next to the empty swimming pool with a bunch of decrepit looking dog statues all around. A little eerie. Forgot to take pictures, or even get the name of the town. There's also an abandoned restaraunt next door that hadn't been open in 2 years. A woman cleans one of the bathrooms (hadn't been used in 2 years) and we can use that while we stay. We fall asleep soon. I get a high fever that night for no apparent reason, but in the morning I feel OK so we continue to Tapachula. The roads from Oaxaca to Tapachula are mostly toll roads according to the map. We were going to suck it up to make good time. We were pleasantly surprised to find not a single toll. Just long, divided, 80mph road with almost no topes and few towns. We make it to Tapachula before 1pm. Tapachula is the big border town. Very dirty, but cheap. Tortas, 12 pesos, tacos, 5 pesos, room with private bath, 150 pesos. Nothing to see, but we're not here to sightsee. We need to update the blogs, fix the bike headlight, change the oil and do a general maintence of the bike. It's at 22,250 miles now, so it's covered nearly 4000 miles since I did the last major service before we left. She is a champ. I try to get an oil filter for the bike, but no luck. We check at least half a dozen motorcycle shops and none of them sell oil filters. Nobody changes filters here? The bikes don't last long enough to bother I guess. In our search we find an Autozone, which is exactly like an Autozone in the states. It's surreal walking into someplace 4000 miles from home and the layout is exactly the same as the one down the street from your house. Same products, same employee uniforms. Prices were higher than the other shops though, and they didn't carry motorcycle oil filters. We do find a replacement headlight bulb (Nikko brand?) for only $1usd from an awesome autoparts store. Old man owned it, parts on the shelves were dusty. Just an honest, old fashioned auto store. Price was honest right out of a book (and 1/4 what others wanted to charge). Plus, he sold white bulbs. Everywhere else only had the blue bulbs that are in style here. No word on how good that brand is yet, but we're not supposed to drive at night so hopefully we don't find for a while. Work day in Tapachula! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1889.jpg Adjust and lube the chain. Air the tires. Check all the bolts for looseness. Adjust cables. Replace headlight bulb. Would have changed my own oil, but the place I bought my oil did it for free, so I saved myself the hassle of finding a pan and a place to recycle the oil. The cost was about $9usd for an oil change with motorcycle specific 15w40 of a decent brand. Tomorrow, 1/11/11, we cross the border into Guatemala. |
1/11/11 Lake Atitlan - Guatemala
Border crossing:
We awoke early enough and of course, got lost on our way out of Tapachula. We escape and make it to the Talisman border crossing. Smaller crossings are considered better, but since we were already in Tapachula to do bike work and other errands it didn't seem to make sense to go 3 hours north. We rolled up to the Mexican side of the border and were immediately surrounded by Mexicans with border badges who were offering friendly advice. This being our first border crossing, we didn't realize that these are the "guides" that will be at every border, and unfortunately one of them latched onto us before we knew what was happening. We also didn't yet have any quetzales, so we argued one of them down to 1.75. I think the official rate should have been 1.5 or so. The border officals at Juarez never said we had to get anything stamped at the bank, so we didn't. The border officials at the Guatemala crossing said we did. The office gave us the 2 stamps for 500 pesos? Not sure what was going on there, might have been conned, but if it becomes a problem we at least have the stamps and can plead ignorance. The border helpers also asked me if Michelle "was the boss" because she was going to deal with the Mexican border offials. Apparently it was be more traditional for me to talk to them, even though I don't understand much Spanish and she is fluent. The border lurkers were also in disbelief that we were not married. Throughout Guatemala it would be considered very unusual for me and Michelle to be unmarried and traveling together. For the sake of convenience we would often refer to eachother as husband and wife. We then went to the Guatemalan side and got our paperwork done. As I rode the bike over the bridge awere a good dozen border lurkers started running alongside the bike. 10 quetzal per passport stamp, 55 quetzal to the bank for bike entry, 10 quetzal for the passport photos, 12 quetzal for fumigation of the bike, and then 400 quetzal for our "insurance". The other border guides said insurance shouldn't be more than 380 quetzal, but who knows if that was true either. We never did get a receipt for the "insurance" but at least we got our sticker. I think we probably overpaid by about $15-20usd somewhere in there. We'll be better prepared next time. Game faces on. Once we got into Guatemala though, the troubles at the border were forgotten. It is beautiful. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1899.jpg We were entering into the Guatemala mountains. It went from semi-tropical to cloud-forest within an hour. I don't know what the elevation was but the mountains were in the clouds and it was pretty chilly. Clouds right above our heads. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1902.jpg Roads were great, fewer potholes than Mexico and far fewer topes (called tumulos here). We also got our first percipitation of the trip, a few short showers. Ate breakfast at that point. Guatemalan plates almost always come with fried plantains and cream/queso. I love the dairy of this region. So good. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1919.jpg First meal was somewhere around $5usd (40 quetzales) for two big plates + tortillas and drinks. Great deal, but that's actually on the high end of what we would pay for the rest of Guatemala. A full meal is normally around 15 quetzales at a comedor, 10 quetzales at a market. The major highways are mostly divided, high speed and multi-lane (no tolls, despite what our map said), but quite often multiple lanes are blocked by landslides. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1936.jpg We spent the first night in some random town around San Marcos. Q$100 for an auto hotel, around $12.5usd. The highest we payed in Guatemala. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1920.jpg The waitress/chef/owner of one of the little commedors recommended we head to Lago de Atitlan, which was apparently very beautiful. Sure! A few hours later we were Panajachel, the biggest of many little towns surrounding lake Atitlan. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1973.jpg Lago de Atitlan is a huge lake in the the Guatemalan mountains, surrounded by volcanos. Panajachel is somewhat touristy, and hotel prices reflected it. We felt lucky to find a place for Q$30 per person. Just a very simple room with two beds and a shared outdoor shower/bathroom. "Mi Rooms", a hostal down a narrow little alley off the main road. One of many times I felt lucky to be on a motorcycle rather than a car. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2023.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2018.jpg We parked the bike in the courtyard and went exploring. Panajachel Cathedral: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2009.jpg Dock, with many private and public little boats eager to take you around the lake for Q$50. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_1976.jpg The market: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2010.jpg Fruit was very expensive here compared to Mexico, I guess because of the our high altitude and difficult terrain. Packaged good goods were also twice as expensive as in the US. Also there are many tourists, and the locals are saavy to the money some carry. The main volcanos (San Pedro, Toliman, Atitlan) are on the South side of the lake, Panajachel on the North. As soon as I saw Volcan Toliman I knew I wanted to climb it. The next day we left for Toliman, the little town at the base of the Volcano. On the way we explored Sta. Catarina and San Atonio(?), two little towns on the way, known for their distinct styles of weaving. Michelle and I climbed narrow alleys to a little shack with a dirt floor to see legit, traditional weaving at work. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2049.jpg We have no almost no room in the bags for souveniers, but Michelle allowed herself to get a little scarf. She loves the Guatemalan craftsmanship. We were also berrated by a boy for not buying the little bracelets he was selling. He called Michelle a lair and selfish, and that she must buy one. It was a sales tactic I had never seen before. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2038.jpg We made it to Toliman and found a hotel for Q$60, like the night before. However, we decided to splurge and go for the beautiful hotel San Lucas for Q$20 more. Apparently this used to be an old house, and according to the clerk it's over 100 years old. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2106.jpg Enormous, empty room. Just two beds, chair and small table. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2089.jpg Hot water in the Guatemalan mountains is mostly supplied by these little individual electric heaters installed into the shower piping. The electrical work here is... amusing. Exposed wiring and electrical tape. Some of the showers electrocute you, some of the showers only produce scalding hot water, some of the showers only produce barely tepid water, occasionally a shower might produce comfortably hot water. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2143.jpg In this hotel, we had the electrocution + tepid water special. I find it amusing rather than annoying. Michelle shared tea and talked extensively with the girl who cleans and cooks for the hotel. Leti is 18, and has never left the town of Toliman in her life. Her mother doesn't give permission. Her father didn't let her attend school. She was surprised that we had been "married" for 6 months and didn't have any children on the way. This was normal. Definitely quite a contrast from American culture. The lake, down the street from our hotel. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2068.jpg Life is good in Guatemala. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2073.jpg Volcan Toliman overlooking the city. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2093.jpg Every afternoon and evening Volcan Toliman has a small cloud around the peak. The next day we awoke early and went to climb the Volcano. We started out on the path to the top, but at some point we lost it and began an epic adventure. We climbed up a gulley littered with hundreds avocados from the orchards. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2107.jpg Weaved our way around dozens of farms growing corn, coffee and avocados. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2111.jpg Ate lunch once we had rediscovered what we thought was the trail. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2114.jpg Followed the trail into a dense forest of vines and weeds which we struggled through. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2117.jpg Volcan Toliman is supposed to take 5-6 hours to climb up, but after struggling through for hours without a good trail, we realized we should probably head back. Though we couldn't have been more than 100 feet from the top, it was just too late to carry on. The prospect of trailblazing back through the dense foliage was not appealing, so we decided to head around towards the gently sloping north side of the volcano. Unfortunately, we fell short, and ended up going down the worst side of the mountain, the side that was very steep and covered with slippery gullies. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2130.jpg It was slow going, but we were going straight down, so we expected to get down soon enough. Soon we came to a cliff, what must be an incredible waterfall during the rainy season. Surrounded on both sides by steep and treacherous walls, facing an impassable cliff face and having nowhere to go but up, we realized we were not going to make it down by dark. We would be spending the night on the mountain. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2134.jpg We texted a friend and told her to let our hotel know we wouldn't be back tonight, and hunkered down for the night. It was cold in the mountains, and Michelle had lost her sweater back near the top. We were equipped with a pair of light jackets, a liter of water, a quarter can of beans and a rain poncho. Survival mode! We chose a little sandy nook in the gulley to camp. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2138.jpg I made a wall of rocks and sand to shield us from the wind, and we used the rain poncho as a psuedo-bivy tent to reduce windchill. It was definitely not comfortable, but we made it through the night well enough. 6am Sunrise: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2135.jpg Active volcano in the distance. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2131.jpg Still alive: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2139.jpg Took another 4 hours to climb up, around and discover a trail down. As soon as we got back to the hotel I drank a liter of purified water and jumped in the lake while Michelle took a shower. The lake was cold but refreshing. It felt good to swim in the clean, deep water and work the dirt of the last 24 hours out of my skin. Truly an amazing feeling after the ordeal on Volcan Toliman. We showered, ate hamburgers at the little stand down the street, and headed out towards Antigua Guatemala. Goodbye Atitlan. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2148.jpg |
Great pictures and stories, thanks for posting. I spent a couple weeks in Guatemala in August, unfortunately an airplane trip. I need to chuck the job again one of these days and go riding.
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Excellent Ride report. I'm hooked!:clap:
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1/16/11 Antigua Guatemala
The road to Antigua was quite an adventure. From Lake Atitlan to Patzicia is a secondary road, which involved rough pavement and pothole dodging. Also my first "river" crossing.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2151.jpg Woo! When the tarmac ended and we ended up on a rough dirt road, we finally realized we were lost. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2171.jpg Nice scenery though, in any case. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2170.jpg Antigua is quite an interesting place. It's name means, roughly, "Old Guatemala", and it definitely has it's historical side. We saw many old cathedrals/covenents, some over 500 years old. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2254.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2250.jpg Motorcycles are quite popular. Huge stretches of street were designated for motorcycle parking. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2180.jpg Also saw my bike's twin! Another Kawi EX250! The only other one I've seen in two months. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2261.jpg It's also quite the hopping vacation/2nd home spot, and can be quite upscale. We explored the hotel/museum "San Domingo" which was housed in an old covenant. Very beautiful, and on our way out we asked the price out of curiosity. $750usd per night!! Just a little bit out of our budget, but it was very cool how they built a 5 star hotel around the ruins. Very beautiful. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2243.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2244.jpg We found a little Hostel, "Hostel Viajadores" and were pleased with the Q$100 price, the cheapest we found, so we took it. We ate meals in the market down the street for as little as Q$10 per person, with drink. Very cool. We generally walked around and saw the sights in our two days there. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2186.jpg A textiles museum, with a personal guide. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2278.jpg As I've mentioned before, Michelle loves clothing design and took dozens of pictures of different fabric patterns. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2227.jpg 1/18/11 Guatemala City After two days it was time to continue on to Guatemala city. As I rolled the bike out, I noticed the front tire was flat. Couldn't find a puncture, and since it's only 30 miles to Guatemala city I filled it back up with my trusty hand pump and just pulled off the road every few miles to check the pressure. It was losing 3psi every 10 miles, so it was a serious leak. We stopped at a Yamaha dealer in Guatemala city to see about a new front tire. None there, but the service guy sat us down while he spent half an hour calling a dozen different tire shops. Ulimately we didn't find exactly the size I wanted, but I was very impressed by how long this guy took with two customers he would never see again. This sort of beyond-the-call-of-duty service is common in central America. If they don't have the part, they'll call around for you or they might walk you to where you can find what you're looing for. Guatemala City is super confusing. It's divided into 22 different zones, which as far as I can tell, are arranged randomly around the city. There are also major roads going through the city which have no traffic lights or U-turns and are impossible to cross unless you duck down into the sidestreets and hope to find a bridge or way across. We found a bunch of seedy hotels in Zona 1, the historic zone. They ranged in price from Q$40 to Q$100, very reasonably priced, but we were warned it was a dangerous area. The clerks of the hotels were a strange bunch, and didn't seem to trust us or be interested in our business. While I was waiting for Michelle to check the price on one three young homeless looking guys came up and in perfect college-fraternity english: "BRO! We just got deported bro! Damn man, can you spare a quarter bro!" The one doing most of the talking had crazy huge scabs covering a good part of his inner arm. I didn't have a quarter and wasn't interested in donating to whatever the hell was going on, so after two minutes they moved on. Very strange, but somewhat illustrative of the randomness you'll experience in Guatemala city. Paraphrasing the "Lonely Planet" book: "some people find Guatemala city dirty, dangerous and unpleasant, other people find it dirty, dangerous and unforgettable." I'm not exactly sure which side I fell on. Overall we didn't hear of or see anything really amazing in Guatemala city, just an enormous sprawling metroplex. I will note that almost every American food chain was represented here, from Pizza Hut (mostly a breakfast place here, opéns at 6am!) to Taco Bell (huge restaraunts) and Chili's. We had a few mundane errands to take care of. I used the soap and water trick to locate a tiny leak in the center of the front tire tread, which I patched with my Stop-and-Go patch kit. We also updated the blogs and loaded more photos. We did get a chance to relax a little bit though. One street had cool lights hanging the whole length of it. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2291.jpg We saw a movie "The Tourist" in a little theater on that road, about $2 per person. The last showing at all the theaters was around 6-7pm. We got in a few minutes late. I didn't care what movie I saw, I just wanted it to be in Spanish. Unfortunately this movie was only subtitled, but the tiny screen, crappy projector and wavery sound made things more memorable. It was like I was watching an 80s VHS tape. The city: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2295.jpg And so we leave for El Salvador. |
1/19/11 El Salvador
Having done our chores in Guatemala City, it was time to move on. El Salvador was our next destination. We got incredibly lost on our way out of Guatemala City, of course. The road to El Salvador is fine, just smooth two lane highway till the border. At one point our front tire went flat again! Damn, where is the patch?? It had disappeared after only 50 miles and the hole was back. I repatched and off we went, cautiously.
The border to El Salvador was easy enough, but Michelle and I were concerned that we were ripped off at the last border so she went to go talk to a manager about our dillema. Apparently, we were defintely ripped off. The guy who "sold" us insurance was a con and we lost $50 for nothing, plus the fumigation fee was nonsense too. We had his name and signature but predictably they couldn't do anything, even though he was carrying one of their official badges. They urged us to be more careful in the future, which of course we knew. I'm not angry at the conman though, I blame myself fully. I have a list of general tips and fees for crossing Central American countries by motorcycle. I read the Guatemala border info and saw "around $45 in fees" and that's what I was expecting to pay. When we couldn't get a receipt for our "insurance" I knew we had been overcharged, but I knew we were going to be paying big for this border. I looked back at the list and it said $15, not $45. My fault. Checking into the El Salvador border cost us nothing, and took about an hour. Our visas were good for two or three months if I recall, no need for a "2 day transit visa" that I was expecting to find. Also, we weren't mobbed by "translators", "helpers" or money changers, unlike every other border. We zoomed to San Salvador, the capital, and arrived just as it got dark. We had used up all our Quetzales before leaving Guatemala, so our first stop when we arrived was to find an ATM. El Salvador uses the US dollar, but we had about $5 left. Easy enough, it was near this majestic statue. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2339.jpg "Sorry, your bank does not allow this transaction." Try again, same thing. What!? Oh wait, wasn't there a country that my little bank said my card wouldn't work in? Oh $"&%! (Initially we had Michelle's BoA card too, to cover E.S., but it was accidently left back in Chihuahua with her cousin) We were in the middle of El Salvador and had no money, no way to get money, and we hadn't eaten all day. We called the support team back home and arranged for a little money to be wired via Western Union. All the offices were closed though, so we were on our own tonight. We found a location, and then looked for somewhere to sleep that would accept our good names (and passports) as collateral for a night. Luckily we found Hostal La Portada only a few blocks away. The young man working there, named Rafael, said it was no problem. Woo! Now, any place to eat for less than $5? Yes! Pupuseria around the corner! Bullets dodged! I still don't really know what a pupusa is, but I will say it is the most delicious conconction I have ever come across. Some sort of fried rice or corn (your choice) meal, fried into a thick tortilla, with beans/cheese/whatever mixed in. Topped with a vinegar/cabbage/onion based salad. One of the most satisfying meals of my life. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2340.jpg Sidenote: Private security outnumber police in El Salvador. Everywhere we went there were guards with shotguns. Guards at the gas-stations, guards at the banks, guards at the ice-cream parlors. Everywhere, guys with shotguns. Signs of El Salvador's troubled past I guess. Michelle also talked with a guy who was around for the 1979 revolution, when there "were bodies lying in the streets", and who "witnessed" many massacres. Tomorrow we picked up the money and decided to stay another night at La Portada. We got on the bike and rode around, halfway trying to find a new tire, mostly just looking to see the city. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2353.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2343.jpg Our hotel was near the Metro Centro, which was a huge mall. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2361.jpg EXACTLY like an American mall back home. Huge, sprawling. I hate malls at home, and I can't say I liked this one either. We looked all over for a road map of El Salvador, to know avail. Just a simple roadmap or atlas. We checked gas-stations, bookstores, papelerias, NOBODY had a map. While we were in San Salvador my rear brakes started grinding. I took off the back caliper to find that my pads were shot! After only 4000 miles! Apparently I have a technique problem and I didn't even realize it (only been riding for a few months). Predictably, we weren't able to find replacement pads for a bike that doesn't exist in El Salvador. Several places suggested we "refill" the pads. Never heard of that in the states, but since I had no other option I gave it a shot. $15 and several hours later, "new" brakepads! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2364.jpg The only other person staying in the hostal was a very interesting Canadian, who I only spoke with once. He was an evangelical Christian who had been traveling around Mexico and CA for years, to "stomp on the neck of the devil". He described all the places he'd been, some a beautiful, many as "inbred dens of perverts and whores" in complete seriousness. "Good people" lived in some of them, but "the devil has a strong hold" on the whole area. We cooked in the hostal kitchen, spaghetti and meatballs. We shared it with Rafael, who always watched the place at night. He shared his "green mangos" (unripened, sour, served with salt) and we talked for a long time. He makes about $10 per day, and works 12 hour shifts 7 days a week. Granted, his job is not difficult, but we can make that in 1 hour stateside. He talked about how he used to sell pirated DVDs, how life is in El Salvador, and we talked about life in the states. Very cool. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2362.jpg After three nights in San Salvador, we decided to head to coast for one night on the beaches before we entered Honduras. We had a little more money wired to us to cover our brake-pad emergency from the day before, and headed to western union to get the check. Got frisked when I entered the bank. We went West to La Libertad and took the South highway along the coast until we decided it was time to look for a place to sleep. We hopped on a western road and ended up going along a sleepy little coastal village near Bosque Santa Clara. We saw a big palm-leaf structure on the beach that looked to perhaps be a hotel. We enquired about it, and the woman on the street said it was just somebody's second home, but she knew the woman who took care of it. She whipped out her cellphone and started dialing, while ushering us to bring the bike it. We obliged, and a few minutes later the caretaker/tenant showed up. She said we could stay, we just had to be out by 9am when the owners might show up. No problem! Not a bad camping spot. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2398.jpg Not a bad sunset. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2382.jpg We were expecting to be asked for some money in exchange for the camping spot, but nope, never mentioned. She brought out a bunch of coconuts and cut us both one to drink. Delicious. Her little boy, Oscar, ran around the yard chasing the rooster with a lasso, trying to catch it. When the caught it he would let it go and do it again. We walked (or ran) along the beach with him, and he showed us where the turtle reserve where the sea turtle eggs incubate protected in the sand. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2389.jpg Hyperactive seven year old, and we loved him. He ran around showing us everything on the beach. The mother, Rosa (coincidentally both of our mother's names are Rosa as well) asked us if we wanted pupusas from the pupuseria down the street. Of course, and at 3 for a dollar we got enough for breakfast too. Her husband, Oscar as well, rode off to place the order and an hour later we were sitting down with them for more delicious pupusas. We talked about our various experiences living in the different countries and Oscar Jr. fell asleep in the hammock. Quite an amazing family, incredibly hospitable and friendly. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2412.jpg That night we decided to ditch the tent and sleep in the hammocks. What a night! We slept like babies. The sun rose at 6am and so did I. Great weather, great beach. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2391.jpg Rosa said the owners wouldn't be coming that day so we didn't have to rush out. We ate breakfast with the family and I took a swim in the ocean while the Oscars went and got their hair cut. I saw a few iguanas scrambling around the trees and the beach. Me and one of many chickens: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2410.jpg Eventually it was time to say goodbye. We were heading to Honduras today, and had a few hours to go till the border. |
1/24/11 Choluteca, Honduras
The border to Honduras was a little frustrating. We had to make about 15 copies of various documents, and we had to pay about $40 in fees to enter. The women working at the office were young and not helpful. First they accepted our US dollars, then when we pointed out a math error (in their favor, of course) and insisted on getting a receipt for our payment, they decided they were no longer going to accept dollars and insisted we get Lempiras instead. Time consuming and frustrating (well, for Michelle anyway, she is fluent so she deals with the borders), but we made it through. It's only a few hours from the border of El Salvador to the border of Nicaragua, but we decided to at least spend a day or two in Honduras since we payed so much. Honduras may have much to offer, but since we were on the wrong coast the bulk of Honduras will have to wait for our East coast trip.
Soon after the border we came across an 18 wheeler which had somehow lost control in the middle of the road and was completely blocking the two lanes. No shoulders, so cars were offroading around. Ninja is turning into quite the dirtbike. Michelle got hit with a low hanging treebranch right after taking this shot, so enjoy it. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2413.jpg We headed to the first major city we could find (I was starving, as usual), Choluteca, which at first appeared to just be an unremarkable dusty, small town. We were surprised to be able to find an ATM! However, soon enough we found the historical center of town, and an affordable hotel (Hotel Central, L$200). I actually quite enjoyed Choluteca. Town cathedral at night: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2485.jpg A Honduran Taco: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2492.jpg I was so hungry I ate two plates. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2490.jpg The next day the guy at the front desk told about Corpus, a little pueblo near there, accessible only by dirt road. We were told it had gold mines and very cool architecture. Very safe and friendly. We ventured out to find this city. About 15 miles of dirt road between us and the pueblo. Another river crossing! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2427.jpg When we ended up behind trucks or buses, the dust was so thick in the air that you couldn't see anything. Here is a picture of us approaching a dust cloud. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2477.jpg We found the little town and went to the central cathedral. We enquired about the gold mine, and the locals directed us to the main town office, where the town mayor was. He seemed somewhat surprised we were looking to see the mine, but he called up a guide to take us to there and in a few minutes we were being escorted. It was about a mile away, and the views were amazing. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2466.jpg When we got to the mine, we had to wait another hour for the head honchos at the mine to decide what to do with us. I imagine this is the first time any tourists have shown up to see the mine. I was a little skeptical, but Michelle had her charm about her and soon enough we were being escorted in with vests and hardhats under the pretenses that I was a geology student from University of TX (Sociology is close enough, right?). Entering the mine with Fuast and the company lawyer: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2432.jpg Reflective vests make photography difficult! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2438.jpg It reminded me of the muddy caves of Texas. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2442.jpg We were walked through the whole process, from extraction, to filtering, to the labratory where they pull out the precious metals. Filtering tanks: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2454.jpg This is what a good rock looks like! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2447.jpg Our labratory tech guide: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2465.jpg Now we know how gold is extracted! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2461.jpg We walked back to the town center and enjoyed fried chicken (all we could find) and icecream in the plaza. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2469.jpg You can't tell in this picture, but these stone streets were terrible for the bike! Big dips and big stones jutting out randomly. Probably the worst surface for the bike yet. The Cathedral and our guide, Don Tino, who has lived in Corpus all his life. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMG_2470.jpg We came back to Choluteca. That night an increasingly large number of ants were invading our room (and bed), so we switched to a different room, with slightly fewer ants. All part of the experience. My right rear turn signal stopped working. Turns out the bigger tire was rubbing my re-wiring job (had to relocate turns for bigger bags) on the right side. I pulled out my electrical fix kit and whipped up new wiring for the turns, and moved them up so they wouldn't get rubbed. At first I was concerned my bike-fixing kit was overkill, but the last 2000 miles have shown that is not the case. Next day we sent postcards and headed to Nicaragua, a short 45km´s away. |
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1/26/11 Leon, Nicaragua
The border between Honduras and Nicaragua was easy enough. Insurance was mandatory, $12us for a month. Also had to pay $30US or so for various permits. Not the cheapest, but it was relatively quick. Stopped once by a police checkpoint and were sent on our way after showing our insurance document.
Nicaragua! http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2526.jpg Shortly after entering Nicaragua we began to see some of the many volcanos that make Western Nicaragua famous. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2529.jpg We heard Leon was nice, and it was close to the border, so we followed the signs and were soon in Leon. Very beautiful city. Definitely was a big backpacker destination. Hostels were everywhere. We first stayed in "Hostel Colibri", which was cheap, but not the cheapest at $15. They advertised "free continental breakfast" so we figured those savings would make up the difference. I had very low expectations, but it turns out "continental breakfast" in Nicaragua means "toast". I generally have a huge appetite, so this would not do! Free coffee was nice though. The next night we switched to Hostel Bigfoot, a very popular and lively hostel, with dorms for $6 and private rooms for $13. I got a pretty heavy hippy vibe, probably due to the enormous mural on our wall... http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2625.jpg The rest of the place was similarly decorated. The "green tours" building across the street let me store the bike in their garage for $1usd the first night (the next night I had "free parking" at the police station, story later). Did I mention Leon is a good looking city? Massive and beautiful Cathedrals around every corner. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2624.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2629.jpg The Leon people love their lion statues. They are everywhere. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2612.jpg I normally take a road trip to Colorado to snowboard in the winter, but this year I had to skip out due to my Southern adventure. To compensate, we went "Volcano Boarding" down the Cerro Negro volcano. This is a volcano that errupts about every 8 years, and the surface is entirely made up of loose volcanic gravel. A bunch of companies in Leon offer volcano boarding, the most affordable and popular being the program run out of the bigfoot hostel ($28pp). They only do the type of boarding where you sit though, and I wanted to do the standing, so we went with a smaller company. $30 per person! Ouch! The road to the park: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2546.jpg The Volcano, quite an incredible view! http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2547.jpg Very dangerous Sulfiric gas pouring out of the side of the mountain. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2563.jpg The ground is very hot, our guide said you could cook an egg in 5 minutes if you buried it. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2576.jpg View from the top: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2572.jpg Goofy suits you are given for protection. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2582.jpg Michelle on her way down. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2588.jpg Some people have reached up to 87kmph going down on the sitting boards. I don't think Michelle quite hit that mark! She was having a little trouble. I had a little trouble myself, mostly with the sandboard bindings not quite slipping off my enormous boots. We both made it down alot dirtier than we started, and we had some incredible views to remember. The high price did turn me off of the whole "pre-packaged" tourist trips that are all over the backpacker destinations of Central America. If we had a bigger budget or less time it might be more appealing, but we've got time to burn and no money to spare, and the best memories of the trip so far have been free and unplanned. One thing I definitely enjoyed was the opportunity to talk to our native Nicaraguan guide about the food of Nicaragua. He gave us many recommendations for typical foods of Nicaragua, and when/where we could find them. I love food, and perhaps my favorite part of travelling is all the new flavors. Nicaraguan cuisine is the best I've had in Central America. Heavy on yucca (sort of like potato) and even heavier on plantains than the the other countries. Also cheapest. Favorites of Nicaragua: Vigoron - Big pieces of fried pork skin (chicarrones) over a bed of yucca and cabbage salad. 20 cordobas ($.95usd) per plate in the market, also found in the street sometimes. Very cheap and hearty. Moronga - 20 cordoba. The strangest one. I found it amazing, many people (even Nicaraguans) do not. A patty of fried pig blood and rice. Agains served over Yucca and salad. Hearty http://nicafacil.com/tienda/images/m...a%20(1lba).jpg (not my photo) Carne Bao - 35-50 cordoba. Found only on Saturdays in the market. Ask around for it, we found it at a produce stand in a huge basket covered in banana leaves. This keeps it hot I guess. Big delicious pieces of beef cooked together with Yucca and topped with salad. Perhaps the tastiest meal of the trip. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2603.jpg "Enchiladas" - 5 cordoba each. No similarity to the Enchiladas of Mexico. A simple tortilla filled with rice and heavily fried, covered with cabbage salad. We found this incredibly cheap dish in the dirtiest part of the Granada market. Fritanga - 30 cordoba. We found this often on the street at random times. A plastic bag is lined with plantain leaves, then filled with fried plantain chips, fried soft plantains (maduro), cabbage salad and grilled chicken: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2697.jpg On the second day of our Leon experience, we made the short 20 minute ride to the beach of Las Penitas. Very pretty, completely deserted. Incredibly strong waves, definitely explains all the surfers staying at the hostel. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2597.jpg We swam, drank a coke a little restaraunt on the beach, and headed back feeling great. We were heading back at a reasonably slow speed (we weren't in full motorcycle gear so I was taking it easy) and we were "randomly" stopped at a police checkpoint to check our documents. The officer wasn't being clear with his hand motions, so I didn't realize he wanted me to stop at first. I had to brake pretty hard to stop without going too far past him. He asked for our documents, which we had foolishly left back at the hotel. All we had was the dummy wallet with my expired driver's license. Uh oh! He motioned for me to pull off the road. He said he was going to have to give us a ticket for 500 cordobas ($25usd) for not carrying our insurance and "cirrculation document" (which we never actually got, we got something different at the border). Michelle tried to argue a bit, that it was an innocent mistake and we had all our paperwork at the hostel and that we couldn't have entered the country without those documents, ect... It was clear he wasn't going to budge. I knew we were in the wrong, and I was prepared to pay the ticket through the proper channels. He didn't just want to give us a ticket though, he was going to impound the motorcycle. He demanded I give him the keys. Michelle said we weren't comfortable letting strangers ride the motorcycle. He said the bank was closing soon, and that we could give him the C$500 cordobas and he would go pay it for us right now. Uh... yea right. He was fishing for a bribe and we weren't biting. He claimed the fine would be double if we didn't pay today, and that the motorcycle would be impounded until Monday (it was Friday), first at the Las Penitas police station and then it would be moved to the Leon station. He was also claiming we were speeding dangerously. His partner was generally silent or sympathetic to our cases, he didn't seem comfortable with the other officer's handling of the situation. We had 0 confidence in the situation, and there was no way we were giving him the keys to the motorcycle. He tried to make me sign a document turning the motorcycle over to him, and I refused. He whipped out his cellphone and "made a call" to the truck that was coming to pick up the motorcycle to take it to the police station. We locked the bike with the ignition lock and the rear wheel with the bike lock and quickly hitched a ride back to Leon to pick up the documents. Our ride was a very friendly guy named Rafael. He had studied in the USA and come back to Nicaragua. His family owns some businesses in Leon and he had a cattle ranch out near the coast. He was going to pick up some money in town, then he was returning to his ranch, so he could give us a ride back too! What luck! He dropped us off at our Hostel. We got the documents and 25 minutes later he was back, going out of his way to help us out. Really incredible friendliness. Michelle was definitely agitated, she was scared for the bike. I was more upbeat, it was a memory in the making! During the ride I was still imagining the scene of a few disgrunted cops manually loading my immobilized bike into the back of a pickup. The damage could be severe. I was mostly hoping my bike would be there and the cops would be gone. Michelle and I could ride back to Leon and laugh about the whole situation over dinner and drinks. We arrived back at the checkpoint. The cops were still there, waiting for us. Thankfully, the motorcycle was there too, to my great relief. "Good luck! If I see you walking back to Leon again I'll give you a ride!" We produced the documents, hoping that would satisfy them that indeed the motorcycle was legally in the country and legally ours. Unfortunately, but not unpredictably, this did not satisfy the angry cop, and now he had our documents which we really did need. Since we wouldn't let him take the bike himself, we demanded we follow him back to Las Penitas to impound the bike for the night. We didn't have a choice this time, so we obliged. The Las Penitas police station is a little cinderblock building with a tin roof and one typewriter. I sat in a plastic chair at the desk while a rooster stared at me and Michelle told her story to the police chief. He was not sympathetic, and said we would have to leave the motorcycle there overnight and that an investigator would come in the morning. Investigate what you ask? He claimed he had complaints of a "yellow motorcycle speeding dangerously, almost killed a kid". What!? I wasn't speeding and there were no kids on the road back to Leon! Since this was "the only yellow motorcycle he knew of" the bike was under investigation. Furthermore, my ID looked fishy with it's corner cut (he was right on that count, expired license). What a night! We caught a bus back to Leon, my first taste of the backpacker experience. Aside from the fact that my 6'5¨ legs do not even remotely fit in this seats, it was a fun time. The bus was blaring a very loud mix of beatles and disco while we bucked and rattled down the night highway in a crowded yellow schoolbus. At least I didn't have to pay for parking that night! The next morning we were 25 minutes late to our 9:30am appointment with the inspector, which was OK because neither the inspector nor the chief had shown up either. The chief seemed in better spirits that day, and actually listened to Michelle's story, understanding why we weren't cooperating with his officer. He said he would have been mad too, and that the offending officer would be punished. Soon the bike release paperwork was underway on the old typewriter. We never recieved any tickets and never paid any money. Nothing more was said on the expired license or the alleged reckless driving. He said that the Nicaraguan police force is the smallest police force in the world, per capita, and that he is very proud of how well they operate given their very meager size and budget. Most Nicaraguan police we spoke with have a similar pride, though to be honest we have had more problems here than with the rest of the continent combined. Perhaps they are just overzealous. We now had our bike, the stuff was packed up and ready to go at the hostel, and we were anxious to see more of Nicaragua. We headed out to Managua, the Nicaraguan Capital. We planned to just stop through and sleep in Grandada, which was highly recommended. |
1/28/11 Managua, Leon (Nicaragua)
Leon and Managua are two of the most important cities in Nicaragua, so I was somewhat surprised when the pristine highway quickly desolved into a huge mess of horrendous potholes and sections of dirt road. I thought for sure we had made a wrong turn.
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2636.jpg So we asked this boy if this was the road to Managua: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2635.jpg And he confirmed it, as did the next person we asked. I had a lot of fun weaving through the maze of holes, but I think the bike did not enjoy it quite so much. We arrived at Managua looking for cheap lodging. Apparently Managua doesn't really have a "centro", like most other cities, so we just rode around randomly. We found a few places going for a steep $20+, so we kept looking. One man said he knew of an area of town with cheap lodging, but it was so dangerous he wouldn't give us directions there. He recommended we look for the "Ticcibus" area and try to find lodging in a private house there, and he gave us directions. Well, of course those directions didn't really match reality, and soon enough we were lost again. I saw a little sign for a motel down the road and we turned and checked it out. Definitely an hourly motel, but the room was clean and it had a bathroom. Best yet, he offered it for 150 cordobas ($7.50). We'll take it! As night descended and we walked to get dinner it was clear that this was probably the dangerous area that man had warned us about. The streets were dirty, unlit and filled with all manner of people. We saw this enormous cone of lights a few blocks away. The picture of the lights is from google, because the hotel proprietor warned we take no money and no valuables to the park because it was too dangerous at night. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_VNfdv2MNq3...agua%2B083.JPG It also had this monument built for the pope John Paul II's visit to Nicaragua in 2002. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2651.jpg We left in the morning, but not before we got a few good shots of Managua. It definitely had it's crazy charm. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2658.jpg Lake Nicaragua apparently only a few blocks away from our hotel. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2654.jpg National palace. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2661.jpg 1/29/11 Granada As we left Managua, we were again stopped at a police checkpoint. This was the fourth time in just 100 miles. Michelle was frustrated/amused by this point, and said "you guys sure like the yellow bike, huh?". He said that it was Americans, Columbians and Mexicans that were bringing drugs into Nicaragua, that's why we were stopped. We wondered how many Americans ride bright yellow sports bikes SOUTH to Nicaragua carrying drugs, but didn't say anything. He was going to give us a ticket for our bags. What? Yes, apparently "this is a sports bike, it's not supposed to carry luggage". Michelle argued for a while. The luggage was designed specifically for motorcycles, it wasn't dangerous. This "sports bike" is all we could afford in the US. We have to carry alot because we are traveling. Eventually he let us go. We found a little hotel/hostel on the main strip, around $9.50 a night, best deal we found http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2720.jpg Lots of beautiful old churches, forts, train stations, what have you. We spent two days walking around. Old Hospital, totally burned out and eerie: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2726.jpg Biggest Cathedral in Central America: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2694.jpg View from the Hostel: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2695.jpg Lake Nicaragua, apparently the only freshwater lake in the world that has sharks. It is an enormous lake, with sizable waves and islands big enough for full size pueblos. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2686.jpg Went to a museum of chocolate and drank at least 3 or 4 cups of the free tea brewed from cocao husks and bought a chocolate bar (the artisan chocolate of central america is a little grainy and the best I've ever had). Also the museum of Pre-Columbian art (pottery before 1550): http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2707.jpg Bought a very nice Cigar from the Dona Elba cigar factory. I just finished watching The Sopranos before I left on the trip, how could I not? http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2741.jpg We considered going to La Isla Omtepe, a volcano island in Lake Nicaragua, but decided it would be a little expensive to ferry the bike back and forth. As we passed it I felt a little regret that we didn't, it seemed incredibly beautiful. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2760.jpg Oh well, next trip. We've got more things to see coming up! Well, that's it for Nicaragua. My favorite country of Central America so far. I can't wait to return and see the interior. Next, Costa Rica. |
2/1/11 Liberia (Costa Rica)
The Nicaragua/Costa Rica border was quite tedious. On the Nicaraguan side, you get to wait in a few lines to get yourselves and the bike checked out. Then, you get your bike fumigated. Then you get to the Costa Rica side and have to go to the bank to exchange currency, wait in 4 different lines at 3 different buildings (including one that is hidden several hundred yards away), buy insurance, make copies.
The bank rate was 490colons = $1. It was getting a little late so we stopped at the first major town we found, Liberia. We were greeted by the unholy quartet which we would see frequently in Costa Rica. Burger King + Churches Chicken + Papa Johns + Cinnabon. All in one location. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2793.jpg In Liberia we searched for a hotel. There was certainly no shortage, but nothing was cheap. We eventually found one for 10,000 colons ($20usd) and took it. Once we moved all our stuff in we began the search for dinner. Keep in mind we were coming from Nicaragua, where we were eating for $1.50usd per person. We walked for blocks and blocks looking for something, anything under $4pp. We failed. Eventually ended up at the little place near the hotel, and were treated to some of the worst food on the trip. Michelle got a hamburger drowned in mayo and ketchup. I got some sort of a meat on top of a healthy portion of shredded lettuce, also drowned in mayo and ketchup. Looking at the plates being served to other tables, it appeared that every plate was some combination of mayo and ketchup. I think our bill was 6,000 colones or thereabouts, the most we had payed the whole trip. The next morning we went to find an ATM and go grocery shopping (very expensive in Costa Rica). No matter where we went, the fast food prices were about the same as in the US. In the US fast food is a cheap alternative to real food. I have no idea how fast food places survive in the rest of Mexico/Central America, where the money you spend at McDonalds could easily buy you two or three meals of higher quality at a local joint. In Costa Rica, everything was so expensive that McDonalds made sense once again. We had to do it, at least just once. Michelle had a USA style pancake platter, but I went for the "McPinto". I got a healthy serving of "gallo pinto" (ubiquitous Central American rice and bean mix), fried plantains, cream and two tortillas. All served on the styrafoam containers that I haven't seen for 15 years in the US. We then visited Playa Del Coco, one of a thousand beaches that cover the Costa Rican pacific coast. We pulled up, pulled off our riding suits, went for a swim and then lounged on the beach with the elderly cruise ship tourists. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2794.jpg We then headed to "La Playita", a secluded little beach in Golfo Del Morales, near the Morales port. It's only a couple hundred feet long and is only used by locals. There doesn't appear to be any tourism in this area of Costa Rica. We set up our tent at the end of the beach and relaxed. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2824.jpg Nicaraguan cigar pairs well with Oaxacan mezcal. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2806.jpg Went swimming and once again Michelle got stung by something, this time much worse. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2881.jpg Sunset http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2815.jpg Driftwood fire http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2817.jpg In the morning thousands of hermit crabs were covering the low tide areas. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2847.jpg Next morning we leave our deserted beach for San Jose, capital of Costa Rica. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2864.jpg 2/3/11 San Jose (Costa Rica) In San Jose we find a little hourly hotel downtown for $20usd. Initially, we weren't thrilled with San Jose. Seemed like another sprawling metropolis, this time with just a little more money. Once we got to know her though, we became quite fond. A few things I liked: Beautiful plazas and gardens all over downtown San Jose. Costa Rica is richer than other Central American countries. Combine the Latin American love of public plazas, a wet climate, and the resources to maintain them and you get a pleathora of stunning, lucious public areas. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2891.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2900.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2884.jpg You couldn't walk two blocks without find another one. Also, pasteries. If you wake up really early on any morning and walk around San Jose the only thing open on every block is a gormet pastery shop, and they're all full of people. The pastery isn't cheap, but it is amazing! We checked out the contemporary art museum near the hotel, probably our favorite museum of the trip so far. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2956.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2932.jpg At this time I noticed that my right front fork seal was leaking. Not having the tools or the parts to replace it, I tried a quick fix. I took a few glossy advertisment pamphlets they had in the lobby of the hotel, ripped them into smaller pieces, and then ran between the tube and the seal to get out any gunk. Worked like a charm and haven't had any leaking since. We spent two nights in San Jose and then packed up and moved on. We had the option to go straight South from San Jose or head East to Limon to see the Caribbean coast. We chose the western path, through the Braulio Carrillo national park. Braulio CVarrillo is a cloud forest. lmost immediately upon entering the park it started raining. This was the first time on the entire trip that we had needed to break out the rain gear. Two months on the road and not a serious drop of rain. Riding through the cloud forest was incredible. Everything, every inch of ground, is covered by vibrant, lush folliage. You are going in and out of the clouds. It's cool and everything is soaking wet from the constant rain or the constant fog. Visibility is very limited. Obviously pictures will do it no justice but we took a few anyway. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2975.jpg Once we got out of the clouds we were soon in Limon, the large port town on the East coast. We stopped at a souvenier shop to buy some postcards and enquire about any cheap hotels in town. The cashier started dialing and soon enough we were randomly on our way to a small wildlife preserve 20km north. It was dark by this time, our directions only halfway made sense and the road was all mud. Road through the jungle! Quite an adventure when dark and muddy. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3078.jpg Eventually we found it. Normally people stay there for long term volunteering, but we negotiated to just spend a night there to check it out and help out. The preserve specializes in tree sloths, but it had a whole variety of monkeys, birds and miscellaneous creatures that had been confiscated or rescued. The next day we woke up early and pitched in. First we fed the animals and cleaned the cages. The monkeys are quite friendly. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3041.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3045.jpg Fun facts about sloths: 1. They only go to the bathroom about once a week. Cleaning the cages is a breeze! 2. They require a certain temperature to digest food. They can starve on a full stomach if they're too cold. Then we took the sloths out to excersize them. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3048.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3051.jpg The other volunteers we met (from Germany, New Zealand, USA and Luxemborg). Count the sloths. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3063.jpg Wonderful experience. I highly recommend the program to anybody looking to do eco volunteering. Unfortunately I can't remember the name right now. The bike looking dirtier than ever. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3072.jpg We bid farewell to our hosts and headed for the Costa Rica/Panama border. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3107.jpg |
I've seen some familiar places, and some others I wish I would have seen. Great stories and great photos.
Looking forward to seeing more of your adventure. It was great meeting you in David. May you ride safe and travel far. |
2/6/11 Panama (Part 1)
Changuinola 2/6/11
We crossed from Costa Rica into Panama through the small Sixoala entrance on the Caribbean coast. Tiny border crossing. Checking out of Costa Rica you have to declare whether you are coming back into Costa Rica or continuing on. We had not yet decided, but it seemed there was no penalty for falsely declaring that you were coming back, it just leaves the option open to you. So we said we were coming back. On the Panamanian side you have to declare where you are leaving Panama. We had no idea about that either, so we just chose a different Costa Rica/Panama border town. The Panamanian border officials said that you had to declare your actual exit point, but we left through Puerto Obaldia (continuing to Colombia) and nobody mentioned anything. To cross, we had to take the bike across this crowded pedestrian/train bridge, "paved" in loose boards. We crept along behind the foot traffic, hoping the front wheel didn't slip through the boards and topple the bike. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3115.jpg On the other side we met briefly with a Canadian couple who were going South on KLR650s. They told us where the insurance office for Panama was (down a path, up some stairs, through a dry goods store, on a balcony). Unfortunately they were finishing just as we were getting there so we didn't get to chat. Total fees to enter Panama were $15 for insurance and $3 per person to get the passports stamped. We had about $20 left at this point, a dollar short and no ATM near the border. Michelle convinced a the border official to take some of our leftover Mexican pesos to cover the last of the fee. Panama! http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3120.jpg It was getting dark-ish so we spent the night in the first big border town, Changuinola. Cheapest hotel was $16 a night. A little much. But, on the plus side, supermarket prices were almost as cheap as they are in the US. I was in heaven when I saw jars of peanut butter for under $3. PB in most Central American countries, if you can find it, is $5+. PB became a staple of my diet while in Panama. Next night we went to Chiriqui Grande, hoping to find a beach to camp on. No beach, just the dirtiest little port town ever. Hotel was $12 or so, nothing remarkable at all about Chiriqui Grande. Next day we headed out to Boquete, through the Fortuna forest reserve. Lots of mountains, very cool, very green. Lovely drive. On the way we stopped and ate lunch at a river. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3148.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3150.jpg Indigenous were washing clothes, a few kids were taking an afternoon swim, and a couple in a Panamanian van stopped to take a swim as well. Very pleasant. Fortuna forest reserve http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3175.jpg An hour later the couple we saw at the river was having some trouble with their van on the side of the road, so we stopped and offered to help. They got it started again, and offered to take us to Boquete through the back way. Sure! Little did I realize that this old diesel Toyota van was about to embarass me. The ninja 250 isn't a quick bike, but it does fancy itself to be a sportsbike, and it should be able to keep up with an old van in the curvy stuff. No. I was pushing myself to the limit trying to keep up with the ridiculous van. Daredevil passes, swinging through the curves, full throttle. Obviously this wasn't his first time going down these roads. Eventually we made it to Boquete, where we learned that he had gone a good hour out of his way to guide us. We had coffee in one of many little coffee shops that cover this area. The van: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3190.jpg Panamanian coffee from this area is amazing. He bought me and Michelle's coffee despite our protests. 2/8/11 Boquete My uncle went to highschool with a woman who has now retired to Panama. My uncle told her about our trip and we were invited to stay for a few days with her and her husband. Kathy and Fred. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3312.jpg They live in Los Molines, a very nice Neighborhood of retirees from all over the continent. View from the house: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3310.jpg Our time in Boquete was like a vacation from the vacation. Fred and Kathy's house is very much like a nice house you would find in America. After living for months out of tiny hotel rooms and tents, their spacious house was quite refreshing. The first night we arrived they had KFC ready for us, which I don't ever eat while I'm in the US, but it was a delicious change after months of beans and plantains. The next night, good old fashioned American pot roast. It was like a little slice of America. Plus, Fred is a car guy, and in the garage is his beautiful restored Ford Model A pickup. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3195.jpg We stayed three nights, eating delicious food, drinking delicious coffee. Evenings would be spent on the cool patio smoking cigars over cold beer. Boquete is an affluent area where many people retire. Very cool, very clean, lots of little coffee shops and cafes. The roads are mostly new and in good shape. Lots of things to do. We would just take the bike out on little adventures each day. First day, hot springs. Half an hour away, down a little dirt road, across a bridge and a short hike later, there is a hot springs. The owner charges $2 per person. Hiking: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3215.jpg Another monkey gets hold of Michelle: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3217.jpg There are 4 different little pools, each one with a different temperature. We tried them all. Some are warm, some are extemely hot. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3223.jpg Following it up with a dip in the cold, clean river water: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3225.jpg Later that day, "Mi Jardin es Su Jardin", a house outside of Boquete surrounded by a huge garden. Ponds, thousands of koi fish, waterfalls, flowers. The house is privately owned, but the owner opens the gates every day, free to the public, so they may wander around the garden. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3238.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3255.jpg As we left the garden it began to rain, and soon it was a boots-full-of-water downpour. We didn't have the raingear with us since it was beautiful weather when we left in the morning. Next day we ride to Volcan, a little town at the base of the Volocano that overlooked the whole area. The road is brand new, twisty and enjoyable. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3301.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3306.jpg Ate lunch and ice-cream in Volcan, then headed to David to get the bike fixed. The metal bracket that holds the mirrors, headlight and gauges had broken due to the rough roads of Mexico and Central America. First real non-wear-item problem of the trip. The broken bracket didn't inhibit the usability of the bike, but everything in front of the triple tree would shake wildly when going over rough ground. We found a motorcycle shop selling chinese harleys, who directed us to the welder across the street. While we were waiting we met Ryan, (halfthrottle on advrider/youtube/horizonsunlimited), an American motorcyclist who had married a Panamanian and was now living here. He entertained us with his stories of his travels in Central America and we made plans to meet for lunch the next day. Here is the "fixed" bracket (it would break again due to shitty welding before we got out of Panama). http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3308.jpg Our time had come to an end in Boquete. What a relaxing few days. Thank you so much to Fred and Kathy for welcoming us into your home. It was a great time. Our time with Americans was not yet over. First we went and met Ryan and his Panamanian wife for lunch at a casino. I got a real hamburger, the first since Texas. Ryan has worked, ridden and backpacked through Central America, and he is full of hilarious and amazing stories. He also told us about the beauracratic hell he was going through, trying to legally ride his foreign KLR650 that he bought six months ago and still cannot ride. We would be experiencing a taste of this in the days to come... Ryan is very funny and you should check out his youtube videos: YouTube - halfthrottle's Channel |
2/11/11 Santiago, Panama City - Panama (Part 2)
We bid our friends in David goodbye and headed towards Santiago, about four hours away. Kathy had given us the name and number of her son, Ahren, who had invited us to stay with them for a few days. Ahren was an avid motorcyclist in the states, and he recently moved to Panama, having also met a Panamanian doctor.
Ahren and Magally: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3453.jpg We ended up spending almost two weeks here, partially because our hosts and their family was incredible, partially because we were helping Ahren deal with shipping a container in from the USA. Santiago, with Magally's family, was incredible. Probably the best we've gotten to know a family on this trip. They welcomed us with open arms and we spent many days immersed in the Panamanian way of life. I don't know where to start with our time in Santiago, so I'll just tell some highlights. Family trip to the river, first day: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3329.jpg Feasted on chicken, rice and guandu. Guandu is a bean grown in Panama, that only grows for two months a year. During these two months, everything is served with guandu. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3330.jpg Crazy fruit I don't remember the name of: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3325.jpg Going out to a little port town for dinner with the family. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3338.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3344.jpg Dirt cheap fish plates, before and after. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3340.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3346.jpg It was Oriel´s (Magally's nephew) 16th birthday and we bought him a cake. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3347.jpg Vicky is a professor at the local highschool, which is apparently the biggest in Central America. She gave us a tour of the school and Santiago. The school was incredible: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3349.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3354.jpg The artist died while painting this auditorium and it was left unfinished. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3357.jpg Beatiful, detail everywhere. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3353.jpg Museum of Santiago displaying traditional Panamaian wear: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3369.jpg Bascillica outside of Santiago: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3381.jpg Vicky also killed some of her chickens to make us Panamanian sancocho (delicious soup of onion, garlic, cuillantro(?) and chicken). Also, Panamian tamales (a little different, they have olives in them). Went to the Veraguas fair: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3415.jpg The young ones love the horse rides: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3403.jpg We also spent several days driving to and from Panama City with Ahren, Magally and Beto. Panama city has insane traffic, and Magally will not drive there and Ahren does not have a license yet. Beto is Magally´s uncle, who volunteered three full days of his time to driving us around Panama city, skipping work to do it. Because "you're family". I saw time and time again friends and family going to extreme lengths to help one another out. Quite incredible. The reason for our trips to Panama city were to retrieve a container of tools and furniture that Ahren had shipped to Panama from the states. It was supposed to be a simple, drive up, sign, pick up deal. Done by lunch. It ended up being three days (20+ hours, no exaggeration) of driving through gridlock traffic from office to office, so Ahren could fork over hundreds of dollars to shady middlemen or useless buearucrats. We would get marriage papers, employment papers, residence papers in order, and then we would spend hours to find out that X document wasn't valid, Y document needed to be translated, Z document needed to be notarized again. It was a heroic effort. We drove to and from Panama (8 hours round trip) city twice, had to spend the night there once, and spent days driving around in Panama city gridlock. 10 days late and $1500 later, the container was home. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3452.jpg A miserable experience for Ahren, but me and Michelle didn't mind it. We got to see Panama city without the stress or expense of navigating it ourselves. What a city! Huge skyscrapers everywhere. The most extravagant and modern city we've seen all trip. Popping up over the hills on the road in. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3435.jpg Unforunately no good pictures, so I stole this one off google to give some idea of the scale of this city. http://panama24.org/panama-imagenes/...anama-city.jpg Muchas gracias a todo la familia en Santiago. Me encanta la experiencia que yo tuve en su ciudad. Nunca voy a olividarlo. Espero que puedo regresar muy pronto. 2/22/11 After such a long time in the Panama interior, we were looking towards the South, excited about South America but with still no idea how we could do it with our budget. We said goodbye to our friends and headed for Colon to find out... |
I seriously laughed out loud when I read the welding job in David didn't even make it out of Panama.
If you want anything done right you have to do it yourself here. Problem is, somethings you aren't allow to do yourself. And it's all down hill from there. Thanks for the great stories and pics. |
2/22/11 Panama coast (Panama part 3)
We headed towards Colon, the big port town on the Caribbean side. We were told that Colon was not a nice place... and it wasn't. Kind of cool though, all the buildings are really old, and still used, but not maintained at all. The people mostly live in a tall, delapidated buildings. Seems like the pictures I've seen of overcrowded African cities.
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3494.jpg Very cool. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3490.jpg "Hotel Garcia" was $9 a night, not a bad deal. There is no road between Panama and Colombia. It is separated by what is called the "Darien Gap", 80 miles of thick jungle that is impossible to cross. Flying the bike to Bogota is an option, but very expensive ($900 for bike alone). There are also several captains shuttling tourists between Panama and Colombia on sailboats, but these are also very expensive ($1200-$1600 for the bike and two people). Our budget would not allow for either of these options, so we were hoping to find some local boat that we could get a better price with. Next day we started asking around at the docks. We talked to a captain who gave us the number to Captain Sierra, who makes the trip to Colombia frequently. Michelle called him and got a price of $300 to Puerto Obaldia, a port town on the Panama - Colombia border. The trip would take three days, and food was included. We would still have to catch another boat or two to get to Turbo, but we were assured these would be cheap. Settled! Our boat didn't leave till Sunday (it was Wednesday when we found that boat), so we killed a few days in Colon. We went to the "Zona Libre", a huge shopping center in a tax-free grey area. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3485.jpg This place is wierd. You have to get a permit to enter (for tourists it's free). I think partially it functions as a place for merchants to buy their goods in bulk, alot of stuff didn't have prices, just technical information and number of pieces in a box. But you could also buy individual pieces at some places, including incredible deals on designer clothes and accessories. The catch is, you can't just walk out with the stuff after you buy it. According to the sailswoman, you can either have it shipped to the airport, or you can put it in the trunk of a taxi (the police can't search the taxis). There were several vendors of Chinese motorcycles, I saw a brand new 125cc work motorcycle for $300. Bulk price? My birthday is Febuary 25th. We celebrated with cake! http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3487.jpg But.... it wasn't the 25th. It was the 24th. We lost track of what day it was. We celebrated again the next day. On Friday we headed to Miramar (small port town 3 hours West), where our boat would be departing. Fun tropical road along the beach, but you never want to go too fast because you never know what might be in the road around the corner. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3512.jpg We got to Miramar, but found no affordable place to stay. We headed to the next town up, called Palenque, where we asked around for a woman named "Sista" and found lodging for $10. Very small, very poor town. We went to find something to eat at 5:00pm but the two restaraunts were both closed. Luckily we had more canned food left. Nice beach though, if you ignored the trash. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3514.jpg Saturday and Sunday we spent all day sitting around at the dock waiting for the stuff to get loaded onto the boat. We were supposed to leave on Sunday but the boat was still awaiting more supplies so we put our stuff on the boat and slept on the deck. Monday we continued waiting. Word on the docks was the boat wouldn't leave until Wednesday. A Candian backpacker named Mark wandered onto the dock that morning and asked where we were going. Turns out he was looking for ride to Colombia as well, so we talked to the Captain and got a price of $50. Mark would be our maritime traveling companion for most of our adventure to Colombia. He is also a fantastic photographer with a nice camera, and I was lucky enough to grab a few of his pictures before we parted ways. If you see a good picture in this section, it's his. Mark and Michelle were not enthusiastic about the prospect of sitting on the dock for three days, so we took off on two day trip to the famed San Blas on a little lancha. The seas were rough, the boat tiny, and it ended up being a 90 minute rollercoaster. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3525.jpg San Blas is hundreds of incredibly beautiful, tiny islands on the Atlantic coast of Panama. The Kuna Yala indiginous are semi-autonomous and have a very distinct style of building, rituals and dress. Unfortunately, our lancha was going to Porvenir, the airport island and staging ground for the rest of the islands. Small, beautiful, but not all that interesting after you've seen everything there is to see in 15 minutes. We were all on a budget and didn't have much time, so paying lanchas to shuttle us from island to island wasn't in the cards either. We ate octopus, swam in the crystal clear water, slept in the top floor of a kuna museum, and generally had a good time. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3560.jpg (Photo by Marshal Chupa) http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...a/_DSC1904.jpg Our sleeping quarters: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3633.jpg I would come to regret this little day trip, and not just because of the unexpectedly high cost (almost $100 for 24 hours of food, lancha rides and lodging). On the way back from Porvenir we caught a little cargo ship going back to Miramar. This boat took twice as long as the little lancha, and Michelle and Mark succumed to seasickness. Michelle went to sleep in the little bunkbeds the sailors used. A while later we hit a big dip, and Michelle flew out of the cot and gashed her head on the opposing metal bunks. It was bad. One of the sailors gave her alcohol to disinfect it. She was bleeding profusely, and I gave her my shirt to hold against her head for the rest of the trip. Once back in Miramar, we headed to the little health clinic. The nurse cleaned the wound, but said we would need to get stiches in another town called Nombre De Dios. We headed out carefully, Michelle unable to wear her helmet. Half an hour later we were in Nombre de Dios, and Michelle was getting anesthesia shots and stitches. I've got a picture, but it's a little graphic, so I'll just link to it. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3671.jpg Three stitches, two hours and one awesome hat later, we were eating fried fish and laughing about the whole thing. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3674.jpg During this ride I also noticed that the bracket I had fixed in David had broken again. Oh well, I would worry about that again in Colombia. The next day we left for Colombia |
3/1/11 Crossing the Darien Gap
The motorcycle couldn't be loaded directly onto the ship from the dock because the water was too shallow. We had to load it into a little lancha, go out 20 feet to where the ship was, then manhandle it onto the deck. The crew strapped the bike to a pile of stuff and there it stayed, getting soaked with salt water and bonking repeatedly against everything it was tied to. One of many great things about taking a small, cheap bike. These sort of things don't bother you (that much).
This was our ride: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...a/_DSC2181.jpg (Photo by Marshal Chupa) The Lya Del Mar, 69' of pure Panamanian Cargo ship. Very crowded, very dirty. Powered by an un-muffled 18 wheeler motor, it is incredibly loud. Top deck, bottom deck, cargo area, you are not going to escape the deafening motor. Our trip was going to be 3 days. We took some backpackers with us, including a Brazillian who was also going to Colombia. After 4 hours of big waves and crazy noise, he wished the three of us good luck and got off at the first stop. Our first stop, as it turns out, was Porvenir, where we had been the day before. We were told this cargo ship was going direct to Puerto Obaldia, but apparently it was going to be stopping at many islands in San Blas to sell supplies and deposit passengers. Awesome! We get the San Blas tour after all. Unforunately it made our expensive Porvenir trip the day before completely pointless. The people on the boat included me and Michelle, Mark, two colombian passengers, three military, eight crew and an endless stream of Kuna passengers getting on and off. Every few hours we would stop for an hour at a random Kuna island and everyone would jump out and explore the town. At night we would dock at bigger Kuna islands. A truly incredible experience. The deck: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3693.jpg Sleeping against the bike. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3802.jpg The islands, ranged from tiny single-house islands to small, crowded islands of several hundred. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3756.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3716.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...a/_DSC2532.jpg (Photo: Marshal Chupa) The streets of a Kuna village: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3725.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...a/_DSC2154.jpg (Photo by Marshal Chupa) Delivering supplies and people: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...a/_DSC2607.jpg (Photo by Marshal Chupa) To deliver fuel they throw the barrels off the side and the Kuna swim to shore pushing them: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3778.jpg Catching baracuda for dinner off the side of the boat: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...a/_DSC2482.jpg (Photo Marshal Chupa) Food was included on the trip, and it was delicious but a little sparse. We ate what the crew ate, unfortunately the crew was made up mostly of Kuna Yala, who are small and who must not have very large appetites, because I was constantly starving. Each island we stopped at I would search for bread to suppliment my diet. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3728.jpg Ronald, the Colombian friend we met on the way. He has invited us to stay with him in Bogota. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3853.jpg At night the crew strings up hammocks everywhere. We slept in sleeping bags on the deck, but Mark, that lucky dog, brought his hammock from Canada. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3845.jpg I actually have the exact same hammock at home, but there was sadly no room for it on this trip. Once we got to Puerto Obaldia the Colombia-bound passengers disembarked and stamped out of Panama. No cost, just a single copy of your passport. We returned to the boat and the captain had called a lancha over to take us to Capurgana, the little port town on the Colombian side where we could stamp our passports in (but not the bike, needed to go to turbo for that). The 1/2 hour lancha from Puerto Obaldia to Capurgana was $12 per person, but he wanted $70 for the bike alone! We argued him down to $70 for the bike and us, but it was still too expensive. Unfortunately we had no other choice, so we paid $70 for that leg of the trip. It was no easy feat to move the bike from the deck of the ship to the little lancha in open water. It was raining and the sea was not calm. A tense minute later and we had the bike loaded on it's side in the bottom of the lancha. The sea was rough and I could do nothing but watch as the bike bounced around on it's side. More bike abuse. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3857.jpg We made it, and Mark helps me lift the bike onto the dock. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3861.jpg There is no electricty till 6pm, so the passport office is closed. We explore the town and try to find a good rate of exchange for our dollars. The best we can find is 1800 to the dollar (ATM rate, 1890). Thanks to the pointless Porvenir trip, the delayed ship departure and the expensive lancha ride, me and Michelle are now dangerously low on money, having only the equivalent of $100us to get us to Turbo. We get our passports stamped (free!) and wait till tomorrow morning, when the next lancha comes. We stay in El Lutivo hotel. For $5pp. I know we should be saving money, but we havn't showered in 6 days and things are getting desperate. This hotel is very nice, they have free coffee, and I could pull the bike into the courtyard for the night. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3866.jpg We have a pretty big crew of people by this point, and for the first time Michelle and I are not travelling alone. We began to miss it. It was us, Mark the Canadian, Ronald the Colombian, an older Colombian man and a crazy Argentinian backpacker who had snuck onto the boat off one of the islands and had 3 dollars to his name. Ronald and Mark were awesome. The other two were driving Michelle crazy. The older Colombian was far too talkative and would interfere when Michelle was trying to negotiate. The Argentinian was insane, dead broke and was relying on everyone else to feed him and get him across. Michelle and me were low on money too, and we had barely enough food for ourselves. Everyone pitched in what little they had that night, but it was Ronald that ended up giving his large supply of canned food to feed everyone. Michelle and Ronald spent the evening trying to help the Colombian sell his camping equipment so he could afford the voyage to Turbo, where he could wire for money from his parents. The next morning the lancha ticket office told Michelle that it would be $300,000 pesos to take the bike across, plus $50,000 for each one of us. That comes to about $220us, which was ridiculous. We weren't leaving on that lancha, even if we had that kind of money we wouldn't throw it away like that. We would be waiting for something else. We bid our friends goodbye. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3864.jpg The Argentinian had managed to sell enough of his stuff to afford the ticket, so we were all alone once again. It felt good, but we were in a tough spot. There was talk of a turbo-bound cargo boat stopping later that day, and one the next day, but nothing definite. We had precious little money, and every peso we spent would be another peso we could not bargain to the boat with. Furthermore it is illegal for a cargo boat to take passengers in Colombia, so there was no guarantee we could even find one. We were both starving, but food was very expensive in this town. We bought bread and sardines and waited. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3872.jpg Later we learned that the cargo boat coming arriving that day wouldn't depart for another 4 days. The boat coming in the morning, "El Pipe", was our best hope. We camped on the seafront that night, enjoying another meal of bread and sardines. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3876.jpg We woke up at 5:30am the next day and resumed our sitting by the dock. At 7am the boat came. I stayed out of sight and Michelle, who is often mistaken for Colombian, went to get a price. I held my breath as she walked back, desperately trying to read her face... They accepted! $170,000 pesos for us and the bike! I felt a rush of relief. They loaded the bike on with the big dock using a board as a ramp, making it the easiest load yet. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3911.jpg The bike was actually sheltered and http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3880.jpg We had to wait a few more hours for the boat to finish loading. We departed at noon, but first we had to go to Sapzurro, to pick up more cargo. The cook fed us lunch, a hearty meal of beans, rice and beef. Amazing after being famished for so long. Sapzurro: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3913.jpg We got to Sapzurro quickly, but soon learned that a shipment of coconuts was late, so we would not be departing for Turbo until the morning. Oh well, another day of lazing around port towns. We took a hike around Sapzurro. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3899.jpg I was hungry and spent 20 minutes opening a coconut using only a pocketknife. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3893.jpg We ate dinner on the boat, a delicious colombian style Sancocho with beef and plantains that somehow tasted exactly like potatos. We camped another night. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3907.jpg Early next morning the coconuts arrived and we were soon loaded up and on our way to turbo! By lancha this trip is two hours, but on our slow cargo boat it was more like 6. The cook fed us breakfast and lunch, both full of yucca and plantain. The food was heavy and it felt so good to be full again. At about 2:00pm we were instructed to get out of sight incase a military boat should spot us (passengers being illegal on cargo boats). At 2:30, we had arrived in turbo. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3924.jpg They park the boat on the side of the canal, we quickly throw our stuff overboard and roll the bike onto dry land again. The entire process, from arriving to Colon trying to find a boat, to disembarking in Turbo, 100 miles away, took 14 days and cost $460 for two people and the bike. The bike came out surprisingly well considering the abuse. A fair amount of rusting (exhaust especially) and a few new paint blemishes, throttle and clutch feel a little loose, but nothing major. I cranked her for a few seconds and she sprung to life. It is done, we are in COLOMBIA! http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3926.jpg |
Interesting ride report. Enjoyed the pictures and stories.
Confirms what I keep saying to people, "You don't need a big bike to go touring" I think you will find that things get better from Colombia onwards. I am headed down to Colombia my self this summer for a few weeks of motorcycling adventure. Cheers Ride4Adventure |
Colombia part 1
Turbo 3/3/11
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4131.jpg Colombia Coca-Cola, 2007 Antonio Caro Museum of Modern Art, Medellin We reached Turbo dirty, broke, with no idea where to go and a rusty motorcycle without a permit. Very happy to be on the mainland finally. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3926.jpg First thing I noticed when getting off in Turbo was the motorcycles. 9 out of 10 vehicles is a motorcycle, most being 100cc 2 strokes or 125cc 4 strokes. We had several things to do. 1. Find an ATM. Easy. Rate was about 1900 Colombian pesos to the dollar. 2. Find a hotel. "Hotel Good Nigth" (no typo) fit the bill, for 20,000 pesos. 3. Wash the salt off the bike. There was a "parquedero de motos" (parking place for motorcycles) across the street, which had water and I washed it there. 4. Get a bike permit. The friendliness of the Colombian people really came to light at this point. Buisness owners volunteered to watch the motorcycle. Police were friendly and helpful, apparently not perturbed by the fact that we were riding an illegal motorcycle. Buerecrats made phonecalls for us. Eventually we found out we needed to go to the DIAN office, that was located on the military base on the beach. Sometime in the past I remember reading that Colombians customs were very difficult and could take weeks. Not sure where I heard that, but Colombian customs were a breeze. In and out 5 minutes, very simple paperwork. Plus, it cost nothing. Turbo is one of two big port town destinations on the North side of Colombia. If you take the cheap route across the Darien Gap, you will probably end up at Turbo. If you take a nice sailboat cruise, you will end up at Cartegena. Cartegena is famous for Colonial Architecture and tourism. Boring! Turbo is famous for being dirty and dangerous. Give me Turbo any day. We spent two days in Turbo doing some busy work. Getting the stitches out of Michelle's head, updating the blogs, getting the motorcycle permit, things of that nature. We began the road to Medellin, which brings me to the next thing I noticed about Colombia. Incredible variety of scenery. A few hours ride in any direction and you will be in a completely different climate. Beaches, amazonian jungle, Andes mountains, desert. You have it all in Colombia. The route to Medellin is a rough one. Takes 8 to 12 hours. There are frequent closures due to landslides, protests or Guerilla action. Luckily it was open when we were coming down. Colombian security is much improved over the past few years, but there are still signs of unrest. On the radio a few days earlier we heard that the Guerilla had burned four cars. Sure enough, we saw all four of the scars on the road. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3941.jpg Crazy scenery. Dense jungle to the Andes mountains in a few hours. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3953.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4010.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4063.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4027.jpg And of course the road itself was amusing too. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4012.jpg We stopped at a small roadside fruit stand for some Avocados to supplement our lunch. "How much for these two?" "Oh just take them, their a gift." Things like this would be common in Colombia. Latin America is generally an incredibly friendly place, but Colombia stands out. Slept in the small town of Debeina for the night. Lovely little hotel for $6us. Clean, small, cool. I recommend it. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_3993.jpg As I unpacked I realized that sometime during the process of packing up to leave Turbo I lost the tailbag with all my tools and spares. We called the hotel but no luck. I felt completely naked without a set of tools with me. This would have to be fixed soon. Medellin 3/6/11 Next day we arrived in Medellin. I will never forget coming around the corner and seeing Medellin for the first time. Surrounded on all sides by the towering Andes mountains, Medellin's red brike houses overflow onto the mountain sides. Skyscrapers shoot up from the center, almost as high as the small mountain that sticks up from the center of the city. We were moving too fast to take any good pictures, but here's a shot anyway. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4075.jpg Again, tons of motorcycles. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4083.jpg You may remember we repaired a flat front tire in Guatemala. We had unsuccesfully been search through 7 countries of a correct 100/90/16 tire. Well after we had patched the tire for the third time on the way to Medellin I decided it was time to stop being picky. We stopped at the first tire shop as we entered Medellin and they quickly located a 110/90/16 tire. Close enough right? Once they had mounted it I realized what a monster it was. Big dirt tire. I love the look, but the low speed handling did suffer. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4085.jpg $43 installed. Random China tire. Medellin is the former capital of Colombia, and it's home to almost 4 million people. It has an interesting reputation. Some will say it's a historic cultural center, others will talk about crime and prostitution. Definitely both of these things. Theaters, museums and history combined with the grime, characters and convenience of the big city. Definitely my favorite city of the trip so far. No shortage of cheap love hotels. We stayed in "El Encuentro" for $6us per night. Tiny room, but it had a private bath, cable TV and an ipod-ready stereo system. The downside was the other guests. Some nights we were kept up by two rooms battling to see who could turn the stereo up the loudest, other nights it would be somebody jamming out on the bongos, sometimes it would be a nosiy client with his prostitute. Ah, the memories. We did the touristy thing, checked out the museums of modern art and the Botero plaza. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4091.jpg Fernando Botero is probably the most well knwon Colombian artist, famous for his "volumous" interpretations of people and things. Medellin's contemporary art museum had a whole floor dedicated to him, and the plaza outside had huge Botero statues. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4111.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4120.jpg "Pablo Escobar is Dead" http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4124.jpg With the Botero Statues; http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4150.jpg Cool plaza. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4088.jpg Lots of little theaters around Medellin, doing performance and film. One night we went to a theater doing a performance of Synthia Plath´s (the poet) life. $5us for students, comes with a beer and coffee. Live music, incredible actors and actresses. Very cool. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4174.jpg The food in Medellin is great. You can get a delicious dinner on the street for $3000 pesos ($US 1.60). http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4161.jpg Also tried Arepas. Similar to the pupusas of El Salvador. Arepa de Chocolo (left) is made with a sweet corn dough and topped with white cheese and butter. The Arepa de Quesito is made from a lighter dough (rice?), filled with cheese and topped with lecherita (condensed milk cream stuff). Incredibly delicious, incredibly bad for you. A must try. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4169.jpg The last night in Medellin was a Saturday night. Apparently all the hotels increase their prices, and we couldn't justify $20,000 for our current hotel so we searched for something cheaper. We found a little green door downtown, and inside was the equivelent of a tenement house. Big space subdivided into makeshift rooms with cardboard-thin plywood. Mostly for long term rental but they offered us a room for $4.00us for the night, bike parking included. Our room was a closet with a mattress and a black and white TV with one channel. Perfect! Cheapest hotel of the trip yet. The plan was to go to sleep early, get up at 6am and do the 8 hour drive to Medellin. Just as were about to go to sleep the kids living in the building discovered us. We spent the next four hours chatting and entertaining them. They brought us sweets, a bit of sausage, a bottlecap, their english homework and a prized 12" LP record (Golazos Del Mundial '94). Really sweet kids, very cool experience. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4181.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4197.jpg We got to sleep just around 2am. There goes our plans! Worth it. |
Bogota - Colombia part 2
Bogota 3/10/11
We left for Bogota at 10:30am. Going to be a long day! Great thing about riding in Colombia: Motorcycles don't pay tolls. Every toll station has a tiny lane on the far right for motorcycles and bicycles. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4211.jpg Ate lunch next to a picturesque river. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4225.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4229.jpg After a grueling 9 hours of riding, we arrived in Bogota. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4273.jpg We had planned to meet with Ronald (Colombian we met on the boat, lives in Bogota), so we gave him a call once we hit the city. "Oh, you're 4 hours away. Better find a hotel!". Bogota is an ENORMOUS city. Ronald says it has 12 million people and takes 4 hours to cross by car. We searched and searched, but Bogota is so sprawling it took forever to find anything remotely reasonable. It always seems like it's the really long days where we had this trouble. Eventually we found a place to stay for $20,000, and we collapsed into sleep. Next day we decided to ride around Bogota to see the city. Not really a great idea. Bogota is so huge and sprawling we rode around for hours without seeing anything interesting. Just an eternal sprawling metroplex. It is very clean and cool, but reminded us too much of Houston back home. When we were stopped at a stoplight, waiting for it to turn green, a man approaches us. "I found this screwdriver on the road, I don't need it. You have it." http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4278.jpg Since I had just lost my toolkit a few days before I was very excited. What a nice guy. Just long enough to adjust that pesky carb calibration screw too. We were supposed to meet Ronald that day in the Simon Bolivar plaza, so we headed that way. The plaza is very beautiful, very European, but somewhat irritating to hang out in. Every two minutes somebody will approach you asking for money or offering to sell you something. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4299.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4298.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4290.jpg On the plus side, there are many little vendors selling interesting Colombian treats. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4301.jpg It's called Obleas. Two big paper-thin wafer cookies filled with cream, lecherita, crushed peanuts, cheese and fruit. Delicious. We waited for two hours. Apparently Ronald had missed the last bus into the center. Damn! I guess we'll be finding a hostal. ... or not. After an hour of riding around we found the historical area with all the hostals. Unfortunately in the hostals it would be $40,000 for the two of us, and this was just too expensive. We settled on a hotel 3 blocks away, for $15,000 for the both of us, private bathroom. Next day we did a little run around to take some pictures of Bogota. It grew on me during our stay downtown. Quite a beautiful city, just too big for it's own good. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4314.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4318.jpg Park close to downtown: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4327.jpg We met up with Ronald and his girlfriend and did the tourist thing. Museums! Museum of gold: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4339.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4348.jpg Museo de la florero (flower vase): Colombian indepence was sparked by an argument over this flower vase. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4392.jpg The locals asked to borrow the vase for a dinner, knowing the request would be refused, and the Spanish government official refused. The vase was broken, a fight broke out and the Colombian revolution began. Random museum of the HJCK radio station. It's free! Why not? http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4400.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4405.jpg Their original record player, I love record players, I miss mine. We could have spent days doing all the Museums in downtown Bogota. There are tons. The ninja on the streets of Bogota: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4376.jpg Police motorcycle. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4421.jpg Suzuki Freewind 650. Never heard of it before, but it's a cool one. They also use DR650s and GS500e´s. I love police motorcycles down here! http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4412.jpg I gave Ronald a ride on the motorcycle and we bid our friends goodbye. That night we met the other hotel guests, a group of 5 Colombian military. They were all in town to collect their government disability benefits. One was missing a finger and had been shot in the leg, one had been hit by lightening while on patrol and his heart was connected to a battery on his belt. They were all our age or younger. We chatted for hours. Talked about music, culture and the guerilla. One of them showed us some pretty ghastly videos on his phone. Interesting night, but the talking lasted so long it was too late to grab any real dinner. We settled on empanadas and arepas down the street, which can be found at any time of day. Next day we left for Cali, Colombia, the third large city of Colombia. On the way out we took a little detour to the kawasaki dealership to find an oil filter. Had to pay OEM prices, but since the filter hadn't been replaced in 3 oil changes I didn't care. Just happy to have found one. We also came across a little outdoor market with a guy selling tools, and I began to rebuild my tool kit. Our little detour took up a good part of the day, so we didn't get very far on the road towards Cali. We spent the night in Fasafasuga, two hours away. Nice hotel for $20,000. Bogota was high, but we'd be going even higher. Within a few hours we were in the clouds once again. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4465.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4470.jpg Crazy low visiblity up there in the clouds. |
Cali, Pasto - Colombia part 3
Cali 3/16/11
The road from Bogota to Armenia was in great condition, but plenty of traffic and tight twisty stuff kept us down to an average of 20mph all the way to Armenia. I didn't think there was any way we'd make it to Cali, but once we turned South from Armenia the road turned into flat plains and pure straight highway. I pushed the bike up to 80mph for the first time in weeks and we flew into Cali before dark. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4482.jpg The exhaust had turned from a nice black to a red rust during the boat trip to Colombia, and I took some time to care for the bike with my "new" tools. Changed the oil and filter finally, gave everything a once over, and painted the exhaust with some rustoleom BBQ paint. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4492.jpg You might notice there is a big hole on the inside of the exhaust. There is one on the other side too, where the exhaust was rubbing on the trailing arm. I hadn't noticed that until Panama, I have no idea how long it's been like that. That explains why I've been setting off all those car alarms... We were told to try a few things in Cali. Manjar blanco: a thick milk-based confection, served in something like a coconut shell. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4494.jpg Pan de Bono: A yucca based bread filled with cheese. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4491.jpg We also tried Bandeja Paisa, a crazy huge dish, which in order to be considered a real bandeja paisa must include these 13 ingredients: red beans cooked with pork, rice, ground meat, pork rind, fried eggs, plantains, chorizo, arepa, hogao sause, black pudding and avocado. Ours was missing the black pudding, but it was still amazing. Supposedly it's best in Medellin. http://www.mycolombianrecipes.com/wp...a-Paisa015.jpg (not my picture) We spent two days in Cali, nothing of interest really, and then left for the Ecuador border... or we tried to. The 12" LP record we were given in Medellin was becoming somewhat of a burden. It was too large and fragile to be put into the luggage, so Michelle had been carrying it for hundreds of miles. It was such a important gift that there was no way we would leave it behind. It was clear that it would not survive the trip for much longer, so we decided to send it home. We spent a good deal of time locating the post office and spent a hefty $45 to ship our little package home. Nooowwww we can finally start on our way to Ecuador. Two hours into the trip Michelle tells me to pull over. She has been keeping a journal full of all the information she's learned, names, addresses and phone numbers for everyone we've met, information on fabric suppliers she's found, sketches. She truly treasures this trip journal, and now she has no idea where it is. We look through the luggage and find nothing. I guess we're going back... We checked everywhere we had been the night before. The restaraunt didn't have it, the hotel didn't have it and the bakery we had coffee and pastry didn't have it. When we returned to the bakery we were befriended by the owner. Alberto had been running the bakery for 14 years, and had lived in Colombia all his life. He brought us out different breads and cheeses to try for free. When I inquired as to where I might find a grocery store he said "let´s take my truck!". Incredibly friendly fellow. He invited us to come to the river with him the next day. Apparently he has a friend who has a lot out there, and he goes frequently. I guess we'll be staying in Cali a little longer than expected! The next day we arrived at the bakery hoping to grab a quick breakfast before we left. Just as I was ordering he stuck his head out of the back and asked "you want eggs?". In a few minutes we had big plates of eggs, rice, beans, bread and coffee in front of us. Very tasty, his bread was truly incredible. I went to pay and the cashier refused, saying that the boss had sent it. Good start to the day. He drove a little chinese brand work truck with two seats. Since there were four of us going out to the river me and Michelle opted for the back. It was pretty interesting carving around the mountain roads, sliding around on little plastic crates with the door open in front of me. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4507.jpg Half an hour later, we arrived in the little pueblo called "La Elvira". http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4524.jpg Stopped for some vegtable sancocho and cerveza. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4523.jpg We went a little further and arrived at his friend's lot. His friend lives and works in Cali, but he would be joining us later. We explored the picturesque little farm on the mountainside. Crazy swing off the edge of the mountain. Pretty intimidating to do for the first time. You slip off and you could very easily die. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4531.jpg Stairs leading down the tilapia pond. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4540.jpg We met a confused rooster, who according to legend was only sexually attracted to shoes. I kicked my shoe at him to find out. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4543.jpg Let's just say there is DNA evidence to prove it. Next, to the waterfalls. Freezing cold but amazingly beautiful. Alberto is at the bottom for reference. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4548.jpg Me and Alberto enjoying our high pressure massages. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4551.jpg Moving onto the next waterfall. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4553.jpg Alberto diving: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4563.jpg Enjoying the smaller stuff: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4570.jpg Obviously we're very frustrated at having to return to Cali. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4567.jpg We go back to the farm and enjoy a snack of more bread and cheese. Soon the owner arrives (name forgotten!) with his family, and another friend. I am told that this little village is paradise, and Colombia is the best country in the world. It's hard to disagree. Michelle talking with Jason, a nephew. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4587.jpg Shortly afterwards we are treated to even more baked confections, along with coffee and agua de panela (boiled fruit water). Turns out this guy owns a bakery too. Bakers are great friends to have. Alberto has to get back to close the bakery, so we exchange information with out new friends and bid them goodbye. If you are in Cali, this bakery is around the intersection of 6th avenue and 15th street (as is Hotel California, where we stayed for $5us a night). He loves talking to travelers and if you strike up a conversation with Alberto tell him Jordan and Michelle say hello. Dinner is granola, bannanas and chess. The little travel chess has gotten plenty of use this trip. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4602.jpg Next day we eat one more delicious breakfast at the bakery and head out. Eating lunch on the roadside. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4654.jpg The road from Cali to Ecuador is great. After an hour you're out into an area that looks and feels just like Mexico. Dry, hilly desert. The roads were even potholed exactly like they were in Mexico. We spent two hours in dejavu remembering what a great time Mexico was. Then, the next hour we are up towards the clouds again, carving up enormous platueas and valleys. We have seen many beautiful mountain ranges on the trip, but never anything like this. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4669.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4698.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4712.jpg Wow. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4706.jpg And then soon enough we're back in the clouds, soaking wet. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4719.jpg I actually give a little love tap to the bumper of a car at one point. Guess the wet grip of my China tires isn't up to snuff. No damage though, thank goodness. If I still had a front fender I probably would have left a nice yellow mark. Almost makes the constant stream of dirty water getting thrown up into my visor worth it. Pasto 3/21/11 We were advised that Pasto was a nice place to stop, and since the weather wasn't looking any nicer we stopped for a place to sleep. As of Today, 3/22/11, that is where I am writing from. Pasto is a very nice town. Clean. Big enough to have everything you need but small enough to avoid the big city grime. It's very cool and rainy up here, which I like. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4749.jpg I could live here. Michelle says it's too rainy. Lunch in the market $2500 pesos. Most places were serving "pata". A plate of duck for $2500! http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4741.jpg Pata means "duck", but I guess it means hoof as well, because this is what we got. Definitely interesting, I've never tried it before. Incredibly fatty, with many different textures. Michelle was not a fan. If nothing else it was incredibly filling. Also trying the local Pasto soft drink. A flavor something like big red, but I can´t quite put my finger on it. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4744.jpg Also finally got to try these little tomato looking things I've been seeing this whole country. Turns out they´re nothing like tomatoes. They're more like potatoes, but they have a seed in the middle. Served hot and with salt. Delicious. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4745.jpg And, some good news. We called the DHL office where we stopped briefly a few days earlier, on the off chance that Michelle left her prized notebook there. Yes, they've got it! Getting it shipped to the US would be $75, but getting it shipped here to Pasto is only $4. I guess we're hanging out in Pasto for a day! |
Looks like an awesome trip! Also I like that caveman beard you got going on
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3/22/11 Quito (Ecuador part 1)
Quito 3/22/11
We got the package by 11am and headed out to Ecuador. Not far from Pasto. Goodbye Colombia. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4767.jpg Ecuador border crossing was very easy. Checking out of Colombia only took a moment, checking into Ecuador took 30 minutes and cost nothing. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4772.jpg We weren't sure where we would end up that night. All the Colombians we talked to said that Ecuador was cheap, but all the hotels we came across were twice the price of our Colombian hotels ($15 compared to $7), but dusk was fast approaching. The Panamerican was in such great condition that we decided to break our normal no-night-riding rule and keep going to Quito. Stopped and tried "bizcocho", which were advertised everywhere. Little hard sticks of salt bread. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4781.jpg Got to quito, found a hotel ($12 per night, too expensive!) and awoke in the morning to get breakfast. At least the food is cheap here. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4862.jpg Egg, two "tortillas de verde" and coffee for $1. Stayed two nights in Quito. Lovely city. Second highest capital city in the world. Very clean and cool. Most impressive Cathedral of the trip, by far. Basilica de Voto Nacional. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4784.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4807.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4819.jpg African-American protest in front of the hotel. They had signs with Malcom X and Martin Luther King Jr. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4828.jpg Quito historic district streets: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4825.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4842.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4844.jpg Center of Contemporary Art: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4837.jpg Favorite art museum of the trip. Tons of people were selling this: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4863.jpg "Esponilla", means "foam" in spanish. Looks like ice-cream, is actually just some sort of whipped cream. A little too rich for me. Last day we rode up onto the hill in the middle of the city, where an enormous angel ("El Panacillo") is perched. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4885.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4879.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4899.jpg Goodbye Quito: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4890.jpg |
3/24/11 Banos, Guayaquil (Ecuador part 2)
Next, to Banos.
First crash of the trip. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4912.jpg Raining. Came up to these diagonal railroad tracks, didn't realize they had deep wheel-catching trenches until it was too late. Slowed down and tried to go sideways over but didn't take enough of an angle and the front wheel caught the trench. I was only going 5mph, so no damage to us or the bike. Just a few frustrating minutes of trying to clear the flooded carbs. Lucky it was very minor. Stopped in a Salcedo, where every single shop advertised this special fruit ice-cream. Apparently it's famous all over the world http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4913.jpg Probably the best icecream ever. Cream flavor on the right, avacado flavor on the right. We got to Banos, but kept going to find an appropriate camp spot. Right before the first tunnel after Banos we saw a little place where I could ride the bike up into the reeds. Beyond that, there was a short hill where the tent could be hidden. This looked good: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4940.jpg View of the waterfalls going down the canyon. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4965.jpg Stealth camping at it's finest. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4984.jpg The bike was hidden slightly further up the hill. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_4975.jpg Definitely the most beautiful camping spot of the trip thus far. We spent two nights here while we explored Banos. Paid $1pp to take a hike down to "Pilion Del Diablo", a waterfall. From a distance: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_5011.jpg 40 minutes later: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_5029.jpg You could crawl up a little path to go behind the waterfall. Rain gear came in handy here. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_5051.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_5038.jpg Beautiful place. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_5047.jpg Then we went to this bridge: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_5059.jpg Climbed up on this platform: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_5061.jpg And did this: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_5068.jpg It's called "swing jumpin". Sort of like bungee jumping, but the line isn't elastic. You run out, jump headfirst and when you hit the end of the line you go into a big pendelum. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_5073.jpg I planned to take a video of Michelle doing it, but 2 seconds into the footage the camera said "memory full", and I didn't have enough time to erase anything before she jumped. What a shame! Here she is setting up: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_5085.jpg Banos is famous for it's Melcocha, a sugar-cane based candy made by hanging the mix from a doorframe and beating it. It´s all over Banos. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_5087.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_5091.jpg http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_5090.jpg These meals-in-a-bag are common in Ecuador. Normally corn, topped with meat and salad. Quite tasty. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_5108.jpg Still have yet to try the Ecuadorian delicacy: Guinea pig http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_5093.jpg Banos Cathedral at night. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_5115.jpg Thermal waters. Super crowded every day. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_5124.jpg The last day in Banos we rode up to the top of the volcano road to get pictures of the active Volcano and the town. This is what we got: http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_5132.jpg Damn clouds! The road itself was interesting enough. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_5128.jpg On the way down we took our second tumble of the trip. Going down a rocky hill the front wheel became destabalized from the large rocks in the road. Lost control and had a low-speed tip over. No damage to ourselves or the bike, just a sore knee the rest of the day. Ecuador is just bad luck. Did 9 countries with no spills and now two in 200 miles! Our next destination was Guayaquil, the second biggest city of Ecuador. Ecuador is a gorgeous country. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_5150.jpg The first part of the day was clear, but after 2pm the clouds and the drizzle came in. We were riding through the clouds for hours. Visibility was only 10 meters, and the road was very wet. Not having a front fender, I had dirty water shooting up into my face constantly. Visor up or down, I couldn't see anything. This, plus numerous Ecuadorian dogs running into the road and tight twisty turns was just too much for me. We turned into a little town and asked for a hotel. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_5146.jpg We had no idea where we were at this point. We had started the day following the signs to Guayaquil, but once we hit the clouds even if there had been signs we probably wouldn't have seen them. According to the spot tracker message we were in "Suscal", some secondary route. The only hotel in town was a strange one. 4 stories high, but completely empty. Eventually a little boy came by, and said the room was $7. We went floor to floor looking at all the rooms that were unlocked. We chose one. A few minutes later a woman approached me on the street asking what I wanted to eat. $2 a plate. Where? She would bring it up to our hotel room. Some little girls walked in an hour later asking why we were in this room. Apparently they lived on that floor and used that bathroom. Strange circumstances, but the people were friendly and we were happy to be warm and dry again. We ended up paying $10 for the room when we finally found the owner the next day. In the morning we bundled up and hit the road. 2 hours later we at sea level. Probably 50 degree difference. We were dying with all our layers on. Not so bad when we were moving (roads were flat and straight, back to 80mph!) Walking around from hotel to hotel in Guayaquil was a very sweaty enterprise. Guayquil is where we are now, doing laundry, uploading pictures, and all the fun stuff we've been putting off. http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_5158.jpg |
I am a huge fan of trip threads with lots of photos! Thank you for letting us live vicariously through them.
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enjoying every episode - keep them coming! great pics too.
in a world where "adventure" is a big Beemer, metal panniers and sat nav, you guys rock! :thumbup1: I envy you and your adventurous spirits - keep safe. |
Fantastic trip report, you guys are real troopers.bier
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Guayaquil, Ecuador
In Guayaquil we tried the "pinol" grain, on which the delicious icecream of Salcedo is based. Just powder in a bag. Apparently they eat it with milk or dry, and we were told was the "healthiest thing you can eat". Personally, I thought it was way, way to sweet. Michelle liked it. In any case, 1lb gave us breakfast for two days. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5169.jpg While we were in Cali, Colombia, Alberto the baker had given us the number of a friend of his who owns a bakery in Guayaquil. We gave him a call and were treated to even more delicious pastry on the bosses tab. Really friendly fellow, really great bread, just like Alberto. He and Alberto are both from the same little pueblo outside of Medellin. Apparently a ton of people from that pueblo (name forgotten) leave to own bakeries all over Colombia and Ecuador. Awesome. In addition to the empanadas, he took us around the city and showed us the sites. He was riding his little 100cc 2 stroke. Sweet bike. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5187.jpg Juanito: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5197.jpg Every day in Guayaquil we ate at this restaraunt next door. It's awesome. Big drink, big soup and big plate of food for $1.30usd. Hard to finish. It was incredibly packed from 11am to 3pm all day. They will only serve one or two things all day. You don't really order, you just choose an open chair and before your butt is on the seat there's a plate of soup in front of you. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5206.jpg The guard who watched the bike all day. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5207.jpg After a few days in Guayaquil it was time to keep moving. We got a late start, so we didn't make it all the way to Peruvian border. Camping in the jungle! Really, really hot and humid. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5210.jpg Making the first of many campfires with the cheapo cookware we bought in Colombia. "Avena" means oatmeal, and it's a staple of our camping diet down here. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5209.jpg Had to do some gnarly jungle riding to get to the camping clearing. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5222.jpg Now for Peru... |
4/1/11 Punta Sal, Peru
We reached the Peruvian border in no time. Unfortunately it took several hours to actually get through correctly. We stayed on the Panamerican until we hit the Peruvian border checkin. "Where is the Ecuador checkout?" "Oh, a couple miles back. Take the left at the first town". So we head back and in a few minutes we find where to get our Ecuadorian passports checked out. Then we start searching for the customs office to turn in the bike permit. Everyone is telling us somewhere different and we spend a few hours riding around till we finally find it a few more miles up the road.
We passed this sign several times before we actually were ready to sign into Peru. Peru was free to enter, just like Colombia and Ecuador. Gotta love South America. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5225.jpg We stop in Tumbes to pull out the Peruvian currency, the nuevo soles (2.8soles = $1usd). We eat a mediocre lunch at an overpriced restaraunt. 7 soles per person! You must be joking! It's funny how our standards have changed over the course of the trip. Back in Mexico a meal for $2.50 was a bargain. Now it's extortion. The Panamerican highway in this area is great. It runs between the desert and the sea. Hot, flat and fast. Nice change. A few hours down the road we pulled off so I could put earplugs in and Michelle could put her ipod on. There we met Antonio aka El Patagonio aka El Chamaco. He was an older Mexican man riding a little honda 125cc scooter. He was just seeing if we needed any help. Then he told us his story. He had quit his job as an architect in Guadalajara and decided to travel the world. Sold everything and began his trip. He went from Mexico to Alaska, then to Tierra Del Fuego and back up to Brazil. 80,000kms on the little scooter he was riding right now. He had traveled for three years, and now he was in Peru doing some contracting jobs to save up for his next adventure (Asia). Here's his website: INICIO - Mexicano viajando desde Alaska hasta la Patagonia en motocicleta scooter Here is a terrible pictures of us three and the two bikes. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5288.jpg He said we should go stop at "Waltako", one of a thousand little cabanas on the side of the road on the beach (the north coast of Peru is apparently a big vacation spot for Peruvians). He had helped build these cabanas and he was staying there. He assured us that if we told Rodrigo the owner that we were friends of Antonio we would be well taken care of. He wasn't lying. We spent the next four days staying for free in a beautiful cabana on the beach. Empty beach, beautiful ocean, hammocks, cable, wifi. Really peaceful place. Not much to do, just lounge around, head to the little town up the street and go to the one little store in town to buy food. Perfect. The Cabana we stayed in: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5256.jpg The most delicious mangos in the world, in season. These were about 17 cents per piece at the store, which is dirt cheap compared to the US. Venessa said she had bought 45 mangos for 3 soles a few weeks before. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5230.jpg Lots of chess in the shade http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5233.jpg Ahhhhh... yes. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5255.jpg That's not to say it was all relaxation. Rodrigo and Venessa (his girlfriend) are working on some trails, campsites and future cabanas out in the desert. Lots of work, and every morning they hike into the desert behind the cabanas to clear brush and build trails. Of course we offered to help, and we spent many hours helping them with the project. The hike: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5254.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5245.jpg (Rodrigo in yellow) Waltako trees, from which the Cabanas get their name. When we started this whole area was filled with dead brush. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5244.jpg Hard work, blistered hands, but very fulfilling. The daily routine was to work for 4 hours in the morning, come home, immediately change into a bathing suit and jump into the cool ocean for a minute to get the dust off, rinse off, then enjoy lunch with Rodrigo and Venessa on the porch or head a few minutes into town to have some fish in the pueblo. Then we'd buy mangos and spend the rest of the day laying in the hammocks, playing chess on the porch or watching poorly dubbed movies on TV. Man, what a life. We were very sad to go, but Antonio had hooked us up with some motorcycle clubs along our paths, and one was waiting for our arrival in Lima on Saturday. Venessa and Jade (her daughter): http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5276.jpg Venessa was born in Brazil, but she moved to the US for a few years. She was a successful designer working for "hush puppies" (shoes I think), but she decided that the pace of life in the US was too stressful for her, and she didn't get to spend enough time with her daughter, so she moved to Peru and is now happy. She speaks perfect, fluent english. If you are coming down the Panamerican through Tumbes, I highly recommend stopping at Waltako. Bienvenidos a Waltako Beach Town....... Say you're friends of Jordan and Michelle, and you'd be happy to volunteer, and you will be taken care of. You might even meet up with El Patagonio, and you should definitely have a chat with him. One last shot of the two motorcycles far from home: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5289.jpg |
4/5/11 We leave Punta Sal for Trujillo
By the time we had finished packing up and saying goodbye to everyone it was already 4pm, so we didn't make it far. We camped outside of Mancora, in the desert. The great thing about Peru, whether in the mountains or in the desert, is that there always seems to be tons of stealth camping to be found.
My first time riding in deep sand. Challenging, to say the least. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5291.jpg Riding through the desert was way cool. We had changed scenery from the lush green mountains of Ecuador to the sand dunes and seas of the Peruvian west. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5295.jpg Michelle had a friend who was working for the Peace Corps in a town outside of Piura, the next big city. He had a meeting in Lima, and was going to be in Piura that day, so we headed in and waited in the plaza for him. Enjoyed a peruvian "ceviche". Different than other ceviches, Peruvian ceviche is raw fish heavily marinated in lime and served with a small assortment of salad and toasted corn. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5305.jpg Omar has been working in Peru for over a year now. I am seriously considering peace corps, and it was definitely enlightening to talk with him about his experience here. One problem though, he said the peace corps forbids it's workers from riding motorcycles while in the service. Uh oh, potential deal breaker there. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5307.jpg Great time talking with Omar. We didn't see any need to pay for a hotel when there was so much open desert, so once Omar left on his train we headed out of town and got ourselves some more stealth camping. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5314.jpg Political rally while going through Chiclayo. Apparently it's presidential election time, and every flat surface seems to be covered with campaign ads. There are 13 candidates, and apparently they're all about equal in popularity. Very much unlike the US's 2 party system. Voting is also mandatory here, if you don't vote you get fined. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5326.jpg Bad shot of some moto taxis. One thing of note in Peru, especially the coast, is there is a TON OF MOTOTAXIS. These little chinese 3 wheeled, chain driven, 1wd motorcycles are everywhere on the coast. You can easily see how the factory just takes 1 front end and two back ends to make these little things. In the mountains they use more specialized 2wd mototaxis. No matter where you are, Peru is moving around almost exclusively on 3 wheels. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5334.jpg Man, I just love the desolation out here. Village of sand: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5340.jpg The views: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5343.jpg 4/7/11 Trujillo We stop three days in Trujillo. It's actually surprisingly chilly at this point. Too bad our budget doesn't allow for hot-shower hotels. Trujillo is a cool city. It's got a lot of history and cool colonial architecture. More political rallies: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5364.jpg Downtown: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5369.jpg There are two main ruins near Trujillo. One is Huaca Del Sol y Luna. Built by the Moche, a costal tribe that predated the incas. The site is two pyramids, with what was once a city seperating the two. Huaca Del Sol is a very well preserved pyramid. Apparently every 100 years they would build a new pyramid on top of the old one, and they did this 5 years before their civilization came to an end in that area. The result is that the outer layer was erroded by time, but archeologists can easily dig into the 4th and 3rd layers to discover almost perfectly intact frescas and architecture. The paint on the walls is still in great shape and is completely unrestored. Most of it is now covered by huge awnings to protect it from rain and wind. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5395.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5437.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5420.jpg And very close here is Huaca del Luna. As yet completely unrestored. You can actually climb up this one. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5440.jpg The other ruin is Chan Chan, a huge adobe city on the outskirts of town. It was a city built by the Chimu people, another costal tribe that is thought to have evolved out of the Moche. Chan Chan has several huge palaces still standing, and the whole area of the city is 28 square kilometers. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5474.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5477.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5489.jpg Like I said, massive palaces in various states of restoration. Not nearly as well preserved as Huaca Del Sol y Luna, but much much bigger. The best part of Chan Chan is that it's essentially the remains of an ancient adobe city, and although it is now a protected archeological zone there is no gates or anything to keep you from riding in. The locals still use the area for argriculture in some places (utilizing the ancient sink holes that the Chimu culture used to get water from the ground), so there are plenty of little roads and trails going all around. We spent a good amount of time riding around some incredibly fun trails before it got dark. It blew my mind. Riding a motorcycle around the ruins of an ancient city. Wow. This trip just keeps getting better. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5522.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5524.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5540.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5542.jpg We got lost eventually (the Chimu civilization didn't leave street signs) and followed a friendly local on a bicycle out. I liked huaca Del Sol y Luna more from an archeological perspective. So well preserved, but Chan Chan is definitely a must if you're on a motorcycle and in that area. It's epic. |
4/10/11 Lima, Peru
El Patagonio, the (RTW scooter rider) had put us in contact with Peru Moto Turismo, a group of motorcyclists in Lima who tour around beautiful Peru in their spare time. He had recommended we show up on a weekend, so we had to make the trip from Trujillo to Lima in 1 day. We were rolling out of the hotel garage at 6am, and trucking along the beautiful Peruvian coast all day.
Here is that day in pictures: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5551.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5560.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5569.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5571.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5573.jpg Fog in the desert. Pretty much the only moisture that this area gets. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5579.jpg Ruins in the desert. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5589.jpg An hour outside of town we were intercepted by Manuel and Daniel, two of the friendliest people I have ever met. And that's stiff competition on this trip. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/IMG_5605.jpg Danny rides the red fuel injected Yamaha XTZ250, and Manuel rides the blue Topaz 250cc. Danny works as welder (and a very good one at that) and Manuel works for Cisco Systems in Peru. Manuel took us to the store his wife runs, where we were treated to refreshments. Then, he insisted we stay at the hotel next to his apartment... and he pay for it. We protested heavily, but they insisted it was the Peruvian custom and they would be offended if we didn't except it. We didn't buy it, but obviously there was no changing their minds. Manuel rushed ahead so we couldn't try anything funny. A very nice hotel awaited us. Hot water, cable, the works. Manuel suggested we rest a little while, then we could come and meet some more motorcyclists at his place. We were introduced to a whole bunch of motorcyclists that night. Some were from the Moto Turismo club, some were from the Pulsar club. (Pulsar, for those in the USA, are made by bajaj, an Indian company. They sell them from 135cc to 220cc. The rider's I've met claim reliability equal to Japanese motorcycles, and they are definitely pretty trick little bikes.) We were taken of a tour of town, followed by a delicious meal of roasted chicken. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/DSCN0029.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/DSCN0011.jpg We were also given club shirts and patches from both the Moto Turismo and the Pulsar clubs. During our time in Lima and with the help of our new friends, we do a little bike maintaining. New Pirelli Sport Demon tire, $50 with our substantial discount. The owner of the Pirelli shop was friends with Manuel, and we were well treated. Even got a pair of Pirelli T shirts! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0015.jpg Changed oil and replaced front brake pads. Danny knew all the places for parts and amazingly we were able to find the exact same EBC pads I would have ordered at home, for the same price! Amazing! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0016.jpg Enjoying dinner with the gang. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0019.jpg Watched the Peruvian "changing of the guard", which happens every day at noon. Elaborate 30 minute ceremony with full brass band and colorguard. Pretty awesome. Must see if you're in Peru. Crazy they do it every single day. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0032.jpg Inside of Museum. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0062.jpg Danny is a welder by profession. A very good one (hard to find down here). At one point I talked to him about my rear rack, with it's cracking mounting bolts. "Ugly, but it works" I said. Danny took a look and decided no, it wasn't going to work. He would take it home for the night and bring it back reinforced. "You sure? That sounds like a lot of work." "Childsplay. Give me the keys." http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0096.jpg The next day he came back with that beautifully crafted rack. It mounts the rear luggage rack to the passenger footpegs with another lateral brace running above the tail-light. And, it now keeps the soft luggage from crushing the rear turn signals. He claims it was easy, but I'm sure he was up late at night working on my bike. Of course he refused payment. Enjoying the "Pisco Sour". Pisco is a grape-based liquor made in Peru. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0079.jpg Javier is a member of the moto club, and he drives a 1980 cb750. Beast of a motorcycle here, he's had it for over a decade. He put different suspension on it to raise it up and make it better for the roads here. Frankenstien motorcycle. So badass. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0093.jpg To celebrate our time in Peru, Manuel gave us a Peruvian flag. Everyone we meet down here is now required to sign it. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0087.jpg Our final day we head out with Danny as our guide. It's so nice to have people to follow around hugely complicated cities. So much less stress. We were out of Lima in 30 minutes. It would have taken hours on our own. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0101.jpg Huge thanks to Peru Moto Turismo. Such an amazing group of people. Truly lucky to have met them. If you're ever in Lima I highly recommend you drop these guys a line. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0112.jpg (Our patches, now emblazened to our jackets) Welcome to Facebook - Log In, Sign Up or Learn More We leave for Cusco. |
4/14/11 Left Lima
Next destination was Cusco. We had plans to meet with a Pulsar motorcycle club there, and possibly another motorcyclist we had met along the way.
Headed out of Lima down the Panamerican towards Ica, where there were rumors of a motorcycle club meeting us. Once we got to Pisco we called the number we were given but had no luck reaching anyone, so our plans were open. We had been instructed to go to Nasca, and then cut east towards Cusco. We had bought a terrible South America map in Lima, and as we looked at it we thought hey, it looks shorter to go through Ayacucho instead of Nasca. And thus began the next leg of the trip, which turned what could have been an easy 3 day ride into a 2 week odyssey. The road started out well enough. Nice pavement through the desert. Fertile valleys http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0139.jpg We camped that night out in a dusty mountain clearing. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0188.jpg The next morning, leaving the campsite. More offroading. Any bike can be a dirtbike if you need it to. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0191.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0194.jpg The desert hills soon became rich green mountains. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0215.jpg And before we knew it we were in the Peruvian highlands. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0220.jpg The road conditions deteriorated rapidly, but the rate of elevation change made it a non-issue. I was struggling to hold 30mph on a flat road. At 12,000 feet the bike sputtered badly, but there was a smooth spot between 6,500 and 7,000rpm that I could shoot for. Once we were above 14,000 everything was rough. Nothing to be done but sputter on slowly. After a few hours we stopped to take a break and Michelle realized suddenly that her purse was gone. Most of the stuff was replaceable, but her notebook (the same notebook that we had lost and found in Ecuador) was a prized possesion. I knew it would take us all day to backtrack, but there was nothing else to be done. We turned around and rode back, checking each place we had stopped. Eventually we made it back to last night's campsite, and it wasn't there either. Since it was already approaching dusk we decided to spend the night in the same place. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0189.jpg The next morning we decide to wait around a little while to see if we could find anyone who knew anything. The area looked pretty deserted but we were pretty sure it had been left there. The purse had nothing of any practical value, just sentimental value. Michelle tried to track down some info from the neighbors while I took the carb off. I was hoping to adjust the idle screws to try and make the bike run better at altitude. Michelle had no luck finding her purse, and I finished putting the ninja back together, so we headed away from the campsite (again). Started out going through the same lower mountain region. Waterfalls spouting out around every other turn. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0268.jpg Sputtering through 14,000' tundra for the snow-capped mountains and the llamas. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0261.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0263.jpg Well, my adjustments didn't do any good. The bike was still sputtering along pitifully. It was hard to be stressed about the bike with given the surroundings. This was the Andes. We had gone from scorching desert to frigid tundra in less than a few hours. A few hours into the route we had realized that this was not a main thoroughfare like it appeared on our awesome 1 page map. We were buying fuel out of barrels at this point. The road had almost no traffic, and when we did meet another vehicle it seemed they were struggling with altitude as hard as we were. Even at 25mph I was passing almost everyone. We rode until the sun started going down. We were above 15,000 feet at this point, and the temperature was rapidly approaching freezing. Good test of our 3 season tent and sleeping bags. We camped that night in the ruins of what must have been an old house. The Quechua people in these isolated mountains still build and live pretty much exactly like they were 500 years ago. Alpacas, llamas, potatoes, houses built by piling rocks together. An unimaginably baren existence, but achingly beautiful. Dusk... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0306.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0309.jpg The clouds fill the valley. Thus begins the treck to Cusco. |
4/16/11 Continuing...
That night was a rough one for me. I had felt a little under the weather the past two days, and that night in the below-freezing temperatures definitely did not help. I have no sleeping pad (Michelle does) which is normally tolerable, but the ground was just so rediculously cold. I barely slept at all that night, very happy when the sun came up.
Oh well, nowhere to go but forward. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0335.jpg We passed this thing. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0341.jpg We have no idea what it is. It looked like water was running over part of it. Anybody know what this is? Average Andean town. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0350.jpg Fleeing alpaca not amused by the ninja's exhaust. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0371.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0364.jpg We made it to Ayacucho and spent the night there. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0388.jpg Ayacucho means "City of Blood" in the indiginous tongue, and coincidentally it was the head base of the Shining Path rebel group in the 1980s. One of the members of the motorcycle club was actually involved in a massacre (military side) of students in Ayacucho. The road had been paved up until this point, but further on from Ayacucho it was said to be all dirt. We were warned that the road ahead was "rough" and might have a collapsed bridge. Well, let's go find out then... The road out of town was dusty with traffic. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0394.jpg About half an hour later we arrived at a fork in the road. Left for Andahuaylas, right for Vilcashuaman. Andahuaylas was were we needed to go to get to Cusco, but we'd heard of Vilcashuaman somewhere too. There happened to be a police at the intersection, so we asked him. He said the bridge to Andahuaylas had collapsed, and there was a boat taking people across but he wasn't sure about motorcycles. We asked him if we could get around that bridge by going right to Vilcashuaman. After a few minutes he made up his mind that yes, we could. Didn't have a lot of confidence in his directions, but we didn't care. Looks like fun either way. So off we went towards Vilcashuaman. Weather did not look promising. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0395.jpg The rain was minutes away. We stopped and put on our rain gear. The rain wasn't so bad, but the constant stream of mud shooting from my knobby, un-fendered front tire was a little annoying. When the beautiful little dirt road got wet it turned, obviously, into mud. I had pretty much no mud-riding experience at this point. It's pretty terrifying. Like ice I imagine, though I've never ridden on ice either. I just skated around the hairpins, waiting for the inevitable crash, comforting myself that we were crawling along at such a slow pace that we'd probably just get dirty. We didn't tip. Came around a downhill left hander and the back tire lost it in the sludge. Back end started coming around, I thought for sure we were going down. By some miracle I managed to muscle the around and to a stop perpendicular in the middle of the road. It was like a sweet powerslide stop. Michelle was highly amused. Within a few miles the rain had cleared up and the road had changed from a crappy mud road to a crappy dirt road. Much better. Still not one of those smooth roads that you can cruise at 30mph on, but better. I was cranking a steady 15mph, and the overloaded rear suspension was being pushed to the limit. This is adventure riding paradise. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0408.jpg Desolate dirt road in an exotic country. No map and no plan. That night we camped between a stream and some fields. Not all that stealthy, but it was getting dark quickly and we weren't too worried about safety in this area. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0456.jpg Scariest thing was a cow meandering through the campsite in the pitch black. Such a great climate here. Cold, but beautiful. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0460.jpg There was a natural spring flowing out of the rocks on the side. First thing in the morning I rinsed my face with the frigid waterfall water. 4/17/11 Next morning I did a little early morning mechanical rundown just to see how the bike was handling the rough stuff. All was well except for a hole that had worn in through the rear fender. Apparently the rear shock had seen better days, and with 400lbs of payload and an oversized rear tire, things were starting to make contact. Had a nice groove carved into the tire as well. Just have to be more careful I guess. We packed up early and got going. An hour later we hit a sign pointing up a steep rocky sideroad that said "INTIHUATANA 2.2KM". A sign indicated ruins that way so we decided to head that direction. Michelle had her doubts though. "Uhh... I don't think we can make it up that." "Sure we can, just need a head start." So I turned around, went back 100 feet, and got up some speed and went for it. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0540.jpg (View going downhill) Working the clutch, keeping my speed up and completely disregarding the mechanical health of the bike, we made it up. Michelle held on for dear life. Obviously it doesn't look like much in the picture, but it was definitely the toughest climb of the trip. So we arrived at Intihuatana, a village comprised of a few houses and a few fields. The ruins were Banos Del Inca, apparently a vacation home for the Inca royalty built above a mountain lake. Paid our 2 soles per person (~$1.50 total) to a farmer who was hanging around the area and took a look around. We were the only people there. View of the lake (or large pond, whichever): http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0486.jpg Ruins: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0506.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0513.jpg Stairs carved into sold rock leading into the water. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0533.jpg We continued on towards Vilcashuaman. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0566.jpg We rolled into Vilcashuaman a few hours later. Decided to stay at a hotel that night so we could enjoy the ruins and check our emails. Luckily, the Peruvian mountains are cheap!! Meals can be found for less than 4 soles all day, and you can find hotels for 10 soles in some places. Ours was 12. ($4.25 for a hotel room). The owner of the hotel had a 60s honda that he has had for 30 years. He was excited to hear about our trip. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0644.jpg This was also the point in the trip where hotels stopped giving us towels (or soap). That kind of stuff is not normal in the lower end hotels, but we've got our camping towel so no worries. I bought some cheese from a roadside stand. Soft, very delicious. Around $.35usd for a little wedge of it. Extremely delicious, best cheese I've ever had. Coupled with some bread you have a wonderful snack. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0572.jpg Searched around for internet (not an easy task), ate dinner and went to bed. |
4/18/11 Vilcashuaman
Nice little Quechua town.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0635.jpg The next morning we checked out the ruins that were 2 blocks from our hotel. The town is literally built onto and next to the ruins. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0585.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0592.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0610.jpg The Incas carved little paths into the rocks that would flow with blood during religious ceremonies. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0616.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0615.jpg Incas http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0638.jpg A "tortilla" as we know it in Mexico is very different in South America. This is a "tortilla de verduras" in South America. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0646.jpg This was the Catholic church in the center of town. Build right on top of Incan ruins. We saw this fairly often. The Catholic missionaries would build on older temples to comandeer the popular religious reverence evoked by those sacred places. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0647.jpg We packed up and got started again around noon. We asked around for the best route to get to Abancay, the main city on the way to Cusco. We got a variety of answers, but the consensus was we head toward a town called Concepcion and there we could find a way across the river. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0658.jpg The roads continued to be the roughest of the trip, but the isolation and the incredible scenery were definitely worth it. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0675.jpg More motorcycling paradise. Tiny dirt road around a Peruvian grand canyon. When we got to the tiny village of Concepcion, we were told that there was no route to Abancay, it had been washed away. The only way to get to Abancay was to head towards the "main" route from Ayacucho and go over the river via boat. He wasn't sure if they would let me take my motorcycle. A woman pleaded with us not to go, saying that some people had died last month on the trip across the river. Well, it was either keep riding and take a chance on the river crossing or ride all the way back to to the Panamerican and take the "safe" route. Not even a decision really. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0683.jpg This stuff was rough. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0678.jpg They had "repaved" (dumped dirt) onto this section of the road, and apparently only a few people had crossed this area since. Trying to ride through the soft soil was very difficult given the altitude and weight we were carrying on the bike. Michelle had to get off and walk this section. Luckily it was less than a mile. We made it back to the main route in a few hours. 4 days later, we're almost exactly where we started. The dirt roads were much nicer here though, we could go 30mph no problem. More incredibly cold camping! I got a fever that night. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0689.jpg Next morning we continue towards our date with the river crossing. We descend a few thousand feet and notice a big difference. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0693.jpg Since there's only one boat taking people across the river, we're at great risk for price gouging. Tall gringo on a yellow sports bike? yea probably not gonna get a fair rate, and money is running low again. We've got a plan. We'll get close to the river, but I'll keep myself and the bike out of sight while Michelle negotiates a price. Michelle is too light skinned to pass as a local, but she'd be mistaken for somebody from Lima or Colombia no problem. She negotiates a price of 20 soles for two people and a 250cc motorcycle. We can afford that! I pull the bike out and drive it down the rocky shore to the boat area. The boat operator immediately goes back on his price, bumping it up to 30. Michelle does a Latina flare up, arguing vehemently with the man and appealing to all the other passengers. "Do you all think this is fair!?". He agrees on 20 once again. I park the bike parallel to the boat. Me and a couple of guys have to lift the bike straight up and into the boat. The advantages of traveling with a smaller bike just keep piling up (although 350lbs is no cakewalk to dead lift). I had to straddle the bike and keep it from tipping off into the water while we crossed. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0694.jpg Mission accomplished! Should be smooth sailing to Cusco from here on out! Stopped for a break and we met this indigenous woman. Michelle and her talked for a long time about textiles (note the knitting). http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0709.jpg I was feeling pretty poorly at this point. The fever I had picked up the night before had not dissipated. We decided to stop at the next town and get a room so I could rest. We stopped in Andahuaylas? or what we thought was Andahuaylas. We found out when we left that we were actually in a town outside of Andahuaylas. Michelle made friends with our hotel owner, and we got a room with a TV and the use of a hot water shower for 15 soles ($5.50usd). Steal of the trip I recon. That night we went to an internet cafe in el centro. After a few hours of uploading photos and doing blogs I was just about insane, so I opted to wait outside while Michelle finished her hour. As I sat on the sidewalk outside a huge mass of people start slowly pouring out of the church. Some sort of Catholic celebration, Semana Santa related I think. They're carrying two altars, one of Christ on the Cross and one of the Virgin Mary. There is a brass band playing a slow march. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0718.jpg As I'm sitting there enjoying the somber scene, a local woman in the notices me sitting on the sidewalk. She walks over and puts 5 soles on my knee. I protest, but she insists. I ask why, and she responds "Cuando caliente?" Then she's gone. Still not sure what she meant by "when hot" or what that was all about. I was raggedy as hell, but surely she didn't think the tall gringo was in need? The procession continued through the center, then it split into two groups. One group follows the Virgin down one street and the other group follows Jesus down another street. An hour later I saw them in another part of town still moving along. My fever got worse. We ended up staying 4 days so I could get better. I was of the opinion that the best thing to do was keep moving, but Michelle insisted. She's probably the smarter one in the relationship. Spent a bit of time at the internet cafe wasting time (1 sole) per hour. Not many foreigners through this part of Peru I think, because the kids were fascinated by me. Quite often there was a little kid next to me, shamelessly staring at me or the screen to see what I was doing. My gmail account is pretty interesting I guess. If I turned and asked if I could help they'd scatter. Delicious smoothies, made with at least half a dozen different fruits, for the equivalent of $1.40usd for the jug. 7 or 8 glasses per jug. Awesome! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/IMG_0721.jpg On the 3rd day of my fever, we decided to head to the local hospital and see a doctor. Maybe get some pills or a shot or something. After an hour wait I was given a prescription for a penicillin shot. I get extremely queasy around needles. Michelle was pre-med for a while, and she gave shots at a clinic she interned at, so she knows how to give a good shot. Anyway, I get my shot (in the butt), my right leg starts hurting, I get light-headed, lean against the counter to steady myself and then collapse on the ground. I have never passed out from a shot. Very weird, still not sure why that happened. Michelle said the shot was well placed but poorly administered (didn't pinch the skin to reduce the pain). So either the pain and my neverousness caused the collapsed, or I'm allergic to penicillin. They gave me another shot to offset the allergic reaction (just in case). I felt better the next day either way, and we were ready to move on. The delightful town of Apurimac (not Andahuaylas!) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/IMG_0727.jpg Not a bad place to spend a few lazy days. |
4/24/11
We left Andahuaylas and again continued the fun towards Cusco.
Still dirt roads. We take a detour towards a nice little lake http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/IMG_0730.jpg More epic riding. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/IMG_0752.jpg Clouds and mountains. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/IMG_0745.jpg Guy washing his bike in the stream in the road. Not a bad idea... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/IMG_0750.jpg Seems like every single town in the Peruvian mountains has one of these Jesus statues overlooking the town. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/IMG_0755.jpg It looked like Abancay (and therefore, our first paved road in 2 weeks) was close at hand. Then, minor disaster! We roll through this tiny Peruvian town and grab some gas for the trip to Abancay. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/IMG_0757.jpg Name unknown. Google maps doesn't even have it. About 6km outside of this little town we get a flat in the rear tire. No problem, let me just pull out my tire patching kit and pump and we'll be good to go. I patch the tire and everything looked good. Pulled out my little hand pump and started pumping. It was pretty much impossible, the pump was broken. During the struggle to get just a little bit of air into the tire the valve stem breaks off. I guess we'll be pushing it back towards town. 6kms only takes a couple of minutes to ride, but pushing is a bit more difficult. Together we slowly push the heavily laden bike up and down the mountain road. After a while I decide it would be OK if Michelle rode it at a walking pace, since she's lighter. Maybe the rear tire will survive, and it will be good practice for her. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/IMG_0764.jpg She learned to ride a little bit back in Texas before we left on the trip. She never got out of second gear, but she was able to get around at low speeds pretty well. On a dirt road and with 100lbs of gear on the back, she didn't get very far before there was an inevitable tip over. No problem, the bike has been dropped a dozen times already on the trip. This time however it has trouble starting up again. Cranks and cranks, but no combination of throttle or choke will get it to clear up. We've been pushing for an hour and a half already, so my patience is growing thin. I eventually get it to start with a roll start and it seems to be running OK, so I decide to do the last half mile riding very slowly. As an added complication, we had expected to hit Abancay that day, and our little trip to Cusco had turned out to be quite a long trip to Cusco. We were down to almost no money, again (see a pattern?). We have about 15 soles left at this point. Hopefully the our tire repair is reasonable. We find the town mechanic and he's very helpful. Somehow we picked up another nail on the trip back, so now we have to get another tire patch. The mechanic gets the tire off, patches the new hole, installs a new valve stem and sells me a couple of fuses for 3 dollars. Great, let's get going again and find a place to camp. No hotels here, and even if there were we couldn't afford anything for $2usd. But... the bike isn't starting again. Plug is really fouled I guess. Good thing the ninja has difficult-to-access spark plugs and I lost all my tools in Colombia! I start pushing it up and down main street, trying to run and get it to roll start. That seems to work most of the time, but it just won't stay running. By this time the townsfolk are pretty amused by the whole scenario. Virtually no foreigners venture down this path, so the sight of 6'5" gringo in a spacesuit push starting a yellow sportsbike over and over garnered a lot of attention. I end up trying to go down a little hill to get a little speed to clear the plug. Well, that seemed to work, for about 10 seconds and then the bike died again. And this time I was on a side street that was downhill from the main street, so there was no way I was getting back up to the mechanic and Michelle. Roll started the bike and got halfway up the hill again, then dropped it when I rolled back down. I tried my darndest for a few more minutes, and gave up exhausted and frustrated. I pushed the bike to a empty clearing in the middle of town and waited for Michelle to find me. I was resigned to camping in the middle of town. Michelle found me a few minutes later, then departed to try and find the sparkplug tool I needed. Groups of people would stop and stare at me from across the street. Michelle came back with a tool that wasn't going to work. She went back to return it. Eventually one of the people passing by started up a conversation with me. Suddenly there we 15 people around me, asking questions, offering help, giving me advice. That's how it seems to work in these small commnities. You arrive as an alien to everyone, but if one person smiles at you or you get friendly with one single person, suddenly the ice is broken and the whole town is your best friend. My mediocre spanish had a difficult time understanding 10 people talking to me at once and trying to explain my situation. People were running off to bring me tools within a minute. I couldn't wait for Michelle to get back so she could help me sort through all this. One of the younger guys said his uncle had a motorcycle and had tools and we should go to his place down the street to fix the bike. I decided that this was the best option, so me and crowd started pushing my bike that way. Michelle showed up and asked me what was going on. I told her I had no idea. I decided I'd give the bike one more try, just to see if sitting for that period of time had helped. Sure enough, it started right up. This damn bike... I then had to explain to the crowd that the motorcycle had just started working normally and apparently I didn't need any help. Apparently the boy's uncle possibly had a place for us to stay as well, so we continued in that direction. This uncle and his two nephews were awesome. Invited us to a little dinner snack of bread and coffee. Talked for a long time, a lot of politics. Michelle had become quite versed in Peruvian politics over the last few weeks. The uncle ran a psuedo hotel with rooms for workers coming from outside the town. Couple of simple rooms with a shared bathroom. He let us stay for free. Housing problem solved! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/IMG_0771.jpg The next morning we ate a breakfast of chicharron, bread, cheese and coffee. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/IMG_0791.jpg We appreciated this a ton, given that we had no money and couldn't have afforded to feed ourselves that morning anyway. We explored the farm we had stayed on. The uncle is big into cockfighting. There are framed paintings of famous roosters on the wall, and he is training a bunch. Fighting cocks: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/IMG_0783.jpg The farm also had a bunch of assorted wildlife. Bunch of chickens, some cows, and oddly enough a few little deer. This deer was... "playful". It was a little buck who had just gotten his horns I guess, and he would push into my knees repeatedly while I was trying to wash dishes in the outdoor sink. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/IMG_0774.jpg Challenge accepted. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/IMG_0786.jpg Cuys in the kitchen. While they cook they throw the scraps out and those little guys run out and grab them. They're like edible rats. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/IMG_0794.jpg Time to go. Picture with our host. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/IMG_0797.jpg In addition to livestock, he also ran a pinol (local grain) processing center, and he gave Michelle a 2lb bag of it as a departing gift. She loves the stuff. We hit the road with our running bike on properly inflated tires. And then... a few hours later... the unthinkable. PAVED ROADS. FIRST IN 2 WEEKS. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/IMG_0802.jpg We get to Abancay and take out money, finally. We meet a Spanish guy who had rented a Honda transalp and was doing a little 8 day tour of Southern Peru. Nice bike, nice guy. He had a plane to catch soon though, so we didn't have too much time to talk. The road from Abancay to Cusco is very nice. Extremely foggy (terrible visibility with visor down, worse visibility with water shooting into face from no front fender), but it cleared up after an hour. With asphault under the tires we were able to zip to Cusco in a matter of hours. Thus ends the most beautiful, most desolate, most difficult and most rewarding legs of our journey. Images will forever be burned into my mind. 2 weeks late, we arrive in Cusco. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/IMG_0810.jpg |
You know, there's one thing about this ride report that really sucks...
..it makes me really jealous, and wish that I was out on a long journey instead of sitting here at my crappy little office job!! :( --> :clap: |
Hey Guy's: Don't leave us hanging. Whats up? Dave
|
4/25/11 Cusco, Peru (Part 1)
So sorry for the delay! Life gets in the way sometimes, but I will definitely finish this report, it may just take a little while!
Back in Lima we had been given the number of the Cusco Pulsar club (reminder: Pulsar is a popular model by Bajaj, an Indian motorcycle company). Elvis, The president had been waiting for us for two weeks. We had left Lima expecting to be in Cusco in "2 or 3 days". Didn't make it quite that quickly, but now the odyssey was finally over. We made it! On the way in we stopped at a cabina and shot him another phonecall. We met up with him and his girlfriend, Marleny, at his tech office. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...rt1/file-8.jpg Elvis and Marleny were great!! Apparently the Pulsar club is only a couple of members there in Cusco ("too cold for motorcycles" said Elvis). Elvis helped us find a cheap hotel downtown. We got one for 20 soles, which was pretty expensive for us, but apparently quite a deal in Cusco. I feel a little bad for how cheap we had to be. We never knew what to expect when we came to a new area, so we would always check multiple places and ask for cheaper alternatives. I'm sure we annoyed dozens of bargain hotel owners on our route by asking "Is there anything cheaper"? Enjoyed a typical Peruvian pastry with Marleny at a panderia down the street. Elvis worked till late (I swear he worked 12 hours every single day), so he couldn't join us. Marleny gave us a little tour of downtown. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...t1/file-22.jpg The next day we wandered about on our own. Cusco was the capital of the Incan empire, and in the last few decades a great effort has been made to preserve (and profit from) the history of the place. The city is remarkably well preserved. The city is literally built on the perfect stonework left by the Inca. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/file-161.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...t1/file-47.jpg We did a few museums, but not many. The museums and historical sites are all only sold as a "bundle package". The general public pays 130 soles (huge amount in Peru) for a package that include 15 museums. If you just want to see one, you might be able to enter for 70 soles. Same with the dozen ruins around Cusco (excluding Machu Pichu, that's another wad of cash). Incredibly expensive for the area, and definitely not in our budget. The result was that we saw very little of what normally brings people to Cusco. Even the cheapest route possible to Machu Pichu was going to be prohibitively expensive if we planned on continuing our trip past Peru. We had to make tough choices, but we ended up having a blast in Cusco regardless. The best experiences throughout the trip were always free. We voted with our wallets this time, and saw the things we could see around the city for a reasonable price. Some things we saw in our days passed in Cusco: Textiles: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...t1/file-27.jpg Temple of Coricancha, monestary built on an Inca Palace. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...t1/file-37.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...t1/file-55.jpg Hilariously short doors in an ancient nunnery: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/file-147.jpg Natural history museum with questionable taxidermy: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/file-177.jpg Cusco's enormous white Jesus statue (everybody has one!): http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/file-193.jpg City of Cusco, overlooked by Inca terrace ruins: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...Part1/file.jpg The city of Cusco was designed by the Inca to be in the shape of a jaguar. Some people swear they still see it, but to me it looked like urban sprawl erased the outline long ago. Saw "Sachsaywoman" ruins, from the outside. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...uno/file-4.jpg Incredible stonework is still a mystery. Never been duplicated. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...no/file-13.jpg Since Mexico I have been seeing motorcycles sold as appliances in department stores, alongside the washers and stereo systems. I figured it was time to get a picture of it. Didn't Sears sell motorcycles at one point? http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...no/file-24.jpg Happy hour at Norton's Rat Tavern! (Apparently a motorcycle traveler hotspot) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1/file-171.jpg We spent a good week in Cusco. 2 nights at the hotel, and then we got in contact with Kevin. We had met Kevin earlier in Peru, at the Huaca Del Sol ruins. He was an American traveling on a KLR with his Peruvian wife. He has been traveling the world off and on for most of his life. Backpacking, bicycling, motorcycling, whatever. He had finally decided on building a homestead near Cusco, and was on his way. We exchanged information and speculated that he might have somewhere to stay. When we arrived in Cusco we emailed him and he said that they had recently found an apartment to stay in for a few months while their home in the mountains gets built, and that we could stay with them!! Awesome!! Staying with Kevin was a treat. Not only is he a hospitable host, but he is full to the brim of amazing stories. He's traveled extensively on every continent and has a never-ending stream of fascinating anecdotes about his travels. Thanks Kevin and Raquel for having us! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1960.jpg |
Cusco, Peru (Part 2)
A few days after our arrival Marleny invited us to a harvest feast. Marleny's friend's family, who are rural farmers, have an annual celebration. The cooking would be done underground in traditional Peruvian style. Hell yea! This would turn out to be one of the best memories from the trip.
We meet Elvis and Marleny in the morning. They bring another fellow from the motorcycle club too, he's rocking a 250cc Bajaj cruiser. Sweet! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...no/file-30.jpg Get parked, meet our wonderful host family, and then it's time to start cooking!! ... sort of. We were invited for a lunch, but this process isn't one that can be rushed. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...no/file-34.jpg This sort of Peruvian banquet with the food buried underground is called Pachamanca. The first step is to go the local fair to pick up a few supplies. This tiny country town has quite a bustling fair this weekend. The food smells incredible! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...no/file-41.jpg These sandals are literally cut out of old tires. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...no/file-44.jpg Next step is to cook a few dozen river rocks with an open flame for a few hours. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...no/file-51.jpg Helps if you have a bit of fresh cooked choclo (Andean style corn species) to stave off the hunger. Now... for a little harvest. The three motorcyclists and their passengers mount their steeds and head up into the mountains. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...no/file-53.jpg 20 minutes later we arrive at the field. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...no/file-86.jpg Marleny's friend recognizes her neighbors in their field. We say hello and are offered some of the earth-cooked potatoes the family has been eating while they work. A mini pachamanca! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...no/file-93.jpg Though my face may indicate differently, potatoes taste BEST dug straight out of the ground. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...no/file-96.jpg The city folk (Michelle, Elvis and I) are instructed on choosing ripe choclo, and then everyone jumps in and starts picking. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-103.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-108.jpg The cane of the choclo is sweet, almost like sugarcane, and can be chewed for hydration and a treat. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-114.jpg The fertile Inca valley... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-122.jpg With the corn all bundle up and strapped to the motorcycles, we're ready to head back. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-116.jpg Rinse off all the freshly picked produce: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-143.jpg The meats to be cooked included chicken, pork and this little guy: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-138.jpg Guinea pig, the Peruvian delicacy. The rocks are pushed off to the side and the hole is lined with a single layer of rocks at the bottom. Then you fill the hole with layers of food and hot rocks. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-155.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-167.jpg On the coast they use banana leaves to keep the dirt off, but banana trees are hard to come by at 10,000 feet. The locals here use sugar bags soaked in water, followed by a tarp. The mix is then buried and left for 90 minutes. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-182.jpg Then... everyone plays soccer. It was guys vs gals, and I am ashamed to say that the girls won. I place the blame entirely on the damn dog that wouldn't stop stealing the ball from our players. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-194.jpg Most of the game was spent chasing that little rascal around. Food was then dug up and loaded up. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-856.jpg Huge amount of food. Nobody is going hungry. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-238.jpg The grill master then wheeled the food a block down to the waiting table, and the feast began. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-479.jpg This is the end result of the entire days labor. A bounty of starches and proteins. Chicken, pork, cuy, potatoes, peas, sweet potatoes, choclo, these weird carrot things, and much more. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1658.jpg Forever etched in my memory as one of best meals of my life. I feel blessed that these strangers opened up their celebration and their culture so we could share in it. "Lunch" ended at around 8pm. Elvis and Marleny invited us to crash at their apartment, and we rode back to Cusco in the dark. The night ended with coffee and sweetbread around the table with Marleny and Elvis. Thank you everyone! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-187.jpg |
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5/1/11 - To Puno!
That morning we woke up early and bid farewell to Elvis and Marleny, our wonderful Club Pulsar Cusco hosts. Our other hosts, Kevin and Raquel, were waiting for us about 45 minutes away, at the plot of land that Kevin had bought, right smack in the middle of the famous inca "fertile valley". They had camped the night there and were expecting us.
We left Cusco and headed west. We found Kevin's plot easily, and man, it was beautiful. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1858.jpg We had planned to spend a night or two camping with them. Kevin knew of some undeveloped ruins that sat on top of the mountain that towered over the valley and had hoped to hike them with us the next morning. Unfortunately plans had changed for Kevin and Raquel. In order to pursue American citizenship Raquel had to be in the USA within the month, so flight arrangements had to be made that weekend. Kevin walked us around the property and told us his ongoing trials and tribulations with the community manager that was in charge of all the properties around that area. Property boundaries that were never set correctly and promises that were constantly being broken had given Kevin quite a headache. Did some maintenance. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-523.jpg In Lima our friends had given us a Peruvian flag and signed it. We continued the tradition by having all of the friends we met in Peru sign the flag. Kevin put in his piece. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-2301.jpg Thanks Kevin and Raquel! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-358.jpg They departed and left us to enjoy the rest of the day. We decided to continue on through the valley and see if we couldn't find any cheap ruins to see down the way. No such luck, the ruins in the valley were all part of the "combo package" that we couldn't afford nor talk our way around. But the valley itself was worth the ride. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1815.jpg Enjoyed a delicious lunch though. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-2207.jpg It was still early afternoon and we were deciding whether to head back and camp at Kevin's plot and hike to the ruins or try to make some distance before setting up our tent. We had spent so much damn time in Peru we decided it would be best to just keep going. As we passed Kevin's plot and the mountaintop ruins I felt a pang of regret. The same pang of regret I felt when we passed Ometepe in Nicaragua without stopping. Two miles down the road I stopped and turned around. It's insane to feel regret on a trip like this. We would hike to the ruins tomorrow. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-709.jpg Enjoyed a dinner of plain rice. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-2247.jpg I awoke early in the morning. Michelle's stomach had been acting up for most of Peru, and this morning was especially unpleasant. She bid me to hike on my own so I embarked. View of the mountaintop from camp. The highest point is the tiny silhouette of an inca terrace. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-2137.jpg I grab a bottle of water and a piece of fruit and start the climb. As I power up the mountain the image of the ruins becomes clearer. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-530.jpg And the valley recedes… The fertile valley: still very fertile. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1829.jpg And I emerge at the top. Only took two hours, and wow. Vale la pena! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1584.jpg Here is my scientific drawing of the temple. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...oPuno/file.jpg That's right, I said temple. I've got a bachelors in sociology, and sociology is pretty close to archeology right? So I definitely know what I'm talking about. Remarkably well preserved. You've got the largest main room situated closest to the edge of the platform, facing east. As the sun rises it shines directly through the front door and onto a wall with 9 rectangular indentations for offerings. The other two walls standing on either side have 3 indentations. If you go back to the two smaller rooms you will find even more of the rectangular indentations spaced about 2 feet apart. There is a neatly dug hole about 6' deep in the northern room, indicating some sort of archeological dig sometime in the last ten years. View of the temple from the back. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-2085.jpg Smaller southern room. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1203.jpg Indentions in the smaller northern room http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-283.jpg Small raised platforms or something on the west side. Can't tell what they were at this stage. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-747.jpg View facing north down the valley. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-253.jpg Two other lower terraces that are quickly eroding back into the mountainside. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1683.jpg But the main platform continues to survive. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-276.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-975.jpg This is the piece that is visible from the river. All in all an awesome morning. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-2336.jpg I didn't go to Machu Pichu on this trip, and somehow I don't care. Now, to get down… I'm sure Michelle was up and about by now, so I hustled my down the mountain. About halfway down I realized that I had forgotten something very important back up top. The SPOT tracker. Damn! So I cursed for a minute and climbed all the way back up. Then down I went again. In my hurry to make the climb that morning I had forgotten a crucial step: remember how to get back. The mountain I had climbed defended into the road that runs through the valley. In order to make room for the road they had just just cut out from the mountain, creating a cliff face all the way around that side. That morning I had just walked along the road until I found a place that had a cutout for me to climb up and then bushwhacked to the top. So now that I had to make my way down again there was absolutely no way to tell where it was possible for me to decend back to the road. I picked the place that looked most likely, and then began pushing my way through the bushes… after a good half hour of fighting through the brambles I found myself on the precipice of a cliff overlooking the road. Damn again! I was out of water and starving by this point, and had been hiking non-stop since 6am. I was frustrated and reckless as I climbed my way up, and was justly rewarded. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-883.jpg Eventually I made my way up and around to a more suitable descent point and walked the rest of the way back to camp. I collapsed on the ground as soon I reached sight of the camp. Michelle brought me water and fruit and I lay in the shade. Though it had only been 6 hours in total I really felt like it took a lot out of me. After an hour of licking my wounds it was time to get a move on. Within a few hours we were out of the lush fertile valley and into the high country, where the bike once again began protesting. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1595.jpg We stopped in a small town to get Michelle some more medicine for her stomach, and we met three guys from Minnesota who were doing the same trip on a variety of 650cc bikes. We left first, but they passed us within the hour! So long guys! Enjoy your travels! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-319.jpg It was cold and we quickly layered up completely. In my opinion the colder the weather the better the scenery. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-914.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-2143.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1704.jpg Storm brewing. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-2409.jpg Time to stop for the night… |
5/3/11
5/3/11 Ayamara, Peru
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1908.jpg It was pretty darn cold, inclement weather was approaching rapidly, I was exhausted from my hike and we were both feeling a bit under the weather, so we decided to grab a hotel room for the night. Soon we ran across the little town of Ayavari, so we turned in. We only had 1 criteria... a hot shower. Normally we wouldn't care but today it just felt like a hot shower day so the quest was on. This apparently would be difficult to achieve. Ayavari was a little town, but it boasted 9 hotels in total. Michelle and I checked each and every one. Michelle was not a huge fan of Ayavari, most of the hotel owners she talked to were rude to her. Out of all 9 of the hotels, only 1 hotel had hot showers... and it was $30usd. That is an insane amount for Peru, that's a luxury hotel, so unfortunately we would not be having a hot shower. But wait, a policeman said they rented hot showers at the market a few blocks away! Perfect, so we'll get a cheap room and then maybe find a hot shower. So we went back to the only friendly hotel we had checked, and got a room. Then began one of the strangest conversations I've heard. This a brief paraphrase, but the actual conversation went on for a full 5 minutes (in Spanish obviously). Quote:
Quote:
This was just one example of communication problems we had in Peru. Several times Michelle would walk into a hotel and ask the clerk "Do you have any rooms available?" and they would respond with "What?". Michelle would rephrase the questions several different ways and then finally the clerk would say "Oh! Yea, we have rooms" using the exact same words. What else would a traveller walking into a hotel be looking for? Later I asked: "Can you drink the water here?" and get the answer "Oh, you're ready for breakfast?". Another occasion I asked: "Do you have coffee with milk?" "What?" "Coffee with milk" "What?" "Do you have coffee?" "Yes." "Do you have coffee with milk?" "Yes. 2.50 soles." Michelle walked into a pharmacy and says: "My stomach hurts and I have nausea, do you have anything for that?" and got the response: "That doesn't make any sense. You're contradicting yourself." Though it seems that everyone knows Spanish perfectly there were still many odd miscommunications. We would use only the most basic of words, words that were on the menu or on the sign outside. Many areas are still heavily indigenous and have their own language, but the locals speak spanish to one another and nothing is printed or advertised in the native tongue. I'm still confused as to what causes that unique problem. Maybe a subtle dialect thing? Anyway, long story short we never did get a hot shower in Ayavari. We made due with the frigid mountain water that drizzled out of the nozzle in the wall. We appreciated the 4 blankets that were piled onto the bed, even if the mattress was about a foot too short for me! Next day we got a bit of a local specialty. This delicious BBQ goat (or was it lamb?) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-843.jpg And we took off for the short ride to Puno! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...na/file-19.jpg Got a cheap hotel room. 20 soles, about $7usd. Now we have had many cheaper rooms over the course of the trip, but this one stood out as an awesome value. Private bathroom, hot water and a working TV with cable! And I could park the bike in the lobby! I would love to recommend this delightfully cheap establishment to all my fellow travelers, but damn if I've completely forgotten the name. It was a "hostal" with an Asian sounding name on the left of a dead end street in Puno. Happy hunting! Lake Titicaca is what we were here for for. Apparently it's the highest navigable body of water in the world at 12,500 feet, and the largest lake in South America. The people here are not Quechua, they are mostly Ayamara. Different language. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...cna/file-7.jpg Lake Titicaca was very pretty. We didn't take any boat tours out to the islands but they are supposed to be pretty interesting. Islands way out in the the lake (several hours to reach by boat), each with a couple hundred families. Each has their own unique culture. Pretty much no electricity or machinery of any kind. Up until the 70s when the islands were discovered by tourists, the islands pretty much lived the same way they had for thousands of years. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...na/file-13.jpg The harbor for Puno. Notice the boat sunk into the water. There were actually a bunch of sunken boats scattered around. A little creepy. That night there was a huge market in the center of town. Wandered up and down for hours. Found a couple of these awesome little shops. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...cna/file-5.jpg Pretty much they sold forged diplomas and certifications and they would put your name on them. If I had a spare sole I would have definitely got myself a Peruvian PhD. Next day we left for Tacna, the Peruvian city on the Chilean border. Beautiful, stark landscape up there at 13,000 feet. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...na/file-22.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...na/file-34.jpg A little too stark... After a few hours I became seriously concerned about our fuel reserves. We had passed only a couple of tiny settlements after leaving Puno. As we hit reserve I was desperate for any sign of civilization. After another 10 miles... a miracle! A town! But as we rode through my heart sank. It was only a handful of little shacks, no gas station. Exiting town we saw a sign for the next town... over 100km. No way we were making it that far. I pulled over and decided it would be better to seek out gasoline from the villagers than to figure it out 40 miles from anywhere. As luck would have it the first person we accosted was of the entrepreneurial sort. He led us to his shack and sold us some gasoline out of a tank. Measured out with a milk jug and poured into the bike with a funnel. A few kids played soccer in the dirt streets around us as we chatted with the gasoline vendor. Problem solved! We hit the road. Now the next problem was lodging. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this, but it's INCREDIBLY COLD at 13,000 feet. Even worse if you're riding on a motorcycle. We were decked out with multiple layers, scarves, balaclavas, it just didn't do much good. I felt guilty pining for a warm bed after two days of hotels in a row, but the cold felt downright unbearable. We pulled over and had a team meeting. It was getting dark, but we were only a few hours away from Moquegua, the next big town which was about 8,000 feet lower. The decision was made to carry on until we found a hospitable climate or Moquegua, whichever came first. Llama herds! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...na/file-38.jpg The sun soon set and the temperature began to drop even further. I gave it a good fight, but a few minutes later, teeth chattering, I pulled over and told Michelle we wouldn't be making it any further. Luckily camping is incredibly easy to do in the tundra. Thousands of square miles of open space, and stealth isn't really required since there is nobody out there to hide from. We go a few hundred feet off the road and set up camp by the light of the ninja's headlamp. The night is cold and restless. The freezing ground really makes me wish I had decided to bring a sleeping mat of my own. Michelle's cheapo 3/4" foam pad really does wonders. We empty all the clothes we weren't wearing into the floor of the tent and hunker down like gerbils. As soon as it's light outside I hop out of the tent, anxious to get moving. Thick frost covers everything. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...na/file-43.jpg Guess we won't be riding anywhere till the sun hits... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...na/file-44.jpg (That reads "woo peru". My actual handwriting is just as bad) In another hour we're packed up and ready to go. Frost is still everywhere, so I take a rag and give the bike a good wipe-down. Unfortunately it takes a little bit longer for the ninja to decide she's ready to go. I cranked and cranked and she sputtered to life a little bit but overall even with full choke she wasn't happy. It was at this time I realized the petcock was leaking fuel. Not too much, but enough give the engine a light coating of gasoline while idling. No biggy! I was concerned, but suspected that it had been going on for quite some time and realized there was nothing to be done about it until we reach a real town. And as with every starting problem I've ever had with the little ninja, she forgets about it in half an hour and fires right up. We begin the blast down to Tacna! On the way we stumble onto mars. Vegetation and signs of life stop completely. The landscape is completely bare of even a shrub. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...na/file-48.jpg Still cold though. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...na/file-59.jpg A video! Great to watch if you like the sound of wind on a crappy camera microphone! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...th_file-69.jpg As we descended further the shrubbery began to appear, but it was still an incredibly craggy, dry landscape we travelled through. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...na/file-78.jpg (Get used to this color. As it turns out, we were about to enter the top of the Atacama desert, according to national geographic the driest desert in the world.) Ate lunch in Moquegua. Surprised to find how much more expensive food was in the lowlands of Peru. In the mountains we would routinely eat dinner for $1usd each. Here is was incredibly expensive, close to $2usd per person! Outrageous! Within a few hours we were in Tacna. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...na/file-96.jpg We were excited to get into Chile, but we had a few things to take care of. My first order of business was to attend to the petcock. I took off the tank off and diagnosed a bad petcock diaphragm. Damn vacuum operated petcocks! No such things as "Kawasaki" here in Peru, but our hotel was right next to a little Suzuki shop. We walked the tank over and had the mechanic see if he had anything that could fix it. He ended up fashioning a new backing from a piece of metal and created a new gasket to replace the diaphragm. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...a/file-103.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...a/file-104.jpg I was pretty impressed by the ingenuity. Unfortunately the gasket did not hold, and the petcock was leaking fuel as badly as ever within a few dozen miles. Oh well, just precious money wasted. We spent two nights in Tacna. Like all border towns there was nothing much to see in Tacna, but like all border towns it was an efficient and inexpensive to get miscellaneous things done. It was also around this time that we finalized our departure plans. Heartbreaking as it was, our small amount of money was slowly running out. When we had arrived in Panama a few months earlier we had a decision to make. Do the responsible thing and turn around, or go for broke and see as much as we could in South America. We knew when we got on the boat to South America that there would be no return trip, the money and the time would not be there for another return crossing. It was a tough choice, missing out on an entire continent and all the adventures it held, or committing to returning broke, bikeless and jobless. Since I've been posting from South America it's clear what choice we made, but the more we looked into it the harder it seemed to leave the bike behind. According to everything and everybody we talked to it seemed virtually impossible to sell the bike in most South American countries, especially the Chile and Argentina where we were heading. Luckily, we had been in contact with a sympathetic buyer who could get around the… paperwork issues…. regarding the sale of motorcycle. He was trustworthy and waiting in Lima for our return. In the meantime we had been scouring flights back the USA. Flights were steep but many many hours of searching finally yielded an affordable flight. Since we were virtually broke by this point we borrowed some money and purchased the flights online. We had three weeks left, a few hundred dollars, and a frantic desire to see everything we could in our little time remaining. We packed our things and made the short 15 mile ride to Chile! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...a/file-108.jpg I couldn't believe it. It had been over a month in Peru, the longest we had spent in any country thus far. Now onto Chile, the longest country! |
Such a great trip...!
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5/8/11 - Atacama Desert (Chile)
5/8/11 - Atacama Desert
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1944.jpg Chile! The Peru/Chile border crossing was one of the fanciest we went through. Huge air conditioned buildings, metal detectors, x-ray machines. Much unlike the shacks we had come to know in all of our other crossings. On the Chilean side we had to take the bags off the bike and have them X-rayed. All of the Chilean border workers carried handguns, even the ones just processing paperwork. Chile meant business! Over and over again in Peru we heard "Chile es bien organizado", and it certainly seemed to be the case. Once again, no cost to cross this border. Chile... holy hell! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-546.jpg First time of the trip we've seen 4 digit KM markings on the signs. It hit us just how long Chile was... We stopped in Arica to check email, get out money, and grab something to eat and fill the gas tank. We were surprised at many things. Food was at least $5 a plate. Internet was twice as expensive as Peru. The ATM charged me $7usd(!!) to pull out money. And worst of all, gas was the $7+usd per gallon! I was expecting everything to be more expensive in Chile, but I didn't count on $35 fill ups. Not good news given we had 4,200km to cover in Chile. All those taxes went to good use though. Roads were great in Chile, as was all public facilities. Quite a departure from the poverty of Peru. We were going to Santiago, supposedly to meet up with a motorcycle gang. We hadn't ever talked to them, but the world traveler El Patagonio had assured us they were waiting. Michelle's lost notebook meant we had no phone number to confirm this, but Santiago seemed like a good enough place to head anyway, so we set our sites south. To get to Santiago from Peru, you have to go through the Atacama desert. 1,000 miles of nothing. Driest desert in the world. Almost no vegetation, almost no people. Just the long, straight Panamanian highway stretching into eternity. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-705.jpg Close to Arica the road is actually a quite fun. Twisty mountain roads and huge canyons between the dunes. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-740.jpg The entire terrain is monochromatic. Sand, rock, dirt, sand, rock, dirt. Brown brown brown. It was fascinating for the first few hours. The next 20 hours... not so much. Also, surprisingly chilly. Deserts are supposed to be hot, right? As the sun went down it was surprisingly difficult to find camping. Huge expanses of empty space were abundant, what was lacking was any sort of vegetation to burn. Dinner was usually a very simple rice or pasta, and breakfast was always oatmeal, so a small fire was a necessity for any camping. In the desert we had not even a shrub to sacrifice. Finally we came across a strange area that had large thorn thickets. Thorn bushes are everywhere in Texas, so that was not unusual. The land was the puzzling part. Everywhere the ground surface was covered by hard, oddly rounded outcroppings. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1535.jpg They were hard enough to walk on, and appeared from a the road to be just continuous piles of stones. On closer inspection you could see they were all one continuous formation, and were connected with the ground rock-hard ground. If you gave a sharp kick you could break large pieces off, and these pieces would break like porcelain if thrown against the ground. Never seen anything like it, and am very curious as to what formed that landscape. As you can imagine, impossible to ride across. Luckily there appeared to be a rough truck trail that headed off the highway, so I pulled off and started figuring out a path. Michelle, wisely, decided to get off and walk behind while I forged ahead to search for a campsite. I started off down the trail, which actually wasn't too bad. As I scanned all around looking for a flat space to lay our tent, I became aware of a 2' hole in the middle of the trail. No time to react, I hit it square on. I flew over the handlebars. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1553.jpg I sat up and looked at the bike. The windscreen was toast, maybe the fairing too. The wheel looks round. Wasn't going fast. Michelle is running, but I'm laughing by the time she gets there. Pick the bike up and give her a look over. The fairing is still fine! Only casualty is the windscreen. Give her a crank and after a few seconds she spins to life. Crash number three and still nothing but scratches! I love this bike! We find a flat area and set up camp. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1181.jpg The next morning we woke up, cooked our oatmeal and hit the road. If the pictures are any indication... there was nothing... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1186.jpg Actually over 200 miles of nothing. Not even a gas station. The stock ninja 250 has a pretty astounding range. 4.8 gallon tank and great gas mileage, 250+ miles out of a tank was not uncommon for this trip. On this stretch... I don't know what happened. I hit reserve at 160 miles. Either I didn't fill it to the top on the last fill, the petcock fuel leak was more severe than I realized, or blasting at 80mph down the panamerican was killing my fuel economy. Maybe all three. We puttered to the side of the road at 195 miles. Hadn't seen a single building in 3 hours. First time I've ever run out of gas on a motorcycle. I barely have my helmet off before Michelle flags down a passing pickup. He says the next station is not far and he can take us. Michelle stays with the bike and I hop in. About 10 miles down the road there is a lone gas station, apparently just a refueling halfway point. I fish an old plastic coca-cola bottle out of the trash and fill it up with gasoline. Lacking Michelle's feminine charm it takes me 15 minutes to flag down a ride. Eventually a semi stops and takes me 10 miles back down the road, where I pour my coke bottle into the gas tank and off we go back to the gas station. At the gas station I noticed that the motorcycle, my jacket and my helmet were covered in black gunk. 100 miles back I had passed what I thought was some sort of a street sweeper. It had dirtied my face-shield but I thought nothing of it. Now I saw it wasn't dirty water, it was tar. I asked Michelle how I ended up behind an asphalt-laying truck, surely they would have stopped traffic from driving on a road in progress. "Yea, they were waving at you. I had no idea why you kept going." The desert was getting to me, I hadn't noticed anybody. I cleaned the bike as best I could, using rags and gasoline. Gasoline isn't good for the paint, but I figured tar was probably worse. The jacket was permanently spotted and the already scuffed helmet became even more opaque. The road looked fine when we crossed over it again a few weeks later, but I sincerely hope I didn't cause that road crew any extra trouble. After the mishaps, we stopped in a tiny roadside town to pick up gas and groceries. The ninja hit a milestone... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1941.jpg 30,000 miles, 12,000 of those being in Latin America. And then we camped... and there was nothing... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-875.jpg No bushes in that area, but we found what appeared to be an informal trash dump. I picked out old 2x4s, random sticks, paper, and we burned trash to cook our rice. Living in fine style! Next day we continued the blast to Santiago. An hour down the road I saw a sign for "Mano Del Desierto". I immediately knew what it must be, I had seen pictures of it before. I had no idea it was in Chile. Pleasant surprise. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1378.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-2401.jpg And then... there was nothing... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-2112.jpg That afternoon we stopped into Copiapo for groceries. Michelle was hankering for a shower, so we scoured the town for anything affordable. No dice, cheapest we found was $40 for a dirty shared bathroom. By the time we were defeated it was already dark, so we were in a tough spot. Nothing to do but hit the road and hope we found a campsite. We were tired, it was cold, and all we wanted to do was sleep. 10 minutes outside of town I saw a little dirt service road leading off the highway. We got off the bike and started looking for a campsite by flashlight. Plenty of open space, and heck, there was even some dry brush to make a fire. Problem was, the whole place was hopelessly rocky and uneven. It was also apparently another informal trash dump. No way we could sleep on this crap. But then I had an idea... we could put our tent on that old rotten mattress over there! Michelle was disgusted with this idea, but after I convinced her that the tent would surely keep out any infestations she swallowed her pride and agreed. Michelle packing up as quickly as possible in the morning. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1788.jpg Next day... there was nothing... So much nothing that amazingly not one picture was taken. I guess Michelle got tired with the scenery. We stopped at a gas station and paid $1 for a hot shower. Had to wait in line for half an hour, but we figured as long as we could shower every once and a while there was no need for hotels anyway. As we approached Santiago the Panamerican highway became more developed. Toll booths (some cheap, some expensive), fences, 4 lane highways. We were excited to be getting nearer to the capital, but very worried about our chances of finding a camping site. Hundreds of miles of fences lined either side of the highway. It got dark and we got desperate. We camped at a public rest stop for 18 wheelers. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1882.jpg It was busy, with the semis pulling in and out every few minutes. No way to stealth camp, but I figured the amount of traffic would keep people honest. I wasn't thrilled about the racket, but we've slept through worse on this trip. On the plus side, this place was more than just a gravel pull-off. It had picnic tables, toilets, hot sinks, hot showers. All public, all free. Just walk in and use them. We regretted wasting time and money paying for a gas-station shower earlier that day, but it was good info for the trip back up to Lima. The next morning we washed up, packed up and headed out early. It was especially brisk, so we treated ourselves to eggs, bread and coffee in the first little town we passed. The quaint place we stopped wasn't too expensive, the woman running it was friendly and the food was delicious. Best part was the decor. Neat, tidy, 70s style. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-953.jpg And a few hours down the road we started passing dozens of little shacks on the side of the road advertising "pan" and "queso". Bread and cheese is nothing special, but if there are dozens of roadside shacks advertising the same thing anywhere it normally means it's a safe bet. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1342.jpg We stopped, and man, it was delicious. The simple soft white cheese of South America is... exquisite. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-2250.jpg As we approached Santiago, the unthinkable happened. Green! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-2148.jpg The Atacama desert was over. 5 days of riding. 1,300 miles. Longest stretch of the trip by far. I love barren, stoic landscapes. The beauty of that eternal expanse will stay with me forever. And damn, I was ecstatic to be done with it. Now, for Santiago... |
enjoying your thread.....anxious for updates....
Hic:scooter::scooter: |
5/12/11 Santiago
5/12/11 Santiago, Chile
We arrived in Santiago… first order of business was to find a hotel after camping since Peru. We arrived downtown and started our search. Checked dozens of hotels and hostels looking for something that would fit our increasingly tight budget and give us enough money to make it back to Lima. It got dark and we kept riding around. I saw a cool little motorcycle mechanic shop and we stopped to ask for suggestions. Ended up chatting with the owner for a long time. This guy loves motorcycles, his little shop is filled to the brim with motorcycles of all sorts. His prized motorcycle was a Suzuki GS500 from the 80s. Apparently he was a huge fan of a hugely popular chilean pop group in the 80s, long before they got big. He went to all their shows and all the members loved him. When they struck it big and got famous they went off touring in Europe, and they brought back with them that motorcycle and presented it to him as a gift, with the tank signed by all the members. The bike is well worn, he has driven it all over Argentina and Chile. (I cannot remember the bands' name for the life of me. They were very catchy though.) He gave us vague directions to a cheap place to stay a few miles away. This hotel is was apparently unmarked and nobody in that area knew about it. After a good hour and half of searching the same square mile we finally found the hotel. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1312.jpg Actually quite a comfortable little place. Not a hotel, just a woman who rents out a room in her house, which explains why nobody knew what we were talking about. $25usd, cheapest we found in Chile. There is no way we could ever find it again though. In the morning we went to an Internet cafe and tried to get in contact with the club there. We weren't even sure if they would remember us, since they hadn't heard anything about us in a month and the invitation was relayed to us through a third party. We could just see the city on our own we supposed, but I figured we might as well give it a shot. Sure enough, we had received an email from "El Patagonio" who gave us the number of "El Padre". We gave him a call and he remembered who we were! He told us to meet us at his piano repair shop. Once again, we had tremendous trouble finding where we were supposed to go. We found the intersection that the shop was supposed to be at and couldn't see anything. We walked up and down the street, asking people, looking for any sign of a piano repair shop. We got back on the bike and checked all the blocks in the area. Finally, we found it, right where he said it would be. A virtually unmarked glass door behind a gate. Despite our difficulties, Chile is actually quite easy to get around compared to other Latin American cities. They have things like "street signs" and "traffic laws" which make it a breeze to get around. "El Padre" is an interesting fellow. He is one of two "Master" certified Yamaha piano technicians on the entire South American continent. He has studied in Japan, Europe, the USA. His shop is filled with Stienways and grand painos of all makes. Also, he is a big burley biker dude who drives a 10ft long chopper trike. He is called "El Padre" because he is the father of the "Black Demons" motorcycle club. He called another club, the "Drakkars", to escort us to their clubhouse where we would be staying. He took us down the street for lunch while we waited. Even though I'm from the home of the harley, I'd never hung out with biker dudes before. I was definitely excited for the next few days. Motorcycle clubs in Chile are based on a biker gang system of organization. To be a real club, you've got to have a clubhouse, member dues, a system of prospects, club initiations, patches and loyalty. The Drakkars club are small but dedicated. There are four members who together split the cost of a house they rent for the clubhouse. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-929.jpg Can you guess their colors? The inside, predictably, is filled with sparse furniture and magazine cutouts of motorcycles and naked women. We could stay here as long as we wanted, and we could park the bike in the living room at night. So perfect! Over the next few days we got to know all of the guys in the Drakkars. Also got to know their bikes. The dream bike for everyone I talked to was, of course, a Harley. The world over HD will always be the ultimate cruiser bike. Harley ownership is not a small deal in Chile though. Because of Chile's tax system Harleys run about twice as expensive as they are in the USA. Combine that with much lower salaries, low import numbers, and a high cruiser demand in Chile, and you've got quite a challenge. Even the Hells Angels have very few Harleys in the club! However, I can totally dig the bikes they come up with instead. Black Demon bike: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-495.jpg No idea what it is. Julio bought a brand new China cruiser and made it into this: Complete with metal seat. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-2126.jpg He's recently sold it and built this: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...59064060_n.jpg That's a citron boxer engine from a 2cv, shoved into a custom built frame and now legally registered as a road-going motorcycle. The first night in the clubhouse we polished off a couple bottles of Chilean wine with member Julio, before he went to class. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1575.jpg He uses the clubhouse to study (or he did before the chilean student protests). He's the one we hung out with the most, he's a very funny guy. The next day the whole club took us for a sightseeing trip around the city. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1031.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1213.jpg Went up to El Cerro to see Santiago. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1232.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1836.jpg Due to the positioning of Chile between the mountains and the ocean currents, there is very little rain and smog never really dissipates. Even though Santiago was one of the cleanest cities on our journey the smog we saw from the mountain was the worst! The following morning we finally set out to fix the leaking petcock that had been plaguing me for the last 2,000 miles. The Kawasaki dealer would need two weeks to order the part… no good. But there were dozens of China motorcycle shops running along the street, so I just started checking the tanks of each bike on the showroom floors until I found one that looked like it might work. Eventually, I was successful. The United Motors 250cc bikes use a bolt-on petcock that has the same dimensions as the stock ninja petcock. Got the new petcock for about $10, bolted it on, and no leaks! What a relief! That night we went to a Hells Angels of Chile Anniversary party. The Black Demons and the Drakkars met up at the clubhouse. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1307.jpg We rode in convoy to the bar/clubhouse that is owned by the Hells Angels.* Riding with the bikers was an experience in itself. I always feel sheepish riding around in urban areas because my exhaust has big holes in either side and is fairly loud. Not a concern with these guys, probably not a baffled exhaust among them. They left a trail of car alarms down whatever street they took. I looked down in panic the first stoplight we came to because I couldn't hear my motorcycle and I thought it had died. Nope, just drowned out. Also, they preferred to move all together. If somebody was in the wrong lane and was going to be shot off in the wrong direction other bikers would slow down or cut off other cars to give that rider the space to get back in the right lane. If part of the group got caught at a light the others would all pull off and wait. When El Padre's trike broke down in the middle of the road the other guys fanned out around him with their flashers on so he could get it going again… in the middle of the road. Car drivers who were stuck behind were amazingly patient with this scene, courtesy or fear I'm not sure. The Hells Angels party was pretty much what I imagined, which was awesome. Lots of black leather vests, a metal band, drinking, tattooing, choppers and strippers. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1069.jpg You can see the stage, bar and makeshift tattoo parlor on the right. The strippers didn't come out until later in the night. Obviously no pictures of that. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-2051.jpg Sweets Hells Angels mural. One of these bikes is not like the others... The Hells Angels we met were very friendly. The night is a members-and-invitees only part of the program, but apparently earlier that day was wives/girlfriends/children get-together. Next, everyone was going to a Guns N' Roses cover band, and they had two tickets for us. I'm not a huge GNR fan back home, but of course I wouldn't miss it. Another chaotic ride across town and we made it to the club. Nice thing about being on a motorcycle is ease of parking. We found a single spot and crammed all the motorcycles in and around it. Before the show they were playing Chilean pop from the 80s and 90s. The whole club would start cheering and singing along when a hit came on. They even played the hit from the band that had given our motorcycle mechanic friend his GS500. Then Chiles' best Axl Rose hit the stage. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1434.jpg This club was packed! The crowd sang along to many of the songs, even though they were in English. The singer also did not speak English, but he did the whole bit to the T, even using common Axl between-songs banter in English and changing into a different Axl outfit every other song. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2..._file-2444.jpg Hugely entertaining. The next day we took it easy. We did some laundry in Edu's apartment. The Drakkars were looking to spruce up their clubhouse, so we tagged along as they got a truck and picked up some furniture. Prospective member Fuzer doing the dangerous job of wiring up the new lamp. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1071.jpg It seemed like they could fix everything. Julio came across a broken stereo, and instead of throwing it away he took it apart and fixed it on the spot. In the average US household that would be straight to the trashcan. Mattias working on the logo being painted on the wall. I forget the significance of "45". The Viking battle-axes refer to the name "Drakkars", which I'm told is a name for a viking longship. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1547.jpg The following day Julio took us out to enjoy the best sandwich ever. Huge slabs of moist pork with cheese and avocado and some white sauce. He promised us it was the best place in Chile for this sandwich, and I trust his judgement. It was incredible. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/file-831.jpg * That night would be our last night in Santiago. Everyone in the Drakkars club came to the clubhouse and a great celebration was had. We drank "terremoto" (earthquake), a delicious drink made with ice-cream and pipeño (semi-fermented sweet wine). One of the most delicious drinks of the trip. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-2352.jpg At the end of the night Michelle and I were given a token of the Drakkar's affection. Mattias took out his knife and cut the patches off his vest and gave it to us. This was a very special gesture because patches among these clubs are not taken lightly. It takes months and a full club initiation to earn these patches. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-1007.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../file-2014.jpg A huge thanks to the whole Drakkars club. Our time in Santiago was incredible! All thanks to the friendship and camaraderie we found in that club. Such a cool experience! Gracias a todos los Drakkars! Nuestro tempo en Santiago few increíble! Gracias a la amistad que econtramos en su club! Nunca olvidare su club o Santiago! The next morning we sadly gave back our key to the clubhouse and departed from Santiago. Our flights were booked for the 28th, we had a buyer lined up, and we were almost out of money. We had agreed to make it to Lima four days in advance so we could deal with any paperwork problems that might arise. That gave us 6 days to travel 2,200 miles. We really, really wanted to swing into Argentina on our way up, but unfortunately the reality was there was no way we were going to be able to add two border crossings, unknown road conditions, currency exchange and another extra couple hundred miles of travel. It was a crying shame, but deadlines mean sacrifices. I hate deadlines, necessary though it may have been in this case. Thus, back across the hellishly boring 1,000 mile Atacama… |
5/18/11 - Atacama desert… again.
5/18/11 - Atacama desert… again.
We left Santiago and made our way back through the Atacama desert. The Pan-America through northern Chile is a straight, wonderfully maintained highway. You can blast down the whole thing at 80mph if you want. We're pretty leisurely travelers though, rarely doing more than a couple hundred miles in a day. Between making breakfast, packing up camp looking around for a shower, grocery shopping, eating lunch and finding a campsite in time for dark, we're not putting down any iron-butt numbers. Even on the Pan-America highway through the Atacama desert, where there is virtually nothing to do but ride, it still took us a good four days to travel the 1,300 miles from the Peruvian border to Santiago. Now, we were on a deadline! 2,100 miles in six days. As an added incentive, I had heard there were dunes suitable for sandboarding along the Pan-America in Peru. I'm a big snowboarder, and I've always wanted to try sandboarding but never had the opportunity. Huancachina in Peru is considered to be one of the best places in the world, so I figured if we could get ourselves into Peru fast enough I might just have time for an afternoon of sandboarding before hitting Lima to sell the bike. So the race was on. Nothing new to see, just the same old 1,000 miles of dirt and rock. Our days consisted of this: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ru/file-99.jpg and this: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ru/file-87.jpg and this: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ru/file-82.jpg This time however we did stop at something called the "Zoo of Rocks". I had seen the sign when we had come south and was puzzled, so I decided to pull in this time. Turns out it is a set of trails that runs around a bunch of rock formations. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ru/file-36.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ru/file-42.jpg You can tell this area used to be ocean not too long ago. The sand is littered with shells and many of the weirder rocks are clearly dried coral. Neat little area to ride around and stretch your legs. Also, a typical diner breakfast in Chile is basic, unspectacular, fried eggs, bread and coffee. For Michelle, this was a godsend. She loves a good breakfast, and had not enjoyed Peru's "lunch-for-breakfast" attitude about morning eating. Since we were riding well into the evening most nights and unable to find firewood in the desert, we were obliged to enjoy a road breakfast. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ru/file-83.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...u/file-179.jpg We made it to the Peruvian border on the evening of the 21st. That final day was a personal best, we had travelled over 500 miles that day. We were speeding because we were not sure when the border closed and were determined to sleep in Peru that night. As it turns out, the border closes at 9pm, which was lucky because although it was only 6pm by the time we got there, paperwork issues kept us from crossing till late. Apparently something wasn't stamped correctly on the Chilean side, and then once we got the Peruvian side we were sent to a bunch of different places to correct the problem. Of course I was also starving by that time so it seemed to take much longer. As soon as we were free we blasted to Tacna and grabbed the same hotel we had chosen before, at the same ridiculously low price that Michelle had negotiated for two weeks ago. $5usd for hot water and a bed! Then straight to the little shack down the street to get a couple of chess burgers. I tried to avoid eating non-local food as much as possible on the trip. Any non-local style cuisine was generally more expensive and not as good as what I am used to in America. The hamburger though, was different from country to country, and always cheap. In guatemala a hamburger actually comes with ham, beef is an optional extra. In Peru if you get your burger with fries they stuff the entire order of fries in the burger. Also, if you are out late at night a burger shack may be the only thing open. The next morning we hit the road early. We had done that Atacama but we still had 800 miles to go till Lima. Sand. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...nal/file-4.jpg Road. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...al/file-50.jpg Feels familiar! Camped in some sort of mining excavation that night, followed by a little morning maintenance. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...al/file-85.jpg Desert raider mode. Still cold! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...al/file-86.jpg Where the desert meets the sea. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...al/file-98.jpg Had to ride a couple hundred yards off the highway for the next night's camping spot, through some pretty deep sand. Luckily the little ninja is so light you can almost lift it out of the sand if it gets stuck. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...l/file-109.jpg The land was flat and arid so the only place to stealth camp was in this dried riverbed. Those dead shrubs provided wood to burn and hid us from view of the highway. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...l/file-115.jpg Sometimes I wonder if I've posted too many pictures of our campsites. I just like pictures of stealth camping I guess. In the morning we found we were only an hour away from Huacachina. Huancachina is a small village near Ica. The village was formed around a small natural lake in the middle of the massive expanse of sand dunes. Pretty touristy these days, but very cool to see a natural oasis straight out of a cartoon. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...l/file-118.jpg Small sub-oasis in foreground, bigger main lake is around the dune. We rented boards and began trudging around the dunes. We were too broke to afford a dune buggy rental, so we used our own power to get up to the dunes. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...l/file-129.jpg As it turns out, it's incredibly hard to walk up sand dunes. Especially while wearing snowboarding boots. Every step is a great effort and after the sand is done compressing under your weight you've travelled 4 inches. I go on a yearly snowboarding trip with my friends back home and I've been skateboarding since I was 12 years old. Sandboarding was all my idea, but Michelle was a great sport and did quite well for her first time on a board. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...l/file-128.jpg It was actually me who was the first to throw in the towel. I'm not sure if it was the sun, the exertion, dehydration or something else, but after an hour I was completely wrecked. I felt nauseous and weak. Though we were only half a mile from civilization the march back felt like an eternity. Did have a great time before my body gave out though. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...h_file-141.jpg If my flailing arms are any indication, I was still getting the hang of it for this run. Overall snowboarding is far preferable to sandboarding. You really don't appreciate ski lifts until don't have them. Also, sand is much slower than snow. Still, I'm so glad that I got to try it. Our initial plan was to ride through the evening and make the short 4 hour trip to Lima that night. I was feeling so poorly however that we decided to stay in Ica for the night. |
5/24/11 Lima - End of the trip
5/24/11 Lima, Peru
The next morning I was feeling better so we headed the short 4 hours into Lima. When Danny from the motorcycle club had guided us out of Lima it had taken no more than 20 minutes to get out of Lima. Coming back in we had only vague notions about our destination and we were immediately enveloped in chaotic traffic. For the first time in months I was afraid. Not since my first timid miles in Juarez, Mexico had I felt any anxiety about riding in 3rd world countries, every near miss was just a part of the experience. Now, with the finish line so close in sight I was terrified that our luck would finally run out and we would be struck down by the inevitable hand of fate, leaving ourselves wounded or the bike un-sellable. The traffic in Lima, Peru was by far the craziest of the entire trip, and the last 50 miles through the city dragged on for an eternity. Eventually, thankfully, we dug our way through downtown and made it without incident into welcoming arms of our friends at Club Peru Moto Turismo. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...l/file-154.jpg The next few days we enjoyed their company and took care of miscellaneous pre-departure stuff. Michelle doesn't like wearing contacts and had lost her last pair of glasses long before the trip started. We figured $30 on some custom glasses in Peru would be preferable to $250 in the USA, so we went and got some made. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...l/file-158.jpg Manuel (president of Club Peru Moto Turismo) and his wife made us Papas a la Huacano, a traditional Peruvian dish. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...l/file-163.jpg The next night we were out at a store downtown with Danny and came back to our bikes to find a huge puddle of gasoline underneath my bike. My first thought was my new petcock had failed, which meant another frantic search for a replacement petcock. Luckily a quick investigation revealed only a small pinhole in the fuel hose, which shot out a small pressurized stream of fuel. I had a tiny bit of fuel left, but no replacement hose or tape with me at the time, so we decided to just try and make it back to the hotel. Turned out to be one of the riskiest rides of the trip. If the petcock was 'on' it would shoot out fuel, if the petcock was off no fuel leaked. So my method was to cycle the petcock between 'on' to fill the carb bowls and 'off' to keep the fuel from collecting on the hot engine. Having to reach down and work the petcock every thirty seconds is a tall order in Lima traffic. To add the the fun, Danny, who we were following back to the hotel, an experienced rider and not fully aware of my situation, was darting through the lanes with his usual agility. It's hard to keep up with Danny on a good day, near impossible one handed. The insanity of my situation kept me amused and I did not feel the anxiety I had felt coming into Lima a few days earlier. The buyer and I had settled the price for the motorcycle previously, so the only thing left to do was the paperwork. The agreed upon price was fair for me (an EX250 in that shape would go for a similar money in the USA), and him (rare bike but 40% import tax plus other fees). Paperwork was handled no problem. Before the sale I spent a few hours disassembling and cleaning the beautiful motorcycle that I was leaving behind. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...l/file-155.jpg It had been a brutal 15,000 miles and 6 long months since we left Austin, TX. There were many skeptics, but the bike had surpassed every expectation. It pushed itself through gridlock Guatemala traffic, blasted down the Atacama desert at 80mph and crawled up Andean mountains. It was crashed, neglected and overloaded. It had never left us stranded. My love for that bike was surpassed only by Michelle's. In her mind there will never be a more perfect motorcycle and I don't think she will ever form an emotional attachment to any other bike. When our friend expressed his plans to paint the motorcycle black she begged him to reconsider and repaint in the original yellow. One consolation was that we were selling to a trusted friend who would take good care of the bike. It our hope that someday we will be able to buy back that motorcycle and bring it back to Austin. Our last day we spent making decisions about what we could bring back and what would have to stay. We were flying with an airline that charged handsomely for each bag, so we had to make a lot of tough decisions. Any mementos or gifts from friends along our journey would of course have to come back with us. Michelle's HJC helmet was having trouble with the latches and was discarded, my scorpion helmet was battered but still usable. The camping gear would be expensive to replace so that had to come with us. Tools, spare parts and other things could be left with the motorcycle. Many of our clothes were trashed beyond repair and were easily discarded, the rest would be worn onto the plane. We would each be wearing many layers of clothing and filling our many pockets with miscellaneous little things that wouldn't fit in our one checked bag. It was going to be a fairly uncomfortable flight, but at least it would be cheap! Our final night of the trip we went out and saw Lima from above. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...l/file-178.jpg With our friends Manuel, his two children, and Javier. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...l/file-181.jpg We returned to Manuel's apartment and enjoyed true Peruvian pisco sours. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...l/file-189.jpg The next morning they took us to the airport. It was surreal being at the precipice of such a tremendous change. For the last 6 months we had been nomadic throughout Latin America, and now we were about to board a flight back to the USA and a life we could hardly remember. The last month since we had booked our flights home had been marked by periodic conversations about the first thing we would eat back in Texas, how great it would be to see the friends/family, how great it would be crash in our own bed. It was a strange feeling being only a few hour away from all that. 6 months to get here and only a few hours to get back. The end of the trip brought us feelings of nervousness, excitement and sadness. Departing four of many, many friends that graced our trip through Latin America. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...l/file-193.jpg The views, the food, the culture, the adventure. All these things were important to our trip, but the most valuable thing we brought back was the memories of the dozens of friends we made throughout the trip. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...l/file-905.jpg 5/28/11. End of trip, we departed for home. |
Thanks for a great read and the pics........enjoyed very much...
Wishing both the best. Hic bier |
Wow
Amazing adventure, thank you so much for sharing it with us. I have been lurking for a while on here and advrider, and am inspired to go on my own pan american adventure. If you don't mind my asking, what was your total budget for the trip / how much would you recommend saving up before heading out? Thanks!
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Well, i registered (after much lurking) just to say congratulations on pulling out this trip of a lifetime. Thanks for writing the report!
And that girl is a keeper, you now that, right? |
Great read, thanks for sharing it with us.
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You guys are proof that the bike isn't important - it's the faith and will of the driver that is. So big a voyage on a little ninja. Congratulations!
The ninjette was my first bike. I did a 2000 km trip on it in 5 days two years ago. However, my back was killing me because of the inclined position. I've switched to BMW enduro since that. How did you cope with that? |
Epilogue
We arrived in Dallas many uncomfortable hours later. Dallas is 4 hours away from Austin, our home, but flights to Austin were three times as expensive. Michelle's best friend, Karla, had happily volunteered to come pick us up at the airport. She insisted on getting us a hotel room and had (without our knowledge) rented a car just to pick us up. Karla is a truly special friend, and it was great to see her when we got off the plane!
We stayed that night in an average hotel, but it seemed to be paradise. The mattresses were thick and soft, the sheets were clean, the TV had 200 channels. It was a shock, so different from anywhere we had stayed in months. I felt incredibly spoiled, but it's just how we live here in this country. When I drove the three of us home the following day I was awed by the elaborate, well-signed, organized traffic system where pavement is smooth and every vehicle follows a set of strict laws. I was talking to a friend the other day about the conditions on the trip, and he, like many other people, told me he didn't think he could handle it. But he is wrong. Yea, it's nice to have A/C, running hot water, and clean clothes, but familiarity and routine do not equate a necessity, it's an illusion. Within a short amount of time anybody will naturally adapt to new circumstances. When entering Mexico, realizing that I would not be returning for months, I quickly forgot about what I was "missing" and my standards conformed to the reality of the journey. Within a few days of leaving home it seemed as if we had never known anything else. There is nothing remarkable about me, Michelle or the trip. It was an idea of traveling, and we simply followed it day by day because we loved it. The idea was the important thing, anyone who has that is capable of the pursuit. This attitude applies to the motorcycle as well. There is nothing remarkable about taking a "little" sportsbike on a large journey. No matter what motorcycle you're riding the process is the same. Pack up, get on the bike, ride the bike. From a honda 125cc to a harley roadking the process is the same. Having the "perfect" adventure motorcycle is nice, but putting off the adventure until you have the perfect adventure bike (or farkle, or budget) is counterintuitive. Unless you're planning on extensive singletrack you really don't need a specialized motorcycle. Besides, Adventure bikes are not built in a factory, they are made by the adventure. Speaking of motorcycles, my old bike is in good hands down there in Lima, Peru. Since the ninja 250 does not exist down there I agreed to be the middleman for any specialized parts the bike may need. The buyer took the motorcycle to his mechanic and promised me he would let me know exactly what would need to be replaced. After flogging that little bike two up through hell and back I received news that the only thing the bike needed was a new rear shock (400lbs of payload no surprise!). I sent him the lower fairing I had taken off before the trip, a used monoshock off ebay, a set of stickers for the repaint and a couple of oil filters. They did terrific job rebuilding and repainting the bike. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/dsc06949.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/dsc06955.jpg He repainted it yellow! Michelle's prayers and pleas were answered. You can see the new fender and windscreen he sourced. Looks beautiful, a proper sports bike. I'm so happy to know at 34,000 miles it's gotten a new life terrorizing the streets of Lima, Peru. Brings a tear to my eye. I look forward to shipping ninja parts to Peru for years to come. Back in the states we didn't have any trouble getting jobs. I had an open invitation to return to my previous place of employment, doing skilled labor for a small custom flag company here in Austin, TX. I've been working there for 7 years, so they're fond of me. My boss had a crawfish boil for me the weekend after I came back. Michelle worked briefly in high-end retail but moved to Houston a few months ago to start a clothing design line with a friend of hers. She was a textiles and apparel major at the University of Texas at Austin, and it has always been her plan to start her own clothing line, and when the opportunity presented itself there was no way she could pass it up. It's a risky enterprise and she won't see returns until mid 2012, if at all, but Michelle fears nothing and I've got faith in her. We came home and had nothing. First order of business was to get transportation. Michelle made plenty of friends at her retail job. She was talking one day about her plans to save up, buy a car and then start her own company, when one of her co-workers offered to give Michelle her old car with minor body damage... for free. Michelle declined but eventually a trade for clothing alterations was agreed to. Unbelievable kindness, Michelle seems to attract it. Best part is it's a 1991 BMW 525i. My first car was an old BMW 5 series and I was huge into building old BMWs before I got into motorcycles. My old skill-set came in handy when the clutch went out a few weeks later, I was able to do the repair myself in the driveway for only a few hundred dollars. For me there was no other transport choice but another motorcycle. It took me two months but eventually I saved up enough to start shopping. Unfortunately it was peak riding season here in Texas so there were no good deals to be had, but with enough patience I found myself this beauty. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/img_0333.jpg 1979 Kawasaki KZ400. Simple, small, capable of highway speeds and good gas mileage. Plus a centerstand, backrest and hard luggage. It's in great shape and cost me $1400. Not a crazy bargain but it really is the perfect motorcycle for my needs and I really could wait no longer. The only problem is it's so old and well kept that I feel like I have a duty to wash it every once and a while. There have been no adventures on this bike yet, no more than 400 mile round trips thus far. I am torn about what the next adventure will be. I feel like the next motorcycle trip should be a USA trip, maybe all the lower 48 or perhaps a trip to Alaska and back. The problem is that the amount of money it would take for a 1st world trip could take us so much further in Mexico and Central America, and our experiences in the south would probably be more interesting. And it's quicker to ride to Mexico than it is to ride to another State. Of course eventually we will be taking another epic ride back to South America as soon as possible. So much we didn't see, so many friends to re-visit. Won't be for many years but we will definitely be doing the trip again. And of course, if budget permits, the rest of the world too. I've been taking a series of small adventures since I got back though. Hiking in Wyoming, trip to El Paso to see Michelle's family, trip to Memphis to visit a friend and a canoe trip down the Colorado river, snowboarding trip to Colorado. I love to travel, so much so that the trick will be to stay still long enough to actually earn the money required for the really great trips. On a non-motorcycle level, I have become obsessed with the idea of kayaking the Amazon river from start to finish. I am having difficulty finding information on this sort of travel (there's no advkayaker.com) but that's only made me more excited for the prospect. Unfortunately, also a costly trip and will be at least a few years away. Adapting back to a first-world lifestyle was not difficult, within a week I could hardly believe that a month ago we were battling our way through the mountains of a country halfway around the world. What was most amazing is that although I been on the trip for an intense, life-changing eternity it seemed like almost nothing had changed back home. I was almost a little sad when I left on the trip because I really do love Austin and my life here. Well, everything was waiting for me exactly as I left it. Michelle and I are doing great. We had only dated a few months prior to the trip, so it was a risky relationship move. Certainly a trial by fire, but we came out great so things look bright. We had no worries about a long-distance relationship when Michelle had to move to Houston for 5 months. If we can make it through being together 24/7 for 6 months, we can handle almost anything. Total trip time: 6 months Total trip mileage: 15,000 miles Total countries: 11 (including the USA) Total budget: ~$7,000usd (not including bike) Trip route: Moto trip 2010 - Google Maps Favorite Country: Colombia. Colombians were the friendliest people of the trip. Everywhere in Latin America you've got tons of friendly, helpful people, but Colombians stand above all the rest. See the Colombian entries for examples of this. Aside from the people the food is good, the variety of terrain is outstanding, the cities are vibrant and amazing. Colombia has a bad image in many people's minds but let me tell you that the violence is virtually wiped out everywhere except small pockets of jungle in the far South-West corner. Favorite City: Medellin (Colombia)! I rate my cities based on my enjoyment and my perception of the authenticity of the experience. Many destination cities are often beautifully preserved and have interesting activities but give me the impression of falseness, as if the real culture happens behind closed doors and the outward show is just for tourists and businessmen. There is no falseness in Medellin. There is a visible abundance of prostitution at all hours of the day, poverty on every corner, and cool stuff happening every night. Medellin is known as the cultural capital of Colombia. It's a gritty, dirty city, contrasted with pockets of skyscrapers and clean plazas. The night we spent in the tenement house was one of the best nights of the trip. I've never been to New York City, but I imagine it's something like Medellin. Exploding with life and energy. Just writing this makes me wish I was back. Favorite food: Nicaragua. Moronga, Fritanga, Carne Bao. Heavy Central-American flavor, sweet and rich dishes. Far enough away from Mexico to be completely different from the Mexican fair I know so well but not far enough South to be heavily influenced by European styles. Distinctly Central American, but with less of an emphasis of beans and rice and more variety of yucca and plantains. Also cheapest food of Central America. (Note, Michelle's favorite food was in Mexico). Favorite scenery: Peru. Spending a few weeks lost in the Andes was a treat. Nothing like riding a motorcycle at 15,700ft, above the clouds. So barren, so sparsely populated, so cold. It's a beautiful sight all the way through. Now we didn't see the vast majority of most of the countries we went through (it would take a lifetime), but of what we did see Peru was the most beautiful. The world certainly seems a smaller place now that I am back. Living in America you routinely see images of people living in conditions very different from your own, and it seems alien and foreign. Go to these places it strikes you that everywhere it's just other people. It happens gradually and suddenly you realize that different educations, different cultures, different languages, but we're really all the same. You are sitting on a street corner in a little highland town talking to somebody straight out of National Geographic... it seems so amazing and so ordinary at the same time. Many years ago I came to the conclusion that my goal in life is the accumulation of experiences and memories. This trip has cemented my hunch that traveling is the most efficient way to accomplish this goal. Meaningful experiences can be found anywhere, but they are guaranteed on a trip like this. Every older person I have ever talked to that took some trip, some adventure during their youth, always treasures those memories. I know it's cliche, but Twain's quote: "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do" has to be the most accurate, convincing endorsement of adventure that has ever been written. We are so thankful we took this trip and eagerly look forward to the next. Thanks for reading, -Jordan and Michelle |
Thanks for all the kind words guys!
In answer to your questions: About $7,000 all told. Not bad for two people and 6 months with a darien gap crossing, less than I expected to spend. You definitely quickly find a travel rhythm and traveling gets cheaper and cheaper as you go along. For some reason the seating arrangement of the ninja 250 never bothered me in the slightest. I believe the 250 is more of a "standard" than the "sport" it's dressed up to be, and the seating position was quite neutral for me. Of course, it is a small bike and I'm 6'5", so I was pretty folded up on it, so I would stand up on the pegs to give my body a stretch periodically. Or it could be that I've never ridden any other bikes so I don't know how much I'm suffering! |
Thanks Jordon & Michelle.........great ending for your trip........wishing you both the best for the future......
Hic:D |
Awesome trip report!
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Great pics!
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Great trip report and pictures, thanks for sharing
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Just spent the last few hours reading this entire report, start to finish. Wonderful stories and pictures.
Looks like you're still active on this site. I'll have to catch up to see what you're doing now. I've been interested in doing a Ninja 250 trip and several times in my searches, this report has popped up, but I've never taken the time to read it all until now. Again, amazing. As for the Amazon, I've been on the Peruvian portion of the Amazon from Atalaya until the Colombia/Brazilian border. I've been wanting to paddle it, too. If it's still in your future, perhaps we should have a chat. Thanks for the report. Jamie |
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