Heya Gino and Fiona, thanks for your kind words.

The dogs yeap I don't think we will get any reprieve except for a lucky break every now and then....have earplugs will travel

We have been watching your blog too, I think a catch up would be a great idea.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

With the intention to get to Merida only we set off early as we woke early.

The road down in southern Mexico being superior to those up north we made it there in good time and easily.



We made the decision to carry on to Playa Del Carmen where we had organised a place to stay, that part of the trip was slower but we made it in off the road about 5.00pm.

Mrs.Garmin could not find the address so we parked up at McDees and had a cold frappe, a nice reprieve from the heat.

During the trip in the middle the temperature got up to 38 degrees C, luckily there was a small breeze to help dry us out.

We met our host there and she lead us back to her home.

Now it is time to organise oil and our trip to Cuba ... something that is a big unknown and we hear various reports from just go for it to people saying we will have VISA trouble etc ... time will tell.

Our first day consisted of going into town to see travel agents who were all closed as it was Sunday so we walked along the beachfront taking in the sights in the Gringo area.

Some amazing sculptures



Coupla neddies on the roof :huh



Some very cool wind decorations that were seriously cosmic to watch rotating in the wind ... quite clever stuff really



Buildings here painted incredible colours



Being set up for tourists the food prices were higher so we went back three streets to the local food, better priced and more importantly far nicer.

Ellen wanted a swim so we decided to head back to “the zone”, we did this via a fruit shop so we took fresh fruit and freshly squeezed juices which were simply divine.

Sitting in the sun was very nice, Ellen piled into the water and had three swims, this girl got in the way when I was trying to photograph Ellen :rofl



Heading back to home base we took the wrong bus ... we have done that before.

Thankfully I had noted the house on the GPS and packed it before we took off so it was only a 1.7 km walk to home after we realized we were heading the wrong way.

Ellen knocked up some Chinese dumplings for tea yet again producing fine fud. :clap

Day 2 consisted of getting back to the now open travel agents, as we can’t get on the Stahlratte till 14 June we either slow the whole thing down and take a better look around here or we fly across the Darien ....which is the expensive option. uke1

Based on that we have decided to slow the whole thing down and spend three weeks in Cuba rather than the original week to 10 days, so 27th February we fly out to Cuba and return on the 19th March.

The rest of the day was getting oil for Maya and sushi stuff for us as well as a nice sit down at the beach to look at the scenery.

Day 3, change Maya oil and clean the clutch jet, the results far better than when we first picked up Maya and the filters were full of shit.

The sump magnet looking clean



Dry sump filter with some residue I suspect and hope is leftover from last time.



Bottom screen nice and clean



The filter a whole lot straighter than the original so no coolant damage which is a huge relief



Our reward was a trip to Akumal to do some snorkeling and a reward of a coldies afterwards at the bar.



Check out the cloud forming behind Ellen



Some coral with really cool pattens



Local fish hovering around ... he was at least a metre long .... mighta been 2!! :evil



Some very ominous looking cloud formed and it came over black as a burnt sausage and you guessed it soon as we jumped on the bike to return home it started pissing down .... this was nice though as the temperature dropped and our visors got a wash.

On returning back to home base Ellen waved her magic sushi wand for tea then we packed down for Cuba.



Next report from Cuba ... see you then.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

so whats happening?hope you guys are ok.Noel

Heya Noel

Just back from Cuba today, locals are NOT allowed internet, you can only get Wifi in selected locations at about $10 US per hour and it is extremely slow so now we will update everything.

Cheers mate

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Will look forward to you Cuba report.Noel

Quick overview, we have broken the report down to each day so there will be 21 reports, a few pics each, in the Cuba sum up we will put the link up to the photo album so you can see the rest of them if you are at work

This is our route we took so for names and places look on here to make sense of it if you can ... if you can make sense of it let us know :rofl



Day 1, February 27th 2013, we left from Playa Del Carmen to Cancun on the aeropuerto bus.

Arriving at the aerupuerto to terminal two we established that was where we needed to get off.

Per our travel agent lady we arrived three hours early to find our man who was meant to meet us wasn’t there .... when he did get there he had changed genda to a she ... no worries same job done just on Mexico time.

At the Cancun airport you can buy anything Harley except a bike



Getting our tickets and VISAs etc all handed over was very easy done and painless so all we had to do is then wait for our call to board our plane at gate 6 ... which was then changed to gate 4 or we would have gone to Canada ...... not too bad option either.

Tickets ... WOH HOH we are off!!!



Leaving Cancun the views from the tin bird were pretty cool giving a great perspective of the layout of gringoland.





We left our pen in the cargo luggage, when we were given a customs form, we thought we could borrow a pen from the cabin crew. Ellen asked nicely to a male hostess t borrow a pen?, got a straight answer “NO!”, oh well, that’s the Cubana Air service for us. It turned out at the end we gave the blank forms to them, nobody really cares anyway so what is the point to hand them out at the first place???.

Crossing a few smaller islands we had only just been given a drink and snack then we were descending down into Havana so it is not far.

Arriving bang on 4.10 pm our bag took over an hour to get as did everybody else’s, they musta been having some sietas in between pushing each bag out as the machine almost seemed constipated.

Finally we cleared the sniffer dogs and customs to meet our preorganised ride to our preorganised hotel for the first and last nights.

The hotel was a 4 star.... yeah right - we think the location was but not the room and facility were 2 maybe 3 star at best. The air conditioning was a fan, the sliding door would not open without an epic arm wrestle, anyway, you get what you pay for... sort of.

Pic of the room on super vivid to make it look better, note we had the latest tube TV



The view was cool although the glamourous looking pool was freezing cold.



That evening we got out cash and had a small “feet on the ground” look around not venturing too far as the footpaths were not lit and it was very dark but to be honest it was as safe as.

In new territory with new currency and new prices and the unknown of where we will stay we both had that sinking feeling that we had when we entered Mexico of WTF have we done.

Won’t be long and and we will get into the rhythm.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

We woke to a gray day then is started to rain then it start to blow then it started pissing down .... lucky we were inside having breakfast so it didn’t matter.

We were tossing up whether to move or stay put with the weather caving in, with only having three weeks to play with we decided to crack a pace and move, coupled with our hotel package the room was $30 CUC (same same US) but each night extra was going to be $53 CUC so we booted ourselves out and found a home stay which is very easy as they are everywhere and much cheaper and better than a hotel.

Taking the tourist bus into town we had a look around to get our feet on the ground.



We were the only ones on the top deck toughing it out so we had the place to ourselves :clap



The funny thing is with Cuba is 99% of their cars are either American heavy metal or Ladas



Most American cars have Japanese diesels in them although I did spot a 4 cyl Lada diesel sitting in a 56 chevy ... the small engine looking extremely lonely in the huge engine bay!!!

We established that food was not too badly priced and we bought a bottle of Cuban wine for $2.50 which to be fair was actually quite nice, lunch was a plate of food for $2.00 each and filing.

Tomorrow we head to Tinidad where we will stay for three nights and use it as a base camp to look around.

Wifi is VERY hard to impossible to find and when you find it they are wanting $8 euro, about $10 US per hour and it is slower than a wet week, locals are NOT allowed internet, only tourists and at selected locations like 5 star hotels.

Because the internet was so scarce we couldn't even get a photo of it :huh :rofl

Although I am not an arty person I found this painting quite striking with want on my mind.



The old cars are pretty much all Taxis, we went camera mad then realized these old dolls are everywhere, none the less I was lovin it.



Local little taxi .... not as cool as the cars!!!



There is a train restoration yard right in old town centro, they go from this



To this, beautiful work



Some locals relaxing at the waterfront



Canons along the waterfront set up nicely



Russian tank on display, military stuff is everywhere and in your face, every corner, every street.



Stunning old car being used as a wedding vehicle this day

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Leaving Habana from our Casa we travelled in a minibus with 4 Italian girls who were heading to Trinidad as well.

The minibus arrived to pick us up at 8.15am instead of 8.30am ... the biggest catch is we slept in till 8.10 am so it was a 2 minute shower, 30 second dunnie stop, 10 second pack up and the rest for a quick coffee that our host had made - very nice cuba coffee indeed, then we were on our way at 8.20am.

The rest of the 4 hour trip was uneventful other than our driver getting pulled up by the feds for not wearing his seatbelt and two goats crossing the road around a blind corner which saw our driver slam the brakes and the ABS doing its work very well indeed.

Arriving at our new Casa Particular we were welcomed in and shown to our room which was $20 US per night and very nice.

Taking a good look around town to suss things out we had a pizza for lunch and checked out scoota rentals etc.



Walking away from the gringo zone things change incredibly quickly, there is a real “them and the us’s” going on, we are not allowed to go to the locals bank to get CUP Cuban Peso which is 24/1 dollar, we were told no and where we were to go so would could exchange it.

They use the two currencies over here in Cuba, CUC which is parity with the US dollar and the CUP which is $24CUP/$1USD, everything in centro and cities/tourist zones is CUC until you get to the local scene where you can buy with CUP, a tourist trap is to buy in CUC and get given change in CUP so you have to look at what you are getting or you will pay through the roof.

Ural sidies are everywhere, they are all old dolls tho.



Also KHI from Russia, a watercooled stinky.



Our experience so far in Cuba has been great, people are very friendly, we have already walked through some very 3rd world areas and not once have we felt unsafe ... in fact the people smile and greet us at least in the smaller places... hola or buenos dias/tardes/noches depending on the time of day.

We did try to find the beach but too far to walk for the time we had, stopping at a small bar we had a chat with the bar manager and bought a cold coke, he was a neat guy and great to chat with despite our language barriers, all smiles and drawings on paper ... easy as.

A few sights to see like this garage door, if you car does not fit in just make a bigger bulge to take it



Heading back to our Casa we bought some fruit for breaky and nibbles, $20 CUP which is about 0.83 cents for four mangoes and four tomatoes

Back at our Casa for tea, Lobster .... what more could you want it was superb and cost $8 CUC.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Waking up to a very wet day mum nature had decided Cuba needed a wash, we had planned to rent a scoota but nah tomorrow will do when/if it is fine.

Our neighbour from Bacelona had a breaky and it was huge, she couldn’t eat it all so we helped her with the coffee and fruit and juice .. a nice start.

Today now is Spanish learning day as this will help with the basic understanding when we get to Guatemala.

The rain continued off and on all day, more on than off however later in the afternoon we had a window to sneak out and have a look at another part of old town Trinidad, stopping along the way we bought a Pizza for $20 CUP which is $0.83 cents.

Continuing up the street to the old centre were small art shops, bars etc all for the tourist which is the biggest industry here.

Walking along a small side street a lady said welcome in to see her dolls for sale ... what caught my eye was the CBR1000RR Repsol sitting in there ... WTF????, very very unusual to see a big bike other than a Ural and even more surprising to see a big Japanese bike as 99% here is MZ or Ural and a massive array of small Japanese two strokes.



Town was very nice and the streets all cobbled from yesteryear.



We even managed to get a photo of the local hotrod before it blazed on past.



Pictures of Che feature everywhere, this was an opportune photo with a picture in the courtyard behind.



Mechanics working in the street on an old Chevrolet ..... still sporting drum brakes etc but most of these cars have engine conversions to Lada diesels, kinda funny with Russian engines in US cars.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

wow!great colours beautiful photo's.

Mum nature decided to be nice and play well today, we woke to a sunny morning although cold and breezy, todays mission was to hire a scoota and go for a hoon around the district and take in the locale.

n o i c e helmet eh :eek1



The fuel gauge was playing up and according to the fuel bars we were going to run out of fuel but when we got to the petrol station we only just squeezed in 5 CUC.

We did get to the viewpoint on the way to the National Park which was cool but decided to call it at that and not head into the park given we thought we were short on fuel.



This is the road up ... woulda been more fun on Maya!!





The wind had picked up and it was blowing hard along the beach front so not too many people sitting in the sun, it did make for great waves tho.






A boat that had sunk many years ago and has just been left there



Cruising around Trinidad we caught some locale, was cool.

Some local lads having a good old chat



Yesteryear pic



Another two stroke, they are everywhere.



Two local girls wearing vacuum pack clothing



During the afternoon we took the scoota to the sugar cane mills and checked out a 7 storey kinda building.

Flat out!!!:evil






The tower




The views from the top were great, the stairs were a bit dodgy with one corner of the stair open to a window to fall out 5 floors!!!







Returning back to Trinidad we dropped off the scoota and went to a small cafe/bar and ordered a Majitta and a Pina Colada, the bar owner learning we were Mojittan virgins kindly gave a us a complimentary Cuban cigar to have with our grog.







Live muzic, Cuban cigar, Pina Colada, Mojitto .... life is good.



For those of you tempted by what you see and want to go to Trinidad this is the place to go .... tell him the Kiwis sent you.



Well that kinda pasted the rest of the afternoon as we hit relax mode in full, we were going to walk up to the repeater station above the town but nah Pina Colada was more important.

6.50 pm we sat down to tea which was lobster, rice, spuds, gerkins, cucumber and stir fried cabbage topped of with a sweet marmalade and cheese style dessert. .... perfecto!!!!

All this was rounded off by a Sunset, Pina Colada and Mojitto for good measure and good health so now we are very healthy.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere