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.


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.

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:


The courtyard:


While we are in Chihuahua, we go to el Centro mercado:


The Cathedral:


Me, the fountain and Michelle's young cousin.


View from the tower in the center of town:


We go to a Dulceria to search for "Bocadin", these little chocolate bars.

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.


Chihuahua is situated in a valley and is surrounded by small mountains. We see this one and decide to climb it before we leave.

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.




Local kids also come up here to graffiti their love onto the boulders. Karen found a secret admirer.

(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.


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:


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:



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.


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.




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.


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.


Guardrails for safety:



El Salto, halfway point:




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.


12/19/10

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.


Motorcycles routinely park on the sidewalk in Mexico. Very convenient.


We took the hike up to the highest natural lighthouse in the world.




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.

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!

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

Yea, the motto for this trip is definitely "minimal planning". We didn't even have a map for the first 2,000 miles of Mexico, just a print-out of the google maps Mexico image. Our host in Union De Tula gave us a Mexico atlas, but Michelle insists I not look at it. She's lucky, so I'll bank on that. Doesn't really matter where we end up anyway.

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.

Woo! When the tarmac ended and we ended up on a rough dirt road, we finally realized we were lost.


Nice scenery though, in any case.


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.



Motorcycles are quite popular. Huge stretches of street were designated for motorcycle parking.

Also saw my bike's twin! Another Kawi EX250! The only other one I've seen in two months.


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.



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.

A textiles museum, with a personal guide.

As I've mentioned before, Michelle loves clothing design and took dozens of pictures of different fabric patterns.


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.

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:


And so we leave for 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.

"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.


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.


Our hotel was near the Metro Centro, which was a huge mall.

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!


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.


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.

Not a bad sunset.


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.

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.


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.

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:

Eventually it was time to say goodbye. We were heading to Honduras today, and had a few hours to go till the border.

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.


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:

A Honduran Taco:

I was so hungry I ate two plates.


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!

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.


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.

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:

Reflective vests make photography difficult!

It reminded me of the muddy caves of Texas.


We were walked through the whole process, from extraction, to filtering, to the labratory where they pull out the precious metals.
Filtering tanks:

This is what a good rock looks like!

Our labratory tech guide:


Now we know how gold is extracted!


We walked back to the town center and enjoyed fried chicken (all we could find) and icecream in the plaza.

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.


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.

Hello,
You shared nice information about advrider.com website. I want some more information about it.

thanks!!
_________
RBP truck accessories

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.


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!


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.


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


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:

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.

They live in Los Molines, a very nice Neighborhood of retirees from all over the continent.

View from the house:


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.

We stayed three nights, eating delicious food, drinking delicious coffee. Evenings would be spent on the cool patio smoking cigars over cold .

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:

Another monkey gets hold of Michelle:

There are 4 different little pools, each one with a different temperature. We tried them all. Some are warm, some are extemely hot.

Following it up with a dip in the cold, clean river water:


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.


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.


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).


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