Our Central America Adventure

News Fash! Seda Is back!

2006-03-31T21:10:00.000-07:00

In the last posting I reported than Dave & Jen's dog, Seda, had gone missing. Well, she has been found! What great news!

It appears that Seda took off on a search for Dave. On the evening of March 24 she apparently decided to take a hike. … to Kaslo. Kaslo is approximately 35K from Jen & Dave’s place. Seda has been to Kaslo several times with Dave & Jen as we have a summer house there.

She was seen in Kaslo on the morning of March 25 and was limping badly. She was treated by the vet in Kaslo and actually had been adopted the day she was found. Dave got wind of her location from the SPCA in Nelson while he was dropping off a poster of Seda. The Nelson SPCA had spoken to the Kaslo vet and Seda fit the description of a lost dog in Kaslo. Jen and Dave drove up to Kaslo and they found Seda sitting on the porch of our house.

Why she decided to head for Kaslo we will never know, but we are so happy and relieved that she is well and back home. This is a much happier ending to a fabulous trip.

Home Again

2006-03-29T07:48:00.000-07:00

March 28/06

We arrived home in Fernie early Tuesday afternoon. We dropped Jen & Dave at their place yesterday, over-nighted and caught an early ferry eastbound. It is nice to be home. As we drove into Elk Valley it started snowing. A nice welcome home.

From Yuma, we drove north with no delay, sticking to the interstate highways. No trouble enroute, other than some balky trailer lights that refused to work until ½ way home. The little VW diesel pulled the overloaded trailer without any problem.

Unfortunately there was one sad incident that marred an otherwise happy homecoming. Dave and Jenny’s dog “Seda” went missing from their home a couple of days before we arrived back. The reason she disappeared and her fate is yet unknown. Dave and Jen live on a small acreage and Seda was free to roam but she had never wandered far before.

Dave is absolutely devastated. Seda is really Dave’s dog. He had been worried about leaving her, while we were on the trip, and was so looking forward too seeing her again. It has been 4 days now since she went missing. Despite numerous posters, calls to neighbours and the various related agencies, there has been no word of her whereabouts.

March 29/06

Time to get back to reality! The mail pile is huge and there is lots of work to be done on the uncompleted house renovations. I also want to find time to organize the over 1000 photos and summarize the trip.

It was a wonderful experience that we all enjoyed immensely. After almost 3 months travelling and residing with Jen and Dave we are all still on speaking terms. That in itself is a satisfying accomplishment. (There were some tense moments, but nothing too serious. At times, Dave’s adventuresome spirit and risk assessment differed substantially from ours). Linda and I feel very lucky that we had this opportunity to travel with the “kids” in this manner. It is not something a lot of parents get the opportunity to do, or a lot of “kids” might want to do with their parents, for that matter.

The trip was a great learning experience for us all. Not only did we see and experience countries and areas that were previously foreign to us but we were able to successfully challenge ourselves. Although we never felt that we were in danger, we were often on or just outside our normal comfort threshold (all except Dave, that is!).

I’m particularly proud of Linda. Linda was probably the most anxious at the beginning of the trip but she really didn’t let it show and quickly settled in to the uncommonly austere accommodations. Many times she was a moderating and stabilizing influence. Also, she discovered that she can comfortably travel for 3 months with one small bag of clothes and personal items!

Time to start planning the next trip!

THE END

We will now revert to updating our main blog. http://thehidewayoflife.blogspot.com

If you are interested, you keep tabs on us there…

Back in the USA

2006-03-25T07:43:00.000-07:00

March 24/05

Hermosillo is only 170 K from the US border. We were on the road by 8:30 on the last Mexico leg. All along the way through Mexico and Central America there have been military check points, but we came across one 150K from the border that was different.

Suddenly the semi trailer ahead of us pulled into the passing lane and stopped behind a line of stopped semis. We stayed in the left lane but within a few hundred metres we came to a halt behind a couple of cars and some semi trailers also stopped in the left lane. The road was now blocked to traffic.

However, there was a trail in the ditch. There were trucks stopped down the highway as far as you could see. We decided to try the ditch and see if we could get past them. It worked but the line up of stopped trucks was at least 2 miles long. At the check point every truck was being carefully checked.. for who know what. We were waved through the check point without as much as a question. It must have taken days for one truck to pass this point!

The border crossing into the US was no problem. We stopped at the Mexico customs so Dave could retrieve his $300. MC deposit. Much to our surprise, it was no problem. The border are is quite secure (as you might expect) but we were asked a couple of quick questions and sent on our way.

We are now 200K from Yuma having breakfast at the “Space Age Restaurant”. We hope to start north in the car later today.

Moving into Northern Mexico

2006-03-25T07:31:00.000-07:00

March 21/06

Yesterday and today again we put in a long day. The coastal roads are nice scenic winding roads but we are all looking forward to our own beds and some home cooked meals. Guess you could say that we are weary travellers at this point.

We pushed on past Puerto Vallarta back to the smaller resort / surfing town of Sayulita. It is not as busy here but still quite touristy. Spanish is not essential here. We have settled into a nice camping spot for a couple of days.

This is our second stop in Sayulita. It a nice place. Much like Puerto Vallarta was 25 years ago. Laid back, nice beach, good surfing. It has that typical half completed, half abandoned, Mexican appearance. Dirt streets, dogs and garbage in abundance, street vendors and temporary food kiosks mixed in with some very good hotels, campsites and restaurants.

We stayed at the Sayulita RV & Trailer Park. Bungalows, with or without kitchenettes are also available. It is a great place. Locate on the beach. Mexican architecture with Germen sensibilities. (Thanks to the nationality of the owner.)

March 23/06

The longest day (in distance covered) on the trip. We decided to take the pay roads when available and covered 900 kilometres from Sayulita to Hermosillo. Considering that it took us 3 hours to cover the first 100K we were surprised to cover the planned distance. There was a major accident on the highway between Sayulita and Tepic. With the bikes we were able to get through the ditch passed a jack knifed semi.

The toll roads in Mexico allow you to make good time but they are expensive. The rate for cars and motorcycles is 1 peso per kilometre ( approx. 10 cents)

Back to the Pacific Coast

2006-03-20T20:56:00.000-07:00

Puerto Escondido... one of the beaches

Linda talking to her Mom on the beach strip in Puerto Escondido

March 16 /06

With the new route plan formulated, we were up before sunrise and had the bikes loaded and ready to go at dawn. We opted to start on the Autopista Cuota (pay highways) to make time. We made good time for the first 100K, then the pay road ended. You can definitely make better time, but the pay roads are expensive. We figured that the charge was about 10 cents per kilometre. There was little traffic on the pay portions. Obviously they are too expensive for the masses.

We made pretty good time on the route to the Pacific coast despite several areas of construction. Once on the coast, the road became more interesting. A nice winding road through the hilly coast line with good pavement, few towns (ie. topes) and little traffic. Normally we would have stopped earlier that we did, but knowing the route and the availability of accommodation, we decided to push on to Puerto Escondido. We covered about 650K. The longest day yet. We rolled into our planned accommodation (Cabinas Edda) at about 5:30 and got two nice cabinas. ($15. each). Having made good time and not to mention that we all had sore butts from the last two long days, we decided to stay and extra night here and catch up on the laundry, internet, phone calls and an oil change for the bikes.

March 17/06

Happy Birthday Leslie. Hope you had a good time and didn’t consume too much of that green beer.

We relaxed today and caught up on the chores. Saturday we are planning to stop just outside Acapulco.

March 18/06

Wow! It was hot day down here. . . especially coming through Acapulco. It seems that everyone here drives their car on Saturdays. It was bumper to bumper traffic most of the way through the city. I stopped as we entered the city to take off my jacket. It was at least bearable in a T-shirt. We only lost our way once and managed to get back on course in relatively short order (sometimes you are lucky).

Once we reached our destination, Pia de la Questa. . . a narrow beach strip about 10K north of Acapulco, we searched out our chosen hotel. We found it right away. Things were falling into place…. until we discovered that it was a long holiday weekend and every place we check was booked up. *%#^@!

Eventually we found a room. The hotel owners knew that it was one of the last ones available and it was reflected in the price. Fortunately there was a nice beach restaurant nearby and we settled in to a good sunset meal.

Meeting other travelers is an enjoyable part of this experience.

March 19/06

We were up before sunrise this morning. Do you think maybe we are getting that “heading for the barn” feeling? Partly, but mostly it is more comfortable to travel during the cooler parts of the day. Also, we trying ride about 400K per day. With an early start we can find a place to stay by 3pm. and relax for a while.

Back into Mexico

2006-03-17T16:49:00.000-07:00

The Kismet Inn in Hopkins, Belize

March 13/06

Today we crossed the border from Guatemala to Belize. Another straight forward border crossing. We decided that we would spend only two days in Belize. From the Lonely Planet guide book we selected the small coastal town of Hopkins as our first destination. Hopkins is located south of Belize city.

Belize definitely has a different feel to it that most of the other Central American countries. The British influence is noticeable in the architecture, roads (round-a-bouts) and bridges. English is the principle language of the country although many other languages and dialects are also spoken. Often the English dialects are difficult to understand.

We arrived in Hopkins by 2 pm. There were good roads all the way across the country and not much traffic. Speed signs must be a luxury item down here. They are virtually not existent. We took our lead from the other traffic and cruised at 90 K in the open areas while remaining vigilant for the speed bumps.

Hopkins itself is nothing special. It is a poor somewhat rundown fishing village with some accommodations. A would be beach resort that never quite made it. In Hopkins we found a guest house on the beach. . . the Kismet Inn. It is a rustic place run by Trish, a transplanted New Yorker and here partner, Elvis. Trish and Elvis prepare a meal for the guests if they so desire. The meal always consists of the catch of the day, rice, vegetables, salad and fresh baked bread. It was an OK place but expensive for the quality of accommodation and services.

Everyone ate together at one large table in the dinning area so there was a good opportunity to socialize with the hosts and other guests. This was probably the best part of the stay. We met a couple from Brighton, Ontario. Prior to settling on the shores of Lake Ontario, they had lived on a sailboat for a couple of years and had some good stories to tell, mostly cruising the Caribbean.

March 14/06

Partly due to the costs in Belize we decided to head up to the Mexican border at Chetumal at the base of the Yucatan Peninsular. Fuel prices in Belize were the highest we have seen on this trip.. about $5. per gallon. Thanks to good open roads and little traffic we reached the border just after 2 pm.

The northern half of Belize is not particularly attractive. Mostly flat scrub lands, hot and windy. The southern portion is much more attractive. The Hummingbird Hwy runs south from Belize city through rolling semi-mountainous terrain. The valleys are filled with citrus groves. Mostly oranges, from what we could tell.

The border crossing into Mexico was very smooth. The officials friendly and helpful. Mexico was the only country that accepted our prior visa. Entering other countries we had to get new visas each time. Guess they make more money that way.

Close to the border crossing is the city of Chetumal, Mexico. Looking for a hotel we found our way downtown to a visitor information booth. As Jenny inquired about hotels a motorcycle rider stopped to talk to Linda and asked if we needed help. Gordon, we found out his name later, was riding a 500 Suzuki, a big bike for these parts. He had noticed the motorcycles and was anxious to assist other riders. He offered to lead us to a hotel. We gladly accepted his offered and he led us to a very nice place. After a quick change into some clean clothes we offered to buy Gordon a beer. We enjoyed the conversation with Gordon. Thanks again Gordon for assisting us, it was great to meet you.

As an aside . . . Gordon mentioned that a few weeks ago he had met another Canadian on motorcycle. This fellow was doing research for a travel guide book for motorcycle travellers. It appeared that he may have been affiliated somehow with Horizon’s Unlimited. This was of interest to us because we had just been discussing the short comings of the Lonely Planet guide book. The Lonely Planet guide is designed for back packer / bus traveller and as such, there is very little information specifically of interest to travelers who have their own transportation. (better directions, routes in and out of cities, bypasses, fuel locations, etc.)

Early to bed….

March 15/06

Early to rise…

Dave woke us up at 5:30 for breakfast. We were on the road before 7:00. Flat country across the base of the Yucatan. Just like a hot Saskatchewan with palm trees. We made good time though. Over 600K today. Still it was a long day.

We ended up in a small city of Cardenas in the oil production area of Mexico, not a particularly attractive area. Since we were not in a tourist area, there was limited hotel selection. The first one we found was at a truck stop and there was no secure location to leave the motorcycles. The next one we found had a secure parking lot but it catered to business travelers and was quite expensive ($62.US) for our budget. We stayed there anyway since it was late and there was no other option.

At supper we had another look at the route back to Yuma. The most direct route would be through Mexico City. Another route would be up the east coast and then across north central Mexico. The third option was to cut across the narrow “waist” of Mexico to the west coast and retrace the route we followed on the way south. After bantering back and forth, we decided to cut to the west coast. Our rational was 3 fold . . . cheaper plentiful accommodations, a more pleasant environment and reduced navigation stress. We are definitely in the “get home mode” but we don’t want to rush it, just enjoy it. (actually Miles emailed us that it hadn’t snowed in a few days and perhaps we should turn south again. We choose this route mainly to encourage more snow in Fernie. J ) The west coast route is a slightly longer one but may be shorter (in time) in the long run. We are planning earlier starts on the way back and 30% longer mileage.

Report from Tikal

2006-03-17T16:45:00.000-07:00

Our friend, the small tarantula

Some signs for a few animals around Tikal

The grand plazza at Tikal

Temple V at Tikal

March 12/06

At breakfast this morning we inquired as to the distance / driving time from Rio Dulce to Tikal. The answers we received were typical… 2 /1/2 hours from one person, 8 hours from the next! We also asked about accommodation. One fellow told that there was a selection of hotels within 5 k of Tikal. This was counter to the information in the guide book, but locals must know, right?

Well it was a great road and it was a 3 hour ride to Tikal. The hotels that were suppose to be 5 k from Tikal were at least 25 K distant… but the camp ground inside the park itself were as advertised in the Lonely Planet guide. Since we reached Tikal earlier than anticipated, we had the afternoon to explore the ruins. Tikal is very much worth a visit.

For those who are driving / riding here, there are two entrances to the site. You must pass through both of them. One entrance is almost 20k from the site of the ruins. This is where you by your entry pass. The second entrance is located just prior to the ruins. It is just inside this entrance that the campsite, parking area, information area, restaurants and 3 in-park hotels are located.

As we rode into the parking lot we were approached by a fellow on a typical small motorcycle with a cooler mounted on the back. It is not uncommon to be approached by vendors selling their goods, but this fellow appeared to asking something else. After a bit of back and forth we realised that he was asking if we had some spare gasoline. He had to ride 30K home and he didn’t think he had enough fuel. I had brought a small siphoning hose with me so within a few minutes we managed to transfer enough fuel from my tank to get him back home. He offered to pay us but we refused to accept payment but he was selling chocolate dipped frozen bananas which he offered us in payment. They were very good.

Before visiting the ruins, made arrangements to camp. We were permitted to ride the bikes across the grass and park beside or camping area. One our concerns was the security of our bikes, luggage and camping equipment while visiting the ruins. As it turned out security is not an issue. The camp ground is monitored by park staff. We simply made sure that our passports and documents were securely locked in our hard luggage and walked to the site of the ruins.

We spent a few hours walking around and climbing over the ruins. They are awe inspiring. Many of the ruins have yet to be uncovered completely. Some are partially uncovered. It is interesting to see the work in progress and to see some of the sites where little work has been done. These sites are still consumed by the jungle.

By the time we returned to the campsite the sun had set. We quickly set up the tents and walked over to one of the hotels for a drink. When we returned to the tents it was dark. One of the camping staff came over with his flash light to see where we were camped. He showed us something interesting, frightening to some. Close to where we camped was a small hole in the turf, about the diameter of a silver dollar. He shone his flash light down the hole and the only word we understood from his explanation in Spanish was… “tarantula”. Sure enough, there was a big tarantula down the hole, staring out at us. Shining the flash light around the area we spied another one out walking around, but apparently smaller than the one in the hole. (see photo) Tarantulas are not poisonous, but that was little consolation to Linda. It made her forget about the snakes for a while though!

Report from Copan, Honduras & Rio Dulce, Guatemala

2006-03-11T17:07:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of shots from the Ruinas de Copan

This is the largest Mayan step structure of it's kind. Unlike other that are larger in size, each step on this one is carved with hieroglyphics... very ornate. The cover is to reduce erosion of the detail.

We hired a Tuk-Tuk for the return trip to town.

Highland community in Hinduras, close to Gracias and the Guatemala border

March 10/06

After a brief walk around Gracias and breakfast we headed out for Copan Ruinas. Once again smooth surfaced, winding, wide roads most of the way… motorcycle friendly. As mentioned before, the older roads down here suffer from deep hole-i-tice. Some parts are pock marked and a slalom technique between the potholes is required to maintain a smooth ride. Nice scenery too!

The town of Copan Ruinas is a very pretty town. It is located 1 kilometre from the ruins themselves. Hotels and restaurants are bountiful… especially hotels. Perhaps because of the competition, room are very reasonable. We found a nice place near the centre of town. Only $6. for a double room with a private bathroom and shower. Can’t beat that.

We walked to the ruins on a nice stone path from town. Admission to the site was $10. each. We could have hired a guide (for $25.) but decided to take the unescorted tour.

The site of the ruins dates to between 400 and 800 AD. It is thought that the Copan Dynasty and the area around Copan supported a population of 20,000 people in the middle of the 8^th century but by the 13^th century the area had succumbed to over population. Apparently, according to the available information, urban expansion and farming up the steep slopes surrounding the valley resulted in deforestation and flooding that further reduced the ability of the population to provide sufficient food. By 1200 AD the Copan valley and the city site were abandoned and gradually became over run by the jungle.

The site was “discovered” in the 1890s and work began then to uncover the ruins. Work is still in progress. Many parts of the ruins have been carefully reconstructed and new buildings are still being discovered. Well worth the visit.

After supper we walked to the town square where what appeared to be a local school / club band was practicing its routine. Unlike any band in Canada, this band consisted solely of percussion instruments and marched and danced to the rhythm. The instruments included a triple set of bongo type drums played with sticks, snare drums, base drums, cymbals, washboard type instruments and hand head xylophones, which were the only instruments to carry a tune. The kids were fun to watch and we appreciated the interesting rhythms.

March 11/06

Another border crossing this morning into Guatemala. The more accustom we have become with the procedures, the easier they are. Definitely early crossings are the answer. Also the less busy crossings are easier to deal with. The officials are friendlier and there is less distraction from people trying to make a buck by making things seem more difficult than they actually are. Certainly being able to communicate in Spanish is an asset and by now we have acquired the necessary, albeit basic, vocabulary to be able to ask questions and understand some of the answers… even joke with the officials.

From the border we had to take a round about route to eventually head north east around Lago de Izabal to our destination of Rio Dulce.

Lago de Izabal is a lake located about 50K inland from the Caribbean. It is connected to the Caribbean by a wide river and is a haven / hangout for sailing boats and yachts from around the world. Unfortunately we only have one night to spend here, but it looks like a place you could easily spend a few days (or more).

The roads up here were very good. Some of the best we have seen. The scenery and general appearance of the country side in this part of Guatemala is very pleasant. Clean and well kept. We planned to visit some folks that we had met in El Salvador who own a resort on the lake, but instead we opted to stay at the marina. Staying at the other resort required a 40 minute boat ride that would have precluded an early start in the morning. Tomorrow is another longish day to the Tikal ruins in eastern Guatemala.

By the way… We hear that it is a great snow year in Fernie this season. . . one of the best. We think that it is partly because we decided to take off for the winter. I was thinking that you folks in Fernie might want to start a collection to send us away again next year!

Actually, we are thrilled that is a good ski season... good snow is good for Fernie. Hope you are enjoying the powder. Save some for us in April.

Hello from Gracias, Honduras

2006-03-09T20:18:00.000-07:00

Hotel Guancascos in Gracias, Honduras

View from the hotel restaurant

March 8/06

After spending a relaxing day on Ometepe we hit the road again, heading for the Honduras border. We had booked a trip on the 9am ferry back to the mainland and arrived early to pay for the tickets and to make sure they knew we were there and ready.

We had breakfast a café near the ferry dock. Linda was thrilled with her breakfast of scramble eggs with a sliced wiener and instant coffee. She is getting used the food and coffee now. She’ll never want a Jamocha’s latte again!

The ferry workers remembered us and we received first class service. None of them wanted to incite the wrath of Linda. No problem getting on this time. We shared the ferry with a truck loaded with bananas and couple of other small trucks.

As we were buying our tickets, a local was telling us that some time ago they loaded two banana trucks on the ferry and as the ferry left the dock it rolled and sank. There was a line up of about a dozen loaded banana trucks waiting for passage to the mainland. We were worried, but only one was backed onto the ferry. Before the ferry left the calmer waters in the bay, the banana truck was securely tied down with thick ropes.

An uneventful ride all the way across Nicaragua to Ocotal, near the Honduras border. We settled into a nice little hotel, had a bite to eat and hit the pit. We are planning a long day tomorrow almost from one side of Honduras to the other.

March 9/06

Up before dawn this morning. Yogurt and cornflakes for breakfast from the convenience store at the Shell station on the corner, then off to the border crossing. It was a cool ride 20K ride to the border crossing through rolling terrain. We were at an elevation 2500 ft. We were all cold when we reached the border crossing at 6:30 am.

This was not a busy crossing point and the regular onslaught of helpers and money changers had not yet arrived for the day. I must say this was a welcome change! This crossing was the best one yet. The offices were labelled. The officials were helpful and courteous. We were through in less than an hour with no hassles or suspicious additional charges.

The roads and speed limits in Honduras were also a welcome surprise. Both were driver (rider) friendly. Most roads were smooth and wide, well marked with good signage and the speed limits were consistent, not fast, slow, fast, slower . . as was the case in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. The scenery and topography inland is much more interesting that it was closer to the pacific coast. The roads wind through the highlands. At times you might think that you were in BC riding through dense pine forest. Perhaps near Kamloops somewhere.

We chose a route that was shorter than others but in the end probably took as mush or more time than the longer route. There was about 60K of rough gravel road before we reached Gracias. It took us about 2 hours of riding to cover the last 60K.

We wanted to get close to Copan Ruinas and Gracias had received some good reviews in our Lonely Planet guide book. Well, it appears that they were right. This is lovely little town nestled in the rolling hills. I wish we had more time to stay here and explore the area. The hotel we have is great. Each couple has their own room. Only $14. per night, but it is wonderful. I wasn’t too impressed with Honduras on the way down to Panama but I am this time. The route we followed today was one of the best motorcycles rides of the trip. Great scenery and very friendly people. Honduras is also appears much cleaner than Nicaragua.

We are a couple of hours from Copan Ruinas. These Maya ruins are one of the “big 3” in Central America (along with Tikal and Pelenque ) Our plan is to head to Copan in the morning (after a soak in the local hot springs) and spend the afternoon visiting the ruins.

Then on the Guatemala the next day.

On Ometepe Island

2006-03-07T10:52:00.001-07:00

Isla Ometepe from San Jorge dock

"The Bridge" near the Pamana / Costa Rica border at Sixola

San Jorge ferry dock

Waiting at the cafe for the Ometepe Ferry

The sunset cruise on the ferry to Ometepe

March 2/06

First day on road back toward home. . . 428K, Panama City to David.

We were up early and made our way by taxi to Joe’s place to pick up the bikes. Joe was away but we met his wife Brenda and Joe’s assistant Tracy. Tracy did most of the work on the bikes for us and he was thorough. We had specified a few items that we wanted looked at but Tracy went over the bikes from top to bottom, adjusting and tightening any part or bolt that could be turned or tweaked. Tracy even insisted on re-adjusting Dave’s chain when he discovered that he was riding two up. Great work at a reasonable price. I would highly recommend them to anyone that might need their services. (Contact Joe Hummer at 317-9264 in Panama City or email me if you want more information)

We were on the bikes by 10 am. Luckily, the Pan-American Highway is easy access from Joe’s place to so we didn’t have to navigate though the city. Despite our best efforts to stay within the law and avoid any police encounters we were stopped 3 times today.

1^st. Jen and Dave were pulled over. We were moving slowly through a road construction area. Dave stood up on the foot pegs to stretch his legs. Apparently, in Panama motorcycle riders are required to remain seated! No Kidding… Dave was told that standing on the foot pegs was considered an unsafe practice that could cause an accident. No ticket, only a warning.

Next, Linda and I were pulled over because the police officer thought Dave was speeding? The officer had signalled to Dave to pull over but Dave was past him when the officer’s arm went out. Since Dave didn’t stop he stopped me! Even though Dave did not think that he was speeding (80KPH limit at this point), I was told to tell him to slow down then allowed to continue on my way.

An hour later we stopped at a road side stand for a pop and a snack. As we pulled back onto the road, we were instructed to pull over once again by another officer. What now? We couldn’t be speeding. We were both seated. What hell did we do this time?

We were asked to produce our licence and passports, then follow the officer inside his roadside office. We were asked some basic questions by one fellow (about where we had come from and where we were going) while another officer went out side. This fellow returned within a minute or so to inform us that we had exceeded the 40kph limit when we passed through a town several kilometres back. He told us that he had been phoned with our licence numbers, which he showed us written on a piece of paper. Then one officer showed us on a map where the apparent infraction occurred. He first pointed to a town that we had not even passed through! When we told him that we had not been on that road, he slid his finger to another location on the map.

Anyway… we vehemently denied that we had been speeding anywhere and refused to pay a “fine” of $60. cash each. After several more threats to write a ticket accompanied by our denial of any infraction, we were suddenly given our documents back and told to leave.

As we prepared to get back on the bikes, the girls told us that one of the cops had come out to the bikes shortly after we went into the office and copied down our plate numbers. We figure that these two officers concocted the speeding violation story when they saw us stopped at the restaurant. The paper we were presented with our licence numbers was made by one cop while we spoke to the other and were not relayed by phone.

It is virtually impossible in Panama (and most of the central am countries) to determine the speed limit. By North Am standards, speed signs are few and far between. As you enter a built up area there may be a sign indicating the speed limit (60 usually, 40 sometimes) but at the end of the built up area there is either no sign indicating that you can speed up or a sign which simply says “resume speed” (translated). If you start riding from inside the speed restricted area and see a sign that says “resume speed”, what exactly does that mean? If you don’t remember what the speed limit was prior to entering the built up area the night before, you won’t know what the speed limit is! As we found out, it really doesn’t matter. We did not exceed the slowest highway speed we had seen (80K). Trucks, car and buses constantly passed us, but we were the ones who were stopped. That’s just the way it is here. Even though we were not ticketed or did not have pay anything, it is extremely annoying to have to have to go through this bullshit. It leaves a bad taste in your mouth and a deep mistrust of the police.

Despite the delays we reached David by 5 pm and found a hotel. Tomorrow we plan to head north to the Caribbean coast, Boca Del Toro.

March 3/06

It was one of those adventuresome days. We started with the sun and quickly rode into the mountains north of David. Good road and great scenery. As we moved north the vegetation gradually changed from farmland to forest to jungle. Even though this is the dry season it was evident that there is plenty of moisture on the northern slopes of the mountains. It was nice to find some cool air in the mountains but as we descended to the Caribbean coast we moved into hot humid air.

We planned to take the ferry to Boca del Toro, located on an island just off shore, but the ferry only ran once a day each way and we would have had to wait until the next day to catch it. A water taxi was an option but I would mean leaving the bikes unattended for several hours… just not an option for me.

At this point it we were only an hour from the border of Costa Rica and we knew of coastal accommodation about an hour inside Costa Rica. We decided to head for the border. This is where the adventure began.

This area is one of the prime banana growing areas. As I mentioned, it is wet land and there are many rivers and canals. There is also an old network of railways that appear to be unused now. However, the old railway bridges are still used for rubber tire and pedestrian traffic. They must be narrow gauge railway tracks because the road surface is created by nailing a couple of 2x12 planks to the ties, parallel to the outer edge of the tracks. This creates two wooden tracks sufficiently spaced to allow cars and trucks a rolling surface. Alternating traffic in either direction.

Unfortunately, it appears that these bridges receive little or no maintenance. Many of the planks are broken and some are completely missing. Add to this that there is a sparse and dilapidated guard rail. Some sections of the guard rail are completely missing!

The first bridge, of this nature, that we encountered was about 150 metres long and 30 meters above a stony river bed. I couldn’t ride over it. I stopped on the approach to the bridge. Linda and I pushed the bike back onto the edge of the road to assess the situation. Dave just kept going and luckily he and Jenny made it across the bridge in one piece.

After a short assessment, I knew that I could not ride over the bridge on the dilapidated planks. The risk was just too high. If I had to stop anywhere on the bridge I was in serious trouble. My short legs would not reach the ground to hold the loaded bike up. Best scenario was that I would fall toward the center of the bridge and risk dropping my leg between the ties, worst scenario would be that I would fall toward the edge of the bridge and possibly fall though the dilapidated guard rail to certain death.

The options were to get across the bridge somehow or ride all the way back to David and take the main highway to Costa Rica. There was some pedestrian and bicycle traffic on the bridge. The cars and truck had to wait for this slower traffic to clear the bridge before starting in the opposite direction. I decided that I would walk the bike over the bridge. The traffic would just have to wait. With Dave’s assistance, I pushed the bike over the bridge. I walked along the ties in the centre of the tracks while rolling the bike along the planks. Dave pushed and stabilized the bike from behind. This was scary enough for me. By the time we reached the far side, my shirt was soaked from the sweat… fear combine with exertion causes a great deal of perspiration. If this wasn’t enough the bridge at the border was similar. Same construction, but shorter. Another walk and push. More sweat.

The border crossing was again an adventure on its own. Since this crossing was somewhat off the beaten track, it was even less organized than the others. The biggest problems were communication and finding the right location to obtain the next permit. The lack of signage, of any sort, turns a cumbersome but straightforward process into a frustrating game of hide and seek.

An hour after clearing the border we found a hotel in Puerto Viejo, a trendy surfing town on the Costa Rica Caribbean coast. Lots of foreign tourists here. English is the predominant language heard on the street. Most businesses seem to be owned by foreigners.

March 4/06

After a nice breakfast, with real coffee (as Linda says), we headed for Arenal, the most active volcano in Costa Rica. Except for a short section of road from Puerto Viejo to the secondary highway, the roads today were in great condition. Of course there were the deep potholes to avoid but much of the road appeared to have been recently resurfaced.

The speed limits on the secondary highway in Costa Rica are very low by North American standards. The normal limit is 60 kph, dropping to 40 kph through the numerous towns and villages. Occasionally there are short sections where the speed limits jumps all the way up to 80K. We stayed within (or close to) the limit. And we passed several police locations where apparent speeders were stopped. At the beginning of the day, when you have 300 K ahead of you, the speed limit seems unacceptably low, especially if the road is straight and there is little traffic. But once you accept the slower pace, it is quite a relaxing ride. Luckily most of the road was winding through some gorgeous country side. I actually enjoyed the slower pace today. I had enough adventure yesterday! There was a little rain enroute. Only a few light showers. Not at all an inconvenience… actually refreshing.

Jen and Dave had a little excitement today. I have mentioned before how tight some turns can be on these narrow roads. Jen and Dave had to ride into the ditch to avoid an on coming semi-trailer in one of the tight turns. No damage done.

Enroute to Fortuna (near Volcan Arenal) we followed hwy 4 to Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui then hwy 140 to Cuidad Quesada. It is a great route through an eco-tourism area. We passed several white water rafting operation as well as canopy tours, hiking, etc. There also was a good supply of hotels and B&Bs along the route. Definitely some of the best roads we have encountered in Costa Rica.

In Fortuna we found a reasonably priced hotel. Around the volcano accommodation rates range from $8. per person to $200. per person. Depends what you want. We opted for a $10. per person room on the main drag in Fortuna. Clean and air conditioned but a little noisy.

Unfortunately, the cloud base was well below the top of the volcano so when it came to volcano viewing we saw “nada”.

March 5/06

We were hoping for clear skies this morning, but it was not to be. Low cloud hung around the mountain and volcano viewing would have to happen some other day. We planned to get an early start and make a run for the Nicaragua border but that didn’t happen either. As we were about to leave the hotel we realized that the main road had been closed for a triathlon. After speaking to the organizers, they let us leave as long as we stayed well right on the roadway. This worked well for us for a few kilometres, but eventually we were stopped for 45 minutes with the rest of the traffic until the bike riders had passed out location.

The road from Fortuna followed the north shore of Laguna de Arenal though thick jungle and rain forest. For the most part it was pretty rough… broken pavement and rough gravel sections, but work was in progress to repair it. A combination of light rain, potholes (huecos) and wet gravel made for a slow ride around the lake, but it was an interesting ride. We saw some wildlife that we were unable to identify and had it not been for the rain, the views would have been good.

After stopping for a bite to eat we decided that we would get to the border too late to cross into Nicaragua. We decide to detour to the pacific coast to find a place to stay. Playa Coco was the closest beach to the highway. We found a nice B&B and settled in by the pool for a couple of hours before supper. A nice break from the last few days of travel. Tomoorrow… Nicaragua and Ometepe Island in Laga de Nicaragua.

March 6/06

After a nice breakfast at the B&B we headed for the border. An uneventful leg through dry rolling terrain. It has been our experience that the western / southern coastal plains throughout Central America are windy. We have not experienced a calm day in these areas since passing through southern Mexico. At times the wind is extremely strong and the gusty cross winds make for unpleasant, though not dangerous riding.

The border crossing went quite smoothly. We had crossed at this border crossing on the way down. That helped find the offices in order. For some reason, the customs officer wanted to know at which border crossing we planned to exit Nicaragua into Honduras? We showed her a map and her first response was that we could not leave the country at the border crossing we had indicated. We said OK, we will leave at another on and we pointed to the map. After 20 minutes or so of passing the map around to various officials they decided that our first choice border crossing was the best one (?) and our papers were stamped. We have no idea what that was all about?

The ferry that carried vehicles from San Jorge to the island of Ometepe only operates 3 times a day in each direction. It is not large and reservations are normally required. We arrived at the ferry dock at 11:30 and inquired about transportation on the 2:30 ferry. After enlisting the assistance of an English speaking local we were told that it looked good but we would have to wait until 1:30 to buy our tickets. We waited for the ferry in the little café across the road from the ticket office.

At 1:30 we paid for our passage and at 2:00 we rode down the dock to the loading area. It is amazing what these guys can squeeze on these ferries but from the line up of cars and trucks it seemed impossible that it would all fit. With a lot of arm waving, whistling and shouting the vehicles are manoeuvred (usually backed) onto the ferry. They are parked close enough that the rear view mirrors must be folded back so as not to hit the adjacent vehicle.

With all the cars on and with what appeared to be just enough space left for two motorcycles, Dave and Jenny were signalled onto the boat. I started to follow but was signalled to stop. Another car had arrived and to our amazement was being signalled onto the ferry ahead of us. This is where it got interesting!

By the time I got off the bike and walked down the ramp to see what was going on Linda, Jenny and Dave were shouting at the loaders. It was obvious that there would not be enough space for another vehicle… our bike. We tried to explain that we both had to go or Dave and Jen had to get off the ferry. The driver of the last car on spoke English and said that he had just arrived and bought a ticket. He was as confused as we were with the loading procedure. He was willing to back off the ferry and let me load but the ferry captain had no time for this manoeuvre, he just stated pulling away from the dock with Linda still on the loading ramp of the ferry yelling, no, screaming at the workers. She managed to jump ashore just before the ferry cleared loading ramp. In a fit of frustration Linda started throwing water, from her water bottle, at what appeared to be the loading supervisor. This turned out to be great entertainment from all the other workers and passengers. The workers laughed particularly hard.

Within a few minutes, we made our way back to the entrance to the dock, settled down, talked to the ticket office and made a plan to call ahead to Jen and Dave, tell them to get a hotel and meet us at the next ferry. The next ferry was not until 5:30, so we headed back to café to wait. By this time everyone had heard the story of Linda’s rant. I think they thought it was the funniest thing that they had seen in years. Soon we met up with the loading supervisor and Linda apologized. There didn’t seem to be any hard feelings.

A Great Week In Cartagena

2006-03-01T17:54:00.000-07:00

Karla, Aysha & Jamie at the San Pedro resturant in old Cartagena

Who are these two sea monsters?

Aysha at Playa Blanca on Rosario Island

Under tow... just a few gallons short!

March 1/06

Cartagena is a touristy city. Although there are not many English speaking tourists here, there are plenty of South and Central Americans tourists. Many Colombians who live inland in the mountain cities holiday at the coast. The beaches along Bocagrande are nice but the best beaches and reefs are located on the islands just off shore. To access these islands there are variety of tour boats and water taxis that can be hired from the local docks.

On Monday we decide to head out to one of the islands for the day on a Rosario Island tour. Jamie and Karla had been on this trip before and suggested that we take one of the medium size boats rather than the smaller water taxies. The boat we chose was essentially a 50 passenger speed boat, powered by two, 200hp Yamaha outboards. It clipped along pretty well when the water was not too rough.

The ride out to Rosario Island was nice. Cartegena Bay was quite smooth. The open sea was a bit choppy but generally smooth sailing all the way to Playa Blanca. We sat in the last row of the boat where there was a refreshing breeze although the engine noise was at bit of a bother.

After spending an hour and a half on the beach we loaded back in the boat for a short trip to another island where a marine life centre is located. What was suppose to be a short trip turned into a seeming eternity. By now the seas had built and the boat was unable to run anywhere near full power. As we slowly rocked and rolled our way toward the marine life centre, waiting for a wave to break over us, the passengers, myself included, became increasing sea sick. Luckily we had retained our seats at the back of the boat where there was less movement and fresh air. I was as green as the Caribbean Sea, but I managed to keep my breakfast. Everyone was very relieved to reach the dock near the marine centre.

We had a choice of visiting the marine centre or relaxing at the restaurant where lunch had been arranged. Dave and Jen went on the marine centre tour while the rest of us relaxed, let our stomachs settle and had a bite to eat. All the while, trying to put out of our minds what might be in store for us on the way back to the mainland.

Normally it is straight run from the marine centre through Bocachica and into Cartegena Bay but the tour operator took pity on us. They decide to take a longer but calmer return trip through the coastal water ways. A good choice. . . It turned out to be an enjoyable return trip. There was one little problem. For what ever reason, perhaps the detour on the way back, we ran out of gas a few hundred metres from the Cartegena dock and had to be towed to shore. It was a rather comical end to an otherwise well organized tour.

At 4:40pm we caught the return flight back to Panama City. Once again we were impressed with Copa airlines. A good flight combined with a speedy customs clearance and we were in the hotel by 6:00pm. A pleasant end to a great week in Cartagena!

Karla and Jamie have had a constant stream of visitors over the past couple of months. I think that we were the last ones for a while. They are probably looking forward to a rest but you wouldn’t have guessed it while we were there. They kept us busy and showed us around the area with great gusto. And of course Aysha kept us constantly entertained, with her smiles, giggles, and sense of wonderment about everything. A truly wonderful week spent with family.

Tomorrow morning we will pick up the bikes from Joe’s shop and hit the road on the return leg. It took us 6 weeks to ride from Yuma to Panama City but we plan to ride longer days on a more direct route going north. Without rushing, we hope to get back to Yuma by April 1^st.

Hey! It's not the destination, it's the voyage.

2006-02-26T15:39:00.000-07:00

The upper level of Castillo de San Felipe with the convent in the background

A panorama of Bocagrande (left) and old Cartegena (right) from convent

Bernie (doing his David Suzuki impression) & Aysha

Jen & Dave in the mud volcanoe

Pool time with Grandma Linda

This is our 4^th. day in Cartegena, mostly relaxing with Jamie, Karla and Aysha. Their apartment is located on Bocagrande, a narrow spit of land that protrudes into the Caribbean Sea in a “L” shape. Bocagrande, in conjunction with a few islands, create a natural sea wall for Cartegena Harbour. Bocagrande is a mix of apartments, hotels, houses, schools and businesses. It is one of the wealthier communities within the otherwise sprawling city of 1 million inhabitants.

Where Bocagrande meets the mainland, stands the old walled city of Cartegena. It is a wonderful example of Spanish colonial architecture. The stone wall surrounding the city took almost 200 years to complete and although damaged by attacking forces during construction, it was completed only 25 years before the Spaniards left Colombia. Except for time, vandalism and a misguided attempt to “modernize” parts of the city, the wall is intact. The old city is quite large and although touristy in parts, it is a functioning urban community. Beyond the old city, Cartegena expands into a network of seemingly disorganized roadways that are impossible to navigate unless you grew up here. (more on this later.)

Since Jamie and Karla are working Linda and I spent the first couple of days walking around the area and the old city. Naturally, taking Aysha with us when we could. Jenny and Dave decided to take a day to visit the “mud volcano” (Volcan de Lodo El Totumo), about 1 hour by bus from the city. (See photo, it tells it all!)

Saturday

On Saturday we ventured out of Cartegena to the nearby city Barranquilla. Those familiar with Latin culture will be familiar with “Carnaval” celebrations.(Mardi Gras). Well, the Carnaval de Barranquilla is the BIG carnival celebration in Colombia and Jamie suggested that we should involve ourselves in the festivities. After some investigation it was decided that the Carnaval was not a good place for babies so Karla and Aysha stayed home while the 5 of us headed out on quite an adventure.

They say that… “It’s not the destination, it’s the voyage”. Well this was a voyage like none other that I had previously experienced!

Barranquilla is located about 130K from Cartegena. To get there required a taxi ride to the bus station (30 minutes). A line up for bus tickets (45 minutes). The bus ride to Barranquilla (2 hours) and a taxi ride from the bus station to the festival area of town (45 minutes). That’s 4 hours of excitement and entertainment and we haven’t even experienced the “carnaval” yet!

Taxis, line ups and bus rides are entertainment? It is impossible to describe in words how scary and entertaining it is. I can only compare it to a carnival ride at a summer fair . . . but cheaper! As I mentioned, navigation around the city is impossible for any tourist. The city appears to be a conglomeration of smaller towns randomly situated on the outskirts of the old city. The roads, streets and lanes run in all directions and never for a great distance. The cab drivers are constantly in a hurry. It seems like a competition to get from departure to destination as rapidly as possible.

Since there were 5 of us, we took 2 cabs from Bocagrande to the bus station in Cartegena. The cab drivers followed each other, on occasion, but often took different routes in an apparent effort to get ahead of the other driver. We changed lead several time enroute to the station. The route included cutting through a couple of gas stations, passing cars on the shoulder and into the face of opposing traffic. Very entertaining.

Once we reached the festival area we first bought a beer from the nearest vendor and wandered with a moving mass of people, in the general direction of the action. The main event on Saturday is the parade of flowers but we did not know the route or when it started. We knew that to see the parade one needed to purchase tickets for the bleachers that had been erected along the route. The tickets were expensive and perhaps unnecessary, we thought, so we didn’t get them. As it turned out they were necessary if one wanted to see the parade. We did see a few of the taller floats, but it didn’t really matter. The interesting action took place in the crowded streets.

Everyone and every house in the area of the Carnaval is involved in the action. Whether it be selling food, beer, rum, aguardiente (liquorice liqueur), spray foam, water pistols, flour or souvenirs, to setting up temporary toilets for cash . . . everyone is out in the streets. Spray foam is a big seller. It is then used to spray any thing or anyone within range. Water pistols and thrown flour, accomplishes a similar effect (obviously this is not the place to wear your finest attire).

At one point we attempted to move through a constricted area behind the temporary bleaches. The crowd became tighter and tighter until we were packed together like sardines in a tin. After a few minutes we reversed direction in an attempt to extricate ourselves from the crowd. Luckily there was no panic and within 15 minutes or so we worked our way out of the constricted area. Phew!

We had been warned of the possible dangers of robbery and had taken precautions. We did not take our wallets, purses, cameras or anything else of value. My cash was secured in a zipped cash pocket located inside the top of the front pocket of my shorts (similar to the change pocket common in blue jeans). This worked well. However, Linda had some cash in the front pocket of her shorts when she entered the crowded area. It was not there when she exited the crowd! Luckily it was only a small amount of cash that went missing but the crook also stole her valuable stash of toilet paper! No big deal, we laughed about it and had another beer.

After a few hours of wandering around, watching the festivities and listening to the music we realized that it was time to think about the return trip to Cartegena. This time we caught a local bus that was eventually going to the bus terminal. We stood up for a good part of the way, literally hanging on for dear life. After a while Linda managed to get a seat. I wish I had brought a camera. A picture of Linda, sitting on a public bus, sipping beer, is just not a sight that will ever be duplicated in Canada. We lucked in at the bus depot and immediately caught the Cartegena bus for home. Back in Cartegena, all 5 of us packed into a small taxi for the ride back to the apartment where Karla had prepared supper for the voyageurs.

Sunday

Sunday, we took it easy. After breakfast we cabbed it to the highest location in Cartegena. It is the location of the Convento de Nuestra Senora de la Candelaria. A convent founded by the Augustine Fathers in 1607. Its’ prominence was of strategic importance in earlier times and was used as military headquarters after Colombian independence. It is said that one could see ships from its location when they were still 2 days from shore. Today it is once again a monastery and nicely restored.

From the convent we headed to Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas. The strongest and greatest fort ever constructed by the Spaniards. Truly impregnable, it was never taken despite various attempts. The engineering is phenomenal. It is an interesting visit. It, like the old city wall, was probably constructed with extensive slave labour. I have been told that the average life span of the slaves that were brought to Colombia was 6 months after arrival. It seems to me that possibly more people died building it, than died attacking it, but it’s just supposition. Slave labour aside for a moment, it is quite remarkable to see what can be accomplished with what must have been basic tools and manual labour.

Following our visit to the fort we returned to the apartment for lunch and relaxing poolside discussion. It is nap time now for Aysha and some of the older kids too.

Tomorrow we are off on a cruise to one of the nearby islands.

Reached our Destination!

2006-02-23T06:47:00.000-07:00

A hazy shot from the aircraft window approaching Cartegena. Jamie, Karla and Aysha live on the spit of land separating the ocean from the harbour... Boca Grande

This is a shot of a residential area close to the airport.

This is photo inside a cab in Panama City. How well do you think that the air bag might function?

February 23/06

We made it! Canada to Colombia... 2400K by car (4 days), 7700K by motorcycle (six weeks) and a 1 hour flight.

We had no problem getting out of Panama. The flight to Cartegena was excellent. We flew on Copa Airlines, Panama’s national carrier, The airline operation was very professional, efficient and courteous. Service was excellent. They even served a hot sandwich and free bar service on the one hour flight. Air Canada could learn a few things from Copa!

It took a while to get through Colombian customs, only because of the volume of passengers. It was great to see Jamie and Aysha waiting for us as we came out of the airport, while Karla prepared for our arrival. They had taken a cab out but we need two cabs to get us back to their apartment.

A little local knowledge always helps… in this case Jamie knew that if you walked one short block (off the airport property), the cab fair dropped from 12,000 pesos to 5000 pesos. Apparently the taxis must pay a fee to pickup on airport property. (in case you are wondering… 2000 Columbian pesos = 1C$)

After getting settled we walked up to the old city for supper. The old city looks very interesting. Can’t wait to explore it in the day time. Standby for the photos...

Panama City Tourists...

2006-02-21T16:30:00.000-07:00

Freighter going through the Miraflores Locks (top row L - R, then bottom row L - R)

Dave and Joe Hummer at his shop. (sorry about the fuzzy shot)

Canadian tourists, eh!

This is the back of a local bus.... No wonder there are so many accidents!?

What do think this road sign means? Hmmm! Perhaps it just can't be translated.

February 21/06

We are still in Panama City. We are ready to fly to Cartagena, Colombia tomorrow, hopefully?

We visited the airport to speak to the customs officials about leaving the country without the motorcycles. (Our passports are stamped with a note that prohibits us from leaving the country without the MCs unless we get authorization from the customs office) At the airport there are official hospitality assistants to help English speaking tourists. We were helped by a young fellow (Javier). Calls to various customs only created more confusion. We did not explain ourselves well. Finally Javier visited the Immigration office and asked if there would be any problem with us leaving the country without the MCs. The answer he received was ..”No”. Guess we will see tomorrow??

Based on this information, we made arrangement with Joe Hummer (our mechanic) to leave our bikes with him for the week so that we could get the bikes tuned up, oil change, etc. The challenge this morning was getting the bikes to his place. There are no maps of Panama City that can be used for navigation. All we had was Joe’s address. Even when I called to ask him for directions he didn’t know where to start, but we had a plan. . . We rode to the downtown beach area. This was easy access on the toll road from our hotel. Then we hired a taxi. Linda and Jenny rode in the taxi and Dave & I followed on the bikes. Best $5. we ever spent! There was no way we have found Joe’s place without the driver. Even he had to stop and ask directions a couple of times. Joe was great. We made a list of work we needed and Joe is storing the bikes for us for the week as well as our riding gear.

After leaving Joe’s place, we hailed a cab and went to the MiraFlores Locks on the Panama Canal. Luckily a large freighter was passing through the locks as we arrived. It is a interesting operation. It cost the freighter in the pictures, just over $100K to pass through the canal. Guess it’s cheaper than going round the cape? Carlos, our next cab driver, gave us a nice tour of old Panama City and dropped us off in the downtown hotel/business area. We walked around for a while but were unimpressed with downtown Panama City and jumped a cab back to the hotel, where there is a pool and cold beer.

Hopefully, the next report is from Cartagena.

Report From Panama City

2006-02-19T17:42:00.000-07:00

Just another great beach. This one is Playa Santa Clara, about an hour west of Panama City

Sunrise, camping under the "ranchos" at Playa Santa Clara, Panama

Dave & Jen with the restuarant owner' s daughters at the beach near Chitre

February 17, 18/06

We are now camped at a beach near Santa Clara, Panama, only abut 100K from Panama City.

Yesterday we checked out some other beaches close to Chitre. Panama is windy country and the area around Chitre was one of the windiest areas we had encountered. We could not find suitable cabana accommodation so we ended up camping beside a beach restaurant and bar. The restaurant owners were very nice. Camping was free and the meal they prepared us was some of the best fish and shrimps that we have had. We even played pool with some of the locals and did our best to make conversation. However, there was little shelter from the wind and by morning there was a film of sand of everything… tent sleeping bags, luggage and our bodies. It makes you have a better appreciation for clean sheets.

Also I managed to stub my toe on a short, broken post. I cut my big, left toe quite badly. Getting it cleaned up and bandaged was a challenge, but it looks better today. I had to develop a heel-toe shifting technique while riding to day. I could not pull up on the shift leaver with my foot, but I could hook my heel on the shifter to up-shift.

Since our encounter with the Nicaragan police we have been careful to not-knowing break any driving regulations. However, once again we were stopped by a Panama motorcycle cop. There is a distinct lack of speed signs here, although Panama is better signed than many other countries. Sometimes you just don’t know what the speed limit is. In these cases we simply “go with the flow” and maintain the same speed as the majority of the traffic. Well apparently this doesn’t work for us either. We were told that we had passed through a built-up area at 80kph when the speed limit was 50kph. This offence occurred sometime prior to being stopped. We don’t know exactly when. I assume that the infraction was relayed by radio to this highway officer. Anyway, from my observations of Panama, I was of the opinion that the law enforcement here might be more honest then we had previously encountered. I tried to keep my cool, cooperate and explain the situation as best I could. I don’t know if it worked or not but we were only given a warning to slow down in built-up areas and sent on our way.

By noon we arrived here at the beach near Santa Clara. It is a much nicer area than we had encountered last evening. Playa Santa Clara appears to be a popular family beach with “ranchos” to rent (shade), hammocks, chaise lounges, restaurant, etc. Camping is also available for $2. per person. Except for the ants, it was great spot.

We didn’t notice the ants until we were preparing for bed. Suddenly Dave was dancing around his tent, naked and swearing loudly while slapping his legs. If he hadn’t appeared to be a significant degree of discomfort, I would have laughed at the scene. Once we had a chance to get the flashlights and investigate, we discovered that we had pitched the tents over a fairly extensive ant hill. The ants are smart enough to stay in the shade and only ventured out at night. Small tents are easy to move and the repositioning of the tents solved the ant problem.

February 19/06

We awoke at sunrise and prepared for the final southbound (actually eastbound) day to Panama City. There was no rush since we were only 100K from Panama City, but we found out that on Sunday in Panama, the beach crowd arrives early. Before 8am four guys drove up and park beside our bikes. They climbed out of their car, each with a beer in hand. You have to arrive early to rent the best rancho, I guess? After a short chat with us, “Los loco Canadienses”, they selected the preferred rancho, hung four hammocks and had a nap. By 10 am nearly all the ranchos were occupied.

After packing up, we walked to the nearest beach restaurant for breakfast and then headed for the city by late morning. Panama City is large and we wanted to get a hotel near the airport, which is located 35K on the far side of the city. This of course meant that we would have to navigate all the way across town… not one of our favourite pastimes. Our maps (hard copy and GPS) did not provide all detail that we would like.

I’ll skip all the details about getting lost, but finally we stopped at a gas station to try to get some directions. It is always interesting how fate steps in when it is most appreciated. We noticed a fellow filling up who was speaking English so we approached him for advise. It turned out he was a motorcycle rider and offered to lead us through the city centre and get us onto the “autopista” to the airport. A big thanks to “Hans”! I think it would have taken hours of frustration getting through the city.

We found a nice hotel near the airport (The Continental) and plan to stay here for 3 days. Hopefully we will be able to make arrangements with the customs officials tomorrow that will allow Dave and I to leave the country without the motorcycles. Then there is some maintenance needed on the bikes, new tire and oil change. Hopefully we get a chance to visit the canal and downtown Panama City.

Report from Panama

2006-02-17T06:56:00.000-07:00

Baja Boquete from the road entering the valley

Hostel Boquete (white building bottom centre) with faint rainbow above.

February 16/06

Hello everyone, we all figured it was time to give Bernie a break from being the sole blogger, and perhaps give all the readers out there a bit of a different perspective. So, here I am, the special guest blogger for today (and maybe a few more days).

We left San Isidro this morning after another big value breakfast. We are getting so used to the cheap food prices down here I don’t know if we are ever going to be able to eat out again when we get home. If a full meal (large piece of steak, chicken or fish, salad and potatoes), costs more that $5.00, then you must be at a higher end restaurant. Speaking of higher end restaurants, I will tell you more about tonight’s dinner later in this entry (If Bernie’s fixation is road conditions, perhaps mine is food).

We headed out of San Isidro just before 8:30am and headed for the Panama border. As soon as we got out of town we began to drive through what was obviously a major agricultural area. Stretching out in all directions from the highway (which was in good condition, by the way), were beautiful patchwork fields of what we think were Pineapples, mixed with the odd patches of coffee and sugar cane. Because of the good road conditions we made good time to the border (200km in about 3 hours). As we approached the border a few eager “helpers” came towards the bike and Dave, determined to try and do as much of the process as we could without paid help, told the perspective helpers a firm “no nececsito!” Which got a few laughs, but proved successful, and we were able to Salida (exit) ourselves and the bikes from Costa Rica with relative ease. It definitely helped that this particular border area had good signage. We then progressed to the Panama border, which was another fairly organized/official looking area, in comparison to the majority of the other border crossings. Dave and Bernie managed to exit all of us and the bikes while Linda and I held our regular guard post at the bikes. Overall, Costa Rica to Panama was a low stress, low cost border crossing, and I can’t speak for everyone else, but as we drove away into Panama I felt a certain sense of accomplishment – We made it, Canada (okay, Arizona) to Panama on Motorcycle, pretty $*#!%-ing cool!

The road from the border was an immaculate 4 lane highway and we made great time towards our planned destination of Boquete. We gained elevation as we approached Boquete and with it came welcome cooler air. The final decent into the town was beautiful, with lush gardens and hillsides. The town itself is really nice, with plenty of cute little coffee shops for Linda, several internet cafes for Bernie and the cheapest beer yet ($3.50 for a 6 pack) for Dave. We also found a great restaurant to have our belated Valentine’s dinner. It was right on the river bank, with the atmosphere and service of what we would consider fine dinning back home. We splurged – appetizers and beers, four gourmet entrées (steak, chiken, Baby back ribs) with a bottle of good Chilean wine, then Linda and I finished off with tea, while Dave and Bernie enjoyed White Russians and two Cigars (yes Bernie smoked, but he says he didn’t inhale). All this for under $70, the most expensive dinner yet! Needless to say, after a couple more 50 cent beers back at the Hostal Boquete (overlooking the river for $5 per person), we are all going to bed happy little

Another Report From Costa Rica

2006-02-17T06:52:00.000-07:00

February 15/06

We put in a long day today. 400K does not sound like much but on these roads, it’s a long day. From the start of the ride until we found a hotel we were on the road for 10 hours, 20 minutes. Our average speed was 38 kilometres per hour!

Perhaps my previous comments on the Costa Rica roads were a bit harsh. The roads were better today although even on the Pan-American Highway, constant attention is required to avoid the pot holes. Sides roads were still a mix of rough gravel and huge potholes. At least the gravel road we picked today had been graded and we made good progress on it.

The scenery though… is fantastic! It was a beautiful clear day. The road climbs to just over 11000 ft asl south of San Jose. The roads run along high ridges. At 8000 ft we climbed through the clouds. At 9000 ft. we were on top. (of cloud that is… for the non flying types). This only served to make the views even more glorious. Costa Rica really is a beautiful country.

There is all sorts of agriculture at these altitudes… lots of coffee. Lots of vegetation. Only at the highest altitude do the trees thin out. Otherwise the vegetation is lush and green.

Linda tells me that I am going on too much about the roads… guess I have a fixation on the pot holes, but for those of you who might want to drive (or ride) this way…..

On the highway you will often be stuck behind a line of slow moving trucks and there are very few passing lanes. The police try to control the situation by signalling trucks off the road a various locations to allow the faster vehicles to pass. Also Costa Rica police, unlike most other Central American police, have speed radar. We had been warned and not wanting another encounter with the police, we observed the speed signs. True to the warning, there were several speed radar traps. Most drivers are courteous and pay close attention to their driving (unlike most North Americans). Still some drivers are wild. They will try to drive their vehicle into what ever space it will fit. This includes passing, if they think that the oncoming traffic has enough room to move over and let him through, they will pass. In the city (San Jose today) it was the same thing. Marked lanes mean nothing. Dave and Jenny were clipped by a truck. Luckily no damage or injuries.

Enough of that! I think that we are getting used to the warm weather. I have gone back to wearing my MC jacket even under the warmest conditions. But, today at elevation, we encountered some cold weather. Even after stopping to “layer up” I was still cold. My hands were numb. I think that the temperature was below 15C. Absolutely unbearable! (right Karla?)

Due to our lack of progress we didn’t make it to the beach. We stayed a town on the highway. (San Isidro de el General) We found a nice hotel and a great restaurant.

Just an aside on the hotels here. Security is a major issue. Many of the hotels have so many bars that they look like jails. You just get used to it. On a personal note… security is not an issue unless you put yourself in risky situation. This is no different that Canada.

Report from Costa Rica

2006-02-14T08:57:00.000-07:00

" Natchos as big as your ass"

February 13/06

With an early start and no more encounters with the Nicaragua constabulary we reached the Panama border fairly early. Once again the border crossing was a less than pleasant experience.

One might think that with the obstacles that one confronts at the border, that Costa Rica has not really embraced tourism. Not that this border really presented any greater challenge than the others, we just got tired of “playing the game”. We had a bit of an internal conflict at the border today. Linda and I are not apposed to paying for a service of value but Jen and Dave are of opposite mind. There are pro’s and cons to both approaches, unfortunately neither generates entirely satisfactory results. Basically this is how it appears to me… some “helpers” can and will save you time and frustration. Other however, will attempt to take advantage of your unfamiliarity and try to convince you that you need to spend more money than necessary (i.e. bribe one individual or another).

Today we encountered this situation… One official would not accept our motorcycle registration as an original. He insisted that it was a copy and it was therefore unacceptable. We had to go down the road to talk to the custom’s boss man. On the way to talk to him our helper explained that this process may take 5 hours or more, but for $30. US each (for the custom’s official) we could solve this problem. This was the breaking point for me. We emphatically state “NO, we have plenty of time. Let’s go a talk to the boss man”. To make a long story short, less than 5 minutes with the supervisor and the problem was solved. We have decided that we have figured out enough to do the process without assistance. The official customs personnel are actually quite helpful if you ask them. In a couple of days we be entering Panama.. let you know how it goes.

Note to MC travellers: The BC registration documents can be a problem at border crossings. To the Central American border personnel they do not look official enough to be genuine. Since they are computer generated forms, there is no official header or provincial seal. Any document that can easily be created with a typewriter or computer is immediately suspect.

Any way, eventually they let us into Costa Rica and we continued south on the Pan-American Highway. We decide that we should checkout the Pacific beaches so after consulting the Lonely Planet guide book we set course for Tamarindo, a popular surfing town. We had been warned, by other riders, about the quality of the roads in Costa Rica. Even a Costa Rican police officer, at a check point, warned us of the dangers of the potholes.

I have no idea why, but even the main highways have deep pot holes every so often. Constant vigilance is required. The secondary highways, that we have encountered so far, are terrible. There are large sections of rough gravel punctuated occasionally by short pieces of asphalt. Even the asphalt sections are a minefield of potholes and broken pavement. It appears that the original asphalt road has deteriorated. Instead of repairing it, the solution was to tear it up and replace the asphalt with gravel. These gravel sections are rough, washboard surfaces. The funny part is that these roads are the main access roads to the popular tourist beaches. I bet the rental car take a beating. They were the only vehicles that passed us on the rough road.

One of the reason we chose Tamarindo as a destination was because one of the restaurants advertised “Nachos as big as your ass” and we had to try them. I must say that these were without a doubt the best nachos I’ve ever had. They were a complete meal and even at Costa Rica prices, a cheap meal. (I’m pretty sure that we covered all the food groups, counting the beer of course.) Prices here in Costa Rica are, for the most part, comparable to Canadian prices. Much higher than we have been accustomed to paying. There is plenty of development here, golf courses, gated communities, fast food restaurants, etc. No wonder the locals refer to “Tamarindo” as “Tama-Gringo”. I think that we were the only ones in the restaurant this evening speaking Spanish… but we got great service.

We may stay here another day and do a long day the next day. Despite the prices, Tamarindo is worth a second look.

February 14/06 Happy Valentines Day to all you lovers!

We decide to stay here one more night. Marielos Cabinas are very nice and a reasonable price for Costa Rica ($60. / night for the 4 of us). Tomorrow we are planning a fairly long day to another beach south of San Juan. (On the way back through Costa Rica we will skip the beaches and check out the volcanoes.) Then onto Boquete, Panama then next day. We are aproximately 1200 K from Panama city now. Our plan is to reach Panama city by the afternoon of Feb 19th. This gives us a couple for days to make arrangements for the bikes and get some maintenance done.

Still in Nicaragua

2006-02-12T16:28:00.000-07:00

Sunset from Hide-Out Surf Camp

Sandeano leading up the trail up to the surf camp for dinner

Jenny with Shangu at Hori-zonte, El Salvador

Linda doing the laundry with monkeys (below) in trees above her.

Life's a Beach! The crowded beach at Maderra Bay

The critics of Linda's laundry technique.

February 10/06

Today was a rest day. We had been recommended a small accommodation on a small bay ½ hour north of San Juan Del Sur. Since there was no way to communicate with “Matilda’s” Dave and I road out to check on availability, while the girls looked around in town. Matilda’s has a few cabinas and a few camping spot. It is located on very nice cove beach. As it turned out the cabinas were full but we could get a camping site and one of the cabinas may be available tomorrow if we decide to stay.

Matilda’s is laid back place. Mostly young travelers here from all over the world. Like most of the places we have stayed it has a comfortable communal area where everyone congregates. Cooking facilities are available if you prefer. A fruit and vegetable guys comes by 4 times a week and if you are lucky you may be able to catch a fish or two. The road out here was a typical dirt beach road. Thankfully this one was less sandy than some of the others although it was quite rough and rutted in places. There are one or two similar accommodation operation out this way; one close by has a restaurant. The food there is OK. We spent the afternoon resting and catching up on some laundry chores.

This afternoon there were quite a few monkeys in the trees nearby. I believe that these ones are Howler Monkeys. The larger ones have a threatening howl but apparently they are not aggressive.

I’m sitting out side the tent with enough light to just be able to see the keyboard. We are miles from a city but it is quite noisy. The pounding surf sounds like constant thunder and the crickets can be heard loud and clear above the roar of the surf.

February 11/06

Another rest day at Matilda’s. We spent the day exploring the shoreline and catching up on the chores. Dave and Jenny borrowed a fishing line from a local and spent a couple of hours trying to catch our supper. No luck! As one of our fellow campers, Sandeano, stated… “Well.. that’s why they call it ‘fishing’ and not ‘catching’”.

While Jen and Dave fished Linda & I chatted with Sandeano (Real name Dean). An interesting fellow, our age, originally from LA but now residing in the San Juan del Sur area. He has been coming to this area off and on for 6 years or so and therefore a great source of local info. Since Jen & Dave didn’t have any luck with the “catching”, we had to find a place to eat. As I mentioned, the restaurant nearby was just OK but there was one other option. Sandeano suggested that we try the Hide-Out Surf Camp, located 10 minutes down the beach in the next bay.

The Hide-Out Surf Camp is a partially completed structure on a hillside overlooking the beach. It is has accommodation of sorts and a restaurant of sorts, but basically it is a place for surfers to hangout, crash, eat and surf. Anyway, to bring in a little cash, the owner cooks one dinner on a semi-regular basis for whoever shows up. (you have to check with the operator of the camp earlier in the day to see if supper is on or not) He has a regular menu. Regular in the sense that it is repetitive… Saturday it’s Spaghetti, Sunday it’s fish tacos, etc… Dinner is served sometime after sunset. It is best to make you way to the Hide-Out in time to watch the sun set. This way you can navigate the trail up the hill in daylight. Also it is a wonderful sunset viewing location.

Like most building here, the Hide-Out is open air structure. There are a few tables and kitchen located behind a bar. A sign on the wall say’s “No Service” and that is just what it means… if you want anything, you get it yourself. If you want a beer, you have to walk behind the bar to the fridge and get one. You keep track of what you take on a page in a notebook that is located on the bar. Same thing with the Spaghetti… When it was ready, a pot of sauce and a pot of steaming pasta appeared on the bar and you help you served yourself as much as you wanted. Can’t get much more casual that this and the spaghetti sauce was very good. They even had some reasonable wine on hand. We had a great meal and a fun evening.

February 12/06

We had intended to get up early, pack up and head over to Ometep today (this is a volcanic island in Lago Nicaragua) but the late night, and too much wine dictated a change in itinerary. Also the sailing times for the ferry to the island were inconvenient.

We packed up and rode into San Juan del Sur for breakfast to discuss the options. We decided that we would leave Ometep for the return trip, simply stay in San Juan del Sur another night and head for the Costa Rica border early in the morning.

Report from Nicaragua

2006-02-10T06:52:00.000-07:00

At Dinner in Alegria, El Salvador (you can't see the view in this shot but is incredible)

Dave catching a wave while in El Zonte

The coffee area arounf Alegria. The coffee plantations go right to the top of these hills.

A View of Alegria from our hike to the lake.

February 7/06

Reluctantly we are leaving El Zonte this morning. We are just finishing breakfast and settling the tab. A great place and very good value. I should be keeping this place a secret!

We are heading back into the mountains again today. To a small village called Alegria (“alegria” is “joy” in Spanish). It is located about ½ way from El Zonte to the Honduras border. It is only about 150 K from here so we should have time to check out a small lake nearby that has been recommended.

There was a choice of two routes to Alegria. The shorter route was shown on the map as a secondary highway. This is the route we decided to take. Even though it started as a gravel road it appeared to be in good shape. That is until we started climbing into the mountains. The road quickly adopted characteristics very similar to those of logging roads in BC . . . tight turns, steep grades, rutted and very dusty. We passed through two small villages on the way up to Alegria. Their rough coble stones streets were a temporary relief from the loose dusty soil of the “secondary highway”. By the time we reached our destination we and the bikes were covered in dust.

Alegria is located on high ridge in the middle of the coffee growing area. The views are spectacular. You can see most of the El Salvador and into Guatemala and Honduras from this location. It is a pretty little town. Not at all touristy. Unfortunately for us, the town square (park) is currently under renovation and is fenced off. We peeked through the fence. It looks like it will be a very attractive town centre piece when it is reopened.

We stopped at an internet café for drink and asked about accommodation. There are no “hotels” in town but several guest houses. One of these was affiliated with the coffee shop and located next door. We inquired about the location of the nearby lake and it was suggested that we hire a guide to take us up to the lake and show us around. Before we could answer, a call was made and a young fellow (18 years old) arrived at the shop. He wanted $5. to guide us for the afternoon. After discussing our options we decided to get a room and go for a hike.

After storing the bikes in the guest house garage and getting changed we head out for “Laguna de Alegria”, a small lake in a extinct volcano crater. It is pleasant hike up coble stone roadways for about 2.5K to the lake. We walked around the lake and returned on dirt paths to town. As I mentioned the area is one of the main coffer growing areas in El Salvador. Coffee grows on steep slopes. The plants are large bushes that grow to a height of approx 3 meters. There are other taller trees growing along with the coffee plants. No machine picking here!

Our guide was a nice young fellow. He is currently attending a school to learn English and French although we communicated primarily in Spanish. Often many words in Spanish are similar to either French or English words and we could often get the drift of the explanation, even though we did not understand every word. On the way back to town he showed us a very nice restaurant with spectacular views. Since it was time to eat we invited him to join us. Once again, a very good meal and of course the obligatory beverage… cervezas.

We are now located about 2 hours from the Honduras border. We are planning and early start and we are expecting a lengthy border crossing. Where we stay tomorrow night depends on how long it takes to deal with the paperwork.

February 8/06

Happy Birthday Lee! Great talking to you the other evening.

Well, the Honduras border seemed like it was going well until the last step. We had managed to exit El Salvador with no problems or assistance (despite aggressive advances from numerous “helpers”). Customs into Honduras was no problem either. The officials were very helpful and once again assisted us with the documentation. When it came to getting the permits for the bike… that’s a different story.

We are not sure yet, whether we were conned or not, but the process we followed would be virtually impossible without guidance. We had to visit 6 offices in sequence. These offices had no names or signs! After leaving the 1^st office in the sequence we hired a fellow (for $5.) to assist us. $10. with a receipt got us past the second office. (It was quite funny… when Dave gave the gal his documentation; she walked back to the card game in progress, tucked the papers under her leg and dealt the next hand.) When the hand was over we received the appropriate stamps and were on our way to the bank to pay for the permit. (approx $30. each). Then to office #3. In office 3 we were told that we needed multiple copies… 8 in total of various documents. We were also advised, by our helper, that this fellow could expedite the process for $5. each. We agreed and left for the photocopy office. We needed copies of various pages of our passport, registration, drivers licence and forms we had previously received. Now back to the previous office to complete the paper work. After sorting the papers, stapling them together and collecting 10 bucks from us, we were on our way.

Like I said at the earlier…. We have no idea if all or any of this was legitimate, but it was done and we headed down the road into Honduras.

The part of Honduras we passed through today is obviously not well off. The topography consisted of semi-arid rolling hills, practically void of agriculture. We figured that we could not get through the Honduras / Nicaragua border and then find accommodation before dark so we found a place in Choluteca, Honduras. The hotel (Santa Rosa) is OK but we are finding that the prices are high. (see note.)

***** Note: Jen, Linda and Dave just came back from the market with some food for supper. They think that we were definitely scammed on one of the money changes at the border! We think that we received 8.75 Lempiras for the US dollar. The exchange rate is 19 to the dollar! Luckily we only changed $50. US. Later I changed more money and received the proper exchange rate. We knew the rule (Know the exchange rate.) but in the confusion, we ignored it… to our dismay… next time we will be more careful. (Jamie & Karla: I don’t think my “tengo camisa negra” T-shirt help with the border crossing but I received quite a few smiles and waves from young girls…)

When we lived in Winnipeg and drove out to Fernie, we joked that if we could eliminate Saskatchewan, it would be a nicer, shorter drive. Well. Honduras is somewhat like that. You cannot avoid passing through it, if you want to go father, but it would be nice if you could. Anyway, that’s our experience.

(After re-reading this last paragraph it might seem that I am comparing Saskatchewan to Honduras. Not at all. There is NO comparison. I’m just saying that you cannot avoid Honduras if you take this route. Hopefully, Karla’s family is still speaking to us.)

We have another border crossing tomorrow. (Honduras to Nicaragua) We have heard that it is expensive one too, but we are better prepared this time. Hopefully we can put in a long day and reach south-western Nicaragua (the San Juan Del Sur area) by tomorrow evening. We plan to hole-up there for a few days doing day trips around the area.

February 9/06

We arrived in San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua just before sunset. We had hoped to arrive a little earlier but we had a couple of run-ins with Nicaraguan officials enroute.

The border crossing went quite smoothly. We reached the border early and as we rolled up to the border area we were once again approached by money changers and potential helpers. This time we were prepared and took things in stride. We knew the exchange rate and even though the first offer was low we quickly got the rate we wanted from another changer.

It is hard not to use a helper unless you are familiar with the crossing in question. They are all different and not at all like the US/Canada border crossing to which we are accustomed. Sometimes it is hard to tell when you actually reach the border.

The helpers are pretty smooth. They simply point out where you need to start and then follow you from there. Soon you realize that you could probably do it yourself without assistance, but everything goes smoother when you have a guide. You save time and eliminate the misunderstandings that are bound to occur when there is a language barrier. Anyway all of us managed to get processed in short order. After tipping the helper $5, we were off to the Nicaragua vehicle customs. It is a couple of kilometres across the bridge separating Honduras and Nicaragua. When we reached this facility Dave and I located the correct office and the paperwork was processed.

There is usually one more checkpoint as you leave the customs area. You have to show the proper documentation to continue on. However, at this point we told we needed to buy Nicaraguan insurance. It is mandatory and it costs 210 Cordobas (about $15.). It was interesting that we were stopped at the insurance roadside stand by a uniform police officer and another fellow plus the insurance agent. Once we paid for the insurance we were told that we also had to pay each of these fellows 100 Cordoba each. We told them no problem but we needed a receipt. After a bit of mumbling and grumbling they waved us on. That was the first encounter with police today.

Our trip through Nicaragua was interesting because it was all new to us but the country side was dry and uninteresting. The only interesting feature in north western Nicaragua was the volcano that we circumnavigated. It is the dominate geographic feature in the flat dusty plains. Sugar cane is the major crop in this area. Also the road was in bad shape. The road on our map was shown as a main road (CA6) but the first 20K was a mine field of pot holes in the paved areas. The paved areas were punctuated with stretches of course gravel. Later we ran into similar conditions on another secondary highway. Nicaraguan highways certainly are the worst we have encountered so far. Even the main highways were substandard by comparison.

Nearing our destination we had another encounter with the authorities or I should say I did. There are many buses on the road here from Greyhound style to minivans. In this particular situation I was following a minivan bus on a 2 lane major highway. The minivan slowed and pulled onto the shoulder to pick up passengers. I slowed and since there was no opposite direction traffic coming toward me I gave the minivan a wide berth by moving left into the opposing lane. As I came round the mini van there were 2 cops 100 metres ahead they signalled me (us ) to stop. We stopped.

We had been warned not to give our drivers licence to a cop. Of course the first thing I was asked for was registration and licence. I showed them my licence but refused to give it to them. I produced a copy of my licence and handed it to them. They were not satisfied with this manoeuvre. Eventually I gave them my licence. I was charged with 2 offences. One was that I crossed the solid line on the highway in contravention of the highway act. The other I never did figure out.

They wrote me out a ticket then explained that my licence was to be sealed in an envelope and mailed to Managua. I would have to go to Managua and pay the fine to retrieve my licence. To make a long story short I eventually asked if I could pay the fine here and now. $20 bucks for each cop and we were on our way. (so this is $40. story).

Anyway… we have discovered since that this type of thing is a common occurrence in Nicaragua. We met 2 young guys from Saskatchewan who had received 4 tickets in 2 days… on of them was for driving a car in sandals!

The episode was no big deal but it makes Nicaragua less attractive as a tourist destination. We are planning to stay in San Juan Del Sur area for a few days of rest. Hopefully we get a better impression of Nicaragua tomorrow.

Report from El Salvador

2006-02-10T06:49:00.000-07:00

With our host, Karol and her son, at El Zonte

Unloading the bikes from the Monerrico Ferry

The Monterrico Ferry though the lagoon

Hori-Zonte Surf Camp in El Zonte, El Salvador

More of El Zonte

Another one of the guests in El Zonte

February 4/06

Today was a pretty frustrating day. After breakfast and a visit to an internet location (there are plenty here in Antigua) we headed south for Monterrico. Monterrico is Guatemala’s Pacific playground. Even by Central American standards it is very basic.

The frustrating part of the trip happened about ½ way. We had to pass through, or around the city of Escuintla. The signs were confusing so we stopped to ask directions. We stopped at a motorcycle shop, actually a Suzuki dealership, and I went in to ask directions. I thought I understood them, but with the combination of road signs and our map, a heated discussion ensued as to which direction we should proceed. After a few minutes of discussion (argument?) I lost it. I threw down the directions I had received and stomped away saying something like… “That’s it! I’m not ever asking for directions again… etc” Of course I immediately regretted my rant, but the damage was done. To make matters worse we followed the directions I had received and it was not the correct route. There was road work in progress and after 20K the road became impassable for Linda and I. After riding back to Escuintla we eventually found the right road. Apologies over beer in Monterrico smoothed things over.

Monterrico is located on a strip of land that is separated from the mainland by a long lagoon. Short ferries are required to gain access. Unfortunately for us it was the weekend and much to our chagrin, nearly all the hotels were full. We eventually settled on an accommodation solely because it was all that was available. Aesthetically, it left a lot to be desired. We settled in and walked to a nearby beach restaurant for a bite and beer. We had front row seats for a pick up game of beach volleyball between some young local guys. It was great entertainment. These guys were quite athletic. As spectators, we became quite involved, and cheered some excellent play.

Located on the beach is a turtle sanctuary. Each evening at 5:30 they release a few young turtles to the wild. In order to raise money for the sanctuary you can adopt a turtle and perhaps win a T shirt. For 10 Quetzales (approx. $1.50) you are handed a small black turtle. Two lines are drawn in the sand, parallel to the shore, about 1 metre apart. By instinct the turtles run toward the ocean as soon as they are placed on the sand. On a command, you place your turtle on the line most distant from the water. If your turtle crosses the second line first, you win a T shirt. It was good fun, but we didn’t win.

When we returned to the “hotel” we met three fellows sitting in the “courtyard”. We joined them. Between our Spanish and their English we had a great conversation. Soon the hotel owners (a couple) started a fire and began preparing some food. To our surprise we were included in the dinner as well. It was very good. We had steak cooked over the wood fire. It had a distinctive, enjoyable smoky flavour. We talked well into the night. Even though the accommodation was marginal, the hospitality of the owners and the other guests made for a special evening.

February 5/06

Leaving Monterrico was another unforgettable experience. To gain access to the mainland we had to take another ferry. This was a 20 minute trip through crocodile (could be alligator… one or the other) swamp on a shallow draught wooden boat powered by a small outboard motor. To access the boat you had to roll the bikes up wooden planks to a rough plank decking with large gaps between them. In the waterway were areas of floating plant life. Every once in a while the prop on the motor would be come entangled in the plants and slow down. Each time this occurred the operator would raise the prop out of the water to clear it. Linda said that at first she felt like she was on “Survivor” but after we saw a water snake she commented that it now feeling more like “Fear Factor”.

Several boats are on the narrow water way at any given time so one often passes another boat travelling in the opposite direction. Friendly waves all round. Dave has discovered that the offer of a cigarette often works wonders. With a big smile the older fellow operating the boat accepted Dave’s offer. As it turned out we needed help to get the bikes back on dry land. We all had to work together to gets the bikes unloaded when we docked. It was a steep ramp and it would have been all but impossible to roll the bikes up backwards. We managed to get the bikes turned around on the boat and the three of us pushed them up to the roadway. A great adventure… all for the $10. fair.

Next stop was the El Salvador border. All in all a positive experience. As we rolled up to the Guatemala exit point we were approached by a couple of kids wanting to help us. Jen and Dave went first with the help of one of the boys. Next time we won’t need help at the Guatemala-El Salvador border. It is a pretty straight forward procedure. If you have copies of your passport it helps but you will probably have to get Guatemala vehicle permit copied as well. Essentially you have to “exit” (salida) yourself (passport stamped at one office) then “exit” your bike at another. Between these two is a trip to the photocopy person. At this border crossing (on CA2) they were all in close proximity.

When this is complete you head off down the road about a mile to the El Salvador Aduana facility. As we approached this facility we were stopped at a gate and asked to produce our passports and the Guatemala exit documentation. We were then directed to a parking area. Once again there are two offices to visit and forms to complete. (Tourist visas cost $10 US per person.) Here having copies of your passport and vehicle registration saved a trip to the photocopy guy. The El Salvador officials were very helpful. There are signs in the vehicle entry office indicating that there are no fees for the vehicle permit and that you do not need to pay anyone to help you. Both of these were true, the officials were pleasant and helpful . . . to the point of filling out parts of the form for us.

You could be through the border in less than an hour but it took us a couple of hours since we did not want to leave the bikes unattended and could not be processed simultaneously. Perhaps we were too cautious, but better safe than sorry. Oh yes, one other thing. You need a destination in El Salvador in order to get a tourist visa. They would not accept Panama as our destination. Apparently the computer would not accept “Panama”. As luck would have it there were some other Canadians at the border as well. They had just given us a recommendation for a place to stay and the card for a hotel. We used this as our destination in El Salvador, both the official and his computer were happy with that (us too). Paperwork complete we gassed up and head for the recommended destination about and hour and a half down the road.

Our destination was a surfing beach called Playa El Zonte. It was not even on our map so undoubtedly we would have missed it had we not met the other Canuks. The recommended hotel was full but another just across the street was very nice. It is called Hori-zonte Cabins and we highly recommend it. Nice, clean, air conditioned cabins, beautiful grounds, swimming pool, beach restaurant, friendly owners. There is a central communal area with a fridge and stereo. The fridge is stocked with beer, pop, juice and water. It is serve yourself on the honour system. Each day you start a page. Put your name on the top and keep a total of what you took from the fridge. They are not minibar prices either . . . $1.00 for beer, less for pop. We are planning to stay here for a couple of days. Tomorrow we plan to rest up, rent a couple of boogie boards and hit the waves.

February 6/06

Having a great day relaxing in ELZonte. We rented a couple of boogie boards from the hotel and each gave it a try. Dave managed to catch a good wave but the rest of us just got tumbled around in the waves. The bay here is about 1 kilometre wide. The surf comes into the bay at an angle. This creates a rip tide on the opposite side of the bay. I recognized the problem my first time out. I noticed that I had difficulty getting back to shore. The second time I went out, Linda came with me. We talked about the rip tide as we waded into the ocean. I reminded her to stay close to shore but before long, Linda was sailing for Australia on boogie board. I paddled out to help and with additional assistance from a local surfing guide (Walter) and his companion, we worked our way back to shore. Needless to say… Walter was our guest for beer this afternoon.

This hotel is quite special. It would be great place to come for a week or two. You can fly from LA for under $400. and it is a $25. cab ride from the airport. It is quite easy to arrange for a ride or catch a bus to San Salvador for the day. El Salvador uses the US$ for its currency so it is easy to bring cash. However, getting cash in El Salvador is difficult or so we are told. The only bank that has a cash machine is in San Salvador. And as luck would have it, we are running low on cash. In the level of hotel we have used, credit cards are useless. If you came here you might as well leave the credit cards at home. (Later Edit; Actually we found a bank with an instant teller while passing through a town between El Zonte and the Honduras border. Can’t remember the town right now)

Report From Guatemala

2006-02-04T07:37:00.000-07:00

January 31/06

Another short day today. Under 100K to El Chiflon. El Chiflon is a spectacular waterfall about 40K south-west of Comitan de Dominguez. The location was recommended to us by Dan (a Canadian owner of a restaurant in Puerto Escondido). Stopping here fit well into our travel plans since it is less than 100K from the Guatemala border crossing at La Mesilla. We had planned to camp here. Camping is available but it is not suited to MC travel since you have to walk in about 200 metres from where you must leave the bikes. However, cabanas are available also and you can park the bikes on the porch of the cabanas. The cabanas for the four of us cost us $40. The park entry fee is $1. per person. We were not sure if food would be available here so we stopped at a grocery store in Comitan for supplies. For $6. we bought enough food for dinner and breakfast tomorrow.

The walk to the falls from the cabana is just over 1K along the river back on a nicely prepared stone and concrete walk and stairs. The falls really are quite spectacular. The water is a turquoise green colour. We were told that the water colour was caused by the high calcium content. It was also great to get a bit of exercise.

The ride today started out quite cool and there was a threat of rain in the high country. By the time we reached El Chiflon we had descended to 2500 ft. and the temperature was once again quite warm.

We passed several military checkpoints today... more that usual. We have not been stopped at any of the checkpoint yet. We noticed as we came father south that security seems more visible. A few days ago we started to notice armed guards at the Pemex gas stations. These fellows are uniformed and carry automatic rifles. We have been told that in the Central American countries we can expect to see many more guns.

Time to play a bit of cards before bedtime. Tomorrow an early start for the Guatemala border. Our destination for tomorrow night is Huehuetanango. (pronounced way-way-ten-an-go).

February 1/06

On The Way To Hueheue…

We reached the Guatemala border just before 11 am. The border is a confusing mix of shops, money changers, customs officials, border guards, tourists etc. There are vehicles of every description… tourist buses, private cars, local buses, trucks, pedestrians, etc. all moving two ways on a street just wide enough for two cars. It is difficult to determine if you have reached the border or in which country you are currently located. We simply stopped riding when it seemed like we should be talking to someone. Someone eventually approached us and told us we need to get our vehicles sprayed for agricultural purposes. This we did. Paid the 15 Quetzales and were told to report to the Aduana (customs). {Note: we had expected that we would be swarmed with kids wanted to assist us with our progress through the customs process. This did not occur. There was no assistance evident.}

In customs we were told that we did not have the necessary stamps (in our passports) from the Mexican “Migracion” and we would have to return 4K into Mexico to get the required stamps. (We later learned that we must exit (salida) each country before we enter (migacion) the next.) While we were waiting for this information we managed to change some US$ and Pesos into Quetzales from a local money changer.

After returning the 4K back to the Migracion office and returning to the Guatemala Aduana we quickly received the necessary paper work and stamps. Then we were directed to another office to complete the paperwork for the bikes. 37 Quetzales late we were on our way. All in all it took about an hour to get through the border. Not bad considering we had to go back to get the Mexican stamps.

Once in Guatemala we navigated the traffic though the border town and onto CA1 the highway to Huehuetenango. We had be briefed that we would immediately notice that Guatemala was a poorer country that Mexico… may be we missed something, but this was not our impression. Border towns are border towns. They are what they are and not necessarily indicative of the norm. Once outside the town were impressed by the cleanliness and the amount of newer construction.

As soon as you enter Guatemala you are immediately into the mountains. The scenery is wonderful. The road, for the most part is windy and smooth. There was some evidence of the recent mud slides but road repairs were virtually completed. Habitation is built high up the slopes. There does not appear to be road access to these homes. Every so often there are walking trails that come down to the highway. Most locals commute by bus. There are buses of every shape and size as well as an abundance of taxis. The larger buses here are painted bright colourful ways. Make’s you smile every time you see one… unless it is in your rear view mirror a metre or so from your rear wheel!

We reached Huehue by 2:30 pm and made our way to the “Centro” (center of town). Generally this is the location of the hotels, restaurants etc) Thanks to our Lonely Planet book we located a hotel near the centro. We discovered that it may be cheaper for us to get 2 rooms than 1 room for the 4 of us. In both hotels we checked today they charged by the person. Same price, one room or two. In this hotel we have one room with a bathroom and shower and the other with no bathroom for less money than one room with a bathroom. Seems like a good deal to us… we all still use the same bathroom but we have more space and separate rooms. After checking in and getting cleaned up we went out looking for a bite to eat.

Sometimes language is not a huge problem. Sometimes it is. This was on of those times. In the first restaurant, we did manage to get a beer but that’s all! Even after I ran back the hotel to get the dictionary and phrase book we could not figure out what the restaurant had to offer. Perhaps too, our timing was wrong…the restaurant appeared on the verge of closing. When they had stacked the chairs on every table but ours, we decided it was time to leave.

The second restaurant experience was much better. Great pizza and more beer. (Does it seem to you that we might be drinking too much beer?) Anyway… This restaurant (Don Juan’s) had a good breakfast menu too so it looks like we will be going back in the morning.

Tomorrow we are continuing down Hwy CA1 Xela. We are planning short days through Guatemala so that (hopefully) we will have more time to see some sights that are off the highways. There is suppose to be some good hiking in the area we are heading.

February 2/06

Up early today and luckily the restaurant we had chosen for breakfast appeared to be the only one that was open at 6:30. We were on the road before 8 am.and it was quite cool. So cool in fact that we soon had to stop for warmer clothes. We started riding at about 6000 ft. and climbed to just over 10,000 ft. We were in the clouds at this elevation. The scenery and the road are both wonderful. You are in steep mountainous terrain although it is quite different that at home in BC. The mountains are treed to the top and so is the agriculture. The cultivated fields are extremely steep. It is obvious that all the work is done by hand or with oxen. Many of the fields are far too steep for machinery.

We had planned to go to a hot spa near Quezelatenango but enroute we stopped for gas and talked to a fellow who owned a BMW. He suggested two other locations so we changed our plans. We rode to the small village of Chichicatenango. It was billed as an authentic Mayan village. It was but the Mayan here have discovered that tourism pays better then farming. We learned that when someone offers you a service, ask how much it is going to cost before you accept the service. A local asked us if we wanted her to show us the local church. We accepted the offer and after a very nice but short tour we where told that we must pay 50 Quetzals.. blunt and to the point.

The best part of going to Chichicatenango was the ride there. These towns are located along narrow mountain ridges. For of those of you in Fernie… it is you are riding a road along the top of Morrisey ridge. The interesting part is getting up onto the ridge. Some turns are so sharp and steep that they are negotiated in 1^st gear because the turn is so tight and with almost full throttle because it is so steep.

From Chichicatenango we back tracked down to Panajachel on Lago de Atitlan (a collapse volcano lake) This is one of the oldest tourist area in Guatemala. Unfortunately the visibility was poor today and we could not see the active volcano on the far shore.

As we were getting moved into the hotel we met a fellow from Kelowna who was on his way back from Panama City with his wife on a BMW RT1200. We made arrangement to meet for beer. The beers turned into dinner and we had a nice evening trading travel stories. We picked up some good pointers from Dan and Bonnie. They had been on the road since October and were making their way homeward now.

February 3/06

The visibility was a little better this morning and all 3 volcanoes were visible from the lake shore. Only one of them is currently active. After breakfast we loaded up and headed for Antigua. We decided to take a minor paved road rather than the busier highway. It was good choice. The road climbed high above the lake and the views were spectacular. There was road work in progress all along this route due to the recent mud slides. Some parts of the road had been destroyed so the were a few detours as well.

As I mentioned earlier, the mountains here are treed to the top. I’m not a geologist so I don’t know much about rock formations, etc. but from observation of the mud slides and the road cuts through the hill sides that there does not appear to be much solid rock. The roads appear to be cut out of the clay bank. It is easy to see how mud slides would be prevalent in this steep terrain in times of heavy rain.

Antigua is an old but well preserved colonial city (from the Spanish colonization). A local told us that it was to be the capital but the Spaniards abandoned it and moved the capital to Guatemala City because of the number of earth quakes in this area.It appears to have survived the earth quakes quite well as most of the larger buildings and churches are reasonably well preserved. The town square with fountain and trees is very attractive. The city still has retained the coble stone streets. (They can be tricky on the bike, especially when wet.) Antigua is becoming a trendy tourist area and there are an abundance of nice hotels and restaurants. It has also developed a reputation for Spanish language instruction and there are several schools and family operated businesses that cater to those wishing to learn Spanish.

We are headed toward the El Salvador border this morning but we may spend another day in Guatemala depending on our progress. We are planning to spend an extended rest stop in Nicaragua. All is well… having a great time. Not missing the snow at all!

San Christobal Des Las Casas

2006-01-31T08:55:00.000-07:00

Our BMW hosts in Arriaga

A Street in San Christobal des Las Casas

January 28/06 continued

We arrived in Zipolite noon-ish. As usual, an excursion down sandy roads was required to find the accommodations. We parked the bikes and took turns guarding the bikes while the others reconnoitred the potential habitats. In this case I headed out onto the beach and into a cove at the north end. I discovered some wonderful thatched roof cabanas. (El Alquimista Cabanas) The rates however, exceeded out budget. When we returned to the bikes we reported our finding. I guess I was the most excited with what I had discovered and offered to pay for the accommodations. Anyway, to make a long story short we rented two lovely cabanas… 900 pesos! Blew the budget, but everyone needs a treat now and then, right? The fact that we were on a nude beach did not influence my decision in any way.

Mexico is laid back. A nude beach in Mexico is a laid back as you can get!

After getting settled we picked up some beers and proceeded to stroll the beach. Beer here is treated like pop… buy it at the grocery store ($4.50 for 6 beer) and drink it anywhere. There are no restrictions on the beach. In fact there are no restrictions in Mexico. (Craig. You’d love it! Talk about a libertarian society… this is it!) Glass on the beach… no problem! Dogs on the beach… same thing. And in this case bathing suits… optional! You could even ride your motorcycle up the beach if you so desired. I could go on about the Mexican attitude and perhaps I will later, but it is in someway refreshingly liberating to be free of the uptight (confining) Canadian social structure. (enough of the social analysis).

On the way down the beach we took to the waves to attempt some body surfing. I think I “caught a wave” once. I didn’t surf far but I tumbled with the wave, jammed my big toe into the sand and hobbled the rest of the way back to the cabana. The other fared better.

Mid afternoon Dave & I decided it was time for some bike maintenance. We had earlier picked up some oil at the Pemex station. We have ridden the bikes (for night storage) down a steep narrow paved path to a location behind the resort bar and restaurant. It turned out to be a good location for an oil change. We are in the habit of buying a 4 litre bottle of water each day. Normally we empty the water into our smaller water bottles and discard the larger container. In this case, the empty water container (with the top cut off) became the drain pan for the old oil. After draining and filling the bikes with fresh oil we filled the 1 litre oil containers with old oil and left them with the hotel’s garbage. The bike’s chains also got a fresh lube job. After a closer inspection of the underside of my bike I discovered that the centre stand was not as badly damaged as I once thought. It works fine. My skid plate was bruised and bent but there is no damage to the engine. The skid plate is doing it’s intended job.

Picking a place and ordering supper is an interesting experience. Do you know how long it takes for four indecisive people to decide on a restaurant? … Too frigging long! It is painful! My god, you would think that the fate of western civilization was at stake. Then, once we decide on the restaurant, we that have to decide on what to order. It isn’t helpful that we don’t have a clue what at least 70 percent of the menu items are. We have tried to ask. Our grasp of the Spanish language allows us this much but understanding the answer… that’s a whole different scenario. I finally think I have the problem figured out. I simply select an item from the menu and order it as if I knew exactly what it was. I figure, if I like it I’ll eat most of it, if I don’t, I won’t eat quite so much and chances are whatever I get, will most likely go with the beer I’m drinking.

This is likely our last beach stop for a while. By tomorrow evening we should be heading inland and by the next day up into the mountains. We expect max temperature will drop by at least 10C. Perhaps I will appreciate my heavier MC jacket then.

Good night from Zipolite

January 29/06

Today was a hot ride through relatively unremarkable county side, mostly over semi-arid land a few kilometres inland. We did not have a specific destination today. We only wanted to work ourselves towards San Christobal des Las Casas. By mid afternoon we had covered about 250K. We encountered some brutal cross winds between La Ventosa and Zanatepec that almost blew us off the road. We had been warned that it was not unusual to encounter strong winds in this area, but these winds were brutal, worse than in the Baja. (Later we spoke with some locals that told us that the winds today were, on a scale of 1 to 10, a 1. They told us that occasionally a section of the road is closed to traffic. The wind has been known to blow stationary tractor trailers on their side.) Dave managed to collide with a stinging insect of some sort. It stung him on the arm through his shirt. It was sore at first but seems OK now.

At a Pemex station in Zanatepec we met two Mexican fellows on BMWs heading for a BMW get-together in El Salvador. One of the fellows has a daughter living in Vancouver and spoke some English. He insisted that we follow them to a hotel in Arriaga. It was an interesting experience following these guys. Watching how they handled the traffic situations, passing, etc. Once at the hotel, Manuel negotiated our room rate. A little while later two other guys arrived and we all went out for supper to a local restaurant. Then we headed down to the town square where a marimba band was playing in the band stand. (Marimba bands originated in Chiapa) Jen & Dave were enticed to dance… much to the amusement of the locals. If only we had a movie camera?

After breakfast we all packed up the bikes, said our goodbyes to the “beemer boys”. They headed for the Guatamala border and we headed inland up to San Cristobal des Las Casas. Almost immediately after leaving Arriaga we started climbing a steep twisty-turning road. Some bends were so steep and tight that the road was gouged from the rear overhang of trucks coming down the hill. The first climb was to a high plateau at about 2300 ft. asl. As we rolled over the top the vegetation changed to pine forest. It smelled good and the temperature was much more comfortable. As we approached San Cristobal we climbed again to 8000 ft before descending into the city. (7500 ft asl) It was definitely a pleasant change to get away from the hot humid coastal weather. This evening we actually needed a jacket while out walking. Riding was very comfortable. An enjoyable ride all in all.

Both Arriaga and San Cristobal des Las Casas are located in the state of Chiapas. Chiapas is the only Mexican state that joined Mexico voluntarily. It is also one of the most controversial areas politically. The Zapatista movement is still active in this area. Chiapas has 30% of the Mexican water supply and 40% of the wild animal life and is also thought to have a reasonably high oil reserve. From initial observation it is perhaps more well off that other areas that we have seen so far. The road system we encountered seemed more organized and well maintained. There was even a by-pass road around the centre of the capital, Tuxtla Gutirrez. San Cristobal is definitely a touristy area but in a pleasant way… not at all like Acapulco or Puerto Vallarta. It is the one of the centres of Mayan culture, hence many people come to visit the nearby Mayan ruins and villages.

Once in town we walked around looking at the sights. There are the normal street vendors and individuals selling local items and knick-knacks. In San Christobal their seemed to be an inordinate number of young kids selling various items. These kids, especially the young girls, are very cute and they are very persistent in their sales technique. Some of these kids appeared to be as young as 3 years old however, most were a couple of years older.

We are plannng to camp at a waterfall part way to the Guatemalan border tonight and cross into Guatemala tomorrow. We are not sure how easy it will be to find internet access in Guatemala so there may be a gap in our updates for a while.

Looking forward to the adventure of our first Central Am border crossing.

Report from Puerto Escondito

2006-01-28T08:07:00.000-07:00

Next time I'm riding my own bike!

Happy hour in Zihuatanejo

Coastline from winding road. note drop-off, no guard rail!

Typical fish (pescado) meal at beach restaurant.

Pemax gas station. all new and modern.

Beach Babe!

Road above coast view (above)

January 23/06

Election Day in Canada. Who cares? (at this point, anyway!?) We are currently located at Barrra De Navidad, a laid back beach town just north of Manzanillo. The town is built on a narrow sand bar (hence the name) with a large bay on one side and a lagoon on the other. Essentially there are two one-way streets. One brings you onto the barra, the other takes you off. Beautiful expansive beach and what looked like some reasonable surfing near the point. Also there is a very fancy hotel here. Grand Bay is it’s name. It is located on another peninsular on the far side of the lagoon. It was a complete surprise to find it here. Too rich for our budget.

To this point on the trip, we have put 2538 K behind us and it is still almost another 2000 K until will reach Guatamala. The ride to day was a hot one. We started fairly early but it took quite a while to get through Puerto Vallarta. The traffic was heavy and it was slow going. PV is the only place Linda & I have visited in Mexico prior to this adventure. To us it is not recognizable. Back in ’72 it truly was a sleepy fishing village. Then, the only paved road into PV was from the airport to town. Now it is a huge resort city… we even saw a Wal-Mart Supper Centre!

From PV Hwy 200 turns inland and climbs onto a high dry plain for over 100 K. Even though we were up around 2000 ft. a.s.l. it was hot and dry. It is interesting how one picks up info and advice along the way. Just stopping for a drink or to check the map usually involves a conversation with another tourist, a snow bird or a local.

We took a suggestion for a hotel and managed to locate it this time. Hotel Caribe… an old place in the centre of town. Room with 2 double beds, bathroom with H&C water and shower. $30. Nothing fancy but clean and comfortable, friendly owners. Once again the bikes are in the lobby.

I’m back into the local food again and feeling fine. Everything runs a leisurly pace here. When you order food it sometimes takes so long I think that they run out and buy the raw materials, then make it. We ordered some guacamole and nacho chips with beer on the beach. When it finally arrived, the guacamole had obviously just been made. Mmmm…so good!

January 24/06

Happy Birthday Karla!

We were up with the roosters again. Also, we are located next to the church. The bells started ringing before 6 am…on the hour and half hour. That’s OK, we are finding that it is good to get an early start and try to put a few miles behind us before the heat of the day.

I really like Barra de Navidad. We discovered that the airport that services Manzanillo is only 20 K from Barra de Navidad. If you wanted a laid back, inexpensive Mexican holiday in a reasonably authentic Mexican costal town, this would an easy place to get to. Buy airfare only to Manzanillo and a $20 cab ride will get you here. You can get basic accommodation for two for $20. a night (or less if you do some research or stay for a couple of weeks.)

This evening we are at Maruata. This is one of only two places where the Black Sea Turtles breed. It is the end of the breeding season so it is not likely that we will see any. We have been told that we will have to walk a mile down the beach just before 9 pm if we want to see them. We are camped on the beach next to a palapa restaurant. There are a couple of small coves here as well as long beach. We are in one of the coves alongside a small lagoon.

The coast south of Manzanillio is very scenic. The road continually winds up the hills and down again to the coastal plains. The quality of the road is deteriorating as we move into less traveled areas. The highway is still paved but the surface is rougher. We are still able to maintain or normal cruising speeds (80 to 100K) when the road is not too winding.

We managed to get lost a couple of times today. Once leaving Manzanillo and essentially were uncertain of our position for 60 or 70K. Signage is poor and it would help it they didn’t make a habit of using the same numbers for different highway. I saw a sign for Hwy 200 and turned onto the access road. Once on the highway there was no way off. Unfortunately I had turned onto Hwy 200D (there was a small “D” under the number) and 20 K later we reached the toll booth. It cost us 85 pesos ($8.50) each bike for that mistake. It would help if we had a better map! The GPS Is doing a great job of keeping track where we have been, but a crappy job of helping us navigate. The Garmin GPS maps for this area are poor. Hwy 200 is on the GPS map but according to the GPS we are seldom on the road. Still… it’s nice to have. Once we get south of Mexico we have very good maps (Thanks to Lee.) and we will be able to cross check our lat and long with the map if (when) we get lost.

The bikes are running well (touch wood). I am continually bottoming out on the skid plate or centre stand over the topes (speed bumps). Also the rear shock bottoms out over some dips in the road. The V-Strom 650 has plenty of power but it needs a firmer rear spring for this load. I did some calculations and surprisingly we are not over max gross weight (950 lb.), but we are pretty close. We both have arranged for new rear tires in Panama City and we are both due for an oil change soon.

January 25/06

The section of road this morning was a great ride. Almost new payment (so much for my comments on deteriorating roads). The road twisted up and down the coastal cliffs for 80 K. Some very tight turns and occasionally some precipitous drop-offs. In most cases there are no guard rails. The weather is definitely getting warmer. I’m kicking myself for not wearing my mesh MC jacket. Linda and Jenny both have mesh jackets and they are ideal under these conditions.

We arrived in Zihuatanejo about 3 pm and found a small camping spot near the beach. Another camper was a motorcycle aficionado (BMW) who has traveled through Central and South America. We spent to evening with Pierre and Charlotte starting with margarita’s on the beach and pizza down town.

Currently waiting for breakfast on the beach… then we are off to Acapulco.

January 26/06

As I mentioned, the weather is getting progressively warmer. By noon I was cooking and I abandoned my MC jacket for a wet long sleeve cotton shirt. We rode into Acapulco about 2 pm. and through the main beach tourist area. VW bug cabs all over the place weaving in and out of traffic. It was cooking! Eventually we reached the south side of town along a beach strip close to the airport and found a nice campsite. The area we found looks like it was (or potentially was thought it would be) a booming tourist area but many of the businesses and buildings appear to be abandoned. Most North American tourist would not have even bothered to stop but being frugal we decided to take a closer look. After riding down a sandy beach road we stopped to figure out which way to go. Soon we were approached by a local. Within minutes we were talking to someone who could speak a little English and the next thing we knew is that we had a campsite. Also, the gal we spoke to owned a nearby restaurant owner. She (Sandra) is whipping us up something to eat right now.

We came through a couple of busy little towns today. I wish I had a helmet cam so that I could take some pictures as we are riding. The towns have very narrow streets with stores and vendors on either side of the street. Sometimes the streets are one way traffic but often they are two way you have to work your way around buses and stopped cars while avoiding the pedestrians and dogs. There are no traffic lights so at busy intersections there is often someone directing traffic. With copious a mount of arm waving and horn toots everyone managed to progress through the intersection. As I mentioned, we stand out on the MC’s and so far the drivers have been quite courteous and often wave us through.

(Hope the battery in my laptop holds up. It does not last long enough now to finish a report. I’m currently using the MC battery for power.)

January 27/06

We were up with the sun today and got an early start. We covered 350K from Acapulco to Puerto Esconito. The longest day travel yet. As we move farther south the local scenery becomes increasingly interesting. You have to watch for animals on the road here too… just different ones than in BC. We had to slow today for donkeys, goats, cows, chickens , horses and of course dogs. Then there are those pesky topes! (you remember.. speed bumps) They are not as well marked as they where up north and they are everywhere. You have to keep them in mind all the time. Some are like mini mountains across the road. My brakes are getting good workout.

We are getting more used to the “rules of the road”. That is to say... we are ignoring the speed limit signs now too. Perhaps I should put it differently. It’s not that we are ignoring them, it’s that we just can’t figure out what they mean. For example, you will see an 80K sign, then 300 metres down the road a 60K sign followed by a tight bend in the road. The road then straightens out again but there is never another 80K speed sign. We assume that the 60K sign was just a warning for the curve. The speed limit generally reduces to 40K through the towns and villages. 40K signs mean “watch for topes”. When you leave the town, rarely is there a sign indicating a higher speed limit. Everyone simply goes as fast as they want from tope to tope. 90 to 100K seems to be the accepted speed on these two lane roads outside of built up areas. It is difficult to average better that 60 or 70K on a days ride. Road conditions have been very good. There is quite abit of road work in progress on this highway. One gets the impression that the government is attempting to encourage motor tourism. We noticed 3 new tourism offices under construction today. Also all the gas stations are new and many are being built. They are all Pemex stations.. the government owned petroleum company. Often they are accompanied by a convenience store and all have clean modern washrooms.

As I mentioned there are domestic animals in and out of the towns. Dogs are everywhere. Many of the dogs are pets but there are lots of strays also. Even the pets are allowed to wander freely. You seldom see a dog tied up. It is not uncommon to see dogs walking on roads both in and out of towns and cities. Nor is it uncommon to see injured or malnourished dogs. It seems that for the most part the locals ignore the dogs and the dogs stay clear of the humans. We have only been chased a couple of times.

Tonight we are staying in some cabanas above one of the beaches in Puerto Escondito. A cabana is a small cabin. These ones are made of brick with a tile roof. There is a double bed complete with mosquito net, a shower, toilet and sink. They are not air conditioned but there is a fan. Each couple has their own cabana since the price was the same for 4 persons whether share one or had our own. 150 pesos each. ($15.) It is 5 minute walk down to the beach but we are located adjacent to the highway so it might be a bit noisy. I don’t know how much traffic there is a night but we will find out I think!

January 28/06

Yep! It was noisy but it was comfortable bed. Off to find some breaky!

While I’m waiting for my huevos rancheros I’ll fill you in on our plans. Today we are heading for Zipolita, a beach about 60K from here. Time for some laundry and an oil change for the bikes. Then we are heading inland up to San Christobal de Casa before crossing into Guatemala. San Christobal is in the highlands so it should be a bit cooler. We are planning 2 days in the San Christobal with a border crossing on Feb 1^st. This will be our first Central Am border crossing. It should be quite interesting.

Heading for Acapulco

2006-01-26T09:23:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note. All's well. We are heading to Acapulco this morning. It's warm down here. We are eating breakfast at a Beach resturant. It is 9 am and the temp is already 27C.

Will up date the blog with more reports ASAP.