I hate to break the news to everyone but I will not be doing updates until I get home. It has been so frustrating first trying to find a computer and then sitting down and finding every other button does not work or sitting there for an hour typing it up and then somehow loosing it all. I know waiting until I get home kind of misses the point of updates but that is how it has to be. I would love to tell everyone where I am at right now but that would ruin the suspense.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Update Day 29, 375 Miles
February 8, 2008
It was a sad day. Even though most of the people here were freaks it was still nice just to hang out and do nothing. I know, I do nothing at home but, here no one told me I need to get off my ass and do something.
I left the hotel at 9am and finally got out of town about 30 minutes later. In my few days off I must have forgotten how to ride and navigate because I made every wrong turn possible trying to get out of a town that is no more that a square half mile. Anyway once out of San Pedro it was a tight twisty road that turns back on itself about 50 times as you rise out of the valley. It was a little rough for the first part of the day but I survived. It was really nice once on the main road as the temperature was cool and the sun was shining. As I got near the border of Mexico the elevation dropped and the temps increased.
By the time I reached the border at 12:45 it was 95 degrees and I was not looking forward to waiting in lines. As I got to the border and the building to exit Guatemala it was very crowded with people but lucky for me they were just locals. I took 5 minutes to exit Guatemala and another 10 minutes to enter Mexico. That’s right, I said 15 minutes total. I could not believe it but I was not going to question in either.
From the border it was bout an hours ride to the town of Huixla. Here it was time I had lunch. As I rode along you could smell all of the food cooking on the grill by the side of the road. I stopped off and had some great Chicken Asado and actually got to have some real hot sauce with it now that I am back in Mexico. After lunch I made my way towards the town of Juchitan and arrived as the sun was going down at 6:30.
I found a decent hotel, checked in, took a shower and hit the town. I found the town square which is where all the activity is in every town here. I walked around for a little while and finally decided to eat some tacos. It was some kind of meat but I can’t be sure what it exactly was but it was good. I tried to do some updating but every place was closing down for the evening and so did I.
Update Day 28, 0 Miles
February 27, 2008
It was another day of lounging around in San Pedro. All of the other days here have been full of sunshine but not today. It is clouded in but not like it was going to rain. Around noon I took a 20 minute boat ride to Santiago, another town that is obviously on the lake. It was supposed to be a tourist town but I did not care for it too much. The only thing that was very touristy was the line of local souvenir stores that lined the street as you get off the boat. I did go up to the town square and it was full of locals. I tried to get a picture of four men sitting on a bench dressed in the local attire but as soon as I brought my camera out they took their hats off and covered their faces.
Later on that evening it was dinner and a movie. On a recommendation I skeptically went to watch Little Miss Sunshine. Much to my surprise it was a very funny movie.
Pictures will have to wait as the computer I am on is a piece of crap.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Update Day 27, 0 Miles
February 6, 2008
I am still in San Pedro at Lake Atitlan. It is nice to just sit around and do nothing for a little while. I am not sure on when I will be leaving but it will either be Thursday or Friday now.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Update Day 26, 0 Miles
February 5, 2008
I am taking a day off to see if I can accustom myself to the lifestyle here. It is easy to relax here but I think I might have a hard time blending in. My helmet head hair style, as bad as it is, is nothing to most people here.
My hotel room is nice and it does have hot water but it is from one of the electric shower heads again. This time they were nice enough to put the breaker for it in the shower just in case!
My plan is to leave in the morning and head for Mexico but you never know, I might have a life changing revelation and never leave.
I am taking a day off to see if I can accustom myself to the lifestyle here. It is easy to relax here but I think I might have a hard time blending in. My helmet head hair style, as bad as it is, is nothing to most people here.
My hotel room is nice and it does have hot water but it is from one of the electric shower heads again. This time they were nice enough to put the breaker for it in the shower just in case!My plan is to leave in the morning and head for Mexico but you never know, I might have a life changing revelation and never leave.
Update Day 25, 203 Miles
February 4, 2008
I usually start each update with my 7am wake up but not today. Today’s update is going to start with my 1am wake up. As it turns out the temperature continued to drop during the night and I turned into a Popsicle underneath the one sheet on the bed. Luckily they did have spare blankets which helped a little but not enough. When I finally woke back up in the morning the temperature was a little bit more tolerable but still cold, 48 degrees.
I started out at 8:10 and my plan was to make it to Lake Atitlan to meet up with some people there. I was going to meet up with Ken the guy who flew down to Panama, bought a bike and was riding it back. As it turns out a few days earlier he went down and broke his ankle. I am not sure of the whole story but as of the latest press release he was at Guatemala City airport waiting for his Med Jet insurance to fly him home and then worry about getting his motorcycle home later on. Anyway, I was enjoying the great mountain scenery riding on a dirt road now that is under construction when I came upon a traffic stop. No problem, straight to the front of the line and when it opens up it is clear sailing. The only problem is 9:45 and the road will not open until the workers stop to eat lunch at noon. I think about getting upset until I looked at everyone else there with smiles on their faces and acting like this is business as usual, and it is. I resign myself to being happy and just try and enjoy the time, besides there are worse places to be stuck for over two hours.
I spend the next 45 minutes talking with a local guy who lived in the states for a couple of years. We mostly talk about my bike as he translates everything to the crowd of people gathered around it. Out of nowhere from the other direction a line of cars comes through and everyone gets excited. The guy in charge gets on his radio to find out what is up because it should be another 1 1/2 hours until it is open. I take the opportunity to put my gear on and as soon as he is distracted enough me and one other car make a run for it before he stops everyone else. I am not sure what happened on the other end but construction is definitely still happening. I spend the next 5 miles or so dodging tractors, heavy equipment and people placing explosives for blasting the hillside. At one point I have to wait for a loader that is dumping rocks off of the side of the hill. Once past him I find out that the road curves back around and down below where he is dumping the rocks. I look back up and see him ready to drop another scoop but then he waives me on. I was just able to make it through this area but there is no way the other car will make it past, he will have to wait here until they clear it. Another few miles of dirt road and it finally gets back to pavement.
It is about noon now and I am getting hungry when I get to the town of Sacapulas. I pass a small shack of a place that is cooking something. At this point I figure it is probably good food even though it looks like a place I will get sick at. I turn around, park the bike and pull up a chair at a table. I ask the lady for a menu and she tells me Carne Asada. I guess you get whatever she and her four daughters are cooking at the time. She brings me a plate of meat, beans and rice as they all watch me like I am the side show at the local circus, which I probably am. For the second meal in a row the food was fantastic. I even have a glass of the Horchata made from the local water which scared the hell out of me but it tasted good anyway.
I spend the rest of the afternoon making my way to the city of San Pedro La Laguna on Lake Atitlan. I decide to take the long way around the lake just to see what it is like. What would take me 20 minutes to go around a lake of the same size in the states ends up taking the better part of 2 hours. I get to within 10 km of San Pedro and the road turns to dirt. No problems, I have ridden dirt before. The road was not bad until you hit the up hill sections. Here the dirt has been turned up from the trucks and it is now deep, soft powder with hidden rocks. It almost throws me off a few times but I finally make it through.
I arrive in San Pedro at 4:15 and locate the hotel that another guy from the Adventure Rider Internet group that I frequent is staying. I meet up with John who is here taking some Spanish classes for a few weeks. He takes me on a tour of the town which turns out to be mostly gringos and 99% of them are the Hippie type. I have never seen so many people with dirty hair and baggy clothes in my life. Later on in the evening we are at a bar by the name of Buddha Bar. Lucky for me it is open mic night and I get to hear all of the world’s problems, in bad song form. I got to hear one girl sing about how every man she ever loved ended up hurting her in the end. I finally had enough when some guy started singing about how we are destroying the earth, giving his political views and telling us how everything is wrong. I turned to John and said it is time to leave. I am the type of person who does not believe in telling you my problems so why in the world would I want to hear yours being sung like a damn three year old. Anyway, we head out to another bar, have a few more beers and call it quits sometime around midnight.
I usually start each update with my 7am wake up but not today. Today’s update is going to start with my 1am wake up. As it turns out the temperature continued to drop during the night and I turned into a Popsicle underneath the one sheet on the bed. Luckily they did have spare blankets which helped a little but not enough. When I finally woke back up in the morning the temperature was a little bit more tolerable but still cold, 48 degrees.
I started out at 8:10 and my plan was to make it to Lake Atitlan to meet up with some people there. I was going to meet up with Ken the guy who flew down to Panama, bought a bike and was riding it back. As it turns out a few days earlier he went down and broke his ankle. I am not sure of the whole story but as of the latest press release he was at Guatemala City airport waiting for his Med Jet insurance to fly him home and then worry about getting his motorcycle home later on. Anyway, I was enjoying the great mountain scenery riding on a dirt road now that is under construction when I came upon a traffic stop. No problem, straight to the front of the line and when it opens up it is clear sailing. The only problem is 9:45 and the road will not open until the workers stop to eat lunch at noon. I think about getting upset until I looked at everyone else there with smiles on their faces and acting like this is business as usual, and it is. I resign myself to being happy and just try and enjoy the time, besides there are worse places to be stuck for over two hours.
I spend the next 45 minutes talking with a local guy who lived in the states for a couple of years. We mostly talk about my bike as he translates everything to the crowd of people gathered around it. Out of nowhere from the other direction a line of cars comes through and everyone gets excited. The guy in charge gets on his radio to find out what is up because it should be another 1 1/2 hours until it is open. I take the opportunity to put my gear on and as soon as he is distracted enough me and one other car make a run for it before he stops everyone else. I am not sure what happened on the other end but construction is definitely still happening. I spend the next 5 miles or so dodging tractors, heavy equipment and people placing explosives for blasting the hillside. At one point I have to wait for a loader that is dumping rocks off of the side of the hill. Once past him I find out that the road curves back around and down below where he is dumping the rocks. I look back up and see him ready to drop another scoop but then he waives me on. I was just able to make it through this area but there is no way the other car will make it past, he will have to wait here until they clear it. Another few miles of dirt road and it finally gets back to pavement.It is about noon now and I am getting hungry when I get to the town of Sacapulas. I pass a small shack of a place that is cooking something. At this point I figure it is probably good food even though it looks like a place I will get sick at. I turn around, park the bike and pull up a chair at a table. I ask the lady for a menu and she tells me Carne Asada. I guess you get whatever she and her four daughters are cooking at the time. She brings me a plate of meat, beans and rice as they all watch me like I am the side show at the local circus, which I probably am. For the second meal in a row the food was fantastic. I even have a glass of the Horchata made from the local water which scared the hell out of me but it tasted good anyway.
I spend the rest of the afternoon making my way to the city of San Pedro La Laguna on Lake Atitlan. I decide to take the long way around the lake just to see what it is like. What would take me 20 minutes to go around a lake of the same size in the states ends up taking the better part of 2 hours. I get to within 10 km of San Pedro and the road turns to dirt. No problems, I have ridden dirt before. The road was not bad until you hit the up hill sections. Here the dirt has been turned up from the trucks and it is now deep, soft powder with hidden rocks. It almost throws me off a few times but I finally make it through.I arrive in San Pedro at 4:15 and locate the hotel that another guy from the Adventure Rider Internet group that I frequent is staying. I meet up with John who is here taking some Spanish classes for a few weeks. He takes me on a tour of the town which turns out to be mostly gringos and 99% of them are the Hippie type. I have never seen so many people with dirty hair and baggy clothes in my life. Later on in the evening we are at a bar by the name of Buddha Bar. Lucky for me it is open mic night and I get to hear all of the world’s problems, in bad song form. I got to hear one girl sing about how every man she ever loved ended up hurting her in the end. I finally had enough when some guy started singing about how we are destroying the earth, giving his political views and telling us how everything is wrong. I turned to John and said it is time to leave. I am the type of person who does not believe in telling you my problems so why in the world would I want to hear yours being sung like a damn three year old. Anyway, we head out to another bar, have a few more beers and call it quits sometime around midnight.
Update Day 24, 244 Miles
February 3, 2008
It seems like my body has reset it’s internal clock which wakes me up at 7am every day. I hope for my sake it is not permanent! My hotel for the night also included breakfast so I decided to eat it since I paid for it. It was the worst meal yet. It looked like it was leftovers from days past. I just moved it around the plate for a while then decided to leave.
On the road again at 8am like clock work, the first 40 miles or so were just like the end of the day before, nice fast sweeping turns. Then it turned to straight roads in the valley of two huge mountains. Then you turn off on to a smaller mountain road which takes you to the Copan Ruins. Before leaving the hotel I asked a few people how long it would take and all replies were 5 hours. I don’t know if their clocks need new batteries or I am traveling way too fast because I did it in 2 1/2 hours. I toured the ruins for about an hour or so. I guess I just don’t appreciate the history that much. They were neat but I could have done without seeing them and in my expert opinion they were not as good as the ruins in Palenque, Mexico. Next I headed to the border of Guatemala but not before stopping in the city of Copan Ruinas for a bite to eat. I found a small restaurant that was packed with people so I stopped there and ordered the Carne Asada with rice and a salad. I am not sure what they did different there but the food was great and the atmosphere was even better.
With my belly full it was a short 10 minute ride to the border. I arrived at 1:15 to find out everyone is at lunch and will not be back until 2:00. It seems like no matter how hard I try it takes a least 1 hour minimum to cross a border. When everyone was back to business it took a total of 15 minutes to process everything and move on. The next 30 miles or so was more of the tight mountain roads until the turn off towards Guatemala City. Now it is straight and heavily congested roads. Not to mention the thousands of motorcycles I start seeing, I guess there was some motorcycle rally somewhere and they were all returning to the city. I did see one accident with a motorcycle and the guy was laid out with the ambulance already there.
Next I turn off the main road into Guatemala City and head back into the mountains to avoid the city. Did I mention it was hot again, 95 degrees. Anyway it is another fast road with sweeping turns that is quickly climbing and the temperature dropping just as fast. By now it is getting close to stopping for the night and there are not many hotels in the area. I decide that I better stop at the next one I see so I do not get caught out in the dark in the mountains. A short while later I find a cabin type hotel in the middle of nowhere. I pull in and get a cabin which will sleep up to seven people for the low price of $25. It is an Eco Hotel which is known for it’s great bird watching. Everything was good except it was the first hotel of the trip that did not have a TV and it just happened to be Super Bowl Sunday!
It seems like my body has reset it’s internal clock which wakes me up at 7am every day. I hope for my sake it is not permanent! My hotel for the night also included breakfast so I decided to eat it since I paid for it. It was the worst meal yet. It looked like it was leftovers from days past. I just moved it around the plate for a while then decided to leave.
On the road again at 8am like clock work, the first 40 miles or so were just like the end of the day before, nice fast sweeping turns. Then it turned to straight roads in the valley of two huge mountains. Then you turn off on to a smaller mountain road which takes you to the Copan Ruins. Before leaving the hotel I asked a few people how long it would take and all replies were 5 hours. I don’t know if their clocks need new batteries or I am traveling way too fast because I did it in 2 1/2 hours. I toured the ruins for about an hour or so. I guess I just don’t appreciate the history that much. They were neat but I could have done without seeing them and in my expert opinion they were not as good as the ruins in Palenque, Mexico. Next I headed to the border of Guatemala but not before stopping in the city of Copan Ruinas for a bite to eat. I found a small restaurant that was packed with people so I stopped there and ordered the Carne Asada with rice and a salad. I am not sure what they did different there but the food was great and the atmosphere was even better.
With my belly full it was a short 10 minute ride to the border. I arrived at 1:15 to find out everyone is at lunch and will not be back until 2:00. It seems like no matter how hard I try it takes a least 1 hour minimum to cross a border. When everyone was back to business it took a total of 15 minutes to process everything and move on. The next 30 miles or so was more of the tight mountain roads until the turn off towards Guatemala City. Now it is straight and heavily congested roads. Not to mention the thousands of motorcycles I start seeing, I guess there was some motorcycle rally somewhere and they were all returning to the city. I did see one accident with a motorcycle and the guy was laid out with the ambulance already there.
Next I turn off the main road into Guatemala City and head back into the mountains to avoid the city. Did I mention it was hot again, 95 degrees. Anyway it is another fast road with sweeping turns that is quickly climbing and the temperature dropping just as fast. By now it is getting close to stopping for the night and there are not many hotels in the area. I decide that I better stop at the next one I see so I do not get caught out in the dark in the mountains. A short while later I find a cabin type hotel in the middle of nowhere. I pull in and get a cabin which will sleep up to seven people for the low price of $25. It is an Eco Hotel which is known for it’s great bird watching. Everything was good except it was the first hotel of the trip that did not have a TV and it just happened to be Super Bowl Sunday!Sunday, February 3, 2008
Text Message Update 2008-02-03
In Guatamala. In the mountains at a lodge type hotel. First hotel witout tv and it is Superbowl. Will be in Lake Atitlan tomorrow.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Update Day 23, 312 Miles
February 2, 2008
It was a nice morning in Esteli and the temperature was hovering at a cool 68 degrees, perfect conditions for leaving Nicaragua. I was up a little before 7 so I could take advantage of the breakfast included with the room. I had what they call The Americano which is scrambled eggs with ham and toast. It is not great but it is more than enough to get me started for the day. I was on the road by 8 and heading for the border of Honduras. The whole way there I have been going over in my head all the things that can and probably will go wrong.
I arrive on the Nicaraguan side at 9 and I am through with that by 9:15. On to entering Honduras. This border on my way down was the quietest one that I dealt with and this time it was the same, I was the only person there. I walk up to the building and it is locked. I find out that they stepped out to get a bite to eat. I hang around for 5 minutes and he returns. I start of by saying “hello” and asking how he is doing this morning and he seems to be in a good mood. I handed him a copy of the old Honduras permit hoping he will just stamp that one and send me on my way. No such luck! He tells me I need to get a new one and he starts the paperwork. He asks for my Passport and then for the bike documentation. I hand him the cleanest color copy of my registration that I have and continue to talk to him to possibly distract him that it is not the title. 20 minutes later he takes my $30, shakes my hand and gives me the permit. I’d like to think it was my rugged good looks and my charismatic attitude that helped him along but I think he just did not want to be difficult or he did not know any better.
It’s now 10am and I am heading down the hill to Choluteca. As I descend the temperature is climbing fast. By the time I hit the valley floor it is 95 and windy. At that point I headed towards Tegucigalpa the capitol of Honduras. Lucky for me they put it up in the hills where it is much cooler. It is winding roads all the way and they like to pass much more aggressively here. I can not count how many times I came around a left hand turn only to find a semi truck in my lane and heading right at me. There were a couple close calls but I am sure they just felt a lot closer than they were.
I got a little bit lost when entering the city but stopping for directions has continued to work well for me. I even had a guy have me follow him for a few miles so he could make sure I found the right way. Most of the day was heavy traffic and passing many slow vehicles but the last 50 km was great with hardly anyone else on the road and great mountain scenery. I finally pulled into a town by the name of Santa Barbara. I found an OK hotel for the night but all I need is a bed so it will do. I did not take any pictures today but it was pretty the whole day. The first half was all mountain pine trees and then it turned a little bit more to tropical greenery. Tomorrow I think I am going to stop by the town of Copan and see some more ruins. From what I understand they are supposed to be the best around but I am sure I will say, you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all. After Copan I hope to cross the border into Guatemala.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Update Day 22, 168 Miles
February 1, 2008
Well it is official my vacation from my vacation is over. The hotel security was very nice and looked after my bike the whole time. They put cones around it and every time we would see it there was a guard either next to it or on it using it to hold the newspaper. Sylvia and I left the resort this morning at 9:15 and returned to her aunts house in Managua. Having the GPS on the bike has been worth its weight in gold. Before we left her house I marked it in the GPS so I could find it again. The map on the GPS does not show the streets so I was guessing at those but somehow we made it to her house without making even one wrong turn. After repacking the bike, eating a little lunch and saying my goodbyes I headed out for my return trip at 1pm.
From Managua I headed towards the city of Leon and it was hot, 95 degrees to be exact. On the way there I passed through a town that looks like its entire economy is based on making bricks and tiles. From Leon I headed east to go to the city of Esteli which is where I am now for the night. The road from Leon was horrible, some dirt but mostly just potholes for 90 kilometers until I reach the Pan American Highway. I did pass through another town where there was the aftermath of a motorcycle vs car accident. Everyone was crowding the street and people were shoveling dirt on the motorcycle because it was on fire. I tried to get a photo but it was too tough. Anyway I found a nice little hotel in Esteli by the name of Hotel Los Arcos, $35 for the night with free Internet and breakfast in the morning.
In the morning I plan on crossing back into Honduras but I am expecting some difficulties. You are supposed to have the title for your vehicle when entering most countries and I have been getting by but I had difficulties entering Honduras when coming down. Wish me luck!
Well it is official my vacation from my vacation is over. The hotel security was very nice and looked after my bike the whole time. They put cones around it and every time we would see it there was a guard either next to it or on it using it to hold the newspaper. Sylvia and I left the resort this morning at 9:15 and returned to her aunts house in Managua. Having the GPS on the bike has been worth its weight in gold. Before we left her house I marked it in the GPS so I could find it again. The map on the GPS does not show the streets so I was guessing at those but somehow we made it to her house without making even one wrong turn. After repacking the bike, eating a little lunch and saying my goodbyes I headed out for my return trip at 1pm.
From Managua I headed towards the city of Leon and it was hot, 95 degrees to be exact. On the way there I passed through a town that looks like its entire economy is based on making bricks and tiles. From Leon I headed east to go to the city of Esteli which is where I am now for the night. The road from Leon was horrible, some dirt but mostly just potholes for 90 kilometers until I reach the Pan American Highway. I did pass through another town where there was the aftermath of a motorcycle vs car accident. Everyone was crowding the street and people were shoveling dirt on the motorcycle because it was on fire. I tried to get a photo but it was too tough. Anyway I found a nice little hotel in Esteli by the name of Hotel Los Arcos, $35 for the night with free Internet and breakfast in the morning.In the morning I plan on crossing back into Honduras but I am expecting some difficulties. You are supposed to have the title for your vehicle when entering most countries and I have been getting by but I had difficulties entering Honduras when coming down. Wish me luck!
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