South America 2008

(Note: A lot of these full size pictures got chopped. To see the full pic just click on it.)

We’re currently in Antigua, Guatemala, a picturesque colonial town with beautiful, old buildings with huge, garden like courtyards and bumpy cobblestone streets. We’ll be here for a whole day (no bike riding!) of rest and relaxation.

Here are some pictures from different parts of the trip….

Me and the luxurious accomodations aboard the ferry to Mazatlan

Five adventure motorcyclists exiting the ferry in Mazatlan

Guadalajara, Mexico (these police were on standby for a mild demonstration and a live outdoor concert in this plaza, everything was peaceful and nothing happened)

This is what it’s all about, no? Guadalarja, Mexico

This could have been taken anywhere in Mexico as Pemex is the only place to get gas. This was taken on the road from Acapulco to Puerto Escondido.

We stayed at the Le Petit Hotel in Puerto Escondido. It is owned and operated by a French expat and the place is extremely charming and a neat place to stay. I highly recommend it.

View from our front entrance. We had the deluxe suite for 60 bucks a night. We had a front veranda with a table for six and this view.

The view from my room. Yes, I did jump from the balcony into the pool. No, I was not drunk when I did it.

Los Pyramides de Teotihuacan (northeast of Mexico City)

San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico. For some reason the pesky vendors would always home in on Roar and not me. I wonder why. This little girl hounded Roar for good while and I couldn’t stop laughing while taking this picture.

Lago Atitlan, Guatemala

Normally, I say no gracias to the bothersome sellers of knickknacks but this one got me with her friendly, funny sales pitch and a wide smile. Plus, Roar and I were looking for some stuff to put on our bikes anyhow, so it was perfect timing as well….

I’m going to change my focus so that we can all stay in real time. I’ll write a quick overview of what we did since Mazatlan and then, when I have time, I’ll write some detailed stories of interesting parts of the trip. I might have to post pictures in separate posts, too….

We spent the day and one night partying in Mazatlan. It was a dead Sunday and I never had a good impression of Mazatlan.

The following day, Roar and I said goodbye to David and rode out to Guadalajara, which I’ve heard a lot of great things about. It was a beautiful, modern city with a lot that reminded me of the good parts of Mexico City. The people seemed modern, cultured, and were very polite. We spent a second day in Guadalajara to rest up after the blistering pace of our Baja trip.

The next day we rode a huge stretch out to San Juan de Teotituacan. The toll roads were boring so we took a side road to Mexico City. It took longer but was more fun and interesting. Unfortunately, we found ourselves in the northern suburbs of Mexico City right smack in the middle of rush hour traffic. After stopping to ask directions about twenty times and enduring stop and go traffic for about 20 miles straight (Mexico City is HUGE) we ended up in San Juan.

Early the next morning (7 am), we toured the Pyramids of Teotituacan. It was my second time seeing them but they were still just as amazing and awesome as before. After a couple of hours we left for Acapulco. Another long, exhausting day of riding but we arrived in time to stay in the same hotel that Steve and I stayed in a year and a half before. The place was packed at night and we stayed out until 4 in the morning.

The next day we didn’t get up so early. We started out for Puerto Escondido at about 1 pm and it was a fun, frustrating, and frightening and beautiful ride, all at different times. We arrived at Puerto Escondido at 9 pm. Yeah, it was dark and the last couple of hours of night riding fried my last nerve.

We stayed the whole day in Puerto Escondido. Well, actually, we took a short ride to a nearby beach for some fish, great stories, and chilling out for a couple of hours. By the end of the day I wondered what happened to our rest day since we ran ourselves ragged again. Sometimes it’s hard to slow down once you’re at that level.

The next day we rode south along the coast without any real idea where we would end up. We slowed down our pace considerably which allowed us to ride a healthy distance without being totally exhausted and stressed out. Our trip to South America is like running a marathon. This first part we sprinted, stopped, rested, sprinted some more. I won’t be able to sprint 100 meters at a time for a total of 26 miles without taking even more time. Now, we’re jogging.

It was one of our funnest and enjoyable rides of the trip. We stayed in a scummy town called Juchitan on the Mexican Pacific coast.

The following day we headed out to San Cristobal de las Casas. Amazing riding to start out with, we ended up getting there by 12:30 pm. We had the whole afternoon to sightsee! It was great. I didn’t enjoy the dirty hippies or the pretentious, super culturally aware American and European tourists but I did enjoy this picturesque, European type town and its inhabitants.

Today (can you believe it?), we started out at 8 am, rode a few hours to a chaotic, but small border crossing in Guatemala. Fortunately, the paperwork wasn’t too bad and we made it through in an hour. The riding here is much more intense and makes the stuff in Mexico seem like a Sunday drive. The truck and bus drivers are a lot more impatient and riding the roads is a lot scarier as vehicles are constantly passing each other around blind curves leaving you just a few feet to avoid them. It was a long, scary and exhilirating day of riding. In Central America, we will need to get used to it.

Tonight we are at Panajechal on the shore of Lake Atitlan. We’ll enjoy the scenery for a morning and will head for Antigua tomorrow. We need to buy new rear tires (they’re pretty flat in the middle). That way we can kill two birds with one stone. Antigua is another one on the list of 1000 Places (along with San Cristobal and Lake Atitlan) and we can check it out while we get new tires…..

Ha, it’s funny. We’ve got two stories, one in real time (Reader’s Digest version) and one that’s far superior….no, I’ll catch up, I swear. Unfortunately I can’t post pics with this computer. I’ll stick to the important stories.

The ferry crossing from La Paz to Mazatlan. About 18 hours, uncomfortable, no cabins, just a couple of rooms for truck drivers, travelers, and adventure motorcyclists to sit in theater seatings and watch movie after movie, including telenovelas from the seventies at maximum volume. Several times we had to get up to turn the tv off to prevent ourselves from going mad.

David was an adventure motorcyclist from South Africa. (His website is listed to the right if you’d like to read about his travels.) He is doing it right and taking the next six years to travel the world. I’d like to do that someday.

I enjoyed talking to him about South Africa. Something I didn’t know is that his country is in decline. A lot of industy is failing and the country is falling apart (in his opinion). He predicted a meltdown in about five years similar to the one Zimbabwe experienced several years back. I’m curious to check things out on my own but I appreciated his opinions and observations about a place I’d really like to visit in the future.

The two other guys were twentysomethings from Seattle, Washington. They were  on their way to Zihuateneo, a place on the Mexican coast that’s on the list of 1000 places to see before you die.

During their trip down Baja they spotted some random dirt track heading off to the coast. They followed it to the end, found themselves alone on a huge stretch of beach and camped the night. I was so jealous to hear that story and I vow to that myself one day I’ll do the same. I know I will make it come true and probably bring a few buddies with me.

I sacked out on the floor and got some poor quality rest.

We arrived Mazatlan and departed the ferry at about 9 am. We said goodbye to the guys from Seattle and headed off with David to find a place to stay in Mazatlan.

We left Puerto Escondido yesterday around noon because I was out partying the night before until about 4 in the morning. I wandered the streets of Puerto Escondido and found that most places were almost empty but one spot was pretty happening. After being looked up-and-down by the bouncer and given the OK by the other bouncer as well they let me in.

After a beer or two I figured out I was the only tourist in there… everyone else was local and I got to practice my spanish quite a bit. Probably not the most intelligent conversation but hey… hehe…

After a few more Alexandra’s (a type of Mexican beer) in there I wandered up the street and ended up in a Karaoke place with all locals again singing all kinds of cool Mexican tunes I’ve never heard before. I was hanging out at the bar telling people in my very best spanish how I got to Puerto Escondido by motorcycle and that I was going to Peru or Bolivia always to a rolling-of-the-eyes motion

Anyway, the ride from Puerto to the next town (which I can’t remember what was called) was brilliant. Again, almost 200 miles of twisties with just brilliant pavement. Unbelievable!

We spent the night in what was probably the best hotel in town with secure parking for our super-cool bikes and left at 07:30 the next morning. More great roads and fantastic views going across a couple of mountains and we made it to San Cristóbal at around 14:00, walked around for a bit, got some Zapatista doll that we attached to our bikes and we’re ready to go to the Guatemalean border in the morning.

Pictures to follow, this PC is weird…

By the way, at the top of each post it’ll say who posted it… like ‘posted by andy’ or ‘posted by roar’.

Now I need a beer…

Early morning start, on the road by 7 am. The sun was just coming over the horizon so we stopped at an outlook to admire the view and snap a few photos. I took this one right away.

The place reminded me of pictures of the Dalmation Coast along the Adriatic Sea. I’ve never been there but this peaceful scene made me think of it. As Roar set up his tripod for a romantic picture of the two of us, three locals sauntered on up to us to strike up a conversation. All three had Tecates in their hands and I knew that they had been drinking all night. They were friendly as can be and asked us about the trip we were taking and wanted to know about the motorcycles. I decided to take this one of Roar and his new buddies.

They didn’t leave right away so the moment was lost and we didn’t get to have our romantic picture together.

Highway One, the main north-south highway in Baja zig zags from coast to coast as you travel south. It starts off at the west coast with Tijuana and Ensenada, cuts inland, makes it to the Sea of Cortez at Santa Rosalia, hugs that coast to Loreto, then heads west. As we left the sea we were greeted by fun twisties and beautiful scenery. Roar calls them “forests of cactus.” It was a great start to the morning but I knew we had some long, boring straightaways ahead.

Every hour or so we stop for a break. We stretch our legs, drink some water, have some snacks. And inevitably, after about five minutes a stray dog would show up out of nowhere. These are the kind that are timid and shy because they are used to being beaten. Some just want a little bit of affection but others are like this guys here. Skin and bones and starving. This guy scooped up every strawberry fig newton I gave him.

One last set of twisties before we would arrive near La Paz. We were on a schedule. The ferry to Mazatlan left once a day around 3 pm and we didn’t want to miss it. We fought the wind again, which left us even more fatigued. With all the riding we were doing the tiredness seemed to build up upon the previous day’s fatigue. It didn’t seem like we gained as much energy in our down time as we used up riding.

We rolled into La Paz around noon and headed straight to the ferry. We passed the popular waterfront area which looked like a lot of fun. Not this time….

The ferry ride cost us $80 and the bikes were another $116. All the ferries I’ve been on have been the nice kind with cabins if you wanted to pay a little bit extra, some bars or restaurants, or at the very least some nice areas to hang out in. One ferry from Norway to Denmark even had a nightclub on it.

I started to wonder when the dock looked incredibly commercial. Just truck drivers and guys working the docks and the ship. It looked primitive from the outside and I told Roar it was a bad sign when we bought our tickets that they didn’t have any cabins.

We waited at the dock for about half an hour while they stuffed the ship’s belly with trucks and trailers. I figured that they would load all the heavy stuff first and save us for last. As we sat waiting, three adventure motorcyclists pulled up. Two on Suzuki dirtbikes and another on a loaded down BMW F650 (the bike I initially wanted to get for the trip). We had just enough time to introduce ourselves when it was our turn to load up.

I figured that we would have plenty of time to get to know one another during the 15 hour ferry ride….

Ok, ok, if you’re just interested in the Reader’s Digest version you can settle for reading Roar’s entries. However, if you want more substance to your reading, if you want to experience the emotional ups and downs, the details of these incredible adventures, then read on with me….No, just kidding…It’s amazing how much one experiences while traveling. But I’ll do a better job of keeping these shorter, otherwise I’ll fall too far behind. For the complete story just wait for the book…..

The rest of day three….south, down the east coast of the Baja peninsula along the Sea of Cortez….excellent riding and excellent views….it’s like the fun, twisty sections of PCH (Pacific Coast Highway in California, U.S.). A bunch of RV’s were camped in little nooks and crannies on the beaches between the curvy sections. I think that this stretch might be one of those little known RV camper’s delights.

The town of Loreto also seemed to be one of those little known expat, American retiree hangouts. We pulled into town at dusk after covering 400 miles. Not a long stretch by car, but by motorcycle it’s a LOT different.

The first restaurant we saw was an open air place filled with American tourists about a block away from the water. “Nah,” I told Roar, “I want some place more local. I want to see some Mexicans.”

We found another place, extremely colorful and well decorated on the inside. And it had Mexicans. We had two blue margaritas and some of the best Pescado al Ajo (Fish with garlic) I have ever had (except for anything that Jason cooks). We met the owner and his friends who were all expats, retirees, or snowbirds. He had renovated the place and this was the grand reopening night. The Mexicans we saw were their friends and one was even the leader of the state’s PRD political party. Dinner, drinks, and a little bit of ice cream were on the house! What an excellent way to end an incredible day….

Thanks for the comments everyone, it’s nice to get words of encouragement, offers to send parts, etc.

We’re in Puerto Escondido right now, we rolled in late last night and checked into this really nice hotel… Le Petit or something. We didn’t have the strength to look for the hotel Ken and Gary recommended, we were almost dead from partying in Acapulco the night before and riding for about 9 hours.

The ride from Acapulco was really nice with lots of sweeping turns for our motorcyling pleasure. We rode through tons of little town which all start and end with these wicked speed bumps with very little warning. After hitting a bazillion of those somewhere my backpack fell off and I didn’t notice until some people in a van were waving at me. I rode back to the previous village, no backpack!

I pictured myself riding around the Mexican countryside looking for the damn backpack for hours!

A man waved me over to tell me a white car had the backpack going south
so I turned around again and hit the throttle hard. After about 10 minutes I
cought up with the car at the side of the road and finally got my backpack back. Thank you Mr. Driver of white car!

The view from our room

Since Andy is working on his “War and Peace” we’re a little behind on the blogging. I’ll try to give a little update as to where we are in the world without giving away the plot.

We’re currently outside Mexico City at the Teotihuacán pyramids.

We’re going to check them out tomorrow before we head south-west to Acapulco where we think we’ll hang out for a day and  then head south along the pacific coast to Guatemala.

It has been a great ride so far but we’ve spent a lot of time on the road so we’re tired. We spent a day and a half in Guadalajara which we needed to recharge, we even had time to play some caps.

The ride through Baja California was very beautiful and the roads there are perfect for a motorcycle trip, I’ve never ridden so many miles of twisties in one go… simply awesome!

The ride from Mazatlán to Guadalajara was beautiful as well but it was m,ostly boring because we stayed on the toll-roads which are, in a word, straight. There were some sweepers coming off some mountains.

Today we rode from Guadalajara to Mexico City half on toll-roads and the rest on back-roads. The back-roads were awesome with tons of switchbacks with huge potholes, very exciting! After almost 11 hours in the saddle we’re beat and going to get some dinner.

Early tomorrow morning we’re checking out the pyramids and then we head for the coast for some margaritas and shrimp!

Friday, February 8

We woke up early and were on the road by 7 am. I used earplugs for the first time while riding and liked it. The previous day’s ride was loud and the noise wore me down during the day. The lack of noise made the riding more surreal and I almost felt like it wasn’t me leaning into the corners in the crisp, cold morning air.

We were about twenty minutes into our ride when we reached the top of a hill and had to slow down for an eighteen wheeler. He started to take off down the hill, which was too steep and narrow for me to attempt a pass so I gave the guy some room, intending to pass near the bottom. I stayed about 100 yards behind him and started to notice that he was driving just a little bit too fast. The truck started to round the last curve and I saw the left tires at the rear of the trailer start to lift off the ground.

Time seemed to slow as the tires came higher and higher off the ground. At a certain point I knew that the tires wouldn’t come back down and sure enough, the trailer’s left side was completely in the air and the trailer and tractor rolled together to the right, impacted the shoulder, and did a complete flip, landing rightside up on the side of the road, with a sickening crash, and flying dirt and debris.

This occurred in just a few seconds but was horrible to watch as I could see where things were headed. I had kept a safe distance and had plenty of time to negotiate the curve and slow to a stop. I rode for another couple of hundred yards, pulled off the road, and drove back to the truck.

I saw a woman lying face down near the truck. Her arms were convulsing and her face was bloody. I saw a man taking young children out of the smashed up cab and placing them near the woman. By the time I stopped and took off my helmet and gloves, three children were sitting on the ground as the crying man cradled and hugged the woman.

The three kids were about 10, 4, and 2 years old. The oldest,a boy sat dazed, tears covering his face and held onto his little sisters. I went to the cab and pulled out several blankets and covered the children and the woman. It was about 50 degrees out and there was a wicked 20 mph wind and I worried about them going into shock. I found some pieces of foam from the wreckage to place under the woman´s head. Roar approached and spread out his first aid kit in front of the kids. He started cleaning up the boy’s face.

The woman regained consciousness but it was obvious that she was in a lot of pain and to make things even worse, I saw that she was clearly pregnant. I asked the man where she felt pain and he replied that it was her head, which explained the convulsions. When I first saw that I thought that she was going to die for sure.

As Roar continued to treat the boy I ran up to the road when I heard vehicles approach. I flagged down several drivers heading in each direction and asked them to call the police and for an ambulance. There was not much else for Roar or I to do, except to treat these people for shock and wait for an ambulance. The boy had a three inch gash to the back of his head that would require stitches but it wasn’t bleeding.The man continued to cry and hug and cradle the woman. The little girls sat and cried, I felt so bad for them. Thankfully, it was not the blood curdling cries, which to me would indicate that the kids were badly hurt. But they were shaken up, hurt, and traumatized just the same.

Over the course of the next twenty five minutes several people pulled over. Fortunately, a few tourists came to help out. A german couple offered to transport the family back to Cataviña so we loaded the family in the back of their minivan. I felt especially bad for the boy because I know he was trying so hard to hold on but he was laying on his side underneath the blanket with his quickly swelling eye shut by the time we guided him to the minivan.

Shortly after the minivan left a police truck showed up. It was 45 minutes after the accident occurred, which is not surprising considering how remote that section of Baja is. I briefly explained to the cop in my broken Spanish what happened and that was it. No witness statement or anything so we just prepared to hit the road.

Interesting to transition from witnessing such a life altering event back to the routine we had from the last couple of days. It was life altering for the man and his family. For us, not so much. We did what we thought was right. We helped out strangers in need and tried to comfort and summoned help. But we continued on with our trip. Who knows what will happen to that man and his family. He’s lucky that he and his children are alive and I hope that that remained true of his wife….

To be continued…..