Into Peru

We left Vilcabamba well rested after three days of relaxing and getting caught up on the blog and book reading. We were within a few hours of the border crossing into Peru and had two route options: the “jungle” crossing that was due south of us on a dirt road, or we could double back and enter Peru on the “mountain” crossing on the Pan-American Highway. I asked around at the hotel and checked online and maps and decided to go for the closer but more difficult jungle crossing. Continue reading →

Ok, it really is a awesome. A country of beautiful green mountains and nothing but curvy roads often climbing to over 10,000 feet into clouds and misty rain then back down into sunshine and warm temperatures. Totally enjoyable riding with roads alternating between new four lane blacktop to pitted out gravel and mud. A little of everything I suppose. But wait, how did we get in? Continue reading →

That would be the Darian Gap, that nearly impenetrable section of land that separates central from south America. It’s been in the news lately as thousands of migrants are making the dangerous trek through the gap into Panama. We were feeling guilty as we flew over in a modern Boeing 737. Our only worry was about the possibility of a passenger door falling off. Continue reading →

Well rested after three nights in our comfortable cabana on Island Ometepe in lake Nicaragua, we slowly packed up and made our way back to the ferry and the short ride to the border with Costa Rica. The morning was warm but overcast and the winds were still howling over the lake with high wind warnings showing on my phone’s weather app. It’s hard to get a picture of high winds but you might get the idea from this picture of a ferry just like the one we were on going the other direction. Continue reading →

We were out of our El Salvador hotel before 9:00 AM after a hearty breakfast at the hotel with plenty of coffee. It was already over 90 degrees and we suited up and loaded our bags on the bikes. We knew it was going to be a hot one, again. We slogged through the coastal highway towards the border with Honduras. We knew it would be a full four hours in the blistering heat so we just settled in for the ride. Continue reading →

We knew it would be hot in Central America but forgot how hard it is to ride a motorcycle in crazy traffic in 100+ degree heat. To save space Deby and I both decided to only bring one pair of riding pants. We booth choose our waterproof KLIM pants because we knew much of out trip would be at higher and cooler elevations in South America. In direct sunshine with high temperatures and just as high humidity wearing those pants was like having our own personal sauna on our lower bodies. Continue reading →

It’s 6:30AM in Monterrico, Guatamala an hour away from the border with El Salvador. I’m up early with a full cup of coffee from the beachfront bar at Hotel El Delfin trying to beat the oppressive heat and humidity and get caught up with this blog. It’s a humble hotel with no hot water and mosquito netting over the beds. We upgraded to a room with an air conditioner for a total cost of $52 USD. But how did we get here? Continue reading →

That’s enough. We had been blasting south through Mexico mostly on toll roads. It’s mostly mind numbing riding or as motorcycle riders like to say, “pavement pounding”, or “mile munching” or many other such words. In Mexico the toll roads, or Cuotas as they are known here, are pretty much the equivalent of the interstate highways in the US with limited access and high speeds. The official speed limit is usually 110 kmh which is about 68 miles per hour. Of course, like many things in Mexico, that is merely a suggestion. My fancy BMW motorcycle has cruise control that I would typically set at 80 mph or about 130 kmh. Cruising at 130 I could relax my grip on the handlebars and lean back on my rear bag and reflect on the scenery zooming past. Often we were passing slower cars and trucks but just as often local drivers flew past us like we were standing still. I avoided the temptation to catch up with them to prove my theory that they were going at least 100 miles per hour. I’m sure they were and my big beemer could easily catch up but I decided to keep it at a more sane 80 to 85 mph. Sane? Continue reading →

Yes, are on the move. No, there hasn’t been a post in a while. Why? Ummmm I suppose no good reason except for working on getting healthy again. Yes, we are on the mend!

So, let’s catch up from the last post…We hung out two days in San Carlos while Deby continued to get better. Continue reading →

We knew New Year’s Day would be a busy one for us. We left the nice hotel with the television winter scene and headed with the truck to Alamo, Nevada. We picked Alamo because it was only a short way north of Las Vegas with it’s associated madness as they get ready for the new year partygoers. I selected one of the few hotel options online because of the good reviews. Ha. We arrived at the Sunset View Inn at, um, well, sunset. Which was funny because although the hotel faces west the sun had long ago set behind the nearby mountain range which I’m pretty sure would ensure that it would be impossible to ever see a sunset from that location. We found out we weren’t very far from the famous Area 51 military site. I suppose that explained the decor of room number 15, our home for the night. Continue reading →