My driver picked me up at 7:30 from my Antigua hotel. Before he put the van into gear he handed me my envelope containing my important vehicle documents — the same documents that the BMW dealer insisted they have prior to working on my bike. And with a solid plan to pick up my bike […]
With more than 10,000 miles since I replaced my sprocket and chain, my mind drifted back several months ago when in August I was on the top of the world in Prudhoe Bay (Deadhorse) Alaska and then had that awful experience at the Anchorage BMW dealer. More than 10,000 miles and 3 months ago. Since […]
Our guide led us through small dirt paths through the overgrown jungle. As we trekked toward, rustling sounds and deep throated roars stopped us in our tracks. Craning my neck to the thick canopy of the rainforest a group of 4 or 5 howler monkeys swung from branch to branch. The foliage did a good […]
If I were to accept the US State Department’s briefings on the countries I’m traveling to, I’d likely stay home. […] Avoid close contact with children, including taking photographs, especially in rural areas. Such contact can be viewed with deep alarm and may provoke panic and violence. Rumors of foreigners stealing children to sell surface […]
I started to climb the road out of Pana toward Solola eager to gaze over the lake from the hilltop town and experience the road I missed when riding in the dark a couple nights back. But when I pulled into a lookout Sacha blasted up behind me and ripped off his helmet yelling, “there’s […]
I’d read about it in the guidebooks. Nearly everyone who’d been to Guatemala raved about it yet arriving in the dark last night I had no idea until I woke the next morning and gazed over this beautiful lake flanked by three ominous volcanoes. For two nights I stayed in Panajachel where I saw more […]
Some days things can go all wrong. Not that I’d throw the last couple days into the “bad day” bucket, but I might’ve preferred a different outcome. The plan was simple enough. Get an early start, ride with our new Chiapas friends (Hernon, Pancho, Roger and Chata) to Comitán where we’d have breakfast then make […]
I’ve been in Mexico for nearly five weeks. And as my time here winds down I thought I’d jot a few observations. You’d think with so much time in this great country that I’d have a good handle on the culture, language and geography. I’ve passed through cities and villages large and small. Feast my […]
Climbing into the hills outside Tuxtla Guiterrez I sense my long desire to wander the villages of Chiapas coming to realization. Women of all ages dressed in simple single colored garments with basic designs walk along the roadside carrying massive bundles of sticks on their backs. Using a similarly colored cloth the brunt of the […]
I warned him. And I reminded him as we went our separate ways before taking in the Todos Santos events of Dias de las Muertos, but somehow he forgot. Or let’s just say there was a communication breakdown. You see Sacha had some problems with his OxStar (sp?) motorcycle boots. The straps for the buckles […]
