Dec 2, Limones , Guatemala to Tecpan , Guatemala – 200km on Ca 1

This was the younger portion of a really nice family from Texas .

Yesterday was a rough day. I spent the bulk of my 10 hour day sitting in roadblocks and not making any progress down the road.

Today would be more of the same. Construction on mountain passes would block traffic for miles in both directions. At one point after watching dump truck after dump truck slowly dump its contents the whole gigantic line of cars started to honk their horns all at once. I was honking too and it was a brief moment of mirth in a long shitty day, where again, I made little progress while putting in a full day. I was the opposite of happy today. After all of the hold ups I eventually made it high enough up in altitude that I ran into big wet cloud. Today I found out that the crotch of my riding pants had a large jagged rip in the liner. After about half an hour I am sitting in cold water. Even less happy, now.

That night I treated myself to a nice hotel room for $30. It had hot water and internet. I deserved it. And I just wanted off of the road.

Dec 3, Tecpan , Guatemala to Antigua , Guatemala – 200km on Ca 1

I slept in on this morning on my nice big, warm, bed. It had clean sheets as well. It was glorious.

I was on my way passed Guatemala City when I spotted a brand new KTM 990 Adventure S. The bike had bags on it so I pulled over to meet a fellow traveller.

It turns out that the bike belonged to a local couple that was heading into Antigua for the weekend. They bought me some empanadas and we talked about my trip for a little while. They talked me into riding into Antigua (it wasn’t that hard to persuade me) with them and getting my bike looked at in Guatemala City .

Alvero was the Latin American Enduro Champion eight years ago.

Alvero and his wonderful wife

We got into town and zig-zagged our way through the crowded cobblestone streets. Alvero’s wife would hop off of their bike to get prices for me at some of the hostels downtown. She was so helpful. After a few that were a little too rich for my blood, she found one that was in my price range. I was excited once I checked the place out. Meanwhile they were looking at me like, “Are you sure?” I love hostels.

Hostels are the only way to go when you are travelling alone. I’m alone in my helmet all day. If I stay in a motel then I’m alone all night as well. It can suck sometimes. Hostels provide access to other travellers for camaraderie and information about places to see or places to skip up ahead. Hostels usually provide easy access to internet, books to trade, cheap laundry, and cheap food. Sometimes they can also provide you with a cute puppy named Rex to play with.

Rex

I checked into The Umma Gumma Hostel and parked the bike. Alvero and his wife treated me to some traditional Guatemalan food. The food was great. It was like a buffet where people dished up your choices for you. We drank Michelados (I’m sure I spelled that wrong) which are a great mix of tomato juice, beer, lime juice, hot sauce and pepper. It is a very refreshing drink.

About midway through our meal on the second floor the earth started to shake. It didn’t tremble… It shook, violently. This was my first earthquake. Afterwards I wished that I was standing on the ground when it happened, so it would have felt more surreal. In order to communicate the severity of the quake let me just say that, people were screaming and running down the restaurant stairs, seemingly for their lives. I think that they might have over reacted. We just looked at each other and waited for it to stop. Then we continued eating.

The town square in Antigua

Dec 4, Antigua , Guatemala

I drove into Guatemala City today to get some work done on my bike before the warranty ran out.

The city had some good sections and some horrible sections. Like any city all over the world.

It took me awhile but I found the BMW dealer. It turns out that they won’t honor an American warranty after its first year of issue. No big deal, Jennifer, who works for BMW, tells me that they will go easy on me. I leave the bike and they pay for a cab ride back to Antigua .

On my way out of the BMW dealer I meet an Austrian couple riding down to Ushuaia, from Alaska . He is on an 1150GS like mine and she is on a 650GS. They were really nice and we exchanged contact info.

Things are good. The bike is being worked on in the morning. I have a great place to stay for very little money. I am really happy to have met Alvero and his wife. It is these little interactions that totally change a trip for the better.

Dec 5, Antigua , Guatemala

I picked the bike up in the afternoon. It runs great, all the power is back and it is as smooth as a baby’s bottom.

The guys at BMW did one thing that got my panties in a bunch. They cleaned my bike! No seriously it was very nice of them to clean it, but, I wished they had asked me first. They didn’t just clean my bike, they must have pressure washed it. I have never seen it so clean. I’m trying to keep the bike looking a little more run in and older by leaving it dirty.

That night Saul, Marco, and I went out to some clubs. Saul owns the Hostel and Marco is part owner of the bar inside the hostel. They are really nice guys and we had a blast out at the bars drinking the local ale. I’ll stop by and see them on the way home for sure.

Dec 6, Antigua , Guatemala to Cruz Commercial, El Salvador – 300km

When I stay places for a long time I tend to spread my things out a bit. It usually takes me awhile to get packed and ready. Basically I got a late start.

Saul and Marco

A couple of mighty, active volcanoes outside of Antigua

I had a beautiful and non-eventful ride to the El Salvador border.

At every border there are tramitadores (these are men and children who haunt the border looking for gringos that need help getting through the paperwork nightmare of leaving one country and entering the next). I know that everyone needs to make a living. But these guys drive me absolutely nuts.

When you are just pulling up to the outside of immigration, the tramitadores swarm you. They try and tell you where to park when you are already parking, directing you with some dirty rag, trying to curry the gringos favor . Another species of border parasite are the money changers. They will change money for you at a horrible rate that they swear is fair and they are just trying to help you out. At this point you have to go with your gut and pick one person, usually the healthiest looking of the litter. After you have picked your man/boy the others hit the bricks. Then to get rid of the money changers you have to pick one and tell them that if you need to change money then we can talk later. Any and all of them no matter what species will happily stab one of his colleagues in the back (figuratively) in order to, again, curry gringo favour. Gringo favor meaning money.

So when you pull up, before you can get the kickstand down or your helmet off, there can be up to seven tramitadores and seven money changers right next to you, often times touching you or the bike. All of the assembled crowd loudly pleading that they are your friend and that they just want to help. Once you know the game it can be a lot of fun to mess with them. In the midst of one of these mobs my friend Isaac points behind all of them and states in Spanish,”Look, other Gringos!” They all turn their heads at once. Isaac and I crack up. They turn back around, shake there heads and smile, busted!

When starting out on the Pan-American Highway , heading South, with border after border through Central America , you need these guys until you get your feet wet. Then you can go it alone and then you can tell these guys to get lost. A necessary evil, in the beginning.

About halfway through the process of going through the Guatemala/El Salvador border I meet Isaac. My tramitadore cut in front of his tramitadore in line. It turns out that the VIN number on my permit is wrong. We exchange frustrated looks and after all is said and done we leave the Guatemalan side of the border and head to the El Salvador side.

We make it through with no problems.

It’s getting dark so we have to settle for the first town we come too, as well as the first hotel. When the proprietor of this lovely establishment hands me a towel and the keys, she also sheepishly hands me a mostly empty bottle of Raid

I hope I sleep with my mouth closed tonight

Isaac and I shot the shit for a couple of hours. We would ride together until Panama . Once in Panama , Isaac wanted to take a boat to Colombia and I wanted to try to get on a boat to Ecuador .