10.07.2017 Copán and the ruins have been a nice surprise. The little town has had some great little surprises and despite a few fears from the general warnings of how dangerous Honduras is, it quickly dissipated with the warmth and friendly smiles. Of course, Copán is considered a "safe" area being a tourist town. That said, my timing for arrival couldn't have been worse, as apparently Honduras decided to combine all their individual holidays into one week so that people had

10.09.2017 Well today was relatively easy! The roads were very good with only 5 miles here and there of potholes, but overalI the highway was great. I also found out the tollway sections are free for motorcycles, but you have to squeeze between the bar and I barely got through the two I encountered. I did notice more military presence than expected. Every couple of miles three or four soldiers were stationed, some up high observing the roadways. There were a number of police

10.10.2017 So I left this morning in a good mood, having slept well in the rustic hotel in Danli. It was a good place and a tiny bit rough about the edges but enjoyable - the staff and host were super nice. It was a warm day, but the breeze felt good on the bike as I rolled toward Las Manos, the "safe" crossing into Nicaragua I'd been told to use by the border official in Copán. I'd read up on it online and felt prepared to cross the next border, more so mentally than physica

10.11.2017 The rain was bombing heavy all night and I awoke at 6 am sharp to an intense siren. I waited for an earthquake or tornado but nothing happened. Maybe it was an old official wakeup alarm to call the workers to arise and work the farms for the glory of the revolution or something. Who knows. One other guest was up for breakfast, a guy who was touring cigar plantations with friends. He said he'd had a few GS's and I was crazy to be riding solo in Nicaragua. His crew a

10.13.2017 I didn't sleep well due to the heat of the city. I'd booked a hotel based on it having AC, but I discovered after checking in that the AC didn't actually work. I was told it was a power problem by the local utility, but I got the feeling the AC never really worked and realized I needed to add an additional question to my repertoire... so you have AC, but does it work? After a leisurely breakfast I wandered the streets. Granada has a good feeling. Overall it's as if

10.15.2017 The morning in Granada was spent taking a boat tour of "Las Isletas" again with the Three Amigos Canada. I'd planned to ride the bike down the coast and take the ferry across to Ometepe Island, formed by two volcanoes, however the weather prognosis wasn't good so I bailed and took the boat again to see the monkeys. It was a nice relaxing ride in the little boat. Comida Monkey spotting On our way back to the house we'd rented, the taxi drove through the lakeside par

10.16.2017 Our goal for the next day was San Juan del Sur, an oceanside town near the Costa Rican border and not too far away from Granada. We ended up staying in a great resort outside the little community. We spent a couple hours cooling in the pool waiting for official check-in, then cooled down in the AC and watched the rain. Later the three of us took a free shuttle to the sleepy downtown to meet up with some other travelers. At the bar, Adrian and Andrea from Germany we

10.17.2017 The next day was the border crossing from Nicaragua into Costa Rica, one we'd heard would be a bit easier than previous experiences. Leaving the air-conditioned room and stepping outside meant an instant drenching in sweat. Charlie, Jules and Christine Bas accompanied us and the Peñas Blancas crossing ended up being one of the worst. Getting out of Nicaragua was ridiculously difficult, as there was no real signage, many buses, an insanely ridiculous amount of peopl

10.19.2017 From La Fortuna, Maryna and Paul left early for Dominical on the southern coast, Adrian and Andrea headed out a different direction shortly after, then we took off for a hotel a little north of Dominical. We chose a longer route around the lake both to see what we'd missed coming in a couple days before and to skip the traffic near San Jose. As we dropped towards the coast it was brutally hot and humid, and though our ride wasn't difficult the heat really took its

10.22.2017 With the news of the Stahlratte delay, we discussed the options and decided to try and find a beach place in Costa Rica to kill a couple more days before crossing into Panama. Puerto Jimenez looked interesting and a side detour seemed appropriate since we were only a couple of hours from the Panama border. Singalong style The ride down was easy after our final French breakfast, but something didn't settle well and my stomach gave me fits on the way. It was probably

10.24.2017 The next morning we packed up and waited for Bas to arrive, rolling out about 9:30 for the border. Since our sailing date had been postponed, I decided to take a different route from the crew and head north to cross into Panama at Rio Sereno, a supposedly quiet crossing, then take a high mountain road to Volcán to meet up with relatives of my friends Scott and Amy, motorcyclists from San Antonio, whom I'd met in Teotihuacan. They were returning from Guatemala on a

10.28.2017 The two days with my new friends Randy and Paula felt great and was just what the doctor ordered. They treated me like royalty, carrying me around on a pillow. Well, they would have if they could have picked me up. Seriously though it was great and a well needed mental break. Paula and Randy, love you guys and thanks so much! The rear tire seemed to be holding the air pressure and I headed out of the Volcán area for Santiago, in case there were more tire issues and

11.02.2017 The clear night sky was filled with stars and a bright moon as we sat on the rooftop looking out over the skyline of Panama City. In between stories, my new German friend pulled deeply on his cigar in thoughts. Peter was In his 70's and riding his motorcycle to the tip of South America, having spent much time traveling the world as the former director of Interpol and Europol. His stories and information on the current state of affairs were fascinating. Next to him

11.03.2017 The morning of departure for the sailing finally came. We left at 6 am as a group, taking side roads to avoid the tollways out of town heading for Puerto Carti and the 105 year old Stahlratte sailing ship. For those unfamiliar with getting to South America, the border of Panama and Colombia is a region known as the Darien Gap. There are no roads through it, as it is an indigenous jungle region, almost impenetrable and occupied by native tribes, drug cartel operativ

11.07.2017 Morning came too early, but we had breakfast and soon saw the Stahlratte chugging its way towards the island. We boarded by launch and were on our way for a 3 hour sail to a small island where the afternoon was spent swimming and playing in the water. Just the short trip on calm waters had a few people turning grey-green and reaching for Gravol or Dramamine. Adrian, an engineer for BMW Motorrad in Germany Charlie said it handled like the 1200GS Not too shabby... Th

11.11.2017 Though a major shipping port and large city, the old section of Cartagena is one of the prettier places I've been. The architecture and people were a real pleasure, marred only by the intense heat. After 2 solid months in riding gear with 90's and 100% humidity, we'd all reached the end of our tolerance. The final night, Carnaval was ramping up and the excitement and energy was a fun experience. The streets in the old section were packed with costumed dancers and h

11.13.2017 Riding in Colombia has been interesting and having to readjust to the distances of a large country versus those of Central America has led to a few 8+ hour days on the bike in a row. Mind you, it’s not like riding the interstates in the US. The drivers, roads, endless speed bumps and checkpoints make for a long day of intense focus and concentration. No matter how you try or what you think, there are crazy moments and random delays on the roads. And then there’s ra

11.15.2017 The next morning my plan was to head for Villa De Leyva, a place I wanted to visit before going south for the Catedral de Sal and to Bogota for the Gold Museum. I punched in Villa De Leyva on the Garmin, which said it didn't exist. After several tries I cursed the Garmin and pulled out my phone for real information. I found it and plugged the coordinates into the GPS and took off. It rained again and the roads were slick, varied from excellent to pothole hell, all

11.18.2017 Though I've been on the road only eleven weeks it sometimes feels like a year already. Due to some circumstances beyond my control, I've been in large, hot, humid cities far too long. Nine days in Panama City, Cartagena for six and then coastal cities such as Santa Marta and Riohacha, then Bogota by accident thanks to Garmin, but I finally broke free and landed in Villa de Leyva in the rain, a small colonial town, beautiful, tranquil and clean. The region is a dair

11.21.2017 From Puerto Berrio I was heading to Guatapé, the small town near La Piedra de Peñol, a massive stone monolith with a 749 step staircase to the top. Christine and Jules had been there and our paths would cross as I would arrive and they were leaving the next day. The bike had been unmolested during the night and I loaded up and grabbed a donut and coffee from a vendor on the corner as I hit the road. Garmin, Google, Maps.me and Sygic all showed the routes and indica