9.23.2017 For some reason I guess I'm not destined to sleep much in Mexico. The little hotel in Comitan was great but a dang mosquito got in the room and I couldn't get it for anything. It landed in my ear canal randomly throughout the night, and some very late hotel arrivals came in, banging on the steel gate at some point in the night. I got even by opening my door in my underwear and staring at them. I was up and on the road by 8:30 after triple checking my passport, Mexic

9.24.2017 The day dawned early to the noise of tuk-tuks zipping down the narrow street outside. The previous day's ride had drained me more than I realized, so it was a bit later when I ventured out of the room into a brief few moments of sunshine. The wet streets were active with vendors and traffic as I wandered towards the lake looking for coffee. Five minutes of sunshine! At the waterfront, the volcanoes were shrouded in white but the lake was beautiful, reminiscent of th

9.25.2017 The rain was much less today, confirmed by a few rays of sunshine which only seem to appear about 11 in the morning. Of course, I'm here in the final couple of months of rainy season but it doesn't dampen my experience. Pun intended nyuk nyuk. More street explorations and encounters. The ladies selling blankets and wraps here are even more tenacious than in Mexico. Young and old, they ask your name and call you a friend despite repeated "no gracias" only to switch t

9.26.2017 Where else can a 60 mile trip on a "main" road take 4 hours, cross a mudslide, then boulders and rubble across the road up high in the mountains, while dodging 999,999 potholes in rains and clouds, and then a river crossing because the bridge was washed away??? Guatemala! Okay, since the maps indicated roughly 60 miles and a two hour ride from Panajachel to Antigua, I took my time loading the bike, taking pics with the hotel staff of giggling girls and guys wanting

9.27.2017 My lodging, Casa Elena in Antigua, turned out to be a beautiful, relaxing bed and breakfast, and the owners Harvey and Diane are awesome folks. I was treated to a fantastic dinner at their hands and enjoyed hearing stories of their international travels. Harvey is a BMW MOA ambassador and a wealth of information. In fact, they were leaving the next morning to fly back to Vermont to pick up a new F800GS Adventure to ride back to Guatemala on a leisurely trip south. J

9.28.2017 So the French Canadian couple who'd been robbed at Lago Atitlan had arrived while I was walking around the town. Christine and Jules were very friendly but definitely shaken from the experience. They had left the little town of San Pedro on the south side of the lake on the way to El Salvador, when two men wearing black masks and hoodies ran out on the road in front of them with guns. They stopped and the guns were put to their heads while the robbers searched their

10.03.2017 My time in Antigua was a lot of fun, ending up relaxing a few days longer than expected. I enjoyed spending time with my new friends from Canada and while they are waiting for paperwork I decided to escape Antigua for a couple of days. The time at Casa Elena was great, relaxing and a lot of fun. The combination of belching diesel chicken buses, enclosed streets and residual volcanic ash, combined with the constant rains and moisture, did a hellacious number on my s

10.04.2017 I woke up to a sunny day and a beautiful view of the river from my room. The sun was out and the intense humidity was already uncomfortable when I went to load the bike. I'd intended to go to the Mayan ruins of Tikal, but after the long previous day in the intense heat I decided I'd had enough of humidity and rain. Tropical storm Nate was already dumping on the region and none of my gear, clothes or shoes have been dry for weeks. Charlie had arrived at Casa Elena,