We arrive in Cartagena the day Colombia elects Juan Manuel Santos in the 2010 election. The event translates into a closed DIAN (customs) office and means offloading the bikes will wait. To pass the time I head to Casa Mara with a few of my Stahlratte shipmates to wage war on some cuba libres, a […]
The Pan-American Highway ends in Panama and if you want to ride to South America you need to contend with the logistics of the Darien Gap. The ~100 mile strip of undeveloped mountain rainforest and swamplands make it virtually impassible by motor vehicle. That leaves flying and sailing as available transport options for moto riders […]
I’m trying to figure out why the soldier is not responding helpfully to my queries for the location of the Rio Soreno border crossing. He asks for my papers and is visibly flustered as he flips through my passport. His fatigues don’t look like anything I’ve seen in Costa Rica. I crashed hard on a […]
I’m scheduled to set sail from Carti in less than two weeks and still in Nicaragua. Not especially good since I’m in no particular mood to leave San Juan del Sur. I didn’t want to leave Leon either but somehow managed to throw my leg over the bike and point it south. My hastened pace […]
I wish I could say something poetic about Palenque and its history but I struggle to get my head around the significance of the Mayan people who lived there during its day. A cursory glance at their society reveals a seemingly barbaric time with little by way of creature comforts but a closer look exposes […]
It’s raining most days now as I ride further south so I try to schedule my activities around the certain afternoon showers. The next segment of my trek takes me from the highlands of Oaxaca to the highlands of San Cristobal. The ~400 mile stretch of road connecting the cities of Oaxaca and San Cris […]
Points of Interest: Guanajuato, Patzcuaro, Taxco Coincidentally I’m traveling through the heart of Mexico during the 2010 World Cup. Like many Americans my age I had little exposure to the sport growing up and I’d be hard pressed to name one player on the US soccer team. I do however enjoy team sports and I […]
Zacatecas takes its name from the Aztec name given to the grass abundant in the region. History of the region’s settlement prior to the Conquistadors is uncertain and accounts vary. The general consensus is the Zacatecos were part of the semi-nomadic indigenous tribes of the Chichimecan peoples who inhabited the region. Evidence suggests the Chichimecan […]
The combination of not working, perfect weather, and hanging out with friends were making it difficult to embark on this trip. Placing life on hold was more taxing than I expected and second thoughts began to creep into my consciousness. I needed to get on the road. Phoenix is less than 200 miles from the […]
