Americas Trip 2006 - 2007

I was continuing down the coast and was anxious to cross the border to start my 'southern tier' of my journeyI stopped in Fort Bragg, CA where I met a guy at a gas station who soon offered me free camping on his front lawn right on the coast. I had dinner with the family and we watched a movie together. It was a little weird to be suddenly in such a domestic setting. The camping was excellent, however.

Game on!!! I start the trip again on Dec 19. It has been a busy couple of weeks of preparations.The bike needed a lot of work. Fortunately, I had a lot of help.
My Jesse luggage must be left behind, however.

I owe a lot to the people at Alpine Physical Therapy.

I am still in Baja because of engine problems.I was all packed up and ready to get on the ferry for Mazatlan, but the bike didn't want to go. It refused to start. Luckily, a friend was there with his pickup truck and we hauled the bike to his aunt's restaurant/cabana in Cabo Pulmo for the holiday. We'll check in at the BMW dealer when they open on Jan 4.

I finally got my act together and was on the road again. The bike was heavy, shifting hurt, and getting on and off the bike was downright painful. But, it is a great feeling to ride out in the morning and leave everything behind.My last breakfast in the U.S. I told the waitress it would be my last good meal for a long time, but I was totally wrong.

Mama Espinosa`s in El Rosairo has been serving great food to travelers before Route 1 was paved.

Previously a broken leg stopped me from making it through Baja, but this time the motorcycle didn`t want to get of the ferry for Mazatlan. It turned into another adventure. My friend George was coming down to Baja Sur to help his aunt who has restaurant in Cabo Pulmo. As it turned out I was very lucky he came to see me off because the morning I was to get on the ferry the bike would not start.

Guess it just doesn`t want to leave. Good thing George was there.

There was a BMW dealer in Cabo San Lucas but they were closed until Jan 2. We just missed getting the last free tickets for Sammy Haggar`s New Year`s concert party.

We had a fun New Year`s party. George can really play that banjo.

I finally got to ride George`s new toy, but I still get freaked out by sand.

I had to go north first but I was finally riding down the Mexican coast.I spent the morning in Topoblampo where the port is a dolpin sanctuary. There is not much in the port anymore, although there are plans for a new marina and fancy hotels. (I would hear this story in almost every coastal town along the way.) In addition, the big tuna factory was shut down because the U.S. is boycotting Mexican tuna because of they are not dolphin safe.

I had been told to go back to San Diego to have my bike repaired, but there was no way I was going to do that. I couldn`t get on the ferry for Matazlan so I took the one for Topoblampo just to get out of Baja.I arrived in La Paz and approached the same sales women at the Baja Ferries office and asked to change the date of my ticket. After what seemed like 20 minutes of her looking at the computer screen she told me there were no beds on the Matazlan ferry. Furthermore the next ferry for Matazlan was on Tuesday-- another three days. I couldn`t believe it but just had to get out of Baja.

I enjoyed Mexico for a few days before continuing down the coast on Route 200 or the Dead Dog Alley as I now call it.
The small town of San Blas turned out to be such a very nice little town that I stayed for a few days.

I had enough of the heat and road dogs of the coast and changed course for the mountains of Central Mexico where there was also a recommended Spanish school in the UNESCO world heritage city of Morelia.
The change in climate did not take long.

I would have liked to stay in Morelia longer, but had to move on. First it was to Toluca for a new battery and then I started heading south.
It was a long boring drive from Morelia to Toluca, and almost couldn´t get out of downtown Toluca but soon enough I found the BMW dealer.

Convinced my many Mexicans that Veracruz was worth seeing. I continued east for the coast. Veracruz was a bit disappointing and turned out to be rather expensive. So, it was then off to Chiapas would not disappoint.You´re are greeted by a military checkpoint upon crossing into the state of Chiapas from Tabasco. Every town had police roaming around with machine guns, the topes where the worst yet– both in number and in size, and the scenary was much more lush, green and mountainous. It was also extremely humid.

Continuing east through central Mexico I stopped in Puelbla, a town of which I have been told much from my friends in New York.Crossing central Mexico was a pleasure compared to going down the coast, except for the expensive tolls.

There is a different atmosphere in Chiapas. Outside of the main tourist attractions there seems to be a lot of tension in the air.

San Cristobal is a picturesque city, but it is overrun by tourists and stores selling jade jewlery.

One day was enough for me and I continued south for Guatemala.

I didn't want to spend too much time in Guatemala because I had visited the main attractions previously. However, I met two other riders who let me tag along and I was tired of riding alone.

Lake Atitlan deserves all the praise it gets but it seems to attract the ecceltic. A lot of people who want to believe the 60s never ended have made their home here.

The border crossing into El Salvador was painless but the ride to Santa Ana took longer than planned because we missed a turn and ended up riding through the mountains in the dark.The ride to Santa Ana was a pleasant surprise although we had to keep moving because it was getting dark. We rode through some beautiful scenery and a crater lake. We finally got back on the main highway and into Santa Ana. However, the search for a hotel in Santa Ana was another couple of hours. Exhausted, we finally stopped at a 'love' hotel for the night.