Quit our jobs, sold our home, gone riding...

Great points about travel fatigue. Many of us who have travelled extensively on business experience the same problems. Maybe on a different scale, but even living out of a suitcase in one or more motel rooms for a month at a time really drags on you. Personally, after 3 weeks of nothing but restaurant food, I start getting edgy.

I can really appreciate your travel experiences and reaction to them. I am all in favour of setting up base in a place for a while and exploring the country form there, it makes for a much more rewarding experience by giving you time to try things that you would otherwise not have the time to. I think you've found the right formula.

Neda and Gene, you guys are amazing! I really like the way you guys adapt your plans so fluidly to your physical and mental state. I can totally relate to your quote below. Travel can be really tiring and sometimes you just need to stop. In so many ride reports it seems that the riders become slaves to the journey and just keep pushing themselves on, sometimes to their detriment. Your extended stays in the little towns where you guys seem to adapt so well to the local rhythm of life are refreshing. Almost reminiscent of a Hemingway novel minus the heavy drinking and womanizing


"It is so amazing having a home-base to dump all our stuff in and just relax without having to worry about foraging for food and shelter. Stocking up the fridge means not having to grocery shop everyday, and with a hot stove, spices and cookware, we're able to make meals that were not possible while we were on the road. Being nomadic is a great lifestyle for us, but we still need some kind of sedentary life to balance the intensity of all the new things we're seeing and experiencing."

Yes, Neda stopped all of that a lot time ago...

Neda was a heavy drinker & womaniser? :huh

Oh, now I get it

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/110.html



After a restful two days at Mil Amores, we are ready to hit the road once again, heading south through the Guatemalan Highlands, rolling through the smooth pavement switching back up and down the mountains. Along the way we pass small towns and even smaller villages.


Pausing in traffic to window shop at the roadside tiendas (stalls) selling food and refreshments


What's the holdup?

We tiptoe on the dirt shoulder, past a lineup of stopped chicken buses. Passengers are grabbing their belongings off the buses and abandoning them, walking further ahead. There is lots of confusion at the roadblock, drivers and pedestrians give us conflicting information: "You can't pass, turn back!", "Take this stony road that goes into the jungle to get to the otherside".


When we get past the front, we see the road has fallen away into the valley below. Oops.

In the end, we followed another biker as he pushed his way past people on the sidewalk. That turned out to be the correct call and we're back on the road again, leaving the stranded trucks and chicken buses fuming impatiently on the other side!

Ah, the pitfalls (literally) of riding through the Guatemalan winter.


Passing through colourful, mystical arches

My bike is not doing well with the regular gas I am feeding her. Lots of engine pinging in the low revs while climbing up the hills in the past few days, and I have to keep the revs high in order to keep her from complaining too loudly. As we near our destination of Panajachel, I treat her with some premium drink. I glance at the bill and shake my head - she's dining a lot better than I am.

Perhaps she goes back on a diet when we reach flatter terrain. Her and I, both!


Panajachel, down by Lake Atitlan

We checked into the same hostel that we stayed in the first time, the one with the parrot security guard. I had a little conversation with our feathered friend. I've provided some subtitles.


Bloody bird speaks more Spanish than I do. FML.

It's very interesting walking around Pana almost 6 months since the last time we visited. We are really getting to see this place and the country in two different seasons. The streets are bare of tourists and the late morning sky already darkens with imminent rain clouds every day, obscuring the tops of the volcanoes surrounding Lake Atitlan.


We take a day-trip by water-taxi to San Marcos, on the other side of the lake

Part of the reason why we are staying a couple of days in Panajachel is because this was the last place we were before we had to abandon our leisurely pace to rush through Central America. We missed out on all the little Mayan towns and villages dotting the shores of Lake Atitlan, some of which are only accessible by water because of the volcanoes surrounding the lake.


Some really swanky digs built along the shores and slopes of the mountains surrounding Lake Atitlan


Big business along the shores of the lake

There is a public ferry that shuttles travelers from town to town on the lake, it only costs Q25 (about $3). However, private boats offer faster, more direct service for a higher fee. We watched as they filled their seats with their sales pitches to impatient tourists. One well-dressed Frenchman dished out Q200 ($25). He sat in the boat and waited angrily as the captain kept lowering his price to fill all the seats on the boat. Other tourists bargained down to Q100 ($13). We waited till the very last minute before the public ferry was to arrive and scored seats for Q50 ($6) each!

The French guy was livid!


Walking around "downtown" San Marcos

San Marcos is a very small Mayan village where yoga retreats and alternative medicine centres have inexplicably sprung up. It felt weird walking the narrow dirt paths between closely packed buildings offering gourmet health food and boutique hotels, squeezing past western women in Lululemon yoga gear, sweaty from a morning session of Downward Dirty Dogs and Cameltoe Poses.


Sanity returned as we left the Dharma Initiative complex

Outside the Fruity Yoga centre, we spent more time strolling through the real San Marcos. Children had just broke from school and were running and playing in the streets. We got quite a workout walking up and down the very steep hills of the town, peeking into buildings to get a glimpse of what life is like here.


The higher we got, the better view we got of the lake


Public ferry back to Panajachel

We thought we did so well negotiating with the private boat. We found out that the actual public ferry didn't take much longer and it was exactly the same kind of boat, but this one had a roof. It docked at another site just outside of Panajachel and cost Q20, not Q25! This was what the locals took! Those private boats were making a killing!


Tight, but scenic exit from our hostel parking spot
No flowers were hurt leaving Panajachel

This was a great week-long road trip touring around the Guatemalan mountains, some entertaining dual-sport roads and lots of tight, twisty asphalt. There are a couple of ways to get back to Antigua, the main PanAmerican highway, and shorter way that looked pretty good on the GPS - lots of switchbacks and more mountainous scenery. We asked a local on the way out which was better. He said the "shortcut" was less time, but was less "secure" (seguridad).

Less secure, like in bandits? We didn't quite understand. But seeing how it was the middle of the day, we thought we'd chance it. So off we went...


This is what "less secure" means. We rode though broken roads, some washed completely away.
Neda is testing to see where the lowest point in the river was to cross.


Aiming the bike, ready to point and shoot

Married couples often develop an understanding of the things they say to each other, and the things they really mean. Here is an example:

Neda: You go first.
Translation: (You go first so if you fall, I know where not to go.)

Gene: Yes, dear.
Translation: (Yes, dear.)


Guatemalan Bike Wash


A local helps direct Neda through the water crossing

Few bits of info you may or may not want:

1) Octane is required more at lower elevation. You were riding quite high and still had issues. As you mentioned, reducing load is key (higher RPM). Doesn't the BMW have a switch to run lower octane? Or is that just the KTM 990? (not rubbing it in, seriously don't know)

2) Don't stop just before a water crossing. The "flow" you get from riding is ruined and often upsets you when normally it wouldn't if you rolled into it. This is more prevalent with offroad riding when riders stop at logs, hill climbs, and water crossings. Always turns out for the worse. If you have to stop (to check depth, etc) stop further back so you can get comfy before getting technical. It's also always shallowest closest to the "break".

I crossed that same river. It wasn't much more of than a small stream when I did. Nice to see how things differently!

Thanks for the update!

Loved the comment about the Yoga people. haha. Had me laughing with the cameltoe...

The R1200GS has a knock sensor, which will adjust to lower octane fuel. However, the steep hills needed to be attacked at a lower gear/higher revs than what could be run at with higher octane fuel.

Try adding some of the local moonshine to boost the octane

Gene,
I have a '96 GSA 1100 and love it ( had it since '96). I find the stock seat less than ideal for a few reasons. One of them is that that it allows me to slide forward more than having me just resting on my "laurels". With your comments about camel-toe (or "moose-knuckle", as we are Canadian men...), I realize that I now have some solutions to the "forward slip and compaction" process.

Which do you recommend.....more yoga, Lulu Lemon riding pants, or standing on the pegs more ?

Those two sentences don't compute. But I think if your riding partner is female, definitely recommend yoga riding pants for her. Then you can pretend to do yoga in the back of the class while... oh wait, wrong thread...

Gene, Thanks....I needed some direction with this....uh...."pressing" problem.

Be safe out there, you two.....many folks are riding vicariously with you.

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/111.html



We're itching to be on the move again. After a few months of staycations, vacations and road trips around Guatemala, we are finally packing up everything and resuming our nomadic journey. However, circumstances dictated that we stay just a few days longer in Antigua while waiting for Neda's new rear tire to get shipped from the US. So we went out and wandered the streets for awhile.


Parade in the streets celebrating the Benediction of San Francisco


OMG! So cute!


Hiked up to the top of Cerro de la Cruz, a large hill overlooking Antigua

It's quite an experience being here in the off-season. Normally the view from Cerro de la Cruz in the summer is clear and you can see the cross against the backdrop of volcanoes unhampered by fogs or clouds, but I kind of like being in the town when there are less tourists. We've been here long enough that we're kind of semi-locals, and we've made enough friends here to consider making Antigua a home if we ever chose to settle down.


Such a cool place to play a volleyball game!


Selling flowers on the streets of Antigua

And then finally, we get the call. Neda's rear tire is ready for pickup in Guatemala City. It's just a quick trip to the BMW dealership to get it mounted. While we were waiting, I was fawning all over the new R1200GS. This new model is now liquid-cooled. Because I drooled all over it...


The receptionist behind me is calling Security


Back in Antigua, Neda is facing a packing problem. Brought too much stuff back from Toronto...

Finally, we are off! New rear tires, new batteries, new supplies, new clothes. We felt reinvigorated! And much heavier! As we rode south from the mountains of Guatemala, the temperature soared and it got much more humid. We had not seen 30C on the thermometer for quite some time.


Around scenic Lake Amatitlan, we pass the Guatemalan pole vault team


Apparently Gus Fring was working in another store today

I've seen this fast food chicken chain, Pollo Campero, all over Guatemala and every time I see the logo, I think of Breaking Bad, which is our favorite TV show. So in dedication to the series finale this Sunday, we stop and eat at one in Santa Rosa, just before we cross the border. The chicken is actually very delicious!

My diet starts next week...


Pollo Campero... Los Pollos Hermanos... Similarity?

After lunch, the skies darkened considerably to signal the inevitable early afternoon rains. I tapped on my communicator to let Neda know we should put on our rainsuits. She told me, "I'm too hot. You go ahead. I'll put mine on right before it rains...". I crawled into my rainsuit in silence, while she sat on her bike waiting for me.

Not five minutes later, the skies opened up a ferocious thunderstorm on top of our heads, complete with a frighteningly close lightning show. There was no room to stop on the narrow, curving road and I could see Neda's riding suit getting completely soaked. By the time she could find a straightaway to pull off to put her rainsuit on, she was drenched all the way to the bone.


Even with the communicator off, I could see lots of head-shaking and hear cussing. I already had my rainsuit on, so being being a bit bored I took some pictures...

There are some perfect "I-Told-You-So" moments that happen once in a while. But you know that saying those words out loud just reduces you to a petty and small person, even though every fibre and muscle in your body just wants to yell it out.

So I tapped on my communicator and smugly proclaimed, "Told ya so". Then I turned the communicator off... *kikiki*


At the border, the guard inspects my passport... "Senor Lambert? De New Hampshire...?"
"Si. I am the one who knocks." No wait, that's my engine again...

The Guatemala/El Salvador border crossing is dead easy. Just hand over a few photocopies of your documents and you're through. We've crossed several Central America borders now and we know the process intimately: stamp yourself and your bikes out of one country, stamp yourself and your bikes into the next country. Unfortunately, the Salvadorean Aduana (customs) computer was down and we had to wait to import our bikes in.

This *exact* same thing happened the last time we entered El Salvador 6 months ago! At a different crossing as well! Something tells me this happens all the time... So, we waited four hours for the computer to come back up. Being bored, I took more pictures.


Neda's bike waits patiently. The bridge to Guatemala in the background


Sun sets and we are still waiting like everyone else for the Aduana computers to come back online

Finally, the computers come back up and it's a very short wait to get the bikes imported into the country. I am a bit wary about riding in the dark, mainly because of road conditions and animals, but partly because of security. Our last run through El Salvador had us stopping just outside San Salvador and checking into a skanky "Love Motel". The owner back then told us not to leave the premises after sunset because it was too dangerous.

However, riding through this part of the country, past nice neighbourhoods and lots of people walking on the streets, I got a much better feeling this time through. You always feel safer when there are parents and children walking around past sunset.


Rolled our bikes into the courtyard of our casa

Just 15 kms away from the border, we rolled into the very pretty town of Ahuachapan. We knocked on the doors of a couple of casas and found one not too far from the main plaza.


Plenty of people hanging out in the main plaza in Ahuachapan, as we walk around trying to find dinner


Tuco's Grill


In the morning, we strolled around town. Tuk tuk cruise the streets, mountains of El Salvador in the distance


Not one whole day in town and we found ourselves a favorite restaurant. Had two meals here already!


All the buildings around the main plaza were decorated in these fun murals


Lots of kids and parents/grandparents everywhere in town. It felt like a great family environment, very welcoming

Neda brought up the point that the people here are very friendly. There's always a "Buenos Dias" being exchanged whenever anyone passes each other on the streets. Although the Guatemalans are nice people, they are not overly friendly, and the last time we saw such an open display of welcome towards strangers was in Mexico. It felt really nice.

What a difference from the last time we breezed through this country on the PanAmerican Highway. I am so glad we are taking the time now to experience it properly.


Lunch break in the Parque Centrale


Even the street signs are fun!


These guys look like they are part of the mural, sitting against the fence! :)

Your captions are too funny Gene!!

This is a picture of award-winning quality dude!!!

I love the way you two always seem to find it easy to smile your way through everything, keep up the good spirit!!

You do seem in good spirits, and the pictures and commentary are constantly improving and both very, very good.

Had a few more chuckles with the BB discussion. At the time I was wondering if you were going to expand on that.

This Sunday will be great!

Forget about bandits or wild animals on the road.... this right here is what’s known as living dangerously mate.

It was great meeting you guys here in Antigua !
Ride safe y hasta la proxima

Thanks, looks like fun!

Looks like an amazing town... !

Thanks for another engaging update on our vicarious journey! I don't recall if you've mentioned any warnings about taking photos at Aduanas. I've been warned and I've been present when others have been "caught" and it was taken quite seriously.