South America and back on a 250 Super Sherpa Minimalist Adventure

Hey Bryce,

Do you remember riding from Ahuachapan to San Salvador? It seems like so long ago. Splitting lanes through the heavy backed up traffic and then suddenly seeing you had cut over to the unpaved road construction on the other side of the cones and saying to myself, "dayum, so that's how the marines get ahead."

Can we agree that our El Salvador patron saints Mario and Fernanda are the best ambassadors of ADVriders? That was so fun getting buzzed by a bat (holy shit) in the middle of the night at their coffee finca.

Hope to see you down the road amigo. What you did for Edzactamundo will always remind me why I love ADVrider.

You will always be aces in my book. Still have the Bissinger sig on my tank:




Your ADVpal,
Tio Juan

good to see you back down south...happy ADVing

Hey rtwpaul,

You stud. I can't tell you how much I appreciate all the great advice you gave me last year.

You rock. I met so many nice folks at Matilda's surf camp in Nicaragua thanks to you.



I can't believe I left that place.

Anyway, thanks so much to your ride report and great recommendations.

My only way of repaying you is by entertaining you this winter with stories and images of the roads less travelled until you hit the road on your next adventure.

Saludos,
Juan Matilda

likewise on Matildas, i could have just stayed there... permanently

look forward to reading more of your travels while i sit doing more and more research and building my fund for my upcoming RTW thru South Korea, Russia (RoB, BAM) mongolia, stans, europe and US trip next year, leaving probably around same time you'll be taking your break...May '14

...say hello to the all Colombian lovelies for me and tell them i miss them all

I might just be getting used to this seat. My last couple hour long rides weren't too bad.

Maybe seat concepts do make custom embroidery ;-)

Waiting impatiently for the adventure to start again.

Saludos from Poland.

Wysłane z mojego GT-I9300 przy użyciu Tapatalka

Been waiting for this all summer . Thanks so much! Let us know if you need anything down the road. We're here!

Best,
Gene

John, I'm glad you're back on the road, and I want to make another donation to the cause--are we still using the same paypal address as last year? I found it in my history, but want to make sure it is still current.

Thanks for riding for me,
Colin

Of course I remember that day! I was frustrated that I couldn't keep up with you on that tiny 250 so I had to improvise, adapt, and overcome......i.e. cheat to get ahead!

And Mario and Fernanda are incredible! That's still one of my best memories of the trip!

Glad to see the signature is still on the tank. Hope I can buy you some gas soon to keep it full! Good luck brother! Keep on rolling (and writing)!

Hi Colin,

It is still current.

Last year I was riding on a shoestring and a prayer. This year is different. I have plenty of money to last until next spring barring some catastrophe. I would rather you put your money into your own trip fund and meet me down here.

Thanks for your kind thoughts though.

Not much to report today. I have been studying Spanish all day. Found www.duolingo.com and couldn't stop. They game-ified language learning and once I started I kept having to get more points and level up. As a result my brain is mush this evening.

Saludos,
Juan Español Estudiante

Hi John,

Sounds good. I wish I could mosey down your way, but I'm headed to India for a few weeks in January on a non-riding trip, so I'll re-allocate money in that direction. Safe riding.

Colin

Just got back from dinner with my new friend Jonathan from the Netherlands. He rode up on his XT600 Tenere:



We had plenty to talk about since he is just now coming from the backroads over in the Tres Cordillera mountains. I checked out his blog. I don’t speak Dutch but the videos are fun to watch. Plenty of fun looking mud roads I was on 6 months ago:

jonathantravels.nl

I went to the casa de cambio (money exchange) and traded a couple hundred dollars for pesos this morning and the owner came running up the hill 4 blocks to tell me he had made a mistake and shortchanged me. He handed me my extra pesos. Here is the most honest money changer I have ever heard of:



He was panting and out of breath by the time he caught up to me. I was impressed the chubby guy didn’t have a heart attack. The current exchange rate today is 1900 pesos to the U.S. dollar.

Had to fix some plumbing and study Spanish today. Tomorrow I go up to work on the Sherpa and get her running I hope.

more later…

Saludos,
Juanito

Juanito! That sort of honesty deserves a photo and address of his shop.

Hey Mr. Downs, following from the beginning this time! Have fun, wish I was there with you!

I do not know how I missed your report until recently . So I have had the pleasure of much enjoyable reading to catch up to be current . I must compliment you on your outlook on everything . The only people I have ever met that are that laid back were using recreational pharmaceuticals . The more ride reports I read , the more it seems like smaller displacement bikes are better tools for the job . Thanks for all the effort in supplying such quality reading (and pictures) to all of us less traveled riders . I will be following along often . I want to be like you when I grow up . Safe travels my friend !

Late last night during the thunderstorms another ADVrider arrived here at the Shamrock. It was just us three bikers last night. Here is a pic of WhicheverAnywayCan (or Ken as I like to call him) on the left, and Jonathan (give me more muddy roads) Dutch XT rider on the right:



Ken is deaf so Jonathan and I had a lot of fun writing notes. Reminded me of grade school. Wish I knew American Sign Language. Alas, my sign language skills are limited. All I know is thumb to index finger AOK, thumbs up, index finger pointing toward crotch while riding to indicate to a fellow rider that your bladder is about ready to blow, and middle finger thrust skyward as you pass the driver that nearly killed you. Anyway Ken is a really great guy and I’m glad to have met him. He’s heading out on a rented bike for a couple weeks and Jonathan was able to give him some great GPS waypoints for places to go and things to do. He’s going to have a blast.

Went up the way to Al’s place where the Sherpa has been sitting for the last 6 months. I took the elevator down to the lower parking garage at Al’s place, rounded the corner, and HOLY CRAP, there the Sherpa is, back in the corner behind all the Katooms:



Kind of the ugly stepsister tucked in the corner. I love this bike though:



There was still air in the tires so I figured what the heck, lets see if she’ll start. I hooked up the battery, turned on the gas tap, pulled out the choke, hit the starter. VROOOOOOOM! There was 6 month old gas in the tank. In fact the old gas turned the tank a mellow brown color. Most of the names of last years sponsors who sent me gas money and gave me a place to stay have faded away. Hmmmmm. Not sure what to do about that. But WOW. This Sherpa never ceases to amaze me. It needs nothing. Runs like a champ. Well okay, I’ll change the oil and filter, clean her up a bit and get some decent gas in the tank. I’ll hit the road in a while. In the meantime, I’m hanging loose in Medellin.

Since the Sherpa needed nothing, I took the elevator up to Al’s condo up on the 10th floor. He has a two story entry foyer and he brought a painting from Ecuador that a guy traded him room and board for. Kind of like what I’m doing I guess. Anyway I had to take a pic of this painting. Al told the artist he wanted something outrageous. This thing is easily 8’x8’. I had to stand way back and have Al get up on the second floor balcony for scale so you can see what I’m talking about:



Outrageous? Yeah, I’d say so. I have no idea what the artist was thinking. But who doesn’t like rotweillers? And snakes twisted in celtic knots? And jodhpurs? And uniforms with mysterious crosses?

You’d have to know Al to appreciate his sense of humor I guess. He’s a great guy. He’s Scottish. He’s obsessed with motorcycles.That says it all.

So I rode the Sherpa back down to the Shamrock in between thunderstorms. I have to go get something to eat.

More later……

Saludos,
Juan Sherpa

Hi Gramp-Z,

Glad to have you along for the ride. I can't afford pharmaceuticals. In fact if I didn't copy and paste it from your post, I don't think I could even spell it. You know you're old when people with handles like Gramp-Z want to be like you when they grow up.

Saludos,
Juan Viejo

Hi Burro driver,

I say, get on that donkey of yours and join me down here amigo. It's cold in Colorado. It's time you headed south.

Saludos,
Juan Burrocicletista

Hi prsdrat,

You know you're right. Next time I change some bucks I'll take a pic of his money exchange place, find out his name and give the GPS waypoint so anyone traveling through Medellin can give him some business.

Great idea.

Saludos,
Juan Cambio

John, I'm new to your thread, having read just the first 25 pages so far. Wonderful report! Now I'm wondering how much Spanish you knew when you started out last year or on your first trip south.

I'm thinking about a trip a year from now and so bought one of those at-home courses. I can't imagine going down there without some ability to communicate, and not just about finding where the bathroom is.

Thanks,

Steve

******************

Not much to report today. I have been studying Spanish all day. Found www.duolingo.com and couldn't stop. They game-ified language learning and once I started I kept having to get more points and level up. As a result my brain is mush this evening.

Saludos,
Juan Español Estudiante[/QUOTE]