She's got this crazy idea- exploring the 3 America's solo, for better or for worse...

[Hewby]

Originally Posted by BcDano

Hi from Guate! we are still here. We will head up to Semuc Champey about Jan 15 then over to Rio Dulce then south to El Salvador. How are Marcin's plans?? We met with Julio in Antigua. He may come riding with us too. Miss your cooking!!

Cheers


Sara

WORLDWIDERIDE.CA

Thanks Sara and Dan, Excited you met Julio! I need to finally meet him one day! But if Julio is riding with you, I hear you wont miss my cooking! Enjoy the lovely Guate! Someone asked me what my favourite country has been, and coming out of the glow of the Wonderful Colombia I said Colombia first but Guate is defiantly a close runner up!
And as you saw Marcin is on his way!
Hugs to you both!

[ride4321]

Just spent the last day reading your wonderful RR Hewby. Love your writing style and honesty. You've really been dealing with the bike troubles like a champ. Hope you're feeling better and enjoy your next couple of weeks with Marcin. You're doing an excellent job with this report.

[huzar]

The airline managed to lose my bag with ALL of my moto gear, so instead of heading out tomorrow to meet Hewby, I have to stay in Arequipa until they find my gear or they stop looking

Not the start to my Peru trip that I was hoping for.

[Turkeycreek]

As I think I said to Deb back in September, If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.

Suerte.

[blesk]

Originally Posted by huzar

The airline managed to lose my bag with ALL of my moto gear, so instead of heading out tomorrow to meet Hewby, I have to stay in Arequipa until they find my gear or they stop looking

Not the start to my Peru trip that I was hoping for.

When I flew to Idaho a few years ago I WORE my moto gear and carried my helmet. The rental car people had some questions when I set my helmet on their counter.

[operaflute]

Originally Posted by blesk

When I flew to Idaho a few years ago I WORE my moto gear and carried my helmet. The rental car people had some questions when I set my helmet on their counter.

I've done that exact same thing. Airline attendants/pilots quite amused!

[Hewby]

Originally Posted by ride4321

Just spent the last day reading your wonderful RR Hewby. Love your writing style and honesty. You've really been dealing with the bike troubles like a champ. Hope you're feeling better and enjoy your next couple of weeks with Marcin. You're doing an excellent job with this report.

Thanks. So behind again on the report as been focused on making quick miles south and catching up with Huzar. Will catch up again sometime. But if you want a different and much more up to date perspective on our ride in Peru he is posting a RR here...http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=856404

[Hewby]

Ok back on track. I am now travelling alone again, and will just update a little of Columbia and Ecuador and Northern Peru, before I start to make my way into Bolivia, or wherever i am going.

[DustyRags]

I have a godfather in Bolivia. I hear it's quite the place :)

[Hewby]

Plans change. I wake up and am feeling awful. My time in Medellin starts to pass passes through fits of sleep, rolls of tissues, head colds and to make things worse stomach cramps. 2 days passes and I don’t know where they went. Friday I call BMW to check on the status of the fan: they still don’t have it. Friday night I talk to a lovely Romanian couple on a KTM and a 650GS who convince me that after their day of on the cheap bike repairs I should be able to find a cheap fan and doctor something to fit. I am still feeling sketchy and I am a little unconvinced I have enough mechanical skills or Spanish skills to pull this off. Then Al tells me that Monday is another holiday and if I don’t get the bike tomorrow I will be waiting till at least next Tuesday to ride south. My time is ticking by, Huzar flies into southern Peru in seven days from now, and I was hoping to meet him in Nazca a few thousand km from here. I am feeling the pressure.

I go to BMW early Saturday, missing out on a ride with the Romanians and Al to the highland lakes. I sit and persuade the BMW people to do something. If the new fan is not in, as they say it isn’t, fix the old fan or give me a fan from another bike. Then they tell me that they close today not at 5pm but at 12.50pm; in an hour. My options are not good but each day is another day lost and a more dangerous ride south, so they reluctantly go to install a second hand fan, though stating they have to charge me the full $380 price for it! Was that BMW/ Bring my wallet? I feel sick.

At 12.30 they suddenly come through the door bearing a new fan they ‘just found’. They install it and thankfully I am on my way. After checking out of the pub I am on the road by 3 winding my way through the mountains. I hope to reach Salento which I have been told is beautiful, but time is against me. I wind my way through the lovely hills.





The third lane is for motorcycles





But it takes longer than I thought and as it gets dark I decide to pull into my first ’24 hour love hotel’. Much to the surprise of the young lady that ran it; It was just me and the bike. She told me the prices: 4000C an hour, four hours for 15,000 or we could have until the morning for 25,000 but she looked at us again. Ok 20,000 . A man comes over from the next door pool complex and watches as I negotiate the bike into the room, and invites us both back to the pool to eat Mango and have some drinks. The hotel lady is young and has a 6 year old child that lives with her family. She asks questions of my relationship status and my travels. Her eyes widen and she tells me she is looking for a good man, but would like to travel as I do. Another bike pulls up and two men get off brining beer, and Rum. One of them becomes deeply engaged with the hotel lady, and the other rides off in the darkness after a few drinks to ‘get his girlfriend from the local village’. The Pool man starts to complement my poor Spanish and I decide its time to leave the party, and make use of the fact that my bike is securely stored in my room, beside my bed of all things, cook some dinner, and get to work on sorting out my bike.

[Hewby]

Originally Posted by DustyRags

I have a godfather in Bolivia. I hear it's quite the place :)

Yes I have heard that, excited!

[Hewby]

If you are easily offended please disregard and start following me in Ecuador

[Hewby]

Feeling the vibrations of the thumper between my legs, I wind down the hill in the setting sun of the Columbian hills. The sign catches my eye, ‘Cabanas 24 hours.’ The ubiquitous love hotel flickers a need within me and I turn the bike round to go inside. The bike and I had been separated for days, I felt he had been neglected by me, as while he was away in the shop, broken and muddy, and I had coveted another.

After a quick negotiation of price and time, We pull together into the room towards the huge bed. The mirrors in the wall reflect his muddy Amarillo curves back at me. I strip off my riding gear and throw it on the bed.
I started by washing him down, caressing his curves with a damp rag, buffing him softly, then harder as I worked the muddy caked Amarillo into a crisp shine.

I start to work deeper. Pulling out my tools to tighten his bolts, to erect the drooping indicators. I try to turn him on to check his lights, but I blew a number of fuses by playing with the little spot on the back left indicator, climaxing and sparking something deep within him. Blowing fuses necessitating a change of tactics and a slow detailed inspection of the wiring under his seat. I replaced the fuse and turned him on again, hoping he would come with me, but the left indicator still let me down. I changed tacks, replaced the fuse and started to work him up again. This time just touching the break slightly, the lights at the back flashed and the he continued to pur. I had found his weak point, but the fuses were running out, so I taped over the indicator, until we would work together better further down the road.

I cooked up some dinner on the petrol stove, him giving me the juice I needed to sustain myself.

Swirling of insects coming to the light as we stayed up together well into the evening. Outlasting the bugs that feel into the love heart shaped bin. The sound of the door bell of the other rooms was going off all night, as others came and went, but we stayed up late into the night, caressing, inspecting bolts, rubbing down, greasing his chain, checking his oil.

I fell into bed finally exhausted at 1am smelling of grease and I slept with him beside me, my feet wrapped around the front wheel. Spare bolts, blown fuses and ruminates of boot polish, the forays of our evening littering the room.

Not sure this love hotel had seen love like this before, but its one I will never forget.

[Turkeycreek]

You continue to amaze. Abrazos.

[GuateRider]

Great writing