Travelin' Light - Riding 2up through the Americas

We left Denver, CO, USA on May 1st 2011. Our route so far includes the SW USA, Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Venezuela, northern Brazil (Transamazonica and BR-319), the Guyanas, and points further south as we get there...

INDEX for this RR:

Trip Planning - just scroll down

TOOLS & SPARES LIST + EQUIPMENT REVIEW - 187

SW USA - 11
Mexico - 46
Guatemala - 116
El Salvador - 132
Honduras - 133
Nicaragua - 134 (entered at end of Post #133)
Costa Rica - 142
Panama - 145

CENTRAL AMERICA SUMMARY - 151

Colombia Part I - 153
Venezuela Part I - 155
Brazil Part I - 162 (entered at end of Post #161)
Guyana - 163 (entered at end of Post #162)
Suriname - 165
French Guiana - 196
Brazil Part II - 199
Venezuela Part II - 229

NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA (THE GUYANAS) SUMMARY - (coming soon...)

Colombia Part II - 231
Ecuador - 246
Peru - 252
Bolivia - 280
more to follow...

Route Map -

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<code>
</code> The Plan:

We left Denver, Colorado, USA on May 1st, 2011 to head south, destination unspecified - we'll know it when we're there. Our ultimate goal is to get to Ushuaia, Argentina, commonly considered the southernmost city in the world. Along the way, we are both hoping to pick up random jobs that will allow us to stay in one spot for awhile and get to know people. Jill is also looking forward to taking Spanish classes somewhere as her Spanish is not quite up to par (Mike's is much better). Other highlights we are looking forward to are visiting friends in El Salvador and Panama, visiting the community Jill lived in for Peace Corps in Suriname, visiting the community that Mike worked with through Engineers Without Borders in Peru, and going back to Buenos Aires where Mike studied abroad. Oh, and we are also looking forward to the beach, jungle, mountains, bugs, stomach issues, awkward cultural exchanges, street food, motorcycle repairs, and everything else we are going to see on a daily basis.


The Bike:




A 1989 Honda Transalp with just over 20k miles on it will take us on this journey. We had owned a fancy BMW 1150GS before, but it was a huge beast and she seemed a little stuck up. This TA feels better. She is going to fit in well in Central and South America. And hopefully repairs will not be hard to come by. The final modifications on the bike included installing a new HyperPro progressive rear spring, as well as chain, sprockets, and sliders.





A new (retrofitted) muffler went on so it she'll have a growl (Jill's excited because she thinks loud motorcycles are cool and Mike's hoping fewer people may try to hit us if they hear us... and please don't start a debate about loud pipes vs safe riding here... we all know the right answer, and besides this pipe isn't even that loud, it's DOT/EPA approved...).







Modifications:
Corbin seat, GIVI trunk, taller windscreen, 12V power outlet, heated grips (all previous owner)


GIVI crash (engine) guards
Acerbis handguards
Lenac Big Brake kit (larger front rotor)
Braided stainless brake line
Eastern Beaver H4 headlight kit
HyperPro progressive fork springs
HyperPro progressive rear spring
Titanium Suzuki GSXR-1000 exhaust
CigarMike prototype centerstand


Luggage:
Givi Trunk
Nelson-Rigg saddlebags
Wolfman tank bag
el cheapo ATV tank bags



We are not traveling with a computer, so our updates will be irregular, but hopefully fairly frequent. Excited to be on the road, and will keep you posted!

Mike & Jill

After running around the midwest to visit family in Iowa and Missouri and to drop off a few important possessions (we sold the house and most everything inside of it), we are finally ready to hit the road!

Our Packing List includes:
JILL

1 pair of jeans (Gap)
1 pair of brown nylon pants that I hope don't look too safari-like (North Face)
1 pair of board shorts (Roxy)
1 pair of running shorts (Nike)
1 skirt (Prana)
2 tank tops (Icebreaker, Mossimo)
3 short sleeve shirts (New Balance for riding 100% polyester, American Apparel t-shirt is cotton blend, Ex Officio nicer short sleeve is non-cotton blend)
1 merino wool sweater (Smartwool)
1 longsleeve baselayer that will will look fine by itself (Smartwool)
1 baselayer pants (Under Armour)
2 bras (Under Armour &
3 pairs of underwear (1 Under Armour & 2 Ex Officio)
1 quick dry towel (REI)
1 lightweight rain pants (Sierra Designs)
1 pair flip flops (Chaco)
1 pair casual shoes (New Balance)
1 stocking cap (Alpine Designs)
1 swimsuit (Mossimo)
1 belt
2 pair short socks
1 pair ski socks for riding
​

MIKE

1 pair khakis (Royal Robbin)
1 pair jeans
1 pair board shorts (Quicksilver)
3 pair boxers (Ex Officio)
3 t-shirts (polyester t-shirt REI & Columbia, marino wool Icebreaker)
1 nicer t-shirt (Prana)
1 button up shirt (North Face)
1 marino wool sweater
1 longsleeve baselayer (Smartwool)
1 baselayer pants (Hot Chillys)
1 quick dry towel (REI)
1 pair short socks
1 pair ski socks for riding
1 pair thin socks for riding
1 pair flip flops (Reef)
1 pair casual shoes (Saucony)
1 stocking cap
​

Mike's sister and brother in law gave us some awesome Marmot compression bags we are going to pack all our clothes in and put in the saddle bags.



CAMPING
We are planning on doing as much camping as possible on our trip partly to save money and partly because we enjoy it. Here are the things we are going to bring to camp with:

1 Big Agnes 0 degree bag (Jill)
1 Lafuma 30 degree bag (Mike)
2 Big Agnes sleeping pads
1 Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight tent
1 double hammock
1 cook set that includes a pot to cook in, sporks, knive/spatula and bowls, a gas cannister, and the "stove" by MSR
Water Purifiers: Microfilter and a UV Steripen
​

Somehow, we got most all of it to fit in the case that will go on the back of the bike.

MECHANICAL
We didn't get a good list of the spare parts and tools (mostly because Mike was in charge of this aspect instead of Jill), but in the engine guard bags and 2 tool tubes we have a limited assortment of tools, an extra tube, JB Weld, loctite, spare clutch cable, spare CDI unit, straps, zip ties, tire pump, etc. I'm sure you, will learn more about what we do have, and more about what we don't have but should have as we get down the road...

EDIT: Updated list of tools and spares, along with equipment thoughts/review can be found at post #187

Have a great trip!

Kewl, I'm in.

nice man thats awesome- LIVING life for sure! great moto choice too :)

Glad to have a few inmates already following along! Thanks for your interest, and we are stoked with our bike choice, too.

We are trying to catch a tour in Mesa Verde this afternoon, but once we make Zion on Sunday, a major update will happen with details of our first week of riding. Stay tuned....

Mike & Jill

Looks like a great trip ahead of you.

Jill, if you get a chance, checkout Corporate Runaways Ride Report, if you haven't already. They have lots of good info on what they brought, gear and clothes and what worked or did not work. That is obviously at the end of their report. This might sound weird coming from a guy but I remember Dachary said (in the Corp Runaway thread) that 3 bras is much better than 2. At the end of a long hot or wet riding day, after showering, it's nice to have a fresh one since todays is no longer fresh and unless you did laundry last night, the 2nd one is also not fresh. Gives you an extra day between washings in the sink which could add up over the length of the trip.

Have a great trip and travel safe!
Tim

Sounds like an awesome adventure! Looking forward to your RR.

This sounds exciting
Looking forward to reading more - Thread Subscribed !

i'm in! wish i were going too!

The first day on the bike felt like such a long time coming, took a whirlwind of activity to actually make happen, and then was such a relief to actually set out on the trip! Our target date of departure was May 1, we ended up leaving May 2nd about noon, and that turned out to be the best slip in schedule ever...

Ready to go:

​

One of the benefits of sticking that extra day was that we got to spend one last evening with our good friends and gracious hosts Kyle and Janelle. They cooked us some amazing fried tacos for our final meal before departure, which deserved a celebratory sip of tequila as well. They also saved us a major hassle by volunteering (whether they knew it or not) to help us out with a couple of final errands so we didn't have to try to coordinate those on the Transalp. Thank you guys!




We met up with Mike Williams for a last good bye on our way through Denver, but it was a short stop as the clouds were already building.

​

Just south of Denver, over Monument hill, snow flurries hit us but luckily didn't stick to the road. But they sure kept us cold. We pushed through past the Springs on down to Pueblo where we thought we were free from weather for awhile so had a taco for lunch. That route took us straight down I-25, far from the best road to ride, but the alternate route down 285 showed highs in the 30's and snow the whole way. So at least we made progress. As we finished lunch, clouds were building again, so off we went. Heading west over La Veda pass, the snow was still piled up along the roadside, temps were just above freezing. We did not stop for photos because our hands would not have been able to work the camera.

Due to that cold weather, and snow on the mountains where we planned on camping, we opted for a room that night. There was a nice little old motel in Antonito, CO that gave us a screaming deal for their winter rate. That was the best $37 I've spent! The hotelier was nice, and informed us that they got hammered with 6 inches of snow the day before, so it was good that we didn't end up leaving on the 1st.



Had a celebratory dinner in town, and then got some rest. Tomorrow we start focusing on our planned budget of $50 or less per day. Today we focused on staying warm.

We rolled out of Antonito a bit later than hoped, but man, there was still a harsh chill in the air. We rode south into New Mexico taking Hwy 64 to the west across Carson National Forest. It was a beautiful ride (one Mike had ridden in August before and loved) but the theme continued - cold and snowy.



We took a break in Tierra Amarilla for gas and found our way west past el Vado on towards Chaco Culture National Historic Park, our destination this evening. On the way Cuba, NM served up some fine lunch with amazing green chile we were hoping for (alas, no ropa vieja in the Cuban Cafe).



We entered Chaco Canyon from the south, where there is not much happening. The towns are small and sleepy. And by sleepy I don't mean slow/tranquil, I mean kind of drab. Luckily we didn't miss the one sign for the turn north into the park.



The road wasn't that bad. The worst parts were the washboard sections that shook all the plastic pieces on the TA, as well as our brains. Only one short uphill section took standing up on the pegs and some finesse to get through. It was a fun ride on into the park.

​

We absolutely lucked out to show up on a Tuesday and caught a night sky archaeoastronomy talk along with some telescopes out for star gazing. The talk was excellent for giving us an introduction to how the Chacoan culture may have viewed, respected, and interpreted the (day and) night skies. It was also refreshing how the information was presented. The ranger made an effort to explain that any theories on how buildings aligned with stars, or markers showed shadows by day, were simply that - theories. There is no way to fully understand these artifacts, but just a number of guesses (some better than others) as to what their use was. One example he used was of a sculpture in the desert designed specifically to have interactions with light at specific times of day and at specific times of year. A group studied the sculpture and found around twice as many interactions as the artist intended, showing that if you are looking for some correlation, you can find it. Who knows if the Chacoan people really used ALL of the markers that we find today?

Either way, the pictographs, petroglyphs, ruins, and artifacts were fascinating to see and were a sweet beginning to our ruins tours across the Americas.

On top of all that, the campsite we had in the park was beautiful!

We spent Wednesday hiking through Chaco Culture National Historic Park and absolutely loved it! The weather was gorgeous and the park has a lot of really cool ruins to see. We took a tour of the Pueblo Bonito and were able to learn a bit more about the ruins, again the ranger had the humble approach of explaining the difference between facts ("that is a wall built by the ancestral Puebloans") and theories ("they may have used this room for storage"). There were many differences in masonry, some from different timeframe, others from different craftsman. These ruins were mostly occupied from ~850 - 1200 AD and are decent shape considering.


There was also a lot of discussion about the importance of that canyon to the native people to that area and to the Chacoan culture. Whether it's because of the centuries of importance to these people, or perhaps this is part of the reason for the canyon's importance to them, Chaco canyon has a very warm feeling to it. It's an absolutely desolate place, in a rather inhospitable environment, but the feel there is just overwhelmingly comfortable. It's almost hard to know how much of a negative impact settlers had on the way of life there. In fact, there was a massive rock named Threatening Rock by the Euros that existed above the major greathouse, Pueblo Bonito. It was larger than this example, but something like:

​

Sometime in the 40's or so the rock crashed down, taking out much of the back rooms of the greathouse. The sole reason the rock fell was due to the CCC removing a restraining wall that had been in place for centuries. Apparently, they thought that since the masonry wasn't the same quality as the walls of the ruins that the wall wasn't worth as much. Oooops. Here's the aftermath:


There is an impressive amount of structure still in place. Even the original roofs have survived in some rooms.


Surprisingly, many of the rooms in these greathouses would have been difficult to access, and would have been completely dark. Sunlight was not a problem for most of them today.



Some of the ruins even had evidence of corner windows, which is a testament to their structural confidence.


We then hiked up to Pueblo Alto. There was an overlook of Pueblo Bonito along the way.


On our way back down the trail, just as Jill started talking about rattlesnakes, this little fella was directly next to Mike's foot, about a foot away. given the timing of the conversation, and Mike's general dislike of snakes, some Monty Python-esque, high steppin', fast dancin' took place for a few paces.


We also hustled out the trail to see the pictograph of what may or may not have been a super nova from around 1100AD. It seems like it definitely could have been a record of that, and the timing is right and matches with other records (Chinese included). But you can decide for yourself.





We were able to see some other outlying ruins along the way, but jammed back down the trail to the visitor's center before it closed at 5.


We got to the visitor's center around 3:30 to try to get change back from our self service camping envelope from the night before. We put $20 in the envelope, and wanted our 10 bucks in change. That's almost a full tank of gas! Apparently, no one working at the park has ever given change for camping before, and insisted on calling our request a Request for Refund. So now we've got some beauracratic forms filled out, have tracked down our camping receipt, and will send the request to some accounting office in North Carolina who may or may not decide to send us a check for 10 bucks. I found it incredibly ironic that the preferred method of refund (not change, mind you) was to wire us the money. That's economical and efficient and all, but seriously, we put $20 in a post in the middle of the desert and we have to send paperwork across the country and have money WIRED back to us? Really? We'll see what happens...

We headed north out of the canyon towards Farmington, where we had a place to stay thanks to hosts from couchsurfing. First of all, it felt great to get a shower. But once cleaned up, we had great conversation with our hosts Cecilia and Monica. They knew Farmington well, steered us towards the couple of errands that we had to run in the morning, and were fantastic hosts! Hopefully we didn't rile Patrick up too much, but Jill and I are both fans of playing with pupppies.



It was nice to stay in a bed instead of sleeping on the ground, especially since we have some more camping ahead.

Cecilia delivered on her promise to make us smoothies in the morning, and it was truly delicious, flax seed and all. After leaving our couchsurfing house, we decided to run some errands since we were in the 'big city'. We went to the Farmington Public Library to use the internet, Wal-Mart to buy food for camping, Big 5 Sporting Goods to try and find some more socks for Jill, and the most ghetto copying center we have ever seen (photo unfortunately not attached). Then we headed to Aztec, NM to check out some more ruins. There was only 1 ruin with about 16 or so rooms and a few kivas. The architecure was pretty similar to the later architecture at Chaco but there were more keyhole doorways than at Chaco.



We also learned that Sacred Clowns are a part of their creation story, which is really quite a wonderful thing.



Since the site was misinterpreted as an Aztec site when it really wasn't, we don't know how much stock you should give to the Sacred Clown concept, but we are thinking about starting our own church. This is our preacher here.



Anyway, the Aztec site was pretty cool and was a nice side trip on our way to Mesa Verde. After leaving Aztec, our goal was to get to Delores, CO to camp. Both Delores and Mancos were nice little towns and you should stop in at Basin Motorcycle Works in Mancos if you get a chance. The owner there suggested a sweet ride to a camping spot north of Delores in the San Juan National Forest.





Dinner wasn't half bad either. I have a feeling we will be eating this a lot.

We got an early start to the day, as we had a long day of riding and sightseeing ahead of us. We took Highway 95 to 24 to 12. If you are ever in the area, we would strongly taking this route because most all of it was quite spectacular. Our first sightseeing stop was at Natural Bridges National Park about 40 miles outside of Blanding, UT. There are several hikes you can do to get closer to the bridges, but if you are on a crunch for time, there is a 9 mile loop you can drive that enables you to see all 3 bridges.





After that, you will hit Glen Canyon National Recreation Area where you can access Lake Powell. Also quite beautiful.



This is the Colorado River.



Eventually, we ended up at Hanksville, UT. We stopped at this sweet convenience store that was built into a rock.



Capital Reef National Park was next. We just drove through a portion of the park, but it seems like it would be a nice place to spend a day or two.







Then we hit Highway 12 and ended up camping outside of Boulder, UT on Burr Trail, in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. This was the road - an absolutely blast to ride, highly recommended!





The Transalp looks so good in the canyons.



We ended up finding a good campsite.



Which leads us to Jill's 1st near death experience of the trip. Please keep in mind that we were in flip flops, Jill is somewhat terrified of heights and especially uncomfortable with climbing. So, we decided to climb the large rock in front of our tent. It was no problem going up, as the rock was pretty striated. We had a nice view of the entire area for awhile from the top. Coming down, we decided to take the more difficult side of the rock that was significantly steeper. At first it was ok, but then it started getting steep and Jill decided to start crab walking down, thinking that would keep her from falling. Mike decided to try one way and Jill thought he told her to walk to a lower tree. So, she took off towards the tree and ended up trapped on the rock face holding onto the rock with her right hand and no other grips in sight. She had water and the camera in her other hand. Mike had to come over from the top of the rock and physically help her to the next safe place to stand. It was actually a pretty close call to at least Jill sliding down the rock face and seriously hurting herself. But, everything ended up fine, with no casualites, including the camera or water, so no worries, and actually an adrenaline filled end to a great riding day.

In line with our ruins tour, we headed over to Mesa Verde. First stop in the morning, though, was at the World's Best Visitor Center in Cortez, CO. A volunteer named Bill was the most helpful guy ever - he knew all the roads we were planning on taking across Utah, he offered us the coffee he made, told us a bit about Mesa Verde, let us use their computer. It was a one stop shop. The road up to the cliff dwellings was a nice ride and moved along okay, which was good because we had scheduled two tours at noon and at 2. We had a bit of time to do some exploring before hand though, including the Spruce Tree House where we were able to drop down into a reconstructed kiva.


After exploring around the museum and Spruce Tree House, we headed out to the parking lot where we ran into Ken and Eric, 2 riders out from GA for some exploring. We chatted with them for a minute and wished each other well. They were even nice enough to point out my latest piece of lost hardware (thankfully only a license plate bolt and wing nut). Eric, give a shout if you find us here!

We toured the Balcony House first, which was cool because we were able to walk through a lot of the ruins. It was smaller, but had some sections that were in amazing shape.


There were some fun aspects to the Balcony House tour, including the tunnel...


...and some ladders for Jill to conquer her fear of heights.


The views from all over the park were stunning.


The second guided tour we took was of the Cliff Palace, one of the largest cliff dwellings in the Americas.


We were lucky to see it in the afternoon when the sun was shining through lots of the doorways and windows.


There were many more kivas and a lot of examples of the masonry that were in excellent shape (with some NPS touch-ups, but very few major reconstructions).



We bolted out of the park just after the tour, aiming towards Blanding, UT. Mike made the mistake of following the GPS directions instead of trusting our good Visitor Center friend Bill. We ended up heading north on the more major highway (GPS default) which was heavily trafficked by trucks, up on a plateau, and super windy. The alternate route would have been much better from what we could see to the south - mesas and cliffs, and smaller roads. Not noticing the difference until 5 miles out of town, we pushed on instead of doubling back. We ended up at a nice campsite in Devil's Canyon between Monticello and Blanding, but learned a lesson - get lost first, then turn on the GPS navigation.

After camping at Burr Trail, UT, the main goal for the day was to get to Zion National Park to meet up with Mike's sister, brother-in-law, and niece. We got another early start and had another very beautiful day of riding. Our first stop was at Cannonville, UT where we got gas, coffee, and checked out the visitors center. We were debating taking a gravel road instead of the highway but when we heard it was going to be about 20 miles of washboards, we collectively decided that the highway sounded like a good idea. That took us through the northern portion of Bryce Canyon National Park and also through Red Canyon National Park. We didn't really take pictures because we were anxious to get to Zion and also because we may pass back through the area soon. Some of the view was similar to this, although Bryce and Red Canyon are much redder and the formations are much different:



We drove into what seemed like a wind tunnel with 30+ mph headwinds with additional gusts thrown in for fun the entire ride to Mt. Carmel Junction, about 40 miles. By the time we got there, we were ready for some food and this place seemed mighty inviting.



Mike was pretty excited about the ho-made pies, but was a little confused by the flavor.



Next we had a beautiful drive through the southern portion of Zion National Park, meeting the family at their hotel in the early afternoon. Then we took care of some things we have been needing to do for several days, like showering and washing clothes. We also had a chance to spend some time uploading photos for our blog and ride report. The difficulty of traveling without much technology is the dependence on finding a cheap/free place to spend some time online. Once we cross the border, internet cafes will be easier to come by, but for now, weekly updates may be the norm. Sorry for the delays...

Most importantly, once arriving, we got to spend some much needed time catching up with the family.

Good stuff, I'm in

I'm in also ...buena suerte

Very cool adventure. Looking fwd to further posts.