Central America on a Shoestring

[gatling]

Awesome report; thanks.

[bgoodsoil]

A boat in locks at Miraflores:


I wanted to head up to the Gatun Locks but it was pouring buckets outside. We had to shove towels under the windows to keep the water from coming in.


The market in Casco Viejo



The hostel was an old creaky colonial house. There was a thunder storm going on. Perfect day to sit in a read a book. The problem--I had no books. I brought a few down but finished them and when the creamer exploded on them I threw them away.

The hostel had some anti-capitalist hippy bred policy that you could trade books but they wouldn't sell them. They had a glass cabinet full of great books and I couldn't touch 'em. They did have a freeby shelf and I finally grabbed this after I got desperate.


Yep, a book about a sword wielding mouse. I read all 350 pages that day.

That night an earthquake hit the town. That old colonial houe was shaking all over the place. Girls were running around in circles. I've never seen panic before. It was pretty funny.

I got up the next day and headed west.

The big bridge across the canal


I found what I thought was the perfect place to sleep.

It had garages for every room! I always try to find a room with a safe spot for the bike. I asked how much and they said 10 dollars. per hour. huh? She asked me if I need the room for 'sleep.' I thought that was a funny question but I said yes anyways. She offered me $40 for the night. It was raining and I hadn't seen any other hotels so I said yes.

The room had this sorta bench in it.

On the wall were pictures of different, uh, positions in which you could use the bench. There was a big mirror above the bed. I was starting to catch on.

There was a door at the back that had another door in it.

The idea is that you can drive in to the garage and close it behind you. You pay through the little door that has a tunnel at a right angle so nobody can see who you are when you bring prostitutes to the hotel.

There were no blankets on the bed so I had to sleep in my sleeping bag. There was a tv and a dvd player so folks could bring their porno movies. Only 2 channels came through--the news and cartoon network. So, I sat in the porn capital of western panama and watched scooby doo until I fell asleep.

I crossed back into Costa Rica. I rode for an hour and got pulled over again. Poop! It wasn't my fault though. I had my iPod on. Powerman 5000 MADE me speed. I gave the cop 20 bucks and put the Dixie Chicks on the iPod. I cruised along at a happy 50mph for the rest of the way.






I wanted to avoid San Jose. I came to a crossroads. To the right, pavement and San Jose. To the left, an ugly muddy dirt road and the long way around San Jose. I wish all choices in life were this easy.

The road was wide, flat, straight and covered with massive pot holes. I felt perfectly safe going 50 in a straight line as long as I stood up. Another victim:

I'm destroying this bike.

I hit a soft section that had tire tracks in it going in line with the road. My tires slipped all over the place. At first it scared the crap outta me then I realized I wasn't going to wreck and got back up to 50 with the bike sliding all over the place. When it doubt, gas it!

I stopped in Jaco on the coast. Nice looking beach but it was raining cats and dogs again. They had books to borrow not to keep. I climbed in a hammock, my favorite spot on earth, and read the Catcher in the Rye in one sitting.

Here's some stuff I saw on the way.







There were cows not 50 feet away from the crocs. I gotta remember to thank my mom for getting me this video camera. I never could've gotten shots like that with my little point & click.





The unluckiest bug in Costa Rica




I got back up to Monteverde in Costa Rica. I found a used book store and found an old copy of Moby Dick. Everybody knows what it's about but I've never read it. For a dirty fisherman that guy knows some big words. Hopefully it'll last me through the rainy days on the rest of the trip.

The cat on the computer at the new hostel


that was last night. Now he's on the chair.

[Bulleteer]

Great installment. If only there were pictures. I can't quite connect to your mind's eye.

[Gimmeslack]

Originally Posted by bgoodsoil

....So, I sat in the porn capital of western panama and watched scooby doo until I fell asleep.
....

[thor.i.am]

Great installment!

[Foflappy]

Great report!

I am planning on a Central America trip for 2010 ---Normal, IL to Panama.

[bgoodsoil]

I'm enjoying the trip but if I had it to do over again I wouldn't go all the way to Panama. Not unless I had much more time. It seems like I've spent most of the trip either slogging in hours on the bike, fighting through borders or stuck in cities.

Going all the way to Panama is good for bragging rights but stopping in Guatemala would be a much more enjoyable trip.

[thjakits]

Hi all,

bgoodsoil is right.
Going all the way to Panama on a short string (budget/time) is a bike-test at best. Panama alone will take you some 3-4 weeks to really "get it in"!
Probably all Central American Countries are like that.
In Panama, there are a lot of provincial roads you never hear about unless you have/want to go there. With a GS (or similar) you open up another load of dirt roads. Country side people are extremly helpful (generally) too.

Which way did you go back to CR? Atlantic or Pacific side?

Unfortunately the main transit routes are generally dirty, mainly badly maintained concrete/asphalt stretches with little to no view.

If you are tight - better to just explore Mexico - you can spend a lifetime just doing that - one part at a time.

But if you do have the time and money, by all means come to Panama all the way! About in any of the countries you should be able to find a save place to leave your ride and come back later - you save a long way riding (non-pleasant roads).


Your special hotel in Panama is a "Push" (Pushbutton/Hourhotel).
That's US military legacy! :)
Remember that Panama as it is today came into being with the help of the US-military to support the Canal construction. Subsequently the US always had a huge amount of personnel stationed at the Canal. (Until the end of 1999)
Lot's of young studs in Latinamerica needed some place to have fun!
Someone had the idea of a "place where you didn't need to register" to bring your girl (mostly, the push-clients are NOT hookers!!).
If you observed, the entrance to the "hotel" was most likely built in a way, that lets you disappear quickly from the access-road, so there is little chance that someone could see you turn off into a push .....
In the city there is quite a variety of push's - for every pocket a different level!
On the country sides they are simpler!
These are very finely tuned to the available clientel .... :)
Single bike riders are NOT what they generally expect!!
You got away cheap!!

Good luck on your way back!


thjakits

[bpeckm]

I just spent an hour of my Friday office routine reading this thread front to back... after having read all the Old Skool threads as the bike came together etc...

Gotta say, Brad, that you have a great combination of (professed?) innocence, humor and a way with words... Comments about your spanish en mal estado and the little push hotel left tears down my cheeks..sword wielding mouse, garages for every room.......


I lived in south america for many years, and...... this is just classic!!..... lovin it! and we all in old skool would be more than happy to do whatever we can...and Datch can do more than that.... so travel well, enjoy it, and keep us abreast

[bgoodsoil]

Thanks for the support! I always wonder if people actually read this stuff.

I did some hiking in northern CR for a day. This'll be a little jumbled since I only got half my pics uploaded so far.



not bad for a video camera huh?



there are a LOT of butterflies in Costa Rica. This picture really doesn't capture the swarm of yellow butterflies that surrounded that farm.



I think these are called 'strangler trees.' They wrap themselves around a tree and climb up it to put out leaves and steal it's sunlight. Eventually the host tree dies after the strangler is strong enough to survive on it's own. This is what it looks like after the host rots away.





I finally loaded up and headed north. I snapped a few pics along the way.



ya always end up with a thousand pics of the bike on a road trip



This Burger King in CR has Imperial, the local beer, on tap.




I kept on expecting that thing to fall off her head but she made up some stairs without putting a hand on it.

I had already passed a halfa mile of trucks by the time I took this pic. They're still disappearing off into the distance waiting to get through the border



If I had to wrap up this whole trip in one pic it would be this one:


I HATE borders.

A very buggy day in south Nicaragua:




I am become death, the destroyer of worlds!

I got over the border and planned to head to Granada. I didn't feel like it so I stopped at the first sign that said 'beach this way.' I stopped in San Juan del Sur.

[drrags]

Originally Posted by bgoodsoil

Thanks for the support! I always wonder if people actually read this stuff.

I'll be I'm not the only lurker here

[Kyler]

Originally Posted by drrags

I'll be I'm not the only lurker here

[Game over]

just got caught up, thanks for the pictures and sharing your journey.

[jbull]

[datchew]

so Brad, if you get the lead out, you can make it up to Tennessee for the national rally, right?

Tell ya what. Swing by my place, we'll hose off the bike, give you a gin&tonic with extra quinine for the malaria, wipe down your bike with betadine and head for the rally.