Captain's Log. Stardates 23 - 24. Wee Strom continues south.
Day 23 really nice. Great views of the Sierra Madres and the coast. Ended up in a really nice hotel in Tapachula for $29.
However....... Stardate 24 is going to go down in infamy. Started out by trying to find the border and the plethora of offices and followed a sign that said Frontera. (Border). Ended up at the end of dirt road. Yep the border alright, but with barbed wire and jungle.
Then I make another wrong turn in what looks like something official, then a guy with a gun starts yelling at me. Oops, another wrong turn. Then a guy on a 125cc pulls up and tells me he'll take me where I need to go. Followed him and tipped him.
Great I'm here. So I go to the immigration office to get my Visa canceled, give them the doc. and they say where's your other doc. Huh, what other doc, this is all they gave me at Mexicali two weeks ago other than my vehicle import permit. Angry looks all around. Go sit over there! Three different people come out and ask me for the same doc three separate times. Finally, the angry El Jefe comes out after 2 hours of sitting in a sweltering waiting room, and takes me to another office and reads me the riot act and says never do this again. Gives me the exit stamp and stomps off. Not sure what he was talking about but I nodded accordingly.
As an aside, there was a well-armed platoon of troops getting briefed there for their daily "battle" keeping the migrant caravans from crossing into Mexico. Lots of tear gas canisters as well as M16s. Walked up and BS'd with a few of them. Nice guys and gals. Told them I was retired military and handshakes all around.
(Man, I'm glad I've been studying Spanish for two 1/2 years.) So I drive thru no man's land, and start the Guatemala border circus. First the guy says your credit card isn't working for the defumigation procedure (ya, right) you'll have to pay cash. So I barter with three money exchange dudes to get the best rate, and check off the defumigation box. (The bike, not me. :-O. ). Then off to immigration. Fill out the multiple forms. The guy tells me to go to the vehicle import office for Guatemala entry and forgets to return my passport. An hour later in the next office I realize this and go back to get it. Another 45 minutes to get the permit for the bike, in several different lines, and I'm thru! 3 1/2 hours total.
So now I get stuck in nightmare traffic for three hours until the highway opens up, heading towards Antigua. Then the GPS craps out as it tells me my SD card for Central America isn't compatible with my new GPS. Great. So now I'm down to my cracked screen iphone, that keeps telling me to go the wrong way. Somehow I make it to Antigua, Guatemala figuring I'm totally lost, and stumble on the most incredible old colonial city I've ever seen anywhere from Mexico to Tierra del Fuego! Incredibly beautiful! Google it. Scored one of the best hotels I've ever seen in my life, five blocks from the main plaza.
I ain't budging for three days. All's well that ends well! Life it good! Might even extend my stay here longer!
I guess you are studying more Spanish in Antigua? I'd be very stressed out by the border crap, as my papers are never in order. Great that you have hit Gold after the struggle.
I guess you are studying more Spanish in Antigua? I'd be very stressed out by the border crap, as my papers are never in order. Great that you have hit Gold after the struggle.
Been doing online courses, attended a school in Mexico twice, and do Skype sessions with an instructor four x week. Down here it's difficult but I'm keeping at it. They talk at light speed and use a lot of slang. Kinda like us I guess. I'm training in textbook Spanish but now it's a whole nother story.
Been doing online courses, attended a school in Mexico twice, and do Skype sessions with an instructor four x week. Down here it's difficult but I'm keeping at it. They talk at light speed and use a lot of slang. Kinda like us I guess. I'm training in textbook Spanish but now it's a whole nother story.
Yep. But it's not a free lunch. I've invested hundreds and hundreds of hours into this endeavor, at the expense of other things I like to do.. :-O No way anyone could realize the effort it takes until they jump into the deep end. Of course my room-temperature IQ isn't helping..
Antigua Guatemala to Rio Dulce (Sweet River), Guatemala. 6 hour day involving a nightmare of traffic thru Guatemala City. Tucked in behind an ambulance and some 125s and cut the transit down probably from two hours to one hour. Started the day with a breakfast of champions at the Super 24. Frijoles, peanuts, and coffee.
Have noticed a lot of Stars of David in Guatemala, and a drug store named the Jerusalem store. Maybe a coincidence, but Guatemala has been a staunch supporter of Israel in the UN since 1946, but who knows?
Now I'm in a bamboo hut, that I had to take a launch across the Rio Dulce to. Had to leave Señorita VStrom in a dirt parking lot for the night on the other side of the river.
There's a sailboat here from San Francisco. Must have come down the West Coast, thru the Panama Canal, down the Carribean coast,, then up the Rio Dulce River into the Guatemalan interior where I am now sitting with my beer looking out over the river.
Typical 95 deg and humid all day during the ride, but now cool breeze, beautiful River, and a cold beer on the deck built on pilings in the river.
Guatemala was fantastic. Spent a week there. Stayed at Antigua, Rio Dulce, and Tical National Park. Made it thru Belize in 4 hours not counting two #$%^&^%$. border crossings. Back in Mexico. The Adventure continues. On the Carribean coast in a completely hidden away place about 4 hours south of Cancun. After a month on the road, got the bike washed, changed the oil, and fixed a few minor things. Yay! Señorita Wee running strong! 3500 miles so far, not counting the truck ride from Seattle to Yucca Valley, CA where I left the truck at a Stromtrooper Captain Morgan's house for 3 months. Thanks Cap!
That's quite a journey you took on your Strom. I got two questions for you?
1. The Locking license plate storage document box. (How did this hold up for you) I've been thinking about getting one for sometime but I've read a lot of bad reviews about them.
This is the one you have correct? Locking Storage box
2. Can you please confirm the Light bar you have on your bike.
It Looks like the one seen here Aux Lighting
That's quite a journey you took on your Strom. I got two questions for you?
1. The Locking license plate storage document box. (How did this hold up for you) I've been thinking about getting one for sometime but I've read a lot of bad reviews about them.
This is the one you have correct? Locking Storage box
2. Can you please confirm the Light bar you have on your bike.
It Looks like the one seen here Aux Lighting
I'm still on the trip. Been on the road a month now. I'm back in mainland Mexico after traveling thru Baja, Mainland, Gautemala, and Belize. Probably another 6-8 weeks to go.
1. Don't bother with the license plate box. It's flimsy, was a PIA to mount, especially if you have aux lighting like the Admore lighting and the Skene lighting I have back there to mount. I never use it. Only good thing is it would make it more problematic for someone to steal my license plate.
2. No on the driving lights bracket. Mine is from ADV Tech. It's very sturdy. Only issue I have with it is they accidentally sent the wrong bolts with it, but that's no biggie, I have a ton of spare hardware, and he apologized. Like ADV techs GPS mount, some of his stuff is a bit on the heavy side, but that's my OC issue maybe, 'cause when I'm on these long south of the border trips, every ounce counts.
I'll give those videos a look when I get some wifi later in the week. Thanks for keeping the posts coming. Enjoying the information on the locales you are visiting. Any plans to venture into South America to practice language skills? I am tempted to do a trip on a fly and ride in Peru next Spring.
Here's a pic of my route so far. Finished up in Guatemala and Belize and have been back in Mexico for a week again now. Now in the beautiful Central Historical District of Mérida Yucatan. Guatemala was awesome. Beautiful country!
Ms. 2018 Wee Strom running strong and true. Couldn't ask for a better Señorita.
These roads are a collection of great riding roads along the spine of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Each map is accompanied with a set of Road Evaluations that include:
Run Distance
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Run Evaluation
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Hello All,
I'm planning my first long trip on the Strom for this spring, and I would greatly appreciate advice and input from others here. I hope I'm the right forum area for this request. Some details: I'll ride solo, stay in hotels mostly but may take minimal camping gear (but with sleep...
I am toying with the idea of flying to a warm climate to rent a bike for a three to four day trip. Living in Upstate N.Y., the winters are long and cold. Any suggestions for a short four or five day trip. Maybe east coast but warm enough for riding.
Let's build a list. The top 100 places you have to visit on your motorcycle. Not limited to the US btw.
Put in as much info as possible. Try to avoid commentary about the posts in this thread so that we can make it as resourceful as possible. If you would like to discuss a location, please...
To accompany my Motorcycle The Americas blog announcement of my upcoming South America journey, I finally edited some videos from a few years ago conquering Alaska's Dalton Highway. Still learning vid editing, but I was having some fun by the 3rd!
I've always made up my motorcycle travels on...
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