Two Stromtroopers to Mexico & Central America
Pinkman and I are meeting in Laredo, Texas to begin our trip through Mexico and all 7 Central America countries. Pinkman is coming from Orlando and I'm on my way from Santa Barbara.
We will be getting new tires, oil & filters in Laredo on Tuesday and cross the border early Wednesday morning. We've both traveled through Mexico a fair amount but never into Central America.
I've got a SPOT. Here's the SPOT link: SPOT Shared Page
Here's the Spotwalla link: SpotWalla - Trip Viewer - Mexico/Central America
I'll try to post some pictures once we get to the better parts. Right now I'm riding through the southwest in a nasty heatwave. Kickstand up at twilight and down by noon or so. Pinkman is doing 650 mile/days to meet me in Laredo tomorrow.
Looking forward to the border crossings in Central America. (Not!)
Later,
Gary
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Sounds like fun, hope you guys have fun! Post a link to your blog or whatever means of communicating your trip status is. I love reading those.
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Finally in Mexico
We got our tires changed in Laredo on Tuesday and crossed the border early today (Wednesday). Within 10 minutes we were pulled over by cops because we turned left on a green light rather than a green arrow. WTF! We got the fine reduced from 800 pesos to 200 pesos. Thankfully that's all we had changed before crossing the border.
After an hour to so of going to window 1, then, 4, then 2 then back to 4 we finally entered ourselves and our bikes into Mexico. We were only stopped 3 times on our leg down to Matahuela.
The weather was great and the cuato was fast and clear. We did 350 miles today to get as far from the border as possible. Still not into the Mexico and I love; the jungles, rivers, mountains, and Mayan Indians. We are headed for Bernal tomorrow. A neat colonial village.
I finally met Pinkman (Greg Pink) AKA Cisco yesterday at the dealer. I think we may have played defensive tackle for the Green Bay Packers back in the 70's based on his size and apparent brain damage. Here he is:
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That's it for today. The links to SPOT and Spotwalla in the first posting seems to be working.
Adios,
Gary AKA Don Diego
We got our tires changed in Laredo on Tuesday and crossed the border early today (Wednesday). Within 10 minutes we were pulled over by cops because we turned left on a green light rather than a green arrow. WTF! We got the fine reduced from 800 pesos to 200 pesos. Thankfully that's all we had changed before crossing the border.
After an hour to so of going to window 1, then, 4, then 2 then back to 4 we finally entered ourselves and our bikes into Mexico. We were only stopped 3 times on our leg down to Matahuela.
The weather was great and the cuato was fast and clear. We did 350 miles today to get as far from the border as possible. Still not into the Mexico and I love; the jungles, rivers, mountains, and Mayan Indians. We are headed for Bernal tomorrow. A neat colonial village.
I finally met Pinkman (Greg Pink) AKA Cisco yesterday at the dealer. I think we may have played defensive tackle for the Green Bay Packers back in the 70's based on his size and apparent brain damage. Here he is:
That's it for today. The links to SPOT and Spotwalla in the first posting seems to be working.
Adios,
Gary AKA Don Diego
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Zacatecas
Tropical Storm Arlene had different plans for us. Rather than head south today and meet the wind and RAIN west of Tampico, we headed west and then south and only had rain for the first 30 minutes or so. Then it was great weather all the way to Zacatecas.
Zacatecas started as a mining town and is now an old colonial town with beautiful buildings.
Pinkman found a great hotel right near the square.
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We walked around and got our obligatory ice cream and Starbucks. It's a great stop and the road into town was excellent. Only a few topes and no checkpoints.
A little background on Pinkman AKA Cisco and myself AKA Don Diego. Cisco is a math teacher and department head from Florida and is on his summer break. He rides 2004 DL1000 with 60,000 miles. He came from the BMW camp but finally got a clue. I'm a retired container ship captain and ride a 2009 DL650 (obviously the better of the two bikes). I came from dirt bikes and then Harley's.
We met here on Stromtrooper and have been planing this trip via email for 9 months. My only concern of doing this trip during the summer was the weather. It was hell getting across Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. But once we crossed the border the weather has been very moderate, like today, because of the tropical storm, it was only 75 degrees. That's my kind of riding weather.
We've been riding together now for 2 days and it's working out great. We haven't planned tomorrows route yet but I'm sure it will just get better and better. We're both old hands at Mexico and contribute equally to where to go and what to see. Zacatecas was Cisco's idea and it was a hit.
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Pinkman is posting up on Pinkman.org for more on the trip.
Gotta get my huevos rancheros tomorrow morning. And then we will be off to ?
Adiós,
Don Diego
Tropical Storm Arlene had different plans for us. Rather than head south today and meet the wind and RAIN west of Tampico, we headed west and then south and only had rain for the first 30 minutes or so. Then it was great weather all the way to Zacatecas.
Zacatecas started as a mining town and is now an old colonial town with beautiful buildings.
Pinkman found a great hotel right near the square.
We walked around and got our obligatory ice cream and Starbucks. It's a great stop and the road into town was excellent. Only a few topes and no checkpoints.
A little background on Pinkman AKA Cisco and myself AKA Don Diego. Cisco is a math teacher and department head from Florida and is on his summer break. He rides 2004 DL1000 with 60,000 miles. He came from the BMW camp but finally got a clue. I'm a retired container ship captain and ride a 2009 DL650 (obviously the better of the two bikes). I came from dirt bikes and then Harley's.
We met here on Stromtrooper and have been planing this trip via email for 9 months. My only concern of doing this trip during the summer was the weather. It was hell getting across Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. But once we crossed the border the weather has been very moderate, like today, because of the tropical storm, it was only 75 degrees. That's my kind of riding weather.
We've been riding together now for 2 days and it's working out great. We haven't planned tomorrows route yet but I'm sure it will just get better and better. We're both old hands at Mexico and contribute equally to where to go and what to see. Zacatecas was Cisco's idea and it was a hit.
Pinkman is posting up on Pinkman.org for more on the trip.
Gotta get my huevos rancheros tomorrow morning. And then we will be off to ?
Adiós,
Don Diego
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Yep, as Diego said the website is running at The Pinkman's Web Page
You may have to refresh to get updates.
Cisco
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Cisco
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Storm kick our ass and changed our plans
Here's some more photos of Zacatecas. It's really a great place to stop and see.
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OK- so we rode from Zacatecas to Colima yesterday, about one half in rain and the rest in cloudy but nice weather. Getting out of the desert and into green lush fauna. Things are looking good and we think we've out smarted Tropical Storm Arlene.
WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
She dumps a load of rain clear across the country all the way to the Pacific Coast, our destination for today.
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Once we got to highway 200 there was mudslides and rockslides all over. But still we kept going. That crap was nothing to Stromtroopers. However, the washed out bridge was a stopper. Cisco thought if we go back far enough and made a run at it we would clear it. Fortunately his vote didn't count.
So we back tracked 16 miles and went inland. We though we were pretty smart until:
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We waited at the river for awhile and talked about the pros and cons about trying to cross. Then some trucks and buses made it across so we said "what the hell could go wrong?"
Cisco was the sacrifical lamb to go first. He made it and I followed. The current caught me and pushed me over to the side of the washed out road. I put a foot down and steadied up the bike and made it across.
Then we followed a small road for about 80 miles in pouring rain and then fog. But we went through beautiful country as we climbed the mountain range and then came back down. We found a town large enough to have a hotel and called it quits around 1700.
Checked into a hotel for $20 with inside parking and a little restaurant across the street. All is good. Buy stock in Modelo and Corona!
On the way we managed to get lost in a tiny village that had no more than 6 streets. We spent 20 minutes trying to find our way through.
Cisco rides lead much of the time as I want him to find all the topes. I do the English to Spanish talking which bodes poorly for the rest of the trip. I was hoping he was somewhat fluent but alas, he is, but only in German. So 2 years of high school Spanish taken 52 years ago is getting a quick refresher course.
We are heading back to the coast tomorrow via another route and have our fingers crossed that all the bridges will be intact. We've decided that we are no longer touring but instead are on an adventure ride. Yea!
Until tomorrow - Adios from Don Diego and Cisco
Here's some more photos of Zacatecas. It's really a great place to stop and see.
OK- so we rode from Zacatecas to Colima yesterday, about one half in rain and the rest in cloudy but nice weather. Getting out of the desert and into green lush fauna. Things are looking good and we think we've out smarted Tropical Storm Arlene.
WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
She dumps a load of rain clear across the country all the way to the Pacific Coast, our destination for today.
Once we got to highway 200 there was mudslides and rockslides all over. But still we kept going. That crap was nothing to Stromtroopers. However, the washed out bridge was a stopper. Cisco thought if we go back far enough and made a run at it we would clear it. Fortunately his vote didn't count.
So we back tracked 16 miles and went inland. We though we were pretty smart until:
We waited at the river for awhile and talked about the pros and cons about trying to cross. Then some trucks and buses made it across so we said "what the hell could go wrong?"
Cisco was the sacrifical lamb to go first. He made it and I followed. The current caught me and pushed me over to the side of the washed out road. I put a foot down and steadied up the bike and made it across.
Then we followed a small road for about 80 miles in pouring rain and then fog. But we went through beautiful country as we climbed the mountain range and then came back down. We found a town large enough to have a hotel and called it quits around 1700.
Checked into a hotel for $20 with inside parking and a little restaurant across the street. All is good. Buy stock in Modelo and Corona!
On the way we managed to get lost in a tiny village that had no more than 6 streets. We spent 20 minutes trying to find our way through.
Cisco rides lead much of the time as I want him to find all the topes. I do the English to Spanish talking which bodes poorly for the rest of the trip. I was hoping he was somewhat fluent but alas, he is, but only in German. So 2 years of high school Spanish taken 52 years ago is getting a quick refresher course.
We are heading back to the coast tomorrow via another route and have our fingers crossed that all the bridges will be intact. We've decided that we are no longer touring but instead are on an adventure ride. Yea!
Until tomorrow - Adios from Don Diego and Cisco
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Acapulco & Puerto Escondido
Well - We left Tepalcatepec and headed back to the coast. We made it to Zihuatenejo around 1300. Things were going good so we headed to Acapulco for the night.
Cisco had never seen the cliff divers so that was on the schedule. We found a great hotel for $50 just a block off the beach. After a dip in the pool we found a funky Mexican restaurant an filled up on carne asada and cervecas. Then it was a taxi to the cliffs.
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We really struggled getting out of Acapulco the next day. It was a mile of duck walking the bikes through a construction zone of pot holes of indeterminate depth and long enough to hold a swimming meet. It took 2 hours during morning rush hour to make it through.
Cisco thought his GPS showed a route around the zone but after 15 miles of really crummy road we got stopped by a flooded road. So back to the construction zone.
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Finally through around 1000 we blasted our way to Puerto Escondido. This is one of my favorite places in Mexico. We stayed at Hotel Ines right on the beach.
We passed the shrine to Mexican road warriors.
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Here's Hotel Ines.
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Bikes put away for the night.
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Time to work on tomorrow's route. We are headed for San Cristobal de las Cases and then Guatemala but our laundry won't be ready until 1000 tomorrow so that means a late start.
Adios,
Don Diego & Cisco
Well - We left Tepalcatepec and headed back to the coast. We made it to Zihuatenejo around 1300. Things were going good so we headed to Acapulco for the night.
Cisco had never seen the cliff divers so that was on the schedule. We found a great hotel for $50 just a block off the beach. After a dip in the pool we found a funky Mexican restaurant an filled up on carne asada and cervecas. Then it was a taxi to the cliffs.
We really struggled getting out of Acapulco the next day. It was a mile of duck walking the bikes through a construction zone of pot holes of indeterminate depth and long enough to hold a swimming meet. It took 2 hours during morning rush hour to make it through.
Cisco thought his GPS showed a route around the zone but after 15 miles of really crummy road we got stopped by a flooded road. So back to the construction zone.
Finally through around 1000 we blasted our way to Puerto Escondido. This is one of my favorite places in Mexico. We stayed at Hotel Ines right on the beach.
We passed the shrine to Mexican road warriors.
Here's Hotel Ines.
Bikes put away for the night.
Time to work on tomorrow's route. We are headed for San Cristobal de las Cases and then Guatemala but our laundry won't be ready until 1000 tomorrow so that means a late start.
Adios,
Don Diego & Cisco
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More of the trip report and pictures can be found at The Pinkman's Web Page
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Juchitan de Zaragoza
I got up early while Cisco slept in this morning. Cleaned up the bike and found my cappuccino. Scoped out a good restaurant for breakfast, settled up my bar bill from the night before, and by the time I got back to the hotel Cisco had awoken from the dead.
Had a great breakfast, huevos rancheros and jugo de naranja. Another coffee and I was wired for the day. After getting our laundry and packing up it was kickstands up by 1045.
The road from Puerto Escondido was much improved from 18 months ago. A lot of new black top and less destructive topes. We made very good time today and were checked in at the hotel in Juchitan de Zaragoza by 1545.
Here's today pics:
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Guatemala in 2 days.
Hasta la vista,
Don Diego y Cisco
I got up early while Cisco slept in this morning. Cleaned up the bike and found my cappuccino. Scoped out a good restaurant for breakfast, settled up my bar bill from the night before, and by the time I got back to the hotel Cisco had awoken from the dead.
Had a great breakfast, huevos rancheros and jugo de naranja. Another coffee and I was wired for the day. After getting our laundry and packing up it was kickstands up by 1045.
The road from Puerto Escondido was much improved from 18 months ago. A lot of new black top and less destructive topes. We made very good time today and were checked in at the hotel in Juchitan de Zaragoza by 1545.
Here's today pics:
Guatemala in 2 days.
Hasta la vista,
Don Diego y Cisco
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San Cristobal de las Casas
Here's the Spotwalla link again:
SpotWalla - Trip Viewer - Mexico/Central America
Cisco and I had a great ride today into Las Casas. The roads are much improved from last year and there were two sections of toll roads.
We tried to find a National Park in Tuxtla Gutierrez and found the river and canyon but to entrance to the park.
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So we got into Las Casas around 1330 and headed to the old historical zone. Found a great hotel right off the square and walked all over the old area. Lots of shops, churches, and restaurants.
Here's some pics of the hotel and the old part of Las Casas.
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Burger King's new design!
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Lots of Mayans around. The kids are the cutest kids I've ever seen (other than my grandkids)
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Cisco and I are only 108 miles from the Guatemala border. So that will be a new country for both of us. The bikes are doing great. We've only seen one group of adventure riders going the other way and we are pretty sure was a guided tour on BMW's. No other V-Stroms yet.
More tomorrow from Lake Atitlan (hopefully).
Adiós,
Don Diego
Here's the Spotwalla link again:
SpotWalla - Trip Viewer - Mexico/Central America
Cisco and I had a great ride today into Las Casas. The roads are much improved from last year and there were two sections of toll roads.
We tried to find a National Park in Tuxtla Gutierrez and found the river and canyon but to entrance to the park.
So we got into Las Casas around 1330 and headed to the old historical zone. Found a great hotel right off the square and walked all over the old area. Lots of shops, churches, and restaurants.
Here's some pics of the hotel and the old part of Las Casas.
Burger King's new design!
Lots of Mayans around. The kids are the cutest kids I've ever seen (other than my grandkids)
Cisco and I are only 108 miles from the Guatemala border. So that will be a new country for both of us. The bikes are doing great. We've only seen one group of adventure riders going the other way and we are pretty sure was a guided tour on BMW's. No other V-Stroms yet.
More tomorrow from Lake Atitlan (hopefully).
Adiós,
Don Diego
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