Guatemala

Checking out of Mexico and into Guatemala was smooth enough.  All I can say is that the roads here were insane.  During a rainstorm we got caught in sometimes the water we had to drive through was higher than our footpegs.  There were roads so high up in the mountains that we drove through clouds.  Streets so skinny there isn't room for much more than the bike and super steep grades up and down with hairpin turns.  And then... then there were the potholes.  Driving through Guatemala without incident has made me feel like I might actually be a competent motorcyclist. 

6/5, across the border and insect free!

6/6, This is the garage of our Airbnb in Huehuetenango.  The bike on the right is what everybody else drives here.  They look at us like we are on spaceships.

6/6, Huehue has an archeological ruins site. 

6/6, like Indiana Jones and his sidekick, Batman.

They unearthed the ruins and covered them in plaster to preserve them...

Every road in Guatemala was beautiful, even if it wasn't paved or had partially washed away.  Ryan is taking a scenic pee break off of a mountain.

6/6, it took an entire day to travel 166km on these roads but it was a hell of a time.  This is San Pedro La Laguna where we spent the night

6/6, Tuk tuks!  The further south we travel the more uniquely and ornately they decorate these things. 

6/7, as we left San Pedro, headed for El Salvador, we got pulled over... so that they cops could take pictures of our bikes and with us.  I thought we were in trouble but then it was just hilarious.

A view from the other side of the lake.

Mexico was good to us!

We had such an awesome time in Mexico.  Our hosts were amazing and everybody was so helpful.  Juan and Memo showed us a great time in Guadalajara and Ali and Fiore were wonderful in Oaxaca. 

5/28. Parral, Chi.  Our first night in Mexico.

5/28. Not a bad start!  And came with free drinks!

5/29. Parral. 

5/29, Torreón.  Almost lost, but not yet.

5/29, Torreón. Taco Taco!

"Respect my entrance and I'll respect your car."

The hotel in Torreón let us park here for security.

5/30, Zacatecas.

Zacatecan aqueduct.

Every. Damn. Street.

Zacatecas!

Zacatecas!

5/31, Guadalajara.  "Circus Clandestino"

Guadalajara.  In front of Juan's theater.

6/1, Guadalajara... Dead battery.

6/1, oil changes.

6/1, Memo took us on a tour of Tlaquepaque.

6/2, Puebla

6/2, Puebla

Puebla golden cathedral

Puebla centro

6/3, Oaxaca market

You bought your food and cooked in the aisle

My first souvenir!

Oaxaca agave fields

Cooking the agave hearts.

Agave masher!

Oaxaca mezcal tasting

6/4, leaving Oaxaca

6/4, San Cristobal de las Casas

6/5, getting ready to leave San Cristobal for Guatemala.

A New Border

We've made it to the south end of Mexico, staying in San Cristóbal de las Casas last night. Today, the plan is to cross into Guatemala.

We spent last night doing some prep, and ended up with arrangements for the next two nights in Guatemala and a lead on a place to stay in El Salvador the following night. Turns out it's good to know folks who also travel...and not just of nightly accommodations. Mount Fuego had a pretty serious eruption Sunday in Guatemala, killing many folks.

From: "Guatemala volcano eruption map: Where is the evacuation area? Is it still dangerous?", Express, by Georgina Laud, 4 June 2018

Our connection there (learned at the last minute of a friend at Lake Atitlán) says it's all travel-able, though. We'll continue as planned, striving to be respectful of the tragedy that has just occurred.

So we need to leave México and enter Guatemala today, which are two different activities. To leave México, it's a matter of returning our vehicle permits and closing out our visas. Then, to enter Guatemala, we'll need to acquire those same things. All borders heretofore are borders we'd crossed before, so had some idea of what was going to happen. All borders henceforth will be new. Trying to allow plenty of time for the process.

BTW, San Cristóbal has been amazing. I had been hoping to stay someplace closer to the border...and perhaps along a more direct, southerly route. So glad we came here, though. The 5,000-foot climb (driving) up the curvy mountain roads was worth it alone, but the city is also really pretty. Definitely need to come back here to explore.

...but I think they have living refrigerators. Nick wanted to cuddle it. I'm more inclined to exorcise it.

My Favorite Things

We contemplated gear quite a bit in preparation for this trip. Space is at a premium on the bike, particularly when toting all camping gear and planning for both very cold and very hot on the same trip. I think we did pretty well right from the get-go, though there were a few stops early on to tweak our kit, and other stops further along.

Here are some of my favorites:

• Rok straps, man. Rok. Straps. Love these things. Little pricey, but totally worth it. Half bungee cord, half cinch strap, they make short work of loading and unloading the bike. Zero complaints with these. The 5/8" x 42" size is my favorite, but I like to have the "light duty" set I accidentally ordered on-hand as well.
  
• Go Cruise Motorcycle Throttle Control. The idea of a throttle lock scared me just a bit, as I like the idea of the throttle letting off when I let go if it. But after several long rides and uncomfortable right arms, I thought I'd give it a try. Couldn't. Be. Happier. This thing lets me shake out the right arm from time to time, or make adjustments to my gear while keeping up at highway speeds. It's easy to set and easy to release.
  
  Slightly overpriced, in my opinion, which is why Nick gave a shot at 3D printing some variants. They work well, too, but are just a bit too long to work well inside my hand guards. The top variant in the picture below works best, particularly with the ability to add a rubber band if you need it tighter.
  
• Garmin GPSmap64s. This was another last-minute purchase, and one that I waffled back-and-forth over for a long time. Really glad to have it along on the ride, though. I kept deciding against it because of the smartphone, but having a dedicated GPS, fully loaded with City Navigator maps has been great. Google Maps on the smartphone can be a bit flaky sometimes -- even with maps downloaded for offline use. The Garmin has had its own hiccups, too, unfortunately. It doesn't like to stay powered from the motorcycle for some reason, which adds the cost of batteries to the trip. Still sorting out the best way to deal with this. Overall, though, I'm happy to have it along.
• Kyocera DuraForce Pro. Speaking of the smartphone, I upgraded to the Kyocera DuraForce Pro a few months back. The first one they sent me ended up having some battery problems after awhile, but I was subsequently given a free replacement. It's a beast when it comes to durability and handling the elements...fully waterproof...works well even with gloves on...can take a shock... I also like the wireless charging and rigged up a wireless charger inside the RAM mount that holds the phone on the handlebars. Works well. The phone does have a tendency to overheat, though, particularly if charging and running maps on a hot, sunny day. Speaking of Palabras Nuevas!, "enfriandose" is not a message you want to see on your phone, particularly when just arriving into a new town and relying on said phone for navigational support. Maps, maps, and more maps, people! Can't emphasize that enough.
• Newly re-covered seat and Purple pad. Lots of miles already on the newly re-covered seat (thank you Sarah!) and the Purple pad. Holding up really well...both the seat, the pad, and my butt.
  
• Scepter 3-gallon marine fuel tank. (Would love to link the Scepter website, but it appears to be non-functional presently.) Not really designed for this purpose, but way cheaper than the alternatives. We deliberated long and hard on extra fuel options, estimating that we would need an extra 3 gallons to get to Prudhoe Bay. We looked at the Giant Loop Gas Bag, as a container only as big as the amount of fuel in it would be optimal, and we looked at RotoPax, which offers a compact and tidy way to tote extra fuel. Both were well beyond what we wanted to pay. Found the Scepter option during an online search, though, and subsequently located it at Bass Pro in KC.
  
  I can think of no better way to tote 3 gallons of extra fuel on the back of the bike, especially for under $50.
  
  There was the problem of fuel leaking the first time I filled it. This was due to the red plug seen in the photo above not being intended as a seal. Thus, as normal rise in temperature caused an increase in pressure inside the tank, fuel was pushed out through the internal hose, as intended by the manufacturer. (This outlet is supposed to be connected to your motorboat engine.) In Grande Prairie, AB, I found a plug that should solve the problem. I reckon we'll find out for sure next time I fill it.
  
• Shark EvoLine 3 helmet. The ability to ride with the chin bar up or down has been great, particularly south of the US since the fewer hurdles when trying to communicate in Spanish, the better. Had to give it a good cleaning after our dusty day to regain acceptable functionality, but I've really enjoyed this helmet. As far as I know there's only one other that has a streamlined design like this with the chin bar up; the rest catch lots of wind.
  
  
  
  

These are just a few favorites that came up as we prepared for this trip. There are certainly other pieces of gear that I've come to rely on over the years, but that will have to be another post.