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Quit our jobs, sold our home and everything in it, gone riding...
- Thread starter Lightcycle
- Start date
That's funny!Because there was no Internet in Cuba and our laptops died as well, the blog got a bit behind. We are back in Toronto visiting for the summer. Amazed that so many people recognize us on the streets. If you see us again, definitely say hi!
Because there was no Internet in Cuba and our laptops died as well, the blog got a bit behind. We are back in Toronto visiting for the summer. Amazed that so many people recognize us on the streets. If you see us again, definitely say hi!
Okay
1. I was hoping for a better story as to why you are in Toronto than that. Like Castro wanted to keep your bikes. You were in a Cuban jail for saying bad things about their tourist industry. etc etc and so on.
2. I like how you are slowly dripping the story of the ride out to us so we have this impression of you guys still travelling rather than the television series method of only creating shows in the winter. I am just going to pretend I did not read that post about spotting you and stay out of the PATH.
3) Did you at least bring a cigar back for every subscriber?
As always enjoy the blog.
ps. As an aside I also like the details of the haircuts. These are small items that everyone has to do when they travel (well I used to) but are left out of most stories. The barber I met back when I was young and travelling was just one more interesting character in my memory.
Ah yeah - still have that Satellite phone - just needs a plan. You are welcome to borrow it under the usual proviso you break it you own it.
Not sure what deals there are out there on plans. Turns out I did no solo out of touch trips in Aus so didn't need it and buddy had his EPIRB.
Any chance of a hint to next stage??
Not sure what deals there are out there on plans. Turns out I did no solo out of touch trips in Aus so didn't need it and buddy had his EPIRB.
Any chance of a hint to next stage??
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/99.html
We were in such a rush to leave the country that we left our boots in Cuba.
Somewhere in the haste of packing on our last day, we rode to the marina in Cienfuegos (just a short ride from our casa) in our hiking shoes and didn't realize until much later that we had left our riding boots behind. A very aggravating and probably costly oversight!
Watching the bikes get loaded onto the Stahlratte for the journey back to the mainland
While we've been motoring across Cuba for the last month or so, the Stahlratte has been lazily sailing from the east side of the island to eventually pick us up here. From hereon, it's a 4-day journey with its sails unfurled to Isla Mujeres, a small island just off the coast of Cancun, Mexico. Yes, Mexico! We're headed back to our favorite country on this trip!
Before leaving Cuba, Neda makes friends with a drug-sniffing cocker spaniel
The journey by sea is uneventful. If you call being green in the face for the first 48 hours uneventful. Thankfully, I didn't throw up on this leg of the sailing, something Neda can't boast about! HA HA! But in the last couple of months, after spending a total of 15 days on the open waters sailing from Panama -> Colombia -> Jamaica -> Cuba -> Mexico, I've decided that being out at sea is a very unnatural act for me. Previously, Neda and I discussed shipping our motorcycles by container across the Atlantic and spending half a month with the crew on the ship. We thought it would be a very romantic way to travel across the ocean. Now, I'm not too sure that would be a very enjoyable option...
Watching dolphins swim alongside the Stahlratte
Despite the seasickness, our time on the Stahlratte is always relaxing and the journey to Mexico was no different. Neda did some reading on the deck, I'd be strumming on a guitar somewhere, we were eating lots of great food and all the passengers on the ship traded stories about their time in Cuba. It always amazes me how different peoples experiences are, despite us all having pretty much the same itinerary. Things that fascinated us, annoyed others and vice versa.
Watching storms in the distance. The closeup is of lightning hitting the water. So cool seeing that!
If I did this, I'd be cleaning upchuck off my Kindle...
Four days later, the skyline of Cancun greeted us with such a change from the decaying buildings of Cuba. It was like returning to civilization again! We spent quite a bit of time scrambling around the ship looking for our boots before realizing we had left them behind. This made us very late for the ferry from Isla Mujeres to Cancun, so there was a last-minute mad dash to make it back to the mainland. Seems like our travels are a series of Hurry-Up-And-Waits (and then Hurry-Up again)...
Leaving the dock at Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Sans boots...
*phew* made it onto the ferry. Last on the boat!
Pirates?
In a scene straight out of an action movie, a couple of crew members from the Stahlratte (you can see it in the distance) fly towards our ferry in their dinghy. It seems they forgot to give us some travel documents for Mexico and had to do a daring sea-to-sea exchange to get the documents to us. LOL!
Happily tooling around Mexico
Cancun was glorious! Mexico is awesome! We had to spend the first couple of days getting all of our import papers in order, TVIP, etc. All very familiar procedures. Everyone here is friendly and helpful and not after our money. Everything is familiar again, from the OXOs (convenience stores), Chedrauis (grocery stores) to the Pemexs (gas stations). We know how much everything should cost and where to go to get stuff. When we walk into a store, there is so much selection and variety, in stark contrast to the single brands the government of Cuba allows in the stores. Being in Mexico felt like being able to breathe again! Figuratively, of course... since there are no air pollution laws here...
One of the things we replaced was our Point-And-Shoot camera. Here it is in action.
We took some time to stock up on supplies and replace a few things that we broke or lost in our time in the Caribbean. I couldn't find the old waterproof Nikon camera that we drowned in Jamaica (waterproof, go figure...), so I bought a Fuji FinePix XP150. Ironically, we didn't take one picture of Cancun, despite being there for 3 days. We visited the local BMW dealership trying to find a replacement for my All-Round Boots, which I loved, but damn my dainty, elven feet, they didn't have my size in stock...
I did see the new R1200GS Liquid-Cooled version, and I liked what I saw. It's wonderfully ugly, just like mine! I want one!
Riding through Chiapas, Mexico
When we first booked our Cuba detour, the plan was to return to Central America and tour through it again unrushed, seeing how we had to scramble to meet the Stahlratte the first time. Unfortunately, right now there was a bit of a time-table to leave Mexico, as our Central America visa was nearing expiration and if we didn't re-enter Guatemala before the end of the week, the expired 90-day visa meant that we could not re-enter any of the CA4 (Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras) countries for another 90 days.
We were in such a rush to leave the country that we left our boots in Cuba.
Somewhere in the haste of packing on our last day, we rode to the marina in Cienfuegos (just a short ride from our casa) in our hiking shoes and didn't realize until much later that we had left our riding boots behind. A very aggravating and probably costly oversight!
Watching the bikes get loaded onto the Stahlratte for the journey back to the mainland
While we've been motoring across Cuba for the last month or so, the Stahlratte has been lazily sailing from the east side of the island to eventually pick us up here. From hereon, it's a 4-day journey with its sails unfurled to Isla Mujeres, a small island just off the coast of Cancun, Mexico. Yes, Mexico! We're headed back to our favorite country on this trip!
Before leaving Cuba, Neda makes friends with a drug-sniffing cocker spaniel
The journey by sea is uneventful. If you call being green in the face for the first 48 hours uneventful. Thankfully, I didn't throw up on this leg of the sailing, something Neda can't boast about! HA HA!
But in the last couple of months, after spending a total of 15 days on the open waters sailing from Panama -> Colombia -> Jamaica -> Cuba -> Mexico, I've decided that being out at sea is a very unnatural act for me. Previously, Neda and I discussed shipping our motorcycles by container across the Atlantic and spending half a month with the crew on the ship. We thought it would be a very romantic way to travel across the ocean. Now, I'm not too sure that would be a very enjoyable option...
Watching dolphins swim alongside the Stahlratte
Despite the seasickness, our time on the Stahlratte is always relaxing and the journey to Mexico was no different. Neda did some reading on the deck, I'd be strumming on a guitar somewhere, we were eating lots of great food and all the passengers on the ship traded stories about their time in Cuba. It always amazes me how different peoples experiences are, despite us all having pretty much the same itinerary. Things that fascinated us, annoyed others and vice versa.
Watching storms in the distance. The closeup is of lightning hitting the water. So cool seeing that!
If I did this, I'd be cleaning upchuck off my Kindle...
Four days later, the skyline of Cancun greeted us with such a change from the decaying buildings of Cuba. It was like returning to civilization again! We spent quite a bit of time scrambling around the ship looking for our boots before realizing we had left them behind. This made us very late for the ferry from Isla Mujeres to Cancun, so there was a last-minute mad dash to make it back to the mainland. Seems like our travels are a series of Hurry-Up-And-Waits (and then Hurry-Up again)...
Leaving the dock at Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Sans boots...
*phew* made it onto the ferry. Last on the boat!
Pirates?
In a scene straight out of an action movie, a couple of crew members from the Stahlratte (you can see it in the distance) fly towards our ferry in their dinghy. It seems they forgot to give us some travel documents for Mexico and had to do a daring sea-to-sea exchange to get the documents to us. LOL!
Happily tooling around Mexico
Cancun was glorious! Mexico is awesome! We had to spend the first couple of days getting all of our import papers in order, TVIP, etc. All very familiar procedures. Everyone here is friendly and helpful and not after our money. Everything is familiar again, from the OXOs (convenience stores), Chedrauis (grocery stores) to the Pemexs (gas stations). We know how much everything should cost and where to go to get stuff. When we walk into a store, there is so much selection and variety, in stark contrast to the single brands the government of Cuba allows in the stores. Being in Mexico felt like being able to breathe again! Figuratively, of course... since there are no air pollution laws here...
One of the things we replaced was our Point-And-Shoot camera. Here it is in action.
We took some time to stock up on supplies and replace a few things that we broke or lost in our time in the Caribbean. I couldn't find the old waterproof Nikon camera that we drowned in Jamaica (waterproof, go figure...), so I bought a Fuji FinePix XP150. Ironically, we didn't take one picture of Cancun, despite being there for 3 days. We visited the local BMW dealership trying to find a replacement for my All-Round Boots, which I loved, but damn my dainty, elven feet, they didn't have my size in stock...
I did see the new R1200GS Liquid-Cooled version, and I liked what I saw. It's wonderfully ugly, just like mine! I want one!
Riding through Chiapas, Mexico
When we first booked our Cuba detour, the plan was to return to Central America and tour through it again unrushed, seeing how we had to scramble to meet the Stahlratte the first time. Unfortunately, right now there was a bit of a time-table to leave Mexico, as our Central America visa was nearing expiration and if we didn't re-enter Guatemala before the end of the week, the expired 90-day visa meant that we could not re-enter any of the CA4 (Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras) countries for another 90 days.
Just outside of Palenque, Chiapas
It felt good to be in Trek-Mode again. Unfortunately we were riding in our hiking shoes, which made us feel very exposed. We really have to get proper riding boots before we attempt any gnarlier terrain. Our destination is Guatemala, to the very spot where we left off before our mad dash to meet the Stahlratte. Our route took us through the same places we travelled initially, we rode the same roads (shortest route) and stayed in the same places, eating in the same restaurants we had visited the first time through. It's very time-consuming finding restaurants and hotels, and frequenting the same places saved a lot of time and headaches. And stomach-aches as well...
Felt redundant taking pictures of the same places we had visited. But I did manage to try out the new camera en route. I'm not that happy with it. I like my old Nikon better.
The automatic light sensor on the Fuji is not very intuitive and takes some getting used to to get the best contrast. Most of the riding pictures turned out too dark to use.
While taking a break at a Pemex, I was approached by one of the gasoline tanker drivers who was delivering petrol to the station. He seemed curious about our motorcycles and started asking me questions. I had flashbacks of Cuba and initially viewed him with suspicion. What did he really want? Then he flipped out his cell phone and started thumbing through it, showing me pictures of his own Suzuki sportbike he had at home. We then had a great conversation about sport vs touring bikes and he was curious about how the BMW bikes handled.
But it struck me how scarred I was from our time in Cuba and how it's so difficult relating to others when there's little socio-economic common ground. When I look back at all the places we've bookmarked as potential places to live, like La Paz in the Baja Peninsula, I realize that they're all very middle-class cities where the residents were less concerned about putting food on the table and spent their time pursuing more self-actualized pursuits like music, dance and the arts. And motorcycling for pleasure travel...
Waiting for Neda to do her thing at the Mexico/Guatemla border
Dodging chicken buses in the hills of Guatemala
Weaving through the Tuk Tuks on the rainy roads of Guatemala
Our primary adversary on this trip has been the weather. First, outrunning the bitter Arctic winter as it chased us from Alaska all the way to the Mexican border, and now we are riding straight into the infamous rainy season in Central America. We encountered a few washed out roads and landslides. I know how badly our bikes do with all the weight of our luggage up high and running street-tires, and I'm a bit worried about how we'll manage.
Slip, slidin' away
Your pictures are beautiful! You should write a book with all this material and finance your trip
Have you thought of that?
Thanks for the encouragement!
I'll look into it, but probably when our trip winds down. Not much time in between traveling and updating the blog.
kneedraggin101
Well-known member
I'm only a few pages late on this.. But subscribed! Looks amazing
Sent from my phone
Sent from my phone
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/100.html
We re-entered Guatemala through the Mexican state of Chiapas, and followed the Pan American highway to Quetzeltenango (Xela), where we had taken Spanish lessons just three months ago. It had rained off and on ever since crossing the border, but as we rolled into town, the skies opened up and we were forced to navigate the slick narrow cobblestone streets of historic Xela, trying to find suitable shelter for the night. After knocking on a couple of doors, we booked into a hostel that was incredibly cheap and not entirely rundown to wait out the storm till the next morning.
It felt kind of nice being in a familiar town, but we were eager to see something new. After crossing the border, all of our schedules and time-tables fell by the way-side and it felt very good being able to dawdle again. I often look at the route we've taken around the Americas and it looks like the path of a drunken sailor - lots of loops, meanderings and detours... which is exactly what we were intending when we first set out!
Dodging tourists in the historic town of Antigua
As we were now in the central highlands of Guatemala, even summer temperatures can dip into the low teens overnight, and this coupled with the rain made for some cold temperatures. Because we were without our waterproof riding boots, for the next morning's ride I wrapped plastic bags over my socked feet and then wore my hiking shoes over this. And as everybody knows, the more prepared you are for wet weather, the drier the ride it will be. It was only a couple of hours riding eastwards, but I felt very dorkey having those white plastic bag sockies peek over the tops of my shoes...
Cobblestone streets and painted buildings
Antigua used to be the capital of Guatemala before earthquakes decimated most of the city in late 1700s. It's a beautiful city that's managed to preserve a lot of the Spanish colonial architecture, and there is a high concentration of ex-pats that have made this place their home. We've been feeling burnt out from travel for a couple of months now, and now that we don't have anything scheduled ahead of us, we've decided to settle down in this quaint town for a little bit of time to recharge our batteries, and also to do some exploring.
Our first B&B in Antigua was home to cats! Because I was allergic, I had to use my zoom lens for this shot!
We wanted to find an apartment or residence for a few weeks, but didn't want to rush into anything so we booked into a B&B and scoured the city for more permanent accommodations. It only took us a couple of days to find an apartment right in the heart of the city. Short-term rentals are very easy to find in Antigua as there are a lot of tourists that visit and vacation in this scenic town.
Arch of Santa Catalina - Antigua's most famous architectural landmark
Antigua is surrounded by three large volcanoes - one of which is currently active!
We found a place! This is our driveway.
Courtyard parking - we shared it with a KTM from California, but never met the rider!
Feels so good to have a kitchen and fridge again!
World-famous delicious NedaBurgers!
It is so amazing having a home-base to dump all our stuff in and just relax without having to worry about foraging for food and shelter. Stocking up the fridge means not having to grocery shop everyday, and with a hot stove, spices and cookware, we're able to make meals that were not possible while we were on the road. Being nomadic is a great lifestyle for us, but we still need some kind of sedentary life to balance the intensity of all the new things we're seeing and experiencing.
Indigenous women selling their wares are a familiar site
The ruins of the El Carmen church are right across the street from our apartment.
Tourists flock to the little market that springs to life in front of it every weekend
Homemade handbags for sale. I had to pull Neda away...
Arch of Santa Catalina at night
My idea of relaxing is to hibernate like a bear, and I stayed inside the apartment for the first week, not even venturing out once. Neda explored the town and showed me pictures she took of what life was like outside the cave. Her idea of relaxation was to book herself for a month of Spanish lessons. I believe at this point she is actually teaching Spanish, not learning it...
After the wi-fi Internet got installed in our apartment, that sealed the deal. I was not leaving this place. Ever.
I gorged myself on downloaded TV shows and motorcycle races, and wondered when they kicked out all the non-Spanish riders out of MotoGP...?
We relaxed. The bikes relaxed. It was very relaxing for the whole RideDOT.com family...
Arch de Santa Catalina after a rainfall
The Central America rainy season is fascinating to experience first-hand. Here in Antigua, it rains every single afternoon like clockwork. Everyone in town wakes up early and gets their errands done and by 2PM, they've scurried themselves indoors somewhere to wait out the afternoon storm. Sometime around 6-7PM, the rains stops and the street life resumes once again until the overnight rains return. I've never seen such regular weather patterns before in my life. Especially coming from Canada where the weather predictions are as unreliable as a KTM motorcycle.
Neda tinkers away on her bike
Felt great to catch up with family and friends after being disconnected for a month in Cuba
Antigua is full of wonderful architecture and scenic volcanoes everywhere you look!
Volcane de Agua (Water Volcano) just outside our apartment
We re-entered Guatemala through the Mexican state of Chiapas, and followed the Pan American highway to Quetzeltenango (Xela), where we had taken Spanish lessons just three months ago. It had rained off and on ever since crossing the border, but as we rolled into town, the skies opened up and we were forced to navigate the slick narrow cobblestone streets of historic Xela, trying to find suitable shelter for the night. After knocking on a couple of doors, we booked into a hostel that was incredibly cheap and not entirely rundown to wait out the storm till the next morning.
It felt kind of nice being in a familiar town, but we were eager to see something new. After crossing the border, all of our schedules and time-tables fell by the way-side and it felt very good being able to dawdle again. I often look at the route we've taken around the Americas and it looks like the path of a drunken sailor - lots of loops, meanderings and detours... which is exactly what we were intending when we first set out!
Dodging tourists in the historic town of Antigua
As we were now in the central highlands of Guatemala, even summer temperatures can dip into the low teens overnight, and this coupled with the rain made for some cold temperatures. Because we were without our waterproof riding boots, for the next morning's ride I wrapped plastic bags over my socked feet and then wore my hiking shoes over this. And as everybody knows, the more prepared you are for wet weather, the drier the ride it will be. It was only a couple of hours riding eastwards, but I felt very dorkey having those white plastic bag sockies peek over the tops of my shoes...
Cobblestone streets and painted buildings
Antigua used to be the capital of Guatemala before earthquakes decimated most of the city in late 1700s. It's a beautiful city that's managed to preserve a lot of the Spanish colonial architecture, and there is a high concentration of ex-pats that have made this place their home. We've been feeling burnt out from travel for a couple of months now, and now that we don't have anything scheduled ahead of us, we've decided to settle down in this quaint town for a little bit of time to recharge our batteries, and also to do some exploring.
Our first B&B in Antigua was home to cats! Because I was allergic, I had to use my zoom lens for this shot!
We wanted to find an apartment or residence for a few weeks, but didn't want to rush into anything so we booked into a B&B and scoured the city for more permanent accommodations. It only took us a couple of days to find an apartment right in the heart of the city. Short-term rentals are very easy to find in Antigua as there are a lot of tourists that visit and vacation in this scenic town.
Arch of Santa Catalina - Antigua's most famous architectural landmark
Antigua is surrounded by three large volcanoes - one of which is currently active!
We found a place! This is our driveway.
Courtyard parking - we shared it with a KTM from California, but never met the rider!
Feels so good to have a kitchen and fridge again!
World-famous delicious NedaBurgers!
It is so amazing having a home-base to dump all our stuff in and just relax without having to worry about foraging for food and shelter. Stocking up the fridge means not having to grocery shop everyday, and with a hot stove, spices and cookware, we're able to make meals that were not possible while we were on the road. Being nomadic is a great lifestyle for us, but we still need some kind of sedentary life to balance the intensity of all the new things we're seeing and experiencing.
Indigenous women selling their wares are a familiar site
The ruins of the El Carmen church are right across the street from our apartment.
Tourists flock to the little market that springs to life in front of it every weekend
Homemade handbags for sale. I had to pull Neda away...
Arch of Santa Catalina at night
My idea of relaxing is to hibernate like a bear, and I stayed inside the apartment for the first week, not even venturing out once. Neda explored the town and showed me pictures she took of what life was like outside the cave. Her idea of relaxation was to book herself for a month of Spanish lessons. I believe at this point she is actually teaching Spanish, not learning it...
After the wi-fi Internet got installed in our apartment, that sealed the deal. I was not leaving this place. Ever.
I gorged myself on downloaded TV shows and motorcycle races, and wondered when they kicked out all the non-Spanish riders out of MotoGP...?
We relaxed. The bikes relaxed. It was very relaxing for the whole RideDOT.com family...
Arch de Santa Catalina after a rainfall
The Central America rainy season is fascinating to experience first-hand. Here in Antigua, it rains every single afternoon like clockwork. Everyone in town wakes up early and gets their errands done and by 2PM, they've scurried themselves indoors somewhere to wait out the afternoon storm. Sometime around 6-7PM, the rains stops and the street life resumes once again until the overnight rains return. I've never seen such regular weather patterns before in my life. Especially coming from Canada where the weather predictions are as unreliable as a KTM motorcycle.
Neda tinkers away on her bike
Felt great to catch up with family and friends after being disconnected for a month in Cuba
Antigua is full of wonderful architecture and scenic volcanoes everywhere you look!
Volcane de Agua (Water Volcano) just outside our apartment
Try this one:
It's the untouched original. I've got Photoshop and we'll see how my Kung-Fu stacks up against Picassa!
Oops, try this:
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Road-Trips/Canada/i-SfwVXSV/0/O/DSCF0005.jpg
In your Picassa autocorrect, the trees look really faded.
This was taken in the same area, same time. The light sensor is really hard to control:
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Road-Trips/Canada/i-SfwVXSV/0/O/DSCF0005.jpg
In your Picassa autocorrect, the trees look really faded.
This was taken in the same area, same time. The light sensor is really hard to control:
yeah cuz there is no image data - 107k not much left of the 4-6 mb original
Also in the one above you actually have some light on the forest green where in the tunnel the sky just overwhelms the sensor so there is very little green component even on the full sized - the trees are pretty much the colour of the highway itself.
Shooting into a bright sky is a total pain.
You can see in the detail the camera picked out the green further down the road but of course it's super noisy. Sometimes it's just not the right conditions rather than the camera issue.
Also in the one above you actually have some light on the forest green where in the tunnel the sky just overwhelms the sensor so there is very little green component even on the full sized - the trees are pretty much the colour of the highway itself.
Shooting into a bright sky is a total pain.
You can see in the detail the camera picked out the green further down the road but of course it's super noisy. Sometimes it's just not the right conditions rather than the camera issue.
Last edited:
Natfx7
Banned
Lighcycle, what about your kids ? Don't you wish to become mother and father ? Is this an unstoppable ride ? Don't you feel tired ? Are you searching for the happy man? Here's the story http://fairietale.livejournal.com/11044.html
http://www.davidpbrown.co.uk/poetry/alexander-pope-2.html
http://www.davidpbrown.co.uk/poetry/alexander-pope-2.html
Riceburner
Well-known member
I think the happy man is sitting on the grey BMW.
....but he is looking for happy boots though.
....but he is looking for happy boots though.
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