Quit our jobs, sold our home and everything in it, gone riding...

[Lightcycle]

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/119.html

We originally started keeping a blog of all our motorcycle travels a few years ago because we didn't want to forget all of the cool places we visited and the fantastic things we've seen. When we shared it on the Internet, we got a lot of positive feedback and encouragement, but amazingly, we also received invitations from all over the world for warm meals and a place to sleep whilst on our travels. The kindness and the hospitality we've experienced was and still is overwhelming!

Riding around the suburbs of San Jose

A few months ago, Yanil emailed us and told us that if we were ever in Costa Rica, he would love to have us stay with him and his family. So we decided to take him up on his offer!

But right after my reply, he emailed me back and told me he had to ask his wife for permission first. LOL!

Pulling into Yanil and Evelyn's driveway

Weary travelers at the doorstep!

In the end we got the nod of approval. Yanil, his wife Evelyn and his young son Evan, met us at a restaurant in the suburbs of San Jose where we were finishing up a late lunch. We got to talk with them for awhile before heading back to their place and we were struck by how super-nice Evelyn was, and how gregarious and funny Yanil was.

Yanil, Evelyn and Evan

San Jose is the capital of Costa Rica and is its largest city. We're staying less than 30 minutes to the north, in a quiet suburb away from the hubbub of the capital. Yanil was very excited about having us over. He gave us a ton of options of things we could see and do while we were around San Jose, but we were so tired from traveling the past few weeks, all we wanted to do was just to chill out. So while the family was out at work and school, we got some relax-time in.

This is Misty, the real boss of the house

Neda is happy she is able to cook again

In the evenings, when Yanil and Evelyn came back from work, we all took Misty for her evening walk around the neighbourhood. It was exactly the relaxing kind of stay we wanted and we got a chance to spend some time with our hosts. Yanil used to live and work in the US, so his English was perfect. Because Evelyn was more comfortable with Spanish, I got an opportunity to show how bad my Espanol was. Turns out her English was way better than my Spanish, so we all ended up talking English anyway just to accommodate me...

Yanil on his pride and joy: G650GS!

 

[Lightcycle]

The next day, Yanil led us out to the BMW dealership in San Jose where I needed to get my EWS ring sensor replaced. We are instructed to remove our sidecases from off our bikes because we're going to be riding through the morning rush hour. Commute time with lane-splitting: 30 minutes. Commute time with our sidecases on: Better pack a lunch.

Neda waits outside

Neda waits inside

A couple of hours of minor surgery and we're out the door

I kept the old ring sensor that Rafael at San Salvador BMW gave me just in case the dreaded EWS problem cropped up again. The sensor is interchangeable among a lot of BMW motorcycles, including Neda's model.

After the service, we went grocery shopping because we're treating Yanil and his family to a proper Thanksgiving dinner that night!

Thanksgiving with our new friends

Latin America doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving, and to be honest, it's not that big for us either, but it was nice to be able to have an excuse to eat lots of food (no turkey though - Neda made beef stirfry!) with good company. This is our second Thanksgiving on the road, and every holiday or birthday, I'm reminded of just how long we've been on the road and where we were 12 months ago. Last year, we were eating turkey sandwiches at the Stonehenge memorial in Washington!

Evan and his most favorite toy in the whole wide world!

A couple of days later, Yanil, Evelyn and Evan all took the day off to take us up to the Poas volcano, about a scenic hour and half drive through small towns and coffee fields. On the ride up, Yanil tried to teach me some Costa Rican slang. "Pura vida" is the most common phrase and is used as a greeting or a farewell. "Tuanis, mae" means, "What's up, man!", another greeting and "Tico" is the nickname that Costa Ricans call themselves. While talking to Yanil, I got that there's quite a rivalry between the Central American countries, especially between the Ticos and the Nicas (Nicaraguans). Apparently the Nicas are jealous of the Costa Ricans, because, well... Costa Rica is just more awesome.

As we pulled up to the gate of the park, Yanil told me that he was going to try to score us some local admission tickets instead of having us pay the full tourist price. All I had to do was convince the guard at the gate that I was a "Tico"... He rolled down the window to talk to the guard with a jovial, "Pura vida, mae!" After some chit chat, the guard looked at all the occupants of the car and fixed his glare at me. I tried to stammer out a "Tuanis, mae! Pura vida!", almost certain that I screwed up something that simple.

The guard's eyes narrowed as he turned back to Yanil and sold him 5 local admission tickets. It worked! Yeah, right. I'm sure the guard had a good chuckle over the asian guy trying to speak Tico with a bad gringo accent.

Poas volcano is Costa Rica's largest and most active volcano

It wasn't the best day to visit the volcano as the clouds and the rain hampered our view a little but we could still see the steam rising from the volcano.

Ladies mug for the camera

In front of Poas volcano

That evening was the big Costa Rica vs Mexico soccer match for the World Cup qualifiers. Yanil had been talking about this all week. Evelyn made us some hot dogs and we all crowded in front of the TV. I don't know much about the World Cup, but apparently Mexico, who was the big favorite and perennial powerhouse, wasn't doing very well this year and was facing elimination - something that Yanil was very happy about. If there was a rivalry between Ticos and Nicas, it paled in comparison to the one between the whole of Central America vs Mexico, especially during World Cup season!

It was a close match going back and forth, but Costa Rica pulled an upset by defeating Mexico 2-1. Yanil went nuts! And outside, it sounded like every car in Costa Rica was honking their horns. Unfortunately, the celebrations became slightly more muted as a few minutes later, the USA won their game against Panama, saving Mexico from elimination.

It was so interesting and funny seeing these rivalries in Central America that I wasn't even aware of. Reminds me of all the Canada vs US ribbing.

After the game, Evelyn tries out Neda's bike for size. Looking good!

We stayed for four days at Yanil and Evelyn's place, and we had such a good time hanging out with them that we didn't want to leave, but we were on a schedule again. So the next morning we said a sad farewell to Evelyn, Evan and Misty as Yanil joined us on his bike to take us back out on the road.

Saddlebags and luggage remounted. Ugh. Back on the road again!

 

[PaisaMed]

I would like to ship my bike from Miami to Colombia and was just informed by Avianca Cargo that I need a release form from Canada stating that my bike is clear for transport.

Did you guiys get this form/permission before leaving on your trip?

 

[Lightcycle]

Did you guiys get this form/permission before leaving on your trip?

I think what you're referring to might be a lien release form. Is your bike financed? If so, the registration is under the finance company's name, not yours, and this could be a problem when crossing borders.

Our bikes are under our own names, so we've never run into this issue. However, I've heard of many travelers who weren't allowed to take their vehicle across a border because the title/registration wasn't in their name. The worst one I heard was a guy who's stuck in Guatemala right now because the Mexican & Guatemalan officials he went through didn't enforce this ruling when he rode in, however El Salvador does stringent checks. So now he's stuck because if he returns back, he runs the risk of the Mexicans now enforcing the title check, stranding his motorcycle in Guatemala.

Surprisingly, this is a very common problem. Something travelers never think to check up on before they leave.

We ran into this a little last year in Mexico, because originally Neda's bike was registered under my name. You'd think because I was traveling with her it would be okay, but apparently you aren't allowed to import two vehicles across the border at once. We had to provide a marriage certificate to show that the motorcycle was in possession of two family members traveling together. When we visited Toronto this summer, we made sure to transfer the ownership to Neda's name to avoid further complication.

If this is your issue, I would definitely try to get the registration under your name. It'll save you a lot of headaches in the future. Even with a lien release form, you might be able to get your bike into Colombia, but you might not be able to get it back again or cross other borders if other countries don't recognize the release form.

 

[Lightcycle]

Update from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/120.html

Just a quick update. We left Yanil and Evelyn's place and headed westwards to follow the Pacific coast to Manuel Antonio National Park. The ride was typical Central American jungle scenery, but we were a bit disappointed that the coastal road was quite a bit inland, so we didn't get a view of the ocean on our ride southwards.

Heading south again

We checked into a hotel just outside the tiny town of Quepos, just a couple of kms away from the park. We're still feeling a bit travel-fatigued and decided to book a couple of nights here. It still rains in the afternoon, so we had to schedule our park outing for the morning.

Albino tree frog

Neda kept forgetting the name of the park, so we called it the Antonio Banderas Park. It's supposed to be well-known for the diversity of wildlife. It's recommended to book a tour guide, as they have telescopes and can point out all the hidden creatures that you'd normally miss if you walked the park by yourselves.

Iguana on the lookout for Antonio Banderas

These caterpillar were hanging in the middle of path at face level. Almost walked into a few of them!

We were promised that we would see a whole bunch of interesting animals, like monkeys and sloths. I especially wanted to see a sloth just because I thought the Spanish name was funny: Oso Perezoso. I read it on a sign somewhere days ago and while we were in San Jose, Evelyn found it hilarious that I kept repeating it like a little kid. Oso Perezoso.

Sadly, the nature walk was a bit of a bust. The guide just pointed out a bunch of bugs and reptiles that you could see anywhere on the side of the road... No Oso Perezosos...

More caterpillars

Green iguana, Neda's favorite

Snake

We only saw a few Howler Monkeys, they were too far to photograph well. This is a Mantled Howler, common in Costa Rica[/size][/b]

While we were hiking in Arenal a few days ago, we heard hordes of Howler Monkeys in the distance, but never saw them. We read that some of the monkeys get very territorial and throw fruits at hikers that pass by too close. Neda said that it'd be pretty cool to have fruit being thrown at you by a monkey, and I replied, "You mean, like a coconut?"...

The Howler Monnkey is the largest monkey in Central and South America. They're well known for their very loud grunts and howls. The Guiness Book of World Records says that Howler Monkeys are the loudest animals in the world and can be heard from as far as 5 kms away!

More iguana action

Manuel Antonio is well-known for its beautiful beaches

Unfortunately the tour took longer than we thought and we had to check out of our hotel by noon, so we didn't get a chance to laze about on the beaches. The park was kind of disappointing, we thought we'd see a lot more animals. Didn't live up to its hype.

Bye bye beach

For the folks on ADV who requested more "calendar" shots of me...

On our way to Panama!

 

[Lightcycle]

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/121.html

You'd think that having crossed all these borders before that we'd know what to expect the second time through. However, at the Costa Rica/Panama border, we're presented with a new wrinkle. We need to show the border official that we are carrying $500. Cash. For each of us. What the faahh...?

Apparently a new rule has just come into effect requiring all travelers to show that they have "economic solvency", ie. that they can afford to be a tourist in Panama, and not panhandle on the streets of this country. Non-citizens also require proof that they'll return back to their country, like a plane or bus ticket. Since we're on our vehicles, that second requirement is waived, but it takes us some running around trying to find an ATM that will dispense $1,000 so we can wave it in front of the border official's face.

These new rules are ridiculous. Now any mugger is guaranteed $500 for every person he robs at the border. A car full of 5 people? That's $2,500 right there. Stupid!

Still rainy season in Panama City

It took us a couple of days of riding on the monotonous Pan American Highway to get to Panama City. As we got closer, Neda started developing a fever and by the time we checked into our hotel, she had a full blown flu and was bed-ridden for a few days. Kinda reminded me of the last time we were traveling this way, except that it was me that was traveling sick.

Modern city peeks through the old buildings of Casco Viejo

Panama City is pretty developed, there is the newer downtown district, a lot of run-down areas, and a historic part called Casco Viejo that is recently undergoing some renovations to attract tourists. After Neda recovered from her flu, we rode through some seedy sections of town to get to Casco Viejo.

Outside our restaurant - paid expensive tourist prices for lunch

The Old and the New

San Francisco de Asis church

Panama City was founded in 1519 and it stood for 152 years before being burnt to the ground by its own governor, in a scorched earth tactic to prevent it from being attacked and looted by the pirate Henry Morgan. A year later in 1672, a new city was built which would later become Casco Viejo, where we are walking around now.

Childish glee running amok in the streets!

Casco Viejo is built on a peninsula on the southwest section of Panama City Lots of fishing and swimming off the small malecon

We can see the new Panama City rising above the harbour across from the peninsula

Most of Casco Viejo is currently being renovated, these are the newer sections

Plaza Francia is a newer section and was originally the main square and is right on the waterfront

The plaza was built as a dedication to all the French workers who started on the Panama Canal in the 1880s. When France ran out of money, the United States took over the Canal, completing it in 1914. The obelisk is topped with French coque crowns and plaques detail the effort in building the Panama Canal.

 

[Lightcycle]

Kuna Indians, who we first met on our sailing voyage on the Stahlratte through the San Blas islands, have set up stalls at the Plaza Francia

Kuna masks for sale

Colourful Kuna dresses

Busker playing at Plaza de Francia

The spires in the background are from the Cathedral in the Plaza de Independencia

Would never have guessed that she was bedridden just a couple of days ago!

No idea what this colourful building was in the distance

Neda hanging out at the Plaza de Francia, fish market in the background

Hanging out in doorways is a popular pastime in Casco Viejo

 

[jc100]

If you're still there you can always see sloths in the park that can be found about halfway down the walkway that they built from rock excavated from the Panama Canal that juts out into the sea. Forgot the name of the place but it's nearby some buildings mentioned in the Tailor of Panama book and they held a miss world contest there a long time ago lol. There's a hotel and exhibition place at the end I think. Look into the water as you walk and you can see rays and puffer fish.

A short cab ride takes you to the start of the rainforest that runs all the way along the canal to Colon. There's some guided walks there and I've seen toucans and plenty of wildlife and some old plane parts from the US invasion scattered in the jungle.

 

[Lightcycle]

Update from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/122.html

One morning, we rode out to visit the world-famous Panama Canal - or at least the Miraflores Lock, one of the three locks that comprise the Panama Canal system. It's the southern-most lock, about 15 minutes away from Panama city and is the first lock that ships go through when they approach from the Pacific Ocean. There are two other locks in the 80-km long Panama Canal: the Pedro Miguel lock, within visual distance of the Miraflores, and the Gatun Lock, which is closer to the Atlantic Ocean.

I heard an interesting comment the other day about how geopolitically, South America starts at the border between Panama and Colombia. However, geographically, the continents are physically separated by the waters of the Panama Canal, so anything south (uhm... east) of the canal could be considered South America. And that includes Panama City! So really, we've been in South America for quite a while now!

Neda waves to passengers aboard a cruise ship passing through the Miraflores Locks

You can watch ships traverse through the double locks of the Miraflores from a multi-storey visitor's centre. An announcer on the loudspeaker tells us interesting facts about the canal while we wait for each ship to line up, get pulled into position by tug boats and then small locomotives on either side of the canal. There are two lanes so two ships can cross at the same time.

Some interesting stats:

- Canal passage costs are dependent on the size, weight and cargo of the ship. Private yachts typically pay $1000-$2000, whereas the largest shipping commercial ships and tankers will pay up to $150,000!
- Even though the tolls are high, ships save two weeks of sailing time by not having to travel around the tip of South America, at a savings of $1,000,0000!
- The lowest toll ever paid was by Richard Hallibuton in 1928. He swam across the Panama Canal and was charged according to his body-weight: 38 cents!

180 degree view of the Miraflores from the Visitor Centre

- The maximum size ship that can pass through the Panama Canal is 106 ft wide, 950 ft long.
- Ships that approach this limit but do not exceed it are called Panamax ships. Newer ships that exceed this size are called Post-Panamax ships.
- In 2006, the Panama Canal announced new plans to build a third lane with larger dimensions to accommodate post-Panamax dimensions. The new standard, dubbed New Panamax, will be 180 x 1,400 ft! A football field only measures 160 x 360 ft. You'll be able to fit 3.5 football fields end-to-end comfortably in each New Panamax lock with lots of room to spare. That's insane!

Closeup of one of the gates in the lock

View from the visitor centre of a southbound ship passing through one of the double locks

We spent the entire morning just watching ships go in and out of the Miraflores Lock. It's an astounding engineering feat accomplished on such a grand level. You never get tired of watching it. I just found out that the Panama Canal is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern (Industrial) World. No surprise!

[video=youtube;r0S_9uBwWlA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0S_9uBwWlA[/video]
It takes a ship between 8-10 hours to cross all three locks of the Panama Canal, but you can cross the Miraflores and Pedro Miguel in two minutes!

In the video above, the ship is traveling north from the Pacific through the double-locks of the Miraflores first, and then through the single lock of Pedro Miguel. Although it takes 8-10 hours to make the complete crossing from ocean-to-ocean, you can't just show up as spots are booked up for at least a week out. Some vessels book one year in advance

 

[Natalia Smith]

I really appreciate your thread. Nice and interesting information.

 

[rich6969]

amazing adventure.....

 

[Lightcycle]

Update from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/123.html

The Darien Gap is both cool and frustrating at the same time.

I think it's the neatest thing that there isn't a road connecting North and South America, and that overland travelers have to resort to sea or air travel to continue the journey. It adds a bit of variety to the travel routine.

What we've found frustrating is that our preferred method of travel, the Stahlratte, is booked up several months in advance, which forces us on a schedule and a deadline - the antithesis of what we wanted our trip to be about. We had given ourselves two months to travel through Central America, but once again, we grossly underestimated how slow we move. Travel fatigue has also settled in again, it seems to have come a lot quicker now and more often since the beginning of our trip...

Stahlratte, we meet again...<br>
Picture by Baja Bob

The Stahlratte experience was like deja-vu all over again. From our departure in Panama City all the way to the loading process, we knew exactly what to expect and there were no surprises. Actually, there was one: the weather was much nicer - blue skies instead of rain!

If you've just joined our blog recently and skipped all the earlier bits, you can see the writeup and a ton of pictures from our first trip on the Stahlratte here: <a href=http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/87.html>http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/87.html</a>

So not many pictures this time round, but I took some videos instead - going to try my hand at video editing again.

This little guy was the son of the Kuna island's liason

Someone on the Stahlratte team must have been keeping tabs on our blog, because when the rest of the passengers were rounded up to be shipped off to the Kuna island for the first night, we were told that we could remain on board with the crew. We didn't have such a great time the first go-around, and I think we already paid the Kuna tax, so we were exempt this time. It was a nice gesture and showed a personal touch.

However, this special treatment didn't endear us to the rest of the passengers. When they came back by dinghy the next morning, we were greeted with cold accusing stares and had to make friends with them all over again... HAHA!

Kuna Yala Sunset

Staying aboard the Stahlratte with the crew was an eye-opening experience, watching them prepare the bikes and boat for the journey, having one quiet relaxing evening before having to play host to 20 passengers, and also seeing how integrated the ship is in the San Blas eco-system. In the morning, Kuna from the neighbouring islands would pull up to the ship on their dugout boats, climb aboard, make smalltalk with Lulu (that's what they call Ludwig) and then raid the food stores. The Kuna women would then setup their jewelry and crafts store on the upper deck and wait for passengers to window-shop.

They shoot cannonballs out of pirate ships, don't they?

On this trip, I've discovered that I am a barfin' land-lubber, not suited for water travel. Maybe it's amnesia or masochism, but that hasn't stopped us from booking four different sailings on the Stahlratte, and in total we've spent 15 days on the water with the ship and crew! I'd never have thought we'd do something like that!

Fortunately, the sailing this time round was calm and I only threw up a couple of times...

RideDOT.com trivia: Neda's tankbag is full of seashells. Don't ask. It's just one of those things...

Here's a video I put together of our time on the Stahlratte. Because the bikes are such an important part of our traveling family, there's quite some footage on the loading and unloading process. If you've followed our first voyage on the pirate ship 6 months ago, you'll notice that the unloading process is a bit different. When I asked Ludwig about it, he said his back couldn't handle the dinghy unloading method any more... ha!


[video=youtube;NOuSbpBhdWA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOuSbpBhdWA[/video]

 

[meme]

Merry Christmas you two.

You are missed,

Hugs
T

 

[ZX600]

Offer still stands, if you guys going through Venezuela, I can offer some information since I lived there for 18 years.

 

[Lightcycle]

Thanks! Much appreciated, will let you know!

 

[fastar1]

You shoulda told the Panama border guards that you went out panhandling for the $1000. What else are a couple young bums who rode all the way from Canada supposed to do to get by?
Idiocy.

 

[Lightcycle]

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/124.html

We jammed 14 or so motorcycles in the tiny Ambar hostel in the Getsamani district of Cartagena. You couldn't move in the courtyard without hitting a mirror or sidecase. So we didn't. We just stayed around the hostel as the rest of the bikers who unloaded off the Stahlratte fanned throughout the city to explore. It was interesting contrasting how fatigued we were in comparison to these fresh-faced travelers.

Is Cartagena where we'd put the sidestands down for a while to recoup and regroup?

Adventure bike convention

I walked out into the lounge of the lobby to use the wifi so I could type out a blog entry. Our fellow moto traveler from Germany, Toby was on the couch surrounded by the kids staying in the hostel with us. They were enraptured by his Thor-like beard and listened to his stories that he told in fluent Spanish. I thought to myself: Wow, he's really good with kids.

Kids never seem to get tired listening to the ancient tales of Asgard, Loki and Frost Giants...

Then Toby said, "That's Gene over there. You guys should teach him some Spanish..."

That didn't turn out too well. Apparently my aptitude for learning grade-school Espanol wore their patience thin, so we ended up looking at pictures on my laptop instead. They were very curious about where we came from and were captivated with my pictures of Toronto and wanted to see more. So I brought up our wedding photos. They loved it! They said Neda looked like a movie star. Then they looked at me. Nothing. And then pictures of Neda... "So pretty!" Then me... confused silence.

Sorry kids, I don't know what to say. Sometimes the abacus breaks and the math just doesn't add up...

Huddled over my laptop looking at wedding pictures. At this point I'm thinking: "Wow, I'm really good with kids..."

I glanced over at Toby. He was happily typing away on Facebook, or his blog, or something.

Waitaminnit... Wasn't *I* supposed to be working on *OUR* blog right now...?!?

And then I realized... these kids weren't enthralled by anyone. They were just bored and wanted someone... anyone... to entertain them!

By Odin's beard! Thor totally pawned these kids off on me!!!

Streets of Getsamani were flooded with blocked sewage systems and rainy season downpour

If you've joined our blog recently and skipped the earlier bits, there are more pictures and descriptions of Cartagena the first time we sailed through - back when we were less fatigued by travel!

You can view them here: http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/89.html

We did make it out of the hostel a few times, venturing out on Halloween evening to grab a bite to eat at the plaza down the street. Tons of kids in costumes walking around with their loot!

Maybe she can wave her wand and make all this water go away?

Gondola rentals go through the roof this time of year

"My name is Inigo Montoya..."

"I'm Superman, *****!"

We spent four days holed up inside the tiny hostel, bidding goodbye one by one to each of our fellow moto-travelers as they rode off towards more adventurous pastures, until we were the only ones left. The oppressively hot, humid days melted me into our surroundings, made me feel like a lump of sweaty clay. I didn't want to move.

Unfortunately, mosquitoes love Neda as much as small kids do, and during the nights, as I lay welded to our tiny hostel bed, she was eaten alive by the swarm that made it through the tiny cracks in our room's window and door.

As any married man can tell you, a happy wife equals a happy life. So Neda fetched a large enough sized spatula from the kitchen, scraped me off where I was sitting, strapped me down on my motorcycle and pointed us towards somewhere less humid and less mosquitoey...

[video=youtube;3XS4XPT4rL4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XS4XPT4rL4[/video]
Peaje means toll in Spanish. This is Neda no peaje...

We love the toll booths in Colombia because motorcycles go through free! What a contrast to the super-expensive Cuota (toll) roads in Mexico! There's a narrow lane to the right of all the booths just wide enough for two-wheelers, so they can bypass the gates. Everytime we see a sign that reads, "Peaje 1km" we yell at each excitedly other over the communicators, "Pee-ah-HAY!!!!"

Simple pleasures...

 

[Lightcycle]

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/125.html

We're flying on the highway, northbound to the Caribbean coast of Colombia, past the port-town of Barranquilla, towards Santa Marta. Although the temperatures are still scorching, in the low 30s, I can feel the humidity wash off of us as if they were wraps of stifling plastic blown away by the windblast of our racing motorcycles.

This feels good - breaking new ground after 3 months of re-riding through Central America. Although it was nice to actually see these countries properly instead of blasting through it the first time, there is nothing like riding into the unknown, the unexplored. I don't regret our boomerang tour, but re-tracing some of the same routes felt a bit stale, like drinking microwaved water.

Stopping for a scenic break on the road between Santa Marta and Taganga

Santa Marta is a fair-sized city, but Neda has us bypassing it and heading over the sea-side mountains to the tiny beach-resort town of Taganga. It'll be less hectic than the city, but still close enough to Santa Marta to run errands if we need to. The road between the two towns is twisty and winds high along the coastline to give a terrific view of the shore below.

Taganga coming into view, nestled in the cove of the green Carribean coastal mountains

Taganga is a paradise! The temperature is hot, and it doesn't seem to rain very much on the coast. There's very little humidity and most importantly - no mosquitoes! Perfect place to drop all our bags (and panniers and topcases) and just catch our breath. Neda finds us lodging at the Tayrona Dive Center, a huge complex that caters to scuba divers. Since it's off sea-season, we get the largest room in the building!

Even though we've only booked this place for four days I have a feeling we'll be staying here for a while...

Pretty much all we do all day

Also some of this as well...

Taganga is a two-street town, and during the day we walk along the shoreline to grab a bite to eat and check things out. On the weekends, tourists and residents from Santa Marta all flock here to catch a lancha (boat) to take them to the pretty beaches near Tayrona National Park, just around the corner. However, during the week, the place is basically deserted and it feels like we have the town all to ourselves!

A typical Taganga weekend

Bye bye, tourists! We live here now.

Street performers play for the weekend crowd

I think this is one of the indigenous Colombians. He looks like a hippy!

A bit of drama at the Tayrona Dive Center

There's a bunch of shacks and small houses next to the place we're staying, and there are always kids out in the yard playing and lighting firecrackers all hours of the day and night. One afternoon, our room becomes filled with smoke and we quickly realize that it's coming from outside!

I race downstairs to see that a fire has started in the dry grass on the front yard, not 50m away from our parked bikes. I tell Neda to be ready to move the motorcycles in case the fire spreads, and I race out to help the owner of the hotel, and the owner of the attached restaurant to form a water bucket line to help put the fire out.

The firemen came long after we put out the blaze, they just wet the grass to prevent a secondary fire from starting. But behind the hotel, I could hear the unmistakeable sound of a mother putting a huge ***-whooping on her kid, presumably the one who started the fire. It's an unmistakeable sound because it's one that I'm very familiar with from my own childhood...

That evening and the next day, our front yard was silent with the sound of no kids playing, and no firecrackers being lit...

Sweet.

 

[Lightcycle]

The Taganga cove opens out into the west and every evening we are treated to a spectacular sunset, each single one different from the one before!

View of Taganga beach from the rooftop restaurant attached to our hotel

Tanganga being a resort town, there is no grocery store here and the restaurants and corner-stores flourish. Since we can't be eating out at restaurants every day, Neda runs into Santa Marta every few days to go grocery shopping. Meanwhile I pretend to work on the blog. I haven't put anything out in over a week, and I get a few concerned emails asking if we are okay. It always surprises me how many people keep up with us on the blog and it's a nice feeling having people watch out for us out there!

During one of her Santa Marta runs, a peculiar passenger hitches a ride to the city

I did accompany Neda to a couple of her Santa Marta trips and we spent the afternoon walking the Malecon. It was very busy and there were a lot of police patrolling the beaches. I like our quiet Taganga beach better...

Police officers and tourists mingle on the beaches of Santa Marta

That hippy guy we saw in Taganga must be important, there's a statue of him in Santa Marta!

Uniformed police officer walks by while we take a break on the Malecon in Santa Marta

Being a big fan of sleeping, I am super-envious of this crib...

Back in our hometown of Taganga, we catch another spectacular sunset

Scuba is a popular activity in the coasts surrounding Tanganga

The owner of the Tayrona Dive Center asked us if we wanted to book a scuba trip when we first checked in, but we declined because it was too costly. After a week staying at his place, and maybe to thank us for helping put out the fire, he offered us a spot on his boat the next weekend with his next batch of scuba customers. We're only going snorkeling, but it was a nice gesture and we're really looking forward to it! Yay!

What a beautiful way to spend your days

If there isn't another blog post, you'll know the trip is over and we're staying here forever.

Love, Neda and Gene.

 

[Dresden]

Unreal.

Thanks for sharing with the rest of us and wishing you safe travels.