Central America

NOTE:  Instead of one continuous page, we are doing posts – see the archives listed by month – should be easier for you to view!  Thanks for following us!

Off to the lovely shores of the oh so not so cold Mexico, our gateway to the whole of Central America. As we cruise through Latin America, join us on our expedition among the many varied cultures of our southern friends.

December 26, 2012

A break in the weather caused us to pack up a day early and take off.  It took Scott about 10 feet across the snow-covered driveway before he decided we should load the bike into the back of Jake’s truck and have Ben and Matt drive us down to Redlands.

It was dark when we got down to Redlands and off-loaded the bike at In-N-Out.  Had to have some dinner, of course, before we headed to the hotel in Colton.

December 27, 2012

We were up and on the road early.  The skies were clear, but it was a bit chilly – low 40s.  Our new motoport gear is warm – we were wishing that we had it for our Alaska trip!

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Left Tucson at 7:30 am — it was a brisk 37 degrees.  I thought Arizona was always warm….?!!  We drove south from Tucson to the border crossing at Nogales.

Headed south on the toll road 15 toward Hermasillo.  The toll road – two lanes each direction  – had  quite a bit of construction activity that took it down to one lane each direction off an on, but the road is good and not too much traffic.  One toll booth charged 12 pesos, the second 32 pesos for the moto.

W pulled into Hermasillo about 2:30 and found an ATM – all set with pesos for now.  Decided to stay the night.  Checked one hotel that wasn’t up to par – they directed Scott to the “best” one in town and that is where we are – The Siesta.  The room is very nice, clean, flat screen, tv and wifi.  All for around $50.

December 30, 2012

Started our day with a run – our new running shoes (Thank you Jessica!) that we bought in Tucson at Fleetfeet are great.  Scott is running with me (as my body guard ha!).  It seems like everyone here stays up really really late and gets up really really late!  We saw just a few people when we were out running.  Check out at our hotel isn’t until 1:00 pm.  Had breakfast at the hotel restaurant.  We had a little trouble ordering orange juice – I know we will get the hang of this eventually!  I had the most delicious bowl of yogurt, granola and fruit.  Scott ordered chorizo and eggs – the waiter looked at him a little perplexed when he asked for potatoes.  Scott said he would be happy to pay extra, he just wanted potatoes with his chorizo.  We were almost done with breakfast when the waiter brings Scott a plate of french fries and ketchup.  Hmm…..

Continued down the toll road through 3 or 4 more toll booths.  About 1:30 pm decided to take a break and stop for lunch.  This little chicken stand looked promising…

Grilled chicken, tortillas, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and salsa – yum!

We rode off the toll road about 20 minutes to see if we could find some missionaries from the Packinghouse that live in Alamos.  We found Rancho Maranatha, but it was abandoned.  Disappointing – it used to be an orphanage and school.

Not sure which town this was, but there is a Dominos in most towns we are passing through.

Our hotel tonight is just outside of the town of Los Mochis.  We decided to stop here because they have a restaurant, and it looks pretty new.  It is a “rendezvous” hotel – seriously!  It’s amenities are amusing 🙂 to say the least.

Got hit with a few hours of rain, so we are warming up in the hotel restaurant, eating chips and mariscos while using the internet.  Tomorrow we should be in Mazatlan for New Years.  Good night y’all!  or I guess it really should be Buenos Noches amigos!

December 31, 2012

Left by 8:00 am from Los Mochis after breakfast at the hotel.  Yogurt with papaya, melon, apple, pears – yum.  That was my breakfast.  Scott had huevos gustos….

Drove through miles of agricultural area today… very lush and green.  Saw herds of cattle and goats right along the toll road.  So many toll stops today, I think we had to stop at least 10 booths where we had to pay from 10 pesos to 32 pesos.

Happy New Year everyone!!!!!!!! We are in Mazatlan safe and sound.

January 1, 2013

I ran about 4 miles this morning along the beachfront walkway – and felt completely safe (I say this because Mazatlan is supposed to be one of the most dangerous cities….).  There were several other people running and biking.

We took off south toward San Blas – still on the toll road.  Great ride – I think we average about 80-90 mph, with not much traffic.  We got off on a wrong exit, and while going through the process of getting off and back on (which means paying a toll both ways!) we met up with a guy from Spain on a Triumph 800 motorcycle.  He was riding from Florida, to California and down Baja to Mexico City where the bike was going to be shipped.  He spoke English very well.  First rider we have seen.  We are riding through more agricultural land and it is getting to be more tropical.  Rain started at noon and continued all day.  We pulled into San Blas after noon.  Scott found us a great hotel – Hotel Marina San Blas – right on the water.

Banana trees!

Our room has a great view of palm trees and the ocean inlet.  We are staying 2 nights – $75 a night – and all the  we like (toilet paper, hot water, in room coffee and quiet!).

The town is great – not too touristy (yet!).  I guess they have plans for bringing cruise ships in soon…. The town was devastated 10 years ago by a hurricane, so you can see some remains of the damage.

The town is great – not too touristy (yet!).  I guess they have plans for bringing cruise ships in soon…. The town was devastated 10 years ago by a hurricane, so you can see some remains of the damage.

We relaxed all afternoon, then decided to go out for a local dinner.  We had seen several restaurants grilling lobster and fish.  Our mistake was not dealing with the price before we ate – I guess that restaurant owner was very happy with what he charged us gringos!!!! The lobster was delicious none the less!

January 2, 2013

The best night’s rest so far!!!!! Ah, peace and quiet – the only noise was the wind blowing through the palm trees.  We had breakfast (yes, a real breakfast!!) at El Delfin and then Scott worked  for a while online/phone.  We don’t have wifi in our room, so we have to hang out in the hotel reception area to connect the phone or computer.  Not a problem, except for the bugs – we are using our repellent!

We went kayaking across the inlet and hiked through the mangroves to a beautiful beach. I ran a mile or so along the beach and then we went swimming.  Still overcast, but around 80 degrees – can’t complain!

Took a nap, then decided to go for lunch.  As we were leaving the hotel, we hit some soft sand and dumped the bike.  A few more bruises for both of us….

We went to McDonalds for lunch.  Beautiful restaurant and reasonably priced – I had caesar salad with shrimp, and Scott had chicken enchiladas.

I guess you  might be able to tell what we like to do…. eat and sleep!  Ha!  We sat in the town square for a while watching people, so entertaining!  The trees are full of birds – reminds me of the tiki garden at Disneyland – seriously!!!! We checked out the San Blas Social Club this evening – owned by two guys from Manhattan.  One partner, Charles, lives in San Blas 6 months out of the year, the other partner comes down for a few weeks each year.  Nice to talk to some gringos and business people.  Charles prepared us some Diablo Shrimp for dinner – very good with some unexpected presentation!

January 3, 2013

Had breakfast at Mc.Donald again – then checked out and headed toward Puerto Vallarta.

We are riding through jungle – sometimes the canopy is completely covering the road.

It is beautiful.  Hit a lot of traffic, however, so 2 1/2 hours later we finally get into Puert0 Vallarta.  At 85 degrees and traffic, we are sweating profusely!!!! We parked the bike to rest and noticed an Italian restaurant across the street.  Had lunch there and got our bearings – they had wifi so we were able to check out some accommodations online.  Found a boutique hotel online called Villa Olivia.

Couldn’t phone, so we drove the few blocks over to see if they have availability.  The owner just happened to be down at the street level when we pulled up – wow, what a find.  Our room has an amazing view of the ocean – we can hear the waves crashing – and it is very well appointed ($90 a night).  Denise is French-Canadian and has 16 rooms, lives on site, and speaks French (yeah, I can practice!), Spanish and English.  She is very gracious – I did practice some of the French I have been learning….. she said she just loves it when and English person speaks French because she loves the accent they give it – hahaha – yeah right, I am sure I butchered it!!!!

Got settled in, relaxed on the balcony and watched the sun set.  We took a walk down the Malecon tonight – boardwalk along the beach.  There are quite a few tourists here – more than I expected.  We had  fish tacos on the sand… loving this trip! 🙂

January 4, 2013

Enjoying Puerto Vallarta….

January 5, 2012

Left Puerto Vallarta after breakfast.  I am really enjoying all the fresh fruit here – usually papaya, apple, pears, bananas, pineapple…. We continued south on Hwy 200 – lots of curves on this road.  Scott keeps scraping his boot tips!

This picture shows a cross- typical especially around a dangerous curve where someone has died.  This one is very large and ornate with candles and flowers.

The temperature is getting up to 90 degrees during the day.  Not too bad if we are riding at a good speed, but as soon as we hit traffic we start sweating!  Stopped for lunch at a roadside fruit stand – had papaya, watermelon and pineapple.  Delicious!

We decided to stop at a little beach town called San Juan – we ended up at Hacienda Trinidad, a beautiful hotel with pool and restaurant right on the water.  We got into the pool to cool off as soon as we could, then swam in the ocean.  The ocean water is really warm!!!!

Dinner was camerones (shrimp) and guacamole while watching the sun set.  I don’t think I will ever tire of these beautiful sunsets!

January 6, 2013

Took a run on the the beach to start the day.  Took off around noon after listening to Pastor Ed preach from the Packinghouse (the internet is an amazing thing!), Calvary Chapel in Redlands.  We rode through more curves – and many small towns.

Every time we come to a town, there are topes  – speed bumps.  Two or three bumps, 500 feet or so apart, that slow the traffic.  We usually zip on past – but sometimes the topes are large, or unexpected, and we get jarred pretty good.  Stopped and ate lunch at a restaurant on the beach – carne asada burrito!  Lots of Americans – guess it is a good surfing beach.  Not the greatest accommodations….

Donkey in the road….

We got to Playa Azul – a little fishing village, where we thought we would find a hotel.  No hotels to be found – so drove on and on until we came to a large city, Lazaro Cardenas.  Found a hotel just before it got dark!  Cooled off in the hotel pool.

January 7, 2013

Our hotel included breakfast – yes! After we ate, we decided to stay another night here – just to relax and rest.  Next door to the hotel is a great little cafe with live music.  Had dinner and then my romantic husband made me dance with him…  ❤ ❤ ❤

On to Acapulco tomorrow!

January 8, 2013

Our ride today was good!  Not too much traffic once we got out of the city. We left at 8 am so it seemed much cooler at first.

We experienced some construction on the toll road today…. riding along and the road gets narrow, we are now on the oncoming traffic lane with an 6 inch step up to the other lane that is newly paved – no signs, no warnings….  so glad there wasn’t much traffic!  Then, the step up disappears to a step down at least 8 inches at the very edge of the pavement.  All I can say is that you don’t have to worry about us driving these roads at night!

We drove into Acapulco around lunch time, looking for a restaurant and a place to stay.  Into the 90s now – and warm!

Another child safety seat (good for up to 80 mph)

To drive into the larger cities is a bit overwhelming, so we are learning to stop and get our bearings.  We ended up driving through the city, then made a u-turn to head back to a restaurant.  A police car with two policeman began motioning us to pull over.  Scott ignored him at first, but then he had to pull over.  One of the guys came up to us and told Scott that he made a dangerous turn and could have caused an accident.  He asked for his drivers license and paperwork.  Scott handed it to him, then the policeman says that Scott can go to the police station tomorrow morning at 8 am to pay his ticket and get his license and paperwork returned.  Scott says, “NO! I will follow you to the police station NOW, you WILL NOT take my license!”  The policeman continues to argue and Scott keeps answering the same, more and more emphatically (yes, he was yelling loudly at the guy!).   Finally the policeman says “Okay, follow me”- and gets in his car.  I had my camera in my hand, so I turned around and took a picture of the police car and its plate.  The policeman jumps out of his car, comes up and tells me not to take a picture of the police.  He asks for my camera – both Scott and I say, “NO, NO, NO!!!!”  The policeman then says I must delete the picture, then he will give Scott his license and paperwork.  I show him that I am deleting the picture and he returns the license and paperwork and we are on our way! Ha!  (sorry, I really did have to delete the policeman’s picture – otherwise I would have posted it!)

We continued south looking for lunch – ended up in a Mexican tourist beach restaurant.  Mexican tourist beaches are a little different than American tourist beaches. The Mexican tourist beaches have no hotels, all restaurants lined up on the beach with palapas and little built in swimming pools for the kids. If you can find a hotel, they are usually back off the beach and very small and dirty.  Had some soda and shrimp, then after driving a few more miles with no hotels in sight, we turned around and went to Starbucks.  Got internet and looked up some places to rent on VRBO.  Found a very nice condo right on the beach for $100 a night – staying 3 nights. The complex is beautiful with 2 pools and gorgeous beach.