RTW on a thumper...KTM - LC4 Round the World ADVenturization

[rtwpaul]

so i read this and thought mike is bringing this back to a civilized level but then maybe you are not talking about the tire...

[Merlin III]

It is all a matter architecture. The design of the old Spanish influenced buildings and churches is very interesting and pleasing to the eye, but that last piece of architecture, and I think most of the male gnarly adventures would agree, takes the prize for design, beauty, and functionality. Just sayin..............

[rtwpaul]

i'll try and seek out more unique pieces, i need to keep the reading audience happy

[SS in Vzla.]

Originally Posted by MikeMike

Remember the rule, Paul.
When you see something in a foreign land that you need, buy it!

Now THAT's funny

[rtwpaul]

i had a walk around Campeche in the early morning, there was a street level art show by Javir Marin and the pieces were HUGE!!!









Campeche is a beautiful walled city with some great old house on the narrow cobbled streets, well worth a visit










the rest of the day i took a quick 200 k ride to Merida to meet Silviu (aka ss in vzla) we had a few and had a few and then we looked at my route for Venezuela

had a great time thanks for hosting me and look forward to seeing you again in VZ or back in Mexico next year

[rtwpaul]

Originally Posted by rtwpaul

Once the rain stopped I went out to lube the chain and noticed the bubble has grown considerably so now tomorrow its time to try and find a new tire, Hiedeneau…not impressed. I got it from Revzilla so hopefully they will stand behind the product even though I can’t return it for obvious reasons

Just got an email from Matt at Revzilla and they have issued a 100% refund against the price of the tire...now thats honesty and integrity and to all you overlander adventure riders make note of that, most companies would have just said no you're not in the country, not our problem - tough!

lets hear it for www.revzilla.com

[rtwpaul]

out of Merida in the morning heading to Chetumel on the Belize border, riding across the Yucatan is not to interesting, flat land, tree lined roads blocking your view of everything and small towns dotted along the way...on the way back i'm going to do the Mayan ruins tours before any of you comment on that












Yucatan traffic lights



if all this beer was poured in a swimming pool i would have jumped in, it was a hot one today



and then on schedule the afternoon rains arrived at 3 pm precisely

[SS in Vzla.]

Nice meeting you too.
Hope we can meet again when I'm back in Venezuela, maybe take a ride together.

Great pics of Campeche...

And a big to Revzilla

[docsherlock]

Originally Posted by rtwpaul

Just got an email from Matt at Revzilla and they have issued a 100% refund against the price of the tire...now thats honesty and integrity and to all you overlander adventure riders make note of that, most companies would have just said no you're not in the country, not our problem - tough!

lets hear it for www.revzilla.com

I like that.

They'll be gettin' my business.

[Patrol]

I'm ordering a new rear today. Revzilla gets my order based on this. Nice work

[rtwpaul]

Originally Posted by Patrol

I'm ordering a new rear today. Revzilla gets my order based on this. Nice work

i'll be singing their praises from now on for sure as well

[Merlin III]

Revzilla-yea. I have never heard anything negative about them. Their web site and videos highlighting the equipment are by far the best out there.

[rtwpaul]

first of all i apologise up front about the quality of todays photos, it was heavy rain off and on all day and i was doing a border crossing so i was just snapping shots as i was riding

the border from Chetumel Mexico into Belize...in a word EASY

so it goes like this...

get gas in mexico first and fill up, its about $3.25 a gallon and in belize its about $6

do passport exit stamp on your right as you pull up to the bridge, small white concrete hut

if there is a guy approach you for insurance refuse, its a scam, tell him you have it arranged at the Belize insurance company across the bridge "you know the big white building after customs"...after this he was just chatting, he did give me some good free advice though - don't drive in the puddles unless you have to, some of them are VERY deep...i saw this first hand as i crossed the bridge, i watched a trucks wheel drop into a hole that looked like a small puddle and it was over 10 inches deep, basically a wheel buster

then ahead on your left is the Bank for getting your refund of your TVIP, i had one person in line in front of me, they come out and take a photo of your VIN number and then issue you a reciept, the refund is about a week or so

no photos on that side of the bridge due to very heavy rain

over the bridge, this is looking backwards, towards mexico



at the bottom of the bridge is an insurance company, one of two...ignore the hustlers if they come over, they will do a 2 for 1 scam, taking your info getting your paperwork and going inside on your behalf, trying to charge you $60 US for insurane thats $30 US but on the paperwork it shows $60 (but that's in Belize money, they pocket the change)...do it yourself

this is the insurance company i used



i knew the fee was $30 for 7 days, i only had a $100 bill, he couldn't change it, he asked if i had a credit card, nope! how about mexican? yes, i can do it for 220 pesos about $16...deal

then he made a mistake, he gave me insurance for a month instead of a week...for some reason i didn't say anything

he gives you the paperwork and a sticker to put on your windshield so the cops can see it and won't stop you...thats what he said, not me

next you go around the corner to your right, behind the casino about 200 yards ahead of you is a big white warehouse looking building up a side road...go up there

it looks like this



this is passport control and customs and where you do your import, they don't come out and look at the bike or bags at all

first passport control, tell them you are here for a month otherwise they give you a transit visa for the day or maybe two, i use my UK passport and once they saw it they changed and were real friendly, Belize used to be a British colony, i guess they were expecting a US one, i keep that hidden away

they gave me 19 days but its more than enough, i'll be here for a week or two weeks tops

next - ten yards further forward is customs import desk, go to the 'goods to declare' side on the left you are declaring your bike

they need to see your passport and title, i gave them a copy and they were happy with that - they don't keep any copies

they write down your VIN/ address/name/plate number in a book and give you a copy, then they stamp your passport again next to the immigration stamp and add import expiry date, and the bikes details

next you go back out get your bike and ride thru here



he wants to see your passport and the little piece of white paper they just gave you inside, he checks your tag number, not your VIN and thats it

once you drive away you will see a big white building across from the stop sign, this is the Belize insurance company, if you missed the first place then this is your last chance to get it and its compulsory



then ride on...you're thru and done

CENRUT maps for Garmin here are kind of OK, not too accurate but they send you in the right direction, my route was off by about 20 yards

OK the differences since crossing the border

i lived in the Bahamas for a number of years and also traveled around numerous caribbean islands as well, straight away you get a feeling like you are on an island in the caribbean. Houses on short stilts because of high water issues, tin roofs, small low level stuff, some Mayan huts as well, a few unfinished Mexican style houses too - someone correct me on this if i'm wrong, i remember traveling in Spain years ago and i was told that if a house isn't 100% finished then no taxes are due, i was told it the same in Mexico, thats why they always look like the second floor or roof is waiting to be put on

also more pastel shades as well for exterior paint








KM's are gone you're back in MPH



topes are gone now they are...




very few were painted and blended in with the road very well, but same rules as Mexico applies, most of the time there are some on the way in and on the way out of a town

animals look healthier



when they say its rainy season they mean it



women ride bicycles in the rain with umbrellas!!!



places are signposted pretty well, my destination for today was the Crooked Tree Lodge, up this dirt road for 4 miles, there was a "toll" to enter the village but i just rode by, its $4, i didn't have any change anyway




i get to the lodge and i'm the only one here, its rainy season!!! but its very cool i'll take some photos and add them in the next post or two, the owner is an ex british military guy called Mick, and already he has invited me to a pig roast tomorrow at some friends of his...might stay here a while, well 19 days at the most

[rtwpaul]

just did a quick total up for 11 days riding south bound thru mexico as i know some of you want to now cash figures so you can workout your budgets

so, hotels every night, most thanks to Sjeord Bakkers budget mexico hotel book, and i picked good ones except one night, breakfast, lunch and dinner most days a few toll roads that couldn't be avoided due to wrong turns and also getting away from the texas/ mexico border and trying to get to Campeche before dark and this includes gas and i did about 70/30 magna/ premium mix due to a few bad lots of gas along the way, probably due to the heavy rain in some places getting into their holding tanks

all came out to $428 or about $39 a day - this doesn't include a new tire and two new inner tubes, if i took out the tolls it would drop to $380 or $35 a day, i could have wild camped a few days if the rain wasn't so imminent and i could have had it down to less than $30 a day...so what are you waiting for? get out for ride south bound

[b4thenite]

Awesome report on border crossing. I am currently D minus 10. More or less......

Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk 2