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

[rtwpaul]

Originally Posted by Habibi Rocks

Paul , Great way of describing the crossings by using the yellow letters over the said location.

hopefully anyone riding south will find the info useful to help save them some time and no hassle from unnecessary fixers

[rtwpaul]

stuck in the middle of Costa Rica due to heavy rains, so no riding today but between rain showers went for a walk and spotted this crazy advertisement



so it reads basically...you do not dare reveal their taste...what the fu@k does that have to do with a wrestler and two ostriches? any one from Costa Rica wish to answer that one?

and walking along the street i see this...



so if you are slightly bothered about big bugs just letting you know they live here and are in the middle of a big building development







OK, normal ADV service will be resumed as soon as all this water stops falling out of the sky from this storm that was the size of the whole country, this just before it hit...hopefully tomorrow

[Habibi Rocks]

Originally Posted by rtwpaul

hopefully anyone riding south will find the info useful to help save them some time and no hassle from unnecessary fixers

Yes , very useful. Thanks again for your upated fotos info.

[Horton]

Paul, very usefull description. Would like, I have something like this, for Chile-Peru Borders. Chile-Argentinia Borders. . .

[Chiriqui Charlie]

The sign is an advertisement for new flavors of Trident chewing gum.

[rtwpaul]

Originally Posted by Chiriqui Charlie

The sign is an advertisement for new flavors of Trident chewing gum.

oh, that part i know but why the ostrichs? whats the meaning?

i asked and know one here knew, they just laughed, i guess it lost something in the translation

[rtwpaul]

Originally Posted by Horton

Paul, very usefull description. Would like, I have something like this, for Chile-Peru Borders. Chile-Argentinia Borders. . .

drop a PM to radioman he is down there right now and he takes loads of photos i'm sure he can hook you up...tell him i sent you


I did them last year and they are a breeze in comparison to central america, at one of the crossings arg/ chile the officials sat next to each other and just hand info to each other...most of them we 45 minutes or less from memory

[rtwpaul]

Alex and Andreea (anjinsan) which he tells me is Japanese for mister pilot....they met up in La Fortuna and we rode to the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica today



it was a day full of rain and one of the only dry moments was when we pulled into a little 'soda' road side restaurant full with truck drivers, the owner came over and gave us a shot of some kind of chocolate liquor which when we looked around everyone had a shot...then the cops arrived...for there lunch and the shot glasses disappeared and the cook went to work over her open flame





heading out towards Puerto Limon where some of your bananas come from after being grown in blue plastic bags on the trees



not too much to see all day in the rain, riding in the cloud forest was just like riding in fog with zero views, until getting close to the container port, not great scenery



and some very poor areas over this side, a lot different from around the lake



finally the rain stopped on the last leg to Cahuita



hopefully some better photos tomorrow heading into Panama via Sixola

[QCRider]

Originally Posted by rtwpaul

hopefully some better photos tomorrow heading into Panama via Sixola

I just caught up with your RR - amazing stuff! Too bad you're leaving for Panama today - I definitely would have bought you a beer while you were in CR! If you happen to delay your crossing to PTY for any reason, let me know and i might be able to ride down to Cahuita / Puerto Viejo on Friday or Saturday.

The road from Sixaola back to the PanAm (Chiriqui) is pretty nice - hopefully you'll get a sunny day. All the best and ride safe!

[rtwpaul]

Originally Posted by QCRider

I just caught up with your RR - amazing stuff! Too bad you're leaving for Panama today - I definitely would have bought you a beer while you were in CR! If you happen to delay your crossing to PTY for any reason, let me know and i might be able to ride down to Cahuita / Puerto Viejo on Friday or Saturday.

The road from Sixaola back to the PanAm (Chiriqui) is pretty nice - hopefully you'll get a sunny day. All the best and ride safe!

i left an hour before you sent this!!! I'm in David tonight...maybe next time, but thanks for the offer and i had an extra beer tonight to cover that one

[rtwpaul]

Left Cahuita in the rain all the way to the frontera, stood in line there in the rain and most of the way to David it rained off and on, had the camera in the tank bag and pulled it out to take this totally below average riding shots...of some small indigenous houses/ plots, a little cloud forest etc










highlight of the day was getting pulled up for speeding and again (panamanian policeman's christmas fund is taking dollars if you want to contribute) all i say is "No Fumar Espanol!"...the reply i get is "senor, que?" and a smile, five minutes later, sent on my way for 57 in a 40, where the sign actually said 60, and he pointed it at a local car and then wanted me to agree it was my speed, i just laughed in his face



border crossing info coming soon...just need to edit the photos and instructions





.

[rtwpaul]

Costa Rica to Panama border crossing at Sixola

relatively simple quiet border in northeast Costa Rica - the infamous train bridge crossing is no more on your bike.

enter the border are in Sixola, ride thru the fumigation area, you do nothing here



once you go thru park your bike to the left on the gravel small parking lot, you will be looking at the bridge



migracion and aduana are in the same building to your right



go to migracion first, if there is a line go straight to the front and ask for a paper, just like the locals do...no exit fee, once this is done go thru the glass door to your right to export your bike



you will be given a form to fill out, the agent will cut it in half keep your import, stamp your half and you are done to leave Costa Rica

on your bike ride over the bridge to the left, NOT the railroad bridge anymore



ride over and there is a gravel covered parking lot to your left, take all your stuff that could be stolen, you are going to be way out of site of your bike for an hour or two and there were lots of kids hanging around when i was there

walk across the road and towards the old bridge, there is a building on your left, do immigration first



once you have a stamp now go to the end of the buildings and look left, the are some shops, head down the stairs and up the stairs into the shoe shop for insurance (it'll make sense once you see it)...yes i did say that right the shoe shop upstairs, and it cost $15 for a month, she will give you two copies




now return to the buildings, go in the first door and get a stamp, like a postage stamp put in your passport and pay $3

then come out of there and go to the window right next to it and hand in your passport, copy of your title, license and insurance

once you get this back...make sure you check it thoroughly, i found two errors on mine, they tried to laugh it off and say it was OK, it is not, correct is correct and wrong is wrong when it comes to import papers



once you have your papers then go back into the previous office to the right and you will get a stamp from an officer at the desk to the left

thats its you are done...time to go riding in Panama, watch out for speed traps in little towns heading to David, i counted 5 in about 140 km's, speed limits are 40 kph in the towns, period

[Merlin III]

Paul, I keep seeing numerous people on Adventure Rider saying "No Fumar espanol" when wanting to communicate that they don't speak Spanish. I was taught to say "mi no habla espanol" in high school Spanish. I looked up "fumar" in the dictionary and it says that it means "to smoke"? I am not doubting you or the numerous others who use the word "fumar" on Adventure Rider, but I am curious about how this colloquialism came to be? Is the word "fumar" used through out Latin America of just certain areas. Thanks.

[bigdon]

Originally Posted by Merlin III

Paul, I keep seeing numerous people on Adventure Rider saying "No Fumar espanol" when wanting to communicate that they don't speak Spanish. I was taught to say "mi no habla espanol" in high school Spanish. I looked up "fumar" in the dictionary and it says that it means "to smoke"? I am not doubting you or the numerous others who use the word "fumar" on Adventure Rider, but I am curious about how this colloquialism came to be? Is the word "fumar" used through out Latin America of just certain areas. Thanks.

Check out this ride report http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=501881 it will tell the story of No Fumar Espanol!

[Merlin III]

Paul, I keep seeing numerous people on Adventure Rider saying "No Fumar espanol" when wanting to communicate that they don't speak Spanish. I was taught to say "mi no habla espanol" in high school Spanish. I looked up "fumar" in the dictionary and it says that it means "to smoke"? I am not doubting you or the numerous others who use the word "fumar" on Adventure Rider, but I am curious about how this colloquialism came to be? Is the word "fumar" used through out Latin America of just certain areas, or did I just completely miss the boat on the humor of the situation? Thanks.