Family Quest to South America

On the second morning we booked a 6am tour of the local volcano Pacaya.



The van dropped us off at the base and we were introduced to our guide and also were given instructions on stay together as a group.
Little kid were renting walking sticks for $5 quetzal's and other boys on horse's offered their service for $200 round trip.
If no one takes their offer they follow the group waiting for someone to give up , well on this day to my surprise not one gringo gave up.
There seemed to be an invisible line where the boy's on horses they dropped off and head back down , I guess if someone pass's a certain point they usually go all the way.






There was this one very you boy offering his sevice and he was just adorable Jing couldn't get over how cute he was.
Young kids in these countries work so hard at such a young age.



The hike up seem a bit strenuous but after half an hour your blood gets going and its quite an enjoyable hike.
There were several people that wore the wrong cloth's such as tight jeans and they were finding it quite difficult.






A young American woman Danielle was in our tour and she was fluent in spanish and helped to translate for the guide , in this photo she put's her hand close to the ground to feel how hot certain area's are.






This is our guide he climbs the volcano every day and sometimes twice and at the end of the trip the group put money together to give him a tip which can be a very big tip.




We finally arrived at the beginning of the lava field and saw this sign informing us that it was dangerous to walk on a lava field , do you think.!!



Entering the lava field was quite a strange experience looking across it and seeing steam rising over the entire surface.



It took about 20 minutes to reach the area that we were able to see lava .




It was now time to break out the marshmallows and hot dogs.



Once you stuck it close to the hole it only took about 10 second to start to char , if you looked into the hole you could see lava flowing past underground glowing bright orange.



When it comes to food Sean and Jing are at the head of the line.



Jing picked up a new friend at the field and could not get him to stop grabbing onto her coat string.
He followed us all the way back down we were not sure who owned them.

The hostel we are staying at is not the best choice but most affordable places are full and this place had not a bad price but they had great security for the bikes , so we stayed for 3 night's.



Antigua is a wonderful place if you love taking photo's , its almost impossible to take a bad picture here , everywhere you turn there is another brilliant shot.



This is a community cloths washing and it is interesting to photograph ,even a laundry is beautiful.






In this portion of the blog I will let the photo's do the talking.























This is the central park and the heart of Antigua , with benches full of people and venders selling their wares.



Antigua has a very strong local government which control all aspects of business and and signage is strictly controlled , no signs are allowed to stick out from all buildings and even motorcycle parking area's have inlaid tile's on the curbs.



The one thing that brings back allot of memories is the Guatemalan busses and I was happy to see they still look like I remember.
each bus has colours that represent which company they belong to.A lot of these busses have been in use here for at least 20 years and every year companies purchase new used busses to add to their fleet.



Jing and Sean are having a conversation with this gentleman who has been doing this job for over 30 years and is in charge of the terminal and also speaks perfect english.



The local out door market is right beside the bus terminal and is a colourful and interesting place to visit.



Jing is in her element here it reminds her of china markets so bartering is second nature to her.



A local vendor.



Woke up to rain in Antigua and headed of to Panajachel hoping to make it by late afternoon , there are landslides everywhere and when you come to one you must drive on the opposite side of the road heading into traffic in heavy rain , but by late afternoon we arrive at the top the rim far above Lake Atitlan extremely beautiful sight even through the fog and rain.
The ride down is very steep and winding and at one point there is a land slide you must make your way through.




Many times the boulders are the size of trucks on the roads , landslides here are very serious problem throughout central Amwerica during rainy season.






This is not some back road we are travelling on this is a main road after a slide.



I think this is one of the first times that the first hotel in town is what we were looking for , good thing because we are three wet rats and read to get out of our soaked cloths.





This is another Oasis for us big private rooms at a price that fits our budget .




Even using plastic bag boot liners does not work in this kind of rain.


Great just to chill out and do nothing , these moments are enjoyed thoroughly.




It usually does not take us long to set up the kitchen and make ourselves at home.








The following day we road back to the top rim of the lake to take pictures and do some sightseeing.
I'm happy to be back here it's been 21 years since my last visit and I have good memories hear but as usual the place has changed a lot
new hotels and many many new restaurants and modern shops but still a nice place to visit.
It still has a laid back feeling and not to big a town.



At this time of year during rainy season you must take advantage of every moment that the rain stops and head out to explore.



Most places we go people look at us like we are aliens dressed like star wars storm troupers.



Town streets are narrow but fun to explore without the luggage on.

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This is one of the few times we sat in a coffee shop and watched the world go by , I must say the coffee and deserts were fantastic.




While sitting there an adorable young boy approached us trying to sell his wares and spoke very good english and had an amazing personality which swooned Jing into buying something from him and after that stay and talked with us which was very enjoyable.




After a while I asked him if he was hungry and he nodded his head yes so I took him across the street for chicken and chip which he didn't eat he wrapped them up and said when his work day ends he will take them home to share with his family.WOW!!!




While shopping for groceries the heaven's opened up and we decided that we have had our share of being soaked so we decided to stay put for a while.It is very interesting just to sit and watch all the activity that goes on in these small towns and villages , people here just except that it is rainy season for six month's of the year and it is going to rain almost every day and their going to get wet , a lot of the time young school kids are wearing uniforms and good shoes but they just walk down the street in small groups soaked to the bone talking and joking around as if it was not raining at all.I just wonder how they dry everything out for the next day because we have no luck at it.




Everywhere you travel throughout central america there are two types of transports you will see a lot of ,the transformed school busses and the three wheeled taxi's.







A local indigenous dressed in the day to day apparel , wonderful colours.





My usual routine is to get up around 6am make a coffee from local beans and sit somewhere on the street with my camera and wait and on this particular morning I witnessed two young business men up early making money for the family.
First thing I saw was this older women walking into town and 5 minutes later returned with the two young business men.




One young man carrying a very large bundle of fire wood following the older women back to her house.




Moments later the young men passed by on their way back to town counting their profits from the firewood sale.
Again WOW.!!




Great to be here during the off season you can walk uncrowded streets and enjoy the colourful booths full of local goods.

Hey guys, Great to see you enjoying Antigua, we love it too. If you like to hear our experience on the boat from panam to Colombia you can acces our thread under the Regional Forum section/Latin America we just added today. Hi to Sean and Jing!

Trevor and Eva

I met Michael, Jing, and Sean this morning. While driving in San Salvador in heavy rain I saw three loaded DR´s with Canadian plates so I waved and stopped them. We had a short chat about their great adventure , wow my first all family riding ADVs I met , cool ¡¡ FELICIDADES !!!



PD: sorry I didnt catch on your RR before , didnt know you were riding through El Salvador .

Leaving Antigua in the rain and and heading to Panajachel we climbed to over 3000 meters and with the rain and fog it was a bit chilling and having pour visibility we had to drive slow.All along the way there were landslides and you had to switch back and forth from one side of the why to the other which in the rain and fog made for some very cautious riding.
Durring this section from out of nowhere a KLR 650 pulls along side us and I look over and its Paul who is travelling with Carol and Ken Duval of Australia , we met them the day before in Antigua , I noticed them walking through central park dressed in their ridding gear while Jing and I where sitting watching the world go by I jumped up a walked up to them and introduce ourselves and I found out that They were Ken and Carol Duval , I had been following their travel around the world on Horizons unlimited they ride two up on a 20 year old BMW with 700,00 km
on it.We all pulled over and chatted for 15 minutes snapped a few photo's and wished each other a safe journey and parted ways.



The ride down into Panajachel was spectacular even thought we could not see very well through the fog and it seemed to go down for ever
through several landslides in the pouring rain , at the bottom the first hotel we came to was wonderful and we stayed two night's .
On the second day we rode around the lake to try and find the secondary roade that we wanted to take when leaving to go to EL Salvador , on that day the road was alright but during the night it rained hard and in the morning we were turned back do to landslides closing the road which meant we would have to drive the" long way round ".We rode until we were close to the boarder and found a hotel for the night , we were prepared for a complicated crossing and we we right , in the end we hired a helper for $10 well worth it because I didn't have a clue as to what need to be done ,all the other crossings we simple compared to El Salvador.



Boarder crossings are not as intimidating as they use to be but can be vary confusing trying to figure out what is required when you don't speak the language.




El Salvador has a beautiful coast line and we rode until just before La Libertad and found a room.
Again last night it rained all night and we woke up to rain in the morning and when your cloths are still wet from the day before its not fun climbing back into them.It is very difficult to do laundry right now because we have to wash by hand in the sink and then hang to dry and with all the humidity things just don't dry and they start to stink.we are looking forward to finding the sun again but I fear that won't be for a while since the long range weather report looks like a lot more rain.



Its nice to just pull over and take it all in.



Today we rode into San Salvador and were trying to find our way through the city when a truck pulled up beside me and the guy inside asked me where I was going and when we couldn't hear each the so he pointed to pull over. It turned out he also had a new Dr 650 and he also happened across our blog and he offered to guide us out of the city and get us on the right road , his name was Mario and was another
new friend we made on our journey.Mario we thank you for your kindness and invite you to visit us if you every make it to Canada.



We are now in a hotel in Santa Rosa Lima just before the Honduras boarder and the hotel we are in was down some little rough dirt road and its like an Oasis for us the owners are very nice and have wonderful children and a very colourful paintings on the exterior walls.







I also met one of the men staying here he works for the government and does something to do with GPS tracking.



The hotel owners son is extremely curious 5 year old and fun to spend time with.

Uh.. What he said....

M, J and S
You must be in Nicaragua by now. The day after we met three out of four borders with Guatemala were closed due to land slides and bridge damages. So keep on riding !! more rain is coming this way !!
Saludos de El Salvador

Dear Mario

After you assisted us in finding our way out we just kept on going and rode straight through to Costa Rica in hopes of getting out of the mountains and away from all the landslide.
Its funny but after we left you we have not had any rain all the way here.

Thanks again

Freedom Rider and Family
Michael Jing and Sean

While riding through El Salvador we met an American rider going in the opposite direction and we both pulled over and talked his name was Brian and he is a firefighter on vacation for several months.
We ended up staying in the same hotel and having dinner together.





It has been a very tiring journey for the past 3 days , after leaving EL Salvador
which we regret we didn't stay and explore the country more because from what we did see through the poring rain was beautiful , we entered Honduras which was a most difficult crossing yet , as soon as you approach the boarder you are swarmed by guy's offering to assist you through the paper work for what they call a tip US$ , this in itself can be over whelming if you are not a person who can remain calm under fire , usually the guy who speaks the best English is also the most persistent because he knows from experience how frustrating traveller can get trying to figure out the system , I know without his assistance it will take me allot longer so I ask his price and he quotes $5 each person out and in both boarders I offer him $10 and he agrees.Usually we leave one person with the bikes while the other two go with the helper in this way we can cover each other if we make mistakes and to keep an eye on all the paper work which is staggering.
This boarder is is going to be Sean and I and off we go into the great unknowing.
I really believe they like to make it as complicated as possible that way they can make money for everyone it seemed at this boarder we paid between $35 and $40 US for the the bike import fee's and another $25 for Insurance which I not so sure was legit I got the impression the helpers and and one office had a scam going , this is something I would like to investigate when I have time.You get tired and frustrated making copies of stamps and photocopies of photocopies, back and forth the parade goes.
You start out with one guy then there is two and finally three apparently the first guy can only assist you in Honduras and the next guy in Nicaragua and the third has an inside connection to help speed up the process , now you know the pie is getting smaller with each new person involved , thats when bells go off warning to ask why we are having to pay for inspection of the motorcycle when the costumes officer did already of course you never get a straight answer.After all said and done we paid out $75 US for each bike to entering Honduras ,we then went to pay the original helper what we had agreed on $ 10 US and then he asks for a tip for the third guy and we agreed and gave an extra $2 US this sent them into an argument and you could see them counting the profits in disgust ,we just quickly drove off not wanting to get in the middle of their anger.After leaving them behind we set off ready to see what Honduras has to offer and it turned out to be road blocks one after another fortunately they never asked for money they just wanted to see our documents.Two hours later we were at the Nicaragua boarder and ready to take on our second crossing in the same day , this time Jing and I decided to try and do it on our own and surprisingly managed quite easily and in only about one hour and a half.After completing everything we were approached by two women holding clip boards and it turned out they were selling insurance which Jing didn't want to buy so we went back and for for a few minutes and we finally bought it for $12 US each bike we then set off to get to the first town to find a hotel because it was getting late and what happens next is the icing on the cake only a couple of km's down the road we are stopped by police and approach with serious faces and asked for documents and after reviewing them I could understand allele that he wanted money that you are now in Nicaragua and you must now pays the police road tax no specified amount , I asked why and he kept repeating that you are in Nicaragua now and must pay I said to him I have paid already and will not pay anymore he turned away with our international drivers licences in hand and waved us to go back then if you won't pay.
Jing my secret weapon gets off her bike removes her helmut and walks up to them and gets involved and I just sit and watch she amazes me to see her in action I wish I was able to video this , she walks up to the guy and reaches to grab the papers from his hand and he pulls away she speaks to him in broken spanish and english and wears him down I know the feeling until he reluctantly gives her the documents ,
she hands them back to me and we ride off begin very proud of ourselves for not paying out and money , this was to be short lived because
only another few km's down the road their was another road block and the last police phoned them and told them we refused to pay and we went through the whole thing again ,the only saving grace was that we where a family and they seemed to give in a little easier I think then they would a single person , they can gang up on them.
Well this went on and on and on one road block after another there are no printable words to explain how angry you get with this , you get to the point that if you see in the distance an orange cone you get tight in the stomach.




Shortly after leaving our hotel we headed up into the mountains again and were stopped by a line of busses stopped on the why we pulled around and went to the head of the line which is acceptable in all of Central and South america bikes don't wait in line , anyhow the why was close do to of course to a landslide , we asked the police if the road branching off at that location would takes us around he said yes about 10km well we road through some of the most beautiful mountain country side farming area that we had seen i a while , if not for the slide we would not have seen it from the hwy.It turned out that our ten km detour was fifty km's in a big circle and only covered 10km of the original hwy.



Once again we were riding to wards Panama and climbing and climbing and the temperature was dropping and we were entering into fog and then drizzle so we pulled over to put on our rain gear and realized we were now over 3300 meters and the road was still going up , imagine your in Costa Rica wearing heavy riding cloths and your cold who would have thought. Not to long after we set off the road head down for what seemed for ever because the roads are extremely winding and full off very large pot hole and in heavy rain very difficult to make any kind of speed usually 40 or 50 max.



Do we look like were having fun.! Adventure




It was a great feeling to riding in Costa Rica the sun came out and the roads were great , after a short time we came across the biggest wind turbines I've ever seen , you can hear the sound of the wind as the blades turn amazing sight.




Just seeing the sun can lift your spirits and make all thoughts hours in the rain fade into the distance.



It is amazing how loaded down you will see cars and trucks in these countries.




Everywhere you have to stop either it be for construction or landslides or speed bumps you get people selling food items you can be what you think is the middle of nowhere and they are there selling drinks nuts etc.This gut is selling local cashews.





Welcome to Panama , we are happy to be hear and to be heading to South America.
The boarder crossing here is quite simple and you only have to buy insurance for $15 per bike , there was no bike import fee's.

M, J and S
Great to hear your in CR already, good riding and no rain !!
Yeah I can imagine how you must feel about border crossing scams and police bribary, its a PITA !!

subscribed!!! i´ll keep watching! if comes to brazil dont forget send me a pm i´ll arrange everything you need . rodrigo

Rodrigo

Thank you for your offer to assist us we will be sure to let you know when we will be arriving.
Hope to be crossing the boarder to Panama tomorrow and start looking for a boat that can take three bikes at a time.

Freedom Rider and Family
Michael Jing and Sean

Hi M J and S !

Good to hear from you that you´re comming to south!
I live in south of brazil , on a city called guarapuava . 390km from iguassu falls or 240 from curitiba. thats for sure if you all are close i can go somewhere to meet you and we can come to my house , BBQ safe parking lot of fun ! so take care , enjoy so much the trip i´m here watching the thread and cheering for success. A big hug from brazil


Rodrigo

Hey Michael,

Great trip you guys are having. Really like reading your posts. The encounters with those corrupt policemen must have been terrible. I was afraid that it would be kind of the same here in Brazil, but I only had a few really futile encounters with police in the almost two years I've been here. One time they almost confiscated my jeep because my international drivers license had expired, but I was able to convince them to let me go...

I'm a Belgian guy, living in Volta Redonda (some 130km from Rio) since Jan. 2009. If you guys are planning on coming this way, send me a PM and maybe we could do some sightseeing around here...

I did a 10 month guide course and I'm setting up my own motorcycle travel business so I know the south-east region pretty good (even better than most locals ).

Safe riding...
Raf

Hey Michael, you guys are doing great. Regarding corruption, remember it's all about the learning curve, not some arbitrary state of perfection.

Having said that, the price for importing yourselves and bikes into Honduras is a bit under $40 apiece. You were scammed, as you suspected. This particular bit of information is widely available on the HUBB and ADVrider, and it comes in handy; when someone asks for more, you can just refuse and they'll cave in immediately. On the other hand, lots of people get taken for lots more money than you did, and you obviously did very well with the Nicaraguan cops, who can be a pain (but will also cave if you're patient and persistent).

The Nicaragua/CR border crossing is confusing, so be prepared if you're not already through it. If you hire a helper, try to pay him just five dollars (US) and don't fall for any extra charges--they're too busy to persist, but they'll probably ask. The CR/Panama border is a bit better, but still perplexing. After that it'll all get simpler and there'll be no need for helpers anyplace in South America.

Oh, and consider crossing into Panama along the Caribbean coast or at the much smaller crossing about an hour north of the main one on the CanAm. It's obvious on the map, and will be more scenic, cooler and easier.

Hope that's helpful. I'm enjoying your photos and commentary immensely!

Best to you all,

Mark

Oi Rodrigo - Good to see you here too )
As you know I'm in the process of setting up a motorcycle touring business, and I'm planning on setting up a tour around the south of Brazil as well.
I have read somewhere that the road to Uguaçu falls is pretty long and kind of "desanimado"... Is that so? I would like to visit the falls, but I'm a little afraid that it will be too touristic for me. But I bet there's lots of great places to ride in the south, right?

Raf
Thx again for the help on the XT issues )

Hi my friend!!!!

Look , guarapuava ( my city ) to Iguassu Falls , have some alterative routes. The least 150km have only one route , between cascavel and iguassu falls. Yes , is bit boring for us "adventure riders" (i´trying!) . Sounds commercial , touristic , insane toll boths ( almost 4 real PER bike!) . The only thing that compensates is the falls,see powerplant (need to ask for the technical tour) , shop paraguay (very fun) and go to Argentina , crossing the border i know some good places for eat and have fun , so i want to know from you what type of trip you want , or try, to offer to your customers. i know some different roads on south of brazil , i´m talking about dirt roads that are more challenging that paved roads. one example is near my city. 2 main routes , paved and dirt you choose !

please tell me if you want to go to iguassu falls. i´m going on november for a meeting . 3000 members from brazil on the same place , you know is a family. plus you will be VERY welcome there. and this is a invitation for everyone!

Cheers take care (i´ll try to call 2 you soon , lets arrange an excuse 4 a trip!)

Rodrigo.

Thanks for sharing your trip with us!! Looking forward to more!!

Its a wonderful feeling knowing many readers are enjoying to read about out journey and comment and give good advise and offer friendship.

Many thanks
Freedom Rider and Family
Michael Jing and Sean

It takes many months and thousands of km to come to understand of the saying.

"It's not the destination but the journey"

Slowly but surely you accept this and you live in the moment.