Bernie and Linda's Blog

Tequila, Jalisco

2011-11-30T16:20:00.005-07:00

We quite like the town of Tequila. It is the location of the first, the largest and many other tequila production companies. The town sit in the middle of the main blue aguave growing area high in the sierras, 50k north of Guadalajara.

The Mexicans are very proud of their tequila. The larger companies have lavish grounds and facilties to display their history and their products. Jose Cuervo is the largest producer. Sauza is one of the oldest and the first to export tequila. They were also the instigator of the name "Tequila" for what was once know as tequila extract or mezcal extract.

We wanted a tour of the Sauza factory but the factory was in the middle of a week long maintenance shut down when we went to their facility. However, they were gracious enough to make a call and a young English speaking fellow showed up to give us a private tour. We stared the tour with a shot of their finest! It was an interesting visit.

We stayed at a very nice hotel on the town square and parked the bike in the lobby. The hotel was inexpensive and there were several nice restaurants and cafes nearby. In all we had a nice relaxing 2day visit, before heading back to Sayulita.

The road from Tequila toward Tepic and then down to Compostela is one of the nicest roads we have seem on this trip. It is called Ruta Tequila and winds through lush agricultural mountains. Blue aguave, corn and sugar cane grow along the route.... Very scenic!

We arrived back in Sayulita at about 3 pm and settled back into the Diamanté.

Street between distilleries

Our Orange hotel in the town square

The busiest building in town

And the chapel across the street

More From Guanajato

2011-11-28T13:32:00.009-07:00

Here are a few more pictures from Guanajuato.

A 3 day sidewalk art festival was just getting underway. There were probably up to 100 entries each with thier asigned side walk space. By evening the pieces were not yet finished. They would all be covered and continued the next day. This photo is of some drawings underway on the side walk in front of Teato Juares.

Our cultural evening of dance was very enjoyable. The theatre is a phenominal building on its own. All the seating is rush seating and we ended up with 2 seats in a box to the left of the stage. This is a photo of the theatre from our seat. The box railing worked well to steady the camera since a flash was not allowed.

The dances where performed by members of the University of Guanajato Ballet. It was a variety of dances from different area of Mexico. Below are a couple of shots taken from our seats.

After the concert we met up with our Canadian acquaintances Gary, Bob and Sherry at a nearby restaurant. Unlike in Fernie, the restaurant was busy at 10:30 and people were waiting to get in to dine. After a glass of wine we walked back to our hotel. On the way we passed by the little bridge cafe. I couldn't resist a photo of the young couple dining on the bridge.

Yesterday we rode back though Gualajara to Tequila. We just about froze to death! Even with the heated liners and all the layers we could fit under our riding jackets. The temperature was only about 9C when we left guanajato and there was a strong wind. We had to stop a few times to warm up. By the time we got to Guadajaha the temperature was comfortable but only about 20C.

Tequila is a nice town. We met a fellow last night that has moved here from Canada and has written a book about the area. After talking to him we decided to stay another day and learn more about tequila, both town and the liquor. More on that tommorow.

Inland trip to Guanajuato

2011-11-26T13:18:00.011-07:00

We left Sayulita Wednesday morning. After a brief stop in Puerto Vallarta we headed inland on JAL544, a less travelled state highway though the mountains toward Guadalajara. We were told that the town of San Sebastion Del Oeste was interesting so we planned to stay there for the night. As it turned out, San Sebastion turned out to one of the least interesting towns we have visited. After arriving we had a beer and a snack at the only hotel in town that seemed to be open. Then we went for a walk only to return to the hotel to find out that the restaurant was closed for the day. It was only 5 pm! Nothing else was open either. A taco stand opened later so we got a bite to eat.

The next day we continued toward Guadalajara. The road was interesting and we stopped for a break at a nice little town called Atenguillo. This area is off the normal tourist route so hotels were not abundant. We headed for Ajijic, a town on Lake Chapala, where we had stayed before and found accommodation. It was slow going though the mountains. We didn't average more than 40kph, so it was along day.

A bridge in the mountains inland from Puerto Vallarta.

Guanajuato is an interesting city. It is built in a narrow valley. The center of the city is on the valley floor and residential areas are on the hill sides surrounding the city. Guanajuato is a vibrant university city, state capital and of great historic importance. The town started as a silver mining town and was once the richest city in Mexico. The first battle of the war of independence from Spanish rule was fought here.

The geographical location caused flooding problems that threatened to destroy the city so to resolve this issue tunnels were built under the city to evacuate the rain water. Later aqueducts were constructed and the tunnels became redundant. As motor vehicle traffic increased these tunnels were turned into roads and even more tunnels were built. Now the city has a vast network of underground roads. Some even have underground intersections. The city is virtually impossible to navigate for the uninitiated. And GPS doesn't work so well!

View of city from near the top of the residential area.

Many of the "streets" are narrower than this one.
Some are only 2 meters wide and have stairs.

Exit to ground level from one of the tunnels.

The city is full of culture. There are 17 museums, 9 grand churches, 3 large theatres, numerous plazas and gardens, and countless outdoor restaurants and cafes. The night life is vibrant.

Tonight we are going to the the Teatro Juarez to see a dance performance with a fellow and his friends that we met last year in Sayulita.

Teenagers hanging out in one of the plazas

Teatro Juarez

Tomorrow we plan to head back though Guadadjara to the town of Tequila. Then back to Sayulita the next day.

A Very Special Place

2011-11-22T08:13:00.002-07:00

Today we rented a car to share with Denise and Cristobal, two other hotel guests. Our destination was an archeological site near Alta Vista, Nayarit. The site is called La Pila del Rey and it is thought to be an old site of worship for the Tetoxquin, the Aztec population that inhabited this area long before the arrival of the Spaniards.

We could only drive to within two or three kilometers of the site before the road deteriorated to an undrivable trail. The walk took us through orchards to a creek in a shallow valley. We then followed the creek upstream until we reached the grotto.

The main attraction to this site are the petroglyphs carved into the rocks. The petroglyphs are interesting, but for us, the location was awe inspiring. It is difficult to describe the serenity of the grotto. It is one of the most tranquil places I have ever experienced. It not hard to understand why the Tetoxquin would have selected this location as a place of worship.

The trail along the creek.

Una mariposa bonita.

A couple of the petroglyphs.

The grotto with the larger pool in the centre.

The water flowing down through the various pools.

Cristobal in the largest pool.

Tomorrow we are back on the bike heading for Guanajuato.

Still in Sayulita

2011-11-20T12:38:00.036-07:00

We have been in Sayulita for 10 days now. Relaxing and studying some Spanish. The weather has been quite warm, with a bit of humidity but generally comfortable in the shade. We get a nice breeze blowing thought the large covered deck in front of our room. We find this hotel a comfortable home away from home. So do others. Three other rooms are occupided by returnees. We are starting to refer to the hotel as Club Diamanté.

Both Linda and I were challenged by our Spanish courses but we enjoyed them. We are planning to attend some group conversational sessions while we are here. However next Wednesday we are heading back on the road for about a week. We are taking a back road though the mountains though San Sebation del Oueste, around Guadalajara to Guanajato, a colonial city that is a UN world heritage site.

This photo is of a small beach that is only a 10 minute walk south of the main beach. It is called Playa Los Muertos.. Beach Of The Dead. Not a particularly alluring name, especialling considering Mexico's reputation in the press. Actually its name comes from it's proximity to the local cemetery. It is a nice sheltered cove, small waves and a partially shaded beach.

Last night there was a birthday party on the street outside of our hotel. The photo above and the next two are of the party. The birthday girl is the five year old in the blue prom dress. As you can see it was quite an elaborate affair. The kids had a great time whacking those Smurf apart! Who wouldn't?

Today is a national holiday... El Dia del Revolucion is the celebration the start of the 1910 Mexican Revolution. A parade is one of the events. All the school kids participate dressed in revolution time costumes. There are mock battles throughout the parade. I have a couple of great videos of them but they are stuck on my camera until I get back home.

I have made arrangements to rent a car for a day. $60 including tax and insurance. We are getting together with a couple of other hotel guests to drive out to an archeological site about an hour north of here. It is near a town called Alta Vista and was recommended to us by another hotel guests. Hopefully I'll have some interesting shots to post after the trip.

PS. We are not missing the -20 weather.

Settling In

2011-11-12T15:04:00.005-07:00

We are settling in at the Hotel Diamanté and adjusting to the warm weather. The last couple of days have been quite hot and humid... But we are managing to suffer through it.

There are more motorcycles on the road here now than the first time we came. Another motorcyclist from Ottawa is staying at the hotel. He is on his way south, perhaps to South America, not sure just yet. We also met another fellow from Colorado that is here for the winter with his family. He is an avid rider. He is busy mapping back roads and trails in the area. He is an active member on the ADVRider site and is hoping to do some on and off road tours. Both of these fellows are riding Suzuki DR650s.

This morning Linda bought some great fruit off the truck supplying the little store across the street. This hotel has a fridge near our room, for the use of the guests so for now we are stocked up with the basics... Fruit, granola, yogurt, ice, tequila, controy (mexican orange liqueur), limes and a big bag of ice.

We are signed up for our regular Spanish lessons with Costa Verde school. They start on Monday. Just two hours each morning. I'm looking forward to the lessons again. I'm quite comfortable speaking Spanish now in general travel situations but I don't get as much chance to practice, here in Sayulita. We always start a conversation or restaurant order in Spanish but it often transitions to English.

There are more tourist here than there were on the Baja. This weekend there were seven weddings (11/11/11) in town so that brought in quite a few additional tourists. Even so... Our hotel is more than 1/2 full and none of the guests are here for the weddings.

We spent a bit of time on the beach this afternoon but sitting still for long is not my thing so we walked the length of the beach, in and out of the water.

One of the things we like about Sayulita is the variety of tourists. There is a diverse variety of ages and activity levels. The surfing attracts the younger crowd. The variety of accommodations and restaurants attracts visitors across the economic spectrum. There is a good mix of authentic Mexican food and businesses along with some international cuisine.

Here are a few beach shots...

Surfer Dude

Looking toward the north end of the beach.

Looking back from the north end of the beach.

Thursday, November 10

2011-11-10T21:04:00.000-07:00

In Mazatlan we stayed at our regular place, the Azteca Inn and had dinner at Pancho's Resturante on the water front. We explained to the waiter that we had eaten not long before and only wanted a couple of margaritas and an appetizer. We ordered the margaritas and looked at the menu. The margaritas arrived quickly along with a big plate of taco chips, salsas and stuffed peppers.

The waiter suggested the appetizer special... Three cheeses blended with chorizo, red and green peppers and onions. This turned out to be quite a production. A small table was set beside our table with a heated lava-type pottery bowel on it. The ingredients for the mixture arrived and they were blended by the waiter in the super hot bowl, then served on tortillas. Fancy quesadillas, but really tasty. Quite a production!

We took our time eating, sipping the margarita and enjoying the ocean side ambiance. As we finished the margaritas, two shot glasses appeared in front of us, complimentary. They contained a drink of tequila, white wine and apple juice. I forget the name but they were very tasty. When we finished these, we asked for the bill. They bill arrived with two more complimentary drinks... Kalhua and cream. I have no idea what prompted the free drinks. Our final bill was less than $20. We left a good tip.

After a pleasant stay in Mazatlan we packed up and headed for Sayulita, about 400k south. The weather here is warm and more humid than the Baja. The rainy season is over but every thing is still lush and green. On the narrow roads approaching Sayulita, the jungle foliage grows right to the edge of the pavement. It is impossible to see what is around the next bend so we took it pretty easy. Arriving in Sayulita about 3pm.

Although on the pacific coast, Sayulita is in the Central time zone. It has been hard to keep track of the time of day over the past few days.... Not that it matters much.

We think we might just stay put here in Sayulita for a few weeks and just relax.

Back on the Mainland

2011-11-09T13:15:00.002-07:00

We got a new vehicle permit yesterday and jumped on the ferry to Mazatlan. Although this was the same boat that we took last year it had be fixed up a bit and we had a comfortable overnight passage to Mazatlan.

We decided to have a rest day and stay in Mazatlan overnight before heading south to Sayulita tomorrow. The weather has warmed up again and we have put away the heated jackets for now...thank goodness. Linda is lounging by the pool now while sit in the shade to write a few words.

I'm still waiting for my blog app to be updated but I managed to up load a couple of pics. The first picture is of an ultimate go anywhere motor home. A couple from Switzerland had it shipped over and are on their way around the world. I thought it was so cool that I needed to post a picture. I didn't ask, but I wonder if it bullet proof?

The next photo is for Ruth. Bet you don't have one of these in your garden? There is some interesting vegitation here in the desert.

that's all for now, time to go for a walk and get som exercise.

Monday November 7

2011-11-07T17:22:00.001-07:00

We are now back in Loreto, BCS. Yesterday we rode from Ensenada to Guerrero Negro. It was long ride but much more enjoyable than the same leg north. It was sunny but cool. We put on everything we had that we had to keep us warm and left Ensenda about 7:30.

I was still concerned about the lack of fuel stops on the leg between El Rosario and Guerrero. When we stopped for breakfast at Mama Espinoza's in El Rosario I filled up and made some calculations. We were getting just over 20k per litre so on a 22 litre tank, the 365k should be no problem. What I discovered is that my fuel gauge reads low. We made it all the way to Guerrero with about 2 1/2 liters left in the tank but the gauge showed empty. Good to know for future situations.

Sorry about the lack of photos. The blog app I was using is to yet iOS5 compatible. Hopefully the update is available soon.

Here is one photo from our informal gas stop on the way north. These spontanious encounters are some of the most interesting events of this type of trip. After filling up we stayed for coffe and a bite to eat before continuing on.

As I write this, I'm sitting on a balcony of a small family run hotel in Loreto. Sipping a beer and waiting for a couple of guys we met in La Paz last year at this time. Bob and Don are friends that ride together. In August they were in British Columbia and now they are heading for Cabo for a few day before heading back north to watch part of the Baja 1000 race. They are about our age, perhaps a little older. Former desert racers and hard core riders that like to put on the miles.

Tomorrow Linda and I are planning to head off early and hopefully catch the ferry to Mazatlan that departs Pichilinque at 6:00 pm tomorrow. It is an overnight 16hr trip so when we get off the ferry we will ride south 150k or so to Playa Noviero. Then on to Sayulita the next day.

We are looking forward to staying in Sayulita for a week or so to rest the saddle sores.

I want to regress a bit... Today we rode along the shore of the Sea of Cortez and along the shore of Bahia de Concepcion, just south of the town of Mulege. We had forgotten what a great area this is. All along the large bay are small bays that accommodate camping. The sea is turquoise, shallow and calm. The bay is dotted with island. Great kayaking, snorkeling and swimming.

We have been taking about getting a RV to leave down here. Although the Baja is not our favourite part of Mexico, Baja California Sur is a great camping and RV location, both on the gulf side and the Pacific side.... Just thinking out loud.

Well... My beer is empty.

Next update from the mainland.

Hope all is OK for you all in Canada

Hasty luego...

Saturday November 5th

2011-11-05T21:23:00.001-06:00

We had been advised by the Banjercito in Pichilinque that we would be able to resolve the permit issue in Ensenada. Well... Perhaps on a week day, but not on the weekend.

Tijuana has a bad reputation. Everyone we spoke with rolled there eyes at the mention of going there. After some Internet research we found a recent posting that indicated that there was a Banjercito office in Tecate so off we went to Tecate.

The road from Ensenda to Tecate is a nice winding road through vineyards. Although it was cool, it was not raining and it was a pleasant ride. Unfortunately the Internet information was, once again, erroneous. Our options were getting smaller. After some discussion we headed for Tijuana along a highway that runs along the US border.

Before leaving Tecate we found the address of the Banjercito office on the internet and plugged it into the gps. This has worked well for us in the past, but not today. I don't know if the adress was wrong or the gps found another location with the same address but we got lost several times, went down one way streets that obviously were taking us the wrong way and eventually ended up in the middle of a suburban market nowhere near the Banjercito.

Finally we found our way back to the main border crossing where there was a HUGE line up of traffic waiting to enter the US. We managed to find our way around it and ask an official for directions. Finally, with his help we found the Bajercito office.

Canceling the permit was no problem. We were expecting a fine for the expired permit but the official was friendly and efficient. An hour and fifteen minutes later we were back in Ensenda..... Mission accomplished.

Tomorrow we will start the ride back south.

From the iPad of Bernie Hide
Fernie, BC, Canada
250-423-7731

Friday November 4th.

2011-11-05T20:41:00.001-06:00

Thursday evening we were sitting in the outside restaurant of the Malarrimo Motel in Guerrero Negro, sipping a beer and taking to the waiter. There had not been any rain in Guerrero for two years. That was yesterday. Today the weather changed.... Dramatically!

It was cool and cloudy when we got up. Cool enough that we put on our quilted electric jackets but not cool enough to plug them in, as we started the ride north to El Rosario. After about half an hour we stopped to put on another layer and plug in the jackets. As we climbed into the hills the temperature contined to decline to about 15C or so and the clouds ahead looked threateningly of rain. Also we were riding fairly fast into a strong, gusty wind. This made the ride even less pleasant.

We're we're making good time though and discussed the possibility of riding all the way to Ensenda, a little less than 600k in total. This particular stretch of the highway is particularly uninhabited. There are no gas stations between Guerrero and El Rosario. (365k). At 60k from El Rosario we were on reserve fuel and starting be concerned that we would not make it to the next Pemex. Obviously, others have had the same problem because the next cafe has a sign fo gasolina. We stopped and bought 2 gals for 100 pesos, roughly $8.

Reaching El Rosario we topped up the tank. Since it was only 1pm and with only 250 k to Ensenda, we decide to press on. The first half went smoothly, albeit slowly, as this area is more densely populated.

About half way to Ensenada the rain started. Soon we were cold and wet. My visor was blured by the rain and the visor was fogging up. We were on a narrow but busy 2 lane mountain road and it was becoimg more difficult to see the road. I just stayed between the yellow centre line and the white line on the side and pressed on.

Our anticipated pace had slowed considerably and everytime I looked at the gps we were always more than an hour from Ensenada. Then we ran into road construction and I discovered that the only thing worse than dusty detours are muddy slippery ones. Now, when I got a chance to look at the gps we were 2 hours from Ensenada and it would be dark soon.

This was getting to be real fun... Wet, cold, negotiating an unorganized detour on a slick muddy surface that you can't see well! Who needs a beach and a margarita to enjoy Mexico?

Luckily the detour was short by Mexican standards and we eventually made it to the hotel, just as it was getting dark.

Whew! What a day. Hopefully we can get the permit issue settled tomorrow.

From the iPad of Bernie Hide
Fernie, BC, Canada
250-423-7731

En México otra vez

2011-11-01T18:39:00.005-06:00

Yep. We are back in Mexico again.

This I my second attempt at posting a blog on this trip. I spent an hour writing an entry yesterday while waiting in the LAX airport for the last leg of our flight to Los Cabos but the Blogpress app crashed when I tried to save the entry. :-(

We are now in La Paz, Baja Califonia Sur (BCS).

When we arrived in Cabo it was hot... About 36C. We caught a ride to the storage compound with a car rental company van for whatever we wanted to tip the driver and retrieved the motorcycle with no problem. The battery was a little weak and the fuel in the lines had evaporated (or whatever). The bike didn't want to start on the first few tries but caught just as the battery was about to die. Thank goodness!

We stayed in Cabo San Lucas last night and rode north through Todos Santos to La Paz today. We had a great breakfast at the Hotel Califonia in Todos Santos then rode to the ferry terminal in Pichilinque ( 20 K past La Paz).

Our vehicle permit for mainland Mexico had expired and we wanted to deal with the expired permit and get a new one. The gals in the office were very helpful but their hands were tied, so to speak, by the computerized system. They suggested that if the registration was changed to Linda Hide, there would be no problem issuing another permit. We thought about this idea for a while and decided that a forgery would only complicate an already delicate stuation. We were told that the only other remendy would be to ride back to the USA border to deal with the expired permit.

So... we have a nice hotel room overlooking the quiet La Paz Bay and we are relaxing with a couple of cervezas. Tomorrow we will head north to Loreto and then north to Ensenada or Tijuana. We were told that we could resolve the situation in either of these places. Once we get the permit issue resolved we plan to head south again to Sayulita. Our route is yet to be determined.

Regardless of the setback it is nice to be here again.

Time for a bite to eat...

Hasta luego...

From the iPad of Bernie Hide
Fernie, BC, Canada
250-423-7731

Home in Fernie

2011-04-08T20:07:00.000-06:00

We arrived home in Fernie on Thursday, April 7th. The flights were uneventful.. San Jose to Seattle and Seattle to Kalispell. We departed SJC at 5 pm and on the 6th arrived in Kalispell just after midnight. Unfortunately I had left our iPod transmitter plugged into the cigarette lighter outlet and it had drained the battery enough that the starter would not turn the engine over.

We were told by the security staff that the car rental booths had battery booster units but they were closed for the night. We had planned to stay in Kalispell over night anyway so we hopped a cab to the hotel. I returned in the morning, borrowed a booster and started the car. On the way out of the parking lot I mentioned what had happened to the clerk and she informed me that they also had battery booster units that I could have borrowed. Next Time!

Carving at the Tropicana Hotel in San Jose del Cabo

Hmmm... buy a pizza, get free advise?

The Steed.

It's nice to be back home.

Back to the Baja

2011-04-05T21:55:00.001-06:00

We are back in BCS (Baja California Sur). Things haven't gone as planned but we are settled into a very nice hotel in San Jose del Cabo. We found the MC storage place and have packed, ready to catch the plane back to Kalispell tomorrow.

We left Sayulita about 10am Sunday morning after giving Jeff, Eileen and Loic a short tour of town. Isabell was catching up on some rest after a restless night with Loic. The ride to Mazatlan was uneventful. Due to the delay leaving Sayulita and the distance to Mazatlan we once again opted for the toll road, arriving in Mazatlan around 4pm.

After a good nights rest we rode over to the ferry terminal to get tickets for the ferry sailing to La Paz. The price had gone up considerably since the last time we took this ferry. The two our us, plus the bike and the cheapest cabin was almost 4000 pesos... Roughly $320. To make matters worse, the nice ferry we took on this route 5 years ago is no longer in service. It has been replaced by an old rusted freighter that had seen better days either crossing the English Channel or on the Mediterranean. ( all the signs and information postings were in English or French... No Spanish to be seen? ) Passenger accommodations were minimal and uncomfortable. There were not enough seats in the common area for all the passengers so we had to sit in our cabin on the narrow bunk bed. Luckily we had a movie on the iPad to watch to pass the time.

The time of passage had increase from 14 hours to 16 hours and disembarking was very slow. By the time we got back on the road to La Paz 19 hours had passed since we had arrived at the terminal in Mazatlan. There was a military check at each end of the voyage that added to the delay. All in all, this voyage is not recommended if it can be avoided.

Our plan was to cancel our vehicle permit at the terminal in La Paz, after all this is where we obtained it and no vehicle permits are required on the all of Baja California. Wrong again... Apparently you can buy the permit at the terminal but you can cancel it only at selected Mexico/USA border crossings!???

Since our permit expires at the end on April we had a decision to make... One would be to forfit the unrefundable airline tickets from San Jose del Cabo and ride to Tijuana, cancel the permit and pay for another flight home from San Diego or put the bike in storage and fly home from San Jose. Then deal with the expired permit when we come back in November. After mulling the options over iced coffee in La Paz we decided we would postpone the agony and deal with the situation in November. This means that we will have to ride the bike back to Tijuana or Mexicali, try to talk our way out of a fine, probably cros into the US and then return to Mexico, get a new permit and ride back south, on the east side of the Gulf of California.... Only about 3000k out of our way.

But we can worry out this later.... Hopefully the flight home goes well. Back to the snow I hoped would have melted by now. Looking forward to getting back to Fernie.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Tropicana Hotel,San José del Cabo,Mexico

In Sayulita

2011-04-01T13:38:00.002-06:00

We are now into the last week of this trip. We have been in Sayulita since last Saturday and we are heading for Mazatlan Sunday morning. Then onto the ferry and back to the Baja on Monday. Our flight home is out of San Jose del Cabo on Wednesday.

Both Linda and I have been taking Spanish classes in the morning and I have been getting together with another teacher for an hour in the afternoon. I think we are making progress but sometimes it is hard to tell. If nothing else, it is good exercise for the brain. Also it gives us a chance to meet some locals and develop a better understanding of the area. Fernie and Sayulita have a lot in common. For example, both are seasonal tourist towns. Both have over inflated property values that have helped push prices beyond the affordability of the local population.

Yesterday we visited the town a few miles to the north. Its name is San Francisco but it is commonly known as San Pancho. (Pancho is an abbreviation of Francisco, as is Paco) It is possible to walk to San Pancho along the beach, with a couple of forays along jungle trails over some higher ground. The problem is that you have to pass through private property and sometimes this can be a issue, so we decided to take the bike instead.

We were quite surprised by San Pancho. We expected something smaller but although not quite as large as Sayulita it is a well developed town, in some ways nicer than Sayulita. Nearly all the roads are attractive cobble stone, clean, nice stores and restaurants. Sayulita, on the other hand, has a mix of street surfaces, from concrete to cobble stones to dirt. The September storm caused significant damage in Sayulita, particulary in proximity to the river. The construction on a new bridge and the associated equipment, constuction materials, piles of dirt etc. are not very attractive. Hopefully, by next seasons much of this should be completed and it will be more esthetically pleasing.

San Pancho has a beautiful long, wide beach but unfortunately the swimming is dangerous and there is no surfing area for beginners. This is where Sayulita has the tourism advantage. The surfing and boogy boarding are very good at Sayulita. The south end of the beach is shallow with smaller waves.

Sayulita beach looking North

Horses, dogs, and people share the beach

Mazamitla to Ajijic

2011-03-25T20:26:00.005-06:00

Once again we decided to modify our route slightly and skip our planned visit to Tapalpa and head for Ajijic instead.

At the motorcycle show in Calgary, one of the booths was promoting motorcycle tours in Mexico, based out of Ajijic. I stopped to talk to Lynn, one of the owners, and told her we planned to be in her area in March. She kindly gave me her email adress and asked us to stop by.

Ajijic (pronounced ah-hee-hic) in an attractive town located on the shores of Lake Chapala, about 50k from the outskirts of Guadelajara and only 35k from the international airport. It has interesting mix of residents within a wide economic range, both Mexican, Canadian and US citizens. The gringo influence is definitly evident but it is not overpowering, as it is in Puerto Vallarta, for example.

We are staying in a B&B, run by a relocated Texan family, located in the older part of town. It is very comfortable with all the amenties one could expect. The town is typical of older towns in this area, narrow cobblestone streets and plenty of character.

The Adobe Walls B&B

As I mentioned, one of the reasons we stopped in Ajijic was to talk to Lynn and her husband John to get a better understanding of their business. Graciously, they invited us over to their lovely home, showed us their bikes (all BMWs), and explained their business to us. They are well organized, with new, well maintained bikes and experienced guides. Their location is definitely an asset. Easy access by international flights, beautiful county side, winding roads, almost perfect year round climate and proximity to some of the most historic towns and landmarks in Mexico.

Their biggest impediment to business is the misconception of the degree of danger that one assumes while in Mexico. The ironic part of this concept always makes be smile... The amount of risk one assumes by simply riding a motorcycle is exceedingly higher than the risk you assume by visiting Mexico! Riding in Mexico adds very little to the risk, but it adds immensely to the experience and the pleasure.

If anyone reading this is interested in more information about the tours go to www.ridethesierra.com Lynn or John will be glad to answer any of your question.

Tomorrow we are heading back to Sayulita where we will stay for a week trying to pickup a bit more Spanish.

Marley... Here is the photo of the peacock in the restaurant Gramma told you about. We didn't get his name. What do think it is? Also here a picture of a cool car.

Peacock in "The Garden Restaurant"

Patzcuaro to Mazamitla

2011-03-25T20:13:00.001-06:00

We left Patzcuaro about 10 am for a 235k ride to Mazamitla, the next of the Pueblo Magicos. The road looped east around the lake though scenic country side and was newly paved.

All was going well until we realized that we had made a wrong turn about 40k earlier. Unexpectedly, we had intersected the main expressway from Mexico city to Guadelajara, unfortunately our planned route was suppose to be paralleling it to the south.

Once we figured out where we were, we decided to jump on the autopista for about 80k. This reroute added about 55k to the route but not much extra time. We are learning that even 235k is long day. By the time we intersected the autopista we calculated that we were only averaging 45k per hour.

On the coastal roads, the towns are generally located between the highway and the coast but inland the secondary highways go through the middle of the towns, hence travel is slower.

We arrived in Mazamitlan at 4pm. 6 hours on the road with really only one stop to figure out we where and have a drink. It was a long day. Luckily, we quickly found a nice hotel, freshened up and walked down town for a beer and a snack.

Mazamilta is a pretty town, located in relatively lush and scenic county side. The elevation of town is at 2200 meters. The economy is generally agricultural in nature, including forestry, fishing and service related businesses. It is also the location of secondary residences of Guadejara based families who want an escape from the city.

Caleta to Paztcuaro

2011-03-22T17:41:00.006-06:00

Leaving Caleta behind us, we continued south down hwy 200. About 60k down the road we turned inland on Hwy 37 and started climbing into the Sierras. The 2 lane highway is in good condition but with a fairly rough seal coat. It is a contuously winding road and progress was slow.

We were on the road for 100k until we intercepted Hyw 37D, the pay road. Normally we avoid the pay roads but it took 2 1/2 hours to cover the first 100k of Hwy 37 and with almost 200k to go we opted for the pay road for the remainder of this days ride.

The 100k on 37 was an interesting ride though. There was hardly any traffic And only a few small settlements. However, about 1/2 way along 37 we reached the large and busy town of Arteaga. After over an hour of concentration though the continuous turns, it was time for a break. We found a place to park on the main drag through town and stood in the shade with a couple of Coca Light and watched the action. Trucks and buses mixed in with a 14 year old guy blasting up and down the street on dirt racing quad, 3 chica as on a scooter cruising for chicos and a constant stream of pedestrians crossing the street, picking their way though the traffic.

If this scene wasn't interesting enough it was accentuated with the arrival of a convoy of Federales (national police force). They came driving down the street led by an armored truck with large calibre machine gun mounted above the cab. The fellow manning the gun dressed in black with bullet belts over both shoulder. (nice affect) Several others in the truck also were carrying huge automatic weapons. All were wearing full riot gear and some wore black mask. This vehicle was followed by several other militay type enclosed armoured vehicles, both uwith an officer manning a machine gun from the top turret.

We were resting long enough to see them come back down the street in the other dirrection.... An obvious show of force. All I could think was... if only I could take a picture? But something told me that might not be good idea.

When we finally reached the junction with the pay road, we topped up the tank at a local gas guy, and jumped on the autopista. The posted speed limit is 110k but like most other speed signs here, it's only a suggestion. We stay near 110 but were constantly passed. This road is a 2 lane limited address road with a breakdown shoulder on either side. This shoulder is also used by slower moving vehicle to allow other vehicles to pass. Technically the road is only 2 lanes but since it wide enough for more than two, why waste the space, seems to be the mentality. It not uncommon for the vehicle being passed to move a little right and the approaching car to move a little to allow a for a passing lane down the middle. From what we observed the car in the middle could easily be cursing along at 160k.

We arrived in Patzquaro about 4pm. The city is at about 2200 meters so the is plenty of vegetation, pine trees and blossoms on some of the deciuous trees. NormalH temperature here vary from 5c to 25c. This is one of the oldest cities in Mexico and has a well preserved downtown area that operates much as it did a couple of hundred years ago.

When we arrived it was very busy, but it was holiday here yesterday and many of the tourist were here for the weekend, most from the state capital Morelia. Today is much quieter. I'm writing this sitting at a cafe under the stone arches covering the side walk in from of our hotel.

Even though this is fairly touristy area, there are few non Mexicans. Therefore prices are very reasonable by Canadian standards. We have an extremely nice room that includes a full breakfast for less than $40.

Today we took a day off from travel to catch up on the laundry and bike maintenance. Besides.. They have great iced moca frapacinos at this cafe.

Tommorow we head north to Mazamitla, another of the Pueblos Magicos. After that we are visiting with a Canadian couple that run motorcycle tours out of Ajijic. I met them at the Calgary motorcycle show.

Comala to Caleta de Campos

2011-03-22T17:34:00.002-06:00

Caleta de Campos is in Michoacan state. The state is well known for it's rugged coastline. The road winds continuously along the coast line. There are some spectacular views of the small and large bays and mostly isolated beaches. There are a few small hotels and campgrounds along the way, but not many. We stopped at a very nice campground / RV Park about 50k north of Caleta. It also had a few cabins for rent, a very nice pool and restaurant. However, the campground and all RV spots were empty! Not surprising really, given that some parts of Michoacan are hot spots of drug gang activity.

The reason we were headed for Caleta was to see a lot that had been purchased by a gal from Vancouver that we befriended in Sayulita.

One of the disturbing things that we noticed along the Michoacan roads was the increasing amounts of garbage distributed along the road side. Other parts of Mexico have been working, quite sucessully, to reduce this problem but in and around Caleta garbage disposal is huge problem. After checking into the hotel in Caleta we walked down to the beach. One gets used to the disarray in Mexico but we found Caleta very disturbing. It might have had something to do with the two dead dogs left rotting on the side of the road! It was obvious that Caleta is not a prosperous community.

The hotel we stayed at was nice enough, but we were happy to leave Caleta early the next morning.

Barra de Navidad to Comala, Colima

2011-03-19T16:25:00.007-06:00

We had planned to go into Melaque the night before last to attend the San Patricio celebrations but after talking to few others we decided to pass on it.

All week there have been activites, now and then, on the stage in the town square. It looked like groups were practicing for something. Friday evening we found out what it was all about... Celebrations for The start of spring (primavera) festival. This event lead up to the crowning of the festival queen. The younger kids were very cute.

Today we left Barra and on the first of Los Pueblos Magicos... The first town one our route is Comala, Colima. It is town a small town in the hills south east of Barra.

On the way here we kept to the back roads and circumnavigated Mazanillo, a medium sized coastal tourist destination. Most of the places we passed through were unremarkable. Our pace was slow and it was hot and hazy.

Comala is a pretty little town with cobblestone streets and a very pretty central plaza. Nearly every building in this town is painted white.

After finding a hotel we walked to the plaza for lunch. We picked a busy restaurant in the shade, sat down and ordered a beer. Sundenly food started arriving on the table??? The waiter must have read our puzzled look and explained that as long as you orders drinks, they will keep bringing you food. All the meals in this place as similar to appetizers (call botanas) and you can special order certain ones if you like, otherwise you get something different when you are almost finished what you have on the table. The catch is that beers are 35 pesos instead of the normal restaurant price of 15. Still a good deal for us though.... We had 3 beers and all we could eat for about $8. Canadian.

We just had a short siesta and we are heading back down to the plaza for the entertainment.

El Dia del San Patricio

2011-03-17T11:28:00.005-06:00

Street in Barra de Navidad

We had been in Barra de Navidad for almost 4 days now. Barra is definitely quieter that Sayulita. It has a laid back retirement feel. Most of the Gringos here are older retired people taking advantage of the great weather, friendy people and the low cost living.

I was told that it was nearing the end of the winter tourist season, hence the lack of visiters. The exception is Semana Santa, the Mexican Easter holidays. In The two weeks around Easter this place will be filled with Mexicans vacationing at the coast.

Beach at Barra

Our Spanish courses are going well. Linda is in group of 3 and I have a private lesson, only because there is no one else at my level right now. Time and location for our classes vary from day to day. Sometimes we meet at Bonnie's house, sometimes on the beach, depending on what is being taught.

Beach at La Manzanilla

Yesterday we rode the bike 1/2 hours north to La Manzanilla, (not to be confused with Manzanillo, a city 1/2 hour south) a small town on the coast. At one of the little resaurqnts on the beach we stopped for a plate of ceviche and fresh lemonade (no cervazas because we had to ride back). Ceviche is fresh uncooked seafood marinated in lime juice, usually diced and served mixed with peppers and/or onions. Ours had slices of avocado on top. It was served with baked tortias (tostados) and it was delicious. So was the lemonade.

Today is St. Patrick's Day and the next town up the coast is named San Patricio. (for those who are familiar with this area, this town is on the south side of Melaque)

As you might guess from the name, March 17 is a big day for the town of San Patricio. In fact the has been a parade and fireworks in San Patricio every night this week, but tonight is the big wind up. We are planning to catch the bus there this evening to take in the celebrations. Hofully I'll have some interesting pictures for the next posting.

Sayulita to Barra de Navidad

2011-03-15T12:23:00.000-06:00

Once again we delayed leaving Sayulita. While preparing to leave on Sunday morning, I discovered that the new rear tire was extremely low on air.... only 10 psi. Since it was Sunday and the MC shop in PV would be closed we decided stay in Sayulita one more night. We carry a 12 volt pump so we decided to wait until Monday, over inflate the tire slightly and ride into PV to return to the shop to rectify the problem.

Shortly after discovering the problem, I inflated the tire to the recommended pressure (41 psi) to try to determine how rapidly the tire was loosing pressure. I was surprised that by evening tire did not loose any pressure at all. I surmised that the probable cause of the low pressure was that the tire was not completely seated on the rim when it was mounted but it seated itself when ridden.

Monday morning, the tire pressure was still normal, so we packed up and left Hotel Diamante for a 275k ride south.

Every time we travel though Puerto Vallarta we are stuck by the amount of development since we first came here. In 1971 PV was a small fishing village up aginst the mountains at the south end of the bay, Bahia Bandaras. The airport had just been upgraded and the only paved road was from the airport to the village.

Now it is a metropolis that has gobbled up surrounding villages and it extends from one end of the bay to the other. High rise hotels and condo stretch along the beach front. Sam's Club, Walmart, Costco, time share sellers, children hawking cheap dolls, overpriced accommodation and restaurants... all covered with a hazy layer of smog that hangs over the the low lands around the bay.

However, there are jobs in Puerto Vallarta that don't exist in the smaller villages nearby. The population of Mexico has grown much more rapidly that it has in Canada. In the 1960s the population of Canada was roughly 20M and the population of Mexico was roughly 30M. Since then, Canada's population has increased to almost 35M while Mexico's population has almost quadrupled to 110M.

Enough about this... The ride to after leaving PV climbs up into the hills for 100k or so before returning to the coast or Costa Alegre (the happy coast). We are now settled into the Hotel Posada Pacifico in Barra de Navidad. It is an inexpensive family run hotel a couple of blocks off the beach. Unpretentious and friendly or cheap and cheerful, as the Brits would say. $25. / night.

Barra (as the locals call it) is a quiet laid back town at the south end of a beautiful 5 mile long beach. At the north end of the bay is located the sister town of Melaque. Melaque is the larger of the two and is the centre of commerce.

Barra is much less "anglified" than Sayulita, probably because it is bit more off the beaten path. Tourism is down dramatically here. Therefore it is less expensive. We met a fellow from Kelowna that has an apartment in the hotel that he has rented for the season. He is paying 4000 pesos per month (c$325.) He had to add bit of furniture that he will leave behind, but nevertheless quite a good deal!

We are staying here for 5 days and taking some Spanish lessons. We have been walking quite a bit but my knee is irritated and swollen. I've been popping vitamin I but the swelling doesn't seem to be improving. Today I decided to try to catch up on the blog and park myself at an outdoor coffee shop while Linda cruises the shops.

We are meeting our teacher at noon. Linda is nervous about the lessons but really she is doing quite well.

Hotel Diamante, Sayulita, Nayarit

2011-03-15T12:19:00.000-06:00

Just a few words about Hotel Diamante... It's a small (20 rooms) family run hotel a block from the beach on north side of town, a 10 minute walk to "el centro". The rooms vary in size and bed configuration. They not fancy but they comfortable and couldn't be cleaner. Teresa, her husband Andre and two assistants keep the place spotless.

One feature we enjoy is the kitchen / dining area. It is used by Teresa and the family as well as the guests. Not only can you economize, if so inclined, but we enjoy the social interaction with the other guests, owners and staff. It soon feels very much like home. Also, Teresa serves fruit and coffee for the guests in this area each morning. This area is also close to the pool.

Another area of the hotel we enjoy is the large common area balconly overlooking the street. There is another small kitchen, tables, couches and chairs, it is great place to relax, read, blog or do some travel research one the free wireless network.

Aslo there is an economical laundry service at the hotet. Prices range from $35 to $75 per night depending on the room and number of persons.

There is only one road coming into Sayulita. To reach the Hotel Diamante, take the first right (Miramar) after reaching the start of the boulevarded street. Drive 2 blocks. It is the orange hotel on the corner of av. Del Palmar.

In Sayulita

2011-03-12T15:29:00.004-07:00

We made it! The plane even landed ahead of schedule at 2:55pm. The bike was at the storage facility and started up with no problem and we were at our hotel in Sayulita by 5. We went to our regular restaurant /bar to catch up on the latest local news.

This morning the first item on our agenda was to find a place that could mount and balance the new rear tire which we brought with us. Initial inquiries of a few locals told us than Vallarta was the closest possibility but no concrete suggestions. I had researched the internet and had located a Suzuki and a Honda dealership so the plan was to ride into Vallarta

While getting ready to leave Linda noticed a pickup truck with motorcycles and Kawasaki logos. It had stopped at the corner by the hotel. I ran out and talked to the fellow. They were in town to do some promo work during the long board surfing competion. He told me that their shop in Vallarta was open and the mechanic was on duty so I loaded up and headed for his shop. I recognized the street name from my earlier research and realized that it was located close to the other two shops.

Thanks to the GPS, once again, I managed to locate the shop in busy traffic and poorly marked oneway steets. The staff in the store were excellent and knowledgable. I started out in Spanish but the staff spoke good English so that simplified things. After determining metho of payment and the price I went for a walk round the neighbourhood.

It turned out that Linda's glance from the balcony this morning was quite fortunate. Both of the motorcycle stores I had located on line were no longer in business or perhaps they had moved to a new location.

By 2:15 I was back in Sayulita with a new tire mounted.

Tomorrow we will ride to Barra de Navid where we plan to stay until next Saurday.

The Next Leg... Pueblos Magicos

2011-03-10T14:32:00.001-07:00

We are off on the next leg of the Multiple-leg Motorcycle Trip. The plan is to fly from Kalispell to Puerto Vallarta, pick up the bike from the storage unit and spend a day or two in Puerto Vallarta. We are taking a rear tire with us and we are hoping to find someone to install it in PV before heading south to Barra de Navidad.

We are planning to spend a week in Barra, taking another Spanish course. Then to follow a route down the coast to Caleta de Campos, then head inland to visit a few of the "Pueblos Magicos", Paztcuaro, Santa Clara del Cobre, Mazamilta, Tapala, Comala and Tequila. This takes us on a route north to Sayulita, where we plan to stay for another week studying Spanish. Following the visit to Sayulia we will ride north to Mazatlan and catch the overnight ferry to La Paz on the Baja. We are flying back from San Jose del Cabo and leaving the bike once again in a storage unit.

If all goes according to plan we should be back in Fernie for a few days skiing before the end of the season.

Home Again

2010-12-03T16:21:00.000-07:00

We arrived back in Fernie about 3 pm Thursday afternoon.

The flight from PVR to Kalispell, via Seattle, was long. We arrived in Kaslispell about midnight and took a cab to Kalispell Grand Hotel, where we had left our car for 5 weeks. Whenever we stay a night in Kalsipell we stay at this neat heritage hotel downtown. Since we had reserved a room for the night we returned, they let us leave our car in the parking lot at no charge. Even factoring the 2 nights we stayed at the hotel, their generosity saved us a little over $100. in parking fees. The car was covered in about 30 cms of snow but it was light and easy to clean.

After a bit of Christmas shopping we drove back to Fernie the next day. When we left Fernie we were experiencing an extended indian summer. Now we are full into winter. Luckily we missed the really cold weather. Now they are are normal, just below freezing, temperatures. ... and plenty of snow. The ski hill officially open tomorrow with about a 1 metre base. That's a good start to the season!

Home Sweet Home

A bit of shoveling required on the deck this afternoon.

On the Way Home

2010-12-01T18:41:00.000-07:00

This blog is being updated over the free in-flight wireless internet access... Really!

We are on the way home on an Air Alaska flight from PVR to Seattle, then on the Kalispell. We should arrive in Kalispell about midnight and have a hotel booked downtown Kalispell. I'm not exactly looking forward to digging the car out of the hotel parking lot but we are looking forward to getting home some time Thurday afternoon.

For the last couple of days in Sayulita the Costa Verde school let Linda and I sit in on the Spanish course. The Costa Verde course is far better than the PEACE organisation's course we took the week before.

We packed up this morning and rode to the storage facility near the PVR airport. Bodega Vallarta is the name of the facility and it is well run and secure. It is about a $10 cab ride to the airport. We plan to come back to continue the bike trip in late March.

Settling In at Syulita

2010-11-26T16:44:00.002-07:00

It's Friday November 26. We are sitting on the terrace at Hotel Diamante in Syaulita drinking Pacifico and trying not to think about the cold weather we will return home to in just 5 days. We are starting to feel very much at home here in Mexico and it will be hard to leave.

We arrived in Sayulita last Sunday afternoon and had made reservations for a bungalow (small apartment) at the Sayulita Trailer Park. We had stayed here several times in the past and had been quite satisfied with the accommodation, location (beach front) and atmosphere. This time we were not so impressed. The first room we were given was small and dirty. We moved to a newer unit. It was much nicer but rather expensive. After 3 days of asking about the internet, I was finally told that I would have to pay an addition fee to use it. Even though the fee was only 20 pesos per day, we decided it was time to look at other accommodation options.

We didn't have to look far... The Hotel Diamante is just across the road from the Sayulita Trailer Court. It is located about a 10 minute walk from the centre of Sayulita. It is owned and run by a Mexican family. The owner, Theresa, runs a tight ship. It is impeccably clean, very nicely appointed and reasonably priced. A nice room for two by the pools is 450 pesos (about $37.) One of the larger second floor terrace rooms, like we have is $650 pesos ($54). There is a community kitchen. Fresh fruit and coffee is available free in the common area every morning, high speed wireless internet and parking for the bike in the hotel lobby. We would highly recommend this place for anyone coming to Sayulita.

Hotel Diamante Pool and Common Area / Kitchen

Upper Floor Terrace / Sitting Area / Kitchen

Today Linda and I finished another week of Spanish lessons. We had signed up with the Costa Verde School for the course but this course was run by an community action organization named PEACE. We didn't know it, but this was PEACEs first attempt at a language course. Unfortunately they were not as well prepared as they could have been, or hopefully will be in the future. Luckily I had an experienced teacher that recognized the flaws and modified the course for the better. Linda however, was not so fortunate. Her instructor followed the curriculum and it didn't work out so well. This having been said... we both benefited from the course. We are invited back next week to sit in on the Costa Verde course for a day or two at no cost.

Sayulita is a neat little town. It has definitely been Gringo-ized but it has a strong Mexican flavour and charm. Speaking Spanish is optional here but is definitely appreciated. We speak Spanish first and switch to English if necessary.... less and less now. The locals are very friendly. We are on a first name basis at the local bar and restaurant.

An intense tropical storm rolled through this area last September. Enough rain fell to cause extensive flooding and damage. The bridge into the center of town was washed away. The highway on either side of Sayulita received extensive damage from land slides. The beach has also been dramatically altered. The shape and slope of the beach is different and the surfing and fishing area have been substantially altered. However, if you din't know how it looked before, it wouldn't make any difference.... It is still pretty damn attractive!

Temporary foot bridge in use while rebuilding the washed out bridge

The beach looking north from near our hotel

Larry the Lizard. One of the Sayulita Iguanas

Dia de la Revolucion

2010-11-22T12:16:00.001-07:00

We are now back in Sayulita once again. It's been a few days since I had the chance to write the blog so I'll back up a couple of days. Let's see … In the last posting we were still in Todos Santos at the Hotel California. We had checked out but I was having trouble getting Linda to leave.

Well, we made it to the ferry terminal in lots of time to get the tickets, pass though the aduana (customs) and wait in line with the trucks and cars. Even though the ferry departs and arrives in the same country, the vehicle permit and travel visa requirements differ between the Baja and what I refer to as “mainland Mexico”. Everything has to be in order to board the ferry.

The ferries are quite new ships and are well appointed. Cabins are available at reasonable price if you want one. We didn't bother since this passage was only 6 hours. The passage to Mazatlan is 14 hours overnight and a 4 bunk cabin with toilet & sink is only about $65. We sat in the TV / Movie salon. It had two big screen TV's and reclining high back chairs. They showed 2 movies during the passage. .. one in Spanish and one in English (with Spanish subtitles). There is a restaurant and a bar as well. All in all, a well organized an well run operation.

By the time we disembarked it was almost 10pm. We had booked a hotel in the city of Los Mochis, about 20K from the ferry terminal. Normally we would not ride at night but we figured that nearly everyone on the ferry would be heading to or passing through Los Mochis. That seemed to be the case and getting to Los Mochis was not a problem. We don't usually book ahead but since were arriving late we had booked a hotel this time. Thank goodness for the GPS. Some hotels are not obvious or easy to find.

On to Guamuchil

Friday morning, after a leisurely start, we rode to Guamichil. Guamichil is a city of about 60,000 people in the centre of a productive agricultural area. This is the place we met the boys from the ATM motorcycle club 2 1/2 years ago while traveling we Lee. I had been in contact with some club and they were expecting us.

When we arrived in town we easily found their clubhouse but no one was around. Our main contact with the club, Victor Sanchez, is a dentist so we decided to find his office. Since we had been their before we though that would be a simple task. You would not believe how many dentist offices there are in Guamuchil! We quickly found out that when you factor the number of dentists with the number of people whose name is Sanchez, locating his office was challenging. Even asking a policeman and receptionists in other dentist's offices , when we found one open, we were unable to locate Victor's office.

By now we were hot , thirsty and frustrated. In the end we went back to the clubhouse and talked to the fellow in the beer store next door. We should have thought to do that when we first arrived. He was expecting us, handed us some beer, directed us to the restaurant across the street and called Victor. Victor soon arrived to welcome us. It turned out he was home for lunch. Even if we had found his office it would have been for naught... closed for siesta!

Throughout the afternoon club members arrived at the club to greet us. One of the club members we met on the previous trip had since moved to Mazatlan. Indio was the fellow who cooked the fabulous meal for Linda, Lee and I on our first visit. When Indio heard we were coming back, he came up from Mazatlan to cook a meal for us again.

We had an entertaining evening at the clubhouse. Most guys spoke limited English but one fellow, Javier, spoke good English and help translate. It was a good chance to practice my Spanish. Some conversations went pretty well others abruptly ended when I ran out of vocabulary. Come to think of it... this seems to happen to me quite often these days in English too.

A few of the guys had ridden to Canada from Mexico. Lee and I tried to meet up with them the summer before last but couldn't connect. This past summer this same group rode from Mexico to Prudow Bay, Alaska and back in just over two weeks. They averaged over 1000K per day.... hard core!

A National Holiday - Dia de la Revolucion

The 20^th of November is Mexico's biggest national holiday. It is the anniversary of the 1910 Mexican Revolution. Many people dress up in traditional attire and nearly every community has a parade and a fiesta.

In Guaumchil a large parade is part of the festivities and the ATM motorcycle club traditionally leads the parade. We were asked if we would like to ride with the club in the parade and we agreed. I was presented with an official club shirt which I wore. Just as the parade was about to start we were told that the club members ride 3 abreast and that our position was in the centre of the front row. So away we go and the next thing I know is that we are leading the parade. As we passed city hall we were announced as honoured guest from Canada.

The whole visit was a great experience that we both really enjoyed. We really were treated like honoured guests.

Leading the parade

One Happy Canuk

One of the groups in the large parade

Chicas bonitas

The club members in the parade

On To Sayulita

Yesterday was a long day from Mazatlan to Sayulita. We took the autopista pay road most of the way to make better time. Usually we found gas stations on the autopista but this time there were none. I expected to find a gas station close to our exit from the autopista but I was wrong again. We left the autopista in the mountains near Tepic and found ourselves winding our way through small mountain villages. When I felt we could go no further we stopped in one of the villages to inquire about the location of a gas station. We talked to a gentleman at a fruit stand. He told us that there were no gas stations in the area but he gave us directions to a fellow who sold gas out of his shed, only a block away. A smile, a handshake, hold the funnel please, a couple of photos, a few pesos and we were on our way.

Plans are meant to be changed... with hotel California addendum

2010-11-17T11:22:00.004-07:00

Well, a lot has transpired since our last posting. We are now officially “Language School Dropouts”. We were very pleased with the instructors . They were all knowledgeable, patient and enthusiastic. However, we felt that the school's teaching methodology was rushed and confusing. I felt that insufficient time was allocated to verifying comprehension and practical application of the lessons... or maybe we are just slow learners???

Backing up a couple of days...

On the weekend, we went off on a road trip on a loop though Todos Santos, Cabos San Lucas, San Jose del Cabo, Barriles and back to la Paz. The last time this way we missed seeing this part of the Baja. The two other guys on our course who were traveling on motorcycles were headed for Cabo for a few days and had suggested a cheap hotel near the beach strip. When we arrived in Cabo, Bob and Don had already secured a room for us. As usual the older (grittier, as Lee would say) parts of town are the most interesting. The beach strip with huge hotels, malls and expensive restaurants could be anywhere warm.

Don & Bob in Cabo

Cabo San Lucas Beach Strip

This picture tells the story of Cabo

It wasn't until returning from the weekend road trip that we decided to investigate other language training options. We had been paying weekly for the course in la Paz so we let them know that we would not be returning for the second week. There is a possibility that we may be able to attend a course in Sayulita the week after next. No replies to my email yet.

Our host's Alicia and Vincente were very sweet. They were very accommodating and thoughtful of our every need. It was great pleasure to meet and stay with them and their family.

Alicia & Vincente.... muy simpaticos!

We have reorganized our plans... As I write this we are staying at the Hotel California in Todos Santos. Todos Santos is much less touristy than Cabo San Lucas or San Jose del Cabo. This hotel is the one that inspired the Eagles song. We arrived here yesterday for one night but decided to stay for two. It is really cool place. Linda wants to stay here for the rest of the trip! Don Henley;s words...”you can checkout, but you can never leave” seem quite appropriate. Here are a few photos....

Hotel California Street View

Balcony in front of our room.

The building and decorating is very nice

This is the entry gate to the interior guest area, pool andcourtyard

A shallow cooling-off pool... very relaxing!

Linda (now pronounced Lee-nda) is very happy at the Hotel California!

Tomorrow we are taking the Ferry to Topolobambo and going to Gauamuchil on Friday. Then\probably Mazatlan on Saturday.

This is a comical example of a stop sign.
Firstly, it is almost impossible to see until you reach it.
Secondly, it says "4 way stop" but it is a T junction.
NO HAY PROBLEMA!

An Addendum:

Linda was browsing for info about the Hotel California in Todos Santos and came up with some interesting info. Construction on the hotel started in 1947 (good year!). It was completed and opened in 1950.

Hotel California, Todos Santos circa 1950

In the late 70s and and early 80s it was renamed Hotel Mision Todos Santos. In the early 1980s a rumor was started, apparently by a real estate agent anxious to generate some business, that the Eagles had stayed in the hotel and Don Henley had composed the song here. In the late 80s the name was changed back to Hotel California. In 1997 at travel writer contacted Don Henley regarding the rumor relating to the Eagles. Henley denied any association between the song and the hotel. (see below) By 2000 the hotel was vacant and out of business. In 2001 and John Stewart and his wife Debbie (from BC, Vancouver and Nelson) bought the hotel and started an extensive renovation. John passed away in 2006. Debbie now owns and runs the hotel. In a conversation with her today, she attributes the state of the hotel almost entirely to John's vision and design. She told us that with every update and touch up, not even a colour is changed.

I'm a little disappointed that this is not the hotel in Don Henley's song. Guess I'm a romantic at heart. Never the less, it shouldn't distract from it's charm. We think both the town and the hotel are pretty special and well worth a visit.

T.G.I.F.

2010-11-12T20:19:00.002-07:00

Well... we got through the first week of school. Whew!

The school didn't pamper us old folk. We are not exactly accustomed to four hours a day of intense concentration, plus an hour or so of homework, but we survived. This school seems to use the "shotgun" technique. They blast the students with information and hope some of it penetrates. We both feel overwhelmed but I'm pretty sure that some of the information is sinking in. We are both going back for another week.

Some of the other "estudiantes" finished their session today so a few of us got together for supper on the Malecon (the beach drive and promenade). Don & Bob, other motorcycle riders are heading to Cabo as well, then up to San Ignacio to watch part of the Baja 1000. Bruno, the bicyclist, is also riding the Cabo loop before taking the ferry to Mazatlan to continue his expedition to Ushuaia.

El Malecon en la Paz, Baja Sur

This weekend we are taking a holiday inside a holiday. We are taking a circular route from la Paz that goes though Todos Santos, Cabo San Lucas, San Jose del Cabo and Los Barriles before returning to la Paz. It is about 400K round trip so will stay overnight somewhere around mid-way.

The bike is running smoother now. We found a small motorcycle shop nearby and they installed my spare chain and counter shaft sprocket. The rear sprocket is OK for now. I might be able to find a new one in Cabo San Lucas is I'm lucky. Never the less, it should last the rest of this trip since we are not planning to travel that far.

Linda is packed and checking for hotels on her Ipod. We will take a few more pictures to show you over the weekend and next week.

Till then....

Getting Settled

2010-11-10T19:22:00.001-07:00

It has taken a few days to get the wrinkles ironed out, both at the home stay and at the school. We are enjoying both situations now.

The home-stay hosts, Alicia and Vincente are both extremely nice... as are their daughter, her husband and their kids. They are very accommodating. We took the bike to school yesterday so that we could ride out to Pichilinque to get the permit for the bike. We told Alica that we would not need dinner but when we came back to the house at about 6pm she showed up at our door with some incredible tortas... shredded beef, diced onions and tomatoes with shredded cheese on top. Baked on a tortilla. Muy buena! Me gusto mucho!

The school situation was less than ideal as well. Linda had signed up for a 2 hour/day introductory conversation course and I had registered for a 4 hour / day intensive course. We both were slotted into the intensive 4 hour/day program and Linda & I were grouped together in a class with 2 others. After the second day we realized that the course content in our class, was overloading Linda and much of what was being taught were basics with which I was familiar. Linda & I discussed our options and were thinking that we might only stay with the school for the rest of this week. At breakfast this morning I mentioned to our host that we might only stay 1 week and explained our concerns about the course. When we arrived at the school, a class reorganization was already in the works. A student shuffle occurred to realign us. I was moved to a slightly more advanced class and Linda stayed with the original group. We are pretty sure that the reorganization was triggered by a call to the school from Alicia... but whatever the reason for the shuffle we now plan to stay at the school for two weeks.

There was no problem getting the permit for the bike at the Ferry Terminal at Pichilinque. They were not busy and very friendly. It went smooth as glass! Since there was no delay, Linda & I rode to a scenic beach, Playa El Tecolote, on the point past Pichilinque, sat in the sun and had a bite to eat.

Playa El Tecolote

The chain on the bike is stretched and needs to be replaced I have a new chain with me but I have been reluctant to attempt to install it. I am short one tool. I could probably make do but if I screwed up the repair we might be here for longer than we would like. Today I found a bike shop that can replace the chain and sprocket. I have an appointment tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully that all goes smoothly too.

Just a comment on money here in la Paz... It used to be very common to be able use US dollars on the Baja but this situation has changed. The crackdown on narco trafficking has made it less attractive for those outside of the narco business to use or accept US dollars. We have been told that stores are reluctant to accept dollars and banks are hesitant to change dollars into pesos. There is no problem using your bank card in any of the banks or ATMs to get pesos. There is even a Scotia Bank in la Paz.

Back to my homework...

School Days...

2010-11-08T20:43:00.000-07:00

Our language course started today. The course runs from 8:30 to 1pm, with a couple of breaks. Our instructor, Alejandra, is very patient. There are 4 people in our class and 3 others in more advanced classes. One fellow is German and riding his bicycle to Tierra del Fuego. There are two Americans, our age, both on motorcycles (650 V-Stroms) and a couple, she from the US and he from Australia, both living in New Zealand. Interesting folk.

We are staying with a family in a rather large house about 5K from the centre of la Paz. We have a little suite but eat meals with the family. The extended family lives in the house... 3 generations. They are very nice but the location is not ideal. It is too far to walk to the school, or downtown to shops or restaurants. A family member drives us to school and picks us up. The situation is complicated by the odd dinner time. Breakfast is at 7:30 but dinner is at 2:30pm. We are going to look into other options for the 2^nd week that may allow us to walk to school and to el centro.

We have asked our hosts not worry about dinner tomorrow. We are going to take the bike to school and then ride out to the ferry terminal and try to get the necessary permit for the bike so that we can book the ferry trip.

Better get back to my home work...

Loreto to la Paz

2010-11-08T20:32:00.001-07:00

The roof-top, see-through pool at Poseda de las Flores, Loreto
(taken with wide angle bike cam)

We are in La Paz. It was a long day from Loreto.. about 360K but it seemed longer. A short portion of the route is through the mountains along the gulf coast but once you are through them, the road has very few bends. To circumnavigate the mountains on the gulf side of the peninsular, the highway takes you almost to the Pacific coast before returning to the gulf.

The scenery around Loreto is very nice with mountains and coastal bays and islands

Cuidad Constitucion is 150K from Loreto. It is the third largest city on the Baja and is located in an agricultural area variety fo hotels, stores,and restaurants. One never knows from a dot on the map, or the size of the printed name on the map, what you will find. Some places have few, if any hotels, some like Constitucion, have many.

The highway south of Constitucion

To combat the boredom of the straight desert road, I took to photographing the road signs with the bike cam. as a way of confirming that I understood them... not that anyone obeys them anyway! We have been riding at roughly 100 kph and we seldom pass anyone but get passed frequently. The posted speed limit never exceeds 80 kph and drops to 60 on curvy roads and 40 in built up areas.

The course starts tomorrow... Linda is getting nervous.

Asuncion to Mulege to Loreto

2010-11-07T08:38:00.000-07:00

We are on the last few days on the southbound Baja section of our trip. Our route today took us from the Pacific coast to the Gulf coast. The destination is Mulege (moo-la-hey). We camped in Mulege on our trip with Dave and Jen 5 years ago, in an old date palm orchard along the river. Two major storms and associated flooding have been destructive forces. The campground we stayed in, is a mass of tangled palms. The buildings and house associated with camp have been destroyed. Mulege has not yet recovered from these events.

This time we stayed at Hotel Mulege on the main street as you enter town. It was a reasonable, clean, inexpensive hotel close to some nice restaurants. Prices have risen since we last on the Baja but it is still reasonably priced. The beaches south of Mulege, along Bahia Concepcion, are spectacular. It is great camping and kayaking area. Unfortunately a bad battery connection on my bike cam resulted in no pictures today.

Might these cactus have been the inspiration for Dr Seuss's artwork?

San Ingacio church

About 100 k north-west of Mulege an oasis appears in the desert. Suddenly there is a town filled with date palms. The town is San Ignacio. This town is well worth stopping to visit. There is a beautiful plaza in the town centre where we stopped for lunch.

We have been making a point of speaking Spanish and everyone has been very gracious. On the Baja you can get by very well with English. Most people in the tourism businesses can speak at least some English.

It is only 130K from Mulege to Loreto. Loreto has developed quite a bit in the last 5 years. It is now bigger than Mulege and more attractive. There is an airport here and you can fly in directly from the US. Eco tourism, diving and kayak tours to the nearby islands are the popular events.

We decided to stay at a really nice hotel in the centre of Mulege. ...Posada Flores. We saw it on the last trip. It is a bit pricey but there was a low season special so we decide to stay. I must say that the roof top garden / bar and pool was very nice. The pool has a glass bottom and is the "window" to the courtyard of the hotel.

Hotel Courtyard with pool above.

After breakfast we are heading to La Paz...

Bahia Asuncion Day 2

2010-11-06T18:06:00.001-06:00

A huge thanks to David and Nancy including us in their hectic Bahia schedule. First a walk after breakfast, then coffee, then lunch, then shopping, then surfing, then a nap (us anyway), then a get together with friends for cerveza and supper. That's my kind of hectic! Also a big thanks to Shari, Juan and all the family and friends who made us feel so welcome... We'll be back.

Getting reaqy to leave Shari's B&B in Asuncion

David and Nancy's street & house (yellow)

End of the pavement

Shari's B&B just right of centre by the Blowhole

Bahia Asuncion is fishing village of about 2000 people. As well as sport fishing, which brings most of the tourist, there is a well organized lobster and abalone catch. The fishing is organized and protected under a strong cooperative that controls and protects the fishery. There are severe penalties for poachers outside of coop members. Anyone is permitted for catch fish for there own consumption that are not protected by the coop.

There are a few rental cabins, a campground on the beach and a basic hotel on the main drag. The beaches are very nice... long, sandy, shallow, safe with good boogie boarding. The weather on the pacific coast is generally cooler than the gulf coast both winter and summer. It is also very dry. In fact it seldom rains, hence natural vegetation is sparse.

Tourism is fairly new to Asuncion. Our host, Shari, is the tourism / real estate contact in Bahia Asuncion. If anyone is interested in visiting an authentic fully functioning Mexican fishing community yet undisturbed by the affects of tourism you can contact Shari through http://bajabnb.com/php/

Cute Surfer Chick

David and Nancy's "secret" boogie boarding beach.

Bahia to Bahia

2010-11-04T10:25:00.001-06:00

One of Linda's suppliers own property in Bahia de Asuncion. They, David and Nancy, live in Creston but winter in Asuncion, Bahia de Asuncion is located on the Pacific coast about ½ way down the Baja peninsular. It is 135K off the main highway across the flattest, driest desert I have ever seen. To say that it is remote is an understatement! The Bahia de Asuncion was our destination today.

David and Nancy had emailed us to say that they had to go to the immigration office in Guerrero Negro to fill out some paper work. Since we would be passing close to this location we made sketchy cell phone plans to attempt a rendezvous.

Just north of Guerrero Negro is the state line between north and south Baja. There is a check point on the highway at this location. At the check point we noticed a parked car with BC plates under a a sign for the immigration office. Hmmm! Might this car belong to Nancy and Dave? We stopped and the vague meeting plans became a reality. David and Nancy led us to Tony's taco stand and we enjoyed some great fresh and tasty fish tacos for lunch.

Since David and Nancy had some errands to do, they gave us directions and we headed off for Asuncion. Asuncion is about 100K from Guerrero as the crow flies... but 180K by road. The road is paved most of the way. The final 15K is still under construction. On the Baja, if it isn't paved, it is sand. What a long 15K! Some of the road was only sand over a hard packed gravel. That was OK but other parts were soft bottomless sand. Linda walked as I plowed through it on the bike. Lucky Linda caught a ride to town in the first car caught up to us. Then David and Nancy caught up to me and went ahead to find Linda. Solo on the bike, I made better time and I reached town a few minute behind them and they led the way to our B&B.

I'm reluctant to tell anybody about Asuncion. Perhaps I should say that it's just like the Bay of LA and discourage anyone from going there but it is anything but. Dave, if you came here, I don't think you would ever want to return to Canada.

We are staying for a couple of days at least... more about Asuncion tomorrow.

El Rosario to Bahía de los Angeles

2010-11-04T10:24:00.000-06:00

No road construction today!.. and not much traffic either. Today's challenge was the wind. We traveled 300K through arid hills and desert plains. At times it was struggle to not be blown off the road, especially when passing oncoming trucks. The scenery was interesting though. The desert landscape changed throughout the ride.

There is, what I call beautiful desert and ugly desert. The ugly desert is flat dry land with with sparse vegetation and a boring blandness. On the other hand.. the rolling terrain filled with tall cactus, bushes and rocks is interesting and attractive. Perhaps it was the hills and curves that made it interesting ,but this terrain made for a much more pleasant ride. I never thought I'd say I, but this really was “attractive desert”.

Bahai de LA is 60K off the main road. It is a paved road all the way to the Gulf of California coast. The “Bay of LA” is one of the main check points in the Baja 1000 off-road race. It has also tried to develop a tourism economy... albeit unsuccessfully. To put it bluntly.. it is not worth the 60K side trip!

We found an overpriced hotel on the main drag. There were some Baja 1000 competitors staying there too and it was interesting talking to them about the race. The race doesn't start until November 17 so the people we talked to were riders/drivers and team members checking our the the course.

We found the locals unfriendly, the area not all that attractive and quite depressed.

Ensenada to El Rosario

2010-11-01T21:51:00.001-06:00

After a leisurely morning in Ensenada sorting out a cell phone, getting some pesos and stopping for a latte and huevos rancheros, we managed to get on the road shortly before noon. Initially we only planned to travel 200K... 3 hours or so. Well, we didn't figure in another 30K of road construction detours and a multitude of small towns and villages with 40kph speed limits. On top of that it was "un dia de fiesta" (a holiday) so there was also lots of traffic.

In Mexico a Service Station really is a Service Station!

Another 30K detour

Towns like this are pretty close together... can't make good time.\
Perhaps that is why everyone seems to ignore the posted speed limits.

We took the time to check out a couple of accommodation options online before leaving Ensenada. There are not many hotels along this part of the highway. Some had good reviews. The Baja Catcus Hotel in El Rosario was one of them and it is a gem! It is located on the north side of town next to the Pemex. The appearance from the street is deceptive but the rooms and staff are first class... all for $30.

There are military checkpoints every so often.
Generally they wave us through but occasionally ask a question or two
about the purpose of the trip or our destination.

If you say it, you can buy it.
Check out that package!

Tomorrow, Bahia de L.A. or Guerrero Negro... see what time we get moving and what progress we make.

On the Baja Once Again

2010-10-31T22:03:00.003-06:00

We left El Centro, CA ten-ish, after a brief stop at an ATM and the local Starbucks. Driving west on Interstate 8 was unimpressive, although it brought back memories and a chuckle of Linda driving the ill-fated VW bus from San Diego to Pheonix with virtually no brakes.

About 1/2 way to Tecate we turned off on old highway 94. A much more interesting road through the Campo Indian Reservation. A great twisty road though pleasant country side. I surmised that the Campo tribe must have been good negotiators. They seem have held onto the best land in the area. As opposed to ending up with the parts the white men didn't want... just an unscientific observation of other reserves we have traveled through. Enough of my opinion.. getting back to the trip...

From a point coming down the hill toward Tecate, while you could still see over the fence, Tecate looked like any other sprawling Mexican city. We couldn't see any smoke or hear any gunfire. From the time we crossed the Canada/US border until I chatted with a fellow in the hotel parking last night, everyone told us not to go to into Mexico. This includes the border guard at Roosville. She ranted about dangers, then pulled us over for a closer vehicle check.

So far in Mexico everything has been quite the opposite. At the border we drove right though the "Nothing to Declare" lane and stopped at the Migración office lot to fill out a tourist card. We had hoped to stop at the Aduana to get a vehicle permit but this service has been discontinued at the Tecate crossing. Hopefully we can that straightened out in La Paz because they won't let us on the ferry to Topo without one. We change some US dollars to Pesos at a small booth on the corner, one block straight down from the border crossing. It gave us fair rate of exchange. Everyone at the border was friendly and helpful.

Approaching the Tecate Border Crossing

The street straight from the border crossing. Turn left at the church to go to Ensenada.

The road (Hwy 3) from Tecate to Ensenada is currently under construction from just outside Tecate for about 30K. It is slow going but passable. Once we were past the detours the road was good and got progressively better as we approached Ensenada. Hwy 3 intersects the autopista from Tijuana a few miles north of Ensenada. From this point the traffic was quite a bit heavier.

The detour around construction on hwy 3 was a little rough at times.

But the road improved.

Zoom in on this photo to see typical passing. There is a red car approaching the white car passing on a double yellow line. It doesn't look too bad but there is another car ahead of the dark car. The white car is passing 2 cars. He made it. I was slowing down waiting for the fireworks... we are just wimpy passer, I think.

We had found an interesting looking hotel on line prior to arriving in Ensenada but once we located it we decided that it was not what we were looking for... too fancy and too isolated. We ended up down town at Hotel Villa Fontana de Ensenada. It is in the hotel district. There are many nice hotels on this street. All reasonably priced at this time of year. We walked around for a while and ate at a sidewalk restaurant near the hotel.

Turning into the Villa Fontana courtyard.

BTW... my apologies for the quality of the photos These were all taken from a helmet cam mounted behind the windshield of the bike using a wireless shutter release.

Heading down the coast toward El Rosario tomorrow...

Two Long Days

2010-10-30T21:48:00.000-06:00

Kalispell to Vegas

Allegiant Air got us to Las Vegas again.. No frills but they did assign us seats??... row 6. Since we didn't have any checked baggage, after deplaning, we bee-lined it for the taxi stand only for find a queue about a kilometer long! Friday afternoon on Halloween weekend is not the best time to arrive in Vegas.. Halloween in Vegas? As if this place isn't freaky enough already! We retrieved the bike from the storage unit with less trouble than expected. It was a tight fit. The bike fired up and we threw everything in the bags and headed for the Best Western. We stayed at a hotel "off the strip" this time. It saved a bit of cash for the hotel room. We walked to the strip but the area around the hotel was a bit sketchy so we cabbed it back. We are done with Vegas. The first few times the strip was "interesting" now it is just plain "weird".

Vegas to El Centro, CA

After spending a few hours trying to get organized but most getting grumpy we headed south. A nice sunny day 12C in the early morning warming to close to 30C by later afternoon. There were strong and gusty west winds all the way to El Centro so it wasn't a very relaxing ride and 500K is a long day for us.

We followed old Route 66 along the west shore of the Colorado River for a good part of the trip. South of Needles the scenery becomes quite nice. Green fields and tree along the river. There is a lot of irrigation in south eastern California. The sand dunes that extend essentially from Yuma to El Centro are huge and they are a Mecca for dune buggies, quads and dirt bikes. There were thousands of people churning up the sand on this Saturday afternoon.

The affects of the financial crisis are much more obvious here than they are in BC. It is not uncommon to see boarded up banks, businesses and stores. One gets the impression that the "middle class", though not extinct, is definitely a threatened entity.

We are about 130 K from Tecate. Tomorrow morning we will head for there. Hopefully we can get vehicle permit and tourist cards without too much problem and head down toward Ensenada.

The Multi Leg Motorcycle Trip

2010-10-28T09:55:00.000-06:00

The 1st Leg:

This year we decided that rather than take a long trip we would try a multi-leg trip. The advantage being that we could venture far from home, by motorcycle, yet still be at home when Linda's store is busier, Christmas, the better part of the ski season, grandkid's birthdays, etc.

The first part of the trip took place in August. Starting from Fernie, we drove both the car and the motorcycle to Kalispell, MT. We parked the car and traveled south and west on the motorcycle to the Oregon and California coast. The weather on the coast was unseasonably cool, so we headed inland north of San Francisco to Auburn, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite and then through Death Valley to "Lost Wages". We left the MC and some of our gear at a storage facility near the Vegas airport and flew back to Kalispell.

I didn't blog this leg of the trip because we didn't have room for the laptop. However, this one of the best MC trips we have had. We traveled at a relaxed pace(average 270K per day) and visited many interesting and few rather spectacular places. See Photos below...

The 2nd. Leg:

Tomorrow we are flying back to Vegas to pick up the bike and head for Mexico. Our planned route takes us across the mexico border at Tecate and down the Baja to La Paz. We are stopping off at a few fishing villages on the way down the Baja that we have not visited before. In La Paz we have arranged a 2 week home stay and Spanish course. Then we will take the ferry from La Paz to Topolabampo, visit some friends in Guamichil and work our way down towards Puerto Vallarta. We will be leaving the bike at a storage facility near PVR and flying back to Kalispell on December 1st. The 3rd. Leg will start when we fly back to PVR next Spring.... Anyway, that's the plan!

Here's a few pics from the 1st. Leg of the trip from Fernie to Vegas

At a rest stop around Lake Tahoe, CA

The 650 Suzuki Loaded

Camping at Sunset Bay, OR

We started out camping but it was a pain-in-the ass getting everything packed up and making it fit on the bike each morning. We decided sent the camping gear back to Eureka, Montana after a few days.

The scenery on the Oregon coast is pretty spectacular.

More Oregon coast.. near Coos Bay

Redwood Forest, CA

Yosemite N.P. Spectacular! But would be too busy in the summer.

Death Valley, California

Walking Solo (and sideways!)

2009-02-18T08:52:00.002-07:00

Home Again

2009-02-05T07:46:00.002-07:00

Up and Away!

At first glance New Zealand looks like a small country, especially in respect to Canada, but 3 weeks is not nearly enough time to see and do many of the things one would like. Although the distances are not great, it takes more time than anticipated to cover them. After the first few days on the bike Linda and I agreed that the NZ kilometres must be longer than Canadian ones! Hence, we spent more time on the bike and less time on other activities than we preferred.

The trip was very enjoyable, especially travelling by motorcycle. The country has a fabulous network of nicely paved 2 lane roads, most of them serpentine through rural rolling hills and mountainous terrain. The scenery is spectacular. We stayed clear of any major cities and stayed at some very nice inns and B&Bs. However, we felt restricted by the self guided tour. Our accommodation was arranged for each night of the trip. Because of this arrangement, we did not have enough flexibility and will not plan this type of trip in the future. Another mistake we made was to book the trip and then looking for activities that interested us. We should have planned the activities and then organized the route to allow us to participate in them. Live and learn! No regrets thought. This was a great introductory trip to NZ.

New Zealand’s weather is as close to ideal as we have experienced in our travels. It is changeable and it appears that the weather forecasts are seldom accurate. Often rain was forecast but luckily we did not experience any extended periods of rain. When travelling in NZ during January one should expect to encounter showers. Also the weather was cooler than anticipated, especially on the South Island. The South Island is located between 41 and 46 degree south latitude. For comparison to the pacific coast of North America, NZ roughly occupies the same latitude as Oregon and Washington states. The temperatures we encountered on the South Island varied between 8 and 24 degrees Celsius. On the east coast near Kaikoura the daytime temperature did not climb above the high teens while we were in the area. We asked several local people if the temperature was cooler than normal and in all cases they told us that these temperatures were normal.

The vegetation leads one to believe that the temperatures would normally be higher. There is an abundance of palm trees, succulents and semitropical plants. We later learned that the summer / winter temperature differences along the coast are minimal. For example, in Kaikoura, the winter temperature seldom goes below 8C and the summer temperature seldom goes above the mid 20s. As far as the vegetation is concerned, the plants, we in Canada consider as “house plants”, grow abundantly outside.

We were advised that New Zealand is an expensive place to visit. When we were in New Zealand, 1 NZ$ = .70 Can$. This exchange rate brought the prices into line with those in Canada. NZ has a 12% GST but the tax is included in the price.

After another 30 hour trip we are glad to be home and starting to plan the next trip.

In Kaikoura

2009-01-19T11:53:00.002-07:00

Te Anau to Kaikoura, 3 days riding.

We are in Kaikoura, a town on the east coast, a couple of hundred clicks north of Christchurch. It is situated on a small peninsular that protrudes about 5K out into the Pacific. The town is sandwiched between the ocean and the Seaward Kaikoura mountain range. This is an old whaling town but commercial whaling ended here in 1924. Now it is a laid back whale, dolphin and seal watching tourist town. One of the big activities here is to go out in a boat and swim with the dolphins. With the proximity of the mountains there is also some mountain biking and hiking. In winter it is a 50 minute drive to Mt Lyford Alpine Resort, a fairly new resort with 450m vertical ski terrain.

A glacial river, kayaking and jet boat rides
There are a fair number of tourists here but nothing like the crowds in Queenstown. The main area of restaurants, stores and accommodations is located on the beach front road that wraps around the bay and out along the north shore of the peninsular.

It is a beautiful sunny day but the temperature is only 18C and the on-shore breeze is cool if you sitting in the shade. The black sand beach is almost deserted. Not only is it a bit cool for swimming but it is also a dangerous swimming area.
There is a nice 12 to 13K trail around the peninsular with some interesting viewpoints and information signs describing the area and its history. We walked this morning. It takes about 3 hours to circumnavigate the peninsular and it was nice to get some exercise.

Yesterday was a long ride from Lake Tekapo. Rain has been threatening for days but we have managed to avoid running into any, that is, until yesterday. About ½ hour out of Kaikoura we could see the rain fall ahead. We went through one heavy shower but it only lasted about 5 minutes and we were almost dry by the time we hit the next one. This time it was a little heavier and mixed with some hail. Thank goodness for the helmet and jacket but that hail hurts when it hits the legs and hands! We slowed down but were out of the shower within minutes only a little damp.

We are staying at the Nikau Lodge, a restored heritage home that is now a very nice 7 bedroom B&B. Tomorrow we are heading back to Nelson to the Grampian Inn. Both these B&Bs are owned but the fellows from whom we rented the motorcycle and they have been two of the nicest places we have stayed.

The Nikau Lodge in Kaikoura

Tomorrow it’s back to Nelson to return the bike. We leave Nelson early afternoon the next day and fly to Auckland, LA, Calgary. We scheduled to arrive back in Calgary on the 21st at 8:30 pm. We will probably stay in Calgary overnight and drive back to Fernie on the 22nd.

Down theWest Coast and into The Alps

2009-01-15T02:18:00.008-07:00

It's been a few days since I got a chance to blog. We have traveled from north end to the south end of the South Island and enjoyed excellent weather.

Karamea to Fox Glacier to Wanaka
Karamea to Fox Glacier

Fox Glacier to Wanaka

Another single lane bridge leaving Karamea.

The pancake rock formations along the coast.

Fox Glacier would be a good place to stay for a couple of nights if you are interested in hiking up onto the glacier or along many of the tracks that leave from Fox. It is definitely touristy but laid back at the same time. The population of the town is less that 300 but there are some good bars and restaurants, all within a few minutes of the hotels. Many of the cliental in the restaurant appeared to be local guides from the various guiding companies.

Mt. Tasman (left) and Mt. Cook

Fox Glacier.

After taking a couple of hours to walk into Lake Matheson and up to the Fox Glacier viewing point, we started our ride to Wanaka. There is some stunning scenery on this route, particularly though the Haast Pass and along the shore of Lake Wanaka. Wanaka is another place that we would like to hang out for a few days. It is a good place for hiking, mountain biking, kayaking and relaxing on the beach. This area reminds me of the Okanogan Valley.

We have been very fortunate with the weather on this trip (so far). The temperatures are cool in the morning and mid 20’s in the afternoon. There is some high scattered cloud this morning. We are heading for Te Anau soon via Cardona Valley. This road is the highest road in NZ and goes by several of the ski areas.

Wanaka to Te Anau
Wanaka to Te Anau and to Milford Sound.

The ride today was once again very scenic. The road between Wanaka and Queenstown passed a couple of ski fields. They must be called “ski fields” because they are exactly that... high bald fields with hardly a tree nor bush to be seen. The road, which is the highest in NZ, reached an elevation of 1100 metres at it’s highest point. The climb from Wanaka is fairly gradual but the descent toward Queenstown is quite steep and winding. Needless to say, there were several stops for photos on the descent.

Queenstown (on far shore of lake).

From Queenstown (the Whistler of NZ) you follow the east shore of Lake Wakatipu. The shore is virtually uninhabited until you reach Kingston at the south end of the lake. Kingston appears to be a small town with holiday cottages and a steam train. I imagined that it would be a place where a prospective author may abide long enough to write a book. Peaceful, quite, relaxing, few distractions, lots of time to reflect... in other words the exact opposite of the environment other end of the lake.

It is a good thing that we had some guidance as to where we could find something to eat. Cafes are few and far between in this area and in NZ in general. It is interesting that though there are few restaurants there are many nice rest / picnic areas. It is common practise to pack a road lunch and stop at these areas. Since we have little extra storage space and no way of keeping food fresh we have not done this as much as we would like. Hence we are always on the lookout for cafes along the way.

Te Anau is town on the north side of Lake Te Anau. On the west side are the fiords that extend to New Zealand’s south-western coast. Most famous and scenic of the fiords is Milford Sound.

Te Anau to Milford Sound and return

The forecast today was for cloud turning to drizzle and then to rain by the afternoon. We checked on our options and it is possible to catch a bus from Te Anau to Milford Sound. This was or backup in case of rain. As it turned out the forecast here was as accurate as it is in Fernie. We woke us to scattered clouds and decided to ride to Milford Sound early, before the rain started.

It is 120K to Milford Sound. The speed limit is 100KPH.The estimated time enroute is 2 hours. The first hours is through rolling hills and river valleys where you start thinking...”We will be there in just over an hour!” Then the mountains rise in front of you. At first there is a similarity with the Rockies. Then you realize that these mountains are different. They don’t roll out of the bottom of the valley and get steeper. They are steep, almost vertical, from the valley floor. They are absolutely stunning!

To reach Milford sound you ride (drive) to the end of a canyon. All that is in front of you is a rock wall a few thousand feet high. Suddenly a hole appears on the wall of stone. There is a 1.2 K tunnel though the barrier. The tunnel operates on a one-way basis, controlled by a traffic light that alternates direction every 15 minutes. As we approached the tunnel there was no waiting traffic and the light was green so we didn’t have to slow down much and there was no traffic in sight ahead of us. Because of this, entering the tunnel was quite disorienting. The tunnel is dark, even with our lights on we could hardly see anything for a few seconds and the wet road added to the uncertainty. Also the tunnel is adown hill curve and you can’t initially see the other end. As my eyes adjusted to the light, my heart rate returned to normal.

From the tunnel to the inland end of Milford Sound we were following some slow traffic. This allowed me to look around a bit more and soak in the phenomenal scenery. We had reserved cruise on the sound with Mitre Peak Cruises. We can highly recommend this cruise if you get his way. A 2 ½ hour cruise to the Tasman Sea and return on a stainless steel ship about 20 meters in length. A very entertaining and educational tour at a fair prices $69.nzd each.

Falls in Milford Sound.

A resting seal.

On the road to Milford Sound, prior to the tunnel.

As for the forecast rain, it didn’t happen. We had a very nice dinner at an outdoor Italian restaurant before returning to the Cozy Kiwi B&B.

Tomorrow we have a short day back to overnight in Queenstown. The forecast is still for rain so we may yet get to use the rain gear, but at least it’s only 200K.

2009-01-11T11:57:00.004-07:00

I have edited the last 3 blog entries and added a Google Earth image of our route. My copy of Google Earth stopped working a few days ago. I finally discovered that the file the stores “My Places” data had been corrupted and hung up the program. Renaming the backup file solved the problem.

A Day in Nelson

We spent a relaxing day walking around Nelson. It was nice to take a day off riding. In the morning we checked out market and the downtown area looking for a few gifts and a replacement for the shirt I forgot to pack. No luck on either account. In the afternoon we hiked up to a lookout point in the hills above the city. I thought the streets in Nelson, BC were steep but the street we went up was much steeper. It is obvious that they don’t get any snow here! After a couple of blocks we started the 45 minute hike up a well maintained trail to the lookout point. It was a sweaty climb (the humidity is high here) but it was good to get some strenuous exercise.
Once again we stayed in a very nice B&B a few blocks from the center of town and ate dinner at a couple outdoor pubs in the downtown area. So far the food has been very good. There is a good selection and the prices are similar to Canada and there are plenty of good coffee places to keep Latte Linda satisfied.

Downtown Nelson and outdoor pub.

Grilling our shrimp and scallops on a hot stone

We are returning to Nelson and the same B&B on our last night in NZ, before flying back home.

Nelson to Karamea

Our route around the South Island takes us down the west coast , through the Haast Pass and as far south as Te Anau before starting north though the interior. We go back to the east coast at Kaikoura before returning to Nelson.

Today we rode south-west to the coast (Westport) and then back north to the end of the road at Karamea. The route took us through the Buller Gorge, a narrow mountainous river valley . The mountains are tree covered and the vegetation is more temperate now that it was in the Auckland area. There are still a few palm trees and fern trees but generally there is a mix of deciduous and coniferous trees, many of which I don’t recognize.

There are plenty of “adventure” activities in this area, for the so inclined... zip line tours, jet boating, white water rafting, kayaking, etc. Hiking, or tramping as it is called here, is a very popular activity. There is an abundance of tracks, from short 20 minutes walks to 20 day hikes. Karamea is the starting point for several tracks in the Kahurangura National Park. We stopped to hike into a small lake about 20 minutes off the road, this afternoon. It was nice to get the exercise but it was a very ordinary pond in the woods. We are realizing that living in BC has spoiled us!

Tomorrow we head down the coast to Fox Glacier. It may have not made the news in Canada but a couple of days ago two brothers walked past a roped off area to have their pictures taken close to the edge of the glacier and were buried under tons of falling ice.

It’s Monday morning now and I’ll finish this entry off while having coffee. It is sunny again today but cool, only 10C. It is good thing that we brought our warmer riding gear.

Linda and I were discussing the pros and cons of this type of a trip last night and have come to the conclusion that a pre-organized tour is not ideal. We would prefer to have more leeway. Live and learn! We are still enjoying the trip. Three weeks is only an introduction to New Zealand. You need much more time than this to see what you would like to see. Next time?

Over to the South Island

2009-01-09T01:45:00.008-07:00

Linda waiting for her latte in the dining room at Ormlie Lodge

Rapier to Martinborough

It’s a heat wave... 36C when we arrived in Martinborough. Could have used the mesh jackets today. We should be appreciating the hot sunny weather because, if the forecast is correct, we can expect a high of 19C and rain by Saturday.

We are surrounded by vineyards here in Martinborough, a small town 1 hour north-east of Wellington. We sampled some chardonnay, along with a few appetizers, with our hosts before walking downtown for supper at the pub in the Martinborough Hotel. As we walked up to the pub we bumped into another couple we had met a few nights before at the Clover Downs Estate. We had a couple of drinks with Don and Joan who were from Oakville, ON.

Tomorrow morning we have to get an early start to catch the ferry to the South Island.

Martinborough to Neslon

We left Martinborough at 8am for the 1 hour ride to the ferry terminal. The weather was cool but partially sunny. We didn’t know that in order to reach Wellington we had to climb over some high terrain. As we climbed the winding road the weather became cooler, wetter and the wind was quite gusty. We climbed to the bottom edge of the cloud layer before descending back to sea level. It caught us by surprise. We hadn’t dress warmly and it was cool ride but by the time we reached the ferry terminal we were back in partial sunshine.

At the terminal we were instructed to move ahead and park with the other motorcycles. We were surprised that there were so many... between 50 and 75 bikes. We have hardly seen that many in total since we started the trip! It turned out that most of the bikes were headed for Hammer Hot Springs and a 3 day adventure ride though the unpaved mountains roads. The ferry was very much prepared for motorcycles. There was a specific parking area complete with deck mounted cables and tie-down straps.

Getting ready to disembark

It is a 3 hour ferry ride from Wellington to Picton. We headed for the forward bar and coffee shop. While waiting in line to place our order we started talking with a local islander and ended up sitting and chatting with Beven and Colleen for the remainder of the voyage. They are the first locals that we have had a chance to chat with since we arrived.

Once off the ferry we opted for the alternate route once again. We selected the shorter but slower route along Queen Charlotte Sound. It is a narrow winding road up and down the cliffs along the shore. We had only gone a few miles before we encountered 2 stopped cars that had tried to occupy the same portion of pavement. No injuries but they didn’t look happy.

The road was not recommended for larger bikes. The corners were quite tight and because of the cliffs you can’t see around then at all. When approaching the corner it is difficult to ascertain how sharp it is. There is not much room for error so we took it easy.

Queen Charlotte Sound

Nelson is very nice. It reminds us in many ways of Nelson, BC. Mountainous terrain rises from a narrow coastal plain. The downtown area is on the coastal plain and the residential area extends into the hills above it. It looks quite artsy too and Linda is excited about the shopping prospects. Luckily we don’t have much space for additional items but I’m sure we will find room for a few gifts.

We are here 2 night then off to the west coast.

On the East Coast of the North Island

2009-01-07T11:54:00.005-07:00

Before leaving Clover Hill Estates we went out with Lloyd again. It is facinating to watch the dogs work the sheep. The littel black and white dog (Pino), on the left, is only 2 years old.

Linda feeding the male ostrich.

Rotorua to Gisborne

We had a choice of routes today. We picked the longer route around the north-east coast. It didn’t look like it was too far but we are learning that there aren’t many straight roads in New Zealand. It turned out to be 468 kilometres of constant turning. We only averaged 56K per hour. The longest straight stretch of road we saw was perhaps 300 metre in length. We didn’t have to worry about squaring the tire. It was a fun ride but it required constant attention!

We are getting more accustom to riding on the left side of the road. It is not uncomfortable now but it requires constant vigilance and concentration, especially when turning onto another road. The New Zealand Road Code conforms strictly to the rule that the vehicle on the right has the right of way. It works well. Round-a-bouts (traffic circles) make sense here and they work very efficiently. They are especially useful when you need to make a U turn, as we have discovered on several occasions.

I always find in interesting to analyse the various driving habits, rules and road markings in the different counties in which we have ridden. One thing that is different here is the centre line marking. As in Canada, a dashed centre line means that is legal to pass the vehicle in front of you. However in Canada the broken line changes to a solid line when the highway department (or whoever) decides that it may be unsafe to pass. In NZ the solid lines are not used except at intersections or other selected locations. The centre line on the two lane highways here are dashed lines. Around corners, over hills, it doesn’t matter. It is up to the driver to decide if it is safe to pass. Also the posted speed limit on these highways is 100K. The fact that the road is so twisty that is difficult to exceed 50K seems immaterial. I prefer this over the constantly changing speed zones that I have seen on curving roads in Colorado.

Enough about driving... It is much warmer and dryer here on the east coast. As we rounded the northern tip of the peninsular the lush green vegetation turned to yellow. When you couldn’t seethe ocean you felt like you could be riding in the Kamloops area, dry, rolling and somewhat mountainous, cattle and sheep country. The temperature also jumped several degrees higher. We are staying in fancy hotel on the water front in Gisborne. Tomorrow we are off to Napier.

Gisborne to Napier

Today was a shorter day on the bike, even taking the longer route though the higher lands west of Gisbourne. We stopped at Te Reinga Falls and then in Wairoa for lunch. We reached Napier by 3pm and rode to the centre of the small city. Napier is a nice place to visit with is ocean front spa (ie. Multiple swimming and hot pools), parks and Art Deco architecture.

We are staying tonight at Ormlie Lodge. A renovated 1899 residence just outside the city. All the accommodations in which we have stayed have been very nice. Definitely a step above our normal level of holiday accommodation.

Today we are heading to Martinborough, not far from the Wellington Ferry port. The next morning we will catch the Ferry to the South Island. So far we have been lucky with the weather. The forecast doesn’t look to good for Nelson though, but the weather here is changeable.

Waihi to Rotorua

2009-01-05T01:35:00.006-07:00

After a wonderful breakfast with John and Marg we reorganized the bike packing and rode to Waihi and then to nearby Waihi Beach.

We planned to park the bike at the beach and to hike 45 minute up the coast to secluded Orokawa Bay but signs posted in the beach parking lot warned about leaving items unattended. While we were discussing our options a woman stopped and chatted about the bike and asked how we liked travelling by motorcycle. She and her husband had just bought one. After chatting for a few minutes the subject of the hike came up and she offered to lock our helmets, jackets and tank bag in their car while we went for the walk. We took her up on the offer and got some needed exercise walking to the bay and back. Here is a photo of the beach.

It was then a short ride (150K) to Clover Downs Estate located just outside of Rotorua, which is the centre of the Maori culture. We are staying here 2 nights. Clover Downs Estate is small hobby farm now. The owners, Lloyd and Lynn are semiretired from farming but they still have an interesting operation. They breed hybrid livestock. The male is 100% Elk and the females are 50% Elk and 50% English Red Deer. The resulting offspring, who are 75% elk and 25% Red Deer, are sold to larger operations that raise these hybrids for meat. These are the 50-50 doe with the 75-25 fawns.

Lloyd and Lynn were also in the Ostrich breeding business for a while. The bottom apparently dropped out of the Ostrich business but they kept couple of them, just to entertain the guests. They also have sheep, and cattle and white Fallow Deer. We went out with Lloyd this morning on a farm tour. It was interesting and great fun. We forgot to take our camera so I think we might go out with him again tomorrow.

We just returned from a sightseeing trip to Lake Tarawera and Rotorua. This area is situated on a volcanic fault line and there is an abundance of thermal activity. There are geysers, bubbling mud pools, hot springs and many beautiful lakes in the rolling farm and forested terrain. We stayed away from the tourist attractions and instead walked around one of the smaller lakes (Blue Lake). Much of the vegetation here exists nowhere else in the world. There is an incredible variety. The growing season is 12 months long so things grow quickly. The pine forests here are harvested every 25 years instead of every 100 years or so in Canada.

That’s it for now... back to the wine and cheese.

On the road: Auckland to Waihi

2009-01-04T11:32:00.006-07:00

After a great breakfast we headed over to Triple X Motos to pick up the bike. It took a while to organize our packing and finish the paperwork but we were on the road by 11am or so. With the help of Mr. Zumo (our GPS) we were able to easily navigate out of town while remaining on the left side of the road.

We are very pleased with the bike. It is a Triumph Tiger 955i. Comfortable riding position, good power and handling. We don’t have quite as much luggage space as we are used to but with some reorganization it will work just fine.

Waiting to cross the one lane bridge

Our planned route covered approximately 350K. from Auckland to Thames and then around the Coromandel Peninsular. The destination was Poets Corner B&B near Waihi. At the entrance to the Coromandel Peninsular one has to cross a long single lane bridge. Single lane bridges are quite common in NZ. Usually one direction has priority over the other. The priority in indicated by sign as you approach the bridge. Some bridges are controlled by traffic lights. Since the end of the Christmas / New Years holiday season was approaching, there was much more traffic than the bridge was able to efficiently accommodate. It took over an hour of stop and start traffic to make our way across. We were later told that some drivers have experienced up to 5 hour delays returning to Auckland!

The late start and the lengthy delay meant that we would not be able to complete the planned loop around the peninsular and make it to the B&B in time for dinner. A check of the map indicated that there was a gravel road shortcut though the hills from Tapu to the east shore road. We thought we would give it a try and it turned out to be a good solid road and interesting trip.

About 45 minutes before we reached our destination we encountered some rain showers. We decided not to stop and put on the rain gear. We just pushed on to the Poets Corner B&B. It rain off and on but we stayed warm and got only a little damp. Once again the GPS was a big help finding the B&B along the narrow winding network of country roads.

Waihi Beach

The Poets Corner B&B was a real treat. A beautiful house and yard, perched on a hill 300 metres above and 2 K from the Pacific. Our hosts John and Marg made us a fabulous dinner of grass fed beef, vegetables from their garden and some great local wine. We are not exactly roughing it!

The Long Way Down (by air)

2009-01-02T11:01:00.002-07:00

Thirty hours after leaving the Radisson Hotel in Calgary we have arrived at the Great Ponsobey B&B in Auckland, NZ. We flew from YYC to YVR to LAX to AKL. We had a rather long stopover in Vancouver but my old air force roommate, now retired AC pilot (Mike Marynowski) came out to the airport to meet us for breakfast. It was nice to see Mike and catch up.

The flight on Air NZ from LAX to AKL was definitely a step above average. The 747 400 series was new and roomy (by today’s standards) and the service was excellent. Two nice meals, free wine and champagne ( since it was New Years Eve) served in a real glass wine glass, blankets, pillows and a very good entertainment system. We slept most of the flight, cleared customs with no delay and met our ride to the B&B.

Since our room was not yet ready we left our luggage at the B&B and explored downtown Auckland and the waterfront on foot. We soon discovered that Jan 2 is also a statutory holiday in New Zealand and not many stores and restaurants were open. Those that were open had signs up saying that since it was a holiday, a premium would be added to the prices. The premium varied but 15 or 20 percent was standard. While enjoying a 20% more expensive beer on the water front we received an explanation for the additional charge... The employees are paid time and a half for working on a holiday plus they must be given an additional paid day off in lieu. The additional costs of staying open on a holiday are therefore passed on the customers. An interesting concept that I think would not easily be accepted in North America. On the up side... it was very good beer!

We got to bed at our usually early hour so we are up early waiting for breakfast and reorganizing the luggage. The bike shop where we are to pick up the bike doesn’t open on Saturdays until 10am so we will be off to a later start than we had hoped. The trip to tonight’s B&B is about 350K but we could shorten it considerably if bad weather and time are a factor. The weather forecast today is for showers this morning but the forecast looks better for tomorrow.

I’m excited about the challenges ahead today. I’m a bit nervous about riding on the left side of the road on an unfamiliar bike. Fortunately we pick up the bike on the outskirts of Auckand and ride away from the city.

I'm a Walkin', Yes indeed

2008-12-29T20:51:00.004-07:00

On the Move

2008-09-23T15:27:00.003-06:00

Presenting the Marvelous Marley!

2008-07-19T11:11:00.003-06:00

What Granparent wouldn't be proud?

Home Again

2008-05-13T11:53:00.003-06:00

We arrived back in Fernie Monday May 12th in the early afternoon. It was long haul north with the old VW and the truck with motorcycle. It is good to be back home.

The motorcycle trip in Mexico was great. Getting to and returning from the southern States is a pain in the ass. We are now thinking about leaving a motorcycle and/or VW Bus somewhere around Phoenix. We will have to investigate the logistics associated with this idea.

Now it's back to reality... Linda would like the house finished and yard completed. That's the priority for this summer.

California Dreaming... or is a Nightmare

2008-05-07T10:52:00.003-06:00

Days 31 to Day 33 - To San Diego and back to Mesa, AZ

Interesting days, in some ways, ones we would rather forget!

We traveled to San Diego to pick up a ’74 VW Westfalia that I had purchased on Ebay. It turned out that some people can stretch the truth... a long way. Anyway, to make a long story short, we picked up the VW and started back east. The plan was to meet Lee at the Grand Canyon’s south rim but the VW developed some braking problems and they needed to be repaired.

After some searches on the internet we discovered that there are several VW repair shops in or near Phoenix. One particularly well rated one is located in Mesa (a suburb of Phoenix). We called ahead to make an appointment at Doug’s Buggs and drove to Mesa, trying to stay out of as much traffic as possible. This proved to be an impossibility one we reached the Phoenix area. By the time we made it to Doug’s, Linda was close to melt down.

As I write this, the VW is in the shop. We are waiting for a call. If it is ready to go this afternoon we will bypass the Grand Canyon and head for Moab, Utah. It is a 2 day trip from here. We have been in contact with Lee and he is heading back to Calgary on his MC. Linda & I will pick up the truck in Price and hopefully get back to Fernie next Monday afternoon.

We are looking forward to getting back to Fernie.

Border Adventures

2008-05-02T22:37:00.003-06:00

Day 30 – Hermosillo to the intersection of I10 & I8, Arizona

After breakfast we split with Lee and continued north on the toll road (15D) toward Nogales. There is considerable construction along this route and there were several 2 lane sections. It didn’t affect our speed much since we were cruising at 100 to 105 kph. The route is quite boring as it crosses the Sonora Desert. There are only 2 or 3 communities in the 300K from Hermosillo to Nogales. Our GPS has a built-in MP3 player and I had loaded a couple of gigs of music on it before we left. With a couple of pair of ear phones we had music for this leg of the trip.

The Nogales border crossing is probably the busiest crossing between USA and Mexico. Hwy 15 is part of the Panamerica Highway and as such it is the main truck route. The border crossing procedure is quite different than at most USA/Canada crossings.

Traveling from Mexico to the USA you reach the first Mexico customs point 10 or 15 kilometres from the border. At this point you cancel the vehicle permit and the windshield sticker is removed. To reach this section, simply follow the signs.

Once this process is complete you continue north on the Hyw 15. In a few kilometres you have the option of turning off to enter Nogales town site or continuing on the USA crossing. Once past this option the road to the USA crossing is fenced on either side. A kilometre or 2 later you reach the Mexican cargo port where the truck are inspected both leaving and entering Mexico. This is where things get interesting!

Today, the roadway and parking areas in the port, were completely jammed with stopped or slowly moving rigs either waiting for or in the process of inspection. Since there was no way through in the north bound lanes we followed a couple of cars into the opposite direction lane. We were in first or second gear at this point so there was no danger. Eventually we ran out of road space so we followed a dirt track onto the shoulder and around behind some of the various buildings to try to get around the truck congestion. When this trail petered out, Linda got off the bike and walked up a bank to the roadway to a space between two stopped trucks. I rode the bike up the embankment onto the roadway. Meanwhile the cars in this procession were seeking their own routes back onto the pavement. Once on the pavement again we worked our way through the maze of trucks. We and the cars with us had no idea if this route would eventually dead-end nose to nose with an 18 wheeler. In this case it didn’t, we worked our way back onto north bound lanes and continued toward the border. The amazing part of this was that what we did was accepted as normal procedure! No one batted an eye.

Continuing north on the highway there is continuous signage telling you which lane you need to be in. In addition to the signs, each lane number is painted on the roadway. Lane 1 for cars. MCs and RVs, Lane 2 for trucks with a F.A.S.T. pass, Lanes 3 and 4 are for all other trucks. A couple of kilometers from the border lanes 3 & 4 are separated from the other lanes by a concrete barrier.

As we approached the border in lane 1, Linda counted the truck that were stopped and waiting in lanes 3 & 4. There were approximately 300 trucks waiting to cross the border. This border crossing is only open from 8am until 10pm. I don’t know how long the average processing time would be for each truck but if each truck could be processed in 5 minutes, only 168 trucks could cross in one day. These drivers must be a patient bunch!

In the middle of this line of trucks there was one car. We think that he must have been in the wrong lane and once inside the concrete barriers and followed by another truck, he was trapped. Hope he didn’t have an important meeting. I could see how this could happen.. Lane 1 is the outside lane (left), Lane 4 is the inside lane (right).

Due to the holiday weekend in Mexico the border crossing was a bit busier than usual. We waited about 45 minutes to get through. We used the "Mexican motorcycle lanes" to help speed he process. What are these "lanes" you ask? In Mexico a motorcycle makes it's own lane. If there is space between two vehicles or down the shoulder, that's a "Mexican motorcycle lane". At first you feel like a queue jumper but once you realize that it is an accepted procedure it's not so bad. It is even encouraged by some car drivers.

Tonight we are in a hotel just south of Phoenix at the intersection on I10 & I8. Tomorrow we will follow I8 to California. The adventure continues....

North into Sonora

2008-05-02T22:34:00.001-06:00

Day 29 – Navohoa to Hermosillo

We easily reached San Carlos by lunch time. I was bit of a disappointment... Not nearly as interesting as the Lonely Planet indicated. They are a couple of trailer parks and lots of restaurants overlooking the gulf, so it would be a good stop if you are travelling this way with a van or trailer.

After lunch we decided to continue on to Hermosillo. Hermosillo is a large city but there is a bypass that saves the hassle of finding your way through the city centre. There is a hotel strip, with a good selection of hotels, on or near the bypass both at the north edge of the city and at the south edge.

We found a nice hotel and over supper we made plans for the remainder of the trip. Linda and I have to make a side trip to San Diego so we are going to continue north on Hwy 15 to Nogales then heading west on I8 to San Diego. Lee is going to take a more leisurely route to Agua Prieta, stay another night in Mexico and meet up with us at the Grand Canyon on Wednesday. From there we will continue north through Moab and back to the truck in Price, UT.

Clubhouse Dinner

2008-04-30T20:10:00.004-06:00

Day 27 – Mazatlan to Guamuchil

The weather is getting warmer, especially as you move away from the coast. Shortly after lunch we passed through Culiacan, a city with close to 1M inhabitants. It was hot and we got lost. Not fun at all. Eventually we found our way onto hwy 15 north. Overall the GPS helped, but at times, I found it was more confusing than helpful.

We arrived in Guamuchil late afternoon and as is common practise, we followed the signs to “el centro”, parked the bikes and started looking for a hotel. As Lee walked around the corner to see if there was any sign of a hotel, Linda and I were approached by a local gentleman (Victor). He spoke some English and told us that there was a motorcycle club in town and that he would like to invite us to come over. He also offered to help us find a hotel. As he was explaining this Lee came back to tell us that he had spoken to a couple of police officers on bicycles and they were waiting to lead us to a hotel. Victor agreed to meet us in a half an hour so we jumped on the bikes and followed the cops on bicycles.

The ride behind the two cops was interesting. To get to the hotel, they led us through 3 stop signs and then the wrong way down a one way street! The hotel fit the bill, so we checked in, quickly showered, changed and hurried back to meet Victor.

By the time we got back to meet Victor he had made some calls and we were met another member of the club. Javier could speak very good English and explained more about the club and the motorcycle community in Guamuchil.

There are not a lot of larger motorcycles in Mexico. They are expensive and difficult to import. Because of this the motorcycle community is fairly small. The club numbers about 70 members. I would think that the club members would represent the majority on motorcycle owners in this community of 100,000 people. They ride all sorts of motorcycles from sport bikes, to cruisers to off road bikes.

We were invited to their clubhouse for beers and dinner. One of the members likes to cook and prepares meals nearly every night of the week. Everyone who shows up chips in for the food and drink. Since we were the invited guests, some calls were made and about 25 members showed up to greet us and have dinner. Indio is the cook. When he heard that we liked chicken he made a fabulous chicken stew. I have no idea what it would be called, but it was very good. Several of the members could speak some English so between their English and our Spanish we traded stories all evening. We eventually made it back to the hotel about 1:30am.

We can’t thank the club members enough for their hospitality. They made us feel very welcome. We would also like to extend a special thank you to Victor for taking the time to approach us and extend the invitation. This event was a memorable highlight of our trip. We hope to make it back here again.

We didn’t get up too early this morning.

Day 28 – Guamuchil to Navohoa, Sonora

Another hot, windy day, but only 270K. We made good time because Highway 15 is mostly 4 lanes now. The free 2 lane hwy 15 has ended and the only road north now is a toll road. At this point I don’t mind. Much of the road is mainly across the Sonora Desert. As far as I’m concerned, the less time we spend on the road the better. One good point about the toll roads here is that the toll also gives you break down coverage. Hopefully we don’t need it is nice to have.

Tomorrow we are planning to go to San Carlos on the coast of the Gulf of California.

How Much Will It Cost?

2008-04-30T20:06:00.002-06:00

Day 26 – Mazatlan April 28, 2008

Today we find out what is wrong with Lee’s bikes. We had made arrangements to meet Antonio, who was storing Lee’s bike, at 10 am. We were there early waiting for both Antonio and Ramone to arrive at their respective shops. Ramone arrived first and we explained the problem. He told us that he would look at the bike. When Antonio arrived we rolled Lee’s bike next door to Eurobike Motors and Ramone and one of his employees started work on it. Within 15 minutes Ramone had found the problem and went ahead to rectify it. Thankfully it was not as serious as we had thought. It was a loose throttle body intake connection. Cleaning the air filter and tightening the connection was all that was needed.

Linda and I left Lee with the bike and started to walk back to the hotel. About ½ way back we saw Lee with his bike stopped in an intersection. He was off the bike and speaking to a police officer. We walked over to see what what happening. The police officer was in the process of removing Lee’s licence plate. Once the bike was repaired, Lee decided to ride it back to the hotel. He was stopped for not wearing a helmet. He probably could have talked his way out of a ticket if he had been carrying his licence, registration and insurance but since he didn’t expect the bike to be repaired while he waited, all these things were at the hotel. To make a long story short, Lee paid the $45. fine and took a taxi to the hotel and back to get the necessary gear to ride the bike. The fine was more than the repair costs... they only cost $35 . Even added together the cost was a lot less than expected!

After assessing the remaining time and distance we have decided not to take the ferry to the Baja. It would cost about $360. for Linda and I and the bike. We plan to ride north out of Mazatlan and check out a few towns along the way.

Cooling it in Mazatlan

2008-04-30T20:02:00.001-06:00

Day 25 – Mazatlan April 27, 2008

Up early and out walking by 8am down the main inland road paralleling the beach. We were looking for place to get a cup of coffee. Eventually we came across the Panama Restaurant and Bakery... obviously a very popular breakfast spot. Even though it had a significant North American influence, it was popular with many Mexicans. The food and service was good. It was one of the first places that we had been in where there was a sense of urgency. The staff really hustled. It is a bit too much like "Dennie's" though.

We have been putting on plenty of kilometres over the past few days. Not on the bikes but on the sandals! The main beach (Playa Norte) is about 5 K long. There is a promenade the full length and then another couple of kilometres south to the Playa Sur.

The afternoon was spent swimming and drinking beer at Carlos’s place on the beach.

Back In Mazatlan

2008-04-26T11:22:00.003-06:00

Sunset on the beach at Novillero. Fishing boats in foreground.

Dancing in the plaza in front of our hotel

Day 21 – Sayulita to Playa Novillero

After a late night on the town, bar crawling and dancing, we were unable to get an early start. I didn’t feel my best today and once we moved away from the coast it was very hot. Hwy 15 is a busy road. There is a lot of truck traffic. This combined with plenty of small towns and the accompanying topes dropped our average speed below 50 kph. (6 hours to travel just under 300 K)
As we approached Playa Novillero there was noticeable drop in temperature, thanks to the on-shore breeze. We had visited Playa Novillero on our last trip so we knew what to expect. When we arrived the hotel operator remembered us and when we went for supper, the restaurant owner also remembered us.
Speaking of food... we discovered “ceviche”. It is a raw seafood dish. Seafood and vegetables are marinated in lime juice. Various seafoods can be used, fish, squid, scrimp, etc. On tonight’s menu was ceviche de camarones (scrimp).
This morning we are riding to Mazatlan to catch the ferry to the Baja. We have 2 conflicting ferry schedules. We should be able to catch one today or tomorrow.

Day 22 – Playa Novillero to Mazatlan

The day started out like any other but an unexpected event has demanded a change of plan.
About 90K out of Mazatlan Lee’s bike suddenly started running rough. At the first opportunity we found some shade at a Pemex station and tried to diagnose the problem. His bike was still running but as if on one cylinder, sputting and backfiring, stalling at low engine speeds. We could not find any obvious problems, loose wires, disconnected vacuum hoses, etc. We changed a spark plug but we could not rectify the problem.
The guys at the Pemex station told us that there was no one in town that could help and that we would find help in Mazatlan. Luckily the bike ran well enough to get to the city. On the way Lee noticed a motorcycle repair shop so we stopped to ask them if there was a Suzuki dealership in Mazatlan. They gave us directions that helped us find the dealership. Communication is a bit of a problem, but the people could not be more friendly and accommodating.
We arrived at the dealership a few minutes after 2pm.... siesta time! The dealership is closed between 2 and 4pm. It was scheduled to re-opened between 4 and 6 so Linda and I went to get some hotel rooms while Lee waited with the bike. Luckily we had stopped in Mazatlan on the way down so we knew are way around (to some extent) and we already knew of a nice, inexpensive hotel... the Del Rio. After getting settled in the hotel and a quick bite to eat, I went back to see Lee, just as the dealership reopened.
After talking to the dealer we discovered that he did not have a service dept but he gave us directions to an independent shop, “Euromotor”, located a couple of K from the dealership. We hobbled over to the general area to find senor Ramone but couldn’t find it. We stopped to ask again and luckily, again, we were next door to Euromotor. Unfortunately, Ramone had gone to Durango and would not be back until Monday!
This, of course, presented us with the problem of what to do with Lee’s bike until Monday. At this point it is hardly running. We discussed leaving the bike in front of the shop and asked the guys next door at the car stereo shop if they thought that idea might be OK. They told us emphatically that it was not a good idea. At this point, the owner of the car stereo store, Antonio, offered to store Lee’s bike in the back of his shop until Monday. After a round of introductions, handshakes and big smiles we manoeuvred Lee’s bike into the tight space at the back of the shop. We promised to be back at 10 am Monday then Lee jumped on the back of my bike and we headed back to the hotel.
We won’t know the extent of the necessary repairs to Lee’s bike until Monday (or later). We think that the problem could be related to ignition timing. An electronic module may have failed or the timing chain may have stretched and jumped a link. In either case a quick fix is unlikely. Mazatlan is not a bad place to be for a few days. There is lot’s to see and do. The accommodation is comfortable and inexpensive.
We just came back from walking to the ferry port to confirm the schedule and rates. The passenger ferry leaves for the Baja on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Depending on how long it takes to repair Lee’s bike we may not take the ferry but return north on the mainland. The ferry is quite expensive. For Linda and I plus the motorcycle is roughly $350. one way. There is no point in taking the ferry if we don’t have time to explore the Baja.
Will update the blog when we have new info.

Leaving Sayulita

2008-04-24T09:17:00.002-06:00

Just a quick note to let you know that Lee arrived in Sayulita yesterday and we are packing up to go to Playa Novillero and on the Mazatlan on Friday.

We have conflicting information on the ferry schedule. We will take the ferry to La Paz either Friday or Saturday.

Back In Sayulita

2008-04-21T21:31:00.003-06:00

Day 18 – Barra de Navidad to Sayulita

After coffee downtown, we packed up and rode 20K north to La Manzanilla for breakfast. Manzanilla is small beach community but with plenty of restaurants and rental accommodation. It also has a camp ground near the laguna. The laguna is full of crocodiles which, according to locals, only eat the occasional dog or cat. With this in mind, I might avoid this campground if you are not comfortable with crocs or if I had a dog or small kids. Also, La Manzanilla also has a Spanish language school. I am told that it is pretty good.

Back in Sayulita we took a room at the Sayulita RV park. A neat little room with our own outdoor kitchen/eating area, complete with fridge and hot plate. The 4 small units share a bathroom but there is another bathroom in the building next door.

We plan stay here for 3 days. Lee is going to meet us here on Wednesday. On Thursday we will go up to Playa Novillero and on Friday take the ferry to La Paz, Baja Sur.

Believe me! This margarita is as big as it looks.

Sayulita es muy romantica.

A salsa band playing on the beach.

Barra de Navidad

2008-04-19T22:06:00.003-06:00

The Beach at Barra de Navidad

Day 16 – Puerto Vallarta to Barra de Navidad

After a leisurely breakfast and email check we packed up and left the big city resort. The route south of PV winds inland and climbs a few hundred metres before returning to the “happy coast” (Costalegre).

We arrived in Barra de Navidad at 2 pm and looked for a hotel. It has been evident since we reached the Mexican coast that prices have climbed over the past two years. Beach towns such as Sayulita and Barra de Navidad are not super expensive but they are not the bargain that they used to be. Nice hotel rooms can still be had for $35 to $50, a little more for beach front.

There is a good selection of restaurants too with moderate but not expensive prices. We ate at “Sea Master” restaurant. It is located on the beach with 2 open air levels. Linda and I shared a order of guacamole and a chicken fajita dish. They were both excellent. The guacamole was particularly tasty with nice fresh ingredients. With a couple of beer the bill came to $16. and there was more than we could eat.

We are going to stay here one more day before going to Sayulita.

Mexican timber framing??? Dave, I think these guys could use your help.

Into Jalisco

2008-04-19T07:38:00.004-06:00

Puerto Vallarta... fancy, fancy, fancy!!!

Happy Linda at happy hour

Day 15 – Sayulita to Puerto Vallarta

Linda arrived today. Yahoo! She had a good flight that arrived on time. Sure glad to see her.

This morning Lee and I rode into PV together. I had picked a hotel out of the guide book that is located in old PV. We parted company near the hotel and Lee continued south on the coastal highway (200). I went into town to find the hotel.

The one I had selected had no vacancies but there was another nice looking hotel across the street, so I went in to inquire about a room. After I had asked for a room, the fellow behind the desk politely ask me if I knew that this was a gay hotel. I explained that I needed the room for myself and my wife. After a nice discussion he recommended a hotel around the corner. I took his recommendation. Later I smiled as I tried to imagine what might have transpired if Lee and I had both gone in to this hotel to ask for a room?

After getting the hotel room I rode back to the airport to meet Linda. This hotel, Playa Los Arcos, is a large hotel on the beach in old PV. It is very close to the hotel in which we stayed back in 1972. I have been told that PV is the fastest growing resort in Mexico. It certainly is a busy, booming place. Too busy for us, and too expensive.

Tomorrow Linda and I are also continuing south to Barra Navidad, about 200K from PV. We plan to stay there for 2 or 3 days before returning to Sayulita. Lee is planning to go further south and meet us back in Sayulita next Wednesday.

Family vehicle with safety equipment... most don't bother with helmets.

La playa a Los Corchos

Southern Nayarit

2008-04-17T20:48:00.002-06:00

Day 14 - Playa Los Corchos to Sayulita

It stayed quiet, the most prominent noise was the breaking surf, and we were up with the sun. The only food product we brought was coffee and this was our first chance to try some. It tasted good. After packing up, we drove into Santiago for breakfast but there was not much open when we arrived. We asked a couple of locals and then opted to buy some fruit at a local fruiteria, 2 bananas and an orange each. Our cheapest breakfast yet... 4 ¼ cents!

The weather seems much warmer now that we are at sea level. Actually it is only around 30C but seems much warmer when you are in traffic and moving slowly. We also noticed that the sun is much stronger that at home. The temperature rises quickly when the sun come up.

We stopped in San Blas for lunch at a taco place just off the el centro plaza. Lee has been ordering the tacos and I have been eating the tortas. Both were very good here. Eating in Mexican restaurants is the antithesis of “fast food”. It isn’t prepared or in some cases, even bought until you order it. Eating is a leisurely activity, as perhaps it should be.

We reached Sayulita around 2:30 and rented a cabina at the Sayulita RV park. A very nice place right on the beach. I know that they have wireless internet here but getting the password has been a challenge. Anyway... it’s time for supper.

We went to the famous fish taco restaurant overlooking the plaza. Last time I was here tacos were 50 cents each. Now they are $2. We had a beer and told them their tacos were too expensive and left. We found great tacos and great company at a taco stand down the street, less than half the price. Unfortunately Sayulita is getting too popular.

Linda arrives in PV tomorrow. I'm excited. Really looking forward to her arrival.

Lee is heading off on his own for a while. Linda and I may go south the Barra Navidad before meeting up with Lee back here in Sayulita next Thursday.

Day 13 – Mazatlan to Playa Los Corchos

With freshly cleaned clothes and a day out of the saddle we left Mazatlan heading south on Hwy 15 libre. There is, or partially is, a pay road south out of Mazatlan. It does not appear to be completed yet. If you are not in a hurry (and in Mexico who is?) take the free roads, they are much more interesting.

I had visited one or two of the beaches on this route 2 years ago so we opted for the unknown. This led us to Playa Los Corchos. Much of the coast south of Mazatlan in low lying farm land and marshes. The area is rumoured to be the seat of Mayan culture but some scholars think that the rumour is more folklore that fact.

Playa Los Corchos is at the end of route 72. You must pass though Santiago Ixquintla to get there. There are no hotels, only a few “campos”. These are beach restaurant / bars with large thatched roof shelters called ramadas. We rode into the entrance to one of them and stopped to speak to the owner. We discovered that there was no problem camping on the beach so we ordered some beer and a snack. Supper was a choice of fish or shrimp. It was OK but not the best we have had on this trip.

After we set up the tents, the owners packed up and left. Other campo owners did the same and we were left on our own. The only two people on a beach that stretched to the horizon in either direction. We were told that it was quiet place (muy tranquilo) and we hoped that it stayed that way, at least for one night.

manana Sayulita

Day 8 to Day 11

2008-04-15T16:25:00.008-06:00

A road stop for lunch... Carne Tacos

Lee big smile and an enchilada

The church in Guachochi

La Playa in Mazatlan

Day 11 – El Ranchero to Mazatlan

We were up early this morning. It was darn cold and we needed warm clothing and the heated liner. After a sparse breakfast of coffee and a bun we set course for Mazatlan. It turned out that our night stop was located just before the most interesting part of the highway. The highway winds, climbs and descends along the high ridges of the Sierra Madre and crosses the continental divide, which separates the states of Durango and Sinaloa. This road is called El Espinzola del Diablo (literally The Devil’s Spine but it is often referred to as The Devil’s Backbone.)

It is a great motorcycle road. You could average 50 to 60K per hour if you pushed it but this is not the kind of road that you ride to test you cornering skills. It is a truck route. Even if you are not following a truck, you can’t tell if one going to meet you in the middle of the road in the next tight turn. Also if a truck breaks down, there are very few places to get off the road. They might simply stop and attempt the repairs right there! There are many shrines along the road erected in memory of those who didn’t make it. With this in mind we took our time, rode the inside track and entered all turns with caution... still a great ride!

Once into Sinaloa you descend fairly rapidly and the temperature rises accordingly. We stopped for a rest and a bite to eat at Concordia, about 40K from Mazatlan. Again at a small one man operation. Essentially a tent, awning and a couple of tables. I forget the name of his specialty. A beef broth with big chunks of meat, onions, peppers and other assorted spices and vegetables served, as always, with tortias. It was very tasty.

As I mentioned before, we wanted to stay in the old Mazatlan area. Our guide book suggested a couple of hotels in the area. We picked one with parking and found it without any problems. It is a residential / business working class area a couple of blocks from the beach. A very nice place. We have separate rooms for 200 pesos each and we brought the bikes in though a side door and parked them in the lobby.... no problema. It turns out that we are only 2 blocks from where Linda, Jen, Dave and I stopped to check our map after we got off the ferry from La Paz on the last trip.

We spent the afternoon strolling down the beach promenade stopping at various restaurants to sample their cervaza. Time for supper now.
We decided to stay in Mazatlan another day and catch up on the laundry. (I didn´t think that it was fair to meet Linda on Friday and say... ¨by the way we need to do some laundry¨)

Dave... we discovered the perfect bar. Each table has a hole in the middle for a bucket. If you order a bucket of Pacifico (10 bottles) you get all the free food you want.... camarones, pollo, pescado, etc. It is a local bar too.

Tomorrow we are heading south to another beach location... yet to be decided. Looking forwar to Linda´s arrival.

Day 10 – Rodeo to El Ranchero

Tonight we are staying at El Ranchero Restaurante y Cabanas, a family run business with a restaurant and cabins of all sizes. At first they thought we needed the 4 bedroom with kitchen, only 1000 pesos!? We settled on a one bedroom unit for 350 pesos. We thought that the price included breakfast, but it didn’t. We left feeling that we had been misled. We discovered latere that there is another hotel about an hour closer to Mazatlan. Perhaps this would have been a better choice... next time???

We are in the mountains on Hwy 40 from Durango to Mazatlan about 45K west of El Salto. It is a winding 2 lane highway and the main route across the sierras. El Salto is a town about halfway between Durango and Mazatlan. It was our intended destination but we could not find a hotel. It is a very rough looking town so we didn’t look very hard. A few kilometres down the road we saw a sign for this place. Apparently there isn’t much accommodation along this route.
Hwy 40 is a great motorcycle road. It would be better without the truck traffic but this is the road they use. There is a “Cuota” (toll divided highway) from Durango to Mazatlan but it is partially under construction. It won’t take much of the truck traffic off highway 40 though. The tolls are too expensive.

We are still at 2600 metres elevation here. For so far south, it is pretty cool this evening. A jacket is necessary. The temperature should be more tropical tomorrow when we get down to sea level.

We are approximately 3 hours from Mazatlan, which our destination for tomorrow. I have stayed in the newer part on Mazatlan. This time we are looking for a place in the old city.

Day 9 – Guachochi to Rodeo, Durango

Up again with the roosters. We had an early breakfast and continued south for a longer day on the road. We covered 467 kilometres before stopping for the day in Rodeo. The first part of the trip to Hidalgo del Parrar was an interesting ride. Nice winding road though pine forest. Unlike in the BC mountains where roads follow the river valleys, the roads here follow the ridges. Instead of looking up at the peaks, the scenery here is primarily the canyons and valley below you. We were riding between 2000 and 2700 metres ASL until we descended to the desert floor.

After Hidalgo del Parrar the topography changed to high desert. There was on stretch of straight road for 100+ kilometres. Because of this, we made good time and arrived in Rodeo before 4 pm.
Approaching Hidalgo del Parrar we stopped for lunch at a road side stand. In the lean-to beside the stand there was a fire burning and a fresh steer hide hanging on a rack. It was obvious that the steer had recently been butchered and the meat cooked. A large pot, over the fire, was being used to the render the fat and which was then poured off into waiting containers. This stand was busy place. We had to wait while people ahead of us purchased fresh meat. We ordered 6 beef tacos. There were served with a hot salsa and fresh onions. Very tasty!

It appears that we are the only tourists in Rodeo. We stopped at on hotel on the highway to inquire about rooms. They had one but it was very basic. We like basic, but not for 400 pesos ($40.). I had spotted another sign so we rode off the highway to find the Camino Real. It is basic too but half the price. In the yard are budgies, chickens, roosters and a dog. My guess is we will be up early tomorrow morning!

Day 8 - Batopilas to Guachochi

Nature’s alarm goes off early in Mexican towns. This morning’s alarm was a symphony of roosters crowing, morning doves cooing and dogs barking. We were up early enough to take a stroll around town and observe the morning activities As is common in Mexico, some residents were out washing and sweeping the street in from of their home, the kids were on their way to school in their meticulously clean uniforms and a truck came round the corner loaded with Mexico’s most common building material, cement. After taking a few pictures we headed back to the unnamed restaurant for a home cooked breakfast. Excellent Huevos Mexicanos.

It took 3 hours and 15 minutes to ride back to Highway 23. Both Lee and I dumped the bike once on the way up, thanks to loose gravel and dirt. We were both almost stopped at the time so no injuries to either our bodies or the bikes. At one point we encountered a truck coming in the opposite direction. Lee was ahead of me. When I caught up, Lee and the truck were both stopped nose to nose on the narrow road. Luckily there was place that I could pull off the road and park my bike. Then Lee and I manhandled his bike toward the ditch to allow just enough room for the truck to pass. The ride to Batopilas and back was a dirty, dusty, tiring and exciting ride... but a great experience. One we won’t soon forget, or repeat, for that matter.

At the intersection of highway 23 and the Batopilas road is a tienda (small general store). We stopped in the parking lot to clean and lubricate our chains, inflate the tires back to highway pressure and have a bite to eat.

It was nice to be back on the pavement. The road to Guachochi is in very good condition. A nice winding road though a pine forest. Guachochi appears to be the centre of this fairly densely populated ranching and farming area. We are in the downtown area in Hotel Chaparro and seem to be the only tourists around.

Tomorrow we are planning a longer day to Rodeo, Durango

The Batopilas Adventure

2008-04-11T18:07:00.004-06:00

Day 7 – Creel to Batopilas

Wow! What a day! We left Creel about 10:00, after a hearty breakfast, and rode highway 25 south out of Creel. The route from Creel to Batopilas consists of 75 K of paved road and 65 K of dirt and dust.

The highway ride was wonderful (and relaxing). It winds, up and down, through high pine forests with a few small lakes and farmland intermixed. As we approached the Batopilas junctions were met several other motorcycles heading north. We stopped at the intersection to air down the tires for the dirt road. As we were doing this, several motorcyclist arrived at the junction. They were all part of a tour group that had been down in “Bato” (adventure rider slang) for a couple of days. We chatted with them and they volunteered some helpful information... road conditions, what to watch for, accommodation suggestions, etc.

We started down the Batopilas road at noon. There was construction for the first 10K or so. This turned out to be an added challenge. Parts of the road we rode had been excavated and were in the process of being filled and graded. Once past the construction the road was similar to many mountain / logging roads you would encounter in the Canadian Rockies. It winds down, but not steeply though several villages and ranch land. At kilometre 27 the canyon comes abruptly into view. The road narrows and steepens into a series of switchback. Wonderful views and deadly drop-offs. There is an almost constant concern for opposite direction traffic but in most places you can see a fair way ahead and there are small, but sufficient, pull-outs to allow traffic to pass. Down, down, down you go. Back and forth until you reach the canyon floor... but you are not in Bato yet! Only just over halfway. The road crosses a plank bridge and climbs up the other side of the canyon. Then back down again. It took 3 ½ hours to reach Batopilas from the junction. It is mostly a 1st and 2nd gear journey. That includes time for water and photo stops.

We had received some advice regarding accommodation from the tour leader at the junction. Here it is... when you cross the bridge and enter Batopilas stay left. The narrow, now paved road follows the river. Keep left at every opportunity and you will arrive in el centro. There are several hotels here. The one that was recommended to us is called Casa “Real de Minas de Acanasaina”. It is located the far right corner of el centro. Good gated yard for the motos and a beautiful courtyard, in which I am currently sitting writing this report while the occasional tangerine falls off the tree above me.

There are a few restaurants and bars in Batopilas but we were advised to look for a certain home where we could get a nice dinner. This home located in a small plaza just above the end of the main street is identified by a porch and yellow painted railing. There are two tables on the porch that could seat 6 persons. There were only two meal selections. Lee and I both chose the carne (beef) enchiladas. The meals were cooked on a wood burning stove and they were excellent.

Tomorrow we are heading back to this house for breakfast before riding out of the valley and continuing south on Hwy 23 toward Durango.

First view of Batopilas Canyon

Looking down into the canyon. The road is seen in the centre of the picture

Lee riding across om¡ne of the bridges

The courtyard in our hotel in Batopilas. Red door is to our room.

The porch restaurant

Day 8 - Batopilas to Guachochi

Nature’s alarm goes off early in Mexican towns. This morning’s alarm was a symphony of roosters crowing, morning doves cooing and dogs barking. We were up early enough to take a stroll around town and observe the morning activities As is common in Mexico, some residents were out washing and sweeping the street in from of their home, the kids were on their way to school in their meticulously clean uniforms and a truck came round the corner loaded with Mexico’s most common building material, cement. After taking a few pictures we headed back to the unnamed restaurant for a home cooked breakfast. Excellent Huevos Mexicanos.

It took 3 hours and 15 minutes to ride back to Highway 23. Both Lee and I dumped the bike once on the way up, thanks to loose gravel and dirt. We were both almost stopped at the time so no injuries to either our bodies or the bikes. At one point we encountered a truck coming in the opposite direction. Lee was ahead of me. When I caught up, Lee and the truck were both stopped nose to nose on the narrow road. Luckily there was place that I could pull off the road and park my bike. Then Lee and I manhandled his bike toward the ditch to allow just enough room for the truck to pass. The ride to Batopilas and back was a dirty, dusty, tiring and exciting ride... but a great experience. One we won’t soon forget, or repeat, for that matter.

At the intersection of highway 23 and the Batopilas road is a tienda (small general store). We stopped in the parking lot to clean and lubricate our chains, inflate the tires back to highway pressure and have a bite to eat.

It was nice to be back on the pavement. The road to Guachochi is in very good condition. A nice winding road though a pine forest. Guachochi appears to be the centre of this fairly densely populated ranching and farming area. We are in the downtown area in Hotel Chaparro and seem to be the only tourists around.

Tomorrow we are planning a longer day to Rodeo, Durango

Into Mexico

2008-04-09T16:26:00.003-06:00

El Centro Casas Grandes

Lee with a friend for Paco

Typical street scape in Casas Grandes

Looking relaxed in Cabanas el Prado in Madera, Chihuahua

Once again relaxing in the hotel in Creel

Day 4 - Silver City to Nuevo Casas Grandes

After our complimentary breakfast at the Palace Hotel in Sliver City we headed for Columbus, NM and the border crossing into the Mexican town of Las Palomas.

The crossing was uneventful. All needed facilities are at the crossing. There are “assistants’ at the crossing who help by pointing out the various offices, immigration, customs, etc. These offices are not easy to recognize. The process was made smoother by heeding occasional suggestions from our “assistant”. First we obtained our travel visa from the “migracion” office, then obtained copies of the visa, drivers licence, vehicle registration, and passport. We took these copies to the customs office (aduana) and received our vehicle permit. That’s it! A small tip for the assistant and we were on our way.

The vehicle permit cost 316 pesos (payable by Visa on receipt) and the visa cost 237 pesos (payable at any bank) The exchange rate is approximately 10 pesos to the dollar.

We arrived in Nuevo Casas Grandes about 3 pm, found Hotel Pinon, unpacked and went for a walk around town. Even off the bikes we stood out in the crowd. It seemed like we were the only tourists in town. We received lots of smiles and waves.. or perhaps they were laughing . Either way we smilled and waved back. Supper was tacos in a local outside restaurant. We tried the beef tacos and also the scrimp. Both were very good.

Tomorrow we plan the see the nearby ruins (Paquime) and then ride to Madera.

Day 5 – Nuevo Casas Grandes to Madera

After breakfast “Dennis’ Restaurante” we packed up and set course for Paquime, the ruins. In order to get to Paquime one has to go through the old town of Casas Grandes. The old town is much nicer than the new one (Nuevo). Beautiful old world charm in el centro. We stopped to take a few photos. The ruins of Paquime are what is left of a town that was abandoned some 700 years ago. It is believed that it was attacked by the Apache indians in 1340 and unearthed in the mid 20th century.

We headed south from Nuevo Casas Grandes across fairly flat farm land (They grow Pecans in this area) and stopped for lunch in Buenaventura. We stopped at a roadside cafe. A typical concrete flat roof building. In Canada or the USA you would not even consider slowing down let alone stopping to eat a place that looked like this. But this is Mexico and Mexico is the land of contradictions. The inside of the restaurant was clean and bright , the owners friendly and the food great!

Leaving Buenaventura we left the plains and into the Sierra Madre range. Leaving the semi-arid farmland behind, we climbed into pine forest on a nice winding, well maintained road to the town of Madera. We discovered that the word “Madera” in Spanish mean “lumber”. Madera is not a tourist destination but there are several hotels. The one we chose was one of the cheapest. Lee convinced me to check it out and once again we were surprised. Despite the rough look, the room, with private bath, is clean and well maintained. $200 pesos and the owners served us dinner (with beer) for another $130. If at times you are not outside your comfort zone, it’s not an adventure. {Note to Dave: Dave this is your kind of place!}

Tomorrow we are off to Creel, gateway to the Copper Canyon.

Day 6 – Madera to Creel

After a great breakfast of honest to goodness huevos rancheros we packed up and said our goodbyes to our hostess at Cabanas el Prado. She came right out to the street to wave adios .
The route today took us through a mix of high plains farmland and pine forests as we gradually gained elevation. There was strong wind out blowing of the west that tossed us around a bit and churned up some dust. The temperature is not about 16 or 17C here in Creel. I used my heated jacket at times on this leg.

We arrived in Creel around 1:45 and followed the signs to el centro. We parked by the railway station and reached for the Lonely Planet guide book. As luck would have it we were parked 20 metres from the hotel we selected. After setting in the Korachi Hotel it’s time to explore the town and find an internet connection.

Tomorrow we will ride down to Batopilas and overnight there. It a 2000 metre descent on a single lane dirt road. We plan to return to the highway the next day and make our way south towards Durango.

It might be a few days before we can get another internet connection.

2008-04-06T23:06:00.004-06:00

Day 3 – Winslow , AZ to Silver City, NM

While Lee was scoping out a breakfast spot, I was watching the bikes. And guess what happened... Well, I'm standing on a corner In Winslow, Arizona, and such a fine sight to see. It's a girl, my lord, in a flatbed Ford slowing down to take a look at me....

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Right....! Perhaps this happened to Glenn Frey but not me. Of course, these are the lyrics from the Eagles hit.. “Take It Easy”

Here’s a bit of trivia gleaned from cyberspace.... “Jackson Browne wrote this for his first album, but he didn't know how to finish the song. He gave it to his friend Glenn Frey, who needed songs for his new band - the Eagles. Frey finished the song and the Eagles used it as the first song on their first album. (thanks, Bill - Johnstown, PA)”

Anyway... back to the travelogue:

We found “The Falcon” family restaurant on 3^rd Ave. It hasn’t been redecorated since Route 66 was THE highway through town, but the food and service was great. After breakfast we took I40 to Holbrook and south on hwy 87 through Snowflake, AZ and hwy 260 (the scenic route) through White Mountain National Forest and the Apache Reservation.

I’m discovering that there is a lot of high elevation terrain in “these here parts”. We climbed once again to over 9000 ft and passed by a ski hill with snow on it!! Once again the heated jackets were valuable.

We stopped for a bite to eat in Alpine Arizona. The restaurant we initially selected looked like it was busy with the after-church crowd so we opted for a local general store that advertised subway sandwiches. Unfortunately the sandwiches were not available on Sundays so we settled for a nuked burrito. Yum-yum!

The best part about travelling is the serendipitous encounters. The burrito was not so good but when motorcyclist's paths cross, there is always time for conversation. In this particular conversation with a local biker, we were redirected from our planned route and convinced to follow Hwy 191 south from Alpine. What a road! Not for the timid. For a while I thought we were already in Mexico. Narrow road, tight turns, no guard rails... incredible ride, incredible views!

We arrived in Silver City around 6:30 and sought out the old downtown area. We are in Palace Hotel, one of the original hotels and dined at a local brew pub.

We are heading into Mexico tomorrow. Crossing the border at Las Palomas. Planned destination is Nuevo Casa Grande.

Hwy 191 south of Alpine, Arizona

Escalante to Winslow, AZ

2008-04-05T22:03:00.004-06:00

Day 2 – Escalante to Winslow, AZ

After a leisurely and nutritious breakfast of complementary coffee and left-over veggie pizza we reorganized our packing then waited for the Wells Fargo stage coach to arrive with a fresh supply of cash. Once re- supplied with US dollars we hit the road heading south again on hwy 12 into the heart of Escalante National Monument.

Our chosen route bisected the Escalante from Cannonville to roughly Church Wells (on hwy 89). This road, known as the Cottonwood Road, is not on your basic highway map. The road is generally passable by 2 wheel drive vehicles but there is a steam crossing, some sand and rough gravel. (It was is our tune up for the descent into Copper Canyon.) If you want to take this road it is advisable to check at the Cannonville Visitors Centre for road conditions.

Our 1 wheel drive vehicles had no difficulty but there were a few exciting moment early on. With experience, both my riding technique and confidence improved to the point that the ride was very enjoyable. About 25% of the way along this road, we stopped for lunch at Grosvenor Arch .

Once back on the pavement we followed Hwys 89, 160, 264 & 87 though the Navajo Nation, Hopi Indian Reservation to Winslow, Arizona. The only uncomfortable factor was the strong west wind but at least the weather is getting warmer.

Tomorrow we are heading for our Mexico staging destination... Deming, New Mexico

Viewpoint on Hwy 12 south of Escalante

Grosvenor Arch - Just off the Cottonwood Road

Lee on the Cottonwood Road

The Adventure Begins

2008-04-05T07:46:00.007-06:00

The V-Strom and the Wee-Strom
(Lee's 1000 cc) (Bernie's 650cc)

First of several high passes

View of hwy 12 through the Escalante

Day 1 on the bikes – Price to Escalante

April 4, 2008

We arrived in Price, Utah just before noon and met our congenial vehicle storing host, Denis. After a tour of Denis’s garage and his interesting collection of bikes and cars we unloaded and prepared our bikes.

Our planned route took us down hwy 10 then hwy 72 through Fish Lake national forest and finally onto hwy 12 into the Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument. (ie park). This route exhibited some of the best Utah scenery that I have seen. There are some significant elevation changes along the route and vegetation changes from desert sage brush to mountain pine and poplar forests. The highest point along our route was 9600 ft asl. Luckily we both brought electrically heated jacket liners because the temperature was not much above freezing along the high ridges. There was still significant snow on the hillsides but the road was clear.

Our overnight location is a motel in the town of Escalante. Tomorrow we are continuing south on a mix of secondary highways and dirt roads. If the weather is warm enough we plan to camp tomorrow night in Winslow, Arizona.

20 Hours on the Road

April 3, 2008

As I left Fernie heading for Calgary to pick up Lee I had a nagging feeling that I had forgotten something.

The plan was to load my bike on the truck and haul an empty trailer to Lee’s place in Calgary, load his bike and pack the truck. After a good night sleep we would head south. Everything was falling into place nicely. With the bikes loaded. We opened a bottle of wine and enjoyed on of Lee’s fantastic meals. Suddenly the light went on. My helmet! Where is my helmet? Oh Shit! I left it in Fernie.

We made a few calculations and discovered that it was only 80K out of our way to reroute through Fernie. So we were on the road at 5am, met Linda at the Blue Toque for breakfast and then continued south. Hopefully with all needed items.

The trip was uneventful. We arrived at a Motel 6 in Lehi, Utah just south of Salt Lake City, almost exactly 20 hours after our early rise in Calgary. It was a long day but it’s only a couple of hours to Price, Utah where has Lee made arrangements to leave the truck and trailer for 6 weeks.

It's been a while!

2008-03-30T17:26:00.003-06:00

Since we returned from the Central America Adventure blogging has taken the back seat. House renovations, business ventures and an expanding family have occupied the major portion of our lives.

I am still renovating our house in Fernie. I've been at it for 3 years now and there's still a lot to do before it is completed. Linda bought a share of Ghostrider Trading Co., the clothing and gift shop at which she had been working for several years. Recently I have been busy setting up a business to rent our Kaslo property. It is called Kaslo House vacation Lodging and is being managed by an enterprising young lady in Kaslo. (for more info see http://www.kaslohouse.com).

Our son Jamie and his wife, Karla returned to Canada with their two children, Aysha and Cohen. They have settled in Fernie. Our daughter Jen and here partner, Dave had a baby girl on new years eve. A beautiful girl name Marley. Needless to say we are enjoying plenty of time with our grandchildren.

It has been a great ski season here in the Canadian Rockie's. One of the best we have experienced since we have been familiar with this area. We didn't spend as much time on the slopes are we did in the past but that's OK. More quality, less quantity. However; after a long winter we are looking forward to the summer. In fact we are getting a jump start on the warmer weather by going on another motorcycle trip to Mexico.

So... time to blog again. I'll try to write daily entries and update the site as much as possible.

The first leg of the trip is through the Sierra Madres and a visit to the Barranca del Cobre area before heading over to the Pacific coast.

Stay tuned...

Seda is Back!

2006-04-01T07:24:00.000-07:00

In the last posting on the Central Am Adventure blog I reported than Dave & Jen's dog, Seda, had gone missing. Well, she has been found! What great news!

It appears that Seda took off on a search for Dave. On the evening of March 24 she apparently decided to take a hike. … to Kaslo. Kaslo is approximately 35K from Jen & Dave’s place. Seda has been to Kaslo several times with Dave & Jen as we have a summer house there.

She was seen in Kaslo on the morning of March 25 and was limping badly. She was treated by the vet in Kaslo and actually had been adopted the day she was found. Dave got wind of her location from the SPCA in Nelson while he was dropping off a poster of Seda. The Nelson SPCA had spoken to the Kaslo vet and Seda fit the description of a lost dog in Kaslo. Jen and Dave drove up to Kaslo and they found Seda sitting on the porch of our house.

Why she decided to head for Kaslo we will never know, but we are so happy and relieved that she is well and back home. This is a much happier ending to a fabulous trip.

Countdown to Departure

2006-01-01T15:37:00.000-07:00

The departure date for our Central America adventure is fast approaching. Home renovations have ground to a halt and all attention has shifted to the trip.

We are in the final organization and packing phase. I think that we will easily be able to take all we have listed. However, packing in a fashion that allows access to essential items, without the need to unpack everything, is an interesting challenge.

To follow our adventure... click on Our Central America Adventure

All four of us, Jen, Dave, Linda and I will post to this site when possible.

Have a great winter. Best wishes to you all for 2006. See you in April

Home for the holidays...

2005-12-23T21:41:00.000-07:00

‘Twas 2 nights before Christmas and all heady with glee
assembled, we toiled to decorate the tree.
The popcorn and cranberries had yesterday been strung
but the gingerbread cookies had yet to be done.
Linda mixed up the concoction and baked them with ease.
The rest of us struggled to decorate to please.
With concentration and dexterity we squeezed out the sugar
into patterns and costumes exceeding cleaver.
As the puppies relaxed in distant locations
with heads upon paws in careless positions,
we hung our creations with care on the tree.
It’s a wonderful experience… as you can see!

Merry Christmas to you all....

Bernie, Linda, Jamie, Karla, Aysha, Jenny & Dave

Snow for Halloween

2005-11-02T22:38:00.000-07:00

The snow has arrived!  Only a few inches of “snowman snow” but enough to make transportation challenging, both driving and walking. Check out the link to Craig’s Site for pics.

I had my MC in the bike shop to get some new tires installed for the trip.  In the middle of the snow fall the service rep called me to let me know that my bike was ready. He told me that the snow tires had been installed!  I picked it up with the trailer.

Work is progressing on the reno.  Painting is completed and work has commenced on the kitchen cabinets and in-floor heating (depending on what material is on hand or readily available).

Mile Zero

2005-10-30T07:10:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Bernie & Linda's Weblog.

This is our first post so it is primarily a test.

We are deeply embroiled in the renovation of our little house in Fernie, BC,

Canada

. I have just been reminded by Linda that we have not taken many renovation pictures lately. Now is as good a time as any.... (we need test photos anyway). While they are uploading I'll add a few more words.

Winter is fast approaching in the Southern Canadian Rockies. While walking over to the ParkPlace wine store we noticed that the rain appeared to be starting to adopt a translucent appearance. It looks like we might have to shovel it by morning.

We are more or less ready for winter. The old VW van is garaged, the motorcycle(s) have been tucked-in and we have buried a few nuts to keep us going until we head south. Our supplier of wood (for the fireplace) has disappeared into the bush on a hunting expedition and we have just about exhausted our scrap wood. Hope he returns soon! (sans Bambi)

We get an extra hour of sleep tonight, thanks to the time change. Linda has been explaining to Ben (our dog) that he must wait an additional hour before whining for breakfast tomorrow morning!?

'til next time...