Helpers or horrors?

I'm writing this blog from our room overlooking the Pacific Ocean preparing myself for the next border crossing into Costa Rica. I mentioned my apprehension about these crossings in my last blog. Since then they have steadily got worse until the last one into Nicaragua, which actually was quite calm and orderly.

Before I continue I just want to thank my stepson, Alex, for finally loading skype onto his lap top. This means we can chat and comment on his need for a hair cut etc.


Also, I would like to wish Catherine, Brian's niece, a happy birthday for tomorrow. I'm also going to apologise as this blog is really quite a long one.

Back to the border crossings. As we approached the Guatemala border we were surrounded by 8 or 9 guys all shouting to get us to choose them to 'help us'. We stopped interacting with them and let them just fight it out amongst themselves. Eventually we got through the border in about 30 minutes. This 'helper' then took us through the El Salvador border which took twice as long if not more, during which time I remained with the shed. I chatted to a money changer from El Salvador who told me about all the corruption in the country and was clearly very angry and disturbed by what was happening in the small towns etc. A chap emerged from the customs building and advised me that my husband may be quite some time. He told me it had taken him over an hour to get through. As he had cheered me up I shared with him the information I had been given which was that the Honduras border was even worse and could take 2-3 hours.

I can't tell you much about El Salvaldor as we didn't spend much time there. It's very green and fertile, has lots of volcanoes and some terrible roads. Police have road checks all over the place but we only got stopped at one of them. We stayed in San Salvador and, yet again, despite informing the bank that I was going into El Salvador, found that I was unable to use my debit card at the ATM. This was sorted out - again- following a long and expensive telephone call. San Salvador (as we found out the next morning) is a place with few sign posts and the ones we found didn't have any major information on them. We got hopelessly lost when trying to head out of the city and, for a little extra spice, found ourselves at one point in the middle of a busy market area with taxi drivers stopping abruptly to tote for business. This caused Brian to swear and curse and express his loathing for the city and it's transport ministry. We eventually escaped by being invited to follow a guy from a gas station who was heading in our direction.

The border leaving El Salvador was even worse than when we came in. This time the group of helpers that swarmed towards us were like a pack of predators and were pushing each other into the shed. Try to imagine sitting on a motor bike in fear of being pushed over in their eagerness to get our money. I'd like to say business, but really they did just want our money. Eventually Rene, the guy we chose because he could speak some English, managed to get rid of the rest of them. He and his friend proved to be very expensive but he did manage to get us through without having to queue along with the others. Whilst we were getting the passports checked we gave all the loose change we had left to an old lady who was begging for money. When Brian was sorting out the customs import papers for the shed I went to wait in a fast food place where I could keep an eye on the shed. In there I found this same old lady getting stuck into chicken and chips and a bottle of cola. She was very happy and came over to shake my hand and I actually felt we had made a bit of a difference to her day.

Leaving Honduras was expensive, and though Brian tries to get everyone to calm down and agree how much things will cost before proceeding, they have there own methods, skills and ploys to create mayhem and confusion. However, I was just very, very glad to get out of the country. At the Nicaraguan border we were asked about our health by a nurse and advised what to do should we develop flu symptoms. The first time we had heard anything about the swine flu since leaving the USA. We got through this border with no helpers though I did have the company of a couple of kids. The price of this company -$1 each.

Nicaragua is lovely. Because getting out of Honduras had cost everything we had on us we needed to get to a big town or city to access ATM's. We found ourselves in the capital city, Managua. A dirty place with people begging for money, shanty towns and yet again very few road signs or indicators of where the hotel zone was. Eventually we conceded and stayed in a Holiday Inn (could be worse) The receptionist here was lovely. Her name was Cindy. She spoke very good English and recommended that we go to Granada the following day. She was incredibly helpful.

We were both a bit 'poorly' that night but, as Granada wasn't far away, we were able to have a lie in before moving on. There was a sign to a volcano along the way so we made a quick diversion. This road eventually became just a path of volcanic ash which the shed didn't like one bit and eventually decided to keel over onto her side demolishing a waste bin in the process. We were fine and just stepped away from the shed. The volcano became a no go and we proceeded to Granada being stopped regularly by the police asking to see our papers.

Granada is a lovely Colonial town and we enjoyed a horse drawn carriage tour around the main sites.

The first evening we were there we met Kevin and Julia Sanders and their group of 15 other BMW bikes some of which were being ridden two up. Kevin and Julia who own the company Globebusters which specialises in organised motorbike tours.

It was lovely chatting and swapping stories. We also found an Irish bar who sold fish and chips......... lovely.

So here we are, waiting to go into another country with the help of a new set of 'helpers' I just can't wait ..... to get it over with.

Guatemala, right place, right time ....again

The penultimate day in Mexico was memorable in many ways. We finally organized ourselves to book a hotel early in the morning before going to see the Canyon that had previously been unknown to us and, I have to say, had never been mentioned before Haallem advised us of it's existence. It was a hidden treasure and believe me, we had to really hunt it out. The sat nav had us going round in circles and with unnerving regularity had us on the wrong road for our turning and all we could do was watch, helplessly, as the road we wanted passed us by. However, the Canyon was worth every swear word and total exacerbation uttered and experienced along the way. It was a place of beauty and life and yet another of those 'treasured moments' to be locked in our memories. As this cannot be depended on to last forever I will be putting photos in the Mexico album.

From there it was onto the border town and I was getting very excited about going over the border into Guatemala. Every time we get towards a border there is a little bit of apprehension and anxiety. All of a sudden I remember things I have read or heard about the border or the next country. Even though I give myself a little talking to I can't get them out of my head. Nothing ever prepares me for the onslaught of locals who surround you offering to change money into local currency or to give you a helping hand to deal with the vast amount of permits, stamps, insurance etc. I waited with the shed whilst Brian was led away by 2 or sometimes 3 of these helpers. There was plenty to keep occupied. Numerous push bikes with a Dad, 4 year old child, Mum and baby passed me by, a man stopped to floss his teeth for a few minutes (he made a very good job of it) and many people saying hello, good morning and occasionally buenos dias. Eventually, with everything done and papers in order we set off into the unknown .......Guatemala.

Initially I didn't know if my posterior would survive the Guatemala roads . There were huge pot holes, no warning of when the dual carriage way would go into single or when roads turn and go in opposite directions. It was a nightmare but thanks to Brian's amazing competence and riding experience all was well with the world. Occasionally he missed a particularly deep hole and I was reminded of the importance of the nice shiny new and super strong shock absorber we put on the shed in Fairbanks!

We made our way to Antigua Guatemala and found smoother roads and incredible landscape. Even the hills were groomed into stunning and stark patchwork fields.


Again, we had a little difficulty finding our way into the town itself. We could see it both with our own eyes and on the Sat Nav but at one point thought we were going to have to turn round to get to it. However, we eventually found a road into the town.......... and what a town, what a road. First we rode a cobbled street into what appeared to be a market so you can imagine how many people and cars were pushing their way around. It was crazy. No signs to indicate where the centre was. No evidence of any hotels or hostels. We were beginning to think that coming here was a mistake. We meandered through the streets and eventually came to a big yellow church which had a couple of hotels near to it.


Now, one thing that we have learned along the way is to ask to see the rooms in these small, local hotels before committing ourselves. The first hotel, though adequate, did not match up to Don Diego where we now find ourselves.


Yet again, by accident rather than good planning, we have found ourselves in the right place at the right time. Today, 15th September, is independence day in Guatemala and we have been absorbing all of the festivities since arriving here on Sunday the 13th. It is an absolutely intoxicating and vibrant celebration which lasts for days. The parades are so much more fun than the ones we have back home on 'walking days' The bands are quite diverse in their competence or musical styles but the one thing they have in common is their ability to beat their drums to within a millimeter of breaking.



The noise is so loud it actually vibrates your bones and sets off car alarms. Watching each group of children, proudly showing off their costumes, carrying out little dance moves or demonstrating musical talents stirs quite a range of emotions and I am so thankful that I have been here to experience all of this genuine happiness and pride.

Old faces in new places

We have had a fantastic time since I last wrote a blog with so many varied environments, experiences and meetings with different people. Yet again I have been astonished by people's kindness and generosity. I'm sure you are getting fed up of keep hearing me say this, but truly it has been one of the most astonishing things on the trip.

We left Morelia and stayed a night in Tuluca which is a big, bustling city with some very modern architecture and skyscrapers. It proved to be quite difficult to get accommodation in the centre itself especially as we were looking for secure parking for the shed. We found one with a garage and Brian went to check it out only to find that the bedroom was actually in the garage! At least we could have kept an eye on the shed all through the night. We ended up in a Holiday Inn just heading out of the city but this meant that we were quite close to Puebla where we were going to meet with Haallem who had responded to a request we had made trough the Horizons unlimited community web site.

The ride through Mexico city was difficult but finally the Garmen Zumo became invaluable. It is illegal for a motor cycle to go on the perifique so we had to go through all the little streets. This was very, very noisy and Brian was getting a little bit hot under the collar at all the honking of car horns when people didn't set off from the traffic lights before they turned green. Garmen guided us straight through and it seemed that we were going to make good progress. I was very glad to be on the shed and not using the public transport. Clearly there are no real rules about the condition of these vehicle as you can see from this photograph.

As we started to leave the city behind it looked like we were going to make good progress when suddenly we hit a traffic jam. It was unbelievable. There had been an accident which had brought all the traffic on the freeway to a grinding stop. Cars, bikes, buses and vendors going form lane to lane to try and squeeze a few more inches forward or squeeze money from the frustrated drivers and passengers. We eventually crept toward enough to get onto a slip road and ride through about 18 inches of dirty, smelly water from an earlier heavy rainfall. I was really glad to get off as there seemed to be a lot of impatient and frustrated drivers round and about. My relief changed very quickly to despair as we found ourselves in the middle of a town which had become grid locked. Everyone had been going up and down the little streets trying to find their way out only to find that all exits were blocked and as a result everyone had gathered in the middle with nowhere to go. Eventually we stopped on a side street to gather our thoughts. Both dying for the toilet, thirsty and not knowing what to do next. Soon after we noticed that the traffic was starting to move again in the freeway so we attempted to get back on. At this point we came across some local guys who had pulled down some of the fence at the side of the road and had built a ramp to enable cars to get back on (for a small, voluntary donation of course). I made the mistake of speaking what little spanish I knew to a lady who came to speak to me. As a result she presumed I understood her very well and proceeded to explain lots of things to me........ none of which I understood.

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Back on the freeway and all became clear. The reason the traffic was moving was that a little further up another group of locals were kindly guiding people off the freeway via an entry slip road and back into the already gridlocked town (for another small voluntary donation). Again we were hopelessly lost in the same town, with the same flooded streets and no apparent exit. Fortunately a biker approached us and offered to lead us through the flooded little back roads and back onto the freeway some way on.

Once in Puebla we were met by Haallem who took us back to his house where he lives with his younger brothers . He has been a treasure. Haallem has kindly invited us to stay in his home, has been our interpretor and helped us to find secure parking at a BMW dealership for the shed, car rental to enable us to see Shelly in Cancun, laundry facilities (which were desperately needed). He has taken us into downtown Puebla and showed us some of the sights there and introduced us to local delicacies and drinks. He has been a fantastic host and a fabulous ambassador for the people of Puebla.

On Monday 31^st August, my family were having a 'bit of a do' to celebrate my sister and brother-in-laws 25^th wedding anniversary. We now have a skype account so I was able to have a video call and speak to and see everyone. It seemed a very long time since I saw my son and daughter so to be able to do this and to see them so happy and well was lovely. I had used skype a few times before this to speak to anyone at Mum and Dad's but because of the excitement of seeing each other it tended to be a bit of a free for all and I had to beg my sister not to 'get everyone' as she offered to do, but to just chat one at a time. After all, there is no rush, it's free!

After leaving Puebla we drove the 1000 miles plus to see my step daughter, Shelly, in Cancun. We had paid for this trip for her 21^st birthday present. Both of us were really excited and couldn't wait to see her. Though we had planned to use the road trip to allow us to visit some of the beautiful and historic places along the way we were both too impatient to do this and didn't want to rush away after seeing her. Brian drove like a true native of Mexico. Honking his horn at every opportunity, jumping lanes and speaking fluent toll spanish at the booths along the cuerda roads. As a result, we only managed to see Chichen Itza (which is a fantastic place especially if you have a good guide as we did)

Shelly looked great. We stayed in the same hotel for 3 nights which meant we could have dinner with her and her friends, Daniel and Jack, every evening. We caught up with what was happening in her life, what was going to be happening.

We went swimming in the sea and in the pool (having a lot of fun with the underwater camera) and generally soaked up all of the lovely feeling of being together again. Shelly had a special treat for me. She had brought along her tweezers so I could pluck her eyebrows, something I used to do before she went away to university and whenever she came back home. A little bit of nostalgia for both of us. It was really, really lovely being with her again but it did leave me with a feeling of sadness when we left her this morning (6^th September). It was a stark reminder of how much I DID miss my family and friends. I haven't been fully aware of this so far in the trip. Of course it was a little upsetting to leave people on the 7^th June, but the trip has been so exciting and stimulating that I haven't really had time to recognize that I 'missed' them. Now, with skype, I can chat with everyone as I used to when I lived a few hundred miles away from them in England. But to actually touch and hug Shelly, laugh and giggle at things I heard and saw her do brought home just how very far away from everyone I am and just how very, very much I miss them.

The next bit of the adventure is very exciting. We will only have a few days to get out of Mexico after collecting the shed and then we're off to Guatemala. How exciting......... I don't know anyone who has been there and I just can't wait for the thrill, apprehension and excitement of moving on to see new unlimited horizons.