February 28 - March 2, 2014…Puebla, Puebla Mexico

March 5, 2014

Today was a total buzz! A total flip from this date 1 year ago! Today is the anniversary of my "Off" breaking both of my arms on the Oonandatta Track, just outside of Coober Pedy Australia!

*Heading back to Melbourne for surgery, on steel wheels, the train!*

Hmmm a little Revolutionary humor before heading out.  Yes that is a real gun! — *Hmmm a little Revolutionary humor before heading out. Yes that is a real gun!*

We departed the Mision early this morning and were on the road by 8:30am! I think that it has been quite a while since we have hit the road that early! The sun was shining, the air crisp and it just feels good to be moving! Today we have a decent 8 hour ride ahead of us, via the long route, we are not traveling through Mexico City! It has been drilled into us…"Stay away from Mexico City…Whatever you do don't ride into Mexico City…Are you riding to Mexico City…Don't!" Ok Ok…I think that we have got it! We will be traveling some back roads up and around until we hit the main toll road bypassing Mexico City.

The riding today has been truly diverse and spectacular….We wound our way across large impressive switchbacks then up an over mountain ranges, through dusty passes and cactus covered valleys. Progressed through small colorful lively bustling towns, through bone-dry poorer, scanty communities as well as eager, engaged lush farming communities. I watched many willy willy's kick up over the dusty plains and funnel their way across the dry brown earth until petering out. I even saw one start up from behind a horse!…Gas? Sometimes you just see the most amazing and darndest things!

We were approaching our first via point, Atitalaquia, programed into Navi…it was around lunchtime. Gosh there had been so much going on around us this morning I was oblivious to the time. Kev radios "If you spot a good lunch spot let's stop, grab some food and check our route. We are about 1/2 way!" I am riding slowly down the main street of the small town of Atitalaquia trying to spot the Pollo Asado, roast chicken, place…I can smell it and it is making my mouth water. I spotted several on the way into town, and know that there has to be another. Just as I spot a small rotisserie shop a enthusiastic biker on a custom tricked out HD comes roaring up to Kev and I. His clear bright brown face had the biggest smile, his body language auspicious, as he gestures for us to pull over. No sooner had we both come to a complete stop, and landed both feet on the found, the HD biker, who had parked across the street was by our side expressing his favoritism of our lifestyle, journey and actions. We shook hands, smiled widely, nodded our heads, and hugged. He wanted us to follow him to the juice shop. We did! Manny ordered Kev a fresh squeezed jugo de naranja, orange juice and me a fresh squeezed jugo de guayaba, guava juice…my favorite juice in the whole wide world! Manny's juice shop friends were just as friendly, enthusiastic, and welcoming. We spoke in very broken spanish accompanied with exaggerated body movements. We all listened, chatted, laughed and smiled over the next hour. Manny's custom Harley, complete with trick paint, chrome skulls, rooster claw kickstand and mounted tequila barrel was his pride, freedom and joy. He loved our bikes and snapped many shots standing by them. He insisted that we climb on his bike to continue with the photography session. Learning that we had sold everything to be on the journey we are on, the eldest man in the group said to us "The world is your casa and Mexico loves you!" Manny then proceeded to remove 2 rings from his fingers and slid on on Kev's and another on mine! "usted tiene grandes cojones!", Manny said to me! It was a very moving, generous and brotherly biker moment that I will never forget. "You were just told that you have big balls!", Kev laughed. ha, ha, ha…I smiled, and everyone was laughing!!! All I could think of to give back was a couple of our stickers and some of our tequila….Well, that went over very favorably! After all finishing a shot of Don Juilo, another round of jugo de naranja con tequila was offered to us. Wow…I guess this is lunch today. We finished up, saddled up ready to be escorted out of town when the older man of the group hugged me and said in broken english "I admire you, baby!", I chuckled, slightly embarrassed, then turned and planted a kiss on his cheek. He had disappeared for a few moments as we were packing up and asked a fellow how to say his sentence in english…it was an ultra sweet moment! Manny pulled over before the entrance of the freeway, we revved our motors and waved in appreciation. We soon found ourselves zipping down the highway on a cloud, basking in the wondrous moments that had just unfolded.

*Juice, tequila and pictures all round!*

*Thanks for your enthusiasm, camaraderie and friendship Manny, we will never forget it!*

The warmth of the intervention lasted and before we knew it we were arriving in Puebla. The traffic was beginning to build and we needed to be on alert to avoid the sporadic movements of the crazy taxi drivers. Waiting to turn left a lady driver, who I had noticed had been following close behind pulled up beside us, impeding her flow of the traffic, warmly smiling rolled down her window asked to take our picture then proceeded to bless us. What a fantastic way to be welcomed to a city. AND….What A Day!

*Bikes are unpacked and headed over to the secure parking site*

*Just icing on the cake for a wonderful day….Way Too Cool!*

Kev and I really enjoyed Puebla, and the young vibe it carried. It sort of reminded me of Patzcuaro on steroids! We got caught up in our first Justin Beber rally vivaciously circling the town square, fossiked through interesting open air antique markets, marveled at the lavish churches, appreciated and explored the young artistry and talents of the area and enjoyed deliciously good cheap food! I definitely could have stayed here longer!

Some how we always meet the coolest people when we are leaving!  It was great to meet you John & Sue!  We will stop by for a coffee when we reach Bulgaria! — *Some how we always meet the coolest people when we are leaving! It was great to meet you John & Sue! We will stop by for a coffee when we reach Bulgaria!*

February 27, 2014…Revolutionary Mision La Murella, Amealco de Bonfil, Queretaro Mexico

March 4, 2014

Kev pulled the bikes to the front of Casa Paul so that we could reattach all we had unattached, while I cooked bacon and eggs for breakfast. Now let me just side track a little and talk about the bacon! Bacon, I'm sure that we can all agree is an irresistible meat, and anything that is wrapped in bacon tastes so much better. The carnicero butcher that I frequented while in San Miguel de Allende, complete with it's daily visiting dog had beautiful choices of fresh meat, sliced bacon to order. Somehow, I was able to ask them to slice the bacon slightly thicker, than the usual westerner would want it in my broken spanish tongue. If you you ever have a chance to cook fresh bacon this way, do it. The fat caramelizes beautifully and has a texture and taste you will never forget!! With fatty residue happily surging through our arteries we spiral up and out of the San Miguel de Allende valley. It feels so good to be on the bikes, but then again it could be that bacon!!! Ha, ha, ha!!!

*Wrapping up before leaving!….Nice spec's Kev!*

*Doing a little community service along the way!*

Our next destination was very close, just over an hour away. Settling into the hum and feel of the bike, felt so good it was hard to imagine stopping for the day, especially only after una hora! We decided to ride on towards the destination planned for tomorrow, and savored our decision as we rode through the parched grassy farmlands. A roadside lunch stand appeared in the middle of nowhere, their specialty being mariscos, seafood! Hmmm, I'm not too sure about that, so they kindly prepared a dish of beans, rice, potatoes and thinly sliced meat for us…it was delicious! Later that afternoon our ride took us up in elevation once again. We circled around a small township, several times, lost before stopping to ask for directions. We were only 40 kms out from the highway, but it could have been 250 kms! It is very isolated out here and the directions we were gathering over our three forced direction stops all varied! I was starting to feel a little concerned, it was around 5pm and we were still lost. We did eventually find the Revolutionary Mision….the long way! We had traveled in a circle, eventually figuring out that we needed to take the small unmarked dirt road to the left. What a delight! The road lead us through spindly oak trees, herds of sheep, turkeys, chickens and a small native township before magically turning back to pavement again and dumping us right in front of the Mision!

*Cool & interesting ruins of the property*

February 16 - 26, 2014…Casa Paul, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato Mexico

March 3, 2014

Oops..I may of had an extra glass of wine and became a little chatty... so this is a large entry!

*Riding out of the 1770's hallway of Hotel Mansion Iturbre*

It was exciting to ride the bikes out of the closet of the 1770's Hacienda, Hotel Mansion Iturbe where they had been safely stored. Our route today has us traveling north, through Morelia, out of the state of Michoacan and into the state of Quanajuato and on to our destination, San Miguel de Allende. The ride was nothing to rave about, really! The open areas we traveled through were dry, dusty, and ordinary….and the towns we traveled through matched the surroundings…pretty unappealing with the usual standard smoggy congestion.

As we rode through one of the small towns. a bright clean little restaurant, caught my eye and thought that it would be a good place for lunch. Being Sunday, menudo was really the only thing on the menu! Hmmm, I really don't know if Im into eating beef stomach…tripe, which I know is a traditional Mexican delicacy that can lovingly take up to 7 hours to prepare. The Señora offered us tacos…I said "carne?"….Hmmm, I don't think that "regular meat" is on the menu today, by the way she smiled, shook her head, pointed to, and rubbed her stomach. I got the whole charades thing….today is menudo tacos! OK then! I looked over at the other patrons seated at the counter, enjoying their meal…their tacos looked pretty good. There was a good heaping of a bright orange chopped mixture in the middle of a small warm corn tortilla…gotta try it! "Seis, tacos…tres y tres", I said, as I pointed to Kev and I. The Señora smiled proudly, eager to serve us her obvious specialty! Kev and I sat down then up roared an old Chevy truck, stopping right outside the restaurant and next to our bikes. Out hopped a keen young man swaggering towards Kev and I. "I heard that there were some travelers in town that may need my in help translating the menu", he crowed, in perfect english! Huh, what do you know, we have only been here for 3 minutes. "Thank-you, but I think all is OK", I replied. Kev and I thanked him for his kindness and concern, and told him that we had ordered 3 tacos each. He then proceeded to tell us that food was wonderful and that he eats here daily, had lived in Florida for 10 years, illegally, wants to go back with his girlfriend, and so on and so on!!!! He sat across from us, intently watching Kev and I top our tacos with fresh chopped onion, cilantro and hot salsa. He was obviously waiting for some sort of facial reaction…or maybe just some friendly conversation? The menudo tacos were delicious, and the unexpected help was heart felt!!

We are not far from San Miguel de Allende now and it has been a long day. We chose not to stop for a sightseeing opportunity, earlier on in the day, and it has turned out to be a wise move. As we ride into the outskirts of San Miguel de Allende I'm happy to see many people al fresco dining. The paved road quickly turned to cobblestones and the beauty of San Miguel unfolds. Kev and I are on alert…there is a lot of traffic. It is hard to see down the orange, yellow and brown painted concrete high-walled narrow streets for approaching vehicles. We don't know the flow of the town and I feel like I am a bother to the taxi that is right up my jumper! The agent of this vacation rental has asked us to call him when we arrive in town so Kev programed in the approximate location from the internet. We come to a stop awkwardly perched on the crest of a steep cobblestoned street…"The place is around here somewhere!", Kev states. "Alright…Let's pull over there and figure out how to contact the agent!", I say with strain precariously holding up my heavy bike on the uneven crest. Taking care not to block a driveway that has a big red letter "E" with a line through it, meaning "no parking". We pull the bikes as far off the narrow roadway as possible. The traffic is just crazy. We must have picked the narrowest, busiest street in town! At one point I even had to jump out in front of an approaching car yelling "NO", as she was about to take out Kevin's left pannier! "This is really frustrating…I cannot get the number to dial through, and, "is it me or are people just crazy here?", Kev says. Yeah, I agree that it is a little much! Now we wait, seated in the gutter, for our email to be answered by the renting agent. As we wait, a "non native" lady who lives where we are waiting, exits her home with a friend. Her friend pauses in front of the driveway with the red letter "E" with a slash through it and says…."What does that mean, Tiffany?"…"Oh, that means that you cannot park here, Becky…but people do it all the time!" I really couldn't believe my ears…The obvious planned exchange by these gringo's was exaggerated, snotty, and evidently meant for our ears! Damn…Maybe you two need remove the egg from your ass as well as buy some new glasses, I thought! We were close, but not impeding their entrance or driveway! Kev and I looked at each other both rolling our eyes!…I know that we are both thinking the same thing…How many days did we schedule here?

*Do you see a "slashed E" behind our bikes?*

"Cat! Cat!", I hear being called out …"Hi, I'm Jim, glad you guys made it. Funny you stopped here! We are very close to Casa Paul, in fact it is just down, around the street!", says the rental agent Kev and I smile to each other! "It will be a little tricky to get to it though. If you obey the oneway roads it will take you 15 minutes to move around the corner in this traffic…but if you just head out the wrong way on this street it will take you 1 minute!", Jim states. So as a gap opened up we cautiously disobeyed the law!

Casa Paul…The yellow and burgundy building….Looks can be deceiving! — *Casa Paul…The yellow and burgundy building….Looks can be* *deceiving!*

I look down the street and see Jim so precisely and neatly dressed perched on the front steps of Casa Paul like a peacock…damn, there is no parking here I think! I remove my helmet and look up at Jim seeing a puzzled look on his face. Jim says "Wow!! What are we going to do with these big bikes?…Come inside so we can go over the contract, then you can park the bikes in front of the house while you unload, but then they will need to be moved to a parking spot" Slightly bothered I pointed out to Jim about prior emails on the bike situation!

I stepped into Casa Paul…it was very architecturally angular, very modern and extremely cool…in temperature that is! Ahh… what a cool pleasant relief! "Now the contract is fairly straight forward, and since the owners gave you such a huge discount on the price, I just rounded it up to the next whole number", Jim rattles off! What did he just say I thought, and turned as Kev entered the Casa! "Wow this is cool!", Kev mouths. I'm preoccupied, calculating the difference per day in the rate…It is only $3 per day, and we did get a huge break…but a deal is a deal, I'm thinking…Although bothered about the presumptuous move on Jim's part, I decide to let it slide! Kev quickly and ungracefully unloads the contents of both bikes' panniers while Jim happily parades me through his chic property. "Now the maid comes 3 times a week and works from 9am till 3pm, she will do your laundry and you can email me if you need anything else!" Jim pitches….Wow…cool! Hmm 18 hours a week is a heck of a cleaning schedule!

*Western, although very cool nevertheless! The 18 hours of cleaning was over kill and a little intrusive I have to say!*

This pad was much much cheaper than a hotel!  Vacation rentals work really well if you can spend more than 7 days. — *This pad was much much cheaper than a hotel! Vacation rentals work really well if you can spend more than 7 days.*

View from the roof.  Sometimes I felt as though I was in  San Francisco! — *View from the roof. Sometimes I felt as though I was in San Francisco!*

Jim leaves, Kev and I hop on the bikes and proceed to scout out secure parking. We pull into the parking area closest to Casa Paul and ask about leaving the bikes with them for the next 10 days, with approximately 3 in and out privileges. The answer….$700 US! No negotiating, no budging…just $700 with a smile! Whoa, Nelly!!!! That seems a little steep. Kev and I pull out of the parking lot and ride up the street. I pull over next to another motorcycle parked curbside on the street to chat with Kev. It is hard enough maneuvering our bikes through these streets, let alone be caught up in serious conversation. We decide to try another lot I saw as we circled once through the one-way'd maze of cobblestone streets. This lot was further away, but looked pretty secure. We are in luck…they are willing to make a deal! After 15 minutes of texting, including snap pics of the bikes….which seemed weird, their price was $500…Better, but we did not want to fork out that much…maybe $300, even that makes me a little sick! Kev says "I had it in my mind to check out the parking before signing rental paperwork, but, with all the kafuffle I was sidetracked! What is your opinion on locking up and covering the bikes parking curbside…the place we pulled over?" I reply "I'm not that comfortable with it, but, I feel that the parking is a rip off!" Kev and I rode back around to the curbside street parking marked specifically for motos. Kev removed both sets of panniers, our back boxes and our Kenwood 2-way radios. He then center-standed, chained-locked and covered both bikes. "Cat I feel OK! The bikes are under a bright street light, and I feel that it would take a bit of work to steel the bikes, besides, they are insured!", Kev states as he enters the Casa.

I have been nervous about the bikes. I have woken up several nights while at Casa Paul, swearing that the bikes were being taken….The traffic on the street is very, very noisy day and night. Mexican towns are all noisy, but this felt exaggerated. The street noise actually amplifies, rising up the walls of the connected homes. It actually sounds as though you are living under an old time rickety roller coaster hearing the cars drum and rattle by the Casa encased within the narrow streets below. My ears are pricked and aware during the night, ready to pick up that familiar thud. It is like I am secretly listening to a baby monitor, and I do not want anyone to take my baby! It is a lesson well learnt….gotta have secure parking.

So far you have heard me go on about the awkwardness we fundamentally faced in San Miguel de Allende, it did ease, but, did not completely subside! The town is charming! There are no parking meters, traffic signals or fast food restaurants here! The narrow cobblestone streets funneled by the solid colorful walls of homes against its sidewalks cover this hilly terrain in a grid formation and are always swept and pristine. You do not see any street rubbish as garbage is collected daily. You will hear the clanging of what sounds like a triangle being clanged by someone walking the streets. It is the garbage guy. He walks the streets of San Miguel, a block or so ahead of the garbage truck, ear pods in his ears alerting you to bring your rubbish outside. You cannot leave a can out! If you hear the sound of someone blowing a flute, this is the knife sharpener walking the streets ready to sharpen your knives! There are many, many, many clothing, shoes, silver, art, kitchen earth-ware, glassware, specialty craft and designer shops. Shopping is exploring as you cannot see the face of the shop or what it carries until you are on it's historical footsteps peeping in. Each shop is a fun discovery and an added leg work out as you stair step up into each boutique then continue onto the next, zigzagging up and down the steep streets within the San Miguel de Allende maze. The jardin, or centro, is continuously busy, day and night. Food vendors are selling corn on a stick lathered in a tangy mayonnaise, grated queso, chile powder and a squeeze of lime. There is a taco cart, and a shaved ice cart. Basically all that you need for a great night out! You can shop from hombres selling hats, baskets and woven items, or buy the kids a large blow-up pencil or unicorn on wheels from the blow-up-toy-guy. Watching the kids bang the ends of the large pencils onto the ground so that they shoot up into the air and whizz past unsuspecting onlookers is great evening entertainment. I love the jardin's or centro's of Mexico, they are always entertaining!

*San Miguel de Allende has great knockers!*

San Miguel de Allende's baroque, neoclassical colonial structures and churches are absolutely beautiful. Along with the assortment of iron and brass knockers attached to large heavy carved wooden doors, fancy wrought iron work on windows and bright cascading bougainvilleas trailing from roof terraces over the brightly colored casa walls is a welcomed daily charm. The audio is just as charming as the visual in San Miguel. The chime and ring of bells from the surrounding churches of the area can be heard day and night. Surprisingly one of the church's bell sequence does tell the time here! San Miguel de Allende is said to have over 300 churches. I am glad that they do not chime at the same time! I have enjoyed shopping at the mum & pop chock-packed little grocery stores, the well stocked butcher, complete with daily visiting dog, and fruit and vege shop in town. There are many diverse restaurant choices especially catering to the high concentration of foreign residents. Mostly exCanadians and Americans, many of them retired professionals, along with a multitude of colorful artists designers and writers. Prices here are elevated and the expat/gringo vibe is snooty.

Unfortunately there is a serious air pollution problem here. The smog from the burning of toxic waste including plastic, tires and computer parts, along with the sheer volume of rich sooty running vehicles continually circling the town creates very unpleasant breathing conditions. The smog and expat/gringo vibe has finally got to me, and I am glad to be moving on!

February 13 - 15, 2012…Pueblo Magico...Patzcuaro, Michoacan Mexico

February 26, 2014

This morning I brought along the road map to breakfast thinking that when we were finished that I would walk over to the police station and ask about the safety of the roads we were intending to travel on today. In recent weeks there has been some violence and unsettling in the state of Michoacan. As Kev and I walked across the square towards the officer clutching his M16, I looked up the spanish word for safety, so that I could communicate clearer. "Seguro camino?", I asked the officer as I pointed to the route we were to be traveling on the map. Another armed officer approached us. I repeated myself "Seguro camino?" He looked at the map and replied "Si, segueo!" Ahhh…. that was a relief. Although, I will still be on guard while we ride today, I feel confident enough that they would have alerted us to any disturbances near by.

It turned out to be an amazing day of riding. Not only were the roads in fairly good repair, we once again started to ascend into the mountains ranges, this time in the state of Michoacan. The air was clear, the temperature a perfect 26 degrees celsius, the roads smooth and tope free, the views spectacular. We passed through villages that were hand making, dying and fire kilning terra-cotta bricks made from the natural red clay of the area, it was fascinating. Roadside stalls were selling their handcrafted rustic looking terra cotta pots, plates, basins and wears. Having limited space on a bike is definitely a money saving feature! Soon we were surrounded by large oak trees. As we sailed through their magic canopy and the twinkly filtered light, the oak leaves fell around us, and continued to dance behind us as we rode through….It was an absolutely surreal experience! All of my morning hesitations and fears were wiped away and I was totally caught up in the moment and all of its glory!

For the record though...I have to note that I did encounter some challenging traffic situations today! I was almost squished between a semitrailer and a parked car, almost being run into in slow motion as a merging car acknowledged me then continued anyways, and almost being wiped out in fast forward as a truck barreled down a side street leading onto the street I was on having me abruptly swerve ! The key word here is almost! I take these instances and memorize the senario, in hopes to avoid a future disastrous outcome.

Largo de Patzcuaro magically appeared as we rounded another sweeping curve…WOW! We rode into Tzintzuntzan, a small town on the lake. Originally we had planned to stay here although the accommodations we had researched earlier did not look so hot, so we continued around the lake. The ride around Largo de Patzcuaro was amazing. As you wind around the lake you can see 5 smaller islands on the lake. One of them with a huge sculptured concrete towering figure atop of it. Kev and I had been riding for 5 hours now and had not stopped for lunch…we had lost track of the time. I spied a small drink/bar by the side of the road… we happily unmounted and enjoyed a liquid lunch while reprograming Navi towards accommodations in the next town of Patzcuaro. Two cold Coronas, two bottled agua's, and sliced oranges with chili cost 54$ pesos…($4). I tipped the young señorita 10$ pesos and a small wooden container of the dulce de leche, she was pleased!

As we rode into Patzcuaro, Kev radioed to me "Where is the Magico?" I was a little surprised that it was named a Pueblo Magico….then we entered the historical district! Ahh..This is why! We rode around the centro square and pulled up in front of the hotel that we had programed into Navi. "I don't see any secure parking here?", we verbalized in unison…ja ja ja…jinx! Kev walked in through the huge heavy carved wooden hacienda doors to see if by chance they had parking out back while I stayed with the bikes. "Your not going to believe this, but they have shown me a closet that we can ride our bikes into, they will be safe there! We'll ride right through the lobby of the hotel!", Kev says with a huge grin on his face! Sounds great, it's now 5:30 pm, I'm tired, and tope out!…Ok, lets do this! Artero opened up the double stained glass doors that were behind the heavy carved wooden doors and moved a couple of planters, while I grabbed the video camera! Up and over the old concrete street curb, Kev carefully maneuvered and inched his way through the glass doors, down the slippery polished antique tiled hallway and backed into the closet. My bike is wider than Kevs, believe it or not, so the panniers needed to be removed. The attached peg packers, now caring one petrol container since San Blas, scraped the antique 1770's architrave as it rolled backwards into the space. WOW…Now this was the icing on the cake…What an amazing day!... Artero then offered us a welcome cocktail!

1770's Hacienda…Mansion Iturbe Hotel.  Note the fishing canoes on the truck! — *1770's Hacienda…Mansion Iturbe Hotel. Note the fishing canoes on the truck!*

Our room has a set of large wooden doors that open up onto large glass doors that open up onto a small balcony that faces the town square. I kind of feel like Evita when I step out onto the narrow balcony. This morning the square is buzzing…Today is Valentines Day! Sweetheart mylar balloons for sale float in bundles throughout the square. Bouquets of roses, heart shaped candles and chocolates are being sold from small makeshift stalls throughout also. Lovers holding hands stroll around the center fountain, couples are cuddling on the old carved concrete benches of the square and there is a beautiful euphoria of love in the air. I have never seen such a wonderful display of friendship, love and excitement in one place at one time….apart from attending a wedding or birth of a child! I feel very lucky indeed to have been in Patzcuaro on February 14th!

Today Kev and I caught the little minivan buses that run all over the town down to the docks to catch a boat across to the Isa de Janitzio. You can see a massive figure atop of the island situated in Lago de Patzcuaro. For 50$ pesos roundtrip, $3.80 US, we rode the boat, powered by a car engine complete with clutch and shift stick across to the Isa. It had to have been one of the most entertaining rides on a boat that I have ever encounted! A band of elderly men hopped aboard, one caring a large base, one a squeezebox, one a guitar and the lastly a violin…to play for us on the trip across. The boat slowly made its way from the water hyacinth bogged waters around the docks out into the muddy open waters of the lake. The band started to play, couples immediately got up to dance, small kids did their kiddy dance, people clapped along, smiled and sung. Beers were being tossed back, kids were eating fresh mangoes covered in chili pepper on a stick with the juices dripping down their tiny faces, dogs were sitting next to their owners enjoying the fresh breeze pass by their noses and most kids were playing with their fishing nets off the sides of the boat, trying to capture a lone floating hyacinth. It was just fantastic!

*You can see Isa de Janitzio in the distance.*

*Traditional butterfly fishermen fishing off the Island of Janitzio*

*A 40 meter high monument of Jose Maria Morelos, a great hero of Mexico's independence its atop of the Island.*

The very steep walk up to the monument was cluttered by many shopping, eating and drinking distractions, "eat here, drink here, buy this, don't you like this lamp…of course all in Spanish….and to top it off the festive dance celebrations of a descending wedding party! The view from the top was spectacular and we celebrated with a frio agua botella! Another awesome day!

*You pass many temptations and sales pitches on your way up, and then on your way down!*

February 11 - 12, 2014…Pueblo Magico Mazamitla, Jalisco Mexico

February 25, 2014

There was no direct route from Tapalpa to Mazamitla. We either had to travel north to Lake Chapala, around and down, or travel south to Ciudad Guzman, then head north again. Riding out of Mazamitla today was a little smokey…disappointing. I was hoping to get some awesome shots of the area as we descended, including the volcano, but it was not to be. Instead I will enjoy the sweeping mountainous road while I listening to Bruno! I could make out the rugged conical tip of the volcano as we passed by, but did not stop to take a shot. As we cleared the haziness of the valley and turned north again onto highway 110 the air began to clear a bit. Kev and I rode through many small townships, full of unruly traffic congestion, followed slow noisy black smog emitting, helmet suffocating, dusty buses, and clunked over many, many, many, topes, I think I counted 178 in all! These conditions can make it unpleasant to say the least, and coughing up in your helmet can be a problem!...If we weren't slowing down for the clunk and jar of the topes, we were being suffocated by black, sooty diesel emissions! It was a welcomed relief to be free of the close townships, that were not on the map and finally climb into the higher altitude of the Sierra Madre once again. This area reminds me of Tapalpa, the Pueblo we just left. Kev and I ride through the rickety cobblestone streets, pass the spectacular la iglesia blanco and continue to our accommodations. I pay for dos noches con desayuno, 2 nights with breakfast, then Kev and I unload the bikes and commence to hike up the steep property loaded in our boots and gear to our room some 500 meters away. We cannot see the bikes from our room, so we will lock and cover them up as well as hide them between the staff vehicles.

*Up at altitude once again, we rode up the hill to our hotel.*

*Once again we were the only ones in the hotel.*

Desayuno was located at a restaurant in the town square of Mazamitla and the morning walk in was lovely. Kev and I spent our days wandering and photographing the interesting streets, sitting in the square soaking it all in, people watching, reading a good book on the kindle while sipping a hot coffee, and watching the iglesia blanco, amazingly self ignite against the fiery sunset. The evenings were cold. Luckily we had a chimenea in our room and were able to make a cozy fire to heat up the place a little. During the evenings there was also a strong smell of marijuana that wafted in our window, most likely from the hills behind us! The nightly aroma was funnily enough, accompanied by the loud continuous "Eah Orr's" of a stoned donkey and "Cockle Doodle Doo" of a confused wasted rooster!

February 9 - 10, 2014…Pueblo Magico Tapalpa, Jalisco Mexico

February 24, 2014

Damn, these Canteritos cocktail mugs! A Canteritos is a traditional tequila cocktail made with fresh orange, lemon and lime juice, topped off with a grapefruit soda! These mugs are so cool that I do not want to leave them behind. So, I spent about half an hour rearranging my gear trying to figure out how to pack these puppies up without them breaking. Kev's input to this madness…."Yeah, they are gonna break!" Today the hotel has made coffee but, we decide to ride on to the centro for breakfast before heading out. As we pull up to the church and main square I notice that bus and handicap parking is only available here. Damn…the little breakfast place that we have been eating at is right next to the church and, if we can somehow swing parking in front of the church it would be great. Yesterday I did see a motorcycle park here…so I decided that I would park the bike, hop off and walk over to the traffic/parking police of Tequila and kindly ask if it would be possible for us to park and have a quick Desayuno's. Worked like a charm! Kev and I relaxed, enjoyed our omelet and coffee while having our bikes visible at all times.

*We were blessed to get this parking spot!!!*

*One last pic in Tequila before heading out through the ocean of agave's!*

We actually traveled back towards the Lake Chapala area, again avoiding the larger city of Guadalajara. Navi had us cutting through some beautiful back country roads where the sugarcane fielded countryside riding, was glorious. Soon we turned off the main road and headed up the steep winding mountainous road, leading to Taplapa. We had spectacular clear windows of the valley below. The road up to Tapalpa is well maintained and a dream to ride. The views are absolutely amazing into the valley below and now that my music is finally playing flawlessly, the synchronization between the road and music was epic!

Tapalpa, at first sight, looks like an old Swiss Village and is at an elevation of 7200 feet. The whitewashed adobe buildings have handmade spanish red clay tiled roofs and are supported with thick wooden beams and posts. These buildings of businesses and homes line the cobblestone hilled streets of this alpine town. The air is bright and crisp and the smell of pine permeates the air. It does feel a little like Lake Tahoe to me, without the lake. Horses, and quads seem to be the preferred mode of transportation bar the truck.

After riding around the rickety cobbled and dirt streets of the town we head towards our first choice of hotels. As we pull up we notice that there does not seem to be any off street parking for the bikes. Kev walks into the lobby and they are more than accommodating. The owners suggest that we ride the bikes up the small concrete carved ramp built into the Posada's steps, and onto the main patio…so that is just what we do. After unloading our gear we decide to check our tire pressure, oil, lube and tighten my chain, then cover the bikes. When the bikes are covered they immediately become brand less…less obvious and attractive to curious eyes, as funny as that sounds!

Our stay in Tapalpa was peaceful and pleasant. We wandered about the township area, much of the time walking in circles, looking up. Now looking up is always a dangerous thing to do in Mexico. The streets drop off suddenly, footpaths and walkways are loose and uneven, and it does not take much at all to tweak your ankle. You must remember to look down before taking the next step! The day that we were to leave, the owners were concerned about our travel route. He warned us of areas close by that we should not be traveling in, and suggested areas that we should not miss. We welcomed the warmth of his concern, his personal passion for travel, and banked his advice. We really enjoyed our time at La Cosona.

February 7 - 8, 2014…Pueblo Magico Tequila, Jalisco Mexico

February 21, 2014

Kev and I always welcome meeting and learning all that there is to know from fellow travelers, especially motorcycle travelers. I am always surprised by how some people, as well traveled as they are, push their agendas, discount yours and have problems listening. We were told by a couple of motorcycles not to bother with the town of Tequila. I was looking forward to our trip there and felt disappointed with their negative rendition. Kev and I decided to go anyway. We did not book any accommodations ahead of time and thought that we would just take a look around and decide for ourselves.

We exited the Lake Chapala area and rode the same route that we had taken several days ago to the Guachimontones Pyramids. This route took us around the city of Guadalajara instead of through it. As the blue ocean of agave fields started to appear we knew that we were not too far from the town of Tequila. Our ride through the scrubby green hills to where my eyes met the volcano towering over the ocean of blue agave fields and township of Tequila was in itself enough to question others experiences! As we rode into the busy centro area of Tequila we could see that one night was not going to cut it. We weaved in and out of the clean and dusty cobbled streets of this broom swept town. Not having a destination inputed in Navi I pulled over, only to notice that we were right in front of a hotel I had researched online! How about that! Kev and I were happy with the clean room and secure parking and paid for 2 nights. We unloaded the bikes, hustled out of our riding gear walked back up to the reception desk and asked about a Tequila tour. Now if I was to translate our conversation it would have gone something like this! "Tequila tour?"….."Si"…"Aqui?"…"Si"…."Que hora?"…."dos o tres hora!"…."Bueno"….."cuanto?"….."ciento treinta pesos por persona"….."Bueno"….."Dos personas por tres hora, doscientos sesenta, Si?"….."Si"….."Mucho Gracias!" My spanish is very limited but I was able to choply communicate that we wanted 2 people to go on the 3 o'clock tour and understood that it cost 260 pesos. Kev and I were the only ones on the tour. We had a private translator that rode with us, so everything was very passionately explained to us in spanish, then translated. It was great to be able to pick up bits and pieces as I listened in spanish, then confirm it with the english translation.

*Look at the wonderful handmade ice creams*

The simple opened windowed bus drove us a couple of blocks behind where we were staying to the property of the Sauza'a. From the slope of the roadway and height of the bus we were able to peer over the high adobe walls that encased the property like a moat. The Sauza family property was an impressive picture. The beautiful adobe arched hacienda was surrounded by blossoming gardens and set in a sea of blue agave. There was even a miniature scale version of the Golden Gate Bridge, perhaps transporting you across the agave ocean? We continued on the rough cobbly road to where the manufacturing plant was. A worker opened up an opening within the large wooden doors to the plant and immediately the sweet crystal turquoise sea salt, almost spearmint smell of tequila perfumed the air, it was unreal! Now Don Cenobio Sauza was a very important in the town of Tequila. The Sauza family has contributed generously to the township, community and lifestyle of Tequilla. They are much loved, generous and caring with their employees. Sauza will even paint your flaking house for free, as long as they can paint their cherished logo, the rooster, on your building. Now you might be asking "What about Jose?"….Jose Cuervo on the other hand is another subject. Jose, caught up in the capitalism and greed of world enterprise has lost its compassion for the community, so much so that many of the locals do not drink Cuervo! But enough about the Tequila blues …get it?

The Historical area of Tequila…some of the plants are now being restored.

Tequila's historical public Laundromat, so residents did not have to do their laundry in the river.  Municipal water lines were installed in the 1940's. — Tequila's historical public Laundromat, so residents did not have to do their laundry in the river. Municipal water lines were installed in the 1940's.

The whole process starts with the Jimadores hand planting the tiny Blue Weber Agaves in the rich volcanic soil of the area, then eventually harvesting the agave 8 -10 years later. After the 8 -10 years the agave has produced enough honey within its pineapple, or pina and is ready to be harvested. The Jimadores use a selection of traditional tools, that have been used for centuries to cut the stiff fibrous spiky leaves from the bolbas base of the plant where the pineapple has formed. It is hard backbreaking work that is performed with upmost skill. Now the pinas are loaded into trucks to be transported to the distilleries.

*Jimadores walking down the streets of Tequila!*

We bused on to the Rubio Tequila plant. Here we saw the large pinas, bolbas pineapples that have developed from the base up of a 8 -10 year old agave plant being loaded into a huge pressure cooking oven, autoclave. The distinct raw blue tequila smell saturated the air around us…it was wonderful. We stood only 30 feet away, watching the men carefully arrange, load and manipulate the coarse halved pinas by hand, stuffing and pushing the various sized trophies in the circular space, eventually packing the autoclaves tight. Nearby, trucks packed full of pinas, weighted down by their heavy loads, watched and waited for their turn to unload. The autoclaves will steam cook the pinas transforming their starches into sugar. The now fibrous squishy mixture is loaded onto a conveyor system that squeezes and grinds the pulp fibers and extracts the honey water. The fibers are shot out into an empty truck, ready to be transported away and used as fertilizer, cattle feed, or in local crafts. The agave honey water is now ready to be mixed with a fermentation agent of sugar cane and natural ingredients to produce the alcohol. The old processing would involve having the honey water poured over a sweaty soul standing in a barrel, where the salts and bodily fluids would have acted as the catalyst. Some tequila is still produced this traditional way! We walked along the raised platforms looking into the large stainless steel fermentation barrels. We were encouraged to poke our fingers in and taste the frothy bubbly concoction that was swirling on top…No OSHA here! Once the reaction from the catalyst has subsided the juice is now heated to the alcohols vaporization point, cooled and condensed to create the "ordinario" liquor. In this state the alcohol is dangerous to drink! Our guide said you could be blinded and even die from intoxication!! Mexican law requires that all tequila be distilled twice, for it to be safe to drink, most are distilled 3 or 4 times. So you may be asking how did they know that you could produce an alcohol from the agave plant? Glad you asked! During an electrical storm many moons ago, lightening hit an agave plant and cooked and fermented the pineapple. The native indians of the area woke to a sweet smelling aroma wafting through the air. They followed the smell to the source, tasted the cooked pineapple, figured out how to extract the honey and the rest is history!

*Stuffing dry fibers from the pina's around the autoclave opening to create a tight seal.*

*The conveyor that grins and squeezes the honey from the cooked pina's.*

*The fermentation vats…yes we stuck our fingers in there!*

*The aging cellar…for the anejo's and reporsado's.*

January 29 - February 6, 2014…Ajijic, Jalisco Mexico

February 6, 2014

We traveled on the smaller Highway 80, heading towards Lake Chapala. I really do not know what to think of this area. It is said to have the largest concentration of Snowbirds/Canadians and Sunbirds/Americans of anywhere in the world! Is this a good thing? Nevertheless, I am curious about this area!

The riding on highway 80 was spectacular this morning. The air was clear and fresh, the diverse mountainous countryside flora changed three times as we traveled north. Our ride began out jungly and tropical then winding our way up in altitude, the landscape dried out a little and sprouted huge impressive bundles of cacti, then descending into the valleys the landscape became a patchwork of corn fields, berry fields and farms…delightful! We passed a huge convoy of Circus semi trucks caring all their gear, and of course, animals too. The Rodeo was coming to La Manzanilla this upcoming weekend and this probably was some of the entertainment!

Navi directed us up the rickety cobblestone/potholed streets directly to the "vacation rental by owner" casita called the Mexican Sunrise House, that we had secured for the week…amazing! A friendly local hombre living on the same street, stopped as he drove by and welcomed us to the area. We retrieved the keys to the property out of the lockbox, opened up the large folding heavy metal doors that secured the casita and parking and rode on in. We were very lucky to be able to rent this property. They had a cancellation that coincided with our intended dates and we took it…It was just meant to be! Our casita could not have been a more perfect arrangement including Cali, Leo the owners dog who visited us daily. Funny enough we had a dog named Cali for 10 years! Leo was also a fabulous and generous host! There was a welcome bottle of Cab waiting for us, and he also included 4 eggs, bread, butter, jam, juice, milk and coffee for our first mornings breakfast. Leo even organized a cocktail party in his home inviting his motorcycle friends who had toured extensively through Mexico to meet and chat with us.

*Mexican Sunrise House kitchen and living area.*

*Master bedroom with a domed brick ceiling called Boveda.*

*What an awesome way to be woken up…by Sunrise!*

Ajijic is a very eclectic, extremely friendly Canadian, American and Mexican community that still has that Mexican charm that we love. Horses are ridden down the narrow cobblestoned streets and then tethered to casas. Vendors sell their wares and specialties out of their homes, the chunky curbs and footpaths are sloped, uneven and dangerous. Dogs are everywhere, laundry is hung anywhere that fits, the square or centro is always filled with people on benches, children, and laughter. Unusual combinations of church bell ring patterns that have nothing to do with the time, chime and bong throughout the day and night. Chickens dart in and out of crumbling alleys, there are many artsy stores to loose your self in, Mum and Pop grocers, bakeries, fruit shops and delis, and… 3 weekly open air markets that draw anyone and everyone out…it is really quite fabulous! Kev and I quickly fell into the routine of walking into town daily, exploring, picking up tasty unusual deli items to enjoy with our wine, buying fresh fruits and veges for meals, enjoying a fresh espresso while people watching, catching an open aired movie or live show at the Rojo Piano and trying some of the fabulous local restaurants. Generally, we found ourselves continually walking in circles, eyes up, forgetting to look down, stumbling off curb ways, with me always snapping pictures!

*The wheelbarrow coffee guy…where I purchased my coffee…he even ground it for me!*

*You should always back your horse into the curb!*

Kev and I did manage to make a couple of rides out of Ajijic! We enjoyed a day trip to the Guachimontones, ancient circular pyramids, discovered in 1970 although recently excavated dating back to the Aztecs. The circular structures had a large pole extending from them and were used for Voladore ceremonies, an ancient pole dance performed by a priest to honor the wind god Ehecai. Another day trip to the quaint adobe town of La Manzamita Pez, later lunching around the lake. Kev and I decided to postpone the Tequila trip, due to my love of the beverage and the impairment it may have with riding…Tequila will need to be a sleep over destination!

*Awesome view of nearby town from pyramids*

January 27 - 28, 2014…Casa Musica del Mar, La Manzanilla

February 1, 2014

I woke up early, around 5:30am…I should have walked the beach but it was still dark…I'm really excited! We get to spend 2 nights at Muscia del Mar, a brightly painted casa that is right on the beach and across from the "Y" action in town. It is the perfect combination of Mexican beach and small town life that can be comfortably viewed from your casa! Two nights were only available here, and it seemed like that it was meant to be, as it coincided with us leaving Casa Mariposa. The La Manzanilla lifestyle definitely has a hold on us!

Kev and I loaded up the bikes, suited up in full drag and rode the 63 steps to the house brilliantly named Music of the Sea. We dropped off some water and cerveza's that were precariously balanced on the bikes, then took a ride into Malarque, the next town along the coast, 16 kms away to withdraw some money. La Manzanilla does not have a bank, atm, petrol station, post office, 711 or Starbucks. Simple… beautiful really!

Musica was designed to have the fresh ocean breeze flow straight through the house. If you opened up the ocean terrazzo sliders, the front windows and door, it created a pleasant continual movement of air, freshly passing through the house. The back of the house, which is really the front faces the ocean, and the front, really the back faces the "Y" on the main street. Here, you would never consider leaving the casa, and missing the nightly magical sunset before dinner. It was almost like a nightly fiery finale, staring pelicans, high soaring frigates, fishermen, children and laughter. We watched encore followed by encore until all the silouettes disappeared into the darkness and all that was left was the sounds of the crashing surf. Here, the sounds of the night were as dramatic as the daily visual. The pounding surf thudded, rocked and echoed through Musica during the nights. When the tide is in, the surf breaks so closely to the bedroom window that it actually splashes small stray droplets onto the screens. The nights were exciting, scary and dramatic. Finally drifting off into a peaceful sleep…only to be woken by the thud of a rouge wave!…..Loved it!

The cool ocean breeze flowed though Musica — *The cool ocean breeze flowed though Music*a

Kev and I enjoyed all of the elements of this gem…absorbing the cheerful laughter from children playing in the surf, watching the fisherman toss out their fishing nets, schools of pelicans closely following the fishermen or dropping from the sky into schools of fish, and frigates waiting for free fish to be thrown up into the air by anyone….they do not swim, land on water, walk well, and they cannot take off from a flat surface. They are impressive birds with deep forked tails and impressive wing spans that can reach up to 7 1/2 ft.

*Night after night the sunsets were just magical!*

We leave with mixed feelings, although excited to be on the bikes and moving again. I settle into the gentle hum, my comfy seat...thanks Rick Meyer and the lifestyle rhythm of riding.

January 13 - 26, 2014…Casa Mariposa, La Manzanilla

January 31, 2014

Our 3 nights came and went quickly at Coconuts by the Sea, and now we pack the bikes up to move across the Bay of Tenacatta and into town. We pull up at Casa Mariposa to find the rental agent waiting to welcome us. Kevin opens the garage and we pull the bikes in. We unload our freshly loaded bikes, loaded only 12 minutes ago from the other side of the cove. Phew it has been a hard ride! NOT! I'm feeling happily very domestic as I lay my entire wardrobe of 2 shirts, 3 undies, 2 socks, bra, skirt, pants, togs and simple dress in the bedroom chest of drawers. Now to set up the kitchen. I carry the "tahoe bag" stored in a paneer on Kev's bike that is full of my kitchen paraphernalia up to the third floor where the kitchen is located. I feel like a kid in a play house, setting up house and I'm enjoy every minute of it! After everything is unpacked Kev and I sit down on the built-in concrete mexican couch and absorb the moment! "This is very cool! How did we luck out?" I comment….we duly agree and decide to head to Jolanda's for a drink before shopping for groceries. Now Jolanda's is 2 minutes away instead of 45 minutes! Jolanda and Leon, originally from Holland, past motorcyclers and adventurers ended up in La Manzanilla a decade ago. Jolanda an excellent cook, and Leon decided to open up a restaurant…and the rest is history! We have indulged and enjoyed the dutch and international specialties from their travels served in their restaurant on a regular basis. Jolanda's is an excellent place to catch up with friends, absorb the magical sunsets, hook up to wifi, sip on pina coladas and rent kayaks. It has been an easy rhythm to acclimate to! Kev and I spent many hours visiting, laughing and absorbing all the travel info we could from fellow adventure motorcycler friends Ken and Carol Duvall, who we first met in Australia 2 years ago! Kev and I really enjoyed your company while you were here. Travel safe guys!

*Kitchen, dining room, living room and balcony….Cocina, comedor, sala de estar y un balcón*

*Calle view from living area looking at the Vet.*

*View from down the stairs into the garage*

*Even cool sculptured art work to enjoy as you walk up the 3 flights of stairs!*

*Ken, Carol, Kev and Jolanda to the right*

Living a couple of blocks back from the main drag presents relaxed and interesting street activity. There seems to be a pack of dogs that patrols Calle Perula. They make sure that they block the way of cars traveling through on the rocky dirt streets just enough to be an inconvenience. The good thing is that it does keep the dust down! If you are walking, the pack will approach you vocally letting you know that they run this street….it can be intimidating! I have seen dogs, cats, and chickens all feeding side by side on the leftover scraps tossed into the street. Daily I watched a chicken family… the hen, rooster and 3 chicks go about their simple routine of visiting neighboring homes for insects and scraps, iguanas crossing in the street pausing in the warm sweet spot, only moving when threatened by wheels. I have listened to the different advertisements blurted out over the loud speakers attached to the roof of cars and trucks selling, gas, water, ice-cream, corn, pastries and picking up garbage and recycling.

*Dogs, cats and chickens living happily together*

*Interesting animal at the Vets…he wore a little harness and was kinda cheeky when the girls caring for him were near.*

Kev and I enrolled in a Spanish immersion class and quickly found ourselves totally engulfed in vocal repetition, reading and writing. We hosted the lessons at our casa. Every day at 11am Gardinia our Maestra arrived closely followed by Anne and Phil, 2 Canadians also taking lessons. For the next 3 hours we all vocalized with throaty vowel combinations, rolled our r's and formatted sentences that somehow contorted Gardinia's beautiful face into a wtf expression, with "Como?", as the response, as we attempted to read what we had conjugated! I was pleasantly surprised when Gardinia smiled excitedly and rolled off a "Muy bien!", agreeing with a sentence! We focused on 2 hours of homework daily and found out that getting right on it before the day was done was the best way to handle it. Our days at Casa Mariposa were engulfed with new words, common phrases and pronunciations. I guess you could say that it was a Spanish submersion/immersion class! I learnt a lot and enjoyed the classes immensely.

*Kev reading the Spanish menu, practicing after class*

*My usual...pescado frito con mantequilla de ajo…fried fish with garlic butter.*

*Learning about Tarantulas…really fun classes*

Celebrating with Canadians Phil and Anne after completing the class.  Dinner at Figaro's, an italian beachfront restaurant  that serves a mean pizza! — *Celebrating with Canadians Phil and Anne after completing the class. Dinner at Figaro's, an italian beachfront restaurant that serves a mean pizza!*

January 10 - 12, 2014…Coconuts by the Sea, La Manzanilla, Jalisco Mexico

January 26, 2014

I pulled back the morning dew dampened, nylon motorcycle cover on my bike and could see that everything was where I had left it. We were on the road by 8am this glorious morning, enjoying the gentle sweeping curves of the road that were sprinkled by the morning sunlight eager to make it to La Manzanilla. We hit several choppy dirt sections where the road works was full on. Kev and I started seeing if we could get all of the roadwork hombres to wave to us as we passed through. It was a fun game that kept me smiling and eager to get one up on Kev…which I did! "I got a wave from the guy on the digger in the ditch, did you?" I radioed Kev. "Damn, missed that one!", he replied…Yeah you can bet I was grinning! :)

We were notified that there was no petrol station or bank in La Manzanilla and filled up in the town prior. The turn off to Coconuts was the same entrance to Los Angeles Locos, a monitored private pebbly road that let us up and around the mountain towards the steep off canter down hill dirt driveway into Coconuts. Wow, I would hate to ride this wet I thought. Just a little rain could spell a bit of trouble for us getting out…but at least we made it in! We were told to honk when we arrived, so I honked my horn and Alejandro magically appeared at the wrought iron gates. Yes…Alejandro….Ale, Ale, Ale..jandro a very nice hombre, with a name that is a lot of fun to say! …ja ja ja

Alejandro helped us unload the bikes and led us down the garden pathway that opened up onto beautifully manicured grounds overlooking the ocean…Wow, what an amazing sight…what an amazing find! Alejandro showed us up to the Mint Julep where we quickly settled in. We had an open air kitchen, shared a comfy living area with a cat named Taco, and a open aired toilet and shower that overlooked the ocean and jungle. The bedroom was enclosed with large windows facing out towards the open living area and spectacular view beyond. I peeled off my sticky sweaty riding gear and hung it up in the outside dresser, rinsed off in the open air shower and changed into a skirt, t-shirt and thongs. Ahh… that feels much better! Now that I am trying out, a four season suit to ride in…the warmer weather can make the suit feel like a sauna at times. Kev and I packed our day pack with our kindles, headlights and bug spray and headed down the Saltillo paved staircase. "How far is La Manzanilla town from here?", I asked Alejandro. "See that town in the distance, that is it, about 8 kilometers away", he replied "About a 40 minute walk, or you can ride a bike when the tide is out", Alejandro said. "Before you go, let me show you where the iguanas are", he said. Kev and I followed Alejandro over to the next property. He slightly dismantled and pushed down the barbed wire gate that was at the entrance of a bridge over a brackish river. Kev and I stepped over the barbs and onto the bridge. Alejandro pointed out several huge colorful iguanas resting on the limbs of the mangrove trees above the river. He also spotted a 3 meter salty awkwardly basking on the steep muddy banks of the river. As soon was the croc felt our presence he immediately plunged into the water and kept an eye on our doings. Fantastic!

*Alejandro showing us the iguanas and crocs*

*Cocodrilo, pronounced Coco drill O….such a sexy language!*

Kev and I headed off down the beach towards the small township of La Manzanilla. We did not realize that Coconuts was this far from town, but really enjoyed the walk…I think that we will be doing this daily which is awesome! As we walked by the colorful beach umbrella studded sandy restaurant fronts we are keeping an eye out for Jolanda's, a restaurant/bar that or Aussie friends Ken and Carol frequent. We find Jolanda's, kick back order a drink and wait for our friends. Ken and Carol eventually show up, surprised that we finally have arrived. We watch the magnificent sunset then spend the balance of the evening enjoying a meal, drinking and visiting. Later that night we caught a cab back to our tree bungalow excited about all of the new information we had absorbed from our friends!

*Enjoying the sunset, drinks and laughs with Ken and Carol*

Taco is curled up on the couch as I saunter from the bedroom. I am enjoying him hanging with us. I grab my ground espresso coffee and little percolator, fill it with the bottled water that Coconuts has supplied us and brew our morning coffee. Before leaving Jolanda's last night, Kev and I picked up a few groceries from the dusty little market across the street….8 eggs, a nice hunk of chorizo sausage that I pointed to where I wanted the hombre to cut, a couple of tomatoes, 2 avocados, 2 onions, 4 limes, 1 cucumber, and a small block of cheese…just enough for a couple days of brekky and nibbles. I made up some salsa fresco, chorizo, eggs and avocado and we enjoyed our brekky watching the morning bird life buzz the palm tree tops. Taco also enjoyed his eggs!

*Sunrises are a must at every location!*

*You never know who will be playing in the surf!*

Today we walked back into La Manzanilla with finding a place to stay first and foremost on our mind. We have paid for 3 nights at Coconuts, but it is not practical for us to stay longer. Kev and I consulted with a couple of vacation rental/real estate businesses, visited several properties and made an executive decision. We would rent the house in town that was only available for 2 weeks, even though we were hoping for 4 weeks. Our housing choice places us one block from the beach and main street, across the street from the town Vet, includes a lap pool, a secure garage, a washer and dryer, weekly maid service, bottled water, is close to the Spanish school, has free wifi and air-conditioning in the bedroom. All this is still in our budget….Unbelievable…now to celebrate. I must admit that I will miss Coconuts with the odd baby gecko in the shower, their night chirp and pushup dance of bigger geckos, Taco the cat, the beautiful manicured flowering gardens, the fantastic beach views, open aired showers, colorful tropical butterflies and hummingbirds, and the forced 8 k walk into town!

*Riding back to Coconuts, as the sun sets with eggs and avocados for the next mornings breakfast.*

*What a beautiful day to move into town, although Coconuts was a little slice of heaven!*

January 9, 2014…Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco Mexico

January 19, 2014

Kev and I had found a pretty good restaurant in San Blas. Freshly prepared grilled chicken and fish to perfection, so, we did not see a need to screw with a good thing! Here the chicken actually tasted like chicken, and not a processed piece of white meat that could be fish, chicken or pork! They are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and we had planned on grabbing and early breakfast before heading out to La Manzanilla today…..but, we had a slight hiccup! Loading up the bikes Kev noticed that I was missing one of my gas cans of my peg packers….damn! Oh well, of all the things that are secured but accessible and could have been taken of the bike like, the radio communications, the sleeping bags and hammocks, chain lube, bike oil, a nalgene bottle with sterilized water, 8 tie down straps in my smily sanchez tube that doesn't lock, I thought that I got pretty darn lucky! So there was a little kafuffle with the staff at the hacienda…me communicating with them, they communicating with staff and god knows who on the phone…and none of us really understood each other. Seriously, it was like a really, really bad game of charades played by the blind! A little peeved, I gave up and gave the universal sign of time by tapping my pretend wrist watch. "Let's get some breakfast before heading out", I said to Kev….so that is what we did!

With a later start than we intended we stopped to remedy the situation with Chorizo and eggs... just and awesome combination of protein to start a day of riding. We rode out of the cobble stoned San Blas and turned onto the coastal road towards Puerto Vallarta. WOW is an understatement ….this is fabulous riding! We slow down for the topas in the rural country towns which not only allows us to keep upright on our bikes, but give us that extra moment of roadside and town absorption. I am fascinated by how many people have roadside stalls selling exactly the same items advertised at the same price???? How do they get a break? Everyone seems happy and smily enough waving and giving us the thumbs up as we putt and sticky beak through. The coastal road never disappoints…..and when you add the lush vine ridden tropical fauna, these clean dirt swept country towns, and the sight of the ocean, it brings your days riding experience to a completely different level. I immensely enjoyed this mornings ride and I know Kev did also.

On our way to La Manzanilla we planned to stop in on Cynthia & Bob, some friends that live in San Pancho, a small town about an hour north of Puerto Vallarta. We turned off the highway and entered this cute, surfy, Los Gatos/Torquay feel of a town. I heard my name being yelled, stopped in the street to see Bob approaching me…it was really a great fun feeling when you get a chance to visit familiars in your travels! Kev and I really enjoyed our brief visit with Cynthia & Bob in their lovely spanish palapa home and wish that we could have stayed longer, but we still have 4 solid hours of riding ahead of us today if we plan to make it to La Manzanilla. We attentively rode the very busy single laned highway 200 towards Puerto Vallarta, and were not making the time that we though we would. Kev and I hit peak travel time entering down town Puerto Vallarta, famished and decided to grab some food from a local grocery store, have a little parking lot picnic and reevaluate our plan. The time is now 4:45pm There comes a point when you have to say…Well shoot, it is just not going to work, lets get a room, cool down and enjoy a margarita! Time was really against us today, not only from a travel stance but we actually lost an hour when we crossed into the state of Jalisco! There was no way that we were making it to La Manzanilla by sunset, so we decided to get through the taxi bustle and polished stoned streets of Puerto Vallarta, that, by the way, has grown up so, so much since I visited it 20 years ago, then choose a place for the night. Teresa…..We passed Ocho Cascados...Wow…that brought back great memories. Maybe we should have rode to the top, but memory serves it is hella cobbly and steep…hmm, I'll just look up!…ha ha ha. "How about here", I radioed Kev. I spied a Best Western on the curvy coastal road not far out of PV that seemed to have secure parking. We checked it out, and decided to check in just…phew, just in time to watch the sun go down! La Manzanilla…we'll see you mañana!

*Late late lunch, almost dinner in Puerto Vallarta*

*Buenas noches Puerto Vallarta!…the Township is actually the other direction :)*

January 7 - 8, 2014…San Blas, Nayarit Mexico

January 19, 2014

Excited to have downloaded Mexico Maps….kind of helps when you are in Mexico, we packed and saddled up and headed out of Mazatlan. Well…..tried to head out of Mazatlan! Kev had entered the destination town of San Blas into Navi…which was correct, but he had the incorrect state. There is actually a San Blas in the state of Sinaloa, and Nayarit. The San Blas in Sinaloa is actually just south of El Fuerte, the old spanish colonial town we visited and loved so much…the opposite direction that we intended to be traveling. So I guess that you can figure out what happened for the next hour! Yes we actually got to see quite a bit of Mazatlan. Both of our frustration levels were beginning to climb as Navi kept maneuvering us to the Mazatlan ferry docks…now that, I cannot figure out. Maybe taking the ferry north was faster than riding? Finally we turned Navi off and retraced our original route into Mazatlan, off the Federal Highway 15, 5 days ago, and exited the area.

The ride was beginning to heat up as the farming countryside now turned into a lush tropical retreat. There were only 3 tolls today, still stiff, totaling 182$MEX, $14US per bike and a lot of federal activity on the road. I guess the tolls are at work! Navi is turned off and I really did not take a mental picture of the map this morning before heading out. I always like to do this as it always give me a feel and some sort of sense of direction as we pass through towns.

We had been riding for 3 hours, and I needed a break, maybe lunch and a stretch. As we approached the last toll station I saw a food and gas sign so I communicated to Kev that I needed petrol, so lets stop at the station after this toll. Come to find out they were a little premature about posting gas and food signs….the station was still being built and there was no food available. We do have food on Kev's bike, and I thought of a small picnic option for lunch but I did not spy a safe shaded area to do this in. I still had about 80 miles of fuel, including my reserve so I think all is good. We take the turn off towards San Blas hoping that the town is large enough for a petrol station.

The ride into San Blas was fabulous. The twists and turns accompanied by the lush tropical forests surrounding them was a fantastic treat. As we entered the village area before the township, roadside restaurants were grilling freshly caught Marlin and other fishes that made my mouth water. "Let's stop and eat", I radioed to Kev, and we pulled over at the next roadside restaurant and parked the bikes in the barbecued smoke filled air. Kev and I roughly expressed that we would like to eat what they have cooking on the grill. The Señora called over to her hombre for communication help. Beaming ear to ear with his pearly whites the hombre began to tell us about his fabulous Marlin and that a big piece would feed both of us. Great that's what we are having then. "Beber/Drink?", the hombre asked…"bottled agua?", we replied…"No! CokA, Si?", he exclaimed with a grin. Kev and I looked at each other, we really did not want a coke but I guess that will do. The Marlin was delicioso, accompanied with fresh salsa and beans . The meal cost $115MEX, $8.85US, and we didn't finish the coke!

San Blas is a true gem with it's cobbled stoned streets, 2 story balcony haciendas, church ruins, and weathered city square surrounded by broken cafe's, bars and restaurants. In a way it kind of reminds me of New Orleans! There are no stop signs or lights in town! It is amazing how cars, trucks, mopeds, bicycles, motorcycles, atv's, food carts, skateboarders, and dogs do not run into each other. I enjoyed sitting at a cafe table across from the square fascinated by how busy, and relaxed everyone was weaving in and out of their daily routine. Although the icing on the cake has to be the Hacienda we are staying at! Originally built in 1880 as a terminal by the Southern Pacific Railroad, abandoned then purchased by a German businessman, then later a wealthy Mexican businessman gifted to his wife as a cottage away from home. The grounds are vintage, colonial, whimsy, homey, comfortable, peaceful and immaculate. I just can't get enough of this colonial spanish architecture, and love the feeling of rocking back and forth in a leather rocking chair listening to the fountain imagining what was! Today a rocking chair in which Don Luis, the Germans attorney sat and spent his last days, can be seen rocking itself…..Yes it is haunted, and you can feel it!

*Pulling over to check to get the map out and check on the location of the San Blas exit*

Stopping for a late lunch at the entrance to the San Blas township where the smell of  fresh marlin bbq'n fills the air. — *Stopping for a late lunch at the entrance to the San Blas township where the smell of fresh marlin bbq'n fills the air.*

*Always park the bikes where you can see them!*

*Our lunch of fresh bbq'd marlin, frijoles, salsa fresco, salsa picante, lime, queso and a CoKA!*

January 3 - 6, 2014…Mazatlan, Sinaloa Mexico

January 16, 2014

We woke up, loaded the bikes, enjoyed a breakfast of huevous con chorizo, and rode out of the large rustic wooden double doors, bound for Mazatlan. I had taken a mental note on the direction the taxi had driven us to the hacienda after the train last night, in hopes to reverse it for todays flawless exit out of El Fuerte. Well, it wasn't flawless! Maneuvering through El Fuerte 's amazing cobblestoned streets, I managed to ride the wrong way down several oneway streets. A couple of quick u-turns to correct the problem and then I found the correct road that led us to the highway towards Los Mochis. It was a good feeling to be rolling down the road at 8:30am. Today we have a long ride ahead of us if we want to make it to Mazatlan before dusk.

The rich and pungent red soiled farmlands of Sinaloa encased the freeway pretty much the entire trip towards Mazatlan. We did have to cough up and pay tolls 6 times on this leg of the Sinaloa-Culiacan-Mazatlan Highway 15 that amounted to 185$MX, around $14.25 US times 2 bikes. The toll highways are heavily patrolled by the federal police which always gives me a sense of security, even though the sight of them riding fully armed with mounted machine guns can be intimidating. The speed limit was 110 km/hr, which many buses and shiny new SUV's exceeded heavily. Between the traffic and varied road surfaces we kept it to around 80 km/hr the entire way keeping alert and on our toes. Riding along the farmland areas I chuckled seeing red chill peppers and corn that had bounced out of the transport trucks scattered on the side of the highway. I had only ever seen, tomatoes, apples and potatoes riding before.

We ate lunch under the shade of a palm tree at a truck stop petrol station around 1pm. We have made great time…Mazatlan is only about 2 !/2 hours away. The temperature is in the middle 80's now and my riding gear is starting to stick to me! Pulling into the bustling centro area of Mazatlan we found a Maccas connected to wifi and got directions towards prospect hotels. It is 4pm and I am hot and tired. We check in at our 2 star beachfront hotel that has secure free parking, breakfast, and wifi….winner!!! Well maybe I spoke too soon! I have pretty much figured that in Mexico the wifi stands for…Where Is the Frikin Internet! We have had intermittent power outages in our room, which is usually no bother to us as we have the camping gear, but, when you are paying for a room you do expect power. The hotel has moved us into the penthouse suite for the remainder of our stay due to the inconvenience which was a lovely surprise! I think that we will stay an extra day!

Mazatlan is like a mini beachside Mexican Venice Beach. Many people walking, jogging, roller blading, sunning, playing in the clear surf, and generally enjoying life. It is buzzes constantly 24/7 with the constant noise of honking cars, loud music, sirens, peoples bursts of laughter, chatter, screaming, jet skis, power boats and the crashing surf.

We have spent our time walking the beach areas, enjoying the local scene and trying to get our Navi to work. Come to find out we actually did not have Mexico maps loaded into the device….no wonder it was not talking to us!…ha ha ha. We will attempt to download the Mexico maps today with this sketchy wifi…one thing teaser wifi has taught us is patience. Frustration leads you absolutely nowhere!!!!!! Bonus, we have finally connected with maps and now are downloading the Mexico file….remaining time is 755 hours….ha ha ha! Is it too early for a tequila?

December 31 - January 2, 2014…Copper Canyon, Chihuahua Mexico

January 14, 2014

We boarded the ChePe train bound for Creel, Chihuahua, a town in the Copper Canyon area of Mexico… ticketless. Yesterday we had tried to secure our ticket through an El Fuerte hotel, that, on trip advisor mentioned issued them. We were told to just board and buy our ticket on the train. We had hoped to spend New Years Eve at the Posada Barrancas Mirador, the ultimate room with a view, but it was booked, so we decided to head further north to Creel for New Years Eve then head down to the Mirador the next day.

We were approached at the station by a curious english speaking hombre. He quizzed us on our comings and goings, where we were from and also commented about our lack of luggage! Politely, and giving vague information, as we guardedly conversed. Uncomfortable as the exchange was, it promptly reminded us to be alert….always!

The train ride was rough, rocky and rogue. The ChePe, Ferrocarril Chihahua al Pacifico roughly rocked, clanked, jolted, and noisily clacked its way through three diverse eco systems of simply amazing towering cliffs, deep canyons and stunning countryside. Barranca del Cobre, Copper Canyon is named after its towering copper/green rocky walls rising throughout the 6 distinct canyons of the Sierra Madre Occidental, Chihuahua. These canyons were formed by the 6 rivers that drain into the Rio Fuerte which then run into the Sea of Cortez. The entire canyon system is four times larger and deeper than the Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA! The region has 23 different species of pine, 200 species of oak, huge ficus, palm and succulents.

From El Fuerte the train passed through the low brushwood, scrub tree, cactus pricked low lands, then into the tropical palm, ficus and vine obtrusive area and finally onto the high plateaus of pine, oak and fir. All travelers with a camera fought for the open air space in-between the cars, hoping to snap that "perfect shot". This is where I spent most of my time, although, I do need to learn to become more aggressive! Between the rough jolting and rocking of the train, and its diesel fumes, I was lucky that I did not barf on more than one occasion!

The train stopped for 15 minutes in Diviserado, long enough for all to hop off and take a picture of where 3 of the 6 canyons merged. Loaded up with my ultra light backpack, computer bag and camera pack slung over my body I hopped off the train. We headed down the staircase lined with brightly dressed Tarahumarans, the locals of the area, selling their weaved crafts, avoided many vagrant dogs of varying degrees of health, and passed fantastic smelling gordita grilling stands, on our way towards the fenced area of the canyon. I snapped a couple of shots of the massive impressive sculptured void with the Nikon, and of course the iPhone, and then we returned to the train. We have been on the train since 8:30 am, it is now 1:30pm and we still have 2 or so hours to go!

The ChePe railway system is really quite an amazing engineering feat with it's 405 miles of rails, 39 bridges and 86 tunnels. The total trip takes a rigorous 15 hours, delivering you straight into Chihuahua. As an amazing trip as it is, today I'm glad we are only going to Creel!

Finally we are in Creel….atop of the canyon and at 2340m, 8000ft. in altitude. Creel marks the highest point of the ChePe railroad route. We, the only gringos, disembark awkwardly amongst the disarray of excited mexican tourists. We are hoping that we will spy a hombre holding a sign up with our name on it….but no. We nuzzle through the crowd reciting "no gracias" as locals try to help us with our minimal luggage items while trying to figure out if our hotel has come to pick us up. "Well I guess that they did not understand my email about needing a ride?", Kev says… and we head towards the street. On a whim, we decide to approach this caballero looking hombre, helping mexican tourists into his SUV. "Quinta Mison?", Kev asks…"uno momento", replies the hombre. He then proceeds to pull out a scrap piece of paper from his side pocket, opens it up and says.."Kebin Backer?"…."SI"…..Well fancy that! What are the odds. Although if that whim did not arise, I feel that we would be making our own way to the Mision!

We arrive at the Mision and check in. It would not have been too long of a walk, maybe 15 minutes or so from the train station…but, it was soon coming on dusk, in a foreign area, and with choppy use of our spanish language…the ride was a blessing! The hotel asked if we wanted to attend their Feliz Ano Nuevo Buffet dinner…we agreed and paid the 285$MEX , $22US per persona. It was a loud, fun and festive night!

I may have drank a little too much Don Julio last night! Ja Ja Ja!! Slowly we packed up the room and waited in the lobby for our ride back to the train station…back to Posada Barancas today. The ticket office at the station was not manned…Oh yeah it is New Years Day today, a holiday! We will buy our tickets on the train again, it was not a problem on the way up. Today I was thankful that it was only a 2 hour ride to Posada Barancas! We arrived at the Mirador only to find that they do not have a booking for us. We had made a reservation on Booking.com and luckily they honored it….even more so, luckily they had a room! We headed up to room 66, opened the door and were swept away by the awesome views. This hotel is built on the cliff face of one of the 6 canyons of the Barranca del Cobre. A simple room with simply outstanding views…this is amazing! The hotel is an all inclusive stay, meaning they provide all the meals for you. Breakfast is a lush buffet style banquet, lunch and dinner are served to you. The food was fantastic. We spent our short stay wandering around the area marveling at the views, watching the local Tarahumara go about their daily activities from the decks of the Mirador…kind of awkward, but, super interesting, and chatting with amazing tourists from Canada, France and Mexico. It was a pleasure to chat in our native language…Ja Ja Ja! We have only been in Mexico 10 days or so, and I found our conversations very comforting…funny! Thanks for the conversation Dewar family! We also enjoyed visiting with Brigette, Jean Luc, Paolo and Sereal…sorry if I have spelt your names wrong…amazing French and Mexican travelers with fabulous stories!

I could not help but purchase a few native Tarahumara crafts, kind of silly as I will need to ship them back to a family member for storage….but necessary!

Our side trip to Copper Canyon was well worth the extra expense. The amazing landscape, interesting people, fantastic food, rogue train trip and overall adventure was fabuloso!

Back from our trip….I had read about this restaurant in El Fuerte. It was the place where Don Diego Vega otherwise known as Zorro was born… was not to be missed. After arriving back at our hacienda….mind you the staff watched our bikes and kept our room unbooked with our belongings securely stored inside for our entire Copper Canyon train trip…we venture out for a meal. We ordered the river lobster…aka yabbies! Fabuloso!!!!! Zorro even graced us with his presence and quick synopsis of his life….What a way to end an amazing magical experience in El Fuerte!

The local Tarahumara selling baskets, fruit and empanadas — *The local Tarahumara selling baskets, fruit and empanadas*

*3 of the 6 canyons merge in Diviserado*

December 29 - 30, 2013…Pueblo Magico El Fuerte, Sinaloa Mexico

January 10, 2014

Kev and I rode the toll highways today of Highway 15 today further south. This is actually the first tolls we have paid. Each section cost 32$Mex pesos, per bike about $2.45 US dollars. We paid these tolls three times today. Now you would recon that the highways would be a pretty good ride if you were coughing up cash…think again. You definitely need to be on your toes. The lanes are narrower than regular highways, the paving can be choppy and chewed up with some cracking and the locals travel fairly fast. You need to make sure that you keep in the center, or right of center of your lane. The reason being is that the passing vehicles tend to float towards you as they pass, interested in your setup, know doubt! You just don't want to hit one of the chewy, gravely patches as it pulls you and their passing wind blow pushes you! Now I have to give it up for one section of road that was magically paved! You are going to laugh, but it was like riding on freshly shaved legs! Maybe the chewed up gravely section reminded me of rough prickly legs hey?…ha ha ha.

We crossed over into the state of Sinaloa, and almost immediately the farmlands around us were low, lush and green. We could have been riding through Thailand! We turned off the main highway and took a country road towards the town of El Fuerte. It was nice to be off the grind of the main road for a bit. As we rode further into the colonial farmland area, visions of the sun bleached bitumen road ahead pitted with sandy potholes and puffs of fluffy spinefex grasses hugging the rough edges road ahead transported me back in time….I love it when that happens! I was reminded of great times spent in Tookarook and Gunamatta, Australia, rollerskating and bicycling down the rural roads as a young girl.

A warm and magical feeling took over as we pulled into the El Fuerte township. This is what I had been waiting to see! El Fuerte, which means "The Fort" is a town that oozes old style spanish colonial charm. Old style haciendas line the raised walkways in the clean cobblestoned streets. Wrought iron lighting fixtures, huge heavy carved wooden doors with rustic hinges, latches and knockers, hand blown glass bubbling out of iron framed lights light the hotels, restaurants and homes. The elaborate iron pagoda in the middle of the square is surrounded by activity… a hombre cooking up fresh fried churros tossed in cinnamon and sugar, a balloon hombre, a mexican hotdog vendor, a table for the kids to paint up moulded plaster casts of super heroes, a family selling tambourines, maracas, and those wooden snakes that slither in the air. Ice-cream vendors, side walk cafe's, many wooden benches occupied by couples, friends and families…..and then the Church!

Kev and I were looking for this one hotel. Rated number 2 on Trip Advisor, a good thing…but what had drawn me to it was the comments about being an old style hacienda and being able to safely leave your motorcycle there. I really can't believe that we found it on the first go! One of the reviews about this hotel had mentioned that it was near the city square. Now finding the town square was a feat in it's self. The streets are lined with high walled houses and restaurants, almost making the street like a tunnel in the town. You need to try and look forward in the distance above the walls for the high church steeple or church cross. This is it…The Hotel Torres Del Fuerte, but, I think that I have just traveled the wrong way down a one way street, and the place is hopping! Leonardo Rivera, the night watchman, directs us to the back entrance of the hacienda and waves us in to the courtyard with the bikes. I follow his directions, Kev is right behind me and we pull up into the paved courtyard area. This feels good, the bikes will be secure here. We have just crashed a large mexican baptismal party, that is in full party mode. We have drawn a bit of attention! A couple of the band members come over and chat with us while we unload our gear and secure the bikes. "Come to the party, I play the bass, and I play the violin….it will be great!", they say…kind of sounds like a scene out of Nacho Libre!…Classic! Kev and I squeak our way through the 200 guests in the courtyard…Squeak you may ask….Yes our boots squeak when we walk. Unfortunately it cannot be helped, but kids love it!…ha ha ha We check in and are shown to room number 6 located at the front of this awesome Spanish colonial hacienda…..WOW, this is amazing! I am loving everything about this pad. Our room has rustic, solid, dense, wooden shutters that open onto the street latched by hand forged iron latches, concrete tiles mosaic floors, thick concrete walls painted a deep burgundy red, with a thick white boarder around the windows and doors, heavy wooden carved furniture, a stone shower and basin and antique spanish style chandeliers…just loving it!

The next morning we wake to absolute darkness. "What time is it?", I ask Kev. "Wow... it is almost 9am!", he replies. The heavy wooden shutters have blocked all rays of light, just like a casino room in Las Vegas. The rustic, dark, heavy wooden double doors of our room creak as I fiddle with the iron latch and push them open. Wow….I feel like I'm in a Spanish movie as my eyes embrace the beauty of the hacienda courtyard garden. I feel as though Antonio Banderos could show up at any moment! We are escorted to the restaurant area at the rear of the property…the light is just magnificent and I have to break away and run back to the room for my camera! Kev and I enjoy a fantastic breakfast of fresh squeezed jugo naranja (orange juice) fresh papaya with lime, chorizo and eggs, papas (potatoes), and bacon. Kev and I are the only patrons of this hotel, and are enjoying every single minute of it!

Hacienda from the street…our room is the iron covered wooden shuttered window to the right. — *Hacienda from the street…our room is the iron covered wooden shuttered window to the right.*

*Our bikes safe and secure at the rear of the property.*

December 27 - 28, 2013…San Carlos, Sonora Mexico

January 9, 2014

Why is it so…. just as you plan to leave, you meet interesting people that make you consider staying longer. We pack up the bikes and decide to take the "short cut" through the farmlands heading towards another coastal town, named San Carlos. Yesterday we had asked a couple of locals we had met in the restaurant about the road that cut across, to Highway 15 cutting out the need to return back to the town of Hermosillo. Their response was….Oh yeah, "the short cut!" It will cut off about an hour of your travel time, is a safe farm truck route, although, it does have many large potholes. But you should have no problems being on the bikes and be able to maneuver around them easily. It is beautiful farmland out there! Cool we thought, this is the way we will go!

Riding out of Bahia de Kino was a little sad. We had ventured into the old area of the town…it was very run down. Many people living in makeshift almost rickety horse stable like structures, that a westerner would not even consider keeping their horse in. Most of town streets were dirt, had a desolate feel and many, many skinny roaming dogs. The locals wandering around seemed cheerful enough, but it did have a very different feel compared to the "new" area. Experiencing this first hand on a bike has a huge impact. It is like walking down a street verses driving down a street….you just see and feel so much more. We continued on our way over to "the short cut" and unfortunately passed a dead dog on the road almost every 20 kilometers. It was very sad for me. Maybe the farm road will cheer me up?

Now we expected potholes, how many…I don't really know… but this road was crazy. It was completely chewed up in sections, under construction with rigid hard packed dirt in others, that definitely kept my mind occupied. Not really cheering me up so to speak. I have to think that it was not a "short cut" at all! I really did not look out across the barren farmlands as my eyes were fixated on the road ahead. Trucks that travel this road swerve back and fourth across the single laned, gravely, bitumen to avoid damaging their axels in the various depths of the pitted voids. I was happy to see a semi trailer zoom by in the distance as we neared Highway 15. Highway 15 was buzzing with traffic. The 100 km/hr speed limit did not seem to make much sense as it too had the odd pothole to avoid. We kept our speed to around 80.

Arriving in San Carlos we hit the bank, filled up at the petrol station then swept the area to find accommodation. I have to say that I love the Mexican service of having my petrol pumped at the service stations here! You don't even have to pull your helmet off let alone get off the bike…so cool! San Carlos is definitely a picturesque jewel along the Sea of Cortez. The jagged cactus pricked mountains encase the shimmering azul waters of Cortez, definitely eye candy! San Carlos is very different to Bahia de Kino…There is much wealth parked in the 2 marinas, many westerners riding the township on there mechanical mules, and no skinny dogs! Maybe a combination of the two towns would make me feel more at ease!

December 24 - 26, 2013…Bahia de Kino, Sonora Mexico

January 9, 2014

We both slept soundly, despite being on the busy main road into town. The first time I woke it was 4am. I reached over and peered out the cracked single pain window and could see the traffic lights flashing, red, yellow and green…what are you meant to do with that combination I thought. It was still dark…I sighed and rolled over. I continued with the same action at 5, 6 and 7am, waiting for dawn. I don't know why I woke? I'm not feeling restless, maybe i'm just eager, or alert… but it just felt like I had done all of my sleeping. I was pleased to hear a rooster crow…now there must be light I thought, but no! Shortly after 7am I could see the murky tequila sunrise rays penetrate the crack in the simple plastic black out drapery…I was up!

"Should I mix the acid in my new battery?", Kev asks. Sure…I think that it is a perfect day for it. We'll have a full ay of riding and the battery should fully charge!", I responded. Kev opened up the door to find a man riding his horse down the middle of the road. Clip, Clop, Clip, Clop…hearing that sound brought back a flood of childhood memories for me, and left Kev with a huge grin on his face! Kev proceeded to attend to the new installation of his battery and I pulled out my bike kitchen and attended to breakfast. I fired up the stove, pulled the purified water off the back of my bike, and made a fresh espresso. After a few sips of coffee I made our usual, steel cut oatmeal with walnuts and dried fruit. We ate up, cleaned up and got on the road. Kev's new battery will be able to fully charge over the next 4 hours of riding or so, and it already sounds 100% better! We continued across the state of Sonora on Highway 14 making our way towards the coast to meet up Federal Highway 15. It was another spectacular day of riding. Twists, turns, cactus, rocky hills and deep valleys much the same riding as yesterday. Does everyone wear a cowboy hat out here???...There was quite a bit of activity on the road and when the highway finally met up with 15, we were stopped at an Army checkpoint to verify our paperwork. I thought for sure that Kev was going to be hassled about running the "Alto" sign before the checkpoint, but luckily they did not seem to have an issue with it! I was asked if I spoke Spanish and politely replied "No" The Federali with his hand in his jacket smiled a wide, creepy dental braced grin! I really did not know how to take that, and just dismissed it. I so wanted to answer "No fumar espanol", as our Aussie motorcycle friends Ken and Carol taught us, but, I was afraid that I would crack up doing it and come across arrogant! There will be a time I'm sure!

We stopped in Hermosillo for a quick lunch at a fairly western style coffee shop. A local helped us with directions out of town and towards Bahia de Kino. A couple of guys walked up to me laughing saying "I'm having more fun than you!"…ha ha ha, they obviously read one of the stickers on my bike. They were pretty tickled and wished us well. There was quite a bit of traffic on the road, everyone rushing around before Christmas, although as busy as it was, it was not too overwhelming. Only another 130 kilometers to go…which took us just over 2 1/2 hours! It is always, always longer than you expect!

We pulled up at the reception and checked in. The Hotel La Playa and RV park is a pretty neat place. All of the rooms and RV spaces face the Sea of Cortez. Actually, we happened to be the only ones in the hotel section of this place! The rooms were spacious, clean, and the view was amazing! We were told that there would be no service on Christmas day, but they would bring us extra coffee, towels, and water. It is nice to be stopped for 3 nights. One night to crash, a day to kick back, and one day to plan your next move. Damn, it is super quiet here! Maybe too quiet. That evening we walked down the beach and surprisingly enough found a pretty nice restaurant to eat at. There were several groups of lit gringos patronizing the place….a good sign. Not knowing if they would be open on Christmas day we ate hardily and enjoyed a couple of margaritas along with a bbq'd lobster and creamed fish. Being a little out of the swing of things, and not yet quite into our motorcycle adventure groove, we had left our headlights back on our bikes. Damn, Damn….it will be an interesting walk back! "Si abre mañana!", the señora said! Obviously she had overheard us questioning each other whether they would be open tomorrow! It was amazing to wake up on Christmas day to the sound of the ocean, sea birds and the odd fishing tinny, slapping across the indigo Sea of Cortez. I had picked up a couple of plastic Mexican feliz Navidad stockings filled with lollies in Moctezuma, just for the spirit of the occasion. A little something to give each other on Christmas Day. Our Christmas was yes, you guessed it….shhhh, very Quiet! The only plans we had for today was to enjoy a long walk along the beach, collect shells, walk back to the restaurant at some point in time and phone our families. We had limited phone minutes, on Kev's iPhone…how much we really did not know! We did manage to connect with 1 and 1/2 out of 4 intended calls! And, we did make it back to the restaurant for a late Christmas lunch of fresh fish tacos, ceviche and yes, you guessed it, margaritas.

*Hooking up the MSR bottle to the whisper lite…time for coffee!*

*Kev installing his new battery while I prepare breakfast.*

*The Island of Alcatraz off Bahia de Kino's coast.*

Walking down to our room, and the hotel section of this cool RV/Hotel establishment. — *Walking down to our room, and the hotel section of this cool RV/Hotel* *establishment.*

*A natural Mexican Christmas tree right outside our room!*

*Ceviche…Amazingly enough sporting very festive colors!*

December 23, 2013…Crossing the Mexican border...Moctezuma, Sonora Mexico

December 31, 2013

I woke up pretty nervous about crossing into Mexico, too much "who ha" on my mind, maybe a shot of tequila will help?….this is it!

We gassed up then followed the signage that directed us to the Mexican boarder. Kev and I both pulled up approaching the United States Boarder officials. "Do you have anything to declare, are you carrying any weapons, or more than $10K in cash?", the agent asked. "No", we responded. "Where are you coming from?", he asked. "Alaska" I replied. "Where are you heading to?" was the next question, "Argentina", I replied. "On the bikes all the way?", he says smiling. "That is the plan", I replied. "Have a great trip!" We both responded with a "Thank you and Merry Christmas!" We were not free yet, and still had to clear the Mexican side. As we approached the Mexican boom gates and officials, you could see the dramatically different, dusty, foreign township within reach. Kev pulled up at the boom gate and got a red light, so he needed to proceed to the secondary check point. The boom gate just about chopped me in half, and an official ran over to help keep it up while I joined Kev. Kev was asked to open up his back box which he complied with. The official peered in and felt satisfied and directed us to where we needed to do our paperwork. The borders have these nasty $6 hamburger bun sized yellow metal bumps on the road. The 2 rows of metal buns were almost touching each other, so there was no chance to maneuver your tires between them. Already uptight from impending border tension the metal buns just added to my nerves. Just don't drop the bike, I said to myself! Kev and I, proceed with upmost caution, obeying every traffic rule we know, riding around to the rear of the building where we park, enter the rear of the building and fill out the necessary paperwork. The parking lot was somewhat monitored. We felt it was safe enough to leave the bikes unattended and complete our paperwork together. We needed to post a $400 US bond per bike that would be returned to us when we exit the country. We then obtained our $22 visitors visa, both documents are good for 6 months. I said "that was pretty painless" as we returned to the bikes. A friendly parking attendant showed us where to place our Mexican registration stickers on our windscreen, then offered to clean our windscreens for $1. We obliged, thankful that everything was still on the bikes the way we left them!

Wouldn't you know it..We managed to get lost for about 45 min in the border town of Agua Prieta which is the town immediately after crossing the Douglas border. We needed to connect with highway 17. We managed to hit 3 dead ended roads in our search, Navi, our navigation system had stopped talking to us, and I guess we had to try and figure out how to get over to the pink road! I spotted a group of guys standing by a motor scooter on the side of the road and gently placed the idea into Kev's head that maybe they could probably help us? "I think I will ask these guys by the bike for directions?", Kev said! "Ahh great idea", I replied….wink wink! Kev approached them with our paper map and soon they were deep in animated conversation which ended up with road drawings in the dirt. Kev looked across at me with a smile, a shrug and "I haven't the foggiest" expression. An intrigued neighbor came over to help with his broken english, then it all made sense when his son intervened…"I think I've got it, follow me!", Kev boasted! A few clicks later we have turned onto Highway 17…Phew! We both exhale a sigh of relief. About 100 kms down the road we hit a Federal Check point. All business and dressed in army fatigues with AR-47's over their shoulders, they asked us for our paperwork, checked it against the motorcycles identification numbers, asked where we were going and then sent us on our way.

Riding against the foothills of the Sierra Madre was spectacular. We obeyed the speed limit, comfortable and tentative. As the kilometers clicked by I could feel my mind free up to simply soak in the moment and the magical area surrounding us. As you neared a town the speed limit was reduced dramatically, so much so that it was almost difficult to adhere to it with our heavy bikes. The towns all have topas, or speed bumps, they vary in height and width. You do need to almost come to a stop to ride safely over them. Depending on the size of the town will depend on the number of topas….some towns have made their own, these are a little rough and harder to see.

We pulled off the road onto the dirt and stopped at a small Mum & Pop food shack for lunch. We had arrived in a town called Nacozari de Garcia. "Lunch?" Kev and I queried. "Si, Tortas?" the brightly clothed señora replied with a friendly smile. She directed us to a concrete landing next to the kitchen and her daughter quickly carried out a white plastic square table and a couple of red plastic chairs for us to sit on. The señora ran through the items on the torta, Kev and I looked at each with a blank expression, then smiled back at her and replied "Si!" I don't really know what a torta is, but I think that we are getting tomato, onion, avocado and some type of meat on it…..and it also comes with frijol, kidney beans! All sounds good to me, I am pretty hungry! "CokA?", we were asked, "Si, dos!" we replied. The señora's daughter then ran out of the kitchen with two empty coke bottles, and returned soon after with two full ones. The señora opened them, asked if we wanted ice, to which we replied "No", and set them down on the table alongside two hand made terra cotta mugs. Kev and I drank out of the bottle, our first day in it is probably safer this way. The lunch was served on rustic, oval, hand made terra-cotta plates. In the middle of the plate sat a large round sweet dough, soft bun sandwich that did have, tomato, onion, avocado, a meat mixture and what looked like a slice of lunch meat of some kind on it. The sandwich was accompanied by a portion of warm refried beans with a large block of crumbly cold cheese in the middle of it. The meal was absolutely delicious and we ate it all!

Back on the road with a warm wave and smile send off we head towards our destination for the evening, a town called Moctezuma. We find a simple clean room at the Hotel Abril for the night that cost us $30 US. We securely situate the bikes in front of our room, change out of our gear, lock up and walk into the town square in search of dinner. After enjoying an authentic home cooked Mexican meal of Chili Relleno and Fajitas we visit the local TelCel store, a Mexican mobile phone shop. We had seen this store in the square before dinner and wondered if they could help us with a calling plan? We had really forgot one thing….we don't speak Spanish very well at all…this could be interesting! The hombre, man, who ran the shop spoke very little english, but between his assistants broken english, and our gringo spanish we were able to purchase something that ran on Kev's phone. I'm not sure how many minutes we have or how long they will last…but it cost us $150 pesos, around $11 US! What we do have, is time to learn! This has been an awesome day!

*Now that's what I call a shot glass!!!…Ole!*

Stopping for lunch in Nacozari de Garcia — *Stopping for lunch in Nacozari de Garcia*

*A cool building face in the town of Moctezuma, Sonora Mexico*

*Hotel Abril's, cute reception building*

December 22, 2013…Tombstone & Douglas Arizona

December 31, 2013

Before we head further south we need to ship back a few items that we are caring on our bikes and that could be viewed as weapons to the Mexican government. My machete, Kev's pocket knife, and a Harley Davidson shirt!…ha ha ha, the shirt could be a problem? The problem is it just took up too much space! We stop by a fedex store before heading out.

The day is crisp and bright. The desert cacti spikes sparkle from the last couple days of rain and we are excited to be traveling closer towards the Mexican boarder.

We stop off in the famous historic town of Tombstone for lunch and a look see. This place is really cool. People are dressed up in period wear, the saloons are packed and mock gunfights are played out in the streets….just a cool stop! Tombstone was one of the last wide-open American Old West frontier towns, famous for the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. We ate at Big Nose Kate's Saloon, the gal that loved Doc Holiday and everyone else, and just soaked it all in!

One and a half hours later we entered the town of Douglas and turned onto the Pan American Highway! Wow, we are here! I have to say I am excited and a little freaked out all at the same time. Kev and I check into a Best Western Hotel right by the border crossing and prepare for tomorrow.