Towards Costa Rica

Oh yes! We are done with the 4 Central American countries (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras & Nicaragua). So glad that all the corruption is behind me. Phew! We crossed 4 countries in just 8 days with Honduras as the most memorable one for me (in a bad way).

Crossing borders are really bothersome when there are so many helpers out there to bother you all just to get your money. I found it so stressful that I flared up big time at the guy at the Honduras border and got aggressive. As a result, we didn't need to pay that much but I should have controlled my temper.

Moving on to Costa Rica was a breeze as compared to the C4 countries. No corruption anymore. However, since we crossed on Boxing Day, it took us about 2.5 hours to cross into Costa Rica.

Now that we're in the capital city of San Jose, we took the opportunity to do some sightseeing. I love architecture and music so we went to the National Theatre of Costa Rica. The architecture is nice but I wished that there was a musical performance. I miss watching music concerts and I was a little disappointed that there wasn't any.

Finally I can get a breather from that hectic schedule and rest up for a while before moving on.

Cheers to you with my cuppa of green tea!

- Written by Debbie

CA4 border crossings

The border dance through the Central American states of El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua is a reluctant sashay between the traveller seeking passage and several shady characters.

There is always the Illegal Money Changer, since money changers are outlawed in the countries because of Escobar. The money changer holds a thick bunch of cash and approaches to change needed currenies as one is surrounded by...

The Helpers. If they speak English, they can be helpful guides for non Spanish speaking travellers for a small fee of say, $10, but they are often unnecessary at well marked borders, or borders such as El Salvador and Nicaragua where customs officers or Tourism Information Officers speak English. The Helper sometimes tries to convince you he is an official by showing a phony ID card. I have a knack of calling bullshit on this one, but mistook an official DGM officer for a Helper when he wore plain clothes because he didn't wanted a tan. The Helper is an opportunist and often a good sport.

The Corrupted Border Official is the asshole who gets you, the one who expects an inflated Vehicle Permit fee to be paid or to fix an error on the Vin number made by the official at the entry. The Honduras official took the cake in this department, despite us calling out multiple bluffs like non existent road tax or insurance payments we knew we didn't had to pay from Wikioverland website.

In Nicaragua we encountered another character - The Incompetent Official. This official managed to spell Debbie's name as Dennie, wrote her nationality as Slovenia instead of Singapore, got my driving license and bike colour incorrect, requiring 4 corrections to be signed and stamped and taking a long time while she was at it, creating potential problems for us at exit. She probably exaggerated her academic qualifications to get the job.

Sometimes, you encounter The Good One, a friendly, helpful and efficient official who genuinely wants to help you get from one border to the next quickly without expecting bribery. When you meet one, as we sometimes did, count yourself lucky.

The Central American border dance is a rite of passage for travellers seeking the Pan American run, an experience not to be missed, but preferably not to be repeated - Written by Kelvin

Zooming towards Guatemala City

We have proceeded to Guatemala City which is the capital city of Guatemala. This city is really busy. The lane changing becomes even more aggressive than Mexico. I think the Guatemalan drivers and riders can be good buddies with the Thais. Luckily we have ridden in Bangkok traffic before so this is not new to me but it was nevertheless still stressful for me.

The traffic in Guatemala City is so heavy that it is standstill traffic most of the time. There was always a lot of honking.

These buses are not just normal buses. They are buses on steroids! They are always going so fast. So, you mustn't underestimate their speeds. The speed at which they cornered on the mountain roads was really FAST! OMG!

Typical street view of Guatemala City

I noticed something about Guatemala City and that is the abundance of McDonald's. They are literally everywhere.

Seeing this pic makes me thankful of the security we have back in Singapore. Guatemala City has armed guards everywhere. These guards are in front of shops, petrol stations, restaurants, shopping malls and even guarding the guy transporting water. Wow! I never knew that transporting water can be so dangerous?!

Lastly, the food in Guatemala is actually quite good as well. The chicken was tender and the soup was favourful although the amount of rice given is a bit too little. For folks out there who are on a diet, the Guatemalan diet might suit you to a T!

Looking forward to seeing different cultures as we journey further.

- Written by Debbie

Quetzaltenango, Guatemala

After spending a month in Mexico, we proceeded to Guatemala from Tapachula.

When I was at Tapachula, I was thinking it's just 128 km to Quetzaltenango so it shouldn't be so difficult, right? I was wrong! The border crossing from Mexico was very swift but not so for the Guatemalan side. It was slow. Even though there were only a few people there, we had to be at the border for 2.5 hours.

While riding on the QUE-03 main road in Guatemala, there was fog. The fog was so bad that I had to focus on the lane markings on the right side of the road so that I know whether to steer left or right. It was really a hairy situation. 20km/h with only 15 metres of visibility. There was a lot of tight turns that were sloppy as well.

What's more, there seem to be endless speed bumps that are similar in colour with the road and I missed spotting the speed bumps a number of times which made my buttocks hurt a lot.

With the fog and the endless speed bumps, we took 4 hours just to cover 128 km. To look on the bright side, we got there in daylight despite spending 7 hours on the road & border crossing. So if you want to cross Guatemala with daylight to spare, you must start the day early.

After a nice dinner and hot & crispy Churros from the street vendor, I am happy again!

After I had tried the Churros in Mexico and now in Guatemala, I must say that I prefer the ones in Guatemala that has Hershey's Chocolate topping on it.

- Written by Debbie

What a day it was at Ciudad Ixtepec, Mexico

After Oaxaca City, we stopped over at this sleepy city for the night. The hotel was not even marked and looked like it was under construction.

The video shows the state of the building.

Hotel at Ciudad Ixtepec, Mexico
https://scontent.fsin5-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/79199676_646510319531954_7147440890443726848_o.jpg?_nc_cat=101&_nc_sid=8024bb&_nc_ohc=7ArqFlVY0yEAX9Fh8rv&_nc_ht=scontent.fsin5-1.fna&oh=7df02467ffc19145bc5f3130e5e743eb&oe=5EDA54C4


The next morning, we continued to set off. As usual, we checked out our route on Google Maps. However, this time around, Google Maps suggested that we take "Unknown Road" to get to the highway. We followed and there was full of gravel, sand and stones. It was a total nightmare and it cost us an extra 2 hours to our journey as we had to turn back from that "Unknown Road" as the section joining the highway was washed away and impassable. I dropped my bike in the soft sand section and the left pannier landed on top of my left foot, pinning me down. The left side of my handguard sheared off as a result of the drop.

It was so painful and I screamed at the top of my lungs. The Cardo comm set must have picked that up and Kelvin must have had his eardrums burst. For the first 10 minutes, I couldn't get up at all. At that moment, I thought the trip was over and I was injured and that I am going to be a liability. Thankfully, I could get up but hobbled slightly. I managed to get on the bike and ride again although shifting gears was a pain in the ass. I was feeling stressed out.

I managed to maintain composure and rode about 400km to Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico. What a day!

Oaxaca... Here we come!

At Monte Alban

We have always wanted to visit the city of Oaxaca because it is recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site and also read about the city in some ride reports on ADVrider.com that piqued our interest.

However, as many travellers have pointed out, it's the people whom you meet that makes the place even more special. We are so lucky to have the help of Mark and Kara, two Americans who are currently residing in Oaxaca, to receive our YouTrip debit cards sent from Singapore. On top of that, they have graciously given us their home grown bananas and they have given me a turquoise gemstone necklace for good luck on the road (you can see me wearing necklace in the pic below).

With Mark and Kara

Most certainly, we can't miss doing some touristy stuff and that is to visit attractions, right? So, we visited the iconic Monte Alban which was the former ceremonial and military capital of the Zapotecs who settled in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca. We walked the ruins and the area is massive. The ruins is quite unique as we have not seen anything like this since we entered Mexico.

Entrance ticket

When you walk up to the top of Monte Alban, you can see the entire city.

Apart from attractions, food is very important too! I kept on seeing this round shaped bread with seashell-like appearance everywhere, on the streets, in the supermarkets and in bakery shops. I wonder what it is. Ah! It's called Concha which is a traditional Mexican sweet bread roll which is quite delicious. It tastes quite sweet and has a crunchy topping. Don't miss this bread out if you are visiting Mexico.

Concha: Doesn't it look pretty? Taste good too!

I can't wait to see what else is in store for us as we travel beyond.

Respect the motorcyclist. I agree!

- Written by Debbie

Puig Equipment Review

Debbie has used a Puig touring windshield for 10 years while I used a Yamaha OEM stock windshield on our previous motorcycles, FZ6-S before Motovation Accessories sponsored us Puig engine guards, handguards, windshields and fender extenders for our 2 current Honda CB500X.

The Puig windshield cost half the price of the Yamaha OEM windshield, yet the product quality is equal. So, some years back, when I wanted to increase the windshield height further, I sought help from my regular mechanic in Singapore, Panjang Garage, to modify and bolt on 2 Puig windshield extensions together, doubling the extension's height to almost 20cm, and taking the product beyond its design parameters. It worked well up to 130km/hr, more than enough for riding for work in Singapore law-abidingly. This made me believe in Puig's engineering, especially in its windshields.

On the FZ6-S, we had also used Motovation sliders for 10 years, and our motorcycles survived a few skids and drops. On the current CB500X, I am glad to have Puig engine guards. The current windshield also deflects wind very well over my helmet and reduces wind noise without the need for any extensions, as the front end of the 500x is taller than the FZ6 with a more touring oriented design. I've heard of windshields breaking off its mounts on Argentina's Ruta 40 due to vibrations.

I'm curious how the Puig windshields and engine guards will fare on the roads South of Mexico, which will soon start to be more potholed and unpaved, and will update in time to come.

- Written by Kelvin

Highway Shutdown

Having some Taco Al Pastor

500g worth of meat. We were stuffed!

In Northern Mexico, we've seen toll workers going on strike, collecting fees in plastic containers for their own pockets with no receipts issued. We've learnt they are protesting their wages. Most of the time, they've waved bikers through.

Passing Mexico City, we had expected heavy traffic to hold us up, but it turned out to be surprisingly smooth. What got us was a surprised highway shutdown after Mexico City. As we approached a toll booth, the Federal Police waved traffic from all 5 or 6 lanes to U-turn. No vehicle was allowed through. It was perhaps due to an operation or a presidential motorcade.

We had to detour and re-route through smaller towns and roads to bypass the blocked highway. Fortunately, we had planned for a shorter route to Tehuacan as we thought we might be stuck in Mexico City's highway jams. Re-routing was still stressful as Google Maps prompts have to be intepreted on the ground. We had to tell apart minor roads from the main highway. Sometimes, we found ourselves on a main highway when we actually had to be on the adjacent small roads so as to turn left or right. A U-turn could sometimes be 25km away, so after 1 such legal turn, we've now did as the Romans do. We've rode against traffic on the highway and performed our own U-turns. Anyway, the Federal Police are too busy directing traffic.

Now rested and well-fed on Tehuacan's spicier Mexican food, we're looking to ride to the next destination - Kelvin

On the road again to Toluca, Mexico

On the road again to Toluca, Mexico
Posted by 2 Moto Hobos on Sunday, December 8, 2019

I have somewhat recovered from the fifth disease I got and I am able to ride again. My hands and feet are still looking like a lizard. Just don't look at them and you'll not faint! Haha!

After 9 days of being confined to non-riding, it sure feels good to get on the saddle with the wind and flies on my visor! That also means that we have to clean our visors and windshields a lot.

After 6-7 hours of riding from Guadalajara, we reached Toluca. The city of Toluca feels bigger and more modern than Guadalajara. The traffic junctions are equipped with pedestrian traffic lights. I have not noticed one since we entered into Mexico via Nogales.

As I travel southward from Guadalajara, I notice that the sauces are spicier and I am loving it. My spicy tastebud is finally satisfied since Guadalajara. No offence... but the sauces in the northern region of Mexico is too mild even when the restaurant staff said that it is extra spicy. Well, that's just my opinion. I eat very spicy food and love those tiny chilli peppers (aka chilli padi) back home in Singapore and can't live without them.

There is something interesting I notice about Mexico. The locals don't seem to be shy about dancing in public and are able to let themselves go just like in the video. It's a public square with everyone walking about and they are not self-conscious. It just amazed me as an Asian who is not used to seeing these sights.

- Written by Debbie

What the f****? (Still in Guadalajara, Mexico)

It was not tonsillitis after all. The spots on my lymph nodes and throat did not go away despite antibiotics. What is worse is that sores started ballooning all over my hands and feet. Initially, the spots on my hands and feet were so little that I thought there were some mosquito bites or insect bites. Now, even holding my water bottle hurts my hands and walking hurts my feet.

I started to worry as I did not know what I had contracted. Kelvin and I decided to go to Hospital MexicoAmericano which was on the list of recommended doctors by United States Consulate General in Guadalajara to find out what I am down with.

After seeing a doctor and going through a blood test, I had to see a doctor from Internal Medicine Department, and then I was told I had to see a 3rd doctor (Dr Ernesto), an Infectious Diseases Specialist, who came to the conclusion that I might have contracted the Fifth Disease.

"What is fifth disease?" I exclaimed.

"Don't worry, you won't die," Dr Ernesto reassured me.

I heaved a sigh of relief and my heart rate slowed down.

The medical bill is not cheap but I did not want to be misdiagnosed by a second rate doctor so it came at a cost - USD$239 (SGD$327)

There is no treatment or cure for this disease and I have to wait until the symptoms subside. Until then, we are still stuck in Guadalajara. Let the adventure begin when I am well again to ride.

- Written by Debbie

Running a fever in Guadalajara, Mexico

Doing the usual touristy thing

Falling ill when on the road is not fun at all. I am down with tonsillitis and fever and been feeling really sick. My throat hurts so badly that swallowing my food hurts. However, looking on the bright side, I am glad that I didn't fall ill on the 1st and 2nd day upon reaching Guadalajara, Mexico.

Kelvin and I managed to do some sightseeing of the attractions in Guadalajara. We went to the Guadalajara Cathedral and the Mercado Libertad - San Juan de Dios which boasts many food stores and we had our fill of Mexican food. There are other attractions on Google map that we snapped some shots of

Now, I am just stuck in the AirBnB. I am alternating between eating, taking medicine and sleeping. This AirBnB is cheap (only USD12 for a private room with 2 beds), however the catch is that the water in the house may run out at any time. It makes me wonder whether I get to bathe today or not. That has become an adventure in itself. It's the game of "Who gets to use the water before it runs out?"

We have keeping 2 big bottles of tap water as emergency ration in case of bathroom emergency like "AHHH! My head is full of shampoo! And damn, no more water!". This makes me wonder whether is it a common problem across Mexico or is it just this house?

I hope to recover by tomorrow (1 December 2019) because I have to about 400+km of distance to push on Monday and I don't wish to lag behind in schedule.

- Written by Debbie

Meeting The Viking in Mazatlan!

Meeting Glen Heggstad in Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico

Meeting Glen Heggstad in Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico
Posted by 2 Moto Hobos on Tuesday, November 26, 2019

We finally got to meet the man who inspired me to attempt to ride the world all those years ago. Glen Heggstad revelled his travel stories dramatically, telling us about his youth, his life exploits and captivated us, dispensing travel tips, helping us plan the route through Mexico, and warning us of future dangers all at once. He played tour guide, hosted us for 3 nights and showed us Mexican food at the central markets, and genuinely got along with the locals who were practically family with him. A gentleman and martial artist, he was in the news last year for beating up a robber who broke into his home at Paloma Mountains. Glen rode the world when I was still a uni student wondering how I wanted to live my life. In his footsteps and the many other Adv riders, past and present we trail. I'm glad I got to meet the man whose book and ride report steered this chapter of Debbie's and my life.

- Written by Kelvin

Ignorance is bliss in drug cartel town (Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico)

Sometimes it is better not to know too much, else there will be fear. In this situation, it seemed to be the case.

Why did we choose to go to Los Mochis? There was no particular reason except that it was not too far from San Carlos. 390+km which is a doable distance within a day.

The Mexicans we met at Los Mochis are friendly. There was not a single time that we felt threatened in any way when walking along the streets at night.

It was only until our friend told us that Los Mochis is actually the home to the drug kingpin, "El Chapo". El Chapo is now serving life sentence in USA but his sons are still there running the business. In fact, there are many drug traffickers staying in the area. We did a search in Google and it is true! (Click on the image to read the full article)

Ignorance might be blissful in this case. Otherwise, I would not be able to see how peaceful life can be amongst the local people who are just trying to live their lives amid the violence that can happen at any time.

I just hope that violence will not return to that area again and the people can celebrate their upcoming Christmas in peace.

- Written by Debbie

Product Review: Cardo Freecom 4+

Night scene of Mazatlan

On the ride to Mazatlan, Mexico, we've tested the Cardo Freecom 4+ up to 1km, co-ordinating navigation as my handphone overheated in the tank bag, shutting down all apps but the Freecom. Auto-routing on Google Maps, available offline, makes finding a cheap hotel at 520 pesos (USD $26.80) a simple matter of mimicking an Uber driver.

We could hear each other up to 130km/h (80mph) as Debbie called out turns. Despite wearing earplugs, I can hear her at max volume, with a battery life allowing 2 to 3 full riding days at our usage patterns. Sometimes 1 of us would overshoot a turn that wasn't obvious, but with communications, we could pull over and regroup, riding back on the gravel road beside the main road. When I hit a pothole or topes (Mexican speedbump), I could also warn Debbie ahead of time.

We are glad Chong Aik International Pte Ltd sponsored us this Cardo unit, allowing us to experience motorcycle touring in a brand new manner, and enhancing teamwork. If you are considering a unit, feel free to ask questions!

Onward to San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico

Becky Konshak, Michael Konshak and us

The picturesque view of the beaches in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico

The picturesque view of the beaches in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico

We would like to thank Michael Konshak and Becky Konshak for taking care of us for 3 nights in San Carlos in their beautiful home, and showing us around the town of Guaymas. We love the sunset by the beach of San Carlos. Waking up to the sounds of the waves is a unique experience indeed!

- Written by Kelvin