Sat 12/08/07
The Honduran border crossing took the longest period of time to transverse than any previous ones, but it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable crossings. I have decided that it is just a matter of attitude. I rode the 30 miles to the border for the third time -from San Miguel, El Salvador. I was not able to leave as early as I would have liked because I had to pick the bike up at the motorcycle shop after the new battery was installed. I stopped for gas right before the border and a guy getting gas at the next pump asked me if i was going to Honduras. Of course, I was. So he gave me his "card". The fellow was a border expediter. Who would have thought...Must be one of the main professions in Central America. He said he could get me through the border in less than an hour. So I followed him to the El Salvador border and my new agent introduced me to his cohorts, two brothers from Honduras (it seems you always get one helper from the country you are exiting and at least one helper from the new country you are about to enter... this time I got two). The Salvadoran exit paperwork just took a few minutes. Then we drove about a mile to get to the Honduran border post. Passed several stationary semi trucks along the way. One Honduran brother said he would have me on my way within an hour. Well, it didn´t exactly work that way. The El Salv guy said we might as well go into a restaurant and have a beer while we waited. One of his friends came along as well and they both ordered cheeseburgers and fries to go with their beer. I suspected that this was gonna take a bit longer than promised at that point. About and hour and half later, my Honduran agent came into the air conditioned cafe and reported that the border had closed for lunch. So he had a beer and I ordered another round for all of us along with a cheeseburger for myself. It was sort of nice watching soccer on the tv and having lunch while my "agent" waited in line and took care of all the paperwork. After about another hour and another couple of more beers , I had all my paperwork and was ready to go. And I was really getting into the soccer game at that point, though. But it was time to move on after about 3 and a half hours in the cafe. The cafe owner sat down to talk with us toward the end of the time in his place. It turned out that he had worked as a brick mason in NW Arkansas where Sarah and I are from. He knew English well. He was definitely prejudice against Mexican brick layers. He questioned their work ethic... or at least the ones he had worked with in Arkansas. I found that interesting.I paid the Honduran agent $25.00 and never left the cafe. Money well spent I say as it was HOT outside. I also paid a guy outside a couple of bucks for watching the motorcycle even though I could see it the whole time through the window of the cafe. I was stopped by the police within a couple of miles of the border. Was stopped 4 or 5 more times at military checkpoints after that. But my many papers always seemed to be in order. I had no idea what they were all for. Spent the night in Honduras even though I was only on the road a couple of hours in that country. I just did not feel up to two Central American border crossings in one afternoon. Did not want to push my luck. I did meet a group of short term medical missionaries from Minnesota at a store who had been doing clinics in the mountains near there. Ate at a local restaurant with a hispanic Johnny Mathis singing Christmas carols in Spanish in the background. Another interesting day.
Mon 12/10/07
Countries are close together here in Central America. I was only on the road in Honduras for a few hours. The border crossing into Nicaragua only took about an hour and a half. Again, I had a "helper" for the country I was leaving and another counterpart helper for the country I was entering. This crossing seemed to go well but things started to get challenging as soon as I had completed the formalities. I started passing police checkpoints every few miles soon after the border. I must have been stopped 5 times my first afternoon in Nicaragua. The main difference in this country was that the police here have been asking me for money. The first pair of police officers asked for a "tip"and the last group of 3 said I owed $40.00 u.s. for a traffic infraction they said I had committed. These guys asked me for my drivers license. I gave them a laminated copy of my original Alaska license and they surprised me by recognizing it as a copy. I then gave them my expired AK License and they caught that as well - that it was expired. So I told them I did not have 40 bucks in u.s. dollars and would have to go to the bank - which was true. The only thing is, I never went back to retrieve my license after I went to the bank. The ATM machines here give you an option of either getting the local currency - Cordobas or U.S. dollars. I was talking to two attorneys from Alabama the next day here Granada, Nicaragua. They said they had seen me before. It turns out that these guys were stopped by the same police officers and the police used my license to show the Alabama guys what they wanted from them. I thought that was really funny..... that the police were using the two licenses I left with them as communication tools to show other touristas what they wanted-ie, U.S. state drivers licenses. Once they have your license, they kind of have you over a barrel in a way. I told the lawyers that I must be a fugitive from justice here or a fugitive from graft and corruption because I rode away from the police and did not go back. One of the atty's said there wasn't much difference between the two - justice and corruption. I found that interesting considering that this guy was an attorney. I am staying in a rented room in Granada which is owned by an American. She is a friend of some Americans I met in Antigua, Guatemala. Very nice house with an interior open courtyard here in Granada. This town is right on Lake Nicaragua, the largest lake in Cent America. Have been invited to a couple of wine tasting events in two days - one at a restaurant owned by Americans and one at a house owned by a friend of my landlady's. Beautiful homes here, many owned by expatriots. I have been on a couple of guided tours. Manuel was my guide. Nobody else was on either of the tours I took. On the first tour, I went out on the Lake in a 30 passenger boat with just my guide, the boat captain and two helpers. We visited several small islands in the Lake. Many beautiful homes on some of the islands. And an unihabited island with a lot of very aggressive monkeys. There were two kinds of monkeys and they knew the drill with the tourist boats. They tried to swing out into the boat to steal stuff to eat. Saw many, many different kinds of birds. Really a beautiful place. The other tour I took with the same guide, Manuel was on a horse drawn carriage ride around the city. We went out to the huge cemetary here and Manuel showed me the graves of the young men killed in the Nicaraugan civil war of the 80's between the Contras and the Sandanistas. He said he was 7 or 8 at the time of the war. He said the people at that time were suspicious of any gringos in the country then because of all the mercenaries. I took it that America was not real popular with the locals during that decade even though he did not come right out and say that. His home was under gunfire on occasion he said. He lost family members to this war.
Wed 12/12/07
I am in San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua now. I left Granada, Nicaragua yesterday and was on some of the worst highway I´ve experienced so far. Parts of the road were more pothole than pavement. I passed a guy going North on the highway with a motorcycle and panniers like mine. I turned around caught up with him. The guy had been in Panama and was going back home to Pennsylvania. Also, it was interesting to note that he will be working in Alaska this summer, to help with a motorcycle tour company out of Anchorage. This fellow suggested that I visit the Island of Ometepe in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. So I did!! I took an hour ferry ride out to this island - with two volcanoes as the most prominent features. For some reason I thought that the ferry would be a vehicle and passanger ferry. WRONG!! At least the ferry I took was not a vehicle ferry. But they pushed my bike onto the ferry anyway - up a plank while the boat was bouncing with the waves. I thought this was gonna be the end of my trip with my bike at the bottom of the Lake. These guys knew what they were doing, though. About 5 of them got the bike on board and tied it down to the deck of a boat which was about 50 ft long. I spent the night at a resort which was down a dirt road that fronted on the Lake. Another beautiful place. My room was right on the lakefront. I spent the next day riding the back roads of the Island and riding around the foot (feet?) of the two volcanoes. All dirt road and it was GREAT!!. Came back today on the same ferry with the bike. This time the wind was really blowing and the bike started moving back and forth with the waves while on the boat. The ¨crew¨retied the bike a couple of times en route. It made it back though. Only thing is, when we got back to the original ferry terminal, there was no place to dock the boat.... so all the foot passengers walked a plank from one boat onto another boat, then another plank to shore. Of course my bike had to follow the same path. Picture if you will, two boats bouncing up and down with the waves as 5 guys are pushing the motocycle on a plank from one boat to the next, then from that 2nd boat to the pier. Needless to say this was a very exciting experience for the owner of the bike. I am now in the beach resort town mentioned above. I will (hopefully) cross into Costa Rica tomorrow. I will meet my family there in just five days!!! I can hardly wait. It has been almost two months since I´ve seen them. I left on October 16th. I just went over 7000 miles on the trip.
Sat 12/15/07
The Costa Rica border was the busiest one I've been through so far. There were trucks lined up literally for a couple of miles on either side of the border. Because Lake Nicaragua takes up a big part of the border frontier, I believe this is the only entrance by road into the country. Again, I had an agent who expedited the paperwork to cross the border -for me and my bike -from Nicaragua. Of course he had a counterpart in Costa Rica. This crossing took the most amount time of any of the crossings so far, over 3 hours. Lots of folks going and coming, mostly on buses. I'd hate to think how long it would take if I had tried to do all the formalities on my own with no agent. My Nicaraguan helper was named Addington, and the guy from C.Rica was Hernandez. They obviously had the "skids greased" for me in advance with all the officials because I was always moved to the head of any line. I felt bad about doing that but the folks already in line to import a vehcile did not really seem to mind. I wouldn't have liked it, though, and that bothered me.... but not enough to want to wait in line. At one point I was told to wait outside, so I started playing Chistmas carols on my harmonica. A crowd started to form around me - of both local nationals and ex-patriots. I even got some requests for songs to play as well as an ovation when I had to stop so as to move on to the customs station. It was HOT so it is a bit hard to get into the Christmas spirit here in that sense but there are definitely Christmas decorations all over the place. Santas and reindeer are popular. And once gain, it was a very freeing sensation to finally be able to get through that last border checkpoint and into the new country. I tried to take a photo of the long lines of trucks waiting to enter Nicaragua. Big mistake as I put the bike over. But several truckers rushed to my aid to lift it back up. I guess I provided a bit of excitement for them as they really didn't have anything else to do. Lesson learned: don't try to take photos from a moving motorcycle. I did see one driver who had strung a hammock up under the trailer of his rig. I've heard that they can be in line for several days. I spent my first night in Costa Rica at a town named Liberia. This is where Sarah and the kids will be flying into in a few days. I got a hotel room on the city square and ate dinner at a second story restaurant with tables outside overlooking the square. It was great watching all the activity down below. Especially the courting antics of the teenagers. Almost x-rated but not quite. An orchestra which was made up of local citizens of all ages was playing Christmas songs in the band pavillion in the middle of the square. They were pretty good! I went down to listen and a young Costa Rican guy sharing my park bench welcomed me to his country by sharing his vodka with me. He inisisted. He also wanted to share another type of mood altering substance with me, but I deferred. I would hate for my former colleagues on the Alaska Board of Pharmacy to hear about my spending time in a Costa Rican jail for possession. I am at a little beach town called Samara right now. Beautiful place. There are LOTS of beautiful places in Central America.
Mon 12/17/07
Hello from Monteverde, Costa Rica. I thought I would post my journal entry ver batim for this day so that you could see how I've chronicled as a day in my life on this motorcycle trip. I will elaborate on entries by using a *sign* - for further explanations of my journal notes. This will probably be longer than my usual messages, so you always have the option to "delete" now. -Bill
Sunday - 16 Dec / Monteverde, Costa Rica
Quiet time on the city square in Liberia on a park bench again. *quiet time is a daily habit for me first thing in the morning. I first write in my daily journal, then I read a daily devotional out of Oswald Chamber's book "My Upmost for His Highest". I then read chapter in the Bible. Today's chapter was II Cor, Chpt 5. After that, I read in a spiritual/travel book I started on the trip called "Snow Leopard". It is basically a travel journal written by an American buddhist who is trekking thru the Himalayans. Then I pray for the upcoming day as well as pray for specific people and their unique prayer needs/requests. I am currently praying for a couple of folks with substance abuse problems, some with stress and anxiety challenges, and several with health issues. One person I had been praying for has passed away while I've been on the trip. I've since added his widow to my prayer list. If I can pray for any of you with specific needs, please let me know. I certainly have the time and the desire* Back to my journal - It is quiet on the city square on a Sunday morning. Went to an outdoor cafe for coffee. Ordered what I think is fruit salad and the waiter asks me a question which I don't understand. I nod my head, hoping that is the right answer. He then brings me a dessert of jello topped with fruit with a side of ice cream. The waiter must have thought the American tourista crazy for ordering this menu item at 6 a.m. Walked around the quiet downtown area for awhile. Got a CD made of the photos on my camera memory chip. Cost 10 bucks! the most I've paid to have this done since leaving home. Tried my debit card in an ATM machine again and it did not work again. This has me a bit concerned as I have come to depend on this as a way to get the local currency. Checked emails at a cyber cafe. Christmas music playing overhead. Then packed up and headed south on the Pan American Highway. Passed a group of what looked like Harleys going the opposite direction. About an hour later I passed a another group of about 30 big cruiser type bikes stopped at a gas station. So I pull in and ask one guy if he knew any bikers in Panama who might be able to help me to get me and my bike around the Darien Gap from Panama to Colombia. The Costa Rican guy I talked to was named Carlos and he spoke pretty good English. I gave him my card with my email address as he said he knew the pres of the HOGS club in Panama and had just taken a trip there on his Harley. He invited me to ride to a bridge down a side road with the group, the Costa Rica Steel Angels. So I did. I rode in the back of the pack for about 20 miles with these folks to a long suspension bridge over a bay on the coast. It was enjoyable riding in a group with 27 other bikes after riding by myself for so long now. *think the movie "Wild Hogs". Folks were dressed in their leathers with "colors" on the back of their vests* All the bikes were cruisers and most were Harleys, mostly Sportsters. There were some Americans in the group and all lived in the area of San Jose, C.R. I talked with several of them when we stopped at the bridge. I passed out my cards to a few hoping to get contacts in Panama and inviting them all to come visit in Alaska. * I have already received an email from a guy in Panama named Pablo who had suggestions on shipping my bike as well as an invitation to stay with him when I get to Panama* I had my picture taken with their bikes and several had their photo taken with mine *showing the AK license plate* Then I headed back up the road we had just rode on, back to the Pan AM Hwy. I got stung by something on the way so stopped at a Costa Rican BBQ place for a B and B *benadryl and beer* Got a BBQ pork sandwhich while there which was OK but not great. Cost of sandwhich and 2 beers was about 8 bucks. Back on the highway, I started looking for the turn off to Monteverde, a town up in the mountains in a cloud forest that I had heard about from other travelers along the way. Found it! it was a dirt and gravel road that sometimes turned into one lane on the mountain turns. I had asked Carlos about the road to this particular place and he indicated that the road was very poor and not passable. Well, maybe for his Harley it was not passable, but this road was MADE for my KLR. It wound up into the mountains. A great ride. I saw vistas of mountains upon mountains in one direction and the ocean in the other. And I was a long way from the ocean by that time. Not hardly any traffic which was a bit of concern for me for two reasons- 1. where was I riding, ie, what was I getting into, and 2. what would I do if I dumped the bike. I saw a couple of rainbows over the mtns and could see storms off in the direction of where I was headed. Monteverde was in a tropical rain forest afterall. It took almost two hours to ride the 35 miles on the dirt road. Decided to get a room at the touristy town. I had heard that it was extremely expensive from others I'd met on the road - probably because it was so remote. It started pouring down rain on me as I pulled into the hotel I'd picked out. The price- $20.00 U.S. *it has surprised me that the prices I've been quoted for rooms and meals are often in dollars and not in the local colones. tells you something about the economy here, i guess* The room was nice - dry, warm, and even had HOT water which I was not expecting. Everyone was wearing jackets. A major change from the shorts and tank tops of where I was at just two hours earlier. Altitude makes a big difference, even in the tropics. I took a shower and walked the half block to the commercial touist street. Checked emails at a tour place/cyber cafe and bought my dinner at a market to take back to the room - banana, apple, some bread, a chocolate bar, and a beer. Cost about $6.00 bucks. Tried to read in the room but kept falling asleep due either to the rain or the Benadryl that I had taken earlier. It rained on and off all night. Great Day!!
* As I've said before, I would love to receive an email from any of you. I look forward to my rest stops at internet cafes. bsaltland@hotmail.com Also, check out my travel blog on our church's website www.anchorbc.net and click on "Bill's Ride". I have heard from several of you on my address book email list. For those of you I have been sending posts to along the way that I have not heard from, I will assume that you would prefer not to receive these postings and will no longer send these to you. I hate to recieve spam and certainly don't want to send you any. I guess that is a bit of blackmail to get you to write me. I always respond back.... well, usually. Bill
Wed 12/26/07
A note from the Webmaster...
I just wanted to let you all know that there haven't been any journal entries from Bill for several days. This is not due to any problems, but its actually a good thing. Bill's family flew down to spend Christmas with him in Costa Rica. You can't blame him for not wanting to waste time on a computer.
Thanks for following along...
Sat 12/29/07
I have no idea what today's date is, but I am back on the road again here in Costa Rica. Sarah and the kids left early this afternoon for the U.S. We had a GREAT time together here on our family vacation at the resort that Emily and Sarah picked out. I will certainly remember this vacation of a lifetime. We spent a lot of time at the resort swimming pool (Hannah's favorite place) and at the beach (Eli's favorite place). We also went on some tours and had some great Mexican food at a restaurant nearby. That seemed kind of strange because Costa Rican food is not Mexican food. The CR food was great as well, though.
I took off on the Pan American Highway south today toward Panama - right after the family left on the plane from Liberia, Costa Rica. My first 30 seconds back riding on the bike at the airport (after they left) was a bit exciting. I jumped the curb at the airport and rode by the passenger check-in area on my way out of the parking lot. Uniformed guys started running toward me and hollering at me. I guess that area was off limits to vehicles. I gunned the bike and got out of there. I'm becoming paranoid of guys in uniform yelling at me. So I guess I am a wanted fugitive in both Nigaragua and, now, Costa Rica -because I did not stop. I got the heck out of there.
Pay back time came about an hour later when I was stopped by two CR motorcycle cops with a radar gun. Don't know if the radar gun acutally worked though these guys said I was speeding. My options were either: 1.get written up and take my $80.00 wtittenh ticket back to Liberia to pay there (an hour's ride back where I had just been) or just pay them the same amount in cash and go on my way. We settled for $40.00 U.S. cash paid directly to them with no written ticket. But my terms were that I be allowed to take a photo of their cop bike, a new Suzuki 650. Needless to say, neither cop wanted to have his face in my photo.... but one of them suggested I sit on his cop bike and He would take MY photo. So that is what we did. So now I have a 40 dollar photo of me sitting on a Costan Rican traffic cop motorcycle taken by the cop himself.
I am now in Jaco, Costa Rica - a resort town about half way down the country on the Pacific Coast. I passed over a river today that was full of crocodiles - Big Ones! I hope my photos come out. I plan on being in Panama in a day or so. My hope is to take the road along the coast all the way to the border. I have an invite to stay with a guy who lives in Panama just across the border. He is the brother of a pharmacist friend from Anchorage. A Brazilian motorcyclist who is on the road ahead of me has been emailing me about the route ahead. Sergio is now in Peru and has given me details on how to air freight my bike from Panama City to Bogota, Colombia. So that looks like how I will get the bike across the roadless Darien Gap in southern Panama. I will then take a commercial flight to Bogota. Or at least that is my plan. Will see what happens.
Stay tuned for further developments. The road tomorrow is not paved all the way. Stay tuned for further developemnts. Costa Rica does not always have bridges across the rivers that cross their dirt roads. And now I see that these rivers can have crocodiles in them. Should be interesting.
Let me hear from you!
Bill - on the road again.......