wrap-up thank you!
Wrap up post #3: thanks!
Links to first day: <a href="http://jmkubr.livejournal.com/2010/07/28/">livejournal</a>, <a href="http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=600065">advrider</a>, <a href="http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=340419">BARF</a>
A big thanks to Rick Holtzman for first turning me onto the DR650s and getting me to buy one two years ago. Without his help setting up the bike, I am not sure I would have seriously considered doing this trip. Thanks to Dan for lending me the IMS tank and centerstand, all the riders from advrider and barf I met before the trip, giving lots of suggestions, advice, and encouragement (especially machete!). All the ride reports I read before I left were invaluable as well, of journeys past and present.
Thanks to Alfredo, the rider from Mexico City, who found me a mechanic after my bike was dead on arrival off the ferry in Mazatlan, to Dorothy and Capt. Moe in Mazatlan for a home away from home, to Johari's cousin for being my parts mailbox in Panama City even though they arrived weeks too late, to my fellow passengers/inmates on the Melody, to Juan and his wife from Medellin for being great riding partners and providing another window into Colombia.
Thank you to Neal's parents Sharon and Ken for hosting me in Panama at their beautiful beach home at Playa Barqueta. What a pleasant stay.
Big thanks to the riders that never left, Al in Medellin, and Mike (of Casa Blanca Hostel) in Cali, riders that got "stuck" in Colombia, for obvious reasons. Thank you both for the hospitality, great conversation, overwhelming knowledge, and havens for motorcyclists.
A thank you to my riding partners, Tom on his KLR from Ohio, and the Swiss-Bolivian brothers Richard and Alex. Excellent company and I hope to see them again.
Oh, and a thanks to the Ecuadorian police for staging a "coup" while I was in Quito, providing me with the "quintessential" Latin American politics story for my blog...
A thanks to serendipity for letting me run into Ron, the Texas rider, in Chiclayo , and a big thanks for his hospitality. Another thanks to serendipity for letting me run into Ron's riding partner Gary near the Nazca lines. Seriously, what are the chances?!
A huge thanks to Jorge and his wife. I had met him in El Salvador when he was riding north and he ended up not only hosting me for more than a week in Bariloche but was also instrumental in finding me a buyer for my motorcycle. Without him, it would not have gotten sold. Their generosity is unmatched.
Thank you as well to Ben and his family for hosting me in Buenos Aires. Ben is a web designer and he decided to move his family down there for a few months. I had bought my motorcycle jacket from him back in July and he had invited me to come by when I finally made my way to Buenos Aires. His company can be found at
http://uifoundry.com/.
Finally, thanks to everyone for reading (and thanks to everyone I forgot to mention!).
Michael
