San Francisco and bound for South America

[91hawk]

Wow! Totally awesome, Mike. I knew you were a good writer/observer (you went to Cal, afterall) but had no idea you were such an accomplished photog. Those are like travel magazine quality pictures. This is gonna be FUN!

 

[evermore]

Day 4

Yesterday was a pretty short hop from Loreto to La Paz, a measly 220 miles...

It's unbelievable how hot it is even early in the morning. The east coast of the Baja peninsula receives all the hot air from dry interior of it. Upside? No mosquitoes.

I've started noticing some fuel delivery gremlins yesterday. Today, they kicked in for real. First off, this aftermarket IMS tank requires that the petcock, the valve controlling fuel flow out of the tank, be set to OFF when the bike is not running as otherwise the weight the fuel will just push fuel into the engine and the airbox. No bueno.

Ok, cool, I can deal with that (though if there are any fixes, I'd love to know about them). It's a pain in the ass and one more potential thing I can screw up. It is actually helpful to switch to OFF say 15-30 seconds before shutting the engine off.

Now though, it's delivering too much fuel when idling. The engine will just die if I let it sit for a minute or so. Restarting then becomes a real pain as I have to pin the throttle (to let in air). So it seems I'm getting way too much fuel delivery at idle which also becomes a problem in slow city traffic.

Anyhow, once I was on the road and actually needing more fuel, things were fine. Alas, I did not take any pictures on the way to La Paz as I feared stopping in the middle of nowhere with the fuel issue. I made it to La Paz before noon but had to head to Pichilinque as that is where the ferries for Mazatlan take off.

First order of business was to get my vehicle imported properly. The ferry building has an office of banjercito, the National Bank of the Army, Navy, and Air Force where I had to show them my passport, tourist visa, vehicle title, and registration. They then needed one copy of each. While I'd made copies of the other documents at home, I only received the tourist visa at the border so I had to find a place with copy machine. The baja ferries office a little bit up the road (and air conditioned!) had one so it wasn't too bad. The importation cost me $457/US$36. Yipes!

Next, ferry ticket. The ticket office was in the same building so this went pretty quick if rather expensive. Transporting the bike costs $1680/US$133, a passenger ticket costs $890/US$70, and a cabin $910/$72. It sure adds up.

In retrospect, next time I would not come down the Baja California but opt for the mainland instead. Having the ferry deadline sucks and it's pretty darn expensive. Baja is worth seeing but not a good way to transit south. I figure I can always come back to Baja pretty easily.

I had looked up places to stay in La Paz on tripadvisor and found the hostel Pension California for $230/$18. Now, finding its physical location is another matter. Even though it's located on one of the major streets (Ave Degollado), street signs are intermittent, to put it generously. I opted for walking into a little market and asking directions. 5 minutes later, I was standing by the front desk.

Ok, picture time!

The first building I see when heading to the beach? A Burger King.

Ok, this is more like it.

There's something decidedly odd with having motor oil advertising at a touristy pier.

So Carlos, who is this Charlie guy? You've got some explaining to do!

I had some ice cream in the shop to the right. You know it's too hot when you look at your ice cream cone and are desperately trying to come up with an excuse to smoosh it in your face instead of eating it.

So the bling does come off, I guess.

Random street.

Tempting, but no.

While the Malecón (pier) was pretty much deserted during my first foray at 3pm (only dumb gringos go out in the heat of the day), the locals come out in the evening.

Mom, this is where fish tacos come from!

Sunset.

It was even more packed later!

There was quite a bit of art on the Malecón.

A local dance class was going to give a performance here but electrical problems slowed things down. They started with modeling for a local designer but frequent power outages and no end in sight of the modeling show instead of any dancing made me decide to get some food instead.

The street by the Malecón turns into a drag strip at night. Parking lot is more like it.

And finally, a few from a pier.

Tomorrow, I will catch the 5pm ferry to Mazatlan. Supposed to arrive in the morning but I won't hold my breath...

 

[machete]

very cool photos man. Yep, the malecon, is like the plaza (town square), it's where people come to hang out, cruise, and see friends, eat and relax. looks like fun

I'm jealous man. thanks for the breakdown on the ferry cost. I thought it'd be a bit less than that.

 

[evermore]

bike died, bike fixed, safely in Mazatlan

Very short version: had to push the bike onto the ferry with a dead battery after I was unable to restart the bike at the ferry checkpoint, got bike to a shop in Mazatlan where it turned out one of the o-rings in the carb was torn causing all my problems. All fixed and running well now. Will write a longer post later.

 

[evermore]

Day 5

This has been a supremely stressful day. The fuel gremlins returned with a vengeance and almost lead to my missing the ferry.

The day started innocently enough, trying to sleep as much as that is possible without A/C and just a fan whirring away over your head. I spent the morning working on the previous day's blog post, hitting up 2 separate taco stands in search of the best fish taco, buying some water at a supermarket, and moving my stuff out of my room by the noon checkout time.

I spent the next 2 hours studying the manual and perusing the web in search of help regarding my issue but no clear reason jumped to mind, just lots of candidates. 2pm rolls around and I try starting the bike. No luck on first try. It takes a good minute of fiddling around with the choke and the throttle and the engine finally catches. At this point, I start to seriously worry about how much charge my battery still holds. I figure all I need is one more start to get me to the ferry. Half an hour later, I don my gear and get on the bike.

This time, it starts right away so I thank my lucky stars and head out to Pilinchingue immediately to get there for the 3pm staging time. After a minute or so, the previously noticed problems of poor idle performance reappear and I pretty much keep the engine revved a bit at all time. This works fine until halfway to my destination when I'm stuck on an incline behind a row of cars traversing one of the many topes (speed bumps). The bike stalls. Rolling downhill I try to bump start it but with the flooded engine, nothing goes. I roll to a stop and try to start a couple more times but now the battery is having difficulty turning over the engine. I'm pretty much screwed and quietly curse into my helmet (ok, not so quietly). Finally looking around, I notice I had stopped right at the entrance of some sort of compound. At first I thought it was the refinery but then I saw two military guards at their post watching me and in retrospect, I'm don't actually recall what it was. I had other issues to worry about after all. I, of course, walk over to ask if they know anyone that can jump my bike. They talk to their supervisor in another hut but no luck. Walking back to my bike, I give the bike another try and the engine starts! I waste no time and immediately ride on. Saved!

I make it to the ferry building where my bike's temporary import permit is checked versus the VIN number and I am then flagged into a waiting line of cars for the ferry. Worryingly, I see the ferry, the Chihuahua Star, moored at least half a mile away on the other side of a hill. Not much I can do but wait and hope the bike will start one last time. While waiting, I notice another motorcycle, a big BMW R1150RT touring bike so I talk with its owner. Alfredo was on his return leg after having gone from Mexico City to Vancouver. He'll be home in a couple days. I'm mangling Spanish pretty bad but I seem to be able to hold a conversation.

A pickup truck from the ferry company pulls up at the front of the line to guide us all to the ship. I'm in luck, the engine sputters to life at the first try but it turns out, this was a premature start. Something is wrong on their organisation's end and after 3-4 minutes of trying my best to keep my bike running, it stalls. This time, there is absolutely no juice left in the battery and in the meantime, with their issues sorted out, the convoy starts rolling past me to the ferry. Luckily a van pulls up and this Aussie snowboarder working in Banff offers to tow me. Holding on to the passenger side doorframe, we make it to the foot of the hill but I can feel that there is no way I can hold on for the uphill section. I am left with pushing the bike up this hill in order to make it to the ferry. I can't really give accurate numbers as to how severe this climb was as it felt absolutely like torture in the afternoon sun. Suffice to say, I had to stop a good 6-7 times as I was completely out of breath and coughing up a lung each time. Finally, at the top of the hill, a pickup truck from the importation office came to help me out by towing me as before and I made it over the flat section and then onto the ferry. Having a cabin and a shower available never felt better.

So now I'm on the ferry with a dead battery, a bike with a serious problem, and nothing much I can do about it. Talking to the boat staff later in the evening, they allow me to pull the battery and have it charged on board. I know this is potentially just a temporary fix but it sure felt like a victory before I doze off.

Loading of the ferry took well past its stated departure time of 5pm.

The staging area was behind this hill and the road led to the ferry on a path just out of view to the left of this picture. It sure felt like Mount Everest at the time but looks like a sand dune now...

Deck of the Chihuahua Star.

Tomorrow, 7am arrival in Mazatlan and a world of trouble.

 

[matt1216]

Good luck, looks like a great adventure so far. I would love to do what your doing someday

 

[evermore]

Day 6

It's 8:30 in the morning and I'm being handed my freshly charged battery and led downstairs to the hold. The first vehicles off are the trucks that had been loaded late the afternoon before.

Can you spot my bike?

After some more trucks pull out, I'm able to move my bike up to the entrance and install the battery. In the meantime, both Alfredo and the Aussie guy stop to see if I need any further help. I guess I won't know until I actually start the bike. My plan is to reach a hostel I had looked up the when I was in La Paz. Alas, it's six miles away. Battery reinstalled and bike reassembled, I put on all my gear and hit the starter button. After a bunch of fiddling around again, it catches briefly but as soon as I open the throttle, it sputters to a halt, obviously with too much fuel in the mixture. After a few more tries, I give it one last shot bump starting it down the ramp but this too fails. With the battery in danger of being completely discharged again, my only option is to find a nearby mechanic. Alfredo is hugely helpful, asking the port staff for one and actually finding the place. Alas, it only opens at 10am so we are stuck waiting just outside of the ferry terminal. (PS regarding previous picture: the bike is located under the 7)

Alfredo's BMW, my injured DR, and Alfredo himself. He was a huge help today, thanks!

The shop owner rolls around on his Honda Goldwing at about 11am, and we quickly try a few things but it becomes clear that the bike needs to go to the shop. A friend of his with a pickup comes by and we load the bike up. I get to sit on the bike for the 2 1/2 kilometer drive to the shop. $50/US$4, not bad!

The bike looked clean and there were several theories as to what was causing the issue:
- dirty gasoline (remember those barrels I got gas from in Baja?). Of course, this would be puzzling since I do have a fuel filter in line
- just poor gas quality in general in Mexico
- a stuck float in the carburator

Note the fuel filter and the longish path from the petcock to the carburator.

First off, we check the spark plugs. They are fine but it's clear that there is a ton of fuel in the engine. When we then open the air filter, a gusher of gasoline greets us. It's completely flooded! Of course, this was exactly what I was worried about with the IMS tank and forgetting about the off switch. At this point, I'm kind of puzzled as I was pretty religious/paranoid about turning it off each time. As it turns out, the reason for the flooding was all those unsuccessful starts. Of course, we only find that out later.

Rodrigo pulling the carb.

and then cleaning it.

We dont see any particles or anything clogging any of the needles or valves but who knows, maybe the particle was just too small? After a thorough cleaning, we reassemble everything and since I'm low on gas, we decide to fuel up on the premium stuff while I take the bike around the block. To my chagrin, on the way back from the Pemex station, the same idle problems reappear. With the airbox dried and clear and seeing that it's now the new red premium gasoline getting pumped right into the airbox, we know that the problem lies with the carburator so out it comes one more time. This time, Rodrigo notices a tiny tear in one of the o-rings on the float assembly.

The float assembly is the white plastic bit on the left side of the picture. The two black stripes than you can barely make out are the o-rings. One had a small 1mm tear in it.

With a new o-ring in place, the bike is reassembled one more time and now, it starts and idles without a fault. I later ride through 5 miles of slow city traffic without a problem so this tiny 1mm tear in this less than 1cm diameter o-ring was what caused all my problems.

The entire time that Rodrigo and I are working on the bike (him on the carb with me watching, me doing lots of other small bits), people come walking in and out, and several people stay around this tiny little shop.

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The entrance to the shop.

The shop to the right is his son's machine shop. They can probably fix or make anything you ever need replaced on your motorcycle.

This is the scene after my triumphant return from the second test ride.

As it turns out, one of his customers is Moe (previous picture, sitting to the right of Rodrigo in his black t-shirt), a retired captain who happens to own a Bed & Breakfast in town. I ask if they have any openings and here I am.

Captain Moe's is a beautiful little place in the Costa Dorado area of Mazatlán.

Near the ferry terminal.

The tall buildings in the distance mark the Costa Dorada area of the town.

I ended up going to dinner nearby at a restaurant called Panchos right by the beach.

Not a bad location.

Tough day at the office.

Beautiful beach.

I really lucked out considering my situation this morning. Had I been able to follow my original course of reaching the hostel and working on the bike there, I probably would have found the o-ring problem eventually but I would not have had a spare o-ring and procuring one might have been difficult. Instead, my bike was fixed after three hours of work and $600/US$47. Not bad at all.

So, if you are having any bike problems in or near Mazatlán, go to Rodrigo Zamora's shop at M. Ocampo #1518 Ote. or call his shop at (669)-981-1331 (cell (044-6699)33-51-80). In all likelyhood, he will be able to help you.

I can also highly recommend Captain Moe's Bed & Breakfast. Him and "Admiral" Dorothy are excellent hosts and company.

As for tomorrow.. not sure yet!

 

[DanTheMan07]

Great story glad your back and moving. You'll have a few of these days while traveling. Starts off as absolute shit but somehow everything works out for the best and you get a good story and some new friends along the way.

ride on!

 

[machete]

very cool story man. and what did I tell you about Mexicans...when you need them they will come through and be beyond helpful. especially in the interior and away from the borders. enjoy man, and remember, there is always a solution.

digging the bed & breakfast...it's cool to know that someone always knows someone who can help. cheers

 

[91hawk]

Wow! Great report Mike. I'm sooo glad you found that shop. Now that I think of it (you know my non-existant memory) I think the torn o-ring was EXACTLY the problem I had on my Canada trip using Dan's tank, as you are. Same fucking idle problems, etc. And at altitude they were even worse since the bike was running even richer due to thin air. On the Highway to the Sun (I think that's what it's called) in Glacier NP it was pure hell as they were doing extensive construction and I had to keep stopping and revving the bike like mad. I'm sure all the car drivers stuck in line with me thought I was some kind of pathetic racer-wanna-be! You should be fine now but KEEP turning the tank OFF. Now you can picture the problem. . . that tiny o-ring and float needle are ALL that are holding all that gas out of your airbox or (worse by far) bottom end. I think it would be MARVY if the tank makers would set the tanks up so they would take the stock vacuum petcock!!! It's a bitch but you are dealing with problemas in grand style. Now you need a few days of effortless, trouble-free cruising. Keep the reports and pictures coming.

 

[evermore]

rad!!! good pics. for better/ or cheaper hotels, check with the 18 wheeler drivers. in Mexico, they are a good resource, and help on the highways, beyond what you might expect in the states. for real.

they will signal you with their high beams at night, and use their turn signals to wave you around them, etc...just pay attention.

very cool man, and the flesh wound doensn't look that bad, just be sure and fix it so your saddle bags aren't the ones melting.

Great suggestions regarding the 18 wheelers but I figure since I'll be bumping along the coast mostly, I wont see too many of those. For now, tripadvisor.com has been invaluable and for hostels, there hostels.com and minihostels.com.

Using the signals to tell you you can pass has been very common even by cars. Double yellows be damned apparently

 

[evermore]

very cool photos man. Yep, the malecon, is like the plaza (town square), it's where people come to hang out, cruise, and see friends, eat and relax. looks like fun

I'm jealous man. thanks for the breakdown on the ferry cost. I thought it'd be a bit less than that.

Well, you can cut out $910 for the junior suite I got but I figured, it's worth having a shower. After having to push the bike up that hill, I'm sure I would have been thrown off the boat without one. I guess a shorter ferry is an option but next time, I'd either to a trip just for Baja or go via Nogales/Heroica Guaymas/Los Mochis instead.

 

[evermore]

very cool story man. and what did I tell you about Mexicans...when you need them they will come through and be beyond helpful. especially in the interior and away from the borders. enjoy man, and remember, there is always a solution.

digging the bed & breakfast...it's cool to know that someone always knows someone who can help. cheers

Yeah people have been helpful everywhere, including fellow travelers (like the Aussie guy). Meeting Moe at Rodrigo's shop though was one of those opportunities that I couldn't pass up. As soon as Moe mentioned that his wife and him were running a B&B, I asked if they had any openings. Moe and Dorothy have been great hosts and lots of stories. Moe used to be a river boat captain, hence the name of the B&B.

Having hotels/hostels/B&B vetted by people you know or whose reputation you have some reason to trust makes a huge difference. That's why yelp is successful and that's what's working for me with tripadvisor as well.

 

[calvinchu49]

damn I wish i read this thread earlier

 

[evermore]

Day 7

Having found the perfect <a href="http://captmoe.com/">place</a> to stay, I figured I would hang around for an extra day.

The entire trip so far, I had woken up by 5:30-6am each morning but today, I slept until 9am. I figure the stress was catching up to me.

After a long breakfast with Moe and Dorothy, Moe drove me around town a bit. There is a quite a bit of construction going but I was amazed how many plots are available considering how well known and accessible Mazatlán is.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evermore/4859258944/" title="SDC12037 by evermore, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4119/4859258944_a4b98114c6.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="SDC12037" /></a>
Apparently the world's largest mosaic, a wall of the new convention center. It's big...

After taking a break to avoid the afternoon heat, we went out at 5pm to give my bike a bit of a stress test and some more sightseeing. Moe rode one of his bikes, a 1988 Honda cruiser. Our first destination was the mechanic from the day before, Rodrigo. When we arrive, I notice to my bemusement that I had missed the elephant in the room, the giant <a href="http://www.mexicoviapacifico.com/">Pacifico</a> Brewery ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STREET!!!

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evermore/4859264200/" title="SDC12055 by evermore, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4141/4859264200_1c46931719.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="SDC12055" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evermore/4859260176/" title="SDC12040 by evermore, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4143/4859260176_2f1ce06af6.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="SDC12040" /></a>
If only I had looked up the day before. Of course, I did have some other things on my mind...

Rodrigo was out on the road having fun with his little kid Bruno.

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Moe, Rodrigo, and Bruno on his little quad.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evermore/4859260550/" title="SDC12041 by evermore, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4142/4859260550_e478de5e28.jpg" width="358" height="500" alt="SDC12041" /></a>
Notice how worn the left tire is...

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Bruno in action. That explains it!

Now let's hope this video works:
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evermore/4858639329/" title="SDC12049 by evermore, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4141/4858639329_b10894b14c.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="SDC12049" /></a>
Bruno's other toy...

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Rodrigo's other son is a machinist but as you can see, his place is stuffed full of bikes so before he can start working, these have to be moved.

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One of their projects with Rodrigo's son doing a most of the building of this chopper himself. Will be a beauty for sure.

Afterwards, Moe toured me around the market area and the old town.

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I swear I saw the identical building and goods in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

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Regular corner shop.

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The town sure is colorful!

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Any color combination goes.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evermore/4859270078/" title="SDC12069 by evermore, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4116/4859270078_3b9ab157c9.jpg" width="500" height="385" alt="SDC12069" /></a>

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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evermore/4858649379/" title="SDC12073 by evermore, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4120/4858649379_efab8fb182.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="SDC12073" /></a>

The Hotel Belmar used to be the hangout of movie stars like John Wayne and Yul Brynner but it's pretty run down nowadays. Supposedly, some of the balconies had collapsed onto the sidewalk a few years ago. Still, what a sight!

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evermore/4858655287/" title="SDC12086 by evermore, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4119/4858655287_b09211de6e.jpg" width="500" height="387" alt="SDC12086" /></a>
The balconies were in another section of the building.

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Look at the tiling...

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A couple ancient posters.

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The boardwalk.

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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evermore/4858658603/" title="SDC12093 by evermore, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4117/4858658603_14263c9ed7.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="SDC12093" /></a>
A little park ahead.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evermore/4859282420/" title="SDC12098 by evermore, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4076/4859282420_00e1343121.jpg" width="500" height="415" alt="SDC12098" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evermore/4859284652/" title="SDC12100 by evermore, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4117/4859284652_679b3aa421.jpg" width="415" height="500" alt="SDC12100" /></a>
Colorful indeed.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evermore/4858665323/" title="SDC12105 by evermore, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4134/4858665323_86b4738423.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="SDC12105" /></a>
I think that's a church.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evermore/4858669435/" title="SDC12112 by evermore, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4118/4858669435_55ee2359e0.jpg" width="500" height="380" alt="SDC12112" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evermore/4858671215/" title="SDC12116 by evermore, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4080/4858671215_a86ef72117.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="SDC12116" /></a>
Lots of these taxis around. It's just a different body on a VW bug chassis.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evermore/4859293488/" title="SDC12118 by evermore, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4136/4859293488_3270f3b2e2.jpg" width="500" height="417" alt="SDC12118" /></a>
Moe's Sportster (and Honda to the left). I'm glad I wasn't riding that bike for the city tour, my ears would still be ringing.

And that concludes our tour of Mazatlán. My bike was running without a problem so I think this problem is licked for now. Tomorrow, I head for Puerto Vallarta.

 

[jrbruin]

Good stuff so far, I'm super jealous. I didn't have a good impression of Mazatlan from a cruise I took that ported there. The same cruise went to Puerto Vallarta and that was much more to my liking.

 

[evermore]

yay pictures working now thanks to the moderators!

 

[evermore]

Day 8

You know it's going to be a difficult day when you get on your bike at 7am and the thermometer reads 87F.

Making it out of town, I hit the toll road. I paid a total of $275/US$22 to get most of the way from Mazatlan to Tepic. Apparently, the toll fee acts as insurance as well but that is still rather expensive.

The toll road is surrounded by blue agave fields.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evermore/4862090608/" title="SDC12123 by evermore, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4140/4862090608_fce35ab11d.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="SDC12123" /></a>

From Tepic, the road to PV gets rather windy and with lots of traffic, it slowed things down a lot. I covered the 290 miles in 7 hours, never getting off the bike.

I've added two more Mexican states to my list today to get total of five on this trip. I crossed from Sinaloa into Nayarit and finally with Puerto Vallarta reached Jalisco. What's rather confusing is that Nuevo Vallarta (still in Nayarit) is an hour behind Puerto Vallarta even though it's all pretty much one continuous town.

I don't have much to say about Puerto Vallarta. It's a tourist town with a nice old town partially built on a hillside. Most of the streets are cobblestone as that seems to help with the water constantly running down all the streets. One definite upside compared to Mazatlan is that it seems to be a good 10F cooler which is rather welcome.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evermore/4862100092/" title="SDC12134 by evermore, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4122/4862100092_201e75ab9f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="SDC12134" /></a>
Cobblestone everywhere.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evermore/4862101946/" title="SDC12137 by evermore, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4122/4862101946_99be273cff.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="SDC12137" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evermore/4862103774/" title="SDC12140 by evermore, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4122/4862103774_0170d742cb.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="SDC12140" /></a>
And water everywhere.

Oh, I did run into a problem with my GPS:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evermore/4861473571/" title="SDC12128 by evermore, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4123/4861473571_e7616d5129.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="SDC12128" /></a>
Fail.

I did find a beautiful hostel, the Oasis. It's located in the hills in a Mexican (aka not touristy) neighborhood. The building is extremely well taken care of. No complaints for $150/US$12. Apparently it's been voted the best hostel in Latin America a couple times. I can see why.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evermore/4862098158/" title="SDC12131 by evermore, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4074/4862098158_1f42efac91.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="SDC12131" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evermore/4861477237/" title="SDC12132 by evermore, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4121/4861477237_e27287c760.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="SDC12132" /></a>
View from the balcony.

And the food in town is not all bad either.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evermore/4861483147/" title="SDC12141 by evermore, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4117/4861483147_2a86c11824.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="SDC12141" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evermore/4861484047/" title="SDC12142 by evermore, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4097/4861484047_b8b3fb77bb.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="SDC12142" /></a>
Horchata and Carne Asada for US$7. Can't be beat.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evermore/4861489319/" title="SDC12149 by evermore, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4073/4861489319_61fd29b162.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="SDC12149" /></a>
Another day, another church.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evermore/4861486281/" title="SDC12145 by evermore, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4119/4861486281_3ae7836118.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="SDC12145" /></a>
And another Malecon.

I'm not sure, I'm not sure what to make of this town so on I go tomorrow to Manzanillo.

 

[evermore]

Day 9

Each morning turns into a race between putting on all my gear before being completely soaked in sweat in this heat and humidity. I lost again.

The first 140 miles along Mexico 200 from Puerto Vallarta to Manzanillo were pretty uneventful. I saw my first rain and had to pull over to zip all the vents shut. I think this delay was what did me in as I was the third vehicle that arrived here:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evermore/4864564822/" title="SDC12159 by evermore, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4140/4864564822_efb4b150c8.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="SDC12159" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evermore/4863951643/" title="SDC12162 by evermore, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4099/4863951643_7541d55ca9.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="SDC12162" /></a>

This roadblock was put up right before I got there. I ended up being stuck here for two hours. They were workers from Tenacatita. Here is the story as far as I understand it:

Yesterday, the government came in and started evicting people from their houses and businesses along the beach of Tenacatita and burning down the buildings.. This land used to belong to an ejido (community owned) but some of the land was bought by a businessman from the former governor. He is now trying to enforce his rights, again. Apparently, this is the third time in twenty years this has happened. Mexico 200 passes by the town so I would not have found out about this otherwise. The people were saying that the road into town was blocked off by the military which would check documents and not let anyone in. Hence, the roadblock by the people.

<a href="http://69.73.170.179/ph5/read.php?12,17621">This forum</a> by expats should give some more information as well as <a href="http://www.milenio.com/node/501538">this news article</a>.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evermore/4863952661/" title="SDC12163 by evermore, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4140/4863952661_dd2e190a69.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="SDC12163" /></a>
The police actually showed up after 15 minutes but they left pretty quickly. Two hours later once I had left the roadblock, I saw a convoy of eight pickup trucks from the police heading towards the roadblock. I hope the people were gone by then...

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evermore/4864572762/" title="SDC12168 by evermore, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4101/4864572762_0e8afde7da.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="SDC12168" /></a>
Towards the end of the two hours, there was a heated argument between the road blockers and people stuck on the road.

Here is a short video of just scanning the scene.
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I made it to Manzanillo an hour later where I was having a hard time tracking down the hostel. Asking for the street at a Pemex station, a man approached me. It turns out he is Canadian now living in Manzanilla who also happens to be a motorcyclist who toured Mexico pretty extensively. After talking shop, I made it to the hostel, Buffalo Dons Mismo Sol Hostel which also happens to be owned by Canadians. It's the only hostel in town so they successfully cornered the market for now.

Tomorrow, off to Zihuatanejo....

 

[DanTheMan07]

Did you just ride past everyone and keep going or turn around to a different route.?