No more??

The road is no more.

No more will I buckle on my boots
No more will I strap up my helmet
No more will I swing that leg over the saddle
No more will I be staring towards the horizon
With the wind and the rain as companion
With the sun to drive me on
With the mountains to distract me.
No more will I be singing those songs
Over and over again
Or the conversations that go around
in circles in my head

with no where to go

No more will I look for that elusive turn off
Or that short cut
To take me where I know not
To live each day
with wonder or trepidation
at every turn.
With the knowledge that the unknown
Is only the unknown
until you know it.


And just around the corner
Is Adventure..

With your name on it.


No more?

I don't think so.

See ya next time..

Last Days..

Smithers ended up being the ‘end of the road’ for me are far as this motorcycle trip went. – and an excellent time I had there too!! After pushing it all the way from Southern Mexico I was looking forward to a bit of a rest but upon reaching here I decided that resting would be a bit of a waste of time.
I got to meet up with a lot more relatives than I knew existed up here. It was awesome after 7 months on the road to meet with people I knew or knew of. I immediately felt like one of the family and I was soon rushed away for fishing trips, hiking and extreme coffee drinking episodes..

After extending my ticket and staying for an extra week I still wasn’t really ready to leave but, as they say, all good things must come to an end. Plus I still had other things to do/ commitments to fulfil...

(Uncle) Peter and Molly were fantastic hosts and I couldn’t have asked for better attention – Thanks a lot again, you have given me some special memories that I will treasure. After travelling so long it was great to have a place that felt like home – really. Excellent food, company, conversations… and the odd rye in between..

Not only did I get to meet up with a lot of people I also managed to nip off for a couple days with a few friends – to Alaska!! Just. If you look at a map, and it has the small town of Smithers on it, you might be able to see that there is a strip of land that belongs to Alaska that gets very close – about 4 hrs drive. Too close not to go.

So it was off to Hyden to see the glaciers and the odd Grizzly bear fishing for a Salmon. The trip was done with my cousin Richard from good old Australia and Dina, from Switzerland, a friend of Carl and Jenny’s (another uncle and aunt..), who didn’t realise what she was getting into, hanging around with us, poor girl… :-)

We got to see a couple Grizzlies at Fish Creek. I was impressed by how they could move – so softly and carefully while stalking a fish and then unleashing that enormous power as they run and leap for their prey. Beautiful animals but I think I will skip on the bear hug..

A Bear Bum, as promised.....

Seeing the glaciers in the North were an excellent finish after the glaciers in the South, so many months before, tying the beginning with the end.

Good times. Even better memories…

After this trip it was a bit of a rush to get the bike crated up and ready to transport. I decided to leave the bike in Smithers, giving me more time to organise transport (plus, since I will be in Papua New Guinea for the rest of the year I won’t need it til after that anyhow..). Maybe I will just leave it there and return one day (soonish) jump in the saddle and keep travelling…. Alaska, Russia, Mongolia… hmmmmm.
Now THAT sounds like a good idea.

The Home Stretch

So, here I am, sitting behind a desk at my Uncle Peter's place in Smithers, British Colombia, Canada at the very end of my trip.
It has been a long time since I have updated this blog but the last couple weeks have been a bit of a blur as I made a rushed trip up through Mexico, The States and into Canada. Upon arriving in Smithers I was planning to take a couple days just to chill out and relax but the family over here had other ideas.. not that I am complaining at all.

BUT.
I should rewind back a bit and share a few photos..


In Guatemala (yep, still way back in Central America) I went on a bit of a tour up a Volcano to see some red hot glowing lava. The top photo shows all the people spread out on the lava bed, convincing myself once again that I don't take tours as a preferemce..

The second photo shows a few red 'holes' that we had to skip around, unless we wanted a barbeque..

Mexico....

was a big country to travel through. Some 3 thousand plus kilometers. My odometer doesn't work any more so I don't really know exactly how far I have travelled since Panama...

Spending most of the time on the saddle meant I didn't get to see a lot in Mexico. It was a lot greener than I expected. Did manage to snag an arts festival and a regional fair in two of the nights which was a bonus, getting a chance to eat some great mexican food and hear a bit a of local music, even check out the local beauty pagent...:-)

12 Countries here (plus two more to come - US and Canada). Sometimes hard to believe that I actually made it..

The States..

Like Mexico I didn't have much time so it was a real bumonsaddle type trip. My bike, as reliable as it has been, gave me a spot of bother as it started to cut out for no reason during my last day in Mexico and after entering the States. The problem seemed to disappear so I expect it was a bad batch or two of fuel..

Colorado was a very pretty state. Worth a second visit I think..

Even Utah with its dry canyons and colourful sunsets..

And after a few more hard days I entered Canada. The home stretch.

The Banff and Jasper National Parks in Alberta were beautiful which I enjoyed seeing but I was on a mission...



Smithers..

Arriving at 10 oclock on a Wednesday night after dodging deer, a bear and a moose, after almost 10 thousand kms of constant travelling from Guatemala, after 6 months of travel from Buenos Aires down the southern tip of South America and then all the way North.. my uncle gets a call...

"Hey its me, Bruce...."

bike problems

Hi.
Just a Qickie..
After a huge push through Mexico I have made it to the Sates. (Didn't realise how large Mexico was until I bought a map of it.)
However my bike is playing up. It is cutting out for no reason, starting easily each time. Can't work out the problem, a local shop not being of much help here in El Paso.
Sooo if you don't hear from me soon(ish) I'm probably pushing my bike through the Grand Canyon (or into it).

Guatemala - Semuc Champey

I really didn´t have the time but, I admit it, I am a bit of a procrastinator and the only deadline I have to break (but really can`t) is getting to Canada on time...

So I took a detour to check out Semuc Champey. A day detour that ended up taking 3..

Semuc Champey is renowned for its blue stepped pools at the bottom of a steep valley in the Guatemalan highlands. What is unique about this place is that the river, which is murky with sediments, flows underground through a cave for some 300metres. Above the underground river water seeps from the surounding valley producing perfectly clear pools of water. One of the best swimming holes I have been in. Period.

Swimming here brought on thoughts of Paradise. Though no `Eve´ around...


I thought the ride back would take a couple hours. Took a full day and a bit more. Not having much more than a mud map doesn´t help I suppose. (Of course I didn`t take a wrong turn.) Nor does waiting for roadworks to clear a few landslides..
But it was very enjoyable nether the less.

Made it to Antigua... and met Brad and Jola who I left behind in Nicaragua!!

Copan Ruinas

While in Copan I checked out the Mayan ruins there. These ruins are pretty important because of all the hieroglyphics that have been found there, helping archaeologists learn more of the life of the Mayan people. well, so i am told.. Hard to believe the size of the empire that had to be here and that just disappeared..

Honduras

Starting to get into a fastish travel mode.
Yesterday I crossed the border from Nicaragua into Honduras. A guy tried to help me (for free though he wanted a donation when we were finished and he did do a lot of running around for me..) but I think I would have been better off on my own. Atleast then I would know what was going on (sort of). Anyway it ended up costing me 40 dollars (a lot of money when you think all the other borders are free...) and with no receipt I have no idea where the cash went to. I should have demanded on but once I got the paperwork done I just wanted to get going. Apart from that it was pretty straightforward.

Today I hooned up through Honduras to Copan which is very close to the border with Guatemala. Tomorrow I might check out the Mayan ruins which are near here.
Copan is a pretty town and worth the stopover.

Camera #4...

I don´t know how to write this but

You know that camera I bought about a week ago?? Well, it got nicked.

Not a happy chappy here.

Though the island of Omepete here in Nicaragua has made a pleasant visit. Pretty weird being on a largish island on a lake in a small country like Nicaragua. Got to ride around a few vlocanoes, swim in a freshwater spring, check out some monkeys and donate my camera..

wet wet wet in Costa Rica

Yes it is the wet season. Yes it rains here everyday. Yes, we get wet, very wet, every day.

But still I manage to forget about my passport and documents which I put in one of my coat pockets after another Police Checkpoint. The bike docs seems alright. Most of my passport seems ok, with a few smudged stamps. Unfortunately the only really unreadable one is the one I need to exit Costa Rica..

Even though it is wet we decided to punish ourselves and go to Monteverde to check out the cloud forests. Yeah, clouds usually mean rain, I know.

Typical hotel scene at the moment, trying to dry everything out. A useless gesture...

Splurged out on a Zip line canopy tour. Basically flying foxes through the forest canopy and across the valleys, the longest one being around 700m! There was also this huge tarzan style swing which was pretty exhillarating. A bit like the old tree swing we made back home as a kid but then 10 times bigger...

Into Costa Rica

Enjoying some fresh Coconut after an arduous Border Crossing..

The bordercrossing from Panama to Costa Rica is supposed to be one of the better ones around here. Well after a lot toing and froing from one place to the next we managed to get it all done - in 3 hours...

Costa Rica has even more gringos than Panama. It is pretty but I don't plan to be here long. We have been following the Pacific coast at the moment with nice roads lined with rain forest and the ocean. Brad has been trying to get a new chain and sprockets for his bike which is proving very difficult. Tomorrow we are heading into the big bad capital city, San Jose, which we were trying to avoid. My Speedo stopped working after the boat trip and after taking the front wheel off tonight my suspicions were confirmed -- actually the whole sensor unit in the front wheel is completely jammed. don't know if I can fix it or will have to replace the whole unit, though don't know what I can do about it here in Central America... Maybe no Speedo (or odometer) til the States.

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away..

hi
Yesterday was one of those days that you'd love to rewind and do again. Differently.
It started fine. Got to check out the Panama Canal and on of It's locks. Pretty cool.
Then off we went (I'm travelling with Brad and Jola at the moment.). All is good. Panama has been a bit disappointing, being too westernised to what I have become used to. Then we get pulled over by the cops. They say we are speeding, blah blah, give us money etc. Eventually waved on then pulled over again 1km down the road. This cop was more grumpy and tried harder, trying to say that B&J didn't stop at the last road block and were speeding etc. Since they didn't stop it was left to me to have a bit of a yarn to him. This was all rather bothersome than being a real problem but then it started to rain. Really really rain. We soldiered on for a while to get away from these police who were phoning their friends further on and we thought the rain would deter them. BUT the rain was crazy and we had to get out of it. This was only a period of 5 to 10 minutes but it was enough time to destroy both my Camera and my Ipod which were in a pocket... You can imagine that I am not impressed. A rather expensive drenching. Thankfully I just backed up my photos onto a dvd disc the night before so it could have been worst.
So today I went and bought my 3rd camera for the trip.

For sale: One kidney..

Aboard the Stahlratte..

From Barraquilla I left for Cartegena. Cartegena is a pretty city but I was there to organise transport to Panama.

Now, for those not in the know, although there is a fairly continual land mass from the tip of South America to the top of Alaska in North America there is a section that is impossible to navigate on a bike (or car) due to the fact there is no road and the wet, muddy jungle is crammed full of baddies and desperate people. This area between Colombia and Panama is called the Darien Gap. Sooo you need to fly or take a boat.

Well I arrived in Cartegena (in the rain again) and it just so happened that I stop in a hostel frequented by motorcycle travellers and it just so happened that one of the most recommended bosts was leaving the very next next day and it just so happened that there was another couple on a bike (Brad and Jola) who I bumped into in Bolivia were also taking this boat and it just so happened that there was still enough room... Well this was too many `it just so happened` and so I jumped at the opportunity.

To get the bike to the boat it was lowered into a (rubber) dinghy from the water`s edge and then hoisted aboard. Not the normal thing a sane person does with his bike but after a few times you almost get used to it...

The Stahlratte (Steel Rat in English) is an old German sailboat for the early 1900`s which, at the moment is stationed in the Caribbean Sea. The trip to Panama takes about 2 days with 2 extra days of lazing around some picture perfect islands in the warm Caribbean sun.

The trip was fairly calm and with the help of a few motionsickness pills I managed to stay pretty alright, though spent most of the time sleeping...

The San Blas Islands lived up to their reputation as an idyllic spot for swimming, snorkelling, BBQs, hermit crab racing and general lazing around in the sun. 2 days in Paradise...

(a local Kuna village)

And then the fun began again. Since Central America is in the wet season the road from San Blas was unpassable for a mbike and so after all the backpackers got off (and the captain who was going to Panama City) we continued on with the rest of the Crew to Porvineer from where we hoped to catch a cargo boat to Miramar. Well all went well til they managed to run the boat abound on a sandbar where they were stuck till evening. Thankfully it was very close to the `dock` we needed to get to so after a couple of hours it was decided that it would be better if our bikes were offloaded.


Since the rubber dinghy from the sailboat decided not to work we made use of a local craft. The flimsy fibreglass bottom was viewed suspicously by Brad and I as we envisiaged our mbikes sinking to the bottom of the sea. I graciously let Brad go first....

After haggling a price (we were in bind and they knew it) we started our 4 hour trip to Miramar which went relatively smoothly. At the other end the last obstacle was getting our bikes off the boat. There is another boat tied to dock so what do you do? Well you tie alongside and simply manhandle the bike from one boat to the next and then onto the dock. Simple..

(a few more photos when blogger works again...)

When you enter a new country on your bike not only do need to get your passport stamped (or obtain a visa) you also need to make a temporary import of your motorcycle. Since this wasn`t possible at SanBlas we had to wait till we got to Panama City. The customs office wasn`t open over the weekend so we had to wait until today. We were a bit worried since you are supposed to do it straight away and we thought they might make a problem out of it. However after finding the right place it ended up being a smooth process. If only the rest of the borders here in Central America are going to be like this...