Winter wonderland...

It was a chilly ride from Denver to Illinois.

My sister, "Kool-Kat", was kind enough to let me spend a few nights at her place and fortunately let me park the HOG in her garage for a few days. Kool-Kat also let me use her Saab to ride into Milwaukee to visit my parents and other sisters and brothers. I got to spend quite a bit of time with my brother, the "Majicman", and spent a night at his place waking up to this... The plan for the day was to visit the Harley Davidson Museum but not until someone special fixed us up a big 'ole americano breakfast... I think my brother and I ate a pound of the best dam bacon I ever had!
Would a blizzard stop us from getting to the Museum? Well, the trains were rolling, and we could see out of the windshield, Stay tuned to find out!

Economies of scale...

I just reviewed some numbers that have come from this trip to date. I left Denver, CO the day before Thanksgiving 2008, so have been on the road for just about 12 weeks.
Total Miles: 9200
Countries: Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Costa Rica.
Gas: $30.00 got me 1000 miles, on average. (Gas was most expensive in the US, but not by a lot).
Cost of living: US $100.00 per day, Central America, (excluding Costa Rica), $30-40.00 per day.
Costa Rica was maybe 10% - 20% less than the States. While rental rates and property are still inexpensive, the cost of living is high. Beer, food, utilities, smokes, a movie, a cell phone, etc. are similar, or more, than in the States.
Harley Davidson, Mac, Canon, all have a presence in CA, though not everywhere. But if you own this kind of hardware, (as I do), be prepared to pay upwards of 25% more for any accessories, supplies, or parts you may need for them, in comparison to the US.
Looking at the larger picture of trade issues between CA and the USA / Euro countries, there are negotiations going on now between them all to get some kind of balance but I have read the discussions aren't progressing well. Here is a section of an article in World Trade magazine; , "Even laggards such as Haiti would be forced to reduce barriers to entry and reform their economies if Central America and the Caribbean embark on long-stalled plans for economic integration, a prospect that may get a boost from the slowdown in the United States.
"When times are tight, that can be an imperative for more economic integration," says Richard Feinberg, a Latin America specialist at the University of California, San Diego. Ruccio agrees: "In this economic climate, we will see more discussion of a Central American common market." Ultimately, Central America may join South and North America in a Free Trade Area of the Americas, which would extend NAFTA all the way to Chile--a far-reaching trade agreement that would revolutionize business in the hemisphere...
The article is here: state of the economies in CA, if your interested.
I have to ask then, after consideration of this article, "Why are we building walls along our borders rather than deleting them?

WHERE U R , I ONLY SEE ON TV , AND WOULD LOVE TO BE A PART OF IT , TO SEE THE WAY PEOPLE LIVE. " Majicman

The time is now. Let's hit the road.

The last time the HOG was in the midwest...

it looked like this:



These shots were taken in early September of last year. It is usually kool and wet here this time of year. No different on this ride. Ten straight days of rain. It rained every waking hour for ten straight days. After making some gear adjustments, over the first few days of this, it became a really nice ride. Mile after mile of a beautiful gray solitude. There was no traffic and was scraping the floorboards through every big sweeping turn these country roads had to offer, and I had all to myself.
The last shot was taken on the eleventh day, which bared the fruits of all that cryin from the sky.
I got a feeling the roads wont be the same as I begin another tour through this area tomorrow.
Feliz dia de San Valentin!

On my way back to the States...

Sorry it’s taken me so long to post. The last entry had me on my way to Panama. At the last minute, I decided to spend some more time in Costa Rica, never made it to Panama, and am now heading back to the States. Unless something else unexpected comes up, (which as you all know, I am always open to…), should be to the US / Mexico border in about 10 days.
Here are a few shots of the beach in Jaco, Costa Rica to warm you all up.



See all of you soon!

Desculpe por favor, Donde es la tortugas?

Under the light of a full moon, ten of us boarded a panga across an estuary of the Pacific to Playa Grande, in Las Baulas Marine National Park in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
We witnessed a monumental glimpse of the life of the Leatherback turtle. The Leatherback is one of the reasons I came to this area of Costa Rica. I have witnessed the Gray whales calving after their migration from the Bering Sea to San Ignacio lagoon in Baja Sur, and now had the opportunity to watch another life began again; the incredible life of the leatherback. Biologists have tracked a Leatherback having gone over 12000 miles, (three times my current mileage to date!), in it's migration to it's nesting site. The researchers here informed us that these Leatherbacks were most likely coming from the Galapagos Islands. Unfortunately, the Leatherback population is disappearing, almost to extinction. Biologists report a loss of 95% of these reptiles since 1980. The following pictures were copied from the site as pictures or video are strictly forbidden during the tour. Please visit their site.



While feeling like my presence, (10 inches from the egg laying end, so close you could smell the eggs as they fell from the 'ole girl), was a bit invasive, I couldn't help but watch in amazement; staring at these giants clamoring up the shore, painstakingly building their nests, laying their eggs, covering and camouflaging it, and then ever so slowly lumbering back off into the depths of the Ocean.
Upon returning to my shelter, at 2:30am, I drifted off to sleep with mixed emotions; Excited and amazed at what I had just observed, and saddened, and enraged too I suppose, for their loss of life in our "progress". Anyways, I wont get started about the enormity of our impact, much of it unnecessary, upon the world we live in. You all are aware.
If your interested in learning more about this incredible journey of life, here is a great National Geographic article on the Leatherback.
But your not here to read about Tortugas! You want to know about the Monkeys, Crocodiles, and bird life! Right? Well here is a hard to see shot of a Howler monkey. Up to this point I had only heard their cry. I named this one Coco.

and clearly visible are what I think are Coco's-nuts... I know, that was pretty juvenile humor, just couldnt resist...
Here is a Croc...
You can barely see his head in the top center of this pic, (D'oh), but trust me he is there, all 8 feet of him... just beneath the surface. (Sorry it's the best I got).
Lots of bird life in the Mangroves...

The Mangroves...
and how can I forget to introduce the guide. He can belt out one hellofa Howler call! I dont have his name or contact info. right now but will post soon.! he is an EXPERT, through and through and a great guy as well. Thanks man!

PEACE!

Leon and Granada, Nicaragua

Getting to Granada was a challenge. No street signs. No highway signs. No arrows, stop signs, or yield signs. No speed limit signs, school signs. you getting the picture? There are no traffic signs in almost all of Nicaragua. Additionally, there are no addresses in almost all of Nicaragua.
Fortunately, St. Christoper, in the guise of a great guy named Michael, escorted me to the main highway which left me with a straight shot to Granada. Whew.
As you know, my camera died. You want to know something else they don't have in Granada? You are correct. No cameras. I did manage to find a Kodak shop with some throw away type deals so have a few pics to share. (I will also be posting some videos of the last bells of 2008 whilst in Leon for New Years eve, soon).

The bike to the right of the HOG in this photo is about as big as they get down here... Maybe it's the water?! : )
I am not concerned about out-running anybody if necessary.

There were alot of these running around in Leon. The kid would do an intense drum role, then start hollering some things out to this doll type thing. The doll would then follow up with a little jig, and this would go on for about five or ten minutes. Anybody know the story behind this? There has got to be one. They were quite a few of them around.


I had a view of the rooftops from the shower...

Here is a few shots of Granada but first some shots of stone carvings from 500AD






This shot had me hankering for a sweet Mint Julep...


Crossing the second to last border, from Nicaragua into Costa Rica tomorrow morning, thanks to Robin. She took the time to DHL express me my original Title to my moto. Nicaragua wasn't letting me leave without it. Big Thank You Robin! Whoo-hoo!! YOU ROCK!
One more border to cross from Costa Rica into Panama and thats it. If it wasn't for the border crossings, this trip would have been pure joy. The border crossings are notoriously horrible. I mean just awful. You will spend a minimum of four hours with all kinds of folks trying to put the hustle on you. It's like a Hustlers Carnival. Every type you can imagine; no, go ahead now, really use your imagination.
talk to you later.
PEACE.