San Salvador, El Salvador: 120 kms (16320 kms)

What a day. We started out with the intention of reaching the Honduran border and to overnight in ready preparation for a crossing into Nicaragua. No such luck. As has become custom on TransAmericas events change like the wind and today it was down to a chance meeting with Mario whilst Matt and I were lost in a traffic-jam in San Salvador. By the end of the day we've changed three of 4 bike tyres, rode up to peer into a volcanic abyss and spent the afternoon at the hands of Yamaha trying to solve a persistennt problem with black Yammy. The hours slipped away and by sunset we were being entertained with delicious pupusas, rum and stories of adventure biking in the home of Mario and his family. Neither Matt nor I have ever met anyone from El Salvador before and arrived with preconceptions that have been blown out of the water. A beautiful country and some wonderful people. Needless to say a big thank you to Mario, Juan Carlos and the guys at GGI European Tuning.

Antigua, Guatemala: 242 kms (15939 kms)

Reflecting heavily upon our San Diego/Tijuana border crossing experience we subsequently sailed through Guatemalan customs yesterday like seasoned travellers. We turned up early with all our paperwork in place and wearing our biggest smiles. However, Guatemala being a less than stable country, both politically and environmentally, our flawless preperation was soon dampened when progress to Antigua, just south of the capital Guatemala City, was halted by a substantial landslide (see left). We finally made it to the safer of the two largest cities in Guatemala late this afternoon and whilst checking into our hotel witnessed a robbery. Clearly all would-be criminals, irrespective of nationality, attend the same school as the culprit was wearing a hoody and a basball cap! I was the last person to speak to the victim and, in her own words, said to me 'it's not safe here'. Clearly! I guess we'd better head for the safety net of El Salvador then! Ironically Guatemala has been a beautiful country to ride through with lakes, volcanoes and quaint little towns aplenty. Given the distances we've become accustomed to in Mexico, Guatemala has been vastly different and made today's riding feel more like sightseeing rather than riding simply to reach a goal.

San Cristobal de las casas - still!

Hey. The latest development is that we will enter Guatemala tomorrow, assuming that we awake to find the bikes are still there, that they are not leaking fuel, or coolant and that the batteries still have some charge!

We are currently still in San Cristobal de las casas at 2000m asl and roughly 3 hrs from the border. It´s refreshing cool here and this town is seriously worth a visit – I will return. Loads to do in the area with Mayan ruins, jungles, canyons, indigenous Indian villages, Amber mines and Coffee plantations and loads of funky restaurants and bars.

Unfortunately, we only really managed to experience one of the many highlights – yep, the bars. We stumbled upon a place called Las Comadres, a tiny place just off the street, dark red walls, 4 -5 tables, little wooden bar, Angelina Jolie lookalike barmaid beer, mezcal, tequila – kind of place where you can imagine revolutionaries hang out and plan the next…..err revolt I suppose! Mexican dudes singing and playing guitar, smoke hanging in the air, a super chilled ambience – the stage was set! After, feeling a little sleepy earlier in the evening Stu suddenly came alive and decided he wanted to get back on the Mezcal….shots came and went, even the worm was consumed! Then onto the Tequila, dancing followed, Dutch girls were swung about the dusty floor without regard their well being, then in a moment of madness I somehow found myself knocking out a rendition of Wonderwall on the acoustic guitar with the whole bar standing and singing along, a few bum notes did not deter them and for 3 minutes I was a rock star!!! Even the street dogs were in the door ways listening! Twas a very memorable night.

We need an early start and plan to be on the road by 07:30 hrs. It´s fair to say that our border crossing experience in entering Mexico from the US through Tijuana was not exactly text book, particularly on the night that 40 bodies were discovered in the city. However, we will build on this and should have 7 hours of daylight tomorrow with which to check out of this amazing diverse and friendly country and into Guatemala.

San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico: 345 kms (15337 kms)

After almost four weeks in the country it's actually possible Matt and I could be leaving Mexico. We climbed 2000 metres this evening from the cooking flatlands of Oaxaca to the chilled plateau of Chiapas. The day was not without event as we woke this morning to find Black Yammy with a leaking fuel tank. This was plugged, expertly I may add, by two ever evolving British motorcycle mechanics (see left). Once up and running, and with a 39 degree sun on our necks, we then had to negotiate the ferocious ventosa winds that blow north-south from the Caribbean. Matt met his nemisis at this point in the journey but soon mastered the art of crabbing on a motorcycle despite la ventosa's attempts to send us both the same way as most Mexican road-kill. We then negotiated 50 kms of twisties completely alone before the ascent in to San Cristobal which saw us riding through the clouds for our last night in Mexico. Tomorrow, esperamos, we will most likely bumble away into Guatemala!

Today I love everybody!

My new passport arrived this evening. Freakishly my humour has also been restored, which has been absent these last few days! Now, if I can only find my illustrious motorcycling partner we will set a course for Guatemala and the rest of Central America tomorrow morning. TransAmericas continues!

pbase photo update

Hi everyone. Time has been well spent here in Puerto Escondido. It's not all mojitos and swimming in the Pacific you know! I've now brought the photo database (see link to the right) completely up-to-date. New images are from "2008-10-02 - Bahia de Los Angeles" so feel free to browse for a few minutes. Cheers all. Stu

Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico

Surf´s up . . . . apparently! Having only just recovered from nipple rash after my last attempt at taming the waves in Baja I think I may opt out of surfing this time. Just stick with the apres surf hey! The hidden port of Puerto Escondido is world renowned for its surf and in particular, the Mexican Barrel! Sounds downright scary to me. There are also some vicious rips and currents so Stu and I will have to be super careful when paddling and wallowing.

Nobody recognises me anymore as I have just had my bouffant trimmed! It was getting a little out of hand and didn´t do me any favours in the overheating stakes. Now I resemble an American GI after the young senorita went for me with some clippers and a cut throat. I didn´t even realise I could say flat top in Spanish! It´ll always grow back greyer and thinner hey.

This is the first time on the trip that I have left my bike in the custody of another man. His name is Florenzo, moustache, about 5ft 6ins (big tash I know), kinda Mexican looking. Last seen wielding a large hammer above my bent and twisted panniers. I will return later this evening and, to be honest, I have no idea what shape the bike and panniers will be in!

After dabbling with some shots of Mezcal last night, we had a slow start this morning! Mezcal is an alcoholic drink largely produced in the state of Oaxaca. It´s similar to Tequila but made from a funky plant called Maguey and can be drunk with a worm in the bottle. Strong tasting stuff. Some say that the worm has halucinogenic and aprodisical properties but another Mexican said to us that if you drink the whole bottle and get to the worm then you´re bound to feel some effects. My bonse hitting the floor most likely.

We are now just 2 days riding from the Guatemalan border and our dark experience in Tijuana will not be forgotten. We´ll ensure that we arrive at the frontier at the crack of dawn, which should give us ample time for the formalities and perhaps a few informalities too! Adios.

Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico: 421 kms (14643 kms)

One hundred kms shy of Puerto Escondido the temperature began to drop, the humidity receded, the landscape went from jungle to farmland and, most importantly, the site and smell of Mèxican road-kill appeared to dry up! Despite constantly sweating and a lack of clean clothes our own body odours cannot compete against the rife smell of death on the road. We've covered 1445 kms since leaving Puerto Vallarta four days ago, all of which has been spent on the stunning southern coastal route away from the large cities. We've spent nights at Pascuales, Zihuatanejo and Acapulco but we will now stay in Puerto Escondido until my new passport arrives. This will be sent from Mèxico City tomorrow, Tuesday 21st. If it arrives Thursday then all the planets will have aligned as both Matt, myself and our dependable steeds require a few days off before the onward push into Central America. There is also only so many times a pair of shorts can be worn before personal hygene is called into question. Right now though, we're both smelling of roses and we're off to sink a few cold ones, surprise surprise!

Puerta Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico: 330 kms (13184 kms)

We've actually managed to arrive at a destination we set ourselves over cornflakes and coffee this morning. And, as I write, it has been incident free. My new chain is holding, we've managed to purchase a spare and Matt hasn't fallen off his bike. We're now sitting on the beach trying to work our way through a bucket of ice cold cervezas.

Best news of the day has been that the kind folks at the British Embassy in Mexico City have confirmed that I am Stuart Duncan and I should have a new passport delivered to Ciudad del Carmen by Wednesday 22nd October. I then have 2 months in which to loose it again!

Novillero, Pacific Coast, Mexico: 351 kms (12854 kms)

Yet another day of unexpcted adventure in Mexico. It started out so well on the Devil's Backbone, a mind-boggling road between El Salto, where we spent last night, and Mazatlan. It took 4 hours to ride 190 kms on a road built into a near vertical cliff face. Cornering was fantastic but Matt came a cropper in a traffic jam as he soon discovered that his bike doesn't fit between two Mexican big rigs. Both panniers now require the attention of an expert with a large hammer. Then, shortly after hitting the highway towards Tepic, my bike decided it didn't like the idea of a high speed maneuvere past another Mexican big rig and the chain decided to give way. Road side repairs in the searing heat proved fruitless and Black Yammy was placed on a flatbed to Acaponeta where treatment was administered. We now find ourselves way short of Puerta Vallarta, where we hoped to spend tonight. And coupled with Matt's earlier sandwich experience he also dropped his bike in front of the hotel. He is making a strong come back in the fall-down stakes but I am still the clear leader with the score at 4-3. Anyways, fingers crossed we can make up some ground over the forthcoming days.

Parral, Chihuahua, Mexico: 10 kms (11958 kms)

Nothing could´ve taken my mind off the uncharacteristic loss of my passport better than the shennangians that have occured over the last four days. It has been true adventure motorcycling and the most amount of fun anyone can have on two wheels.

Matt and I rode into Parral last night with Black Yammy nursing a leaking waterpump, a bent brake leaver, a bent clutch lever, a chain, front and rear sprocket in need of replacing, a bike operating on 2.5 litres less oil than the 3.5 recommended in the manual and two extremely muddy XT660Rs. We decided that both bikes needed some tender loving care and that is exactly what they received at the hands of Moto Partes de Parral today. Muchas muchas gracias! Fantastico!!

The reason for the fun and frolics in Mexico has been the Barrance del Cobre, or the Copper Canyon. Quite why nobody has told me of this before is beyond me as it deserves a visit by all and sundry. Get there immediately. And I think the only way to see such a place is on a motorcycle. It takes two days to get in and another two days to get out but the journey is better than the destination, as you will come to realise. The roads in were twisty, long, made of gravel, tarmac, mud and littered with stones, sand, pot-holes, wild animals and livestock, all in equal measures. And lest I forget the scenery, which is more likely to throw a rider from his perch than anything on the road. The trip culminated on Sunday with an attempt to descend 1500 metres on a 70 km stretch of gravel to the town of Batopilas, at the heart of the Copper Canyon. However, Hurricane Norbert scuppered our chances. The road conditionas went from fun to absurd to completely ridiculous as three of five bikes ended up horizontal in the red mud. We were beaten, wet, cold, hungry but having the best time ever. We never made it (see picture, left). Batopilas will have to wait but if I never see it I will have still had the best riding experience ever. And thanks must go to Troy, Lee, Deryl and Mike from NZ, NZ, USA and UK respectively for making a good event a true classic.

Matt and I must now focus on riding south to collect my passport in Ciudad del Carmen next Monday 20th October. Both bikes are primed and ready for 3000 kms of perfect Mexican tarmac. The adventure continues.

Topolobampo, Sinaloa, Mexico

Morning all. Been a strange morning so far. We have been calling over to the Baja trying to communícate on the phone en Español with the Baja Ferries ticket office at La Paz and customs guys at Pichilingua port – after being passed from person to person, extensión to extensión & making a series of calls which ultimately ended back at the same place, it seems that nobody has seen Stuart´s passport “No verlo”! Will check on Ebay next – anyone bidding on a UK passport??

In the meantime, Stu has obtained the necessary paperwork to apply for a new passport that may be issued in Mexico in 10 working days! On the face of it Topolobampo seemed like a one horse town servicing the local port, but Hotel Marine is great, it´s clean, has aircon and a pool. Just round the corner is an internet/printing/stationary store - there are definately worse places to be delayed! Next up this arvo is a visit to the Police Station to obtain a report detailing the loss of his passport. Given that are several poilce pickups crusing aroud town every 5 minutes, jammed with 5 policias, the station should not be too hard to find! Maybe we can hitch a lift! We anticpated a run in with the coppers last night after purchasing some cervesas from the back door of the store. They were cruising by as we sat on the pavement eating tacos with their tyres almost scraping the curb (Tacos in Mexico are mini tortillas that are delicious when wrapped up & crammed full of shrimps, fish or meat and the obligatory salsa picante). Intimidation tactics possibly!? It felt like just gaining eye contact would be enough to get a free night in the cells!

Forgot to mention earlier that I have my first road infraccione/infringement out of the way after being stopped on the bike in Ciudad Constitucion on Baja for simply trying to enter a road that was under repair, I did not see any signs, but apparently I was in the wrong and this cost me the princely sum of $300 pesos (20 GBP) paid via a secluded cash transaction with Señor Policia behind his car. Stu simply rode on!! Nice one fella.

Met some cool bikers on the ferry yesterday and one amazingly chilled surf chick called Sabrina from Switzerland, with a funky messed up accent from Oz/Canada/California. She´s just cruising in her car, surfing and taking it all in. She left heading south this morning but we hope to hook up with her further south down towards Guatemala. Check her out at http://surfchick.blog.ch/

Our little hiccup here will lead to a change of plans and may see us heading inland towards La Barranca del Cobre, the copper canyon, larger and deeper than the Grand Canyon….! To be confirmed. Adios.

Topolabambo, Mexico: 40 kms (10665 kms)

I knew this trip was too good to be true as disaster has finally struck TransAmericas. I've lost my passport! Quite what this means will be discovered tomorrow morning when I get in touch with some likely locations. If it's anywhere it's on the wrong side of the Sea of Cortez, which we crossed today from La Paz to the Mexican mainland. In the meantime I have Matt, 4 Gumball-type, speed-freak world motorcyclists and a surf chick from Switzerland doing a very good job of keeping my spirits up. Everybody say a little prayer or at least watch all major UK ports for a Mexican using the alias Stuart Duncan! He should be pretty easy to spot.

San Jose del Cabo, California Sur, Mexico: 557 kms (10387 kms)

We have arrived at the southern most tip of the Mexican Baja California penninsula. It feels quite the sense of achievement. Since our infamous US border crossing we have riden 1983 kms, most of which has been through desert of one description or another. But what breathtaking scenery and hospitality we have experienced on the way. We intend to take one day off here in Cabo to return our bodies core temperatures back to 37 degrees C. This will be achieved by either a) swimming in the pool, b) surfing in the Pacific Ocean, c) drinking copious amounts of mojitos or, most likely, an adult responsible mixed balance of all of the above!

Loreto, Baja Sur, Mexico: 143 kms (9830 kms)

Hola amigos,

Como estan? This trip keeps on getting better. This morning we swam in a beautiful clear blue bay at El Requeson, cooked porridge for breakfast on the beach, then negotiated the undulating sinuous tarmac between Mulege & Loreto - possibly the best 80 miles of tarmac I have ridden - see photo! What's more, Stu popped his first ever wheelie today, momentarily hoisting his front wheel high into the vulture ridden sky above Baja. Monumental!

Mulegè, Sea of Cortez, Mexico: 502 kms (9678 kms)

We swam with whale sharks today. Nuff said!

Stop Press: photo database updated

Greetings all. I've been a total mess this evening suffering heavily from 50 kms on the dirt roads of the Baja Penninsula. Unbelievable amounts of fun with some frightening near-misses.

Anyways, this is just a short post to inform all voyeurs out there that I've placed a lot of new photos on the web link to the right. Vegas features heavily. Uploading pictures is never an easy or short task and relies heavily on internet generosity so apologies I can not upload pictures more often. Cheers. Stu

Phaffing

Hi all, just jumped on to the PC. No damage luckily! It seems that I have found a kindred spirit in the world of phaff! Together, the level of phaffing in the last week has been unprecedented. Whether this is due to the fact that each morning we need to repack our tank bags and panniers and spend 10's of minutes here and there looking for random stuff OR maybe we are just natural born phaffers?

The Urban Dictionary defines phaffing as:

An activity that looks (to the casual observer) like work (or another task) but is not really all that productive, and in fact may be time wasting!!!

Riding south from Ensenada to Bahia de Los Angeles in the morning for some diving with whale sharks. Four bikes: 2x XTs, 2x Harleys (Jose & Alex), 4 riders, 6 hours in the saddle, 95 degs, Stu & I dressed for deep midwinter. Some like it hot.

Sad to leave Ensenada. Jose & Paula have been wonderful hosts and we've had a blast - muchisimo gracias guys. Surfing yesterday, trail riding today in the mountains above Ensenada, delicious asado tonight. We've sampled a real laid back Baja surf lifestyle for sure.