Yunguyo, Lake Titikaka, Peru: 622 kms (24019 kms)

Check out the distance covered today! Feeling suitably refreshed after 9 hours sleep Matt and I got a little carried away riding on Sunday. The fine weather, great scenery and good quality roads played a large part in the mile munching. We are now at the last Peruvian town before the border with Bolivia and will cross on Monday morning. The day has seen us ride vast tracts of the high altitude southern Peruvian plains, topping out at one point at 4400m. We then traversed the edges of the mighty Lake Titikaka, which was as beautiful as you would expect given the snow capped Bolivian mountains to the east and a menacing stormy Peruvian sky to the west that has unloaded on Yunguyo tonight with avengence.

Following on from Matt's first official road kill a few weeks back when he hit a small bird, which I regretfully forgot to report, I almost went one better on Sunday when a lamb ran out in front of me. Of course it wasn't intentional and I honestly didn't have visions of a Sunday roast in my horizons, although that really wouldn't go a miss right now! The little thing obviously couldn't decide where it should run given the vast expanses of the Peruvian altoplano and opted instead to make a bee-line for Black Yammy. He definitely hit my front tyre, probably ricocheting off my left pannier as well, but luckily for all animal lovers out there, and our attempts to get to Ushuaia, I saw it run off onto the hard shoulder where his mate, who attempted harry kiry with Matt's bike, was hopefully waiting to comfort him. Given the amount of road-kill we've seen on this trip an event like this was going to happen sooner or later. Luckily it wasn't serious.

Anyways, I've also managed to upload a lot of new photographs to the web link to the right given that in Yunguyo on a Sunday night there isn't a great deal to do except watch Steven Seagel films in Spanish. The new pictures start at "2008-11-18 - Ingapirka". Enjoy the new shots.

Machupicchu, Peru: 0 kms (23397 kms) sightseeing

Despite three months on a motorcycle, not one iota of training and copious amounts of alcohol it appears that my fitness levels are still quite high. Today we've been to the lost city of the Incas, Machupicchu, hiking to the ruins from the small town nestled at the bottom of the valley, Aguas Calientes, and thus avoiding use of those damned touristico buses belching out fumes and kicking up dust. Both Matt and I have two functioning legs so why not use them. Shame 2300 other people didn't feel the same way. "Quite" high altitude hiking in a baking heat has taken it's toll though, and we've decided to spend Saturday night in a quaint little Peruvian town called Ollantaybambo, which is a tad difficult to pronounce after a few celebratory cervezas. No surprises to hear that Machupicchu was far better in real life than the photograph most people associate with it. We even scaled Waynupicchu that can be seen in the background of the picture to the right. But, as has become the norm on this trip, the day wasn't without incident as Matt's ability to fall ill prior to big days out has continued. Here's a time-line of todays events:

0400 - wake up in Aguas Calientes (1919m)
0430 - depart hostel

0431 - Matt chunders!
0435 - Matt & Stu finally on the path skyward
0530 - Matt chunders again!
0550 - Stuart summits Machupicchu (2250m)
0610 - Matt summits Machupicchu
0748 - Stuart commences climb of Waynupicchu
0749 - Matt commences climb of Waynupicchu
0807 - Matt & Stu overtake the Japs
0809 - Matt & Stu overtake the Americans
0821 - Matt & Stu overtake the French
0835 - Matt & Stu overtake the Dutch
0850 - Matt & Stu summit Waynupicchu (2496m) - cue much rejoicing
0958 - depart Machupicchu
1120 - arrive Agua Calientes
1215 - beer!

Sightseeing is pretty much over for TransAmericas. All we need to do now is "haul arse" south, as the good ol' Yanks would say. We still have a very long way to go and only 3 weeks in which to do it. Whose stupid idea was this?

Cuzco, Peru: 316 kms (23303 kms)

When Matt and I sat down a few weeks ago and mapped out our remaining time in South America day 86 between Nasca and Cuzco involved 450 kms of riding, very much attainable given our current form. Google Map confirmed this. Imagine our surprise when we exit a gas station in Nasca to see a sign stating "Cuzco 660 kms". Overindulgence the night before and a blazing heat was not going to help the cause of getting there in one day. And after 3 hours of tight turns on bad roads any remaining chances of getting to Cuzco before the sun went down had been shot clean out of the water.

We'd been told by various sources that this new route had been paved but that didn't marry with what we found. By the time we arrived in Puquio, 160 kms east of Nasca, I was in a foul mood as the remaining distance in similar conditions would take several days to ride, time we simply don't have. Imagine my mood 5 minutes later when a motorcyclist pulled out in front of me on a dusty diversion in Puquio, traversed the entire width of the road and leaving me nowhere to go except the sidewalk. Black Yammy takes another tumble, covers the pavement in water coolant and my nogin bounces off the side of someone's house! I don't know what choice of motorcycles or helmets you readers make but I can strongly endorse Yamaha and Arai respectively! Both bike and rider came out unscathed although the fall-down stakes now stand at 7-3, which pretty much hands Matt the victory trophy, save a complete loss on Matt's part on how to ride a bike. He did try and high-side just shy of Cuzco and twitched on the slippery cobbles in the city but the score remains the same.

What we found after Puquio, however, will remain with us forever: 500 kms of the best asphalt through the most amazing scenery. And we had it all to ourselves. For hours on end we passed nobody and we could comfortably use both sides of the road like it was our own private race track. The thin air and perfectly engineered corners assisted ridiclous speeds and untold grinning inside our helmets. Knowing full well we wouldn't make it in one day we spent Wednesday night camping by a river cooking up a feast in ready preparation for a continuation of the same. Although I've said it many times before these were two amazing riding days, very much in contrast to the other days of riding we've had. It seems a shame that, ultimately, both Matt and I will forget little pieces of what a fantastic experience it was to ride between the two cities of Nasca and Cuzco high up on the Peruvian plains.

Nasca, 'the lines', Peru: 502 kms (22651)

Although I don't play a great deal of golf I think riding a motorbike over long distances must create somewhat similar feelings. I've been suffering from motorcycle hypocondria of late where every sound and problem could threaten our chances of getting to Ushuaia on time. But then these low periods have soon been polarised by euphoric experiences created by being on the road in South America.

My first ever motorcycle puncture on Monday was swiftly followed by my second on Tuesday. A nail the size of a small flag pole was extracted from my rear bike tyre less than 24 hours after a pallet staple decided to make it's home there. Matt's chain then broke in spectacular fashion at high speed in the middle of the desert that necessitated emergency treatment at the hands of a bike doctor 100 kms north of Lima. At least Matt's fate was slightly more rosier than the 25000 chickens that see out there 6.5 week lives couped up in a farm close to the scene of the accident! Couple that with some odd sounds eminating from my engine that constantly cuts out at low revs and you'd be hard pushed to think that both Yammys have had enough of this overlanding nonsense. But, like golf, just when you think the game can't get any worse, God goes and throws an upper-cut that fuels the fire to carry on with such shennanigans. For the both of us this afternoon it was more like a knock-out than an upper-cut as we rode head long in to the Atacama Desert, a veritable moonscape of sand, rock and perpetual blue sky. It all started after a delicious seafood lunch and a pisco sour on the beach in Pisco, of course. For 200 kms we rode through nothingness before arriving in Nasca in the company of two new friends: nutty Nigel from Bury St Edmunds riding a chinese Wanxin 250 and Matheus, aka Grizzly Adams, from Switzerland on a Swiss registered Honda TransAlp. Quite how one can be so low in the morning to then finish so high in the evening I cannot explain.

Huaraz, Cordillera Blanca, Peru: 388 kms (21713 kms)

Christmas came early for Matt and I Saturday as, simply put, we had the best day of the trip bar none. It was also the best day's riding either of us have ever experienced. We were in the saddle for 11 hours straight from the moment we left Trujillo at 0600 hrs.

The Pan American Highway hugs most of the Peruvian Pacific coast towards Lima but we decided to take a parallel route to take in the Cordillera Blanca. As we were arriving from the north we had to traverse an otherwise seldom ridden route from sea level to a height of 3000m that involved 83kms of the rough stuff alongside the River Santa. That's where the Christmas quip comes in! Funny huh? Anyway, once our vitals had been recorded by Peru's most remotely stationed Policeman we were finally allowed access to this little-known Peruvian playground. It turned out to be a rest day for gears 3, 4 and 5 as the route took in sand, mud, shingle and an almighty amount of dust. The track included some of the most breathtaking scenery seen by either of us to date. After 70 kms we arrived at an oasis of humanity called Huallanca where we gorged ourselves on water and Coca Cola. I was asked to stay in return for food and lodgings by the lady in the centre of the picture below. Despite her kind offer we made a polite exit to continue our travels but she will always hold a place in my heart as she thought I was only 22 years young. God bless her. The asphalt within Huallanca dried up 200m after it began and we were back off-road again, this time traversing the Canyon del Pato. The track consists of numerous hairpins, switchbacks and 35 tunnels carved out of the rock. Immense fun. When we finally arrived at 3000m we were greeted by glacier and snow capped peaks and Peru's highest mountain, Huascarán. Although shrouded in cloud when we rode alongside her it was visible early Sunday morning and is truly a beautiful peak to behold. The last 90 kms of asphalt was merely a means to an end as we rode into Huaraz late Saturday afternoon. An unbelievable day's riding, not least because we both feel very comfortable riding off-road and neither of us made an arse of ourselves. Remarkable.

I was totally finished after this day's adventures but Matt was able to dance into the early hours. Come Sunday morning however, we were both still completely toasted so we've stayed the weekend and will push on to Lima early Monday morning.

Trujillo, Peru: 214 kms (21325 kms)

Today was supposed to be a leisurely ride down the west coast of Peru. On my map of the country the colour for the relief between the two Chiclayo and Trujillo was green, not a colour usually associated with desert, which is what we found. Such landscape is fanastic to ride through and this would've applied today had the Peruvians not managed to turn vast tracts of it in to rubbish dumps. Tragic. When will we ever learn.

On a random note it was eighteen years ago to the day that Chas, Austin and Vince of Mondo Enduro fame were here in Trujillo on their way around the world on dirt bikes. They are half the reason Matt and I find ourselves on this journey today (www.mondoenduro.com). They were ensconded in Trujillo for 21 days with bike problems and, having now ambled around the town centre, I can see that time here could be very well spent. Unfortunately we will stay only Friday night before heading off on a much lauded detour into the Cordillera Blanca mountain range. Slowly but surely the two of us are riding south. We have only 30 days remaining now before our planned arrival into Ushuaia, Argentina on 21st December. I've been on the road for 81 days and Matt has been rolling 58. We still have a staggering 7000 kms to run so getting to the goal is going to be very tight.

Chiclayo, Peru: 481 kms (21111 kms)

We've just had an incredible day that can be split into 4 stages: the run to the Peruvian border, the border crossing proper, off-road and "get-there-before-the-sun-goes-down". It took two hours to get to the Peruvian border over high passes on roads of a very questionable quality. But in doing so we were preparing ourselves nicely for stage 3 later in the day. The border crossing was one of the smoothest to date despite little Hitler on the Peruvian side excersing his muscle in paperwork. Matt was scared, probably because he didn't laugh at his jokes, but he didn't phase me with his big boots and featureless face. The difference between the two sides of the border was vast, Ecuador characterised by a nice climate high up in the mountains and Peru by it's flat, arid, boring terrain and markedly higher temperature. The heat must have affected us almost immediately as we decided that all Pan American riders before us must be stupid not to see the obvious short cut on the map. Cue TransAmericas faux pas number 24. Having been kindly lead by a local for 5 kms off-road from Tambo Grande, to turn back to the black stuff and the well trodden path would've meant swallowing way too much pride. And besides, it was a lot of fun. The next 40 kms off-road will no doubt serve as one of the highlights of the trip, not least because just about everyone on route thought we were rock stars as we rode by standing on our pegs! By the time that we arrived back on the slick stuff we had only 2 hours in which to cover 180 kms to civilisation. Now that may sound easy to you Europeans but try throwing in an array of wild and domesticated animals to the mix and such a task doesn't appear so easy. We rode flat out on a fantastic road through beautiful country side rolling into Chiclayo as a clear sun dropped over the horizon. And I'm sure she hesitated her descent just to see us home. Quite the day.

Gonzanama, Ecuador: 371 kms (20630 kms)

Hello folks. Quite how we managed to get out of Quito alive on Tuesday morning is beyond me as the pollution on the city's roads is deplorable. Matt and I did our bit to reduce the amount of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere by breathing most of it in to our lungs. We'll be leaving Ecuador on Thursday with good memories of the country but having sustained untold damage to our bodies! I had a tantrum in the traffic as well which, had I had a gun, you'd all be reading about on the news. The commuting Ecuadorians must have been highly amused by an Englishman flapping his arms like King Kong and swearing profusely in the morning traffic but they all had it coming if you ask me. The locals have a penchant to hit the hooter a split-second after the red light goes green indicating people to move along, and I just flipped at their impatience. Couple this with Matt's little tizz in the morning with his panniers and we make quite the couple! Anyways, the last two days on the road have been superb and both under a blanket of blue sky. Last night we camped under the stars alongside some Inca ruins at Ingapirca. It concluded a 500km day in the saddle which took us to a height of 4400m alongside Ecuador's highest peak, Chimborazo (see photo, right, also showing a good example of an environmentally friendly Ecuadorian truck in full effect). If we could ride our XT660s on the moon, which could well be our next trip together, then this will have been good reconaissance. Today we have riden a myriad different road surfaces, mostly poor, before ending up at a sleepy village 100kms short of the Peruvian border.

Quito, Ecuador: 364 kms (19856 kms)

We have finally arrived in the southern hemisphere and the wonderful surroundings of the Ecuadorian capital, Quito. And it seems that the further south we ride the more western life appears on the menu. Quito is a hotbed of civility with bars, cafes and restaurants in plentiful supply. We know this as we managed to land smack in the middle of New Town under the cover of darkness on a Saturday evening. We've also seen the sun for extended periods this Sunday, the first time in many weeks, and this has left a cheeky smile on both our faces.

Getting to Quito from Bogota has been yet another adventure. I managed to drop my bike again just shy of the border whilst negotiating a road under construction. The fall-down stakes now read more like a Tottenham away score, pre Harry Redknapp: (Stuart 6 - 3 Matt)! Whether Matt and I managed to miss or chose to ignore all the "work in progess" and "road closed" signs is up to the reader to decide. Nevertheless, to get out of our dilema we could've either riden 1 km back to the tarmac or negotiate the near vertical mud wall in front of us. We're obviously suffering from delusions of grandeur given our experiences off the black stuff so you can pretty much guess the outcome. In our favour, and from our initial point of entry, the mud did look a lot drier than in reality! Suffice to say, therefore, that carnage ensued and luckily for us the amused onlooking construction workers, who, like most people we seem to meet on this trip think we're of German extraction, were good sports and saw the funny side of our predicament assisting us both out of our silly mess, mine more tragic than Matt's. They even offered us coffee as a form of consolation for our stupidity. Ironically the road we were supposed to be on was less than 100m due north of where we found ourselves but riding the real road to the border wouldn't have been half as entertaining.

Once we finally made it to the Colombia/Ecuador border we were greeted by a lengthy queue, the pitfalls of crossing at a weekend. Four hours later we were across in to Ecuador and riding some of the best tarmac to date through some stunning countryside. Gone were the Colombian switchbacks we'd grown so accustomed to and in their place were lengthy curves of unimaginable fun. Both Matt and I have cornering down to a very fine art. At least we think we do. So engrossed was I in fact that I managed to ride straight through the equator without even knowing it, my first ever foray into the Southern hemisphere. Matt appears to pay more attention than I when riding and called me back for the photo oppurtunity attached. We have a few admin issues to attend to and the bikes could do with a bit of tender loving care so we're going to chill in Quito for a few days. What a trauma!

Popayan, Colombia: 346 kms (19026 kms)

Well it not 'alf rains in this part of the world. For the first time on this trip we started out on a day's riding with cats and dogs streaming from the heavens. And it didn't stop all day. See picture (left) taken in Cali, coincidentally of an attractive young lady! We'd have been better off wearing speedos and goggles. What's more is that it's actually pretty cold, very peculiar since we're at 2°N. Given that this is most probably our last night in the Northern Hemisphere it's time to reflect on a few local observations, most notably how stupidly insane the Colombians are when you put them behind the wheel of a car or truck. I doubt very much if there are any rules because if they exist nobody is paying any attention. The up side of this is that Matt and I can subsequently ride our bikes like absolute twats, safe in the knowledge that we are still the most sensible people on the road. If you can't beat them join them I say. Over taking on blind bends, driving on the wrong side and irresponsibly ignoring red lights will become the norm once both of us are back in Europe.

Passing through Ibaque yesterday we were abruptly stopped in our tracks by the military which, judging by the shear number of police, riot officers & soldiers (all dressed like Robocops) present you would've thought that an attempted coup was underway! Unfortunately the true reason was far more benign. Upon being re-routed for an impromptu tour of Ibaque city centre and their cholera laced fruit market (assumed), the reason for a 2 hour hiatus was nothing more than a convoy of indigenous families on their way to Bogota to protest at the way they are treated by the government. I guess the Colombian Robocops had to prove their worth but it all seemed pretty harmless really.

Our experience of Colombia so far as been extremely positive: taxis illuminate their roof light to indicate that they are for hire, roadside vegetation is pruned by strimmer as opposed to a machete and outside city centres there are actually signposts!

Bogota, Colombia

November appears to be the festive season as today it's Matt's turn to have a birthday. We have thus taken the difficult decision to risk possible capture by Comrade Jamieastos and Friends and venture out this evening to sample some of the "crazy nightlife" recently mentioned in a Guardian review of the city. It seems we evaded capture at the airport (FARC Rebels 0 - 1 TransAmericas) but we may not be so lucky tonight. However, adventurers we are and we'll take our chances in the Bogota nightlife nonetheless. Should this blasé attitude to our welfare backfire donations for our ransom will be gladly received by Lloyds TSB, Oxford Branch.

Although we haven't been kidnapped yet, something that would obviously alter our opinions of Colombia irrevocably, the rumours that Bogota is unfriendly, dangerous and dirty have proved, as expected, unfounded. It could easily pass for any bustling European metropolis and we've so far enjoyed our time here. Mind you, it ain't cheap so we'll be packing up for the start of the long haul south Wednesday morning, most probably with hangovers! Our bikes arrived as planned on Monday and a comedy moment ensued as we had to ride Blue and Black Yammy out of the foyer of Girag Cargo, down their steps and into the car park. We then spent Tuesday morning here in the city changing the oil, filters and fine tuning our weapons ready for the next 10000 kms. You can't accuse us of not having culture though, as we're shortly off to visit the Museum of Gold. Hopefully something may accidentally fall into Matt's pocket that will fund future motorcycling adventures that we have both suddenly decided we have to be a part of.

pbase photo update

Hi everyone. Loads of new photos have been posted on the link to the right starting at "2009-10-24 - Tehuantepec". And don't be shy in giving some more money to MSF. Remember, everyone who donates receives a get-into-heaven free card. Cheers all.

Panama City, Panama

Being nautical types Matt and I were fascinated by our Panama Canal experience today staying at the Miraflores Locks for a shocking 5 hours. Our lengthy visit had nothing to do with the all-you-can-eat buffet that was available although both of us did take full advantage of said offer. It was quite a sight to watch Panamax size vessels glide gracefully through the locks barely 20 metres from our viewing point so I thought I would regail the reader with some pub-quiz type statistics from the Panama Canal:

a) the freighters above cost in excess of $300,000 to pass through the 6 locks

b) it takes 24 hours to navigate the entire canal

c) the passage of one vessel releases 52 million gallons of water in to the ocean

d) finished in 1914 the canal only began to turn a profit 70 years later! (I´m quashing all my natural urges to marry this statistic to another maritime company once close to my heart!)

But surely the above stats are eclipsed by those achieved by TransAmericas. So, given our rest day and lack of on-the-road adventure, here are a few forgettable facts and figures from Matt and Stu's motorcycle navigation of North and Central America:

a) Distance covered (kms): Stuart - 18421; Matt - 11164

b) Countries visited: Stuart - 9; Matt - 8

c) Close encounters with the police: Stuart - 3; Matt - 1

d) Total fines paid: Stuart - $110; Matt - $30

e) Number of times bikes have been dropped: Stuart - 5; Matt - 3

f) Number of chains used: Stuart - 3; Matt - 0

g) Oil consumed (litres): Stuart - 9; Matt - 6

h) Tyres used: Stuart - 2; Matt - 2

i) Items lost: Stuart - 5; Matt - 5

(Includes diary, passport, flipflops, sunglasses and random items of clothing)

j) Rain days to date: Stuart - 10; Matt - 7

k) Pairs of flip flops purchased: Stuart - 3; Matt - 0

l) Days that haven't involved the consumption of alcohol: Stuart - 2; Matt -1

We've also met some super cool people along the way who are also on the road for one reason or another. Check out their own personal adventures:

Jean-Phillipe Palthey (http://www.transamerica.ch/)

Libor Martinek (http://www.kolemkoule.eu/)

Volker (http://www.ride-of-change-2008.de/)

Wes (http://www.neopodo.com/)

Robert & Shandra Vinet (http://www.yourmileagemayvary.ca/)

Whilst our bikes are airborne this weekend we're planning on some more sightseeing and the quality control of more Central American beer. Hope your respective weekends are enjoyable. Next blog will come to you from the kidnap capital of the world, Columbia. Both Matt and I are very much looking forward to this experience and finally meeting Jamieastos and friends!

Panama City, Panama: 468 kms (18315 kms)

We have arrived in Panama City after an epic day on the bikes Wednesday. Riding over the Panama Canal in the midst of a torrential rain storm thus concludes the Central American chapter of TransAmericas. But of course it wasn't without event. I have contributed to the construction of more Central American swimming pools, this time through my third speeding ticket in a week. It was a fair cop though, as I was riding double the recommended speed despite the fact that the roads were completely empty.

It's been quite the journey getting here as Panama City has always been a major milestone for this trip. The PanAmerican Highway stops in the middle of the Darien jungle about 100 kms east of Panama City. It starts again in Columbia. If any of you could see what the jungle looks like in this part of the world you'd all agree that placing the bikes on pallets to South America is by far the more sensible option than trying to blaze a way through ourselves. To this end we have been blessed with some amazing luck. After only one day in Panama City Blue and Black Yammy are already sitting at Tucomen airport and will be freighted to Bogota, Colombia this evening. Incredible luck really as the next flight is in 7 days time. We will stay in Panama City until Sunday when we will follow the bikes for the start of the next leg.

Cartago, Costa Rica: 395 kms (17503 kms)

I have no doubt that Costa Rica is a beautiful country but both Matt and I are going to have to take the word of people who've seen it without torrential rain, mist and cloud in their field of vision. Forty kms south-east of San Jose we took the decision to take cover from a Bergen-style downpour and happened across a real gem of accommodation 2000m metres up in the Costa Rican Highlands. We had to negotiate a steep descent on a muddy track awash in water but the end result was one of the more memorable overnighting stops, not least because I didn't have to spend the night in the same room as Matt! I also dropped my bike, whilst not even sitting on it, thus taking the score in the fall-down stakes to 5-3 (Stuart-Matt). It was also possible to park both bikes in the living room, which is something that should not be saved solely for transcontinental motorcycling adventures. Maintenance and listening to the rain was all we could muster this evening. Hopefully the weather will improve for the remaining two days of our Central American experience. We should be in Panama City on the evening of Wednesday 5th November, innshallah!

San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua: 406 kms (17110 kms)

It´s my birthday and it´s not often you get to spend it somewhere like Nicaragua. So we´re taking a day off for some on-the-road admin and to have a small celebration in how young I am. We´ve also covered 900 kms in the last three days passing through El Salvador, Honduras and much of Nicaragua and my bottom needs a rest. My Airhawk luxury seat failed a few weeks ago and appears irrepairable, which is going to have an adverse effect upon the shape and texture of my bottom come Christmas. Anyway, we now intend on hitting the Costa Rican border early tomorrow morning as we´ve discovered over the last few days that the early bird gets the worm. We showed up at the chaotic Honduran border crossing at a time we thought was early (late morning) and were promptly spat out the other side 3.5 hours later. In contrast the Nicaraguan border, which I was lead to believe would be a game of wits, was a breeze and we got through in 1.5 hours. Both border crossings are rain-forest depleting for the photocopying of necessary documentation and have bled us dry of many dollars. And all for the privilige of a few days riding. Given the state of both countries I can´t see this money being invested in the local infrastructure but oh, look at that lovely house with swimming pool close to the border crossing owned by the Chief Customs Officer! Riding in Honduras was a challenge as it was characterised by random police stops and crater-like roads. The scenery at one particular point was breathtaking and made the journey worth the effort (see above). At this same vantage point Matt got chatting with some nice local lads (he has an amazing afinity to talk to just about everyone in each country we visit, and at length!) which nicely encapsulated a wonderful Honduran experience. The photo above shows Matt cracking his Leonardo de Caprio joke, in Spanish! At least they found it funny! Nicaragua has similarly been amazing. Wonderful scenery, nice roads and very friendly people. However, we made a lunching faux pa yesterday when we stopped on the banks of Lake Nicaragua. Managua can only be described as the Nicaraguan equivalant of Great Yarmouth, the only exception being that they were pumping out obscene levels of Nicaraguan dance music! But there are far worse places to chill than Nicaragua and San Juan del Sur. If you fancy a visit though, I´d get here now as it looks like it could get gringoed pretty quickly and go the same way as a lot of places in Central America!