..passing Acapulco.. :)

Hi there friends and family :)

ah well.. I was already in the office and ready to start with the theory of skydiving, as I got the message from my friend, telling me, I should do it in another place, because Mexico might not be accepted by the rest of the world (or Switzerland). Maybe it actually would, but I got too many doubts and just headed out right away.
now I´m getting more information and also asked in Switzerland some people what they think about. Maybe they can give me an update where I can make it.. it's just postponed!! ;) not canceled.

I drove this day then to Lago Patzquaro, where I stayed the night with a friend and her daugther (such a sweet little girl!! :D she made me a drawing and I think, we liked each other a lot!! ..too bad, I didn't have more time there to hang out there. They live in a nice round house with 2 floors, having electricity for a year now, but still no connection to water (so simple, basic life).

Yesterday then I drove to Ixtapa (that's like Cancun, super touristy and sometimes weird things happen because of this). Stayed in a protected camping and just put my hamock, after I jammed with some people from Poland and had some nice talks and some beers.. what pretty cool, for still being in such a touristy place.
Since I left GLD, I found myself new plans and goals for traveling. So I will be in Zipolite for the Weekend and then going to Chiapas (a state, that's much nicer than Yucatan) and want to stay for 1 or 2 weeks. Somehow have to prolongue my insurance.. will try it by calling them tomorrow.

I wonder if I will ever be able to drive normally again after Central and South America ;) ..I just go adapting and without putting myself in too many risks, you pass cars whenever there is space and the right moment. They have a lot of "bumpers" on the road, where you have to slow down (because otherwise nobody slows down ;) so when cars are lining up to pass these, I just can pass by, having much better suspension :)

I still have to adjust my bags, but overall the new way of packing is much better than before :)
was really nice driving down here!! until getting into Acapulco, there was not too much traffic (happy to be outside the town again ;). It´s the same with my bike.. as soon there is no wind (standing still), then I overheat very quickly.. so I just want to be going! ;) the engine heats up to 100ºC before the fan starts (does it even on lowest RPM). So at least I know now how this should work and if the fan would fail (what didn't happen so far), then I hear it and can turn the engine off).
here it´s hot, sun, blue sky and I really like it!!! :D ..beautiful beaches and a cheap living, a psy trance party about to come.. what more could I ever wish for? ;)

hmm.. I guess, that's it.. let's see to get out of this place.. Acapulco has been famous since the 50ies, as I heard, where moviestars from the US made holidays. I just had this name present.. they have beautiful beaches here, but as I'm not spending a lot of money (and mostly not liking the vibe of doing it ;) I don´t miss a lot here by just driving through..

OK.. hear soon from me. I'm heading out here and see that I can enjoy another sunset on the beach.. :) (yes, I'm having pretty much a real good time here! ;) hehe :) ..and dude, it's so badass to travel with a motorbike through Central America!! :D

..still in the city..

hmm.. after having been stressed out yesterday, because it took so long to get my bike ready, I'm still here :P wanted to leave today, but no idea where to go ;) hehe :) and was organizing quite a lot over the last days (I should chill out somewhere!).
I bought the leather bags for my bike (pic will follow) and they look super badass and they just FIT! haha :D couldn't be better designed and I'm happy for once no improvisation-job ;) and they would have been much more expensive, if not from the handcraft market :) I started to pack my bike and will probably head out tomorrow (or the day after :P )
oh.. the problem of the overheating was bad fan performance.. they almost changed it (we waited 2 hrs for the part) and then it seemed to work again.. hmmm.... remains a strange feeling, for how long it will work fine this way. But it would have been another 230USD just for the fan and I prefer to order it somewhere and change it by myself, if it really has to be, than just spending the money to be sure. I'll have an eye on the warning lamp and if there's a problem, I know where it lies. (I actually kinda heard that the fan isn't running as firm as normal.. should have trusted my senses ;) but I'm glad, they found something.

Wow.. and then as result of spending quite some dollars for calling and internet, I have now 2 places close to hear to make my parachute license. I actually wanted to do it on the beach, but it seems, that even the schools on the beach have their training in the inner part of the country. Well.. it's not too bad.. just don't know which one to pick and I still have a few open questions, that will be answered soon hopefully. I probably just go for it, as I wanted to do it anyway and haven't done it in the States. I think, it will be more difficult to find further down (and high prices anyway), so I should just take some time here, spend the bucks and have the adrenaline rush! ;) haha :D ..I'm pretty excited by the idea to jump out of a plane ;)

yesterday I went out and went to bed when it got day again (haven't done this lately..) and as a result, I was sleeping a lot today, getting ready for tonight ;) was contact juggling to some electronic music and pretty much rocked! ;) hehe :) was really cool vibe there.. hope to find something similar tonight. the Psy Trance Party I wanted to go so badly might be out of reach, once I choose to walk the clouds ;)

have a nice day and may life treat you well! :)

hmm.. :-/ seems I lost a post for some really strange reasons.. for it was a remindable time, I´d like to have this posted here, probably in more short form, to be mentioned in my diary ;)

I met two girls at the camping and we hung out the next beach, where you can camp for free. Was a bit hard to get there with my bike and even harder to get out (broke my boxes and looking for a more durable replacement.

was super nice triping out on the beach and we had really cool neighbours.. eat pizza made at the beach, played volley, I got invited some coffee and cake in the morning and eat some porridge. Had lot´s of wonderful conversations and a heartful goodbye, when I left the beach and picked up things in Sayulita. Was despite all a bit a stressful day, maybe because leaving the place, change, then trashing my front boxes and having the bike overheated in a traffic jam at midday. Stopped there and eat some tasty food, that lied then but a bit hard on my stomach for the next two days (well, not too bad, just normally I wouldn´t be affected at all).
I stayed the night in Puerto Vallarta, figured out about BMW dealerships, could spend a night in at Jeans place (guy that I made at the beach) and was SO needed to recharge.. take shower, wash all my clothes, shave, charge devices and organize and plan where to go..
was incredibly happy for the hospitality!!! :D ..then drinking a hot choclate and eat some crackers, watching a stylish horror movie.. was Awesome!! :)
then a nice ride over the mountains to Guadelajara.. can´t complain so far :)
thats about it ;)

..getting things done.. :)

just a short update, once here is fast and cheap internet ;)

I made it to Guadelajara (almost overheated :P and my little baby is now in a BMW workshop, where they make it all new ;) hehe (almost ;)
well, the problem seems to be known and it´s as I thought oil in some part, namely the airfilter. I could have probably fixed it by myself, but as they also set the level of oil, control all the data and make sure that the bike runs smootly, I´m happy it can be done with a few dollars.. well.. it´s about 360 bucks, but includes new cooling fluid (has to be changed) and changing break pads and fluid (hell, that´s important! :) then new tyres and changing will also be about 250USD but will be done in Guatemala, where it´s cheaper than here (hence they are not completely down).
I found myself a 13-dollar-hotel and stay in the city center.. was going out yesterday (bars pretty empty because Tuesday) and met some nice people to chat with :)
today I went looking for bags.. the shops just have for the rear side and I called pretty many places to decide finally, I go looking by myself. Ended up in the marked (biiiig) and checked some backpacks to improvise algo and found along the way some cool leather bags.. they´re not sooo big and I need to put plasticbags inside, because they don´t seal and the set (they´re knot together in the middle) is also 100 bucks.. but at least they are super durable and survive things, that the plastic boxes didn´t. So I will check tomorrow if they really fit and buy the upgrade ;)
maybe I put a fur on my seat (for being more comfi ;)
was also considering to buy a poncho, but I have no extra room.. so maybe later if I loose some things along the way ;) ..and oh, I´m proud owner of a badass-slingshot now :D haha ;) looking forward to practice in the countryside! :D

I´m still trying to find out, if I can make a parachute license here.. might still be 1500USD, but one day I want to make it, so why not just here ;) same are diving prices.. for 2 month training, they ask for about 2500USD (well, for two month it´s not too bad ;) hehe :) but it takes time and some money.. I´m so incredibly happy, I had to come back to Switzerland to work.. it didn´t just turn out as the best year in my life!!! (before this trip ;) it also allows me now to travel without worrying about budget.. riding a bike comes a bit higher than hitchhiking ;) hehe :) but as life is more affordable here and I´m having time to explore and discover, I think I should just enjoy my ride down ;)

hmm.. it´s probably all that occupied my mind. It´s really freeing to write some words down :) will get my bike tomorrow, hopefully getting my bags and then heading out on Friday, visiting some friends at a beautiful lake with volcano :) ..ah.. life is great!! :D hope you enjoy as well!!
love and blessings to you!!

..Sunshine and surfing.. :)

Wow.. it´s quite a while that I wrote something down here (or many things happened since then ;)
I had a very long driving day to Durango and straight on to Mazatlan, traveling the "devils spine" as it´s called. Really gave me a level-up in my riding skill ;) there were hundreds(!!!) of sharp and steep curves with zero visibility. rain or cold would have made it impossible to drive the 300km over the mountains (it´s the rocky-mountain-chain that continues in Mexico). I´ve seen dozens of crosses along the way, that must have come from accidents on snowy and foggy roads. Anyway, there are trucks along the way that set their indicater, when they think it´s safe to pass (because you can´t see nothing from behind). Was quite an adventure! :D ..then arriving at sea level, the bike started to overheat. I still don´t know exactly why, but might have to do with the altitude drop (air pressure change). I ignored the warning lamp for ten minutes and the hotel was already in sight, when coolant spilled out of the circuit and vaporized on the hot engine. Looked pretty dramatic :-/ and I thought, a hose has broken.. but well.. I stopped, pushed the bike to the next hotel and got myself overheated, because of having many, many layers for crossing the mountains (must have been 3000m at least). Took me ten minutes and a cold shower to normalize my heartbeat :P I remembered my fathers words, that before freaking out, it´s worth to check the situation.. so I disassembled the side of my bike the next day and found that there is no leak, even still enough coolant inside. So I assume, the cap has an overpressure valve and it opened (would be very fool proof ;) I spend 2 nights in Mazatlan, a quite touristy harbor city.. with a road along the beach for making it really loud and noisy :P
but well.. spend some time on the rooftop, doing some tai chi and kung fu stuff, watching Pelicans flying very close over the roof to get the upwinds :) was really cool!! :) they´re pretty big and dive near the shore in the ocean to catch some fish.
I had then another day riding down to Sayulita, where I stay now for already 3 nights and might stay a bit longer ;) the bike was fine so far and I hope to find a BMW dealership in Mexico city, where I could get a bigger service done (will be actual, once getting on the road again :)

here it´s super nice!! blue sky, sunshine, beach, graet waves for surfing (lots of surfers here) ..a tropical paradise! very small town, cool people (I get along well with just anybody ;) haha :D
tried some surfing yesterday and it´s really fun! I would get my own board, if I would have a car to travel (and then stop along the beach and do some surfing). I might try bodyboard for it´s easier ;) ..oh.. and met some skydivers that totally inspired me to make my license here in South America.. if I find a school, that offers the whole package for 1000 dollar, I want to do it! :D
I figured out, that a budget of 50USD per day is what I spend here.. it´s not too bad, because in Switzerland, I would have about the same.. so I enjoy eating good food and having some convenience along the way.

have a nice day and hear from me soon! ..it´s really nice to hang out here and chill for some days! camping out what cost´s me barely nothing and getting cold, cheap beer from the store ;)

be blessed!!

..Sunshine after all! :)

..waaaay better now ;)

I actually had a wonderful time in Saltillo, what first I didn´t expect at all.. went out to a bar and met lots of really cool people! :) there was a good rock cover band that I had awesome conversations and went eating some local food at 4am :) there is a guy that I might meet further down, who studies biology and we talked a lot about different plants, the dinosours they found here in the Sierra, Aztecs and Mayas, geography of Mexico.. was interesting to the bone! ;) hehe :) I got ideas where to go, what to do and what to try.. as for example drink tequila called "Mescal" (no, there is no mescaline inside ;) and eat the worm at the end (yeah.. I might do that, just for the fun of it ;) the girls are pretty and even understand them ;)
Had also conversations about corruption and drug war here in Mexico.. they have to big rivalising families, that have a bloody, messy war. But as always.. you don´t get killed, if you don´t mess with the things. For just traveling through Mexico, it´s very unprobable to get shot at a red light for honking (because you just don´t honk ;)

So I slept until 10.30 this morning, had some breakfast and drove about 4 hours through the flat desert with some mountains fading in the haze, blue sky and sunshine :) Ok.. still had 2 pairs of socks, thermo pants, cotton pants, jeans, 2 swaethers, 2 t-shirts and my full bike equipment, but it was very acceptable for a ride :) ..makes me just a bit stiff to have so many layers for so many hours.. the good times getting massages whenever I needed, seem to be over ;)

here in Torreon, I stopped in the Crown Plaza and ask where there are nice places to go out and where to find a cheap hotel ;) driving a few kilometers more and asking in a place or two, I found a super nice, relaxed place just a few blocks from my hotspots here and this for only 15 dollars (strike! :) and has parking for my bike (wouldn´t want to leave it the whole night outside.. think would be possible, but then I should probably empty my boxes, what is kinda unconvenient :P ;)

bueno.. let´s go for a taco and some grilled mais :) maybe tomorrow will be a quite night ;)
be happy and all the best! :)

..chased by the cold..

que p*ta..

I´m having the pleasure to experience Mexico in it´s snowy look.. what happened the last time 4 years ago.. so WHY now?!?!?
well.. I´m staying here in Saltillo, a small town with the population of 20 000. Checked in, in a hotel with heater and bath tub, so I can defrost my bones ;) again spending 50 bucks, but there is NO WAY to stay outside.. it has never been that cold, when I was riding my bike.. was below zero and I had my viser frozen from the ice gusts :/ so after 65km (I started early this morning in Monterrey) I was frozen to death and had to stop.. hmm.. should be better tomorrow (at least no fog :P then I could drive to Torreo that lies 260km west from here.
yeah.. it´s pretty adventurous to travel like that ;) hehe :) never know, where you end up and what you gonna eat the next day. So I don´t complain.. it´s just.. on the other side of the mountains would be sunny beach ;)
people here are super helpful!! whereever I go, they make calls for me or check the internet or giving me best rates they can. I really like this country!! :)
hmm.. what more.. I met a girl from Quebec yesterday night and we were chatting and having some drinks at the bar. I´m getting into the Mexican Spanish (it´s mostly "que padre" what means, "really cool/badass" ;) hehe :)
so yes.. exept for the cold, I´m doing well here. All these changes aren´t that bad actually (I realize, how good I am at dealing with changes ;) was of course a bit a cultural shock after 6 month in the States, but doesn´t take me very long to adapt :)

Just had to tell you about the snowy palm trees and the rough ambiental conditions ;) the handle bar heater doesn´t really warm my fingers, but prevent them from freezing to the metal ;) I´ll be shouting out loudly when I see the sun again and if it´s getting warmer ;)

here they have super highways where you have to pay and free roads.. depending of the road condition, I pay to have a road by myself (local people mostly don´t pay so you have more accidents on the small roads). it takes you at least four eyes to check the traffic and getting out of Monterrey I got a feeling how Mexico city will be ;) hehe :) but as long you turn your head and check the mirrors before changing lane, you´re fine.. just keep in mind, that they drive pretty crazy ;) ..I´m trying the local beers, food, different coffees at the gas station and enjoy all the small differences :)
by now my room should be clean and (hopefully) heated up.. so I can take a bath, eat some yummi food and explore the small city (and bars tonight ;)

Ay Caramba.. que frio!

Mexico.. here we are :D

well, well, well.. it was a bit unconvenient to get out of NY.. getting up very early, delayed flight and my beloved Swiss Army Knife, that I forgot to take out of my carry on bag :( ..so I had to leave it behind :'(

then I got picked up in Austin by Liz´s sister Sarah and brought to her auntie, where I stayed for one night.. found a very helpful motorcycle garage that let me change oil and filter and the next day I made some shopping in the morning and continued to Laredo (was it spelled like this?) anyway.. it´s a boarder town in Texas, where I stayed another night.. got too drunk and stoned and passed out in my room :/ used the time to organize my stuff and pack my bags and panniers. All in all I´m very satisfied with the last 3 days.. getting from NY to Texas and getting my bike ready. Driving down to the boarder and organize stuff and today getting all the paperwork done and driving into Mexico :D

it´s kinda strange to write this blog in English, while I´m switching to Spanish here, but might help my multi-lingual-ability ;) ..forgot many words in Spanish, but it´s coming back pretty quickly :) I had to buy an insurance for Mexico (checked a few places and found an offer for 70USD for 3 weeks.. it´s pretty OK :) anyway don´t think of getting into an accident here.
the most dangerous thing you can do is driving at night.. so I just DON´T ;)
was very confusing to obtain all the papers.. drove over the boarder (bridge No.2) and then to the temporal import agency to pay 30 bucks for my bike and another 30 for me.. didn´t get rid of my US Paper, so I parked at bridge No.1 paid 25 cents to walk across and drop that paper. Now they know that I left ;) when I came back, there were some guards inspecting my bike an I wondered what they would say.. turned out that one of them is also biker and I got my first contacts (friends further down) and it made me feel really welcome in this country! :)
to mention.. haven´t been searched or checked at the checkpoint if I got all the papers :P hehe ;) so I appreciate not getting fucked here in Central America :)
well.. it´s hard not to be a star when you arrive on a packed bike like that, but it´s the beautiful thing of riding a bike.. you get a lot more credits for it than sitting in a car.. and it´s just fair, because I´m freezing my ass off at the moment for it´s 13ºC/-1ºC ..brrr.. :-/ why does it always happen, that I have to catch up with the summer ;)
So tomorrow I can either head out for Durango (where it´s supposed to be even colder and snowie) to drive after tomorrow through the mountains down to the coast.. or waiting it out here in the city and staying another 3 days --> in fact, I more like being on the beach ;)

OK.. my time is up here.. time to have a beer somewhere in a bar and freshen up my Spanish ;) hehe :) it´s so totally different here in Mexico.. I think, I really like it! :D
hear soon from me and be well out there!
que les vaya bien! ;)