TURTLES AND SUNSET!!!!

LITTLE TURTLES WANNA BE SET FREE!!

LET THEM GO

FREEDOM...TO BE EATEN.. BUT FOR NOW FREEDOM!!

JUST A LIL GUY

HE IS IN THE FOAM!!

MAKING THEIR WAY!!!

SO MUCH FUN

GO HOME!!!!

ONE LAST ONE

THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE OWNER

SO SO SO BEAUTIFUL

BREAKFAST?

A PIER NEAR PLAYA SAN DIEGO

PULLING FISH FROM THERE NETS

BREAKING DOWN EEL AND CATFISH

BREAKING DOWN A HUGE STINGRAY

LUNCH YUM

FRESH CATCH ANYONE

START OF THE MARKET

CATFISH HEADS

END OF THE MARKET

PLAYA SAN DIEGO

DAY-61

1/4/2012



Woke up a little slow this morning, still feeling lethargic. Drank some coffee and headed into town to walk around and find sunscreen. We walked to the pier and I was in heaven! All of the small fishing boats were getting hoisted up onto the end of the pier and fish were being filleted everywhere. Right as you walked in there was just rows of fresh Ceviche, fish, shrimp, lobsters, mussels, and everything else you could want seafood wise. Then you walk out onto the pier and it’s just guys clean boats, nets, and fish. I eat two bowls of Ceviche, shrimp, calamari, clam, fish, salsa, lime, picante, and seasonings. SO SO SO DELICIOUS for just $2 a bowl.

            I get back to the hostel and relax, rode on my first two Chicken Buses this trip 25 cents each. I relaxed at the hostel, wrote, had a beer, and then went for a walk. I got back and was told that some others were headed down the beach 30 minutes or so to release baby turtles into the sea. El Salvador used to be known for harvesting the turtle eggs and eating them. That was made Illegal a while back so they have started to help them now. They track the turtles to where they lay the eggs; after they leave they take the eggs and give them a safe area to hatch away from dogs and predators. After they are hatch they release them into the sea and for a 5 dollar donation which helps out the families who do the work you can release a lot of them around 5pm into the sunset.

            We walked up the beach and finally found the place right before the sunset. They were swimming in a square tub, he scooped them up into a bucket about 30-40 little guys. We walked to the water and started to release them, it is amazing that you can aim them any ways and they will always turn and head to the ocean. The guy running it yelled to me not to move I looked down and there was two I was about to step on and then I almost stepped on one behind me. At one point we had like 15 of them heading toward the ocean together. They were surprisingly soft and smooth. Such a rad experience, so glad I joined in and went with them. We got back to the hostel just in time for dinner and I was so tired went to bed by 8:30.

More Pics, Guatemala to El Salvador

SO RAD!!!

MAN EATING POTHOLES!!!

JUST LIVING

THE PICTURE THAT GOT ME A FLAT TIRE

MAN DOWN

BACK IN ACTION THANKS TO THIS GUY, HE'S THE BIKE RIDER

Lanquin- Guatemala Rainforest

TUBING!!

ZEPHYR HOSTEL, Where I spent my New Years

View from Hostel

Lagoons

Where the River Goes underground

Some of the Pools

GIANT JANGA

GRAB A BEER OR COFFEE AND HEAR ABOUT MY DAY.. ITS A GOOD ONE

DAY 60
1/3/2012
Woke up no energy just feeling drained and a little fever/ cold sweat going on. Oh man, push through pack up the bike and get on the road. I headed out had to back track about 15km till my turn off toward the El Salvador Border, I made it there fast no problems. I am well over 5k miles now!

(Okay grab a beer or Coffee, I am going to tell you a story.. The rest of the day is Hilarious.)
I drive in to the border barely any cars to be seen and no lines at all, even better no buddy milling around hassling you to let them help you. “YEAH THIS IS GOING TO BE FAST AND EASY!!” I get off my bike walked to the police, nothing going on not a check point I guess. I get back on the bike ride through the check point, “whistle whistle” look back cop wave at me but he is waving at me to keep going forward. What the hell? I wave back to him if he wants me to turn around; nope he waves me to keep going forward. I go to the next check point, guards on his radio and sends me back to where I came from. I laugh and head back. Talking to them I find out I need to get 2 copies of all my info, title, lic, reg, passport, and three copies of my permit NOT THE RECEIPT. They send me up away from the El Salvador border for copies, nope no power. I head back and then they send me down toward El Salvador border, I get all of the copies and head back. “Yeah I am going to be on my way quickly this is great”. Officer looks at my copies, “where is your permit and copies?” “You copied your receipt not your permit” Oh okay I will go make right copies. “Ugh where’s my permit?” After 40 minutes of searching through all of my stuff, back tracking my steps, and making sure he doesn’t have it either, it’s confirmed that I do not have my permit... CRAP!!! Now what? He looks worried, he gets on his radio for a while then asked where I came through, which border from Mexico? “Wait what; I have to drive all the way back to the border?” “No no we are going to try and get them to fax a copy it may or may not work and will take a few hours.” “I am in idiot, what did I do with it!!!” He takes me down to the station and they start to work, I sit there for about an hour and then the officer says they are done. Sweet! No w I have to go back up to the office for a stamp on the Permit declaring it is the right SN and bike, then I can go to El Salvador. I go get my stamp; we are making jokes getting a good laugh. Alright let’s go to El Salvador, I get to the check point, “Where’s your stamp out of Guatemala?” “I don’t know they told me I was good and handed my passport back, is there not a stamp?” “Nope go back get a stamp.” So I go stand in line for 20 minutes and get my stamp, I make sure that’s all I have to do and then head to the El Salvador Office to get my  stamp and permit. I make it up to the Passport desk and a security guard walks up telling me I have to go back to Guatemala side and get my permit stamped. “What I already did this? Anyone speak English? Oh cool you do please help me, ask him why I have to go back?” Okay I head back at this point this has turned into a pretty funny joke, anyone with a radio is just laughing with me. A security guy tells me where to park, and then we make jokes as he takes me back into another office and I get checked out of Guatemala finally able to go. I go back to El Salvador Border and a security guard with a radio walks out points to where I should park and points to where to go first and then where to finish up. I get through the Passport check quick and head to the next window. The guy is speaking very fast; I look at him dumbly, and then say POCO ESPANOL!! Hahaha he just looks at me and starts to laugh with me. He gets a guy to come over who speaks English, he asks me some question, and again I say Poco Espanola. “Oh okay, but you can read in Spanish right?” “What no.” He rolls his eyes and walks over to my bike and fills out the paper in 5 minutes. After waiting 30 minutes I am giving my permits and sent on my way. YEAH I AM IN EL SALVIDOR!!! Only took 3+hrs!!! BUT I AM IN EL SALVIDOR SO SO RAD!!!

I am making good time and the roads are way better here than Guatemala, glassy smooth and fast. I get into San Ana, and get well lost for 20 minutes. Finally third time is the charm asking for directions, this time from some nice cops who got me out of there with in 3 minutes. I make it to the coast take a left and head south down the 2. I am just flying now, holding 75mph laying down some sweet turns and I should be in Playa San Diego with in a 1.5hrs. I come up on a great view and decide to stop real quick for a picture. I pull off onto a nice dirt patch and take a pretty good picture. Get back on and go through a little town, not much there. I am about 500 meters from town and my back tire feels weird. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!! HAHA I stop and yup she’s going flat quick. A kid tells me that there is a shop in town okay grab I turned around no to flat to risk messing up my only tire. I stop and she is really flat and lose my balance and down we go.. (Picture time?) Yup. I get her back up and put her on the center stand. Put my bags on the front bars and get the back off the ground. I look up and a guy had walked down from his house and is just watching me. Right as I get my tools out and start to go to work he crouches down next to me and grab some tools and goes to work with me in silence. We get the tire off quickly and start going after the tire with my irons, in perfect Spanish I ask what his name is..haha. Antonio. All of a sudden another guy maybe in his early 20’s shows up wearing a flat brim hat kind of in gangsterish clothes and starts to help as well. We change it but all I have is an 18” tube, (that’s all I could find in Baja when I blew my other one, no 17). With the 18” tube we had a hard time with such small irons trying to get the last bit of tire on it. So the younger guy says he will take the tire into town and get it fixed, I give him 4 bucks and he puts the tire in his lap and went to town. “I look at my bike with no tire on it, man I really hope he brings back my tire..haha” 20 minutes later he shows up tire on and 25psi in it. Yup that will work, we quickly get the tire on and as through the luggage on yup there goes the bike again to pavement.                  

Finally all set to get on the road. I hand the young guy 10 bucks for helping he is very thankful, I call up to Antonio at his house he walks down and I meet him half way with 10 bucks for him he smiles and thanks me. They really saved me. But now it is almost 6pm, sun is setting quickly and I have no where to stay, should I set up camp in Antonio’s yard if he will let me. At this point I still don’t feel great, and since I have been feeling under the weather all day I hadn’t felt hungry so I hadn’t eaten. Now I am getting hungry and want a bed, so I jump on the bike and start ripping down the coast. I am now in a new country riding at night, well done Fletch well done. Haha I cut through a few towns, I feel safe nothing sketchy. I stop and ask where this one town is and they tell me to keep going, nope it was right where I asked oh well too late. I stop and get gas right before I ran out and asked how far to Play San Diego, 7km. I ride down a dirt road for 10 minutes get to the beach, and then get pointed in the right direction to the Hostel El Robel. Down a dark dirt road through some fields come to a big gate with the name on the wall. I ring the bell; an English guy opens a door. I look at him and ask if they have room, “yup come in I got a free beer with your name on it” “you had me at beer”. He opens the gate and lets me in, shows me around and gives me a beer. I take a nice cold shower and feel much better, I sat down for a huge family dinner style and it was delicious and spicy. Mushroom soup and rice with ground beef. Perfect. Went to bed nice hard sleep.

New Years and Beyond

DAY 57
12/31/2011
(My days are correct now.. It looks like I never wrote about day 49 12/23/2011)

I will start off by telling the truth….I brought in the New Year by shooting myself in the face with a Guatemalan Firework, well done Fletch..Well Done..

Last day of the year, a year with huge choices made and I am smiling hugging my bike. Woke up today and was a wreck, extremely dehydrated feeling awful. I drank 4 Gatorades and had a few supplements and started to feel much much better. Had a very mellow day, took a nice nap in a hammock in the rainforest.
The night started off with a few drinks and a lot of card games, we were all waiting to have a huge family meal together. Around 8pm we ate dinner, we had a huge spread of awesome food; grilled chicken, egg salad, three different types of Salads, garlic bread, slaw, ECT. lots and lots of food. I hungout meeting new people and just having a blast. We got into teams and had a trivia game, after the trivia part there was bonus rounds. The first was we had to take a frozen shirt that was in an ice ball and somehow open it and put it on, first one wins. I nominated myself to do it. I grabbed it and ran for the fire, no real luck so I just started swinging it like a mad man at a brick wall and slowly but surely ice and concrete was flying everywhere. I was about to pull it apart and squeeze it onto my thin frame just in time to take the win. Next Bonus was how many clips could your teammates clip onto you face, this time my team nominated me for this due to my beard; and once again we won. We were in a three way tie, the tie breaker was a beer shot gunning race. A Dutch guy on our team said he could win, I have never seen someone drink so faced in my life and it wasn’t my teammate. The winner was a Canadian Girl who literally drank the beer and crushed the can in lass the 3 seconds it was ridiculous... we lost but was a heck of a 3hr game.
Alright alright almost midnight time to shoot fireworks off... what you need help, I’ll help I am awesome at shooting off fireworks. Starting to rain so let’s go quick.. Count down HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!!! They had huge square boxes that you lit and tons of small mortars would shoot way up and exploded into an amazing show. The wick was very small and right as I lit it..BANG. No time to react.. WHAM.. Right in the face.. Oh @#$% me and then the rest shot up nicely into the sky.. Okay you still have you eyes and you’re not bleeding.. haha You’re an Idiot lesson learned.. NO MORE TRUSTING OR PLAYING WITH CENTRAL AMERICAN FIREWORKS! Haha Way to start of the year…. We stayed up for a few more hours then headed to bed.

DAY 58-
1/1/2012
Rough morning waking up, everyone slept in and was feeling pretty bad. I took a nap and hung out before we went tubing again. It rained almost the whole time and was a blast. I did a lot of planning all day, trying to figure out which route I will take tomorrow on my way to Nicaragua. We had a mellow night playing a card game called spoons.

DAY 59-
1/2/2012
Woke up today feeling off, I have not felt great for over a week now, don’t know what is wrong just feel off and sluggish every day. Said a lot of goodbyes and packed up the bike. Checked out, I had not gone over budget so that was good to see. It rained all night and was still dumping sheets of rain while I packed up the bike. I got on the good old bike in the rain and headed out. The road did not feel like the same road I had come in on a lot more smoother thanks to the mud I think. I have to apologize to Kenda for hating on them before. I found out there is something on the 60km stretch of road from Coban to Lanquin that when it gets wet some oil comes out and makes it as slick as ice. With that said I rode very careful today on that stretch with no problems. I made pretty good time considering I rode for over 4hrs in the pouring rain, and then it got sunny for the last 3hrs of riding. One point today I was ripping through the turns and came up on a few cars made my way through pretty well, then all of a sudden huge car eating potholes started to appear I mean over 2+feet deep and huge. I went to pass a car, so I was close to them and could see what was coming and out of nowhere…WHAM!!! I crushed my bike on a huge pothole; I rode for awhile before I pulled over to check my tires and rims. I was praying that I hadn’t just tweaked or bent my front rim, I hit hard like really hard. When I started to slow down to pull into the gas station my bike felt a little funny. I checked the front, yup there was a small tweak to it not bad barely visible. I got gas and headed down the road, the bike wasn’t acting right okay let check again. This time I caught the tweak on the front, but then looked closer and yup I got the back one as well real dang ol good too... Crap I don’t know how I am going to fix this one, they ride fine but they are now weaker and I don’t need that. I made it to the Guatemalan, Honduras, and El Salvador border today. I got a nicer hotel due to I am in a kind of sketchy city and they offered really nice safe parking. This place is too nice and fancy for me, but still only 20 bucks small splurge. I will cross into El Salvador tomorrow head to the coast, Playa San Diego. Then cross through Honduras the next day or day after need to do laundry, I will cross Honduras in one day and get into Nicaragua quickly.