January - 2014

That First Jolt

That First Jolt

Days 101-109 – Cobán, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala to Parque Nacional Volcán Masaya, Nicaragua – 16,837 km The Route: A) Coban, B) Antigua, C) Guatemala City, D) Juayua, E) La Libertad, F) San Salvador, G) Quezaltepeque, H) El Boquerón, I) Playas Negras, J) Tegucigalpa, K) León, L) La Paz Centro From León, Nicaragua, Jess took Ruta 12 going southeast while I set out on an unnamed dirt road going east toward Lake Managua and Momotombo Volcano beside it. When I first left the tarmac

COLOMBIA Villavieja to Baraya through Tatacoa Desert

COLOMBIA Villavieja to Baraya through Tatacoa Desert

A beautiful and sometimes challenging jaunt through the Tatacoa Desert Dist: 30 km; Date Feb 2014 (partial) Leaving Villavieja along the Tatacoa Rd the Mirador El Cuzco, which comes after about 7 km, is a useful milestone because right about here there is a cluster of small restaurants and hotels before the tarmac ends and desolate Tatacoa Desert really takes form. Once off the tarmac, you will encounter a restaurant to two a few kilometers off and then a lot of nothing until

COLOMBIA Soacha to Anapoima past Salto del Tequendama

COLOMBIA Soacha to Anapoima past Salto del Tequendama

A great route to on which to depart Bogota going south Dist: 60km; Date: Jan 2014 Soacha is a municipality at the far southwestern corner of greater Bogota. Get yourself there because once you’re on Carrera 40 south of Soacha, your departing the congestion and beginning to feel freedom once again. Just outside Soacha, merge right onto El Colegio-El Charquito Road to follow it up the Bogotá River. You will reach the Salto del Tequendama waterfall after just 6 km of ascent. The

More Luxury Than I’m Equipped For

More Luxury Than I’m Equipped For

Days 109-115 – Parque Nacional Volcán Masaya, Nicaragua to Cahuita, Limón, Costa Rica – 17,748 km When I reached La Paz Centro after the fall on the dirt road from León, I found Jess waiting for me beside her bike on the main highway. ‘I figured you would be a while so I sat at a restaurant and had a drink. Then I came here,’ she said. ‘Wait. Did you go down? You’re covered in dirt and so is your bike. Oh, love, did you have fun?’ From La Paz Centro we rode along the lake and

Under a Persistent Drizzle

Under a Persistent Drizzle

Days 93-100 – Loma Bonita, Oaxaca, México to Cobán, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala – 15,213 km It was Christmas Eve day and we were passing through a large storm system that was expanding across the states of Tabasco, Chiapas, and Veracruz. It rained heavily all throughout the day and, also, Carretera 180 was rutted and potholed so it was very slow going. When we finally left the highway and pulled into the flooded streets of Heróica Cárdenas, it was dark and raining and we were ple

PANAMA Guabito Border Detour

PANAMA Guabito Border Detour

If you’re crossing to or from Costa Rica, here’s a short detour to spice it up Dist: 12 km; Date: Jan 2014 After crossing into Panama at the far less frequented northern Sixaola-Guabito border and after crossing the improbably rickety International Bridge over the Sixaola River, leave Guabito on the nameless, unpaved road going southeast into the fields, rather than following paved Route 915 north then southeast. The two routes rejoin several kilometers onward towards Changui

COSTA RICA Most-of-the-Way Circuit around Lake Arenal

COSTA RICA Most-of-the-Way Circuit around Lake Arenal

Make a mostly circuit of pristine Lake Arenal and find a place to camp along the way Dist: 123 km; Date: Jan 2014 Lake Arenal and its accompanying volcano of the same name are one of the natural gems in a country replete with preserved natural places. Approach the Laguna de Arenal from the north at San Rafael de Guatuso along Route 143. Make a visit to the town of Nuevo Arenal. When we arrived it was towards the end of the day so we found a place to camp at a disused boat-lau

The Cause of this Sequester

The Cause of this Sequester

Days 88-92 – Naucalpán de Juárez, Estado de México, México to Loma Bonita, Estado de Oaxaca – 13,584 km ‘They had just put the clothes in when I got there,’ I said. ‘They were supposed to do it last night,’ Jess said. ‘They said the city turned the water off last night and it only came back on this morning.’ ‘So how long do we have to wait?’ she said. ‘Two hours,’ I said. It had drizzled last night but early in the morning it stopped and now it had started again. I was flecke

NICARAGUA Managua to Masaya Via the Volcano

NICARAGUA Managua to Masaya Via the Volcano

Spice up the ride between Nicaragua’s capital and its beautiful colonial city of Granada Dist 50 km; Date: Jan 2014 Leave Managua along main highway NIC-4. After about 16 km, turn right on NN-222 to enter Parque Nacional Volcán Masaya. Google will draw you in a bit early on what is clearly a more challenging spur of the NN-222. You’re on the right route if you pass the museum after just about a kilometer on your way up. From here it’s about 5 km to the summit where there is a

NICARAGUA León to Quatro Palos

NICARAGUA León to Quatro Palos

A visit to the ruins of León Viejo and then an adventurous skirting of Volcán Momotombo along Lago Xolotlán Dist: 94 km; Date May 2010 and Jan 2014 (partial) Leave León on 7ma Calle SE (just check the map!) where just beyond the city outskirts the tarmac ends. This is a smooth, dirt, sometimes-pebbly-sometimes-sandy road that offers tantalizing views of Volcán Momotombo straight ahead in the distance. Pass through Las Mercedes village after about 18 km and then continue anoth

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