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Central and South American Adventure


Eric Hall

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Thanks buddy.
 
Gear had been great! Lots of ventilation and thankful I had it in heavy rain in Guatemala.
 
Their Carlsbad suit is perfect for here. I thin the Adventure and Badlands might be overkill.
 
You riding much? Peak season in CA now.

Not too much at the moment, balancing act with work. Outdoor dining back finally and slowly putting pieces back together. Going to be a long process.

Wrenching on the 990 has been keeping me busy. TPS sensor needs dialing in along with a tune up soon. My happy place.

Planning rides this season. Perhaps COBDR this year!
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Stuck here for another month as Costa Rica extended their border closure until Mar 1.

I may just stay here rather than explore more of Nicaragua because this place is just $10/night and I feel the extra month idle means I should probably save my budget for later.

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But make it back in time for Mojave ride right?

Mojave may not happen. Because of covid I’m not able to even conditionally reserve the site right now. They may reopen at some point but we’re 11 weeks out now and it’s getting tight. And my feeling is this person who approves the permits doesn’t want us there given she’s not been honest with me regarding when the tortoise hatchlings emerge (Sep not May).
Harley is sponsoring the event so I will be bummed if we can’t make that happen.
But if it does I will do my best to fly back and simply borrow a bike.
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This is a nice pic a buddy of mine, Sam, got recently here with a girl he met locally.

While my romantic activities have not exactly been as fruitful I am finding my time here in Nicaragua to be kind of a similar “romance” in the respect that I’m having a great time and will miss it when I leave.

My place is just $10/day and I have to share it with a rather angry wasp who’s already stung my toe . It hurt like 10x more than a bee sting. Would not recommend it.

A friend’s wife is Costa Rican and she said she called their embassy in Managua and said the border will open “next week” but most here say that’s wishful thinking.

I’ll just keep surfing in the meantime.

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Welp...

Costa Rica border closure extended to April 1 now.

I met a guy in San Juan del Sur who lives here in Estelí and he invited me back here to stay with him so I took him up on the offer.

I was told the cigar factories are closed to tourists due to covid but he said no, he can get me some tours. So I did a few of those and have been enjoying the area.

Had a tomahawk steak for $10


Food here is super good too!

Check out our IGTV channel for the entire tour but for some great pics of the Nica Sueño factory

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Welp...

Costa Rica border closure extended to April 1 now.

I met a guy in San Juan del Sur who lives here in Estelí and he invited me back here to stay with him so I took him up on the offer.

I was told the cigar factories are closed to tourists due to covid but he said no, he can get me some tours. So I did a few of those and have been enjoying the area.

Had a tomahawk steak for $10


Food here is super good too!

Check out our IGTV channel for the entire tour but for some great pics of the Nica Sueño factory
IMG_2987.thumb.jpg.de1fb4d848999ca15ce18197f77a3c89.jpgIMG_3083.thumb.jpg.4805e1fea726afd0af7303c52ec6ad6b.jpgIMG_3088.thumb.jpg.414fab08da586e169f89f81b2adb9203.jpgIMG_3089.thumb.jpg.9127ac81f4c64d1ab78f84df974b9875.jpgIMG_3092.thumb.jpg.f588470758166851dd5163170427d467.jpgIMG_3092.thumb.jpg.53a9850ae574ebd7e3b162f8000eb1bb.jpgIMG_3094.thumb.jpg.f49676d7aa3aef2ba8c355f7164c15e3.jpgIMG_3161.thumb.jpg.727926c2739716598ed596bf3e55cc1b.jpg

Dude! That Tomahawk and epic beaches. Bud, that is XLADV living. Maybe we start a moto food travel channel ... just saying.
#livingyourbestlife #xladvlife be safe friend.
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I never suspected it would take me six months to get as far as Nicaragua. I figured I’d be in Colombia as early as December.

In hindsight, I’m glad I took my time! Imagine rushing through Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras only to get stuck here in Nicaragua back in November.

Got my nice little place here for $150/month and have made some really nice friends here. Enjoying the country more and more as I await the Costa Rica border opening.

Another thing I never anticipated is the “helmet time effect.”

I’d read many ride reports that reflected this phenomena but one stands out: Alison DeLapp (alisonswanderland on IG). She’d described breaking down one day (emotionally) in a field somewhere in South America. I don’t recall exactly why but it seemed despite how much fun and new adventures she was having that she really was mourning the loss of daily contact with her family and close friends.

I got there too. I miss my kids terribly. And family. And friends. I miss that “chocolate cake” of the desert in winter, Death Valley in November (Ken Mooty Memorial), Saturday rides on the ‘Beyond Starbucks Gold Route,” etc...

But deeper realizations as well. Spent way too much time focussed on the past and not the present and future.

I found liberation actually in accepting responsibility for what I’d allowed others to do to me instead of dwelling on the whining and victimization parts.

It’s “whoa as me” until you realize you chose that shit. You let it happen. BOOM! Weight lifted.

When you allow yourself to be filled up by so many new experiences, there is just no room left for old baggage.

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I never suspected it would take me six months to get as far as Nicaragua. I figured I’d be in Colombia as early as December.

In hindsight, I’m glad I took my time! Imagine rushing through Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras only to get stuck here in Nicaragua back in November.

Got my nice little place here for $150/month and have made some really nice friends here. Enjoying the country more and more as I await the Costa Rica border opening.

Another thing I never anticipated is the “helmet time effect.”

I’d read many ride reports that reflected this phenomena but one stands out: Alison DeLapp (alisonswanderland on IG). She’d described breaking down one day (emotionally) in a field somewhere in South America. I don’t recall exactly why but it seemed despite how much fun and new adventures she was having that she really was mourning the loss of daily contact with her family and close friends.

I got there too. I miss my kids terribly. And family. And friends. I miss that “chocolate cake” of the desert in winter, Death Valley in November (Ken Mooty Memorial), Saturday rides on the ‘Beyond Starbucks Gold Route,” etc...

But deeper realizations as well. Spent way too much time focussed on the past and not the present and future.

I found liberation actually in accepting responsibility for what I’d allowed others to do to me instead of dwelling on the whining and victimization parts.

It’s “whoa as me” until you realize you chose that shit. You let it happen. BOOM! Weight lifted.

When you allow yourself to be filled up by so many new experiences, there is just no room left for old baggage.
IMG_3448.thumb.jpg.9e795b8c1476483ac2bef181ae3f9b49.jpgIMG_3424.thumb.jpg.96edf21f5be5d641ddd6eca08c1e5c89.jpgIMG_3421.thumb.jpg.d00da3d6cb6a95e54a815b42240a559c.jpgIMG_3161.thumb.jpg.c5369ffc8d4e88f72ea610fcacab2afc.jpg

Well said friend.
Bay Area moving to Red Tier allowing restaurants to indoor dine. Some restaurant relief coming for independent restaurants. Got my first vaccination shot and feels good. Living through your eyes during this pandemic is an interesting POV. While here in North America it seems so upside down but makes great news. The news that matters is your health and your personal growth. Good to hear you are taking it day by day and just enjoy the moments!
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Some good news... Costa Rica is supposed to open their border on April 5 which means I can continue South.

It’s been fun here and made some really great friends but it will be nice to move on as well.

I even broke down and bought a coffee press! Just hope I can pack it and it won’t break.

Got to see Granada last weekend. They have some great restaurants and a night club that was absolutely packed Sat night. Good thing I already had Covid last year

I have a friend, Chris White with Elephant Tours, in Costa Rica and will get to see him. A friend from Colombia wants to fly up and ride around for a week but Im otherwise not that keen on spending much time there. I’d rather get into Panama and figure out how to get the bike into Colombia.

Silver lining is Nicaragua is getting a ton of cheap Aunt Jemima syrup now lol

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Im reading about possible coffee shortage coming.  Maybe you could rent some storage and horde some?

A coffee shortage would be great for the growers. Mario from San Salvador who hosted me has a coffee finca (farm) and says the low prices means he hasn’t made money for two years.

I promise to bring coffee and cigars for High Sierra.
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Finally got to Costa Rica!

Got here yesterday and will be two nights here with Chris White of Elephant Tours. He runs a great business here of tours and bike rentals.

Tom from Motorrad Angels was going to join me here and ride but he got covid on April 1!

We had an amazing dinner last night with a5 Wagyu and some Wagyu New York’s. We toured this guy’s wine cave and had great port. Then went for a starlit dip in the ocean and enjoyed the bioluminescence.

I will go south tomorrow maybe to another beach town like Jaco.

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19 hours ago, Jason R said:

Its been 11 days buddy, still alive?  

Yes, all good thanks!

So, I was supposed to be in Panama by now but Tom recovered from his covid, tested negative and then got a ticket to fly here last weekend.

But....  turns out his gf was told she needs a yellow fever vaccination to fly to Costa Rica.  They got one but they said she had to then wait a week or so.  So they get here Monday and we'll do a bit of touring for about a week and then I'll cross into Panama on the 4th.

Since my last post I stayed in Jaco for two nights in a hostel then rode south to Quepos to visit an immigration office to extend my visa past the 17th.  When I got there they said all I had to do was purchase more of their "health insurance" and then email that with a photo of my drivers license to an email address.  I had already booked an airbnb there for two nights so that's what I did for the next two days.

Tom had booked an airbnb for three nights in Jaco and he was unable to cancel it after he had to cancel his flight so he told me to just use the nights myself, which I did.

After that I came to check out San Jose and have been here three days now.  I got a cold back in Quepos which is gone now thankfully but everyone is so covid-panicked that I am very self conscious when I cough.

Regarding the rest of my trip, I really need to consider what my next move will be.  I met this other rider, Taran from Oregon, and he's down in Panama City now saying flying the bike is his best option because the covid test he needs to get into Colombia would otherwise expire if he took a boat.  Oh, and it's now $1800.  Tom and Dennis had paid $1100 a few years ago but that was before covid.

The reason I need to ponder my next move is that while I can get into Colombia, their neighbors' land borders are all closed and while I thought they'd open pretty soon, a third wave of covid is spiking there now and so it's likely those borders will stay closed for at least a few more months.  So the question becomes do I want to spend about $4,000 to go in an out of a country I've already seen seven times?

Obviously the plan was to see just about all of South America but given the current covid situation (very much worse than the USA right now), that doesn't seem as likely.  Tracy Charles (rider from Toronto) has been back in Colombia for awhile now and is essentially stuck there too.

I really like Colombia though and there's so much of it I haven't seen yet.  Doing that on my own bike would be nice.  And I have a lot of friends there too.

And then as far as returning the US, Mexico's southern border with Guatemala is now closed so I'm not even sure if they'd let me through if I were to come back.

This medical device project I've been working on for five years is heating up as well and there's a decent possibility I can do that work remotely and was even considering applying for residence in Colombia and working from there.  This investor is in Canada and doesn't need me or want me there and all work is now done via Zoom due to covid and all the medical conferences are also shuttered.  I don't really *have* to be in the US and living here vs there will save me a lot more money.

So there you go!

That being said, I'll still be back in August to take my boy to Hawaii (cancelled last year due to covid) as well as for High Sierra.

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