So how did the repairs go? We ended making our 7am appointment in San Salvador without getting lost (amazing but true!). Just 3 hours after our arrival Rafael had already taken the bike apart to get to the defective seal. Satisfied that our motorcycle was in good hands we took a cab to our hotel in the center of the city. The following morning we got our bike back in better shape that ever. Like our first visit to the San Salvador dealership we received excellent customer service. A big thank you goes out to Rafael and the team at BMW San Salvador all of whom did an excellent job of making us feel welcome and getting us back on the road quickly. For more info on this dealership click on the “Tips” page and stop by if you are in the area.

We spent a week in El Tunco on the Pacific coast. Our main activities were swinging in hammocks and swimming in the pool and ocean. After a week in this little paradise, we were ready to hit the road again and decided to go to the village of Sushitoto in the north of the country.

To get there we had to go through San Salvador, the nation’s capital. Since we had forgotten to get an air filter in Mexico city we decided we would try to find the BMW shop for which we had obtained an address. Despite a few wrong turns (tends to happen to us in cities) we eventually found the dealership. There we met Rafael, who is the head mechanic. It was obvious from speaking to him that this guy knew his stuff. After explaining to him that we had a seal problem, we were still getting the telltale oil seepage, he offered to contact the BMW dealerships in Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia to ensure that they had the necessary parts if a repair was eventually needed. Talk about great service!

In addition to this, he offerred to show us an 1150GS that was undergoing repairs for the same problem in the impeccably clean workshop. In the motorcycle world, changing this seal is the equivalent of open heart surgery. To get to it you must split the bike in two as the parts are right behind the engine. It is a sad thing to see a motorcycle in such a state. While there we also met Walter who is the head of service and Nanette who takes care of international promotions. Like Rafael, they were very welcoming and very professional. Overall, our visit left us with the impression that if ever we needed repairs done this was the place to go.

After about 2 hours at the dealership we continued on to Sushitoto. The village was very nice and laid back and we ended up staying for a week in a place overlooking the lake. Not only was our place in a beautiful setting, it also included a new kitchen with everything you need to cook great meals. This kitchen, and the great hot shower, made us stay longer than originally planned.

On the 29th of January we decided that it was time to leave El Salvador and to see new horizons in Honduras. The Honduran border has a very bad reputation if you are attempting to cross with your own vehicle (very expensive and very long, up to 4 hours). We decided to put chances in our favor by crossing at El Poy, one of the quieter crossing points. Turns out that was a good call because after just 2 hours at the border and relatively few hassles we were told by the border agent that we were just 15 minutes away from being “released”.

It is at this moment that our plans took a radical turn. As has been our habit since we left Brian decided to check our everpresent oil leak. Knowing from past experience that the leak goes from worrysome to critical in a very short period of time (200 kilometers when the seal failed last year) we tend to check it regularly. As luck would have it the oil leak was much worse now. So there we were, officially out of El Salvador and not quite in Honduras with a serious mechanical problem. We made an “on the spot” decision to try and reverse all the paperwork we had spent the last 2 hours doing and try and make it back to the dealership in San Salvador. Luck was on our side as the agent was very accomodating and within 15 minutes everything was reversed and we were heading to San Salvador. Once we got to the dealership we spoke to Rafael and calls were made for a replacement seal. Turns out El Salvador was fresh out of stock but one was found in Guatemala (3 days to ship). So on Monday the 4th of February we have an appointment for some open heart surgery for our motorcycle. In the meantime, we dicided to head back to the beach at El Tunco just a short drive for San Salvador.

We’ll see what the good doctor says on Monday….

Brian and Marie-France

So what is it like to travel around this part of the world by motorcycle? This is a question we have been asked many times since we left a little over three months ago. The best way to describe it is to share with you a typical day. In a nutshell, it goes something like this:

You decide that tomorrow is the day you will leave the beach/city center/village/campground/mosquito infested, bedbug plagued, noisy, dirty, cold water only guesthouse in the middle of nowhere you had called “home” for a day/days/weeks and resolve to wake bright and early at 6 am so you could be on the road at 6:30. At 3:00am you are awaken by the chronologically challenged rooster that has decided that yes, it is indeed time for the human inhabitants to wake up. Not wanting to be the one rooster that has slept in late all the other roosters start up until slowly, one by one, they realize that rooster number one needs either a veterinarian or a date with the butcher and everybody quiets down. You are of course awaken by all this and take a few moments to count the number of mosquito bites you have collected since you went to sleep a few hours ago. The similarity of doing this with the act of counting sheep is striking and you quickly fade back into sleep. Since you did not set the alarm clock the previous night (it could be argued that this was intentional) you awake at 7:00 and quickly decide that the ride planned for the day is not as long as you had originally calculated and you fall back asleep. At 8:00 your partner decides that you must get out of bed and you proceed to do so (if you are traveling alone you get another hour to sleep in). Once you have had breakfast, loaded up your bike and checked tire pressure and oil level you are ready to go. It is now 9:30 but that is OK, you are sure the roads will be good today and that you will be able to make up the lost time (damn rooster!).

Surrounded by a few locals curious to see what a big BMW sounds like you say goodbye to the small crowd, press the start button and nothing happens. You look down and notice that the side stand is still down thus activating the kill switch so you bring the side stand back up (after 3 months of this little routine it is now almost a ritual, I must be getting older or something). You get the bike started, turn on the GPS (not a critical thing to have but it has lots of buttons and is fun to look at) and release the clutch. If you are lucky, you left it in first gear the last time you used it. If not, you wince while the engine groans due to lack of power because you are trying to get going in second gear. You finally get some momentum going and are immediately taken aback by how much the bike weights. You resolve to get rid of some excess weight but quickly decide that you love your wife too much. Besides, she lets you do stupid things like buying a GPS with lots of buttons.

You get to the gas station outside of town and fill up (who knows when the next one will be?). Off you go down the interstate/highway/road/dirt track towards you next destination. If you have gotten this far into your day things get easier. From the drivers perspective it almost becomes routine. You zip along at 100/80/60/10 kilometers per hour and stay focused on the road which to you looks something like this; road, road, road, POTHOLE (whew, that was close), road, road, road, road, road, road, COW! (don’t they lock these things up!!!), road, road, road, road, ROOSTER (damn, just missed him!) road, road, road, road, SMALL CHILD ON BICYCLE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD REALLY NOT AWARE OF HIS SURROUNDINGS, road, road, road. You get the picture.

After 2/4/10 hours of driving bliss/boredom/hell you get to your destination. The only thing that remains to put an end to your driving day is making sure you are at the place you are looking for. So you pull over and ask the slightly astonished old man/child/nice policeman holding the AK-47, the only thing you really want to know: “Do any roosters live in this village?”

Brian

Since we only had 2 days remaining on our motorcycle permit we had to decide whether we would go to Belize (2 hours away) or make a run for the border to El Salvador. Since Belize would have proved too expensive for our budget (exit fees among other things) we opted to go to El Salvador from where I am writing these words.

We went through the Guatemala/El Salvador border at Anguiatu. For the first time since we started this trip getting through the border was a little long. The main reason is that Québec license plates have 6 digits whereas my registration papers had a seventh digit on them. Apparently an extra digit is a cause of great concern for border officials in El Salvador. After an hour and a half of scrutiny the official finally decided that the extra digit did not pose any immediate threat to the security of the country and we were allowed to enter. Here is a picture of the church in Santa Ana, our first stop...

There are several differences between Guatemala and El Salvador. First off, El Salvador has great roads and even better roadsigns. After Mexico and Guatemala this is a great relief. You would be hard pressed to get lost in this country. Also, like Guatemala, El Salvador recently ended a civil war. But unlike Guatemala, the population seemed to still be well armed. This was most apparent in the town of Santa Ana where we stayed on our first day in the country. At the entrance of most shops, in addition to steel grids locked during the middle of the day, were armed guards. I can see the logic in this for a bank but for a small store selling cellular phones it seems a bit much. Having said this, it is true that El Salvador has the reputation of being one of the most violent countries on earth largely due to a gang problem. Even at the beach guns are prominent.

We are currently staying at the beachside village of El Tunco and despite what we had seen in Santa Ana we were surprised to see an armed guard keeping watch over us during the night. It seems that in addition to a gang problem this area is known as a drop point for drugs headed for North America. Despite the presence of guns in the most unusual places as well as supposed gang activity we feel quite safe in this country. Apparently the more dangerous elements of the country do not frequent the same places as a couple of tourist on a motorcycle, well... we hope.

Brian