It was in 2002. I crossed in New Mexico. I traveled in Chihuahua then headed west towards the Pacific. I crossed the mountains through Durango, MEX. Then down along the Gold coast including Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, and a bunch of smaller towns like Playa Azul. Puerto Escondido was still cheap with just the first fancy-pancy condos going up. The truck-drivers in MEX and Central America are insane. I had all lanes on a four lane highway full of 18 wheelers coming at me so many times. Iguana are dead all over the roads. And huge, dumb, slow buzzards eat them on the road. When they see you coming they jump start fly up and fly in the same direction that you are traveling. I was literally swatting buzzards off of my helmet. Everyone that walks on the side of the road has a machete. Eventually I lashed one to the side of the bike with a suvionior grade sheath. Many Mexicans are rather sick of dealing the US Americans. If you are Danish, or German, or Aussie (some folks I traveled here and there with) they love you. Most other Central Americans love you even if you are US American. Travel on motorcycle is the biggest laugh you ever have. You get off the bike NOT BELIEVING you are still alive. I mean ... I didn't tell you about the border crossing fun. Or dealing with take the bike apart looks for armas. Or the plank ferry operated by a yamaha 125 on the other side. Or the Mayan temples I saw from Return of the Jedi. That was only the first few weeks. That trip lasted about 11 months.
I have heard about the Mexican roadkill, though I've heard mostly about armadillos and tarantulas, not iguanas. Poor iguanas. That sounds like some adventure. Did you have any kind of plan for your trip? I've heard that border crossings in that part of the world can be a big deal. Any advice, or ideas on what to do/not to do when crossing the border (other than not carrying weapons or drugs of course!)? I'd love to have 11 months just to travel around on a motorcycle. If you had the chance to do it again, would you do anything differently?
Differently? Nope. The 750CC twin with a radiator is a great bike for single person road trip. I had done a bit of travel on moto in the US. The border between the US and MEX is pretty straight forward. Get copies of everything. Be patient and kind. Speaking Spanish helps avoid the mordita or at least deal with it. Borders between MEX, Guatemala, Honduras varied. Completely packed chaos led through the town (Tapacula?) into the border crossing by a gang of homeless children; to sitting and waiting for the right stamp to drop. I wouldn't prolly go through MEX right now. I had plans to visit old friends this year by truck. Everyone told me not to go. My Mexicans friends, my Guatemalan friends, my Honduran friends. SO I would love to do it again. But next time I want a sidecar to carry spare tires, more gas, and my dog.
Nice. I'll keep this in mind for the future. In Vietnam I taught my dog how to sit on one of those 100cc scooters so I could take him to the beach. He absolutely loved it and the step-through (cut out part) was perfect for him to put his back legs on. I've thought about the possibility of training him to lie flat on the tank of a motorcycle here, but since we'd be traveling so much faster here, I don't think it's a great idea. Maybe in a backpack or something.