Helpful Locals - 8 December 2017

8 December 2017 – Yesterday as I was unloading my motorcycle, I was thinking it’s time to perform an oil change on my bike.  I’m only 300 Miles / 483 Kilometer off an oil change. I decided this would be a great opportunity to do it. I Googled motorcycle dealers in Mendoza and came back with 3 hits. You look at Google Maps and see such perfect streets and roads. I have yet to find that as I am driving or looking for any establishment. Initially I thought I was lost, but I accidentally found the place I was looking for. It was a small place. I met Carlos when I arrived and told him I would like to change my oil. I’m not sure who owned the business; it might have been the technician in the shop. But Carlos was good friends with him. This particular business didn’t have any oil that I liked. I showed them my Shell 15W-40 oil I run in my bike. Carlos said, there is no Shell gasoline or oil products in Mexico. So he recommended we go see another friend of his. Carlos led the way on his motorcycle and I followed.

We traveled less than 5/8 of a mile / 1 Kilometer to his friend’s place. Right across the street was a Kawasaki dealership so Carlos and I walked over to see what type of oil they had. Their best oil was Yamaha 20W-40. Perfect. I bought three quarts / liters and we left. We then drove over Carlos’s other friend. He was only a stone’s throw down the street. I drove by not knowing I was going to change oil there. Carlos motioned for me to come back. I got off my motorcycle and I met Julio. Julio owns his owns his own spare parts store. That’s what refacciones means. Through my cell phone translator and Carlos, I’m told to change oil here and Julio will provide me with an oil drain pan and any tools that I need. Carlos had other business to take care of and left. I really appreciated his help.

I pulled out the tools I would need from my bag and set them on Julio’s oil rack. I changed my oil in the street in front Julio’s part store.  I proceeded to start draining the oil under the supervision of Julio. It wasn’t long before a girl showed up with a salad in a plastic box. One for Julio, one for myself, and one for the young woman. I asked if I could complete my oil change first before I would eat. They said that was fine. I hoped I didn’t insult anyone by completing my oil change first. Julio and this young woman ate their salad and I got the oil drained and a new oil filter installed. 

While I was changing oil, there was a constant stream of people passing by the store and asking questions about my motorcycle. I talked with some but mostly Julio did the talking. I cleaned up the mess, put my tools away, and closed up my saddle bags. I then sat down with Julio and we talked about family, his parts store and my travels. 

Carlos stopped by one more time and we talked. He wanted to know if everything was going ok. While he was there we took pictures, and talked some more. Carlos was telling me about his son in Houston, Texas. He left again and Julio and I continued to talk. Julio helped me some with my Spanish, which I appreciated. He recommended a restaurant that I would have like to have stopped at. I never found the restaurant. I was really hungry and could have stood to have eaten something. I located an ATM and purchased some pesos. I then went food shopping at a nearby market and purchased some French bread. I keep the bread in my bags for when I can’t find a restaurant or am too lazy to look for a restaurant.

 I was putting all my goodies into my saddle bags when this young lad walks up gives my motorcycle a real hard look. His 250cc Sport Bike was parked a couple of parking spots down from mine. I knew he wanted to know more about my bike. We talked back and forth about my motorcycle and my travels through our cell phone translators. He was coming across as a pretty smart lad. I asked him what type of work he did. He said he was a student and studying nursing. He said next year he will start studying to be a doctor. We shook hands, took some pictures and parted ways. He introduced himself as Ed something something. It was a real impressive Spanish name. There is no way I can repeat it. He jumped on his motorcycle and was gone.

I finished closing up the saddle bags and left. I staggered around Mendoza making the taxi cabs and buses mad because I didn’t know where I was going. I expected the police get on my case with all my illegal u-turns. There were so many one-way streets it was almost maddening. Blanche was going crazy recalculating. She finally settled down when we got on the correct street back to the hotel. I went back to the hotel and planned my next day travels. I also sampled one fresh loaf of bread. That bread sure tasted good with peanut butter. In the restaurant portion of the hotel there either was a wedding going on or some kind of fiesta. The music was loud and the kids were running around like crazy. The music didn’t fall off until after 10:00 p.m. I guessing everyone was having a good time. 

Bless Old Blanche - 7 December 2017

7 December 2017 – I purchased a liter of water and took a picture of the receptionist and cleaning ladies. I told them I would put them in my blog.  I think I was the first American that ever stayed at their hotel. They were very cordial. We communicated through our cell phone translators and everyone was happy.

 I left the hotel and circumvented Mexico City without incident. I never even saw the city. The Autopista was mostly rural until I hit the City of Puebla. Then it went straight through that city. Blanche performed flawlessly. Bless her. You can carve this in stone. I kept a real close eye on her to prevent her from trying to take a shorter route. Her shorter route usually ends up an adventure for me and my motorcycle, which I don’t appreciate.  I found a hotel just off the Autopista in Mendoza. A nice place.

Losing WiFi - 6 December 2017

6 December 2017 – I researched the route around Mexico City, Mexico. I prepared Blanche so she would follow the route I wanted her to take. I also sent Mary the Word document and last batch of pictures for my blog. I have been finding more and more the Wifi is too weak to send pictures through e-mail. This is a real problem for me. I wanted to send 30 pictures and I believe only about seven pictures made it through to Mary. I don’t have answer for this. It’s very frustrating.

Here are a few pictures of my hotel room.  Notice my makeshift desk consisting of a plastic chair with one of my duffel bags on it, with my laptop balancing on top.

And the innovative bathroom enclosure!

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Cleaning Lady to The Rescue! - 5 December 2017

5 December 2017 – I went to bed the night before thinking I would leave my loft door open just in case someone opened the garage, so I would hear it. The phone rings at 5:30 a.m. I don’t answer it. Then I hear the garage door open. I jumped out of bed at lightning speed and put on my pants. In marches the cleaning lady informing me it’s time to leave. Except I don’t understand a word. I go back in my room and get my cell phone. When I checked in with the English-speaking supervisor, she said check out time is 5:00 a.m. but in my case, they would allow me to stay until 9:00 a.m. I’m guessing this information did not get passed on to the morning cleaning ladies. I spoke into my translator that the English-speaking supervisor said my check out time was 9:00 a.m. For once it verbally spoke loud enough for the cleaning lady to hear and she called her supervisor to get verification on that. It came back no worries, you can stay till 9:00 a.m. I went back to bed but couldn’t get back to sleep. The garage door opening got my heart pounding and it wasn’t settling down any time soon. I dozed until 7:00 a.m. and got up.

I got my stuff all packed up and then went downstairs and grabbed my GPS / Blanche. I started looking at the maps seeing if I could find MX Hwy 23. With a little panning around I found it. I was less than .6 Miles / 1 Kilometers from it. I marked it with a point and was ready to leave. I sent a SPOT to Mary and backed the motorcycle out of the garage. I spotted the cleaning lady and told her I was checking out. She smiled. I used my cell to translate to her that I was lost in Guadalajara and that it was no fun. I said that my GPS took a wrong route which caused me to lose MX Hwy 23. She promptly pointed out how I could find MX Hwy 23. She said to take a right out of the parking lot and follow the street to the overpass and take a right. Eventually you will have a lane to merge on to MX Hwy 23. “Thanks” I said, and followed her directions to the T.

In less than 15 minutes I was on MX Hwy 23 heading out of Guadalajara. I now had to watch for Autopista MX Hwy 15D to Mexico City and was thoroughly thrilled when I came up on the signs. I stopped twice for gas and food on my way to Mexico City. I’m presently 100 miles / 165 Kilometers from Mexico City in a small town called Atlacomulco, Mexico. Tomorrow I will plan strategy and work with Blanche on how to get around the city. I don’t want another goof up like the trip in to Guadalajara.

No Tell Motel, But I'm Going to Tell - 4 December 2017

4 December 2017 – Before I left this morning I had to turn in to the cleaning lady the: air conditioner remote, TV remote, and the Hotel Rio monogrammed towel. I had to sign for that towel when I checked in. Sheesh.  

So, off we go. It was one of the best riding days I’ve had in weeks. I gas up and I notice my rear tire was a little low on air. I checked it. 24 lbs. a little low so I put some air in it. I’ll have to watch that. It may have a slow leak. I hope not. I enjoyed mostly straight 60 Mph / 100 Kph riding. I was going places and it felt good.

At the first toll booth, I asked about purchasing an electronic pass and the people thought I was nuts. Nobody could seem to get the idea I wanted to purchase a pass. So much for translators... I bet they had a bunch of laughs over that. I stopped at a second place and asked about purchasing the electronic pass. No luck there. They thought I wanted to add money to my existing pass. Finally, the lady called up her daughter, who spoke excellent English. I mean good, American English. I talked to her and she translated for her mother. Once her mother realized what I wanted, she said they didn’t sell them at her store. So, I bought some stuff for the grief I caused those ladies and left.

After I left the building another guy approached me and asked if was having any problems. He thought I was out of money and needed help. I explained the whole electronic pass thing and told him I didn’t need any money. He thought I could buy one further in to the city but he didn’t know for sure. Why are they so hard to find? I was hoping to get an electronic pass and then activate it tonight but that didn’t happen.

I was about 9 miles / 15 Kilometers out of the city. I got Blanche tracking correctly and I watching her carefully that she didn’t deviate. Everything was looking good and then she picked Hwy 15.  Everything was still looking ok, but something didn’t seem quite right. Within about 6 miles / 10 Kilometers down the road I was in downtown Guadalajara Centro. Lots and Lots traffic. I was stuck in traffic and couldn’t get out of it. Deeper and deeper into the city I went. Here we go on another adventure. Finally, I got to a side street, totally lost. I pondered my situation and finally just decided to follow her directions to the point I put on her map. It was a crazy ride, but I got there.

The nearer I got to the point, the more I began to smell a familiar smell. The area I was in smelled just like the Crystal Sugar Plant in Grand Forks, North Dakota. What I was smelling was sugar cane being processed into sugar. This area I was in is an industrial area so I thought there would be a slim chance of having a hotel in the neighborhood. So, what do I do now? I looked at the clock. 5:00 p.m. with heavy traffic. I thought I’d just check to see where the nearest hotel was and drive to it. It was a .6 Mile / 1 Kilometer away. I drove to it and at first glance I thought I would pass on it. Then I looked in and it looked real nice. 

I went in and checked it out. The receptionist showed me around and I decided to stay. We couldn’t seem to come to an agreement on the price of the room due to language problems. Mainly mine. So, she called up her supervisor who spoke English. We agreed on the price and that I was to leave by 9:00 a.m. tomorrow. It was a done deal and I paid for the room. The room comes with its own garage, mood lighting, king size bed, security portal, a beautiful statue in an all-tiled garage and a nice bathroom. Basically, it’s for people to have secret rendezvous. The car is out of sight of prying eyes. You don’t sign in. You pay cash. No one needs to know anything. Even the guy that delivers pizza or booze can’t see you. The money gets put in the portal and turned 180 degrees. The food / booze then gets put into the portal and spun back around 180 degrees to the customer in the room. Too bad it didn’t come with Wi-Fi so I could find my way out of this town a little more easily. I don’t think I’m too far from Mexico Hwy 23 so I should be able find my way out of town. We’ll see how helpful Blanche can be. It’s time for bed.

Blanche: Friend or Foe? - 3 December 2017

3 December 2017 – Hotel Rio was not only a nice hotel but it also had really good Wi-Fi. It was the best Skyping Wi-Fi Mary and I ever talked over. So I was a little hungry this morning and I had eaten all my French bread.  I buy French bread at the Mercado because it holds up better in my saddle bags. I only had a little peanut butter left and that wasn’t cutting it for the next 24 hours. I needed to venture out and find some food. I got out my computer and looked for a supermarket. I found one nearby and drove over to it. Turns out it was only a convenience store. I bought a loaf of bread and a liter of water. Then if I’m getting on those toll roads tomorrow, I better get some money. I had Blanche search out an ATM for me. She found one down a couple of blocks and to the right.

As I was driving there I saw several outdoor restaurants and a supermarket. It was the largest Mexican food market I’ve seen in a long time. I stopped in the restaurant and ordered breakfast. It was the first time I was served food on cracked and chipped dishes. The food was really good and it stopped my belly button from rubbing on my back bone. I went back to the market / mercado and bought some apples, bananas and peanut butter. I loaded up my bike, stopped by the bank, purchased some pesos and went back to the hotel. A successful outing.

The rest of the day I studied my Mexico map along with my computer looking for a route around Guadalajara and Mexico City. By 5:00 p.m. I had found one. The trick now is to get Blanche to buy in on the route. She can get real stubborn about wanting to follow her directions only. I wrote all my directions down on my masking tape that I stick to my motorcycle gas tank. I compared Blanche’s maps to Google Maps and marked a point on her maps that she can navigate toward. I marked two points and double checked each of them. That was for Guadalajara. I figured out the route for Mexico City but didn’t make any entries for that yet. I have to get around Guadalajara before I’ll worry about Mexico City.

I finally got that all sorted out by 10 p.m. I made myself two peanut butter sandwiches before I went to bed. Tomorrow I will have to be on top of my game before I tackle Guadalajara. Any mistakes and I won’t know where I am. Scary, isn’t it? I don’t have any maps for the city and can’t speak the language. I have to trust Blanche and that’s even scarier.

Pushin' On - 2 December 2017

2 December 2017 – I got up early to leave Las Varas, Mexico. I wanted to get some kilometers under my belt. I was ready to leave by 8:00 a.m. but it seemed like nothing was moving. No hotel staff was present. Come to find out I was right on the edge of a time zone. My cell phone was saying it was 8 o’clock and the local time was 7:00 a.m. This hotel took security seriously. All the windows were covered with expanded sheet metal screens, all the vents for the bathrooms and showers had bars bolted in, the walls going around the hotel had shards of glass embedded in the concrete and the entrance to the hotel had a 12 foot / 4-meter-high gate that was open and closed with a garage door opener. The gate closed at 1:00 a.m. in the morning and did not opened till 7:00 a.m. I asked the lady who operated the hotel about the gate and she said it was put there so she could sleep better. It was a nice clean place and reasonable. I paid the cleaning lady for washing my clothes and left.

As I drove out of town there was a semi-truck laying on its side. It happened during the night. The driver pulled over to the shoulder and didn’t see the drainage ditch alongside the road. The right-side wheels fell into the drainage ditch and the truck flopped over on its right side. The drainage ditch was about 12 Inches / 31 Centimeters deep. A bad night and day for the driver.

I continued on into Puerto Vallarta on Hwy 200. Initially coming into the city, the buildings, the streets and highways were very modern. There were lots of tourists everywhere. Then the highway was directed through the tourist shopping area. It’s an older part of town swarming with people. The streets I would say, were cobblestone. The stones stuck above the concrete from 1/2 to 1 inch / 2 to 3 centimeters and spaced about 2 inches / 5 centimeters apart. Driving slowly over these stones, to say the very least, is difficult with my motorcycle. They were similar to the speed bumps you find in parking lots. Some of the streets have broken up over time, which added to my driving attentiveness. I was 100 percent focused on driving as I worked my way through this shopping district.

Eventually, the road worked its way out of the city, suburbs, and then became rural again. The rest of the day was pretty much driving mountains with their endless switch backs and curves. About 1:00 p.m. I stopped at a roadside restaurant for lunch. Of course I was the focus of everyone’s attention. Who is this guy? I ordered my favorite Huevos Rancheros. No problems with ordering it. I ate it, paid my bill and was leaving.

I was outside putting on my helmet and one of guys sitting at the table next to me asked in good American English “where are you from?” I was a bit shocked.  I told him St. Paul / Minneapolis, Minnesota area. He asked if I rode my motorcycle all the way down here. I told him, yes. I asked him where he was from and he said, Portland, Oregon. He said he drove down to Mexico and was visiting family. He said he was on his way back to Portland. Again, the small world we live in.

I got on my bike and drove about a 20 mile straight stretch of road. All new black top. I thought I died and went to Heaven. Wherever there is sunshine thought, there a little rain. Mexico is in the process of improving this highway in this area. Probably about 20 miles of it was in some sort of re-building. I was going from dirt to pavement and back forth. In one particular area they had a valley dug out of the road. It was about 40 feet / 14 meters deep and I had to ride down and up in loose dirt combined with rocks. I waited till the last car cleared the valley and took a run for it. I could not stall on the upside of that valley. If did, I probably couldn’t get going again. I was on the gas and kick’n ass. I made it up and out of the valley ok and continued on through the road construction. I imagine I will see more of that in my future.

I continued to ride until 4:00 p.m., then pushed the lodging button on my GPS looking for the nearest hotel. I found one near the town of Melaque called Hotel Rio. I rode about 200 miles / 322 kilometers and my butt was feeling it. I checked my oil mileage and it has been just about 2,000 miles / 3226 kilometers since I changed it in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. I’ve got to make a decision whether to keep going on Hwy 200 with all the curves and switch backs, or get on the Mexican tollways. I like Hwy 200 because it’s more rural and has small towns. I just can’t make any headway though. A lot of 35 Mph / 56 Kph. Getting on the tollways will take some planning on my part. So, I have to look at the map and plan some strategy. Time for bed.