This plate courtesy of Stephen Verdon who I met today who gave me an egg to purify my water and then told me about one of his enterprises. Very interesting dude who likes to share knowledge, as are many of the people I’ve been meeting along the way including Gerry who was with Jan and I also. Stephen gave me a bandana, but first the egg, which may be doing good work in Africa. I don’t know myself and I haven’t yet tried the egg which can apparantly turn dirty water into good water, a litre in 30 minutes. Thanks Stephen ….. for both gifts. Here is the website ….. TheGoldenEgg
So back in Nicaragua when I was talking to people and they learned that I am riding a bike down they would say, Hey you just missed a guy, a Dutch guy named Jan(pronounced Yan) who is riding a ’43 Harley originally from the Canadian Forces from Alaska to somewhere in South America. Jan (not correct spelling for this is his English/Espanole name), anyway this dude was just here. So more and more I would here something about Jan or the bike’s history and such and by the end of the 3 nights in Nic I was thinking I might catch up with this guy. Wayne who owns the Zoom bar thought he might be in SA by now, Jimmy three fingers laughed and said I’ll bet he’s still in Playa Del Coco cause he stayed here for 3 months after falling in love with a girl and dealling with his bike and hanging out, (even though nobody ever uses those exact words for nobody really knows, but I’m trying to relay the info quickly) ….
… so we get to Coco and look for Jimmy’s friends place, Jimbo’s place to be precise, the La Vida Loca, and we find it and I say to Scott you won’t like it, and while we were contemplating a motel to stay in right in front of us this guy comes up and says, you can have secure parking here, I stay here and then … hey wait a minute what’s your name, and he says something and I say wait a minute are you that Dutch guy with the ’43 Harley and he says yeah and I say but isn’t your name Jan? Yes, but my dutch name is JanGerben… then a good night followed for many hours of the night …..
This lightshow courtesy of Jimbo, the La Vida Loca ….
… this weekend many ships came to port, though one left in the morning. So Scott and I will hook up somewhere down the line ….. below is Jan, some French Pats from Canada and in the background some Vietnam vets, a 72 year old man named Dirk, who has been sailing and living all his life, just like the guys in the foreground, to the sides where you can’t see them in the frame and everyone else I haven’t spoken of cause one can only write so much before one becomes just a writer. Anyways the dudes in the foreground know that Jan is leaving on Monday so they came down from their beach to take Jan on one last ride together …. and I’ve decided to stay another night and leave with Jan to head more south on Monday, today is Saturday; he agrees unless of course if I can’t stand his bike’s pace, being a ’43 Harley with three gears, suicide shift, front brake on the left, clutch pedal on the left, some kind of pitch throttle on the left, normal throttle on the right, rear brake on the right, self adjusting handle bar damper, oil and gas leaking beauty. Even the papers for the bike, the titles and such, command great attention when crossing the borders and even a few donaros, and no parts anywhere around. Actually he wrote a ‘help if you want letter’ to Harley to maybe get some parts like an oil filter and gratis the shipping and such so he can keep going. He was planning on 6 months and eventually quit his job to keep going. Uh oh, maybe I should part ways soon …. no it’s all good, and like life …. we shall see ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
This is Jimbo’s baby, La Vida Loca ….
My room just over the walk bridge for 17CDN.
I took this picture after going to the office of the motel and convincing the older senora to listen to my music for a moment between laundry and such and after she realized I wasn’t soliciting her for something she didn’t understand she agreed, and we listened to Tom Waits, On The Heart Of Saturday Night, and me translating by sign language. She loved it, and we sat in the office listening to more music and trying to communicate. Thankfully JanGerben returned after his ride with the Harley Dudes and translated some key points at just the right time.
The next morning I went to explore the town I had only riden through before …. I watched this match to the end ….
… this dog Milo liked to fetch and he kept me entertained for hours … The guys I met, Matt and Kenny, told me Milo could fetch by scent, and that he, Kenny, had marked some rocks with a pen and sure enough Milo came back with the same marked rock. Go figure eh! Why would we even be surprised? Anyway, so I too played the game with Milo. Even tiny little rocks thrown among tons of other ones, most of the time he came back with the right rock …. the other times I think he caught on that I too liked to fetch … hence the love of the game called Fetch.
This bar didn’t survive ….
Jan’s original motorcycle manuals ….
Bongbong who keeps the local crackhead Tica’s away from the bar. He literally decides who is trouble and who is not. The troubled one’s get chased as they throw rocks or whatever …. it’s semi-peaceful but never over.
This is the pirate ship of Captain Hook. The Captain that made and dragged this down the coast to Coco, well his last surname is Hook. He’s a tough funny guy who told me a story with his style that I will not attempt, but he had me in tears.
When I first arrived at La Vida Loca, Jimbo’s bar that he built himself 10 years ago, well someone said, Be careful it’s like Hotel California here in Coco, ‘You can check out but you can never leave’. I understand why. The gringo characters are rich with experience in life and business ‘Tica’ style, which accounts for a lot of smarts, balls and good times. So I stayed knowing that Jan and I would leave on Monday, but Sunday night we had a quiet Sunday night semi-going away party which now included me as well … talking about this and that with whoever arrived by foot, quad, bicycle, truck, boat or however. Anyway, later on Jesse who works for the bar wanted to go into town for a drink as it was her night off and she had a babysitter for her little girl so I agreed reluctantly as I was tired but we really like each other’s company so I couldn’t say no. Well, no sooner than a half a beer later in some bar on the strip in Coco, a big ass decided he wanted to yell at me in Spanish and flash his knife at me. Not good. I didn’t understand what he was saying and then Jesse was defending me but I didn’t understand what she was saying and the tension got higher and higher and the knife more visible than before so I walked away while the staff talked with this maniac. Two guys were holding their arms out, Be cool man be cool. I returned after a moment to take a breath and assess the situation; to see what was around me, who might be with the guy and who might be a friend. There’s no way of knowing when you don’t know the language and you’re the new guy in town. So I went back to be in between this guy and Jesse and we had the quiet showdown with the eyes, long enough for me to say I’m not scared of you but short enough to say it’s okay you win this one. Finally they calmed him down and he went over to the other end of the bar. Once I was sure he wasn’t going to run and attack me, Jesse and I left. I got her in a cab and then again made sure he wasn’t looking, and then walked back through the crack heads on the beach, who are actually semi-cool as long as you don’t leave anything for them to take. In fact I really got along with two of these guys, Ullisys and Dreads, well, respectfully in that backward sort of way. I went to sleep and then woke up expecting Jan was waiting for me but he too was sleeping. We hung out in the courtyard and had some coffee while I told him the story. After all was said and done we decided to stay another day for it was already 10:30am and with the karma of last night maybe just chill to get rid of the negative energy and move on the next day.
The decision turned out to be a good one for Jimbo’s back was killing him and Jan didn’t get to see him Sunday so it gave Jan and Jimbo a chance to say goodbye on a Monday night rather than the weekend, and it gave me a chance to find out who this guy was from the night before. Jeanna, the sweet ex-pat from Texas who is the angel of the beach after I told her the story already deduced who it was. Jan spoke with Jimbo and then it all became clear. This ass is not allowed in any bar in Coco, an Austrian maniac who always threatens with weapons. He has been kicked out of Jimbo’s bar four times and as Jim told me, it will be a fight to the death next time. Then other’s started to hear about the story and I heard everyone’s experience with this guy and the general consensus is that one day his negativity will catch up to him in a big awful way, and maybe one of them might be the one’s to do it for the pleasure alone.
Apart from all that, my time in Coco was excellent, and especially La Vida Loca, where I met many interesting people that you just don’t meet unless of course you’re in a place like we were. The crazy thing is I met so many people who have been living there and in business for many years and every one of them said that they came on vacation and never went back to where they came from again. Not just 5 or 10 people but at least 20, Caberellos’. It’s probably a place I will one day return to too. The really lucky thing was that I met Jan who had been there for two weeks already, and of course he’s such a nice guy my association cut through the barriers more quickly than usual. And of course sweet Jeanna, she reads the people, and all the roughneck pats love her dearly, so if you’re cool with Jeanna, you can’t be all that bad but never trusted until of course they agree too. The other thing I noticed after a couple of days is how much time in a day people smile and laugh. Much like Gala weekend on Toronto Island. I was grinning, smiling and laughing all the time. This is Jeanna while we where having a late night last drink with Jesse and Jan.
And back on the road, but this time with a new rider. No signals lights so I’ve got to be ready for the arms, plus only 3 gears so the long gradual hills are slow for Jan. Currently we are in San Jose, Costa Rica. I will catch up with the road to San Jose later tonight ….
So we rode from Del Coco to Alteva and had a heck of a time finding any motel/hotel so we asked around and found this one in the middle of the hills, in a massive garden that is more like a jungle. Very pleasant, a little pricey at 50cdn but we shared so not so bad. Hot water too! I slept like a baby this night, it’s something about the air said the German owner and bike fanatic. Lot’s of bikers out here.
My bike was parked in the jungle …
Pulling into San Jose …. I hadn’t been into a big city since Mexico City even though I was only around the city the traffic is intense. No pictures of the crazy part cause there isn’t time to do anything but react to the traffic.
So we pulled over to ask where we might find The Castillo Hotel and the guys at the Shell station said wait here and out came Dante who spoke fluent English. He owns a mechanic shop next door and he was amazed to see Juan’s bike, as he had a ’45 himself, and he knew every part of Juan’s bike and how it worked. Immediately Dante called his friend Johann to come and take us to the hotel if he had time. Dante said there are no street signs and the traffic is very difficult to find your way so Johann arrived on his 66 Harley Classic and off we went ….. seems I not only get to receive the goodness from people who see that I am riding a bike, but from Harley dudes who relish Juan’s bike. Apparantly after we left the shop the guys told Dante, Jan must have really big balls to ride that bike from Alaska down, or be really stupid.
I wish I could take pictures of us riding through the traffic but it’s too crazy, especially if you’re the third bike in the back following two old Harley’s that start off slow. I was caught a few times trying to catch up cause there ain’t much room even for the second bike, which is usually the case; it’s usually much more difficult for the rear bike to follow the lead one. In this case the third. I didn’t lose them but I had to take a sidewalk and some crazy manouvers to stay with them. Once at the hotel I opted for finding new ear buds and a Costa Rica emblem for the bike than follow those guys through the traffic to look for Harley parts for Jan’s bike. Instead I walked and sucked in the pollution. Wow, it’s intense if you aren’t accustomed to it.
Today is Day 71, August 26th, 2009. I wonder how Scott is doing, though I know he is fine.
Excerpt from Journal …. Day 66 GRANADA, NICARAGUA – PLAYA DEL COCO, COSTA RICA Nice pleasant ride, border crossing was okay and I’ve already found Jan and the 1943 Harley. Jimmy three fingers was right, Jan is still in fucking Coco … chatting with him now. Day 67 COCO, COSTA RICA got wasted and had a crazy good time … woke up and Scott was packed, lying on his bed with his moto jacket on and zipped up with his arms crossed, Maybe it’s about time you took a Spanish course, and he spoke of traveling alone, and then wanted to know if I wanted my spare keys back, What is this a divorce I asked, No it’s just …. No problem, I understand. I’ll see you later, and off I went for cigarettes and cafe. Later – It seems since arriving in Playa Del Coco, many ships have come to port for the weekend, and even one ship left early, like the one who stayed behind before catching up with tomorrow ….
More excerpts …. Day 1 TORONTO – RIDEAU RIVER June 15th, 2009 Bike odometer reading, 12,500km Panic, anxiety, fear and a little excitement.
Day 8 MIRAMICHI, NEW BRUNSWICK – HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA A solitary ride in the rain. Not bad actually, I stayed warm and read a couple of newspapers at Mcdonald’s during some heavy rain. And then I strolled into Halifax, driving around downtown recalling all sorts of memories from The Black Harbour days and even K-19 The Widowmaker. Anyway, to find a motel was the mission and I ended up quite by accident arriving here at the Chebucto Inn; a nice little motel nestled in a residential neighbourhood ten minutes north of downtown. Some beers, some FTG and some TV before bed.
Day 15 LOMORDEN, NFLD – WOODY POINT/TROUT RIVER, NFLD, and eventually to Cow Head to find Rene. And we did. What a nice friggin night. I can honestly say I like meeting the people.
Day 21 ARGENTIA NFLD FERRY – ANTIGONISH, CAPE BRETON …. Inamorata …. (the list of women’s names in my life) …. and all those other dates that never became. How can a man not find a match in all those women? I can say that all the one’s that were either to pushy or not pushy enough, well, when I think back the women who tried to take away my horse in the end gave up, and the women who were happy riding two up, I lost interest in. What is the answer to this puzzle? I’m thinking about the PowWow with Hubert we had a week ago. And he said, Sadie is more of a rock for you than you are for her. Is that the trick to all women? You’ve, I’ve, got to be a rock for them. I’ve never felt when I was in the throes of any relationship that the women have been rocks for me. So is that the trick? Damn, I need a woman to cuddle and play with; where will I find this place when I do? Will it be exciting like first love? Where on earth in my travels will I kiss this woman? And who will this person be? Younger or older? Mercy, mercy, I’ll be a virgin again ….
Day 31 GADSDEN, ALABAMA – PHILADELPHIA, MISSISSIPI Weird electrical energies around; the truck pulling the cable between the poles and the smoldering tree.
Day 50 PUERTO ESCONDIDO, MEXICO Granola on the beach, after a night of diarrhea, still churning, bike maintenance, a swim in the ocean to wash out my pink eye, I was to go out tonight but I’m just whipped from mild heat stroke. What a day. We’re stayingonoe more night tomorrow. ‘Puerto Escondido’, a senor just played his song above.
Day 56 PANAJACHEL, GUATAMALA – MONTERRICO, GUATAMALA “My’n naam is Ellen. Er is my gevraagd iets te schrijven in dit dagbock … Een dag uit myn leven en nict zo maar een dag. Een goede dag! Zouden er niet meer van dze dagen moeten zijn?! Of zijn ze juist zo leuk, omdat ze maar af en toe voorkomen… Moet dat zo blijven of kan je keus maken om meer van deze dagen mee te maken. Nou ja, dit is zo maar een hersenspinsel van mij. Have a good trip! Ellen
Day 61 ALEGRIA, EL SALVADOR joyous, kind and beautiful Alegria ….
Below is Jan experimenting with his video camera that he acquired in Coco. With him riding is Johann mentioned earlier. Johann is going to ride us out of town tomorrow morning. Click on SanJose to see the footage. These are quiet small streets, not the crazy streets ….
A lazy day, I didn’t even leave the hotel. I thought a lot, had a nap, sort of like organizing the cupboards. Chatted with Jan, listened to music and toyed with a curious cat.
Day 72 SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA Breakfast, Chupa Curvin, Peruvian fish soup with rice and bread. All the clothes are washed via the tub. In fact it’s ironic; that here in Central America, I’ve seen many things that don’t seem right maybe, and yet at the hotel they’ve asked us not to hang our wet clothes amongst the trees in the courtyard, that I must say were not in the path of paths. Actually they even offered to dry them. It’s so crazy really, how clothes hanging in the air can be so distasteful in certain places, even while people and dogs lie in the streets. Not a big deal, but really, how can this be?; while hookers pay with their lives, we people don’t want to see their clothes off on the line, but rather on the floor beside the bed. This a true irony, on a massive scale throughout the world. No one wants to see the dirt or an after affair, we only want what we want when we want it, not when we don’t.
These riding pants hadn’t been washed in a year. The colour of the water is the tint of the second washing.
I really like that the people who run this hotel put the decorated, pretty design of the curtains facing the outside of the room ….
In the morning it’s time to head out of San Jose with our friend, Johann. He is such a remarkable person, and a diplomat of people with bikes, especially Harley’s but any old good bike will do. He spent so much of his own time to guide us to the hotel when we arrived, took Jan around town for parts and then to pick us up on his day off again, and spend half the day riding out of town with us, then to give us gifts, and take photos; well that’s a special person; an amigo. Even a friend of his joined us, Robinson, with his old BMW, well actually his father’s, he has his own too. Actually Johann has 8 bikes in total. Anyway, Robinson was on the side of the road and just like that joined the parade out of town so to speak. I can’t say enough about these guys ….
And then we rode up the mountain, Johann and Robinson knew just where to turn around. Before we left the photo location, Robinson figured we had a 50/50 chance of rain ….
As it turns out 100 percent chance, so we stopped for lunch here early on up the mountain, firguring it might be better to have a full stomach cause who knows what will happen when we really ride up the mountain. At this point I had on my full gear, sweater, rain pants over the moto pants, jacket, hand warmers on high and I stayed warm.
At 11,023 feet all was good ….
And then down at the bottom of the mountain, if rained hard again. So we decided to stay in San Isidro De General as it was getting late.
And when we returned there was no security as promised and the gate was locked/unlocked. Look closely, it’s a dummy rig. At first we were calling through the square hole, Hola!, but then I saw that it wasn’t really locked. Every one knows someone who dummy locks something. I have a journal entry about this but not right now.
The Flying Dutchman and I had a good time in town …. Then the morning, and told not to park here by the Policia so we left and had breakfast just down the street. Even watched a fender bender, cool looking spot.
Here comes the rain ….
We pulled in here at Villa Neile and we had a great dinner, pasta and wine at our hotel which cost us 16,000 Colonas, 18 bucks roughly. I’ll take a picture tomorrow and paste later. I’m done with this now ….
