Wheres Punky & Lew now?
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Date: Mon Sep 24, 2001 7:01 pm
Subject: Punky & Lew in El Salvador
Hi everyone: We left Juanīs place in Valle de Bravo last Wednesday and rode through more beautiful mountains. The twisties never seem to end. We got rained on heavily before stopping the first night, somewhere around 150 miles short of Oaxaca. The next day we rode to Tehuantepec. Found out we just missed a tropical storm, which had developed in the Bay of Tehuantepec and was moving in the opposite direction as we were. After leaving Tehuantepec, we went through an area called La Ventosa (The Windy Place). It was, very. When I used to sail, the winds that blew offshore from this area into the Bay of Tehuantepec were called, by Gringo sailers, Tehuantepeckers. We stayed overnight in Tapachula on the Mexican side of the border and crossed the next morning. I got pissed at the girl who refused to exchange my US dollars for Guatemalan Quetzales. She wouldnīt take my $20 bills, because one had blue ink on the edge and the others had wrinkles or a small tear. I pulled out some of their own Quetzales and showed her that they were in far worse condition than my US dollars and demanded new ones. She complied and understood the irony and humor, although she had to do as she was told. We made it through in about 2 hours. I have refused the help of trmitadores (border crossing helpers) to get through the borders. They are very insistant as am I. When crossing into El Salvador, one of these guys ended up with my documents, including my passport, in his hands without my permission. I told the female government worker, in no uncertain terms, that she was not to give my documents to anyone who didnīt work for her office. Guatemala and El Salvador are very beautifully fertile green places. It took us 4 1/2 hours to get through the El Salvador border on Sunday. Everyone was kept waiting, not just me. While riding along the Pacific shore on a twisty road, I came across 3 El Salvdorans riding sport bikes. They all blew by me, then stopped a few miles up the road. So did I and made new friends. I then showed them what Critter was capable of in the twisties. Drug my boot in a heavy high speed lean. They were impressed. We had lunch on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean and drank beer, too many. I rode through a 100 meters long very dark tunnel with dark sunglasses on and my visor down. Didnīt think quick enough about what to do. Couldnīt see anything except the light at the end of the tunnel, and I aimed for it. Now I know what tunnel vision is like. I am getting into the habit of riding without the Nolan chin bar locked down. That way, I can flip it up in a hurry, which also allows me to slide my sunglasses down. If did run into a guy who had rigged a cord across the 2 releases, so he could unlock the chin bar with one hand, while moving. Somehow I managed to keep from hitting the walls and was very glad no other vehicle came through in the opposite direction. The adventure continues tomorrow as we leave La Union, El Salvador and ride 30 minutes to cross the border into Honduras. We will then head into Nicaragua and probably stay about 10 days or more in Costa Rica, before going to Panama and flying to Bogota, Colombia. That way my funds will be replenished for another month to help pay for new tires and the flight. Punky, still the star of our travelling show, is doing fine, as are Critter and I. Time is up at this computer place, where I am paying 20 Colones for an hour.
Best to you all.
Punky & Lew
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