I’ve lost Mr. Sun, he rode past me yesterday while I was at the Internet shop.  I had parked my bike in a prominent place, but he must not of seen it.  Or he saw it and just kept riding any how.  We are on our last legs home, so it should not be a problem.  We have made contact via email several times, but can’t stick with a plan long enough to meet up again.

So yesterday, after I wrote you I cruised the coast, there were many beautiful places andaroundd 2pm I needed a nap, so I pulled off at a sign that said Playa, means beach.  So as I walked up to anabandonedd shelter on a beautiful cove, rocks jutted 100 feet tall on both sides, and the blue water splashed up on the sand beach.  I was going to take my nap under the shelter.  Well the mostpeculiarr looking man came walking out of the water.  He had a spear gun and snorkel gear with.  But his shorts were, well it looked like he had on long basketball shorts that he had rolled up and tucked in the mesh liner.  He also had on a skull cap and a full beard.  A weight belt, with out weight.  But his shorts were the bomb.  We started talking, his name was Warren,originallyy fromPennsylvaniaa.  He had ridden a 305 Honda Scrambler all over Europe and Turkey and all those weird places back in 1969.  Said he almost didn’t make it out of Turkey.  Trouble with the law I asked?  Nope, the hash was too good!

I told him about my trip and how I had ended up here.  He showed me his ‘Bus’.  Sure enough, it was an old school bus that he and his wife had driven down years ago, nolicensee plate on it.  He also had a 84 BMW Dakar bike.  It was rough, but ran, but it didn’t have a plate either.  Oh well, just an observation.  I told him I had stopped to take a nap and eat a Power Bar because I was hungry.

Well once I woke up,  Warren came over with a plate full of friedcalamarii and chunks of fish.   He had asked his wife to cook it for me, and boy was it good.  He told me more stories about riding the east coast of Mexico on his BMW and could have gone on, but I was ready to ride, besides, his stories were better than mine, so I left!

The road was nice, it would be right along the beach for a while, then climbuntill you were a thousand feet above and back down again.  Palm trees,coconutt tree groves, fruit trees, giant leaved plants and a GOAT!  Boy I hit the brakes if I even see a goat!  Or think goat!  Brakes!  I covered 500 miles today and it was pretty easy, I spent an hour at the Internet shop, I had to spend an hour with Warren and still got in 500 miles, pretty good.

I also stopped well before dark at a place call Playa de Iguana.  A nice little cove with a wide sand beach.  I pulled up to a camp ground and the guy wanted 17 dollars to camp.  Okay, let me check around so I went to the hotel next door, a room was 18 dollars.  I went for the room, it was nice and clean and I could hear the ocean.  That is important to me, when I can I want to hear the waves crashing.  Then the lady cooked me the best plate of shrimps I have ever had.  Margarita Shrimp she called it, Ohhh was it good, and a bunch of them too, peeled and veined just a littlepiecee of tail to pick it up by.  French fries, salad and a bowl of chips,  I was a happy camper.

Since Chuck and I lost each other, my speed has dropped a little, now I run between 65 and 70 most of the time.  Before it was 73 to 78 just to keep up.  I know a few miles an hour does not seem like much but it is much more relaxed andpleasantt.  I don’t feel like I have to hit every shift and apex just perfect.  If I want to stop for a photo, I don’t feel like I’m in a race any more.  A little bit of speed makes a bigdifferencee.  I’ll show you.  One letter in asentencee can make a bigdifferencee too.  Read this:  Making good time.  Now add one letter and see what adifferencee it makes:  Making a good time.  That little ‘a’ that’s what 5mph has done to my trip.

Chuck and I have beenemailingg each other along the way, but since neither of us has a good map it’s hard to tell which town we are in.  So the plan was to meet inPuertoa Vallarta at the KTM shop.  Well the address I had led me to a Yamaha shop´, they told me the KTM shop was out of business.  I waited for an hour and a half hoping Chuck would come to this address, but I gave up and left.  Later I checked my mail again and he had found the KTM shop, new owners, new address new location.  Darn.  He had told me to go to the Volcano lake thing we had talked about seeing.  Then a few hours later I checked my mail again.  He had not left the KTM shop when he planned and had not made it to the volcano after all.  So you can see it is difficult to catch up to each other.  Then Chuck rides much faster than I do, I’ve slowed down and I’m sure he has sped up now that I’m not holding him back.

But back to the one little letter, Making good time and Making a good time.  I got an email from Chuck this morning.  You will surley see the instant karma in it, you know, wait for you buddy at the turn, don’t leave your buddy, don’t ride at night.  I’ll cut and paste it here next for you to read.

Hey Jim…Chuck here…Your words are somewhat prophetic….Charlie and I lost touch when we were hammering through Acapulco traffic a couple days ago…Pass whatever and where ever….

So we hooked up on the net a day late and the plan was to meet in Puerto Vallarta…Awesome ride!..vacant beaches…many stops…

Determined I violated the ride past dark rule and made it into PV at about 10:00pm.Disenchanted with the tourist hi-price hotels with drunk kids on the bay…I got a cool place with the bike in the lobby for 38 bucks!

Here is where it gets ugly…I wander out for some nightlife around the corner…cabby’s working everyone….women drugs you name it…I ditch into a bar and ignore them…then on the way to a new bar this dude really is aggressive on selling me something…I turned and walked away only to have him jump on my back with a choke hold from behind!!!  I couldn’t believe this guy had the balls to do that!  Two Policia was standing right their..thinking I was safe..No!..Mugger started screaming I owed him money!!  Policia said I should pay him!  Couldn’t believe this!..but I was outnumbered so I tried 200 Pesos and they demanded more!  I took the 200 back and handed the thief 400 slowly as I stepped back and as I released the money took off and ran down the street back to the previous bar then to the Hotel…I could hear them yelling at each other… over the money split…Bail Bondsman I took care of it..That is the first real trouble in 5 weeks…What maggots!!  That does put us tight on funds for the ride back, but better than jail…One small narrow escape in an amazing experience!!  Should have stayed in Puerto Escondido…Great waves!

Heading to the KTM dealer around soonish..

Chuck Sun

Okay, this is Charlie again.  What do you think of his story?  I’m sure glad he is okay and it was not any worse than it was, but after 5 weeks in Mexico we have had absolutely no trouble of any kind.  He takes him self out and gets mugged.

This morning I got up and took a swim in the ocean, had some papaya and coffee and hit the road.  The drop down in to PV is out standing some of the prettiest I have seen.  All along the coast the trees and plants have been dead.  I’ve come up with the idea that a storm has blown salt water all over them and they died.  Sound good?  Well the storm must have missed PV, the trees were in full bloom,  then there is the river flowing next to the road.  Outstanding, water falls and pools along the way.  This is where I was with the Vondasars years ago.

Here is a funny story that the statue of limitations has run out on…. Jack Vondasar and I were with the whole gang and we stopped by this water fall.  Jack and I went exploring and Jack slipped and broke his finger.  Okay, no big problem, he just didn’t want Janet his wife to find out.  So mum was the word.  When we got back to the jeep, Jack took his handkerchief out and was acting like he was going to shake it out, but when he did he hit his hand on the sharp edge of the windshield, and THAT’S how he broke his finger!  Now years later I spill the beans, sorry Jack, it was just too good not to tell!   Also I don’t recognize one thing about PV from our trip here, not one thing.  So it was like visiting a new place.  It is a tourist place and very crowded and I wanted out fast!  KTM shop, I adjusted and oiled my chain, went to lunch and waited a few minutes for Chuck and I was out of there!

I went to a small beach town north of there, but it too was crowded and I didn’t stay, I just hit the road North, I wound up about 5 miles out side of Mazatlan, it was getting dark and I wasn’t really wild about going all the way into town.  So I got a room here, thanks Papa Joe!  Tomorrow it’s North to Los Mooches, gee that name sound familiar.  Then I should cross the border the next day.  It depends on the time,  they say the border is very dangerous and I want to cross during the day.  There is always a line and people trying to sell stuff or steal stuff    along there, so I’ll play that by ear.

My bike is running great, it is happier at 70mph too, so that’s all for tonight, I’m going to get some dinner then some shady bars, NOT!

Write when you get a chance, I enjoy hearing from all of you, everything is good here and I have had a fantastic experience here in Mexico.  I hope you have enjoyed it too.  Buy a subscription to Trail Rider so when the articles come out you can read them.  Let me absorb some of the trip, give it some thought and yes, there are some things I have not told you here, saving the best for last.  Don’t forget the Pay Pal account, once I cross the border I still have a long ride to Idaho, plus my bike needs some work, so it ain’t over till it’s over.

Thanks to all, and to all, good night.

Charlie