I’m well and alive and was for a long time computer–less. About a month and half ago, I was going to the parking garage to leave the motorcycle, and I asked my friend Lourdes to open the sliding door of the garage. The door was stuck because of some gravel on the rail but she got it open just enough for the bike to pass through. As she turned around towards me, before I could say a word, the 25ft long steel door collapsed on her head and buried her missing and the bike by less than an inch. The gigantic piece of metal was so heavy that I could only lift it a few inches off of her body, but she couldn’t get herself out. Finally people arrived and with some help we lifted the metal gate and rescued her. She still had her motorcycle helmet on, and it undoubtedly saved her life. She came out with lots of cuts and bruises, and as she was wearing a backpack with my laptop in it, the laptop was crushed as well. Everything is almost fixed now and I have a lot of catching up to do. For now, happy late Thanksgiving and early Christmas to everyone.

Finally ready to leave the town of Sayulita, we loaded up the bikes and headed south once again. Having taken 6 days off we were eager to ride and decided to go straight through Puerto Vallarta and continue down the coast. Just as we cleared the metropolis that is Puerto Vallarta my bike died. It’s rather depressing to sit on the side of the road with your trusty motorcycle which was now nothing more than an oversized luggage rack.

With the help of a Mexican mechanic we quickly identified that one of my coils was beginning to fail and therefore continually blowing my main engine fuse. The mechanic charged me eight dollars which I gladly paid as electrical problems are not my specialty. This was a steal of a deal for two reasons: 1) a shop in Canada/US wouldn’t even look at the bike for less than $60 if not more and 2) the man worked ridiculously fast unlike some mechanics that seem to work on their own time. After a half a dozen phone calls my new coils are on route to Puerto Vallarta and Erin and I now have some time to explore this beautiful ocean front jungle.

Free of the initial negativity of the situation we realised that we had broken down in a perfect location and in fact my lifeless bike was a blessing in disguise. We continue to meet amazing people who truly reflect the kindness and the spirit of Mexico. We have been given a wonderful place to stay, so far for free, and have been invited to join their family for an outstanding chicken dinner. The city and the area surrounding Puerto Vallarta also has a lot of beauty and culture to offer which we would have missed had my bike continued to carry me south. We’ve also come to the realisation that we won’t be making it to the southern tip of Argentina this season.  With high mountain passes some above 15,000ft and the southern geographical location of Argentina, the summer months for a motorcycle are only Dec-Mar. So instead of trying to rush we are going to keep our focus on where we are and enjoy the moment.

Our freed up time in Puerto Vallarta has also given us a chance to look into some of the not so distant logistical hurdles like our choices for crossing the Darien Gap from Panama into Columbia as well as the seemingly overwhelming task of obtaining our Brazilian visas. I feel completely relaxed and stress free about the whole situation, I mean what’s the bad side? We have to spend yet another year travelling and exploring beautiful cultures before our window of opportunity opens up again in southern Argentina… it’s a hard life.

Hey everyone

I wanted to post this video a week ago but ran into some technical difficulties… Sorry its not widescreen but its the best i could spit out. We are in the town of Sayulita, Mexico. We planned on spending 2 nights and it easily turned into 5…

Erin had an awesome birthday with fresh margaritas and amazing food. Today we met some fellow motorcycle riders heading south and they invited us to a BBQ… life’s hard.

Hope you enjoy the video