As I drove to the crossing, I stopped at a light. Suddenly, the passenger door opened and three guys jumped in. I was caught off guard since I didn't lock the doors. I was rolling and thought I'd have enough time to secure the car. Wrong. These guys showed dual ID for Guatemala and Mexico. They said they were going to help me. Their help always come with a price. I was a victim again. Yet finding services to copy all your documents is daunting. These guys were constantly demanding money for helping me. I was exhausted and vulnerable. I was glad it was still daylight when I finally arrived at the border crossing.
It looked like this trip was going to be stalled. I passed the pay window. There was an American covered from head to toe in tattoos. Tattoos are the newest form of self abuse since masturbation. I recognized him as a fellow American and he asked if I knew what was going on? I suggested we tackle these problems as a team since comparing notes is the way to go.
Everything must be presented in triplicate. That means your car registration, insurance, your passport and all the visas you've ever held for any reason must be submitted in triplicate. The paperwork is immense. The car is treated as a guest as well. It is a possession which must be legally admitted and summarily removed from the country. You cannot sell the car or abandon the car while in any country or huge penalties apply. The computer is all seeing. Catch 22 exists all over the world.
Rob built motorcycles in Texas. Custom motorcycles that are one of a kind. His truck was loaded with surfboards. I recognized him as a waterman just like I am, looking for the same beaches I was looking for. We agreed to travel together all the way to Costa Rica. We still had Honduras, Nicaragua and San Salvador to transit. A caravan down the coast made sense. We could help each other if attacked. Luckily he had a truck full of trading goods that settled affairs with these helpers who were extorting us. A new looking pair of jeans goes a long way with these poverty ridden people.
As we closed on the border, we decided to spend the night in a truck stop surrounded by a protective fence. The next morning we lit out. I was trailing. A pothole loomed up from the gloomy predawn asphalt. I hit it with such force it blew my tire and bent the rim. I had to stop and change the wheel. Meanwhile, Rob was tripping way ahead of me. He did not turn back for some time. When he showed up I was driving on the donut spare. I needed to buy a new rim and tire. We were closing in on the border with San Salvador. It was there we found a tire repair place. We drove in and asked the man sitting with a custom engraved .40 caliber stuck in the webbing of the chair, about our prospects for finding a rim and tire. He had his bible and was reading to his kids. I finally asked about the weapon and he said it was for the roving gangs trying to extort money from businesses like his. This is the only deterrent for these criminals. This was my first taste of San Salvador.
We were there all day because he had to look for the right wheel first My SAAB is difficult because each of the components are specially made for SAAB only. He and his helper looked to find the right wheel with the correct spacing of holes. There were thousands of close calls but no match. I finally suggested to try to fix the alloy rim. After much consultation we elected to strike it with such force that the bend will go back to circular. This is a risky maneuver since the alloy is probably brittle. This actually worked but it did create a fracture but not all the way through. It fixed the problem for the time being. Finding the right tire was easier.
We carried on to Honduras. This was another difficult crossing because of our cars. Mordida is also a term best served cold. It is also called payoff. When the man has itchy palms you know there is no way forward except paying the inflated fees called mordida. By now we were vets of crossing the borders. The extortion is crazy. Finally, we crossed into Costa Rica and paradise which I say in jest. It was the same everywhere in Central America just different players.
We stopped at Tamarindo Beach that's rife with the surf crowd. I chose to stay in one of the many hostels there. I was tired and needed a three day shower to feel normal again. Our hostess was a real charmer who thought about us a lot. Love was cooking but that was not to be, simply because she had to work.
Rob built motorcycles in Texas. Custom motorcycles that are one of a kind. His truck was loaded with surfboards. I recognized him as a waterman just like I am, looking for the same beaches I was looking for. We agreed to travel together all the way to Costa Rica. We still had Honduras, Nicaragua and San Salvador to transit. A caravan down the coast made sense. We could help each other if attacked. Luckily he had a truck full of trading goods that settled affairs with these helpers who were extorting us. A new looking pair of jeans goes a long way with these poverty ridden people.
As we closed on the border, we decided to spend the night in a truck stop surrounded by a protective fence. The next morning we lit out. I was trailing. A pothole loomed up from the gloomy predawn asphalt. I hit it with such force it blew my tire and bent the rim. I had to stop and change the wheel. Meanwhile, Rob was tripping way ahead of me. He did not turn back for some time. When he showed up I was driving on the donut spare. I needed to buy a new rim and tire. We were closing in on the border with San Salvador. It was there we found a tire repair place. We drove in and asked the man sitting with a custom engraved .40 caliber stuck in the webbing of the chair, about our prospects for finding a rim and tire. He had his bible and was reading to his kids. I finally asked about the weapon and he said it was for the roving gangs trying to extort money from businesses like his. This is the only deterrent for these criminals. This was my first taste of San Salvador.
We were there all day because he had to look for the right wheel first My SAAB is difficult because each of the components are specially made for SAAB only. He and his helper looked to find the right wheel with the correct spacing of holes. There were thousands of close calls but no match. I finally suggested to try to fix the alloy rim. After much consultation we elected to strike it with such force that the bend will go back to circular. This is a risky maneuver since the alloy is probably brittle. This actually worked but it did create a fracture but not all the way through. It fixed the problem for the time being. Finding the right tire was easier.
We carried on to Honduras. This was another difficult crossing because of our cars. Mordida is also a term best served cold. It is also called payoff. When the man has itchy palms you know there is no way forward except paying the inflated fees called mordida. By now we were vets of crossing the borders. The extortion is crazy. Finally, we crossed into Costa Rica and paradise which I say in jest. It was the same everywhere in Central America just different players.
We stopped at Tamarindo Beach that's rife with the surf crowd. I chose to stay in one of the many hostels there. I was tired and needed a three day shower to feel normal again. Our hostess was a real charmer who thought about us a lot. Love was cooking but that was not to be, simply because she had to work.
Many beautiful people get stranded in places like this. They try to work themselves back to normalcy but when you are on a losing streak it is really hard to turn it around. I know this from experience. We went surfing a few times at the river mouth but the rains had muddied the waters recently and the crocs were out hunting. They do venture into the saltwater to hunt. Fighting crocs was not my line of work. As usual, we became surf instructors to the slippery saltwater girls that wanted to try the surfboard for the first time. This is what happens to older guys with women. Kinda fun but it gets boring because you just wanted a squeeze. No f**ks given. Although there was one girl who would spread. Every guy on the make tried her out. She seemed happy being so well screwed.
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