‘Ride to be one’ Part 4: Central America

‘Ride to be one’ Part 4: Central America

It was raining just like it did in the climax of the movie, ‘The Lost World’ when we left San Diego in America. We were headed to Mr. Trump’s ‘favourite’ part of the world, Mexico. To our surprise, we did not require exit stamps from the US immigration to cross the borders. All we had to do was fill up some forms, pay a $27 bill and we were on our way to the land of tacos!

Mexico is an alien world, especially if you land here after riding through Australia and America. Although in a way it was very relatable, especially if you are an Indian. There is crazy traffic here, the chaos is similar too and nobody seems to follow traffic rules. Time to announce our arrival to the Mexicans then.

All we all know, GPS is your best friend when you are entering uncharted territories. Pankaj is the navigator of our group and has been entrusted with getting us to our destination in one piece. On one unfortunate occasion though, thanks to all the weight latched onto my bike, I could not keep up with him. In a bid to catch up, I landed on the pegs and spun 360 degrees, that too in to the wrong lane! Thankfully, I lived to tell the tale. My riding pants and saddle were damaged, but that did not deter us from going forward. A biker’s soul, I must say.

Bargaining with a Mexican in Spanish was extremely difficult and we ended up spending over $40 for our stay (a tad expensive, considering our budget). The exercise then continued as we headed to a restaurant, asking for vegetarian food. We literally rubbed our stomachs, while pointing out to our mouths, letting them know that we were hungry. Thankfully a couple that knew English, helped us order food that was anything but non-vegetarian. The couple was quite informative and told us the horror stories of Mexican police. Yes, the police here ask for your organs as a bribe and it has happened quite a lot of times, they said. An accident and now police, we were definitely having an interesting day.

Things got even worse the next day, when we learnt that ferrying the bikes needed another permit and by the time we got the office, it was closed. However, we learnt that a cargo boat was due to depart the next day and we had to sail to Topolobampo, instead of Matzalan which was a further 500km away. But it’s not like we had a choice. The next morning our bikes were put into a cargo truck that was being driven by a drunk driver. The whole thing was nerve-wracking. Who says Indians have the least civic sense?!

Managing to get hold of our bikes the next day, we rode for over 400km straight before taking a break for lunch. A Mexican couple riding a BMW GS stopped and we exchanged stories for over an hour. It was followed by an offer for dinner at their place, which was 300km away. But who denies a biker gang?

What followed was nothing short of a Bollywood flick. The couple suddenly stopped us on the middle of the road and rode over the barrier and said we had reached our destination. It was pitch dark and we could see nothing but some trees. Out of nowhere, a group of 6-7 burly men surrounded us. The host then told us that he knew all of them and we had nothing to worry about. We had no choice but to follow them. I did try to call my relatives to let them know of the situation, but there was no network coverage there. We were following their directions and soon entered a property that had an old style house. Suddenly, we saw two large dogs heading towards us and we were glad they were not as scary as the men!

The house looked eerie, like the haunted house in a movie! We entered and suddenly, they put the lights on and began dusting the place! And slowly, the horror was over! Trust me; this was the first time ever that I felt scared for my life.

We woke up the next morning to find ourselves in the middle of a beautiful coffee plantation! Soon, the couple bid us goodbye, we hugged and headed to Guatemala border to commence our ride to the remaining six countries in Central America. For awhile we were imagining the worst but it turned out fine. Who doesn’t like a happy ending?

Short trip to Molossia

Google the name and you’ll find that there exists a country with a population of six humans and two dogs.

My mother told us about it and we just had to go see it for ourselves.

We routed our GPS and took a detour of 100km to the Nevada border to explore this ‘country’ with our own eyes. We were amazed to find a house when the GPS said that we had reached our destination!

We spotted a large billboard with a photograph of the President of Mollosia along with the first lady. We even spotted a mug sometime later, asking for ‘Customs fees’. And a few metres ahead, we spotted the President fixing his car! The President asked us for our papers and permissions. We obviously did not have the visa stamps or papers. He asked us to read the notice board which stated that it’s necessary to have visa stamps on the passport.

The President then asked us to send an email, seeking permission and within five minutes we received his reply, which said that the country was closed till September! We had to accept the President’s decree; although we loved the experience and we recommend that you visit this place. Only, don’t forget that email asking for permission!

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