You beautiful, good and wonderful people of this world!

Before the year 2018 is over, we want to wish you a good, healthy and happy new year 2019! And we want to thank you for being with us!
Recently we have had little time to keep the blog up to date. So with pictures and everything! We traveled on good and extremely bad roads, wonderful landscapes, met great people in Puebla (our Mexican family), met Anke and Had again, went on to Oaxaca together and arrived here in Puerto Escondido yesterday.
The fat ones are doing better than ever. The sidecar masters the worst underground. That makes us very happy!

And now in keywords what has happened since December 17th:

On the motorway Cuota quickly to Puebla. Picked up from the parking lot by Juan. To his home. His wife Lilly and the 5 months old Martin as well as the heart of the house Marga got to know. Bacallhau had bread rolls and the best coffee. In the evening I rode a Ferris wheel and ate something like a doner kebab.
Great breakfast with relatives eaten. Buying trousers, city tour, Balkan presentation shown with sister of Marga. Javier, best friend of Juan and his girlfriend Monse.

The next day he fiddled away; drove into the city with Uber. Great cheap hotel found. Full of colorful city.

The next day mett Hatte and Anke again in the historic old town in a wonderful hotel. Strolled and talked until late in the evening with icy wind. The next day city tour by bus. Italian evening on 26.12. Christmas menu failed.

Together driven towards Oaxca. Church on pyramid in Cholula, church very Mexican in Zezatlan, in Teohuacan a hotel as a stopover; super delicious specialty eaten Molcajete. Best guarded hotel with 40 federal police. Ruta 131.
Oaxaca. Searched in the dark hotel. Overcrowded city. Hotel only outside. The next day by taxi to the city. Food in market hall. Oaxaca cheese eaten. Route 131. Incredible landscapes. Maria Teresa Inn.

Sola de Vega, Hotel agurirre. I, Heike quite stricken. Anke and Hatte had dinner alone. We in the hotel. Early to bed.

The next day we are early further in the assumption Had and Anke catch up us because of bad road anyway. After some time wait, hotel in Puerto Escondido searched. Hatte and Anke found another hotel. With our room neighbor, who here is like us in Cabo, drunk until this morning.

Today a little weak.

Pictures follow. Now a really great 2019! Stay as you are: Because you are so wonderful!

Heike and Toshi

Dear ones, good and beautiful all over all!

Yes, because all about all on the fir-tops, which are not here. Never mind. So also here! Mainly shrill and colourful. On street stands Pinjatas (brightly coloured giant paper sweets in which sweets, fruit and nuts are filled for Christmas, hung from the ceiling and burst by the children with sticks), quark yeast cakes in various designs, Aquas frescas (fresh fruit juices), kitsch and tand are sold. If possible blinki, blinki. Eager Christmas buyers in the sun and 17 degrees. But we are without snow, but at 6 degrees night temperature we cannot speak of warm. The wind is cool here in Teótìhuacan, the city of the world’s second largest pyramid and World Heritage Site, and I am out in the evening with my wool cap, fleece and down jacket. Also in the hotel, inside!

After we had left Uli in Leon (Anke, Hatte, Moni and Guido had already driven one day earlier), which I didn’t like very much because he wasn’t feeling well that morning, we took a very nice road towards Guanajuato. The trip was wonderful. Finally on the way again. The fat one purred. A pure joy of the engine. Close to my sidecar I could hear how it was running.

Guanajuato. A small town built between and on hills whose traffic runs underground through old stone tunnels. This is because in the last 400 years 50 million tons of silver have been mined there from the mountains in and around the city. The tunnels are so wide that trucks can pass through. This morning I was told that every year in March there is a car race through the tunnels. Quite impressive when you have seen the tunnels.
Guanajuato has charm. The houses, kept in strong colours, give a very friendly cityscape. Our hotel, quite old, let us guess that it used to be pretty. With 750 pesos quite expensive, but directly in the historical old town, where the bear danced. Since we had not had breakfast yet, we searched for food. We generally stick to street stands where many Mexicans eat. What we ate was a roll filled with egg, avocado and the highlight was crispy fried pork skin with spicy sauce, which is a speciality here in the area and is called guacamayo. And really delicious! Excuse me, you vegetarians and vegans love it!
The city, one week before Christmas, was humming without being annoying. There was a Christmas parade to car and horse. Shrill, loud music with timpani and trumpets, accompanied by sombreos and women in typical Mexican dresses. Places everywhere in the town with strolling Mexican extended families and holidaymakers licking ice cream, eating chips with spicy sauce, or just sitting around chatting. A wonderful market hall was to be marvelled at with lots of stalls. Food, vegetables, clothes, Christmas Schnicki, angels, Jesusse in each Coleur and still much more.
On the way home to the hotel we discovered an open ice rink where the whole rest of the city was located and apparently skated for the first time in our lives. Such incredible fun! We sat there for hours, felt it, and enjoyed ourselves deliciously. Every now and then an ice cream vendor came by or one who brought salt pastries among the people. After a delicious dinner we went back to our hotel, where in the bar a very important soccer game was played on TV. Since the favourite team had lost, we got a beer and a Tequila for umme. Also some logic!  

The next day we went to do the kilometer. Because between Guanajuato and Teótìhuacan there is not much of interest for us to see. If you don’t want to go to the Moloch Mexico City, you have to turn either left or right and that on a large scale. So we decided to turn left, and the pyramids.
We arrived, drove to the pyramids, then decided to look for a hotel first. In the middle of the town and in a big traffic jam, 200 m in front of our planned hotel, of which we didn’t even know if they had a place for us at all, it started to smoke white at the engine. It smoked from the left. I saw in Toshi panic rise, he trembled. He stopped cars because of a fire extinguisher. My brain needed to realize it: I’m sitting right next to the engine. Fire. I can’t get out of here alone. Until then my brain was doing: LaLaLa. Enjoyed the defensive reaction of my brain when threatened. All is well, says the pear. That you can think clearly. The mirror neurons contributed to it and then the almond kernel fired

Meanwhile the engine was off. Toshi disconnected the burst, boiling battery from the circuit. The smoke was gone. There we stood now in the middle of the rush hour. Toshi pushed a little. Horns, because hazard lights were not. Then a policeman helped push, then the second. But they had to regulate the traffic. Toshi pushed on, he ran out of strength. A pickup driver stopped, dragged us to the hotel. Fortunately we could check in. First for 2, then for 3 days. There we did not know yet, for which we would stay long this time. Demoralized we drank first a Tequila. Unfortunately I could only hate the fat one, I was so bad. I’m sorry for what I felt and thought.
Ok, then we activated all the social networks and Mexican friends we had met so far. We received a lot of support and valuable tips that would have taken us to the next BMW workshop in Puebla, our next destination. In the long run we needed a battery that would fit. Then late in the evening a message that a certain Peter Tebber, a German Traveller, whom we didn’t know before, could bring a battery from Mexico City. He also wanted to see the pyramids. Thank you very much, Peter!

The next day I was hanging out quite a bit. Nevertheless we went to admire the pyramids. Toshi climbed the sun pyramid up to the very top. It’s amazing: You can photograph as much of the stones as you want, you can hardly reproduce the feeling of being in the middle. Even with words it is difficult to describe. So much is clear: this place was important and still has magic. And we also found the navel of the world here!
If you think away the souvenir merchants, and add all kinds of people, you can almost feel like a time traveler here. Incredibly impressive!

I owe you for today the description of our experiences in the little town.
In the evening we sat together with Jesse, a young Canadian overlander and biker. A very delightful evening — open and profound.

This morning we went to work. At 11:30h the battery came with Peter. A sympathetic young man from Lower Saxony who used to spend his summer holidays on Borkum and travelled here via Russia, the Stans and Mongolia. We would have liked to know much more from him than there was time, because he still wanted to go to the pyramids today and look for a campground for the night.

Now it is 17h. Toshi has been fixing the bike all day, while I have updated the communication and the blog.

Tomorrow we go to Puebla!

Hasta Luego and Buenos Noches, dear ones!

Heike and Toshi

Dear ones, good and beautiful on this beautiful world!

Today will be our last day together here at the Hacienda. The fat one will soon be ready for a test drive. The women rest a bit before Moni and Guido go on to Baja BCS and Anke and Hatt to Tequila. We will meet again with the Berliners and drive together for a while. Tomorrow we will straighten out our things, sort them out and rearrange them, exchange the LoneRider tent and a camping mat for a smaller tent and camping mat. It goes for us then further to the south, because it has already become here on 2000 m cold. That’s why we decided not to go even higher to the north.
Just the fat one was brought to life. It sounds super good. Toshi is about to do a test drive and I’ll try to describe what the problem was.
In Cabo the gearbox input shaft bearing broke, which ruined the clutch. The Mexicans fixed it all very well but didn’t drive the seal far enough into the gearbox shaft. This caused the ring to sit in front of the gearing and the transmission oil ran into the clutch bell. While driving the oil became thin and was pushed out through the cracks. That’s why the clutch was tapped.

What came to light in the process was that the screw holding the rear suspensions was broken when it had been tightened at an angle. That could soon have led to a broken rear suspension.
3 guys, 2 days, 1 motorcycle!

Once again we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your commitment, your time and your patience.

We wish you at home a nice third Advent!   

In love, Heike and Toshi

Dear ones, beautiful ones and good ones at home and in this world!

It is an honour and a celebration for me to write today’s entry!
But first I would like to thank you for all the wonderful calls, contributions, stickers, emails, whattsapps and emogies to my 55th birthday, which we spent with our new Mexican friends and their families.
Before I start with my entry, we would like to congratulate our beautiful niece Lisa on her 18th birthday. Let us celebrate you and give you a rich present. We love you as much as you are, you beautiful and smart! Yes, and we also congratulate you, dear Iska, on your birthday. Also you remain please exactly the same as you are, big one!
Then I’ll try to get the past 6 days together: With still big child eyes I marvel at what happens to us so good. Often I take up like a sponge, then process takes place later. You will not believe it: Yesterday I wept full of bliss and touched. It feels incredibly beautiful and at the same time strange when there is nothing disturbing, incriminating or heavy to be found in the introspection. Free from black. Colourful.

On my birthday we went on a city tour through Colima with Carlos. The atmosphere in this city is the same as in Heidelberg. In the evening we came across Maria and Miquel, called the professor, as well as Adhara and Dan. A young couple of artists, who had studied both arts, and in a creative mood of departure they created a vlog about riding a motorbike. They would like to make a living from it. But first of all we would like to do an interview with you. When it is finished we will share it with you.
So we were invited to a specialty from Colima that consists of a clear soup with popcorn and pork, raw onions, cabbage strips, red salsa and lemon. The same ingredients without soup were served on tostadas, which are eaten with hands. All delicious. For dessert, there was a stroll around the plaza, usually with the church in the middle, and an ice cream, while the Vlogger couple took inconspicuous pictures. We then got two Ehren Lama T-shirts, me a bouquet of flowers and a chicken egg gefüĺlt with Ķonfetti on the head, which can be bought there on the square.  Arrived at home, the interview was moved into the camera. A wonderful, eventful and lovely birthday came to an end, and I happily went to bed!

The next day we booked our room at Lake Chapala and were invited by Miquel to visit a museum in Nogales at 12 noon. The museum, a mixture of early indigenous history, kitchen utensils, grave goods, ceramics and painting in a renovated hacienda of the century before last. Wow, I tell you!
Just as we were about to get on our moped, two young bikers came along, who also vlogged over the moþor bike. So another interview. For the young Mexicans, we German bikers made their day one of the most beautiful in their lives (original sound of the boys). Afterwards Professor Miquel took us to a tourist shed with live music and dance interludes. It was hard to remember the Saturday evenings of the seventies, when grandma and mother looked at music in front of the flicker box and washed down salty biscuit mixes with an egg liqueur.
There were delicious tacos and corona. Later Maria, his wife, with her sweet granddaughter of about 1.8 years, who had probably never seen a non-Mexican before, joined them. After minimal strangeness followed a long flirt attack with Toshi. A second fulfilling day came to an end.

The following day after Frühstücķ we left. We got another T-shirt, this time from León, where we were on our way.
Dear friends from Colima: Your unconditional hospitality, joy in strangers and strangers, your generosity and your cordiality will accompany us until the end of our lives. Thank you, Carlos and Graciella, Miquel and Maria, Adhara and Dan.

At the coast we went south, then at right angles north to Chapala lake. Our hotel, again a small paradise. Quickly freshly cut fruit with chillies and lime juice, served with coconut juice for lunch and off to the city. Arriving at the former station of Chapala, we were invited to admire the sculpture garden, the paintings and the history of the station, illustrated in words and pictures. Then to the amusement park at the lake similar to Parķ at the Rhine in Mannheim. There we go jogging, fishing, chugging, resting, chatting and partying. The first glance fell on a rich bird world with pelicans, swans gliding picturesquely through mangrove and water lily forests, white herons, seagulls and other flocks of birds. At local Malacón, Mexican life was raging with music, food stalls, children with shrill air baloons, stray dogs and a bewitching view of the lake.

More later, dinner’s ready…

In the evening delicious fish at the Malecón in Chapala, best sleep because of the good climate sleep, wonderful breakfast in the morning and off on the moped to Leon to the Ulli, which had invited us, like Mike in his hotel, on his Hacienda. We knew that a friend of Ulli and his wife, Guido and Moni from the Allgäu, who make a two-month motorcycle tour, as well as a couple from Berlin, Hatt and Anke, who also undertake a one-year motorcycle tour, will be on the hacienda. Furthermore 8 dogs.  

Since the thickness still trielte, we had in León before, the thickness finally in a good BMW workshop once again in two halves to let dismantle let, in order to create the problem once and for all from the world. That’s like chewing gum. But it should be completely different.

After a rather unspectacular ride we arrived at Ulli. Hatt said to Ulli this morning “You are one of the most bizarre encounters in my life”, to which Ulli replied “You long-haired bomber” because of the golden long hair of Hatt. If you want to imagine him, think of the young Iggy Pop. Only older.

6 huge dogs storm towards us, and all want to take a seat in the sidecar at the same time. Two drooling Bernardines, the fat Frieda and Fencha water the sidecar. Idi and Amin, two black Golden Retriever brothers kissing, stroking and licking each other, Dolphine and Adolf, two Golden Retrievers besiege me with wagging cocks. Adolf is the boss of the rattle gang and regulates the traffic on the large property. Adolf quickly understood that I could not defend myself. From then on I was adopted by him and defended from his stormy sister. Fortunately, the Ulli also came.
Ulli: Loud; curses like a well cleaner; accompanies Udo Jürgens or Rod Stuart with a really nice bass voice; can even go up in anger like a HB male; knows more swear words and dirty jokes than I like; can be defiant like an injured boy.
In this man is a gigantic heart, which he has to protect with many stupid sayings. He is moved to tears when he hears a song. And he is happy like fireworks when the big table full of people laughs, makes jokes, and gets laughing cramps while his homemade potato soup with bockwurst layer is eaten with relish. There it blossoms, the Ulli. He has everything but capers. His generosity knows hardly any limits. His willingness to help is great. The only thing that annoys Ulli is his preference for loud television. Thank you Ulli for everything! We will certainly see each other again.

Another two small dogs, Loba, who looks like a fox and adopted Anke. Betty the bull terrier lady, severely maltreated and deaf, who gave Ulli with all his love and care a beautiful dog life, is waiting in the backyard. Betty looks like Yoda from Starwars. And only Janni, our nephew, knows how much I love Yoda. Betty also adopted me and grunts loudly at me. When she sleeps next to me, she snores so loudly that I can hardly concentrate. Yoda, you good one. I will miss you very much!

Then came Guido, Moni, Hatte and Anke. After the first exchange of where from, where to, routes, the usual, not an hour passed and we exchanged essential things about us. Trust from the beginning. Added to this were humour, esprit, rapid exchanges of jokes, profound conversations in various constellations, women’s and men’s stories. We fused with a big bang to a new universe “friends for life”. That is composed of laughter until tears flow, silly cheerfulness, crying for the screwed up in life, joy in good food together, compassion for the hard times in the life of the other, knocking sayings until the doctor comes, expressing compliments and appreciation as well as wordless understanding of the men screwing.
Because on Sunday morning Anke, who had decided together that Had and Guido would repair the thickness with Toshi, opened the door for us and gave up their onward journey until the thickness had completely recovered. Toshi cried with happiness and gratitude. It was said succinctly: What are friends for or among bikers that is normal!
I still can’t think of anything more than wordless pauses full of gratitude and amazement about so much generosity and benevolence! Thank you, Anke, Moni, Guido and Hatt. You are four sparkling stars in our hearts – forever. Not to forget the fifth star, Ulli.

Quite a few things will remain unforgettable: Langhaariger Bombenleger; Heinz Becker; Halle Hof; Schnauze Anke. Please be quiet Sissy (Anke’s sister to the barking dog); Queensongs; Dich ko ma wos heuße; You’re lucky that one doesn’t beat handicapped people; 2 days of continuous catchy tune “Gute Morgen, liebe Sorgen…”; the newly founded Hatteism, which is still empty in content; the blatant skeleton; Another day in Paradeis and so much more.

Wistfulness comes over me already now, when I think of our soon separation as soon as the fat one is working again. But in view of our lifetime the separation will be a short one and only local. Those who have found their way into our hearts won’t be able to get out so quickly. We love you!

Dear family, friends and followers we are with you. We love you! Stay as you are. Because you are wonderful.

Heike and Toshi

Hmmm! Yummy breakfast in Sochitl

Yes, dear ones,

we wouldn’t have imagined it that way. Actually we had not planned anything for today… Not that we didn’t want to, but somehow we didn’t really have an idea what we could do for Heike’s birthday. Well, life has decided for us, and so far we can be really satisfied!

So this morning we got up early. No problem, after we all went to bed early yesterday. The drive to Sochitl, the indigenous place at the foot of the two volcanoes, was a bit of a change. Especially at the topes you notice the difference between sidecar and car. It is less the suspension than the fact that the sidecar has only one wheel, which sits directly under Heike, and therefore passes the up and down movement more or less directly to Heike.

In the restaurant in Sochitl we meet Mike, whom we already know from the ferry, and his wife Maria. Some tortillas, tacos and tortillas neros (made of black corn) with wonderful crema, cream, cheese, beans, salsas and guacamole, accompanied by wonderful coffee, interesting conversations, again in the proven language mix, and time flies by.

Later we sit in the car again, blissed with full stomachs. And Carlos shows us the “Zona Magica”. An area on the road that gives you the illusion that the car is rolling uphill. It’s really impressive, but Carlos isn’t trying to sell us any history of magnetic or gravitational anomaly, but explains the effect soberly as optical illusion. He is definitely right.

Carlos and Graciela worked together as doctors in the official health system of Mexico. They see the world through the eyes of scientists and surely don’t believe in magic.

And yet they are open to the wonders of the world: they have travelled Europe many times, visited the Orient, and are planning a trip to China.

I write this while Heike answers birthday greetings and Mike and Carlos repair the solar system on the roof of Carlos’ house.

Later we will go on a little sightseeing tour in the city centre, and in the evening we want to go out for dinner, as I said before. We are looking forward to it, especially as we will meet Ricardo there, and maybe some others from the crew on the ferry, but we didn’t really understand that. We like to be surprised!

In the meantime, best regards to all of you at home and around the world!

Heike and Toshi

Under volcanoes: Colima has an ice volcano and a fire volcano.

Carlos had invited us emphatically, as it is appropriate, with the words “Mi casa es tu casa”, so that we decided to see him again and the other friends from Colima, and to make a stop there.

Since our farewell evening in Puerto Vallarta ended a little later than planned, and the actual goodbye was really difficult for us, we were on the street a little later than planned.
So we had to hurry ab bit and had a little less time than we wanted to see the beautiful landscape. Finally we made it to Carlos before dark. But we are really tired, also because of the rather tropical climate at times.

Carlos has his own guest room for us, and the hospitality of him and his wife Graciela immediately gives us a feeling of well-being.
Of course he has some plans for us, so we prepare to stay here for two nights.

Carlos speaks Spanish and “Spanglish” (original sound Carlos!), Graciela only Spanish, and yet we get some very deep conversations. We change constantly between our gibberish Spanish and English, some chunks of German fall also now and then, and are nevertheless also understood. It is wonderful.

Tomorrow, on Heike’s birthday, we want to have breakfast at the foot of the two volcanoes of Colima in the morning, and then in the evening we will have dinner in a Mexican restaurant.

We are excited, and after a rather short evening with our two hosts, having some pizza and brandy, we go to bed early. Because for breakfast we’re supposed to start at 8:00 o’clock, so we have to set the alarm!

Full and happy: We leave El Tuito after breakfast

Yes, today we went to Puerto Vallarta to have a look around. A cash machine, a wine shop (for the farewell and thank you gifts), and Lisa’s favorite cafe we wanted to find in any case. And we did.

In the “El Sofa” Lisa happened to join us, and we sat together, talked a bit, and drank far too much of the excellent coffee. Especially Heike! Accordingly, she was a bit wound up in the afternoon. Oh, and we bought two great stainless steel straws from Amarantha, the owner of the cafe. You get them in the cafe if you order latte. So much for our great sustainability in Germany. We’ve never seen anything like it before…

We spend the rest of the day packing and planning the route. We change our plan in a short time, and now, instead of driving more or less directly to Leon via Mascota and Chapala, we want to accept the invitation of Carlos from Colima. So instead of driving directly into the interior of the country, we first drive along the coast to the south.

Finally there is a bath in the pool, some nice German food and a wonderful evening with friends.

Thanks to Mike, Irma, Tatiana, Azor, Lisa and everyone else at the Hacienda Alemana in Puerto Vallarta!

Doggybag a different way: Heike, Tatiana, and of course Bala!

Today we went for a little ride with Mike, who took Lisa as pillion passenger, Azor, who took Tatiana as pillion passenger (who had Bala as “hand luggage” in her special backpack), and Mike’s motorcycle friends Chico(?) and Frank.

First we drove to El Tuito to a wonderful restaurant for breakfast, and then on the way back, under Tatiana’s competent guidance, we visited the Botanical Garden. The stretch on the coast south of Puerto Vallarta is really fun (apart from the brake thresholds called Topes on the road!). A beautiful, winding route through lush green. Alternating jungle and pastures, villages and forest.

The botanical garden is enchanting, and definitely worth a visit.

And Lisa shoots some really good pictures of us in motion! We have that so rarely that we both are to be seen in action, and use the opportunity to recruit Lisa as a camerawoman shamelessly. She sits like a professional pillion rider on Mike’s motorbike, filming and photographing all the action!

In the evening we decided to stay another day to have a look around Puerto Vallarta.

Salud! Weinfest in Puerto Vallarta, with Mike and Lisa

Today we are the third day in Puerto Vallarta. And we feel so at home, really recharge our batteries, and enjoy a hospitality we have hardly known before.

Mike and I drove in the morning to buy the thick gear oil. Although Mike’s knees didn’t really like getting on and off, he obviously liked the ride in the sidecar. After we successfully bought a litre of gear oil, we got a full wash for the thick one (a good German washes his bike on Saturdays, right?), so that in the future we might be able to see a little better whether new oil is running out of the gearbox.

Afterwards we were together with Irma, Mike and Lisa at the wine festival in the city centre. While Heike was amusing herself with cheese and wine, I had my hairdresser appointment, and by the time I got back most of the wine stands were already empty. Nevertheless, I could still try a few things, and especially the cheese stand was a lot of fun.
So far for today. We hope you are well wherever you are, whatever you do!

Heike & Toshi