Mexico Tomorrow (manana)

I've spent a few days just northwest of Corpus Christi taking care of last minute details, things to get, last log, last phone calls, etc. I've stay'd at a quiet place here in Rockdale, The Rainbow Motel.

The weather here has been very nice, 85 degrees during the day, sometimes as low as 40 at night, but very dry and perfect for bike riding. Rockdale is a small out the way place with a Walmart and the usual suspects along the main strip. McDonalds, fast food places, etc. The houses are older and look like they aren't built with severe cold in mind. In fact the drive and yard of the motel is all filled with pebble gravel. It is low maintenance, keeps out the weeds, and never has to be mowed. The assorted southwest plants and vegetation placed over the property makes it feel very comfortable. Of course the gravel would never work up north where the plows would simply plow it away. Also it being 85 at the end of October, one can imagine how hot it is in summer here.

The weather down in Central America has created some conditions that needed monitoring. The rainy season this year has created a lot of flooding and disrupted a lot of the infrastructure of Nicauraga and Costa Rica, as well as other countries in the area. Some roads are reported out, as well some basic services.

With the western media as usual it seems, neglecting news from these countries for the most part, accurate reports and up to date conditions have been somewhat hard to come by. Fortunately the internet allows for other sources of information.

I have called the Nicauragan embassy here in the states, to get some news and also have reports from fellow bikers who are making the same trip and are down there now. While some roads are out depending on which route one takes, the Pan American Hwy.,the main route thru the area is reportedly in good shape, and a lot of last weeks rain seems to have dissipated. Sunny skies are reported!

The rainy/hurricane season officially ends November 1st so hopefully the worst is over. I'm planning on leaving before light and try to get to the border as early as possible. Since the luxury of driving at night from now on is not an option, according to all reports night travel is too dangerous in these countries. Because of the roads themselves being rough, poor lighting I imagine, and also a lot of livestock, bandits and whatever else you can imagine, it just is not recommended.

So I look forward to this part of the journey, and finally getting underway. I think Mexico and then the Central American countries will be the most challenging and probably, the most rewarding part of the trip. I will have to see how communication goes since I don't know where or how the my next access to the internet will be....