High Flying Art

Buba,

My son is riding his Yamaha 250cc Dual Sport motorcycle around Mexico,Central and South America. He's now in Peru as of yesterday. He left last October and to date he's never had any problems except his packs on his motorcycle were gone through at a hostel where he was staying and the bike was in their locked parking area.
He only lost some small things.

He has met nothing but kindness and people who have gone out of their way to make him feel welcome and to help him. His Spanish is limited but getting better as he goes along. This said he also listens to people when they tell him not to go into different areas. He's walked streets late at night with out problems but hasn't when he was advised not to.

He said Columbia was a favourite and when he heads north next spring he want's to spend more time there.

Border areas are indeed problematic and not somewhere I'd be hanging out except at tourist centers.

Here is a link to his blog if you feel like looking at it.

http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/a-yankee-goes-south.1014633/

Steve.

I should have added that the site is photo heavy. It's amazing what he's seeing.

Steve.

Hi buba,

Sorry to hear you've been going through what I have. Hope your better now.

My son is part of a group called Adventure Riders. They are people who are riding all over the world on motorcycles and some who are riding around the world. They record their travels there. The site also has various side blogs as well where life gets hashed over.

It is surprising that there are the number of single women riders who are riding alone. Many in Mexico and Central and South America. Of course they seem to meet a single fella on the trip and they team up.

From what I have gathered about the chap that disappeared only to be found in garbage bags is that he was in a sensitive area and the local cartel didn't like it.

My son said he has been riding and he got a sense that the locals weren't happy about him being in the area and someone has told him to leave quickly and pointed to the road out of the area. He has a tracking devise that travels with him and emits a signal at given times and when he stops for the day he pushes a button that says all is well.

With the Spot Tracker comes a chance to get a monthly medical plan that gets you flown back to the U.S. and I believe medical help in whatever country your in. Some of the countries include medical care when you buy their auto insurance at the border.

Steve.