September 30, 2015
In the morning I said goodbye to the beach and headed inland once more.
Elli, the German host at Rancho Estero. She makes my little 250 look even smaller. Real story: Her boyfriend runs the hostel, but he’s on vacation right now, so she’s running two places. She owns the Surf & Shake surf shop in Santa Catalina. And she surfs. And she gives lessons. And she rides her bicycle out to the hostel and back with her surfboard under her arm. Pretty cool.
After backtracking 60 miles up the peninsula to the InterAmerican Highway, it’s another 60 miles down the highway to the turnoff at Anton. Parts of this ride remind me of Highway 99 through the Central Valley of California. Divided four lane, lots of farms and ranches, big hills in the distance. It just has a similar feel.
On the way it starts getting very dark ahead. It’s lunch time and looking like some serious rain is headed this way, so I pull off at a Chinese restaurant on the side of the highway. Big, nice place. Good food. And sure enough, it starts to really pour. Lightning. Thunder. Heavy rain. After an hour or so it lets up, and I’m back on the bike headed for Anton, my balding knobby tires performing better than expected for the conditions.
The road from Anton up to El Valle de Anton, or Anton Valley, starts out with some potholes but turns to a nice two lane. It starts in jungle-like foliage, climbs through pine forest, then up to clear-cut. The last climb is sharp and steep, with some switchbacks I can only describe as “quirky”. Just as suddenly the road descends via similarly quirky, sharp switchbacks into Anton Valley, which is actually in the six kilometer wide crater of an inactive volcano at about two thousand feet elevation.
Climbing up from Anton to Anton Valley. Starts tropical…
and turns to pine forest on the climb up, before cresting the rim of the crater and back down into tropical Anton Valley. This all happens in a matter of just a few miles.
I’m staying at the Bodhi hostel, which opened about eleven months ago and is doing a good business based on the people I see wandering in and out. Definitely the backpacker crowd, but this place is great for motorcyclists as well as they have a large fenced and locked lot adjacent to the hostel, and directly across the street from the police station. Secure parking shouldn’t be a problem.
The dormitory is huge and there are quite a few guests. I choose a private room with shared bath. The room is on the small side but comfortable.
All the room you really need…
Oreo, the adopted hostel dog, greets me at the door. I’m told he’s a “mountain dog”; he has helped guide lost hikers off the mountain several times. Apparently he helped a hostel guest down from the mountain, and the hostel since adopted him. He’s still free-roaming, but he wanders back every night.
This is Oreo. He walked ahead of me all the way (5 blocks or so) to a Peruvian restaurant (like he knew where I was going), sat under the table on the patio while I ate, sat outside the grocery store door while I shopped, then led me all the way back to the hostel. And never asked for a tip. He’s a pretty cool dog.
Tomorrow is Panama City. I have a few days of projects, sight-seeing, and hopefully other things to do there. The weather won’t be as cool as here in Anton Valley, but I’m beginning to adjust to the heat and humidity of being this close to the equator. Or at least beginning to accept it.
Got tires????
Nope. Not yet. No Pirelli MT21s available. I have a lead on an MT60 in Panama City, but I don’t think they make a matching front in the correct (skinny) size for my bike. I also have a lead on a set of IRC VE33’s in Panama City, which are a full knobby, like the MT21, but not DOT approved like the MT21, and while the guy in Panama City says they are long lasting, I’m not sure that’s based on 50mph all day on asphalt. Will have some time to search while in Panama City. Hopefully something will turn up.
Hey, what kind of ceremony are you going to do when you cross the equator? I mean, if you were on a boat, you’d have to kiss the baby and give a blessing to Neptune. What do they do on land?
Hmmm…haven’t thought about that. Will have to do some research, or take suggestions…
I googled Yamaha motorcycle for Panama & didn’t get a hit!!
Honda motorcycle did!!
Website: http://www.hondapanama.com
Let me know if you need more info!!
Amazing Trip!!
Alfred Kirkland
Have already seen more Hondas here in Panama than I’ve seen in the rest of Central America. Definitely more of a presence here. If you can find a Honda dealer with Pirelli MT21’s or Dunlop 606’s in Panama City I’ll give them my business!
Looks like the Yamaha distributor has more of a Facebook page than a website here: https://www.facebook.com/yamahapty
I sent the Honda Dealer an e-mail to see if they have the Pirelli’s or the Dunlops in the XT250 sizes!!
All I could do is English but who knows, , , maybe they will have something!!
Alfred
Thanks!! I just found out there is a Kenda tire distributor in Colon, Panama that supplies Central America. I sent them an email tonight. No dealers listed in Panama City, but somebody here must be able to get them. It’s only 50 miles away and this is a big city. The Kenda 760s look very similar to the MT21s and are DOT approved. The Kenda 270s look a lot like the OE Bridgestones that came on the XT. If they can get me to Santiago, Chile, that’s good enough!
Keep it simple. We can FedEx tires anywhere! Give a address!
Yep. Now that I am aware of the lack of fresh DOT knobbies in this part of the world, I have a few months to plan ahead and get a set to the next location. I have a re-supply list in the works already for my couple of weeks in the US over Christmas. Hard to stuff tires in the carry-on bag, so will arrange a place to ship to in the next month or two.
I’ll let you know what the dealer says as soon as he replies!!
Hopefully he will reply!!
Safe Travels!!
Alfred <– One of Tom's Friends!!
No reply from the dealer!! Didn’t really expect it but worth a try!!
If they should respond I’ll still let you know!!
Alfred <– Honda Guy 🙂
Thanks for trying Alfred! I found a set of Pirelli MT60s here yesterday and mounted those. Definitely a different feel from the MT21 knobbies I had been running (knobs actually felt better, but I’m sure I’ll get used to these). So I have tires hopefully to at least Chile. I found MT21s in Ecuador, but that’s a bit early now.