Planning, Planning, Planning

Planning and preparation for this trip is progressing.  This past week I took advantage of the unusually warm weather in Western North Carolina to complete my self-servicing of the bike.  I have replaced the rear brake pads and changed all fluids in the bike.  Saturday was so nice here I decided to take her out for a little test ride.

I also began the Hepatitis A&B series and next week I will make my appointment for my typhoid vaccine and begin my anti-malarial prophylaxis.  All of this needs to be done now because some of the vaccines take about six weeks to take effect.  I have also heard from other travelers that taking probiotics can help to prevent "Montezuma's Revenge" so I have begun eating a probiotic yogurt each day.  I know I am over thinking this, but it is funny what you do when you have time to plan the utmost detail.

I have also begun a Spanish refresher course at AB-Tech Community College.  ¡Más tequila por favor!

I have researched a route through Mexico and Central America.  Mexico was the most difficult because I really want to avoid the toll roads and travel exclusively by libres.  Central America was easy because of the lack of road infrastructure and the Pan-American Highway.

It is nice to have this time to get all of this out of the way before the trip begins on March 15.  About three weeks before the trip begin things will get a little hectic around here.  I will have a trip to Germany to contend with at the end of February.  The Central American trip will begin about ten days after I return from Europe.

I have already begun to change my route in my head.  I have started to consider changing the trip to include only Mexico, Belize and Guatemala.  If I did this it would allow me to spend much more time in each of those countries and save me about ten border crossings.  If I rode through all of the Central American countries to Panama I would basically be blasting through the area and not being able to see much of each country.  This is a decision that will probably be made on the beach in Belize.  By that time I will have much more experience riding in Latin America and in a better position to make such a decision.

I also want to remind you of my photography web site Kurt Nugent Photography.  Here you can see photos that do not make it to the blog.  Photos of my non-motorcycle travels are available as well.  You can also see my beautiful granddaughter, Lexi, there!  You can also follow me on Twitter @nugentch.  I would appreciate the follow!

Well you will just have to keep checking back to see what happens.