The story I haven’t told you… about Adventure Motorcycling [Vlog 38]

Morning from Huehuecatamango, Todos Santos. Today is a big day. I'm gonna leave here and I'm going to a very special spot. I will tell you about the special spot when I'm there but I'm driving way out of my way to go there and it's a little bit silly in a way but somehow not silly at all. So it's going to be about over six hours on the road today and I have zero clue whether this will be on-road or off-road so we'll see. It's hard to tell even with the maps that tell you what's on-road and what's off-road what really is dirt and paved but it doesn't matter. I think it's all going to be a fine route. It's not I don't think a crazy crazy local route. So good morning. Where is it? There's the Ferris wheel. And the final destination today is Panajachel on Lago Etitlan. Another very special place for me which I'll tell you about later. Here we go start of a new day. Today's vlog is going to be a little different because I'm off to do something a little silly but before I tell you what it is I need to give you some backstory. First of all I'm including this because after all this is a vlog about my personal journey. It's not purely about motorcycle rides nor a travel guide. This is a diary of my personal voyage where I happen to be doing what I love. Well long story short in the beginning of 2019 I spent five months in Guatemala and for one of those months I rented a motorcycle and rode around the entire country. In fact I even drove on this very road I'm driving today. But that trip wasn't just any trip. It was both the first time I had ever traveled by motorcycle in another country and the first time I had ever ridden off-road. Needless to say it was quite the adventure and pretty much my coming of age into adventure motorcycling. So the nostalgia of that trip led me to today's mission. The reason I'm going many hours out of my way is for a picture. I got the silly idea to replicate a photo I took three years ago but with my bike today. I don't really know why I wanted to do this but I think something about showing the progression of time through a viewpoint from that very first trip. But little did I know I would have a bit of an expectation let down. Well I dropped my GoPro. Where did it go? I'm too far. I mean did it drop on the bike? Where did it go? Wow, muchas gracias, amor. ¿Y dónde fue? Oh wow, muchas gracias, buen día. Oh wow, that's so cute. Oh this broke. All right, a little small hiccup. So nice that we found it. By the way, here's the route for today from Todos Santos to Panajachel with the stop at the lookout point which was right about here. The ride was mostly paved but it included a lot Okay, we made it here and guess what? OMG, this is the spot. Turns out there was construction and my beloved perfect photo spot had been all torn up. It was still an incredibly beautiful place but I just couldn't exactly get the shot I had intended. And worse, when I tried to add the old photo here, I only had the one with the bike alone. Oh, sometimes the GoPro just shuts off and it's really a bummer but look at that little tumble here. Looks like they are drying. Well, my photo mission turned out to be a bit of a flop and while I know it was kind of a silly little mission in the first place, it got me thinking. Times like these when I've tried to contrive a certain outcome, it usually falls a little flat. I started this whole journey in the first place because I wanted to stop trying so hard and instead just follow my inspiration. Today served as a good reminder that life is way more satisfying when I quit trying to manufacture events through effort and instead just allow life to surprise and delight. Turns into a market here. This is Chichicatenango which is famous for its huge market. I'm so hungry. Hotel Paradise is where I landed. Two huge windows, very quiet right next to the lake with a view. So, and affordable price. Good night. My body. Motorbike. Exactly.