sunset Archives - Iron Roamer

San Juan del Sur Nicaragua

From Granada I made my way to the beach and surf town of San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. The last beach and surf town I was at was El Tunco in El Salvador. It was OK but not my favorite place as it was grubby. I love beaches but it wasn’t my kind of place. So it was with some trepidation that I rode to San Juan del Sur.

HC Liri

Most of the hotels in San Juan del Sur were over my budget. I guess because it is a tourist area. The HC Liri hotel was still over my budget but within reason. It appeared that the main reason it was cheaper than other hotels in the town was that to get to the town you have to walk through a river!

Depending on the tide, the river depth would either be below my knees or to my crotch.

It really wasn’t a big deal though. The other option was to walk a long way around it to a bridge.

The hotel itself was nice and served a huge breakfast.

At the entrance of the hotel was a fridge with beer and other drinks. You just grab one and let the receptionist know. When you check out you pay for what you took.

The Beach

Of course the main attraction of San Juan del Sur is the beach.

Of course there was the Nicaraguan flare to the beach.

When I was there, no one was surfing. The waves were kind of small. Just past the waves were lots of boats moored.

The Town of San Juan del Sur

The town of San Juan del Sur itself was nothing special … at least to me. It mostly consisted of restaurants and hostels.

One of the best restaurants in town is Dan Pues.

The meals are relatively inexpensive and very good. It is small but a good place to meet people. A woman next to me asked if I was going on the bar crawl. What? She explained to me that everyone wearing wrist bands were walking from bar to bar that evening. Later that evening I saw throngs of young people walking from bar to bar. Not my scene.

One older guy came up to me on the street and said, “only young people and fat naked chicks here.” huuummm well … he wasn’t too far wrong. Only I would be a little more polite and say that the town was full of young people having fun. That’s ok. But I’m no longer young 🙁

I looked around town for the main plaza and church. These are usually the center of activity in Central American towns. Not here. I guess the beach supersedes it. Nothing to see here. Just a cute little church.

Sunset

Besides the beach, the other main attraction is the sunset. I found a nice patio to sit out on with a drink and watch the show with everyone else.

Wasn’t the greatest sunset, but still relaxing and beautiful.

San Juan del Sur is a beautiful beach town, but after 2 nights I was ready to move on and tackle the border into Costa Rica.

My Route to San Juan del Sur on August 6, 2017

My Location on August 7, 2017

Back to the Ocean in Puerto Vallarta

After many days in the inland of Mexico, I finally arrived back at the ocean in Puerto Vallarta.

Guadalajara to Puerto Vallarta

Sometimes where I think I am going, is not always where I am going. The main toll free road from Guadalajara to Puerto Vallarta went through Tequila. I planned on stopping there. Perhaps even buy a small bottle of tequila. In the morning I put in Puerto Vallarta into my GPS thinking it would taken the this road. I was wrong.

I kept looking for Tequila but I didn’t pass it when I thought I should. I tried to find out where I was on my map. There was nothing recognizable. Huuummmm …. I figured I would just trust my GPS.

When I reached the town of Mascota I found it on my map! I was way off the route I thought I would be taking. Somehow I had turned off before reaching Tequila. Oh well … this route was interesting and not much traffic. Mascota was actually a cool little town to ride through.

Since I came in through a back road, the entrance into Puerto Vallarta was less than grand. I wandered through cobble stoned back roads before finally finding my way into the main town and my hotel.

Hotel Encino

Like a lot of resort towns, the prices for hotels are above my budget. But I did find a hotel in the middle of the old town of Puerto Vallarta. I thought it had free parking. At least that is what the ad said. It turned out the parking consisted of a reserved spot on the roadway. So that is where I parked.

It was right outside a 24 hour reception so I figured it was safe there.

The hotel itself was a typical 2 star hotel … not the cleanest or well appointed … but it was within budget and within walking distance of the town centre. Nice lobby though 🙂

Wandering Around Puerto Vallarta

After checking in I needed to get my bearings of where everything was in the town. I walked up and down the beautiful malecon.

Off the main malecon there was sort of an extension. There I found umbrellas and chairs or a restaurant called Sea Monkey, right on the beach. It just so happened I go a nice chair right up front for the greatest show on earth – the sunset.

It was SOOOOOOOO nice to be back at the ocean again. I love the sounds, smells, and sunsets.

My Route for November 10, 2016

What is Sunday Football like at the Empty Pockets Saloon in Holbrook, Arizona?

Today I spent an fun afternoon at the Empty Pockets Saloon in Holbrook, Arizona, watching Sunday NFL football.

Where to Watch Sunday Football in Holbrook Arizona

Before I left Albuquerque I researched where I could watch Sunday football at my next destination, Holbrook, Arizona. I came up with the Mesa Grill and Sports Bar. Great! Off I went. I took the freeway only because I wanted to get there and watch as much football as I could 🙂

Holbrook Arizona

I got to Holbrook by noon. As I entered the town I got this Deja Vu feeling. I had been here before! In 2013 when doing a 6 month trip I had pulled in here to eat at the Taco Bell and fill up with gas!

I got to the Mesa Grill and Sports Bar. It was closed!!! What?!!! How could it call itself a sports bar on a Sunday during the NFL season?

I drove up and down looking for another place. I didn’t see anything. So I went to the KOA where I was going to stay and asked. The clerk suggested the Empty Pockets Saloon just down the street.

Empty Pockets Saloon

As I arrived I was a bit hesitant. It looked a bit run down.

I went in anyways. The inside was like the outside. There were a couple of pool tables, a juke box, some old table and a bar. But there was football on! I stayed.

This placed turned out to be awesome! OK … you may not believe this, but draft Bud Light was $1.75! And if you believe that then you may not believe this. They had free food!!! At one end of the saloon was a table with nachos, chili, hot dogs and watermelon. It was all free for as much as you wanted.

There I was, drinking $1.75 beer, eating free nachos and bean dip, and watching Sunday football.

I sat beside a nice woman from the Navajo Nation, Lana, who was in town visiting. We had a nice conversation and enjoyed the games. Of course everyone was interested in the Arizona Cardinals game. I would have liked to seen Seattle, but it was just as well as the Seattle game looked like it was pretty boring from the highlights.

Later in the afternoon Lana’s friend arrived. He had been competing at the Holbrook Rodeo. While we watched football, he got a call and found out a company wanted to sponsor him. He was ecstatic! I love it when people get what they want and achieve their dreams.

KOA Holbrook

By the evening I settled into my KOA campsite. It was another mostly dirt KOA, but there was grass for tents. I sat and watched the sun set. Really relaxing.

It turned out to be a great day 🙂

My Route for September 18, 2016

To Greenville – the Heart of the Mississippi Delta

It was finally time to leave Memphis for Greenville, Mississippi, the heart of the Mississippi Delta.

Graceland

Before I left though I visited Graceland. I had been there once before, but it is a place you just have to go to. Last time the guard allowed me to go visit Elvis Presley’s grave. This time no such luck without paying for a tour. So just a few pictures before heading on.

There was one noticeable difference from the last time I was there. Next to Graceland was not a massive building still under construction. I asked around and a person told me it was the new Heartbreak Hotel.

Weather

It didn’t take long for the weather to heat up. For most of my ride today it hovered around 36 degrees C. My Klim riding suit is cooler than I expected. It has lots of vents. But at 36 it is still very hot. It doesn’t take long before you feel weak from the heat.

Great River Road

Of course I was following the Great River Road into Mississippi. I wasn’t seeing the river though. I even went up onto the levee to see if I could see a glimpse.

Finally I got to see her 🙂

Greenville

I made it to Greenville and I was exhausted. In fact I felt a bit disorientated. I am sure the heat had something to do with it. However, I also felt like I was in a different land. There was the obvious that basically everyone in Greenville is black. But there was also a distinct language barrier too!

When I was checking into the Warfield Campground, a prison inmate worker was trying to ask me something and I had no idea what he was saying. We finally got together and he was asking me if I had a tent. Then the Ranger came and I was sure he was asking me for my “land line.” Nope, he was asking me for my last name! A really nice guy. I just couldn’t understand him. Then people are saying my bike is a lot of “grip.” I am guessing that means money. I haven’t seen a Rosetta Stone course for southern English!

Doe’s Eat Place

One of the main reasons I chose to do the Great River Road and to go to Greenville was because of Anthony Bourdain’s show on eating in the Mississippi Delta. When I watched it I thought there is something so different and unique about the Delta. One of the places featured on the show was Doe’s Eat Place in Greenville.

To be truthful I almost didn’t go. I was hot and disorientated. I just wanted to go to a place I knew. I am glad I didn’t.

Doe’s Eat Place is very unique. To start with, the entrance is through the kitchen! The building itself is very old and held together by knives – literally. Where I sat there was a knife holding the door closed.

The other unique thing? After I sat down the server came up to me and asked what I’ll have. I said, “what about a menu.” “We don’t have menus here,” was the response. No menus!?!

Luckily, from the Anthony Bourdain show I knew tamales, salad and steak were the specialties. So that is what I had. Meanwhile, I’m thinking, this is going to cost me ha ha. But with no menu I had no idea.

The steak was awesome. Yes, I know it is well done. I like it that way.

Warfield Park Campground

The Warfiled Park Campground is really nice. Very spacious. Green grass. And a great view of the Mississippi River.

At night as the sun set it was magical. They had a tower there you could climb up on. At the top I felt the cool breeze from the river, and watched the sun as it set. SOOOOOO nice.

Humidity

After the sun set I had a shower to wash off the day’s grime so I could get to sleep. Minutes after crawling into my tent I was sweating again.

I pulled back my rain cover hoping that would help. It did a bit. I couldn’t open the entrance to let more air in due to the bugs. As it was these little creatures were making it into the tent and biting me or something.

I finally just took a sleeping pill and called it a night.

My Route for August 31, 2016

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