Well, the long awaited new clutch plates arrived and were rapidly installed yesterday morning. I am a dab hand at this now since I have had that section of my engine apart three times trying to get a temporary fix working (with no success).
The new plates went in and the clutch motion was adjusted and then I went for a test ride... No problems, no evidence of any slipping or binding etc.
So now I am good to go, but I have to admit I feel a little inertia. San Pedro is a great little town on the shores of a very picturesque lake in the Guatemalan mountains. The climate is very comfortable with not too much heat and not too much humidity and the nights are pleasantly cool. There are all sorts of lovely flowering tropical plants with Bougainvilleas everywhere and Poinsettias the size of houses. And of course tropical fruit trees growing in most back yards as well as fresh local coffee (also grown in back yards). At this time of year the days all start out with virtually calm with blue skies and as the day progresses some clouds form and the wind comes up to a moderate level. It has only rained once in the two or three weeks (I forget how long I have been around) that I have been here.
The local community is a very interesting mix of the natives, expats and tourists, but the feel of the place is very friendly with apparently little animosity between them all. This seems to be due to the fact that the expats have not bought up all the lake shore and excluded the locals from accessing it. I´ve heard of it being called "Quick-San Pedro" since people seem to get stuck here :)
Likewise, one of the local shops sells a T-Shirt with the slogan "San Pedro, I´ll be leaving tomorrow" which of course seems always to get put off till the next tomorrow :)
Anyway, so San Pedro is a nice place and I feel both some desire to stay put as well as some anxiety about riding off into the rest of central America with all its unknowns. Just as a reference point here, the trucks that deliver beer here always have a guard riding "shotgun" literally with a large shotgun and a bandoleer full of shells - as if the 6 or 7 shells in the gun may well not be enough to get the job done!
But to travel and to see is what I am here for, so that is what I shall do. The plan is that tomorrow morning I will head off toward Tikal (Mayan ruins) in the north of the country. It seems that this leg of the journey will however be with some company as Marie (the rider who I met at the Mex-Guat boarder with Teryk) has decided to come along on her own bike as well and that will make a nice change from my usual riding alone.
Back on the road :)
