We enjoyed another excellent breakfast of fruits, potatoes coffee and
juices before packing up. We had been in Zacatecas for two days now and
while I absolutely loved this town we thought it was time to move on. We booked a hotel for Durango, our destination for the day, check out of our hotel and congratulated ourselves once again on the
light mechanic work we were able to get done on the bike before heading of. Durango was almost 4 hours away, and though we didn't necessarily want to go to Durango itself, it was a good place to stop on our way to Mazatlan. After about 45 minutes of riding Eric pulled over to fix the gps which suddenly stopped working. We figured out what was wrong with the gps, but I noticed my right boot was wet from some sort of spray from the bike. We thought it might be coolant since Eric had topped the bike off the night before, and started on again. About 20-30 minutes later while in Fresnillo, the temperature light came on on the bike, so we pulled over at a gas station to check it out.
After checking the coolant level, Eric felt it was probably the water pump going bad and although there were motorcycle shops around none of them would carry the impeller we needed. The closest BMW dealer was in Guadalajara, 5 hours away in the opposite direction; too far to ride and risk overheating the bike. While our original plans were to head to Mazatlan and then head slowly south to Guadalajara, we would have to change directions and go straight to Guadalajara instead. We decided the fastest thing to do would be to get a truck or van to take us there. There were no one-way car rental places in town and who knows if there would be any in Zacatecas, but we ended up using a tow service, and loaded the bike on the back of a Chevy truck quad cab. This whole event took about 3 hours, but it wasn't the worst place to break down. We happened to stop right in front of a gas station/bathroom. We were able to change out of our motorbike clothes for the long truck ride ahead of us.
Trying to figure out what the problem was
Determining where the closest BMW shop was: Guadalajara
Tow truck to the rescue
These kids worked for a real tow truck company, but they must have only been about 20 years old. Though, looks can be deceiving; Eric and they were able to get the truck out of the bed no problem.
Since our plan was to go to Durango we hadn't checkout out options for hotels in Guadalajara at all before arriving. Since we had no data the look up places on the way there, we were able to get a hold of Eric's brother Kevin who hooked us up with the great place. Hotel Portobelo was definitely a sight for sore eyes, and our moods slowly starting progressing once checking in. This hotel is probably this the nicest hotel we've had thus far, is close to the main square, has secure parking, and is the cheapest at 45 dollars a night. Thank you, Kevin!
A little boost of self esteem along with some yummy tortas
We walked along and took a few pics of the town square before stopping in a dance bar for the rest of the night.
From the looks of this picture the bar seems dead, but there were quite a few people there and the salsa dancing was pretty good entertainment for the night. Eric and I were only brave enough to do the slow dances for now.
Since we arrived in Guadalajara too late to drop to bike of at BMW we would have to do it in the morning instead. Our plans were basically at a stand still until we talked to the mechanics and figured out what was wrong with the bike. Well, I guess every trip has its hiccups, and we figured we were pretty luck considering all the things that could have happened instead.
After checking the coolant level, Eric felt it was probably the water pump going bad and although there were motorcycle shops around none of them would carry the impeller we needed. The closest BMW dealer was in Guadalajara, 5 hours away in the opposite direction; too far to ride and risk overheating the bike. While our original plans were to head to Mazatlan and then head slowly south to Guadalajara, we would have to change directions and go straight to Guadalajara instead. We decided the fastest thing to do would be to get a truck or van to take us there. There were no one-way car rental places in town and who knows if there would be any in Zacatecas, but we ended up using a tow service, and loaded the bike on the back of a Chevy truck quad cab. This whole event took about 3 hours, but it wasn't the worst place to break down. We happened to stop right in front of a gas station/bathroom. We were able to change out of our motorbike clothes for the long truck ride ahead of us.
Trying to figure out what the problem was
Determining where the closest BMW shop was: Guadalajara
Tow truck to the rescue
These kids worked for a real tow truck company, but they must have only been about 20 years old. Though, looks can be deceiving; Eric and they were able to get the truck out of the bed no problem.
Since our plan was to go to Durango we hadn't checkout out options for hotels in Guadalajara at all before arriving. Since we had no data the look up places on the way there, we were able to get a hold of Eric's brother Kevin who hooked us up with the great place. Hotel Portobelo was definitely a sight for sore eyes, and our moods slowly starting progressing once checking in. This hotel is probably this the nicest hotel we've had thus far, is close to the main square, has secure parking, and is the cheapest at 45 dollars a night. Thank you, Kevin!
A little boost of self esteem along with some yummy tortas
We walked along and took a few pics of the town square before stopping in a dance bar for the rest of the night.
From the looks of this picture the bar seems dead, but there were quite a few people there and the salsa dancing was pretty good entertainment for the night. Eric and I were only brave enough to do the slow dances for now.
Since we arrived in Guadalajara too late to drop to bike of at BMW we would have to do it in the morning instead. Our plans were basically at a stand still until we talked to the mechanics and figured out what was wrong with the bike. Well, I guess every trip has its hiccups, and we figured we were pretty luck considering all the things that could have happened instead.
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