After years of working in the news and motorcycle industries; editing content, writing stories, testing motorcycles, designing marketing campaigns and events, I’m took my experience abroad to share my language and culture and to learn from others.
KTM Super Duke press intro; road racing is the moto-world I'm from
My immersion mission began in Costa Rica, a country that has become an economical slave to tourism, followed by a spectacular five-day sailboat float through the vibrant San Blas Islands of Panama, to a six-month teaching stint in Cartagena, Colombia; a stunning city frozen in its 1984 "Romancing the Stone" international debut.
I live to relish in life; the good, the bad, the beautiful and, my favorite, the surprises. My most recent aspiration of Spanish fluency drove me to obtaining an international teaching certificate followed by university teaching experience at San Diego State before hopping down to Cartagena, Colombia for some immersion.
But even though I was living in South America, my goal of Spanish fluency was lost to my long hours of teaching and speaking English, English, English. I decided I needed a Plan B.
At the time, the one commitment I had in this lovely life was to be a bridesmaid in one of my best friend’s weddings. So, I devised a plan to make it all happen on my favorite mode of transpo; el moto. I left the school, Centro Colombo Americano de Cartagena, hopped a plane back to San Diego, bought a dual-sport, and with the help of some two-wheel guru buddies, I built up a pretty phenomenal 2008 KLR in less than three weeks. This was my ride to carry me across the Trans-American Trail (TAT) from where I picked it up in St. George, Utah to the wedding in Tennessee.
After a phenomenal TAT tour, as my B-Blogs will attest to, I continued down the west coast of Mexico and began my satellite mapped route from Mayan ruin-to-ruin around the Yucatán Peninsula, while scuba diving the cenotes along the way. I continued through Belize to the astounding ruin site of Tikal in northern Guatemala and proceeded southeast into Honduras where I eventually shipped my moto out to Utila Island and took a two-month travel break to work at a scuba center and spend time enjoying the bio-luminescence of the underwater world. I returned to Guatemala to sink into the culture and language in a land so rich in crafts, color and traditions. The day my three-month visa expired I crossed back into Mexico and by nightfall had my toes in the warm sands on the Pacific coast. I continued across, through Oaxaca and Orizaba, to Mexico’s Gulf to experience the new sights, flavors and cultures of the country's east-side, and to enjoy the generous and friendly Mexican people who have been overshadowed by such tumultuous times south of the border. I crossed the back over the border into Texas after almost two-years of exploration.
Since it’s almost impossible to put such priceless experiences into words, I’ll simply hope that if you have an equal passion for the full circle of brilliance that life has to offer, go. Just go. And hopefully, I’ll meet you somewhere down the road.
Cable car up Mount Monserrate for a spectacular view over Bogota, Colombia.
Brienne Thomson
