As we continue our journey through four time zones and seven countries, we cross the border (frontera) from Mexico into Guatemala, near El Carmen. We're surrounded by chaos. At least a dozen pushing and shoving street hustlers encircle us, yelling simultaneously in Spanglish that they're the best ones to change our dollars to quetzels and help us get through inmigración, customs (aduana), and importación of the bikes.

"I have found out there ain't no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them." Tom Sawyer Abroad by Mark Twain

A Mexican in a white sombrero rides his donkey on the dusty gravel road in front of us. His appearance in this deserted region presents an unexpected opportunity to ask if he knows of a shortcut through the mountains of the Sierra Madre. Squinting, he scans the surrounding hillsides. Perhaps assuming that we are on the brink of light-headedly risking our lives, he asks us in a low voice "Tienen una pistola?" Do you carry a pistol?

Traveling northwest from Guatemala, we reach Chiapas. Mexico's southernmost state is referred to as "Mundo Mayas," the gate to the world of the Mayas. At 6,900 feet, in a densely forested valley in the mountains of the Sierra Madre, lies San Cristóbal de las Casas. This lively town is a unique mixture of Spanish and Pre-Columbian architecture and culture. Street vendors sell tropical fruit and cotton candy. Immediately, when riding our KTM 640 Adventures through the narrow cobblestone alleys lined by low houses with colored facades, we feel at home.

Most people visit Copper Canyon by rail, a spectacular ride on the Chihuahua Pacifico Railroad, crossing 39 bridges and 86 tunnels along a rift bigger than the Grand Canyon! Quite an adventure if you're partial to traveling in boxes, but the rugged scenery and cultural gems of the Tarahumara Indian homeland are even more accessible to a motorcyclist - and for the sporting rider the roads are to die for. And since this is Mexico, the latter is always a real possibility.