6th
I woke up at 7.00am, and looked out of the window, yuk, raining, foggy, not good, so went back to bed for an hour. The fog had cleared, rain had stopped, but was still threatening. We packed up, waited for another shower to pass, then headed for the border, going through another couple of showers to San Ignacio, where we stopped at a bakery for a late breakfast. It bucketed down while we ate, but then the rain stopped, so we hit the road again, and the sun was out when we got to the border. Clearing Belize wasn’t too hard, we just had to pay $40 Belize each to leave the country, and make sure we handed in our import paper, so they could cancel the notation in our passport with the bike rego number on it. From there down the road to the Guatemala side, first stop was a compulsory spray of the bikes again with some evil chemical to kill any Belizian nasties we may have picked up, for which we were charged a small fee. Then over the road to get our passports stamped, and then to customs to get the bikes in. They needed photocopies of our licences, passport stamp in, and rego papers, which of course we didn’t have. One of the touts, (a 13 year old kid) took Lyn over the bridge into town to get some copies done, so that got that sorted. Then we had to pay a 160Q (about $26AUD) fee each for the bikes, and of course we didn’t have quite enough cash. Short by about 7Q! Visa? No sorry, must be cash. Do you have an ATM here? No, sorry. Another Mexican standoff, as they wouldn’t budge, and we couldn’t pay. Eventually they let Lyn ride over the border to a bank, where she could get some cash out, come back, and finish the paperwork. There was another group of bikes there as well, Canadian guys, but they were behind us when we left, and we didn’t see them again. Also crossing the border at the same time was a school bus full of kids, they were going home for lunch! These kids cross the border in the morning to go to school, back again at lunch time for lunch, across again after lunch to school for the afternoon, then again to go home in the evening. There are schools on their side of the border, but they only teach Spanish at school, while on the Belize side they teach English, so the parents send the kids to school to learn English, and speak Spanish at home, so all the kids grow up with 2 languages. We were at the border about 2 hours, and the rain had caught up with us when we left, so we got soaked again. We were going to turn off and go up to Tikal, but the weather was really shitty, and we just wanted to get to a hotel and get warm and dry, so continued on to San Benito and Flores. We rode around Flores, which is a small island on a lake, but the hotels there are more expensive, and don’t have parking, space is at a premium on the island. Back over the bridge to San Benito, and we found a hotel with hot water, (a lot don’t have it), and secure bike parking, so unpacked and dried out a bit. Once again our riding suits and boots were soaked, hanging up and dripping all over the floor. Gotta love travelling by bike! As it got dark, the rain stopped, and we went for a walk down the road for tea, and some supplies at the supermarket. Hopefully, the rain will stay away tomorrow.
I woke up at 7.00am, and looked out of the window, yuk, raining, foggy, not good, so went back to bed for an hour. The fog had cleared, rain had stopped, but was still threatening. We packed up, waited for another shower to pass, then headed for the border, going through another couple of showers to San Ignacio, where we stopped at a bakery for a late breakfast. It bucketed down while we ate, but then the rain stopped, so we hit the road again, and the sun was out when we got to the border. Clearing Belize wasn’t too hard, we just had to pay $40 Belize each to leave the country, and make sure we handed in our import paper, so they could cancel the notation in our passport with the bike rego number on it. From there down the road to the Guatemala side, first stop was a compulsory spray of the bikes again with some evil chemical to kill any Belizian nasties we may have picked up, for which we were charged a small fee. Then over the road to get our passports stamped, and then to customs to get the bikes in. They needed photocopies of our licences, passport stamp in, and rego papers, which of course we didn’t have. One of the touts, (a 13 year old kid) took Lyn over the bridge into town to get some copies done, so that got that sorted. Then we had to pay a 160Q (about $26AUD) fee each for the bikes, and of course we didn’t have quite enough cash. Short by about 7Q! Visa? No sorry, must be cash. Do you have an ATM here? No, sorry. Another Mexican standoff, as they wouldn’t budge, and we couldn’t pay. Eventually they let Lyn ride over the border to a bank, where she could get some cash out, come back, and finish the paperwork. There was another group of bikes there as well, Canadian guys, but they were behind us when we left, and we didn’t see them again. Also crossing the border at the same time was a school bus full of kids, they were going home for lunch! These kids cross the border in the morning to go to school, back again at lunch time for lunch, across again after lunch to school for the afternoon, then again to go home in the evening. There are schools on their side of the border, but they only teach Spanish at school, while on the Belize side they teach English, so the parents send the kids to school to learn English, and speak Spanish at home, so all the kids grow up with 2 languages. We were at the border about 2 hours, and the rain had caught up with us when we left, so we got soaked again. We were going to turn off and go up to Tikal, but the weather was really shitty, and we just wanted to get to a hotel and get warm and dry, so continued on to San Benito and Flores. We rode around Flores, which is a small island on a lake, but the hotels there are more expensive, and don’t have parking, space is at a premium on the island. Back over the bridge to San Benito, and we found a hotel with hot water, (a lot don’t have it), and secure bike parking, so unpacked and dried out a bit. Once again our riding suits and boots were soaked, hanging up and dripping all over the floor. Gotta love travelling by bike! As it got dark, the rain stopped, and we went for a walk down the road for tea, and some supplies at the supermarket. Hopefully, the rain will stay away tomorrow.
The bridge to the island of Flores, Peten is the area that the town is in.
7th
Woke up this morning to clear blue skies, happy about that! We pulled on our still wet clothes, (now very smelly), and did a ride around the island of Flores for some photos, then headed south in the warm sunshine, drying out as we went. Stopped beside the road at a food shack for some lunch, and met a Swiss couple travelling in a diesel 4WD Mercedes Sprinter, with a box on the back really well fitted out as a mobile home, a great combination, I want one! From there we continued south with the sun still shining, along pretty good roads, with just the odd pothole thrown in to keep us alert. The scenery wasn’t bad either, with the road snaking through lush green hills, with the occasional patch of jungle thrown in, complete with palm trees, just what you’d imagine Guatemalan jungle to look like. We passed a road junction where there should have been a town, but we couldn’t find it, so continued on to Rio Dulce, on the waterway which leads to the Caribbean Sea, and found a room for the night. 200Q, about $30AUD. No hot water, but we are getting used to cold showers now. A walk along the waterfront to a bar and restaurant out over the water, and a pizza and a couple of rum lime and cokes later, we were well fed and watered. While we were there we met Hans and Doris,a Swiss couple, who have been sailing around the world for two and a half years, so had a good talk to them. Their 42 ft sailing boat is in a marina down the inlet a bit having some work done on it before they continue their trip. From there we walked back to our room, which is very near a steep and very high bridge over the channel, so all the trucks that cross over have their engine brakes barking all the way down the other side, I’m sure it’s going to be a noisy night. We’ll see.
Woke up this morning to clear blue skies, happy about that! We pulled on our still wet clothes, (now very smelly), and did a ride around the island of Flores for some photos, then headed south in the warm sunshine, drying out as we went. Stopped beside the road at a food shack for some lunch, and met a Swiss couple travelling in a diesel 4WD Mercedes Sprinter, with a box on the back really well fitted out as a mobile home, a great combination, I want one! From there we continued south with the sun still shining, along pretty good roads, with just the odd pothole thrown in to keep us alert. The scenery wasn’t bad either, with the road snaking through lush green hills, with the occasional patch of jungle thrown in, complete with palm trees, just what you’d imagine Guatemalan jungle to look like. We passed a road junction where there should have been a town, but we couldn’t find it, so continued on to Rio Dulce, on the waterway which leads to the Caribbean Sea, and found a room for the night. 200Q, about $30AUD. No hot water, but we are getting used to cold showers now. A walk along the waterfront to a bar and restaurant out over the water, and a pizza and a couple of rum lime and cokes later, we were well fed and watered. While we were there we met Hans and Doris,a Swiss couple, who have been sailing around the world for two and a half years, so had a good talk to them. Their 42 ft sailing boat is in a marina down the inlet a bit having some work done on it before they continue their trip. From there we walked back to our room, which is very near a steep and very high bridge over the channel, so all the trucks that cross over have their engine brakes barking all the way down the other side, I’m sure it’s going to be a noisy night. We’ll see.
The countryside we were riding through towards Rio Dulce, quite pretty.
8th
Well the night wasn’t too bad in the end, we slept pretty well, and the sun was still shining, the rain has gone. Lyn did a drive through the mayhem that is the centre of town with the go pro on, and then we headed south along a very badly potholed main road, until we hit the main highway to Guatemala city. The temperature kept rising, and it was a very hot ride through hilly country that was much browner and drier than the area further north. There are a lot of trucks using this road, as it is the main highway to the city. A 650 Versys appeared in our mirrors, then passed us and disappeared into the traffic ahead of us, then we passed it again when it stopped at a roadside shop. It passed us again, then when we pulled into a shop for a drink and rest stop, it was parked there as well. We met Pablo inside, and shared a drink with him, he lives in the city, and was out for a ride today with some friends, who had gone on ahead with another guy who had had an accident and gone down. Apparently he is OK. Pablo gave us some info on things to see and places to stay, very helpful guy, thanks mate! We continued on through some roadworks, and found ourselves in the middle of Guatemala City looking for a hotel just before dark. We eventually found a place near the city centre. As we were getting low on cash, we needed to walk about 600 metres to an ATM, and when we found it there were some dubious looking guys hanging around it, so walked past and up around a corner. There were 2 cops standing there, and we talked them into accompanying us to to the ATM so we could some cash out, then they advised us to walk back a different way to the hotel, so the guys near the ATM wouldn’t harass us. All good, got back safely after stopping at a shop for some drinks, very surprised by the steel bars in front of the shop counters, you have to have the goods passed through the bars after you have paid for them, the shelves are picked by the shop keeper after you tell him what you want. I think the area we are in is not the best in the city……..
Well the night wasn’t too bad in the end, we slept pretty well, and the sun was still shining, the rain has gone. Lyn did a drive through the mayhem that is the centre of town with the go pro on, and then we headed south along a very badly potholed main road, until we hit the main highway to Guatemala city. The temperature kept rising, and it was a very hot ride through hilly country that was much browner and drier than the area further north. There are a lot of trucks using this road, as it is the main highway to the city. A 650 Versys appeared in our mirrors, then passed us and disappeared into the traffic ahead of us, then we passed it again when it stopped at a roadside shop. It passed us again, then when we pulled into a shop for a drink and rest stop, it was parked there as well. We met Pablo inside, and shared a drink with him, he lives in the city, and was out for a ride today with some friends, who had gone on ahead with another guy who had had an accident and gone down. Apparently he is OK. Pablo gave us some info on things to see and places to stay, very helpful guy, thanks mate! We continued on through some roadworks, and found ourselves in the middle of Guatemala City looking for a hotel just before dark. We eventually found a place near the city centre. As we were getting low on cash, we needed to walk about 600 metres to an ATM, and when we found it there were some dubious looking guys hanging around it, so walked past and up around a corner. There were 2 cops standing there, and we talked them into accompanying us to to the ATM so we could some cash out, then they advised us to walk back a different way to the hotel, so the guys near the ATM wouldn’t harass us. All good, got back safely after stopping at a shop for some drinks, very surprised by the steel bars in front of the shop counters, you have to have the goods passed through the bars after you have paid for them, the shelves are picked by the shop keeper after you tell him what you want. I think the area we are in is not the best in the city……..
9th
Went for a walk this morning to the square in the middle of the city, and stopped at a nice little cafe for some breakfast on the way. While we were eating, we heard a whip crack, looked up, and saw about half a dozen goats walking down the footpath, along with their goat herder! At a command from him they stopped, he milked one into a cup, and then crossed the road and gave the milk to someone, came back, and they moved on. Only in Guatemala! We checked out, and battled the morning traffic getting out of the city down to Monterrico on the coast. There is supposed to be surf here, and the beaches are all black sand. We arrived about 2.00pm, after the ride down pretty good road, and booked into a very basic room on the beach. Cold water showers outside, shared toilets, but with a bar and restaurant. 120Q, about $30 Aud. The area is a bit touristy, a lot of people speak English, but we will only be here for one night, the surf is lousy at the moment, and dumps right on the beach, not what we were looking for.
Went for a walk this morning to the square in the middle of the city, and stopped at a nice little cafe for some breakfast on the way. While we were eating, we heard a whip crack, looked up, and saw about half a dozen goats walking down the footpath, along with their goat herder! At a command from him they stopped, he milked one into a cup, and then crossed the road and gave the milk to someone, came back, and they moved on. Only in Guatemala! We checked out, and battled the morning traffic getting out of the city down to Monterrico on the coast. There is supposed to be surf here, and the beaches are all black sand. We arrived about 2.00pm, after the ride down pretty good road, and booked into a very basic room on the beach. Cold water showers outside, shared toilets, but with a bar and restaurant. 120Q, about $30 Aud. The area is a bit touristy, a lot of people speak English, but we will only be here for one night, the surf is lousy at the moment, and dumps right on the beach, not what we were looking for.
The goats in the middle of Guatemala City, waiting for their master to come back after he has just sold a cup of milk to someone on the other side of the road.
The square in the middle of Guatemala City
Where we stayed on the black sand beach.
Fishing boats on the beach. It's great to watch these guys come in, they power straight in from the surf, then pull the outboards up at the last minute, and see how far up the sand they can get. Usually to about where this one is.
10th-11th
We met Tom and Marianna again today, Marianna had helped us out at check in yesterday as the receptionist only spoke spanish, and the 4 of us went for a walk along the beach after breakfast. Some fishermen had just beached their boat by running it up on the sand at high speed, impressive to watch. Not much of a catch, the fish were small, we would have thrown them back in Australia, but maybe that’s as big as they grow here, I wasn’t familiar with the fish. Check out time was midday, and we left at 11.30, we were heading to Antigua, about 120 kms away, a nice easy day. It was very hot riding along the coast, but as soon we started climbing up into the hills, it cooled off rapidly. Lyn had been talking to a guy on Facebook that was staying in a hostel in Antigua, so he had booked us a room for the night. We found the place easily, checked in, and met Shaun and Phill, who had been here about 2 weeks, waiting on some parts to arrive. We only had the room for one night, so settled in as best we could, then ended up at The Londoner pub, met the owner, and had bangers and mash for tea. There we caught up with some other bikers, a German guy, Moritz, and Robert, a French Canadian guy from just outside Quebec. After that we went to a couple of nightclub like places, but didn’t stay, too loud, and its the first time I have been patted down for weapons going into a club. We headed home by ourselves, and left the others to it. The next day we shifted to another hostel just around the corner, where we could park the bikes in the reception area inside, and a private dorm room to ourselves. After a look around the town, we found ourselves back at the Londoner bar again for a feed and a glass of scrumpy, brewed by a pommy guy who lives somewhere near the lake apparently. Not bad either, I had to have another to test it.
We met Tom and Marianna again today, Marianna had helped us out at check in yesterday as the receptionist only spoke spanish, and the 4 of us went for a walk along the beach after breakfast. Some fishermen had just beached their boat by running it up on the sand at high speed, impressive to watch. Not much of a catch, the fish were small, we would have thrown them back in Australia, but maybe that’s as big as they grow here, I wasn’t familiar with the fish. Check out time was midday, and we left at 11.30, we were heading to Antigua, about 120 kms away, a nice easy day. It was very hot riding along the coast, but as soon we started climbing up into the hills, it cooled off rapidly. Lyn had been talking to a guy on Facebook that was staying in a hostel in Antigua, so he had booked us a room for the night. We found the place easily, checked in, and met Shaun and Phill, who had been here about 2 weeks, waiting on some parts to arrive. We only had the room for one night, so settled in as best we could, then ended up at The Londoner pub, met the owner, and had bangers and mash for tea. There we caught up with some other bikers, a German guy, Moritz, and Robert, a French Canadian guy from just outside Quebec. After that we went to a couple of nightclub like places, but didn’t stay, too loud, and its the first time I have been patted down for weapons going into a club. We headed home by ourselves, and left the others to it. The next day we shifted to another hostel just around the corner, where we could park the bikes in the reception area inside, and a private dorm room to ourselves. After a look around the town, we found ourselves back at the Londoner bar again for a feed and a glass of scrumpy, brewed by a pommy guy who lives somewhere near the lake apparently. Not bad either, I had to have another to test it.
With Tom and Marianna at the beach before we left.
Lyn with Shaun, Phil, me, and Moritz outside the hostel in Antigua.
12th
Today we are heading to Lake Antitlan, where we are spending 2 weeks learning Spanish. There are 2 ways to get there, the quickest way is around the south of the lake, but everyone warned us not to go that way without a police escort, as apparently there has been a lot of armed robberies along this route, so we chose the northern route, and it turned out to be a good ride along the mountain tops, cool enough to need to put the jacket liners in! The road from the main highway, (CA001, the Trans America Highway), down to San Pedro La Laguna proved very interesting, really steep, (I lost my rear brake from overheating) super twisty, with hairpin after hairpin, and badly potholed, with more gravel than bitumen. On one of the hairpins Lyn went down trying to miss a chicken bus coming the other way, nothing serious, only low speed, and the guys jumped out of the bus and picked the bike up before I could stop and help, but enough to slow things down a lot. Got it all on the Go Pro too. Stunning scenery though! We eventually found the spanish school, and the guy we are staying with turned up to show us the room. We followed him there, unloaded the bikes, and then followed him to his house, where the bikes would be parked up for our stay, as there is nowhere to park them here. The town is built on a steep hill going down to the lake, with volcanoes all around, very scenic. In front of our room is a big concrete deck, that looks out over the lake, very nice.
Today we are heading to Lake Antitlan, where we are spending 2 weeks learning Spanish. There are 2 ways to get there, the quickest way is around the south of the lake, but everyone warned us not to go that way without a police escort, as apparently there has been a lot of armed robberies along this route, so we chose the northern route, and it turned out to be a good ride along the mountain tops, cool enough to need to put the jacket liners in! The road from the main highway, (CA001, the Trans America Highway), down to San Pedro La Laguna proved very interesting, really steep, (I lost my rear brake from overheating) super twisty, with hairpin after hairpin, and badly potholed, with more gravel than bitumen. On one of the hairpins Lyn went down trying to miss a chicken bus coming the other way, nothing serious, only low speed, and the guys jumped out of the bus and picked the bike up before I could stop and help, but enough to slow things down a lot. Got it all on the Go Pro too. Stunning scenery though! We eventually found the spanish school, and the guy we are staying with turned up to show us the room. We followed him there, unloaded the bikes, and then followed him to his house, where the bikes would be parked up for our stay, as there is nowhere to park them here. The town is built on a steep hill going down to the lake, with volcanoes all around, very scenic. In front of our room is a big concrete deck, that looks out over the lake, very nice.
View of the volcano from the streets of Antigua
On the road from Antigua, the volcanos are in the background
The view down to San Marco, on the edge of the lake. The road descends over a 1000 metres in just a few kilometres, really steep
One of the infamous "Chicken Busses" of Guatemala.
View over the lake from our balcony
More of our view, a sea of rooftops
13th - 24th
Almost 2 weeks spent at the lake, and whilst I stopped the spanish lessons 4 days early, Lyn did the full 10 days, and we both did learn a lot. The market was handy, and it was always interesting to have a walk around and look at the food being sold, and doing our shopping there as well. There are ferries across the lake to various towns around the shore, and we spent a day at Panajachel, the largest of them. The rest of the time was spent updating the blog, checking the bikes over, catching up on washing, and generally resting. It was nice not to have to pack up every day. Our friend Dave Hand, the American guy we met at Chapalla, and again at Playa del Carmen and Bacalar, called in for a day on his way through, so we caught up with him again for a quiet beer. There were two other Spanish classes students staying in our building with us as well, Russell and Eric, both had been there longer than us, and were going to the same school as us. Handy with them there, we could ask for help if we needed it.
Almost 2 weeks spent at the lake, and whilst I stopped the spanish lessons 4 days early, Lyn did the full 10 days, and we both did learn a lot. The market was handy, and it was always interesting to have a walk around and look at the food being sold, and doing our shopping there as well. There are ferries across the lake to various towns around the shore, and we spent a day at Panajachel, the largest of them. The rest of the time was spent updating the blog, checking the bikes over, catching up on washing, and generally resting. It was nice not to have to pack up every day. Our friend Dave Hand, the American guy we met at Chapalla, and again at Playa del Carmen and Bacalar, called in for a day on his way through, so we caught up with him again for a quiet beer. There were two other Spanish classes students staying in our building with us as well, Russell and Eric, both had been there longer than us, and were going to the same school as us. Handy with them there, we could ask for help if we needed it.
Lyn and I at school, with out teacher Marianna
The area near the wharf at San Pedro, always busy
Looking down a side street to the edge of the market
25
The time had come for us to leave, and we decided to head back to Guatemala City, to catch up with some other bike travellers, Michnus and Elseibe from South Africa. (see their blog Piki Piki Overland Motorcycle Blog). Elseibe can’t ride until monday, and then they are heading to Honduras, and on to South America. Had a great night with them, sharing a pizza and a wine. We had made it up the range without incident, with Lyn staying upright, and had quite a good ride to the city, except for the traffic snarl around Chimeltenango
The time had come for us to leave, and we decided to head back to Guatemala City, to catch up with some other bike travellers, Michnus and Elseibe from South Africa. (see their blog Piki Piki Overland Motorcycle Blog). Elseibe can’t ride until monday, and then they are heading to Honduras, and on to South America. Had a great night with them, sharing a pizza and a wine. We had made it up the range without incident, with Lyn staying upright, and had quite a good ride to the city, except for the traffic snarl around Chimeltenango
With Michnus and Elseibe, "Piki Piki Overland" in Guatamala City
26
We caught up with Michnus and Else again in the morning, pouring over maps and gleaning more information from them about Mexico while we consumed more coffee and cake, before heading off for the volcano at Pacaya. There was a lot of ash in the air, as Fuego had been erupting over the last few days, so visibility wasn’t good riding up to San Vicente, the village closest to the summit. The road got worse, and the weather closed in, so we made the decision to turn back. Riding down to Escuintla, we stopped under a bridge to shelter from the rain, and cover the tank bag so things inside would stay dry. Ended up sitting in Maccas for a while, using their wifi to find a room for the night, and on the third try found one that just snuck into our budget, but was pretty average. More cold showers! At least our riding suits dried out.
We caught up with Michnus and Else again in the morning, pouring over maps and gleaning more information from them about Mexico while we consumed more coffee and cake, before heading off for the volcano at Pacaya. There was a lot of ash in the air, as Fuego had been erupting over the last few days, so visibility wasn’t good riding up to San Vicente, the village closest to the summit. The road got worse, and the weather closed in, so we made the decision to turn back. Riding down to Escuintla, we stopped under a bridge to shelter from the rain, and cover the tank bag so things inside would stay dry. Ended up sitting in Maccas for a while, using their wifi to find a room for the night, and on the third try found one that just snuck into our budget, but was pretty average. More cold showers! At least our riding suits dried out.
27
The day dawned sunny, but still with the smoke and ash haze from Fuego, and it got quite warm as we left. The further west we went, the clearer the air became, but you could still smell the smoke in the air. After we turned north towards Quetzaltenango, the road up through the mountains would have had some spectacular views, but nothing worth trying to photograph, because of the haze. On a clear day it would have been superb. The road would have been even better if the surface wasn’t so rough, but there were some serious pot holes to dodge. We continued on to Huehuetenango, but it was getting close to 5.00pm, so we tracked down a hotel for 150Q, about $26AUD, and that was us for the night. The total distance covered was about 250 kms, but it had been a full days ride, lots of little towns, traffic, tight corners, narrow roads, and potholes, to keep the average speed down. Tomorrow we would be heading for the Mexican border.
The day dawned sunny, but still with the smoke and ash haze from Fuego, and it got quite warm as we left. The further west we went, the clearer the air became, but you could still smell the smoke in the air. After we turned north towards Quetzaltenango, the road up through the mountains would have had some spectacular views, but nothing worth trying to photograph, because of the haze. On a clear day it would have been superb. The road would have been even better if the surface wasn’t so rough, but there were some serious pot holes to dodge. We continued on to Huehuetenango, but it was getting close to 5.00pm, so we tracked down a hotel for 150Q, about $26AUD, and that was us for the night. The total distance covered was about 250 kms, but it had been a full days ride, lots of little towns, traffic, tight corners, narrow roads, and potholes, to keep the average speed down. Tomorrow we would be heading for the Mexican border.
