46. Highlands of Guatemala - part 2

Picking up the end of the last post, this is how the New Year adventures played out...

So the New Year period was spent in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala´s second largest city. Despite its size the city has a laidback atmosphere and I enjoyed walking through the colourful markets in the run up to the New Year.

It is said that of all the countries conquered by the Spanirds, Guatemala and Bolivia are the two that have most held on to their traditional indigenous culture and customs. This is evident in the clothing with many women of all ages wearing colourful garments in traditional styles.

In Quetzaltenango I stayed with Francisco (on the left). He has plans to begin a cycle tour in June this year. On New Years Eve we cooked a feast of monroasted pork and potatoes washed down with beer. His two housemates joined in with the festivities.

Francisco has a reall spirit of adventure and on New Years Day, like an excitable puppy, he proposed going on a mini roaad trip on his motorbike. Guatemala´s answer to the Motorcycle Diaries. 

First stop, la playa. We rode 120km to a beach just south of the border with Mexico. A dip in the ocean was quite a relief after riding pillion for so long. My hands ached from holding on, knees sore from flexing like an extra set of suspension, as we passed the ropey roads of Guatemala

First sunset of the year, dropping into the Pacific Ocean. We rode on to a friend´s house in the foothills of the mountains to eat tamales and crash for the night.

Day two saw a visit to waterfalls and hot springs just south of Volcan Taculmulco, Central America´s highest peak at 13,845 ft or 4220 m. 

The things you find at the bottom of a waterfall...

Riding back to Quetzaltenango we were mking good progress until the rear tyre punctured. Fortunately we didn´t lose too much time as the nearest garage was less than a mile up the road. And this delay allowed us to enjoy...

...the second sunset of the year. However it also forced us to ride the rest of the way home in the dark. With high passes, unpredictable traffic, holes and random sleeping policeman in the road I have to say I didn´t feel too safe on the back of the bike. When we had to rise up to 3000m for the highest passes the clouds closed in. Mist and slippery roads created a palpable sense of danger, all I could do was cling on for dear life. We suffered a second puncture short of Quetzaltenango and Francisco called a friend to pick us up this time. I was incredibly relieved to be off the motorbike!

Back home at 9pm then I had to rise at 4am to join a trek to climb Volcan Taculmulco. Quetzaltrekkers is a wonderful non-profit organisation that runs a school for kids in the poorest part of town. The ex-pat guides work as volunteers.

We were blessed with incredible weather and took a nice steady pace up the mountain tracks.

Third sunset of the year enjoyed from a peak just below the top of the volcano.

A spectacular sunset was accompanied with a distant but exhilirating view of Volcan Fuego erupting. For all the time I spend in the outdoors rarely have I experienced the raw power of Mother Nature like this.

The next morning we rose again at 4am and climbed 200m with our sleeping bags to watch the sunrise from the peak of Taculmulco. Again, spectacular views with a couple of shooting stars preceding the sun´s arrival.

And again, Fuego was erupting in the distance. Awesome experience.

Trekking back down in the sunshine with an incredible sense of well-being. Not to belittle the trek or the altitudes but this was a lot easier than some of the tough recent days in the saddle! Nevertheless, today, the day after the trek I am taking a rest day before riding on to Lake Atitlan tomorrow. A fantastic start to the New Year, I´ve set quite a standard for the rest of 2017!

45. The Highlands of Guatemala - a New Year of adventure

Following an incredibly tough ride on Christmas Eve I took a day off the bike to enjoy the most peaceful and restful Christmas Day imaginable. Being fed delicious food and having the time to sit back and read was the perfect tonic for my aching limbs. Many thanks to Erica in Coban for hosting me so generously. 

Boxing Day cane and I was back on the road. More mountains came between me and my next stop.

The road reverted to gravel for a stretch but mercifully, unlike the horrific surface I encountered on Christmas Eve, this was fairly smooth and rideable. And downhill. 

Nevertheless, this was challenging terrain, either dropping like a stone into a valley or fighting hard to climb out of one. Little respite of level ground.

Cloudy Uspantan doesn't have a huge amount to offer the passing tourist but I did enjoy the warming drinks in the markets - arroz con leche, rice pudding in drink form and chocolate - hot chocolate also served with rice.

Heavy rain slowed my start the next day, little did I know what was ahead of me!

This was another hugely challenging day with the slopes getting steeper and steeper. In the end, the ride between Uspantan and Huehuetenango was 66 miles...

... and a mighty 10,000 ft +  of climbing. Tough, tough ride but I was elated to make it to Huehuetenango. Once in a while it's good to do a really tough ride but two in a week is pushing it! This is one personal record I don't care to beat.

Rest day in Huehuetenango; lots of food and a ride out to the local ruins.

Next stop  Quetzaltenango and, I'm afraid I've run out of energy to continue writing today. I will finish this entry soon, I've had an amazing week here but am exhausted and can't carry on!

44. Guatemala - so far, so good

Following my brief foray into Belize - just five days - it was on to Guatemala. One night in Melchor on the border then on to San Benito in the heart of Peten region.

Many tourists stay on the picturesque island of Flores...

...but I hooked up free accommodation at La Danta Project a non-profit organisation which works for Mayan communities in the area. The leafy compound was the perfect spot for a few days break.

  Riding around and swimming in the lake was great fun and San Benito made a great base from which to visit...

...Tikal. 

Beast at Tikal.

 Beast at Tikal.  

As usual, I went around the ruins unguided, sacrificing in depth information for the opportunity to take in the sights and atmosphere at my own pace. I spent five hours walking around the extensive site.

Much of the appeal was the jungle setting, real Indiana Jones stuff.  

Back at La Danta I had great fun hanging out with the family. The duck decapitation and subsequent plucking was a particular highlight. 

  

Here's the whole family on the day of my departure. 

Riding on, I've been feeling great in the saddle  completing a couple of 80 mile days with ease. Starting before 7 o'clock in the morning has given me time to reach towns to find accommodation and have a look around markets and stock up on food.

 Today was always going to be a tougher day as I rode up into the hills.  

 It all started so well with pleasant rural scenes and verdant green scenery. 

 But after 15 miles the paved road turned into a horrible dirt track. Steep, rocky and slippery, several stretches were unrideable and I had to resort to pushing. The locals looked on with a mixture of bewilderment, amusement and pity.

After 20 miles I got back on to pavement, the best Christmas present I could have hoped for. It took five exhausting hours to cover those 20 miles but I had to pedal on as I was to be hosted in Coban this evening. 

 Like a man possessed I attacked the road with  all the strength I had and, against all the odds, I made it into Coban before nightfall having climbed just less than 9000 ft in the day. 

Evening meal with the family, another Daniel, Erica and abuela. Nice conversations and lovely to be in a home not a hotel on Christmas Eve. 

I've written this post quickly because, quite frankly, I'm exhausted! But delighted to have completed such a tough ride today, one of the hardest of the trip. No idea of the plan for tomorrow, I can already feel leaden legs developing. Merry Christmas to all my blog readers, more adventures to come in 2017!

43. Belize - blink and you'll miss it

My plan for Belize was merely a quick transit,     three nights, four days riding, making a beeline for Guatemala. Just after crossing the border I encountered two British cyclists heading the other way, north into Mexico. They were raving about the snorkelling here, sowing the seed of a plan in my mind.

Belize really wasn't what I expected. Culturally more part of the Caribbean than Latin America, I've enjoyed a few days of speaking English and a break from eating tacos.  

Although Belize is a relatively expensive place for a traveller it feels poor and undeveloped. You wonder if it can resist the forces of the oil industry forever... 

Being in a hurricane zone means it and its environments are susceptible to rising sea-levels, rising temperatures and all the other ills of climate change.

Doesn't she look young!The Belize dollar has been pegged to the US dollar since 1978. You can use either currency freely with one US equal to two Belize dollars.

Typical rural scene.  

Further encouraged by Facebook messages I lugged my bike onto a boat and made for the island of Caye Caulker, a snorkelling centre.

I think I took this picture because it shows sea defences. Geography nerd forever. 

I arrived to a sun kissed Caye Caulker and decided to camp at a hostel to save a few dollars and enjoy the tropical weather. In the next 24 hours there were frequent downpours and I left the island with lots of damp, smelly clothes in my panniers.

Really good coffee was close at hand, albeit at prices higher than the U.K. No deterrent to me!

The snorkelling experience was something really quite special. I generally avoid water sports and am not the best swimmer but used these as reasons to go for it rather than excuses not to. Swimming with nurse sharks, stingrays and turtles was a new way to connect with nature and the beauty and fragility of the coral reef was astonishing.  

Tropical paradise? The night before I left there was a robbery from the hostel with a laptop and mobile phones stolen. I'm being super vigilant with my bike and gear as crime does seem rude here. Thankfully not of the violent type, more opportunistic in nature which you can at least guard against. It's a real shame as the Belizean people are absolutely lovely, such nice people to talk with, but there are a lot of poor, desperate people who know no better than to resort to crime. 

So, all in all a very pleasant interlude in the Latin adventure. On the end I stayed for five days, just enough to get a taste of the country. I crossed the border to Guatemala this afternoon and am looking forward to setting up a range of experiences here, starting with a homestay from tomorrow.