[YEAR 7!] Quit our jobs, sold our home, gone riding...

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/80.html on February 28th, 2013

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We would love to have stayed longer in San Pedro, but when we initially entered the country, we had only applied for a 1-week visa, thinking it was such a small country, how long would we need? The 4 day stopover in the islands was entirely unplanned and as we sat in our hammocks on the beach, we regretted only applying for 1 week. I think it worked out in the end, because we probably would have drained all our travel funds in this one place.

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Neda is Belizeing a path through the lush scenery!

After getting off the water taxi back to Belize City, we rode a very short distance to San Ignacio, which is close to the Belize/Guatemala border. We're stopping here for the evening to get all our documents in order for the border crossing. As we walked around the small tourist area (a single street) in San Ignacio, we noticed we were in the company of a lot of foreign tourists. We eavesdropped on a few of them and recognized that subtle Canadian accent that separated them from Americans - also the way Canadians always end their sentences on a higher pitch, as if constantly asking a question.

Belize is very popular with North Americans because the primary language here is English, even though more than half of the population speaks Spanish.

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Neda makes a new friend while walking around San Ignacio

There's not much to see in the town of San Ignacio. It's more of a hub for the tours that fan out to see the Tikal ruins or cave tubing or other adventure sports in the area. Since we blew our budget in San Pedro, we're going to skip Tikal and head straight for the Guatemala border the next morning. That, and our 7-day Belizean insurance expires on Feb-29-2013. There is no Feb-29th! So because of an insurance slip-up, we're leaving on the 28th, just to "insure" we don't run into any problems!

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Bye-Bye San Igancio, we're going to Guatemala!

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Roadside stop to pet a horsie...

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Aduana (Customs) at the Belize/Guatemala border

The Guatemala customs border was fairly easy, at least according to Neda as she did all the talking, since she was the Spanish-language expert. I noticed that the border official we were dealing with was originally very cool towards us, almost annoyed at us, until Neda started speaking fluent Espanol. Then instantly he warmed up to us. Actually he warmed up to Neda. He was still annoyed at my amateurish attempts to speak Spanish. So I just shut up and tried to stay out of the way as Neda got us out of Belize and into Guatemala in a heartbeat, telling jokes and charming all the border people in Spanish.

I think this is the primary reason why people report so much difficulty crossing Central American borders - not being able to communicate in the official language.

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Ta-DA! We don't need no steenkin helpers, we have a Neda!

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Amazing roads in Guatemala

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Passing lots of farmland in the north of Guatemala

We're kind of heading south-west, back towards the Mexican border, trying to get as much distance done today. The roads are in way better shape than Belize, and it surprised us a bit. Quite a lot of twists and turns along the way which made us happy as well. There's a bit of a discrepancy between our two GPS maps. Neda's map routes us quite a distance to the south, while mind shaves off 150kms and seems like it's a more direct route.

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This is the reason - ferry crossing at Sayaxche

Turns out Neda's map didn't know there was a ferry to take us across at Sayaxche, while mine did. I'm glad we've got two different maps to consult. The ferry was powered by a small outboard motor off towards the side!

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10 minutes waiting for the ferry to load, 5 minutes to cross

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Riding through Sayaxche

We were running low on Quetzals, since we didn't buy too many from the money changers running around at the border, fearing that they'd rip us off with exorbitant exchange rates. Unfortunately, my bank card doesn't seem to work in Guatemala, something that Kari (fellow Canuck we met in Oaxaca) had warned me about over e-mail. So Neda is officially our money person for this country.

I am feeling a bit like a useless appendage on this leg of our trip. My wife plans the route, finds the hotels, does all the border crossings and gets all the money. All I do is take pictures...

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Posing in Sayaxche

It was getting pretty late so we decide to stop in Sayaxche for the evening. We found a casita just outside of town to stay for the night. The owner had twin 10-year-old boys who clamoured around the motorcycles and peppered me with a million and one questions in Spanish. Since Neda was already busy talking to someone else, I had to fend for myself.

Guatemalan Spanish sounds a lot different than the Mexican Spanish I had learned in La Paz, so I had no idea what these two boys were asking me, which frustrated both of them! They brought out their English textbooks but because they only studied family members, were only able to ask if I had a grandmother, a sister, a nephew... Finally Neda finished up and was able to translate for them: they wanted a ride around the block on the back of the bike!

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Taking one of the twins out for a spin around the block

So I made them a deal: they could each take turns sitting in the back if they guided me into town and then helped me with my Espanol so I could buy groceries for dinner.

To further thank them, I also bought them some chocolate, so I think I've made some friends for life..

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Renaldo and Rivaldo hanging out in our room playing video games on our computers and iPhones.
When their mother called them out to finish their homework, they were very disappointed!


I took each of the twins out separately to the corner store for chocolate. The second twin was very sneaky - while in town, he wanted to extend his ride a bit longer so he made me do 7 left-hand turns in a row... all the while the GPS in front of me was drawing nice overlapping squares all over the map... :)
 

Rovertrader

Supporting Sponsor
What a great trip- just read the entire thread as it snows here in NC!!
We just started the thread about the 4 of us headed to NC from Belize. Your travel, and descriptions were very helpful, as we are trying to finalize plans and routes. Our trip will be slightly different as we will have our 7 & 9 yo with us, making it even more of an adventure ;-)
Anyway, thanks for the time to report your travels- and love all the pics!! Not sure your plans, but it you are still in Belize/Guatemala come April, we would love to meet up. Also, I have some Land Rover friends who have a shop in Belize if I can be of help getting your headlamp part. I rode BMWs for many years, and would be happy to get the part and have it shipped down- PM me if this helps you, or should you need anything else.
Cheers, and enjoy!!!
 
Our trip will be slightly different as we will have our 7 & 9 yo with us, making it even more of an adventure ;-)

That does sound like quite the adventure!

it you are still in Belize/Guatemala come April, we would love to meet up. Also, I have some Land Rover friends who have a shop in Belize if I can be of help getting your headlamp part.

Thanks so much, the headlamp has been fixed and we are much further south right now! Perhaps our paths will cross somewhere else!
 
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/81.html on March 3rd, 2013

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We've got a couple of travel days ahead of us, as we are booked for more Spanish school in Quetzeltenango in the south of Guatemala next week. Since we're dropping into the country at the very north end, we've got some mileage to do, so not a lot of pictures off the bike.

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We ride through many villages, some tiny, others a bit larger

It's a rainy ride through the northern department (states are called departments in Guatemala) of Peten. The first time we've ridden in rain for months. The land here is very flat but the hills start to turn into mountains, as we enter the central highlands of the southern region.

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Vast tracts of farmland everywhere! Guatemala is so lush!

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Weather is slightly cooler, so we didn't mind donning our rainsuits

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Women carrying bowls of corn on their head. If they were carrying jars, the jars were always painted with stripes

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Hilly terrain in the background

Our stop for the evening is in a town called Coban, in the department of Alta Verapaz. Instead of looking for accommodations right away, we ate a late lunch in a restaurant. When we came out to the bikes, Neda exclaimed, "Oh no! One of my dry bags must have fallen off!" Upon inspection, someone had cut the Rok-Straps holding the bag onto the sidecase and made off with a sleeping bag and pillow. Most of the stuff not in our hardcases are just clothing, sleeping bags and camping equipment. Nothing that we'd thought we'd be too bummed out about if they were stolen.

Until it was stolen... It's still a hassle having to replace it, and the Drybag and the Rok-Straps are not as easy to find around here. So we are kind of bummed. I'm thinking about getting a PacSafe to secure our drybags, but I'm not sure if it's worth the hassle of locking and unlocking every night.

The thief hid between Neda's bike and a parked car next to it while he worked away at cutting the straps holding the drybag down. Since we parked on a quiet side-street, they took advantage of the fact that there was little traffic around the area. We are parking in the middle of crowded streets next time!

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Some colonial buildings in downtown Coban

After finding a hotel, we walked through the markets in Coban and Neda told me she was half-hoping to find her sleeping bag for sale in one of the stalls!

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Walking the wet streets of Coban

Our next riding day to Quetzaltenango was much dryer. Neda's GPS pointed to a 450 km round about way all the way south-east, through Guatemala City and then back west again. My GPS had a much shorter route, although it wasn't on a highway, was only 250 kms! Since we had good luck with my map on the way to Sayaxche, we decided to follow my GPS again.

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Stuck in a religious parade in the streets of one of the villages we rode through

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Neda's bike looks unbalanced without the right drybag

Not to spend too much time dwelling on the stolen drybag, since we've basically shrugged it off by now - there's a saying, "Don't bring anything that you can't afford to lose". However, there were two drybags on Neda's bike, one containing my sleeping bag and an old ratty pillow that Neda's been trying to get me throw out but I love it cause it's so comfortable. The other contains Neda's sleeping bag and a special orthopedic pillow that you can fill with water. This was given to us by a friend before we left. And of course, this was the one that was stolen...

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The road is getting a bit gravelly... But the scenery rocks! I mean, there are a lot of rocks here...

The northern road through the mountains of the central highlands turns from broken asphalt to hard packed gravel, and then mud and loose stone. We have to make it to Quetzaltenango to meet our host family in the evening, and our estimated time of arrival is not looking very realistic given the terrain.

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Steep drop on the left as we encounter wide traffic ahead

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She'll be coming 'round the mountain when she comes!

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Amazing views! We are glad we took this route instead of the highway, but it's taking a lot of time

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"'Let's take the shortcut', he says.
'This'll save us some time', he says..."


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Oh, and also mud. Next to sand, our favorite terrain...

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Some really tiny villages

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And then a bridge. Is that pavement at the other end?

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Pavement!

We were going to be a couple of hours late, so at a restaurant in one of the villages we passed through, we borrowed a phone and called the school to let them know. We arrived in Quetzeltenango late in the evening, with the temperatures dropping to single digits. Shivering in the town square, we waited for our host family to arrive and take us to a warm home.
 
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/82.html on March 5, 2013

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Quetzeltenango is quite a mouthful, but the town is also known as Xela (Shay-La), its indigenous name. It's the second largest city in Guatemala, and it's where we're going to stay for the next week learning more Spanish. As in most Latin American towns, the main square, called Parque Central is where most of the people congregate, day and night, and after classes we take the opportunity to walk around and people-watch.

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This church is called Iglesia del Espiritu Santu

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Candles vendor outside the church

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Intense lunch break at Parque Central

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More leisurely lunch break, man's best friend in tow

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Neda's Spanish teacher, Susanne. Hours of fun dialog everyday!

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Our Spanish school has tables scattered all over the building, with teachers and students paired off one-on-one

Xela is quite a popular place for Spanish classes. Since it's a university town, there's an air of scholarliness everywhere, and it's not uncommon to see coffee shops and diners filled with students deep in study in a textbook. And the tuition fees are a fraction of what we paid in La Paz! We are amazed at the disparity in prices between the two countries. Mexico now seems like a such first-world country compared to Guatemala in terms of the modernity but also how expensive everything was!

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Shopping in the market after classes, schoolbooks in hand

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Street vendors having a yak and a laugh

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Waiting for a bus

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A couple of fellow students took us to their favorite Mennonite bakery. Yummy pastries here!

Spanish is still coming very slowly for me. The accent is a little different from Mexico (they say Guatemalans speak a purer form of Spanish, closer to Spain), and some words are bit different here. Plus I'm not a very scholarly person to begin with... I barely scraped by in school and had (still have) trouble sitting still for long periods of time and concentrating on a single task. Neda is the complete opposite and if she had her wish, she'd be a student for life.

What I really enjoyed about our Spanish school was that every evening, they had extra-curricular activities planned. One night we took some Salsa lessons, and another day, Mario, my Spanish teacher, took us sightseeing. We hiked to the top of a lava dome called El Baul, overlooking Xela to get a better view of the city.

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The view was nice, but these slides at the top were way more fun! Neda may be a bright Spanish student, but she's a little slow at slides...

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March beneath our school windows for International Women's Day

Another trivial comparison between Mexico and Guatemala are the size of the food portions. Both our homestay and restaurant meals were very modest-sized and made our Mexican meals seem Texas-Super-Sized. Because I lack self-control when it comes to eating, I'm very glad that the portions here are normal-size and I can feel myself losing the Taco-Gut I gained in Mexico.

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Night-time brings out amazing colours in the old city

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We passed by this vendor's stall every day on the way home from school

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Buildings around Parque Central

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Our school is located inside a beautiful colonial building called Pasaje Enriquez, right in the Parque Central. On the ground floor are several bars and restaurants

On another evening, our school organized a dinner for all the staff and students, and we spent the evening getting to know each other. This was such an amazing opportunity to hear stories very similar to our own. Travellers to Guatemala seem to share that very rare sense of adventure and we all nodded our heads to the familiar questions from back home: "Why on earth do you want to go to Guatemala/Central America/etc?" It was a question that none of us needed to answer, as we already knew.

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Birds of a feather, flocking together over dinner

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After dinner, we went out to enjoy Xela's very vibrant nightlife

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Students and teachers mingle in a nightclub

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Peruvian pan flute provides a soundtrack to our lively evening
 
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/83.html on March 7, 2013

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During the middle of the week our Spanish teachers, Susanne and Mario, take us out on a field trip to a local town just outside of Xela called San Andres Xecul to practice our Espanol.

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Waiting for our "bus" to fill up before heading out

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And we're off! Transportation Guatemala-stylez!

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View of San Andres Xecul from the top of the hill

San Andres Xecul is a quaint little town set against the mountainside of the Guatemalan highlands. It's famous for its brightly coloured yellow church. After the Spanish invaded Central America, there was much suspicion of the Catholic church, so as a peace offering, this church was painted in indigenous colours to entice them to attend.

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Thursday is market day, so the town square was filled with women either selling or buying stuff. And children supervising the process...

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Candles sold outside the church

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Spanish hymns were softly sung at the front of the church, the devotion is palpable in the air.

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Most of the women wore the colourful, traditional clothing of the indigenous Maya

My teacher, Mario, is very knowledgeable about the history of the Maya. He told us that to this day, the indigenous population is largely discriminated against by the rest of Guatemala and treated very poorly. The main differentiator between the Mayans and the rest of the society is their native clothing, and some modern Maya (mainly the men) have given up traditional garb in order escape discrimination and to secure jobs. The women face less pressure as they either work in the markets or look after the children, and are more able to display the clothing of their past with pride.

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Rearranging the "storefront"

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Personal grooming is very important in sales

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Accompanying mom to the market

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Brightly coloured church overlooks all market transactions

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Trying to get a good deal...

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So much character in the people and the streets of San Andres Xecul

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San Simon - not your average Saint...

Mario took us to a private residence, and we walked through someone's living room, through their backyard into a shed where a shrine was set up to the Mayan god, San Simon. Worshiped by the ancient Mayans as a symbol of male sexual power, today he is depicted as a man dressed in 20th century clothing, smoking a cigarette with bottles of booze around his waist, sometimes carrying a rifle. I am not joking.

San Simon has been denounced by the Catholic church and he has been identified with Judas Iscariot. All this makes the "outlaw saint" even more popular with the indigenous population. Many shrines are set up in private houses hidden away from the authorities, and different coloured candles are sold to visitors so that they can be burned at his feet to bring success, wealth and power.

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Our teacher Mario looks on, while Neda asks San Simon for his blessings in our travels

Different coloured candles signify different meanings. Blue is supposed to bring good luck for travel, white is for spiritual well-being, yellow is for personal protection and red is for luck in love. There are also black candles, and those are meant to wish ill will or harm to others! San Simon is not really a saint, but an amoral Mayan god that is supposed to grant all wishes, good or bad.

It's easy to see the allure of such a deity amongst the downtrodden indigenous population.

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The "patron saint of drunkards and gamblers" looks on in satisfaction while our candles burn at his feet.

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The ground is covered in melted wax from all the other visitors who have come here with candles in hand and prayers in their hearts.
 
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/84.html on March 9, 2013

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We met Craig and Chihiro at our Spanish school in Xela and got along really well. They're also two wandering souls who have travelled much of the world together and by themselves, so we had a great time comparing notes. They were going to visit Las Fuentes Georginas hot springs outside of Xela on the weekend, so they invited us to come along!

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We boarded a Chicken Bus with a whole bunch of indigenous women!

The primary mode of public transportation in Guatemala is a Chicken Bus. Not Pollo Autobus, they actually call it a Chicken Bus. It's usually a retired American school bus that's failed safety and emissions tests. We play a game of Rate The Chicken Bus as we pass them. We boo and hiss at the ones that still have the yellow paint showing and very little decorations and cheer the buses that are multi-coloured and are blinged out with chrome and additional foglights.

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This is actually a poor example of a Chicken Bus. Not decorated enough...

We're on our way to the town of Zunil, at the base of the hills where the hot springs are located. Along the way we pass many farms and workers in the field.

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Patchwork of farmland outside the town of Zunil

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Workers harvesting green onions

From Zunil, we negotiated a truck ride up to the hillside spa. It's a narrow, twisty road and we regretted not bringing the bikes, but we wanted to be social and spend the day with Craig and Chihiro. What started out as a simple trip to a hot springs actually turned out to be an agricultural tour.

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Thoroughly enjoying riding in the back of a truck!

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Taken from the back of the moving truck!

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As we climbed higher, the farmland started to resemble a colourful quilt

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Surprised to see how far up the tracts of farmland extend up the sides of the hill

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Some of the tracts must have been almost vertical!

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We weren't the only ones enjoying the view

I think we got a very skewed view of agriculture in Guatemala, because when I did some research later on, I was surprised to learn that the country cannot grow enough crops to feed their own population, having to import grains and other foods. Although we were travelling through fertile lands, there is a large swath of the country to the north called the Dry Corridor, which receives very little rainfall and is prone to chronic drought.

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Arriving at Las Fuentes Georginas

The air up here is misty as we pay the foreigner prices (double what the locals pay) to enter what looks to be a very exclusive spa. Well-fed locals hang out at the pools that are fed by thermal springs from the Zunil volcano. They're joined by a busload of college kids from the US. Although it's a very picturesque site with relaxing hot waters, it's not probably something regular Guatemalans are able to visit. In Zunil, there are dirty bath houses with small concrete basins that are fed thermal hot water from hoses. These are types of luxuries that that the regular townsfolk treat themselves to.

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Nice lookouts at the Fuentes Georginas spa

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The main pool, temperature must be about 40C

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Neda confirms it: 40C!

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After a while you get used to the heat

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Neda doesn't want to leave

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Last look at Las Fuentes Georginas

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Having a good time back in Xela. Having dinner in our new favorite restaurant owned by a Singaporean woman, specializing in all Asian cuisine!
 

Rovertrader

Supporting Sponsor
I think we got a very skewed view of agriculture in Guatemala, because when I did some research later on, I was surprised to learn that the country cannot grow enough crops to feed their own population, having to import grains and other foods. Although we were travelling through fertile lands, there is a large swath of the country to the north called the Dry Corridor, which receives very little rainfall and is prone to chronic drought.


This is very true- and I suppose we are sensitive to this with our involvement in the children's malnutrition center.
Great pics, and amazing how clear the water is for hot springs- most I have seen around the world have a high content of minerals, which does not lend to clear waters. You are wetting our appetite all too well for April ;-)
Cheers, and happy travels!!
 
This is very true- and I suppose we are sensitive to this with our involvement in the children's malnutrition center.

I've never been a good student in school. History, geography and social studies could never hold my attention. But there's something about seeing these things up close and in person that really piques my curiousity and makes me want to do the research to find out more.
 

profdlp

Adventurer
When it comes to those subjects I was very lucky and had a few teachers along the way who really made that stuff come alive. It is kind of like how a lot of people are really into current events, yet don't make the connection that history was just "current events" for the people living it at the time. Show them the connection to the real people involved and it clicks. :)
 

Rovertrader

Supporting Sponsor
The above two post are exactly why we are taking our kids on such an adventure- but it is amazing the close mindedness of most people. They think we are either nuts for taking them into such a potentially dangerous environment (the majority), or extatic we are exposing them to other cultures and conditions. Folks are very polar on this subject- though we think there are kids all over the world, and travel is the great equalizer…

Thankfully both kid's teachers are totally onboard and supporting them to the fullest- even making a project to donate to the center, which is quite refreshing!!

While I loved math and sciences, I was much like Gene concerning history, social studies and such- sadly...

profdlp- interesting to see you from Westlake, as I grew up in Mentor ;-)
 
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/85.html on March 12, 2013

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After a week of Spanish classes in Xela, we get back on our motorcycles and explore Guatemala a bit more. Pananjachel is about an hour and a half outside of Xela, on a very entertaining twisty road up and through the mountains of the highlands.

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Misty mountainside - temperatures got quite cold, dipping to single digits!

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Passing by many fields covering the landscape of the Guatemalan Highlands

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Cheers for the bling on this Chicken Bus!

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Winner, Winner, Chicken (bus) Dinner!

We got a bit lost in Pana, looking for the hostel that the the folks in Xela recommended. It was quite a claustrophic adventure navigating the many tiny alleyways off the main Calle Santander, some of them small enough to only fit a Tuk Tuk or motorcycle - traffic has to wait at either end of the street until one vehicle has made it through!

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Looking for our hostel

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Uh oh, dead end. Believe or not, my 12GS did a 3-point turn to get out! No, actually, it was a 12-point turn...

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Neda gets some helpful directions

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So narrow!

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Finally, we found our hostel and the parking lot is narrower than the streets!

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The hostel employs a colourful security guard that yells out "Hola!" whenever anyone gets close to our bikes

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Vendors selling clothing off Calle Santander, Panajachel's main street

Panajachel is mainly known for its street vendors and markets, and is a popular place to launch trips across Lake Atitlan to other locations, like San Pedro. We are only here for four days, so we just hang around town, walking around the stalls and sampling some of the delicious food.

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Hanging out with Ling, the owner of Chinitas

While we were in Panajachel, Guatemala, we ate dinner at a fantastic Malaysian restaurant. The owner came out to greet us and was surprised and delighted to find out I was Malaysian as well. Free dessert for the Malaysian Customer of the Day -- cause there are so many that come in every single day... :)

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Surrounded by volcanoes, Lake Atitlan is the deepest lake in Central America

The people walking around here are a curious mix of indigenous Maya vendors, typical gringo tourists and hippie residents that migrated here in the 60s. They left in droves after war broke out, but repopulated again in the mid-90s. In Xela, we talked with our teachers and they remembered the civil war vividly, about how families were torn apart, sons of the villages drafted by the military to kill their own townspeople or be killed themselves. It was such a sad history that is still remembered by anyone over the age of 30.

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Tuk Tuks drafting through the streets of Panajachel

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Hey, it's the same Chicken Bus we saw on the road to Pana!

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Lorenzo's Land

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Trying to find a nice wrap to go with his shoes

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Getting my finger chewed on by a cute puppy

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Neda does some chain maintenance with a little help from Ashley Heins---

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Our hostel has a kitchen, so Neda whipped us up a great salad and we ate with our bikes
 
The above two post are exactly why we are taking our kids on such an adventure- but it is amazing the close mindedness of most people. They think we are either nuts for taking them into such a potentially dangerous environment (the majority), or extatic we are exposing them to other cultures and conditions.

I applaud you for exposing your kids to the world outside of North America. They are going to grow up with such a better understanding of different peoples and cultures, as well as appreciate the benefits and shortcomings of home as well.
 

Aubrey

Observer
Hi Lightcycle

Still catching up. Just a few questions I have been pondering ....

Tyre pressures ......

1 - Unloaded tarmac
2 - Loaded tarmac
3 - Unloaded gravel/dirt road
4 - Loaded gravel/dirt road
5 - Unloaded mostly sand
6 - Loaded mostly sand

Items you brought along that were not used ...items acquired that is used daily/regularly?

Spares and tools on each bike?

Sorry for the many questions ...... did short 600 miler yesterday into Botswana and back ..... sand was entertaining and nasty :D ...same as customer.

Cheers from Africa

Aubrey
 
Tyre pressures ......

1 - Unloaded tarmac
2 - Loaded tarmac
3 - Unloaded gravel/dirt road
4 - Loaded gravel/dirt road
5 - Unloaded mostly sand
6 - Loaded mostly sand

Hi Aubrey,

1, 3 and 5: We've never been unloaded on this trip...

2. Our bikes are heavily loaded over (and in my case behind :( ) the rear axle so we keep the rear tire pressure as high as we can. Previously we were running Metzeler Tourances which were 90% street biased, so we used 36F/42R as recommended by BMW. We just switched to Heidenau K60 Scouts, which are a 50/50 tire and the recommendation is 32F/36R, but I use 35F/39R because of the extreme weight we are carrrying. Higher pressures also give us more tire life.

4. On light gravel and dry, hard pack with no elevation changes, we just leave the pressures the same as our tarmac settings. Because we're running tubeless tires, we don't run anything lower than 22F/24R depending on how gnarley the road gets. I've heard people go down as low as 15 psi, but I wouldn't feel comfortable doing that personally, for fear of the tire slipping off the bead.

6. The Tourances were as good as racing slicks in deep sand. No amount of airing down would have affected our traction in any positive way. We just put on K60s, so we'll experiment with tire pressures when we hit sand again, but we'll probably go with the same 22F/24R as above. The K60s have a much stiffer sidewall, so we could possibly go a bit lower - will have to research a bit more.

Honestly speaking, my traction issues have less to do with tire pressure than with weight distribution. I'm carrying waaaay too much weight high up and behind the rear axle. I am contemplating ditching the rear topcase which is the cause of this problem (the bloody thing weighs 15lbs empty!), but not sure if I'm willing to give up the security and the practicality...

Items you brought along that were not used ...items acquired that is used daily/regularly?

Spares and tools on each bike?

Mostly BMW specific spares, electronic stuff that's known to break down. We pared down the kit to only tools that fit the bolts on our bikes.

Torx T20, T25, T27, T30, T40, T50, T55 (only needed for the huge handguard bolt)
Allen 3, 4, 5, 6, 8mm
Sockets 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17mm
Ratchet and drive
Flathead, Phillips, pliers
Tubeless tire repair kit
12V air compressor
More duct/hockey/electrical tape than any human being will ever, ever need because I am OCD about tape...
Zipties of varying sizes but more importantly, varying colours!

did short 600 miler yesterday into Botswana and back ..... sand was entertaining and nasty :D Cheers from Africa

Africa, wow and cool! Would love to go riding there!
 

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