In Guatemala
A quick update. I rode my bike into Guatemala today. It´s exciting to finally be in a country that I haven´t visited before. Of course, I was within a 100 meters of the Guatemalan border when I biked up that awful jungle road to some Mayan ruins outside of San Ignacio in Belize last winter, but I didn´t actually set foot (or wheel) in the country.
In any case, I rode uphill nearly all day to Huehuetenango, with interesting scenery along the way, both the countryside and the colorful people. Things seem poorer and more chaotic here than in Mexico, and prices are definitely cheaper, although I couldn´t find any cash until this afternoon, so didn´t end up buying anything until I rolled into town late this afternoon. Interesting mountainous contryside, the route was a continuous but gradual climb along a river, passed lots of coffee beans spread out to dry in the sun alongside the road, lots of places advertising that they bought coffee. Lots of old US school buses roaring past, with intricate, lavish, multicolored paint jobs, tricked out with chrome, piled high with mounds of cargo on the added roof racks. Many cries of ¨¡Gringo!¨ from the kids as I cycled past, though only a few asked for money. I celebrated by heading to one of the nicest restaurants in town, and splurged on the most expensive dish on the menu, which with beer and tip came to about US$12.
A brief summary of my journey from Batopilas to here: about 30 hours on various buses to Mexico City, one night there, then another overnight ride to San Cristóbal de las Casas in Chiapas. Spent New Year´s Eve and day there, then hopped on the bike to Comitán, then the next day to a few km from the border. Nice to be back on the bike for several days at a time, although my body definitely isn´t used to it anymore. More later.
In any case, I rode uphill nearly all day to Huehuetenango, with interesting scenery along the way, both the countryside and the colorful people. Things seem poorer and more chaotic here than in Mexico, and prices are definitely cheaper, although I couldn´t find any cash until this afternoon, so didn´t end up buying anything until I rolled into town late this afternoon. Interesting mountainous contryside, the route was a continuous but gradual climb along a river, passed lots of coffee beans spread out to dry in the sun alongside the road, lots of places advertising that they bought coffee. Lots of old US school buses roaring past, with intricate, lavish, multicolored paint jobs, tricked out with chrome, piled high with mounds of cargo on the added roof racks. Many cries of ¨¡Gringo!¨ from the kids as I cycled past, though only a few asked for money. I celebrated by heading to one of the nicest restaurants in town, and splurged on the most expensive dish on the menu, which with beer and tip came to about US$12.
A brief summary of my journey from Batopilas to here: about 30 hours on various buses to Mexico City, one night there, then another overnight ride to San Cristóbal de las Casas in Chiapas. Spent New Year´s Eve and day there, then hopped on the bike to Comitán, then the next day to a few km from the border. Nice to be back on the bike for several days at a time, although my body definitely isn´t used to it anymore. More later.
posted by Matt at 18:36
1 Comments:
That sounds quite humorous... just a boy pushing a wheel around. All that cycling: you're tough!
We've been riding alright. Rain, Hail, Bonfires at Golden Gardens, pubcrawls... it's also getting very very cold out. The winds are strong today, and it's expected to freeze again next week. You're lucky to be where it is so warm. How I envy the sun you're getting!
- Molly
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