Guatemala
630 Kilometres – 15 Days
4 August – 31 August 2012
4 August - Copan, Honduras – Chiquimula,
Guatemala - 65 kilometres
The ride to the Guatemalan border was easy
and navigating immigration was uncomplicated. Two mountain ranges ran west to
east, dividing the country into three major regions. No doubt Guatemala was going
to provide another mountainous ride. We made our way along hilly valleys
sporting dramatic scenery, which sounded more manageable than it was.
The route we followed headed toward Petén, a
sparsely populated area and home to Tikal, one of the largest pre-Columbian
Maya civilisation archaeological sites. Unfortunately, the weather remained
sweltering, which made the going slow and exhausting.
Ernest realised his front rim was broken and searched
for a new one in Chiquimula. He spent the remainder of the afternoon spoking
it. Unfortunately, after all that work, he didn’t have enough of the right
length spokes. Regrettably, there wasn’t any other option but to undo the whole
shebang and use the spare rim he had been carrying.
6 August - Chiquimula – Rio Hondu - 36
kilometres
Almost 25 kilometres beyond Chiquimula was
tiny Estanzuela. To our surprise, it had an interesting museum holding dinosaur
and prehistoric whale bones from 30,000 years ago. Quite amazing.
Ernest still wanted to fine-tune the rim, and
upon slinking into Rio Hondu we settled for a hotel. The place had rooms around
a courtyard where he could work and we spent the afternoon watching the
Olympics.
7 August - Rio Hondu – Quirigua - 65
kilometres
Between Rio Honu and Quiriqua was a short but
relatively slow ride due to more bike repairs. For the best part of the day,
the road followed a river through a magnificent valley with green mountains
towering alongside, making it a very scenic ride. Unfortunately, the Carretera
Atlantico was the main road between the capital and the coast and, therefore, a
busy one, with 18-wheelers bearing down upon us like bats out of hell. I tried
to stick as close to the side of the road as possible, but it remained nerve-wracking
as the shoulder was often broken or obstructed.
In Quirigua, we detected another Mayan archaeological
site we planned to visit the following morning. It appeared cowboy country
where guns, big hats and leather boots were worn and sold practically everywhere.
8 August - Quirigua
The following day was spent at the Quirigua archaeological
site, well-known for its huge statues or stelae (I was getting ever so clever
with these names). The largest was 10.5 metres tall and the largest Maya stela
known. Unfortunately, these stelae were housed under thatched-roof structures
to protect them from further deterioration by the elements. It was, thus, challenging
to get a good photograph.
Returning to the village, a shortcut led through
banana plantations and past an old railway station. Unfortunately, only a
dilapidated building and a few old rail coaches remained. Still, it was fun
looking around. At the hotel, the lady was kind enough to do our laundry.
9-10 August - Quirigua – Rio Dulce – 74
kilometres
A reasonably comfortable ride led to Rio
Dulce past lowlands and ranchos. In pretty Rio Dulce, situated on Lago de
Izabal, we were surprised to spot many gringos; the reason being the popular and
safe harbour for yachters. We located a guesthouse and stayed two days,
allowing us to explore the region.
An easy and pleasant hike took us to the nearby
El Castillo de San Felipe. Castles are always nice to explore as they usually
have more than enough nooks and crannies to discover. The castle was built to
keep pirates from looting the villages along Lake Izabel. Although it did the
job for a while, the pirates soon captured and burnt the castle. The castle was,
however, rebuilt and later used as a prison.
11 August - Rio Dulce – San Luis - 90
kilometres
The scorching weather and mountainous terrain
made it exhausting cycling. Still, we pushed onwards the best we could, often
stopping to fill our water bottles. In the process, the route entered the hot
jungle province of El Peten. Regrettably, the jungle was fast disappearing as
more and more land was cleared to accommodate planting oil palms or
establishing ranches.
12-13 August - San Luis – Santa Helena –
Flores - 120 kilometres
Early morning, our path continued up more
hills. Finally, shortly beyond Poptum, the road levelled off and cycling became
far more manageable.
Santa Helena was reached in the afternoon and
we opted to stay in Flores. Our arrival in Flores coincided with the sun
setting over Lago De Peten Itza on a scorching and very humid day. Flores is a
stamp-sized tiny island, off the mainland and connected to the shore via a
short (barely 500m) causeway. Finding an abode was easy as the tiny island was
jam-packed with guest houses, hostels and restaurants. Our room was spacious
and even had a little balcony overlooking the lake.
Ernest wasn’t feeling well and stayed in bed
the following day while I trundled through Flores’ narrow cobbled streets. At
sunset, I took a boat ride on the lake to see the island from a different
angle.
15 August - Flores – Tikal - 67 kilometres
By morning, Ernest felt considerably better, allowing
us to cycle to the famous Mayan Ruins of Tikal. Once again, it was boiling and
hilly, on par with the rest of Central America.
However, Tikal is unique because it’s genuinely
situated in the jungle. The park measures 550 square kilometres, and the ruins are
in the middle of this vast jungle. It was another 17-kilometre cycle through a
lush and dense tropical jungle from the park entrance before locating the campground.
Upon seeing warning signs for snakes, jaguars, and other animals, we wondered
if our plan of camping at the ruins was a good idea. The park housed a considerable
number and variety of wildlife. It was a noisy night with hollering monkeys and
raucous birds.
16-17 August - Tikal – Le Remate - 34
kilometres
As soon as the gates opened at 6 a.m. we were
there. The morning fog made it a magical walk through the dense forest, especially
in other visitors’ absence. With its towering pyramids, the iconic Gran Plaza
was half-hidden in the mist, giving it a ghostly appeal. Many temples had
wooden staircases, allowing one to climb to the top to view these ancient
structures rising above the treetops.
Once done, we returned to the tents, packed
up and biked to Le Remate. Le Remate was another village near the lake and an
excellent place to swim and relax. The next day Ernest updated his blog and I
took the bus to Santa Helena to withdraw money and do the necessary shopping.
18 August - Le Remate - Melchor de Mencos - 69
kilometres
Up and down the hills, we went in the
direction of Belize. Most of the way was paved, and the sections that weren’t were
true dustbowls and trucks came roaring past in clouds of dust. It didn’t take
long to get to the tiny border town of Melchor de Mencos and as Ernest still wasn’t
feeling 100%, we settled for digs, did the shopping and kicked back in the
shade for the remainder of the day.
