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Colombia in moving image…
Colombia has been more than a pleasure…and here is an insight into our Colombian experience…
Latest Video…
Panama, the boat trip to Colombia via the San Blas islands and into Colombia as far as Pereira…
Pura Vida
‘Pura Vida’, or ‘Pure Life’ is Costa Rica’s mantra, used as a greeting, a stand in for goodbye and a way of expressing thanks, it is a concept that is ingrained into the DNA of the country and we think this suits perfectly. We found Costa Rica incredibly civilised, with huge exports of coffee and bananas, as well as the growing ecotourism industry it is a wealthy country and is said to have the highest standard of living in Central America, often topping the list of ‘happiest’ places in the world. The wealth is immediately evident, with no rubbish by the road sides, bigger and more expensive houses and cars, the fact you can drink the tap water and even flush the toilet paper on occasion. The latter two took some getting used to after such a long time, I vowed never to take these things for granted again but you soon sink into whatever is the norm. We also found that the concept of customer service has been brought down from the US and everyone we encountered in hotels, restaurants etc were incredible friendly and nothing was too much trouble…it is amazing how much more welcome you feel when people are openly nice!
We have spent two weeks in Costa Rica and it has rained pretty much every day, the rainy season is truly upon us…but it is warm rain and the type that you know won’t stick around for days on end. Not only does it cool the world a little but everything is incredibly green and lush and adds to the appeal of the pristine landscape full of palm oil, coffee and banana plantations. Luckily, there is an abundance of bus stops along the roads which make perfect cover for damp cyclists.
We spent some time in the mountains in Monteverde and went zip lining through primary rain forest, flying through and over the canopy, with a speed and thrill that we don’t always experience on our bikes. The place was crawling with American tourists and we paid many dollars for the privilege of joining them but there’s a reason these places are popular and it’s nice to step out of our cycling bubble, do something different…and learn to fly! Despite the countries infrastructure the roads weren’t all great and in order to leave Monteverde we had to take a steep gravelly track back down to sea level. This was rather a terrifying experience for me as only my back brake was functioning, causing me to skid and slide all over the shop…once I had got the hang of travelling sideways it became a fun challenge and I could look up a little and appreciate the incredible views.
I had been struggling with the pace again, whether mentally or physically I am not entirely sure and after several unexplained meltdowns we decided to make our cycling days shorter and set 50miles as the absolute limit. So we took short hops along the coast to Manuel Antonio National Park…the smallest in the country and easily covered on foot in a few hours, we walked the trails through dense jungle spotting monkeys and their young, an enormous amount of birds and lizards, iguanas and both two and three toed sloths…and yes they do really move as slowly as everyone says! Our hostel was on the top of a hill with spectacular views over the coast and jungle and worth the nightmarish struggle of pushing our bikes up impossibly steep inclines to get there.
We continued to potter along the now very good roads along the coast…stopping for a few days in Uvita where we did nothing of note other than sleep in the equivalent of a treehouse, make use of the yoga deck for extended Pilates sessions and swim in the sea before setting off to wild camp our way to the border. Both nights were rather damp and mosquito infested but otherwise good spots…especially our second night in a palm oil field. We were pretty sure this was a safe camping spot by looking at the trees around us and noting they had already been harvested…so you can imagine we were alarmed to wake up in the morning and find men working around us. However, they didn’t seem too bothered to find two cycle tourists camped in their place of work and wished us a cheery ‘Buenas Dias’ before carrying on their merry way – maybe we aren’t such a rarity after all!
I was sad to leave Costa Rica, although expensive it has been a comfortable and relaxing experience and has felt like a break from Latin America but if we stayed any longer we would have no money left for the rest of the trip…and Panama is calling, who knows what our last Central American country with have in store for us!
Honduras and beyond
We were in Honduras for less than 29hours…but our time there wasn’t without incident. In no mans land between El Salvador and Honduras Sam snapped his gear cable and about 10miles in I got a puncture – all very mundane and fixable problems but not the best of starts. Honduras is not famed for being particularly safe so we weren’t too keen on hanging around for long and had pre-arranged a warm showers host for our only night in the country.
We arrived at the house of Jaime’s parents and were shown round the back to the equivalent of the chicken shed, with a tin roof, single bed, mattress on the floor and a strong smell of dog…but who were we to complain. Jaime’s Spanish born mother was a beautifully open and welcoming person and we managed to converse in Spanish about many different subjects while I tried not to notice her false teeth dropping out and the fact that she only had one lens in her glasses. We then went out for beers down a shady looking side street with Jaime and his rather odd bunch of friends, one had only one eye, another a slight twitch and the third spoke fairly good English having lived in New York…but we think may have been kicked out of the states and wasn’t letting on. Jaime then drove us home after at least 6 beers and went out for more…we don’t think drink driving is the biggest priority in terms of law enforcement here.
Back in our chicken shed we were just drifting off to sleep when the roof began to rattle and shake…strange, then the floor also started to shake…strange, then the whole world was shaking. Turns out I had experienced my first earthquake and at 6.1 on the rictor scale it was noticeable although not big enough to cause any major damage. However, this was not an especially relaxing experience and along with the abundant mosquitoes and heat, we didn’t get a huge amount of sleep.
I was exhausted the next day…and with still no working stove to make coffee in the mornings we were really struggling with energy and motivation. I spent much of the ride to the border going at 1mph and crying a lot…pathetic really. We stopped at 9am for breakfast of sweet sugary drinks, chocolate and granola…this all helped a lot. The border into Nicargua was a pain and took a little over two hours end to end, by which time it was the middle of the day and very hot. We pushed on enough to be away from the dodgy border area and set up our hammock in a shady spot between two trees, then took it in turns to nap…the hammock investment is proving extremely worthwhile!
The clouds started closing in so we hurriedly packed away the hammock and started cycling again before the heavens opened…and they opened alright, we were very wet within minutes and the visibility on the busy road became very poor. Luckily there was a shoulder for much of the time and we spent our time hopping up the small slope from road to shoulder and back again. This was working fine until we were going from the shoulder to the road to cross a bridge and on the slick surface my wheels disappeared from under me and I landed hard on the tarmac with a wallop…then Sam came down on top of me. All I could think about was getting out of the road fast so Sam chucked the bikes into the shoulder and sat me down to assess the damage. Locals from a nearby building had seen the drama and came running to check we were ok…which miraculously we were and had escaped with only a few scratches and bruises. My bike took the brunt of the fall with a broken brake lever and bent saddle…so we pushed over to the building and asked if we could camp the night there…not fancying any more riding that day. It turned out to be a very good camping spot…a base for a co-operative to the area, with a very smiley night guard who assured us he would not sleep and he and his gun would watch over us vigilantly. I doubted this as he had set up a very comfortable looking hammock but felt very safe all the same.
We woke the next morning to friendly shouts and conversation from the locals on their way to wherever they were going on bikes, horses and carts…fascinated by the gringos who had set up their tent in their neighbourhood. My body ached after our tumble and the ride to Leon proved dull and uncomfortable on a now very wonky saddle…all this being said, the whole fiasco could have been a lot worse and we had already received great kindness from the local people, having only been in their country for 24hours.
This is a word heavy blog…earthquakes, torrential rain and crashes don’t lend themselves well to photography.
Four Out for a Spin in Juan the Van
Mum and Dad left us a couple of days ago, it was sad to see them go after a really lovely few weeks, Mum has written a guest blog, offering a different insite into our lives over the past few weeks…
We wondered how it would be, joining Laura and Sam for two weeks, six months and 4000 miles into their travelling. We changed their mode of transport, added two parents and occasionally slightly upgraded their accommodation and menus.
Cancun was a mega resort not requiring further investigation, so we set off south immediately, the bikes and baggage nestling amongst the seats of our minibus. Sadly no room to pick up locals who often tried to wave us down, mistaking us for the local “collectivos”.
A grass-roofed cabaña amongst palm trees on the white sand of Tulum was a good start, and any anxieties about the four of us sharing were quickly dispelled when it seemed the logical course to take. In Mahahual, we stayed with Dutch AirB&B hosts, Albert and Justa, our only pre-booked rooms, where we each had our own cabins in the garden. We kayaked and snorkelled over the coral reef, celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary, and barbecued a large fish one evening, sitting round the fire on the beach under the stars.
Laura and Sam were keen to take us into the mountains to San Cristobal de las Casas via ruins in the jungle at Palenque and, although a long drive, it was worth the effort to leave the hot flat plains of Yucatan. They had already cycled this route the other way and it made us realise what a feat it was! Hot, humid and hilly, climbing from jungle to the town 2000m above sea level, where the climate was much cooler. To make the journey more interesting, this is bandit country. Lovely to see the indigenous people in their colourful embroidered clothes, but never very comfortable. We were stopped by a rope across the road and a woman and children demanded money. Thankfully nothing more serious, but disconcerting nonetheless. Are you more, or less vulnerable on a bike?
San Cristobal was a town with a relaxed feel, and we understood why L&S were happy to return.
Other highlights include swimming amongst stalectites in cavernous “cenotes ” (sink-holes) with turtles; climbing enormous pyramids of Mayan ruins and overlooking the tree canopy of the jungle. Extraordinary places, these ruined cities. And our last two nights on the blue-blue lake Bacalar.
Things I have learned: Mexicans carry umbrellas for sun and rain; it’s hard to avoid hundreds of butterflies when driving; “topes” (speed bumps) concentrate the mind (a pain on a bike!); some Mexicans look miserable (because of their moustaches?); black bean mush is served with most meals (not brilliant); cycling in the heat is hard; cycling is a great way to see places.
Our tiny insight into the lives of Laura and Sam as cycle-tourists has given us some idea of the enormous achievement already accomplished, through much sweat and tears. They have made us welcome into their world, been patient and generous, impressed us with their Spanish, and firmly told me not to stop at a gathering in the mountains which was probably a Zapatista meeting about the next road block!
They may have been worried about loosing fitness, but I’m sure the break will have done their bodies good. I think they enjoyed: our company; being tour-guides and interpreters; going to out of the way places; not having to cycle the endless long straight roads; telling us of their adventures; buying a few things for us to take home; Laura wearing something different for the first time in 6 months; listening to everyone’s playlists in Juanthevan, singing and jigging along, and Sam his drive, zig-zagging through the potholes.
They are looking forward to moving on to Belize, after four months in Mexico. We would love to go with them…..but I think they’ll prefer to return to just the two of them!
Mi duele mi cabeza!
Puebla was rather uninteresting but we needed to rest after our volcanic experience so stayed a couple of days and shuffled around on aching legs. I seemed to have forgotten how to walk after La Malinche. Luckily I just about remembered how to ride a bike when we set off again towards Oaxaca…a five day challenging ride, some of the best cycling we have had on the trip but some of the hardest. A day of mainly down hill persuaded us that doing nearly 80miles was a good idea, however, having dropped so much height the last 20miles of up and down were torturously warm. This heat persuaded us to leave at dawn for the next few days, making hay while the sun didn’t shine. I adopted the technique of pretending I was really cold. The sweat that I wiped out of my eyes was actually icy rain and the water, turned hot in my bottle was a cup of tea…it worked pretty well but Sam thought I had completely lost the plot.
The fourth day saw the biggest challenge, we climbed 6500ft in 20miles and the 30mile ride took us 9hours in total. The climb was extremely hot, both of us felt a little wobbly, Sam got a puncture…and while we sweated fixing it by the side of the road, not one of the many passing cars stopped or slowed to check we were OK, an enormous contrast to cycling in the US. We got through the climb 2miles at a time, taking in the awesome views and looking forward to the next (fairly infrequent) shop or restaurant for cold drinks. The day finished when we reached a small restaurant where Anko had previously camped and recommended. We found the tiny Mexican lady plaiting her grandaughter’s hair and she welcomed us into her restaurant for food and gave us a safe place to camp. It was beautiful and quiet and as the sun went down the fire flies appeared…a special sight which neither of us had experienced before.
The final day to Oaxaca was fairly painless and the countryside was beautiful, arriving in Oaxaca felt like a small smile stone as we remember talking of coming here before leaving the UK. Oaxaca is an attractive colonial town and we settled down for just over a week to rest our legs but test our brains. We enrolled in a weeks Spanish course, in the mornings we had 3hour lessons followed by 1 hour conversation in our separate teaching groups. There was no let up in the afternoons as we had an hour to talk with our ‘intercambio’ partners (a local Oaxacan person) followed by 2hours Tajedo (Mexican weaving) We were exhausted in a whole new way. Learning a language is insanely difficult but we are hoping it will give us the boost that we needed to help us improve and the confidence to speak more. We are now off to the coast, excited to see the Pacific again and hoping we won’t cook as we drop to sea level. Adios, hasta pronto!
La Malinche
La Malinche is the volcano that towers over Tlaxcala, at 14,636 it is the 6th highest peak in Mexico and the highest either of us have ever been. It has been dormant for over 3000 years so we thought it was a safe bet. We started the climb on two wheels, cycling through the seemingly never ending suburbs of Tlaxcala accompanied by open staring from most local people we passed, but the occasional shout of encouragement restored our faith as we continued upwards. Several roads turned into grassy paths….how were we to know when they are marked as roads like any other on the map?! We eventually escaped the stares and popped out on a beautifully smooth road heading up through the pine forest…at last we had found the peace and quiet we had been craving. Quiet apart from our heavy breathing and the tyres turning on the tarmac. It was hard going, the slope was relentless and very steep in places, it felt like we were pulling lead weights and had to stop every half a mile to catch our breath and look at each other in vague dis belief. It was a long 16miles but 3000ft of climbing later we emerged sweating and breathless at the campsite. It was large, civilised and fairly empty…perfect.
After a chilly night in the tent we set off upwards again, this time on foot. We went through pine forests on steep dirt tracks, with the snowy peak popping into view as we emerged from the tree line. The volcano only has snow on it for a couple of weeks a year…and it happens to be when we are climbing it. The snow made things interesting. The already steep face became a never ending slippery trudge, each step a little more unsure than the last. Our already tired legs were burning and Sam became very short of breath near the top but the views were spectacular and to know we had reached the summit entirely on man power (or woman power) was incredibly satisfying. The way down was also an interesting experience, we often sank up to our knees in snow and spent a lot of time on our bottoms, but we were also highly aware that if we slipped too far we may end up involuntarily at the foot of the mountain in rather a sorry state…
But we made it, unscathed apart from severely aching limbs and rather sunburnt faces. Back down the mountain to Puebla and a few days rest and recovery.
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Guad, Guach and Guan…
Sayulita proved a good place to spend a couple more days relaxing, we spent longer than anticipated there as we were both ill and wrote off a couple of days feeling sorry for ourselves. The plan was to then get a bus from Puerta Vallarta to Tepic to avoid the horrific road we had cycled In the other direction, this soon changed as we got on our bikes to ride to PV and realised how weak and useless we were after being ill. We needed more recovery time off the bikes so got a bus straight to Guadalajara. The bus ride reminded us why we are travelling by bike, the driver was determined to unsettle our already delicate stomachs by hurling us round the steep corners and overtaking on mountain roads at great speed. We made it to Guadalajara as it began to get dark – rather wobbly but in one piece. There followed an interesting ride through the second largest city in Mexico, eventually finding a pretty guesthouse with a courtyard and roof terrace, and collapsing for the night…feeling like we had cycled hundreds of miles.
We liked Guadalajara…its big, the atmosphere was relaxed yet bustling, with interesting museums, galleries, churches and brilliant people watching! After a couple of days in relative luxury and large amounts of sleeping and sitting around, we moved to the apartment of a warm showers host a little further out from the centre. Dev (Mexican) and Max (French Canadian) had recently returned from a tour to Argentina so had lots of advice for the coming few months…including how difficult the riding becomes in Colombia, which is a little daunting. We stayed on their sofa bed for three nights, explored the city and took a bus out to Teochitlan to see the Aztec ruins of the Guachimontones pyramids. The pyramids weren’t the most impressive things we have seen but the location was peaceful and had a relaxing feel which was welcome after the city. The bus ride there and back was hot and busy and took double the time we expected…we must get back on the bikes!
We were pleased to set off the next day under our own steam and in our own space again. It took us two hours to escape the sprawl of Guadalajara and at 5138ft the hills were tough, we couldn’t work out whether we had become unfit in our time off or whether the altitude was effecting us – maybe a bit of both. We then struggled to find a way onto the toll road and ended up first on gravel tracks and then going the wrong direction on the toll in search of a retorno, not our finest hour! Anyway, once going in the right direction the boring, noisy and lumpy cuota was to become our home for the next few days. We stopped in Tepatitlan, San Juan de Los Lagos and Leon, where we were hosted by Frida and Fernando and their adorable puppy Leah, who took a liking to nibbling on my toes! The toll road was tough going, the uphills were long slogs and the descents were spoiled by the rubbish on the road and the clear view of the next long slog up ahead. However, we made it into the confusing maze of Guanajuato at lunchtime on Sunday. We weren’t quite prepared for the chaos that followed…no street is straight for more than a few metres, the roads unexpectedly dive underground into a network of tunnels and we floundered around in the dark until we appeared at a square or under ground crossroads – impossible to navigate. We just had to cycle into a tunnel and hope we came out where we wanted to be! But through impeccable navigation or blind luck we popped out within a few hundred metres of our guesthouse, where we simply had to push (or haul) our bikes up steep narrow cobbled streets, navigating steps and corners to reach our destination. The view over the city from the roof terrace soon erased the memory of the arduous slog of the last few days, after all, the good is never as sweet without the tears and tantrums on the way there!
First tastes of the mainland
From La Paz we ventured south for the last time on Baja. We were unimpressed with Cabo which was busy, touristy and expensive and having heard that there were more problems with the ferry to Mazatlan, we decided to leg it back to La Paz on the bus! We stayed with the warm showers hosts Tuly and Jesus (a common name here but pronounced hezuz) and arrived to find Anya and Radko along with a Korean couple already there. It is common for Tuly to have this many cyclists staying – she once had eleven in one night. Not only does she provide beds and showers but also delicious home cooked food in abundance – a legend in cycle touring circles. The Korean couple are travelling North on a tandem and have been travelling on and off by bike for 9 years, they have written 3 books and are celebrities in Korea – incredible.
The ferry to Mazatlan was cancelled so we changed our tickets to go to Topolobampo with Anya and Radko, sharing the cost of the cabin for the overnight crossing and feeling safer to be travelling as a four to an apparently dodgy area. From Topolobampo we cycled to Los Mochis where we caught a bus to Mazatlan, managing to persuade the driver to carry us, all four bikes and twenty two bags! Mazatlan was buzzing with carnival fever. We arrived in the chaotic darkness…cars and people everywhere. Despite the hour there was a marked humidity that we hadn’t felt before…a taste of things to come!
After a few days in Mazatlan enjoying the attractive city, the carnival and the hostel’s rooftop terrace, we said adios to Anya and Radko and set off to the bus station once more. Catching the bus rather than cycling to Tepic due to a tight schedule to meet Toity (my aunt) and Barney in three days time. We were hosted in Tepic by Alex, a Mexican cycle touring enthusiast who has travelled all over Mexico by bike. He gave us some useful advice and a safe place to camp in his garden, nestled between the coconut and avocado trees. On Alex’s advice we set off on a quieter road to Chapala – Tepic is already at 3000ft and we were heading for the coast so we had an incredible ride through the mountains on a quiet road with lots of awesome winding downhill. It is much more verdant and lush here, everything is green and we passed through as many bustling towns and villages in one day as we would in a week on Baja.
Our phones are confused because we are so close to the border between time zones, so they regularly wake us up an hour early. Due to this we have actually been leaving in decent time in the mornings – essential in the heat. The 50 miles from Chapala to Nueva Vallarta were tough, the road was busy with trucks, buses and cars and wound dangerously round steep corners and up and down hills. The heat was energy sapping and I became overheated quickly. We had to stop for longer than usual just to bring the body temperature back down in order to continue. However, we successfully made it to meet Toity and Barney at an apartment by the beach and had a lovely couple of days catching up, relaxing and travelling by car to see things – novel! Toity joined Sam and rode Bertie from Nueva Vallarta to Sayulita, Barney and I followed in the car with all the luggage. Toity got a taste of what we do most days and I got an extended rest! Now for a few more days rest before heading inland towards Guadalajara and hopefully cooler climate!
Out for a Spin 