Out for a Spin

Panama

July 30, 2016August 7, 2016 lauradeave4 Comments

Panama was a strange country to cycle through…the contrasts between rich and poor were never more evident. With so much North American influence we began to see huge strip malls and shopping centres popping up everywhere…and they were teeming with people who obviously had money to spend. There were not many options in terms of route and where it was possible, we tried to get off the Pan Americana which could be very busy and noisy and made for stressful riding.

But there were some beautiful parts…we went to Isla Boca Brava for Sam’s birthday…a gem of an island with untouched, beautiful, tranquil beaches on which we had only the crabs and monkeys for company. The paradise took its hold and we stayed an extra day…we could have stayed a month, it was one of those places!

Crabby friend joining in with some beach Pilates

Sam, shoes, boat, crabs….and not much else. (Monkeys out of shot!)

We took a detour from the pan Americana and travelled a loop along a beautiful quiet road in the countryside…allowing us to witness the other side of Panamanian life….mostly people on horseback or on foot and all with a friendly smile and wave for us. We got to about 3pm on our first day on this road and the heavens opened, Sod’s law that we had just passed a perfect bus shelter, we took refuge under a tree instead which provided little shelter and really meant that we were standing in the rain rather than riding in it. After half an hour of getting wet while stationary we though we may as well get wet while making some progress…and wet we definitely got! We reached the only turn off the road and our eyes lit up as we noticed not one but two bus stops and a church…perfect refuge for two very damp cycle tourists! The church made a ideal camping spot, miraculously there were no mosquitos and overnight my broken speedo was fixed…God seemed to be watching over us!

Before leaving the Pan Am we were treated to many miles of our own double lane cycle path…with only a few road men to dodge on the way. Perfect!

We had a little while longer on this beautiful road before joining the pan am once again…and it was not the most pleasant experience so we put our heads down and powered through for a day and a half, this included a brief spell on the equivalent of a motorway which was decidedly dodgy and crossing the on/off ramps definitely got the adrenaline pumping.

With 10miles to Panama City we pulled into a McDonalds(of which there seem to be many in Panama) for a drink and what should we find outside but the heavily loaded touring bike of Adam, a kiwi cyclist we met in La Paz (Mexico)…followed by Adam himself. So together we entered Panama City across the bridge of the Americas, over the Panama Canal…a momentous moment for all of us.

Adam crossing the Bridge of the Americas

Panama City was a shock, with high rises, people and noise everywhere, we were rabbits in the headlights. We walked to the supermarket, only a couple of blocks from our hostel and were told by a local that we shouldn’t be there as it was dangerous…this continued to happen throughout our stay, one street is fine and the next we will be warned off…an experience that hasn’t happened anywhere on our entire trip so felt strange and we were discouraged from just wandering around which we like to do in cities.

Panama City – A bizarre city of contrasts

Once we had adjusted to the metropolis we managed to rest. We met up with Lizzie and Ali one night and Anko another to collect spare parts that they brought for us from Germany…it’s nice to have friends so far from home!

Then we all left the city (Adam, Anko and the two of us) for Portobelo, we camped with the Bomberos (fire brigade) on the way who were very friendly and even gave us a meal when we arrived. Portobelo is the small town where our 60ft yacht would depart from the next day. ‘Wildcard’ was a solid steel affair, taking our five bikes, an English couple’s motorbike and odd bits like a cooker for one of the islands and an engine for someone else! With all this stuff, our baggage, fifteen passengers, captain, cook, first mate and the captains wife and son, it was cosy!

We motored all the way, only using the sail for a helping hand in the last leg, this was a shame and made for a rolly ride but with so much cargo and the wind in the wrong direction it was probably a wise choice. The captain and crew were brilliant, the food was delicious (highlight of which was fresh lobster) and the San Blas islands paradise.

Local,Kuna person fishing in dug out canoe with sail

A pretty hefty rain storm was an opportunity to get out on deck and have a fresh water shower!

The thirty seven hour crossing from the islands to Colombia was not so much fun…the swell was big, nothing like we have experienced in Britain before, and most people felt wobbly or were sick. It was impossible to do anything and Sam and I spent pretty much all the time (two nights and a day) in our sweat box of a bed, from the small window all we could see was the mass of Ocean and the occasional flash of lightning…still, it could have been worse and the feeling of the calm sea as we arrived into Cartegena at dawn was beautiful! It’s fairly safe to say that we won’t be planning a sailing trip round the world and will be happy to stick with our two wheeled friends from now on!

So Hola Colombia, new country and new continent…and the last leg of our trip.

Videos

July 11, 2016 lauradeave5 Comments

We didn’t start the trip filming much….but have been inspired by other cycle tourists and also my need to be creative in a different way to just taking photographs and doing the occasional sketch. Hopefully the footage offers a slightly different insight into our life of a bike…

This is footage from Nicaragua, Costa Rica and a little bit of Panama. Remember to watch in the highest quality possible as it is shot in HD and should be pretty clear, best to follow to YouTube to watch.

Pura Vida

July 7, 2016July 7, 2016 lauradeave1 Comment

‘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!

Nicaragua

June 25, 2016 lauradeave6 Comments

We entered Nicaragua on a low…nothing seemed to be going right…but this meant that the only way was up! And luckily upwards we went, metaphorically rather than physically, and Nica became one of our favourite countries to date.

It took us a few days to fix our bodies, bikes and equipment in order to continue, in this time we met the English couple (Lizzie and Ali) who we met in Tulum several months before and spent most of the following week with them. It was so good to spend time with fellow British touring cyclists who seemed to share a lot if the same views and tastes as us, it was also great to tuck in behind strong cyclists on flat windy sections!

Lizzie and Ali like to be ready for all eventualities…helmets and backpacks on ready to go!

Check out that dreamily smooth surface….worrying how Tarmac quality analysis has become such a big part of our lives!

The cycling has not been hard and all the Nicaraguan roads have been brilliant…smooth, mostly quiet and often flat. Distances between places of interest have been small and we only had two nights where we stayed somewhere that we wouldn’t otherwise visit. Volcan Masaya was a dramatic interlude to our ride between the capital and Granada…time is limited at the crater because of the gasses that the active volcano emits, but ten minutes was enough time to absorb the glowing and spitting lava at the bottom of the crater, which seemed scarily real and alive at so close a proximity.

In Granada we turned into rather a troop of cycle tourists, four Brits and two Canadian tourers (Andrew and Amanda) were the only guests at the hostel. We are all on very different length and style trips -Lizzie and Ali four months, us a year and Andrew and Amanda potentially ten years around the world…but our day to day lives are very similar, we are discovering cycle tourists are a certain breed. We took a motorised trip to Laguna de Apoyo, a crater lake which was an incredible swimming spot. Our choice of taxi back up the steep hill from the lake was questionable…it was doubtful whether we would make it to the top and the black smoke and fumes coughing out the back did nothing for the green credit we have earned with our bikes!

We left Granada as a peloton of six…the boys took it in turns on the front and we whizzed along happily, it is very different travelling as six…you feel even more conspicuous but also much safer, as a bigger object vehicles give you more room and you know you will be spotted. And it was fun…I hardly thought about my legs or bottom…just concentrating on not crashing into the back tyre of the person in front!

Zooming past a cows and cart contraption…yes Andrew is carrying a body board and yes Amanda is carrying a guitar…that’s real long term cycle touring for you!

We left Andrew and Amanda at Rivas and continued to catch the ferry to Isla de Ometepe, an island made up of two volcanos in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. The ferry was a bit of a farse, we were banished from the small car deck while they manhandled our precious bikes around and backed cars in around them, sometimes into them. But Ometepe was beautiful, we camped beside the lake, swam and hired scooters to explore the island at speed and with very little effort!

View the other way…complete with locals washing clothes and animals visiting the lake for a swim

Lads admiring the scenery…it’s a tough life

We planned to leave the island on the 5.45 ferry from the port about 1km down the road…but it was cancelled, the ferry was sick. So we raced the clock to cycle the 12km to the other terminal by 6.30…this meant cycling as fast as possible for the entire time which is not something we are used to! There was also every imaginable obstacle…herds of cows, chickens, dogs, people, buses and speed bumps. We rolled up in the nick of time panting and sweating and played tug of war with our bikes and an irate ferry man…Sam ended up shouting at him for trying to squeeze me and my bike into a gap that was far too small. The man soon stopped when the tall hairy English man got angry!

We parted ways with Ali and Lizzie as they headed to the border and we turned our wheels to the coast for some surfing. This was supposed to be an easy short day but we hit dirt and the trip took rather longer than expected, I feared for my life as I slipped and skidded down steep gravelly hills and on the uphills we were forced to team up and push two to a bike to make any progress…a different sort of work out.

Lake Nicaragua…Ometepe, some wind turbines and me…upside down

Nicaragua passed in a in an enjoyable blur and we enjoyed the country a lot…for its beauty, it’s great roads and the company along the way. And as we approached the Costa Rican border we crossed the 5000mile mark…I tinged my bell and carried on going, what’s another mile eh?!

Honduras and beyond

June 16, 2016July 7, 2016 lauradeave6 Comments

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.

El Salvador

June 12, 2016June 12, 2016 lauradeave4 Comments

We had high hopes for the coast road in El Salvador…hoping it would be a less popular version of Big Sur in California. It was an attractive road but we were only able to catch glimpses of the ocean through the trees, not the stunning vistas we were excited to see. The road is also known for its tunnels, which I thought were a brilliant idea as surely they would go through the lumps and eliminate the hills? Unfortunately the tunnels were short and only cut the top off the hills…but this is better than nothing and they were a nice cool reprieve from the heat of the day. We stopped before each tunnel to turn on our lights, both to see and be seen by. This didn’t eleviate the nervous feeling I got on hearing a fast approaching lorry rumbling up behind, the sound echoing off the tunnel walls…what if he doesn’t see us, there is nowhere to run. Anyway…we didn’t get squashed in any dark Salvadorian tunnels, we survived and the tunnels were fun.

Early morning mists on the way to the coast

An accurate representation of the state of the road…and some cool tree tunnels!

We spent our first night with warm showers hosts in a small village called La Perla. It turned out that our hosts are Canadian and only live in El Salvador for three months a year so we were welcomed in by the El Salvadorian family who live there and look after the house. Our home was a stilted palapa overlooking the ocean…awesome spot for our newly purchased hammock!

The following day we rode to El Tunco, where we stopped for a few days in a popular hostel near the beach. This part of the coast is famed for its surfing…but the enormous Pacific waves looked far too daunting for beginners like us and we opted to watch others show us how it’s done!

We had a big day of 73miles from El Tunco to a random town that we decided must be a suitable resting place. The route was fairly flat and it rained pretty much all day…this coolness was heavenly. A day that I thought would be a slog in the heat was fine in the wet…I was reminded of riding in Britain and the whole thing was very novel! It would seem the wet season is truly upon us, I wonder how long it will take for the novelty to wear off? The mood was spoilt somewhat by the attitude of the Salvadorian men towards me…shouts of ‘Hey baby’, accompanied by blown kisses and the clutching of their crotches was common and made my skin crawl. I do not know why they thought this was acceptable behaviour towards a tourist in their country and it made me feel uncomfortable, vulnerable and angry.

The rain subsided as we left our grotty hotel for the coast again where we spent a happy couple of days relaxing on the beach near El Cuco, while sat in a hammock on the beach watching the sun go down, beer in hand…I felt very content that life is good. That being said – at this stage in our trip things seem to be falling apart rather…our water filter ceased to work, our stove is blocked and we are struggling to fix it…and I dropped my phone which smashed the screen. We had come to rely heavily on our filter and stove so both were a big blow and rather dampened our moods as we prepared to leave the next day.

With low moods we left the beach for a town near the border of Honduras, it was the only apparent available stopping place before crossing the next day, but it was a 10mile diversion in the wrong direction which was soul destroying and in the heat of the day seemed like 100miles. This is a problem with travelling by bike – you are limited by how far you can pedal in a day but have to find somewhere safe to sleep for the night, often this requires a detour. Still, we made it and arrived at a hotel which wasn’t as grotty as we had expected, ate pupusas (the local street food, a cornmeal pocket filled with cheese and beans) and hid from the late afternoon rain.

El Salvador was one of the countries we thought about avoiding on this trip due to worries about safety…I am glad we didn’t but it has definitely been the country we have felt the least comfortable in so far. The people seemed a little on edge and often came across as threatening, especially in the towns and countryside where they don’t see many ‘gringos’ and definitely not a blond haired female gringo riding a bike.

To the border the next day and into Honduras..

Guaty Guaty Guaty

June 4, 2016June 4, 2016 lauradeave8 Comments

I was becoming disenchanted with cycling and was feeling rather negative about life when we entered Guatemala. Maybe this was due to being on the road for over six months, rarely being in one place for more than a couple of days…along with the incessant heat, finding the riding hard and getting a taste of home after mum and dad’s visit. Something wasn’t right in my mind…but luckily Guatemala (and my firm resolve not to be such a wet blanket) snapped me out of this negativity.

We crossed from Belize to find we were firmly back in Latin America…full of rubbish, roadside fires, quesadillas, Spanish and so many more things we now associate with this part of the world. Our first stop was Yaxha, an isolated Mayan site 8miles off the road along a rough undulating dirt track, and what a spot it was. We camped on site, on a raised platform overlooking the lake and surrounded by thick jungle. The raised platforms for camping were there in case a croc (of which there are apparently many) decides to make its way out of the lake and into your tent for a midnight snack. Aside from the locals that live and work on site we had the place to ourselves, walked up to the ruins in the evening to find an awesome view from the ‘Temple’ and families of spider and howler monkeys hanging out in the trees. We returned again the next morning to watch the sunrise and as it grew light we were surrounded by the sounds of the jungle waking up, including the throaty roar of howler monkeys and numerous tropical birds.

Vista from the top of the Temple – Yaxha

Leaving Yaxha, I had a determination to turn my negative mood upside down and pushed it hard to get to the road, this physical effort and consequent good progress seemed to be what I needed…that and finishing the day by arriving in a beautiful place like Flores. Flores is an island in the middle of a large lake, accessible by bridge, it was incredibly hot during the days but as the sun started to go down we would emerge from our hostel to swim and soak up the atmosphere. Being in a much smaller country is great because at the end of each day it is possible to reach another place that you actually want to spend time rather than it just being a functional stopover. From Flores we stopped at Finca Ixobel…a ‘farm’ providing accommodation, a restaurant and somewhere for us to camp. It was a beautiful setting and we arrived around lunchtime so had enough time to enjoy it. When I say we enjoyed it, this involved taking a long afternoon nap under a palapa, eating cake in the restaurant and excitedly watching the rain start to fall and cooling the air down ready for a non sweaty nights sleep.

Our favourite place in Guatemala was to follow – the lake at Rio Dulce. We arrived in the busy, noisy, one street town of Rio Dulce just before noon and surprised by how hectic the town was we were relieved to jump on a boat, bikes and all and speed off to a hostel across the water. All accommodation on the lake is only accessible by boat, there are no roads…and this gave it a certain kind of magic. We spent the next couple of days enjoying our location which was just off the main lake up a little creek, it was quiet and simple and we had use of the ‘local style’ dugout canoes to paddle to a swimming platform at the mouth of the creek. These canoes were very interesting…they were extremely wobbly and everything time one of us moved it felt like the whole thing would tip up…it got even more interesting when speed boats whizzed past…but there were no calamities.

Our boat on the return journey doubled as the school bus…

After much debate about routes and roads we decided to take the bus to Antigua. The main road was reported to be incredibly busy with trucks and buses and would be dangerous and no fun…the other route involved slightly more unknown, but potentially involved three days of rough dirt road which our bikes were not made for and may turn into a massive slog. These factors, coupled with my wavering moods, made us think the bus was a good idea. A larger bus took us into the chaos of Guatemala City (aka Guaty), where we changed to a minibus, put our bikes on the roof and drove very fast through thick traffic, spending much of the time trying not to think about our precious possessions above us, and the fact we had no control over our speed or precarious route in and out of other motorists. Both our bikes and ourselves survived the ordeal and we were deposited in the cobbled and cool world of Antigua. We were having difficulty finding space in a hostel but struck lucky when a Kiwi girl (Izzie) overheard our troubles and invited us to stay in her beautiful house…an offer we could not refuse! It felt like a palace, and incredibly she makes a good living from travel blogging and living tax free in Guatemala.

The riding from Antigua to the border was beautiful, volcanoes saw us out of the town and then down down down we went, enjoying the smooth roads and downhills that we didn’t even work to earn! Our last night was spent not far from the border with El Salvador in a rather strange hotel on the main road…but with air con, an enormous bed and a pool….what more could we ask for. Guatemala differed from Mexico in a few ways…it was cleaner, less noisy and we found people to be generally more friendly and very ready to give a smile and a wave as we passed by rather than just staring. Maybe they are a more accepting nation…or maybe they just have less turned down faces than their Mexican neighbours?!

The peak emerged as we left Antigua at 5am

On the way to the border…Bertie looking lovely with his new red bars

Belize

May 26, 2016June 4, 2016 lauradeave2 Comments

After such a long time in Mexico, Belize was a bit of a shock to the system. More Caribbean than Latin American. The first thing to adjust to was the language…their first language is English, all be it a heavily accented Caribbean English, so suddenly we didn’t need to speak Spanish anymore which felt very odd. We also noticed how expensive everything was; how much cleaner and tidier everywhere seemed; the huge amount of weed on offer and being heavily participated in by the locals; that the buildings were mainly attractive wooden slatted colonial affairs on stilts; and of course the dramatic change in scale- we crossed the country in a day and a half.

Bikes on boats is a new thing for us but it seems to be fairly accepted…our bikes had pride of place either side of the driver on our way to the islands. Our first stop was the island of Caye Caulker…small and Caribbean, bustling with backpackers and as much rum as you can drink. Unfortunately there were no beaches but we managed to while away the hours in hammocks and paddling about in the canoes offered free at the hostel.

Hostel from the water, we slept in the top of the red tower

Next we crossed to the mainland and Belize City, not somewhere we really wanted to hang around too long, so stayed the night out of necessity and left the next day for a first proper ride in nearly 3 weeks. We set off early to cover the 60miles, but not early enough it would seem as it was already scorchingly hot and we ended up cycling at the hottest part of the day…temperatures soaring to 39degrees. It was not a tough route as it was mainly flat but there was no shade or cooling breeze and I soon melted, it was proving very hard for me to adjust to the heat after the luxury of an air conditioned van. It turned out to be one of my hardest days on the bike purely due to the heat and by the time we arrived at Lower Dover I was ready to collapse. Lower Dover is an ecolodge run by an American couple in 99acres of jungle, surrounded by rivers on three sides and as we approached up the steep dirt track we were greeted by a pack of large fierce dogs, luckily closely followed by the owner. There was no space at the inn, but the owner took sympathy on us, registered my red face and fatigued expression and allowed us to camp, she then let us join them for dinner free of charge. Having a readable face is not always a disadvantage. We spent a day here to recover and very much enjoyed napping in the hammocks (a common theme), swimming in the River Belize and doing very little else.

I was rather apprehensive about riding after the tough day from the city, but we only needed to cover 10miles to reach San Ignacio, we were there by 9am and had the whole day to relax again. Life’s not all hard! And that’s Belize done…the next day we headed for the Guatemalan border, back into the thrusts of Latin America and another new country.

Adios Mexico!

May 20, 2016 lauradeave2 Comments

Mexico has been an experience and in a little over four months we have managed to begin to understand this beautiful, crazy, complicated and often understood country.

Since we crossed into the north west tip at Tijuana we have cycled over 3000 miles, crossed deserts, mountain ranges, gone from freezing cold to unbearably hot…and all whilst noticing the landscape and people change at a a drop of a hat.

Of course it’s not all beauty and plain sailing, on a bike you see a place warts and all. Here, in no particular order are our positive and negative thoughts on our time inMexico.

Top 5:

Montañas: We loved cycling through the mountains, especially in the states of Puebla and Oaxaca. Quiet, bendy and with guaranteed big views they made the slog up some of the steep and endless gradients worthwhile.

Baja: For a place that is essentially just cactus, we formed a strong affinity with the 1000mile peninsula that stretches from the US border southward. People were friendly (nearly every single vehicle or person waved/beeped a greeting), roads were quiet and camping spots were abundant. We met an entire community of ‘overlanders’ moving southward…cyclists, campers and bikers. In fact we met seven other cyclists, all of which we got to know and are still in contact with.

Cheap Travel: Now this isn’t strictly Mexico’s to take credit for, but we have lived a fairly comfortable existence despite our frugal budget. We have spent a lot of time camping, but cheap hotels, the occasional meal out and a couple of beers were all within our reach. Anywhere where a beer is consistently under £1 gets a thumbs up from us.

Variety: Where else can you find endless flatlands, 50 mile straight roads, 10 000ft mountain passes, snow, concrete jungles and cactus covered desert?

People: Despite also featuring in our ‘Low Five’, people have to be one of the highlights of Mexico for us. Positive feedback goes to the folk of Baja, Indigineous children in mountain towns and also the many Warmshowers hosts who took us in, fed us and gave us a place to rest our weary heads. Once we got to know people we found that we were met with intrigue and interest, but it was hard to break through the seemingly steely exteriors.

Low 5:

Rubbish/trash/basura: whatever you want to call it it is everywhere. From idyllic vistas on mountain passes to the middle of the desert, a few beer cans and second hand nappies aren’t far away. It seems there is no stigma or ill feeling associated with lobbing your unwanted goods anywhere and everywhere.

We try to miss the rubbish out of our pictures…but this can be hard. Just shows…lovely view, shame about the rubbish.

Cheer up Mexicanos: For a nation of people who are proud, there can be a perceived reluctance to welcome us, sometimes down to something as simple as a smile and wave. In particular waiters and waitresses have been in need of a cheer up, often seeming rude and unwelcoming, it would seem that customer service hasn’t reached Mexico yet! There have been plenty of exceptions, we have found friendly and welcoming people most places that our wheels have taken us…but sometimes it takes some searching.

Topes/Cobbles: Now here is a can of worms. With some careful estimation we have ridden over 10 000 topes (speed bumps). Ten Thousand! First they must be identified (signs are available if the creator of the tope is feeling particularly considerate), then the brakes applied (usually rapidly), then the impact taken (on bikes weighing over 50kgs)…and finally the killer blow, getting the heavy bikes back up to a speed that will allow us to reach the next tope within the current century. Now repeat a further 9999 times. We could probably have saved ourselves a couple of weeks had we not had to negotiate these evil creations.

Buses (plus 90% of taxi drivers): Most traffic has overtaken us with care and space, however letting the Mexicanos down is the above category. They seem to work on a policy of flat out acceleration or hard breaking, there is no middle ground, and they seem to consider bikes a mild inconvenience…therefore making minimal effort to pull around us. An honourable mention goes to all drivers in the state of Chiapas, who are on a one state crusade to overtake touring cyclists in the most inappropriate locations…blind corners with a truck coming the other way are a favourite.

NOISE: unfortunately we won’t be rushing out to buy the latest Mexican releases. If you are unfamiliar with the musical tastes of Mexicans, try your home electric keyboard in its most obscure ‘Play along setting’ and shout any Spanish words you know as loud as possible in accompaniment.
There is also no decibel limit on, amongst others: Cars, car horns, lorries using engines to brake, buses, talking, music in shops, small children, televisions and bands playing in town squares.

It’s all part of the charm of Central America.

Four Out for a Spin in Juan the Van

May 16, 2016 lauradeave5 Comments

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.

Tulum – somewhat disappointing ruins but in a beautiful location

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.

Locals in Zinacantan – a strange small town close to San Cristobal

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.

Bit of a contrast…imitating the grumpy Mexicans…then returning to smiles!

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!