The Restless Biker

Wednesday, February 21 Thursday, February 22 Day 26/27 Belize Day 17/18 At breakfast, being served by the wisecracking Brit who ran the Midas Resort, I started talking to a group of 6 Americans who had a humungous SUV parked nearby. As I talked to them and looked at them there was something familiar about the whole scene. For some strange reason I couldn't put my finger on it. That's when it dawned on me and I asked them if they had been at Lubantuun. Then they asked me if I was one of the hitchhikers they had picked up. It turned out to be the same group that had graciously given Stu and me the ride into and out of Lubantuun more than a week earlier. This morning I was determined to find a new top to replace the one I had left behind in Hopkins. I was tired of trying to function with one cycling jersey and one REI tropical travel top. Off I went into the wilds of downtown San Ignacio. I cautiously looked around to see if one of the two rastas who approached me last night were ...

Sunday, February 18 Monday, February 19 Tuesday, February 20 Day 23/24/25 Guatemala Day 5/6/7 Belize Day 16 Cycled 38km/49km/30km Tikal to El Remate El Remate to Yaxja (Yipyip!! country) Yaxha to Highway and Belize Border to San Ignacio The old bones were still aching from walking around Tikal for 5 1/2 hours one day and cycling 49km to Uaxactun the next. But I jumped out of the sleeping bag at the crack of dawn, dawn is at 9:00am right? Off I went at 10:00am for the short 33km ride to El Remate. The two gringo researchers from yesterday quizzed me about the road to Uaxactun and were pleased to hear that the Chateros and I had hammered out a peace accord and no attacks were imminent. They wished me a good trip and assured me that it was downhill. I am now firmly convinced that one should never listen to a gringo for any kind of advice, especially car driving gringos with no concept of what's involved with cycling. The hills were as wicked as ever and the Guatemalan roads in this ar...

Saturday, February 17 Day 22 Guatemala Day 4 Cycled 49km Uaxactun and back I knelt with my bum sticking out of my tent trying to decide wether cycling to Uaxactun for a day trip was the right thing to do. Suddenly I thumped my hand down on the tent floor and said "that's it, I'm going!". I packed up one pannier with emergency medical supplies, extra clothing in case I got stuck overnight and all the water I could carry. Off I valiantly marched to the ticket office to see whether there was a fee to go through Tikal in order to get to Uaxactun. The horrified ticket clerk told me that I really shouldn't do this trip alone by bike. There were SNAKES! he warned. Snakes on the road? I mused. Would they run after me and nip me in the heels I thought? During the day? Do they lay waiting in the bushes ready to pounce on silly turistas who venture out alone? There were DANGEROUS ANIMALS!! he uttered in sheer terror. Wait a minute I thought. What animal in Guatemala attacks ...

Thursday, February 15 Friday, February 16 Day 20/21 Guatemala Day 2/3 At the crack of dawn I was up and raring to go. We headed to the lancha (launch) at 9:30am and started the 2 1/2 hour trip up the absolutely stunning Rio Dulce. All this cost a whopping US$12, including the bike. There are no roads going into this area but there are little hotels, shops, and little stores. They simply use the river as their highway. We stopped at a hotspring beside the river and soaked for a while. Then it was on to a little shop for an overpriced $0.50 coconut. Along the way the river wound along dense jungle with vines dropping into the water, limestone cliffs towering above us and birds all over the place. Some of the birds were even getting jiggy with each other. Up The Rio Dulce, Guatemala. Rio Dulce. Locals In Dugout Canoes. Birds Getting Jiggy With Each Other. Rio Dulce, the town did not hold much interest for me. I was thinking of staying but decided to move on. Before we could even get out o...

Wednesday, February 14 Day 19 Belize Day 16 Guatemala Day 1 No Cycling The decision had been made last night and I was going to take the boat over to Guatemala. A competing boat service solicited me and I ended up going with "Memo's" since he was going directly to Livingston. Two Germans, a Honduran, and the lesbian couple from North Carolina joined me for the trip. We hefted the bike fully loaded into the "Dory" and pushed off after paying our US$3.75 exit tax. I was still not feeling well and a headache was starting to creep up on me. But I managed to take in the beautiful feeling of just being out at sea. Very far from shore there were local fishermen in dugout canoes, looking after their daily catch. A rather serene picture with the calm waters and the hazy mountains of Guatemala in the background. Leaving Punta Gorda. Fisherman in Dugout Canoe. Livingston, Guatemala was in stark contrast to sleepy PG. The streets were bustling with tourists, locals, shops, ...

Monday, February 12 Tuesday, February 13 Day 17/18 Belize Day 14/15 Cycled 30km Big Falls to Punta Gorda For the first time I was actually awake and ready to go at an early hour. I had simply wheeled the bike into the room, adjusted my annoyingly grinding gears, reloaded the bike the night before and I was ready to go with about 15 minutes notice. I set off up the steepest hill yet at 6:15am hoping to make it into Punta Gorda before 9:00am. As it turns out, that hill was the only really bad one along the way. More friendly villagers cheered me on and giggled at the site of this overloaded tourist coming through. Punta Gorda, locally known as PG, has a pleasing, relaxed and sleepy feel to it. It didn´t take long to find a guest house for US$11.50/night, complete with complimentary cucaracha and ant colony. Come to think of it, the ant colony was probably imported by me in my food pannier. The hot and lazy day lent itself very well to just bumming around town. Within an hour or so I ran ...

Sunday, February 11 Day 16 Belize Day 13 Cycled 78km Placencia to Big Falls Today was one of my favourite days. Of course all the days so far have been good and special in their own way. I had hoped to do some snorkeling in Placencia in the morning before heading out. The skies once again opened up in the wee hours in the morning. But this time the sand absorbed most of it and I stayed bone dry. The rain pelting down on my tent lulled me back to sleep. When I awoke again at 6:15 the seas were rough and windy. No snorkeling today. It was also too late to pack up and catch the 6:45 water taxi across the bay. Not being one to let these little things bother me, I packed up and headed down to the Purple Space Monkey for coffee. Breakfast wasn't necessary since I had finished off my remaining bread and peanut butter at the campsite. At the Purple Space Monkey I once again ran into my fellow travellers, 2 of whom were also catching the 10:00am water taxi. Hokey Pokey Water Taxi. US$6.50 l...