Crater Lake is Blue

Crater Lake is like this CRAZY indescribable blue. Really...like you can't imagine. Everything we read in advance bigged up the place and the view you'd encounter when you first reached the rim of the caldera and looked at the lake for the first time. Well it's all true. It really is BLUE!! And so clear - you almost feel like you can see deep into the water (it does have visibility of up to 130ft!). Crater Lake was created so they say by the collapse of Mt Mazama. Mt Mazama was this Daddy-O of volcanos/mountains that reigned the region some 6800 years ago. It blew it's top a few times then one day all the magma underneath ran out and there was a big empty air pocket underneath that couldn't support the mountains weight so it collapsed in on itself - hence a big crater. After a few more mini eruptions; one of which left the island in the middle called Wizard Island, (because it looks like a wizards hat, silly!) it sealed itself. And so with no water sources in, and no water outlets it just filled itself with snow and rain water and hey presto - you have yourself a lake. Then some guy came along with a wicked imagination and thought up the name Crater Lake!

There's a 33 mile road around the rim of the lake (which is approx on average 1000ft above the surface of the lake). Due to snow about 1/2 the road is still closed (on the 26th June!!). Still we still saw some incredible views and after watching a short video at the visitor centre about their snow clearing efforts we have infinate respect for the snow clearing teams (they start clearing in April, with drifts up to 60ft deep!!!) It takes them 4 months to completely clear the 33 mile road! We did manage to do a short hike to the top of Garfield Peak (which the ranger had said was still closed due to snow, but there was us and a fair handful of other hardy souls that trekked through snow to reach the 'summit'). Of course more spectacular views from that vantage point at just over 8000ft. (surface of lake is at 6100ft)

And this is just a little plaque summing up some of the accomplishments of the CCC. And not everyone knows about these folks - they were the Civilian Conservation Corps. Set up by Franklin D Roosevelt within days after his election in 1933 it was during the great depression in the USA and something like 25% of the working population was unemployed. The CCC was set up to put young men to good use around the country builing things, working on roads and trails etc. AMAZING organisation. During our travels we've come across SO MANY instances where the CCC have left their mark - from old fashioned picnic tables and toilet block buildings, trails, bridges, ranger building and housing, campgrounds etc in national parks and state parks from Alabama to here. Just amazing - one of our 'big respects' goes out to these people. The CCC was disbanded come WWII when the country put it's resources, money and men to war efforts, but that have left such an inspiring legacy behind. (the campground we stayed in at the bottom of the Grand Canyon was an old CCC camp, the ampitheatre at Zion National Park where we listened to an evening ranger programme was built by them - just so much good work.)

A side trip to the Redwoods

At 6 am it was hard to believe the radio weather forecast; they were claiming a high of 100 degrees in the valley while we were getting dressed into bike gear with the heating on full blast. It was just 5 degrees up at 6,500 feet but we knew from the day before when we'd hiked a 13 mile route up in the mountains, that once the sun had been up a while it would soon warm up.
Sure enough two hours into the ride when we were down at sea level it was 86 degrees at 09:00 and we were happy to have packed light for our overnight trip to Redwood National Park on the northern Californian coast.

The scenery on the way down the mountain was very much like it had been the day before; only because of the early hour it was like someone had turned up the contrast, the sharpness, the colour and the brightness; or just dusted and polished the whole day. Everything stood out so much more, the greens were bolder, the sky bluer, the snow cleaner and the water in the rivers looked like one of those photos taken with a slow shutter speed where the water blurs soft against the sharp surroundings. The alpine air even tasted clean.

We'd been told about the road from Interstate 5 to the coast and I'd read about it on a motorcycling web-site; it was alledged to be the best biking road in California. And it is!
The route of the road made absolutely no sense at all and could have only been designed by a biker; or copied from a child's first scribbling. (Non bikers talk amongst yourselves for a minute...) The sign was a 'twisty roads' yellow triangle that promised bends for the next 140 miles and that promise was fulfilled; the first 80 miles or so was slightly undulating and winding and open - the road could have been flat and straight but the engineers were obviously practicing for when they had to build it through/over the coastal mountain range, and the surface was race-track smooth. The mountains were the same only more so; steeper and twistier - perfect; no traffic, no police; I could go on all day...

The shock was riding down to sea level after the coastal range and seeing nothing but thick grey clouds below us; we hadn't seen cloud for weeks, (or was it months?) and as it got colder nearing the sea we realised that dressing for what we thought was appropriate for the Californian coast in late June was a mistake. We stopped in the first town we came to, Eureka, for lunch and to warm up in a cafe and had the biggest b-b-q pork sandwich imaginable; the pork was more like what we call bacon and there must have been a pound of meat in each roll! But it was hot and filling and what better on a cold seaside day than an overdose of bacon butty after a 250 mile ride?

Further up the coast we checked into a cheap(ish) motel in a town called Arcata, turned the heating up to full and went for a walk round town to warm up; both of us wearing all our layers - of light summer wear! The town was small and quaintly old but seemed very 'off season' for late June so we killed a couple of hours browsing any shop that seemed warm from the door way until we stumbled into an old theatre that had been turned into a modern day cinema inside (and watched Oceans Thirteen - highly recommended by the way!); a perfect way to while away a couple of hours till dinner!

The next day we rode up to Redwood National Park (our 4th National Park since getting back into America a month ago, and our 21st park (out of 58) since starting the trip 2.5 years ago) and drove the scenic route amongst some of the tallest trees in the world, reaching the dizzing heights of 357 feet (over 100 ft taller than the Statue of Liberty!). Well not actually through the middle of the trees themselves; there is one tree you can drive through that had been hollowed through some years ago. There is also a felled tree that someone has hollowed out and turned into a home; the wood shavings from within which have been used elsewhere to make a normal sized 5 bedroom house!

We stopped for lunch at a local micro-brewery at the base of the mountains happy in the knowledge that for once the weather would get warmer as we went uphill! A couple of hours later it was back up to blue skies and 3 figure temperatures!
We took a different route home; not as empty or winding but just as scenic and after already riding 100 miles that morning, a slightly shorter route of just 230 miles; making the two day ride 380 miles altogether.

getting back home was like returning from a great weekend away in the real world; mechanical jobs to do on the RV, housework to catch up on, packing up to leave the next morning... real world, how will we ever cope???

Donkey & Bear C96 givin' it a high five!!

The American National parks never cease to IMPRESS us. By far the best 'thing' of this trip we just keep on lovin' the parks, monuments, seashores, battefields and the like that are all managed by the dept of the interior. Just bought our latest annual parks pass, which for $80 has got to be the best value $80 we spend each year. Just fantastic.

Right now we are in Kings Canyon National Park which borders with Sequoia National Park - working as a kind of twin park thing going on. Here there is such diversity of landscape - the foothills (starting at 1800ft), the giant sequoias, canyons and the high sierras (reaching up to Mt Whitney at over 14,000ft it's the highest point in the contiguous United states). It's all incredible scenery which, at every turn is constantly wowing us. The world's largest tree is here - General Sherman which gets the prize based on volume. The widest tree is also here - General Grant which at 40ft in diameter really needs to go on a diet methinks...!

The first night in the park we stayed in the foothills and it was all drama that evening when 'bear C96' came a-visiting. Apparently she's quite familiar to the rangers having been visiting the campsite for the last 11 years (her number means she was the 3rd bear captured and tagged in 1996!). She's out of her regular habitat but comes purely for human food and opportunist rewards. The group in the campsite opposite us (not 20 yards away) were sat around their fire and spied the bear about 6ft from them, when they ran (as it's kind of difficult not to - gut reaction and all!) the bear took the chance to come right forward to the their table and food they'd left there. - Blimey - exiciting stuff!! She got hazed off by the ranger but about an hour later she came back (to the same campsite) and this time we saw her cruising around their tent! Next morning we discovered that the Donkster (uh-ummm - the motorbike!!) had been high-fiving it with her - a bloomin' great bear paw print was on his seat!! Coooool!!

Been doing loads of hiking - 50 miles in the last 2 weeks - 30 miles of it here in Sequoia & Kings Canyon. And nothing like easing ourselves in gently we're straight back up to altitude hikes and skinny air!! (but it isn't 'alf fresh!! - ahh - bliss!) Chris did spot another bear out on our hike today. About 30 yards in front of us on the trail heading away. Apparently it turned to look as it wandered off so it knew we were there. I say apparently coz Chris shoved me back round the corner before I got sight of it. We then started the loud inane drivel that tends to spout forth when we're in bear country and by the time we'd edged back round the corner it had sensibly long gone (probably to save it's ears).

Vegas

Our last day in Vegas (for now!!!) Got up early, early to head out of the city to Red Rock Canyon. Fantasic scenery on a 13-mile scenic drive with (bizarrely enough) red rocks!! We weren't just there for the scenery though - got in a morning's rock climbing - hadn't been for 9 months - in fact the last time we climbed was here in October - and it does rock!!

Last night we did our 'strolling the strip' session. Rode the New York, New York roller coaster - I managed to keep my eyes open long enough to appreciate a great view of Vegas at twilight as it bolted me round the tracks - expensive mind - $12.50 per ride!! (makes Disney a good deal!) Also couldn't help but be mesmerised yet again by the Bellagio fountains. I swear I could stand and watch for hours, and some of the music just breaks out the goose-pimples and sends a shiver down your spine it's so 'magical' - love it! (particulalry Con Te Partiro (Time to Say Goodbye) by Andrea Bocelli) Finished off our vegas night by going to see Cirque du Soleil's 'Zumanity'. It was a caberet style show billed as the 'sensual side of Cirque du Soleil' - which I think loosely translated as topless women and touchy feely performers. Seriously though it was great - some of the acrobatic performers were just out of this world and a hilarious 'side act' (a modern hip equivalent of the clowns I guess) with a 60's style couple talking sex and other cheeky things - scotch baggie boobs filled with whiskey - you had to be there!!

Love Vegas, though it's time to move on. I think 5 nights here is enough in one go. But I would so visit again...(those Bellagio fountains!!)

Palomar Mtn, Salvation Mtn & lots of Deserts

So better get up to date a little. Left San Diego on 28th May (was it really that long ago?!) - Memorial Day here. We didn't get far the first night - since Chris had heard about some awesome biking roads nearby. So we camped by a lake, walked at sunset and got up early to 'burn some rubber' - funny to be back on the bike 'just for fun' - it became such a part of life and routine!! We drove up to the Palomar Observatory - which is home to a 200 inch telescope (I think that's pretty large by anyone's standards!!) The mountain roads were great and very quiet early in the morning.

Next stop on our travels was Salvation Mountain. I'd read about this in the Rough Guide and it was such a cool side trip. Basically it's just desert with a few clay hills and some guy started decorating and painting the hills spreading the word 'God is Love'. He started this 20 odd years ago and is still working every day adding to his creation. It's quite a sight and he's quite an inspiration. We got such a warm welcome from Leonard - the creator, who took time out to give us a guided tour of his art and chatted about his dream. It's just incredible, as is he. He lives a simple, peaceful life sleeping in a hammock out in the middle of the desert and working endlessly on his never-ending project. You must check out the website, there are some great pictures of the place and more information - just so cool!

This week we've been in the desert. At 2 ends of the extreme. First up was a couple of nights in Joshua Tree National Park - in the 'off season' - there's a clue there....oh boy was it hot!!! No-one else about - I think we were the only ones in the first campsite we stayed in and even the ranger seemed hot and weary - when we asked what 'such-and-such' was like she said - 'oh - see outside the window - well it's just more of the same old desert' - very enthusiastic!! Still not to be discouraged we did start on our hiking again (after a rather lengthy gap of doing nothing resembling physical exercise for the whole time we were in Mexico!!) We managed a lovely sunset hike, sleeping out under the stars in our sleeping bags and then the following morning a whopping 9 mile hike into the wilderness to the 'Lost Palms Oasis' - really it should've followed the signs, wouldn't have got lost - eh?! The following night was back at Jumbo Rocks (we camped here in Oct with my parents when they visited) - just the coolest of landscapes - camping in amongst the huge smoothed boulders and to boot a near full moon to catch the light and cast dramatic shadows.

The next 2 nights were in Mojave National Preserve - also very wilderness-like. And very hot. They have a great scheme there - Roadside camping. Basically you can park up on the side of the road in areas 'traditionally used for this purpose' - for free!! So it was just us and the big wide open space of the desert. A night camped just a 1/2 mile from the Kelso Sand Dunes - they cover a 45 square mile area and reach up to 700ft high (and yes, bright and early we hiked on up to the top!), then another night up in the hills - a balmy 5000ft and much cooler (Still 85+ mind!) Just a wee jaunt in the morning through one of the dense-est Joshua Tree forests out there and up a peak to admire the view. Of course it was here that our generator packed up on us and so no smoothies for breakfast, and perhaps more alarming no chance of any aircon (and whilst we don't normally endorse the use of aicon WE NEEDED IT BAD!!)

And so that brings us to the other desert extreme - Las Vegas!! We couldn't resist a repeat visit! It might be loud, tacky and expensive but we really rather liked it! There's so much 'free' stuff to do with all the mini shows on the strip, and just people-watching takes time! To boot there's the best bagel shop going! Oh and the all-you-can-eat buffets, the Cirque du Soleil shows, the classy 5-star rv resort we're staying in....

And that, my friends, is us - up-to-date....Phew!!

Some photos!

Flip - has it really been that long since I blogged?! - oopps!

Been busy. Will write more later. Had a portrait session done a couple of weeks ago. Had to share - the fab photographer-guru has put some of the photos on her blog;



Check it out by clicking on the groovy little house icon!!

Published!!

Some time ago Chris sent an article about his bike trip to Santa Fe to Bike Magazine in the UK. The trip happened last October and the article was soon forgotten and nothing was heard from the mag. Imagine our surprise when we bought a copy of the May edition of Bike yesterday in San Diego and while flicking through the articles Chris thought that a certain photo looked rather like a picture he had of his trip. On closer inspection the bike in the the picture even had a Union Jack sticker on the front just like Donkey has.....wait a goddam cotton-picking minute here.... Yes! He's famous. A whole page glossy full-page spread of his trip - with his edited down words and 4 fabulous photos. I'm so proud. This is so COOL! Bike is like the 'leading' bike mag in the UK and this is just so darn excellent!

And this comes just ONE day after Pat phoned us to say she'd be browsing through Chris's Mensa Magazine that arrives at her house each month back in the UK when a rather dashing photo of her son caught her eye. It accompanied an article he'd written about Life Coaching and again it was sent off quite a while ago and although the editor had expressed an interest in using the article he hadn't confirmed when it would be featured.

SO 2 BRILLIANT SURPRISES in 2 days!

(And incidentally this comes just 2 days after I finally got the 'Scrapbook magazine' from the UK in which I had a couple of scrapbook pages published. Although the mags were from Dec & Jan and I'd seen scanned copies of the pages I finally got the original mags brought out from the UK only this week!)

Back in the USA!!

Well they had to let us back in didn't they? - after all we're good for the economy!! Since being back we've been busy choring away and shopping and you probably don't need a day-by-day detail on all that!

We've been into San Diego a couple of times. Yesteday we toured the USS Midway down on the waterfront. It's a HUGE aircraft carrier (1001 feet long) that was the longest serving aircraft carrier in the US fleet. It served in the 1st Gulf War and was de-commisioned in '92. Had a great audio tour round the thing and it was even more interesting than I expected (we've done a few of these old military boat things and to be honest I had a bit of a 'seen-one-seen-em-all' opinion but this was good) - we were on board for 3 hours if that's any kind of testimony!

Also strolled around the historic Gaslamp district and had our first good Indian curry in quite a while. In a 1 block area we saw about 5 curry houses so we figured it might be a good bet - and it paid off! We actually had a buffet so all the old favourites, great naan bread, tikka masala etc. Only thing is the restaurant was WAY too stylish! Not like the curry houses in the UK. No moving pictures on the wall, no dodgey music, no stained table-cloths and no poppodoms! But really all that aside it was money well spent!

2 weeks have passed...

And after a rigorous regime of regular exfoliation and expensive body lotions the leathery-ness of my backside is beginning to soften!! I'm feeling like a new woman and Chris says he is too....!!

Haven't done all that much....We did get back to Baja in time to celebrate Chris's birthday with friends at the RV park and generally hung out there for a week. Chris get sick with migraine for a few days so I played Nurse Mills rather well actually even if I do say so myself!!

Baja isn't quite the same second time around. With one road extending the length of the peninsula there's no real options for alternative routes and we travelled slowly on the way down seeing everything there was to see so there's not really anything 'left' to do this time. The season here has quietened down dramatically - most campgrounds we've stayed in on the way north have been empty apart from us! So we stopped at Playa Santispac again (The place we hung out for Xmas) We had no trouble re-establishing ourselves at exactly the same palapa, only this time we had a daddy-O Guatemalan double hammock to hang up - OH YES!! And weren't we just the snooziest-in-the-sun!!

Now we're just 150 miles from the border 'waiting' till Monday to cross over. Fingers crossed...

Around the world in 80 days!

Well ok, not the whole world exactly and it was actually 81 days but you get the picture! Helen, Donkey and I left Baja California on the 5th of Feb. and returned on 26th of April, (my 44th birthday; 43 was one thing but 44 was just too old!) having covered 6,390 miles taking in another 13 Mexican states, pretty much all of Belize, (not difficult really as it's pretty small) and a fair sized chunk of Guatemala.

Despite all the rumours of bandits, highway robbers and murderers; we met nothing but the friendliest of people on our way; I'm pleased to say the bike performed faultlessly even though it's now in need of a good service; the nearest thing we had to a problem was two punctures; in the same tyre, at the same time! We came out of our luxury hotel room, (it must have been good, after all 10,000 ants seemed to enjoy their stay there!) to find the rear tyre flat however, there was a gas station across the road with a pump and not half a mile away there was a tyre repair shop. 10 minutes and 20 Pesos, (including a 33% tip) later we were back on the road! And we like to think we're a developed country...

It wasn't all such smooth going though; slip sliding an overloaded and overweight sportbike down 25 miles off Belizean bumpy dust track, (or would have been dust had we not been in the middle of a tropical storm - it is after all a rain forest I guess!) made the potholed, corrugated Mexican roads seem like an American 8 lane highway! Running the gauntlet with Guatemalan buses in the mountains was an education; if you've seen bike couriers in London's rush hour you'll know what I mean! And no I'm not exaggerating; they slow down for no-one, (even passengers getting on and off have to do so at a jog!) overtaking long lines of traffic on blind bends while all oncoming vehicles pull of the road to make way; or is that to save themselves? It's the only time I've ever been overtaken while filtering past stationary traffic on a bike!

We bumped into a live crocodile on the beach in Mexico, a dead one on the side of the road in Belize, a four inch long scorpion in my shorts, (twice!) "hey, there's only room for one ***** in my shorts! Howler Monkeys in Guatemala that didn't see why we should be eating bananas when they had none! Then there was the packs of wild dogs that hunt in towns and are right up there with the fastest at the traffic light Grand Prix! Thankfully the sharks, sting rays and moray eels we saw whilst diving kept themselves to themselves!

We met our fair share of crazies; two of the most memorable ones were Adam from Manchester who is on a five year trip 'couch surfing' the world, (www.couchsurfingtheworld.com) and a German teacher who is one year into a three year solo trip on a 14 year old and 60 kilo all up weight push bike; 15,000 Kms and counting! (www.mikeonbike.de) Made our trip seem a little tame!

We dived in the aquamarine waters off the coast of Caribbean Mexico, along the second biggest reef in the world off the Belizean Cayes and in a volcanic caldera 5,000 ft up in the Guatemalan mountains. Accommodation ranged from hammocks, (I don't care how cool the image is - it just isn't comfortable however much you drink beforehand!) through beach front 'palapas' made from palm leaves to a Holiday Inn, (well it was Helen's birthday!) with cable TV and wireless internet.

We managed over 1,000 miles in one three day period on the way home, (target fixation I believe they call it) the longest of which was 432 miles in 12 hours! And we must have hit and I mean HIT a thousand speed bumps, or ‘Topes’ one half mile stretch of village may have a dozen topes; some painted, signed and even fairly smooth, others cunningly disguised in amongst the shadows of trees and more like riding up a kerb than rolling over a speed bump! UK drivers - be grateful for small mercies, at least your speed cameras are bright yellow!

Mileages

Flores - Poptun/Finca Ixobel (68m) - Scuzzville (can't remember the name of this wretched little town and it's revolting hotel with dirty sheets) (289m) - Panajachel (52m) - Santa Cruz (by boat) - Panajachel (by boat) - Antigua (70m) - Huehuetenanago (154m) - INTO MEXICO - San Cristobal (168m) - Salina Cruz (255m) - Zipolite (151m) - Puerto Escondido (45m) - Zihuatanejo (432m) - Barra de Navidad (332m) - San Blas (282m) - Mazatlan (192m) - La Paz (by ferry) - Los Barriles (84m)

TOTAL MILEAGE FOR TRIP = 6390 MILES
14 Mexican States, 2 Central American countries
Average Fuel consumption 54mpg (this compares to 7.5mpg in the RV!! - now do you see why we went by bike?!!)

Back in Mexico

We've spent the last 2 nights in San Cristobal at 7000 feet. It's chilly at night and first thing in the morning, but we'll enjoy it while it lasts - heading for the Pacific coast tomorrow! Yesterday we risked life and limb and got on a Mexican bus - (yes I hear the gasps of horror and shock). All in the name of time management and efficiency. We wanted to visit Palenque and Agua Azul (only coz Helen B said we had to!). It was 200km away each way from here and riding just wasn't that appealing for once. The bus tour was a bargain $30 each and carted us round to Agua Azul waterfalls, Misol-Ha waterfalls and finally Palenque Mayan ruins (safe to say I am now offically 'ruined out'!) 14 hours on a bus, but it was an enjoyable day out - we both really enjoyed the laziness of it and the opportunity for Chris to enjoy the view for once. Lots of nap time, time to listen to music on the Ipod - all that stuff we just don't do on the bike - it was worth the money just to be driven!

Met a very interesting fellow Brit on the bus tour trip – Adam. Adam is from Manchester and is ‘couch surfing the world’. So far he’s 6 months into a 5 year trip. Couch surfing is a website organisation that was set-up that people register themselves either to host or to find places to stay on their travels (with fellow members). He's writing a book about his adventures of which I’m sure they’ll be many. So far he’s successfully managed to couch surf the USA and most of Mexico – that is stay for free for the last 6 months (maybe that’s something we need to look into – perhaps there should be a ‘RV-park-in-your-driveway’ scheme!!) Check out his website here.

On our way 'home' now and it feels it. There's a kind of 'winding down' feel to the trip now. And whilst we don't want to rush too much (it is still a trip and should be enjoyed) we're eager to get back. Looking forward to re-visiting a couple of our favourite Pacific coast towns.

Racing Chicken buses & other mountain tales...

Enjoyed some beautiful scenary and riding on our last days in Guatemala. We were up in the highlands where the weather was fresh. We left Antigua and headed NW towards the border and to San Cristobal in Mexico. It was too far in one day so we night-stopped in Huehuetenango - a local market town in the mountains - a bustling place, particularly on the Monday morning as we were trying to navigate our way down the narrow one way streets to head back onto the highway - the market just sprawled itself out onto the surrounding streets so we were dodging fruit & veg stalls, hawkers with candy or T-shirts and a few stray turkeys escaping their baskets only to be hustled back by old women in traditional dress. It was a colourful, hectic place and I think we were the only gringos in town!

The roads were spectacular. A lot of roadworks going on, though that was never a problem for us on the bike - we just got waved through. That doesn't mean it's safe though - you're on your own picking your way through the JCB's and diggers, hoping that the guy doesn't miss the truck and drop a ton of dirt on top of you! It was interesting - and more so once we started racing the chicken buses...The drivers obviously missed out on their calling for Grand Prix driving and so work the buses in the highlands of Guatemala instead. Although we were generally faster, we were getting overtaken by these buses on any dangerous bits that we slowed down for - and especially through the roadworks where they have no regard for the vehicle or it's suspension and whizz past us! The only time we could nip past was when they slowed to drop people off or pick up - and even then they didn't come to a halt - for the poor woman with a laden basket it was a running stop as she flung herself off and trotted off down the hill, basket balanced expertly on the top of her head, chicken tucked under one arm!

It's not just roadworks - wandering pigs, chickens, cows and goats; a fair splattering of local kids begging for money or trying to sell us fruit or woven scarves and bracelets, old men pedalling ice-cream carts (in the middle of nowhere?!), and frail old ladies carrying the largest bundle of firewood on their heads when they should be at home knitting in front of the fire with a nice cup of cocoa.

It's crazy stuff, but so 'Guatemala', away from the tourism of the big city; where we were constantly stared at with curious fascination - after all I guess it's not every day they see a heavily laden bright red sportsbike being riden 2-up by a couple of strange looking gringos in the middle of the highlands!! Must be mad....

Happy Easter

It's Easter Sunday today and we have no chocolate! So far Helen hasn't fallen apart but that's probably coz I took her mind off it by taking her shopping at what is probably Guatemala's biggest market! Maybe she hasn't yet realised it's 'Chocolate Sunday'???

So, the market; huge! It's a twice weekly affair in the middle of Chichicastenanga, (shortened by the locals to 'Chichi' which also happens to be slang for boobs - makes asking directions kinda awkward!) which sprawls out from the main square in every direction and is impossibly easy to get lost in. You could walk round in circles for hours not knowing whether you'd 'been to this stall before'; as much as anything coz most of the stalls sell the same things and most of the sellers wear the same traditional costume!

We did the obligatory bartering and came away with a two person hammock for the bargain price of loads less than first quoted. Both parties seemed happy with the deal although I reckon the seller's smile would have been far smugger if he'd known that we now had to carry this colossus another 2,000 odd miles back to Baja on an already overloaded bike!

On the way to Chichi, (no sniggering at the back!) we had to pass through a small village called Solola which was celebrating Easter to the full; they spend the days before dying mounds of sawdust all different colours, then on Sunday morning the whole village turns out to line the streets with miles of the most elaborate of carpet - all made from dyed sawdust and flowers! From a distance you'd have no idea that it wasn't real carpet; and then once all the hard work has been done, they walk all over it and ruin it all! It's basically a huge Easter procession where who knows how many people carry who knows how many 'float' type plinths adorned with flowers, with life size statues of religious figures aboard. The pace is funeral durge slow, (I guess to put off ruining all the hard work) and starts and finishes at the church. Hours later when we passed through on our way back there was almost no evidence of the incredible artwork that had previously brightened up the village beyond belief; not even an excuse to get drunk! Same again next year?

5 Years, 5 countries!!

We celebrated our 5th Wedding Anniversary today in Guatemala. (So far each anniversary has been spent in a different country - Cyprus, Spain, USA & Canada and now Gautelmala!!)

We've been staying the last 4 nights in 'Finca Ixobel' which is 65 miles south of Flores. It's a beautiful ranch set in the countryside, with hiking, horse riding and lots of good food. It's been a relaxing 4 days.

Tomorrow we move on south. Although we aren't exactly sure where yet - it's Semana Santa (Easter) this week - probably the biggest holiday week of the year for the Guatemalans and everywhere is very busy. We'll see what happens...!

Mileage so far

Oaxaca - Tuxtepec (147m) - Ciudad del Carmen (354m!!) - Campeche (139m) - Chichen Itza/Piste (187m) - Playa del Carmen (189m) - Tulum (52m) - Mahahual (143m) - INTO BELIZE - Corozal (123m) - Caye Caulker - Corozal - Orange Walk (36m) - Dangriga (165m) - Hopkins (29m) - San Igancio (104m) - INTO GUATEMALA - Flores (104m)

Tikal, Guatemala

Arrived in Guatemala yesterday. Everything at the border went smoothly and we made our way the 100km towards Flores in the north of the country. Roads are 'interesting'. The first 35km were a dusty, pot-holed track that someone seemed to have concreted over - bumps and all. So although 'paved' we did an average 20mph! It improved, but we can't pick up speed because at any given moment an enormous pot-hole appears trying to wreck havoc with the wheels.

Flores is a great little town. It's actually an island, no more than about 500m in either direction, and its full of little cobblestone streets and interesting shops. Straight away we've noticed the change in prices of things - it's SO much cheaper here in Guatemala, and it certainly is welcome to our budget! Now dealing in quetzals which feels like monopoly money to us its such good value after Belize & the Yucatan!

Got up at stupid o'clock this morning (alarm went off at 2am - it was hardly worth going to bed!) Were on a tour to Tikal for sunrise. Glad of the bus ride, as we wouldn't have wanted to do the trip on the bike at that time of the morning - it was about 1.5 hours (time to sleep!) We arrived at the ruins about an hour before sunrise giving us just enough time to walk 1.5km through the jungle and climb Templo IV (Tikal's highest building at 64m). We were completly above the trees at that height and we watched as it got lighter and the jungle 'awakened'. There was lots of mist so not the greatest of sunrise moments, but it did lend itself well to the intrigue of the place as the tops of temples and ruins poked out above the mist from time to time. We heard lots of howler monkeys and birds and then we did see a spider monkey swinging its way to breakfast (I can only assume - that's where I'd be heading!). Tikal covers a huge area. I think we walked about 10km today and climbed several of the buildings (there's only one you can't). It's in quite thick jungle so you just suddenly stumble into a clearing and are faced with this whacking great temple or something. Apparently all the stones used to build the city were hand quarried and hauled, no peice of rock used to build with is larger than about 30-40kg so it was 'manageable' to the workers - it's some feat! There are over 4000 structures in what is now Tikal National Park - needless to say we barely scratched the surface.

Actun Tunichil Muknal

Spent the last week lazing around in a little village on the coast called Hopkins. There's not a lot to do, but then that was half the point. Did another dive out on the reef, visited the Cockscomb Wildlife Sanctaury where we did some hiking through the jungle and spent the rest of the time strolling up and down the one dusty, pot-holed street that IS Hopkins!

Today we went to the Actun Tunichil Muknal caves. Touted as one of 'the most incredible & adventurous tours you can take in Bellize' it was pretty much as good as hyped. The caves were 'discovered' in the 70's but weren't fully investigated till the 90's. Hundreds of pottery pieces along with 14 skeletal remains were found there and to date very few of the finds have been taken from the cave, leaving it as a 'living natural museum'. 1993 it was the topic of a National Geographic video series and again featured in the magazine in 2001. Since then research has more or less stopped and now it is the destination of these 'ATM' (because no-one can pronounce the full name!) tours with people like us on them.

It starts with a long drive along a VERY bumpy track up into the jungle, then a 45 minute hike through the jungle, wading across the same river 3 times (now you'd have thought they'd have sorted that admin out a bit better wouldn't you?!) to the cave entrance. The only way to get into the cave was a 15 foot swim, then the rest of the 3 hours spent inside the cave system were anything from full body swim to ankle deep so we were wet all day! The main area where the remains were found was above the water line so we climbed up on the ledge and walked around looking at the finds. Much of the pottery is embedded, having been calcified over the years and some of the bones were misplaced possible from flow of water in the caves at some time. It was all so interesting and the guide was hugely knowledgeable on the subject (it's a shame we can't remember it all!) Most of the skeletons were human sacrifice, a couple more were buried here, all by the Mayans. As well as all the history, there were also dozens of spectacular rock formations - more stalactites & mites than you could shake a stick at!

Belize Zoo & Howler Monkeys

Today we got wet!

For the first time in almost 3,500 miles, (165 today) it actually rained on us; it has threatened in the past but after just a few drops it’s always stopped – until today! I know we're in the middle of a rain forest and tropical storms are to be expected, but this is 'supposed' to be the dry season!!! Thankfully it was after we’d done all we wanted to do and were on the last leg to Dangriga; although we didn’t know we were coming here when it first started raining at the zoo. (More of that later!) Bearing in mind that it is soft warm rain that is actually really quite pleasant to ride in; the clouds were low, the jungle impossibly green, (in more shades than I knew there were!) and shining in what little sun was breaking through. And then there’s the traffic; there isn’t any! Here it’s the pedestrians and the cyclists who rule the road, it's the vehicles that have to fit in – how cool. Road rage – hah!!!

It started just as we were about to the zoo so we stopped and had an ice cream and the most expensive bottle of water in the world, ($4 for a litre compared to the usual 1:50) while it passed over. A woman from the zoo came to let me know there was rain coming and as the bike was loaded up with our luggage, I should put it under one of the picnic shelters; how nice of her! Looking up at the black sky we had the option of staying there in the 'Rustic Cabanas' or head on - we set off.

Of course it soon started again when we were too far to turn back; the first time we stopped at a visitor’s centre for one of the local Cenotes, (caves) and got going again a few minutes later. But it started again with a vengeance; I had to stop coz I couldn’t see to ride! We pulled into a bus shelter and got Donkey under cover whilst I swam to the B&B that just happened to be on the corner, but at $40 each for a room with no light and a cold shower in a bathroom with no light and single beds, I thought I’d rather get wet. We hung on for a bit longer till the rain calmed off again and then made a final dash; which in the end was fine coz as wild as the rain was, it stopped early enough for most of our clothes to dry off(ish)! Helen had my waterproof over her and her bag while her jacket was wrapped round the lap-top in my bag, (for once we didn’t have spare polly bags everywhere - obviously we'd got to used to the sunny weather!) our waterproof trousers however had been pinched off the front of the bike – only the day before, (someone obviously knew the rain was coming – dry season or not!) typical; the first time we needed them in six weeks! Somewhere there'll be a couple of very unslylishly dressed, but dry, Belizeans!

So rain aside - today we rode to the baboon sanctuary; of course Belize doesn’t actually have baboons – these were Howler Monkeys that have had their natural environment protected by a voluntary agreement between surrounding land owners! You can do tours and as some of the monkeys see humans all the time you can get right up close to them and even feed them bits of leaves or banana; however they’re not tame and they don’t assume humans will feed them so they do live perfectly normal monkey lives. To prove the point, one of them did take a fancy to the camera Helen was aiming!

We were heading for Dangriga, which took us past the zoo. We weren't sure we were that bothered by 'the zoo'; it all sounded a bit sanitised – all these caged animals for our pleasure however... they’re certainly not there for our pleasure; in 1983 there was a documentary called ‘Path of the Rain Gods’ filmed in Belize and when it was finished Sharon Matola, (from the film) was concerned that the animals had become partly tame and wouldn’t survive back in the wilds. So she founded the zoo which now only houses local animals in their own natural environment; all of which are either confiscated illegal 'pets', orphans, injured animals or ones now born in the zoo. I was really impressed with the place; all the cages were huge, spacious, clean and full of jungle. There were informative signs everywhere, (‘written’ by the animals) that explained where they'd come from, their predicament in the wilds and how they needed the jungle to survive and stuff.

So, we saw; Jaguars, Keel Billed Toucans, (the national bird of Belize) Scarlet Macaws that are on the verge of extinction, a Harpy Eagle which is the biggest eagle in the world and the national bird of Panama, Spider and Howler Monkeys, oodles of other cats, birds, beasts, thingies and of course the Mountain Cow, (Tapir) which is the national animal of Belize; looking very much like an overgrown anteater, it is actually related to the horse and rhino! All in all a very cool place and a worthwhile visit.

Something I’ve noticed about Belize is that there are millions of kids – everywhere! They all play outside all day and most of the night, and they never cry! All they do is laugh and have a good time; in fact considering they have very little money, they also have very little crime and the whole country has an incredibly 'safe' feel to it; just full of happy, laid back, friendly people – like nowhere else I’ve been! And they talk about 'developing countries' as if we've somehow got it so right!!!

When we got here we hung around the hostel doing laundry and watching TV; because it’s an English speaking country they have English speaking TV, and I guess they don’t have their own networks so they get cable from the states; so we’ve enjoyed having something to watch for the first time since I don’t know when! James Bond on a wet afternoon - what could be better???

Swimming with Sharks!

Yesterday we swam with sharks!! Never thought I'd hear myself say that, but it's not as scary as it sounds. These were nurse sharks so not exactly prone to human attacks for a start! We saw dozens of them, and they were quite content with us swimming amongst them. The largest we saw were probably about 8 feet long, most were smaller. This was all on our dive today from Caye Caulker. Went to the Hol Chan Marine Reserve which is located on the barrier reef. The reef here is the 2nd largest barrier reef in the world, 2nd only to the Great Barrier reef off Australia. As well as the sharks we saw barracuda, green moray eel (who are unbeliveably ugly buggers!), lots of angelfish, a two eyed buttlerflyfish and dozens more I couldn't begin to identify (but I'm already learning - eh?!) Dived down to 70 feet in amongst fingers of coral. There were these huge 'banks' of coral with sandy 'paths' in between them - it felt like we were on a trail! Great, great stuff - I'm loving this diving thing!

Today we did a snorkel trip out to the reef. It's so shallow on the crest there's little point in diving that particular area. We were stood in waist deep water about 1.4km off shore. We went to a shark/ray neighbourhood. More nurse sharks and this time we were swimming around with sting-rays! (Yes those ones that Steve Urwin played around with!).