Belize and El Remate, Guatemala         We’re onto our third country in two weeks; which is pretty good for us! Never mind these countries are tiny compared to Mexico. It’s been really great experiencing some different cultures and again being amazed at how the change is immediate as soon as you cross over the border. Within minutes of arriving in Belize we were seeing English signs, people playing cricket, more wooden houses and the condition of the roads deteriorate. We spent all of five days in Belize and to be honest enjoyed not doing anything touristy in that time. However, there is much to see in Belize, even though it has only 300,000 inhabitants and is roughly the size of Massachusetts. Such as, coral islands and reefs, caves, ruins, waterfalls and reserves. Belize has a real mix of ethnicites with Creole, Mayan, Taiwanese, Mennonite, Garifuna and Spanish making up the bulk of the population. Belizean cuisine primarly consists of rice, beans, chicken, coconut based products and fried plantain (large, unsweet bananas not usually eaten raw). For us, Belize felt very much like an island due to the size, laid back culture and steamy climate. In Orange Walk we stayed with Couchsurfer host and Peace Core volunteer, Jacob who originally hails from the USA. He gave us a great introduction to Belizean culture and we enjoyed listening to his Creole accent he had mastered in his time living in Orange Walk. This is where we first tried Johnny cakes, which look similar to scones but are made with coconut milk and are eaten with meals in the same fashion as tortillas or bread. We also tried a cheap treat, choco-bananas; which are literally frozen bananas dipped in chocolate on a stick and are a favourite with the locals. Orange Walk has a pretty river; which is not only used for tours but the transportation of sugar cane (that grows abundantly in this area). In fact, cycling into Orange Walk we were passed by at least 20 full trucks of sugar cane off to the factory to be refined. This town is also where Roland had his hair ‘dreaded’ Belizean style. His hair was twisted and then wrapped in string. The idea is that after a few months his hair will naturally dread and then the string can be taken out. So we will see how that works out….. While camping on some farmland one night we witnessed a spectacular lightening show that lit up the whole sky. It was several hours later before we heard the thunder and the rain start. We were grateful to have a shed roof to sleep under. Our last two nights in Belize were with Ben (couch surfing) who is really friendly, really chill and really trusting. He left us the keys to his house and we appreciated some downtime to ourselves and volunteering with the Salvation Army (see our SA Journal Page). We were pleased to get the opportunity to meet Ben on the following night when he returned from a weekend away in Mexico. Crossing over in Guatemala, meant we were back into Spanish and cheaper eats. The area between the border and El Remate (our first nights accommodation that had views of lake El Peten) is known for highway robberies, however we had no trouble and encountered many warm and encouraging faces. Tikal ruins, Guatemala!               Tikal took the whole day to see, as it’s super duper big with some of the pyramids over 60 metres high. There are two rates to get into Tikal, a cheap rate for Guatemalans and a heavy marked up price for international visitors. There was no convincing the ticket operators that we were Guatemalan so we lumped it and paid full price. Also, there is a lot of restoration projects going on right now and was interesting to see the before and after pictures. It’s currently the largest Mayan Ruins, however we heard about another site that is currently being excavated and is only accessible by tramping in and out, called El Mirador. It covers an area of 23 sq kms. It would definitely be cool to check out as it’s quite the intrepid journey found between the Mexico and Guatemalan border….. another time I guess…. There were apparently monkeys there that like to poo on your head so we waited patiently for this to happen with no luck. We have still yet to see a monkey just hanging about in the wild ….. but we keep hearing them! Rio Dulce, Livingston & Chiquimula, Guatemala              After two days of cycling and staying in beautiful Finca Ixobel, we found ourselves in Rio Dulce with three more broken spokes. All original spokes are staying strong, but 4 of the 5 replacement spokes are not cutting the mustard. Amazingly we were able to find a bike shop and locate some spokes that fit our wheel. The previous towns had bike stores that doubled as half barber shop half bike mechanic, weird. An observation we have made is that the Guatemalan towns are way more intense, congested and bustling with activity. Fruit and vegetable stands tend to overhang into the streets causing traffic to be slow and messy. And the heat does not do any favours for anyone either. Our camping accommodation in Rio Dulce proved to be the perfect remedy, except camping was not an option at Finca Tijax (Lonely Planet had it wrong). It was a spectacular location set amongst jungle with lake side access. It even had a pool! Although a week late, this quickly became our 2nd wedding anniversary, and we were not in any great hurry to haul our bike back over the200 metre board walk suspension bridge entrance. The thing to do in Rio Dulce is to cruise the lake and river down to Livingston, so we did. On route we met up with other travelers from America and had some lovely conversation stories about past and future travels, volunteering and foreign aid. Livingston reminded us of Belize with its Garifuna culture, offers of Marijuana and unique store names i.e. Jake’s cool spot, the friendly store, Positive vibes F.M. The day finished with a surprising phone call from Belinda’s mom who managed to track us down during our evening dip in the pool. We got it wrong. Instead of a challenging 140 km day from Rio Dulce to Chiquimula, it turned into a ridiculous 185 km day coupled with the hottest weather we have experienced to date (47 C). Fortunately our couchsurfing host, Raul saved the day by giving us a ride to his place some 20km out, as the road began to deteriorate, light was fading fast and muscles were tiring. We had a tranquil evening with Raul, his family Monica, Andreas, Gabriel, Zoey the dog, neighbors and friends with a Bbq in the communal gazebo. We sincerely hope our conversation was not too boring, as we were feeling really exhausted. Our night with this family prepared us for the border crossing into Honduras the next day. Belinda wants…..
Belinda 84 Roland 136 Things seen on the side of the road; half of a hand gun, bags of drinking water 500cc                   Interesting points: · Although the Yucatán Peninsula has been pretty much as flat as a pancake, surprisingly it’s been tough cycling due to wind, humidity and the intense sun. Also, because on the flat terrain we need to be pedaling continuously meaning we don’t get mini rests and we’ve found our bums getting much sorer. Being on a tandem also means we can’t stand up so much so it’s been interesting. · Welcome to the world of cenotes. Yucatán is famed for these wee treasures; with over 1000 of them scattered about the place. They are an underground sinkhole that holds water; often with limestone stalactites hanging from the ceiling. It’s quite the treat bathing in the cool water in the shade after cycling in the severe heat. Also, near Akumal on the Caribbean coast is the world’s largest underwater cavern system called Dos Ojos. Roland remembers seeing this on some discovery program and was keen to check it out (albeit expensive). He got to do some snorkeling in three cenotes that were connected and seemed “quite mysterious and magical”. We checked out another cenote together near Valladolid called Cenote Dzitnup and because we arrived at opening we were the only ones there which was awesome. · In Akumal we stayed with a Couch Surfer host (Lucy) who originally hails from the USA but has been living here for 15 years. She is quite the inspiration, single-handedly running a ranch with 23 dogs she has rescued, owns a homemade ice cream store and restaurant. Take it from us, the food and particularly the ice cream is heavenly. To find out more about the Akumal Animal Rescue Fund click here. It was so refreshing to see happy, confident and well cared-for dogs in a country where this is not so common. We found it so difficult to leave as we only stayed one night but we don’t want to get to the five month marker in Mexico! · It was lovely coming across Laguna Bacalar only 40kms from Chetumal (our final destination in Mexico). It is a crystal clear freshwater lake with shimmering colours and white sand bottom. A perfect retreat to break up our day of cycling under a palapa, surrounded by other Mexican families enjoying the Santa Semana holiday season. Even though we did get a flat tire, which the bored marine guards watched the repair very intently. · On entering Chetumal we had a dousing of refreshing liquid sunshine but also surprising after so many days of blue sky. Chetumal is a perfect sized city and actually the Capital of Quintana Roo although Cancun is where all the money is. It is not very touristy and yet just like Campeche, it has a beautiful waterfront boulevard that is well utilized by the locals. This morning we got up at the crack of dawn after a sticky sleep to get a view of the city and our first glimpse of Belize from an old unused factory. Here we are staying with first time Couch Surfing host, Alvin who as grown up in this town. We had a driving tour of the town at night and then shared a delicious meal of tacos and papas (mashed potatoes smothered in all sorts of yummy goodness) at Chiles which is one of Alvin’s favourite eats. Continuing on our ruin buzz we visited three more sites: Chichén Itzá, Cobá, Tulum on our way to the Caribbean Sea. Chichén Itzá      After a full day of sweating (aka cycling) we rolled up to these ruins to discover it had closed six minutes prior. This pretty much sucks when you’re on a bike and cheap; not wanting to stay overnight and pay for accommodation. However, we soon discovered there was an alternative and expensive way of seeing the ruins after hours. It is required to go in with a guide but the bonus is that you have the place to yourself which is usually covered in photo- snapping tourists. So we made a decision, that I would go in and share my finds with the rest of the team afterwards. We managed to get a group together, with a Canadian sister duo (who were a pleasure to chat with and share in the experience). The highlight for me was learning about the ancient ball game called ‘Gran Juego de Pelota’ where there are two teams with seven players in a court. There were two small vertical hoops where if a player scored meant their team won. It was forbidden to use hands and the ball was most commonly passed with the head, shoulder, hip or knee. It was a pretty serious game as the losing team players were often sacrificed by decapitation. There was a communal platform where their skulls were displayed. On a less gruesome note, Elton John performed here just a few days before we arrived. Cobá      Cobá has the tallest pyramid in the Yucatán and one is still allowed to climb the precarious structure if one chooses. The view from the top emphasized the flat terrain as you could forever into the distance, along with some nice lakes too. The ruins are scattered over a large area and ironically you can hire bicycles to cover these distances. We opted to walk! This was probably the nicest part of these ruins; walking along shaded trails from the tree canopy above as the structures didn’t really have much “wow” factor after seeing other grander ruins. Tulum         The draw card of Tulum was definitely the setting. Once again the ruins weren’t particularly distinctive apart the wall that surrounds the compound. It was pretty toasty walking around this site and the turquoise water of the Caribbean called to us…. Incessantly. We obliged (along with the rest of the bus loads of tourists) and took a refreshing dip. Two iguanas were chilling out near to our spot on the beach, with one being particularly interested in our lunch. Roland, in all his wisdom hand fed the iguana some banana; however it decided Roland’s finger was on offer too. Roland was not impressed! Sad and yet exciting…. This is our last day in Mexico as tomorrow we cycle to the border of Belize which is only 10kms away. Looking back to when we first cycled into Tijuana, we would have never expected to stay this long or see and experience so many different and amazing things and meet such special people. And who would of thought, we do actually know some Spanish now too. We hope our ride through Central America continues to blow our minds……… Crib Score Roland 135 Belinda 78 (I got skunked twice in a row!) Tick Count Roland 0 Belinda 3 (one on my bum, stomach and wrist) A new addition… We are excited to (in the near future) introduce a new member to our family. All we can give away right now is his name is “Nutty” but he is still getting acquainted with Atony, Big Bird and his chores.                                  In keeping with our detour tendencies, we decided to adjust our original plans of going from San Cristobal to Guatemala and instead check out some more Mayan ruins, flat stretches of road and some really hot and humid weather. Mission Completed. In an attempt to avoid the hottest part of the day (between 12-4), we find ourselves getting up at five and hitting the road by six. But all things considered, its always hot, just some parts of the day are smoking hot i.e. 40 degrees celius hot. As we set off for the town Osocingo and the neighboring Tonina ruins, everything was going according to plan and we were making pretty good time, except for the thousand billion trillion (topes) speed bumps which always seemed to plant themselves on our descents. This was only enhanced by a few kids that have devised a clever way of making traffic stop and increase their chances of a quick sell of fruit, water and pop. By attaching a rope with small flags to a tree on one side of the road and then pulling the rope from the other side, they definitely command our attention as we come barrelling around a corner. Once in Osocingo, we quickly found some accommodations, navigated our bike into our room and set off to the Tonina ruins. These ruins were really nice, no vendors to avoid, very few people and beautiful grounds. This was a very relaxing and scenic way of finishing a full morning of cycling. Well except a certain someone losing our hotel key. It is worth noting that this imposing temple complex brought mighty Palenque to it´s knees and Palenque was our next destination. Tonina Ruins       In similar fashion to the day before we managed to get to Palenque in the early afternoon, found our couch surfing host Uala inside the Nation Palenque Park and have a restful evening visiting the impressive ruins, weaving through the thousands of tourists and saying ¨no thank you¨ to the many vendors. The ancient Maya city of Palenque with it´s exquisite architecture in a superb jungle setting, is one of the marvels of Mexico. About 1400 to 6000 people visit here daily. In exchange for three hours labor, we were able to spend a night in the jungle, share a terrific lunch together and have an unexpected guest in the evening. The next we talked ourselves into the museum which was free but only with a valid entry ticket, ours was for the previous day. While strolling through the many displays, we spotted an unusual bag, something that might attach itself to handlebars. You guessed it more cyclists. After walking through the museo de sitio together and having a great old time chatting away, we realized we hadn´t seen or read a thing and had to go through a second time. We hope to meet up with Pete and Dylan further down the road as they are bypassing the Yucatan. Palenque Ruins             Our next destination was the relaxed city of Campeche, with manicured parks, clean cobbled stone streets, newly painted buildings in bright pastels hues and white and an exquisite broad malecon (waterfront boulevard) perfect for catching the sunset before it dips into the ocean. Next on the list was Uxmal, pronounced ooosh-mal. Fascinating, well preserved structures made of pink – hued limestone cover the wide area. Adding to its appeal are the many Iguanas making themselves right at home in the millions of crooks and crannies. It was well worth the 30km detour in the scorching hot. Uxmal Ruins       After Uxmal we made a bee line to Merida to meet our host family. Yapur found us through reading the CNN Mexico online article about us and invited us into his home. It turns out that he is a professional racing cyclist and has won many competitions in Mexico and Central America. It was a honour to met him let alone stay with him and his family. His wife (lisa) and two children, April and Manuel were very easy going and a pleasure to get to know as well. Manuel even gave up his own bed for us which was a huge gesture and his room had air conditioning with was amazing in the 40 degree and very humid climate. It was very interesting for us learning more about racing and is in stark contrast to what we are doing. Yapur's bike is like a porsche and ours is like a motorhome! Yapur and Lisa generously gave us some new bike shorts as they were horrified of the condition of our current ones that are in a sorry state. Yapur was able to refer us to an excellent bike mechanic as one of our rear wheel spokes broke and we didn't have the tool to remove the cassette. They did a fantastic job and even gave Big Bird a scrub behind the ears and a new tape job on Belinda's handlebars. We spend the better part of a day in Celestun, a nearby beach town that is known for it's flamingo viewing opportunities. We jumped on a boat and got to see these rosy birds and was surprised to see how long and flexible their necks are. The tour also went through some mangroves and we got to have a dunk in water with some fish too. We ended up staying four nights in Merida and it was hard to leave such good company, however Yapur made our exit a little easier by cycling out of this relatively large city with us. THANK YOU! Crib Score Roland 128 Belinda 77 Things we've seen on the side of the road + Body building competition on the beach + Police on Segways patrolling the Campeche waferfront + Burning (could see flames) milk truck + Monkeys and Iguanas + Baby bag with ID so handed in to officials + A cowboy hat that Roland gave to a guy on a bike taxi (these are abundant here in the Yucatán) + Small fires burning rubbish and vegetation (everywhere!) + Bus stop after bus stop after bus stop (which is awesome for us in this intensive heat and sun) + Trucks selling gas around suburban streets get attention by dragging a chain and metal rings under the truck. |  Roland and Belinda
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