Cycling with Sally

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 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! 

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…..

• Junk food from New Zealand
• A dinky bell for her handlebars
• To absolutely thrash Roland in crib

 Roland wants….

• His own personal fan that is somehow permanently attached to his body.

Crib Score:
Belinda 84
Roland 136

Things seen on the side of the road;
half of a hand gun,
bags of drinking water 500cc